Don't You Dare to Smile, We Trust You No More!
It's now 2 minutes before 12.15 am and I am still awake typing my thoughts of what I've just heard in full. It really sadden me, it's hurt and frankly it makes my uneasiness towards the government is worsening. The government is considering to privatise the National Heart Institute to Sime Darby as per the latter's letter to the government. So what? It is ordinary and not unusual for government to do such thing on the premise of better service to the people. Rubbish!
The present government has been giving too much to the business sector to the extent of bleeding the commoners while boasting that they are doing all that are necessary to improve and promote the well being of the people. Business will remain business though such entity is owned and controlled by the government. Their main concern is to gain and accumulate as much profits as they manage to do and well-being of the people comes second if not less. Look at what happen to Independent Power Producers (IPP) and toll concessionaires. They make millions if not billions and we enjoy ordinary services not the extra ordinary that the government is saying or promising much earlier.The Prime Minister has said that before such privatisation is allowed and agreed upon, the government will ensure that the commoner, the layman like you and me will be guaranteed if not the best at least the usual services that we are currently enjoyed. Such promise from a soon retired leader should not be seriously listened to or even considered. It is very sad and disappointing to see and heard that the present government are not doing enough for the commoner - the ones who elected them to do their honourable job of representing the people and not the business entities.
Even today, many Government Linked Companies (GLC) which once government agencies providing services to the people fail miserably to improve the services. How frequent do we suffer from unstable power supply since Lembaga Letrik Sabah becomes SESB? Almost every day, every hour even. Its occurrences are just like breathing, it happens non stop and the same lame excuses are provided until today after so many years of being privatised.
Privatisation is not the only way of improving the services as what happen to health care in Cuba. Theirs is one of few examples where health care is at its best and the people from all walks of life are able to enjoy them. Unfortunately, here in this beloved country of ours we are duped to believe that privatisation is the best way to improve service. We need to remind ourselves in case we have forgotten that privatisation means letting business entities taking over the services at a cost and most of the time the cost is exorbitant making the services inaccessible to the common people. At the end, the service may have improved but none of the target groups are able to get the service.
Business will have profits as its main priority irrespective whether it is owned by the government (GLC). There are cases where GLCs are found polluting the environment just to reduce costs of treating their waste properly. At the end of the day, social obligation has to take the backseat as profits rule the day. MAS for instance in its rush to cut lost sacrifices unprofitable but necessary routes for the people. Please don't tell me that this never and will never happen in the future.
Developed countries have their share of failed and doomed privatisation but we or rather the government seems to be deaf and blind to the facts before them by continuing to support privatisation. I am not an economist but clearly the present government has failed to do their job of protecting our welfare and well being. Perhaps in the next general election we really need to teach them a real lesson since they fail to learn anything from the March 8 election.
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