Malaysiakini | May 20, 11
The DAP continued to harp on the “subsidy opium” notion raised by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, saying the BN government has fed Malaysians with “opium” over the decades to hide the impact of its massive corruption, cronyism, leakages and maladministration.
National DAP publicity secretary Tony Pua described BN as the “drug pusher” that has fed “opium” to Malaysians in increasing doses over the years to mask the fact that the Malaysian economy has been unable to grow at the necessary pace and competitiveness.
“As a result, the people are unable to increase their income at a pace faster than the rapidly rising cost of living.
“Hence, the BN government uses ‘opium’ to keep the general populace in an artificial state of bliss and ignorance, so that Malaysians are stuck in a middle income trap and rising income inequality,” the MP for Petaling Jaya Utara (left) said in a statement today.
On May 17, Najib told an audience at Oxford University’s Centre for Islamic Studies: “Subsidies as a whole are like opium. Once you take opium it’s hard to kick the bad habit; once you provide subsidies it’s hard to take them away without some political cost.”
According to media reports, the government is mulling to increase RON95 petrol price and electricity tariff.
In his statement, Pua accused BN of weakening the nation’s economic competitiveness through inefficient and ineffective policies, hare-brained projects and rampant corruption, while the population was induced with a “feel good” factor over the past two decades.
He cited the multi-billion ringgit Port Klang Free Zone scandal and the RM888 billion capital flight out of the country from 2000 to 2008, which was announced by the US-based financial watchdog Global Financial Integrity (GFI).
Pua explained that the increasing production of oil and gas as well as rising international oil prices had allowed BN to deceive the people with subsidies all these years.
Plundering nation’s wealth the real problem
However, as a result of extravagant and unproductive government expenditure over the past two decades, the BN government now finds itself having difficulty reducing the budget deficit and feeding its cronies, while continuing to subsidise the people at the same time.
This subsidy phenomena, he said, was not the real problem faced by the Malaysian economy: the real problem is the plundering and pilfering of the country’s wealth by the BN government and its crony business interests.
“Therefore, even if the ‘opium’ addiction is removed, the plight of the economy will continue because all that’s saved from the ‘opium’ will still be pilfered away.”
The only way to revive the country’s economy, according to Pua, is for the BN government to place the interests of the citizens above that of its cronies and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its expenditures, as well as to take pro-active measures to improve transparency and accountability to reduce corruption and leakages.
“Without these key measures, removing the ‘opium’ addiction will only be a short-term measure that will not lead us to become a high-income nation,” he warned.
The RM888 billion were taken out from Malaysia could be seen here: http://iff-update.gfip.org/
Taib has billion RM property in other countries could be seen here: http://www.sarawakreport.org
Taib is one of many corrupted politicians bred by inefficiency of Anti Corruption Agency which reports to prime minister department.
Leaders (like Mahathir) of Barisan Nasional are actually closing their eyes since Mahathir’s ruling time. Mahathir has talked too much while he could not even raise the value of Ringgit while he kept on attacking our neigbour Singapore which is a near site for us to learn.
The rural people like our Malay friends and Orang2 Asli friends do not have computer to see all these Web sites.
We need our friends of Malay, Indian and Orang2 Asli to fight BN together. Please spead the news about how corrupted BN is.
Let’s put aside differences in religion but focus on not voting for BN. Let’s give a Pakatan a chance to rule like Penang state governemnt who has received in 2009 a praise from Transparency International – 1st time in the history of Malaysia, no other state or federal government in Malaysia has ever got this : see page 272 at http://www.transparency.org/news_room/in_focus/2009/gcr2009
To our Malay friends, why could not Malaysian Malay is more richer than Singaporean Malay?
///On May 17, Najib told an audience at Oxford University’s Centre for Islamic Studies: “Subsidies as a whole are like opium. Once you take opium it’s hard to kick the bad habit; once you provide subsidies it’s hard to take them away without some political cost.”///
Yes subsidies is like opium, not as dangerous as NEP which should equate to heroin.
Let UMNO remove the subsidies and allow prices of essential commodities to soar and see who are the FIRST PEOPLE to jump! You bet your life the MALAYS will be the first ones for they are the ones ADDICTED TO THE OPIUM!
Did we gain independence? From the brits, yes. But immediately thereafter we as a country became colonised by umno. And purely for the purpose of ensuring its grip on power over the people umnoputras reused and recycled the brits’ strategy – i.e feeding “opium” to the people but with a modification. Instead of creating a dependence on drugs, umno created dependence of the people on subsidies. Now the great umno design and secret of 50yrs is out by admission of none other than the PM – from the horses mouth. How bold of him to confess. Perhaps he was plainly confident that after 50yrs of subsidy opium the people are now all too sick to react in anyway. In others words, he must now deem all of us sick men and women of malaysia.
Any wonder why singapore under LKY left malaysia? Smart. How develishly smart.
Yes, the love of subsidy, is an addiction, the love of NEP is also an addiction. Basically, it is the love of easy money, just reaching out a hand to grab, without having to sweat. This government has been dishing out opium and heroin, to make drug addicts of those who like clutches, and easy money. Opium also makes you lose touch with reality. You live in a dream world. When you do not have it, when you return to the real world, you get violent, because you cannot face the real world.
The scriptures is correct, the love of money is the root of all evils. How true.
This government makes you love money, easy money. Gets you addicted.
We must change the tenant at Putrajaya.