The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Vague principles, contradictory policies Posted: 05 Jul 2011 04:53 PM PDT JULY 6 — Some ideas are vague for a reason. In Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, the majority is afraid of commitment and responsibilities. It is simply impractical to have clear opinions or positions. Consistency arising from those opinions and positions is a barrier to success. One has to be pragmatic to be successful. Vagueness allows such pragmatism. To put it bluntly, it creates contradictions. That is not too far off from the truth in our world. That is not too far off from the political culture in Malaysia. There are vague positions and from those ambiguities, contradictions. 1 Malaysia is an example. Despite all efforts to explain it by far too many sides, 1 Malaysia is still an ambiguous concept. It appeals to the idea of inclusiveness and equality, yet those with distaste for these very liberal ideas are the ones promoting it. There are of course true blue egalitarians within Barisan Nasional who are also promoting 1 Malaysia but when both racialists and egalitarians are able to appeal to 1 Malaysia in contradictory terms, the concept itself cannot escape the accusation of being ambiguous. In the early stage of 1 Malaysia, one particular idea was floated around to justify its vagueness. It was "strategic ambiguity." It stated 1 Malaysia was made ambiguous on purpose so that it could be used to appease all sides. All sides can take ownership of 1 Malaysia by applying to it their own definition. That and its vagueness means 1 Malaysia is both everything and nothing, neither here nor there. Its ambiguity means it is not opposable. Given the feudalistic culture that prevails in Malaysia, in BN and in Umno in particular, there is an imperative to support it just because it came from the top. With nothing to oppose and everything to accept, it was good for BN and Umno in a time when both are just emerging from a relatively disastrous infighting. They needed a rallying call. A vague call seemed fine. Perhaps in its pretension that BN is a perfect replica of Malaysian society, they might have thought that what works for BN might work for Malaysia. The Malaysian society is more diverse than BN however. And because many Malaysians are outsiders to BN and are less enamored with feudalistic culture, they are more demanding in knowing why they should be on board with 1 Malaysia. At least, for those who care, anyway. After persistent ambiguity, many have become disinterested in defining 1 Malaysia. They have moved on. At the same time, 1 Malaysia sees relegation from a grand ambition contributing to national identity to a mere economic programme troubled by inconsistency. Today, in fact, 1 Malaysia is all about the government and Economic Transformation Programmes and nothing else. It is about projects. It is about buildings and infrastructure. It is about cold hard cash. But because the programmes are ultimately derived from the vague 1 Malaysia, it suffers from contradiction. The GTP and the ETP are market-driven but both embrace government intervention; price controls are everywhere. The ETP is privately sector-driven but these drivers are government-linked companies: Menara Warisan comes to mind. The best epitome of inconsistency is the term "market-friendly affirmative action." Again, 1 Malaysia in the end is about projects and cold hard cash. There is no principle governing it. Anything goes. To prove that this is really a prevailing political culture rather than merely one belonging exclusively to BN, members of Pakatan Rakyat themselves are not doing well in terms of ambiguity. The "negara berkebajikan" introduced by PAS is the latest example. What is it exactly? So far, the buzz has it that it is Islamic, it is not an Islamic state, it is not the welfare state concept and it is different from the system practised by the BN-led federal government. There is little clarification on why it is Islamic, why it is not an Islamic state, why it is not the welfare state and why it is different from BN policy. Apart from several key terms, it is ultimately vague. To be fair, PAS must be given time to articulate the idea, especially since the idea is creating a competition to the political centre. Nevertheless, the fact that concept was released before its articulation makes it susceptible to the same criticism directed against 1 Malaysia. Unless the articulation lifts the veil of ambiguity soon, "negara berkebajikan" will be a potpourri of contradictions, much like 1 Malaysia. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Posted: 05 Jul 2011 04:50 PM PDT JULY 6 — The ETP is meaningless. Or at least it is to the man on the street. "Where do they get the numbers from?" a fellow I know asks me. The only numbers that mean anything to him right now are the prices of his food. His shi cha (iced Chinese tea) and his chap fan (mixed rice) cost more these days while he isn't earning more. And that is the reality for most Malaysians as we find prices rising while our incomes remain flat. If the middle-class are feeling the pinch, what more those in the lower-income bracket? While the government spends millions on labs that are supposed to fix whatever problems we have, the poor remain poor. I get angry when those who know nothing of poverty claim that with hard work, anyone can buy what they want or be who they want to be. Poverty is called a trap for a reason. It is easier to fall out of wealth than to come into it. And for those already poor or born into poverty, the odds are against them from the start. I hear the same refrains from the same people about the so-called "poor and lazy." "Their own fault for having so many kids." "Lazy drunkards-lah they all." "We work hard, they should too. My tax money shouldn't be used to help them. They should help themselves." It is unfair to expect children brought up with poor nutrition, in squalid conditions and challenging home environments to do as well as the middle-class and wealthy. The rich have no right to expect the poor to save themselves when the wealth of a few hinges on the desperation of the many. Without sweatshops and cheap labour, we wouldn't be paying the low prices we do for all things from food to clothing. Malaysian employers are guilty of paying employees as little as they can get away with all in the name of profit. Henry Ford, when chided over the comparatively high wages he paid his workers, answered that if he didn't pay his workers enough, how could they afford to buy his cars? Poverty is a problem that breeds plenty of other problems. Crime, disease, social unrest — all these are exacerbated by poverty. Poverty is everyone's problem — not just the poor's. The economics of compassion works this way — lowering poverty levels isn't an act of generosity. It is not about feeling good or getting brownie points. It is sheer pragmatism. Fewer poor people equals more people spending money. Consumption, spending and spreading the ringgit around — that is the heart of capitalism. Eradicating poverty benefits the many but wealth is mainly concentrated in a collective of the few. I am not advocating a communist ideal where equality is artificially induced, with brute force if necessary. What I am saying is that addressing economic imbalance makes sense as well as sen. The first steps would be imposing fair wage policies and making quality education accessible to all income levels. Level the playing fields by making sure everyone will be empowered to support themselves and help poor and rich children alike get access to good public education at all levels. This world we were born into is a patently unfair one. We are all dealt hands which we have to play the best we can. But the world isn't a casino. It is not about cashing in, emptying the pot and taking everyone else for all they have. If life is a game, then it is one where we are all on the same side. Maybe those few star players may be paid a bit more while those players born without legs, do we leave them out of the game? Life is a better game when we make sure that everyone can play. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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