10MP: Cronies First, Corruption Now
The 10MP makes no effort to reduce government spending in areas that hurt ordinary Malaysians the most: defence expenditure, bureaucratic wastage, and mega-projects that provide huge profits to ministers and developers, but little or no benefit to the people.
By Pak Bui
The 10th Malaysian Plan (10MP) is a misnomer. It does not serve Malaysian interests, and there is no viable planning on display.
The 10MP was “unveiled” with typical fanfare in Parliament like some work of art. The document was bound in a gaudy colourful cover, designed to distract from its lack of content and economic innovation. The 10MP is another prime example of outward appearance trumping substance in Malaysian politics.
Its true slogan should have been splashed across the cover: “Cronies First, Profits Now” (to paraphrase Apco and 1Israel).
The five year economic plan lays out a “development” expenditure of RM230 billion. The focus is fixed relentlessly on maximising income for UMNO cronies, and ensuring UMNO’s political survival, at the cost of ordinary Malaysians.
The 10MP makes no effort to reduce government spending in areas that hurt ordinary Malaysians the most: defence expenditure, bureaucratic wastage, and mega-projects that provide huge profits to ministers and developers, but little or no benefit to the people.
The 10MP provides pitifully inadequate encouragement for small- and medium-sized enterprises, crucial for our future. The blueprint pays no more than lip service to the training and education that are desperately needed to improve our employment prospects and income.
There is no substantial effort to improve the lives of the hardcore poor, including the neglected rural communities in Sarawak and Sabah, and the Orang Asli and estate Indians in peninsular Malaysia.
Read more at: http://hornbillunleashed.wordpress.com/2010/06/28/7782/
