1MDB-Riza Aziz? Petronas Gas Pipeline? SAPURA Energy to settle debts to vendors? RM8.3 Billion to settle debts of Felda Settlers? - No WHITE PAPER even, or issues outstanding with no real action by government or PM Anwar?

BIG Problems when the government, including the Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, FAILS to deal with issues completely, diverts attention to some aspects ignoring more important questions, and lets time lapse hoping that Malaysians FORGET and move on to other issues... not even a government WHITE PAPER(the government's explanation to the people), Royal Commission of Inquiry(RCI), Parliamentary Investigation,...

 

The problem with Media Reports or Social Media Posts is that Anwar or some other Minister can always later deny it - saying that it was mis-reporting, done by others without their consent/knowledge - that is why we need MEDIA STATEMENTS or OFFICIAL Statements on official government websites issued by Anwar and the Ministers concerned - not some 'aide' or 'secretary', or an official government WHITE PAPER...

 

PETRONAS Gas Pipeline Tragedy - What was shocking was that houses/buildings were permitted to be built so close to such a dangerous(now we know after the accident) Gas Pipelines - where the risk is not just explosion/fire/extreme heat, but also consequence of gas LEAKS that may impact our health. 

To date, the governments have been focused on HELPING the victims, even providing temporary alternative housing whilst they wait for permanent homes. BUT what happened, who is responsible, etc NOT dealt with yet. What will be done to affect future tragedy?

What was NOT addressed?

1 - The current SAFETY standards - was it violated? If yes, how and was it permitted by some government(Federal/State/Local Government)? Is there a need to REVISE the said standards/regulations, after this accident - noting that damage by reason of HEAT occurred at a distance of even about 300 meters or more? Should the gas pipeline security corridors breadth be increased to be at least 500 meters from existing gas pipelines? 

2 - Following this 'mishap', a good government should be concerned for the safety and well being of the people all along this gas pipeline? We cannot wait until other accidents happen - the action should be PROACTIVE actions now - should the government acquire all property/houses/shops/buildings that are less than 500 meters away from these gas pipelines, meaning all owners will be given adequate compensation and new land/premises? We cannot just IGNORE this, and hope that there will be no more gas pipeline explosions in the future? Is there any LRT, KTM Rail or even roads that are now above or near these pipelines - ROW(Right of Way) may be the justification - but remember the HEIGHT of these fires, and the distance HEAT damage was suffered. These are not gas pipelines that supply gases to homes like in some countries, but HIGH PRESSURED gas pipelines transporting gas to Independent Power Producers, TNB and Gas Malaysia(who apparently then have their own pipelines where they supply gas to certain factories/industrial premises). Different types of gas pipelines in Malaysia, and thus different standards for safety may apply?

3.  After the Bright Sparklers incident, a Royal Commission of Inquiry was held, and there after new laws were enacted - like the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994, and new standards was put in place to ensure SAFETY of not just those in factories/workplaces but also people living close by?  Should we set up a ROYAL COMMISSION OF INQUIRY? Should Parliament set up a Committee to look into the accident - and suggest improvements to standards/laws to better protect the lives and property of Malaysians? 

4.  The Minister who ought to be primarily responsible is the Minister of Housing and Local Government, Nga Kor Ming, or some other - but to date, their responses have been found wanting. 

WHY? No houses/development unless the Local Government approves? No land can be used for commercial or housing without the State Government's approval..

No RIGHT OF WAY(ROW) activities for the building or pipes, sewage facilities or working close or on the pipelines without the Local Government Approval, and maybe some other departments/Ministries... BUT to date, what caused the accident remains a mystery, and no RESPONSE on revising standards/practices yet?

Nga Kor Meng(Minister of Housing and Local Government) or some Minister should be leading/coordination gas pipeline 'disaster'. - Now, ODDLY no Minister taking the lead, but POLICE, ....?

Pipeline Fires - Investigate, Identify Those Responsible and make sure THEY(not Government) pay for the damages, compensation for Victims?

5. The fire was reported but WHY did it take some time before the gas to be shut off? What is the security of these pipelines - fences/CCTV? Safety mechanisms?

6. Worry also about INSURANCE - some say insurance will not cover these damages to homes? Should not the relevant Minister be looking it - to ensure that consumers are able to get INSURANCE that also covers such gas explosions, land slides, flood and even earthquakes. When a building owner, who still have to pay banks for loans taken suddenly finds himself/herself in a situation where the he believed will cover such losses by reason of damage to the property finds it is not the case... Should not the government ensure that home/building INSURANCE covers all eventualities - or maybe the government should provide such insurance if the private sector refuses.

7. Following this incident, the property value of property close to such gaslines will reasonably DROP. Was the purchaser informed about that dangerous gas pipeline so close to the house he wanted to buy?

SAPURA ENERGY 'BAIL OUT' - allegedly to settle debts of Sapura to Vendors -

RCI for Sapura Energy Bhd RM1.2 Billion Government 'Bail Out'? What caused the Debt? Action against wrongdoers? Public Transparent Speedy Independent

Earlier, in Anwar's premiership, it also used about RM8.3.Billion to write of FELDA Settler's Debts??

FELDA - RM10 Billion Bailout? Clarification needed...'Bailing out FELDA or Settlers?' No explanation how DEBT occurred?

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today rejected Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s claim that the latter had already waived Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) settlers’ billions of ringgit in debt... that would see the majority of the RM8.3 billion amassed by Felda settlers being forgiven. - Malay Mail, 8/7/2023

The issue was WHY did the Felda Settlers end up with such HIGH DEBTS? Did FELDA or the government cause Felda Settlers' debts? Why settle debts of just FELDA settlers but not DEBTS of all other Malaysians too - or even the B40 class? If you BORROWED, and do not have to pay back - would it not create a bad characteristic in people - an irresponsibility? Others involved in small plantations seem to be doing OK, so WHY is FELDA smallholders doing so badly? 

Just settling DEBTS - without proper inquiry/investigation to find out what went wrong that caused the DEBTs in the first place is not DEALING WITH THE PROBLEM. Identify the causes, find out who is responsible(and maybe root him out),... if not the problem will recur and soon there will be billions of debt again - and again the people of Malaysia will have to take out our monies to 'settle debts'.

1MDB Suit - why stop 1MDB attempt to recover RM1.25 Billion from Riza?

Riza Aziz - Still no EXPALANATION from PM Anwar as to why 1MDB dropped the suit? How much 'stolen' has Riza returned to Malaysia? Or is it a 'Raya Gift" to Najib's step son - RM1.25 Billion??

Government 'BAIL OUTS' has been occurring for some time in Malaysia, and it also happened after GE14 when PH was the government. We have 'blindly' accepted this based on 'trust' - but the problem in most cases, was that there was INADEQUATE investigations to identify the 'root causes' for such big losses - no one was BLAMED or made to take responsibility - normally, the blame will lie with the CEO and the Directors of these entities - because they are there to ensure that these 'businesses' are run efficiently and without loss > but then, many are 'political appointee' with little or no knowledge of running a business effectively - and they get HIGH pays and ALLOWANCES, and looks like with 'no responsibility or liability' for their wrong or bad decisions.Some of these are GOVERNMENT owned or controlled, where the Minister acts on behalf and makes the decision - which means the OWNER tells the Board of Directors and/or CEO to do this or that - and they have no choice but to do as "ORDERED' by the owner...who would be the Finance Minister, Prime Minister or some Minister acting on behalf of the Malaysian government - the Malaysian people. 

Should all Government owned or controlled companies come under PARLIAMENT, and a law that places on Directors, CEO or Upper Management the duty to bring to the attention of Parliament any questionable instruction/order or action of the Minister/Government? To better monitor such companies, should Parliament be empowered in the choosing of the Directors and CEOs, or at the very least appointing one or few Directors in such companies - who will help monitor and ensure our monies are well spent and there is no abuse? Should Parliament be empowered to have its own officers, who will be able to do 'spot checks' and investigate any government owned or controlled companies? Should we end 'political appointed Directors' - who sometimes are actions to appease politicians, not made Cabinet Members? A permanent Parliamentary Committee to monitor GLCs - we may need a few Committees as there are SO MANY GLCs, who also have many subsidiaries...

The days of 'being silent and trusting' must end - Now, we must demand ACCOUNTABILITY and TRANSPARENCY  - Official Statements by Ministers, and at the very least a Government WHITE PAPER explaining what happened, WHY...at the very least. In some case, like the Gasline issue, a Royal Commission of Inquiry(RCI) - END this avoidance of proper explanation or resolution and simply moving on with the 'next' issues.

OPPOSITION also needs to WAKE UP - A 'Shadow Cabinet' is good - so the Opposition too will have specific persons focusing on particular Ministries - so, no one is left un-monitored. 

Opposition must also SPEAK UP on the different issues - issue Statements - that could be carried on their websites and circulated. Has PN taken a stand on Gas Pipeline issue, Sapura 'Bail Out', 1MDB dropping its suit against RIZA ...? Silence implies consent - so why do we vote for a different party when their stance on issues or government responses is UNKNOWN.

Today, people look at alternative political parties and their candidates IF they would have done things differently, or had a position/policy different from the ruling government - are we seeing that? Depending on general disappointment with government action/policy alone is not enough - people must know whether other political parties oppose it, and what is their ALTERNATIVE position...

There are other issues of concern like

GISBH - a lot of allegations - but to date there is a problem in the DELAY in trials, and the absence of CONVICTIONS by the Court after a fair trial - remember the presumption of INNOCENCE.

Religious Deviants - How many have been charged and convicted by the Syariah Court? There is also the question whether GISBH, a company, can be charged for religious deviation? When will a company or a society be deemed an Islamic company or society - and, will it then fall under the jurisdiction of the Syariah Court - to date, I believe that Syariah Courts have only been dealing with Islamic individuals - not corporation/companies?

Now, our Prime Minister is against 'pre-conviction' punishment - was what happened to GISBH and its linked companies/businesses OK - most have been closed down, workers lost jobs, owners/operators lost their business and sources of income - and all this happened before any trial or conviction?

GISBH maybe the biggest Malay-Muslim business entity that have achieved much success, and allegedly without any government assistance/funds/etc - How much losses did the Government suffer because of that crackdown? How many people(presumably Malay Muslims) have been affected? Should the GISBH 'crackdown' deserve a WHITE PAPER - a proper government explanation

LET's not forget...and must demand TRANSPARENCY and ACCOUNTABILITY - Parliament and Opposition must demand it

 When the government does WRONG - the people are DUTY BOUND as good citizens to HIGHLIGHT these wrongs because Malaysia is a DEMOCRACY and we are the ones who choose and voted in the MPs, who then chose the Prime Minister, who chose the Cabinet and now governs with the peoples' mandate. Sometime, they do wrongs - and it is our DUTY, nay RESPONSIBILITY, to point out these wrongs so the government realizes it and have the opportunity to correct the wrongs and ensure JUSTICE is done..Our silence may send a 'wrong message' to the government - a belief that what they did was RIGHT, and Malaysians are OK with it... 

When a child does a wrong, parents take action to point out that wrong so that the child understands. The same with PM Anwar and his government - we MUST point out wrongs and injustices...

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY ...

 

 

 

This is how else the RM24b bailouts for Felda, Tabung Haji could have been used and abused

 

By By Terence Tang

Wednesday, 17 Apr 2019 6:16 AM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 — The government has allocated RM6.3 billion to rescue Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) and another RM17.8 billion on a restructuring plan for Lembaga Tabung Haji.

In effect, they are bailouts for problems created and entrenched during the previous administration.

The RM24 billion to resuscitate the smallholder farming agency and Muslim pilgrimage fund after years of alleged financial mismanagement and fraud is huge, to say the least.

For perspective, it is the equivalent of nearly 8 per cent of the whole federal Budget for 2019 and could have been used to pay for the RM16.7 billion LRT3 line in its entirety plus change.

Malay Mail calculated what else Malaysia might have had with an extra RM24.1 billion. Tears are optional but recommended.

Pan Borneo Highway

The Malaysian section of the highway stretching 2,083 km across Sarawak and Sabah, with links to Brunei and Indonesia, is projected to cost RM16 billion.

Putrajaya would easily have funded this in its entirety without resorting to private delivery partners if it had a spare RM24 billion around.

Affordable housing

Putrajaya offers affordable homes under its PR1MA scheme that range from RM118,888 to RM385,000.

Using the lowest price, the money used for the bailout would have been enough to put 201,870 families in such homes.

Assuming four people to a household, that would mean free housing for 807,480 Malaysians.

Free tertiary education

According to the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN), the student loans it issued ranged between RM17,759 and RM32,722 in 2017.

Averaging this to RM25,240, the bailout sum could have paid for 9.5 million Malaysians to take a university course locally.

Or effectively allow the Pakatan Harapan government to provide free tertiary education for years.

Direct cash aid

Putrajaya currently provides direct cash payments to qualified recipients under its Bantuan Sara Hidup scheme of up to RM1,000 per household.

Had the bailout money been diverted to this aid programme, Putrajaya could afford to make 24 million such payments or effectively one to every household in Malaysia and more, instead of limiting the payment to just those earning under RM2,000.

To emphasise the profligacy of the financial mismanagement that led to the two bodies requiring such massive bailouts, Malay Mail also extrapolated how the RM24 billion could have been misused.

Equanimity-like superyachts

The current government struggled to sell the Equanimity seized from fugitive financier Low Taek Jho aka Jho Low, which he reportedly purchased for close to US$250 million (RM1.03 billion) using allegedly stolen 1MDB funds.

It eventually offloaded this for US$126 million to Genting, or just over half the price when new.

With RM24 billion, however, dubious government leaders and their associates could have ordered two dozen of these 100-m long luxury yachts for their personal use, which they could then call the Integrity, Honesty, Frugality, Humility, and a whole host of other ironic names.

Pink diamonds costing RM110 million

There’s nothing wrong with loving jewellery. Representing eternity, diamonds never lose their glitter.

Legendary actress and singer Marilyn Monroe sang about its virtues in her song Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend. A James Bond movie starring Sean Connery was titled Diamonds Are Forever.

In Malaysia, one particular gem has caught public attention for years: a lustrous pink diamond valued at US$27 million (RM110 million).

With RM24 billion to spare, Malaysia could have been home to 219 such sparking examples, complete with verified proof of purchase to avoid the unnecessary stress and headaches of baseless accusations.

The world’s most expensive Hermès Birkin handbags

Most consider handbags to be disposable fashion accessories but in stratified circles, they cost so much that they are considered “investments”.

They cost a lot, but they can be worth even more in time.  

According to a 2016 report by international magazine Time, Hermès Birkin handbags, handmade and sold only in limited numbers between US$60,000 and US$200,000, are a better investment than gold.

Using the higher end, the RM24 billion could provide at least 30,125 socialites here with one specimen each.

Or 30,125 to just one particularly avid collector. - Malay Mail, 17/4/2019