Written by Pak Sako Friday, 04 Jan 2013 16:34
Contributors
Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad published a square called 'Change' yesterday in his blog.
In it he asked because shift governments.
He then criticised a revolutionary ideology. He not often claimed that "Malaysia has no ideology".
That is utterly untrue.
When Mahathir came in to energy in 1981, Malaysia was introduced to a neoliberal ideology.
This is an beliefs that is inequitable in foster of corporations as well as capitalists.
It is a conflicting of socialism, that aspires to put people first.
The neoliberal beliefs was aggressively promoted around a universe in a early 1980s by influential! telluri an networks of commercial operation interests as well as their supporters.
Their mantra?
Sell off open assets. Remove regulations, so large businesses can run free. Control workers' salary demands. Cut open expenditure.
Mahathir assimilated a bandwagon. This is well-documented in books as well as papers.
His mercantile advisors were office worker Daim Zainuddin as well as a obvious neoliberal strategist, Kenichi Ohmae.
It was Ohmae's rejected mega-project to emanate a 'Multimedia Supercity' in Tokyo that got recycled in Malaysia as a 'Multimedia Super Corridor'. Read Dr Tim Bunnell's book, Malaysia, Modernity as well as a Multimedia Super Corridor (2004).
Ohmae's ideological change was "extremely significant". And what alternative beliefs is that if not neoliberalism?
After apropos prime minister, Mahathir quickly voiced a privatisation process in 1983 in line with a customary neoliberal programme.
Publicly-held assets were sole off to in isolation commercial operation interests, entrepreneurs as well as corporate "captains" to presumably make a manage to buy some-more 'efficient'.
But efficient for whom?
The "massive privatisation strategy" carried out during Mahathir's reign is pronounced to be linked to "increased competition for resources inside of a statute Malay party [Umno]"; it redistributed resources "in foster of rising factions centred on key domestic leaders".
That is what domestic economist Jeff Tan found out as well as wrote in his book, Privatization in Malaysia: Regulation, Rent-Seeking as well as Policy Failure (2008).
Indeed, many privatisations have been improperly justified handouts for a capitalist elite from a open coffers.
Selling off a public's land stays a lucky mercantile process of a Malaysian supervision until today. Witness a recent sale of Penang's port as well as alternative public-owned assets to well-connected tycoons.
The neoliberal beliefs c! alls for weaker worker unions so that large businesses can have a "economic freedom" to feat workers to maximise profits.
Again, a Malaysian government's development agenda subordinated work in foster of in isolation commercial operation interests in a 1980s under Mahathir's watch, according to economist K.S. Jomo as well as Patricia Todd in their book Trade Unions as well as a state in Peninsular Malaysia (1994). Labour oganisations in Malaysia have been diseased relative to commercial operation power. They have no punch to negotiate for better operative hours, conditions as well as pay.
The neoliberalism beliefs wants 'free markets' in labour, so that a 'price' of an employee (his wage) can be competed down if necessary. Fixing minimum salary is bad.
Mahathir forcefully argued against minimum salary in Malaysia, claiming it might broke Malaysia, without providing sufficient evidence ("Dr M: Minimum salary might broke Malaysia", The Malaysian Insider, Mar 2, 2012). Mahathir did not bother during all to cruise a positive aspects of minimum wages.
The neoliberal beliefs is against to clever states that without delay safeguard a people's welfare, though it supports a clever state to capacitate businesses as well as capitalists to develop freely, to safeguard corporate welfare.
This involves all kinds of hidden subsidies as well as supports for businesses, including unaware environmental regulation as well as standards.
And so we have today Lynas as well as a threat of radiation. Our rivers have been soiled by commercial operation activities, as well as nonetheless a people contingency compensate businesses to buy H2O filters for their homes as well as vegetable water.
Mahathir does not like a gratification state approach, that says 'if we scrupulously encounter simple social needs as well as bonds first, mercantile resources will come'. Mahathir prefers a opposite, neoliberal approach, that says 'support a corporate class, as well as suffici! ent reso urces will "trickle down" to a people'. Now Malaysia has a single of a aloft income inequalities amongst a Asean countries. The super-rich have been sucking hundreds of billions of dollars out of a country in illegal outflows.
Mahathir complains about an unjust neoliberal universe order, though Mahathir hypocritically follows a neoliberal ideology, says domestic science professor Johan Saravanamuttu in his book Malaysia's Foreign Policy, The First Fifty Years (2010).
Even a Nobel economist whom Mahathir is lustful of quoting, Joseph Stiglitz, has rubbished this neoliberal ideology, calling it a "grab-bag of ideas" about markets presumably serving a open interest by "privatisation, liberalization", when in fact it is simply "a domestic didactic discourse serving certain interests". Read Stiglitz's article called, "The finish of neo-liberalism?" (2008).
On debt, Mahathir says Greece borrowed a lot of money as well as is bankrupt.
But Europe fears Italy has also borrowed too much as well as is starting bankrupt.
Malaysia has been given a monetary warning: a tip debt ratings agency says our open finances have been weak, as well as have been during a same turn as debt-struck Italy ("Fitch warns Malaysia of possible hillside due to 'deteriorating' open debt ratios', The Edge, 1 August 2012).
Malaysia's debt is right away some-more than half of a income Malaysia as a total earns in a year. This debt is RM456 billion. This debt scarcely doubled given 2007, or in only 4 years.
This is to contend every Malaysian right away owes about RM16,000. If we consequence RM4,000 a month, then we need to give up 4 month's compensate to settle a debt.
Mahathir says: "Look during [Barisan's] record... compare it even with a grown West. They have been in deep monetary trouble..."
Mahathir says: "Five years to give a trial as supervision is dangerous. Many things can be destroyed in 5 years."
But that supervision doubled Malaysia's ! debt in less than 5 years? Barisan Nasional, right?
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