The government is quite good in playing some ploy to deceive the rakyat (that's us). I'm short of calling the government as a con artist. Anyway, government ministers are also quite good in giving excuses, reasons and in-direct information.
From the snippet below, according to Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, if RM51 airport tax is collected from an international flight, RM5 is allocated to ERL (owned by YTL Corporation). That's roughly about 10% share. The airport tax is meant for the government who is the servant to the rakyat.
Ong Tee Keat also revealed that in 2008, RM292 million airport taxes were collected from KLIA (he didn't says how much were collected from foreigners). Based on the 10% allocated given to ERL, that would amount to about RM29.2 million. RM29.2 million given for free YTL. Of course, Ong Tee Keat has reminded us that it is the "concession" money.
Wonder how much YTL refunded back to their kaki in the government. Only in Malaysia.
From MalaysianInsider
Fly or ride, or neither, taxpayers still pay ERL
By Shannon Teoh
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 – Malaysians have been subsidising the Express Rail Link (ERL) service since last April, it was revealed in Parliament today
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said that YTL Corporation’s ERL Sdn Bhd, the operator of the high-speed rail service from here to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, had been indirectly subsidised since last April because the company is unable to cover costs due to poor sales.
Answering a question from PKR’s Azmin Ali, the minister said that under a concession agreement for the rail service, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB), the operator of KLIA, is required to pay ERL a portion of service charges it levies on all passengers.
But since April 1 last year, the finance ministry has been reimbursing MAHB for the money it pays ERL.
Ong said this arrangement was a result of a restructuring exercise in MAHB under a “marginal cost support scheme.”
He did not, however, reveal how much has been paid indirectly to ERL under the scheme.
Ong told Parliament that ERL was not being given any allocation from airport taxes, but under the concession agreement, an allocation from passenger service charges levied by MAHB was due to ERL since 2002.
“For example, if RM51 is collected from an international flight, RM5 is allocated to ERL,” he said.
Later, he told reporters that the Finance Ministry has been reimbursing this amount to MAHB since April 2008 but insisted that “ERL gets no monetary support from the government.”
However, the fact that the government-linked company is reimbursed for whatever it pays ERL by the government, effectively makes it an indirect subsidy.
Ong justified the allocation to ERL by pointing out that there had been a massive capital outlay to operate the rail line but that ticket sales “cannot cover the cost of the outlay and maintenance.”
He added that the allocation was agreed upon based on projected traffic before the ERL had begun operations.
“With the inception of the low-cost carrier terminal two years ago, (ERL) takings have further deteriorated,” he said.
Ong also revealed that the government has collected RM1.86 billion in airport taxes since 2004.
In 2008, RM446.4 million was collected, with RM292 million from KLIA.
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Here a summary of the Maju Institute of Educational Development (MIED) scandal over alleged mismanagement of fund.
* MIED is an education arm of MIC.
* Samy Vellu is the MIED chairman.
* MIED chief executive officer P. Chitrakala Vasu to go on leave.
* Missing amount totaled to RM5.265mil at MIED.
* Mismanagement of awarding of construction contracts for AIMST.
* Tan Sri M. Mahalingam, a signatory of MIED cheques, was removed as MIC treasurer-general last December.
From TheStar
A MIED top official linked to funds mismanagement
By FLORENCE A. SAMY
PETALING JAYA: The Maju Institute of Educational Development controversy has taken another twist with the MIC president pointing fingers at a top MIED personnel for the alleged mismanagement of funds amounting to millions of ringgit.
Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu claimed that they had identified the person as the one allegedly responsible for the missing RM5.26mil He also hinted that more discrepancies would be revealed.
“The police are investigating the case. MIED has made a report to the police over two people. The first stage of the missing amount is RM5.265mil.
“We investigated and identified that the money was taken under different disguise and put into someone else’s account. We have to report this to the police.
“We cannot keep quiet and allow things to happen. We are still investigating and there are more and more coming,” he told reporters on Sunday at the MIC-owned MIED’s UPSR excellent achievement awards ceremony here yesterday. MIED is MIC’s education arm.
Controversy had plagued MIED over the alleged mismanagement.
On Saturday, it was reported that the Commercial Crimes Investigation Department was investigating two senior MIED executives for alleged criminal breach of trust.
Samy Vellu said Sunday that many had an incorrect perception that MIED was being investigated.
“MIED is not being investigated. We have reported to the police and have asked them to investigate,” he added.
On being queried by the police recently, Samy Vellu said the police came to see him given his capacity as the MIED chairman.
“Naturally, police came to see me as I am the head of MIED.
They wanted to find out what had happened - who is the chief executive officer, how did we employ her, what are her responsibilities - all this I have to answer,” he added.
Samy Vellu also chided the media for reporting that the construction cost of party-owned Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology (AIMST) had ballooned, which he said was untrue.
He explained that there were four stages of construction, with the first stage costing RM235mil. The cost at the final stage, he said, stood at RM485mil. AIMST university, which is in Kedah, was officially opened last year. MIED runs AIMST through MIED Capital Sdn Bhd.
A furious Samy Vellu challenged the media to look into their account books, stating that “every cent is accounted for.”
“There is a project manager and a quantity surveyor to oversee the thing. We do not call for tender; the quantity surveyor calls for tender.
“The newspapers should have more responsibility. They should ask us,” he said, adding that they were planning to take legal action against a news agency which first stated that the cost had ballooned.
Samy Vellu said that it was impossible to build a university for RM265mil as “even the government university cost’s RM1bil.”
When the controversy broke out, Samy Vellu had asked MIED chief executive officer P. Chitrakala Vasu to go on leave. He also issued her with several show-cause letters which she had replied to.
Last week, a former MIC member lodged a police report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, alleging that he had evidence of alleged mismanagement in the awarding of construction contracts for AIMST.
Last month, MIC vice-president and MIED director Datuk Seri S. Sothinathan had lodged police reports over missing MIED files.
Last December, Tan Sri M. Mahalingam, a signatory of MIED cheques, was removed as MIC treasurer-general by Samy Vellu who said the move was part of an MIC rebranding exercise.malaysia ~ If you like this informative post, please subscribe to my full RSS Feed
Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican, the acting chairman and president of Petronas is absolutely correct when he commented that Malaysia under the rule of the Barisan Nasional government has become too dependent on money from the oil and gas sector as its contribution accounted for over 50% of the Government’s revenue. But of course most people know this except for the government officials at Putra Jaya.
Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican said it was very dangerous for the country to depend so heavily on “finite resources like gas and oil” and it would seem like the country had not progressed. Again, so true.
The current government indeed like to spend lavishly without considering that funding will slowly become limited and does not think deep into the future. Unlike a tiny republic state of Singapore, Malaysia have abundant natural resources as well as manpower. However, due to lack of planing or improper planning, only certain groups benefits from the exploitation of those natural resources.
Singapore being a small republic is much more develop than Malaysia. Her economy also outperformed Malaysia. Singapore is always a few step ahead of Malaysia because they have one advantage, i.e. smart and non-corrupt officials in their think tank committee that do advance planning, forecasting and come out with good policies.
When the oil run dry and when Petronas can no longer give money to the government, Malaysia will be like a poor state in Africa.
Related posts:
* Response from PETRONAS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source: TheStar
KUALA LUMPUR: The country has become too dependent on money from the oil and gas sector as its contribution accounted for over 50% of the Government’s revenue, said Petronas acting chairman and president Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican.
He said it was very dangerous for the country to depend so heavily on “finite resources like gas and oil” and it would seem like the country had not progressed.
“It is just like when we gained independence, when we were dependent on rubber and tin. At least then, rubber was an infinite resource because it could be cultivated but petroleum is just like tin as it can run out,” he said.
“What has happened to the manufacturing sector? What has been its economic contribution to the nation? There are real structural issues,” Hassan told reporters after releasing details of Petronas' performance for the financial year ending March 2008.
He said the country received billions of ringgit worth of foreign investments to set up factories here but yet their national contribution could not be seen.
Foreign workers staff many of the overseas factories set up here, the Petronas boss said.
He questioned whether the country could “survive in the long term” under such conditions.
Hassan pointed out that the national oil corporation paid the Government RM67.6bil, which made up 44% of the federal revenue.
“If you take into account taxes paid by the other oil and gas companies in the country, then the total sectorial contribution is over 50%,” he said.
“This dependency on oil money has become an addiction and something the Government must address.”malaysia ~ If you like this informative post, please subscribe to my full RSS Feed
Who exactly are responsible for Sarawak waters ? Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) required additional men to expand their workforce to monitor Sarawak waters. MMEA have a good intention but considered this ...
What is the main purpose of Sarawak River Board ?
What is the main purpose of the Marine Police ?
What is the main purpose of Jabatan Laut Sarawak ?
Do Malaysia have the Navy or not ?
All the above agencies or departments have their enforcement squads but their duty is what ? Lepak at base ?
This is another case of mis-management of resources whereby manpower are not deployed efficiently.
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Source: theborneopost.com/?p=37016 State needs 430 more maritime enforcers Agency director-general urges locals to apply for the job KUCHING: The state needs at least 430 additional uniformed staff to serve with the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), to be able to effectively monitor Sarawak waters. According to MMEA director-general Admiral Datuk Mohd Amdan Kurish, at the moment the agency in state is facing shortage of enforcement staff. “We need to beef up our manpower to be able look after our territorial waters satisfactorily, and towards this end we are now recruiting more staff,” he told a press conference yesterday. The conference was held in conjunction with his visit to the agency’s state office at Jalan Setia Raja here. Urging locals to apply for the job, he said the agency will recruit about 1,600 new staff who will be deployed nationwide. Those interested can surf the agency’s website at www.mmea.gov.my. According to Amdan, two intakes are carried out every year with 230 recruits per intake. Those accepted will have to undergo nine months training - six months in Johor and another three months in Kuantan. He said between 40 and 50 staff were being deployed to the state per intake. According to him, the limited number of recruits per intake was due to constraint in the present training facilities. Amdan also told reporters that the agency here would like to intensify and effectively enforce maritime laws in the state’s waters. This, he said was to prevent smuggling activities and encroachment by foreign fishing vessels, and the flouting of laws by local fishermen. He noted that the common mistakes committed by local fishermen were not sticking to the fishing regulations and conditions of their licence. He disclosed that there were 17 cases of encroachment last year while for the early part of this year, 12 cases were recorded. Amdan also commended the effort of the agency here, saying that one of its major successes was to foil an attempt by a Singapore-registered ship to smuggle 100,000 litres of diesel from Muara Tebas last April. The case, he said had been referred to the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs. He told reporters that MMEA was also entrusted with carrying out search-and-rescue operations.
Millions of Ringgit have been spent on development of Tanjong Manis port, Sibu as a hub for deepsea fishing (fish landing facilities) and yet, certain facilities are either not there or uncompleted.
Tanjong Manis port was developed years ago but remained under utilized due to lack of facilities and infrastructure (like roads) linking Tanjong Manis and Sibu. Millions has been thrown into the project since it's inception and the result is a blue elephant. If not manage properly, the project will turn into a white elephant soon.
The only parties benefits from the projects are the constructions companies who built the half-cooked facilities. The fishing companies are not using it to the fullest and I guess those jetty are only good for leisure fishing instead of servicing its intended purpose.
Another poor management of development project by the state government.
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Source: theborneopost.com/?p=37062 Bid to regulate fish landing facilities at port KUCHING: A special team will be set up in two months’ time to draw up a concrete plan of action to regulate better use of fish landing facilities at Tanjong Manis port, said Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed. “I have been briefed by the Fisheries Development Authority (LKIM) manager that the cold storage and water treatment facilities have yet to be completed,” he told reporters after a meeting at the Ministry of Modernisation of Agriculture at Bangunan Masja in Petra Jaya here yesterday. “We have invested RM360 million to build the facilities including a cold storage which is now 60 per cent completed and the water treatment which will be completed in four months’ time.” Mustapa said with the completion of the facilities, fish landing is expected to increase significantly. “In the first five and a half months this year, the total amount of fish landed was 340,000 metric tonnes valued at RM1.9 million which is a very small amount,” he said. Assistant Minister of Modernisation of Agriculture (Farmers Organisation and Cooperatives) Datuk Peter Nyarok Entrie, permanent secretary to Ministry of Modernisation of Agriculture Datu Jaul Samion and Beras Corporation Sdn Bhd chief operating officer Mohd Kamaluddin Mohd Effendie were also present at the meeting.
Voon Lee Shan of Sarawak Democratic Action Party is right when he advice the public not to blame the police department but the government securities policies. It seems that the police are doing their utmost best but could not improve or reduce the crime rate due to severe lack of manpower. The only sour feeling is that the head of police denied there is an increase in crime rate but in actual fact, crime rate is going up.
You may also question the police motivational issue. Gaji polis naik, kes jenayah pun naik. I mean, after getting better perks from the government, shouldn't the police force be more effective in fighting crime ?
This come to another point, what is the purpose of General Operation Force (GOF) ? To raid illegal workers squatters ? To do border patrol ? Never heard they conduct such operation though. What I know for sure is that, GOF definitely be present during Merdeka parade.
So other than marching during parade, what else did GOF do ? I guess loafing around in their base camps. A great under utilization of manpower isn't it. Literally makan gaji buta.
Couldn't the Home Ministry or Ministry of Internal Affairs instruct GOF to do street patrol to help the police to fight crime ? I guess those ministers are busy at Putra Jaya playing golf and polishing balls.
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Extracted from: theborneopost.com/?p=34179 (Apr 18, 2008)
Don’t blame cops for rising crime: Voon
‘Police are there only to implement security policies of the government’
KUCHING: People should not blame the police alone for the deteriorating security in the state as the government also has to shoulder the responsibility, said Batu Lintang assemblyman Voon Lee Shan.
The police were only there to implement security policies of the government and no one could expect a seriously under strength police force to cover such a vast area, he said in a press statement here yesterday.
Voon added the police in the state also lacked equipment and suffer from poor management of manpower pointing out that his party the Democratic Action Party (DAP) had brought forward these issues many times in the state legislative assembly and parliament.
He noted that it seemed that the state police force had not benefited from the recent massive procurement of bullet proof vests for the police as the police personnel here were almost never seen wearing the vests.
The DAP Sarawak treasurer asserted that there must be adequate manpower, proper management of logistics and deployment of police personnel to fight crime effectively.
“There is no reason why this government still allows the Administration Department, Special Branch and General Operation Force (GOF) to take away most of the manpower of the police force.
“Is this not mismanagement of manpower resources? The manpower in these three branches should be redeployed to strengthen the Crime Investigation Department.
Blindly hurling accusations and abuse against police officers would not solve the problem but only demoralise the force further hampering their ability in stemming the rise of crimes, Voon added.
“The authority that should be blamed is the government itself for its unsound security policy as the saying goes, ‘there are no bad soldiers, but there are bad generals’.”
The crime index showed a sharp increase of criminal activities from 156,316 reported cases in 2003 to 226,836 in 2006, marking a hike of 45.1 per cent, he added.
On Chinese and Indian youths lacking interest in joining the police force, Voon questioned what steps or policy the government had taken to encourage them to do so.
He noted that some members of the public, especially the Chinese, were reluctant to lodge police reports mainly due to the language barrier.
“This is due to the fact that they cannot communicate with police officers at the police stations as most of these officers could not understand Mandarin and also speak very little English. There were cases that reports were not properly taken due to communication breakdown, which at times landed the complainants in police lock-ups for crimes they came to report,” he said.
