That's what a friend of mine said when comparing foreign cars and local cars. (A Volkswagen costs more than RM200k while a Perdana costs less than RM100k.)
This is a classic misconception that foreign goods and services are better than their local alternatives. Personally, I prefer local goods and services compared to their foreign alternatives.
I drive a 2001 Proton Waja 16A and despite its problems, I'm quite happy with it. I wouldn't change my Waja for a Toyota Vios or any other continental car.
Reason? Proton parts are cheap, readily available and easy to maintain compared to foreign car parts.
I guess the same goes for local labour versus foreign labour.
On the other hand, local labour is readily available at lower cost and requires less maintenance, with no accommodation or transport costs required.
Bottom line is, local labour and expertise is cheaper and not necessarily inferior to their foreign counterparts.
So why are we relying so much on foreign labour and expertise? Why are we so keen to spend that extra Ringgit on foreign methods and technique which may be untested, unproven and even questionable?
Wouldn't it be more beneficial to us as a State or Nation to educate and develop our current expertise and at the same time, improve and increase our spectrum of services without relying on foreign sources?
It seems to me that we spend too much to be "mouth-fed" and invest too little on feeding ourselves for the future. Our aims and goals all seem to be short-termed.
Thankfully, PST does not embrace any short-term or foreign ideals, nor do we accept any questionable methods or techniques, whether foreign or domestic.
Perhaps its time people realize that "all that glitters is not gold".
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