The foundation of a sustainable economy

Sabah, endowed with a vast array of natural resources could easily guarantee a decent middle class wealth and economic well-being for every citizen of this country regardless of his or her background.

This perception does not necessitate a scholar in macro economics to deduce because of its palpable proof. An average “run-of-the-mill” farmer can tell you this obvious fact any day.

Yet with all its concreteness, our proximity to experiencing this economic provender is as remote as man’s next landing to the moon. As if to defy gravity, our exceptional natural economic resources went “south” on its’ people. We have become a rich country with poor people.

A year ago we were known as the second last poorest state in Malaysia. In a recent study, based on the World Bank 2010 Malaysia Economy Monitor (MEM) Sabah is the poorest state in Malaysia. What did we do to deserve this title?

We must first look at the common denominator, politics. It is common knowledge that a country’s management is shaped by politics.

Politics in the form of government takes the lead in formulating our economic policies. So it is preeminent to address the common denominator before planning for the economy.

Planning for the economy requires the right political climate, a luxury that is truly lacking in Sabah. For too long our government is managed by racial and religious aspiration rather than by the virtues of civilization.

We have allowed religion and race as the omnipotent basis for action when history had absolutely proven time and again that when it comes to the management of a country politics and religion cannot mix.

It is after Abraham Lincoln said "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth," that America started steam-rolling towards the path of economic superiority over the world.

America became the most economically powerful nation on earth not by accident but by common sense effort of its elected leaders. Putting the people first makes a lot of sense when it comes to developing an economic wonder.

After China changed its mindset to embrace the common sense approach of Capitalism it has catapulted itself becoming one of the strongest economies in the world second only to America.

The four dragons of Asia namely South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore did not achieve their status by chance but rather by embracing the common sense approach on the virtues of civilization. Malaysia for all its natural resources could have been in the forefront to economic grandeur had it not stubbornly subscribe to its narrow purview of racial and religious fascism. Even when many of our students have graduated from fame institutions of higher learning we are still dragging our feet today unable to decide how best to steer our country into a developed nation status.

It is time we focus our energy on the common sense virtues of civilization as it is the undisputed proven method of putting the people first.

A healthy nation’s prosperity is measured in direct proportion to the prosperity of its people.

What therefore is the appropriate role of government? Start with respect for the people. Believe in the people and give the people what they want.

Be sensitive to the marketplace. Referring to the American economy, Barack Obama said, “it is not just our natural resources that account for our economic success. Our greatest asset has been our system of social organization, a system that for generations has encouraged constant innovation, individual initiative, and the efficient allocation of resources.” If we are a government of the people, by the people and for the people we would strived to position the government in a way that best supports the effort of the people.

A government must be a tool for the people to achieve prosperity. Just as what the EDA (Economic Development Administration) of America has done for Americans, our Sabah government must emulate the same approach to bring about prosperity to our people and thus our country. Invest on our people should be our mantra. Instead we put priorities on social titles, religious rituals, and racial domination such as the concept of ‘Ketuanan Melayu.” These ancient practices are no longer relevant in today’s marketplace. It has never been effective in addressing poverty and it is the hook that’s preventing us from attaining a develop nation status. We Sabahans want more than ever to move forward. We want our children to be able to survive in the 21st century. We do not want to be left behind in a globalized world. We want a government that understands this concept.

In the last 30 years, Sabah has bore the brunt of Malaya’s political gamesmanship. Using devious tactics against the non-Muslim majority in Sabah we get reports of unlawful MyKad IC’s that were given out to foreigners from nearby Philippines and Indonesia in an effort to increase the number of Malay voters in Sabah.

This has accounted for the mysterious jump in Sabah’s population of up to 400% in just a couple of decades.

Malaysia’s federal government it seems has factually usurped our constitution and the rule of law by engineering a political power grab of a nation through the issuance of citizenship to aliens based on race and religion in order to shift the balance of power to favor Malay and Muslims.

If this allegation is proven to be true then it is not wrong to put this in the category of a “coups d’ etat” of the Sabah government.

There are many theories as to how this could have happen and that is why there are numerous calls for an RCI (Royal Commission of Inquiry) to uncover the truth of the matter.

The fact that this present UMNO government does not support the call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into this matter is suspect at best.

The rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer: It is a wrong approach when government takes control of a commercial enterprise when history has proven that it is economically wise to let private organization managed such commercial entities.

A government is not in the business of doing business therefore it lacks the commitment and drive that is critical in making the common sense decisions that foster efficiency and competitiveness in a thriving for profit entity.

When there is no incentive to perform at the highest level that is when an entity stops becoming a cash cow. A government commercial entity which is not accountable to the people is a dead entity, a non-performer and at most a temporary refuge for a fascist government.

SEDCO is a prime example of why government should not be in the business of doing business.

According to SEDCO’s background info on its website “Formed on December 21, 1971 as a state-owned agency to assist in the Government efforts in stimulating industrial, commercial and socio-economic development of the State of Sabah” If SEDCO was successful why is Sabah listed among the poorest states in Malaysia? In an Article by Joe Fernandez, he stressed many credible factors as to why Sabah has turned into a pitiful state. We cannot and must not assume that SEDCO has benefitted the people of Sabah.

Our government touted its Tourism efforts as exemplary and even advertised the numbers to back its claimed. It all sounded good at first, until you realized the numbers could have been double or triple; that’s when you realized there are inherent limitations to the number of tourist wanting to come here.

How one may ask can the government fully maximize the tourism industry when there is no concept of “maintenance” within the government’s playbook? It is not uncommon to see roads, buildings and parks being built without any maintenance schedules to keep them at pristine condition.

Tourism is synonymous with service. How can we make the tourist a happy camper when “service” is not embedded into our culture? The first person a tourist encounters upon disembarking from the airplane is the immigration officer looking stern, stoic and seems only to be interested in fault finding instead of welcoming? I am quite sure most tourists especially from other Asian countries felt very intimidated by our immigration officers because of their unfriendly disposition.

99% of tourists are good people who bring revenue to our government and our people but yet we treat tourist with disdain and look at them as agents of the dark side.

There are even attempts by some within the industry to charge tourist a higher room rate compared to the locals.

Restaurants in hotels are unnecessarily charging exorbitant prices just because they think they can get away with it. Such business practices will not bring more tourists to our country. Here again is government’s lack of leadership and guidance. If I were a tourist I will think twice before coming back. There goes your repeat customer!

If our people are not happy with the status of our road infrastructure being dilapidated, how do you think a tourist would feel?

When our government does not encourage the use of the international language English in our daily speech we limit the extent of our ability to make a tourist feel at home.

When our police and security forces are not train to be sensitive to the needs of the tourist and understand ways to assist them, how can we truly build a self-sustaining tourism industry?

When public amenities such as toilets are still in the third world standard we limit the type of tourist coming to our shores.

When we do not address the problem with illegal aliens scouring our city streets we cannot expect to build a self-sustaining tourism industry.

We must not be dupe by this government again. We need a government based on meritocracy not race, plutocracy or cronyism. We need a true multi-racial government that will make Sabah prosperous and all its’ people happy.

By Wilfred Gaban