Raya Reflection
…and a bit on Malaysian recent change of government
It’s Raya and it means family time. Malaysia has its long overdue change of government recently and I am glad my extended family welcome the changes.
And of course, change is not without cost. For sixty years Malaysia was under the reign of the same ruling party and change — regardless of how strong the sentiment on the ground — was elusive.
And 9 May 2018 was a huge milestone.
The transition was an unchartered territory. Nobody knows how exactly would it go down.
As our independence went down without any blood spill, the transition sure went with relative peace. No blood spill, no riot. Just excitement from people to see justice served.
The aftermath, however, is not just an unchartered territory. As we, Rakyat later found out, it is wavy, turbulent, fierce, unchartered territory. Piles of debt, scatters of restricted files, plethora of shady negotiations colored out news headlines day in and day out, least to mention the raids after raids the enforcement has to do for money laundering allegation.
Things are tough for the new government. To improve fiscal stability and allowing populist policy changes that reduces government revenue drastically, government has to take austerity measures. Salary is cut across the board: Ministers and top government officers. Mega projects were either cancelled or put under indefinite hiatus with re-negotiation in sight. Laying off political appointees and closing down agencies with overpaid, ineffective board in what is seemed as bloated civil servants was claimed as cost-saving.
Economy seemed to slump. The first day high speed rail project was announced to be cancelled witnessed a drop KL Stock Exchange. My relative who work in banking sector told me how wary Malaysians are on making financial commitment at the moment. Everyone seemed to be in saving mode. (on a related note, however, with GST zero-rated on June 1, 2018 one may expect that people are going for a shopping spree. Faculty of Economy from UKM reported that B40 spent almost 1/3 of their salary just for Raya expenses.)
Many government-owned companies and government-linked companies received the blow from the change of government. The lasting policy of crowding out bodes ill to the majority of employees hired by the companies. Downsizing and spending cuts, that may affect public infrastructure delivery is expected. Major re-look in the business model has to be conducted and these companies must shift away from over-reliance to government funds.
My fellow Malaysians, change is not without cost.
The current government is working actively to ensure their manifesto is fulfilled, reform is initiated and be followed through, and any wrongdoings that involved public funds must be persecuted and rectified. Unlike previous coalition where one ruling-party dominated over others, the new coalition embolden and embrace the spirit of consensus and democracy within its core. It seems messy but I am optimistic that this is a sign of maturing democracy.
Democracy is meant to be messy — with the check-and-balances; keeping the authority in check and balance out the fine line between what matters to the Rakyat, to the Nation vis-a-vis what they need and want.
