MALAYSIA’S 10th prime minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, has come out of the gate upon his appointment looking to deal with the rising cost of living. This is laudable, as the rising cost of living has the biggest impact on the poor, specifically the B40 and M40 population in the country. The rich, on the other hand, actually benefit from economic chaos and crises, as has been proven time and time again.
A key appointment by Anwar would be the position of finance minister. For too long, the finance ministers of the country have focused on creating a system and landscape that benefits large corporations. This has been done at the expense of the rakyat. The flawed premise has been that if the large corporations succeed, all Malaysians will reap its benefits.
We have seen how this form of “trickle-down” economic theory has been proven wrong. The reality is that rich corporations have gotten bigger and richer, and then closed the gates all around them. The gap between the rich and the poor has widened.
The Finance Ministry should very quickly study how much the gap between the highest-paid and lower-paid employees in large corporations has widened over the last 10, 20, and 30 years. I can say with all certainty and conviction that it has multiplied manifold. When we look at such income, we need to look at total compensation, which will include bonuses of all sorts, share awards, perks, and benefits. The Finance Ministry should make such findings public.
The different finance ministers over the years have played into the neo-liberal agenda in one form or another and it has only gotten worse with time. They have been puppets of big business.
The role of the finance minister should be to ensure that an economic platform is created in the country so that everyone can thrive. The priority should be the rakyat at large.
The threat of foreign investors pulling out or not finding Malaysia attractive has been used as the reason as to why policies that impact negatively on Malaysian workers and the poor have been implemented. As an example, the minimum wage is at a level where anyone earning RM1,500 per month in major cities in the country would almost certainly be living in relative poverty. Yet, many businesses earning millions in profits are paying their employees such poverty-level wages.
Anwar would need to ensure that the finance minister he appoints is not someone who would play to the tune of big businesses and instead have the strength, courage, and fortitude to work to uplift the economic well-being of all Malaysians. – The Vibes, November 28, 2022
Callistus Antony D’Angelus is an international labour adviser for the Social Protection Contributors’ Advisory Association Malaysia (SPCAAM)
