JULY 2 — Our senior government officials are not in the right state of mind, and this has put a lot of burden on the country’s continuous progress while creating problems for the rakyat and private businesses.

Take for example, minister in the prime minister’s department Shahidan Kassim recently said the government was considering restricting the business hours of entertainment outlets and eateries in a bid to resolve the social problems we faced.

Indeed the minister is not in his right mind because given the economic stagnancy stemming from GST-induced rising goods prices, our economy needs to be given a jab more than anything else. This explains why the cabinet has decided to offer visa exemption facility to Chinese tourists. Shahidan’s proposal was an anti-climax of such efforts.

If entertainment outlets and restaurants were to close before midnight, how are we going to get foreigners to visit our country? There is no way a cabinet minister is not aware of the current state of our economy, as economic issues should be on the agenda of cabinet meetings.

Our minister even went on to say that the tax revenue collected from 24-hour eateries was not enough to fix our social problems.

He nevertheless failed to visualize the fact that social problems could only get worse if the economy slips into a recession.

Such a whimsical way of addressing the country’s social problems has reminded me of a “youth curfew” measure proposed by another senior government official several years ago, in hope of preventing our youngsters from picking up bad habits.

Shahidan said those people loitering and smoking at the restaurants would pose a serious social problem. So, anyone not staying indoors after dark must be loitering around and doing something sinful, right?

PM Najib announced that restaurants and food businesses could keep their current operating hours. But even as a decision had already been made by the PM, Shahidan was still not quite finished yet. He said 24-hour business model only worked for cities and towns and should be barred in rural areas.

It is up to the market to decide whether businesses in rural areas should operate round the clock. If the business is poor, the operators will close their shops early.

Why can’t we just adopt a more scientific approach in addressing our social problems? Why don’t we consult the views of sociologists? Social problems are highly complicated and they involve very broad aspects. We must look at things from a more comprehensive angle. There isn’t a single cure-all solution.

Another instance of a senior government official not in his right mind took place several days ago, when deputy transport minister Ab Aziz Kaprawi said the government was considering moving the KL-Singapore high speed rail project terminus to Johor Bahru instead of Singapore.

Prior to this, SPAD’s CEO Mohd Nur Ismal had said the government was inclined to put the HSR terminus in JB. “If the entire project is within our territory, it will be easier for us to control things.”

The remark took Singapore by shock because the leaders of both countries had already agreed to put the Singapore terminus at Jurong East. The same was confirmed by both countries’ leaders in a joint statement during their informal meeting in May.

Upon the query of Singapore, SPAD immediately issued a statement to clarify that the CEO’s remarks had been misinterpreted. A little more than a week later, we heard our deputy minister making the same remarks!

If the southern terminus of the HSR project were to be put in the CIQ complex in JB instead of Jurong East, why is this project called Malaysia-Singapore High Speed Rail in the first place? How could a KL-JB high speed rail project maximize its economic effects and bring foreign tourists to our capital city?

Aziz Kaprawi said by ending the HSR line in JB, Malaysia would have full control of the project without the need to consult Singapore.

The question is, indeed we need the cooperation of our southern neighbor to develop our economy and tourism industry. Moreover, how can we renege on a pledge already made by our leader? I’m sure Singaporeans will begin to wonder what has gone wrong with Malaysia for its shaky stand.

I have no idea why our senior officials are so insistent on the country’s sovereignty such that they wouldn’t mind sacrificing the interest of the nation and her people.

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