As Malaysia gears itself to celebrate 53 years of Merdeka, one wonders what will it cost, literally, to be independent in the future? With things becoming more and more expensive every few months - partly due to the dismal world economic situation, compounded by the government's subsidy cuts from time to time - what will our youths be inheriting in years to come? Should they be bracing themselves for a harder life? And what do they have to say about this situation that would surely affect them?

By Kelvin Goh Wong

Can you imagine what the prices of things would be like for us in say 10 years time, when we usher in the year our nation achieves developed-status in 2020?

Would prices have really rocketed and shot up sky high?

For instance, would the all-time Malaysian favourite "King of Fruits" cost RM100 for a few seeds then? It's not impossible: Already we have one of the more popular variants - the Musang King - retailing at about RM30 per kilo today.

Indeed, as the country gears up to celebrate Malaysia's 53rd birthday in the midst of rising costs, one wonders if there will still be anything to rejoice or shout about for the youths today, a decade or two from now.

Our grandparents would tell us as they regale about the extremely cheap prices in which they got so many things for just a few sen. Even with one sen - which we don't even see anymore today - one could purchase ice cream or sweets and other goodies.

Today, five sen is almost non-existent. For 10 sen you may get a single sweet... if you're lucky. Look around and see what you can get for 50 sen and you would still be hard pressed to find anything on the shelves in convenient stores. Even plain mineral water costs over RM1.

What is feared is that Independence would only be a word without much meaning should one be a slave to hard economic times in the future. Can we as a nation be free from strife or will we be strapped for cash, with a majority of us unable to afford even the most basic necessities?

Would there come a time when things get so expensive that the situation turns to become a ball and chain that would encumber and stop us from living a decent life: A loaf of bread costing RM10? A packet of flour with a RM20 price tag? A trip to a local mamak stall setting you back a whooping RM50?

Everywhere around the world, consumer products are on the rise. And while our government recently tried to allay this fear by telling the public that the current minimum wage will be revised and added on to as needed, concurrently subsidies are being cut and every time this happens prices continue to soar while salaries remain the same or see a very, very slow annual increase. 

So, in the end, what will Malaysian youths be inheriting? What do our youths have to say about all this? Here are some of their comments.

Luthor Ng, 21

Regardless of whatever complaints people have about the current price hikes, one must know that it is impossible for the government to subsidise us forever. 

As long as the government works towards benefitting the people; providing them with a proper education, sufficient jobs and a tolerable cost of living, I feel that the government has done its part in safeguarding our future.

Andrew Yong, 22

Honestly, it's not the taking away of subsidies that bother me: Almost everything in Malaysia has been subsidised for the longest time and we  should be grateful for this. And I truly understand the need for the government to cut down on the subsidies. What worries me is the fact that the subsidy cuts may not show any increase in development in the country; then we are in real trouble.

That's why the issue of transparency is paramount. The people must be made aware as to where their money is going to, or what it's going towards or being used for. This will assist with people's confidence in the government and should they not be happy with the way things are, they would be able to voice out their concerns or dissatisfaction.

This in turn would help the government decide on the right course of action for the people, while it would also inadvertently free it from being accused - irrespective of it being true or otherwise - of corruption and other charges. 

Shahirul Sjahrial, 26

The Malaysian government has done a lot for us. We as a people know that ultimately, subsidies will be taken away and I thank the government for all it has done so far.  

However, the prices of things have gone up and yet there is still poverty in the country. We can't say that we are free of poverty when the poverty line hasn't been revised.

I feel that the government has to even out the rise in the cost of living with the poverty line as it is hard for the less fortunate to cope. The government also needs to be wiser with its purchases. For example, money spent on a submarine, which is not a very functional purchase, could have created schools, funded education for the less fortunate and even created job opportunities. As of now, with the exception of a few announcements of more schools being built, I don't see much more of this being carried out effectively.

Amanda Karuppiah, 21

We need good brains in the country to lead the way. And yet we see ourselves consistently talking about a major concern: Brain drain! Year in, year out we hear of our leaders talking about this predicament and trying to woo some of our best and most capable people back into the country.

Our talent pool is fast depleting and the government needs to know the cause of this brain drain and plug it before the situation reaches a critical situation with no way of reversing the effects. Then it would be too late and we would all suffer the consequences.

The government must get to the root of the problem and ask itself more seriously, why is this happening? What would the best solution be? How can it work to retain Malaysia's best starting from now?

Prevrnavan Amirtham, 22

I can see that the government is showing it is serious about clamping down on the problems of integrity by working on areas of concern such as corruption, delivery of public services and good ethics and values as well as good governance. But, there is still a lot that needs to be done and not only by the government, but the Malaysian people need to play their part as well.

Malaysians need to wake up. It is the era of globalisation and we cannot afford to let our nonchalant attitude steer us aimlessly, without direction or focus on bettering our individual selves. In short, we too have to do our bit; to work hard, be conscious of what's happening around us locally and globally, be in touch with current developments and move with the times - quickly.

Muhammad Azam, 19

Go ahead and call me ignorant but as long as the government provides for us, I'm happy. I don't see anything wrong with what the government has been doing: Haven't we been living peacefully and relatively comfortably for the past 50 years or so.

Yes, the retraction of subsidies upsets me but it is something that needs to be done and I'm sure the government will find other ways to make our lives easier as they have in the past. If the ruling party knows what's good for it, it would strive to give Malaysians the best that it can afford. The government's very existence depends on it, so why would it want to rock the boat by purposely making things more difficult for the Malaysian people?

Look at what we have now: An education system which provides for all regardless of income level, a relatively cheap cost of living and subsidised medical charges at government hospitals among other things. I think this isn't a bad legacy to leave behind for us to inherit.

Nurul Hanifah, 18

From what I've observed so far, we will continue to suffer from the removal of subsidies. My parents are middle income earners and already the rise in the price of sugar, for a start, has caused us to cut back on many other so-called luxuries. While the government has called for us to change our lifestyles, making it seem like the hike in the price of sugar is for our own good, it doesn't help to read about corruption by government officials in the papers, and the millions of taxpayers' hard earned ringgit - for development and well being of the country - going astray.

Don't get me wrong, I do feel blessed that our country is peaceful and other than a few racial incidences here and there, our multiracial community has lived in harmony.  But I worry about inheriting a country that is forecast to be in debt in the very near future. Furthermore, I feel that it is unfair for us to be burdened by a debt created due to inefficiency not of the people's doing.

Aliyah Chan, 25

I fear that there will not be a legacy to inherit as many of our brightest minds are leaving the country and opting not to return. This is a serious issue which has been going on for far too long as public universities do not offer enough places for high scoring graduates that may well be the future of our country.

With technology now being the forefront of a nation's power, stature and prestige, why are we giving ours away? Would that not be the same as just giving away part of our legacy - our future - to another nation? It is nice to see that the government has placed a merit-based system when it comes to placements in public universities where a student with a certain number of distinctions will be allowed into a public university, regardless of race.

This is a great step forward to retaining our local talent. Perhaps the government should look into ways to improve our tertiary education system so that we may be the ones to attract talent from other countries. But as it is, after decades, we are still undecided if we should have our own education system delivered in Bahasa Malaysia or English, all to the detriment of our future generations. Yes, in the end, we may have to pay for the cost of our government's indecisiveness, which should not be the case.