SOS: The 11th Malaysia Plan


Koon Yew Yin
23 May 2015

In a recent Barisan controlled newspaper, the following headline screamed out for attention: “There is continuity in all Malaysia Plans, says Najib”. The Prime Minister further argued that claims that policies in each Malaysia Plan is disconnected from the other are not true, said the Prime Minister.

Yes, we agree – there is continuity. There is continuity in the unwillingness to put a full stop to the NEP policy. There is continuity in the massive corruption that accompanies every Malaysian Plan. This has happened especially since the 1980’s when the practice of giving out large contracts and concessions without competitive open tenders became institutionalized under Dr. Mahathir’s version of “crony capitalism”. There is continuity in the refusal to practice the system of meritocracy – the only sure way to ensure that we can join the league of modern and developed nations of the world.

Lies, Damn Lies and Malaysian Government Statistics

What has the Prime Minister highlighted by way of the country’s achievements in his presentation of the Plan in Parliament according to the print media. The following are some of his claims:

• Economic growth that is supposed to be among the highest in Asia

• We enjoy clean water and electricity

• Almost all Malaysians can read and write

• More than three quarters of households have their own homes

• More than one quarter of the labour force has tertiary education

• There is almost zero percent poverty rate

Reading the so-called accomplishments listed by the Prime Minister will leave most Malaysians in two minds. Whether to laugh or to cry at how desperate Najib in trying to show what a good job he is doing as the Prime Minister. They will also be wondering what a bad job his team of highly paid consultants must be doing.

Firstly many of the indicators compare our situation in 1970 with the situation today – almost 50 years later. All countries in the world – even the least developed – have enjoyed progress in the selective indicators littering the Plan report. Secondly, the last three of the six indicators above appear unbelievable.

Few people living in the Klang Valley, the most heavily populated part of our country, will believe that only 25 percent of households are not living in their own houses. I suppose what some “ampu bodek”staff from the Department of Statistics has done – whenever he or she has encountered several households occupying one living space – is to count all of them as owning their own homes, thus boosting the incidence of home ownership!

We have seen how adept at fudging and spinning the Government has been with the 1MDB. I will not be surprised if the same manipulation and selectivity, if not outright lying, characterizes most of the statistics put out in the 11th Plan.

Statistics on our True International Standing

But let’s assume that the Prime Minister and his team are really serious about moving Malaysia ahead during the next five years. Let me provide just one suggestion.

I propose that the 11th Malaysia Plan focuses on critical indicators which show the deep hole that the Barisan Nasional government has dug Malaysia into. This would be more useful to the nation than for Con Sultans to trumpet indicators that permit the rakyat to feel good and think that the BN is doing such a great job.

And the clearest evidence of the deep hole we are in is how we compare with other nations in independent international rankings of education, competitiveness and other key indicators that are purged from the 11 Plan document.

Although I am not an expert on statistics, let me give some examples of the alternative indicators of development that should appear in the 11th Plan and which can show our true standing in the world

• OECD Ranking in Science and Mathematics

• UNDP Human Development Index Ranking

• Extent of Liberalization of Economy as shown by GLC share of share market

• Extent of Out Migration of Skilled Malaysians

• Extent of Influx of Foreign Labour

• Illegal Capital Flight

There are many similar ones banned from the Plan report which other readers can provide.

I have titled the article with the initials “SOS” of the emergency cry for help. Malaysians will also be aware that the initials also stands for “same old stuff” which is the impression one comes away with after ploughing through the Plan document.

  1. #1 by boh-liao on Saturday, 23 May 2015 - 11:15 pm

    D <50% MINORITY voters who voted 4 UmnoB/BN in GE13 must b very pleased with d performance of d ppl they voted 2 rule dis 1DERful nation
    Very happy too 2 pay MORE 4 everything after d implementation of GST
    They had indeed SOS, Sold Our Souls/Savings, 2 UmnoB/BN

  2. #2 by boh-liao on Saturday, 23 May 2015 - 11:21 pm

    Meritocracy!?
    Even football also LOST 2 d little Red Dot – LionsXII won Malaysian FA Cup
    What 2 do – instead of improving d standard, EASIER 2 kick Lions OUT n STOP Lions fr participating in d competition in 2016, right?

  3. #3 by boh-liao on Saturday, 23 May 2015 - 11:31 pm

    Can dis nation succeed?
    http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/299407
    Sure CAN 1, only abt 5,000 of d 1.6 million CS were found 2 have a performance score of below 60%
    Veri committed work force we have indeed, bagus

  4. #4 by waterfrontcoolie on Sunday, 24 May 2015 - 1:06 pm

    We have made all kinds of claim; many obviously designed for propaganda to the poor ignorant folks whose only communication to the globalized world is Utusan which for practical purpose and intent will only lead them to the hallucination of their mind! You just take the AEC issue for instant. Najib is the chairman of ASEAN but what have we done to inform Malaysians of the inevitable changes come and being shafted into Malaysians’ mind all this while? Yet in Thailand, the government has spent so much to inform its population of the imminent impact on competition in every respect of their life. The Thais government has even put up a video to show what their people can expect from the proposed hi=speed railway system linking up their population centers as well as the proposed line all China to Singapore! Their people are mentally prepared for the forthcoming changes as a result of AEC to their outlook as well as the expected openness of the Community. By the way things are developing back here, I don’t think many Malaysians are mentally prepared for such challenges. We have allowed local politics to influence every action of our life and allowing all the past advantages that the nation has gathered and built literally ‘going to the dogs’! With China aggressively building up her infrastructure which is being extended to the whole region and even to Africa and Latin America; are we prepared to play our rightful role in such developments? Obviously, we have not even start to think about it! Even the CON-sultants are just vomiting out what the Government wanted them to conclude. We could be the only ASEAN member who spends hundreds of million for such reports just to shove into the shelf!

  5. #5 by undertaker888 on Sunday, 24 May 2015 - 3:15 pm

    When we asks why car prices are expensive compared to developed nations, they said it is not fair to compare like this. When we asked why implement GST, these same idiots said developed countries have these too. That’s why I hate those hypocrites.

  6. #6 by Noble House on Sunday, 24 May 2015 - 5:04 pm

    I came across this topic on how Capitalism in different countries, explained with cows, so absolutely perfectly. Who knew cows could be so informative? I would just describe two of such here:

    TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM:
    You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income.

    AMERICAN CAPITALISM:
    You have two cows. You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company. The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. You sell one cow to buy a new POTUS, leaving you with nine cows. No balance sheet provided with the release. The public buys your bull.

    MALAYSIAN CAPITALISM:
    You have two cows. Both were infected with Mad Cow Disease. You secretly exchanged them for condos and managed to get away with RM250 millions in hidden profits. The public gets milked.

  7. #7 by boh-liao on Sunday, 24 May 2015 - 6:27 pm

    Of cos almost ALL info n statistics coming out fr AhCheatKor’s mouth n P’jaya are NOT 2 b believed
    ACK had blatantly told a big fat lie over 1MDB’s cash
    Still OK 1
    Even though MMK asking ACK 2 b charged, criminal case

  8. #8 by boh-liao on Monday, 25 May 2015 - 11:57 pm

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