I refer to the Malaysiakini report Najib unveils RM60bil stimulus package .

Although the government has finally acted and accepted the fact that the country is going down fast, surely this package has come a bit late but then as the saying goes ‘it's better late than never’.

This late realisation of the economic crisis was probably due to the overwhelming attention paid to political manouvering to regain power in the ‘lost’ states. Well the people are always the ones who suffer when the ‘elephants’ fight each another.

Be that as it may, the stimulus package is not small in quantity but will it permeate down when it comes to quality implementation?

Will the government lay open its cards and show the people with pure transparency that the money is being well-distributed to the rakyat and not to cronies, rent-seekers and totally-failed politically-connected companies?

We need not do it like the Americans who are trying salvage their big car companies. I say let them fail and then reorganise. After all, when the people are short of money how can they think of buying new cars. Where will there be buyers?

Yes, motor manufacturing employs a lot of people but the local car manufacturers have had a good time for quite some time so surely they can use their reserves to help their workers. But it is okay if the government gives retrenchment benefits to such workers directly and to all other affected workers in other industries as well.

This will benefit the workers more directly. Still, the distribution of the stimulus package’s benefits downwards must not be flawed and all loop holes for a possible siphoning of funds by political patrons must be identified and plugged.

I hope with such a huge economic crisis we are facing now, the government will do it right this time. Show the people their money is getting to the rakyat and be totally transparent for once.

And what are the other measures that will help the rakyat immediately? Here are some ideas:

a. reduce the electricity tariffs

b. reduce road tax or reduce toll charges across the board (tell the concessionaires this is a big crisis and they should do ‘national service’ by suspending their agreements for the next three years. Better still nationalise all the toll concessionaires which are bloodsuckers as far as the rakya t are concerned)

c. give direct income tax rebates for the lower and middle-income earners

d. give milk allowances for children below five years of age

e. give maintenance allowances to workers who have parents over 60 years of age

f. reduce the water supply tariffs

g. reduce consumption costs. For example, hawkers increased their prices when the petrol price went up and when the petrol price came down, the hawkers didn’t reduce their prices.

So look into ways to make such form of price increases come down as every worker has to eat their lunch in coffee shops and canteens. Control the food prices. Make suppliers and retailers reduce their prices too

h. provide food coupons for workers and retirees

i. reduce transportation costs for chool buses, taxis, rail services, public buses

j. give parents with school-going children allowances eg, RM20 per child in primary school, RM30 per child in lower secondary and RM40 per child in upper secondary

k. give retirees some allowance and other vital benefits such as free intra-city transport, discount coupons for food etc.

Since we are facing a national crisis it is hoped that the government of the day will not be partisan and impose conditions when distributing the stimulus package’s funds to the opposition- ruled states.

After all, the people there are rakyat too and they pay their taxes. And further more, the government of the day always boast that thay are a government of the people and for the people.

May I remind the government that they are not only for Barisan Nasional only.