opinion

Stop being nosy and get to work, Khairy

Jay Jay Denis

There is something about ministers in Malaysia which I find completely foolish.

They repeatedly try to act as spokespersons for the prime minister – or his deputy – hoping that their public show of support translates into a private security of tenure.

But some Cabinet members lack the sense of knowing when to shut up.

All they have to do is to zip it and fight the urge to fill the air with meaningless chatter.

To compound matters, a select few make it a point to get on Twitter to let loose because the whole town is hooked on a particular issue.

Almost all instances have resulted in these ministers having egg on their faces.

And latest to this list is Youth and Sports Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin.

He got onto the microblogging site  to defend Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's assertion that Malaysia needed more workers from Bangladesh to the tune of 1.5 million.

It got worse when the Rembau MP resorted to twisting the facts to make it sound that he was right.

The Umno Youth Chief said:

   i) Malaysians don't want to work for low-paying jobs

   ii) If Malaysians are paid more, the cost of living including property prices will spike.

   iii) 1.5 million workers is only a figure by Dhaka. Malaysia will not take all.

All of these are complete fallacies.

For starters, the base wage of RM900 in Malaysia is inhumane and impossible to live on.

Malaysians will work for low-skilled jobs if there is an adequate pay.

I have met young women with newborns who have been left in the lurch by their husbands and are forced to fend for themselves.

Although not equipped with even the most basic of skills, some have tried to work terribly long hours doing tough jobs so that they are able to feed their hungry kids.

Next, property prices do not increase because workers are paid decently.

In fact, if workers are paid a decent living wage, they will be better placed to purchase a property for themselves, further boosting the property market.

One of the main causes of housing prices surging is speculation by homeowners who look to make a quick buck by buying and selling on a particular house or land in a short space of time.

Constant repeats of such situations will open the labyrinth of doom, making prices of homes snowball into unaffordable rates.

Let's look at the numbers for a minute.

An 800 square feet apartment through the government-initiated Perumahan Rakyat 1Malaysia Berhad project (PR1MA) costs RM335,000, and is classed as "affordable".

If I were earning RM3,500 per month and already having to pay for a car, I will only be able to service a loan of about RM193,000, as banking regulations on borrowings have tightened to take into account possible fluctuation in interest rates.

And this is via the government's affordable housing project, which is said to be 20% cheaper than privately-developed housing.

As an aside, the programme has been labelled as a "total failure" by property expert Dr Daniele Gambero at the recently held Property Outlook Forum.

Third, the Youth Minister's claim that it is Dhaka who is pushing through the idea of sending 1.5 million workers is absolutely false.

In June last year, Zahid was reported as saying that 1.5 million workers will be brought into Kuala Lumpur in stages within three years.

Clearly, Khairy hasn't done his homework and should be ticked off for being "Twitter-happy" in his defence of the deputy prime minister.

Instead, as Youth and Sports Minister, he should get his act together and focus on curbing youth unemployment, with at least 161,000 fresh graduates living without a job.

That is his responsibility as a minister tasked with representing the interest of youths in this country.

While at it, he should also gather experts at a table to thrash out a plan to overhaul Malaysia's failing image as a sporting nation.

It says a great deal about Khairy being all talk and little walk after a mainstream newspaper published a story about the colour of his goatee.

In all likelihood, I will go the length and say that the sun will set very soon on Khairy's short political career if he does not buck the trend and start being a genuine representative of Malaysia's young people.

Like Mark Twain said, "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt."

Something the Honourable Minister and his colleagues can learn from. – February 17, 2016.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer, organisation or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.