GOL?

By Hari Azizan

“Genuine favourites” – that’s what pundits were calling Spain at the start of this World Cup. Before you ask how any team can be “fake” favourites, understand that Spain is tagged “most-likely-to-nick-it” at every other tournament and each time these perennial underachievers had combusted under the pressure. Even their nickname La Furia Roja (The Red Fury), some fans joked on guardian.co.uk, has less to do with their fiery Latin passion or red-hot jersey but more with Billy Fury’s pop ditty Halfway to Paradise – because they always promise fans paradise but only take them halfway.

Then Euro 2008 happened. Finally, Spain are acknowledged as legitimate contenders for the Cup. Yet according to FIFA’s statistics, less than 5,000 tickets have been sold to Spanish fans despite their hot-favourite status, making them one of the smallest groups of supporters at the event. A lot has to do with that little thing called the economy of course.

Spaniards are facing tough times, made tougher by their government’s recent austerity measures: a 6bil euro cut in public spending including a 5% pay cut for public workers. Spanish ministers will also take a 15% salary slash but it’s the hombre on the street who will feel the pinch most – prices of goods are already high and Spain’s unemployment rate is one of the highest in the European Union – and many fear that these harsh measures will make things worse.

In solidarity with Spanish supporters, I decided to impose austerity measures on myself and watch their opening match on my non-HD, small-screen telly at home. After all, as reported by The Star early this week, many Malaysians, especially those living in the cities, are struggling financially too. According to the daily, prices of essentials have gone up by 15 to 20%, and many cannot afford to buy their monthly essentials, much less go out for meals and outings. But it is the World Cup, so I needed to set the mood. Spanish t-shirt: check; horn: check; Power Root: check.You can’t watch football without snacks so I decided to make a Spanish omelette. One potato: 50 sen; some cherry tomatoes: RM1.50; two eggs: RM1.20. That comes up to RM3.20.  So far, so good. But wait, no cooking oil. Bloody sundry shop boycott!

It’s difficult to blame the Federation of Sundry Goods Merchant’s Association for calling the boycott. There are better ways of dealing with the shortage of sugar, flour and cooking oil than imposing licenses on retailers as proposed by the government. The licence is said to help curb hoarding, but shouldn’t the importers and distributors shoulder the blame too? This shortage of ‘essential goods’ like flour, sugar, chicken, pork, etc has become a regular feature of our lives come the festive season. What does it say about the management skills of the powers that be in the country if they can’t solve this little problem? Eh, didn’t the minister in the PM’s department Idris Jala last month warn that Malaysia could go bankrupt in 2019 with total debts amounting RM1,158bil? I rest my case.

The only way for Malaysia to avoid bankruptcy, Idris Jala said, is to cut some of the wastage, i.e. subsidies. I am no economist, so honestly, most of the data is beyond my grasp but who are the real benefactors of these subsidies anyway: the independent power producers who are over-producing and wasting energy? Crony toll concessionaires? Bumiputra businessmen, developers, AP holders, etc. who have been laughing all the way to the bank for eons?

If yes, then we can do without subsidies. But cuts on education, food and healthcare for the masses? The average Malaysian is already burdened as it is. And when we talk about wastage, where are the real leakages anyhow? The country’s managers have to do better to patch up our conked-out economic engine. (Because I want to go out; it really is no fun watching the game at home, especially when you are supporting the losing team!)

Like how Spain’s manager Vicente Del Bosque has to fix his national team’s leaky defence after losing 1-0 to unrated Switzerland.  Sigh, the eternal bridesmaids seem to be going down the same aisle in South Africa. Before the European champions left for South Africa, they were under fire for the cash bonus promised to them should they win the World Cup – reportedly  600,000 euros  each (RM2,411,039.90) – while a majority of their countrymen are struggling to make ends meet. At the rate this team is going, Spain’s football federation would do better to donate those funds to their central bank.

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