by M. Bakri Musa
Millions of Chinese had a rude awakening when they returned last month from celebrating their Lunar New Year in their villages. They discovered that the jobs they had in the cities before they left only a few weeks earlier had now disappeared. Tragic though that may be to them individually, the aggregate loss pales in comparison to that suffered by their government through its massive investments in the stocks of American companies and other paper assets like bonds and Treasury Notes.
If only the Chinese government had invested in its people, imagine the good that would do to them, and to China. If their government had spent the funds to build better schools, Chinese schoolchildren would not have dangerous physical facilities that collapse with the slightest tremor. Had those funds been used to build affordable apartments, the Chinese people would have been better housed. That would at least help alleviate their miserable existence.
The Chinese people suffered twice. First, they worked incredibly hard under intolerable conditions and insufferably meager wages so the West could enjoy inexpensive consumer goods. Then the foreign currencies earned by their government from the exports created through their hard work vanished with the downward spiral of Western economies.
When Western consumers could no longer afford to spend, the Chinese were forced to work under even harsher conditions so the products they make could be sold cheaper still. This is just a modern twist to the old “coolie” concept. In the early part of the last century, millions of indentured Chinese were brought to America to work on the gold mines and railways. Today the coolies remain in China; America brings in only the products of their hard labor.
China is not alone in engaging in this folly of investing abroad instead of in their people, so is the rest of Asia. Singapore lost a hundred billion dollars on its American investments. On a per capita basis, Singapore’s loss is massive and readily dwarfs that suffered by China.
Granted, Singaporeans live in a different universe from those folks in China, at least with respect to the creature comforts of life, though not in personal freedom. That notwithstanding, imagine how much better off Singaporeans would be if only their government had invested in them instead of being enamored by the fancy financial papers hustled by those Ivy League-educated white boys on Wall Street.
A Singaporean friend who owns a subsidiary in Silicon Valley lamented that the secretary to the head of his American company enjoys a lifestyle far better than his: larger home, a decent car, more social amenities, and better opportunities for her children. Meanwhile back in Singapore my friend has to make do with one of the pigeon holes of a home in those monotonous urban high-rises, and his children have to spend what little spare time they have in “cram schools.”
On another level, had Singapore invested those billions in nearby giant Indonesia instead of faraway America, imagine how much good it would do to the poor Indonesians. More pragmatically, a developed Indonesia would be a more high-value market for Singapore’s products and services. Besides, imagine the gratitude and goodwill created through such investments. You cannot put a monetary value to that. Indonesia desperately needs those investments; America could easily do without Singapore’s dollars.
Malaysia Fortuitously Spared
Fortunately in this current global crisis Malaysia is spared this tragic fate of losing its investments abroad. This is not the result of any brilliant foresight on the part of the nation’s leaders, rather the consequences of our own harrowing experience with the Asian economic crisis of 1997. For one, Malaysia has not yet fully recovered from that trauma and thus does not have the extra cash to be investing in any new and exotic financial instruments concocted in the West, those acronym-filled papers that are the “assets” of what former Finance Minister Tun Dain Zainudin derisively termed the “cowboy economics.”
For another, the capital controls implemented by Mahathir, though now largely dismantled, have left a deep impression on Malaysian economic managers, immunizing them against future meddling in such poorly understood foreign “investments.”
That has not always been the case. Prior to 1997, agencies of the Malaysian government were active players on the London Stock Market, as well as the London Metal Exchange and the Foreign Exchange Market.
It was at the London Stock Market that Malaysia executed its famous (or infamous, at least to the Brits) “Dawn Raid” on September 1981 that effectively nationalized the huge British plantation company, Guthrie. That was hailed as a brilliant move that also satisfied our national pride. It proved that we natives were fast learners and could be just as agile as those pros in the City, a much-needed confidence booster for those who require it periodically.
Malaysia’s brash attempt to corner the world’s tin market at the London Metal Exchange also involved mega sums. This time however, there was no rush to accept responsibility for this squandering of citizens’ precious funds. There were other colossal losses, including Bank Negara’s forex debacle, as well as the now defunct Bank Bumiputra’s many expensive foreign misadventures.
Again, I could only imagine the immense good had our government invested those precious funds in our people instead. Although average Malaysians have it considerably much better than the average Chinese, nonetheless our quality of life could always be improved.
Contrary to the soothing but misplaced assurances from our leaders, Malaysia cannot insulate itself from the current global economic storm. There is no “comfort zone.” Yes, Malaysia was fortunate enough not to have been entangled in those highly deceptive newfangled financial instruments with such fanciful acronyms. However, when our biggest trading partner and consumer of many of our commodities is in economic difficulties, rest assured that Malaysia will also inevitably be roped in.
Invest In What You Know
Like other countries, the Malaysian government has also introduced its own economic stimulus in an attempt to deal with the crisis. Our economists too have read Maynard Keynes and understood the rationale for counter cyclical public spending in a downturn.
Understanding the concept is one thing, translating it into reality in our local context is entirely another matter. The challenge is to make sure that our economic stimulus does indeed work, meaning it does spur the economy, and that our investments are indeed investments, meaning they would produce returns in excess of the capital expended.
At the height of the dotcom boom, the legendary American investor Warren Buffet was asked why he was not investing in that sector. He answered, “I invest only in things I know!”
I live in California and know that the real estate dynamics in San Francisco is radically different from that of San Bernardino, so I invest only in my community. I can at least follow the trend. Yet we have bankers in Singapore and Beijing pretending to be knowledgeable about real estate in the entire United States. That is the only explanation for their readily investing billions in securitized American mortgages!
Follow Warren Buffet’s maxim: Invest only in what you know. What do Malaysian leaders know? For one, more than any Western banker or Nobel prize-winning economist, our leaders know our people, their daily needs and living conditions. So invest in them, our people. For another, the economic “multiplier” of such spending is considerable; there is no such local multiplier when we invest in foreign stocks and other paper assets.
Our leaders are aware of the deplorable conditions of our schools especially in rural areas. They also know that these children risk their lives daily in crossing rickety bridges to get to schools. When they return home, their houses are flimsily built and in an unhealthy environment. They also have poor access to healthcare. So why not invest in building new schools, bridges, clinics, and affordable public housing?
Similarly we all know that those rural children could not get good teachers. So why not invest in teacher training and provide greater incentives for teachers to serve in rural areas?
The beauty of such investments is that they generate values way over and above the capital and other efforts we put in. The benefits are also enduring, and indeed “recession-proof.” Should there be an economic downturn, the superb education those children had received would still be with them; likewise their good health. Indeed a populace that is healthy and better educated, and thus productive, is the best weapon against a downturn.
In the last budget, and also in the proposed additional stimulus, considerable sums were devoted to investing in the local stock market and in furthering the government’s already considerable involvement in the private sector. Come another recession or a market misjudgment, such “investments” could easily evaporate. We have already squandered hundreds of billions on Bank Bumiputra, State Development Corporations, and the myriad GLCs. All we have to show for such investments are some old, tattered letterheads. We have not even learned any useful lessons from those debacles.
Let the investment bankers, brokers and other middle men and paper shufflers invest in exotic financial assets; governments should invest in their people, and in infrastructures that would enhance their lives. Those are the only investments that are properly the purview of governments, not company stocks, foreign bonds, or fancy derivatives.
Investing in our people is also the only effective way to prepare them for the increasingly competitive world. More significantly for leaders, that would also ensure that come election time when citizens would make decisions about their future, our leaders would not be rudely awakened to find themselves without jobs.
Year in and year out, with great fanfare, American so-called “economists” receive the Nobel Prize for Economics. Their economic “theories” have lead to the greatest economic disaster since the great Depression of the 1930s. Isn’t it time that their Nobel Prizes be withdrawn and they be held accountable for their economic failures?
Our leaders are aware
No they’re not! That would make what they’re doing criminal, rather than merely feckless.
Investing in teacher training is pointless if there’s no money in rural areas to pay teachers. You can’t push teachers into rural areas, you’ll just end up with thousands of highly-educated, bitter socialists determined to overthrow the government, as my French teacher friends tell me they are (though I believe they’re not badly supported by the French state). You have to have funds in the rural areas ‘pulling’ teachers, doctors and entrepreneurs back out of the cities. Malaysia needs a cost of living allowance, paid without question to anyone who holds a MyKad.
A rural area with a thousand villagers living in it should be receiving a million ringgit a year for adults, and about the same again in education vouchers for children. A rural area with money to spend can arrange their own well-paid, well-equipped teachers. The money must be paid to individuals rather than anybody claiming to represent individuals, or Malaysia would once again be “Investing in Leaders”.
YB
In our environment, our “Leaders” indeed “Invest only in what you know”. Their own pocket.
(“Our leaders are aware of the deplorable conditions of our schools …….rickety bridges …..houses are flimsily built ….. poor access to healthcare. “) And En M Bakri thinks that the “Leaders” don’t see it?
We need a 2 party colorless system, to at least start curing these ill. Competition will force politicians to have enough political courage to “Invest In Our People!”
Well written article.
Another similiar article on economic history won`t repeat it self but human does.
http://oystercove.wordpress.com/2008/12/12/economics-history-never-repeats-itself/
Japan, although with its limited natural resources, was able to rather quickly rebuild itself and its economy after its defeat in the Second World War.
One major reason for this was that Japan had recognised its people as the nation’s most indispensable resource.
Almost three decades ago, the Look-East policy was implemented over here to encourage Malaysians to learn and emulate the work ethics of the Japanese people, but it appears that the Japanese standards are too high for our local people…
another super duper article!
good article but bad readers. i have the highest doubt that any of the UMNO-BN leaders would want to even visit this blog. Their arrogant and ego deafen and blinded themselves.
invest on people? lets dream…
infect they will…
invest to own pocket
invest to cronies
invest to own future
invest to buy frogs
invest to build car and cows agencies
invest to foreign holiday bungalow (Australia??)
invest to develop youth thugs or legalize gangster
invest to create more traffic jams
invest to increase citizen cost of living
Invest in people? M. Bakri Musa must be kidding!
Does he know that most of our unemployed population are from the category of the fresh graduates either from secondary schools, from colleges or from universities? Most of these unemployed people are not trained in the usual livelihood skills like how to slaughter a chicken or how to clean up the cow dung in order to prepare a conducive living environment for the cow calves.
Recently, the Federal Government is contemplating of granting the qualified unemployed university graduates the course fee for agricultural training or animal husbandry training and to provide them a subsidy of RM500 per head per month. Will these financial aids help to encourage the unemployed people to work hard in any possible job being offered to them and not to be too choosing in job seeking? I doubt so!
If the local Malaysian young people can prove their good work attitude to the employers, I believe many employers will be willing to lay off their foreign workers in order to reserve the job vacancies for the local young people!
Sorry, typo… “too choosing” should be replaced with “too choosy”
Japan made a conscious and deliberate decision to industrialise and move away from agriculture more than a centuary ago. They have the determination to labour on. Of course after the second world war, their economy benefited from US’s assistance. But outside help can only get them that far and the rest of the journey must be still covered by using self-generated enery and enthusiasm. Our umno government too made a conscious and deliberate decision to industrialise. But unfortunately for us, we are hampered in our effort by the insatiable wants and needs of umnoputras – all of which were deceitfully couched in the name of preserving malay rights or maintaining fair distribution of economic wealth, or fighting poverty etc etc. And look even during difficult times like now the umno controlled highway operators are still asking for toll increase. Directly or indirectly, one way or another, we are still paying an increased toll. Differing the toll increase means subsidy payment by the umno government using our tax monies.
The BN government has been/is investing heavily in their own people and cronies.
Malaysia has always been investing in the advancement of our UMNOPUTRAS (close one eye when you see an UMNOPutra dishing out contracts to relatives and cronies,close one eye when you see UMNOPUTRAS sticking their dirty fingers into the cookie jar etc etc),how come you don’t know that Bakri Musa??
“….our leaders know our people, their daily needs and living conditions..”
Is this a joke?
Education marks the dawning of a new civilization. During these period of recession, if what Bakri has written will come true i.e. that the government would invest on the future leaders in the country, Malaysia would see a dawning of a new era whereby all Malaysian regardless of race and creeds are literate and beyond that, world class scholars and intellects. I wonder where Japan would be today if after they got bombed by the Americans, not invested heavily in their education. If they can do it, why can’t we?
/// On another level, had Singapore invested those billions in nearby giant Indonesia instead of faraway America, imagine how much good it would do to the poor Indonesians. More pragmatically, a developed Indonesia would be a more high-value market for Singapore’s products and services. Besides, imagine the gratitude and goodwill created through such investments. You cannot put a monetary value to that. Indonesia desperately needs those investments; America could easily do without Singapore’s dollars. ///
Bakri Musa, I don’t know where you have been hiding in the last 10 years, and I think you should come back to this part of the world so that you know what is going on in your own backyard.
Singapore did exactly that – invested heavily in Indonesia after the Asian Financial Crisis, when no western countries would want to touch Indonesia with a 10-foot pole. It invested in the telcos and banks. As a result of Singapore sticking its neck out to help its neighbour in confidence building, many investments from other countries followed. Indonesia was grateful – yes, gratitude and goodwill.
But that only lasted for a couple of years. Once the crisis was over and Indonesia was firmly on its feet and the stock market recovered, the hanky-panky and under-hand tactics began to surface. Siingapore/Temasek was forced to sell one of the telcos as the laws were retroactively changed to make it “illegal”. It was legal when the deals were done, but once the investments began to show profits and value, they became illegal. Same shenanigans with the banks. Thank goodness, that there is poetic justice in the case of Temasek being forced to sell Bank Internasional Indonesia. And guess who was the “lucky” buyer – Maybank!!!
It is difficult to deal with ungrateful people who do not honour contracts. Why do you think Singapore is wary of investing in Malaysia?
The bottom lines for any investments by any governments are about the rate of returns as well as the risks involved. The bottom lines for any governments by any good standards are about the level of cares for its people. Do we have that necessary cares by our governments now? The answer is everybody’s guess……….
Yes, to a large extent, our leaders know, but they don’t care. For every ringgit that is spent on those truly in need, a large proportion goes into the pockets of the cronies. Schools need computers ? No problem, let’s give the multimillion RM contract to our friends or relatives. No schools ? Let’s award the construction contracts to our friendS and relatives. No public transport ? Lemme see, who can I give this to ?
Phtui !
Bakri should simply continue to be a surgeon in California and not talk about investment, be it in people or in property.
The communist system in China has managed to amass US$1.4 trillion in reserves. Half of this is going to be spent on infrastructure that benefits the people – roads, rails, airports power plants, subway systems. There’s no need for foreign labour in China, so the people from the factories that are laid off should be able to find construction jobs. We all know that when the communist government says that will spend this amount, there will be minimal leakage. Anyone who steals from public coffers and is caught faces the death penalty.
Can you say the same for Bolehland ? Do we have enough money to spend on public projects ? After decades of depending on foreign labour, can Malaysians who are laid off from factories in Singapore and Penang work in construction projects ? Lastly, how much of every ringgit spent is going to BN cronies ?
Remember, Bakri, the word “stimulus” in Malaysia refers to what jolts the pockets of those in power.
/// Remember, Bakri, the word “stimulus” in Malaysia refers to what jolts the pockets of those in power. ///
Yes Don – every time I think of stimulus package, I get stimulated by my package…
The BN government has always invested in Malaysians.
UMNO Youth invests heavily in Mat Rempits and unemployable youth to rough up wheel-chair bound folks.
MCA invests in samsengs and hired killers and voyeurs to murder political adversaries, like Chua Soi Lek.
UMNO Sabah invests in Muslim Filipinos and Indonesians and Pakistanis to remain in power.
The BN government is the best investor in the world!
” ………………. investing in our people ……… ”
One only need to look at the thousands of brilliant students who failed to get study loans or places in our local universities to know that it is something this shit govt will never do. They keep the money for themselves and invest on UNMO hooligans otherwise, who’s going to do their dirty works?
Dear Sdr Bakri,
I have a real fan of u since u started your blog notes.It is well thought off articles & you are truly anak bangsa Malaysia although you are in the united states.
The true situation is that, we could have been better off than most asian countries. The truth of the fact is that in this country there’s plague know as Corruption. This plague started about 25 years ago by a virus named Mahatir/UMNO/BN.
What we are witnessing is the remedy being given to eradicate the virus in our society. As doctor, i am sure u are well aware, sometimes you need to give a patient, multiple dosage of the antiviral in different strength over a period to actually destroy it. On March 8th, the nation’s doctor administered the first dosage to cure the disease, but it was not potent enough. Consequently, some smaller dosages were given but still was not good enough. However given some time, i think the disease/virus “Corruption” can be contained & eventually the nation can cured.
Right now the disease/virus is fighting back, as you know virus can be very adaptive to new antigens.
However, the nations doctors have began a long and drawn out fight to cure the disease. I can pray to heavenly father that the ordinary Malaysians prayers will be answered.
Like it is said “No Good Deed Goes Unpunished”. Please continue your writings.
///That notwithstanding, imagine how much better off Singaporeans would be if only their government had invested in them instead of being enamored by the fancy financial papers hustled by those Ivy League-educated white boys on Wall Street///– Bakri Musa
Not sure what it meant by investing in Singaporeans. If it is a case of getting Singaporeans better trained, or be better citizens, then the author must be talking about truism that when one throws money, some good come out of it, in Singapore at least.
The investments made by GIC overseas are the excess capacity which they could either keep them in Singapore banks’ vault, or do some other investments with calculated risks. Yes Singapore has lost money investing in banks which the US government refused to bail out. That happened only once after 80 years from the 1929 depression and the world learns that nothing is too big to fall. It is easy to criticize based on wisdom of hindsight, or what is the practice of UMNO, to bet on others’ open cards.
The trillions dollars of investment China had in USA was not larger that Malaysia’s foreign reserve on a per capita basis. That was only petty cash to China’s wealth.
Malaysia could earn a living in good time by being labour contractors, importing semi finished goods, and add some input from cheap labour. That simple work seems too tedious for the local, and foreign workers have to be employed. The local have lost their work ethic to the extent that foreigners are preferred even when they face the down turn, or even if the employers have to pay more to keep foreigners. That was the results of Malaysian government making investment on its people; well the correct class of local citizens where the beneficiaries would work once in four years, to cast votes for them.
The role of the government is to maintain civil society like any other governments to ensure that laws are observed and upheld with observed fairness and justice. Leave the investment to the people.
Yes. Invest in fellow Malaysians. But is the government honestly doing that ? The talk of human asset and human capital remains just a talk. The reality is Malaysia is investing in a dream castle flying in the air and of being a first world country by the year 2020. The reality is investment goes to some people whereas other people are being outsourced. Instead of working in Malaysia, they contribute their brains to another country. Or if they are working in Malaysia, they are being sidelined and you cannot invest anything in sidelined workers. Dr Zambry’s speeches reflect a Chief Minister that is out of touch with the grassroot people. If he and his gang think that they are cleverer than the rest, this means that there is no big returns from the human capital investment. In fact, there is really not much of a big return. Quality of education is going down. Kids are becoming more rebellious. Many adults drag their feet to work. Social problems becoming more despite appearing to be more religiously holy. Economic crisis is here. A change of lifestyle. More foreign workers coming in. These are what happen when there is no wise investment in Malaysians.
http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/18734/84/#jc_writeComment
written by Super Admin, March 02, 2009 22:36:57
All I hear is empty talk. The revolution is in Perak. Don’t be another SamYap. Stop talking. Go to Ipoh and do something. Nizar needs our support now. We need hundreds of thousands in Ipoh tonight. And stop bitching about the Sultans when you have done nothing to help. Losers.
Guys, Ipoh needs the supporters, pronto !!!
The Gomen of Singapore or China was not without plan, they invested for long term interests of their country. Without the Americans buying those ‘cheap exports’ China would not have those Trillions in the first place. Looking into the future they decidied to use the reserves to lock into raw materials. Of course sooner than later they would have to back it with their planes and warships if the contracts are recinded without compensation.
In the case of Singapore, they too were in the same situation when we decided to’ kick them ‘ out of Malaysia. They might have lost Billions but they still got Billions left. Anyway they don’t have to call for us$73 Billions bonds if you believe Mathias Chang, the die hard spokeman for TDM!!
We can all plan with the advantage of the hindsight, even at this moment, our Gomen has not realized or refused to realize what is happening in our economy! They don’t need to train their people they can always wait for migrants from Asean to feed them with supplies. All trained and ready to serve their economy.
Why? because of the corruption all around them! they know trained, educated and thinking people would prefer their envirornment although very crammed but a more open chance of success based on individual’s performance.
Let us see what our GOMEN can do with the current economic woes!!
History repeated itself….uncle Sam got jittery of China might
They will start opium war strategy…
I think you have to look at the economy as a whole and not selectively. If China and Singapore are not active participants in the global economy, China situation will be worse than India, since China started off worse than India. And Singapore situation will probably be the same if not worse than Malaysia, since Singapore does not have any resources. What is the big deal of losing some after gaining so much. Surely you can’t stay winning all the time and not even Mr. Warren Buffet can do that.
I think the Chinese Government has done a good job in building up their country. Just look at the number of cities that are being built or rebuilt and the roads, railway and other infrastructure that have been built over the past 15 years or so, I don’t think any country could have done that on that scale and speed in history.
China needs to grow at least 5% and US to stabilise to avoid further global problems.
‘Invest in our people’ becomes ‘invest in the MIC’
I donated for the 2004 Tsunami Relief Fund. How the Hell did my donation ends up in the MIC account? 5 years has gone by and the money still hasn’t yet reached the victims!
As a matter of fact china and singapore invested astronomical sums in their people directly through education etc as well as indirectly through public projects (of course not of the crystal structure sort we have by umno government).
Teach our Mat Armpits more innovative ways to do wheelies.
Teach our No-No Youths the proper way to shout, abuse and demonstrate.
Teach our Rela fellows and Raid squads how to conduct raids and to spy.
And teach some of our leaders how to think.
We should also consider whether some portion of our human capital are educatable and trainable and if their minds have been shut-off and are not receptable to alternative views and positions. Or whether such investments will only enhance their already closed minds and narrow thoughts.
Anyway, 0803 is this Sunday.
Are the rakyat still as euphoric as on 0803 last year?
Has PR done any good and brought any change to the nation?
Has BN changed for the better?
How come in Ipoh our mata-mata can tell our elected assemblymen “YB tidak boleh masuk” the state secretariat building to participate in the emergency sitting of the state assembly?
They’ve invested in THEIR people, not OUR people. As a result, they’ve produced such towering figures like Zamry, Najis and Mike Tyson. Of course they’ve produced idiots too – like cintanegara and chengho.
Sorry, a repeat.
///On the political situation in Perak, Abdullah said he could not understand why Speaker V. Sivakumar resorted to the controversial action of calling for an emergency sitting of the state assembly when the country was plagued with more serious economic problems.
He said since Pakatan Rakyat had brought the validity of the Mentri Besar to court, the Speaker should have waited for the court’s decision.///–Star online 4 March 2009
PM AAB asked a pertinent question, but to the wrong person. The country was facing serious economic problems when Najib decided a month ago that the Kataks whose status as SDUN are questionable counted towards supporting BN, and grabbed power of Perak resulting in the legality of which being subject to court ruling. It was Najib’s action that set the train of unbecoming events in the country. The question AAB asked of Speaker Sivakumar should have first been asked of Najib. PM AAB dared not asked Najib that question because he is subservient to Najib as proof that he could not even stick to him own exit plan. Why then did he choose to make stupid statement? Probably he has to do it to maintain his life after office.
The country is a police state, and that was why AAB asked Zambry, the questionable second MB of Perak, to make police report. So police is the highest authority on the land authorized to decide whether a meeting called for the meeting of elected ADUNs of Perak by the Speaker of the Perak Legislative Assembly was legal. The police have chosen to use the law which was meant to prevent illegal assembly of persons who are thought to be liable to cause physical violence to stop elected representatives and the speaker to perform their official function under the law. The government of BN and the government of Pakatan might differ on the legality of the decision resulting from the proposed gathering they have the court to decide, based on rule of law. The police have neither the authority nor competence to decide on the matter and as a government institution which should be neutral to political parties, the police should have provided the required protection to the meeting so that ruffians would not try to endanger the lives of the elected ADUNS. But the police have chosen to take side. The IGP might not know his job, but the PM suggesting that Police had the authority to intervene did not help.
Malaysian government has been investing heavily on a portion of the people who have been recruited to serve in government services. But all those resources have been wasted. Had the government not chosen to invest so heavily on them, with an eye for the ballot boxes, the country might not be so near to conditions in Zambabwe. The only chance for the country to recover is to repeat history. The fate of colonization might return.
Why must M.Bakri Musa study so much about China’s faults.when 10 times more committed by UMNO are not exposed by him at all.
Many who read….’Millions of Chinese……” may think so huge amount…but he never said..how many millions…..out of more than 1300 million population in China. What is the percentage?
Here…UMNO keep depriving more than 35% of its populations….fair ans square deals..in everything.
Why Musa be like Mahathir…so smart to judge others…when person is totally unfair and unjust to Malaysians.
Since the government is finding difficulty in finding qualified non malays to fill post in government and GLCs I hope that YB Lim will take up in the nest sitting of parliament the need to provide affarmative action for this group of people so tht they too can play a role in this country that reflects their racial composition.
[deleted]
///If their government had spent the funds to build better schools, Chinese schoolchildren would not have dangerous physical facilities that collapse with the slightest tremor. /// — Bakri Musa
Premier Chu condemned those sub-quality work in the past, and those found to be involved in corruption would have to pay literally with their life. We have shoddy work everywhere in Bolehland, and those involved are happily doing it over and over again. MACC ws supposed to stop those practices, but it seems that it is created for car and cows.