Hello YB Rafizi, Menteri Economic Affairs so Syed Mokhtar masih pegang monopoli beras atau tidak? Jangan cakap belit-belit. Cakap terus-terang. Just answer Yes or No. Can you please do that? Or you cannot?

1.  Mula sekali sila baca Permadu Malaysia tulis pasal :   '..will not be able to justify why he appointed Tengku Zafrul"

Memang pun dulu Tengku Zafrul kena kutuk pasal dia Menteri Kewangan yang incompetent (dungu, tak tahu buat kerja). 

Dan memang betul Tengku Zafrul pun kalah di kerusi Parlimen Kuala Selangor. Kalah kepada Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad, parti Amanah. Tetapi Pelik bin Ajaib, walaupun kalah Tengku Zafrul dilantik semula sertai Kabinet, menjadi Menteri MITI, Menteri yang agak 'besar' juga. 

Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad yang menang kerusi Parlimen Kuala Selangor pula kena duduk di rumah. Tak dapat jawatan Kabinet apa pun. 

 

2. Begitu juga dia defend perlantikan Zahid Hamidi jadi TPM dan ahli Kabinet. Dia kata Zahid boleh jadi TPM dalam Kabinet sebab Zahid :

i.  not guilty yet (pasal kes mahkamah masih berjalan, belum diputuskan)
ii. Zahid chairman BN-lah bla bla bla.

Ok kalau macam itu then why before the election you kutuk Zahid for the same reasons? If Zahid is not guilty today, that means yesterday he was even more not guilty.  But before the elections you DID NOT SAY Zahid is 'still innocent, not guilty yet'. You are only saying it now.

Similarly BEFORE the elections, Zahid was already the chairman of BN. And he was president of Umno. Yet Zahid was NOT a member of the Cabinet. Under Ismail Sabri he was not even appointed Minister of Lembu and Kambing. But now he is DPM. 

Then there is this quite strange news: 

3.  Syed Mokhtar Bukhari and the rice monopoly

Monday, 05 Dec 2022

he spoke to tycoon Syed Mokhtar about rice import monopoly through Bernas 

he “reprimanded” the billionaire, but stopped short of revealing details 

vowed his top priorities to break existing monopolies by politically-connected elites

I spoke to Syed Mokhtar, he has been reprimanded, he monopolises rice imports

“He must know that this import permit is not a concession and not a form of reward for him, but instead given to Bernas"

• Bernas controls 30.6% of local rice market 
• imports rice from Thailand, Myanmar according to The Edge
• Syed Mokhtar holds 92% of Bernas through 4 companies
• 2014 BN admitted in Parliament Syed Mokhtar given rice import monopoly
  
• Bernas’ previous shareholders Shahidan Kassim sold his stake for RM400m

suggested govt could review permit given to Bernas

I know Syed Mokhtar would still have to recoup (the cost to buy Bernas) 

I want to state my vow that govt .. will no longer permit monopolies of wealth by politicians who with such ease suck the blood of poor paddy farmers

“But right now, we cannot burden Syed Mokhtar until we can look at his profits and if the turnover is acceptable,” he said.

My Comments :

In just a few short sentences there are so many U turns, flip flops, gostan, 180 degrees, back-flips, back-pedalling, reverse gear. First he said this :

I spoke to Syed Mokhtar, he has been reprimanded, he monopolises rice imports

“He must know that this import permit is not a concession and not a form of reward for him, but instead given to Bernas"

I want to state my vow that govt .. will no longer permit monopolies of wealth by politicians who with such ease suck the blood of poor paddy farmers

My Comments : Ok that is the good stuff. The green light to go after the monopolies. Then come the back-flips and the U turns:

govt could review permit given to Bernas

Syed Mokhtar would still have to recoup (the cost to buy Bernas) 

“But right now, we cannot burden Syed Mokhtar until we can look at his profits / turnover is acceptable” he said.

My Comments :

• Could review permit? Maybe will review? Insya Allah will review permit?
• Syed Mokhtar would have to recoup the cost to buy Bernas?
• "we cannot burden Syed Mokhtar" ??
• until we look at his profits / turnover is acceptable??
  

What the hell is this? 

Hello Rafizi Menteri of Economic Affairs can you just give us a simple Yes or No answer?

Will Syed Mokhtar still have the rice import monopoly? Yes or No? Jangan cakap belit-belit.

If Yes then for how much longer?

If No then when will the monopoly be abolished?

"until we look at his profits / turnover is acceptable??"

Hello YB Rafizi Menteri of Economic Affairs, I think your boss does not understand economics or business.

33 million Malaysian people have been paying higher prices for rice ever since the government started interfering in the rice market (since the 1990s). 

Now with the Bernas monopoly some grades of rice (especially long grain basmathi) are more expensive in Malaysia than in Singapore. Or even in Australia. 

Now 33 million Malaysian consumers have to continue paying high prices for rice "until we look at his profits / turnover is acceptable".

Why so? Because

• Syed Mokhtar would have to recoup the cost to buy Bernas
• "we cannot burden Syed Mokhtar"

Likwise if Syed Mokhtar paid Shahidan Kassim or whoever millions to buy the stake in Bernas that is his problem. Why should 33 million Malaysians pay for Syed Mokhtar to recoup the cost to buy Bernas?

Syed Mokhtar bought Bernas in 2014 because it was a monopoly. If Bernas was NOT a monopoly would Syed Mokhtar have bought it? I dont think so.  He knew exactly what he was buying. 

Surely Bernas must have made profits over the past eight years. It is a monopoly. Over the eight years none of those profits were shared with 33 million Malaysian consumers. (By way of lower prices).

So why should 33 million Malaysians continue to pay for his monopoly  so that Syed Mokhtar can 'recoup his cost to buy Bernas' or until  'his profits / turnover is acceptable'.

Banyak cantik! This is called talking through your @$$.

 

So YB Rafizi, Menteri Economic Affairs - makna kata Syed Mokhtar masih pegang monopoli impot beras atau tidak? Jangan cakap belit-belit. Cakap terus-terang.  Just answer Yes or No. Can you please do that? Or you cannot?

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.