Austerity Drive, Moderation and Contradictions

Aliran supports the nation’s desire to practise financial prudence in the face of the current economic crisis.

This not only makes good economic sense but is also very much in line with the social value of moderation as promoted by various religious traditions.

We are deeply concerned, however, by the antics of certain political leaders at the state government level who seem to have thrown caution to the wind. Their apparent disregard for public money and indulgence in wastage will ultimately cause further hardship to the ordinary people.

In Selangor, for instance, we were told of the Mentri Besar’s opulent house renovation involving a staggering RM5 million. In Kedah, plans have been put in place to implement the biggest -and the most expensive (RM30 billion) - mind-boggling land reclamation project.

In Perak, a recent newspaper report had it that the Mentri Besar, who is a flying enthusiast, has seen it necessary for the state to help in buying a plane. What’s more, plans are afoot to build a new Mentri Besar’s residence even though it was purported that this would not cost the state any money.

Clearly, these forms of mindless extravagance are vulgar in the extreme especially when the ordinary people are beginning to feel the real pinch of inflation and belt-tightening.

We hope that this so-called national desire to be financially prudent will be practised at all levels of society, and that there will be no glaring contradictions between promise and performance, particularly among our leaders.

Aliran Executive Committee
6 January 1998