Stupid Economic Analysis

In the present turbulent economic times, staying up to date with the latest financial news is important for the most of us, even if most of the time, we senior citizens get panic attacks after reading crisis upon crisis leering out of control, disastrously affecting our lives and 'retirement nests'. It was with a small feeling of relief, albeit temporary, that we read this piece of news Economists expect interest rates to rise in StarBiz, that for a little while, the poor forgotten elderly can keep pace with inflation, even if for a fleeting moment.

However, I would like to suggest that when analysts and economists write about trends, they also should be rational about their views and expectations, and not treat readers as gullible fools. I quote from your report, " He said the good news was the 10 sen cut in petrol RON97 in June to RM2.80 per litre would help to offset the price pressure. Hence, price pressures should start to subside in the second half...."

Give us a break! How will the 10 sen reduction in the price of RON97 petrol help to offset and subside the price pressures in the second half of the year, when even without factual statistical input, we all know that about 90% of the poor and middle income rakyat use RON95 for personal and business purposes. They have no choice as the difference between RON95 and 97 is RM1 per litre.

I did my recent round of groceries, and I found that ALL the usual items have increased, and even Gardenia bread has increased by 20 sen. Will the analyst confirm that if the RON97 stays at RM2.80 for the remaining part of the year, the price of the loaf of bread will revert to RM3? Or the cup of kopi O will reduce to RM1.10 from 1.30?

It's easy to write without thinking. Try living on a shoe string budget like 95% of the elderly and the retired... :-(

More like feminine hypocrisy

Referring to the letter More like feminine hypocrisy written by Dr Thirunavukkarasu Jr. R. Karasu, I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this letter, and have to restrain myself from a few hearty guffaws while digesting its contents. I am not an avowed MCP, but I agree wholeheartedly with some of his views concerning the politicians and the local celebrities, and he has really presented an 'eye opening' view on some of the stereotype myths that have gone down the pages of history on men and women, ie., that women are always the 'victim' or the weaker sex, and men inevitably the heartless fool or a sex maniac.

I would recommend this letter to my friends as 'serious' reading, and as for me, I am glad, after reading this letter, that I am able to 'forgive' Ryan Giggs and not think of him as what the media has painted, a "sex terrorist" :-)

Thank you Dr. Thiru

Thiru's got it right!

Councils need to do a better job

First of all, I wish to commend StarProbe for investigating this "massage menace" in Selangor and for highlighting these places for generally what they are, houses of sleaze. However I must say that there are genuine places that offer very good massage and therapeutic rubs but there are by far too few of them. My wife and I go to a place in PJ (Jalan SS2/24) that serves the authentic fare, and we are glad for its existence.

Reading further through the probe, I realise that instead of the local councils taking prompt action to eradicate this problem, they seem to be passing the bug to the Police and the others, for not doing their work. In your reports Cops find it hard to get Councils to close the outlets, and No new licence issued since 2006 it seems quite obvious to me that the Council has been remiss and is offering flimsy excuses for not doing their job, or worse, for seemingly protecting these nefarious activities?

In my opinion, if the Councils have the final authority to issue and retract licenses, why then do they find it so difficult to close down those premises, when the Police have actually raided them and arrested the owners for conducting illicit activities there? Why do the Councils say that only the Police have the authority to bring the culprits to court? Do you require a court order to retract a licence, when you don't need one to issue the licence? I am confused.

The Council will need to pull up their socks and do a better job. Prompt and fair action will also protect the genuine businesses, and not give them a bad name.

Councils need to do a better job

Airfares:Government should ensure fair play and practices.

It is quite an exciting time nowadays for those who are not so rich, or those who are retired, and want to travel the world a bit, as the airfares in Malaysia are quite competitive and mostly affordable. Allowing competition and the cessation of monopolistic policies is the main reason for the appearance of reasonable fares..

However, the reality of the matter is that the fares advertised by the various airlines are not uniformly computed. Whilst there are airlines that presumably advertise an "all in" fare inclusive of all charges, except for the fuel surcharge which is a very variable factor, there are also airlines which trumpet an incredibly cheap "one way" fare that is irresistible(the return fare is however another matter). However, on accessing those websites in order to perform an online booking, the potential passenger will be slapped with many 'other' charges, namely, airport taxes, check-in baggage, online food booking, reservation of seats, administration fees, travel insurance, and lately even a fee charged for payment using the credit card{for goodness sake, how can we pay by cash when booking online}! If we complete the process of booking the flight (return ticket of course), we find that we may have been better off going for the airline that discloses the "all in" fare at the outset. Many of those online bookings go through with the process since they have been "trapped" by the fictitious offer.

The Government should take immediate steps to enforce a fair and uniform fare pricing for ALL airlines whose passengers embark from Malaysia, and also enforce the rule that airlines must advertise the "what you see is what you get" fare, to ensure fair competition and to prohibit connivance.

Finally, the public would like to know if the fare pricing structure is in accordance with IATA guidelines

Enforce fair and uniform airfares!

Can the Planet Support More Americas?

I refer to this column, written by Chandran Nair, which has also been published in TheStar Can the Planet Support More Americas? which I feel should be more appropriately titled 'Can the Planet support relentless consumption?' It is a very sobering article, and the writer tries to catch the attention of Asian political leaders, that, while it's politically desirable to push their respective countries to high income status, and middle class abundance, Mother Earth has been stretched over its regenerative capacity, and simply cannot cope... Just taking one example, he asks, " Take cars for example; Estimates suggest that if China, India and other developing countries reach Western levels of car ownership, there could be 3 billion cars in the world, four times the current total, within four decades. Where will the fuel come from for these vehicles, and what about their environmental impact? ..." I may add, how much carbon pollution will they produce?

Again, if China and India consume the same amount of energy per capita as the USA, can the planet survive the effects of carbon pollution, and environmental degradation. Will there be any glaciers left to provide the world of drinking water, or for that matter, will there be anything left of the Arctic Circle?

I further quote from him, "Politicians, economists and businessmen remain in denial, using the crutch of technology, free markets and finance to spin messages about innovation and hope. But hope is not a plan.(underline mine) Asian governments must reject the blinkered views of those who urge Asians to consume relentlessly — be they Western economists and leaders who want the region to become a “motor of growth” to rebalance the world economy or Asian governments convinced that ever-expanding economies are what their populations need. .."

In the Malaysian context, there are many areas that we could look at, but I am not sure if the Govts (Federal as well as State), are just paying lip service to the necessary steps that we have to take to preserve the country and the world from further damage. To just mention a few:

• Are we serious about protecting what is remaining of our forest reserves and catchment areas, if State Govts continue to allow new and additional pristine forests to be 'harvested' for their valuable hardwood. Do we allow core timber companies to continue to project increasing production of virgin forest logs year after year, without even considering a moratorium for such activity. Virgin forest reserves, it is easy for me to say, is a finite NON renewable resource.
• The Govts are just paying lip service to the banning of the use of plastic bags in all business activities.Most of them cursorily ban the use of plastic bags on a Saturday. But walk among the hyper-malls, the night markets and the food courts, etc, you will find plastic bags being used as if there is no tomorrow. At the rate they are being used, there WILL be no tomorrow.
• The Govt is not doing anything much to move from inefficient industries, which seem only to be able to survive on cheap labour. For immediate and short term political expediency, foreign workers are imported, from any South and South East Asian country who are willing to subject their people to work in slave like conditions, to meet the desire to keep the inefficient industries alive and at a profit. By doing so, that is, by not exercising strong political will, we may seem to be flourishing economically in the short term, but in addition to not being able to meet the global challenges in the next decade or so, we will be also 'importing' social and environmental problems that millions of uneducated and famished foreign migrant workers are bringing into the country, not to mention the pressure they will exert on our housing, energy, food and transport resources.

Though in the end, as the writer says, it will depend on the Governments of Beijing, Delhi and Jakarta to determine if the planet can survive the challenges of relentless consumption, it is also essential that every country pull its weight, so that Mother Earth will have a chance to heal herself.

Assuming that a nation can survive based on the economics of infinite consumption growth in a world of finite resources is like assuming that you have the goose that lays golden eggs. That's a fairy tale.

Can Malaysia support relentless consumption?

Politicians and racial politics

I refer to your timely warning, 'PM warns against fanning racial and religious sentiments' and I feel that you maybe beginning to show true abilities of a leader, able to rise above parochial and selfish interests. Without any doubt, removing all vestiges of distrust and hatred among the various races will surely provide the cement of unity for out beloved country, still worth dying for, in spite of Malaysia being used as a hub for human and drug trafficking, and also as a massive rubbish dump by all and sundry.

But, I can't help harbouring some doubt over the sincerity of this statement, as I belong to a significant number of Malaysians well into their 60's, and who still remember in the 80's you were waving a keris in the heavy rain, expounding the racist vitriolic that you have now so strongly come out against.

It would be a massive elevation in your leadership status, if you can come out and admit that it was not correct for you to have demonstrated thus, and apologise to the citizens for the act. Such a big step will exorcise from the minds of the public that the leadership is not sincere in their statements and beliefs, and will immediately endear yourself to the doubting citizens. We need to see that a great leader should also be humble, and is human too, able to make mistakes, and to ask for forgiveness. The nation needs such a catharsis

In ending, I would like to quote from another column in today's Star by Zainah Anwar, "Same actors same old script" in which she wrote, ..." Second, Varshney finds that whether violence or peace prevails depends on the role politicians play in polarising citizens along ethnic lines. Politicians who seek to polarise Hindus and Muslims for the sake of electoral advantage can tear at the fabric of everyday engagement among citizens. He finds that conflict erupts into violence when organised gangs are not just involved, but are also protected by politicians, thus escaping prosecution under the law for their criminal actions.

She has concluded that politicians, along with the sensation seeking media, propped up by the inherent distrust among societies, is the main cause for racial and religious strife. It will take a statesman of extraordinary stature to protect our nation.

Are you up to it?