As inflation in consumer prices worldwide starts taking its toll on the Malaysian economy, certain quarters might be wary of the government's decision to pump prime the economy with a number mega-projects around the country with the promises of job creation, poverty reduction, the moving of our economy up the value chain and an increase in FDI (foreign direct investment).

I am not opposed to economic pump priming. In fact, here are three ‘giga’ projects on my New Year wishlist that I think our country really needs.

1. Better teachers and clean toilets for all students and more emphasis on vocational training

I remember attending classes in secondary school where the best the newly-qualified teachers could do was to dictate text from reference and revision books verbatim during lessons. The mistakes made by English language teachers throughout my schooling years were also too numerous to document.

I know of retired teachers who often lament how their students who did very poorly in the SPM and STPM got offered teacher-training and science with education courses at colleges and universities and now comprise the new generation of teachers. I shudder to think what effect this will have on the next generation of the Malaysian workforce and leadership.

In terms of facilities, I had to endure dingy, smelly and wet toilets with only one sink that was often leaking. There was no soap and toilet paper, the water hoses were often soiled by irresponsible users and clean, flushable toilets were the exception rather than the rule. Sadly, a recent visit back to my schools show that little has changed over the years.

The government needs to revise the salary scales of teachers like what they did to the salary of doctors and allied health professionals in the past few years. It will be interesting to see how this will alter the quantity and quality of applicants interested in a teaching career.

The bar for acceptance into teaching and education training will have to be raised concurrently and extra funds should be channelled to universities for the sole purpose of hiring the best teachers and lecturers who will expect their remuneration and work environment to be on par with that of their Singaporean counterparts.

There should also be renewed emphasis on vocational training for suitable and interested students rather than the current overzealousness of trying to get a fixed proportion of students into the science and arts streams and making them attend university. A paradigm shift is needed to dispel the notion that a person doing a skilled manual job is less successful than a graduate.

Perhaps that way we will have less school dropouts and jobless graduates. This move will also help pave the way for more formal accreditation of trades skills as opposed to the informal way of learning from ‘sifus’ which is the way the majority of current tradesmen gain their skills from.

Oh, and did I forget to mention clean, bright and functioning toilets for all schools along with an aggressive nationwide awareness campaign on responsible toilet use?

2. Better food and facilities for patients at hospitals

A few years ago I was warded in a district general hospital for dengue fever. There were no proper facilities for taking a bath or a shower and most patients just wiped themselves down with a moist towel. Just like the schools I attended, functioning sinks and clean toilets were the exception, there was no soap and toilet paper, the water hoses were soiled and there were puddles of water pooled on the toilet floors so that older patients risked slipping and falling.

On the ward proper, there was one ceiling fan shared between four beds and all patients were leaving sweat halos on their fresh sheets by midday. The nurses only put up a mosquito net around each dengue patient at night even though Aedes mosquitoes are known to bite in the day. It did not help that the hospital was next to a large muddy field and oil palm plantation.

Despite the knowledge that good nutrition aids patients in their recovery, the food served was dire and was always cold so that bacteria could have multiplied in them by the time they were served. A sample menu I encountered was cold bee hoon soup (served in portions smaller than a standard Chinese rice bowl) or a curry puff for breakfast and, for lunch and dinner, cold rice with a small portion of vegetables and two thumb-sized pieces of chicken or half a small fish. All the patients around me had to have relatives bring in extra food for them or had to nibble on biscuits and fruit to supplement their paltry meals.

Just like the situation in my schools, a recent visit to the same hospital showed that little has changed. The most visible change was the words ‘Hak Kerajaan’ spray-painted on each and every small, dilapidated cabinet at the patients' bedsides.

I urge the government to provide clean, functioning toilets and shower facilities in all hospitals and to improve the quality of food served to patients. All windows in hospital wards have to be fitted with mosquito nets and more fans installed for the comfort of patients.

3. An overhaul of the drainage system and cleanup of polluted drains, rivers, lakes and beaches nationwide

I believe the stench from the monsoon drains filled with oily, rainbow-hued sludge should not be part of the Malaysian ‘mamak’ or roadside eating experience. There should be strict enforcement of waste disposal laws and clear guidelines on the disposal of oils and fats made available to industries, households and those in the food business.

An upgrade of exposed, stagnant drains across the country should be undertaken so that they are covered and flow smoothly without the need for constant de-sludging. Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Johor and the east coast states should not have to be subject to periodic floods. True, floods strike even countries like the US and England but these rare events and more often due to freak weather than failure of adequate drainage.

Communities (except small indigenous ones living in the jungle) that channel their sewage and dispose their waste into nearby rivers should be resettled until redevelopment of the area makes it safe and healthy for them to live there without polluting the rivers. Ditto for lakes and beaches.

These are projects that might take one, two, even three or more Malaysia Plans to fund and carry out and will cost even more for maintenance but there will be corresponding "giga" returns for every Malaysian north, south, east, west or centre in the long term.

I have not the slightest doubt that if funds are allocated and disbursed and the projects are carried out without corruption or cutting corners, Malaysia will be given an added thrust towards First World status bigger than any rocket can ever manage.