My Say

No, I’m not referring to the consumers, as reported here. I’m referring to Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), the sole electricity supplier in Malaysia. Listen to their whining here. Not happy with the increase in tariff? Well, go after the real culprits. Who are they, I hear you ask? ‘They’ are the Independent Power Producers (IPP) - part of the government’s scheme to openly ‘reward’ the cronies. Or siphoning cash out of the system. Enriching a few at the expense of many. These IPPs were created after a national black out in late 1980s, to ‘guarantee’ a ‘healthy’ reserve margin. As a result, the reserve margin is close to 40%, the costs of which was borne by TNB, and now being passed on to the consumers. Just look at the accounts of the IPPs. They generate billions in cash every year, with no risk at all to the shareholders. All risks (of increase in fuel price, etc) are borne by TNB.

The government has come out to say that they cannot renegotiate the contracts with the IPPs, but can merely sign supplemental agreements to extend their concession period. Elementary contract law will tell you that the court can set aside any contract with grossly unfair terms. In the case of the contracts with the IPPs, there can be no doubt about this. At all.

Hmm, with hindsight, I can’t help wondering if maybe the national blackout was “planned” to create an excuse to create these cash sucking monsters!

Read here. He is now saying that he ‘only’ disagrees with the Government on the bridge issue.

I thought he had a lot more to say. What about Proton? What about the AP issue? Is he under some pressure? Are they withholding his pension cheque? Who knows?

isn’t he just a little old to be riding on public roads? For story, read here.

RM500,000, apparently. According to this. I’m flabbergasted… And this is meant to ‘rekindle’ the spirit of volunteerism. Whatever the spirit is, it’s certainly been ‘monetized’!

Read this. Clean sweep election as a birthday present to the chief minister? How preposterous!

There was a campaign in the UK: dogs are for life, not just Christmas. This was to tell people not to buy puppies as Christmas gifts, as they (the puppies) may be abandoned soon after.

Well, allow me to coin this phrase, with reference to the Sarawak election: votes are for posterity, not just birthdays!

This can really only happen here in this country.

An MP has admitted to asking the customs to ‘close one eye’ in a smugglin case. For context, read here. As Elton John sang, “sorry seems to be the hardest word”. But in this case, is “sorry” sufficient? What is more amazing is the ‘delayed’ reaction of the prime minister and the authorities on this matter. He has admitted to a crime. Why is there no attempt to arrest and charge him? Please act before he makes a mockery of the whole ‘justice’ system. Many people already suspect that there’s one set of laws for the ‘commoner’ and another for some special people. Any delay will only serve to confirm this.

On the other hand, the honourable MP’s replies will surely one day become ‘quotable quotes’, much like Bill Clinton’s “I did not inhale” line.

Quote: “I pleaded… to only compound… and not seize”.
Question: can we just ‘plead’ our way out of trouble?

Quote: “A smuggler will run from the Customs, not show the timber to them”
Question: if a drug smuggler showed his drugs to the police, can he said to be smuggling?

My advice to the right honourable MP is this: refrain from making further remarks on the subject. In case it’s too hard for him to comprehend, I’ll rephrase in simple english: shut up!

Read what the UK Executive Council for Malaysian Students chairman Wan Mohd Firdaus Wan Mohd Fuaad’s has to say in response to calls for them (especially doctors) to return to Malaysia.
Click here

Of course it’s about money at the end of the day, no matter how he tries to put it. By the way, the example given of the pay of an investment bankers is totally inaccurate. According to him, an investment banker earns about £50,000 (RM325,000) a year in London compared to about RM240,000 back in Malaysia. He probably asked the wrong person. Someone working in the back office of an investment bank in London would earn around £50,000 (compared to about £8-10,000 in Malaysia). A ‘real’ investment banker doesn’t earn £50,000, he earns close to £100,000, as a minimum, excluding obscene bonuses. The fact is the pay differential is huge, enormous, no matter how you look at it.

If you ask me, the solution is simple. Either 1) Stop sponsoring people to study medicine in the UK. Or 2) Start enforcing the sponsorship contract. If they do not return within the stipulated time, then demand repayment of the sponsorship amount. Why is this not done currently? Isn’t it only fair that one honours the contract one has signed?

“The government cannot just expect these people to be nationalistic and patriotic and return to Malaysia when the time comes”? OK. Then let’s not talk about patriotism, sense of duty, etc. Let’s talk about the legal positions of both parties. If these sponsored students pay hard ball, the government should as well. Those who don’t return should be asked to repay the millions in fees and allowances at once (no deferment should be allowed), failing which, their guarantors should be asked to pay.

I suspect there is more than meet the eyes here. Maybe some of these sponsored students are ‘untouchables’?

As for self-sponsored students, I agree with Datuk Lee Hwa Beng that whether they return is up to them. What right does the government have, when they were not given any sponsorship in the first place?