Ever since the Budget 2011, I've been asking myself - how exactly will another tall structure empower us as Malaysians?

Empower us to be upwardly mobile?

Then again, the Twin Towers (two, not just one) didn't do the job, so why should we, the people, think that one 100-storey tower would?

Despite Malaysia having better weather and beaches than the Scandinavian countries, we're nowhere near them on Forbes' World's Happiest Countries 2010.

Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden (in that order) top the list. We in contrast are at 94. Maybe we should be building a 94-storey tower.

The Scandinavian countries regularly top the world's list of happiest people, yet the tallest building in all of Scandinavia (according to Wikipedia) is the Turning Torso, built in 2005, at 57-floors high (190m).

That's way below our 88-floor tall Petronas Twin Towers.

I guess the people there aren't really happy because they have tall buildings ... perhaps it has something more to do with the way more salient issues of education, press freedom, lowering poverty levels, free healthcare - just to name a few - are handled.

These are areas where we as a nation, lag behind the Scandinavians.

None of the these important facets towards our upward mobility as a nation require tall buildings. But they do require one very important quality - political will.

My mother always told me to inspire as you aspire. I'd like to pass this free advice on to our leaders. Bigger, or in this case, taller, is not better for the nation.

Let's work towards empowering the people of Malaysia. Let that be your legacy Mr Prime Minister ... a nation of happy people.