Mahathir on his part has promised (or threatened) as yet unspecified "shocking" measures (currency
restriction is so far among the first to be unveiled) to deal with the economic problems - measures requiring
the people’s unwavering support and confidence as he put it. Which comes first, effective action by the
government which restores confidence or confidence that will allow the government to take effective action?
Can Malaysians really have confidence that their government can actually take effective action? Many doubt
it.

Perhaps Mahathir is considering repealing the law of supply and demand. Or is he considering declaring a
state of national emergency, thereby suspending Parliament and the Cabinet, not to mention the will of the
people? Whatever it is, Malaysians will not take too kindly to any further shocks. Some of it we now know,
others we can hazard a few good guesses, since Mahathir’s options are limited, bearing in mind that he has
to keep his men as well as Daim and Daim’s boys happy.

As the subdued as well as open voices of discontent among Malaysians keep growing by the day, the
government’s response has been to deny flatly all allegations of misconduct or mismanagement on its part
and crack down on dissent. The use of the term "Divine Retribution" or bala’ has been unofficially banned
from the mosques, since this would cast the blame for the economic crisis on wrongdoing by the government
and its cronies.

The thick haze originating from large-scale burning and forest-clearing in Indonesia which enveloped a large
part of Malaysia as well for a couple of months and which started at about the same time as the economic
crisis last year also led to the unofficial banning of the term "haze" or jerebu and all discussion of it from the
mosques, since this was again associated with Divine Retribution (of greater concern to the government was
probably the fact that too much publicity about the haze would adversely affect the Commonwealth Games,
Divine Retribution notwithstanding). These unofficial bans are being enforced by the presence of Special
Branch police undercover officers who report any infringement on the part of the khatib delivering the
khutbah. The khatibs and imams are now mostly being seen delivering rather tame sermons, and even
resorting to the official even tamer sermons provided by the BAHEIS (Bahagian Hal Ehwal Islam), the
Islamic Affairs Division also known as Pusat Islam or the Islamic Centre of the Prime Minister’s
Department.

The prolonged water shortage or crisis in many parts of the capital city, Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding
Klang Valley area was again also attributed to Divine Retribution and added to the government’s woes, as
did losing the parliamentary seat of Arau, Perlis to PAS in a recent by-election.

The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange key Composite index has recently hit a new 10-year low of 250+
points, from the 1,200+ points it used to enjoy before the crisis. More than 25 public-listed companies
which are insolvent or facing severe losses and cash-flow problems have sought court protection from
creditors pursuant to proposed "schemes of arrangement". Many more will follow, yet the government does
not appear to have any proper response other than to form Danaharta Nasional Berhad, the Asset
Management Corporation, to take over non-performing loans and their related assets from banks, and
attempt to "jump-start" the economy by pumping large sums of money into "strategic" infrastructure projects
through a so-called Dana Pembangunan Infrastruktur or Infrastructure Development Fund.
 

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