Changes afoot???

New JPA Scholarship based on meritocracy... but no clear cut about whether the existing one which is based more on racial prerequisites will become a separate scheme or be totally scrapped to be replaced by this new proposal.

No more 30% quota Bumi holdings for equity holdings... basically we do not have much of a choice here. We are inching towards the state of a failed nation. Years of mismanagement, sanctioned pillage and plundering have contributed to that. To continue the quota system would probably drive out whatever reputable investment left in our country. There may be a feeling of wealth here but if you crunch the figures you will find out that the purchasing power has been diminishing somewhat over the years. Just compare the increase in the prices of cars to our salaries. You will find that the increase in the car price outstrips the increase in pay.

Najib does not have much choice actually. FDIs are dropping and other neigbouring countries seem set to lure in more. Our investors, on the other hand are uprooting and 'fleeing'. FDI for 2008 was RM46 billion. But for this year, the figure till May is only a paltry RM4.2 billion, barely 10% of last year's total; and with only 7 more months to tally up. Like it or not, we have to compete. And our investors don't like 30% quota requirements. So unless we want to insulate ourselves, we have no choice but to comply.

The quota system has been like a motor neurone disease... it slowly causes the nerve cells to degenerate and the result is fatal. Look at our educational institutions... it's been on a slide ever since we practised NEP in earnest. Malaise, incompetence, inefficiency plagues our ivory towers. An example. UM's other twin (NUS) has gone northward... UM, the older twin went on a downward spiral. Our best and brightest have been exiting the country for years; to which some will say good riddance since those who exited are mainly non-Bumis.

In the last couple of days, these announcements seem to offer hope that maybe, the gahmen, UMNO namely, has finally made moves to shed their divide and rule practice. Or it could just be a cosmetic ruse to win hearts back to BN. But for the sake of the country, I hope not. The only way forward is to rebuild our country on principles of moral absolutes. Crutches don't help; they incapacitate in the long run. The law of nature sees to that. A man, if we put him on a wheelchair will lose his ability to walk in the long run as his muscles will waste away. Use crutches, and a whole segment of the society loses their ability to compete! That is what is happening in our country now... and with it, the erosion of ethics and values.

So, I'll be waiting and looking at whether all these measures are for real or just another political ploy to win votes.... this is after all Malaysia and there is always more than what meets the eye.

Next on my wish list.. to make our civil service reflect our racial composition in a truer sense... at this moment, walk into any gahmen department, and the sea of faces will be of the same race. Too much of the same is also killing the quality of service rendered by our civil service. Most will agree that the level of commitment shown by our civil servants lacks those of their earlier counterparts. The same goes for the armed forces... let the other races share the burden of safeguarding the country... if everything is fair, every race will want to participate.