vox populi small thumbnail'The weaknesses and remedies are all there. It's just that with Umnoputras in power, the weakness can never be corrected.'

Pemandu chief, too, shocked by ranking slide

Anonymous: A population size of 28 million, confidence level of 95 percent and confidence interval of 9.4 percent gives you a sample size of about 109. So, we can say that we are about 85.6 percent sure that the global competitiveness ranking is accurate.

Idris Jala, doesn't Pemandu work with statistics? I don't think the results would have been too different even if you sampled 10,000 people.

L Joy: Come on Idris Jala, you want the survey to interview Pemudah, PM Najib Razak and the likes to make up the target sample? Didn't Najib say that the public sector knows best? And didn't you announce RM162 billion local investments in just the past six months, yet we get this ranking?

Surely the private sector knows what the real situation is more than you do. No one has seen the money you are talking about that is finding its way into the industry.

Ablastine: It is funny. Idris does not know where the areas of weaknesses are. Ask the man on the streets and they can you tell straight what they are. The weaknesses and remedies are all there. It's just that with Umnoputras in power in the country, the weakness can never be corrected.

Dood: Idris, I'm pretty sure you know that we know that you're not that ‘surprised' by the results and that you also know why the results are such. Don't go following your buddies in Umno in rejecting the results of the report just because it didn't paint the rosy picture you want.

Not everyone in the world practices the entitlement mentality that Umno has taught certain segments of Malaysians, and hence crippled them. In the rest of the world, there is a thing called meritocracy. Look it up.

Clearwater: Idris Jala and his boss Najib Razak got so blindsided by their own ETP (Economic Transformation Programme) rhetoric they couldn't see the slide in global competitiveness ranking if it kicked them between the legs. This is not only my perception but also that of 109 other people.


Pua debunks Najib's 'transformation' rhetoric

Vocal Malaysian: It is quite obvious that the global competitiveness ranking for Malaysia in 2010 is an aberration from the norm. Take away 2010, and you will notice that from 2007 to 2011, the so-called changes are not that different or significant at all. I would even say that Malaysia remained stagnant in the face of global competition.

So one must question why 2010 stood out. I suspect it has something to do with massive public relations and lobbying efforts by the PM's Office, Miti (Ministry of International Trade and Industry) and Khazanah, which used the 2009 World Economic Forum sessions to lobby WEF officials to give Malaysia a good ranking. Otherwise how could the drop in 2011 be so drastic?

Najib has simply done nothing to enhance or improve the economic and business steadfastness of Malaysia. Indeed he is not much different from (former PM) Pak Lah, and worse in fact.

Malaysians Are Not Stupid: International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed's assertion is a typical sickness of the Malaysian government under BN: an inability to tell facts from imagined fiction.

Every time something is not reported to its favour or liking, they will find an excuse. Soon they are going to come out with their own ranking like what the Higher Education Ministry did when the international ranking for universities showed Malaysian universities' rankings disappearing for the world ranking for top universities.

Or in this case they may blame the Chinese for disloyalty to the country for bad mouthing the country since most business people in Malaysia are perceived to be Chinese.

Cinaputra: The government is in self-denial and is now involved in the blame game. All the public relations, NEM (New Economic Model) and Talent Corp stuff is merely one thin coating of paint to provide a rosy picture.

DAP MP Tony Pua may be in the opposition but there is nothing wrong with roping him in to the economic think-tank to get his input. I am certain he will gladly oblige as this is not about politics but economics.

Based on the fact there is no palpable transformation taking place and things are at best status quo, I doubt very much we can be a high income and developed nation come 2020. The ills besetting this country are obvious enough for all to see and feel, and calls for no elaboration.

Azizi Khan: The silence is indeed deafening from the BN supporters when faced with these reports. But why should they care, they are busy looting the country...

Cannon: Graft is a cost of business in this country. Can we honestly say corruption has gone? Is the government more transparent in project tendering? Systemic racial discrimination is one major push factor for the loss of our educated, qualified and experienced brain pool to other countries. Have the walls of racial discrimination come down?

Do we see structural reforms to redress this imbalance? Has the quality of our education improved? Look at our decrepit educational institutions. Does our judicial system inspire confidence for investors to put their money here? Then, there's the endless and destructive politicking and 'jihad' hysteria.

Add them all up and there, you have it. GTP, ETP are pure jazz!

2cts Worth: The government is a liability that is malfunctioning in every aspect. It is indeed the problem rather than the solution. The simple remedy is to remove it.


Jabu tells anti-Taib activist to respect CM's mandate

Fairplayer: Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu's math is really bad. In terms of seats, BN may have gotten 77.5 percent, but in terms of popular votes, BN only secured 55 percent. That means the opposition had 45 percent, which is almost half the number of Sarawak's voters.

Besides, most of BN's wins were dubious, using cash and all sorts of bribery methods to hoodwink the ignorant and illiterate rural folks who were easily deluded and conned by a few tens of ringgit each to pangkah (vote) BN.

Jabu talks big; he only won by a 1,000-odd majority despite all the foul tactics. I've more respect for SUPP's George Chan than him.

Headhunter King: Thirty years under one chief minister is too long. It's the same old crap everyday. We need a change. Abdul Taib Mahmud is too greedy. The ordinary folk especially the Dayaks, Jabu's own people, are dirt poor and neglected while Taib and his cronies, including Jabu, gobble up everything.

Taib won because he cheated through massive vote-buying, evil use of bomohs, harrassment by gangsters, feeding massive amounts of alcohol to the natives, arm-twisting, ballot stuffing and so on.

We would gladly put him in jail. He and George Chan are a huge part of the evil problem. We'll lock them up together.

Lim Chong Leong: Jabu, respect what? The mandate from gerrymandering and vote buying? Investigate Taib on how he obtained his wealth and how much land he gave himself, his nominees and cronies instead.

Tony_2c31: What's wrong with holding a peaceful gathering? Is it democratic if the politicians abused their power and used public money and government servants to win elections?

 

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.