AES : RM700 Million Compensation For Chicken Sh*t Advisor?

 

It would cost RM166 million only to install 831 AES cameras in New York City !! 

First you bid or negotiate for a controversial project. Or it can even be a non controversial project. Bid for it, negotiate for it or whatever. Then get it cancelled. Or transferred to the Gomen. After that make sure you collect compensation from the Gomen. Tak payah niaga pun. Just collect the cash up front.

OutSyed the Box 

Here is more news about the troubled AES. Unfortunately (for him) Hishamuddin Hussein now has to handle this AES matter.  To be fair to Hisham, he has only recently been appointed the acting Minister of Transport. Here is the news :

RM150 fine for new AES summonses

• summonses under the (AES) will carry fine RM150 said Hishammuddin 
• increase to maximum RM300 if the offender delays settling 
• Two concessionaires – Beta Tegap S/B & ATES S/B – awarded contract 
• Taking over would be AES Solution SB, under MOF Inc. 
• “..taking over assets, liabilities & system...we will have to pay compensation” 
• due diligence would be conducted by a third party
• independent auditor to evaluate worth of companies 
• Under my watch, nobody is going to profit from this (take-over)
• two companies spending RM300mil & RM400mil each 
• including 831 cameras nationwide
• began operations on Sept 23 last year with 14 cameras 
• nationwide installation expected to be completed this year

Hisham says  "Under my watch, nobody is going to profit from this (take-over)".

Well I think this may be a little too late bro.  

First of all you know that too many people know that the two companies (Beta Tegap SB and ATES SB) are linked to the close "Advisor".  Its t hat chicken sh*t fellow again. 

Secondly these people are not stupid. Their profit has already been built into that RM700 million figure mentioned above (RM300mil &RM400mil each). Dari awal lagi depa dah kira untung dah. They were not born yesterday.

This will become like that Crooked Bridge project under Badawi. The project was cancelled by Badawi. Jambatan tak siap but the 'promoters' were paid compensation of a few hundred million Ringgit. 

Folks, this is a very good business model.  You dont even have to go through the hassle of running the business. Buat apa nak susah-susah sangat? Just collect your cash compensation up front.

First you bid or negotiate for a controversial project. Or it can even be a non controversial project. Bid for it, negotiate for it or whatever. Then get it cancelled. Or transferred to the Gomen. After that make sure you collect compensation from the Gomen. Tak payah niaga pun. Just collect the cash up front.

This is what happened to the Jambatan Bengkok in Johor. Now this AES project will also get paid hefty compensation. Maybe RM700 Million - at least. 

Why do I say RM700 Million? Ini fitnah ke? Well read again :  "two companies spending RM300mil &  RM400mil each". That is RM700 million for 831 cameras nationwide. 

Folks, this also means RM700 million / 831 cameras = RM842,000 per camera (on average or purata or mean). Please correct me if I am wrong. 

Of course this includes not just the cameras but the infrastructure, control rooms, data storage banks, computers, printers, staffing, etc etc.  But it still works out to RM842,000 per camera because there are 831 cameras that will be photographing us throughout the country. I think it is too damn expensive. 

The question is have the two companies Beta Tegas and ATES already spent all of that RM700 million? 

According to Hisham the installation of the 831 cameras will be completed this year. 

Well this is already mid September. Only another three months left before the year is over. So I am sure they have spent the bulk of the RM700 million. Also since no "stop work" order has been issued, I am sure they must continue installing the remaining 831 cameras.

And folks, you must factor project completion versus start up of project operations. The system is a brand new system and not fully operational yet.  This is not like calculating compensation for a 15 year old power plant where depreciation, wear and tear and actual cashflows can be factored in by the independent auditors. This AES is a brand new installation that has not even started functioning fully.  

Therefore the compensation may be paid based on actual invoices.  The billing will be according to the project cost originally negotiated with the Gomen. This means RM700.0 million (or maybe more if they factor in lost profits). 

But this was the point of contention wasnt it? The concern from the very beginning was that this project was grossly overpriced. The concern was that project costs had been hiked up. 

And Hisham, please make sure if they say 831 cameras, then all 831 cameras are really installed ok. Plus the requisite infra, equipment, staffing, stationery etc. Jangan pula Gomen bayar penuh tapi depa pula have emptied the shelves and store rooms - tinggal kosong saja. Be careful. 

Will the due diligence to be conducted by Hisham have the leeway "to determine" a fair price of the individual components of the entire AES system? Or will the due diligence simply confirm that yes they have delivered as per contract with the Gomen? Meaning RM700 Million will be paid - and with profit already built in. 

Now here comes the shocker. Here is something about the cost of installing AES type traffic surveillance cameras in the USA.  

All over America and England, and, no doubt, in a great many other countries all over the world, a growing number of local police departments have begun relying upon high-tech surveillance cameras to not only monitor traffic conditions and protect homeland security, but also to "catch" automobile drivers who drive too fast or go through red lights. (According to some estimates, defense contractor Lockheed Martin installed and operates approximately 80 percent of these cameras, and receives as much as 50 percent of each ticket as payment.)

AES camera in New York City

These cameras are very expensive. Most cost US$60,000 each (RM200,000); some cost as much as US$90,000 each (RM300,000). In New York City, there are already 150 traffic cameras in operation. That is to say, USD$9 million (RM30 million) has already been spent on creating an infrastructure for the video surveillance of automobile traffic."   -    You can read more here. 

So in New York City, it cost them USD9 Million or RM30 Million to install 150 cameras. 

Using my RM14.00 high tech solar powered Citizen calculator which I bought at Mydin and calling upon my American university education, if I expand this figure for 831 cameras it would be something like :

(831 / 150) x RM30 Million = RM166 Million only !!!   

It would cost RM166 million only to install 831 AES cameras in New York City !!

Of course this would be INSIDE the City of New York - among the most expensive cities in the entire world.  Much, much more expensive than say Kuala Kangsar, Batu Pahat, Butterworth or Kuala Lumpur where the 831 AES cameras will be installed.

If the cameras were installed OUTSIDE New York City, say along the Interstate 95 Highway which runs from Maine, through New York State all the way down south to Miami in Florida, then of course the cost may be even cheaper. 

Ok the figures I quoted for New York are a few years old. But I think the prices of tech products would have gone down over time - they always do. 

And in the age of WiFi and (already outdated) Radio Base Stations (RBS) you dont even need hardwiring. Everything is instantly online. And cheaper. Transmitting a terabyte of data today is much cheaper than say 10 years ago. The I Phone of 2013 has a 1000 times more computing power than the computer of 10 years ago. Isnt this the 21st century?

So why are we paying RM700 million to install 831 AES cameras in Malaysia when it would cost 4.2 times less in New York City? Is Malaysia 4.2 times more expensive than New York?

So I hope Hishamuddin gets the independent auditors to do a really honest job when they do the due diligence on the compensation for the AES. The chicken sh*t has to stop somewhere.