GOODBYE MALAYSIA! THE WRITING IS ON THE WALL - BUT WHAT WILL ANWAR DO?

GOODBYE MALAYSIA! THE WRITING IS ON THE WALL - BUT WHAT WILL ANWAR DO? OFFER MORE 'EXPLANATIONS' OR SHOOT MALAYSIA IN THE FOOT SOME MORE?

Written by Wong Choon Mei, PoliticsNow!

KUALA LUMPUR (politicsnowmy.blogspot.com) - Malaysia's sharp drop in the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking has drawn strong reactions and much 'I told you so' sniping at Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's leadership for failing to inspire and shepherd the Malays, the predominant populace in the country, towards a more modern and pragmatic mindset.

"Three factors are in play: The Malays are generally not competitive relative to the others because they are “ special.” When a group receives special treatment in getting jobs, education and economic opportunities, there is no compelling reason to push themselves and be highly competitive," former law minister Zaid Ibrahim wrote on X in response to questions from PoliticsNow!

"The Malays are Muslims by law. Unlike the Muslims in Singapore, Indonesia, Iran, or Turkey, the Muslims here are inclined to be less competitive and devote more time to religious activities. Hence, they want more religious classes in schools and less science and mathematics."

"Even in their free time, they want to learn more about religion, hence the proliferation of religious teachers, TV programmes and books to comfort them in the afterlife. The priorities markedly differ oppositely compared to the non-Muslims, whose preoccupation is more on worldly matters. That's not to say they lack spirituality, but they have more organised activities that are competitive in nature." 

"Lastly, the political culture is steeped in feudal practices. There is no desire to change, to generate new leaders and new ways of doing things. One permanent feature is the no-contest rule. Leaders stay on forever. How does this culture encourage competitiveness in other facets of life? It has a severe debilitating effect on the populace as a whole. The sense of entitlement permeates the Malaysian universe," Zaid added.

BETTER MALAYSIA OR THE REVERSE?

Zaid Ibrahim

While many would agree with Zaid that not all the blame can be heaped on Anwar and his Pakatan Rakyat coalition, few would disagree that hope for a better Malaysia in terms of much improved governance and level playing fields, which in turn would necessitate greater social, business and educational equality, were the promises sold by Anwar and Pakatan to their supporters.

After finally managing to send team Anwar into power in late 2022, to suggest that Pakatan supporters are disappointed may be grossly understating the facts - and this despite having suffered some six decades of hegemonic rule by the Malay nationalist Umno party and a couple or so years of directionless rule by another Malay-centric coalition PN.

Unfortunately, the wide-ranging reforms promised by Anwar and Pakatan have failed to materialize and many believe that while he may hold onto power until his term ends in 2027, he will not have the courage or political will to lead Malaysia out of its toxic and self-created rut of racial quotas, business monopolies, racial bullying or even that there will be less corruption.

CRACKDOWN ON CRITICS - ONE COUNTRY, TWO SYSTEMS?

Already, the Anwar administration has cracked down on critics, silencing those who questioned his actions as he moved to shore up his very weak support within the Malays, who form some 55% of the country's 33 million-odd population, by dishing out more 'handouts' including pay hikes for an inefficient and antiquated civil service that is so over-bloated it needs to be slashed urgently and told to raise efficiency levels immediately, instead of doling out more pampering. Despite having a multiracial population, the civil service is almost 100% Malay and representative of the vast vote bank that Anwar needs to convince if he is to hang onto power.

His education minister has also been too timid, fearing to implement the drastic changes in direction needed to revitalize Malaysia's labour force and bring it into the modern and increasingly competitive world, where English and Mandarin, science and technology are the lingua-franca and know-how sought first and foremost by global investors and conglomerates.

In the IMD report which ranks 67 economies worldwide, Malaysia plunged seven spots to 34th position in competitiveness and for the first time, now lags behind Indonesia and Thailand. Within Asia-Pacific, Malaysia fell 4 places to 10th spot out of 14 countries.

By sharp contrast, Singapore which was once part of Malaysia, zoomed four spots upwards and is now the world's most competitive economy - surpassing Switzerland and Denmark.

According to the IMD report, Malaysia experienced  declines in nearly all factors - economic performance, govt efficiency, business efficiency - plunging 19 spots to 35th in domestic economy sub-factor; dived 17 spots to 53rd in productivity and efficiency;  and even falling 2 places to 10th for basic infrastructure.

BLEAK PROSPECTS, RISING COSTS

Going forward, prospects for improvement appear to be bleak - with the Anwar administration more likely to add extensively to the massive and deeply-rooted social and corruption-linked problems that have dragged and continue to drag the country back into Third World status despite its impressive physical infrastructure and glittering array of skyscrapers.  

"For example, let's take tourism. It's a great and quick way to bring in cash," a former head of money at an international bank told PoliticsNow!

"The government invests and encourages the private sector to build tourist attractions, hotels and etc. But on the other hand, does nothing or too little to stamp out the corruption at Immigration. This puts off tourists and they will go home and blacklist you to their family and friends as a lousy and corrupt country." 

The costs of doing business is also headed upwards - after several subsidy cuts by team Anwar, ostensibly to reduce the national debt burden. But is that what Anwar is doing or is he shifting the burden to businesses and the rest of the Malaysian populace by using the savings to splurge on select groups that can advance his political interests, such as salary hikes for the civil service.

Another controversial subsidy cut that led to higher diesel prices has also created much public anger. Anwar's economic and finance team have rushed to point the finger at "leakages' for the need to cut subsidies.

"But the questions remain as to why the government could not cripple the smuggling activities through enforcement rather than cutting blanket diesel subsidies. It’s hilarious that the government has the resources to monitor petrol stations and know the plunging cases of smuggling after the subsidy cut, but has no clue how to eliminate corrupt officials and smuggling cartels to prevent smuggling," wrote Finance Twitter in a report.

SLASHING SUBSIDIES TO PAY SALARY HIKES IN CIVIL SERVICE?

Saw Yee Fung

The MCA, an ally party in Anwar's ruling pact, has also criticized Anwar for practising a "one country, two systems" culture. It grilled Anwar on his proposed minimum wage for civil servants to be raised RM2,000 - which is much more than the private sector's RM1,500.

"As of now, PM Anwar has not clarified where the government will obtain the funding for the salary increases he announced in May, which is scheduled to take effect this December. The associated costs of implementing a RM2,000 minimum salary for civil servants will be substantial. 

"Recently, the government eliminated diesel subsidies, claiming potential savings of RM4 billion. Earlier, it reduced electricity subsidies, citing savings of RM4.5 billion. In contrast, the government is increasing salaries for civil servants without proposing significant reforms in public administration or performance standards, which fails to convince the public," Saw Yee Fung, the MCA National Youth Secretary General, said in a statement sent to PoliticsNow!

"Repeatedly increasing civil service benefits suggests that the savings from subsidy cuts are intended more for civil servants rather than genuinely benefiting the B40 hardcore poor group or those trapped in the middle-income bracket."

"The recent introduction of a floating diesel price is a clear example of mismanagement. Its abrupt implementation without a well-planned system or prior warning inflicted confusion among businesses and led to widespread price increases in the market. If the government intends to raise the domestic minimum wage to RM2,000, it should inform the public whether detailed research and planning have been conducted, including whether local businesses can afford it, potential economic ripple effects, and a specific implementation timeline to ensure that industries and the market are adequately prepared," Saw fired out.

TRIGGERING 'OWN' DOOMSDAY DOMINO & RECESSION

Indeed, what is Anwar doing? Does he know about knock-on effects on business and living costs and how perilous these are in creating a doomsday domino in an already struggling economy? 

Is Anwar and Pakatan striving to ward off a recession or are they in effect triggering one for Malaysia. The damage done to the ringgit since they came to power already seems irreparable - with even the man on the street with little knowledge of economic matters ready to snap back at their government's rosy assurances that "de-dollarization" will bring the ringgit's value back to the 4.20 versus one US dollar level from the current off-low 4.72 level.  

"The country's low marks in the world competitiveness ranking are not surprising, but thank God they're not much lower," Zaid had said a tad sarcastically.

"Goodbye Malaysia." he ended on a note that was ironic but hopefully not prophetic.

Written by Wong Choon Mei, PoliticsNow!

https://politicsnowmy.blogspot.com/