The fruits of Merdeka

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IN nine years’ time, every working Malaysian is expected to earn a monthly income of RM4,000. In theory, by then, the nation would have achieved the status of a developed country or high income economy.  

EXPENSIVE TASTE: Imported fruits are aplenty at this local market.

A nation of happy people — what else can one ask for?

Towards this end, every effort is being made by the government of the day to produce blue prints for implementation once funds are available. To succeed in all or most of the plans, heavy reliance is placed on the resources and expertise of the private sector such as the companies, big and small, here and overseas.

Direct foreign investment in major income generation projects would be a help to propel the economic take-off. With comparatively minimal inputs or funds from the public sector — the government itself — and some from organisations like the EPF and other funds which are entrusted with the keeping of people’s money, we hope that we will realise our dream of a developed nation as envisaged.

In theory, this lofty target would be achievable by 2020 but before we get anywhere near there, we must, at the same time, be realistic. There are so many other factors to consider and pitfalls to avoid before change and reform can be effected. For instance, the existing economic infrastructure dominated by corruption in many places, mostly high, and characterised by a lack of skilled management from local sources as well as a shortage of labour in the plantation and other industrial sectors. It is also compounded by nepotism, patronage and entrenched vested interests, not to mention cynical perceptions of institutions of law enforcement.

These are our Achilles heels; but, these are the challenges that we must meet head-on and we have a lot of urgent work to do there. We can’t run away from them and bury our heads like the proverbial ostrich does in the sand.

What are the tools that are available at hand with which to catch the bull by the horns?

Use them well.

These are called by various acronyms — NKRA, NKRE, NEM, ETP, etc — all new and confusing acronyms, not intended for those born in the early 1930s.

To us who belong to that ancient generation, the bottom line is simply the attainment of a decent and humane standard of living for the inhabitants of an independent and secure nation. All its economic measures and policies should result in an improvement to life, much better than it was 40 years ago.

In the course of pursuing such a life, there is assurance of freedom from fear from any quarter, man or demon, and a hope of a similar treatment in the life after this, if there is one.

Of course, this is a utopian goal. So is our quest for a high income economy in nine years’ time, which is not impossible, if all goes well according to plan. Hope beats eternally and there is nothing wrong to aim higher as my old school’s motto states.

However, here on earth, we need a good clean government, stable politics and equitable and consistent economic policies, transparent and reliable laws relating to foreign trade and investment, as well as fair returns to investment by foreigners or by our own people.

Lessons from Taiwan

I do not know how the economy of Sarawak will be in the next few years, but I wish we would follow the Taiwan model.

In 1971, I had the privilege to visit that country, an island nation whose main exports in the 1950s were sugar and rice, crops developed by the Japanese before World War Two.

It had eight million people then (18 million by 1983); no gas and oil fields and was prone to natural disasters.

While enjoying the hospitality of my hosts, Sarawak boys and girls studying in Taipei, I was thoroughly brainwashed by a group of academicians who took me all the way to see the Dayaks of Sun Moon Lake.

On the way to the mountain resort, they told me how Taiwan had worked its way to becoming an economic powerhouse beginning in the 1950s; how its economists bypassed the standard Keynesian concept of low rate of interest and high tariff walls for imports; how it introduced land reforms, liberalised policy on exports and extensive product promotion in as many countries as possible; how day and night the Taiwanese thought and tried out innovations and specialisations in their products; how small- and medium-sized industries had to start in the rural areas, not just in towns — a reverse process.

I was also told that the Taiwanese became capable entrepreneurs through trial and error; more importantly, how these people saved hard for the rainy days. No mention of government officials taking bribes for service done. The country prospered despite the fact that the government had to spend huge sums of money to keep the armed forces on 24-hour standby on a predatory region.

Come to think of it now, it’s amazing. This island nation, which had only inherited from the Japanese acres of land planted with sugar cane and rice, could take off economically in a matter of two decades without money from gas and oil and foreign direct investment except for help from the US.

Relating all this to our Sarawak situation and thinking of our own people: the padi farmers, pepper growers, rubber tappers, vegetable sellers, fowl and animal breeders, small scale fishermen, honey collectors, as well as small businessmen and women.

The flower sellers make money during Valentine’s Day celebrations and tomb festivals only, though the florists flourish as there is steady demand for wreaths.

Not many durians this year. I saw a good sized durian the other day and it was RM35, down to RM25 if I was serious enough to close the deal. I had to do without it, hoping the price would go down next season.

Jungle produce for export

Beginning 40 years ago, we have been encouraged by the government to plant tapioca and sago for starch and food, maize for fertilisers, stevia for artificial sugar, kacang ma for pregnant women, teak for timber, medang teja for use in temples, jatropha for biofuel, gaharu for perfume, castor oil plants for motor oil production, ginger for spice, kepayang for cyanide production, and rambutan for desserts.

Alas, the only export worth mentioning is that of Cavendish bananas.   If all or most of these products were successfully processed and marketed overseas, the ‘little’ people would have been better off in terms of income and standard of living — the aim of the ETP (Economic Transformation Programme).

Instead, we have to import all sorts of fruits, exotic they may be, but expensive for the ordinary income earners. Those apples and pears or peaches from Australia, New Zealand or the US are for their eyes only; those seedless grapes from Thailand are ‘sour’; those orange oranges and persimmons are more expensive than the green mandarins (now out of production) from the Nonok Peninsula. Still standing up to the wind of change, however, are the papaya, nangka, cempedak and mangoes (kuini or empelam).

What has happened to the expertise in rice production or in fruit canning that we had gained from Taiwan and elsewhere?

Two years ago, there was a craze to plant jatropha for fuel. Ministers trooped out overseas to study the crop and upon their return called for press conferences extolling the virtues of jatropha and promising bright economic futures for local planters of the crop.

How many factories have been set up for this biofuel?

How are the lintah schemes doing in Selangau?

Except for pepper, rubber and palm oil as export crops as well as oil and gas as minerals, there are virtually no fruits, except some bananas, to talk about.

But don’t lose hope. Never.

Wait for the fruits of the various transformation plans and measures announced by the authorities.

Comments can reach the writer via [email protected].