So Malaysia's first astronaut Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor has returned safely back to earth from his first space journey, courtesy of taxpayers' money.

It is difficult to determine the exact sum of money spent but various figures ranged from RM500 million to RM600 million have been reported. Malaysia's leaders are shouting to the rest of the world that the country has joined the elite in space exploration and that we can now walk a few inches taller.

Assuming all that our leaders have crowed are true, the question is did they get their priorities right? I mean, what will be the follow through from the space journey that will make Malaysia a more progressive country in terms of human rights, sane policies in education, real racial harmony, true religious tolerance, transparency in all areas of government operations, etc?

How will Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor's space trip begin the ball rolling in righting the so many wrongs that every ordinary Malaysian with normal intelligence sees the present government has committed and chose to ignore and assume a state of denial?

To be more specific, how many roads, bridges, leaking school roofs, crumbling public facilities, etc, are being seriously, sincerely and holistically attended to. One can find major roads in affluent residential and commercial areas of Klang Valley full of potholes. A common response from the authorities is 'we have no budget'. Deaths occur when school roofs collapse onto classrooms, bridges collapse due to shoddy workmanship and poor to no maintenance, floods occur with only two to three hours of normal rainfall  the list goes on.

How much money is needed to repair school building roofs, bridges, improve drainage and all the other works that will make life for the ordinary Malaysian better?

This space journey that the Malaysian government bought with taxpayers' money is akin to a person buying a computer when there is no electricity in his house, does not know what to do with the computer bought, has no idea how his life will be improved, only to tell the whole world that he can now walk an inch or two taller and is now on par with the modern technological world just because he has a computer.

The Malaysian government needs to know how to prioritise better and should have the ability to distinguish needs from wants. Frankly, I don't see how Malaysia has gained the admiration and attention of other countries with this one space trip.