Written by Wong Choon Mei, Politics Now!
KUALA LUMPUR (Politics Now!) - There's an obvious damage-control going on to shield Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, accused of being perhaps the lousiest and most unworthy of all the country's top leaders so far, after unveiling a record Budget 2024 that was unprecedented in financial size as well as monetary pain to the man on the street.
The media in Malaysia these days no longer dare to criticize Anwar or accuse him of being an empty vessel, reliant on crackpot strategies from an inner circle of intellect-deficient Little Napoleons that come mostly from his own PKR party or being a figure-head for the 'real brains' in the ruling coalition, which is the 'sometime angel, sometimes devil' DAP.
STEP ONE - MUZZLE THE PRESS!
Instead, saccharine-sweet media pieces are circulated to prevent an unsuspecting wider public from questioning and demanding better solutions than what Anwar and his insipid unity government have shown themselves capable of.
However, when those in the government start to eye and scheme how to line their pockets, now that the media has been conveniently muzzled, who will save Malaysia? Who indeed will sound the alarm bells when the press can no longer represent or express the anger and anxiety of a public, famous for its enormously diverse political views and leanings.
Under 'Uncle' Anwar, Malaysia has gone full circle back to the surreal days of Mahathir Mohamad's 'Boleh-land' and 'Bossku' Najib Razak's 'I scratch your back, you scratch mine' wonderland, sewer-hole politics.
Chicken, eggs and rice are essential food staples, but did 'Uncle' Anwar and his so-called caring government care other than give lip service assurances that there won't be any price hikes! If there is no possibility of any runaway price jumps, then why were ceilings imposed in the first place!
STEP 2 - 'CHICKEN' & BULL STORIES
Obviously, the industry players who benefit the most, including the big supermarket chains and trade groups that basically represent sellers, have rushed to clap dear, obedient 'Uncle" Anwar on the back and help to echo and spread his propaganda.
But for how long will prices not rise? Two weeks to give Anwar face? One month, two or three? Are the world oil and gas prices coming down - does 'Uncle' Anwar know some secrets that global energy experts don't? Did Joe Biden or Benjamin Netanyahu personally call to tell him that the Hamas-Israel conflict is over and there won't be any prolonged fighting with Iran involved? Did they promise Anwar the world's current greatest conundrum of sky-high oil prices and blocked supply chains will conveniently disappear, so as to allow him and his regime to remove ceilings and raise floors on essential food staples?
Against such a volatile world background, Anwar regime can only come off as foolish risk-takers at best. And at worst, it can look like sinister abuse of power to help the rich at the expense of the poor! Indeed, it does seem that in their haste to slash subsidies and get Malaysia's fiscal balance balance into a more balanced state, Anwar and his unity government have ruthlessly sacrificed the very consumer groups they had promised to protect and shield against the big-time billionaire-owned conglomerates and syndicates.
Looking at the ramifications, how viable or strong is the chief excuse offered by Anwar regime that the ceilings and floors were respectively removed and raised so as to tackle supply-side issues? Let's examine:
Firstly, are eggs, chicken or even cooking oil really that short in supply that no one can buy these anymore? Secondly, has Anwar regime done enough to get their enforcement teams working sharper and harder to suss out and punish the hoarders and profiteers out to make indecent profits?
"GUARANTEED" TO GO UP
So why, indeed why, did Uncle Anwar give up on the ordinary folk so easily and surrender them to the mercy of the big businesses and monopolies, who now call the shots as they like on prices without the government-set ceilings and floors in place!
Already livestock farmers admit a rise in chicken prices is "guaranteed", while a supermarket chain boss predicts regular Grade A, B and C eggs may cost 10sen more, although he thinks chicken prices will hover at about RM9 per kilo instead of breaching the ceiling price of RM9.40 per kilo.
A 10-sen rise in egg prices from 45 to 55 sen is a humungous 22% jump in price, and why remove the ceiling in chicken prices if the current market price of around RM8.40 per kilo is still one full ringgit below the ceiling?
Does this make sense or is the Anwar regime foolish enough to think that the people won't start to fume once it hits them that the tycoon sellers and monopolists are laughing all the way to the bank - again! - while they have to sweat and toil - even more than before! - made fools of by one unscrupulous administration after another!
"A rise in chicken prices is guaranteed after the ceiling is removed because the current price ceiling is lower than our production costs. If it doesn’t rise, farmers will be at a loss. Who would want to farm chickens anymore if that is the case?" Free Malaysia Today reported Jeffrey Ng, adviser to the Federation of Livestock Farmers’ Associations of Malaysia, as saying.
“However, we expect chicken prices to stabilise and balance out because the price of chicken feed has gone down a bit. This month alone it has decreased by RM2 for a 50 kg bag, and we’re hoping that it decreases further."
STEP 3 - FEELING 'ITCHY' ALREADY? BUT WHO WILL SCRATCH WHAT?
While it is true no one would want to undertake a losing business, no one wants to pay high prices either! And this what subsidies are about. A good government would know where and when to step in to balance out both side. But 'bad boy' Uncle Anwar regime, despite promising to subsidize what is most needed, seems to have sold off this responsibility - leaving the man in the street the prey and big businesses the predator.
Also the livestock farmers association must be very naive to believe their members would let chicken prices go down if and when chicken-feed costs fall. Perhaps the day that sellers, after tasting the greed of more money coming into their hands, can voluntarily cut prices will be the day the world is fully at peace, with no inflation and no wars!
“At the moment, the ceiling price for chicken is RM9.40 per kilo, but it is being sold at about RM8.40," the Star reported Ameer Ali Mydin, the owner of the Mydin hypermarket chain as saying.
"I don’t foresee chicken prices going up too high even without price control because the price of chicken internationally has dropped. Even if chicken prices go up, it should be around RM9.40."
Err.. really? So why go out of the way to remove the ceiling price then? Is some part of the Anwar regime feeling itchy but can't reach to scratch? Or perhaps it doesn't want to be seen scratching who and what?!! - Written by Wong Choon Mei, Politics Now!
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