The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Selagi tidak mengaku boros, selagi itu masalah berlarutan Posted: 06 Oct 2013 06:46 PM PDT Penulis adalah seorang jurutera semikonduktor, wartawan freelance, penerbit dan editor buku motivasi yang suka mengikuti perkembangan politik Malaysia Kerajaan Barisan Nasional (BN) pimpinan Datuk Seri Najib Razak berkata hasrat mereka di 2013 ialah untuk mengurangkan defisit bajet ke paras 3.5% di 2014 daripada 4%. Jika betul itu adalah niat Najib, dan selaku Menteri Kewangan, beliau perlu memastikan jumlah pembelanjaan operasi kerajaan tidak lagi ditambah tanpa perlu. Jika betul pengurangan defisit bajet itu adalah sasaran utama kerajaan Najib, selaku Perdana Menteri, beliau harus menunjukkan contoh yang sesuai. Tapi tidak. Selepas menaikkan harga minyak sebanyak 20 sen untuk RON95 dan diesel, kerajaan pimpinan Najib meminta lagi bajet tambahan sebanyak RM14 bilion di Dewan Rakyat. Sudah tentu, kerajaan BN mengharapkan rakyat terlupa bahawa di bulan Julai, kerajaan BN telah meminta bajet tambahan sebanyak RM13 bilion. Jadi jumlah yang diminta ialah RM27 bilion dalam tempoh kurang 3 bulan. Menakjubkan, ke mana semua duit itu nak dibelanjakan? Kerajaan juga berkata mereka terpaksa mengurangkan subsidi minyak demi kesejahteraan ekonomi, tapi kerajaan tidak pernah memaklumkan pada rakyat bagaimana duit lebihan daripada untung jual minyak kerana harga tinggi minyak di pasaran dunia telah dihabiskan. Semasa "mengurangkan subsidi minyak" (bukan menaikkan harga minyak mengikut kata timbalan Menteri Kewangan, Datuk Ahmad Maslan), Najib berkata kerajaan bakal dapat berjimat sebanyak RM1.1 bilion untuk bulan-bulan yang tertinggal di 2013. Ini bermakna jumlah 'tambahan' yang diperlukan kerajaan pimpinan Najib ini sejak Julai yang lalu melebihi RM28.1 bilion. Jumlah bajet 2013 hanyalah RM251.6 bilion. Dinisbahkan dengan apa yang diminta sebagai bajet tambahan oleh kerajaan BN ialah 11.1% daripada jumlah bajet 2013. Perbelanjaan operasi 2013 ialah RM201.9 bilion manakala perbelanjaan pembangunan hanya RM49.7 bilion. Persoalannya, RM28.1 bilion yang dicari ini akan digunakan di mana? Pembangunan atau operasi? Apakah ini akibat kelemahan membuat perancangan bajet? Jika digunakan di bahagian operasi, persoalan yang harus ditanya ialah, apakah operasi yang meningkatkan bajet 2013? Apakah ia kerana boros berbelanja agensi dan syarikat milik kerajaan yang sanggup membeli jam bernilai RM100 pada harga RM3,810? RM201.9 bilion bukan satu angka yang kecil. Takkan 6 bulan sudah tidak cukup bajet? Jika begitu, wajarkah untuk Najib membelanjakan RM2.88 juta untuk Rumah Terbuka Hari Raya tatkala tahu perbelanjaan kerajaan sudah melepasi bajet yang ditetapkan? Harus diingat RM2.88 juta hanya untuk Rumah Terbuka Hari Raya di Seri Perdana sahaja – belum lagi Rumah Terbuka Hari Raya di semua rumah menteri dan menteri besar, kementerian, jabatan-jabatan dan sebagainya. Begitu juga kos penerbangan jet Najib yang menelan RM100 juta untuk tiga tahun yang lepas. Betul ke Najib sahaja yang guna jet? Ataupun ada menteri lain yang turut sama guna tetapi tidak dilaporkan lagi? Situasi yang sama juga dilihat pada Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Tan Sri Muhyiddin yang sanggup membiarkan Kementerian Pelajaran membelanjakan RM20 juta untuk firma pakar runding antarabangsa bagi penyediaan Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia (PPPM) 2012-2015. Kalau jemput Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad dan pakar-pakar akademik yang sudah bersara yang memahami masalah pendidikan negara, sudah tentunya kosnya kurang berganda dan hasilnya jauh lebih memuaskan. Mengapa jalan tersebut tidak diambil? Apabila Laporan Ketua Audit Negara (KAN) 2012 keluar, akhirnya rakyat disedarkan lagi ke mana duit tambahan yang diminta 2013 itu bakal digunakan. Ia digunakan bukan untuk menutup kebocoran kewangan, tetapi untuk sekadar menampal kebocoran kewangan. Alasan kerajaan untuk mengurangkan subsidi minyak demi kestabilan ekonomi juga hancur berkecai kerana dalam laporan KAN jelas bahawa subsidi kepada rakyat bukan punca kepada masalah terbesar kewangan negara iaitu defisit dan hutang. Masalah terbesar ini para pemimpin dan agensi-agensi kerajaan kita boros. Mereka tidak amanah dalam menjaga duit rakyat. Mereka tidak mengganggap duit rakyat itu sebagai harta yang perlu dijaga dan digunakan cermat seperti duit mereka sendiri di dalam bank. Antara misteri terbesar pembelanjaan di 2013 ialah kos yang digunakan kerajaan untuk mengendalikan PRU13. Tidak pasti samada Jabatan Audit akan membongkar perkara ini di laporan 2014 kelak. Bagaimana rakyat boleh disuruh mengikat tali perut tatkala para pemimpin kerajaan tidak menunjukkan satu teladan yang baik? Bagaimana defisit negara boleh berkurangan? Bagaimana hendak kurangkan hutang negara sedangkan perbelanjaan semakin bertambah kerana pembelian pada harga menjengkelkan? Semua sedang tertanya dan bertanya. Hutang negara ketika Najib mengambil alih negara ialah 40% KDNK (Keluaran Dalam Kasar Negara) di 2009, kini ialah 53.3% daripada KDNK. Sepatutnya di tahun 2013, defisit kerajaan dapat dikurangkan ke 4% berbanding 4.5% di 2012. Tapi dengan pertambahan 11% perbelanjaan daripada bajet 2013- secara kasarnya mengikut pemerhati ekonomi, ini bakal melonjakkan angka defisit dan nisbah hutang dan KDNK Malaysia ke paras yang lebih tinggi. Namun dengan kehebatan pasukan penasihat yang "memandu" dan membantu Najib, perkara ini sudah tentu tidak menjadi masalah untuk dijawab. Bukankah pasukan yang sama ini sering melawan arus ketika rakyat mengadu jenayah semakin meningkat dengan mengeluarkan angka-angka yang menunjukkan jenayah semakin menurun? Bagi mereka, yang penting ialah angka di atas kertas yang boleh membuatkan Najib senyum lega. Realiti dan perasaan rakyat ialah soal lain, mereka dibayar untuk menghasilkan angka di atas kertas yang boleh diwar-warkan sebagai kejayaan Najib dan pasukan mereka. Begitu juga dengan Bajet 2014. Angka yang bakal dipersembahkan nanti mungkin menarik tapi segalanya akan hilang maknanya sekiranya tahun depan kerajaan BN meminta bajet tambahan lagi. Rakyat sebenarnya sedang menunggu hari di mana kerajaan BN akan mengaku dirinya boros. Ramai tahu, selagi kerajaan BN enggan mengaku ia boros berbelanja, selagi itu masalah ekonomi negara tidak akan selesai. Hanya dengan mengaku boros, kerajaan BN akan tahu apa yang perlu dibuat untuk mengurangkan belanja. Hanya dengan mengaku boros, Najib akan melakukan sesuatu untuk mengurangkan pembelanjaan operasi kerajaan sebelum menekan rakyat dengan mengurangkan subsidi. Hanya dengan kerajaan BN mengaku boros, barulah ekonomi negara ada harapan untuk pulih; kerana soalan seterusnya ialah – "Dah tahu boros, kawallah belanja!" Jika tidak, yang dihujahkan hanya – "Duit tak cukup, kami perlu bajet tambahan" – tanpa malu, setiap kali Parlimen bersidang manakala rakyat disuruh bercermat dalam perbelanjaan mereka untuk mengharungi inflasi dahsyat yang bakal menjelang. Oleh itu, saya bersetuju dengan pandangan pemimpin PAS, Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man agar satu himpunan ala-Bersih untuk membantah penyelewengan kewangan yang tertera di laporan audit. Rakyat perlu disedarkan mengenai kepincangan kewangan negara seperti kempen Bersih mengenai kepincangan sistem pilihanraya. Biar setiap pelosok rakyat perlu disedarkan mengenai masalah yang membelenggu kewangan negara seperti masalah yang menyebabkan kepincangan sistem pilihanraya. Walaupun cadangan himpunan ini datang daripada PAS, seperti mana juga Bersih yang dimulakan oleh parti-parti politik, akhirnya inisiatif melawan kepincangan kewangan negara perlu diterajui rakyat. Jangan biar sampai hari di mana kerajaan BN dan Pakatan Rakyat bertanding untuk menunjukkan "siapa yang kurang boros" dan bukannya "siapa lebih hebat mengurus kewangan" barulah rakyat Malaysia menyesal. Sumber negara banyak, tetapi ia tetap terhad dan akan habis. Dengan kebocoran kewangan hari ini, ia akan habis jauh lebih cepat daripada masa yang sepatutnya dan yang merana hanyalah anak-anak dan cucu-cicit kita. Bertindaklah sekarang rakyat Malaysia! – 7 Oktober, 2013. * Ini adalah pendapat peribadi penulis dan tidak semestinya mewakili pandangan The Malaysian Insider. | |
| Posted: 06 Oct 2013 04:36 PM PDT
"If this law is passed, it will be a black day in Malaysia." Standing two rows in front of me, N. Surendran, the Member of Parliament for Padang Serai, held the floor defiantly. I nodded my head solemnly. At that point, a feeling of frustration had overcome me. Not only because such a critical bill was being bulldozed through without proper consultation and engagement, despite its huge ramifications on civil liberties and human rights, but also because, seated on the opposition bench, there was very little we could do to either stop or delay it. I glanced at the clock behind the Speaker. By the end of the day, two previously repealed draconian laws would return to haunt Malaysia. How did we come to this? From transformation to regression Datuk Seri Najib Razak's reign as prime minister began with all the trappings of a grand reformer. In an attempt to unite a divided nation, he proffered the pseudo-national slogan of "1Malaysia", defined by his official website as "a belief in the importance of national unity irrespective of race or religious belief". Najib also articulated a fresh economic agenda, dubbed the New Economic Model (NEM), in which he proposed a clear departure from the racially charged New Economic Policy (NEP) of the last four decades. In this paradigm shift, state monopolistic practices and race-based discrimination were set to be replaced by market liberalisation and needs-based affirmative action in favour of the poor. Underpinning both the 1Malaysia concept as well as the NEM was an important keyword: transformation. This keyword has since manifested into a host of government initiatives such as the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), through which Najib's transformative reforms were converted into actionable projects and policies. Najib's euphoria, unfortunately, was not to last. Barely three years on, transformation has descended into regression. Today, 1Malaysia remains nothing more than a brand for subsidised sundry shops, mobile clinics, affordable housing schemes, budget menus and even textile retailers, while the NEM has given way to a rehashed NEP in the form of the recently announced Bumiputera Economic Empowerment Agenda (BEEA). What is most tragic, however, is the unabashed about-turn by the Najib administration over laws allowing for detention without trial. In 2011, Najib led a hyperbolic charge to dismantle two existing legislations that provided for detention without due judicial process, i.e. the Emergency (Public Order and Crime Prevention) Ordinance (EO) and the notorious Internal Security Act (ISA). This represented a giant leap forward towards greater civil liberties and respect for human rights in Malaysia, considering the fact that both laws have been much abused over the years as a tool of political intimidation, often against legitimate political opponents. Announced via live telecast to a nationwide audience and proudly reiterated in the international fora, Najib was adamant in presenting himself as a champion of liberal reforms. In an interview with the BBC, he even promised that having "removed the Internal Security Act and the Emergency Ordinance... detention without trial is history in Malaysia". Unfortunately, the Prime Minister's notion of history has proven to be rather myopic. In the last week, Malaysians have witnessed the official end of Najib's reform agenda, as the government ushered in the return of the EO and the ISA through amendments made to the Prevention of Crime Act (PCA). This law may carry a different name, but every controversial provision has been retained – indefinite detention without trial, presumption of guilt, and prohibition of legal recourse, with the only significant difference being the replacement of the arbitrary powers of the Home Minister with an equally arbitrary three-man "Prevention of Crime Board". A campaign of justification What is most galling about the entire exercise is that the law had been passed without much public resistance. Besides the usual opposition-led protests, some comments by political and social activists, as well as a strongly worded joint statement by the Bar Council, the Sabah Law Association and the Advocates Association of Sarawak, there was no sustained hue and cry following the tabling of the bill (though there now appears to be growing remonstration after the fact). This was accomplished largely due to a cleverly planned campaign of justification. While less than a year ago the government could not stop singing praises about its own successes in combatting crime through its GTP initiatives, the official tone took a divergent turn following unfavourable results in the 13th general election, which hawks within the ruling party blamed on the government's increasingly liberal stand. Shortly after the election, the media began to report a flurry of criminal activities, including a worrying spate of organised violence involving firearms. At one point, during the festive season mid-year, gun murders became a daily affair. Although most of the victims were themselves criminally linked, there was no doubt that the public had been persuaded that violent crime had spiralled out of control. That was when the Home Minister seized upon the opportunity to suggest that the sudden surge in crime was due to the repeal of the EO and the ISA, as it effectively meant that thousands of ex-detainees had been set loose to roam around the country, presumably causing havoc. This scenario, which soon became the police's official line, appeared to be believable. In truth, however, there was no empirical evidence to suggest the correlation, a fact admitted to by the Attorney-General himself. Instead, crime statistics from the Home Ministry revealed that incidences of armed gang robberies and armed robberies declined significantly (by 65% compared to the year before) in 2012, which is the year immediately subsequent to the abolishment of the EO and ISA in December 2011. Nevertheless, with public sentiment aroused, the government launched a campaign dubbed "Operation Cantas Khas", which saw nearly 12,000 criminals arrested and over 400 weapons confiscated over a one-month period. Thus, having successfully constructed a climate of fear, the PCA amendments were introduced as the next logical step in the war against crime. Never mind that the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act already provided for limited detention without trial with judicial review in cases involving national security, or the fact that there was never any proof linking ex-EO or ISA detainees to the sudden spate of violent crime, or that structural inefficiencies had been singled out by many including the 2005 Royal Commission of Inquiry report for police failures in combatting crime. The PCA, it was suggested, was the tool that would solve the intractable crisis of crime in our country. As a result, the draconian provisions of the EO and the ISA are now available once again in the guise of the PCA. While the government has promised that it will not be used against political opponents, history has proven otherwise, as many members of the opposition benches would readily testify. If 1Malaysia and the NEM provided the basis of Najib's first term in power, then the BEEA and the PCA should give us a clear indication of what to expect in the years to come. Thus, Surendran's proclamation in Parliament was only half-right. The passing of the bill at 1.00am on October 3, 2013 did not merely signal a black day, but in fact the beginning of black times ahead for the nation. - October 7, 2013. * This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider. |
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