Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Confidence & The Art of Lying

Policymakers are apt to think that they are creating confidence by saying that "everything is going to be alright."

Confidence is created when the public knows that the policymakers have done their homework - i.e. diligently collecting data, analysing the situation, and thinking through the whole situation - and then they make their pronouncement - that "everything is going to be alright."

But when we know that the policymakers have been busy making public pronouncements left right and centre everyday to seek attention, and in the midst of their busy schedule they come out to say something like "everything is going to be alright," the general public knows that these people are bullshitting.

The general public knows that these peple are bullshitting because we see these people all over the place - they kiss babies and babes, they slaughter buffaloes and pretty girls, they put on their pearls and glittering jewels, they put on their shiny suits and gowns, they carry themselves like princes and princesses, they talk like they know everything, they talk like everybody is stupid.

To create confidence, the government must first put in place experts whom we have confidence. And when they speak, we listen.

Do not give us people with influence who want to climb to the top and pretend they are experts in areas they are not trained in. We know they are fakes by the imitation policies they pronounce. They have no ideas, and they do not have policies that will be good for the country.

This is why we are caught by lethargy - timid policymakers who hid behind popular policies.

We should ask old leaders who have served their useful lives to shut up so that we can proceed with making advance with offsetting the effects of their policy errors and recovering from the consequences of their errors.

The younger generations should be allowed to suffer their own errors, rather than the errors of their elders.

Once, we have replaced politicians with technocrats, we would have better confidence in our own policymakers. Until such time, we shall continue to wallow ourselves in disbelief in the wonderous things the politicians tell us.

We have learnt to live in blissful silence in the midst of utter rubbish.

4 comments:

Yap said...

First time to your blog and well written piece.

Put in place experts but would those idiots listen to them or rather they want the experts to listen to their silly ideas and in the end the expert would resign. This is the culture until and unless we get rid of them idiots.

drama_king said...

very true...most of the time i feel that our policy makers do not befit the expensive suits they don..something like an empty tin can, empty but likes to make loads of noise

D1abolus said...

Experts? In typical Malaysian fashion or rather Malaysia Boleh!, our politicians will pay experts to say that everything is okay.

Hey, it's won't be the first time that 'research companies' have come up with dodgy data. They do this and we see it all the time.

Seriously, Malaysia Boleh!

Anonymous said...

Oftentimes experts could be wrong also. The world is in such dire strait is also due to the many experts that had been given too much credibility.

As a US president used to say "what the country need is a one-handed economist."

Experts can provide valuable pointers and even factual data but it requires insights and wisdom to put all these "expert" advice and data to formulate a system that best serve the community. Many a times experts also bullshit and they could do it more convincingly because they sounded logical and factual.

What the country needed most are wise and insightful leaders.