YOURSAY | ‘Ultimately, it's about fixing rules, empowering people, accepting risk and imposing meritocracy.’

10 ways to increase incomes, raise living standards

David Dass: This (increasing incomes and raising living standards) seems simple enough, yet so hard to do.

Malaysiakini columnist P Gunasegaram says what everyone knows is required. Improve education. Educate the young for jobs. Make English language proficiency a priority. Every school, whether religious or vernacular, must give equal time to core subjects.

Good education at all levels ensures high worker productivity. That will bring higher wages. That will free us from the middle-income trap that has resulted in many young professionals seeking jobs overseas.

We bring in low-cost unskilled foreign workers. That has two consequences. It depresses wages for our own people, with employers obviously preferring cheaper foreign workers.

It also removes the incentive for employers to find ways to reduce dependence on foreign workers, either by introducing technology or by moving into less labour-intensive industries, and reducing leakages.

That requires the government to be open and transparent. That requires competitive bidding. That means friends will not be preferred.

Also, repeal repressive laws that discourage open debate and criticism of government action. Open debate throws light on dubious transactions, and helps the government find the best solution for difficult problems. It also keeps people in power humble.

Put the best people in critical jobs, whatever their race. All races should be represented in government. Provide incentives for multiracial start-ups. In that way, knowledge transfer can also take place.

Make sense of our diversity. Take advantage of it. Do not let PAS and others like them continue to stoke fears of Muslims interacting and befriending non-Muslims.

This is our country. Let us all work together for the betterment of all. These are simple things, but worth repeating. And repeating. Well done, Guna!

Clever Voter: Guna’s 10 recommendations are not new. The politician’s role is to create and facilitate a conducive environment for everyone to contribute and thrive in an open economy. But it's easier said than done.

The overreliance on government is obvious, as every single thing one does is regulated right down to the toilet paper.

The new government seems reluctant to decentralise and deregulate. Rather, they are just continuing what was left behind.

Business is addicted to cheap labour, while the government is clueless and lacking the courage to change the existing rules.

In the final analysis, it's about fixing the rules, empowering people, accepting risk and imposing meritocracy. Only when we see tangible results can we then talk about improving everyone's reward.

Quigonbond: Spot on, Guna. The real issue is Malay leaders in Pakatan Harapan jostling for power. Everything else becomes tradable in the process.

Admittedly, there are difficulties, for example, in finding the right people, needing to manage racial/religious bigots and their agitations, not having enough money to spend – but what we really want is for them to stop their internal fisticuffs, and show a united front and just proceed with the reforms.

We also want honesty and transparency. It is fine if they stumble upon a financial or parliamentary roadblock (such as amendments requiring a two-thirds majority) but at least show that they are ready to go once they are able to overcome such roadblocks.

It’s not that the ministers don't have the right ideas. It's the internecine war that is paralysing Harapan.

It may be a good thing for DAP to lose Cameron Highlands, and more importantly for Bersatu to lose Semenyih, so that they finally wake up and instead of pursuing the two-thirds of Malay votes that they don't have, they work harder at keeping the one-third that they have, together with the vast majority of other minority groups.

Snowcrash: These are all excellent and level-headed propositions, but I feel that there are certain pushback criteria that need to be acknowledged, and met head-on.

For the first suggestion (cut corruption and patronage right to the bone), we need to be aware of the fact that the current winners of the corruption and patronage game will resist vociferously, and the usual divisive tactics will come out of the playbook.

Always remember – when you're in a position of privilege, equality looks a lot like discrimination.

For the suggestions on immigration and labour costs, let’s ask honestly – are Malaysians prepared to pay a fair price for labour?

Everything that I've seen tells me that Malaysians say that they would like fair wages for all, more local employment, and less imported labour, but most of us are simply not willing or prepared to pay for it.

Are we willing to admit that getting house cleaners for RM15 an hour, or getting teh tarik for under RM2 is not reflective of what a liveable wage in Malaysia would be?

Like I said, these are excellent propositions, but we must be honest about the pushback that will be received.

Anonymous 3441500861569: Perhaps Guna should have reviewed the government's publicly available revised five-year plan – the Mid-Term Review of the 11th Malaysia Plan – in order to anchor his analysis in something concrete.

He would find answers to many of his concerns there and realise that his closing recommendation has already been met.

It's also helpful to note that the five-year plans are now evaluated annually on a rolling basis. There's also a new industrial master plan that is forthcoming.

Prudent: Only one commandment should be enough – Guna’s second commandment, to pick people based on competency.

All the other commandments depend on getting the second one right. They will all come right if the government gets number two right.

Ex-Wfw: Some had commented that the list is simply fanciful, but remember, many other countries even within Asean are making changes similar to what Guna is talking about.

If we still think that we could get away with our past behaviour and performance, we will be in a shock come 2030!

With our current attitude and sadly our approach to education, I won't be surprised if we are rated in the bottom third within Asean.

We keep on dreaming of our past performance in the mid-last century. That was 50 years ago and all those Malaysians have left their posts to watch, in frustration, what the government has been doing the last 50 years.

Adapt or disappear will be the guideline for this coming decade.

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