Malaysians are generally a contradictory lot when it comes to enjoying populist handouts dished out by the government. This practice has been going on for decades and all new governments continue with these practices despite knowing that many recipients do not deserve them.

So many Malaysians, including myself, just enjoy these freebies without ever asking who ends up footing the bill. Well, it’s going to be the taxpayers directly or indirectly.

First on my list of contentious freebies are the nine days of gazetted toll holidays for major Malaysian festivals and National Day. In addition, the works ministry also declares a toll holiday for elections.

It costs the government about RM20 million each day which means an estimated RM180 million will have to be reimbursed to the toll companies annually. The toll companies are not too happy as they get back the money much later, sometimes a year after the event. They say it’s affecting their cash flow.

Who mainly benefits from this populist move which adds to the massive jams on highways? While I admit that there are deserving motorists, a large number of them are those who can afford to travel.

Adding it up

A motorist in the T20 category, earning a five-figure salary, will save RM90 on tolls for a round trip from Kuala Lumpur to Alor Setar. This adds up to RM360 per year for four journeys during festival holidays covering a total of 850km per round trip.

At an estimated six litres of fuel per 100km used by an average vehicle, it would consume 51 litres in total. The kiosk price for each litre of RON95 fuel is RM2.05, which is RM1 less than the actual market price.

So, he is subsidised RM51 for each trip, which adds up to RM204 for the four journeys in a year. And if he chooses to travel during the National Day which is also a toll holiday, he gains more.

If you add all these gains to other travels he does during these trips, his estimated total gain from toll exemptions and fuel subsidies could add up to RM800. Does this rich Malaysian deserve this? Mind you, a huge number of Malaysians are in this category.

On a positive note, the unity government is already laying the foundation to introduce targeted fuel subsidies based on the financial background of Malaysians. It’s about time.

Rewarding the traffic offenders

But if this same motorist has chalked up a couple of summonses for traffic offences and decides to wait for the annual discounts the government gives the defaulters, he stands to gain another few hundred ringgit.

This is a strange practice indeed. Break the law and be rewarded. In fact, the 50% discounts should be given to law-abiding citizens who settle their tickets within a week.

Why give discounts to chronic defaulters? It’s actually becoming a joke among many of them. I know of someone who is yet to pay more than 10 tickets for traffic offences. When asked why, he says mockingly that he is waiting for the annual discounts.

Huge crowds turned up for the recent discounts for summonses offered to mark the Madani government’s first anniversary. But what irked many law-abiding citizens were those defaulters who took to social media to complain about the long wait to settle their dues.

For many Malaysians, it appears to be a case of what the country can do for you, never mind what you can do to help the nation grow.

Civil service perks

Next month, all civil servants will receive a special payment of RM2,000 each, whether they need it or not. Fine, if the money goes to those in the B40 and M40 categories. But why should civil servants earning above RM10,000 a month be given this payment?

Shouldn’t such bonuses be dished out on a sliding scale, with higher amounts going to those earning lower salaries? And maybe have a cut-off point where those earning more than RM12,000 are not eligible. There are some families where both husbands and wives are government employees.

Government retirees, too, will get RM1,000 in cash even if their pensions are more than RM10,000 each. These include politicians who could be receiving many pensions.

Subsidies and financial handouts are usually effective and helpful. However, if the government were to make a report of its success on these fronts, it would be a different story. This is because it is hard to quantify and many reach unintended targets based on false declarations.

Government policies on taxes, spending and subsidies have to adapt and should shift to growth-enhancing investment. This means using more money to build classrooms, hospitals and roads, while cutting wasteful spending such as populist handouts and discounts which are also enjoyed by the rich.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.