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Jelutong Expressway: Lingering questions

Anil Netto
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10

The 5km-Jelutong Expressway still poses a couple a niggling questions.

This RM 700m expressway, orginally estimated to cost RM300m, later rising to RM370m or more, was supposedly built “free of charge” – with no toll imposed on motorists – under a privatisation exercise mooted in 1997.

But at what cost to Penang?

The valuable rights to the reclamation of close to 300 acres 325 acres of prime sea-front land, in addition to existing land – making a total of some 330 355 acres, later apparently increased to 368 acres  – were handed over to IJM in return for the ‘free’ highway.

And, for good measure, a loan was reportedly given – was it RM33 million? How thoughtful.

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PICC: Political motive or genuine concern?

Anil Netto
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41

More on the Penang International Convention Centre.

Tan Seng Hai, the person spearheading a petition expressing concern about the PICC, sent the following letter to The Star – but it apparently has not been published.

I refer to the report “Council will announce successful bidder of PICC, says CM” (Sunday Star, 14 March 2010) in which Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was quoted as saying critics of the PICC have their “own political motives and agenda behind their criticisms”.

I do not belong to any political party and have no affiliation to any organisations. I initiated the on-line petition against building the PICC on my own initiative out of love for Penang and in the hope that the Penang State Government will do the right thing and do it right.

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Why are the Orang Asli protesting?

Anil Netto
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19

Some 2,000 Orang Asli have protested today in Putrajaya while 12,000 have signed a memorandum.

It’s all to do with the government’s proposed Orang Asli land policy, which one analyst has decribed as a recipe for planned poverty.

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KT stadium collapse: Where does the buck stop?

Anil Netto
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23

All parties contributed to the collapse of the roof of the RM270 million Kuala Terengganu stadium last June – but no single party was found to be totally responsible.

Or at least that’s what the official investigation report on the collapse says.

The principal architect, Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah Raja Ahmad of Senibahri Architect, was reported as saying he was never involved in the detailed structural design or supervision of the stadium’s roof: he claims the main contractor had got another consultant to work on a detailed design of the roof. According to him, his engineers had expressed their concern on four occasions to the PWD over the flaws they discovered in the structure.

A notice has been issued to the contractor to repair the 50,000-seat Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium – the biggest in the East Coast – but no response so far.

So if no single party is totally responsible, where does the buck stop and who will bear the penalties for this sheer waste of public funds (probably derived from the state’s oil royalties – or whatever you call them)?

Meanwhile, the Terengganu government is unable to say if the stadium is safe even after the debris from the 2,500-tonne roof has been cleared as the impact of the collapse is not known.

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George Town going to the birds

Anil Netto
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19

Did you know that swiftlet breeders, eyeing the lucrative edible nests market, have taken over 8.3 per cent of some 3,500 pre-war buildings in George Town?


Photos show the interior of a converted house, the installation of a compressor and the bricked up windows at the rear of the building

One concerned George Town resident expresses alarm. This letter was sent to The Star in response to a report but was not published:

I read with interest the article ‘Swiftly growing’ and what Association of Swiftlet Nest Industry(ASNI) president, Carole Loh, had to say about swiftlet farming. It is a very lucrative business indeed but I strongly believe it is best suited to areas where the birds naturally feed, over agricultural or forest areas, or in combination with agriculture, in areas of low population. Ms Loh is totally correct when she says that it is a risky business with an 80 per cent failure rate but the business is becoming much more about technique (than she says) to attract the birds in the first place. There are really no secrets anymore. All the information you need to start a brand new swiftlet breeding house is readily available on the internet, as are the tapes and tunes needed to attract or detract the birds to/from your artificial cave.

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Govt puts off GST Bill – for now

Anil Netto
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30

It’s not surprising that the government has decided to put off the Goods and Services Tax (GST) for now.

While the NGOs might claim preliminary victory (they had planned a protest for Monday, when Parliament resumes) and some might think that the government has listened to the people’s concern, I believe it was the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturer’s objection that probably saved the day.

Five days ago on Tuesday, the FMM’s task force on GST recommended that the tax be deferred until Malaysia was ready (when average income was higher and income disparity lower).

We shouldn’t be too thankful to the FMM though. They very “kindly” suggested that the government consider a Retail Sales Tax instead of a GST – while the corporations continue to enjoy ever-lower tax rates. Gee, thanks!

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Malaysians hit by asset seizure in Zimbabwe

Anil Netto
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24

Who says you need not worry about democracy when investing in a country.

You would probably be bananas if you think that your investments would be safe in an undemocratic country.

These can’t be the smartest of Malaysians to invest in a banana firm in Zimbabwe, ruled by the autocratic Mugabe, that good friend of Mahathir’s.

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Keep an eye on Pharmaniaga

Anil Netto
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15

Interesting developments at Pharmaniaga Bhd, which through a subsidiary was awarded a lucrative concession to manufacture, purchase, store and distribute pharmaceutical and medical products to government hospitals.

The concession to privatise the Government Medical Store was originally awarded in 1994 to a subsidiary of United Engineers (M) Bhd known as Remedi Pharmaceuticals (M) Sdn Bhd. Medicine prices soared after the privatisation.

Remedi  became a subsidiary of Pharmaniaga Berhad in 1999 and was then known as Pharmaniaga Logistics Sdn Bhd.

Last December, Pharmaniaga Bhd revealed that the Public Private Partnership Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department had awarded Pharmaniaga Logistics Sdn Bhd a 10-year extension on its concession. The Privatisation Committee of the PPP Unit would negotiate the new terms and conditions of the privatisation concesion and then propose the outcome to the government for further consideration.

On 3 March 2010, however, the firm dropped a bombshell when it revealed that the Pharmaceutical Services Division of the Health Ministry, following a routine audit, had revoked the manufacturing licence of Pharmaniaga Manufacturing Berhad effective 1 March 2010.

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Pejuang rakyat or peju-wang diri sendiri?

Anil Netto
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7

This is something I wrote in the wake of the defections from PKR of late:

The defections of PKR elected reps are a blow for democracy in Malaysia, but in the long-run they will provide timely lessons for all concerned.

At the last general election, many Malaysians chose to express their disgust with the BN over pervasive corruption, human rights abuses, economic hardship and the politics of divide-and-rule.

No doubt people voted for the party rather than the person, based on certain principles.

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What happened at the Sultan Sulaiman Club

Anil Netto
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19

Here’s some footage of what happened at the Sultan Sulaiman Club in Kampung Baru on 7 March.

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