Rejecting the candy — Sin Chew Daily
The Swiss referendum has proposed that the government unconditionally pays all adult citizens — including foreigners residing legally for more than five years — a monthly income grant of 2,500 Swiss francs each (approximately RM10,000), and 627 francs for children.
The outcome of the referendum is a real shocker for many Malaysians who are used to receiving free handouts from the government: Some 80 per cent of Swiss have voted against the proposal.
That is not the first time the Swiss have turned down a “candy.” Several years ago, more than two thirds of Swiss rejected a proposal to extend their annual four-week paid leave to six weeks, in another referendum.
Over here in Malaysia, many people may find it incomprehensible why the Swiss have rejected such goodies. Malaysians are no strangers to government-sponsored “candies,” and are particularly attentive when the annual budget is announced, whether there would be any “candy” on offer.
Thanks to Malaysians' passion for everything sweet, the government has been overly generous in distributing bounties. After all these years, we have slowly evolved into a species that does not know how to assess the justification of such patronage policies while the government continues to keep people on their side by way of an array of sweet handouts.
BR1M, 1Malaysia book vouchers and other goodies keep being churned out. Everyone loves the sweets, but few would contemplate whether such handouts are justified or whether they would pose excessive burden to the national economy, or if the money should be better spent elsewhere for greater economic benefits.
The Swiss see things very much further and more thoroughly than Malaysians. They understand that their best protection is when the country's finances get a clean bill of health and its overall competitiveness is lifted.
Sure enough these people also savour the candy, but they know very well how the candy has come and what consequences it may cause.
In Switzerland, rationality reigns over temptation, and long-term benefits outweigh near-term goodies. In Malaysia, people only crave for immediate handouts. This makes the difference!
The gap can be closed. We are no Switzerland, but there is something we can learn from them.
When one day we really can resist the temptation for the sake of long-term benefits, our country is poised to make significant achievements and our people's well-being can be better protected. — Sin Chew Daily
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.
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