Janji di tepati!! TNB increase tariff!

FROM MALAYSIAKINI

Kua Kia Soong 10:37AM Jul 27, 2013

COMMENT In my recent article ‘Damned Dams & Noxious Nukes: Questioning Malaysia's Energy Policy' (Suaram 2013, p 2), I had warned that the government would surely raise electricity tariffs after the 13th general election.

Right on cue, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) has just announced that there will be an upward review of the electricity tariff. TNB is justifying this increase by claiming that domestic consumers have been subsidised long enough.

However, who have been the main beneficiaries of the government subsidies?

The energy industry in Malaysia has become a mega business and the government has been subsidising private businesses handsomely for at least two decades, even as it announces attempts to remove subsidies for domestic consumers.

In the mid-Nineties when the IPPs first came into the energy production scene, the industrial sector was TNB's largest consumer, with 60 percent of electricity consumption, but it was paying the lowest rates averaging 15.98 sen per kilowatt hour. On the other hand, the domestic and commercial sectors were paying 21.5 sen per unit and 23.3 sen per unit respectively. (New Straits Times, Jan 17, 1996)

But any privatisation exercise can only be called a success if the businessmen who bid for the projects succeed in raising financing from the banks through their own credentials. What is evident in the privatisation contracts in the energy industry of Malaysia is that many of the crony capitalists (who are, strictly speaking, failed businessmen) rely on the Malaysian workers' pension fund, the EPF, through their links with the government.

Thus, then-energy minister S Samy Vellu justified the EPF as the single biggest source of financing for the Bakun Dam project:

"Bakun, you see, they need some government help... They need government help to borrow money. About RM15 billion to generate 2,400MW of electricity, which means Ekran needs to borrow from the EPF," Samy Vellu said. (Business Times, Feb 23, 1995)

Well-connected IPPs

TNB used to be the sole electricity provider in the country but after the blackouts and brownouts in 1992, independent power producers (IPPs) were allowed into the industry.

They were politically well-connected but devoid of any electric power engineering or generating experience, and the power purchase agreements they signed with TNB allowed them highly favourable terms with take-or-pay arrangements for power generation, i.e. if there was no uptake, the IPPs were paid a capacity charge to offset this.

Furthermore, they could pass their cost increases, such as any fuel price increases, to TNB. But TNB itself does not enjoy such a cost-pass-through formula to help it recover any increases in costs.

In 1995, a single IPP made RM800 million in profits - about half of what Tenaga made with all its national plants! Furthermore, the IPPs do not have to invest in transmission or distribution - the expensive parts of the business. (Sunday Star, Sept 1, 1996)

If we compare the generation costs of TNB and the IPPs, we will have an idea of TNB's problems. In 1997, TNB was paying between 11.8 sen and 15.5 sen per unit of electricity to the five IPPs while its cost of generating electricity was less than 10 sen per unit. (The Star, April 20, 1997)

To solve these contradictions, TNB saw the only way out as raising electricity tariffs and to urge consumers to use more electricity, including drying their clothes with electrical appliances! Either way, Malaysian consumers lost out and the need for energy conservation was put off once again despite the pious declarations at the Rio conference.

Apart from the dice being loaded in favour of the IPPs, they also built power stations at sites of their own choice, not where they were needed. Thus, YTL built a station at Paka, Terengganu, (where the gas supply comes in) although electric power was desperately needed in the north and central regions.

The admission of the IPPs into the energy industry and subsequent flip-flopping policies reflect the total lack of planning and well-thought out energy policy.

The costs of excess capacity

TNB has been keeping a reserve margin in excess of 30 percent over the nation's total demand. In fact, this reserve margin was boosted to 42 percent after the commissioning of two new power plants in 2003. With rising operational costs, including that of excess capacity maintenance, TNB was forced to cut its reserve margin to just below 25 percent. This move was estimated to save the corporation RM1 billion in maintenance cost a year:

"Tenaga has to bear the cost of managing excess capacity on its own. It pays independent power producers about RM500,000 for every megawatt a year and normally draws less than four-fifths of that power... Imagine how much Tenaga spends to manage about 1,500MW of excess capacity from the IPPs!" (New Straits Times, Aug 30, 2003)

There is thus no justification for the Bakun Dam which harnesses 2,400MW electricity when the demand for energy in the whole of Sarawak state was only around 400MW in 1997. The original intention was for the electricity produced to be transmitted 665km to the west coast of Sarawak and a further 670km to Peninsular Malaysia, through high-voltage undersea cables that have never been tested through this distance anywhere in the world!

The current total energy demand in the whole of Sarawak is only 1,000MW, so the government has been trying to attract the biggest energy guzzlers, such as aluminium smelters that happen to be the most toxic as well. These environmentally polluting industries are then touted as part of the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (Score).

In fact, hydro-electric power dams and toxic aluminium smelters are all industries rejected by developed countries. None of these countries, especially Australia, wants to have toxic industries in their own backyard. Lynas is but the most recent example.

But the Sarawak state government is willing to have these mega projects for rather dubious purposes. The desperate chase for investments to take up the excess Bakun energy after the dam has been built shows a total lack of economic feasibility studies which should have been done long before the dam was built. Is it surprising therefore that many Score contracts have been given to companies owned by members of Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud's family?

As long as the full eight-turbine capacity of the Bakun dam is not being fully utilised, it will not be economical as the same amount of water is required to run one or all the turbines. It is comical to see the same vacillating suggestion being made every time the government is faced with this conundrum, namely, to resurrect the submarine cables to transmit the surplus power to the peninsula!

The recent blackout throughout Sarawak has been attributed to a glitch at the Bakun dam which triggered the state-wide blackout. Has the cost of the blackout been worked out yet?

The Bakun dam project cost has ballooned to well over RM8 billion. At the end of the day, the project will be a yoke around Malaysian consumers' necks and we will have to pay high tariffs to cover the losses incurred by the developer and/or TNB.

More mega-dams for us to subsidise

But the monstrous Bakun dam is not all that has been dreamed up by the Sarawak state government. The 944MW Murum dam is soon to be impounded. Like Bakun, this latter dam project is in violation of international standards on indigenous rights as guaranteed in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), of which Malaysia is a signatory.

As with the Bakun dam, none of the studies related to the projects have been transparent. The affected Penan and Kenyah have stated that they have never been asked for their consent, as demanded by the UNDRIP.

The project developer, Sarawak's state-owned electricity generating company, Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) has not provided indigenous communities with an opportunity to grant or withhold their "free, prior and informed consent" for the project as required by UNDRIP. Even in cases where there was agreement, the resettlement plan was not made known to the indigenous peoples prior to the start of the construction, and they were not informed about the project's impacts.

The social and environmental impact assessment (SEIA) for the Murum project is seriously flawed. International standards - including the World Bank IFC Performance Standards - universally require that the SEIA must be completed during the design phase, before the government approves the project and before construction begins.

This was not the case with the Murum Dam Project. The SEIA process only began after construction of the project was already under way.

When the 944MW Murum Dam costing RM3.5 billion comes on stream, the total installed capacity of the two dams will be 3,344MW. The combined cost of the two dams is RM10.8 billion. There are also plans to build more dams - 1,400MW in Balleh, 1,000MW in Baram, 150MW in Limbang and 300MW in Metjawah, among others.

Sarawak's existing capacity to generate electricity (viz. 1,300MW) without the Bakun dam already exceeds the peak demand of 1,100MW. Electricity generated cannot be stored. Unused power will be wasted. The government hopes that energy guzzling industries such as aluminium smelters will come and take up this surplus of energy...

In such a state of affairs, who is subsidising whom? Don't even mention building noxious nuclear plants!

---

KUA KIA SOONG, a former MP, is adviser to human rights NGO Suaram.

Rais: OK to use govt machinery for campaigns

Misused Govt things ah?? No problem lah! We are still the govt mah! And we are use to it lah!

From Malaysiakini

Rais: Okay to use gov't machinery for campaigns

Ahmad Fadli KC 8:04PM Apr 9, 2013

Information, Communication and Culture Minister Rais Yatim today defended BN's actions of using the Information Department's machinery for campaigning purposes.

He said that there is nothing wrong with the usage of government's machinery because BN is still considered the caretaker government from now until the nomination day.

"Now we are in an environment of carrying out duties as a temporary government. The government still exists under Article 43 of the federal constitution and all things that involve executive powers - such as Article 38 and Article 43 - on the powers of appointing ministers, also falls under the ministry's function, all ministries are to function as per normal procedures," he added.

"However, starting from nomination day, no government agency can take part in any programme that helps the election campaign of any one party," he stressed.

"It is wrong for them to assume that the Information Department or the Science Department can't come out with explanations in behalf of the government," he said.

He said that even though the nation is in an "interim government" environment, the powers of the government remains.

Malaysiakini had earlier reported that three vehicles belonging to the Information Department were used to facilitate the opening of BN's election command centre for the Batu parliamentary constituency on Sunday.

'Airtime offer was to broadcast only once'

Meanwhile, Rais said that the government's offer of 10-minute airtime for Pakatan Rakyat to present their manifesto in the state channel, Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM), would be broadcast only once, and not repeatedly over the campaign period.

"We (would) give 10 minutes only once, not on every campaign day. This is not about campaigning, it is only about explaining the gist of the respective manifestos," he stressed.
  
According to the minister, Pakatan can explain five full pages of their manifesto if they utilise the 10 minutes completely.

"I have conducted tests and in 10 minutes, we could read at least five pages of A4 papers with a one-line space between sentences," he said.

He added that the opposition's refusal to accept the offer was only an attempt to "mock" RTM.

However, Election Commission (EC) chairperson Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof had previously said that the government's airtime offer to the opposition was to have been part of an ongoing series and not a one-time deal.

What is the reason for Bersih 3.0? Kim Quek explains clearly!

By Kim Quek

COMMENT It is now confirmed - the parliamentary select committee (PSC) on electoral reform report is a scam to hoodwink Malaysians into thinking that the Barisan Nasional (BN) government is finally restoring democratic election.

While nothing concrete has been achieved to ensure the cleansing of the "phantom" infested electoral roll and the elimination of rampant corruption and abuse of power that has become the trademark of Malaysian elections, the main stream media has painted the town red with false propaganda that the PSC report is a reform agenda that will make any democracy proud.

Just look at The Starnewspaper of April 4. The entire front page was splashed with goodies from the PSC, headlined ‘Hooray for voters’.

Some of the prominently displayed items were: ‘Allowing citizens to vote by post or at Malaysian missions’, ‘Creating a caretaker government after the dissolution’, ‘Continuous cleaning of the electoral roll’, ‘EC to have its own budget and be answerable to Parliament’, ‘EC to be restructured to enforce election laws’, ‘Provide allocations to political parties and candidates based on the number of seats and number of votes obtained’, and ‘Have a balanced delineation election constituencies’.

Wah! Isn’t it wonderful. From now on, Malaysians can finally raise their heads to claim that they have a practicing democracy!

But, rejoice not. This PSC report is not a bearer of fruits but a messenger of false hopes.

The PSC report’s 22 recommendations are only a series of expressions of hope that the Election Commission (EC) will do this or that.

Knowing the deeply political partisanship of EC and its unashamedly pro-BN stance to resist reform, what hope is there anything meaningful will be done to alleviate the nightmare of Malaysians of another dirty election ahead - by all counts, the worst?

There was not a word in the report on the numerous cases of fraud uncovered in the electoral roll or on the blatant open bribery and abuse of power that have gone from bad to worse from one by-election to another since the 2008 general election.

Hypocritical participation

Without acknowledging and probing the existing flaws how can there be any remedy?

There was no concrete measure proposed or firm commitment made by any quarter in the BN regime that the serious flaws that have made a mockery of our election will be rectified before the next election.

In fact, the hypocritical participation of EC in the PSC reform effort is glaringly demonstrated through the continuing cheating in the electoral roll that was going on out right during the working sessions of the PSC.

This was exposed during the press conference of Bersih 2.0 announcing its impending mass demonstration on April 28.

At the press conference on April 4, two academicians with authoritative research on Malaysian elections revealed numerous cases of ongoing fraud in the electoral roll.

Wong Chin Huat (left) demonstrated four methods adopted by fraudsters to “clone” voters through variation of one or more of personal data like names, old and new identity card numbers, addresses and dates of birth.

Ong Kian Ming revealed irregularities in the postal voter roll that showed double registration and unqualified postal voters among the security personnel. These instances were described as only the “tip of the iceberg”.

From numerous previous revelations, it is now an established fact that our electoral roll is heavily infested with “phantom voters” - either through manipulation of the electoral roll or through illegal granting of citizenship to foreigners (which is particularly rampant in Sabah as proven in court).

It is therefore imperative and of utmost urgency that an independent body be commissioned to comprehensively audit both the electoral roll and the citizenship registry to flush out these “phantoms”.

But there was nothing in the PSC report to even remotely suggest that this cleansing process will proceed forthwith.

It is ironical that the PSC which is dominated by BN, instead of scrapping the notorious postal voting system as strongly demanded by reformists, has further expanded its scope.

This postal voting is a discredited system that has been profusely abused to give consistently more than 90 percent electoral support to the ruling BN.

Illegitimate advantage

Originally meant for the soldiers and police, it will now be extended to cover media workers and EC personnel, the latter, according to reports, has alarmingly increased from 140,000 to 240,000 personnel.

This decision by PSC which quickly acted upon by EC to gazette the new postal voters will no doubt add a major illegitimate advantage to BN in the coming polls.

Another major injustice that has rendered our election meaningless is BN’s stranglehold on the mass media (save the Internet), which while serving BN’s parochial political interests in ordinary times, is turned into full blast propaganda machines in election time to falsely glorify BN while running down or blacking out news of its opponents.

Electoral democracy being a game of perception, the existence of such a grotesquely lop-sided information dissemination system makes a total mockery of our democracy, not to mention putting BN’s opponents in grave disadvantage.

In recognition of reformists’ earnest requests for free and fair media coverage, PSC has, however, only given its lip service.

In recommendation No.9, PSC merely says it has “taken note” of the Information Ministry’s “readiness” to grant fair media access to all parties and candidates in the poll.

PSC further “recommends” that the EC take note of Article 115(2) of the federal constitution which stipulates that other authorities shall on request assist EC to discharge its duties as may be practicable.

If fair reporting is a serious undertaking by BN, why didn’t the ministry give a solemn pledge to honour this “readiness” instead of only the EC “taking note”?

Will this “note” taken by the EC lead to fair media coverage? Knowing the disposition of EC and BN, your guess is as good as mine.

It should be apparent by now that no real reform will come while BN is in power, for any reform - particularly electoral reform - would mean the reduction of the illegitimate advantage enjoyed by them in the contest of political power.

And the present fake reform as exemplified by the setting up of this PSC was only a grudging concession thought of by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to recover some of the electoral support lost during the ill-advised crackdown on the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9, 2011.

From that point of view, Bersih 2.0’s prompt call for another mass rally is a wise move. For only in the convincing show of strength could BN see the necessity to make some reforms, however disinclined it may feel towards them.

A simple explanation on why Malaysia's Elections are unfair

All Malaysian should read this article from Malaysiakini to understand why BERSIH 3.0 is crucial if the government does not reform the electoral process!

---------------------------------------------------------------------

A retiree arrested the attention of opposition members at the public hearing by the parliamentary select committee (PSC) on electoral reform, when he told them to forget about marching to Putrajaya under the current electoral system.

Armed with printouts of his presentation slides, Ng Chak Ngoon (right) who described himself as a retiree, presented the panel with a graph that showed 222 lines with every one being taller than the other as it progressed.

The graph, said Ng at the hearing in Kota Kinabalu yesterday, which saw several others testifying, was plotted against the population size of all the constituencies in ascending order for the 2008 general election.

"All on the left (in blue) are won by BN, on the right (in red) are all won by the opposition. The BN constituencies are very small and the opposition constituencies are very big. So what is happening here?

"It's not by chance that all the people in big constituencies like the opposition and all those people in the small constituencies like BN. I would think there is a design here for the Election Commission (EC) to sub-divide all the BN areas into smaller areas to increase their number of MPs," he said.

Ng added that the smallest constituency, BN-held Putrajaya only had 6,008 voters but Opposition-held Kapar had a staggering 112,224 voters, 17 times more than Putrajaya.

‘Kapar can have 17 MPs'

"If we break down Kapar to the size of Putrajaya, you would have 17 MPs from Kapar instead of just one."

If all the seats are made into equal size, Ng added, the last general election would yield a result where BN and Pakatan Rakyat would only have a difference of seven seats in Parliament as opposed to the actual results of 140 to 82 seats.

He further estimated that if a party relied on all the small seats to win power, it would only require 15.4 percent of the total votes to form a majority in Parliament.

"If the opposition thinks they can march to Putrajaya, forget about it."

At this point, PSC member Anthony Loke who is DAP's Rasah MP quipped: "Very demoralising."

Explaining further, Ng said the smallest constituency in Malaysia was 13 percent of the national average while the largest was 288 percent, in contrast to the UK's which smallest and largest constituency are 77 percent and 153 percent of the national average respectively.

"If the EC is sincere, it should redraw all the constituencies, this is not gerrymandering, this is outright cheating."

PSC member Dr Hatta Ramli later concurred, pointing out that the Baling parliamentary constituency, supposedly a rural seat, had an unusually large number of constituents at around 70,000.

"This was because PAS has won the seat before," said Hatta, who then asked if Ng thought this was ethical.

"Unethical is a mild word, Can I answer outside?" replied Ng in reference to parliamentary rules that require members in the hearing to abide by appropriate language.

State by state breakdown

Ng later proceeded to present similar graphs with a state by state breakdown at which PSC member Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad said: "Can you rate Kangar?", in reference to his own constituency.

"If you have Negeri Sembilan's, I would like to see my chances of winning," added Loke.

At this, Ng quipped: "I'll have to charge you for consultancy."

When asked by PSC member Fong Chan Onn (right) on how the panel can accommodate the increase of seats for Sabah and Sarawak to meet the Malaysian Federation agreement of 34 percent into his recommendations, Eng replied: "What is your objective?

"To win the election or to have an equitable dispersion of votes? If these are conflicting desires, obviously we cannot come to a compromise. BN has to answer that question, not me, I'm a retired man."

The right reaction to stupid MCA proposal!

From Malaysiakini

The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) today (12 Nov) took a strong stance against MCA's proposal to disallow voting for Malaysians residing overseas.

Speaking to Malaysiakini on the sidelines of the parliamentary select committee (PSC) on electoral reform, its chairperson Ambiga Sreenevesan said that denying the constitutional right to vote based on logistics is “appalling”.

“It’s appalling and completely baseless, including their damage control after that,” she said, referring to MCA’s proposal to the committee on the first day of the public hearing yesterday.

“We cannot use logistics to deprive citizens of the constitutional right to vote... Overseas voters, too, are ready to assist in any way to make it work.”

MCA had yesterday told the panel that Malaysians residing overseas should not be allowed to vote as they are “out of touch” with the real situation in the country, and may rely on “doubtful, biased and wrong” information.

Its president Dr Chua Soi Lek later clarified that it is also because allowing these people to vote will pose a logistical challenge.

Count ballots at embassies

"Don't underestimate Malaysians overseas," said Ambiga.

She added that Bersih 2.0's stand is for ballots to be counted at the embassy with the results sent immediately after polls have ended.

In his submission today, Bersih 2.0 steering committee member Wong Chin Huat said that a way to address the logistical issue is to get voters overseas to conduct advanced voting.

He said they will then have to register with the Malaysian mission abroad two weeks ahead so the mission will be able to know which constituencies they will be voting for and how many ballot boxes to prepare.

Wong also suggested that 13 ballot boxes for states and 16 for parliament be provided, instead of for all constituencies and for the ballot papers be sorted when they are counted.

"It is a question of political will," Ambiga said.

Excuses excuses

Meanwhile, at the public hearing, Association for the Promotion of Human Rights’ representative Ramon Navaratnam also disagreed with MCA on the issue.

"Some say Malaysians abroad don't stay in touch, but some people say they know more than we do...they are aware and to disqualify them for being unaware is unjust," he said.

He added that such views by a party that is part of the ruling government gives rise to suspicion that the government is "willy nilly using this (reason) to maintain status quo".

Ramon also disagreed with committee member Fong Chang Onn (BN-Alor Gajah) who suggested that Malaysians should adopt practices in other countries like Australia, that disqualify its citizens who have left the country for more than five years from voting.

Read here to see BERSIH proposal to the PSC

BN leaders fighting to say the dumbest thing!

Recently Malaysiakini Reported

The proposal to allow Malaysians living overseas to vote during general elections has been rejected by the MCA, which announced today that these people are "out of touch" with the country.

Presenting the party's views at the parliamentary select committee on electoral reform, central committee member Ei Kim Hock said extending the vote to Malaysians residing abroad would be unreasonable as they receive "doubtful" information. "Voters residing overseas should not be allowed to vote. We view this seriously as those who reside abroad are out of touch and do not truly understand the situation in Malaysia. "We are doubtful over the kind of information they receive... The future of the nation should be with those who remain in the country," Ei said.

In their memorandum submitted to the committee, MCA said that what Malaysians overseas read about the country is “biased” and “wrong”. “They are getting bits and pieces of news from various sources to try to form a picture of what is happening in the country,” the memorandum read.

Read more here!

Later Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek has chastised MCA central committee member Datuk Ei Kim Hock for saying the party opposed overseas voting as Malaysians living abroad were “out of touch” with the state of affairs here

“My man didn’t explain it properly ” the MCA president told reporters after attending a Barisan Nasional BN supreme council meeting at the Putra World Trade Centre here

“They came on Wednesday evening to say there must be somebody representing MCA. So we picked one of the nine guys who was willing to go ” he added Dr Chua clarified that the MCA did not agree with overseas voting purely because it presented a “logistical nightmare” as considerable resources would have to be devoted to ensure its success.

You all shoud read the comments of Malaysian in reaction to the stupidity of MCA and his President!

Just reading the statement of the MCA president and you will see how little they care about cleaning up the electoral process! OUT of 9 top fellows from MCA only 1 was willing to go and that one turns out to be such an idiot that he managed to get scolded by his MCA boss that is an idiot himself! How can we trust MCA to be our government?!?

Worst still the Star reported today that the Government does not plan to amend the Constitution to enable Malaysians to be registered automatically as voters upon reaching the age of 21.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk V. K. Liew told the Dewan Rakyat Tuesday that this method had its weaknesses and could pose problems if implemented.

He said that due to the high mobility rate, most Malaysians now did not live at the address originally registered in their identity card and did not register the address change.

Another idiot from the government that does not realize that this problems exist weather there is automatic registration or normal registration.

Does the stupid minister thinks that you mobility rate drops after you register yourself normally??

I wonder if the Minister can differentiate the difference between voter registration and updating of addresses?!?

Thankfully there is some people in Malaysia how actually has a brain and knows how to use it! (read the above link)

Speaking of having a brain but not knowing how to use it is none other then Khairy J

Khairy said the company - National Meat and Livestocks Corporation (NMLC) - had RM83 million sitting idle because the NFC production was delayed.

PKR had exposed more documents to show that the NFC had paid RM9.8 million for a unit of the One Menerung condominium in upmarket Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.

Do they leave the money given to the NLMC in a current account that does not bring big returns while waiting for the satellite farms... or do they invest the money and reap some returns while waiting for the delays to be overcome?” said Khairy.

I just love Malaysians reaction to his justification! Please read it here!

Khairy should tell us which bank would lend you a project facility, and later allow you to draw down and utilise/invest the said funds for something that has got no connection whatsoever with that project

In a related development NFC executive chairman Datuk Mohamad Salleh Ismail reportedly said at a press conference on 17 Nov that it bought two condominiums at RM6 9 million and rented them out at RM70 000 a month giving a yield of some 12 9 per cent. However this has been serious doubts over this reports according some property experts.

In another new development, Malaysiakini reported that...

The National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) was able to withdrawn its RM250 million soft loan from the government even before a contract with the government was signed.

This was revealed by Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairperson Azmi Khalid (right) after the committee interviewed several Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Ministry officers today.

“In this case, the money was disbursed in 2009 into a special account which needs the (relevant) ministry’s approval, to be withdrawn for the company’s operations.

“But only after the money was disbursed (in 2009) was the contract signed a year later in 2010,” Azmi told reporters.

I bet this NFC scandal will go unpurnish along with many other serious corruption scandal.

Meanwhile Teoh Beng Hock murderer still goes unpurnish. Just note the MACC investigation related to Teoh Beng Hock was for around RM2,000.00!!!!

This is Malaysian Justice for you!!

Summary of the Auditor General's Report 2010

According to Malaysiakini report, MACC has yet to resolve cases of wrongdoing in government procurement since 2006 where prices were grossly inflated,"

The Auditor-General’s Report 2006 highlighted the case of a technical pen valued at RM160 being bought by the Defence Ministry for RM1,146 and a car jack worth RM50 being bought by the Youth and Sports Ministry for RM1,664.

The following is a list of things highlighted from the 2010 Auditor General's (AG) report. Lets see if the BN govt and the MACC will do anything about this!

1. RM2.57 million was paid to 1,975 pensioners/pension recipients who are deceased!

2. RM462.46 million has been allocated to build and repair the roads from 2005 to 2010 but the roads continue to suffer from structural problems.

3. Kindergartens in Kedah and Kelantan stored dry food in toilets, drawers and store rooms. The report also noted that some of these items were found to have passed the expiry date, were exposed to insects and placed next to chemicals like paint.

4. Defence Ministry refused to take stern action against 10 errant contractors who were awarded contracts worth RM76 million for work delays despite being notified by the Auditor-General’s Office.

The 2010 AG’s Report noted that instead of severely censoring them, the ministry extended their contracts.

5. Prime Minister’s Department overpaid a tupperware supplier by RM5,584 for purchases made for a poverty eradication programme in Terengganu.

6. Six companies, awarded contracts worth RM92.04 million, had only managed to complete 19 out of the 87 clinics as of December 2010.

The ministry is unable to impose the RM3.29 million penalty for the delay because of its failure in issuing a formal notifications.

Due to the delay, the project cost had soared by RM11.27 million and medical facilities worth nearly RM2 million are not utilised till now

7. Soft loan of RM250 million and a 5 000 acre land in Gemas to set up the National Feedlot Centre NFC in 2008 failed to hit its target of breeding 8 000 cattle last year.

Under the 9th Malaysia Plan the centre is expected to produce 60 000 cattle by 2015.

An audit check found production in 2010 was only at 3 289. This project is strongly linked to minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s family

(see here for more details here)

8. The Defence Ministry Mindef overspent its budget by RM23 63 million between 2008 and 2010

The ministry made improper payments that led to the government dishing out an allowance to soldiers who skipped training while failing to pay those who actually attended.

9. RM142 million RazakSAT satellite that malfunctions barely a year after the launched. The satelite took 1328 unusable mapping images that were inaccurate by up to 37km!!

The operational lifespan of RazakSAT is three years But the RazakSAT satellite failed to function fully on August 30 2010 a year and sixteen days from launch date !

10. Mara training centre paid RM25 500 for 150kg of sugar

In addition to that they also made the following purchase!

-an Elba EO-5086 oven with the actual market price of RM419, purchased at RM1,200,

- a Trio TPM-1000 stand mixer was purchased at RM1,200 when its actual market price is RM698,

-a RM100 foldable bed was bought at RM500,

-a RM799 Cornell CSM-PH988S mixer which was purchased for RM1,560,

-Toji International gas stoves at market price of RM59.90 but bought at RM200 per unit,

>> Hair clippers purchased at RM325 each when its actual price is RM165, and

>> Pensonic blenders bought at RM140 each when its actual price is RM60.

Giatmara's main objective is to conduct technical and non-technical skills programmes to help the poor gain a steady income.

A more comprehensive list is here!

11. Tourism Ministry overpaid nearly RM270 million for advertisements

12. Tourisim Ministry also spend RM1 95 million to buy 1 000 racks — RM1 950 per rack — to hold its tourism pamphlets

13. Only two out of 300 computer laboratories for Sabah schools have been constructed since the government began its RM160 73 million project in April 2008

14. The Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry has yet to pay RM110 67 million it owed to more than 70 000 farmers under a scheme to encourage a higher rice production

15. Malaysian Marine Parks Department (JTLM) spent a whopping RM56,350 for a pair of night vision Marine binoculars, 29 times more than its market value of RM1,940.

16. Marine Parks Department also purchased common items like laptops printers DVD players and LCD televisions for RM192 694 when their total value should not have exceeded RM20 193

See more details of their corruption list in the link here!

17. Universiti Malaysia Pahang's seven-year delay in the completion of Phase 1A of its campus in Pekan resulted in an additional of RM22.31 million borne by the government

The report also criticised the poor workmanship of the contractors and questioned the university's decisions which resulted in the delay and extra costs.

18. 23 specially bred horses bought by the National Sports Council (NSC) for equestrian and endurance contests failed to meet criteria set by the Federation Equestre Internationale.

The 23 horses had cost RM5.66 million when bought in 2008 via direct negotiations that did not obtain the Finance Ministry’s approval,

19. National Sport Council has used a big portion of funds allocated for the development of athletes for other purposes.
Of the RM3.65 allocated, RM2.25 million or 61.6 percent was used for advertising in the electronic and print media to promote the main sports.

20. The Health Ministry was ticked off by the attorney-general in his 2010 report for neglecting to collect RM5 million in rental for a Sabah hospital building and neglecting to account for all its equipment.

The ministry was also criticised for neglecting to keep tabs on the RM48.6 million worth of equipment bought from SMC, with some 468 including beds and sofas missing during the audit.

In addition, RM3.8 million worth of equipment purchased from SMC were found to be out of order.

21. RM165.3 million system, which was completed in March 2008, is yet to be put to use, with passengers still not able to collect their bags at KL Sentral.

22. Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) spent a staggering RM770,000 to supply electricity to a single house under its Rural Electricity Supply Project (BELB),

TNB approved a RM65,193 project to supply electricity to five abandoned houses at a village in Bera, Pahang.

23. The 77km Senai-Desaru Highway in Johor found to be a bumpy and faulty because the roadworks that ‘did not meet specifications’.

24. Three districts in Terengganu were found not to have distributed school uniforms and bags to poor children because of a possible hiccup in 2010.

Further, some of the unused school uniforms and bags had been kept in storerooms and found to have been damaged by termites.

25. Sorry state are the sporting facilities at the Kuantan Gymnasium, Rompin Weightlifting Centre of Excellence and athletes' dormitories in Kuantan.

This is despite spending RM9.14 million for sports development from 2008 to 2010.
The report says seats in the gymnasium were covered with a thick blanket of dust, while the roofs leaked and grime filled the toilets.

26. Tourism Malaysia old scandal still unresolved.

27. Probably the worst and scariest of all is this!!

The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) approved loans worth an astounding RM55.1 billion not backed by government guarantees.

However, the Auditor-General’s Report 2010 found only one of the 13 debtors was qualified to obtain a loan without such a guarantee. That particular debtor was extended credit worth RM21.3 billion.

Screwing up our tax money is one thing! But screwing up with our retirement fund is so much worst!!

The urgency to removed BN from power cannot be emphasize more in this area!!

Overall nine federal ministries and departments overspent last year’s overall operational allocation by a total of RM3 73 billion!!!

Lets see if the PAC or MACC will take any action!

Not surprisingly our very own DPM still see nothing too wrong with the AG report!

Let us remember this corruption acts when we go to the ballot boxes!!

Stupid news on Malaysiakini!

I mean I am gonna copy the style of one of my favorite blog.

Today I am highlighting some stupid thinks I have read on Malaysiakini!

1. MCA today called for the abolition of the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) to allow a level playing field for the mainstream media.

(Eh the last I check MCA is still in the govt. So why are they shouting like an opposition party?? Do something about it lah! U had 50 over years to fix this but only now U baru mau buat bising ah! Since they are doing such a good job at talking like the opposition, we should make sure they get the opposition job next election!)

2. Utusan Malaysia has lodged two police reports against Namewee over his tirade against the newspaper and its journalist Fauziah Arof following their criticisms of his latest movie 'Nasi Lemak 2.0'.

I laugh my head off when I read that Utusan legal advisor said that “Namewee's action is seen as (trying to) lowering the dignity of the journalist and Utusan Malaysia as racists, stupid, pulling down the image of the company, and containing extreme accusations and containing profanities,”

You can't destroy someone's reputation if the reputation has already been destroyed in the first place right???

3. The news that took 1st place for being the funniest crap today has got to be Chua Soi Lek reportedly saying...

"I consider myself a winnable candidate anywhere I go," Chua told a press conference at the sidelines of the MCA 58th annual general assembly .

The porn star should put his money where his mouth is and come to Penang and go head to head with Lim Guan Eng! Let see how winnable this arrogant porn star will be in this coming election!!

On a final note! This is a good article to help better understand the hudud law issue which stupid MCA is still barking on! Stop spreading false fear to the people of Malaysia!

BERSIH Demand crucial! (Media freedom!)

One of BERSIH demands is to have a level playing field when it comes to the mass media. Most right thinking Malaysian will admit that this is not the case in Malaysia. And if you need prove of how paranoid the govt is in terms of controlling the mass media, you only have to see today's news.

1. An episode of Media Prima-owned television station ntv7's Chinese edition of the current affairs programme, Siasat, which is aired every Thursday, was barred from being aired last night.

No explanation was given for the sudden decision to take this particular episode, titled "I want to go to school", off the air.

An old episode of the 30-minute Siasat series was aired during the time slot for the award-winning programme, which is 11.30 every Thursday night.

The Siasatproduction team announced the change on its Facebook page last night, without giving any explanation.

Some Facebook users suspect the reason to be political interference or media control.

An ntv7 source told Malaysiakini, that the team received a directive from the TV station's "higher authorities" on Wednesday, saying the documentary "I want to go to school" should not be aired.

They gave no reason, the source added.

He believes that the episode may have been deemed "harmful to Sabah's image", since it explores the plight of Sabah's native races in the areas of education and poverty, as well as touches on the shortage of electricity and water supplies in the state.

He added that this particular episode has also faced problems with the Censorship Board, and the producers had been forced to edit out some content. Yet, it could not escape the 'don't screen it' order.

Another source said it was not difficult to imagine the ban on the "I want to go to school" segment of the Siasat series because it touched on "sensitive issues".

On the SiasatFacebook page, the production team said this episode tries to reflect on the relative slow development in Sabah and Sarawak, despite the two states having joined Malaysia 48 years ago.

The team says: "For the last decade and more, Sabah remains the poorest state. In terms of education, 21 percent of Sabahans never receive education.

"What kind of future these children will have? Why there is sharp wealth inequality in the town and rural areas of Sabah? Let us reflect this on question as we celebrate Malaysia Day."

Malaysiakini made several attempts to contact ntv7's Chinese news

2. The authorities must explain why local stations have been directed not to air a non-partisan video encouraging the public to register as voters, Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar says.

“I am disturbed after reading the news that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) directed local broadcasters this week to not use the Undilah public service announcement (PSA) that was produced by Pete Teo and launched on Hari Malaysia,” she said in a statement today.

Nurul Izzah (right), who was one of the participants in the video clip that also featured BN politicians such as Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong (below), said this contradicted with the government leaders' claims that Malaysia was the “world's best democracy”.

“At a time when those leading the country clamour about making Malaysia the 'best democracy' in the world, actions taken by entities like MCMC clearly undermine such efforts and belittle the intelligence of Malaysians,” said the MP who is also a PKR vice-president.

She maintained that the PSA was a rally cry for Malaysians to register as voters to strengthen the country's democratic process.

“It is meant to rouse the democratic spirit of all Malaysians, regardless of political leanings.

“I call on the MCMC to clarify its orders to local broadcasters regarding this PSA, and in fact I urge MCMC to reverse its order and promote the video as a step to strengthening the democratic practice in our beloved country,” said Nurul Izzah.

A news website reported today that MCMC had in an email this week directed Astro and Media Prima Bhd not to air the PSA, as it featured opposition politicians as well as Tengku Razaleigh referring to problems the country was facing.

'MCMC must be non-partisan'

Tengku Razaleigh opens the four-and-a-half minute video saying, “Malaysia is a beautiful country, but there are many problems. I don't need to talk about them. We know what these problems are.

“What I do want to say is, Malaysia's future is in our hands. So if you haven't registered to vote, please do so as soon as possible...

“Remember, whatever happens, Malaysia is your country, this is our country, she has many problems. Malaysia needs us."

It also features Deputy Health Minister Rosnah Abd Rashid Shirlin (right in photo), DAP Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua, PAS Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad and PKR Seri Setia assemblyperson Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, along with artistes such as Namewee and Afdlin Shauki.

Nurul Izzah reminded MCMC that it was an independent body that should remain non-partisan in carrying out its duties.

“Let not MCMC's independence be subject to the political machinations of an archaic and dogmatic minister, who is lost in the undercurrents of partisan politics and quite out of touch with the latest developments in Malaysia's political scene,” she said.

On Malaysia Day on Sept 16, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak claimed that he wouldrepeal the draconian Internal Security Act to make Malaysia the best democracy in the world

Among the reforms he announced includedamendments to the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA), which has been seen as the biggest obstacle to media freedom in the country.

Meanwhile, polls watchdog Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) has called the ban on the advertisement as illogical as it is against the government's democratic pledge.

Bersih 2.0 steering committee member A Subramaniam Pillay, describing the video's withdrawal as defying logic, said it contradicted Najib's efforts to call for greater democracy.

“It seems as though the PM is doing something and then someone else is doing something else. The decision to ban the video completely is opposed to the prime minister's efforts for greater democracy and political liberalisation,” Subramaniam said.

“It also defies logic, as the Undilah video is seen as non-partisan.”

Another Bersih steering committee member, Maria Chin Abdullah, said the video encouraged people to register as voters, while her colleague, Arul Prakkash, said the video merely voiced a basic right of the people.

“If this is sensitive to the media, then when election time approaches, even the word undilah (vote) would be banned,” Arul quipped.