The Malaysian Insider :: Books
The Malaysian Insider :: Books |
| ‘Rich Malaysia, Poor Malaysians’ shows the economic reality Posted: 21 Dec 2013 05:55 PM PST The question remains unresolved. We share the same concerns. As a Malaysian, I believe that we could really be patriotic without favouring any political rulers – thus, living up to the motto "you can love your country without having to love your government". Hence, we have our own responsibility. So, how inspiring can Malaysia be? Anas Alam Faizli's recent book, Rich Malaysia, Poor Malaysians, is a conscious attempt to analyse the development of Malaysia throughout its successes and failures. Malaysia was an example of economic success in the 1960s. Back then, Malaysia was one of the emerging economic tigers. Has the tiger lost its roar now? Then again, it is now moving towards a different direction. It outweighs the fact that Malaysia was once a land of dream and opportunity. The rising disparity between social classes with greater inequality scale between the haves and haves-not might prompt us to reconsider our current imagination on Malaysia. The compilation of essays here provides a refined understanding of Malaysia's current outlook. Anas' brief introduction touches on energy, the economy and education. It is written in a simple way, yet articulate enough for ordinary Malaysians to grasp the current reality. I am sure the author reaffirms the undeniable fact that Malaysia is a rich country with an abundant of resources, but the mismanagement of wealth and exploitative behaviour of rent-seekers have become the main driving forces behind the paradox of the economy. This book uncovers the hard realities faced by all Malaysians. The rising cost of living is a difficult moment for all, regardless of their race or religious affiliations. Amid the escalating cost, wage repression is a stark reality. The author argues why Malaysians deserve a better future. In "Myth of Rich and Poor", the author attempts to demystify the fact that the poor are simply lazy. He argues that there are fewer opportunities for ordinary Malaysians to compete in a fair and equal playing field. This is the main reason behind the poor getting poorer and the rich getting richer. Education has become the cornerstone of achievement. It is pertinent to development, though. However, as emphasised by the author, the worsening performance of our education system every year, as gauged via international assessment ratings, such as Pisa and TIMSS, is a cause of great concern. Our education policy must have gone wrong somewhere along the line. Malaysia has performed badly in each assessment. The most shocking part is Vietnam has outperformed Malaysia in terms of rankings. It is clear our current education system is a huge failure and consequently, it fails to offer a trickle-down solution. Despite of large sums allocated to education annually, the result has not improved. The author calls for a revamp on our education system. He states that the real philosophy of education is to humanise humans with the essence of love. Philosophy is what our education lacks. The author restates his position on the importance of teaching philosophy as the main curriculum. It is surprising that not one of our universities has a faculty of philosophy while it was proved that the best universities across the globe have made philosophy a compulsory subject for all students. The only enlightenment for Malaysian is through the inculcation of a reading culture. The author accounts in detail why a reading culture is part of a high-achieving nation. He begins by summarising the social catastrophe that accompanies book burnings and when freedom of thought was supressed. As argued by the author, a reading culture enables society to become more rational and critical in evaluating civilised principles, such as humanity, freedom and liberty. Throughout his vast experience in the oil and gas industry, the author attempts to retrace the historical context of its development in Malaysia. It is undeniable that the oil and gas industry has been singled out as the main contributor to our nation's wealth. However, has the oil and gas industry, particularly Petronas, become the main victim of our economy? In the first article entitled "Is Petronas an ungrateful child of Malaysia?", the author reiterates the fact that Petronas in its early formative years was a bigger success. However, it is now riddled with mismanagement and exploitation by the few who would later contribute to the deteriorating condition of the economy. The debacle over oil royalty paid out to producing states has remained a potent cause to stake claims over legitimacy. The author provides a refining scenario over the matter. He sought to clarify some misconception over the 20% royalty to the oil-producing states that had been compromised during the agreement on the formation of the Petroleum Development Act (PDA) 1974. Does state ownership or higher royalty blends a secret recipe over Petronas' remarkable success? The book explains... The author has also put his effort to rethinking the concept of volunteerism. The spirit of volunteerism is vital for democracy to flourish. The author argues why education volunteerism paves the way to help underprivileged students to excel in education. The remaining essays assert the controversies surrounding Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement which will threaten our economic sovereignty. The author has also manages to debunk the misconceptions of the fight against the TPP agreement. The last article, which is no less important, the author recalls his journey during the "Reformasi era" in 1998 which resulted in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's imprisonment. He spent almost six years in prison over the struggle to reform our political culture. Hence, the author puts his hope on the shoulder of Anwar to take heed in rejuvenating the spirit of "Reformasi". In conclusion, Rich Malaysia, Poor Malaysians is a must read for all Malaysians. This book provides a comprehensive account of Malaysia's current challenges and prospects ahead of becoming a high-income nation. – December 22, 2013. |
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