Malaysia 2020 Where Art Thou?

How is it that the man who holds the country’s top post, a post that demands the most ethical and integral a person to occupy can so far avoid scrutiny against a very serious charge of murder?

Ever since the days of our much loved 4th Prime Minister of Malaysia and Malaysia’s longest serving dictator, Mahathir Mohammad, we have been touting the idea of a Malaysia being a developed nation by the year 2020. That’s just over 10 years away, a very short time. Let’s see, 10 years is like how long my daughter has been on this planet. She was born in the year 1999 and it’s now 2009 and unfortunately nothing much has changed to make Malaysia a developed nation in this past 10 years. How is it then that Malaysia and its esteemed leaders still think this goal is achievable in the next 10 years when we have hardly made any progress in the last 10 years?

On my recent trip back to Malaysia I noticed nothing much had changed over the years. Here are just 10 reasons why I think Malaysia will struggle to achieve developed nation status by the year 2020:

1) Malaysia’s public transportation is still in utter shambles. The buses are never on time, the services are mediocre to say the least, taxi drivers are still ripping off passengers under the noses of the authorities, usually at world renowned landmarks like the Petronas Twin towers and the international airport. The rail system usually cannot cope with the demand and experience frequent downtimes due to a lack of proper maintenance. It is also inadequate and proposals to extend it to more populated areas like Subang and Cheras have not come to fruition despite years of talking (usually during election time).

2) Traffic on the roads seems to be getting worse, especially during rainy days where you can be caught in a jam for hours before getting to your destination. The government have not been able to build sufficient roads which are toll free for the masses to use. What roads that have been built using private/ public companies are charged heavy toll fees and are under utilised. The drainage system on most roads has not been improved and it’s not uncommon during heavy downpours to have sampans (boats) on the roads in addition to the cars. The road rage bullies are also all over the roads and as usual think that the roads belong to them and no other. There is little chance of these bullies getting caught by the authorities either or nothing a RM50 note won’t be able to “solve”.

3) Malaysia is still using manual toll collectors instead of scanners or readers to deduct the toll monies. The automation or a lack of automation of such straightforward processes like toll collection reflects a lack of technology, lack of willingness to use the available technology or it could be a matter of keeping these people employed in the highly skilled job of putting their hand out to collect coins or a combination of these. Whatever it is, having people at toll booths to manually collect coins are the distinct characteristics of a third world nation and not a developed one.

4) The scourge of illegal workers loitering around our greatest landmarks like Bukit Bintang and KLCC has made these places dangerous especially late at night. The Malaysian authorities do not seem to have the resolve to address this issue satisfactorily.

5) Crime in Malaysia has worsened over years. From triads to illegal gambling dens to snatch thefts, not a day goes by without a headline or two highlighting the worsening crime conditions in Malaysia. Imagine what hasn’t been reported. The Home Minister mentioned that crime has worsened because of the public’s demonization of the police. Can we not blame the public for being pessimistic that the crime situation is not going to get any better in Malaysia if we have goons like that in charge? It is also widely rumoured that the Malaysian police force is in cahoots with the triad bosses dealing in illegal activities. The link goes all the way to the top, the Chief Inspector of Police. The Malaysian police are also perceived by a vast amount of the Malaysian population to be a tool of the government to stifle dissent and to put political opponents in jail. Anyone blowing the whistle against government corruption will be interrogated and harassed by the police instead of them focusing on the alleged perpetrators of the crime.

6) The country is still corrupt, from our politicians to our police and even our lawyers and judges. What is more worrying is that as a country Malaysia have fallen 9 places in the corruption index from last year. Whatever happened to the drive by the police to rid their officers of corruption by getting them to wear a badge saying “no to corruption”? Just symbolic without any conviction, one would guess.

7) Malaysia still practices institutional discrimination where “bumiputras” are accorded preferential treatment in business, education, housing, politics and banking to name a few. For example, a multi millionaire “bumiputra” will get a 7% discount on housing when a less financially accomplished non-bumiputra cannot. There are many universities in the country that reserve places to majority Malays, placing hardly any relevance to grades or academic accomplishments. Needless to say, as these students were gifted their places in their universities, they are less able to fulfil the requirements of the real working world so employers are reluctant to hire these graduates when they come out. Those who missed out on a place because of the colour of their skin are forced to go to foreign universities. Very few bother to come back.

8) Malaysia’s per capita GDP is in the region of $7,000. Most developed nations are close to $30,000. In a stumbling bumbling statement to the media, Malaysia’s Prime Minister mentioned his intention to grow Malaysia’s per capita income by 9% per year to more than double to $17,000. Many have rubbished this as the country is only growing between 3%-6% in recent years and Malaysia will have to achieve China like growth for the next ten years to realise this unrealistic goal. In a later retraction, Najib mentioned it was more like 6% and that there was some miscommunication in the media. By the year 2020 most developed nations will be approaching $50,000 per capita income.

9) The Malaysian press and the judiciary have been seen to be siding with the government. From selective reporting to self censorship, only “good news” about the government is reported and “bad news” kept hush hush. Of course any bad news about the opposition parties and their members are prominently broadcasted. The top circulated English, Malay and Chinese newspapers in Malaysia are all government owned. It’s hence not surprising that it’s news and it trustworthiness will fail to meet any country’s minimum standards of journalism bar a few like Burma and Zimbabwe. The judiciary is no better, siding with the government to persecute political opponents, hence eliminating them as threats. With the help of draconian laws like the Internal Security act, the Official Secrets Act, Sedition Act, Criminal Defamation, Printing and Publisher’s Act and a host of other outdated and suppressive laws, the judiciary has been successful in bringing this once unflappable pillar of justice to the prejudiced and corrupt institution it is today.

10) Malaysia’s Prime Minister has been repeatedly implicated in the murder of his alleged Mongolian lover and until now, neither the police, nor the courts or the parliament has had the resolve and conviction to get to the bottom of this. Any thoughts of linking the Prime Minister to this murder have been briskly addressed by the government machinery by threats of jail or violence against the instigators. How is it that the man who holds the country’s top post, a post that demands the most ethical and integral a person to occupy can so far avoid scrutiny against a very serious charge of murder? In most developed nations, the top man cannot even have an outstanding parking fine. As they say in Malaysia, “Malaysia Boleh!”

To be able to achieve developed nation status, you cannot just build tall buildings and tolled roads. It’s also not about breaking the Guiness Book of Records for baking the longest pizza or spending millions of ringgit of tax payer’s money to tag along with the Russian astronauts to space. It’s about the maturity of the nation in its legislature, executive, judiciary, infrastructure, public services, social services and people. This maturity is in the form of financial, integrity, social, moral and behaviour. It’s not about building a building but maintaining it as well, so generations of people can enjoy using it. It’s not about holding elections once every five years and proclaiming to the world that Malaysia is a democratic country. It’s about having an impartial election commission, free and fair press, freedom of information and freedom of expression. This unfortunately is where Malaysia is left wanting and unfortunately it hasn’t changed much in the last ten years.