The One Sen Minister

From grappling with flip flopping on the PPSMI issue, missing the challenge of education for language tussles, our overly ingenious minister has suggested the reintroduction of the one sen coin to beat inflation.

First and foremost, he is way out of his league and jurisdiction here for he is not minster for finance, consumerism nor industry. He apparently fails to grasp economics, inflation and pricing mechanisms. He seems not to understand money and the sustainability of currency and its own costs.

He supports the lifting and removal of subsidies which was intended to buffer prices and control inflation. He intends to support hiking up power and electricity prices which will hit manufacturers, suppliers and consumers very hard. He shall be complicit to the removal of further subsidies which will cause costs fuel to rise. All of these efforts shall contribute directly and have compounding effects to inflation and rising prices.

He goes on to say prices were caused by changes in the global climate Then comes the shocker of an advice, Malaysians should control their expenses and learn to increase their own food supply.

The people shall be burdened with spiralling costs, things will be beyond their means as their purchasing power shall be tremendously reduced over a short period of time.

In the meantime, the Malaysian opposition leader said the “alarming” 4.9 per cent rise in food prices from January to April this year compared to the same period last year suggested that there would be a “repeat [of] the pain of 2008”, when food prices jumped 8.8 per cent following sudden fuel price hikes. He says that if this pattern persists for the remainder of the year, 2011 will register the second-highest food price increase for the people to bear since 2006. This would mean food prices have increased by 30 per cent since 2005 while average wages have only gone up 2.6 per cent during the same period, he pointed out. The former finance minister said that there was a “direct correlation” between the government’s subsidy cuts and the persistent food price increases registered so far this year. He also slammed the government for offloading the financial burden of the country’s economic mismanagement to the people.

Meanwhile, spineless consumer associations get into the fray by incredulously suggesting that the people be prepared and get used to it. This means according to one cartoonist, to spend RM 1 for 2 cakes instead of the present 3! Where have the consumer activists with the conscience of the majority in their hearts gone to? This is just like the other overly witty minister who perversely suggested that Malaysians get used to slander and incitement. Where do these people come from.

Finally and the only thing offered by our overly bright minister is a one sen rationalisation to carry in your pocketful of holes at the end of the day.

Give us back our subsidies and you can keep your one sen.