On EPF's Purchase of Duke, National Debt, Overturning Dr Mahathir's Reforms And Such - By our Editorial Consultant

By our Editorial Consultant:

Dear Syed:

There is a bit of write up in Star Biz (30/9/'16) on page 3 on EPF defending their purchase of DUKE.  lt says it is subject to DUKE giving same return ass EPF's investment in other highways. 

The question is how come now only EPF is doing its due diligence, after agreeing on the purchase price?  

lf nobody complained, we won’t know what would happen.  Can the depositors still trust the EPF management with their money?  EPF does due diligence after agreeing on the purchase price?  Its a big joke.  This is how MO1 runs the government?

l just read a comment on EPF's purchase of DUKE where Hisham's brother holds 15% of DUKE.  Before this, MRCB  a subsidiary of EPF sold 30% for a much lower price in 2014.  

And now EPF is buying back 40% at over RM1billion. 

Surely it is better for EPF to enter into an interim agreement and ask to do the due diligence and after that only announce the agreed price.  After the due diligence  EPF can make a final decision and explain why its own subsidiary (MRCB) sold DUKE shares cheaper and now EPF is buying the same shares at a higher price.

l believe MO1 via "our friend" (the mamak fellow) wanted to ste_l cash from EPF but the management objected. So they thought up this scheme, thinking people will forget that MRCB sold out earlier at a much cheaper price.  

These are all the che_ting that is going on.  

Before this, Khazanah sold TNB shares and brought in over RM1billion.  

And government decided this year not to contribute to the pension fund.  

And more lands in Wilayah Persekutuan are being sold to bring in cash.  

These are for their war chest.  

ln the past, privatised projects cannot be sold as these were given to parties who put up proposals and they have the expertise to do and complete the job.  Why does the government now allow these parties to sell?

Tan Sri S.K. (former KSU of MOF) mentioned a lot of reforms after Tun Mahathir left.  Obviously, those reforms did not last long.   ln most cases, due to failure to implement or interference from the powers that be.  

Corruption is so rampant  that we are now number two in the world.  MACC can’t do its work without interference and an AG can be retired on false pretenses. Civil servants who head ministries openly stole money.  So which of Dr Mahathir's reforms have not been overturned? 

A lot of agencies have been created with all kinds of strange names and those heading them are paid huge salaries.   And EPU which Tan Sri S.K. once headed has been by passed in favour of foreign consultants, for whose services  the government paid RM7 billion - according to MO1 himself.

As if we don’t have officers to help our government with economic planning? Surely our officers know our country and our needs better than foreigners.  Our civil servants now number 1.6 million.  During Tan Sri S.K's time, we reduced their numbers through privatisation and froze new recruitment. And there was no pension for new officers to discourage them joining the civil service.  

On the national debt, why do we compare with other countries that are worse off than us?  The policy to have growth for the sake of growth and borrow to achieve that growth is silly. And worse, the growth does not help the poor and the rural people because the cost of living is high and household debt is very very high too. The average people can’t live on their incomes. And the GST makes things worse.  

He said he is worried about extremism and racial issues.  He forgot that Najib introduced the '1 Malaysia' slogan but now under pressure of losing the elections, Najib is getting close to PAS.  Surely the problems of 1MDB and the loss of support from the people has pushed him to change course and put the country in a dangerous direction just to make sure his future is safe. So he bribed his supporters in UMNO.  

Tan Sri S.K. would have read WSJ and all the international papers and reports on foreign TV channels about 1MDB and Najib.  It appears that to them,  1MDB and Najib are not serious issues. lf corruption is not serious and DOJ’s document talks of ‘stealing’, then what exactly is serious for them?  Does Tan Sri S.K. support a PM that DOJ has clearly implicated  in the 1MDB scandal?

Where have Petronas' dividends and taxes gone ?  Government just wasted them.  

There is too much corruption and wastage  yet few have been charged in court.  Surely we want a government free of corruption and our institutions to function without interference from the executive. 

The PM can’t just sack or remove any officer that PM thinks threatens his position.  We must reform the system so we really practice good governance and not just talk to bluff Malaysians and foreigners.  We must practice good governance. 

l read again his comment and l get the impression he is defending someone.