Despite the hype surrounding it, the revision of Budget 2016 turns out to be little more than a trick to convince the public that the government is doing what it should by adjusting its priorities to changed circumstances.

It doesn’t take much probing to get behind the ploy, and when we do, we find that the Najib administration is sticking to old but unsuccessful methods. It is not biting the bullet and thinking for the long term.

A general lack of innovation permeates the eleven measures outlined by the Prime Minister. There is no sign of any restructuring and reworking of old policies that are the fixtures of a broken system.

In essence, it is a rehashing of old efforts. These measures did work once upon a time, but as a nation progresses through time, so too must its policies. Contexts change, and you can’t change what looks like a bleak future if you insist on repeating what you’ve done in the past.

It makes one wonder whether an old dog really can’t learn new tricks, whether the administration will keep on doing what is easy instead of what is right.

The Prime Minister dedicated a portion of his speech to a review of previous financial crises, instead of focusing on the mistakes plaguing the country now. To this day, Najib maintains that the government cannot be blamed for a slowing economy. It’s as if the value of money has nothing to do with public and market perceptions. It’s true that slumping oil prices and a challenging global outlook cause economic problems, but it’s disingenuous to pass over the scandals that have rocked the country over the past year and exacerbated the crisis of confidence and deficit of trust in the Malaysian economy.

It’s misleading to say that hardcore poverty has been eradicated through programmes like Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M). These programmes are merely short-term and stopgap measures. They do not address the real issues of low wages, increasing inflation, and an education system that consistently churns out students that have a hard time competing globally.

It’s easy to shift the blame to others and place a heavier burden on them instead of admitting one’s own mistakes and cleaning up after oneself. It’s worth asking why the government cut KWSP contributions by 3%. Certainly, it does put more money in the hands of consumers. However, it neglects to account for the fact that most consumers don’t have that much money to spend in the first place.

Besides, it is probably wrong to assume that consumers will spend just because they have a little more money. We just don’t have large amounts of disposable income any more. The government talks about boosting domestic tourism in the recalibrated budget, but some people have trouble surviving each day. They don’t have the money to eat well, let alone travel.

It’s easy to cut KWSP rates instead of GST, because if GST rates are slashed, that means less money will go back to the government. Oil is no longer a guarantee of wealth for this country. But instead of increasing the quality of education and consequently setting Malaysia up as a high-value-added economy, the path chosen is one where the rakyat must fork out more money to fund questionable decisions, such as raising salaries for a bloated civil service.

And yet at the end of his speech, the Prime Minister, giving his variation of the famous Kennedy sound bite, said, “Do not ask what the nation has done for you, but ask what we have done for the nation.”

But perhaps he should have asked what his administration has done to the nation instead.

Those who do what’s right even if it’s not always easy can live with a clear conscience. But those who do what’s easy even when it’s wrong must ask themselves whether their time is up or whether it’s finally time for old dogs to learn new tricks.