Start The Reform From The Beginning
By LIM MUN FAH (Sin Chew Daily)
Malaysia is now facing an economic downturn and political chaos. On the one hand, the world economic tsunami is still roaring and Malaysia's export declined 27.8%, an eight-year record low in Jan, making the recovery seems very far away. On the other hand, endless political fights could be seen and politicians are fighting by hook or by crook for their own interests.
The confidence of the general public has been declining, they are worried and confused about the country's current predicament.
There is no doubt that at this very moment, we urgently need an effective package to rescue the market. But we must also be aware and make sure that the applauded stimulus package is not going to turn into a tool for those with vested interest and eventually, become the sequel makers in the future.
We have paid an enormous cost for the political fights over the past year. If the political fights continue next year, and the country leaders pay more attention in fighting for politics instead of economy and leave policies to turn without moving forward, we can hardly be optimistic on the effect of the RM60 billion stimulus package announced Tuesday (10 March).
We can hardly imagine whether the government will have a third stimulus package as we wonder whether we are having enough of national reserve to sustain it. Also, does our treasury, which has been facing a deficit for 12 years, allow us to continue squander like this? And whether such stimulus package, which saves the market by using the “descendants' money”, brings a greater economic disaster?
As the general public, we are unable to answer these complex economic questions. But we have to express our anxiety about the future. We want to make it clear that: If you want a fundamental solution for the current economic crisis, it requires not only a RM60 billion stimulus package. Instead, we need to rebuild the people's confidence and boost their morale, as well as reunite all races, which have been wantonly split by politicians.
We can carry out the reform only by starting from the beginning! (By LIM MUN FAH/ Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/ Sin Chew Daily)
