What has not gone spiraling cost-wise for consumers in Malaysia these days?

The latest implementation of an almost overnight hike in parking rates in the federal capital city of Kuala Lumpur has drawn an overflow of protests from citizens and consumer groups as well.

The Goods and Sales Tax (GST) implementation now appears like the start of an avalanche of raining blows on the citizens’ purse strings. The plunging global crude oil price did not see any lowering of pump prices and cost of consumer goods.

The increase in toll rates and now talk of further increasing public transport fares is almost choking the wage-earners, especially city folk.

While retailers and small and medium businesses are almost flattening out under the increasing pressure of worsening sales, even wage-earners are not seeing any pot of gold - let alone even flakes at the end of the rainbow given the stagnating wages and the weakening of the ringgit.

While we have the fairy-tale promises of ‘endless opportunities’ by Malaysia’s leadership and the multi-billion dollar seeming financial miracle of 1MDB that so far only seems to be under siege unceasingly in the global media (owing to constraining laws that clip the mouthpieces of local media), wage-earners and businessmen shudder at what else to expect come tomorrow.

The political masters and their sacrosanct dependents may echo a different rhyme. They have repeatedly offered arguments in support of the ever-increasing burdens on citizens’ purses. It is always a case of comparing how other countries are squeezing their citizens even more.

But we fail to take cognisance of the real financial and economic architecture of Malaysia that is cemented in the New Economic Policy, hatched decades ago. This is the benchmarked bottom line that sets us far apart from all economies elsewhere that operate on Adam Smith’s economic system.

And for argument sake, if you take the trouble to scale Cameron Highlands and see for yourself how the tea planters are still hovelled in green, wooden sheds, you will understand the plight of the Malaysian economy.

Indeed the price increases that are squeezing the ordinary citizens and earnest business community is not going to do any good eventually to this nation that thrived on oil money and bellwether for the past sixty years.

And given the rickety-rocking political situation in the country, at some point we will hit the flash point of no-gainers-but-poor-losers. The question then is who will be the scapegoat?

If we truly care about this nation and its future, we need to stop being sacrosanct dependents of any and all unethical motivations and power brokers.

The road ahead is a definite T-junction given all these pressing burdens falling on families and wage earners. Ultimately it has to be one where the leadership ceases this yoking of the wage earners and business communities with this persistent short cut monetary bagging.

If there are no forthcoming sound and transparently consultative policies arising from capable and prudent inputs, then the citizens will take the alternative route to desist. Time will decide.

Hopefully therefore, all stakeholders will marshal their strengths in the interest of citizens, wage-earners, business communities, and the nation’s socio-economic and political future.