Passion for Freedom!

We Malaysians have been cursed with a new Prime Minister. To reflect the storming wind of change brewing among the reformist-minded aspiring young Malaysians, we have decided to kick-start a rebranding exercise for this blog, first of which in the serie is relocation.

This will, among others, consolidate the fight for freedom, apart from solving the pop-up ads and comments spamming problems suffered by this blog once and for all. Migration of ancient articles will be carried out in stages as and when time is available.

We thank you for your continuous support for this blog since the turn of century, and are eager to look for your advice on improvement of the blog, in order to reflect your views better. Feel free to alter your links to and bookmarks of this blog to the new location - http://shin.disagrees.net

Governments are established to protect the lives and propreties of the people. For this, citizens are obliged to pay tax. As long as not harming others’ lives and properties, citizens are free to decide voluntarily on all matters, for instance what car to buy, where to get news and informations, and even what attire to wear. This is the “Free Market” and “Small Government / Limited Government” that become the core values to be passionately conserved by Classic Liberals (a.k.a. Conservatives in the USA).

The size of government must be minimised, since government services are sponsored through taxing the citizens, and nobody feels the need to practise austerity while spending others’ hard-earned money. Therefore, compared to personal expenditures where one has to be responsible for its surplus or deficit, the efficiency of any resources will shrink when it comes into government’s hand. And this is not limited to any particular country.

In the middle of December 2008, Malaysian government was contemplating to privatise National Heart Institute (Institut Jantung Negara, IJN), with the published goals of saving resources and improving efficiency. However, the intransparency and monopolistic nature of past privatisations were still fresh in the minds of many. With members of the public losing their trust and up in arms against privatisations, finally Cabinet forced to defer the privatisation for time to come.

As our education system is tied to political influences, many local graduates are incompetitive. To reduce unemployment, government is very likely to create more jobs in the civil service. This kind of window dressing will never happen in the private sector.

Some is of the opinion that privatisations can hardly result in improvement of efficiency, citing TM (Telekom Malaysia) as an example. Worse, the privatised national sewage treatment concessioner, Indah Water, even needed government bail-out in the form of re-nationalisation. Not suprisingly, these are the expected sad outcome of privatising monopolies.

Another frightened and highly despised shortcoming of privatisation is price hike, such as the North-South Expressway, which is contractually allowed to upward-review its toll rate every couple of years, making everyone suffers terribly. However, these drawbacks are attributed to the lack of transparency in the awarding of concessions, which is a notorious way of government intervention, and should never be blamed on Free Market.

Previously, to keep the people from crying foul about price hikes, our compassionate government even promised to regulate the rates to be charged by the privatised IJN, making it sounded like the middle lower income group would spare the exploitation.

Our merciful government intervenes in the operation of privatised entities by regulating its pricing scheme. This in turn pushes privatised companies to request for government subsidies in order to stay in black. As an outcome, privatised companies lost their incentive to improve their earnings by improving their efficiency. Ultimately, the people are forced to foot the bill, without enjoying the benefits of privatisation which they are supposely entitled to.

This jack-of-all-trade government interventions interrupts heavily in the market’s free operation. When the national healthcare system stands still for years, we the people are again victimised. So, do you think the government is the cure, or actually the cause of all problems?

Di muka A8 akhbar berbahasa Cina Oriental Daily bertarikh 3 Januari 2009, terpaparnya berita “Undi Pas masuk syurga, Lee Wei Kiat bidas MB Kelantan”, di mana Ketua Biro Komunikasi merangkap Jurucakap Ibu Pejabat Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), Lee Wei Kiat mengutuk ucapan Menteri Besar Kelantan Darul Naim, Tuan Guru Ustaz Dato’ Seri Nik Aziz Nik Mat bahawa “sesiapa yang mengundi Pas dapat masuk syurga”, serta mengumpamakannya taktik mengugut dan menakutkan yang tidak masuk akal.

Masuk syurga? Menurut berita yang bertajuk “Nik Aziz bangkit isu pahala, dosa” seperti yang ditampilkan dalam akhbar berbahasa Melayu Sinar Harian bertarikh 31 Disember 2008, Nik Aziz dipetik pernah berkata, “Memilih calon Pas akan mendapat pahala dan menempah dosa jika memilih Barisan Nasional.”

Akhbar arus perdana Utusan Meloya yang mengangkat diri sebagai “Penyebar Fikiran Rakyat” pada 31 Disember 2008 juga memuatkan berita yang bertajuk “Undi Pas - DAP dapat pahala?“, yang melaporkan calon BN pilihanraya kecil P36 Kuala Terengganu, bekas Timbalan Menteri Dalam Negeri yang juga bekas Senator, Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh mencadangkan, “Jika Menteri Besar Kelantan itu boleh mengeluarkan ‘fatwa’ sesiapa mengundi Pas mendapat pahala daripada Allah, maka beliau perlu menjelaskan kedudukan orang Melayu yang menyokong parti bukan Islam.”

Apakah ucapan Tuan Guru telah diputarbelitkan untuk memperdayakan orang ramai? Rasanya pihak tertentu asyik bercakap banyak tanpa kajian dibuat terlebih dahulu. Beliau yang menganggap rakyat jelata bodoh, akhirnya menjadikan barisan pemerintah bahan lawak di mata rakyat sekalian. Apakah beliau layak jadi jurucakap?

Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayat 256 menyebut, “Tidak ada paksaan dalam agama kerana sesungguhnya telah nyata kebenaran dari kesesatan.” Sama ada kalian mempercayai pahala, dosa, syurga dan neraka, ia tidak lain daripada pecaya sama ada mereka yang menyertai pertandingan ratu cantik dan memperagakan pakaian mandi di khalayak ramai bakal dibakar dalam neraka. Ini memang kepercayaan seseorang yang merupakan pilihan individu. Mereka yang lemah akidah tidak perlu mempertikaikan kenapa orang lain beriman.

Pilihanraya sememangnya bermatlamat menampilkan pakatan pemerintah yang direstui ramai demi melaksanakan dasar-dasar yang menguntungkan rakyat jelata, daripada yang mustahak seperti mempertingkatkan prestasi pendidikan untuk memperkasakan daya saing negara, mendirikan sekolah pelbagai aliran secara teratur, memperuntukkan tanah kepada penduduk, hingga yang remeh seperti bekalan air percuma dan pilihanraya ketua-ketua kampung secara demokratik. Inilah ramuan untuk memajukan negara dan mengangkasakan bangsa.

Namun, jika barisan politikus yang terpilih itu barisan yang rasuah, kurang prihatin terhadap kesengsaraan rakyat, merampas khazanah negara melalui dasar ekonomi yang pada asalnya bertujuan membasmi kemiskinan, satu barisan yang asyik sapu ribuan Approved Permits (AP) dan lesen teksi, memperkosa hutan dara, memperlekeh kedaulatan bahasa kebangsaan, menghakis pendidikan bahasa ibunda, menaja piala kapal layar anjuran sahabat dengan royalti minyak, membina Masjid Kristal yang indah rupa di mana orang ramai dilarang menunaikan solat, walau tidak menempah dosa sekalipun, agak susah untuk mendapat pahala, kan?

Sesetengah pihak di negara ini taksub menonjolkan kebijaksanaan mereka. Melamar sebagai calon Pakatan Rakyat di pilihanraya kecil P44 Permatang Pauh, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, mereka menggantung kain rentang yang menjanjikan kedutaan besar Israel akan didirikan di Kuala Lumpur jika Anwar menang. Ada pula yang dirikan billboard iklan gergasi di Kuala Terengganu, sebelah menampilkan gambar Masjid Kristal yang digelar “Islam di Terengganu”, sebelah lagi menonjolkan gambar patung Buddha gergasi di Tumpat, yang dilabelkan sebagai “Islam di Kelantan”.

Sama ada orang sedemikian bakal masuk syurga, sudah pasti Tuhan yang maha esa ada jawapan.

“Freedom, Free Market, Small Government, Low Tax” have always been the fitrah (core values) of Conservatives (a.k.a. Classic Liberals). However, president-elect Barrack Hussien Obama that represents the Leftists crossed the border and hijacked “Tax cuts” away from the Conservatives during the recent US election this year. For this, Obama won loud applause from the middle class all over the USA.

Governor Sarah Palin was made the running mate by John McCain, primarily due to her status as the “babe” of Conservatives. This stunningly beautiful governor wears very formal attires (some say it’s outdated), loves to go moose-hunting, and opposes gay marriages strongly. Thanks to her, many of the Conservative crowd found a reason to vote for McCain.

However, behind the seductive glossy lips, not many realise that the “People’s Republic of Alaska” under Palin administration is the one and only welfare state that practises true Socialism piously in the USA.

In this tax-free state, everyone, regardless of gender, including senior citizens and the underaged, are entitled to a huge angpow (gift money) of “Petroleum Wealth Redistribution” in the name of “Permanent Fund Divident (PFD). For the year 2007, this gift was as lucrative as USD 1,654 per person (approx RM 6,000).

Since the North Slope oil well came into production in 1976, the state deposit the petroleum income in the newly set up “Permanent Fund“. A quarter of the amount must be invested, and 8% of the investment income would be withdrawn by the state annually. Of the amount, 3% is channelled back to the Permanent Fund to cushion against inflation, while the remaining 5% would be distributed to each and every of the Alaskan resident who have lived in the state for at least a year, and without any criminal conviction.

So long as the welfare is not supported by high taxation, member of the public gives its full consent. According to surveys, Alaska would stay in black as long as the crude oil price stands higher than USD 74 per barrel. Now that it’s dipping to below USD 50 per barrel, our beloved Inuits (formely a.k.a. Eskimos) might need to consider heeding DPM Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s advice and “ubah gaya hidup” (change lifestyle).

In contrast to flooding one with cash, a tax cut or even tax return can keep money in the hands of the public more effectively in a fairer manner. This view was also articulated freely when President Ma Ying-jeou decided to sprinkle Taiwanese with “shopping vouchers” of NTD 3,600 per person.

Counting down to the strike of financial turmoil, Democratic Action Party (DAP) Secretary General Lim Guan Eng, who is also Chief Minister of Penang, State Assemblyperson for Ayer Puteh cum MP for Bagan, has initiated a RM 50 billion stimulus package, with a “Bonus Minyak” (Petroleum Bonus) as its jewel in the crown. Under his proposal, each and every family with monthly income of less than RM 6,000 will be awarded a “Petroleum Bonus” of RM 6,000 every year. According to Lim, this solution alone would cost only RM 35 billion per annum, which constituents just merely one third of Petronas’ 2007 income of RM 107 billion.

Previously, DAP claimed in its own version of “Budget 2009″, that 40% of federal government expenditure is paid by petroleum income. And that is terrifying.

Unfortunately, these Santa Clause-wannabes wish to squeeze an extra RM 35 billion out of Petronas every year to pay for their “Bonus Minyak”. That accounts for one third of Petronas’ income when crude was skyrocketing high. To the rakyat, seems like DAP, which will rely heavily on petroleum even more than Umno does, is very likely to reinvent Malaysia into the next “People’s Republic”, and that is, to put it mildly, disastrously terrifying.