A Taste of Things To Come

A lot of happenings in the country lately.

Splashed across the headlines are signs of Malaysia's first major social, political and economic shakeup in decades,and how we plan for the future today will drastically shape things to come.

First is the issue of the re-implementation of the NEP in an "enhanced" form which now includes other newer sectors such as biotechnology.

After our country's independence and following the May 19 racial riots, the NEP was put in place so that the Malays could catch up in terms of market share. The government did everything they could to give them a leg up and close the economic disparity between Malays and non-Malay citizens, develop the economy and wipe away hardcore poverty.
And it was successful too. However, greatness can only be achieved through adversity.
A man who works with his bare hands, enduring toil and hardship will be stronger than a man who gets everything without having to lift a finger.

This same principle applies to the NEP; it has had some serious negative effects contrary to what it originally intended to do: put Bumis on equal playing ground with Non-bumis in the economic sector. Getting concessions, favored contracts, deference for stocks and shares, even down to quotas in institutions of higher education which prevent many deserving non-Bumis from entering - these all make a people soft; and far exceeds the individual level.

Should our country's leaders be visionary enough, they would see it is time to remove the diapers off our country and put on some real pants. We cannot become a fully developed country with such policies in place. The international economic arena is unforgiving and extremely competitive, so companies cannot keep looking to the government for aid. Proton is already feeling the pressure as the AFTA goes into force soon, and already the cracks are starting to show with the controversial sacking of it's CEO.

The Approved Permits has also stirred up alot of controversy, which enable dealers to bring in foreign-made cars. Most of them only allow a dealer to bring in a particular carmaker's cars, while another type allows for the import of virtually any foreign car. But, the next issue might have more adverse effects on the automotive industry than expected.

Second, as international oil and gas prices skyrocket, we can expect merchant profiteering to increase. Althought the government threatens to take action, there are just too many businesses to investigate. Already prices of some things such as fast moving consumer goods (read: food & other perishables) have surreptitiously increased.
Which of course translates to higher living costs and making our lives more difficult.
There is an article in today's The Sun which discusses why the government should drop petrol and gas subsidies altogether, and while it presents many good points, we just aren't prepared for such a change now.


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