I am incensed with the government for bailing out Tajudin Ramli via buying his stake in MAS. I have nothing against Tajudin; I do not know him so it's not personal.
However, paying more than double of the current market price for about 29 percent of MAS is an irresponsible act. It is an atrocious decision and it sends a wrong signal to everyone. It is counterproductive, politically, economically and to the overall well-being of Malaysia. It is using public funds to save an ailing private enterprise.
The 1997 crisis hit many people. Many became bankrupt. Why did the government not bail them out too? Won't it be more "justifiable" for the government to set up a "Ministry of Bailouts" so that everyone in trouble could apply and seek full or partial bailout?
The Philippines government refused to bail out its national airline. Why? It would cause a revolution in the Philippines if it did.
Why use my tax money to bail out Tajudin? I could use some of my hard-earned money to bail myself out. I am seriously wondering whether I should continue paying my taxes if the government keeps on committing such accountable acts. I have a proposal. Until our government learns to be more accountable, the laws should be amended in such a way that:
1) Taxes collected are pre-designated for a particular purpose, eg. 20 percent for education, 20 percent for healthcare etc.; and
2) Any use of public funds on private enterprises that exceed a certain sum - say RM10 million, must be approved by the Parliament.
More people would be willing to pay taxes with the knowledge that the monies would be used for a pre-designated purpose. Further, the government would become more transparent, and this is good for everybody.
Ask any taxpayer whether in their wildest dreams they had ever intended their hard-earned taxes to be used to bail out Tajudin's MAS.
Think how many poor, sick and disabled people as well as the country as a whole would benefit if the nearly RM1.8 billion paid for the bailout is properly used.
Betul Malaysia boleh, tetapi mana boleh ini macam?
