Menara Rakyat Merana

Disclaimer: I am not pro-opposition, and neither am I pro-government. I am just pro-common sense!

The most recent thing that makes my blood pressure shoot up is the RM5bil Menara Warisan proposed under the 2011 National Budget. The first thing that came to my mind when I saw it in the papers is: what are they thinking? We are not a rich country, and hence, RM5bil should be spent very carefully, and not on some unnecessary luxury. A poor man shouldn't drive a new Mercedes if he can't even pay his rent.

Why I think the idea is totally ridiculous: KL has enough tall buildings. In fact, the Petronas Twin Towers are probably the most distinctive skyscrapers in the world. They have certainly put Malaysia on the map. People all over the world know about them and immediately think of Malaysia when they see them. In fact they give them their own names e.g. chopsticks. So, why is there a need for another one?

RM5bil is a lot of money. You can do a lot with that.

I feel that they could spend it on improving vocational education in Malaysia, thereby providing people with skills that can improve their standards of living. Vocational education is really important for the scores of people who are not into (or not suited to) academia. In countries like the UK and Germany, it plays a major role in training mechanics, plumbers, builders, carpenters who are then empowered by their skills to venture into business or to gain employment.

They can improve the status of our local universities and hence put us on the map for an even better reason. The level of research could be greatly improved, and other courses such as the arts (music, drama, fashion) could be developed.

They could also improve infrastructure in Sabah and Sarawak by building highways, or rail links, thereby spurring development in these areas and improving our GDP as a result. In fact, even the railway in Semenanjung could do with upgrading. It definitely should not take 12 hours to get to Kelantan from KL by train. They could build a tunnel through the mountains and create excellent road and rail connections between the east and west coast (just like what Switzerland has recently done). Such infrastructure makes the country more attractive for foreign investment. Imagine if you could get to Kota Bharu by train in 2 hours? Or what if you build a high-speed train linking Perlis to Singapore? Imagine if it travels at 250kph? That would allow you to travel to Singapore in 3 hours! Or KL to Singapore in 1.5 hours! Such amazing logistics create limitless business opportunities!

The underprivileged society in Malaysia could certainly do with some help. Social benefits should be improved to emulate systems in the UK and in European countries. Disability allowance and job-seekers allowance should be introduced/improved. At the moment, crime is such a major problem in Malaysia and I believe it's due to an obvious reason: socioeconomic disadvantages. Giving them aid and guidance would be a deterrent from involvement in crime, and could help them move their lives in the right direction.

They could also improve our border protection to avoid illegal immigrants pouring in from all the surrounding countries. This is certainly an issue in Sabah where there are huge numbers of illegals from the Philipines and Indonesia, who contribute to a lot of socioeconomic problems.

Above are the many opportunity costs for the 5bil. I just hope people just do what is right in the end, and finally make a difference.