Why is Malaysia so Poor?
Note: The following has been adapted from a post to the malaysia-today.net May 2005 debate.
There are extremists who argue that Malaysia is a third world nation. But with a little logic, it's easy to see that comparing to Malaysia to Iran or Zimbabwe is just stupid. That said, we're definitely nowhere near reaching first world level.
I would say that we really have no excuse for not being a first world country. The Middle Eastern nations have fundamentalist Islam, which is somewhat limiting in personal freedoms. Indonesia has a third world population growth rate, so their economy cannot keep pace with the population.
Malaysia, on the other hand, has plenty of natural resources such as oil. There is no reason why we cannot be half as good as Singapore. Of course given the size of our country, we cannot expect to reach their standard; but even so, kampungs remain kampungs here.
There is little modernisation in the rural areas; all development is concentrated on the major cities. By contrast, Japan, the UK, US and practically any developed nation do have rural villages, but these are very well developed. You can be just as comfortable living there as you can be in any developed country's city.
And even in Malaysian cities, the standard of living is abysmally low. We still harbour squatter villages; from where I type, I can look out the window and see houses with corrugated steel roofs right next to luxurious bungalows.
The water from our taps is unpotable; it's so dangerous to be around at night, we need to hire security guards; our roads are hardly ever paved except around election time. The list goes on and on.
Even so, we are still not anywhere near the level of Iran or Afghanistan. But in the first place, we shouldn't even have the opportunity to compare ourselves to them without looking like a fool. We have oil; we have universities; we have a good basic infrastructure. So why the hell are we not even close to Singapore in terms of development?
(Infernal Ramblings is a Malaysian website focusing on current events and sociopolitical issues. Its articles run the gamut from economics to society to education.
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| Related comments from forum thread "The Death of Malaysia": | |
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lee wee tak
Member Posts: 3 IP Logged | Posted at 9:11:43 am Jan 23, 2007
John, I feel the frustration you articulated and I suppose in a brief sentence, I might just conclude that, "Malaysians deserve what they bring upon themselves." Fair bit of people I know talk more about bargains, holidays, lubangs, gossip than key issues like justice, racial relations, freedom to pursue ambitions, national survival and cempetiveness and all the other priceless crap.Prevailant too are the statement,"biasalah", "what to do?", "memang macam itu..." But, do ALL Malaysians deserve the same fate? There are many like you in the cyberspace that can see beyond the horizon but far far more living under a smug coconut shell and ignorant bliss. What can the minority do? The choices are obvious 1) migrant 2) jump aeroplane and come back to retire 3) join the gravy train ;-) 4) stay on and fight  - NGOs, your fav opposition leaders etcThe brightest Malaysians have been dragged back by the need for social justice but at what cost? True, we see some wealth and comfort around a few big cities but smaller towns are very much in 1970's mode bar some handphones and dyed hair. I do not see a way out for Malaysia. On a personal level, it won't do you much harm to try living and working in a foreign country and judge for yourself. I feel different whenever I step onto foreign soil everytime and Singapore is definitely a place that has raised my level of enthusiasm whenever I got there - but you know where I am now. If you earn the love and respect of an adopted country, it would be on merit and that could mean a lot of personal satisfaction. Malaysia's loss is Singapore's gain. |
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saigo
Member Posts: 6 IP Logged | Posted at 11:52:56 am Jan 26, 2007
I agree with John's comment concerning the language issue in public speech. Recently I attended a "ceramah" held on 24 Jan by DAP in Penang where Answar, Karpal Singh, Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng were the speakers. It was somewhat annoying listening to speeches by Kit Siang and Guan Eng who both delivered their speeches in Malay or English, then repeated in Mandarin (Kit Siang even mixed it with Hokkien liberally). This I think rendered their speeches much less effective and smooth compared to Anwar who made his speech entirely in Bahasa, except for occasional greetings in Mandarin to please the mainly Chinese crowd. |
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johnleemk
Infernally Rambling Thoughtless Mind Head Administrator Posts: 949 IP Logged | Posted at 1:18:33 am Jan 28, 2007
It's probably a sad reflection on the state of our country that 50 years after independence, many of us are more comfortable conversing in Chinese or Tamil than in Malay. Sigh... |
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tanstaafl
Member Posts: 9 IP Logged | Posted at 9:53:25 am Jan 28, 2007
Finally decided to click on your link in one of your posts in Malaysia Today .... like what I'm reading and glad to note I'm not the only with thoughts like yours. Sadly, I'm also one of those who have concluded that there are no options for my family but to either emigrate or plan our finances and actions so as to enable our children to do so in the most convenient and practical manner. As far as achieving anything in politics is concerned, my feel is that it is probably going to be impossible to make any significant changes. Sorry for being pessimistic but my reasoning lies in the fundamental problem of how do you get the majority segment of the population to forego their expectations of privilege? I'm not aware of any example where what should ideally be achieved has ever been done in the following circumstances other than at the point of a gun/sword - * non-homogenous population with substantial minorities; * majority segment of population granted privileges / rights which they are asked to forgo; * venal political leadership that has no hesitation in using the basest of tactics to win support; * armed forces comprising almost entirely of members of the majority segment; * total media control; etc etc You guys get the point. However, if anyone does have a comparable example, please do let me know. It would at least give me a shred of hope. |
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johnleemk
Infernally Rambling Thoughtless Mind Head Administrator Posts: 949 IP Logged | Posted at 11:46:32 am Jan 28, 2007
As far as achieving anything in politics is concerned, my feel is that it is probably going to be impossible to make any significant changes. Sorry for being pessimistic but my reasoning lies in the fundamental problem of how do you get the majority segment of the population to forego their expectations of privilege?I think the key is incremental solutions. You can't ask all of the majority to give up their privileges, for example. What you can do is, say, deny those privileges to those above a set income level. Maybe, say, deny them to Bumis with a net worth above RM10 million. At the same time, implement policies to shore up the economic position of Bumis at the bottom strata. Over time, lower the cutoff point for denial of privileges. Over time, as the average Bumi's economic standing and education improves, Bumi privileges can and probably will die a natural death, as Tun Dr Ismail envisioned. |
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karuna1965
Member Posts: 2 IP Logged | Posted at 9:29:24 am Sep 3, 2008
Dear John, i couldn't agree more with you. I too had no reason to support the opposition. I changed my view over the last 10 years. I not suppoting the opposition, i am suppoting someone else to lead the nation. Everyone who loves this country must go out there and convince the other fellows to bring about changes. United we stand Divided we fall should be our motto. Time to Move On, even if Anwar does not form the next Goverment on Sept 16, we as Malaysians must continue to rid the presnt government. The People now hold 5 states, which will be preserved in the next election. We must actively, progressively continue to promote growth. We are fast becoming the next Zimbabwe. |
