Problems Malaysians Have (or Are Being)

I am having an annual assessment for my current occupation this Wednesday, so I am supposed to study. I can't. I just can't. I need to write this. Well, due to Tun M's recent fever, I can safely quote him on writing more because he loves to write.

Here goes. I shall write this in a most reflective manner possible, mainly because it involves each of us Malaysians. If you're not a Malaysian, just read this to kill time.

Problems with Malaysians today.

Blame the parents. Or blame the previous government for the last 61 years. Malaysians only know how to ASK. LIKE A BEGGAR. There I said it.

Do you know why Malaysians remain as a developing nation despite our rich source?

Corruption? Partly.

We can't conveniently blame our current nation's state to the corrupted officials. Yes they are the ones who openly stole our money. But they would have never been able to do that if we did not allow them. We were the ones that allowed them to do so.

Yes, it is us Malaysians. We are at fault.

Why?

Because we only know how to sit there and expect people to give everything to us. We depend on the government for everything. From 1957, we depended on the British to give us independence. It was only an effort from the late Tunku Abdul Rahman's side to fight for independence. From the very beginning, the people there already had it easy. Independence without shedding a blood and sweat.

Over time, Malaysians (I shall use Malaysians here so as not to incite any racial hate) became so dependent on handouts that the corrupted government decided to use this to their advantage. The previous wins for BN was mainly due to government giving handouts (cash, rice, water supply) to the people, making them believing that there is such thing called free lunch in this world. They, citizens of Malaysia, were reduced to being beggars, believing that they exist just to exist unless some Good Samaritan in the guise of a government gave them something out of the ordinary. As the result, they felt that they do not have to work hard because they will be fed by the government. Such is past.

Due to this "give me" mentality, Malaysians here were so lazy to do blue collar jobs that the government decided to hire foreign labour instead. This is why nowadays in KL we see Bangladeshis, Indonesians and Burmese as cooks for local cuisines. They were the ones preparing Malay food, mamak food, Chinese food etc. We see Nepalese working as security guards in commercial buildings and banks. Our safety were in these foreigners' hands. Why? Because Malaysians are too proud to do those jobs. They do not want to work hard for their own nation yet want to reap all benefits. I can safely say that the foreign labour are the main contributors to building MRT, LRT and high-rise buildings. Oh and roads. For us spoilt Malaysians to drive onto, and then contribute to accidents due to their own lack of common sense on the road.

In Malaysia, we have cleaners in fast food restaurants who clear our tray. I think this only happens in Malaysia. In first world countries like Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Australia, customers clear their own trays. In Malaysia also, we have grass cutters and plumbers attending our households and gardens. You don't see this in developed nations like Australia or England. Your house, your responsibility. Each resident of a household is responsible for cutting grass, while the other person is responsible for fixing a blocked sink. Again, this is apparent that Malaysians are too lazy to even cut grass or clear up their tables in a fast food restaurant.

Need me say more?

Yes, of course.

I find being a Malaysian pretty shameful lately. We want a 93-year-old old man to implement abolishing GST, yet we do not do something to contribute to this. As Malaysians, I believe our role is so much more than just colouring our finger with indelible ink. We do not need to wait for a group of elders to help us abolish GST and clear off RM600 billion worth of debt. We do not just sit there and complain to a 93-year-old man regarding the expensive price of goods.

We can do much more than that. Malaysians good in economics and finance, contribute. I do not know how to contribute as I am not an expert in this, but surely there is something I can contribute to. Malaysians having abundant knowledge on technology, be part of digital advancement of the nation. Malaysians well-equipped with education, contribute to education paradigm shift.

Maybe I should reconsider taking Masters. Just maybe.

Malaysians, please walk the talk. Work, not complain.

Why Malaysians Forgive Tun Dr Mahathir (TDM)

"A pen is mightier than a sword."

One of the reasons why Tun Dr Mahathir (TDM) was so articulate and eloquent (he still is) is due to his excessive writing habits in the 70s, as claimed by his truly in his Instagram account. If he was able to write so many despite being a busy doctor, there is no reason why I could not get up and write this piece of essay.

Now, as the title goes, I believe that there are still some individuals out there who still could not forgive TDM and wondered why majority of Malaysians did. They could not understand why Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (DSAI), the man whom TDM sent to jail decades ago, decided to forgive him and let him anchor the party he led during his tenure in prison.

But why?

After all, TDM was the one who started the racism shit, taking away rakyats' (Malaysians) freedom of speech and then oppressing them over the years (Ops Lalang, ISA, DSAI scandal etc), mega corruption and mostly just himself being power hungry. Najib just continued his legacy right? Melayu mudah lupa ke? (Do Malays forget easily?)

Yes he did.

And now he is paying the price of it. He became Prime Minister twice in Malaysia, but under different circumstances. When he first took over the role in 1981, Malaysia was in good hands under Tun Hussein Onn, who was Bapa Perpaduann (Father of Unity) back then. The value of MYR was almost equal to SGD during that time, and was trading steadily around 1:2.5 for USD:MYR. One can own a house with only RM10k needed. Of course one may argue that there was recession in 1980s during his tenure, but at least that happened DURING his tenure, not inherited by previous ruler. At present, Malaysia has a total national debt (not including gross external debt) of RM648 billion. And to whom Malaysians owe the most money to, among the RM648 billion? EPF (Employee Provident Fund) and PTF (Pension Trust Fund). In layman's terms, our future money. Government owes us Malaysians money. It makes sense if government is borrowing Malaysians' funds for development of the country. But, what type of development does our country experience? For transportation, we have inconvenient railway lines of which majority of Malaysians prefer to depend on their own vehicles due to convenience. Going digital? Long way to go, as compared to our tiny island neighbour. Health? Using others' technology. Oil and gas? Mostly dependent on contractors (no offense really). So where does the money go to? And now TDM had to lessen the huge debt which was not in balance with our country's treasury. A huge headache for him to inherit.

Then again, why was he willingly taking the trouble to inherit the shit (which people might argue that it was caused by him at the first place) at an age of 93? Malaysia might be the next Greece if he didn't do something, but why him?

Some time ago, TDM apologized after years of criticizing Najib's shortcomings in administrating the country. To me, it began to hit him that his past doings of corruption and money laundering (with his minister friends whom I shall not name) for decades finally took a toll in Malaysia...in the hands of greedy Najib. He began to see the rotten side effects of corruption. Malaysia, a country with high potential of development and success, is currently a laughingstock, with its economy slowly being penetrated by PRC investors. Malaysian pride were all flushed down the drain. No one cares about Twin Towers anymore when there were news of 1MDB scandal everywhere, which even involved international celebrities (Leonardo diCaprio, Miranda Kerr).  And he could see Malaysians' spending power decreased significantly every year, to the point of resorting to #2kerja (doing 2 jobs) just to cope with increasing daily expenses.

Honestly, I was doubting his intention in apologizing and him re-entering politics. But if you actually used your brain to think through, it does not make sense for him, a 92-year-old retiree, to shoulder the responsibility while trying to correct the wrong. To someone like him, it is not worth going through all the trouble wasting energy and brain cells to take over a country full of debts and lost confidence. With millions of eyes (especially MPs in the cabinet from his own team) watching him, it doesn't make sense for him to try to embezzle government's funds. For his son? Perhaps, maybe 20 years down the road which was a very uncertain thing so there is no way for him to put on such a huge risk for something uncertain. Any possible agenda? I honestly do not know. He may have some agendas that you and I cannot think of, but to me if it does not concern us rakyat, then why should it matter?

I only know that he walks the talk. He wanted to bring down Najib and the totalitarian government, and he did. He stepped up into politics, joined the campaigns, faced snide remarks and humiliation by Malaysians whom he used to serve for and gave endless talks in an opposition party, of whom those people used to hate him to guts. He walked through the fire and went through all the trouble, just to keep his promise to the rakyat. And he did. He worked immediately after having his Prime Minister post officiated just to keep his promise to the rakyat. He immediately requested for Royal Pardon towards DSAI by Yang di-Pertuan Agong (YDPA) right after becoming the Prime Minister, just to keep his promise to DSAI and Pakatan Harapan (PH) members.

He is a man of his words. So there is every single reason why we can take his apology, word by word to heart.

Now that I see glimpse of hope in Malaysia, I wish to be part of the contribution towards advancement of Malaysian economics. I wish. I wish. I wish. I believe there will be opportunities.

Thank you, TDM for restoring faith towards Malaysians. Thank you, TDM for keeping your promises.