With All Eyes On The UMNO Elections, Whose Eyes Are On The Nation?

Do we give a dipstick on who would be the next UMNO president or VP? Does it really matter except the fact we kind of know, who the next PM and DPM would be since by pure default it has to come from UMNO? Does it really matter who gets the nominations to vie for the post (up for offer) in the coming UMNO convention?

In fact, if you really look at it; it doesn't really matter at all. When all eyes are turned to the squabbling of career politicians looking to secure their positions in UMNO, the state of the nation is not addressed.

Who is looking into the state of the country's economy? Who's going to put into place, safeguards to protect the populace when the recession hits Malaysia? While all these UMNO putra folks are squabbling over position and status, who is looking after you and me?

The American DOW JONES tumbled to its lowest level in 5 years yesterday. Governments in Europe are preparing bailout plans to save their financial institutions and these same governments are watching Asia. Markets all over Asia (and the world) are taking a tumble, Malaysia included. A few years back, Pak Lah used the KLSE as a barometer to gauge the health of the nations economy (that time we were riding high) and commented that Malaysia was moving along strong. Well, take a look today at our KLSE and with the current slide, the economy is headed for a heart-attack.

The economy is sliding down-wards yet the cost of living is going up. Why? Because the current BN government raise the price of fuel so drastically it took everyone by surprise. The populace cried foul but our BN MPs rubber-stamped the decision and told us to change our lifestyles. Was there not a decent brain in parliament at the time they debated the bill to increase the fuel price?

Raise the fuel price and traders will raise the price of goods. Simple logic, you don't have to be a "British trained economist" to know this. Then we get the announcement, the government will review the price of fuel on a month-to-month basis. They have since reduced the price of fuel twice and I'm expecting another price cut at the end of this month because the price of crude is hovering below USD90 per barrel.

Reduce fuel price but has the price of goods been reduced? No.

Even if the price of fuel returns to a point below RM2 per litre, the price of goods will remain where it is now. It makes pure business sense to keep it there. Business is about making the highest return on your investment, no business minded trader would want to lower the price of their goods when they are already making huge profits now.

So the BN government, in saving their subsidies, placed stress on the populace. Where is the rational in that? Did the BN MPs have that in mind when the bill was tabled in parliament after the fuel hike? So with Najib as Finance Minister and PM in waiting, will we see a reversal of all these "smart" economic decisions?

It seems a trend in Malaysia in recent years; if a Minister express discontent with a particular group then the police would investigate. This can happen even after the incident, then the police would step in, do some questioning and arrest a few people, and Minister happy, BN happy and people confuse.

HINDRAF would be investigated for unruly behaviour at the Raya event the PM had last week. Question-why weren't any arrests made at the time of the offence? The police were there, the press was there and the PM was there, yet no arrest for "unruly" behaviour. Why only now, a week after the incident, there is a call for the police to investigate HINDRAF and since when was "unruly" behavior at a Raya gathering threatening to national security?

This is a trend that needs to be checked and countered. It clearly shows the police agency under the influence of those in government positions and the directive seems to flow from these ministers. It should not be this way, the police have to investigate when there is clearly a crime committed and not on the perceived pretext that a crime was committed.

In the wake of all these things happening to our nation, the limelight is on the UMNO elections. Reading about who gets the highest nomination from the divisions is better than watching paint dry but what relevance does that have to me? I want to hear news about policies the government will put into place to counter the global crisis hitting our economy, which in turn will affect whether I can put food on the table. I want to know whether next year I can afford to put my kids into school as the cost of education steadily rise.

With all eyes on the UMNO elections, whose eyes are on the nation? (By MACLEAN PATRICK/ MySinchew)

MySinchew
2008.10.18