As I read through Ramon Navaratnam’s letter on Malaysia’s 'skewed economy model', his take on five-year development plans and the role of annual national budgets, I can’t help but to provide my own views on this.

Malaysia’s high household indebtedness is not just due to the high cost of living. There are a series of other factors that account for this.

First, wages, as a component of the gross national income (GNI), are way too low. Entrepreneurs, businessmen and real estate owners get way too much in this country.

Our government’s policies in allowing unfettered entry of foreign workers further depress the already low wages. Development plans and annual budgets have talked about equitable distribution of income since I was young.

This ‘equitable income’ has stayed the same, or has become worse, even as I am now growing old.

Housing and cars are relatively expensive in this country. With wages hardly growing in real terms, many have resorted to loans.

Loans are easily available, not so much to help those in need but to keep the economy 'buoyant'. This is the economic model we are practising - we want those who can least afford to spend more to keep our GDP growth robust. It sounds oxymoronic, but it is true.

The moment an economic slowdown is detected, let’s reduce the contribution to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), lower interest rates to spend more and relax the loan conditions to allow for more lending and borrowing.

The thought was for the business community to continue to prosper, not for the plight of the people from the working class, who now need to incur more debts. Over time, it has become a habit.

'Spend first, think of consequences later...'

Many Malaysians today have lost their money management skills. Spend first, and think of the consequences later. Sometimes, it is excessive borrowing and spending that lead to high inflation and high cost of living.

There are good and prudent ideas in our five-year development plans and annual budgets to provide us with holistic and balanced development. But the problem lies with implementation and evaluation.

When a new five-year plan is launched, or when an annual budget is tabled, there will be pomp and pageantry. New policies, programmes and projects, eloquently formulated and written, are presented for all to get excited, and mainstream economists will heap praises and pleasantries.

But here is my take: have we ever once evaluated, assessed and measured the outcomes of our development plans and annual budgets?

Let me cite a few examples. If we have taken into account all rural water and electricity supplies projects, I think by now all our rural areas will be drowned by water pipes and electric cables.

Similarly, if we have implemented all the health and education programmes, as promised, I think by now we would be able to find schools and clinics with proper, and trained, teachers and health workers at every nook and corner of the country.

By the same token, if we have carried out faithfully all the 'restructuring' and 'bumiputera' programmes, I think most Malays and bumiputera would have attained wealth and ownership status at par with the other races in the country.

If we have carried out all the R&D programmes, from nano technology to research grants to ICT, I think by now we would have attained scientific standard par excellence. There is no need to wait for 2020.

If we have carried out reform and public sector transformation, as promised through Pemandu and other agencies, there will be no need for the DG of the Department of Occupational Health and Safety to say the department has only 12 site supervisors to oversee the hundreds of construction sites in the Kuala Lumpur. This would be a mega baloney.

There is now a total dissonance between development plans, budgets, implementation and outcomes. Plans and budgets are just occasional pomp.

As I see it, the government is now acting on impulse or on whims and fancies. Was 1MDB featured in any development plan or in our annual budget?

Where did 1MDB come from, and how was it able to take so much of government lands and raise so much debts with government guarantee? And, when our MPs listened to, and debated, on past annual budgets in Parliament, did they know what they missed?