Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Indecent Haste that Ignored Tunnel Project's Viability Within a Risk-based Framework
- Some thoughts on the Bar Council AGM 16 March 2013
- Pakatan Rakyat's chances in GE 13
- GTP - It's easy to improve when you're shit
- Our Leaders and their followers need to know: All the glitter and promises galore cannot ...
- Who or what is Malaysia’s most threatening enemy?
- Puluhan ribu risalah fitnah sedia diedar di Perak
- Pakatan & PTPTN
- The Myth of the Rich and Poor
| Indecent Haste that Ignored Tunnel Project's Viability Within a Risk-based Framework Posted: 21 Mar 2013 01:57 PM PDT
For a technically challenging project, the proposed tunnel has not been through the required public selection processes for consultants and bidders, environmental studies, public hearings, design completion and independent reviews. It does not have a detailed, bottom-up cost estimate. It does not even spell out the number of lanes it going to build.
Ong Eu Soon Lim Guan Eng refuted claims that the tender and subsequent award was a "rush job". Let see is it true or not.
For a technically challenging project, the proposed tunnel has not been through the required public selection processes for consultants and bidders, environmental studies, public hearings, design completion and independent reviews. It does not have a detailed, bottom-up cost estimate. It does not even spell out the number of lanes it going to build. If this is not a rush job, why has the state government opted for a short cut to bulldoze through the award of letter of intent?
Underground construction presents unique risks that are not typically encountered on other types of heavy civil construction. It is industry practice to evaluate any tunnel project's viability within a risk-based framework. This has not been done for the tunnel and it is not accounted for in the tendering process.
Until today there is no effort to carry out additional subsurface exploration and testing or revisit designs, construction sequences, and associated costs and schedules to mitigate the risks reflected in the anticipated subsurface conditions, and identify other elements including agency, owner/operator or local requirements, which could cause major scope increases during final design or construction.
Without preliminary engineering study, there is insufficient info to complete a level of tunnel design that can be used to conclude the selection of a tunnel boring machine (TBM) and arrive at a credible estimate of the TBM advance rate. One of the largest cost factors associated with tunnel construction is determining what kinds of geological conditions exist between the portals or shafts of a tunnel. Modern geotechnical engineers utilize a variety of imaging technologies and boring samples to determine rock type and groundwater penetration. These technologies can provide an acceptable level of confidence in the type of rock that needs to be bored through. The major geological and geotechnical factors that pose a high level of uncertainty to the current design and estimates of schedule and cost are totally ignored by Lim Guan Eng administration throughout the tendering process.
The developer is obligated to provide safety equipment and high levels of insurance. For example of a construction safety cost which must be considered is proper ventilation, which is necessary to provide for the health of workers during construction. These costs can be very high which often results in construction management companies making the bare minimum investment in safety required.
Since there is no preliminary engineering study, no normal operations ventilation analysis has been performed. This would normally be expected in order to give confidence in the sizing of ventilation system components, particularly the ventilation shafts. In the absence of this analysis, ventilation shaft sizes remain unconfirmed. An increase in shaft size will have significant cost implications.
Additionally, there are costs associated with providing for the safety of people using a tunnel after construction. All transportation tunnels will require more portals and ventilation shafts than may be necessary during the construction phase. One of the largest safety costs is associated with preventing and suppressing tunnel fires. Protecting against fire involves detection and communication systems to determine the source of a fire. Tunnel fires and smoke can spread rapidly, which necessitates fire suppression and ventilation systems. In addition, there is a need for a means of egress and regular intervals to allow for the swift exit of individuals using the tunnel in question.
Lastly, there is a cost associated with protecting structural elements from fire so that the tunnel will not immediately collapse in the event of a fire.
There have been cases of unexpected water penetration which have drastically increased the price of tunnelling and severely reduced the profit for the contractor. One such case was during the construction of the Burnley tunnel, part of Melbourne's CityLink project. The Burnley tunnel passes deep beneath the Yarra River, and consequentially resulted in having a very high water pressure surrounding the tunnel. As a result of unforeseen condition in the design stage, some of the 1.8m thick concrete floor panels or inverts were lifted out of place by the water pressure, causing the contractor to lose $154m in damages (Samuel, 2007). Problems like the Burnley tunnel cause contractors to place higher percentage contingencies into the bid price than any other infrastructure projects. This variance in the type of substrate present in different countries has a profound effect on the cost of tunnelling.
In the case of cost overrun, what should we do? Abandon the project? Bailout the developer at our expenses? Allow the developer to build sub-standard tunnel and ignore safety requirement in order to prevent cost overrun? Lim Guan Eng need to clarify how he going to handling issues of cost overrun and safety if he insists that the tunnel project should proceed as planned.
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| Some thoughts on the Bar Council AGM 16 March 2013 Posted: 21 Mar 2013 01:38 PM PDT
But what concerns me is that [Americk] Singh's statement was accepted as the gospel truth by the all the lawyers present without any verification or collaboration. Desiderata The Bar Council AGM was certainly one of more exciting meetings in the history of the Malaysian Bar, particularly the revelations by Americk Singh Siddhu, who rose to prominence for drafting SD 1. But what concerns me is that Singh's statement was accepted as the gospel truth by the all the lawyers present without any verification or collaboration. Singh claimed he met Abraham at a restaurant, where he confessed to drafting SD 2 at the behest of the Prime Minister. Singh also maintained that this was done in the presence of another lawyer who accompanied him (ie Singh). Why did not this lawyer speak up and collaborate Singh's accusation? Just going by Singh's statement is surely not enough to set up a disciplinary proceedings against Abraham. Why did Singh not name his collaborator? His case would have been stronger! Deepak Jaikishen has so far refused to co operate with the Bar Council. By a strange turn of fate, PI Bala, Singh's star witness has gone to meet his Maker. Should not the newly elected Bar Committee have written to Abraham and given him two weeks to reply, which is normal procedure. Based on just Singh's statement the committee decided to refer Abraham to the Disciplinary Committee. Singh is being considered by the Bar Committee to be the fount of truth and all moral authority. Further, Abraham is not even given the courtesy of the right to reply. Those, particularly in the legal fraternity who know Abraham well would vouch that Abraham and Singh are not fraternity buddies or have legal matters in common to discuss. They would also vouch Abraham is capable of keeping his own counsel and it is very unlikely that 'he would apologise to Singh and presumably to his silent collaborator too, and confess that he drafted SD 2' as claimed by Singh. In the first place, why should Abraham apologise to Singh? It is not surprising that the new committee and particularly the Chairman, Christopher Leong, are eager to show themselves as being pro active. Nailing Abraham may be a feather in your cap, Mr President, but at least follow the set procedures. Crying aloud for justice is good, but justice must be also seen to be done, for all parties concerned. Is not the axiom, 'a man is innocent until proven guilty" one of the first things taught in Law School? Please be more considered in your actions, less haste and impulsiveness would augur a good year for the new President and his committee. Best of Luck!
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| Pakatan Rakyat's chances in GE 13 Posted: 20 Mar 2013 01:52 PM PDT
Unlike 2008, Idealism is not going to be a dominant feature of the 2013 elections, pragmatism is. PR has not sufficiently differentiated itself from BN but BN has consistently proved that it is stronger. When the differences between two sides is not pronounced, the pragmatic inclination in people will generally sway their decision in support of the side that appears stronger. An opinion of Nehru S.M, private citizen If the elections is called soon, I think the the list of factors that favors a Pakatan Rakyat victory in GE 13 is short. First, there is Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar Ibrahim has always attracted people with his aura of a hero and a underdog, but heroes need a strong villain and underdogs shine brighter in defeat. Since Dr. M's retirement and the opposition's substantial victory in the 2008 election, Anwar Ibrahim's heroic aura has generally been on the wane. Then there is the theme of change. The opposition represents the side that represents change in Malaysian politics and Malaysians are as a whole still pro change. However, a nation's inclination to change is powered chiefly by hopes of future profit. That the opposition has been largely unable to decide on how they are going to cut the profit pie as different segments of Malaysians clamor for their share would probably dampen Malaysians' eagerness for change. Third is the case of corruption. People might be against corruption, but in popular imagination, a person who steals 50 ringgit is a thief, but a person who steals a a billion ringgit is a great man. That the opposition generally exposes multibillion ringgit corruption cases has the unfortunate effect of elevating the personal prestige of those they seek to diminish. Also, too big a corruption case lacks emotional appeal. A thousand ringgit theft off a mother of 5 pulls the heartstrings of an average voter in a way that a 100 billion of illicit cash flow out of the country never could. Then there is the case of institutional reform to increase efficiency and correct past wrongs. This is probably the weakest of opposition promise because in truth, voters either don't really know what it means or they don't care. Chiefly, it excites only academics. Lastly, to curb the abuses in power amongst government officials. While outwardly, Malaysians generally are against the abuses of power by govt officials, especially by the police, but in principal, we are are not as against it as we appear to be. The truth is, we have always known that suspects are probably tortured during police investigations and that bribery is not an uncommon way to conclude business with government agencies, and we are ok with it. If we have any complains about about abuses of power, it tends to be about the scale. As Also, the across board revolutionary fever that helped PR in gaining a foothold in the corridors of power in 2008 has cooled off. 5 years on, the belief that change will bring something better, or that the fight for change is a holy cause, or that change can be brought forth quickly and without much difficulty has largely dissipated. Unlike 2008, Idealism is not going to be a dominant feature of the 2013 elections, pragmatism is. PR has not sufficiently differentiated itself from BN but BN has consistently proved that it is stronger. When the differences between two sides is not pronounced, the pragmatic inclination in people will generally sway their decision in support of the side that appears stronger. Also, that the PR campaign has the misfortune of being viewed outside of the middle class, tertiary educated and Chinese electorate largely as a middle class, tertiary educated and Chinese agitation isolates their appeal and will cost them support. The Sulu army's incursion and the death of Malaysian army personals also does not favor the opposition. People have a natural inclination of forgetting their differences and rallying together when faced with external threats and this favors the incumbents. Also, the fact that all of the fallen army personals are Malays also rattles the "we are in this together through thick and thin" idealogy that is promoted by the opposition. Since the Malays would now feel that they have sacrificed more, they are less likely to be attracted to the idea of equal sharing promoted by the opposition. Combined together, and barring any drastic changes, not only do I think that PR's chances of winning is slim, but that BN is going to win with an improved margin. |
| GTP - It's easy to improve when you're shit Posted: 20 Mar 2013 01:24 PM PDT
"I've improved by three spots compared with the mid-semester's class ranking," I thought while paddling, convincing myself: "I did better this time, Papa won't be mad."
Jonathan Fernandez THE longer I stared at it, the wider my smile grew. Soon enough the grin was ear to ear. "I did it!" the jubilant voice inside my head proclaimed.
After tucking the academic report card into my schoolbag, I hopped on my bicycle and excitedly headed home. "I've improved by three spots compared with the mid-semester's class ranking," I thought while paddling, convincing myself: "I did better this time, Papa won't be mad."
I had never cared how my mother would react. I was a mama's boy and I'm not at all ashamed. In fact poor Amma was as scared as me and my two younger siblings on "Report Card Day". All it would take was for any of us three to screw up and all of us would get a lashing, yes, even Amma – because she was "in-charge" of everything at home.
I slowed down as I approached the house. I then see a silver Honda Accord parked nicely in the shade of the old mango tree. My heart rate raced and something told me that it was not because of my Lance Armstrong antics.
Reality was creeping in, and it hit me: "Shit, Papa's home."
I unlock and unlatch the gate as quiet as I can, somewhat convinced that doing this was going to make any difference to the results on the card.
After parking my bicycle at the usual spot of the house compound, with a nonchalance Don Corleone would have been proud of, I stepped into the hall – where my brother and sister were already seated on the sofa with Papa flipping through their cards with a cane between his legs. Yes, he was shirtless, too. Because who wears a top when you're going to blow your top off, anyway, right?
All he needed to do was give me this piercing glare and my hand automatically, and a bit uncannily, reached out for my report card from my schoolbag. I pass it to him.
"What rubbish is this?" he asked with such a frightening calm. "Why are there so many Cs and Ds?" My legs were rooted; my body felt numb – all familiar sensations that I would feel all 26 times in my 13 years of schooling on the bi-annual report card days.
Desperately, I looked around ... Amma was nowhere to be seen. Siblings had come home earlier and would have gotten their share of the shelling already. Amma knew better than to stick around for Round Two. She had probably been in the kitchen at that time in order to avoid being unfairly dragged into this mess. I was left to fend for myself this time.
"Pa, look, I did better than last sem. Last time I finished 29th in class, this time I got No. 21."
If that was supposed to be my lifesaving excuse, then it failed big time and did the exact opposite. Until this day, I have never seen any face which had the "Do I look like I give a f***?" expression so obviously painted on it. Needless to say, he wasn't impressed, not a single bit.
Infuriated, he responds: "Don't ever give me that reason again. Anyone can improve once the person has hit rock-bottom. It's easy to do better when you're performing well below expectations.
"Next year you're going to sit for your PMR. You need to buck up and start fulfilling your potential ... because I know that despite how much your looks suggest it, you're actually not stupid. If you don't start changing, I'm sending you to a boarding school!" he threatened.
Papa had a point at that time, a point still applicable today. Papa should have a word with Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his administration about their so-called improvements based on the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) report. The Pemandu results are sure to drive him up the wall.
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| Our Leaders and their followers need to know: All the glitter and promises galore cannot ... Posted: 20 Mar 2013 01:19 PM PDT
If anyone cries of an allegation – or even goes beyond all reasonable doubt to help unravel the stink, our mainstream media takes the proverbial stance of 'see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil'. J. D. Lovrenciear As we inch to our probably, most fiercely-to-be-fought general elections, the exposes of corrupt deeds and intentions are heart-arresting. Because one is innocent until proven guilty, all exposes remain as mere allegations until and unless due justice can ever be dispensed without fear or favor. But ask any humble simpleton on the street, "Is Malaysia not corrupted?" and you better be forewarned for the surprised frown you will get. What is mind-boggling however is the torrent of denials that cascade from the implicated crooks and the rebuttals of poison darts aimed at the whistle-blowers by the die-hard supporters. It is either we have lost all sense and understanding of the true essence of patriotism or those who support suspicious crooks and 'alleged' nation-robbers are just as guilty as they may be siphoning parasites on the branch of corruption and greed. So how do we clean this nation and ensure a fair, democratic and equitable distribution of the nation's heavenly endowed resources and wealth so that all caring and hard-working Malaysians prosper and bask in the sunshine of progress and development? As it is, already Malaysians are on the dole - this is despite the claims by the powers that be that Malaysia is registering very healthy growth rates! The yardstick of sufferings brought about by corruption and greed is in the very grandiose and seemingly sensitively caring actions the PM of Malaysia is peddling. Take the case of the cash hand outs by the BN-administered government. It makes a mockery of aid and assistance. RM500 per year works out to RM41.67 per month. That is a distasteful RM1.39 per day handout to the recipient. Holy of holies! What kind of beggars are Malaysians made out to be? Even a street bumpkin can stretch out his lazy hands and pocket a good RM30 to RM50 a day begging along Chow Kit, mate! Then you have a coffee table book launched by the Who's Who of Malaysia with a categorical proclamation that it would do well for all Malaysians for a 100 - 200 years to come. And we clap our hands in jubilation, while corporations snap up hundreds of books – making it into the Malaysia Book of Records for sales! And we proclaim that we may in all likelihood attain developed nation status well before the deadline of 2020? You have a video expose on land grabs, and you cannot even hear a whisper from within the corridors of power? Restricted ammunition was used to annihilate a sole, helpless fragile woman from a foreign land, and we are still waiting for justice to appease humanity? Cows go missing but we have no qualms in singing "what's wrong in parking a half-million ringgit car in my porch"? We let a water-village to mushroom over decades, and only now you hear of the need to place that large-scale dwelling under security vigilance? Take a look at the way the many more whale-size court cases are being dragged at snail's pace within the Palace of Justice. If 'sandiwara' is not the right word then pray tell what is. There was a time when we were led to believe that Malaysia is a corruption free nation. That was the time when we looked and jeered at our neighboring countries for all the sordid corrupt dealings. But today, we are at a point where our neighbors have fought well and are in the process of cleaning up the messes and putting transparent accountability on the table for all to view. Their media is the catalyst for that change. But can we say the same for ourselves now? If anyone cries of an allegation – or even goes beyond all reasonable doubt to help unravel the stink, our mainstream media takes the proverbial stance of 'see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil'. The on-line media on the other hand has been labeled as untrustworthy anyway by the powers that be. And the authorities who are the vanguards of good conduct and law enforcement, will stand sheltered behind that often quoted statement that we cannot act until a report is lodged. If we can get away by saying 'semua-nya ok' and that infamous edict, 'tutup satu mata'; if we can state without batting an eye, 'aiya, who is not corrupt lah'; when we accept the mantra of 'if he is doing it why I cannot eh?' – then let us face the truth squarely: When our neighboring nations make progress having won their battle fighting corruption and greed with a resolute, national will and conscience, we Malaysians may in all likelihood be sinking with the very yoke of patronizing this sin against an entire nation – past, present and future while the handful laugh all the way to the bank. For as long as we are in denial, we are busted! For as long as we sing that rhyme, 'we have delivered on our promises of grandeur and progress; we will deliver more' when we cannot even lift a convincing finger to arrest the very disease that is depriving Malaysians and reducing them to a point that they have to accept RM1.39 a day of handout, we need to know that we are losers. Let truth be told: all the glitter and promises galore cannot whitewash the sins of corruption and greed. And it is that working rakyat who finally will have to pay that painful price.
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| Who or what is Malaysia’s most threatening enemy? Posted: 19 Mar 2013 01:15 PM PDT
J. D. Lovrenciear The Lahad Datu 'intrusion' or 'invasion' or 'guerilla attack' (or whatever label you prefer to ascribe to the mess in Sabah) is not Malaysia's ultimate enemy. The vested claims over Sabah do not make a foreign or neighboring nation or nations the threatening enemies of Malaysia. The politicians who are now engaged on an over-drive mode to annihilate their opponents as we gingerly inch to a General Election not knowing when, are not the priority enemies of Malaysia. The host of NGOs who are unearthing seemingly endless irregularities and creating more awareness among Malaysians are not the devastating enemies of Malaysia although often times we may be led to believe so by the masters of the nation. The citizens who are getting involved in various protest marches demanding clean and fair elections, for example, are not the enemies of security and stability. There was a time when we had real enemies from outside of the nation. In the bygone decades we witnessed the Communist threat and then followed by the Insurgency – these were the real enemies of Malaysia, coming in from outside of the sovereign borders of this young nation. But today we are tethering on the edge of knowing there is truly an enemy of State. The expose by the Global Witness on how horrifying land deals (or land grabs, to be precise) are struck in Sarawak – implicating the Chief Minister and all those aligned under his canopy, provides an edifying lesson to all Malaysians. It is not about wheteher this expose is a paralyzing truth or lie. In fact it is even beyond the confines of mere allegation given the content, presentation and the extensive coverage on the global media terrain. That precious awakening is that Malaysia's real enemy is not from outside but an enemy who is tunneling its way east and west, north and south of the country right here from within. The real enemy goes beyond individuals. It has well crossed beyond the walls of corporations and organizations too. That real enemy is corruption and greed.Corrupted and greedy individuals, corporations, organizations. Period. Anything else is only the tip of the iceberg. denying this truth or down-playing it is akin to coating gloss to the rotting filth of decadent human greed. What does the Tun Dr. Mahathir have to say about this recent red-hot expose by Global Witness? What do all his entourage of patronizing leaders as well as puppets have to say? What do the subservient followers of the UMNO Baru have to say? What do the BN component party leaders have to say? Maybe Malaysians will be reprimanded for jumping the gun. "Listen you silly, willy Malaysian citizens. Who is Global Witness? Do you know? They are our nation's enemies out to destroy Malaysia's progressive and transforming track record." And if you persist in asking what really is going on in Sarawak, be ready for another lesson. "Do not be sucked in by all these lies. The actors in the video posted by Global Witness are fake, look-alike artists on hire. And do you know who is behind all these?" Who, ask the naïve Malaysians. "Aiyaa, the opposition political parties lah. They are so desperate that they will lose in the GE-13 and so they have hired this 'apa nama – Global Witness' to come up with this video." In the face of this expose there surfaces yet another truth -- for as long as there are no principle centered leaders, followers, professionals, congregations and organizations that can converge and emerge in solidarity to plug the corruption and greed on this Malaysian soil, the country remains susceptible to the irreversible damage that is being created by the enemy from within, i.e. the world's and humanity's worst enemy – corruption and greed. Indeed the video by Global Witness is the mother of all exposes on the nation's state of greed and corruption. Woe be thine, if we choose to find solace under that infamous statement so often heard from Malaysian politicians: Who isn't corrupted? Or how about: Even the USA is corrupted lah. Yes, there is no utopia on earth. But the gravest sin against humanity is corruption and greed. And the greatest disgrace to humanity is to steal right under their innocent, unknowing eyes and return to society a pittance act of charity or a trumpeted CSR (corporate social responsibility) razzmatazz. The bottom line is, no society can ever progress and remain sustained under uncontained corruption and blatant, widespread greed. It is only a matter of time before the entire nation sinks into the deep recesses of a distinct divide of rich and poor, on a ratio of 80:20, respectively.
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| Puluhan ribu risalah fitnah sedia diedar di Perak Posted: 19 Mar 2013 01:03 PM PDT
Jawatankuasa Strategik dan Isu PAS Perak hari ini mendedahkan agenda jahat pihak tertentu dalam menghadapi PRU13 yang akan diadakan pada bila-bila masa. Muhammad Faeez Azahar Koordinatornya, Salman Saleh berkata, pihaknya mendapat banyak maklumat tentang kontena diseluruh negeri Perak yang membawa risalah berbaur fitnah.Menurutnya, puluhan ribu risalah fitnah itu sudah siap dicetak dan dipercayai akan diedarkan kepada masyarakat pada pilihanraya nanti setelah mendapat arahan. 
Katanya, risalah fitnah dalam bentuk buku kecil bertajuk "Drama Pecah Panggung; Box Office" itu ternyata merbahaya kerana ianya terkandung pelbagai fitnah yang bersifat perkauman dan penipuan.
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| Posted: 19 Mar 2013 12:37 PM PDT
Rafizi Ramli says PTPTN should be abolished sooner than later, otherwise the nation will go bankrupt. But, with PTPTN abolished, and with the provision of free tertiary education, will not the nation go bankrupt even faster? Arshad Mohd Nor At the rate Pakatan leaders are contradicting each other, it is becoming increasingly clear that they cannot provide a credible alternative to BN. A simple example of their credibility gap is how they have been addressing the PTPTN issue. To date 1.9 million students have availed themselves of PTPTN loans to the tune of RM 43.6 billion. This figure has been estimated to grow at 11% annually. So, by next year end, PTPTN loans would have increased to RM53.21 billion. Pakatan supremo Anwar Ibrahim has been quoted as saying that, if Pakatan were to come to power, he would write off the PTPTN loans. Pakatan has also promised free tertiary education in public institutions. So, that will probably cost another RM10 billion, at a conservative estimate. That makes it a total of over RM60 billion in year one of Pakatan rule. That's RM60 billion down the drain. Where will they find the funds to finance this massive expenditure? That's the curious part. But the curiouser part is this: PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli says PTPTN should be abolished sooner than later, otherwise the nation will go bankrupt. But, with PTPTN abolished, and with the provision of free tertiary education, will not the nation go bankrupt even faster? Pakatan should re-do its maths. If it really insists on fulfilling all its shaky promises, the education bill alone will hang over its neck like an albatross. It has been acknowledged worldwide that Malaysia already spends a large chunk of its budget on education. In the world ranking it is No. 10, spending 8.1% of GDP on education. That is higher than all the developed countries. Malaysia therefore has its priorities right. Nobody should be allowed to tamper with a winning formula, especially not those with nothing else on their mind except political advantage at the expense of the rakyat.
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| Posted: 19 Mar 2013 12:26 PM PDT
Consequently, the levers of power will be in the hands of corporations and the wealthy, which will have a bigger say in public policies, thus countering the libertarians' intended "democracy". Unlike the government of the day, boards of directors are not voted in by the people. Anas Alam Faizli "They are simply lazy" "His father is a Tan Sri" "He knows someone from the inside" "I made it purely out of effort; I worked hard to get where I am today" These are some typical expressions that are sure to be heard in coffee chats, every time the topic of rich and poor is brought up. People have grown easily accustomed to brushing off the topic of inequality as welfarist or socialist. This happens even amongst supposedly "middle class" Malaysians, not realizing that they are in actuality, most likely top income earners and wealth owners. Households earning RM10,000 a month above already qualify as Top 4% Malaysians! In fact, while partisan voices continue their discourse in the racial imbalance tone, Malaysia has silently migrated into new battles, concerning intra-racial, income, and class-based imbalances. It is often argued that the poor and the low income earners are plain lazy and do not work hard; that one earns what one deserves. This is not true. Many are simply unlucky, to be born to parents who lack education or skills to escape from the clutches of poverty. Some were born with disabilities and diseases, while some others live in flood-prone or hazardous places. On the other hand, we have sub-quality undeserving businessmen linked to political patrons, estate and fortune inheritors, and individuals plainly lucky to be placed in lucrative industries with high economic rent. Accusations like laziness then become hardly the issue. The rich can be lazy too! There are those who do not deserve to be in poverty, just as there are those who do not deserve their wealth. The cases above are simple yet fitting examples to describe that not all poverty is a result of unwillingness for hard work, and not all wealth is a result of it. Thus, the fight against inequality is rather a fight to equalize opportunities so as to reach more equitable outcomes, not to distortively equalize outcomes. This is not a crusade against the rich, but a crusade to help the poor. What's the Big Deal with Inequality? Inequality is very real, whether or not we have problems with the GINI coefficient as a measure. In fact, the attention regarded to inequality is very much driven by consequences of inequality, rather than pre-emptive. We can see real consequences to the society; including societal backlashes, power imbalances, effects on wages, effects on growth, crime and quality of living, to name a few. As long as the income and wealth inequality gap remain large and public investment for education, training, childcare and public infrastructure remain inadequate, progressive taxes and affirmative action in its true and productive spirit have a place within public policy. It is imperative that the richer within the society share the responsibility of helping the poor; in the bigger picture, it is actually in their interest to do so, as they too will feel the consequences of inequality. The Fallacy of the Free Market In any discourse of inequality and the rich and poor, the "free market" will almost immediately arise. The basic tenant of a free market is well described by the "Invisible Hand" coined by 18th century economist, Adam Smith. It argues that prices, and thus distribution of goods, services, labour, capital goods, land and human skills are all determined by market forces, or this "hand" that cannot physically be seen. Proponents of this market-based allocation system are naturally against increased forms of government intervention like transfers, donations, taxes, subsidies and benefits. To put simply, they believe that letting the market run its course freely will reach desirable market equilibriums in the fairest manner, thus achieving productivity and wealth for a nation. The marketplace does have some elements of arguable fairness; hard work will get you higher income, and laziness will be punished. Jobs, goods and wages are "naturally" supplied to and demanded by society, according to their needs and capabilities, instead of government allocation which is dangerously prone to over or under budgeting. However, one must note critically that the fairness of the marketplace should not be exaggerated. Market forces can be "brutally unsentimental", as put by Jeffrey Sachs. Pockets of failures in the market are impossible to deny because not everyone in the economy starts from the same baseline. Endowments like wealth, opportunities, or physical health vary extremely amongst people within the system. While some manage to climb out of low income brackets and make it, as a result of opportunities and big breaks, others remain pressed in a vicious downward cycle. Indeed, not everyone gets a big break. The Taxation Antagonist The most common proponents of the free market are libertarians; whose ethical core is liberty. They hold the best economic outcomes will only prevail when each individual is left free to act economically and live without an authority governing their economic decisions. Individuals are in no way held responsible to the society, other than to be respectful towards the liberty and property of others. The government's sole responsibility is to only maintain law and order such as protection of private property. Extreme libertarians even hold that there is no requirement for government to build infrastructures, road or highways; such should be left to market forces because the need for them itself is incentive enough for someone to build them. Libertarians are like "taxation antagonists". Amongst other forms of government intervention, libertarians reject governments promoting fairness and efficiency through a system of taxation. Tax is regarded as just another form of government extortion; de-motivating those who work hard while potentially over compensating those who don't. In summary, libertarians hold that free market is the only way economic allocations are done "democratically"; hence it is the savior of democracy and enough on its own to ensure prosperity. Therefore, talk of government intervention in helping the poor will also become a point of contention in the books of libertarians. Malaysian Libertarians Many quarters have easily discarded the New Economic Policy (NEP) in hindsight, but it arguably did its job to almost eliminate poverty; reducing it from 50% in 1970 to the current 3.8%. Previously poor now form middle class and professional Malaysians. Unfortunately, there is nothing to be proud of with the NEP mid 90s onwards. Rampant corruption, leakages and a breakdown in the integrity system demonstrated by those within the government have further worsened the situation. Perhaps this frustration in the government is behind the mushrooming of libertarian ideologies in Malaysia. Is Libertarianism for Malaysia? We can first answer this by revisiting typical problems of missing a government sector. There is the question of who will provide public and common goods. We also do not need more than one police force, firemen, or court of law competing against each other. Without the government, who will then take care of the environment, regulate moral hazards, ensure individuals do not hurt each other, and protect the sovereign rights of Malaysians? Reducing government role is perhaps agreeable, but its total elimination has grave repercussions. We then approach the issue of poverty. In all its admirable intentions of rewarding hard work and reducing influence of corrupt governments, libertarianism leaves too much room for an upward continuity of wealth and a downward spiral of poverty. As argued earlier, people start from different baselines. Holders of wealth are in the position to continue leveraging on existing wealth, to create more wealth- they can hardly be blamed as they are only incentivized and allowed to do so! It is worse when wealth comes from extracting economic rent, rather than the creating of true values that ultimately increases the size of the economic pie. Consequently, the levers of power will be in the hands of corporations and the wealthy, which will have a bigger say in public policies, thus countering the libertarians' intended "democracy". Unlike the government of the day, boards of directors are not voted in by the people. Their fear of how a socialist nation will lead to fascism can also happen in free market except under the disguise corporate power. The free market failure then becomes as much political as economic! Now imagine this "free market" is Malaysia, with one of the highest inequality levels in Asia (measured by GINI). The helpless poor will be left drowning in the currents of this market force, contending against the rich. This is exactly where a true, free, and liberal form of the market may not be able to generate the pristine intended outcomes it initially set out to do. The Pakatan Rakyat Manifesto: A Manifesto for its Time Political preference aside, there is cause to applaud the recent Pakatan Rakyat Manifesto. Tackling core economic issues, its four pillars hit home the concerns of the common rakyat; fraternity of the people, the people's economy, people's well-being and people's government. In Malaysia, the published absolute poverty number may be low, but in relative terms, many rakyat including daily creation of urban poor are effectively impoverished by demanding cost of housing and living that are unmatched by salary levels, high indebtedness, and low productivity levels due to limited skills and education. For the government to maintain relevance in the face of libertarian claims, government interventions need to be tactical. If the government's stance is pro-business, it must be backed-up with robust social safety nets to hoist up and bring along poor households in the sprint towards growth and wealth creation. If the focus is the rakyat, care must be put to ensure business appetite is not suppressed. Such aspirations will be impossible to achieve without policies such as those proposed by the PR Manifesto; such as expanded educational opportunities (by making tertiary education free), reduction in the cost of living (utilities and tolls), targeted instead of blanket subsidies, and an upward pressure towards wages and salaries that are currently depressed by influx of foreign labour. We have yet to see what Barisan Nasional has to promise with its manifesto but as a start, it should be more defined than its 2008 one; "to grow the economy" and start quantifying them. In fact, growing the economy is really a given. Uplifting the Poor: Leveling the Playing Field This is no plan to pull a modern-day Robin Hood, robbing the rich off of their hard work to reassign some wealth to the poor. The rich may be reached out to, to shoulder some responsibility to raise the level of education, health and productivity of the poor. Imagine the difference between a community with a billionaire worth RM40 billion and lots of poor people, versus one with 400 households worth RM10.0 million each. We might not love to pay tax but we accept its legitimacy as long as it is properly enacted into law and is used properly. This by no means entails slacking off on the part of the poor. Opportunities are provided, but they still need to be capitalized upon. The idea is a bigger economic pie and an unleashing of further values that the poorer population could have produced and Malaysia could have enjoyed. Putting all these into consideration, where does it leave libertarianism, minimal taxes to the rich and businesses, and the free market? Need bigger government roles necessarily mean bigger inefficiencies, and more corruption? Welfare states in Scandinavia have ranked higher than America in terms of the Human Development Index (HDI). At the same time, Scandinavian nations are among the most equal nations, high in governance and control over corruption, despite the bigger size of their government. Ultimately, a healthy economy is a mixed economy, in which both the government and market forces both play their role. The exact balance remains an ongoing battle; but it's good to start with unraveling the realities of inequality. Inequality is neither a hobby for anti-capitalist activists, nor development economists looking for the next trendy topic for their thesis. It's true that government intervention in the shapes and sizes that they take form, may have distortive capabilities, but the "lazy poor and the hardworking rich" is a myth. For a better Malaysia, we have no choice but to continue our strive for productivity albeit with a new focus; inclusiveness. Otherwise, Malaysia will be dragging its feet into the future, carrying the baggage of the past policies and its repercussions. "A statesman is he who thinks in the future generations, and a politician is he who thinks in the upcoming elections." – Abraham Lincoln * Anas Alam Faizli is an oil and gas professional. He is pursuing a post-graduate doctorate, executive director of TFTN and tweets at @aafaizli
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