By TK Chua

I think we shouldn’t let go of the BR1M debate yet. The issue is just too controversial. This nation cannot let this monster grow further.

BR1M may not be strictly bribery, but it is not a welfare programme either. Let’s not pretend: BR1M is a populist measure.

It is a programme that buys time for the government. It is a programme that camouflages the inability of the government and the failure of our economic system to provide the people with a decent living despite them working full time.

If a welfare programme has become almost “universal”, what does that tell us?

It is nice to be altruistic. We like to be associated with empathy and compassion for the poor and the lower income groups. But what if I say we are just pretending?

If people working full time (and some with two jobs or double incomes) can’t provide themselves and their families with a decent living, what does that tell us?

Economist like Jomo Sundram may have said BR1M is one of Prime Minister NajibRazak’s successes, but I would certainly like to know whether the cost of living has escalated far beyond wages and income. I would also like to ask whether employers have paid fair wages to employees for the amount of work done. The fact that more than seven million people are now eligible for BR1M tells us the answer to both questions.

Hence, on the flipside, can I look at BR1M this way? First, BR1M is to allow the government to continue with its incompetent and lackadaisical ways. Yes, why not, just throw some money to the people, and voila, the government can now be excused from allowing the ringgit to drop in value, from causing the cost of living to escalate, from imposing GST, from its ill-conceived ventures and misadventures and from causing so much of inequality in our society. Think about it, which of these is not true?

Second, it is to allow employers and the economic system to continue with its exploitative and manipulative ways. In its most simplistic form, is BR1M not an unintended measure allowing the employers to pay less to employees? Why pay them fair wages, the government will come to the rescue by supplementing their income through BR1M.

In essence, people working full time, regardless of professions, ought to earn enough to sustain themselves and their families. If not, they have no business working and supporting that economic system. If we truly love fairness and justice and have compassion for the poor, fix the system. Otherwise, to quote a famous Chinese saying, we are just “hanging out a goat’s head to sell dog meat”.

BR1M should rightly only be targeted at people who are handicapped, or who have suffered misfortune, or who are temporarily out of work; or given due to extraordinary or extenuating circumstances.

Malaysia is well known for making everything universal. Remember PTPTN (National Higher Education Fund Corporation ) loans at one time? The programme was supposed to help students from poorer families to pursue their university education, but the loans have become universal to everyone, including the rich and the super-rich. Of course we all know PTPTN has sunk under its own weight. If we are not careful, BR1M will be moving towards the same trajectory.

TK Chua is and FMT reader.

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