It was been reported today that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has struck a deal with influential businessman Jack Ma and appointed him as an adviser to the Malaysian Government on its digital economy aspirations.
This has caused a stir within our nation immediately.
Jack Ma is a prominent name in the entrepreneur industry due to him being the founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group which is a family of successful internet-based businesses. To know more about this billionaire, you can browse through our articles about him here.
With news as big as this, the reactions that followed have been raising a few concerns regarding this situation. Some were full of worry on how this would affect Malaysia as a whole while there were those who saw this as a tactical decision made by Najib.
Here are the reasons why Malaysians are reacting this way.
1) Paying foreign talent instead of focusing on locals.
Many of the comments left regarding this situation consisted of disbelief on why our Prime Minister decided to pay for foreign talent when our local candidates could have been a better option. When it comes to decisions regarding a country’s economic state, seems like a lot of Malaysians believe that having an outsider’s opinion is not the best and that all decisions pertaining to the country are best done by locals.
“Why are we paying foreign consultants again and again when we have local talent? How much will it cost the taxpayers to hire a “business genius” that sells counterfeit goods in a monopoly sanctioned by the Chinese Government? This is a stupid decision that does not makes sense,” said Cheah Munhong on Facebook.
2) Hiring a businessman for an adviser.
There were a few comments raising up the question of whether it was truly beneficial to hire a businessman to be an adviser, especially when it concerns making decisions for an entire nation.
The businessman mentality may seem like an advantage to some depending on your perspective but it can also be a dangerous mindset to have as entrepreneurs are known to focus solely on profit. Should countries really be run like a business?
3) Adoption of the ‘China’ mentality.
China is very well-known for having a certain type of mentality, and some Malaysians are eying it warily.
So by appointing a person who is influential not only in his homeland China but globally as well, it makes netizens question, what else are we adopting?
After all, one man’s culture might be another man’s poison, to twist the old adage a little.
4) How Malaysians are going to ‘pay’ for this, literally.
When big decisions like these are made, one of the concerns is “So how will this affect us?”.
The future of our country’s financial status is always uncertain, and hiring someone of such stature as Jack Ma will surely come with a hefty price. Netizens brought up the elephant in the room by scrutinising the decision and wondering on how much Malaysians would have to literally pay for this deal?
But of course, not everyone’s angry. There are those who say:
Smart move from the Prime Minister.
Though majority questioned our Prime Minister’s decision, there were a few who saw this in a different perspective. Jack Ma has a strong reputation of being one of the most successful billionaires in the world with admirable qualities as an entrepreneur.
Therefore it provides him enough credibility to hold this position which led to some Malaysians believing this was a good move by Najib.
What are your opinions on this union? Let us know in the comments below.
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Feature Image Credit: The Star