Things the Government needs to do NOW
Call it a wish list, but all of these things must be done to stop the country from careening further down the tubes. This is by no mean an exhaustive list.
1. Increase transparency and accountability in the public sector
This should be done by :
(a) publishing the rules / yardsticks on how judges are nominated & selected;
(b) amending the Local Government Act to allow for local council elections;
(c) removing the ACA from under the PM's office and making it an independent body with real enforcement & investigative powers;
(d) repealing the Printing Presses and Publication Act to enpower the local media to do more investigative journalism instead of being the mindless governnment syncophants they are today;
(e) publish the criterion by which government tenders are awarded.
2. Remove all cost inefficiencies by the government
This can be done by:
(a) removing all subsidies and assistance for Proton - let it die if it has to die or allow someone who can help it out of the sea of red ink it's in. There's no national pride in wasting even more of tax payers' money funding the terminally doomed national car project;
(b) putting a stop to all ridiculously wasteful exercises like the Angkasawan;
(c) awarding government project to contractors with excellent track records, not to those whose workmanship only lasts a few months for eg the Jalan Duta courts' collapsing roofs and the shoddy workmanship on the repair works in Parliament house.
3. Revamp the entire education system
This can be done by:
(a) Getting education experts from around the world to recommend medium to long term plans on how we can improve our education system to produce a more competitive & marketable workforce;
(b) Increasing teachers' salary & benefits
(c) Implementing a measurable KPI based meritocratic system of performance review for teachers & sack non-performing teachers, not transfer them to another school;
(d) Rewarding academic research based on the number of the number of academic papers published in international journals, not the number of asses kissed in the university hierarchy;
(e) Inviting renowned subject matter expert academics to teach in Malaysia and to transfer their knowledge to locals or at least make it attractive for these people to come and teach or set up research labs here.
4. Increase the competitiveness of Malaysia as a place to invest and work
To be continued - need to sleep first.
