Of Flash floods, Bloggers, Puspakom and Crude Oil

Ok wow, DSAI won the Permatang Pauh seat, big surprise there. Let's move on, shall we.

KL and Klang Valley was again hit by flash flood. Even after the massive spending on SMART tunnel, it seems that the construction of the tunnel for the sole purpose of deviating rain water has been proven to be ineffective.

Just after the by-election, the latest news is about Malaysia Today to be blocked by all 19 Internet Service Providers in Malaysia. Bloggers are furious claiming that it is breaching the MSC Act of not censoring the Net. Wiki had some issues with falsified claims about personalities but it also had a self-correcting system whereby web users worldwide voluntarily "police" the contents of the site. If bloggers want complete freedom of speech, bloggers must be responsible for what they write and be accountable for it. It says a lot about your character.

With the arrest of 28 Puspakom staff over alleged corruption, it goes to show that Malaysians are willing to pay off everyone and everything to get things moving. No wonder we still have illegal buses operating during the festive seasons with half-drugged drivers with enormous amount of unpaid tickets and fines. The crackdown is commendable and should be continued. Quality staffing for ACA should be increased as I reckon their workload is piling up heavily and it is a matter of time before they begin suffocating with bureaucracy and red tape.

It will be a couple of years to go until Malaysia becomes a net importer of crude oil. What does this translate to us? Definitely less revenue from local production. That is why Petronas continues to invest in hot properties around the world for continued supply and revenue for the Government. However, how long can Petronas become the cash cow for Malaysia? What is the next engine of growth for the country? Palm oil? Services? Manufacturing? Retail? Tourism?

Of Foreign Maids, DOE study, UMNO election and ACA

• The plan by the Terengganu state government to train single mothers as maids is commendable. The State Government needs to think about nationwide deployment of these single mothers and whether an average of RM400-500 per month is sufficient as salary. If these two are not acceptable, then the reliance on foreign maids would likely to increase further.
• In today's STAR, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Enviroment Datuk Maznah Mazlan said that at least 7 out of 184 rivers in the country were classified as highly polluted. Is this really a big surprise to anyone? Isn't it time to report something like "The Ministry is happy to announce that it has completed clean up operations of 15 of the most polluted rivers in the country. The ecotourism in those areas have been restored and are now generating almost RM1M a year thanks to local retail entrepreneurs and tour guides". Singapore has generated massive income form Boat Qui and other strategic river bank locations from ecotourism, retail and F&B. Perhaps Kuching's river side should also be a model or Charles river in Boston, MA.
• There's a strong contention for the post of Kota Tinggi UMNO Division Chief (incumbent is Datuk Seri Syed Hamid). Syed Hamid trails by 7 nominations behind his challenger Daeng Malek.
• Since ACA is now investigating Monsoon Cup and the crystal mosque in Terengganu, should it also investigate the sale of MV Augusta for Euro 1 (subsequently sold to both BMW and Harley Davidson for a combined Euro 160M). I wonder if ACA has enough funds and staffing to handle these big cases given the pressure from public to expedite these investigations.
  

Terengganu MB prefers Mercedes (update 8)

Update 8 (27/7): Excos were seen using the mercs less the visitors, despite instructions from numero uno. So far, 9 have been questioned by ACA regarding the high maintenance costs incurred for the Perdana V6 fleet.

Update 7 (26/7): Now Datuk Ahmad Said is requesting ACA to investigate the other 'mega projects' instead of picking on the little cases. Meanwhile, Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin made it clear that the cars used by Terengganu State Executives cost RM542 per year on average for maintenance. Meanwhile, correction for update 6: PM approved the procurement of the cars but not to be used by Excos, only for state visitors. Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh is also considering to file a lawsuit against the Terengganu State Government for producing erroneous figures. State Secretary Datuk Mokhtar Nong apologized for the inaccurate figure, claiming it was a regrettable by a clerk. Dato' Seri Najib is urging Terengganu to consider this case closed.

Update 6 (25/7): PM approved the use of Mercedes for Terengganu MB and State Excos, according to Terengganu MB himself during a press conference today after lunch.

Update 5 (25/7): The Terengganu Exco spent RM1M for the last 4 years to maintain their fleet of Perdana V6 cars (clever attempt to divert attention to the former MB). Meanwhile, the current Exco line up is adamant to use the newly procured Benzs.

Update 4 (24/7): BPR has been mobilized to investigate the procurement of the Merdeces cars and whether proper procedure was followed. Datuk Ahmad Said defended himself by releasing the maintenance expense of the car used by former MB, Dato' Idris Jusoh. The costs of maintenance were allegedly increased by 25% higher than actual for some reason.

Update 3 (24/7): For someone who defied the Prime Minister of Malaysia during the selection of Menteri Besar, I don't think Datuk Ahmad Said really cares what people think about the procurement of the cars. Despite showing the "Surat Pekeliling Perbendaharaan Bil. 1 Tahun 2008", Datuk Shahrir Samad said that all administrators including Menteri Besar are supposed to use the national car. The need for other CKD cars apply for 4-wheel drives for special purposes or other types of vehicles for specific use.

Update 2 (23/7): Cost to maintain Perdana V6 is RM175k.

Update 1 (21/7) : DS Najib to discuss the purchase by Terengganu MB in the next cabinet meeting. " “Saya guna kereta nasional dan Perdana Menteri pun gunakan kereta nasional,” katanya.

After bulldozing his way to MB's office, defying the Prime Minister with the backing of the King himself and demanding the return of royalty money for Terengganu from oil exploration.... his first act as Menteri Besar.....is to purchase Mercedes for fellow exco members. His justification is that Proton cars don't last for more than 2 years. Should he suggest that PM, DPM and cabinet ministers trade-in their V6's to E200s? Syabas Terengganu folks for choosing your distinguished leader! Please let us know when leaders are ready to get some work done.