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Sakmongkol ak 47

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Friday 10 August 2012

Najib's Voodoo Economics


Why is the government fudging over the issue of giving back what it owes the Kelantan government? That’s RM7.4 billion. The deal and agreement was signed between the Kelantan government and the Federal government represented by the 1st Chairman of PETRONAS- Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.
Why the double talk? Why the need to form a special committee overseeing the payment of oil money owed? Is it because UMNO is so accustomed to playing the role of the rent seeker? 
I have asked earlier, wouldn’t it save public funds, if the government asks Tengku Razaleigh what the agreement entails? He is still UMNO right? So why is he treated with mistrust? Najib was carrying his bag when he was working for Tengku Razaleigh.
And why is it the government implicitly mistrusts the Terengganu government by controlling the oil royalties that should be given to Terengganu? During Abdullah Badawi’s time, the appointment of the oil money was effectively controlled by Patrick Lim and his cohorts. Terengganu’s money was being managed by people at the Federal level because the Terengganu folks won’t know how to handle the money. So you have the floating mosques, the crystal mosque, the monsoon cup complexes, a village consisting of a constellation of RM1 million holiday homes in Pulau Duyung and all that. Every kilometer you have grandiose mosques built where polyclinics are more needed. You have ample number of mosques in Terengganu
The answer is, because the federal government wants to command the use of the money and appoint it to uses it thinks fit. All in furtherance of its political interests.This flouts the cardinal rule of  better we to manage our money than someone else. The states must have independence in managing their own finances.
The truth is, the federal UMNO leaders themselves don’t trust the provincial UMNO leaders. Also the federal government jealously guards its concentration of powers. It will not allow the functioning of the true concept of the federation of independent states with their own legislative assemblies.
The oil money was first transferred into a Terengganu Sovereign Fund and later absorbed into 1MDB. Now, it’s given back to Terengganu on the quiet side fearing that Kelantan may want the same. But the money is applied in questionable ways. Is the oil money used to build the RM1 billion new palace for the Terengganu King? The oil money it seems is more generously applied to the benefits of the elite and selected few.
The monies are justifiably owed to the state. The essence of a federation is the arrangement whereby each state exercises its own autonomy over a broad range of matters including control over its income and subsequent appointment of that income. The federal government has no business to restrict this independence.
So why is the federal government acting as the obsessive big brother to the individual states? The answer is because Najib like the PMs before him likes to concentrate power in his hands or in the hands of a selected cabal consisting of likeminded and pliant minds with the support and connivance from the business cronies.  We have seen the adverse effects of this-the drive to extend the scope of government in general, is mostly led by men of good will who will be the first to rue its consequences. The meaning of this artful description simply means, power corrupts the power holders.
Najib and those economic commissars must understand this. The great advances in civilization have never come from centralized government. We don’t advance because of a directive from central government. Similarly, our economy will not advance because, Pemandu directs it. Economic advances are the product of individual geniuses in Balakong, in Old Klang Road, in Sungai Besi, in Felda schemes and the result of the exertions of the mind and body of individual entrepreneurs. They do not come from central government.
Just look at the pace of economic advancement between the Malaysian Chinese and Malays. Why is the pace of economic advancement of Malays slower than that of the Malaysian Chinese?
The general answer is, the Chinese are largely left to develop on their own individualism depending primarily on the exertions of their minds and body. The Malays on the other hand depend on central directives and, using the favorite words of the PM- initiatives and his patronage. How clever and omnipotent is Najib to think that he can plan for the entire country? He is no bigger than the market.
The people in Balakong, in Sungai Besi, in Old Klang Road, in Sungai Buloh Industrial area, as well as in other places are able to develop better and faster because, central directives are weakest there.
Because of that, as we are now seeing, the Chinese are forming a better check on the excesses of the government. UMNO responds to this by vilifying the Chinese and driving a wedge between harmonious race relations Malays are missing out on this action. By relying primarily on private enterprise, the Malaysian Chinese can ensure they become an effective check on the powers of a government. Not only that, economic power IS an effective protection of freedom of speech, of religion and of thought.
Will the Muslim scholar arrive at a different personal view if he were a man of independent resources not depending on the government for his livelihood? Ask an independent scholar what he thinks and we will get a different answer and indeed he will likely say, support to UMNO and its political cabal is forbidden and haram.

5 comments:

Pok Li,  10 August 2012 at 22:39  

The one answer to your many "WHY" questions is greed. And that's what UMNO is. Of course if you ask any independent Islamic scholar, the answer will be its HARAM to support UMNO for this reason alone.

bruno,  11 August 2012 at 04:25  

Dato,Najib's voodoo economics do not work anymore,as it is having no effects on people who do not support Umno/BN.Even Umno supporters are having doubts of what Najib and his Umno/BN can do for them.What they are seeing are Umno cronies getting contracts for big federal projects.Umnoputras and cronies are getting richer,while their grassroots supporters are getting nowhere,getting to scalp for a living through the garbage.

Maybe Najib and Muhyiddin should appologised to Taib for trying to kick him below the belt during the last Sarawak elections.Then maybe Taib would let them borrow his voodoo witch doctor.Taib is having fun ruling Sarawak like a white rajah.He is very powerful and afraid of no federal Umnoputras,because of his voodoo witch doctor's black magic.

Not that Taib is just strong and powerful as a tyrant.His voodoo witch doctor has blessed him with super natural libido.No wonder he is able to make his young like a grand daughter first lady groan and moan like a wildcat lady.Afterall power is all about lust and money.

Three Trees,  11 August 2012 at 09:26  

Dato Sak, It is plain and simple,if your enterprise is the result of your own effort it will pain you to see how the government has wasted all the taxpayers money.You will then exert pressure on the Government through the ballot box.BN knows it that's why you have Pemandu who think they can drive the economy but alas it is not to be,the economy becomes the driver

Anonymous,  11 August 2012 at 09:38  

Dato'

The answer is as simple as ABC. Which economic system ultimately triumphed - free market or central command? The central command system collapsed in 1989 but here in Malaysia, the government likes to stick its fingers in every type of business.

Salam.
Observer

Sabah Sifu 11 August 2012 at 16:44  

Dato’, Najib’s voodoo economics will only work when there are limitless money in the coffer. Unless and until he is willing to kow tow to Mahathir and beg for it, I am afraid the money in the coffer is drying faster than he can blink his eyes. NO one in Malaysia today is seriously thinking about putting money in the coffer, everyone is just know how to spend, spend and spend more (his wife is no exception).
This is one of the reasons he is banking on the Razak Exchange. The idea for this exchange is not to create 500,000 jobs, far from it; the idea for this exchange is to allow CERTAIN banks to print the much needed money freely without increasing the M1 and M3 supplies. This is important to suppress the inflation figures of this country.
IF I am Najib, I will not waste my time and effort (and get bad publicity) with the Razak Exchange or the listing of lucrative IPOs just so my war chest is full to the brim. I will go and break the source of Mahathir’s fund – I will go and break PETRONAS.

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