Three different entities are said to be eyeing the north-south highway cash-cow.
I was paying only casual attention while Najib droned on over the radio when tabling his Budget in Parliament yesterday.
But my ears pricked up when he mentioned a “second wave of privatisation”.
The Bernama headline says it all: ‘Companies Under MOF Inc And Other Viable Agencies To Be Privatise’ (sic).
Why only the viable agencies? Is this going to be more of “privatisation of profits and socialisation of losses” – at the expense of the Malaysian public?
The first thing that crossed my mind was: which cash cow is going to be handed over to which crony now? Don’t tell me they are going ahead with plans to privatise cash cow Plus Expressways Bhd, which is owned by Khazanah (24 per cent directly and 40 per cent indirectly).
Now this is alarming: not only is the 18km tolled Penang Outer Ring Road back on the cards again, the concessionaire is reportedly seeking to reclaim 61ha of land off Gurney Drive and 142ha at Middle Bank, close to the Weld Quay jetties.
When it comes to taking a stand on Porr, is there much to separate the BN from the Pakatan state government?
