Stop Squandering the People's Money

Yet another study – a cost analysis to be exact – will be carried out to determine if it is viable to send a second Malaysian into outer space.

Why is it that that the government seemed so intent on wasting public funds on grandiose projects, at a time when costs of basic necessities such as food and fuel are hurting the people deeply? Just recently, the 2nd Finance Minister announced that the government may not be able to keep to its budget deficit target. Isn’t this a clear sign that expensive expenditures that do not yield any economic or tangible social returns should be discarded straightaway? Why are we looking towards space when we are facing a potential socio-economic crisis on the ground?

First of all, I have no idea what the learned Minister meant by a cost analysis. Does he not know the costs of a ticket into space? It must have cost the Malaysian government at least USD25m, since that was what other space tourists, e.g. American billionaire Charles Simonyi paid for his space trip on board the Russian craft Soyuz. The Minister must have meant a costs-benefit analysis. Perhaps he realized it is extremely difficult to quantify the benefits side of sending a Malaysian into space, hence omitting the most important consideration of the equation.

If there is indeed any commercial benefits of the space “programme”, there must be hundreds of companies lining up to sponsor the trip in return for some work carried out in space. The reality is that there is little commercial value that can be extracted from this space programme as there is no long-term plan being spelled out.

What about national pride? Can we put a price on this? A blog suggested that assuming the programme benefitted 3 million Malaysians, the cost per person is minimal, and the Angkasawan programme is worth every penny. Can the 3 million Malaysian please come forward and identify themselves?

There are much cheaper and effective ways to get young Malaysians to be interested in space. If we want to have a Malaysian in space, lets do it the proper (albeit the hard way). Let a Malaysian astronaut do more than simply strap himself into the spaceship when it takes off and unstrapped himself when it lands. We want a Malaysian that truly qualifies as an Astronaut. And is USD25m a small price to pay to for national prestige? Perhaps. However, when we still have pockets of poverty that will face severe hardships with rising food prices, it is time to turn our dreamy eyes away from space and focus on thousands of Malaysians who have trouble standing on their own two feet. Please Minister, junk the costs analysis and let common sense prevail.