Ku Li: Remove subsidies from industries first, not the rakyat

Although it is high time for the government to finally rationalise its subsidies, it must still be done selectively so it will not unnecessarily burden the public.

Gua Musang MP Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah pointed out that the government should begin removing the subsidies that benefit industries first, instead of subsidies that benefits the nation and people as a whole.

“I think it’s high time that the government rationalise the subsidy, but it must be very selective, the subsidy benefiting the industries should be the first to be removed, and not burden the consumers,” said Razaleigh during a press conference at the Perkasa’s 4th Annual General Meeting (AGM) today.

When asked what the government can do to balance subsidy rationalisation and public concerns without an adverse effect on Malaysia’s economy, Razaleigh said competitiveness and control of best practices is very important as it can stop monopolisation.

“There are many options. But my immediate response is, the government has done a lot, but one of the things that should be done is to control best practices so that there won’t be too much monopoly.

“It’s the monopolistic position that some people own that is strangling the people who need these products. Sometimes these items never reach the consumers or it is difficult or too expensive because it is being controlled,” said Razaleigh.

Earlier, during his officiating address, Razaleigh also advised Perkasa on strengthening the Malays first so that it no longer becomes dependent on the government as the way forward on the Malay economic and development agenda.

Pointing out that Malay key personnel in the corporate sector has dropped significantly, where even legendary Malay brands like ‘Orang Kampung’ and ‘Aminah Hassan’ have been taken over by non-Malays.

“These worrying developments have nothing to do with racial quotas or the denial of Malay rights. But the real issue is that the Malays are not able to have the resilience and compete in face of the challenges and difficulties of an increasingly complex business environment.

“Based on these developments, I believe it is necessary for us to fight for a Malaysian Malay community that is more disciplined, skillfully trained, knowledgeable and have the exposure to develop the resilience and competitiveness to go against anyone, anywhere no matter the situation or circumstances,” said Razaleigh.

He said that there are many methods to strengthen the Malay and bumiputera communities such as an active economic cluster (two party or tripartite) to create a win-win scenario for all involved, including those in the small time agriculture sector such as small scale farmers and fishermen.

“We must channel our energy and change our train of thoughts towards a more creative and innovative way of thinking. We must increase our efficiency and skillset so we may elevate ourselves and become more competitive,” said Razaleigh.