They say the sea is always at peace just moment before the storm sets in. It is as though god is playing a cruel joke on us mankind, luring us with a false sense of security.

Towards the end of December, we seemed to have averted a financial crisis. The long-drawn-out saga of 1MDB sprung an unexpected surprise on us on the very last day of the year when the joint-consortium between China Railway Engineering Corp (CREC) and Johor-based Iskandar Waterfront Holdings bought a 60 percent stake in the much-maligned company-owned 486 acre property in Bandar Malaysia.

We also notice that the ringgit Malaysia seemed to have stabilised at RM4.30 against one US dollar for much of November and December.

With that, Malaysians were ready to usher in the new year with new hope.

One week into the new year, the truth has unravelled. We couldn’t be more wrong. We are in fact slowly being drawn into a perfect storm. KLSE has opened the year in negative territory and the ringgit has tumbled more than 1.2 percent against the US$ in just one day. At the time of writing, the ringgit is trading at RM4.42 to one US dollar.

Externally, there are several reasons why we are facing a tough financial market. Yesterday, the Chinese government allowed the Yuan to tumble. Oil prices has dropped to below US$35 a barrel, a price range almost unthinkable when the same time last year oil per barrel was trading at around US$100 per barrel.

To compound matter, the US Federal Reserve has increased the interest rate, prompting more money to be sent back to the United States and of course the dire situation was not helped by other geo-political factors such as the deteriorating relationship between two major oil producers, Saudi Arabia and Iran, and the recent H-bomb testing by North Korea.

Internally, the long-drawn-out saga of 1MDB and the ongoing investigation towards the prime minister in relation to the political donation issue has continue to hog the headlines, with the people seemingly lacking confidence that there will be any resolution from the investigation.

Even the highly respected Bank Negara governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz is throwing in the towel. She is expected to leave the post she has held for 16 years by this year.

So far, the government’s response to the people’s anxiety is at best lukewarm. Instead of helping the rakyat, all we hear are bad news, such as toll and electricity increases. The ever-increasing cost of living due to the lacklustre economy and weak ringgit has put an enormous stress on the average family.

And what is the government’s reaction to this pertinent problem? Perhaps it can be best summed up by the ingenious suggestion by Deputy International Trade Minister Ahmad Maslan to encourage Malaysians to take more than one job to survive the ever-rising living costs. In simple English, you are on your own.

If China sneezes, we will get a cold

Make no mistake, if you think 2015 is tough, 2016 would be more challenging. Any slowdown in China will definitely have an effect on our economy. China is now our No 1 trading partner and if they sneeze, rest assured we will get a cold.

And with no viable prospect that oil prices will increase in the immediate short-term, our government will have to come up with more cost-cutting measure as the budget for 2016 was premised upon oil per barrel at US$55, which in comparison to today’s market rate is at an alarming 40 percent decrease.

I think that I share the same view with most Malaysians that whilst we accept certain global effects out of our control will bring adverse condition to our market, we still continue hearing unaccountable government wastage as pointed out in yearly Auditor-General’s Reports and recent Yapiem and Mara scandals. While the rakyat are suffering, some high-flying government-appointed officers are spending money abroad like nobody's business.

The ongoing corruption investigation over RM2.6 billion ‘donation’ has also being dragged on for far too long, prompting people to be sceptical whether the investigation will ever see the light at the end of the tunnel.

While Umno-BN continue to play the race game, I strongly believe that the mismanagement of our economy by the government can still be the straw that breaks the camel’s back in our nation political state. It is now incumbent upon us to draw the people focus to the real day-to-day economy issue and not to be sidelined by racial-game diversion intentionally created by our political foe.

JIMMY PUAH WEE TSE is deputy Johor PKR chairperson-cum-state assemblyperson for Bukit Batu.