Why can't they count?

It's been almost 6 long months since I last blogged ... i.e. about the length of time since the historical political tsunami that befell Malaysian politics. Yet, what have been done since then? Nothing much really to improve our lot in life except to create further disillusionment.

Truly, it's been a political circus (or perhaps I should say disaster) with every trick in the book thrown in for good measure. We've been deluged with plenty of sandiwara; witless, thoughtless, vindictive remarks/comments; irrational decisions; irresponsible actions; the list goes on. Does one think the rakyat believes anymore? Oh puhlease ... do not insult our intelligence. Like the fabled 'shepherd that cried wolf', there has just been one too many of these.

And while the politicians bicker and struggle for power, the economy is slowly but surely heading southwards. FDIs are pulling (or have pulled) out of the country, the US banking & finance industry looks like it's heading for disaster (which of course would eventually affect our economy if not sooner), the quantum hike in fuel prices has bitten into the pockets of the every day man, the Ringgit is weakening against major currencies, the stock market is spiraling downwards and we're moving many steps towards the precipice of an economic downturn.

Who is really paying attention to the country's economy and the rakyat's future?

The funny thing is while the politicians 'fight' for how many % rights belong to the different races, they have forgotten the fundamental rule of mathematics. 100% of zero is still zero; whilst even 10% of RM1 mil would yield RM100k. The focus should be in making the pie bigger so that everyone can share the pie; not in arguing about whose slice of the pie is bigger ~ and to do that, they have to clean up their act and keep their eyeballs on the economy. Bring in the "smarts" who knows what is what about economics and economic policies ~ not those who act first (implement fuel increases) and think later (only to realise they have forgotten the repercussions and scramble to come up with alternative policies for businesses).

There is no better time than NOW for the government to act and vindicate themselves. To do that, it would mean that they would have to work with the opposition states to bring up the country's economy so that all could share the wealth.

But wait, perhaps they have miscalculated ... or perhaps I am giving them more credit than is deserved.

After all, if you can't count and you refuse to learn to count, the only way to go is to continue being the fabled shepherd.