Malaysia’s glittering Twin Towers, expansive Putrajaya, opulent residential enclaves and expensive marques on the roads could mask the real ills besetting this country today.

We have done reasonably well in the past, but we have also taken in abuses, more so in recent times. I don’t know how our recent decisions will impact us in the future. I am already in my golden years, so this is not about me, but more for our children’s and grandchildren’s generations.

There are many issues we need to contemplate on but today I will just focus on foreign investments. I hope delegates to the current Umno general assembly would also find the courage to ask their leaders on this issue if they truly are concerned with this country.

In the past, foreign investments were mainly focused on manufacturing for export. This is a good strategy; foreigners came, created GDP, generated employment, and boosted our export earnings. Repatriation of profits by foreign investors has come largely from export earnings. The foreigners bore the risks. There was no drain on our forex reserves; on the contrary, it boosted our reserves coffer.

We enticed foreign investments, but we have also jealously guarded our national interests. I remember investments in services industries like banking, financial services, real estates, telecommunications, logistics and infrastructural services are subjected to more stringent conditions or even excluded.

I remember we were not hit as badly as South Korea and Thailand during the 1997 financial crisis because we did not borrow as heavily as them from external sources. Foreign portfolio investments were largely confined to holding our stocks and shares.

Today foreign investments are everywhere, not confined to manufacturing for exports or portfolio investment in stocks and shares. They are into our real estates, in fact, the jewels of our landed properties. They are also into our vital infrastructures - seaports, ‘gateways’, electricity generation, mining, banking, railroads, mega cities, tunnels and whatever.

In the near future, I do not know what others strategic assets will be gulped up by foreigners. There will be repatriation of profits and interest charges on all these investments in the future, but unlike manufacturing for exports, will there be corresponding export earnings to match the repatriation?

Malaysia’s strength in the past has always been its ability to keep borrowing from foreigners to the minimum. Malaysia Government Securities (MGS) were largely held by local institutions like the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), insurance companies and banks. But can we say the same today? Today, who really are holding MGS and bonds issued by government-linked companies (GLCs), statutory bodies and public enterprises?

When foreigners hold our stocks and shares, they take the risks of profits and losses. When they hold our bonds and securities, interest servicing and principal repayments are mandatory. Failure to pay either interest or principal is defaulting.

‘Modern economics’ always tell us to borrow, leverage and spend. Take the money first and think of the consequences later. Enjoy while we can. I can only say this - a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.