Wrong Comparison
Yesterday, our Tourism Minister Dr. Ng Yen Yen mentioned turning KLCC into a lucrative market and cash generating destination. She quoted this after visiting Burj Khalifa in Dubai where people were willing to queue for hours to get to the top of the building despite extravagance charges. To get to the top of Burj Khalifa, one is required to pay RM 388 for the express service and RM 98 for 1 – 2 days of waiting. KLCC should also start charging a fee for visitors to visit the bridge which is currently free of charge.
By AO Musa
In principal, I agree with Dr. Ng Yen Yen that we should start generating cash to improve our economy which will eventually benefit the country and the people. However, is this a real fact in Malaysia? Comparing Dubai and Malaysia is simply bad mathematics. Even though Malaysia Ringgit is slightly higher than Dirham, UAE’s GDP per capita is about 3 times higher than Malaysia. In 2009, the GDP per capita of Malaysia was USD 14,800 whereby in UAE it was USD 42,000.
In the micro level, the average income for executives in Malaysia is about RM 3,000 whereby in UAE that is the salary paid to building cleaners. Average salary for executives in UAE is about AED 15,000. Yes, the living costs in UAE, particularly in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, is higher compared to Malaysia. A simple apartment with 2 rooms can cost you nothing less than AED 5,000 per month and you have to pay 12 months in advance. However, the rest of the expenses are equal or cheaper than Malaysia.
Fuel price in UAE is AED 1.25 per litre compared to RM 1.80 in Malaysia. The fuel price in UAE is amongst the highest in GCC compared to 0.35 Riyal in Saudi. Happy Meal in Dubai costs you AED 18.00 and here we pay about RM 12.00. I don’t mind paying RM 6.00 higher for a Happy Meal if I can earn 3 times more than what I’m earning in Malaysia.
My point is, it is unfair for the government to compare countries like UAE to impose charges for what we getting for free now just because you see tremendous response despite the charges in that country. The government should put in practice how to improve our economy and the standard of our living here. Our education and health system is still poor and below par compared to other developing countries. We still have citizens living with income less than RM 10 a day. We should actually learn how other countries develop and manage their economy rather than how to put more burden on the people.
Corruption among public servants is not a secret anymore. The last thing we want is to follow the fate of Greece where the economy collapsed because of corruption. For the record, every citizen of Greece is paying an average of USD 1,600 per year just on corruption. The only thing that saves us now from being another Greece is the oil money. But how long can we sustain this?
I hope the government will be more practical in their decisions and not just burdening the people with fancy dreams. Get our base right first.
