Inflasi Sifar My Butt

Remember the days when the government held an Inflasi Sifar (zero inflation) campaign? Man, those were the days... when the government cared about inflation.

I foresee a period of unprecedented inflation about to hit Malaysia. The impact on the economy? Who knows? But any idiot can see that an across the board increase in all essentials (petrol, staple foods, electricity and gas) will cause high levels of inflation. Especially when the increases are astronomical. 40%? Jesus. Then again, the government has never heard of small increases spread out over a few years to give the people time to internalise. Nope.

At least if they'd approved the minimum wage, more people would have more money to complain about the prices with. Logically it would result in a less jarring impact on the economy. People say that you can't implement a minimum wage, but I say that's wrong. It's possible, but there are many issues that have to be dealt with. I wanted to write a paper on it back when I was an undergraduate, but well, life got in a way.

In a nutshell, here's how to implement a minimum wage effectively:

1. Migration Reform: Step up border patrol so that illegal immigration is actually difficult. Implement constant checks on labour-intensive businesses to check for illegal immigrants. Tighten migration laws. This will take a few years to effectively implement.
2. Employment Laws: Gear employment laws towards citizens (not bumiputra).
3. Assess minimum wage levels. In Malaysia, it's probably best to have a much lower minimum wage for migrant-intensive businesses, e.g. maid services.
4. Rollout.

Take that, ineffective government.