The Reckoning
My message to the present leaders complicit with this unelected government is this – be forewarned that your days are numbered. You may be able to hide behind the Emergency for now, but living history shows that when a sitting Prime Minister or in this case a dictator loses power his world crumbles around him.
Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, Malaysia Dateline
Going by news reports, it seems as if the Perikatan Nasional / Barisan Nasional government is hell-bent on stealing the future from us and in particular our youth. First it was the delay in implementation of Undi18 which would have allowed our young from the age of 18 to vote in GE15.
Then it was irresponsibly encouraging citizens to withdraw their life savings from their EPF account as if it was a gift from this government when in fact it’s their own savings meant for their retirement. What the people need is meaningful and consistent aid on at least a monthly basis to help the vulnerable survive this crisis.
And most recently, the Finance Minister has announced that RM5.0 billion from reserves meant for future generations kept under Kumpulan Wang Amanah Negara will be withdrawn to pay for COVID-19 vaccines.
While admitting that the national debt has breached RM1.0 trillion, the said Minister also stated that the government continues to be saddled by liabilities incurred by 1MDB amounting to an estimated RM41.36 billion if not more, of which its repayment by the government may stretch over this decade and beyond. That’s not to mention the incalculable losses in opportunity costs to the nation. Also not forgetting SRC debt stands at approximately RM3.67 billion.
The financial strain that the 1MDB plunder has put on our national coffers is forcing the government to incur more debt by borrowings or to dig into our precious reserves. If it wasn’t for 1MDB, we could have easily paid for the cost of vaccines. Clearly we have Najib Razak and his gang of thieves to blame for this. And yet he has the audacity to suggest that siphoned 1MDB monies recovered from various so-called beneficiaries should be enough to pay off its debt. The culprit behind that international mega-scandal should not claim the moral high ground as if he had nothing to do with the crime of swindling the nation in the first place.
Despite getting Parliamentary approval for the unprecedented RM322.5 billion 2021 COVID budget and illegally appropriating via the purported Emergency Ordinances an additional RM300 billion more without Parliament’s scrutiny, the Prime Minister now admits that the government’s coffers is running dry and hence it’s now more difficult to manage this long and painful covid wave sparked from PN’s forced Sabah elections.
How is this possible? With over RM600 billion already approved, how is it that the Government still has to take RM5.0 billion KWAN money to pay for vaccines? This just doesn’t make sense. How is our nation’s financial interest protected when negotiating vaccine terms? We are scraping the bottom of the barrel in desperation.
This leaves the Rakyat with three conclusions. Either the PN/BN Government is criminally negligent in managing our national finances, or large sums of money is once again being siphoned out to satisfy their greed, or both. After all under an Emergency Declaration the usual checks and balances brought about by Parliament, media, civil society is no longer a problem for the perpetrators.
My message to the present leaders complicit with this unelected government is this – be forewarned that your days are numbered. You may be able to hide behind the Emergency for now, but living history shows that when a sitting Prime Minister or in this case a dictator loses power his world crumbles around him. PM6 is a fine example. The harder you oppress the Rakyat, the greater our thirst for justice.
So while PM8 is happily making hay for himself and his cronies, this party of excessive desires will inevitably come to an end. When that day arrives, there’ll be a reckoning like you’ve never witnessed before in the history of our country.