Of SUBSIDIES and WANTON Wastages......

It so happened I topped up my car tank yesterday with cheaper fuel and so saved maybe RM5 on a full tank.
The government has been quite bold in removing subsidies from fuel, gas and sugar as all these items will directly affect consumers. They have also done a study to show that your favourite "teh tarik" should cost no more than 1.25sen based on these increases.
I guess such studies are both meaningless and worthless as petty traders and kopitiams will not bother with such details. Besides no ever raises prices by 5sen these days? So expect to pay at least 10sen price increase for all controlled food items or a 5% drop in quantity.
Of course the government is in a quandry as its own Minister has declared that we are headed for bankrupcy like Greece by 2020 if if keep on doing the same things like spending beyond our means.
Not all the blame can be laid on ordinary folks who strive to earn an honest living. The government has to support Bankrupsi Negara cronies who have caused massive losses in projects like Bakun, PKFZ and dubious commission or corruption schemes like the Scorpene purchases.
Now to top it all, it has been revealed that at least RM4billion was spent by the Prime Minister's department for 2010 to pay more than 43,000 civil servants. That sounds unbelievable but true and the figures were given by another minister. Somewhere in Putrajaya, there is a small town's population churning out useless info like that useless bit of data like 1.25sen teh tarik increase.
I daresay this PM's budget and the 43,000 civil servants should be posted to the Guiness Book of World Records.
Malaysia truly Boleh!

The WAY to Decide Elections?

I've been away on a cruise to the Baltic and only managed to catch the first half of the World Cup in London at the airport just before boarding the aircraft home.
I thought the Dutch would win as they had a more robust team with a few good strikers of the ball while the Spanish had the more painstaking game with so many passes before a shot a goal.
Anyway it was a fair result that Spain is now the World Champion.
You would have all heard about Paul the octopus who surpassed all other betting systems to get all the predictions right.
Someone sent me this photo via email and I am sure it is being widely circulated now.
So I guess Bankrupsi Negara will share the same thought as some German restaurant owners who may want to offer octopus rings on their menu!

How to SPOT Possible Corrupt Practices in the MACC?

We all know that many Malaysians suspect that Teoh Beng Hock was murdered shortly after he was hauled in for questioning by the MACC, the authority in Malaysia that is supposed to investigate and combat corruption.
This article from the Malaysian Insider about how theMACC gets a dirty dozen sacked in 2009 is supposed to convince us that the MACC is putting up a sterling performance.

However if you read the article, the last paragraph reads:

The rest of the projects include the construction of staff quarters worth in Penang (RM12 million), Kelantan State office (RM25 million), Pahang State office (RM19 million), Perak State office (RM23 million), Kuala Lumpur MACC complex (RM25 million), Malacca state office (RM23 million) and Johor state office (RM32 million.)

I wonder why:
1.The Pahang state office costs RM19mil while the Johor office costs RM32mil. That is a price difference of RM13mil or more than 68% price difference.
2.Are these based on open tenders or the "I help you, you help me" negotiated contracts?

I would imagine that such state offices should be quite standard buildings and maybe a price difference of 15% is acceptable to suit site variations. Even the same architect can be used to reduce costs.

So how do we investigate the MACC for dubious contract dealings?

EXCELLENT Campaign Material for PR for the Next Elections

That expose of the Canadian property empire of the Sarawak Chief Minister and the photos especially could play a most important role for the opposition in Sarawak.
No need to put into thousands of words just a few contrasting photos:

Examples:
1.One large office complex and the thousands of cleared virgin forest.
2.The Bakun hydro-power dam and an trickle of water in their new homes.
3.A powerful Sarawak river and the new expensive "homes"

The theme of the photos could be this:
"You had to give this up in order to give him this" or "Did you get a RAW Deal?"
"You Call This a FAIR Deal?"

Of course, the video of Najib's "If you vote BN, you can come to collect the cheque" speech is also priceless. No need to pay APCO Millions for such good campaign materials.
It is not only time for him to be voted out but also for the Bankrupsi Negara government to go.

Photo: thanks to http://sarawakreport.org/2010/06/exclusive-taibs-foreign-property-portfolio/

BANKRUPSI NEGARA - the Signs are OMINOUS

Much has been written and speculated about corruption and dirty politics and even a Minister has now postulated that Malaysia can become bankrupt just like the Greece model, overcome with mounting foreign debt.
So there are a few stories in the news why Malaysia seems to be unable to convince the sceptics that everything is still "honky-dory" as far as the nation's financial future is concerned.

You can read about how the Sarawak Chief Minister has amassed a vast property empire overseas in the malaysiakini article Taib family's Canadian property empire unveiled. The burning question is how did a government leader amass such a wealthy portfolio that seems more like that of the Sultan of Brunei. Now supposing such wealth had been created from exploiting the citizens of Sarawak, why did the federal leaders not probe such corrupt dealings? Or are the federal leaders guilty of similar or even grander malpractices?

The second story relates to how FELDA, the body created to help the smallholders of oil palm, appears to have become another cash cow to be drained by the government with full disclosures. It seems that cash reserves have been dramatically reduced in the past few years. Ever since it adopted a more agressive "corporate" image, it seems FELDA has forgotten that it success was the result of many years of toil by the Felda settlers. This type of GLC should have its annual accounts scrutinised by lawmakers to prevent abuse.

You also know that Shanghai's EXPO is now on but it appears that Malaysia's RM35mil pavilion has failed to draw the crowds and reviews are rather disappointing. No dazzle for Teresa Kok at Malaysia Pavilion says it all. The comments by readers are quite critical.

From one reader:
While our neighbours' pavillions were about their culture and heritage, what's inside ours is (get this) Ogawa massage chairs, A1 instant bak kut teh, Old Town White Coffee and Sepang F1 circuit. Seems more like a hypermarket than an exhibition to me. And the food? It's not made on the spot, but rather more like airplane food heated on microwaves at ridiculous prices. It is just that bad. And I am very ashamed to say that our pavillion is just one big national embarassment.

First of all, that building looks rather foreign and not native to Malaysia. It may attract visitors but the offerings inside must be appealing. Of course they bandied the 1Malaysia concept but I wonder how did the people there explain if they could not speak well in English or Mandarin?
Malaysian food is always appealing but they should have used some of that RM35mil to fly in well-known hawkers to cook roti prata, hokkien prawn mee and nasi beriyani to give the true flavour of Malaysia. Even an AirAsia promotion booth would have been welcome as Chinese now want to travel everywhere. What a missed opportunity!
As for the building, I guess the cost should be not more than RM15mil.
But I suppose the budget also includes the various first-class tickets plus 5-star hotel bills.

photo: thanks to malaysiakini

What to DO with this BANKRUPSI NEGARA Government?

Instead of scrapping the historic Parliament House and moving to the "white elephant" Putrajaya Convention Centre, I suggest we have a more elegant solution - just scrap the BN government in the next General Elections.
If you read this article from the Malaysian Insider, the Bankrupsi Negara government has another hare-brained idea as Cabinet now mulls PICC as new Parliament House.

You will get the following facts from the MI article:
1.They renovated Parliament House for RM100mil just 5 years ago.
2.PICC was built for RM600mil and is a "white elephant" according to the minister.
3.It will cost another RM150mil "to repair" Parliament House, presumably to also allow more MPs to be seated.
4.It will cost "at least RM50mil" to renovate a temporary building.

The minister left out important details for his cost estimates. Are all these prices based on proper workouts of BQs or more the "I help you, you help me" crony contracts?
Why were the extra seats not planned for when the PH was renovated 5 years ago? Are the roofs still in danger of collapsing?

Instead of just criticing the Bankrupsi Negara government, I would like to offer the following solution to the problem.
The 2 photos offer a solution that will cost less than RM12mil during the time it takes to renovate and repair Parliament House, the bill for which should be properly calculated and subject to open tender.
The first photo shows the UK Parliament where no tables are provided and MPs are not hidden behind high compartment. (for dozing off or surfing?)Notice how the Speaker is also seated at the same level as MPs and not enthroned as in Malaysia.
I suggest a convention hall(even PICC) can be hired for say RM12mil for 12 months and the existing furniture from PH be relocated there.
By adopting the UK style of seating, the capacity of PH can be increased by about 20%without enlarging the building and that reduces costs.
So the main costs for the expansion would be to order new upholstered seats that should not cost more than RM2000 per seat. At present we have 222MPs so we should cater for 300 seats. Include microphone etc let's work on a budget of RM2500x300 or RM750,000.
The minister should be asked to provide the details of what constitutes the RM150mil repairs as the number looks rather dodgy.

Wrong PRIORITIES of the Bankrupsi Negara Government....

Two stories making their rounds that show how inept the Bankrupsi Negara government is.
One story is about the RM800mil+ new palace being constructed for the Agong - you can read malaysiakini's readers' responses here.
Has anyone read any possible justifications for another grand palace? Also another negotiated "I help you, you help me" dubious tender. What could possibly be wrong with the existing palace?
Don't be surprised if in another 6 months we read of another negotiated deal for the redevelopment of the old palace site,a prime location near the Klang River,this time at a price way BELOW market rates.
The other story that involves thousands of young Malaysians is the decision to cut back on PSD scholarships overseas for undergraduate studies.
If you put the 2 stories together, it seems the Bankrupsi Negara government has got its priorities wrong and is really sending confusing messages to Malaysians.
While it complains about the high costs of subsidies, it also appears to be oblivious that the RM800+ palace is another reminder that voters must exorcise this BN government in the next elections.
Unless you really want to become a citizen of Asia's Zimbabwe before you do anything? It may then be too late to salvage the economy for many, many years.