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New 100-storey tower a monolithic mistake

‘The most important thing is that we can do it. Why should we hold back?’ Malaysia’s Tourism Minister, Ng Yen Yen, said in a Malaysiakini report on the country’s newest and tallest tower.

It reminded me of another tower in history.

‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth’ the people said.

God looked from above and said, ‘Nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.’ Yet the Tower of Babel was not finished because God scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Man’s pride had brought divine judgment upon the human race which has been beset with disunity since.

If the ability to do something and having the means to do it are the only criteria for what people – especially governments - do, it opens them to making mistakes especially with poorly conceived projects and misplaced motives.

It was pride that saw the end of the Babel Tower project because God confounded the people who wanted to make a name for themselves and thought they could rise as high as the heavens, even be like God, but instead suffered the same humiliation as Lucifer, the supposed ‘fallen angel’.

Indeed pride does come before the fall, as the saying goes, and it pays for leaders to have a dose of humility and be more circumspect and more concerned about the real needs of the people.

In governance it is important for those in power to have the right priorities, even if it means not building monuments to themselves which the egoistic are wont to do.

It is a monolithic mistake to build under-used perhaps even useless buildings for the wrong reasons. It is too far-fetched to think tourists will visit Malaysia just to see another tower when tower-lovers have far better options. But many of the country's unique nature attractions built years ago are crying out for some tender loving care, not to mention the unique heritage houses being bulldozed or left to rot.

Does Malaysia need another tower? Or is the money better spent on projects that may not be headline- grabbing, but meet the real needs of the people? There are new impressive towers in Singapore but built with private money and there is full employment, most Singaporeans enjoy still affordable housing and excellent public transport for the masses which even the wealthy use.

There is a world of difference between needs and wants. And RM5 billion will go far in providing much-needed housing and public transport infrastructure that the people who rely on public transport desperately need. Do things to improve tourism, of course, but why a tower?

There is no end to the building of tall towers when the world is obsessed with building the tallest, when so many people are still short of basic needs.

‘This is the new Malaysia Boleh,’ said a proud Ng to reporters but what happened to the old one? According to Barry Wain in his book Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir in Turbulent Times , a politician with the ‘can do’ spirit cost his country RM100 billion. If this is true think of the houses that could have been built for the poor and the jobs created, and how the money can help those Malaysians suffering economic hardship in silence.

A tall tower like the one envisaged in the Wawasan Merdeka project will create more traffic chaos in an area already notorious for traffic snarls. We should have no qualms with development if properly planned and given the people’s interest and priorities at heart. With the GST looming in the background and certain to be implemented, ordinary Malaysians can't be excited about another costly project that fails to address their most urgent needs.

It all boils down to proper prioritization, adequate planning and public consultation and spending public money where needed most. Sadly there is an evident problem in ranking public projects based on needs in a country that still sees lopsided use of public money. The people can do with some ‘can do’ spirit applied wisely to improve their basic quality of life.

How does the government prioritize the people’s needs over its own wants? It is too easy for those in power to get carried away with their wild ideas. We saw too much of it during the ‘maverick’ years and the rakyat are still paying for them.

‘We are doers not dreamers,’ said Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, after telling us about his dream of a ‘truly first-class, developed, 21st century nation.’ But anyone can do anything with public money. Sometimes it is cheaper to have dreamers who do nothing than dreamers who do the wrong things.

With such a mega project will there be a first-class transparency in open tenders? Or is this another mega opportunity for cronyism? Did the government ask the rakyat if it wanted another tower?

There is nothing wrong with leaders who dream as long as their dreams don't become nightmares for the rakyat . Malaysia needs leaders with vision. But they need leaders who know the people’s priorities even more.

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