Thank the rakyat (citizens) for support, not politicians
By
Chua Jui Meng
INITIALLY, I read with amusement the grand old man who ruled Malaysia for 22 years saying Malays should be grateful to Umno.
Then, it became not so amusing but laughable.
That is not only shallow talk by Dr Mahathir Mohamed, it is insulting the intelligence of Malaysians, to say the least.
Malaysians voted him and Umno into power. So, it is he who should and must be grateful, not us.
In fact, to be more accurate, it is the government of the day that should be grateful to the rakyat (people) for placing their trust in them to govern.
Mahathir became a racist after stepping down as prime minister in 2003. As Perkasa adviser, it is testimony of his real intentions to rally Malay support for himself and Umno.
Now, some even go as far as to say that he wants to make a comeback as premier, God forbids.
His double talk, when he was premier and now as an ordinary citizen, makes him untenable for the job today.
The Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) has been returned to power for 55 years and thus has become arrogant, abusive and disrespectful to the people and the laws of the country.
The police, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the Judiciary, you just name it, have been influenced and abused to intimidate the people, especially Pakatan Rakyat (PR) members and supporters.
Enforcement of the law is conducted unfairly – one law for BN and another for others. What is considered a crime committed by PR members and supporters, the same is not a crime to BN members and supporters.
This cannot go on and Malaysians, especially the Umno Malay supporters, must wake from their slumber to save Malaysia.
The BN-Umno’s unabated plundering of the nation’s wealth and mounting national debts are leading Malaysia to bankruptcy.
At RM450 billion in foreign debts, and when other considerations are included, the figure could be around RM800 billion (this figure is believed to have accidentally leaked out by Mahathir’s son Mukhriz in an interview with TheEdge)!
This is a huge and worrying figure because the debts will continue to rise unabated due to annual Budget deficits.
The following is an extract from a Malaysia Chronicle article titled “AND DR M WANTS HIM TO BE PM! No need to worry if M'sia goes BANKRUPT – Mukhriz” http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=40755:are-you-serious-mukhriz?-no-need-to-worry-if-msia-will-go-bankrupt-youngest-son-of-dr-m&Itemid=2
“ “The government has about RM800 billion in borrowings. Of this figure, foreign borrowing is only 17 percent. The bulk is from local financial institutions," the Edge reported him as saying.
Bankruptcy Shocker!
But while Mukhriz tried to make a difference between local and foreign borrowings, the fact is borrowing is still borrowing. Malaysia’s borrowing limit is just below 2 percentage points below the maximum allowed under by the Constitution. Just this restriction alone implies that Vision 2020, as propounded by Mukhriz’s father is not achievable anymore.
Worse was yet to come. Mukhriz went on to electrify the audience with what must surely be among the most foolish-ever statements made by a minister. The more critical in the audience even went so far as to describe him as being naïve, unintelligent or of lower intellectual capability than the most mediocre of UMNO members.
“We do not have to worry whether the country will be bankrupt or face negative effects from the giving of assistance to the rakyat. The money is from wise economic management and effective tax collection,” blurted out the 46-year-old Mukhriz.
PM of the future? Save Malaysia, Stop Mukhriz!
Not worry about Malaysia going bust! And to think his dad wanted him to take over as the PM after Najib.”
Are we then not heading towards the direction of Greece? It’s economic effects are now devastating Europe.
When Malaysia goes bankrupt, to put it in simple terms and to jolt you, your RM1 may be worth only S$0.05, if not S$0.01 in Singapore. Now, do you get what I mean by a bankrupt Malaysia?
That is the future for your children and generations if BN is returned to power in the next general election which must held by next June, the latest.
Debating PR’s Budget 2013
And Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim’s most important and significant remark when unveiling the Pakatan Rakyat (PR)’s Budget 2013 is: “Obsolete race-based policies must end.”
The following is an extract from Pakatan Rakyat’s Budget 2013 on how the alternative government plans to put money into the rakyat’s pockets:
HIGHLIGHTS
EXTRA RINGGIT IN
RAKYAT’S POCKET
The full implementation of the proposals contained in Belanjawan Pakatan Rakyat 2013 and other proposals announced in Buku Jingga and other documents shall increase the monthly disposable income of a typical Malaysian household* as follows:
Ringgit Malaysia (RM)
Savings from lower car prices 70
Savings from lower fuel prices 50
Savings from abolishment of toll (total spread out
over one year) 100
Waiver of PTPTN loan for qualified borrower 200
Special Teaching Allowance as promised in Buku
Jingga 500
Government’s contribution to Caruman Wanita
Nasional for wife 50
Savings from lower food and goods prices due to
lower fuel and transportation charges, estimated
at 5% 38
TOTAL INCREASE IN MONTHLY
DISPOSABLE INCOME 1,008
*average Malaysian household refers to a family of 5 with only the husband working as a teacher, one car, one house below RM250,000, still paying PTPTN loans, live in Klang Valley and goes back four times a year to the kampung in Alor Setar
EKONOMI RAKYAT NEGARA BERKAT
Belanjawan Pakatan Rakyat 2013
HIGHLIGHTS
THE ECONOMY
Belanjawan Pakatan Rakyat 2013 takes into account various views and sources on the direction of the Malaysian economy in 2013. These forecasts are used extensively in the simulation and projections of the financial and economic impact of the budget on the economy.
1
*at current prices, after the rebasing of the national economic figure to 2005 prices
RM1,064 billion is the size of Malaysian economy by end of 2013*
5.2% rate of economic growth
3.0%
Inflation rate of
3.5%
In 2013, budget deficit-to-GDP ratio shall ease to
EKONOMI RAKYAT NEGARA BERKAT
Belanjawan Pakatan Rakyat 2013
HIGHLIGHTS
3 BUDGET THRUSTS
The general wisdom diagnoses Malaysia with multiple economic illnesses that systematically destroy its ability to compete in the globalised knowledge-based economy beyond the exhaustion date of its finite natural resources.
Most destructive among these illnesses is the rampant corruption, patronage and mismanagement that had created a rent-seeking class in the society. While the corruption and patronage continue to infect the economy in a cancerous manner, the rent-seeking class becomes a debottleneck that incapacitates any policies meant to inject competitiveness and true entrepreneurship into the economy.
The society suffers greatly from this.
The corruption, patronage and rent-seeking class impose great distortions into the economy that push prices up, while salaries and earning hardly catch up. State institutions waver in the face of highly influential and vindictive ruling elite borne out of this system.
Belanjawan Pakatan Rakyat 2012 prescribes three strategic thrusts aimed at overcoming these illnesses by targeting specifically the rampant corruption and patronage of the rent-seeking class.
Eliminating this shall have a profound impact on the very nerve system of the economy.
By breaking down these debottlenecks, impediments and economic malpractices, Pakatan Rakyat ensures that the prosperity brought by a sustainable and sound economic growth is enjoyed by every strata of the society – from the industrious tycoons to the production operators on the factory floor, from the most economically vulnerable groups to single parents and employees with disabilities.
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