Duit Deposit Bazar Ramadan Sudah Di Telan Buaya

• traders demanded refund of rental deposits 
• now Ramadan Bazaar cancelled
• unhappy deposits carried forward to next year
• why should rental deposits be locked up for a year 
• to deny traders money pathetic, despicable, corrupt
• PM Muhyiddin should be ashamed 
• minister trying to cheat poor traders
• Minister's minions already split money, spent it
• impossible to fully refund back to traders

This is adapted from Finance Twitter here

Minister  Should Stop Trying To Cheat Poor Ramadan Bazaar Traders’ Deposit Money

After insisting Ramadan bazaars wont be cancelled, Minister no choice but to ban it

As early as March 31,  Minister arrogantly said – “Just because Singapore no bazaars does not mean we say same thing.”
 then Negeri Sembilan first state to cancel Ramadan bazaar 

state of Terengganu followed suit

By April 2, Melaka, Kedah, Selangor cancel all Ramadan bazaars 

By April 14, almost all states banned Ramadan bazaars

but different story at federal government.

federal government still considering options

very keen to have Ramadan bazaars

• Ministers boys sold permits to traders in 66 locations in KL, Putrajaya
• minister convinced he could bulldoze the event
• His ministry reportedly planned to meet hawker associations to finalise stalls 

then on April 16 Minister finally threw in towel

no Ramadan bazaars in FT in any form this year 

yearly Ramadan bazaar provides opportunity for cronies to make killing

in March Minister revealed 66 locations could accommodate 50 stalls each

The calculator says that would be 3,300 permits up for grab

But the story of cash cow has just begun

Last year DBKL stubbornly wanted to be in charge of 2019 Ramadan bazaar

former FT Minister Khalid Samad exposed the reason

rental per lot RM500, could be "resold" for RM30,000 (depending on location) 

after going through chain of "rent-seekers"

DBKL, with UMNO parasites, middle men, would resell permit
 3,300 permits could fetch as much as RM99 million in free cash 

Even at RM2,000 a piece, 3,300 lots could fetch RM6.6 million

• traders have demanded refund of their deposits 
• now Ramadan Bazaar is officially cancelled.
• traders unhappy rental deposits carried forward to next year
• why should traders’ rental money be locked up for a year 
• to deny traders their rightful money is pathetic, despicable and corrupt
• PM Muhyiddin should be ashamed minister trying to cheat poor traders
• Minister's minions had already split money and spent it
• impossible to fully refund back to traders

My comments :  

I will have to write about the Bazaar Ramadan corruption in another post. 

1.  Here is some personal history.  The Bazaar Ramadan corruption  has been going on for about 30 years now and I have been personally involved in fighting it for over 15 years. First through the Majlis Bertindak Kawasan Masjid India of which I was Deputy Chairman. Dato Ameer Ali Mydin of Mydin Supermarkets is still the Chairman.

Secondly when I was an Advisor to the MACC I wrote and presented a paper to the MACC (I have never spoken about this before) about the Bazaar Ramadan corruption. (Folks, there was nothing the MACC did not know already.)  As a result of my paper an investigation was launched by the MACC and I believe one fellow was arrested and sent to a short term in jail. (The fellow is now back to his old haunts). However, this was just a kuchi rat fellow. The real, real culprits were and still are inside the DBKL but I had not enough details to name any of them. 

2.  There is another part to this story that I would like to share with you. 

I joined Bersatu a few months after it was set up. I was reluctant. (Events that have unfolded have since proven my reluctance). Anyway just a few days after I joined Bersatu (which went "viral' via Facebook) I received a message from Dr Mahathir's office asking what role I would like to play in Bersatu. At that time my other friends who joined Bersatu  went straight into the supreme council.

I declined. Maybe one day I will explain my reluctance.  I did not want to be active in Bersatu.

But I did do something else. Long before the May 2018 elections - during one of my meetings with Tun Dr Mahathir - I asked Tun Dr Mahathir that if we won the General Elections I would like to be the Datuk Bandar or Mayor of Kuala Lumpur.

I have plenty of ideas on how to move Kuala Lumpur at par with Singapore or Tokyo or Amsterdam or any of the other great cities around the world.  And at least cost to the taxpayer.  It is called "creating new wealth". Standard Six primary school stuff. 

Plus I knew how to get rid of the corruption in BDKL. Arrest them, jail them but more importantly reorganise the management structure, physically re-locate certain services and completely revamp the public interphases (reduce opportunity for corruption).

I have some ideas about the Sungai Kelang and the Sungai Gombak. They are worth hundreds of billions of Ringgit in tourism, business and property development.  I have written something about  this in my first book "To Digress A Little" (2005).   

Dr Mahathir agreed with my request but being Dr Mahathir he added a proviso. 

Dr Mahathir told me  "Well if you want to be Mayor then you better work hard and make sure that we win the elections".

That is what he said.   

Which I did. I worked 24/7 to help Dr Mahathir win.

My biggest contributor was my blog which received tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands of hits. To push for Dr Mahathir's win and to neutralise UMNO propaganda. 

But I worked plenty in the background as well. 

Yes I do know many people.

A few examples. I was able to secure the endorsement of the trade union people to back up Dr Mahathir.  

I spoke to the Christian organisations and arranged a meeting with Dr Mahathir which they attended. The trust deficit was high but I believe the Christian groups and the churches helped Dr Mahathir win.

Then the Hindraf folks called me and I met up with YB Waythamoorthy. 

They wanted to support Dr Mahathir. 

They had done plenty legwork among the Indians. 

Pakatan Harapan had no independent Indian party. 

I agreed that Hindraf could fill this void. 

So I put together meetings between YB Waythamoorthy and Tun Dr Mahathir. 

And with others as well. 

For reasons best known to Dr Mahathir, that first meeting with YB Waythamoorthy was also attended by the late Tan Sri Sanusi Junid - who speaks Tamil and who was a member of some Tamil WhatsApp groups !! 

Tan Sri Sanusi's advise to the Hindraf (in Tamil) was this : "Thaniya tenna maram tho-ppa ahaathu" which means "A lonely coconut tree cannot become a plantation".

Meaning the Hindraf must learn to cooperate with other people. 

True enough the Hindraf was able to swing many Indian votes towards Dr Mahathir.

The rest is now history. We won, "they' started going up and then they crashed.

Well closer towards the elections I was getting really uncomfortable with Dr Mahathir's cooperation with PKR and Amanah.  Yes it was for the sake of convenience but  leopards cannot change their spots. And I have since been proven right, correct,  on the dot, betul, benar  and spot on.

Dr Mahathir won. I had done my part. 

But on Election Night I did not attend the victory celebrations at the Sheraton Hotel in Petaling Jaya.  I completely stayed away. Some folks wondered why I did not attend. 

Things started going south immediately.

The PAS - Amanah OWR Khalid Samad got appointed as Minister of the FT. 

De facto "mayor of KL" as well.  I knew for a certainty then that Dr M would not be calling me to be mayor of KL. 

Also I had never stopped criticising Brader Rear Admiral who was released from jail and was crowing around the kampong.  So it would be awkward for me to be in government with them. End of mayorship. 

I found out later that Dr Mahathir "may" have considered another appointment for me but I really don't know. I really cannot work with the donkeys. 

And then I had already begun criticising the Pakatan government, including Dr Mahathir. 

I want to say this - so far I still have my principles. 

If it is right I will support it. 

If it is not right then I cannot support it. 

Simple. And lets keep it simple.

Now, my foresight has been proven by hindsight. 

And the Pakatan has been kicked out.

I am just so glad that I did not join actively in Bersatu or join the government. 

Tons of crap has happened in Pakatan.  

And is still happening now.

I never expected Semburit getting his dick waxed in a Sandakan hotel.

Yet he was still being protected by Dr Mahathir.

In 1998 the Rear Admiral was kicked out, also for the same reasons (plus others). 

And Semburit was a real dick in his job.

He does not know what he is saying.

Plus  Dr Mahathir became a complete U-Tun.

He would not deliver any of the promises in the Manifesto.

They 'abolished' the Sedition Act and then they put it back again.

What the ...

Plus the Cabinet was so retarded. 

Remember that moron Minister of Education?

Reducing the voting age to 18? 

Punyalah bodoh.

And there were ZERO economic reforms. 

Business "as usual".

Remember that 'hidup balik' ECRL deal?

Now at RM60 Billion !!

I cannot support this type of incompetence, stupidity and corruption.

This is also treachery (pengkhianat negara) and treason (durhaka).