By : DANIEL JOHN JAMBUN
THE LATEST report which says
that Singapore is the wealthiest nation in the world by GDP per capita, beating
out Norway, the U.S., Hong Kong and Switzerland, has further embarrassed our
own country, Malaysia, which is Singapore’s closest neighbour and economic
rival.
This report is especially
painful for Malaysia because we know Singapore started off as an island of
fishing villages with no natural resources. It survived and prospered as an
entrepot (a trading post where merchandise can be imported and exported without
paying import duties), and imported raw materials for its needs, industries and
exported processed products to the world.
It is still buying nearly
everything from other countries, mainly Malaysia, including sand, water, oil,
vegetable, fruits, to name just a few. As of 8 August 2010, Singapore is the
fastest growing economy in the world, with a growth rate of 17.9% for the first
half of 2010. Malaysia on the other hand is struggling to achieve the official
target of 4% to 5% growth for this year.
A Reuters quarterly poll in
July estimated Malaysia’s GDP growth this year at 4.2 per cent. On the other
hand, the Wall Street Journal report is replete with superlatives about
Singapore economic performance, among which are as follows:
“Singapore’s GDP per capita
– at US$56,532 in 2010, measured by purchasing power parity – is the highest in
the world, topping Norway (US$51, 226), the US (US$45, 511) and Hong Kong
(US$45, 301).
The report also predicts
that Singapore will hold its place as the world’s most affluent country in
2050…. Singapore will see a 67% increase in centimillionaires over the next
four years – [centimillionaires are those]
with over US$100 million in disposable wealth…. Singapore has the
highest percentage of millionaire households in the world, a title the
city-state has held on to for two years running….”
Some of the factors
contributing to Singapore’s forecast performance are its ‘human capital’ – a
skilled and educated labour force (which is likely to lead to better long-term
prospects for a country’s economic growth), the dynamic business environment
(with legislation to match), openness to trade, capital mobility and foreign
direct investment…. Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea are employing the same
Singaporean strategies on Human Capital where the brightest and the brilliant
are attracted from all over the world, universities rankings are among the top
World 20. Surely something must be
really right, as these countries do not have Natural Resources.
In our beloved Malaysia,
everything is the opposite, our government legalised 1.6 million foreign
unskilled labourers who are non-taxpayer ‘Bumiputras’ consuming all the
benefits funded by us taxpayers; our universities rankings have slided from the
World Top 100 to unbelievably low levels so much that we have difficulty in
competing internationally. Our brightest and brilliant are forced to mass migrate
to Singapore, Taiwan and overseas.
This is very ironic because
we have immense natural resources which were extracted for half a century but
our country seems to be always in debt and short of funds. The vast revenues
obtained from tin, rubber, timber and petroleum had not done much to secure our
economic standing. It is unbelievable that even Petronas, the supposedly
superrich Malaysian corporation, is in danger of going bust. Surely something
must be really wrong.
A site, tranungkite.net
writes that Petronas “has squandered its tremendous reserves for a number of
projects it had no business to be involved in. It owns Putrajaya, the
administrative capital that is a drain on the public purse. It owns Proton, the
F-1 motor racing circuit in Sepang, and a slew of companies and products that
is far removed from its main product: petroleum.
The US$1 billion sponsorship
costs for the F-1 championship in Sepang and the Sauber Petronas F-1 racing
team appears to matter more than the future of its 70 IT specialists. It owns
the Petronas twin towers, forced on it by the government so the Kuala Lumput
City Centre (KLCC) would show the world how developed a country Malaysia is.
Its considerable funds are used to cover government shortfalls and other
financial needs. I suspect the Petronas management sees red ink dominating its
balance sheets after its unrestrained financial profligacy.”
The latest glowing report on
Singapore should serve as a warning May Day signal to Malaysia to revamp its
system so that its public service is more transparent, honest, bribe-free,
absolutely professional, and pro-growth in its approaches when dealing with
investors and technocrats.
In Singapore, the civil
servants have very strict instructions to use all available government means to
facilitate the license and permit applications by business people, and to
assist them in all technical matters that arise. The civil servants are totally
forbidden from accepting any gift of any kind, nor to accept dinner invitations
from businessmen.
Singapore has the high
international reputation of being bribe-free and has a highly conducive
business environment. On the contrary,
bribes in the form of money and dinner invitation are expected by Malaysian
civil servants, and there is a strong culture of ‘undertable’, and even ‘over
the table’, dealings to lubricate business with the government.
No wonder Sabah, with all
its wealth of natural resources, had become Malaysia’s poorest state. As if it
is not enough that the state civil service is so corrupted, it also has to
share its wealth with the BN-held states in the Peninsula.
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