Wednesday, January 25, 2012

First Month of 2012 has Gone.

With the passing of the CNY, the first month of 2012 bids us adieu. In the few days left let's reflect on some of the highlights of the month if they could mean anything at all for what's coming in the months ahead. Remember we're just months away from 12.12.12, a very auspicious date according to many.

Aside from the CNY festivities the month has been dominated by public acclaimation and appreciation of the RM500 government handout to families earning less than RM3000 a month. Payment it seems started from 15th January issued to the heads of Chinese families which qualified for the handout, in view of the approaching festival. Many happy and grateful faces were shown in the papers and TV. Previous to that we saw the jubilant faces of young schoolchildren receiving a RM100 gift from Uncle Najib. What we didn't see on the papers and TV as much was the faces of students in secondary schools and institutions of higher learning receiving a RM200 gift vouchers to buy books and other requirements for their studies.


Previous to that there were announcement on the launching of several Funds involving hundreds of million for specific purposes like helping the small scale business entrepreneurs, retirees from the Armed Forces, Teachers, Single Parents, etc. I really lost track of the Funds established but I don't remember any specific Funds allocated to the orphanages and drug habilitation centers in this country. i hope that it's only an oversight on my psrt.

But the biggest announcement was about the New Remuneration Scheme for the Civil Service ( SPBPA). The public civil servants in this country numbering more than a million, had been clamoring for a salary revision for years and now it's coming in a big way. While everyone, it is understood, will get a hefty rise in pay, the remuneration of officers in the Primier Service of the goverment will, it seems, get a pay package comparable to the executives in the private sector. That could mean an unprecedented rise by 300% or more. The retired senior civil servants of the past who are still living, I am sure, will just lick their fingers in awe. Yes, they will also be rewarded with a 2% increse in their pension while inflation has crept up to 4% or more in real term.

Though the Public Services Department is the prime author of all salary revisios, Cuepacs is undeniably the main force behind any revision and request for bonus. The latter has now raused a number of issues against JPA's recommendation and the Prime Minister has given the two authorities three months to revise the JPA's deal. Whatever the basis of the salary revision is, Malaysia has never undertaken a proper job evaluation exercise for all the civil service jobs. As far as I know only pay comparison between jobs with similar designation or categorization in the public and private sectors had been done. No professional analysis of job content has ever been undertaken on a comparative basis.

On the whole January had been a busy month. On the economic and political front, nothing seems to be very clear, like the weather conditions in the country. Economic growth seems to be satisfactory but insufficient according to some people, to bring us to the objective of becoming a high income nation in the next eight years, unless some new impetus for growth is found. While pump priming by the government is necessary for the private sector to grow, the failures of some government related enerprises is most worrisome especially when they absorb too much of government fund. It amounts to the public subsidizing the enterprises rather than the enterprises helping the public.

On the political scene UMNO and its associates in Barisan, still seem to have difficulties in carrying through its trasformation program. The smell of corruption had invaded too much into the chambers of authority that the MACC with its some 400 or more staff cannot undertake a thorough cleansing program. Meanwhile the opposition had raised a number of integrity questions which have not been satisfactorily answered. Within its own ranks the opposition ( Keadilan, DAP and PAS ) has generated a lot of conflict and tension that can reduce its acceptibility as an alternative to Barisan. So, where does that leave us?

Truly, much depends now on the decision of the public in the nexf general election. The date is yet unknown but more and more the public seems to be growing stronger and more critical in its judgement of what is happening today, especially in regard to the misdemeanors of its political leaders.

37 comments:

kaykuala said...

Akhi Norzah,
The hue and cry accompanying the handouts had an effect leading to a rise in price of goods. The civil service and Cuepacs tussle would end with seemingly lots of funds floating around and worsening the effects. The govt ought to be mindful of the impending economic disaster looming in Greece and eventually enveloping the whole Eurozone and apparently the US too.

Where does that leave us? No man is an island!

Loss of markets in a big way will trigger off the ripples of recession to reach us faster than we think. Before we know it we may get the business community clamouring for their brand of handouts. The ordinary consumers have already suffered enough with the inflation earlier generated following the handouts. But the business people would want to maintain their profits as in good times all the time.

My hope is that the GE comes early after which the govt could wield the big stick more effectively.

The whining and crying would be silent hopefully by then for the govt to govern appropriately without the bother of giving concessions here and there!

Hank

norzah said...

Cannot agree more with you, Akhi Hank, inflation is definitely running wild and as is common in giving alms and handouts, the more you give the more people ask.
I'm damned worried about the hundred millions of special funds created for each is bound too suffer leakages, going into the pockets of the fund masters.
Stop that and the GE13 will swing in favor of Barisan. Let it continue and keep denying that some government related companies have failed and loosing huge some of public monye, and the opposition will have a better chance of taking over.

rambomadonna said...

I don't quite agree on the handouts either as an act of sincerity (or to garner votes ... opppssss) as there is no sustainability in the name of "bantuan" .... The handout is just a one off thing, but price increase over period of time and wide range of household or food products will take a veryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy long time to go down, cost more than any of the "bantuan" ... The working class citizens will definitely lost confidence in our economic or financial analyst (apa lagi our leaders)

This tactic may works in smaller towns but see what happen in big cities in Klang Valley and Penang ... even cities like Kuching Selatan (the business district) is now with the opposition.

Seriously, I think they should focus on the NKEA. Proof that it works. In the papers, though they have special sections on it ... I fail to see the wow factor.

Except Tourism EPPs in Penang (hahahahahaahahaha .... sebab I gerakkan) just joking!

norzah said...

Many say that people who oppose the handouts are people who don't need the extra RM500 - pittance in their eyes. But to the poor and impoverished that sum means a lot and is a substantial help to them. These are the people who don't buy everything they need and therefore do not suffer the full impact of price inflation, like us city sleeks.

Even agreeing with that pov, one can say that the one- off handout might become more a cause of dissatisfaction rather than satisfy their long term need. The sum will be spent in no time and after that they will turn to government for more cash assistance. Those who didn't succeed in procuring it will also be most bitter, irrespective of the fact whether they qualify or not for the handout.

Certainly a long term assistance scheme to help the poor would be more preferable. But, as you pointed out Rambomadonna, there are other short term objectives that the government of the day want to achieve. So what if the rich had to pay more to maintain their pampered way of living. Only the not so rich like most of us will be caught in the middle.

Penang is, of course, an exceptional case. It can take all that is good of the central government programs and ram it hard with all that is not. Hope you're not caught in between like the not-so-rich people in Malaysia. Of course, you're too smart an official to be caught in any tricky situation. And you are doing a wonderful job for the tourist trade and the people of Penang. Keep it up, babe. I'm sure the State government loves what you're doing.

Al-Manar said...

I have begun to consider reading no newspaper every morning. I look at my pupils and ask myself "What future have these poor kids? ... some cheap kulis for rich towkeys!" My heart bleeds but I slog on.

norzah said...

Do no despair and do not worry too much about their future Akhi Al-Manar for Allah is all mighty and omniscience. Even the poorest kid has a destiny of his or her own in the book of Allah, and one of them may yet rise up to becoemr the Prime Minister of the nation. How proud you would be then if he or she was a student of yours. Keep that in mind and I think the wonderful work you are doing now will glow with fervor and hope.

Don't stop reading the newspaper either because you have to update your student on current affairs to prepare them for the cruel world. Salam.

norzah said...

currecrion: your students..

abdulhalimshah said...

Akhi Norzah,
Just check your bank statement. If I am not mistaken the increase in the pension as the implementation of the SBPA is concerned has put in more than 2% in the pockets of those in the superscale grades before. I hope JPA will not ask us to return the money,as many would have splurge it during the CNY.

norzah said...

Ia ke Akhi? Apakah tambahan pencen dibawah SBPA sudah dikuatkuasakan sedang SBPA belum diluluskan lagi? Kan Cuepacs sedang bincang dgn JPA dan tak puashati dgn bilangan perwakilannya. Tambahan pada pencen itu mungkin bayaran bonus yg tertunggak. I tak pun semak sebab sikit sangat. Cukup makan jdlah.

abdulhalimshah said...

Akhi,
Amaun yang ditambah bukan bonus tertunggak sebab peratusnya jauh melebehi 2%. Nampaknya pesara yang terima faedah SBPA dulu.

norzah said...

Kalau benar, alhamdulillah. ini mungkin kerana hendak memastikan sekimbaru itu dikuatkuasakan mulai 1.1.12 walaupun perbincangan mengenainya terus berjalan. Almaklum saja siapa yang paling bertuah mendapat gaji rm30-40k. Bagaimana pun syukur alhamdulillah.

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