AUG 22 — We should show former Emergency Ordinance (EO) detainees some love. Because it’s obvious they are Malaysia’s salvation, at least as far as the economy is concerned.

Forget about the alphabet soup projects and initiatives the government have spearheaded. Those are plans made up by people afraid to dream big.

The erstwhile residents of Simpang Renggam, on the other hand, are in a league of their own. On par with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s “third arrow” even.

Think about it. The home minister claimed that each former EO detainee commands10 right-hand men, each of whom in turn have 10 of their own right-hand men. That comes up to a whopping 260,000. All this since the original 2,600 were released in mid-2011.

An amazing multi-level marketing machine, by any measure. The sheer speed at which these “downlines” were created boggles the mind. To put things into perspective, Felda had just 117,153 settlers after nearly four decades of federal funding.

And they’re no slouches when it comes to the business of making money. The ex-EO “Datuk” whose car (boot) was bombed was reported to have owned a string of bars and clubs in the capital.

Not one or two, but a string. Not merely an entrepreneur but a serial entrepreneur, a veritable Richard Branson.

Plus, we can be certain their friends will help support their businesses. Everyone’s hooked up to social networks and they are no different. In between posting pictures of cars, rivals and threats, they could run a promotion for happy hour.

Imagine if we could somehow harness all this for the greater good. Domestic consumption would spike and government coffers would be quickly filled. (Easier with the GST, probably.)

If all this talk of corruption is to be taken at face value, you can also expect these businesses to subsidise the wages of enforcement personnel, easing the government’s payroll burden.

God only knows Putrajaya needs all the help it can get to trim operating costs.

So don’t hate the EO guys. They may be a bit rough around the edges but they could just be our best hope to give the economy a kick up its pants.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online.