1. Whatever may be the cause of the present flare-up of the pandemic, what must be accepted is that dealing with it, attempting to reduce the number of new cases will cost a lot of money.
2. This pandemic is peculiar because it prevents normal work from being done. It requires people to distance themselves from each other. The necessary lockdown means no income and for many no food even. Yet the lockdown is perhaps the only way to prevent exposure to the virus and infection. And infection may mean death.
3. When we first experienced the attack, the whole country had to accept total movement control. There were no cars on the streets and no pedestrian. After one month we congratulated ourselves on the success of the measure. New cases numbered in two digits and death did not exceeds ten.
4. We became over confident. We believed we know how to manage the pandemic. And we held elections in Sabah. And since then, we have seen increases in the number of cases to frightening levels. At the peak there were more than 6,000 a day (May 19, 2021).
5. We did not learn anything. The month of Ramadan is the month of bazaars. Everybody enjoy the bazaars. Certainly many regard the bazaars as a means to make extra incomes. And the Muslims love the food that go on sale at the bazaars.
6. I suppose the Government did not want to be unpopular by banning the bazaars. The Government must know that the crowds would be uncontrollable. And sure, enough as soon as the bazaars open, the cases increased. From under 2000, the daily new cases shot up to more than 4000 a day. Panicked the bazaars were suddenly banned.
7. It was a good example of flipflop that the people cannot accept. The food hawkers had bought the ingredients for their products for the whole month. Now they would lose all their money as there is no way for them to recover their capital.
8. Whatever may be the immediate cause of the spike the urgent need is still to reduce the number of new cases. We are definitely going to be short of bed, apparatus and even oxygen if the number doubles.
9. It is right to reintroduce the Movement Control Order (MCO). But now we are much less strict in doing so. We need to confine people to their homes. There should not be any excuse for crowds to form. Staying apart must be applied even among the frontliners.
10. Confining people at home means they will have no money and no food.
11. The Government must accept the responsibility of keeping people alive. For food there should be public kitchens where food is prepared, packaged and delivered to the homes.
12. It is important that the quarantined people should not come out to collect the food at the kitchens. This will cause crowds to gather. Couriers should be recruited to deliver the food to the houses. There should be no contact between the delivery boys and the householders.
13. Hotel kitchens should be utilised to prepare and package the food. The home quarantine should be for at least one month. The police and the military should be very strict in ensuring the people don’t come out to shop or do anything.
14. The cost must be borne by the Government. It will be costly but the Government must do it.
15. Vaccination must be speeded up. We should accept whatever vaccine that had been used in other countries extensively. A special effort must be made to get kampung people to be vaccinated.
16. Masks must be worn, and hands washed all the time. Frequent tests should be carried out to ensure all infected people are identified and quarantined.
17. In many countries even the first jab of vaccines can help reduce the number of new cases. But even those who had the vaccines need to be tested again and again.
18. The Government claims it has finished more than 600 billion Ringgit in the fight against the pandemic. If so we should have the capacity to deal with the pandemic. But obviously we have not. We must know why. 600 billion Ringgit is a lot of money. It is not easy to spend that money in such a short space of time.
19. We have to be serious about the fight against COVID-19. If not we are going to see a lot of people die who could have been saved.
ACCOUNTING
** This article was published in THE EDGE DAILY , May 10, 2021
1. Business people know well that keeping accounts when doing business is essential. It is the only way to know whether you are profitable or losing money.
2. When I was a boy, I was familiar with Malay padi farmers. They were friends of my mother. Off and on I would go to stay with the farmer’s family in Teluk Chengai. I and my brother had to walk on the muddy track, crossing little creeks on bridges of coconut tree trunks.
3. At night we would set short fishing rods along the bunds. Then next morning some of the rods had fresh water fish struggling after having swallowed the bait of little frogs.
4. The family was very poor. They had only about an acre of land to grow paddy. When I asked them how much they made in one year, they were unable to tell me. They clearly did not know how much they made.
5. I did not ask but it became obvious to me that they kept no records of any kind. Certainly, they had no account of their padi business. They seem to think that the whole of their harvest was their profit. They did not know how much effort and money they had put in to get their harvest.
6. I believe that this is the weakness among Malays when they do business of any kind. They keep no record of their costs and the returns they get.
7. Maybe things have changed now. But I suspect that many Malay small businesses keep no record of what they spend and what they make from their business.
8. I would like to suggest that elementary accounting be taught at all levels in the schools. In fact, if we can, even at the kindergarten level.
9. They need not learn anything complex. All they need is to record their expenditure on their business and their incomes. They might also add the value of the labour they themselves contribute. The items which should be included in their record of expenditure must be detailed in the lessons. And of course, the money that they earn in the course of doing business must be recorded.
10. Every month they should record the balance so as to bear in mind how well they are doing. Obviously if the monthly record shows their expenditure is more than their income, they should try to find out why. If the money is diverted to other things unrelated to the business, they should stop the practice.
11. It is well known that new entrepreneurs who had borrowed money often spend a portion of the loan on cars and briefcases. Others spend the money on entertainments and treating friends. Sometimes as much as 50% of the loan is used for non-business affairs.
12. What this means is that the interest that has to be paid for the 50% invested would be doubled. Doing business with 50% of the loan, to make money to pay on 100% of the borrowed would be extremely difficult if not impossible. And so the business fails.
13. Many Malays are from families whose parents are wage earners. The children are given pocket money to spend. How the money is earned is of no concern to the children. The money is always there.
14. This develops in the children a comfortable feeling. Money will always be there. This attitude is not good in adult life when money needs to be earned. And invariably the amount earned is not enough when money is spent without caring about what is earned.
15. With this attitude invariably the amount spent would exceed the amount earned. This is when resort is made to borrowings including from Along. The end is well known.
16. But if a habit of recording the money earned and spent, the person would become aware when he is overspending. Then he would stop or think hard before spending beyond his means.
17. With this, there will be less problem with money and with the likes of Along.
ISLAMIC EDUCATION
** This article was published in THE EDGE DAILY , May 3, 2021
1. Islam is the official religion of Malaysia. But the Constitution provides for other religions which can be practised freely.
2. Since Islam is the official religion, it is incumbent upon the Malaysian Government to provide Islamic religious education in schools. The idea is to make Muslims knowledgeable of their religion. For those who wish to become Islamic scholars special Islamic schools are provided right up to university level.
3. The curriculum for the religious classes are prepared by the religious scholars. Sometimes they become overzealous and want the students to have deep knowledge of Islam as if they are all going to be religious teachers and ulama’s.
4. Besides this they stress on the compulsory rituals that Muslims must follow. To this they add many rituals which are not compulsory. Some of these may not be in conformity with Islam.
5. The stress on the Islamic way of life is minimal. Yet Muslims like to point out that Islam is not just a religion but is also a way of life. This involve the dos and don’ts, the merit and demerit, the rights and wrongs, the permitted and the forbidden. Together they shape the way of life of the Muslims. If Muslims follow the way of life of Islam they should be successful in life.
6. But as we all know Muslims are not doing well. In Malaysia all Malays are Muslims but the majority of them are poor, not successful in business, and generally in life.
7. Malays are pious. They are seen to be performing their prayers, they fast, they pay zakat (tithes) and they perform the haj. They never neglect to affirm their faith in the one God (Allah) and that Muhammad is His Prophet (messenger).
8. But beyond that what they do in life is not in keeping with the teachings of Islam. If one reads the Quran in a language one understands, (Malay or English) one cannot help but notice that many of the injunctions are not followed by most Malays.
9. Enjoined to regard each other as brothers, we see them deeply divided. They are fond of accusing each other as not being Islamic, not being Muslims even. And politically they fight each other.
10. The Quran forbids Muslims from killing, especially of fellow Muslims. But Malays do get involve in wars fought in the Arab countries.
11. The Quran stresses repeatedly that when you judge you must uphold justice. But there are Malays who disregard justice when they propose that Muslims and non-Muslims be punished differently for the same crimes. For the crime of stealing, they prescribed chopping off the hand for Malays and two-month jail for non-Muslims. Is this just?
12. A woman who has been raped must produce four witnesses or she would be accused of false accusation and punished. Yet in the case of Yusuf and Zulaikha in the Quran, the fact that the shirt of Yusuf was torn at the back was accepted as evidence that it was Zulaikha who was chasing Yusuf even though there were no witnesses.
13. The Quran stresses that you must not cheat in business, that you must be good witness and uphold the truth and be trustworthy.
14. And there are many injunctions and advise in the Quran which would make Muslims good honest people who would be successful in life.
15. If the Malays are unsuccessful in life it is because they don’t follow the injunctions of the Quran. They don’t follow because they are not taught seriously to follow all the injunctions of the Quran or even some of them. They do not follow because normally their parents should teach them. But now both father and mother are working and have little time to raise their children the way advocated by Islam.
16. Since this is no longer possible, the schools must take over the task of instilling in Muslim children the value system of Islam which influences the way of life of Muslims.
17. It is therefore important for the educational authorities to re-examine the curriculum in schools. The best time to instill values is when the children are young. So the teaching of the Islamic values must begin in the kindergarten. Throughout school life the Muslim children must be taught and examined on Islamic values and the way of life of Muslims.
18. The teachers have to be retrained and new textbooks written based on the Quran and the verified hadiths.
19. Just as the early Muslims were able to build the great Islamic civilisation, so will modern Muslims achieve their renaissance and secure Islam, the Muslims, the Muslim nations from being insulted, oppressed and unable to protect themselves as enjoined in the Quran.
20. Malaysia has a chance to reform the teachings of Islam. We should do this now as we still have the capacity. We should teach Islamic values and the Islamic way of life as found in the Quran and the verified hadiths.
21. We must not leave the interpretation of Islam to the teachers alone. Even the great scholars are mere men, and they will be bias in keeping with the version of Islam in their communities.
22. There is only one Quran. It contains the messages of Allah to Muhammad for mankind. Although there are allegories which lend to different interpretations, most of the messages are direct and clear. We cannot go wrong if we follow the clear messages. Thus we cannot misunderstand the injunction for Muslims to regard each other as brothers, nor can we fail to understand that Islam forbids killing a man, be he a Muslim or a non-Muslims.
23. Having read the Quran many times in Malay and English, I feel sure that if Muslims follow the injunctions in the Quran they would uphold peace and brotherhood, avoid wars and be just in the governance of their countries.
TOURISM
1. Tourism is not doing well. How can it when the COVID-19 pandemic does not allow people to be close to each other; when the spread of the disease is due to people with early infection carry the disease to wherever they go.
2. I am glad that Malaysia has found a solution that will bring torrents of tourists to the country.
3. It is, I am told, by appointing a candidate who had lost in several elections and losing his deposit as well, to be a senator and making him a Deputy Minister for Tourism.
4. And we have no money. We have spent RM600 billion.
5. Congratulations.
TEACHING
** This article was published in THE EDGE DAILY , April 26, 2021
1. Teaching started orally. Then came writing and reading. Teaching became easier. This was followed by books written by experts.
2. All this while teaching depends on teachers. They guide the students, explaining, questioning and answering.
3. But today we have the technology for recording and playback. The teachings by the best teachers can be recorded and played back repeatedly, the whole lesson or parts of it. These can be shown on the screen or on the wall for the whole class to see. Graphs and diagrams can be shown. The expert teacher can explain every part of the lesson. The class teacher can guide, stop the video, reverse it, listen to the expert teachers explaining repeatedly through the recording. The whole lesson can be shown repeatedly and the explanations listened to.
4. The graphs and illustrations would be explained by the recording teacher. The illustrations will be graphic and animated. The picture can be exploded (enlarged) so as to show the parts and how they are put together to form the whole product. The class teacher need not be answering question or explain the whole lesson.
5. With a good teacher recording the lessons on video with illustrations and animation, all the students from all the schools in the country will get the benefit of being taught by the same teachers.
6. This sort of instructions are already available on our computer. You can learn anything you may be interested in. You can learn how to cook anything you like – Malay, Chinese, Italian, Indian, Western recipes. You can produce wood carvings, assemble an engine, take it to pieces, build a house, or an airplane, or a drone etc. etc. You can learn any language, hear the correct pronunciations, hear video characters talking and even answering questions. The recording can be interactive. Like the text-books, the lessons will be prepared by the best teachers and every student will get the benefit.
7. It is about time we switch to recorded video lessons produced by the best teachers in the country and abroad (for English language, science and mathematics in English).
8. Teachers in classrooms would still be needed. But their task is to guide the students as they follow the lessons on the screen prepared by the best teachers. There would be no difference caused by the varying skills of the different teachers as we find now. In fact, as the class teacher guides the students, he himself or herself would learn more. The problems faced or the reaction of the students can be noted by the class teacher and conveyed to the expert teachers who had prepared the lessons. Improvements or corrections can be made. And all the corrections can be put into the lessons for the whole country to benefit.
9. As with the Youtube application, the particular subject can be accessed by typing the desired word. The search would be simple for anything the class wants to know. You do not have to search as in a library. All you have to do would be to type the word.
10. This system is especially useful for teaching languages. For English there is no longer a need to find good teachers. The English language course is available now. One can learn English by following the course. However, I must admit that reading books is still very important for learning the English language. The more books you read the more will you master the way English is spoken. It is not about stringing words together correctly. It is about knowing the phrases the English speakers use.
11. Thus instead of saying “It is raining heavily” the English would say, “It is raining cats and dogs”. Time is expressed by saying “Much water has flowed under the bridge”.
12. When reading a novel, you will come across these phrases. You don’t have to memorise them. If you read a lot you will come across the correct phrases often during your reading. And you will remember them because you are familiar with them.
13. We need to change the way we teach. The new technology will make teaching and learning much easier. I hope Malaysia would think about this idea. Remember the text books. They are written by the best teachers. They help the class teachers to understand and to teach. The electronically recorded lessons prepared by the best teachers are even better than books.
14. We accepted books when they were introduced. We should now accept electronically recorded lessons because they are even better than books.
15. Actually, most of these has somewhat been “forced” upon us due to the pandemic.
16. It had to a degree propelled us to a modern and contemporary way of teaching.
17. All we need to do is to explore and update our methods and keep abreast with the rapidly changing technology.
COVID-19
1. For the last thirteen days the number of new COVID-19 cases reported is above 2,000. Only one day has the new cases gone below 2,000. The last time the number was below 1,000 is almost a month ago.
2. Yes. The situation is serious. But the declaration of emergency has not made the numbers any less. Certainly Kelantan has become worse.
3. In India the new cases have gone beyond 300,000 a day. There is a shortage of oxygen and COVID-19 patients are dying because of lack of oxygen. This is not happening in Malaysia, not yet at least. But we need to be sure it will not happen.
4. The number of deaths has also been relatively small. That is probably because we have enough beds and facilities in our hospitals.
5. If the fourth wave hits us the overworked frontline staff may not be able to cope. And the hospitals may not have enough beds. Even under normal circumstances patients had to be left in the corridors with no life support.
6. If the numbers shoot up again to 4,000 plus a day, and it had done so before, would we be able to handle it? Treatment of serious COVID-19 cases is complex and dependent on the best support devices.
7. We depend mostly on masks and social space separation to minimise contacts. In flare-ups we need to lockdown. These are unpopular, but they are absolutely essential. Governments should not seek popularity but should impose – restrictions and oversee that they are obeyed.
8. Proper lockdowns as we did in the first four weeks of the pandemic was effective. There was not a single car on the road. The streets were all empty.
9. But the economic and social costs are huge. People lose jobs, have no income and no food even.
10. The Government says it had spent 600 billion Ringgits. We don’t really know how the money was spent. But people were allowed to have bazaar Ramadan because the demand for them is great during puasa. It is a chance for people to make some money.
11. But in COVID-19 terms the cost is high. I am sure the Kelantan spike is due to crowds and mass disregard for the SOPs.
12. Lockdown cause people to lose jobs, to be unable to do small business. The Government money should be distributed to these people. Giving a piddling sum once in a year will not do. There should be monthly amounts.
13. It is also important to set up food kitchens in critical places. Free food should be made available to everyone. In most cases the food should be delivered to the homes to avoid crowds rushing for food.
14. Online business should be encouraged. This means a food delivery service is needed. Many people could get employment in this delivery business. But they must adhere to the special SOP for them.
15. Shopping should be discouraged. All purchase should be made online. Retailers should also advertise online. And all payments must be online.
16. Factories which are labour intensive must reduce their labour force. There should be more robots and automation. Workers must observe social distancing strictly. Employers must ensure this in the factory.
17. Muslims performing mass prayers must ensure that they observe social separation. This should be done not only when praying but also when prayers are over and they leave the mosques. It is noticed that they forget about social distancing as they leave the mosques.
18. The COVID-19 pandemic can only be curbed if all SOPs are strictly followed. Private hospitals must be allowed to vaccinate. Vaccines such as Sputnik V and some Chinese vaccines should be certified. Also those being used in America where each day as many as 3 million vaccination are carried out.
19. I suppose the Government is doing its best. But there are other things that the Government should look at. A panel of doctors should be set up to advise the Government.
20. This virus is not going to go away easily. It can plague the world for a long time. The rich countries should cease spending hundreds of billions on ways to kill people. Their best scientists should study and develop ways to combat virus pandemic. At the same time researchers who play around with virus, bacteria and chemicals should be controlled to avoid accidental or deliberate spillage into the systems.
21. We will live with pandemic for a long time. We must learn how to survive. We must develop expertise in dealing with them.
AKU SOKONG DARURAT
1. Aku sokong darurat.
2. Tidak sokong bermakna derhaka kepada Raja.
3. Darurat diisytihar oleh Raja.
4. Polis boleh tangkap dan soal.
5. Mungkin tahan dan pakai baju oren.
6. Itu undang-undang.
7. Dan kita patuh kepada undang-undang – rule of law.
8. Raja boleh peturun kuasa kepada siapa sahaja.
9. Siapa-siapa sahaja.
10. Mungkinkah Salleh Bongkok Teloi Kanan?
11. Tak.
12. Mungkin Mahiaddin. Nampak dia lah siapa sahaja.
13. Kuasa tinggi. Boleh buat undang-undang sendiri.
14. Boleh ketepi Perlembagaan
15. Boleh ketepi semua undang-undang
16. Kebal – tak boleh didakwa di mahkamah. Tak boleh di ada Parlimen kerana Parlimen digantung hidup-hidup.
17. Siapa bantah undang-undang buatan satu orang ini. Boleh didenda 5 juta dan jel sepuluh tahun atau kedua-dua.
18. Undang-undang fake news sudah lulus.
19. Apa dia fake news.
20. Yang benar adalah fake boleh tangkap.
21. Yang fake adalah benar tak kena tangkap.
22. Aku sokong darurat.
THE RULE OF LAW
1. We believe in democracy and the rule of law.
2. But by declaring a state of emergency, the rule of the existing laws has been suspended.
3. The declaration itself did not follow the law on the declaration of emergency. The declaration had to be laid before Parliament. This was not done. Therefore the declaration is illegal.
4. It is also noted that at the time the Prime Minister advised the Agong to declare a state of Emergency, his claim to be the Prime Minister of Malaysia was in doubt.
5. But the Government doesn’t care about its status. The Gazette that it issued makes it sound as if the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has taken over the Government and is now its Chief Executive.
6. All action and powers exercised under Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance are in the name of the Agong but His Majesty can authorise any person to act for him. The person concerned is not named but all the actions or exercise of power has clearly been carried out by Muhyiddin Yassin as Prime Minister.
7. In fact even when the Yang di-Pertuan Agong expressedly stated that Parliament may sit during the emergency, the Muhyiddin Government effectively rejected it.
8. It is obvious that the Prime Minister is acting based on the provision in the Ordinance that he and his Cabinet continues to exercise the powers under the constitution. But any action or laws that the Government passes which are in conflict or inconsistent with existing laws, the provision of the ordinance shall prevail and supercede.
9. Clearly the provisions of the Ordinance supersede even the Constitution – the supreme law of the country.
10. Thus, when taking temporary possession or in payment of compensation the Ordinance overrides the Federal Constitution. The Federal Government is protected against any action, suit, prosecution or any other proceeding in any court.
11. The immunity of the Prime Minister and his Government against any legal action is further strengthened by the effective suspension of Parliament. Normally a motion of non-confidence in the Prime Minister if passed in Parliament would result in its overthrow.
12. The only means left is a General Election. By not calling for an election even beyond the five-year term, the Government can remain in power.
13. Already several laws have been promulgated by this Government which supercede even existing laws including Constitutional laws. The supreme laws of the country no longer prevail.
14. The country is now ruled by decree. There is no longer any democracy. The voice of the people in a functioning democracy is via Parliament. But it is not open. The only description we can make of this Government is that it is a dictatorship.
15. And so we see wholesale dismissals, or removals of officers in Government institutions or companies in order to install pro-Government politicians in their places. Income taxes being revised allegedly because of wrong submissions before and corruption charges are being made against individuals who seem to have incurred the displeasure of the Government.
16. Business has also been politicised. Some contracts given during the previous Government have been revised and given to pro-Government individuals and parties. Approvals for projects are only for those which belong to Government supporters.
17. Many business people complain of corruption, of being asked for money up front if a project is to be approved.
18. But is the Emergency due to the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic? So far nothing has been done that could not be done under the ordinary laws of the country. Malaysians have never disobeyed any decision to deal with the pandemic. They have accepted the heavy fines and jail terms of ten years without demur.
19. Let us be honest. This declaration of a state of emergency is not about fighting COVID-19. Not at all.
20. It is about politics. It is about a weak Government wanting to stay in power. For the people the price to pay is horrendous. They lose their freedom of speech and their right to change the Government. Many live in fear of being called up for questioning, for detention and harassment.
21. In the meantime the economy is shrinking as the Government grapples with the constraints on normal economic activities.
22. The Government is not even functioning properly as in experienced ministers are not able to deal with the political economic, social and health problems.
23. Wither the rule of law.
INDUSTRIALISATION
** This article was originally published in THE EDGE DAILY , April 19, 2021
1. We want to be a developed country. Industry, manufacturing industry will help us achieve this ambition. But we need to adopt a different strategy.
2. When we decided to industrialise, our objective was to give people some income. But we had no knowledge about manufacturing, no capital, no expertise in management and no knowledge of the market. So we decided on foreign direct investment.
3. It worked and we can say we have become an industrialised country. 80% of our exports now are made up of manufactured goods.
4. But we are still not a developed country. If we look at Japan, Korea and China, we will notice a difference. They industrialise through acquisition of technology and producing their own branded products to compete in the international market. And they succeeded. We now see Sony, Hitachi, Toshiba products from Japan. Hyundai, Kia, Samsung and LG from Korea. And now Huawei and all kinds of products from China.
5. We do not have Malaysian branded goods internationally except gloves although we produce sophisticated components for some of the best brands in the world.
6. It is time for us to change our strategy. We should produce not for the domestic market but for the world market. Currently we dominate the world in the production of rubber gloves.
7. We should be able to identify other products for the world market.
8. We are blessed with a lot of raw materials. We have rubber and palm oil of course. But we also have tin, silica sand, rare earth, bauxite and maybe other minerals. We should identify products using these raw materials. But if we do, we should aim for the world market. We should be big in the particular product.
9. There are thousands of products made from rubber. Malaysia should produce all the rubber tyres of the world – airplane tyres, tractor tyres, wheelbarrow and lawn mower tyres etc. Like rubber gloves we should be big in some of these products.
10. Rare earth is much needed for batteries. As we turn to electrification to reduce pollution with CO2, more and more batteries would be needed. Already motorcars can do 400km per charge. With research, the range would increase. And the millions of cars switching to EV would need huge numbers of batteries using Lithium-Ion magnets.
11. Power plants using gas would depend upon many components which we can manufacture. We may not have the raw materials. But we can import them. Already Malaysia can produce solar panels and turbines.
12. We do not really have a glass industry. The demand for glassware can be met by our abundance of silica sand. We produce sheet glass but we export mainly silica sand with no added value. There are also industrial usage for glass which we can manufacture.
13. Our universities should train engineers. The capability of Malaysians is enormous. We had no knowledge about animation before. Now we produce a number of good animated films. There are no films involved. Everything is electronics now. Apart from entertainment, there are demands for animation in many industries.
14. Animation makes teaching easier. We can see how the inside of engines work. The parts can be illustrated individually, assembled through animation, sliced through to show how the parts work. We can see how the parts work with animation.
15. We are already producing composite parts of airplanes. We can do more. Precision engineering can be so precise that the products would perform faultlessly.
16. It is a mistake to limit ourselves to supplying the domestic market. Korea does not need ships as the land is continuous. But Korea decided to build ships for the world market. Today Korea builds most of the big ships in the world. Korea even built a gas liquefaction plant on a floating platform. Petronas has two of them.
17. South Korea builds cars and lithium-ion batteries for the world. And it is one of the two biggest producers of micro-chips for the world.
18. We are world beaters too. We have been the biggest canned pineapple producers, tin and rubber and palm oil producers in the world at one time. Now we are falling behind others in these fields. Yet we can be very big in manufacturing if we aim at the world market. We have the capacity. There should be a new policy to encourage the manufacture of products for the world market.
19. The Government should support big locally owned industries so that we can be fully industrialised. If we can give tax-free incentives to FDI, we should be able to do the same for our big industries to supply the world.
20. Now we are in the information age. This is a new power which lends itself to the invention of other products, to automation and robotics. Everything that we do today can be enhanced by artificial intelligence.
21. We don’t need labour intensive manufacturing i.e., dependence on foreign workers. We need to discourage such industries. We have to replace them with local engineers trained to handle robots and automated machines.
22. Our palm oil and rubber estates need workers. We should reduce acreage for these estates while depending on other kinds of agriculture. Modern agriculture depends more on technology than manual workers.
23. By changing our industries and agriculture to depend less on labour, we will be rid of our foreign workers. It would be painful. Those depending on foreign workers will scream. But the answer is not to increase the quota for foreign workers but to switch to other industries and automation.
MALAYSIAN AGRICULTURE
1. There is something wrong with agriculture in Malaysia. Even after independence we still have locals owning small uneconomic land holdings. The British were granted huge forest land to clear and grow rubber and later oil palm.
2. The great British companies developed huge estates of tens of thousands of acres. They were run by experienced estate managers. The labourers were imported from India. They did very well indeed.
3. Seeing their success the locals began to plant rubber and later oil palm. But their holdings were small, generally about two or three acres. They tended their small farms by themselves, confining themselves to only one crop.
4. Naturally they did not do well. With such small holdings and without professional managers, they could hardly make ends meet.
5. The Government responded with advice and subsidies. But the problems of the small holders remained.
6. What everyone should have noticed was that we needed large estates to do well. Small holdings cannot be efficient or economic. This is obvious. But we make no attempt to correct. Also we did not think of mix farming to mitigate down turns.
7. It is time that we acknowledge these mistakes and correct them. Firstly we need to make the holdings big. How do we do this. The obvious answer is to amalgamate the small holdings so as to have a big enough estate.
8. Landowners will not like it. But models of large estates of, say, a thousand acres should be developed by Mardi or some private enterprise. The thousand acres should be managed by trained farm managers with local labour.
9. Next identify a suitable main crop. e.g. rubber or oil palm. Only one third of the land should be planted with the main crop.
10. The rest of the land should be planted with vegetable, quick fruiting fruit trees such as melons etc, other fruit trees such as pineapple, durian, guava etc. A fish pond for tropical fresh water fish, goats and maybe two dozen heads of cattle.
11. At any one time there should be something to sell. The produce can be sold locally or an exporter can collect from all the farms the products for packaging and export.
12. The landowners should get a share equivalent to the size of their land from the profits made. They can choose to work or just enjoy the profits.
13. The universities should train farm managers. Once we have demonstrated the profitability of large farms and mix farming, the small holders would be more willing to have their small holdings amalgamated to form farms of a thousand acres or more.
14. Ownership of the land should remain with the land owners. They should retain their grants to assure them that they have not been expropriated.
15. There may be other ideas. But this proposal should be given a try. We import RM60 billion of vegetables a year. This project will not only secure our supply of vegetable but would save a lot of foreign exchange.
16. Today rural poverty is a fact of life. It is largely due to the wrong agricultural practice. It is time that we change. I am proposing this change.
** This article was originally published in THE EDGE DAILY , April 12, 2021