The rise of Najibnomics-1

 

Let me qualify what I want to write first. In person, Dato Seri Najib is an exceedingly decent fellow. I will readily admit that as a person, he is someone whom we can turn to for help. He has all the refined mannerisms, testimony of course of a good upbringing. I don't think people can dispute these. But I am not going to make an article about love fest. We can go on and on singing praises if we choose to.

That aside, I shall be failing in my duty as a citizen, if I don't offer criticisms on matters related to him in his capacity as leader of this country. His leadership, his economic ideas, his politics. I want to tell readers it's not easy to balance personal feelings and the demands of intellectual integrity. I was a division committee member of the Pekan UMNO division, his information chief during the wilderness years( 2004-2008), a state assemblyman from his area( 2004-2008).

Therefore I have chosen to write, as the late Professor Paul Samuelson said, from the heart, sans malice.

Nothing excites anyone currently than the ETP. Economic Transformation Plan. So I shall write on this.

I shall refrain from going into details of the ETP- Economic Transformation Program. Some people say it's a smorgasbord. I have used that term before and so this time I used a local flavor- the term rojak. 

There is actually a better term to describe our present euphoria over the business plans. Its Najibnomics.

What does the Najibnomics ETP contain? It has 131 entry point projects( ouch) and 60 business opportunities that will be casted into our country's economic mainstream. The objective is to propel our economy to a high income economy.

The blogger Outsyed The box has carried out a detailed dissection of the ETP. There appears to be a sense of dejection in his narration. Just like him, Malaysians in general are mere spectators. Because the entity in the driver's seat, aptly named Pemandu said that seven of the EPPs worth US$37 billion have named serious investors while 12 EPPs worth US$10 billion are at the MoU stage.

What that means, my friends, all are spoken for. So what the ETP essentially is a business plan by the elite for the elite. It's an economic plan from the elite, by the elite, for the elite. These are the core elements of Najibnomics. The same business elite are still getting the bigger slices.

Why has it turned into this? Because, basically, the age of government knows best, far from being diminished is fortified further. When we start from the premise that we know best, we micromanage everything, all the time believing we are furthering the cause of economic freedom and the celebration of the voluntary cooperation of economic actors.

I am going to argue, that is the blatant volte face from our earlier declaration that the age of the government knows best is over. That was pure rhetoric and a heap of BS. This ETP in its present form is just the embodiment of enlarged government and collectivist tendencies. Except now, the deceit is more subtle.

The promotion of collectivism is combined with the declaration and profession of individualist values. Hence very early on, on this basis, the 6^th PM was able to solemnly declare, the age of government knows best is over. Many of us climaxed on hearing that because we thought it was a revolutionary idea that is going to herald the rise of freedom in the widest sense of the word. In economics, it suggested liberalisation and downsizing of government.

The ETP is the personification of the every notion of the age of government knows best. In actuality, the people don't know, are not aware and left as gawking spectators exclaiming the ooohs and aahhs. Not sure whether those sounds are sounds of sexual bemoaning.

The ETP as the public face of Najibnomics unveiled recently , was just that- allowing the people to see what has been done. It's all done, even if the PM were to later say, these are all at the lab stage- nothing finalised yet. We have paid large sums of money to get these business plans out, making it ridiculous to term them as being preliminary plans.

Indeed, the notion of big government which the PM appeared initially to be against, is on the rise, not decline. But the language is more artful.

We hear little of central planning. Instead we hear more of concern about the urban crisis solvable it is said by expanded government programs. Hence the Klang giver or whatever river, will become the river of life. The millions of people will be provided housing under the direction and inducement of the government.

We hear more people turning green- suddenly championing the causes of climate and ecology. The environmental catastrophe it is said, produced by rapacious businessmen who must be forced to discharged or persuaded to carry out CSR. The only compliant rapacious business people it seems are already identified and known and they were on parade during the open day.

What is missing so far? The initial idea of ushering in an age of less and smaller government can only happen within an individualistic society. This can be achieved only in a liberal order in which the government activity is limited primarily to establishing the framework within which individuals are free to pursue their own objectives.

So when Nazir Tun Razak and others said its time for government to take a back seat, it means just that. But I fear, his and other's voices are whispers from the fringes. The central politburo boys are taking over.