I refer to the Malaysiakini report Pak Lah can't manage finance: Dr M.

It must be precursor of bad omens, that just after a day the deputy premier took over the powerful finance portfolio from his embattled boss, the market tumbled to a record low. Expect more bad news to hit our shores if the world market does not improve.

The messages foreign funds managers are giving us are not difficult to decipher. Our economy is in a tailspin and having a new finance minister is not going to help us out of the economic doldrums. This economic crisis is reminiscent of the dark times in the late 1990s, when the Asian financial crisis caused countries in the region to seek help from the IMF.

One doe not have to be an economist to know that political stability is a prerequisite for foreign investors to invest in this country. Any country whose political stability is shaken, faces the prospect of its citizens suffering hardships as business will come to a standstill, stock markets will nosedive and foreign investments will dry up. Our country is no exception to this gloomy outlook.

The new finance minister cum deputy premier will have his hands full in reviving the economy as all indicators are against us. The world economy is shrinking while the US is on the verge of a great recession due to the sub-prime crisis which caused financial giants to collapse like a deck of cards which subsequently caused bankruptcies and people losing their jobs. Doesn’t the popular saying go “When the US sneezes, the world catches the cold”?

If we had practice prudent utilisation of national assets with less corruption and better savings, we could weather the financial storms that have hit our regions with a vengeance. But just like other third world countries where abuse of power and spending lavishly on grand projects which do not benefit the public are the norm, billions have been lost.

Najib Razak has come to the treasury when it is nearly empty. Some would say it is foolhardy of him to become finance minister when our economic crisis is at its height. Managing the country’s ailing economy will be a test of his mantle and he needs all the help he can get.

If the deputy premier succeeds, he is more than capable to become our next premier. But if he fails to revive the economy, then the door is always open for him to leave his powerful position in the government.

Pak Lah has been called a failure in finance by his predecessor as he failed to addressed rising inflation and claims of widespread corruption in his administration. His weak leadership resulted in voters rejecting him in the last polls. And yet he has refused to listen to calls from all quarters to resign.

Never before has our country faced the double whammy of a political and economic crisis at the same time. People who were finding it hard to make ends meets have reached crisis point. Instead of addressing these issues, the weak government is more interested in thwarting effort by the opposition to take over the federal government.

Didn’t emperor Nero fiddle away his time while Rome burned to the ground? This metaphor best describes the situation in our country today as the common rakyat are being ignored by politicians hanging on to power by a thread. It seems the light at the end of the tunnel is getting fainter by the day.