I refer to the Malaysiakini report M'sia may be the next Greece, warns economist .

Referring to the above I would like to comment on the economist's Danny Quah's thoughts and his laughable reasons.

Firstly, I feel the economist is speaking and promoting the GST just like a politician. Rather than explain the true benefits of GST, he chose to try and hoodwink Malaysians with his lame reasons.

The economist also failed to address the many issues the country is facing at this moment in time. Everytime there is an economic downturn, we are almost certainly hit and brutally too. Some, without even proper economic knowledge or training and being 'self-appointed financial gurus' chose to assure us that everything is alright and still rosy, which is not actually the case.

I have no degree and am not economically trained to explain in detail the micro and macro of it but neither do the 'self-appointed financial gurus' who assures us at the onset of the downturn that Malaysia will not be 'so badly hit'.

My fears are not unfounded as I have reasons to believe that Malaysia is in dire straits and if the citizens choose to ignore the signs and keep on harping on useless issues like race, Ketuanan Melayu , this rights and that rights, we may soon find ourselves to be indeed like Greece because we chose to close an eye over the issues we face now.

These are the reasons why I think Malaysia is in trouble and going broke;

1. We were informed approximately only 1.8 million people pay personal taxes while we have over 1.5 million civil servants - which only indicates one thing - Malaysia is highly inefficient and is wasting a lot of taxpayers money.

2. Lowering taxes both for corporate and individuals to the tune of 1% per year for the next five years is not a long-term solution. This amount pales in comparison to what the population will have to pay in GST over five years and we are not talking about only the 1.8 million taxpayers but the entire populace in Malaysia, including the corporate bodies.

3. Malaysia's economy is not in the best of health. I can attest to that as I am a businessman myself. Compared to the same period last year, we have seen a drop of at least 75% in orders year on year.

I am not only talking about my company alone. I have spoken to several of my friends and they concur with me. All this talk about Malaysia's growth of whatever percentage Prime Minister Najib is feeding to the general public is nothing but the pure fiction of his mind.

4. Where are the FDIs? If indeed Malaysia is already out of the woods, why is there still this uncertainty in many sectors? All Najib can say after his recent visits to several countries is that he did not come back empty-handed.

Yes, I know it takes time to convince and bring in the FDIs but shouldn't he be have started his work a year ago instead of harping on ‘1Malaysia’ and all that rhetoric? We have really seen no changes at all. It remains all but rhetoric.

5. Since Najib became PM, how many ‘amanah saham’ has he launched? Correct me if I am wrong but isn't this like selling the country's debt to the citizens, just like Greece had done?

Am I not right to say that the country has dug too many holes for it to cover so much so the government has to ask the rakyat to bail it out, albeit in a polite way?

6. Why then is the government spending so much on defence? Are we at war with someone? Or are we preparing for internal strife and that the government is fearful it may not be able to protect itself and the interest of its cronies?

I can understand the RM1.8 Billion for the replacement of the Nuri helicopters but the RM8 billion for armored personnel carriers (APCs)? Are the APCs purchased by Malaysia any different or is this another case of commission payment, just like for the 'un-divable' Scorpene submarines?

7. The government was so gungho talking about the RM67 billion stimulus package and several key politicians - the latest being DPM Muhyiddin - announced that the package had been fully dispensed and utililised to implement projects.

Where are the projects and which companies are the beneficiaries? So far, we have not been informed nor told clearly. Is this the government’s form of transparency? Why bother preaching when you do not mean it? We certainly did not feel that the stimulus packages did anything for the Malaysian economy. Would the government care to be transparent on this matter or is it the OSA for anyone who wishes to discuss about it?

There are just so many things that seem wrong with the economy but the government keeps assuring us that things are alright. The Malaysian public has a right to know how the government uses our money and where it's spent. Until the government practises true transparency and accountibility, the rakyat will not be at peace and will continually seek the truth.

I am no economist but please do not treat the common citizens of Malaysia like we were just born yesterday. Malaysians are more intelligent than some care to give us credit for. Rebut me if you think my fears are unfounded. Many more, I am sure share the same opinion.

We, the citizens, feel the heat while some can comment and talk from the comforts of the corridors of power because the money they spend does not belong to them.