See also malaysiakini report here.
Trade and business are not alien to Malaysia. Our farmers and rubber tappers all sell the products of their efforts to consumers. Many run retail shops, foodstalls, or restaurants. Some ventured into bigger ventures like supermarkets or multinational businesses.
Trade is also customary among Muslims. Prophet Muhammad and his wife, Khadijah, were both successful entrepreneurs. The Prophet was claimed to have said “trade is nine tenth of sustenance (income)”.
When nations like Malaysia trade with other countries, Malaysian as a whole benefit. Cheap electrical equipments from China allow improvement in our quality of life. If our economy are opened up, everyone, rich and poor, would benefit.
Our government’s trade negotiations with various countries are a good step forward, as long as they are done in transparent manner. The ongoing free trade negotiations with America must be welcomed by all. In fact, trade liberalisation is generally good – be it multilateral, bilateral or even unilateral.
Socialists and some other parties with vested interests would obviously campaign against what our Ministry of International Trade is doing. Typically, their scare-mongering tactics would include telling the people that FTAs bring destruction to our economy.
Socialists and vested interests want our nation’s economy to be controlled by certain quarters only. They abhor competition for they fear being weeded out. They reject the open market as they fear losing control.
By opposing competition, they seek to guarantee only their own sustenance, and deny the public like you and me the benefits of free markets. They campaign for the protection of certain ineficient sectors despite the fact that these sectors maybe producing expensive yet inferior goods. If the government succumbs to their campaign, the victims would be farmers, rubber-tappers, villagers, and those with low household income.
Simply put, the vast majority of Malaysians would be victims of continued protectionism. We would have to continue paying higher prices for inferior products and services. This is socialistic oppression! The reality is, opening up our economy would drive up competition, improve productivity and lower prices. Foreign investment would increase and so will job opportunities. All these are good.
In a report “Penghapusan Sekatan Perdagangan: satu tuntutan moral” published by Malaysia Think Tank London in January 2007, the author professor Julian Morris explains that removing trade barriers brings significant potential for economic development. The poor would particularly benefit from economic liberalisation as the prices of household items would be reduced and their purchasing power would increase. Our economy and national productivity would grow tremendously and we will have more new jobs and new industries.
The outcome of liberalisation is for all of Malaysians to enjoy.
Towering figures like Ibn Khaldun and Friedrich Hayek has argued that the market should be left free from unnecessary interference. Economic control brings the possibility of monopoly by certain groups, which ultimately victimises the people at large.
In controlled economies, the people cannot exercise choice. They are forced to accept whatever high price charged by the monopolies. This is clearly unacceptable.
If we truly want to help improve our national economy, then we should support multilateral, bilateral, or unilateral efforts to liberalise our economy so long as it is done tranparently. This is a moral imperative for everyone, regardless of race and religion.
As Professor Morris said in the report published by Malaysia Think Tank London, “Free trade frees people. It enables all to improve their lives and has the potential to eliminate poverty.”
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