COMMENT The gross domestic product (GDP) per capita for Singapore in 2013 was recorded at US$36,897.87, compared to Malaysia’s US$6,990.25. In 1960, Malaysia’s GDP per capita was US$815.29 in 1960, compared to Singapore’s US$ 2,529.86.

In short, Malaysians are still trapped in the middle income level, or earning only three times more than the average Singaporean in 1960, compared to Singaporeans who are earning nearly five times more than what we are earning now.

The figures shows how Singapore, which started off with very little resources, has performed so much better compared to Malaysia’s per capita income within the span of 50 years.

Malaysia, on the other hand, has always been rich in natural resources - timber, oil, minerals, water, and the list goes on. Yet, by comparison, Singaporeans are far better off compared to most of us.

According to Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MICCI) executive director Stewart Forbes, the productivity of a worker in Malaysia in 2013 is equivalent to a worker in Singapore 35 years ago.

Within the entire period, Lee Kuan Yew was prime minister of Singapore, while his contemporary Dr Mahathir Mohamad was prime minister of Malaysia. The comparison of the World Bank statistics in both neighbouring countries shows how each leader had fared, in terms of leading the nation towards becoming a developed and high income nation.

With just six years to go as we become a ‘developed nation’ in 2020, Malaysia’s fiscal performance is anything but satisfactory. We are in many ways lagging behind other countries in the region.

An honourable leader would take responsibility for his own failure, instead of blaming it on the Malays, calling them lazy.

Dr Mahathir is supposed to be the Father of Modernisation. As someone said it was Dr Mahathir who had placed Malaysia on world map when he built the tallest twin tower in the world.

My answer is: “Singapore is a small nation, with little resources and a small population, and it never boasted of having a twin tower, yet Singapore has always been on the world map. Why?”

Billions down the drain

Veteran journalist the late Barry Wain wrote in his book ‘The Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times’ claiming that the former prime minister had wasted RM100 billion during his 22 years tenure.

Although Dr Mahathir had claimed that he had burnt away the amount of nothing more than RM10 billion, one fact remains that billions of Petronas money has gone down the drain over the past 50 years. What has this huge amount of money helped us achieve as a nation?

Amongst the many loss-making mega projects involving billions of ringgit of public funds by Dr Mahathir were the Perwaja Steel, Proton, and Putrajaya. As the country seeks to expand into green energy, Putrajaya with its huge buildings that consume electricity in the millions of ringgit every year is a bane.

Despite DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang’s urging to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to probe and ascertain whether Dr Mahathir had burnt the alleged sum of RM100 billion on his mega projects and on corruption, yet no royal commission of inquiry (RCI) was set up.

Between 1982 and 2008, Petronas has paid a whooping sum of RM396 billion into the government’s coffers, yet this huge payout has failed to develop Malaysia in the way it should.

Instead, our country’s finances have come to such a critical state, that now, our debt-to-GDP ratio stands at 52.8 percent. Should another crisis hit, similar to that of the Asian Financial crisis, we may not be so fortunate, since in 1997/98, the debt-to-GDP ratio stood at only 32 percent.

Since taking over the country’s top position, Najib is adamant about implementing the goods and services tax (GST). According to one cabinet minister whom I have spoken to, if the subsidies cut and GST are not being implemented, the country could go bust within eight to 10 years.

Instead of encouraging productivity, billions of ringgit in public funds are again burnt through the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) scheme.

Abuse of public funds

A Malaysiakini columnist, Mariam Mokhtar, wrote: “When a politician’s family is awarded a contract to set up a feedlot, it is ironic that they bought more condominiums than cows. Discussion of diligent financial analysis revealed to the rakyat this abuse of funds. More importantly, people learned that the taxpayers’ money is not Umno Baru’s money.”

Mariam cannot be any more direct with the way she writes her column. It is sheer abuse of public funds, worth over RM240 million, and it would be interesting to find out how much such a huge fund has helped in terms of productivity, to lessen the need to import beef from overseas.

Mariam’s cynicism of Umno Baru is understandable, but I concur with her insights that, if the abuses of fund are not curbed, it will lead to the ultimate collapse of Umno.

If even an organisation as huge as Enron could collapse, there is no reason why a political organisation could not be dragged down by the very people who are entrusted to lead the nation.

The number of big cases such as the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal came to light but for a moment after which, the then-transport minister Ong Tee Keat was dropped, and Najib promised that the case would be handled by the then-chief secretary to the government, Mohd Sidek Hassan. One wonders what has happened to the investigation, after Sidek went.

Recently, The Star reported that for the Hari Raya Adiladha celebration this year, Malaysia had to import 7,000 heads of cattle from Australia. My question is: Where have all the cows from the feedlot gone? Why are we unable to supply even 7,000 heads of cattle? The ordinary Malaysia may not remember the name of the person involved, but they will almost certain link it to a former Umno minister.

This is just one case, and I do not need to elaborate more. Every year, the Auditor-General’s Report shows huge amounts of public funds are abused, yet there is a lack of political will to plug these leakages.

One good example, although never been highlighted by the Auditor-General’s Report is the naming of beneficiary form issued by the Employees Provident Fund (EPF). Attached to every form is a set of instructions on how to fill the form, when all that is necessary is just one page of the form. The rest of the pages are then discarded.

Just recently, several MPs in the Federal Territory have questioned why the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) draft budget for 2015 was placed under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).

Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Mansor should realise that his own credibility is at stake, when MPs who are elected by the people to provide check-and-balance to the local authority, are not given the chance to debate the budget. Such things are almost unheard of in Singapore.

When there is a lack of transparency, Adnan cannot blame the rakyat for suspecting something is amiss. As a representative of the ruling party, he should not allow the DBKL draft budget to be treated as official secrets. The distrust can carry through to the next general election, and the Sword of Damocles is always hovering over Umno’s political future.

Corruption

 

Ranking 53rd in 2013 in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is not something Malaysia can be proud of.

According to an independent survey by Ernst & Young, Malaysia has been ranked as one of the most corrupt nations. The Asia-Pacific Fraud Survey Report Series 2013 found that both Malaysia and China have the highest levels of bribery and corruption anywhere in the world.

There also appears to be a disconnect between the policies that are in place and how they are applied in practice, according to Chris Fordham, EY Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services managing partner of Asia-Pacific, in the report. “Fraudulent practices (in Malaysia) are on the rise,” he observed.

In China, they shoot anyone found guilty of corruption, but in Malaysia, there have been numerous cases where both politicians and civil servants have been let off the hook. The lack of political will to address the numerous corruption cases has resulted in the depletion of much of our valued national resources.

Under such circumstances, it is interesting that NGOs such as the Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) and Perkasa have never lodged any police reports against corrupt government officials and politicians, despite being champions of the cause of Islam. Instead, they merely target members of the opposition, then talk about supporting Umno and the BN.

On corruption, a whole book can be written about it, but suffice to say that most Malaysians know how corruption has affected our lives.

Rakyat suffers

The bottom line is that we, the rakyat, will suffer as a result.

When the country’s coffers are fast depleting, subsidies have to be cut and all sorts of taxes have to be implemented to raise the monies, as we are seeing happening now.

Even Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has said that it is morally wrong for the government to implement the GST just to pay off the government’s debts, but is Umno listening to its own voice of conscience?

When the ordinary rakyat feel squeezed from all sides, the danger of Umno’s collapse is greater. This is what Umno and its component parties should be aware of if it still wants to remain relevant to the people.

Part I: Anwar’s jailing will spell Umno's own doom

Part II: Most Malaysians fed-up with the religious card

Part III: Racial politics since 'Dilema Melayu'

Part V: Draconian laws and the use of repression

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.

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