The beras issue - revisited. Tales by an unknown blogger no. 48.

1. Like many others, I was watching the furious debate on rice in parliament, not in front of padi farmers.

2. People focus on the cost of production. The opposition cited the rising cost of production as a cause for the disappearance of local rice. The government responded on measures to manage the rising costs.

3. Perhaps a variant of the backward bending supply curve of labour is in operation here. Padi farmers just refuse to produce more, because the money from producing more will go to inputs suppliers. Making them rich while farmers get imeserized.

4. The quick fix solution preferred by politicians of all persuasions, manage the rising c.o.p. ,artificially created by raising the floor price and 'hulok" subsidies.

5. Greed overcomes the input suppliers, the artificially inflated cost will increase again; people will ask for another round of increase in floor price, the donkeys in mof and MOA recommend hulok subsidies lagi. It becomes a never ending problem.

6. It occurs to me that Chinese padi farmers are better at managing rising cost of production.

7. They accept organic price increase in inputs but not artificially inflated price of inputs. They refuse to be swindled by rapacious vendors.

8. They buy seeds from their sources. Not from those recommended by nafas, Mardi or farmers coop..they don't buy fertilisers issued by nafas. They rent or buy farm equipment from their own sources. They have infra support such as cemented irrigation canals. And so on. They take subsidies if given but never regard them as entitlements.

9. Politicians of both divides are lazy to analyze the cost components. They wooly eyed themselves into believing the issue can be kautim by simply raising the floor price. Then surely, local rice will reappear. In the end, politicians of both divide will perpetuate the subsidy mentality.

10. Speaking for myself, I am not big at the idea of insisting that these organizations looking out for Malay farmers must be malays

11. It's not as if having malays helming these organizations, you expect miraculous benefits accrue to Malay padi farmers automatically. Thats hogwash!

12. Zaaba said a long time ago, almost always the people who oppress, suppress, immesarize the ordinary malays are Malay leaders themselves.

13. I am not advocating these malays be replaced wholesale, by non malays .

14. Replace the corrupt, dishonest and incapable malays with virtuous, honest and capable malays. There are other malays who can do their jobs better.

15. Just look at the institutions looking out for Malay farmers. Nafas- all malays, Mardi - mostly malays, vendors - malays or comprador malays, MOA officers - comprador Malay bureaucrats 'assisting' Malay padi farmers.

16. By all means argue and debate about cost of production till you are blue in the face. But analyse the cost elements carefully. Are they artificially inflated or increased organically?

17. If you have only touched only cost of production aspects, albeit loudly and with much aplomb, don't say the lot of Malay farmers is defended!

18. You have looked at a very superficial aspect of the rice issue and you have looked at it from a racist point of view. Why were Chinese farmers absent from the demo and why are they not affected so much by the cost of production?

19. In the meanwhile, the pm humors the opposition mofos by answering the question of raising floor price and the need for subsidies.

20. Because the pm knows while the hypocritical opposition just want to be as heroes- that the real causes for the increase in cost of production is brought about by a constellation of evil factors.

21. The ownership structure of the kilang padi,the rapacious greed of monopolists such as nafas and other licensed potentates, the role of comprador vendors,the role of middlemen organized groups, the role of bernas, the activities of the deep state within the MOA,the lack of infrastructure to padi farmers etc.

22. The pm is about to dismantle these , most of them legacies of UMNO, without the opposition knowing of them.

23. The PM is not interested in retaining the status quo but is interested in overthrowing it.

24. Long live Nana Non.

Tweet

Read more...

Noble intentions, bad economics. Part 2 of 2. Tales by an unknown blogger no 47

31. What's going on with the Gaza proposal and the PM's rambling responses are like the many MADANI advertisements that appear on TV - we don't understand most of them.

32. What is most important is to appear as doing something. Even if for dramatic effects. So long as at end of the advertisements ada MADANI, mada, Dani etc.

33. Similarly, it's most important to appear religious. Talk about Islamic humanities and the care for the less fortunate. It's a sense of religious noblesse oblige, the responsibilities that come with important posts.

34. Especially if one is a Muslim leader of a predominantly Muslim country such as Malaysia. Must be seen as doing something dramatic, meh .

35. Being seen as doing something is a bad proposition. It suggests the pm is easily duped into believing something substantive is being done. Hence the various MADANI advertisements suggest something solid is being done. In reality only money is paid to 2 bit actors. Mat shabu2 sleeping over at MAHA does not mean the rice issue, the Baja issue, the existence of the deep state in MOA, selesai!

36. Hopefully the pm doesn't get this contagious disease. Having made the bed he must now lie in it. Or is a case promises made is a thing of the past, promises broken is a thing of the present?

37. Did anyone ask whether the PM's decision was in response to market signals?

38. No, because it was a judgemental call and therefore not rational. Hey, I am looking at this from an economics perspective, ya .

39. Anything done not in response to market signals and therefore not rational is defective.

40. Were any sophisticated economics models and other simulations made? I remember India, when wanting to industrialise did a huge input output tabulation. Perhaps our economists will want to simulate some input output matrices, carry out some econometrics simulations and other empirical tests?

41. All done to help the PM decide rationally. If they just follow along, might as well quit mof.

42. Let me remind the pm that it's not the Palestinians in Gaza who will vote for you but many unhappy Malaysians will. It doesn't take rocket science to predict who they will vote .

43. Saying that domestic issues and problems will endure until the end of days, does not justify an irrational decision.

44. True, domestic issues will endure until the end of days, the present pm does his part and successive PMs will do theirs. This goes to show the world doesn't revolve around you. Please don't be conceited. Only UMNO people do.

45. There's another thing the PM said that I find very disturbing and unsettling. Orang dah mintak maaf , kita terimalah dengan baik.

46. He was of course referring to the apology tendered in by the crook in chief.

47 . As pm and father to the nation, when people say sorry he must accept with open heart. Well, speak for himself, only UMNO degenerates and perhaps smarmy PKR people will agree with him.

48. For many law abiding, they are indifferent or will not the fictional apology. For many , the common law ought to apply .

49. It would have been better if the pm said it's up to the courts to value the crooks apology. Because the pm accepted the apology, we hope it won't be a signal for the courts to give the crook preferential treatment.

50..like Denning says, we are not until in the technicalities and niceties of the law. We are more interested in justice. The PM should too.

Tweet

Read more...

It's a question of economics, not morality or religion. Part 1. Tales by an unknown blogger no 47.

1. I thought long about writing this article. It might be misconstrued of not supporting Anwar. That's not it. I support him as PM. But that cannot mean I agree with all his decisions .

2. His out of line response to Rafidah Aziz's criticisms about helping Gaza is a point of contention.

3. Difference in opinions of others ought not to as an excuse to run others down .

4. The pm may have a high level of Islamic-ness but that high level ought not be used to run others Islamic-ness credentials .

5. The PM is behaving as though he has the 'onliest' correct version of Islamic humanity or even Islam. Then, those who disagree with his version is not Islamic enough .

6. Then those, not only rafidah who question his decision to help out the Palestinians in Gaza do not have the care for fellow Muslims as he does.

7. In a way, the PM's version of Islamic humanity is self serving- to justify his decision while disparaging others.

8. Do we detect some hints of Islamic autocracy or even fascism there? Such that we cannot question his decision especially if it's based on Islam.

9. It's not a question of more or less Islamic humanities but a question of economics.

10. Don't befuddle the issues. We all know of the genocide and suffering and international ineffective-ness and indifference that accompany it. You want to lecture us on what we already know. That's pompous patronizing .

11. Now, I don't know rafidah Aziz. Haven't met her in person. I know of her though. A lady known for her forthrightness. She will defend her views and opinions exhaustively. Wet in the nose boys ought not mess with her . unless they want to get the their noses bloodied

12. When she says our priority is sorting out domestic issues perhaps we should be looking at the economics of the issue.

13. It's the allocation of scarce resources, the appointment of financial resources, public choice theory, opportunity costs etc. nothing to do with morals or religiosity for that matter. Can anybody say Ms Rafidah is not Islamic enough? The boys aping nana non are probably busy with Mrs Palmer and her 5 daughters.

14. Wouldn't scarce resources ( money, labour, management expertise, engineers, architects, quantity surveyors be better appointed here in Malaysia. There are certainly areas that can capitalise on schools, mosque and hospitals.

15. What if these are levelled by marauding IDF? Will Malaysia send troops to Gaza? Hmmm, come to think of it- send Akmal, or the people reporting on Hannah Yeoh or better still, send the perak pas commissioner.

16. What are the costs to Malaysia? The benefits? Ada a proper CBA been carried out. The bastardized Keynesians at MOF will support the idea. Heck , they may even have some choice contractors to go to Gaza. I say bastardized because the half past six economists spend not only during periods of economic slacks but all the time.

17. Imagine if the same financial outlays were applied to Malaysia. The multiplier effects would be tremendous. We can build schools, mosques houses and hospitals in MALAYSIA!

18. What are the opportunity costs to us. Assume the financial outlay is 200m. With 200m how many hospitals can we build? With 200m how many units of houses can we make? How many schools can we make? How many mosques can we make?

19. Btw, opportunity cost is defined as the same financial outlays applied on 1 alternative use..it's not 200m for schools+mosques+ houses+hospitals. It's only on 1 particular use not several simultaneously.

20. I saved public choice theory for last . The Keynesians at mof ought to look at this.

21. Since public choice theory ( associated mostly with Duncan black) is part of the more general economics choice theory, I propose to discuss the general choice theory. That only superficially. Those interested in the details can read it up.

22. The basic idea behind choice theory in economics, is that people make decisions based on a rational analysis of the costs and benefits. Only iff the benefits outweigh the costs, you decide yes.

23. Rational means you compute quantitatively. In this case the measurable costs against the goodwill( ordinal value) you get from the Palestinians. That is temporary because the goodwill will be forgotten. Long run does not even feature here as Keynes said in the long run we are all dead .

24. Has an exhaustive CBA been done by the economists and advisers at MOF? Or are they all covering their crotches as the pm takes an indirect shot at the goal .

25. Sometimes it's also called RCT- rational choice theory. The individual, in this case behaved rationally and that behavior is considered beneficial for Malaysia. It's said we shouldn't question the PM's noble decision. Ho hum!

26. To assume that the PM acted rationally is a tall order and exaggeration. Private rationalism can never be greater than what the public thinks.

27. The PM may think he obtains goodwill and gratefulness from the Palestinians. That goodwill cannot be readily and easily quantifiable against the costs which are readily and quickly understood by the public. The costs are greater than ordinal goodwill .

28. Have we ignored the proximity issue? The countries closer in proximity to Gaza in terms of bloodlines and physical closeness have a higher duty than Malaysia to help. Are the other Arabs playing with their balls?

29. Malaysia's action would be tantamount to giving milk to the monkeys in the forest, while our children at home are starving.

30. I say let's not just brush aside the opinions of a former minister just because the opinions don't resonate with religious sensitivities. It's a question of economics bro .

To be continued in part 2

Tweet

Read more...

To kill a hummingbird. The attempted destruction of Hannah Yeoh. Tales by an unknown blogger no 46

1. Some clarifications are in order to explain the above title.

2. Why hummingbird you may ask. It's certainly not Harper Lee's to kill a mockingbird.

3. It's a sin to kill a hummingbird. The bird is industrious. It's a joy to watch it flapping it's wings a million times. It helps polynization . The bird is a symbol of innocence and industry

4. Hannah Yeoh is the symbol of innocence and industry. But evil forces are out to destroy her

5. There's an unholy union of religious bigots out to destroy Hannah Yeoh . Hiding behind the infallibility of religion. If Samuel Jackson calls nationalism as being a refuge for scoundrels, then religion is the refuge for crooks and bigots

6. You may wear songkok with the insignia of your group and make police reports and asked the pm to sack Hannah Yeoh, but you actually cannot hide your bigotry and racism.

7. You can't come to terms that chinese can become ministers too and you regard whatever they do must be of sinister nature and endanger the Malays.

8. But you forget by 2030, malays will be 80% of the population.

9. The malays simply can't shirk off the siege mentality. 10. Malay bigots made police reports and asked the pm to sack Hannah Yeoh because of what? For publishing a book imagined to endanger the Malay Muslims?

11. How many malays have been converted to Christianity upon reading that book?

12. None right? Because it's a well known fact that malays don't like to read and if they read do on average 2 pages of a book. And that too they read ghost stories or komik gila2.

13. The truth is, if Islam is diminished its because of the Muslims themselves.

14. Things worsen when some ustazs instead of diffusing the issue complicate it.

15. The don't understand the meaning of the evangelist . Which simply means to serve as pendakwah. They mistook it, deliberately I might add, as using violent means to propagate Christianity.

16. They equate it with groups that propagate using violent means like Daish or ISIS or Boko Haram

17. They then rhetorically and pompously asked why is the government tolerating evangelism and why is the DAP having links with this ' clandestine ' group?

18. Sad, we have come to a stage where a few bigoted groups are exercising the paranoid and xenophobic brand of melayu Uber allies sentiments on anything done by the Chinese.

19. Hence when Hannah Yeoh described her life journey as a Christian hoping that personal experience would inspire others who are not christians to also do the same,these self appointed guardians of Islam are horrified?

20. Where in fact, their irrational emotional responses are the result of their xenophobic and paranoid nationalism tinged with blatant racism.

21. The Hannah Yeoh personal life journey provides the excuse for these groups to go ballistic!

22. Now, let me tell you a bit of Hannah Yeoh. She represents Innocence, hard work and humility - the hummingbird which racist and bigoted groups want to destroy. Hence the title of this article.

23. If I am not mistaken, Hannah Yeoh is the MP for segambut. Included in the area is sungai penchala , populated by 100% Malays.

24. But that didn't deter her from extending her services there - giving food and medical supplies free to the people in penchala.

25. She didn't take the opportunity to evangelize about Christianity but merely showing thAt christians and Buddhists and Muslims are capable of doing good work. Instead of going around looking for excuses to fight

26. I don't know Hannah really well. Only occasionally meeting her at party congresses. My impression of her limited to 2 personal occasions. Enough to size her up , albeit superficially.

27. The 1st time was when she organized a ceramah for zairil khir Johari and I, somewhere in PJ I think.

28. She didn't take to the podium to proselytize about Christianity when it was opportune for her to do so.heck, I didn't even know she's a Christian !

29. At other times, which we don't know of and which don't bother us, she may be active in Sunday missionary groups- spreading Christianity among non Malay people. We don't know that. For example, if these missionary groups are active within orang asli communities, why are Muslims worried? The orang aslis are not Muslims anyway. I know of Muslim dai who are reluctant to live among orang asli.

30. In one particular instance, Lim Kit Siang, I and Hannah Yeoh and Yeoh Bee Yin were doing a ceramah in bandar sungai buluh. We were doing a ceramah on top of a lorry.

31. To get on top of the lorry, we had to climb a mobile staircase. When it was my turn to alright the stairs, Hannah Yeoh was holding the staircase to ensure it was stable.

32. It was just a short moment. At that time she was a Selangor adun and the dun speaker I think.

33. But she was humble enough to do menial work an attitude not shown by many.

34. She has sufficient endearing qualities that to impute she has sinister motives towards Muslims and Islam is irrational.

35. Now the latest attempt to destroy Hannah Yeoh in particular and demonize DAP in general, comes from a perak pas commissioner.

36 . It was a blatant slander and an outrageous lie. The slander has it that Hannah Yeoh is the daughter of magnate YTL.

37. Anyone watching the video knows thats it deliberate, intentional said by a cocksure person, said conceitedly by the pas commissioner.

38. It's not open for him or his children to now say it wasn't a slander. It's how the public understands it to be .

39. It's proper for Hannah Yeoh to take legal action on this person. It's not a case of turning the other cheek. We need to send a message to these religious people that Islam does not give them a carte blanche to slander and not be accountable for it. Sue baby sue Title.

Tweet

Read more...