theSun:

PENANG: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi assured Malaysians yesterday that the economy is strong and growing well, despite claims from certain quarters to the contrary.

“We are doing well but there are still people who say that our economy is bad,” he said at a dialogue with members of the Chinese community at the Penang Chinese Town Hall.

“Kerajaan cakap, orang tak percaya, lain orang cakap, orang percaya,” (What the government says, the public does not believe, but what others say, they believe). Please believe us. We are your government and we do not lie,” said Abdullah.

I have said this many times, either people trust you or they don’t.

When Abdullah starts having to say things like “Please believe us,” it’s as clear as day that people don’t, and he’s clutching at straws.

He doesn’t stop there, commenting on our “”8th”" most competitiveness rank:

“We are a population of over 20 million and we rank eighth in the world in terms of our competitiveness.

“This is not the Government’s figure and I am not telling you lies. This statistic is from an international survey.

I had to laugh.

What kind of leader goes around saying “I am not telling you lies”?

One who is, obviously.

As we’ve described at length, Malaysia’s actual global ranking is a distant 23rd. This population more than 20 million category is a load of hogwash if you ask me.

Interestingly, Singapore is ranked 2nd most competitive in the world, bar none. But more on that later.

“If I quote statistics from our own surveys, you will not believe us. Everywhere I go, the business community tells me that Malaysia is doing very well. These people are smart. You cannot fool them because they are well-read,” he said, adding that the Government had no reason to lie.

“Please trust us – we are your government.

Everyone is telling him what??.. I can’t help but think of the Emperor’s New Clothes.

Government has no reason to lie? Because… it’s always 100% sincere and always transparent?

Who is buying this load of dung?

Must be nobody. Why else would the nation’s chief executive have to go around saying “Please trust us” like some sort of beggar.

Any leader worth his salt knows that trust cannot be asked for, it must be earned. No credible leader goes around saying “Believe us! Please!… We’re telling the truthlah… No really, really, I never bluff you wan….”

Trust is about track record, and I think Abdullah has demonstrated his perfectly well.

If you look at the economy, we are doing well. That is a fact proven by figures. But people still claim otherwise because of increasing prices. This is a very simplistic way of analysing the economy.

“Nobody is happy to see prices rising but this is out of our control. The question is not how to bring down prices but how to help the rakyat cope.

If you’re wondering whether Anwar’s message is reaching the people, I think you need look no further. Abdullah is having to bring the entire might of the Malaysian mainstream media to counter one man going around the country with a message of hope.

How about “The question is not how to bring down prices”? Sounds like iminent price hikes to me.

Prices are going to go up because a) Abdullah hasn’t the faintest idea of how to run an economy and b) because greedy BNputeras need to be fed somehow.

When it comes right down to it, how is the economy actually doing?

Hmm.. what do your pockets tell you?

Tags: Economy, Integrity //