Show me the money
The only retributory consolation in this sorry state of affairs is that Mahathir lives to see how impossible he has made it for the people of this country to remove a corrupt regime
Neal K, Berita Daily
‘The state of the country’ is the easiest topic of conversation in Malaysia, where everyone can contribute – from scholarly political observers with their penchant for elaborate opinions, business analysts with their clever predictions, right down to the Indonesian maid who diligently updates her boss on how a handful of French beans now cost RM4.50 as opposed to one ringgit when she first arrived in Malaysia a few years ago.
Going by public perception, the state of the country is in a free fall.
How many people still care that Muhyiddin Yassin was unceremoniously sacked as deputy prime minister or that he’s been replaced by someone whose name refuses to stick in mind?
In fact, with Malaysian ministers being synonymous with corruption and idiotic statements – ‘take the longer route if you can’t afford rising toll fees’, ‘be grateful that subsidies are being removed’ – it’s no surprise that Malaysians do not care to remember their ministers’ names.
Likewise we care little that Muhyiddin is now openly working with Dr Mahathir Mohamad to oust his former boss.
The ‘council of elders’ proposed by Tun ‘to assist’ any future leader of the country is about as exciting as Najib declaring to Indians during Deepavali that Brickfields is his favourite place in KL.
We say bring on a council to undo the severe damage committed during Tun’s largely authoritarian, destructive reign.
The only retributory consolation in this sorry state of affairs is that Mahathir lives to see how impossible he has made it for the people of this country to remove a corrupt regime. As Mahathir throws arrow after ineffective arrow at Najib’s government, the public continues to lose hope.
Who has the time or energy to worry about the government being more than RM740 billion in external debt [from RM196 billion end-2013], when a high percentage of Malaysians, especially our youth, are debt ridden and going bankrupt?
It is indeed a grieving nation when you realise that people have come to accept months of harmful hazy conditions without any protest, or that we no longer bat an eyelid to grisly mass murders or nasty flash floods that cause a range of hardships etc. Students vaping publicly, doctors speaking bad English…least of our worries.
I’ll go as far as to say Malaysians will only be shocked if a member of the government, particularly a minister, does not come up with more novel pieces of advice…say for example “who says vaping is bad, it expands the lungs” or “we must be the change we want to be – why is it that 90% of medical journals are written and published in English? Why not in Malay?
In fact I have asked my ministry’s official website to shut down the English version because my staff say Google translator is very unreliable. Local students are also complaining they cannot rely on Google translator to do their theses. But it’s a government policy that no one should complain; rather, we must turn adversity into opportunity – like we said before… chicken too expensive don’t eat chicken. English bad, don’t use the language. Malaysia Boleh.”
