YOURSAY 'If the ‘dacing' hypermarket keep on increasing prices, we will shop next time at ‘Pakatan' hypermarket.'

Gov't: What choice is there but to raise prices?

your say, Yoursay Pemerhati: International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed has many other choices.

Probably the quickest way of getting hundreds of billions of ringgit is to tell all the top Umno leaders, who like to associate themselves with the late anti-apartheid fighter Nelson Mandela, that if they return all the money they have stolen then they would not be brought to justice but instead there will be a South African-style truth and reconciliation commission to ensure that all Malaysians learn a lesson from what happened, so that this kind of theft does not take place again.

If they refuse the offer, then tell them that they and their family collaborators would be subjected to the Kugan and Teoh Beng Hock type of treatment.

But unfortunately no one in the present corrupt government will do that because most of them are busy stealing and hoping to amass more than the US$44 billion (i.e. RM140 billion) said to have been stolen by just one Umno leader.

Now they are getting the Malaysians to pay more as that will enable them to continue stealing at the previous high level.

Anonymous #19098644: Start by having open and transparent tenders that will result in substantial savings, as has been proven in both Penang and Selangor.

Follow through by eliminating corruption at high levels and not at the minion level. Review unnecessary spending. Make 1Malaysia Developemnt Bhd (1MDB) which issued RM50 billion in bonds, take back the money from the Virgin Islands to Malaysia.

Freeze the intake of the civil service, which is the among the highest ratios in the world and focus on plugging the gap by improving productivity and improving work processes. Not only can we close the 4.5 percent deficit but Malaysia will also show a surplus.

P Dev Anand Pillai: What do you mean by that? What do you mean by saying there is no other choice?

If you plug the loopholes and stop the little Napoleons, little ‘abang', little ‘kakak', little ‘tuan' and ‘puan' from pocketing money from the public coffers, asking for this and that just to do their jobs, we will have the money.

You big boys show the way, so even peons and despatch boys ask for altered receipts so that they can "make some extra" from the company.

The greatest thieves are in coats and suits. They show the way so the little thieves follow by "leadership by example". And they want to be equated with Mandela. What a joke and insult to the poor freedom fighter.

Fernz: There's no such thing as a free lunch. The politicians cannot continue to plunder the Treasury under the guise of bumiputeraism and bringing so-called development to the people. A recession, if not a slump, will bring the government and the market to their senses.

Gordon Gecko: The government says, "What choice is there but to raise prices?"

Don't worry Mustapa, we the consumers will take our business elsewhere. If your ‘dacing' hypermarket keeps on increasing prices, we will shop next time at the ‘Pakatan' hypermarket. You wait and see.

Opah: When was the last time that the Malaysian government budget was in surplus? 1996-1998. Who was the finance minister then?

SpongeBob: Wrong policies, inefficiencies, imprudent luxurious spending and incompetent BN leaders, coupled with heavy corruption, has put the country into a deficit.

The inefficient BN government is making subsidy a scapegoat for its weaknesses. To save its neck, this government is removing and reducing the subsidies and everything is going up.

Why all these after GE13 election and not before? Can this amount to misrepresentation or fraudulent acts of this self-glorified BN government?

Anonymous #07521476: I think people will not be so unhappy if the government has put more effort to reduce leakages and corruption. This is what the people want to see first.

They must see for themselves that you are serious about saving money. Do it like the Selangor or Penang governments.

Lim Chong Leong: It has always been a policy of doing nothing against corruption. If something is done about it, then we would not need to cut subsidies or raise taxes.

We are the only country that pays RM12,000 for wall clocks and RM65,000 for laptops and RM300 for screwdrivers.

I have not started on defence spending yet, like the Scorpene submarines, etc. We do not need to cut subsidies or raise taxes to buy these stuff.

Armageddon: Mustapa can do three things:

1. Refer to the Auditor-General's Report and deal with all those mismanagement.

2. Refer to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) cases. Take appropriate action to reclaim the ill-gotten money and take steps to avoid recurrence.

3. Refer to the recent Global Financial Integrity (GFI) money laundering report and do the necessary.

By doing the above, we can claim back billions of ringgit.

Odin: Mustapa asking such a question illustrates either utter stupidity on his part or his refusal to accept reality.

We all know the major causes of the financial straits Malaysia is in and how to address them; it is impossible that he does not, unless he has also caught one of Umno's diseases - losing control of his mental faculty, resulting in the regurgitating of fatuous, harebrained statements.

Anonymous #12575554: Of course, you have a choice, step down and hand the country over to a capable leader, idiot.

Why should rakyat pay for gov't profligacy?

 

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