Lately, there has been a lot of news going viral concerning Sri Lanka’s inability to function as a progressive country. The country is not able to provide its citizens with many basic necessities. Among others is a shortage of fuel as well as soaring food prices causing many citizens to miss their meals and go hungry. it is said to be the worst monetary crisis since independence. Riots and fights are simply happening everywhere and people are concerned for their safety. Economic experts remark that everything boils down to economic management. The minute Sri Lanka was not able to pay its debts it lost its reputation as a progressive country. Many economic sectors were badly affected by Covid-19 pandemic and the country is helpless. According to Statista.com, Sri Lanka’s debts amounted to around RM282 billion.
Many Malaysians feel sorry about what’s happening in Sri Lanka but cannot do much to help. But, have Malaysians ever thought about whether such a scenario will hit Malaysia in future. Lately, we have heard about many debacles happening in Malaysia. The latest news making its rounds is the financial status of Sapura Energy. It is believed that the debts of Sapura Energy are about RM10.66 billion. Apart from Sapura, there are also many big companies in the red with losses amounting to billions. One good example is Malaysian Airlines or MAS. The government has on many occasions pumped in money to turn it around but has not been successful. Once again I believe that it all goes down to management. The trend today is if there are any companies going down the government expects Petronas to bail it out. What happens if unfortunately, Petronas has financial problems. Then, we all go down!
Today, Malaysians at large are getting restless about the financial state of Malaysia too. Lately, there was some news going viral that Malaysia has debts amounting to RM1.4 trillion. We hope it is not true and is the strategy of some quarters to tarnish our reputation. And, on top of it, there was news too that the International Monetary Fund has warned Malaysia that it is in a humungous economic dilemma. Malaysia happens to be the second-largest debt country in Asia after Sri Lanka. To add to this, foreign investors are running away from Malaysia mainly to Indonesia. They say that the investment climate is unsuitable in Malaysia. A report from UNCTAD indicates that lately, we had only about USD2.5 billion in foreign investment as compared to Singapore at USD58 billion, Indonesia at USD18 billion and Vietnam at USD14 billion. Even Thailand and the Philippines had USD11.4 billion and USD6.4 billion respectively. If these figures are true they paint a bad picture of Malaysia. I wonder if our management is going the right way. We have a huge cabinet with 70 members and if the key ministers are doing their job, then we should fare better. The status now indicates that the cabinet members are on the fritz. And, on top of it, we had three Prime Ministers since the last general election. All these do not augur well for Malaysia. It’s a shame as at one time we were branded as the “Tiger of Asia”. But now it looks as if the tiger has lost its tooth.
If these statements are true then we Malaysians should be responsible or else finally, we may have to suffer like Sri Lanka. But, the onus is on the government to ensure the country is financially stable. But, the question is, how can the country be financially stable when corruption has reared its ugly head here. Corruption, many believe is the worst crime that can ever be committed. If someone murders another or commits adultery it only involves another party but corruption will put the whole country in danger. Sadly, it even happens in religious institutions. Here most people running the organisation are from religious backgrounds but when it comes to money they become a vampire. Malaysians are synonymous with throwing rubbish, not flushing toilets or spitting all over but all these habits are nothing when compared to corruption. Corruption is rampant. Many ministers have ongoing cases going putting taxpayers’ money to waste. These people should have been role models but have broken the promise they made on the day they received their posts as members of the Malaysian cabinet from the King. What a shame!
But, everything is not too late. We cannot be complacent. The government can turn the situation around. What they need is basically responsibility. We have great resources; petroleum, rubber, palm oil and timber among others. We also have Malaysians who have a good track record in managing finance. Many have graduated from Harvard and Oxford. If we are brave and pessimistic these people can turn the situation around. As a Malaysian, I know it’s possible. Let’s do it. It’s not impossible.
Palaniappan Karuppan is a content writer under Headliner by Newswav, a programme where content creators get to tell their unique stories through articles and at the same time monetize their content within the Newswav app.
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