The Man Without A Plan

Hunting around for an apt description for Najib’s budget, we finally had to settle on ‘mindless’.  No one in the entire overstaffed Finance Ministry, or their inept leader, appears to have bothered to apply their mind to the serious challenges facing the nation. Outrageously, Najib has themed his budget as one for national transformation when it is anything but.

The issues unaddressed include:

Jobs

How will this budget help to create new jobs?

How many jobs will it create?

Will these jobs be in high wage sectors?

Will any jobs that are created only be for foreign nationals?

New Industries

What new industries will the government encourage in Malaysia?

What kind of incentives will be offered for these industries?

The Environment

What initiatives (supported by what budgets) will the government undertake to protect the environment?

What investments will the government make into promoting green technologies and their related industries?

The Poor

The poor need higher income jobs and reskilling, not a one-off, arbitrary hand-out. It is unfortunate that the government treats the poor as a collection of beggars. We are back to being a medieval kingdom and Najib goes around tossing coins to the masses. Scrabble, guys!

What plans has the government to increase the earning power of households with incomes below RM3,000?

Rising Prices

Prices of all food and goods are rising every day. And it is rising more than the government says it is. This more than anything contributes to the hardship of all citizens. It is going to get worse, as the government plans only to maintain, not increase, the subsidies.

What plan does the government have to combat rising prices?

How does the government plan to reduce the price of food and basic necessities?

The Disabled

No concrete measures have been put in place to help the disabled. The government appears to have neither objectives nor interest in helping the disabled. We suggest policies like 100% employment for all the disabled who can work. There are enough GLCs to accommodate them.

The Civil Service

Civil servants were thrown scraps, a half-month salary, in return for their efforts. The government, being a poor economic manager, is unable to award them a better bonus. What monies were not wasted on mismanagement, were lost to corruption.

In the end, the biggest losers were the people of Malaysia. Whatever small short-term gains some may think they receive, they will find it turning to ashes in their mouth. Literally. For example by the time the poor receive their promised RM500, they will find its purchasing power greatly reduced due to rampant inflation.

What is clear from this budget is that the BN government is lost and it is desperate. They have absolutely no clue on how to tackle the economic ills afflicting the nation. They are reduced to self-destructive populism in a last-ditch bid to survive.

Najib may be a short-term thinker who does not look beyond ensuring his own survival in the next election; but Malaysians should look at the long-term damage that the BN will wreak on Malaysia’s economy if they are allowed to stay on.

Written by  P Dinesh Malaysia Chronicle