OVER-DEPENDENCY on government assistance and subsidies has almost become a culture entrenched in our society.
This is not the first time our leaders touched on the subject. Neither is it the first for a prime minister to highlight the issue.
The fact that not much progress has been made over the years to reduce dependency and limit government intervention in developing the nation calls for retributive action and disembarkation from the malaise and inertia as a result of societal complacency and contentment.
While the world is getting smaller and competition is getting stiffer, we are still excessively dependent on government assistance in many fields, including education, economy and social development.
At the international front, with the exception of a few, not many have achieved the level of independence in market penetration that is required of a multinational conglomerate like Coca Cola and McDonald’s.
While we are proud to have Petronas as a global petroleum player, we still lack enterprising organisations and individuals of stature to match those from Europe and the West and other advanced economies of Asia.
Although the Government has made tremendous effort in providing the nation with first-class infrastructure and facilities this has not been equated with similar response by many.
Most of us tend to be apathetic or rather not do enough to reduce the burden on the Government, let alone be innovative to keep up with the image that a first-class society possesses.
We let ourselves be immersed in smugness and self-satisfaction and hope for government bailout when disaster strikes, be it economic or social.
We cannot distance ourselves from the dynamics of globalisation. The world stage today is steadily moving towards sharing common markets hence ultimately sharing a lot more with others.
To survive we cannot be overwhelmed and become mere consumers or dependent on the Government alone for support lest, of course, we want to lose our independence and dignity.
God has imbued man with many capacities and mental faculties to exploit to his benefit any field or domain in which he applies them.
The Quran says: “But seek, with the (wealth) which Allah has bestowed on thee, the Home of the Hereafter, nor forget thy portion in this World: but do thou good, as Allah has been good to thee, and seek not (occasions for) mischief in the land: for Allah loves not those who do mischief” (Al-Qasas Verse 77).
To keep up with the changing times without losing faith, one has to be able to do not only what is good for one’s own self, but do it for the sake of God and refrain from deeds of mischief and self-destruction.
To achieve this we have to shift from being over-dependent, and contribute more to the nation’s growth by reducing the burden on the Government.
While we cannot and should not be complacent in making ourselves better by acquiring knowledge and technologies required to excel and meet the challenges in the highly-globalised world, we should also be doing it without latching on to government subsidies and help.
Getting a whiff of global trends, efforts are being taken to move away from over-dependencies to a more participative and self-propelled sustainable development in all fields.
The rise of the prices of diesel and petrol recently should be seen only as an effort by the Government towards making us all less dependent on government subsidies, but beyond that it should be viewed as a positive step to relieve the government burden so that it can concentrate more on other aspects of building a strong economy and nation.
Pressures are mounting on us. The diesel and petrol price rise, possible appreciation of our currency, threats of price increase and inflation, and stiffer competition in the global market as a direct impact of globalisation are indeed real challenges ahead.
Hence, we all should view the latest increase of the prices of petrol and diesel positively.
It is not a question of our ability or inability to pay extra for petrol and diesel but more of our willingness to change our mindset on subsidies and allow the Government’s effort and priority to be focused on other aspects of economic growth.
