Of course we flunked!
Seems our Centre for Public Policy Studies chairman declared he was “surprised and embarrassed”.
Personally, if they gave us a passing mark, I’d be “surprised” and… “positive our tax ringgits were used to bribe our way up that Open Budget Index”.
Interestingly, one key finding of the study is that “Less transparent countries share similar characteristics” -
- The worst performers tend to be low income countries and often depend heavily on revenues from foreign aid or oil and gas exports.
- Many poor performers have weak democratic institutions or are governed by autocratic regimes.
So, anyone up for the “this is an inaccurate reflection of how we do things in right-to-own-sovereignty-Malaysia, so go mind your own business” argument? Me neither.
4 responses so far ↓
zewt // February 14, 2009 at 12:08 pm
what do u think the mini budget theme will be?
“how to channel 10b to my pocket in the most efficient and effective manner”
TD: In the meantime, Singapore got another percentage off their tax rate.
pah nur // February 16, 2009 at 8:17 am
I’m terribly surprised that Navaratnam was surprised. In fact I’m bewildered why he was surprised. It’s like you know you are going to get a surprise birthday party planned months for you and you are obliged to act surprised when the “SURPRISE!!!” came……
TD: And there’s absolutely nothing they’re gonna do about it. Once the adrenaline from the “surprise” wears off, its back to the “AUMMMM…” experience we all get for every Budget.
Becky // February 16, 2009 at 11:27 am
I am not surprised ….
TD: nor embarrassed?
terrashield // February 17, 2009 at 12:12 pm
We seem to be getting from bad to worse
TD: Which is NOT a surprise.