Time to end the party

 

(Sin Chew Daily) – You get everything you ask for, so long as you throw your unreserved support behind the strongman.

“When is Malaysia’s party going to end?” a friend living overseas texted me.

“Not before the general election,” I replied.

“Then get the election over soon before the country is bankrupted,” he returned.

I understand what he means. Party is supposed to bring on fun, but if the party goes on and on, we would be drained of energy soon.

This is how a party is like in a democratic country. To fish for electoral votes, we have to make sure everyone has a lot of fun and is fully contented.

The BN government keeps delivering generous goodies. After the 1Malaysia assistance fund 1.0, we now have the 2.0 version; and if the election is won, a 3.0 version with doubled handout amounts is in the pipeline.

Malaysians are enormously thrilled. Even the ah kong, ah mah, pakcik and makcik who can hardly read A-B-C are so well versed with the BR1M acronym.

Of course, according to studies, the political fallout is remarkable; the BN sees its support rate climbing.

Not to be outdone, Pakatan Rakyat came out with its own manifesto, pledging at least RM4,000 for every household, minimal monthly wage tagged at RM1,100, free tertiary education, toll-free highways and marked-down utility tariffs, if the opposition pact were to take Putrajaya.

The government was quick to respond with a RM2bn pledge to raise the wages and perks for the country’s 1.42 million-strong civil servants.

PAS retaliated within several hours, “We’ll give what BN will give, and more!”

I SUDDENLY think of the just deceased Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez.

Despite mounting challenges he faced during the past four elections, Chavez managed to thump his rivals each time and get elected.

He had the support of majority of voters, particularly those in middle to lower tiers of society.

He would continue to win big mandates to lead his country if not because of his premature death from cancer.

Chavez had his way of winning the people’s hearts. His unwavering stand against the US and Western capitalism won him countless of fans, at home and abroad.

But that was not the point. What catapulted him to prominence was his ability to please his people.

In oil-rich Venezuela, Chavez was quick to approve any request for cheaper petrol.

So, a litre of petrol goes for only six Malaysian cents, and you won’t need anything more than RM3 to fill your petrol tank to the brim.

Only in this Latin American country, not the Arab states, would you find petrol cheaper than water.

Fuel consumption has gone unchecked. Driving around has become the biggest national pastime, creating endless traffic snarls and choking air pollution.

Excess petroleum could have gone into the lucrative export markets but has been squandered indiscriminately, thanks to dirt cheap fuel costs.

Chavez still worried he didn’t please his followers enough, so he dished out free tertiary education, free medical care, generous housing and food subsidies, and kept a large army of civil servants on government payroll.

You get everything you ask for, so long as you throw your unreserved support behind the strongman.

Venezuela has lost its productivity, its corporate competitiveness waning, but don’t worry, Chavez would acquire bad companies and transfer their liabilities to the government.

Fiscal deficits are expanding by the year, public debts skyrocketing, local currency plummeting by some 90% and inflation rates rising to alarming levels.

The country could have gone bankrupt before Greece if not for oil.

What is happening in Venezuela should serve as a a valuable lesson for Malaysia’s politicians.