Pump-priming Failure?

So, it came as no surprise when PM informed Parliament today (June 15) that less than one-sixth of the RM17 billion allocated for fiscal spending between Malaysia's two stimulus packages has been spent.

Just RM1.4 billion of the RM7 billion first package has been spent and a further RM1.2 billion from the second package — a RM60 billion plan of which only RM10 billion is government spending for 2009 — is on the ground.

This is despite 99 per cent of the first package having been allocated and a further RM4.2 billion of the second injection.

It has been seven and three months respectively since the first and second packages were announced.

The current disbursement found bottlenecks in an emasculated civil service where power continue to lay in the hands of a coterie of top civil servants of ministries and departments. Middle managers are often given no powers to approve, only to push recommendation papers upwards. It is now dubious whether the intended effect can be felt in the second half of this year.

A 6.2 per cent contraction in the Malaysian economy in the first quarter of 2009 prompted the government to draw a more dismal picture for growth-a 6 month technical recession from January to June 2009. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth has been revised from 1 to negative 1 percent to negative 4 and negative 5 percent blaming "softening external demand." PM Najib added that Singapore was not doing any better at negative 9 percent growth rate.

To him, the worse off scenario is due to a drop in global trade and the fact that America's remedial steps have not gone according to plan.

Is this nitpicking?