Part 1:    FELDA – The smell of easy money

Part 2:    FELDA – The smell of easy money

Part 3:    FELDA – The smell of easy money

Part 4:    FELDA – The smell of easy money

Part 5:    FELDA- The smell of easy money 

Part 6:    FELDA – The smell of easy money 

Part 7:    FELDA – Lessons from Fonterra, New Zealand

• Malaysiakini carried a story today where Isa Samad and KPF was giving briefing to settlers with regards to the upcoming Felda IPO. Mr. R Sangam, the son of a settler from Felda Labu Sendayan requested to Isa Samad where he said “I wanted a guarantee of our dividends once the Felda Global Venture Holdings (FGVH) listing takes place”. Isa then replied that the prime minister guarantees it. He replied Isa that the PM will not be PM forever. 
Isa then said, “If you don’t trust the PM, you should leave the hall”.

• I am not sure how many of the settlers are able to think as critical as Mr. Sangam but certainly as a minority in that meeting he would appears as a sore thumb. Only the clouded minded people would have snubbed him. Isa remark asking him to leave the hall only reflects poorly on him. The question was fair and legitimate. Najib will not be the PM forever. If Felda-A or the government were sincere they would ensure that a documented, ironclad guarantee that KPF members will enjoy the same level of dividend and benefits would continue. I believe they can’t do it due to the obvious reasons

• Logic will show that neither Najib nor Isa would able to give that written guarantee. Once KPF members become the shareholders of the listed entity, they will lose their membership in KPF. The new listed entity has an enlarged shareholders base. Unless the ROI of the listed entity can produce a proportionate increase of returns as in the increase of number of shareholders then there is no way the members of KPF will enjoy the same return. Being a public listed entity, all shareholders would demand an equal returns per share and would likely to object to any unilateral payment to the settlers.

• I think it is time that the government proceeds with its listing plan without involving KPF. They need to prove themselves for several years and if their records are good then they can revisit the idea buying KPF shares via a share swap.  

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I hope to see Anwar and Najib debate like the following in Bahasa Malaysia

REPEAL OBAMACARE (iq2us.org) from Intelligence Squared U.S. on Vimeo.

• The meeting was organized on the instruction of the MB as the chairman of MTES (Majlis Tindakan Ekonomi Negeri Selangor). I supposed now MPAJ and the developer will write to MTES and says that they have explained to the people. There were no major complains and most of the matter can be addressed at a later stage. MTES will than approved the project as it has gone through all due process. (or could it be that it has been approved since they said  that construction will start in 2013?) This business of building highways must stop. We have enough roads to move goods. KLORR will clear up MRR2 significantly. What is lacking is the infrastructure to move individuals. New highways will moved  a lot more cars  than people. It is not cost efficient. The answer lies in an organized public transport system with good last mile connection. That is what is needed. In reality the major cause of massive jam on MRR2 is caused by  the poorly designed DUKE and AKLEH exit and entry ramp (EER). It is inappropriately located. The way I see it as if they cause the jam to justify the need to build more highway. After all that is their core business i.e. build, operate and collect toll. Creating jams would create greater opportunity to build and operate more highways.

• I would like to urge all residents of Ampang to write MTES and explain to MTES the need to defer any approval until they relocate the Ampang EES at Flamingo Hotel area. They need to revisit the traffic flow study after that has been and get the feedback of the people on the design of EES at the 12 points that they had proposed. They need to explain in detail the EES design and the link on the federal roads.  It is only fair that they fixed the problem that they had caused to the residents of Ampang. I am more than prepared to sit in a committee with them to review the existing EES. Don’t expect others to write. Don’t blame others if we ourselves did not do anything. Please write to the chairman of MTES i.e. YB Tan Sri Khalid, the Datuk MB of Selangor (Khalid@selangor.gov.my) and cc to MPAJ YDP (ydp@mpaj.gov.my) and his Personal Assistant, Mr. Khairil khairil@mpaj.gov.my. My conviction is that as a responsible builder, Prolintas should give details to us, the public. I will engage Prolintas top management (Ir. Zainudin A. Kadir, the group CEO and En Mohamad Yusof Salleh, the GM of SUKE at a more personal level.

• Firstly the business of building highways and roads need to be minimized. It seems that by creating jams the government ends up building more highways. We need to focus on improving current infrastructure as well as improving the public transport system. On the issue of KLORR, the FG has decided that at the dam area, the highway will go under the Quartz ridge. They will make tunnels and then it will come up again in the forest reserve area. The question that I have is why can’t they build the highway under the present MRR2. They could save the forest. The decision to allow the land acquisition and construction lies with the SSG. The SSG should have protected the forest. It is their duty for the future generations. The cost of construction is not with the state. I don’t see why the SSG must destroy our forest to build this highway.

• The reality is the current MRR2 is pack because the poor design of the exit – entry ramp and the poor road signs at several places along the highway. I was engaging the Ampang Traffic Chief in the last few days in trying to find ideas on what we can do in the short term. Both of us agree that the current bottleneck occurs at AKLEH/JKAL/Ampang Putri junction. The cause is mainly due to the massive volume of vehicle coming in from DUKE and the poor design of the AKLEH exit and entry ramp at that particular area. The MRR traffic can be improve if we relocate the entry ramp into AKLEH from MRR2 to another location as well as building an entry ramp for vehicles coming from KDE on JKAL directly into AKLEH. Fact remains the jam on MRR2 was man- made and  the man-made jam  is partly used to justify the need to build more highways.

• Who is the MP that handles Melawati? That is no other than Azmin Ali. Who is the ADUN of BA? Again it is Azmin Ali. He has some explaining to do to the people of Ampang and Bukit Antarabangsa. Records will show that AA has never publicly objected to the construction of this highway. 

Part 2:   1-CARE: Who pays for it?

Part 3:   1-CARE: Is it fair for the people to pay?

Part 4:   1-CARE: The way I would do it? 

Part 5:   1-CARE: The interview

Part 6:   1-CARE: Understand the people’s worry and manage it

Part 7:   1-CARE: Giving the poor the access to private practice

Part 8:   1-CARE: A matter of priority

Part 9:   1-CARE: Universal healthcare

Part 10: 1-CARE: Impact of Social Health Insurance

• The Health Minister said that some people are manipulating and spreading false information about 1C. I agree with him but at the same time the Minister must appreciate the reason why there are so many speculations out there in the street. The main reasons lies with MOH for failure to engage the public on the matter and giving several versions on what is 1C is all about. They themselves are the main source of speculation among the public.

• Let us be clear of one thing. The key objective of 1C is finance. Everything else is secondary. The government wants the people to bear the cost of treatment directly. Their issue is that they feel that they are spending too much money on providing treatment to the people at the hospitals and government clinics. They want the people to pay over and above what they are paying now. Instead of addressing the issue directly i.e. holding the bull by the horn, they chose to go through the long and complex process. Now days it is no longer trendy to offer simple solutions. A friend at a private hospital told me yesterday that in private sector, a simple complain of headache can cause RM10 or RM5000 at the private hospital and it is all legal and above board. For that he is happy that the government wants everyone to be insured so that they can milk the NHS every single penny. He says NHS will never be short of funds to pay because they can always raise the premium.

• I think the majority of the people that goes to the government clinics don’t mind paying RM20-RM30 for outpatient care compared to paying RM1 today. They know they have to pay 2-3x more if they go to private centers. If the government does that, it would mean that the government can increase  their revenue by 2000%. Based on MOH stats in 2010, about 67.5mill people sought treatment at the various types of government clinics for medical and dental treatment. If the government charged RM20 per patient, it would mean MOH would have collected close to RM1.4 bill. Is doing a simple billing is too difficult for the government to do that they had to resort do something as complex as 1C.

• I told the officers at MOH several days ago that their approach in delivering healthcare in this country is outdated. Just look at the Klinik 1Malaysia (K1M). It has no doctors. It is overly staffed with nurses. It cost the government about RM200K to renovate each clinics. In comparison the GP’s  provide the same services as at K1M but it cost them a fraction of the cost and they still make a decent profit. It cost them about 70K to renovate and equip their clinics They run their operations efficiently with  small low cost crew. What this basically  means is that the government way of doing things is expensive. Because of their financial weakness and inefficiencies, the people at large has to absorbed the burden of IC. As at 2010, there are 6442 private clinics. The government can open thousands of chains clinics on par with the GP practice and would easily find GP’s to run it. They can pay them on a basis of  fix retainer fee and additional  commission for every patient that they see. There are plenty of group GP practices that do this. The management and logistics are centralized. The doctors just focus on the patients. If the private doctors can do this cheaply, my expectation is the government can do much better as they have the volume.

• If the government wants the people to trust them, they need to be transparent, honest and explain to the people on their agenda using simple terms. They need to show to the people that they have look at the all the possibilities and they are pushing for the cheapest solution. Until that happens, don’t demand the people to trust them. They have seen enough cheat and lies by the government. It is time to change.

• Moments ago I met the Traffic cops and suggested that in the morning vehicles from Ukay Perdana (UP) are not allowed to enter BA at the junction near the food court. I note that large number of cars using BA as a short cut route at the expense of BA residents. There were many vehicles from UP  that enters BA and proceed to Jalan Wangsa 1 as a bypass to enter MRR2. They contribute to the massive traffic volume within BA. As if we don’t have enough problems and now the traffic from the neighboring areas are using our internal dual lane road.  They should stick to the 4 lane roads that service UP and MRR2.

• As such I have requested the traffic police to prevent any cars from UP from entering BA at the food court junction during peak hours in the morning. They will study my proposal before deciding further on it. Any BA residents coming from UP that wants to enter BA need to enter at the Andaman Ukay junction. It make sense as this will discourage drivers from using BA as short cut to MRR2.  I don’t know whether it will help but certainly without trying, we will not know for sure. 

• Another  friendly reminder-I urge everyone to send an email to MPAJ (ydp@mpaj.gov.my) and Prolintas (ramali@prolintas.com.my) and support my petition that a special briefing with complete details to be done for the residents of BA in view of the development of the SUKE at Wangsa 1/MRR2 junction. Please attend the special briefing at MPAJ on 18 Feb 2012@1000am.

• Prolintas is proposing to build another highway that is called SUKE (Sg. Besi Ulu Kelang Expressway). I don’t know whether I should be “suka” about this highway. As such today I spend 2 hours at the MPAJ/Prolintas exhibition on the SUKE to understand more about the Prolintas proposal.

• It is hard to given any comment with the limited information being displayed. What was shown were the aerial map of the Klang Valley and some dashed line that indicates the proposed alignment would be. Not a very useful map for anyone to make any inform decision.  I gave my feedback that there is a need to have a more detail drawing and the need to have a special briefing for the residents of BA and the surrounding residents. Without such detail drawing, it is pointless for anyone to make any comment.

• These residents would be directly affected when the construction starts in 2013 that will last for 4 years. What I don’t understand is that why didn’t the local authority display interactive information on the net. It would make it easier for people to make the necessary decision. MRTKV did it and it was very useful. I could analyze and make a clear decision at the comfort of my home. I would like to urge the residents of BA to visit MPAJ office or attend a special briefing on the matter at MPAJ on Saturday 18 Feb 2012@1000am. Please note the highway starts somewhere near the exit of Jalan Wangsa 1 into MRR2. I suspect if the ramp is built there and without any special ramp for residents of BA, we would be in trouble. As if we don’t have enough problems in BA. I would like to urge the authority to get Prolintas to realign their exit and entry into AKLEH immediately before looking at another highway. I cannot “tahan” already.

Part 2: 1-CARE: Who pays for it?

Part 3: 1-CARE: Is it fair for the people to pay?

Part 4: 1-CARE: The way I would do it? 

Part 5: 1-CARE: The interview

Part 6: 1-CARE: Understand the people’s worry and manage it

Part 7: 1-CARE: Giving the poor the access to private practice

Part 8: 1-CARE: A matter of priority

Part 9: 1-CARE: Universal healthcare

• It is evidently become clear that the aim of 1-CARE (1C) is to shift the financial responsibility from the government to the people. In a gradual process from shift of cost it will be increase over time. Eventually the cost will be borne by the whole population. With rising medical care, the cost of SHI (social health insurance) will increase. The argument of UHC is flawed as we already have it in place. The government are issuing statements that is contradictory to each other. However the positive thing of 1CARE is that the people can have greater access to medical provider near their home.

• Some people think that I am against the plan. That is not true. The plan is fair provided that certain measures are put in place. Among the most important measures is that there is an irrevocable guarantee that whole operations of 1C would remain in government control in perpetuity. Hospitals and clinics can be corporatize but not privatize. The government must continue to allocate the budget for curative care where it would be use for expansion of the existing infrastructure. Everyone pays a flat nominal sum irrespective of position and occupation. Those with private health insurance paid by themselves or their employer can augment the SHI coverage. Those who cant afford to pay fro SHI; the government must pay for them. The timeline and action-plan of 1C must be made a public document prior to the execution of the program. The government must show that it is able to control the price of chicken as an indication to control the price of healthcare.

• If the above measures are not put in place and we follow the current MOH plan, we would face rising cost of doing business and increase migration of business to other areas across the borders. Unemployment will rise in this country. It would be unfair if the contribution were tied up to family income, as it would mean increasing the taxes of the middle income and higher income group. As it is this group is paying the upper income tax bracket which is subsidizing the needs of the lower income. Any form of scale down tax would be extremely unfair to the salaried worker.

• When we look at the issue of SHI, it cannot be addressed from the impact on medical coverage only. One has to look at the total financial impact on the families, inflation and reduction of family disposable income. 

Part 2: 1-CARE: Who pays for it?

Part 3: 1-CARE: Is it fair for the people to pay?

Part 4: 1-CARE: The way I would do it? 

Part 5: 1-CARE: The interview

Part 6: 1-CARE: Understand the people’s worry and manage it

Part 7: 1-CARE: Giving the poor the access to private practice

Part 8: 1-CARE: A matter of priority

• MOH likes to use big words that sometime people in the street may have difficulty to comprehend. One of the reason cited is that project 1C is about ensuring that the country will provide a universal healthcare (UHC). To some people UHC is about giving everyone a chance to go to private hospital. Is that true? That is something the public need to ponder.

• The WHO defines UHC to organized health care systems built around the principle of universal coverage for all members of society. In the current context today, Malaysia has UHC. Everyone has access to healthcare system in the country. The government has been in the past provided affordable healthcare system that is affordable to many people in the street. They provided the safety net for all that wants to use the system when needed. Therefore in terms of access, there is access. A very decent access is available to the people. The quality is good and the cost is damn cheap. It is so popular that the government hospital is always crowded. Therefore it is wrong to say that we need 1C because we need to give everyone the rights to go to private hospital. It is not about giving the people the access to private hospitals but giving medical care to the people. Is the private hospital are really good?

• The private hospital does not guarantee that it gives good care. It does however give a good glossy look from the outside. What it does is that it gives expensive medical care. The main reason private hospitals thrive in the country is because of the existence of private insurance. Because of insurance, they simply charged the patients. In Malaysia if the insurance company decide to stop selling hospitalization insurance, many of the hospitals will collapse tomorrow. With 1C we are simply encouraging the development of more private hospitals. In the long run, the government will reduce their commitment to built hospitals and clinics. They will pass the services to the private entity. In the long run, MOH may not be in the business of providing treatment care. They will corporatize and subsequently privatize all the medical facilities and concentrate in managing the finance only. That is what 1C is all about. Is this a right thing to do?

• Why is it the government is moving in this direction? It is clear that it is all related to dollar and cents and the size of government wallet. They want to pass the cost of healthcare directly to the people. This will ensure the people will take care of themselves and will not take care of healthcare services for granted. In simple terms- cost of living will go up. Without saying the cost of SHI will also go up as what is happening to the private insurance. The government does not have a good record of controlling the price of “bawang, ayam and ikan” and they think they would be able to control the cost of hospitalization after the implementation of  SHI.  I think the record speaks for itself.

Part 2: 1-CARE: Who pays for it?

Part 3: 1-CARE: Is it fair for the people to pay?

Part 4: 1-CARE: The way I would do it? 

Part 5: 1-CARE: The interview

Part 6: 1-CARE: Understand the people’s worry and manage it

Part 7: 1-CARE: Giving the poor the access to private practice

• RR is making a career over the NFC issue. He only paused while SJ was performing her Umrah recently. Clearly that the target was not NFC but it was SJ. They continue to attack SJ though there are no clear legal issues binding between SJ and NFC. I felt RR is being very personal over the matter. In my text message to SJ family members yesterday, I told them that SJ should not resign, as the country needs her. That is my honest assessment and personal view. Unfortunately, I believe UMNO top brass has made their decision 4 weeks ago as for her political career.

• Several weeks ago I wrote that RR information on NFC came from UMNO. The truth is coming out slowly.  Fact is The AGC is looking into the issue, an international audit firm has been appointed by AGC to audit the NFC.   The MACC and the police is addressing the complains and we should give her and her family a break for a few weeks until the authorities comes out with the decision. RR must realize that whatever goes around comes around. I know of a team that has been tasked to compile a complete dossier of this guy. His turn will come. PR should stay focus on issues and not on personalities that has no relationship with the issue.

• It is time that PR focused on something bigger that affects the entire nation. The issue today is 1-CARE (1C). They must give their resources and time as they had given NFC and get the government to declare and be transparent on details that relates to 1C. I don’t understand on why the government is not coming forward and giving out the much desired details. The information that has been rehashed is the same but the people worries are not being addressed.

• I would like to urge RR to spend his time, energy and the same vigor that he has given NFC and address the unclear issues of project 1C. I think the people have the rights to know something that is has serious repercussions on the current and future generations of Malaysian. Can we depend on PR and RR to address such important issue or they still want to focus on Anwar and cows? The cows are a limited issue with small implications. The project 1C has wider implications.

Part 2: 1-CARE: Who pays for it?

Part 3: 1-CARE: Is it fair for the people to pay?

Part 4: 1-CARE: The way I would do it?

Part 5: 1-CARE: The interview

Part 6: 1-CARE: Understand the people’s worry and manage it

The sales pitch of MOH is that they want to give poor patients access to private medical services. Isn’t that a noble idea? If indeed that is the plan than why is the public complaining? Why would the GP and the private hospitals making noise when they can get more business? Have these private practitioners lost their brain? Let us revisit this issue from a basic perspective. The intention is for the government to help the poor to have access to private healthcare. How can the government do it?

They can start by helping the poor to have private insurance cover. The government can start by buying the low-end benefits of group private insurance products in the market. Such products start as low as RM250 per year per person. Assuming that there are 5 mill poor people in this country, it would cost the government RM1.25 bill a year. In the context of the total government budget, the amount is a pittance. If we take into account of the leakages within the government, I would say it in relative it is almost nothing.

Instead of doing things the simple straight approach manner, they are going-around in circles in doing it. Why? This is a question that no a soul in the FG wants to give a clear and simple answer. The day the poor can enter the private hospital that is the place that they will go. They will abandon the government hospital. In their mind, why should they go to a facility that has long queues and very long waiting time for services? That will reduce the congestion at government hospitals and everyone will be happy. They will travel from some Felda estates and goes to hospitals like Gleneagles.

The second option the government has is to upgrade the services at their hospitals to the level of the private hospitals. When they do this, the rich and the poor will see no difference in service between the two and they will go to the most convenient medical facility. The rich already has private insurance therefore the government can make more money by charging them at private hospital rates. The poor who carries “a poor man card” will enjoy the same facility at low cost. Everyone will be happy. The only drawback is that under the second approach, the government will spend more but since they are as good as the private hospitals, they will make more money as those who are rich and with insurance will go there and they can charge a commercial rate.

By implementing the above models BN will win the next 3 GE with hands down.  The poor and the rich will ensure that they stay there. Everyone would say that this is a caring government, as they are not burdening the people at large. The government is helping without shifting the cost to the people. Why are they not doing any of the above? The simple answer is that the issue of providing private healthcare is secondary to passing the medical burden directly to the people. Healthcare reform must be done in a manner that gives minimal inconvenience to the people. However based on the information that I have the government is not doing in that manner. It is rather unfortunate.

Part 3: 1-CARE: Is it fair for the people to pay?

Part 4: 1-CARE: The way I would do it?

Part 5: 1-CARE: The interview

• The FG and in particular the MOH is under attack of the 1-CARE (1C) scheme. As bitter as it may be, they must accept that they are in the current predicament because of partly their own doing. I say this because they are saying the wrong thing at the wrong time and different people in MOH are saying different things at different time. It is not fair to blame any groups out there for attacking the 1C project. The people are genuinely worried. Unfortunately the people worries are not being address. Instead being told what positive value of 1C, they are being told about paying more. The cost of living has gone up tremendously in the last 3 years and the last thing anyone wants to hear is that they have to pay more for service at government hospitals.

• As expected, the politicians are capitalizing it. If BN capitalize it by calling it 1C and trying to ties it to 1-Malaysia then I don’t blame PR for attacking it. It should not have been called 1C in the first place. I spoke to 3 different strong UMNO bloggers tonight and they also do not agree about project. It seems the professional UMNO bloggers maybe on the same page with pro-PR bloggers on this issue. There appears to be a meeting point for the opposing camps.  In my view, they should have kept the politician out of it and maintain its generic name. Big mistake! In any case, it is too late to backtrack. They can only move forward. Since the politicians mess it up, maybe MOH should let them clean it up.

• Rather than being defensive, MOH should continue to engage the people using the MSM and alternative media. I think they know the drill. It is no different in managing any public health issue. Collect data or information, analyze, diagnose and plan a public health program. A key component of any public health program is education and engagement. That is basic. Currently the MOH claims that it is in phase 1 i.e. the enhancement of existing service. If that is the case they should not talk about 1C but focus on enhancement existing services. They should publicize on what they are doing in Phase 1. They should educate the public on where we are today, where we are going, when we will be there and what is the target in terms of phase 1. No need to talk about the other issues or talk about 1C. The public will glorify MOH and the BN government for enhancing public healthcare service. Who wouldn’t!  The time is not right to talk about 1C when phase 1 is not clearly defined and explained to the public.

• For example the delivery of drugs for chronic patients by post was a brilliant idea. Why was there a limited publicity on this matter? The plan decentralization of basic services is a good idea. MOH should go out and explain all this good things that they do. Unfortunately they are not doing enough in telling people all the good stuff that they did and are doing. It is sad. At this stage, I urge MOH to review their strategies and engage the public via all media. I am more than happy to help.

Part 2: 1-CARE: Who pays for it?

Part 3: 1-CARE: Is it fair for the people to pay?

Part 4: 1-CARE: The way I would do it? 

• I was very worried when I read the news that I might have to pay up to 10% per month of my monthly salary as part of my contribution to the 1-CARE healthcare fund. To me that is atrociously high. The cyberspace is full with all sort of news including that it will be launch within the next few months. This forces me to read and meet up my college mate who is a senior person in MOH and  has knowledge of the project. I spent several hours with him this afternoon in Putrajaya.

• Firstly from what I gather the politicians have hijacked the project name. It was known as NHS but was renamed as 1-CARE to be inline with 1-Malaysia. Whoever did it must be regretting now as it has create a serious political backlash. If implemented today, BN will lose Putrajaya in GE13. I was told that in the project is still at Phase 1 of a 5 phase  plan. The problem that I have at this stage is why different personalities within MOH are saying different things at different places. They are contradicting themselves. I think at this stage to avoid confusion, only the DG of MOH should release statements about 1-CARE. Even the Minister should abstain from saying anything.

• On the 10% issue of payment, the Minister has made their statement today. From my discussion yesterday, I was told that the actual figure is 9.4% of monthly household income and this is not the total amount paid by the people. It is to be shared between the government, the employer and the people. The magic number reflects the highest margin of contribution and not a single flat number that applies to everyone. From my discussion yesterday, the issue of implementation has not even begun. 

• Unfortunately after listening to what my friend, my comfort level did not improve. I became am more worried. The reason I am worried because the model of implementation is unclear to me. I plan to have another talk with him and several other people. In the meantime public arousal is being raised. The government past mistakes and lavish expenditure has made the public to scared to believe the government. Personally we can’t blame the people when we see the government actions. Even the GLC’s is no longer trusted as there is a total lack of independence. For the government to do this, they need re-earned the government trust. Otherwise, maybe it is best to scrap it for now.

I welcome everyone to comment but I request that all commentators comment professionally. The writing in this post represents the views of R2W. However the comments do not represent the views of the author but represent the view of the commentator. R2W welcome all constructive comments and reserved the rights to delete or edit any comments that are deem as vulgar, abusive, racist, sexist or seditious in nature. R2W is not able to moderate all comments. Commentators are requested to be professional in expressing their views and be fully responsible for the comments made. If you want to share something with in private, do email me at drrafick@gmail.com.  

• Other than the broad framework of NHS, I have no clue on how the government plans to operationalize it. I am still hoping to get a preview on what the government plans to do. Everyone is talking the high level stuff that the public does not see it. I don’t know whether the government would do it my way or otherwise but I felt it is time that I write how I felt it should be done. The way I see it the government needs to set up several entities under the public trustee system. Let us call them H1, H2, H3 and H4.

• H1 would be the NHA i.e. the National Health Authority. As with any authority their primary role is to regulate the outpatient and clinical services within the country. The public health services and regulation is kept within MOH. The NHA must function as entity to regulate outpatient and clinical charges under the new NHS structure. It is given specific powers under the law. Under the authority the government would setup H2, H3 and H4.

• All the government outpatient treatment care (OPC), hospital services and infrastructure is parked absorbed under H2. They would plan and develop new structure. The staff remains within the ambit of MOH at the initial stage. At a specified time frame after the absorption of all facilities and infrastructure, the staff will be given the option to remains within MOH or join H2. HR experts work out the remuneration scheme for those who wished to join H2. H2 would look into the areas of raising funds via billings and securitization. They would also continue to receive annual grant from the FG via MOH annually.

• H3 would be the entity that develops hospital insurance products. The products sold are similar to private insurance health products. They will be different structure of products from a basic to and advance scheme. The government buys insurance cover for its employees and government retirees. The government would buy a basic insurance cover for the poor and for those above age 60 years old. Those who can afford can opt to buy a higher grade products offered by H3 or the private insurance provider. H3 will complement the nation private health insurers scheme.

• H4 would be a healthcare administrator or in the insurance terminology it is known as TPA. It manages the cashless treatment services between hospitals, clinics and the public. Basically, the people would carry a H3 healthcare card and it can go to the any hospital and clinics for treatment without making any payment. H4 basically collate the billings and bill the H3 and pays H2.

• EPF would create a new sub account known as a health account. The employers and employees contribute during their working days to this account. The account holder can use the money to buy health insurance when they retire or unemployed. If these funds are not utilized they are returned to the owners of next of kin with dividends. The government must reduce the income tax accordingly for those who contribute for the health fund.

• The question now is where do we start? I would start with H1 and follow up with H2, H3 and H4. In the first few years the scheme is limited to government servants and subsequently to the retirees. Once the organization has matured and runs well, it is then extended to the rest of the population.

Part 2: 1-CARE: Who pays for it?

• As mentioned previously, MOH is 100% dependent on the Federal Budget for its operations. In 2012, the government allocated RM15bill (represent 8.26% of total OPEF) to MOH to cover operating expenses and RM1.8bill(representing 3.62% of total Dev Expenditure) to cover developing expenditure. The government says that they want to take the health care to the next level and hence there is a need to develop NHS. One reason why the public is opposing the system is because they are now force to share the healthcare cost. The working population has been contributing to the national healthcare cost via their income tax)

• At the airport today, I bumped into a friend who feels that there isn’t a need to have NHS as Malaysia has strong revenue and it has not been prudent in spending money. The problem is in everything that the government does they do not get the maximum bang for a buck. Their inability to manage finances properly are causing the country to run into a budget deficit and they are now pushing for direct additional  taxation to  the people. He strongly disagrees with NHS. I asked him on why did Singapore government runs NHS (Medisave) despite having with a strong financial status and governance. He could not answer me.

• Many do not understand that there are 2 parts of the NHS. On one part, it is about improving the healthcare services. This is something that everybody support and demanded. The second part of NHS is about managing the finance i.e. managing the provider-payor relationship.. The people want the government to fund it without taxing the people further. They expect the government to improve  its financial management  system. In Singapore, the government imposed Medisave as intended to reduce the over-utilization of healthcare services. In Malaysia overutilization of health care services can be widely seen. I am sure many of us have seen people taking huge amount of drugs from hospital but do not consume them. They did it because they don’t pay for it.

• To a limited extent I agree with the Singapore model. It is a model that ensures that everyone put some money aside for healthcare needs. The money is used to pay hospital bills. It covers everyone regardless whether the person is employed or otherwise. It is fairer to a certain extent. For the working population, they don’t mind doing it, as their income tax is low. In Malaysia the idea of further income deduction to subsidize healthcare cost has a lot of opposition from the employer and employee because our tax is very high.

• For Malaysia to achieve the objective set in NHS, it must approach it from a holistic view. For the employed group a few percentage of the existing income tax is deducted for NHS. Additional cost on top of the existing income tax is simply unacceptable. The employer can also contribute. Each individual must maintain his or her own health account. Maybe EPF can be the manager for such an account since they have good experience in managing money. The money in the account is used to buy NHS insurance scheme or public insurance scheme. The insurance is then used to pay for the health care cost. What is key is that to ensure that H&S insurance remains stable and low; the cost of health care services must be strongly regulated.

• In the current setting, MOH provides healthcare services to everyone at with a starting cost of RM1.00. In terms of value per unit cost, I would say that the MOH in general provide good services as it is able to provide the services at nationwide. In the rural setting MOH has eradicated Malaria in many areas, reduce the infant mortality rates, increased health delivery for mother and child and many others. However the shortcomings of MOH today is that it appears to be a giant monster that walks too slowly. This is a malady that affects many successful organizations that do very little decentralization. The bureaucratic process is slowing it down and MOH is not able to grow and provide services in tandem with population growth and to meet healthcare demand.

• This funding for MOH has always been from the Federal Budget, which is derive partially from the employed taxpayers. Not everyone in the country gets his or her healthcare needs at government hospital. Therefore the total healthcare budget does not reflect the cost of managing 100% of the population. Based on the study by MNHA in 2007, the government expenditure on healthcare is equivalent to 81% of those provided by the private sector. The cost that is compared here is not on apple-to-apple basis as the government provided many other health services other than curative program. The private sector is mainly into the investigative and treatment sector. If comparison were done in the same sector, we would expect that the actual percentage of MOH expenditure against the private sector would be much lower. I estimate it to about 30%-40%. What MOH does is that it provides the system. Its available and up to the people to use it.

• If the government intent to do the NHS, the central funding from Treasury must continue. It must not reduce its contribution. From what I read this appears to be reduced. The reduction in contribution will be top up when NHA sells the Social Health Insurance (SHI) on compulsory basis. Based on the materials that I have read, the government will pay the premium for government servants and retirees and their immediate family. The foreign workers will pay for their own insurance cover. Those in private sector will be pay jointly by the employer and employee. Nothing has been mentioned about the unemployed and those retired from the private sector.

• At this point, the cost and the actual insurance benefit of SHI are unclear. What is critically missing is how much the people have to pay. What about those who are covered by their employer with private health insurance or those who buys private health insurance on their own. Are they expected to pay for the SHI as well? There are many unanswered questions that need to be address. The best people to address this are the people in MOH and they need to do it fast. In my next post I will write on how I feel it should be run.

• Before anyone of us speculates further, I think it is best that we listen to what MOH has to say. We should not listen to politicians that have their own agenda. Many don’t really care about the public. Their interest is power first and people second. They are using the people as a pawn. Unfortunately the politician has jumped the gun even before MOH can engage the public. They are poisoning peoples mind by embedding preemptive negative thoughts. From what I gather, the NHS is far from being implemented. It is unlikely that it will happen before the next GE. The reality is the health care cost is on the rise. In Malaysia, the cost is rising exceptionally beyond reasons. The main cause is the excessive charges imposed by doctors and the private hospitals. I had engaged the private hospitals sometime back on the issue of cost and question them why they charged the consultation fees 3x more for insured patients compared to someone paying cash.

• The reasons being are that insurance companies pays very late. Sometimes it takes up to 3 months. I told them that credit card companies charge only 1.5% per month on outstanding charges and for someone who pays three months late, the cumulative interest would be about 5%, why would they charged 3X more. They were dumbfounded and said that there is nothing wrong because it is a free market and insurance companies has money. Eventually they attacked me and called me a traitor to the medical profession for defending insurance companies. Many of the doctors do not appreciate that their action is leading to reduction to people who can access to health care service. One doctor has the cheeked to tell me that this is a free world and if the people cannot pay, they can always go to government hospital. They said that they would focus on who has money. The problem is the action of these doctors and the people who have money are causing increasing gap in healthcare access.

• There are several components of NHS that must be address. The first is cost of treatment. There is a need to develop a standard pricing system for treatment of illnesses. I believe UKM has been working on this in the last few years. The cost of coronary bypass surgery varies from one hospital to another. In Klang Valley it cost between RM30K-RM70K. I have been told by someone in MOH that a group of doctors from India has setup a center to provide a standard bypass surgery for only RM10K in Nilai. MOH has gone into a contract with them. It appears that it can be done. Some doctors may not be happy as they could no longer make excessive profits and this is probably one of the many reasons why doctors are not happy with NHS.

• In the next post, I will write about the other elements of NHS that is relevant to the people in the street. I will be as objective as possible.

• We refer to YB Iskandar A Samad (YBI) statement with regards to the key handover ceremony that we had organized and graced by Dato’ Noh Omar at  Ukay Bistari on the 28^th Jan 2012. It is regrettable that YBI chose to politicize the matter especially when he had failed in his responsibility in solving abandon housing issue in Ukay Bistari and in many other parts of Selangor. VICTIMS Malaysia would like to put the record straight.

• VICTIMS Malaysia maintains a close monitoring of the progress of abandon projects in several places in Selangor. At Ukay Bistari, the committee  oversees the project development since 2007. In 2007, VICTIMS manage to deliver 103 units of terrace houses after solving the water issue without the involvement of the state or the MHLG. In May 2008, VICTIMS engaged the YB Saari Sungib (SS) to revive the project. He took the imitative and tried to get the buy in from SSG to solve the problem. It took them  2 years to complete a 30m ramp to link the low cost house to the nearest road. The SSG delivered 146 units of low cost house without CF in Feb 2010. The block did not even have a proper water supply. Dato Sri Anwar Ibrahim graced the key hand over ceremony where VICTIMS Malaysia expresses our displeasure publicly.

• The TCF only came out several months later. The 146 units of houses do not have any CF until today. We acknowledge the limitation of the state and the limited capacity of YB SS in view of the rigid policy of the SSG under the stewardship of MB Khalid Ibrahim. We gave up and had to seek alternative assistance to solve our problems. Subsequently we sought the assistance of Dato Noh Omar.

• On the 28^th Jan 2012 VICTIM organized the key handover ceremony. We honored Dato Noh because he brought the issue to the attention of the cabinet that led to personal intervention of the housing minister. The housing minister was invited but could not attend as he was overseas. The handover ceremony involves the delivery of service apartments and shops. In our speech we acknowledge the contribution made by YB SS in 2010 for the low cost units. The units that were handed over are commercial units where SPA agreement clearly indicates that the developer can handover the units without any CF. the facilities are ready with water and electricity connection. YBI statement is highly political in nature, counter productive and do not help the purchasers. VICTIMS can also question YBI on his contribution in solving the problems that is affecting more than 1200 house buyers in Ukay Bistari. We hope he can come forward and list specifically three actions that he has taken to help the buyers at Ukay Bistari. We also put forward the same challenge to YB Azmin Ali, the MP of Gombak.

• VICTIMS Malaysia would like to appeal to SSG and to YBI to come forward and assist many other abandon project in Selangor. In Hulu Kelang there are 4 other projects that need the assistance. The victims know who helped and who did not. We know how to show our appreciation to those that had helped. What is clear is that we do not appreciate anyone that politicized the issue without actually helping the victims. We certainly do not appreciate those that make statement with incorrect facts. In line of the motto of the Ukay Bistari victims, we would like to remind all parties that “we shall remember who helped us and WILL NOT forget who didn’t. The SSG should take this challenge positively if they want the people to support their political ideologies. Politics without service to the people is meaningless. VICTIMS Malaysia is an NGO and has no political inclination. We prefer to honor those who helped us. For the record, we have extended an invitation to the PM to do a grand key handover ceremony  for the remainder of the units in Ukay Bistari. We will invite YBI or Azmin Ali and the MB if they also help us. The ball is in their court.

1 Feb 2012

• In major infrastructure project where private entities are roped, the government approach of lending money is unacceptable. In the case of the WCESB, the government is offering a loan of RM2.24 billion at 4% interest p.a. and will pay the 3% of the commercial bank interest on the loan that WCESB would take from the commercial banks for a period of 22 years. The estimated loan amount would be RM7.07bill-RM2.24bill =RM4.83bill. The interest amount for the period of 22 years would be RM1.84bill with the assumption that the annual repayment amount of RM303.07 mill. This  effectively mean that the government is funding a total of RM4.08bill out of the RM7.07bill which is equivalent of 58% of the total project cost.

• Anyone can go to any money lender in town and they will tell you that the government is a lousy money lender. They don’t know how to even loan money properly and cannot calculate a breakeven point. They put so much money into one company without any collateral with risk of failure. Talam or TSCAC as a major shareholder has a questionable track record in delivering medium and low cost homes on time and yet the government is lending them so much money. This is simply unacceptable. The lender has not taken a fair risk assessment. The lender decision is definitely questionable.

• I disagree strongly on the approach taken by the government. Since they are pumping 58% of the cost, they must take a direct stake in WCESB and have boardroom control. How can they let TSCAC run the show especially when his companies were PN companies under KLSE. As mentioned his reputation in the property development market is so bad that I believe no banks will  fund any of his projects. MHLG has even blacklisted his name. If he is considered unacceptable at MHLG, why is he in the good books of PM office?  How could the government be so irresponsible. This is simply not acceptable. Every responsible Malaysian must take steps to demand an explanation from the government and stop this project until the government do the right thing.

• The project involves the construction of 316km of highway with the total project cost estimated to be RM7.07 billion. Does it mean that it cost on average RM22.34mill/km to build this highway? Maybe our regular QS can explain whether this is logical. As if to insult further the Malaysian public intelligence, the whole deal is sweetened further in the form of a soft loan of RM2.24 billion at 4% interest p.a. and an interest subsidy of up to 3% from commercial loans for a period of 22 years.

• In return, toll revenue in excess of yet to be agreed upon traffic volume is shared 70/30 between government and WCESB and after full settlement of the RM2.24bill the revenue split will be reversed. What has not been clearly spelled out is the first date of repayment. Going by experience it would be 3-5 years after the highway becomes operational. To the naked eye the revenue sharing is nice to the government. In reality if they put a high threshold, the government would actually ends up get 0% revenue sharing for a long time. What it means is that the company get a nice soft loan and the government get peanuts. I believe once the threshold is reached and when financially it make sense, WCESB will settle the loan and the government will only get 30% in excess of the threshold? In reality the government gets peanuts for a long time. They would see some money at the tail end of the concession. In reality this is a deal given on a silver platter to WCESB shareholders.

• What we need to do is to ask why such a deal is structured? Is it because they want to accommodate the 35.8% shareholder? Who are this people? There are so many things wrong with this deal. While there is a need for the highway, there isn’t a need to structure the deal in such a manner. Financially it does not make sense to the government. This is not a win-win deal but a win-lose-lose deal. Who lose? The government and the people. Why didn’t the FG become a shareholder of WCESB? Why do they need to go into this funny business of giving loan and revenue sharing? After all they are injecting about 50% of the money in the form of capital and interest subsidy.

• Logic tells us that if the government can give up to RM3.5 bill loan and subsidy to the company, wouldn’t it be better for a GLC to built the highway and operate it. After all we created so many GLC’s in taking over many infrastructure projects involving bus and trains services. The only thing that I can conclude is the government likes to give money and profitable business away and keep all the money losing business in their coffers. Such losing money business includes monorail, LRT and busses.

• In short I am pissed! I am extremely pissed!

• For the record in July 2010 VICTIMS has offered an equal opportunity tender to both political parties. PR and SSG refuse to participate. They did not event want to consider. To the 1200 apartment buyers, nothing is far more relevant to them than having their house. The event yesterday was well covered by the MSM. I had requested to Dato Noh to invite the PM to attend and grace a final handover ceremony for the whole block on 30^th April 2012. The date was chosen because the developer has indicated that that the balance 650 units will be delivered before the end of April. I believe if the PM commits a date then it will put a lot of pressure to the developer in completing the project.

• Through this post, VICTIMS Malaysia would like to offer another project for tender to both political parties within 1km from the current site where 250 houses buyers are waiting for their homes for the last 7 years. The developer is Platimum 88, which is another subsidiary company that is related to TSCAC. There are enough resources within the project to complete it without having to inject additional funds. The question is on how to leverage the developer in agreeing to our plans. The house buyers are prepared to inject a rolling capital of RM1.2 mill. Someone suggested in my previous post to seek help from Faekah Husin who is the MB political secretary. We will try despite ADUN BA/MP Gombak did not help, the MB don’t want to even meet us. To those strong Pakatan fans, I would appreciate if you could push SSG to help this poor folks. It’s never too late to win people’s heart and we at VICTIMS are always open and fair.

The following is a banner that was made by one of the purchaser. For record this is not done by VICTIM Malaysia. Personally, I feel it’s a good joke. Ever wondered why no one attacked Saari Sungib or Zuraida?.

•  In the first part of my write up, I wrote on the Accountability which is the second component of PR motto. Today I will address the issue of competency which is the first of the three motto of PR. A competent government is a government that is able to run things efficiently and the effect can be felt when ordinary people is dealing with the various state government agencies. Both the Penang and Selangor government claims that they are competent. Maybe both governments should commission an independent audit to look into this matter and present it the stakeholder i.e. the rakyat on the differences in competency before and after 2008. At the same time we must take note that the AG has given very good rating to both the government.

•  Before anyone accuses me of being UMNO lap dog for attacking PR, please take note that my opinion has always been that people interest should be the centre stage of any political battle. I speak my mind out of love of the people and not about hatred against any PR representatives. It is an open secret that I don’t think very highly of Azmin Ali as an ADUN or MP based on my assessment where service to the people is concern. The way I see it, he is NATO i.e. No action, talk only which is no different than those loud peddlers in the night market. When people in dire straits need help, they don’t want to hear empty promises. They don’t like to hear; “saya akan arahkan MPAJ”, when clearly when the ADUN has no authority to “arah” or “saya akan pastikan” when the ADUN don’t explain on how he plans to “pastikan (ensure)”. The other thing that pissed me off when ADUN would say “saya akan desak..”. Desak? For god sake, when the ADUN is part of the government of the day and we don’t expect you to ‘desak”. The people are “terdesak” and they have been “mendesak”. We expect the ADUN to do something that is objective and clear. We live in the 21^st century and the people no longer have appetite for such vague responses. They had enough of such responses before 308 and would expect a change after 308. Unfortunately this did not happen.

•  Let us look at SSG. Since 308,  the local council member has been elected from their political nominees. For the record they did not fulfilled their promises on local government election (which I accept their reasons for it but cannot accept their lack of creativity in handling the matter.) How many of us know that in several local council in Selangor, the state has failed to nominate people before the end of the term. In fact the current council member’s term has been extended. For 3 years in a row they have not been nominating council members on time. Is this a hallmark of a competent government? We all know that council members suppose to serve for a period of 12 months and subject to re-nomination. Why such a simple thing cannot be done?  Already election cannot be done and simple thing like planning and coordination also cannot be done efficiently. Isn’t it embarrassing to acclaimed  that one is competent when in actual fact it is not?

• In the case of DAP, the constitution clearly says that it is open to Malaysian of all races. To be considered a multiracial party, there is no minimum number of any ethnic group is required. There is no denying that ethnic Chinese and Indian dominate the party but there are scores of Malay members. To label DAP as not a multiracial party is unfair as it has members from every ethnic group. Unless there are proof that party has rejected any application by any quarters on the basis of ethnicity, then it would not be fair to label the party as non multiracial.

• What need to be question is why the Malays are not joining DAP in droves? The reason is very clear. From the day they were formed after the split with PAP of Singapore in 1965, BN has been labeling them negatively. In fact at one stage the government was able to associate the opposition (particularly DAP) as close as pariahs or as untouchable as the communist. The effect can be seen with a simple survey on what the suburbs people think of the DAP. Many of the elder people that I talked to feels exactly as I what had described. It is sad to see that  DAP has become the victim of negative indoctrination by the government. Being the  remnant group of the original PAP in Singapore, they were further marginalized.

• I don’t know what criteria others used in deciding the political party that they want to join. I would look at the objectives and the selection process of the office bearers. If the objectives is not about Malaysia first and the structure and election process are done in such a way that it is protective of the incumbent position than I would not join such a party. I would not join any political party that uses ethnicity or religion as the criteria of membership.

• I saw the video. It clearly shows that a private event was being held. It also shows the disgrace action of some Malays wearing BN t-shirts taking laws into their own hands. There evidence is on YouTube. The picture of the perpetrators can be seen clearly. It should not be difficult for the police to act. Evidence is available on silver platter. It is my expectation that the police to take a decisive action. Any failure on the part of the Selangor police would lead to unnecessary reaction which would further damage the government reputation.

• I quote Haris Ibrahim in his post where said, “Rest assured, we will be well prepared for any lawlessness at our forthcoming ceramah”. I feel that based on the initial reaction of the RMP, his statement is justified. In fact everyman deserves to protect themselves when threatened. It is only natural. Going by the situation, if the police fail to react and if there is another similar commotion elsewhere, I expect serious confrontation and consequences. If that happens, then no one other than police should take the blame.

Image of head honcho shown below is  from : http://kafesantai.blogspot.com/

I am a frequent business traveller that takes me to most part of the world. Allow me to share with you the shortcomings within our public transport system in respect to other countries around the world. It pains me whenever I compare our public transport system here with those in other countries. The level of service is poor, safety is compromised most of the time and most disappointing is fleecing take place in brought day light.

Last Friday, I had returned from one of my business trip. The excellent service from KLIA to KL Sentral ends upon our arrival at KL Sentral. There were plenty of cabs but all parked and the drivers were hanging around in Sentral. The ticket counter put up a sign that the waiting time is about 45 minutes. The government says there are 35,000 taxis in Klang Valley. I don’t see a single one that is ready to serve.  The counter clerk told me that there is an Executive limo service that can take me to my office for the price of RM300. He had probably thought that I am a tourist.

I decided to take the LRT to KLCC and hope to catch a cab from there to my office. It was my horror to see that the Sentral atrium is packed. People are not able to walk safely and freely. Whatever little space there is has been rented out to business. There is a booth in every nook and corner. What will happen if someone shouts fire? There will be stampede and many will die. There is a total disregard to convenience and public safety. I had to struggle with my luggage from the ERL station to the Putra LRT line. Is everything about business? Are the owners of the station allowed to do this without considering public safety? Did they get the relevant approvals like those from DOSH or Bomba? Is KL Sentral a shopping mall or a central station? Isn’t there enough crowded shopping malls in the Klang Valley. The scene at KL Sentral was like those in Carrefour Wangsa Maju or Tesco Ampang where walkways have been filled with carts and mobile stores. The authority must act before things get out of hand? The management of KL Sentral must not be allowed to continue to do things as they wish.

I do hope the authority take heed of my email. The recent fire of the partially completed shell tower at KL Sentral should be a warning to us. KL Sentral is crowded and poorly planned with poor egress network. If tragedy happens, people will die. The question is how many thousands? Who should be made answerable when that happens? I will make SPAD accountable because they have been warned.

• We must accept that the court process allows the AG to appeal on the decision for the case against Anwar. It is a criminal case and not a private case between Saiful and Anwar. It is entirely the AG prerogative to appeal or otherwise. I believe no one is questioning his right but rather his wisdom and his motive. There are people who walked away with murder in this country and the AG chose not to appeal in view of the judge decision. Here we have a case of alleged carnal sex between two parties and if indeed it happened it most likely to be consensual. Despite the judge decision, I cannot comprehend the AG decision. Was there an objective assessment done on this case? Was there any interference by higher party?

• In the case of Althantuya, RB walked and he flew to the UK immediately. It is public knowledge that there is no extradition treaty between Malaysian and the UK and maybe that is one of the reason he choses that country other than pursuing his tertiary education. Despite Althantuya was gruesomely murdered the AGC chose not to appeal on the court decision on RB. That raises a lot of question. Going by the brevity of the case, I believe there is a strong need for the AGC to appeal but they chose not to do so?  Though the court has identified the killers but I believe it is clear in many peoples mind that there is many unanswered questions. Among others this include who ordered them to do it and why? The 2 blokes has very little motive to kill her and clearly they are just following orders.

• The AGC has been sitting in the backroom last one year. He has become media shy but that should not stop the AGC from explaining to the public why they chose to do a selective appeal. There are 28 million people in this country. Most of them can think rationally. The AGC owes it to the people with a decent explanation. Their failure to do so is causing a lot of speculation and anger among the people. On the other hand the AG decision has allowed some breathing space for PR strategist.

• In the last few days legal suits running in the numbers of hundreds of millions has been filed in court. Shahrizat Jalil (SJ) had filed a defamation suit against RR and YBZ over the NFC issue. I have following the statements made by various parties over the NFC issue but I felt the suit against YBZ is a bit unfair. That in my mind is uncalled for.  However the suit against RR appears to have merit. RR made fun of the suit and twittered that that (SJ) can have his medium cost apartment. I laughed when I read it. Maybe I should tell SJ the long list of assets that RR has and it is certainly more than a medium cost apartment. SJ can then make the step-wise releases just as RR has been doing. Anwar has filed a suit against Utusan that I felt was long overdue. Utusan definitely need to be given a lesson on professional journalism. Well done Anwar and R2W hope you will win.

• I am disappointed with the AG decision to file an appeal on Anwar’s case. Politically it does not help BN and only strengthen people’s hatred towards BN-UMNO. While I appreciate that the AG has the right to appeal under the law but it must be with strong basis. High Court judge Zabidin Mohd Diah decision was very clear. The DNA evidence has been compromised. Because of that there is a strong doubt in the case. In fact there are many other corroborating doubts that I had mentioned in my previous writing. Unfortunately the Judge has only singled out one and the one he choses most important one. I cannot appreciate the basis of this appeal. It simply does not make sense. It is not as if the reasons given by Judge Zabidin is weak. Maybe when details of the appeals come out, we will know for sure. Whatever the case maybe, I am extremely disappointed. The levelheaded Malaysian will continue to take this as a matter of continued harassment and political prosecution.

The above 3 post basically translate my thoughts about the issues of local government election. It is a 2008 election pledge that PR had side stepped, skirted and blatantly lie to the people in Selangor. While I acknowledge their handicapped in doing the election in view of the LG Act (ACT 171) but there is nothing stopping them from nominating people that has been elected by residents to represent them in the local government. Instead they chose to continue the old BN tradition where political nominees and PR aligned NGO are being appointed. Despite their hatred towards BN, they have no shame in following what BN does. For the record the LG Election is one of the reasons that made me convinced my whole family and sister and brother in-laws to vote for PR in 2008. It is sad to see that supporters of PR did not demand this sacred election promises. While they had demanded a lot of things from BN, they have been utterly silent about the election promises made by their idols. I quote the Holy Quran, Surah al-Anfāl verse 8:55-56 where it says; “Surely the vilest of animals in Allah’s sight are those who disbelieve, then they would not believe. Those with whom you make an agreement, then they break their agreement every time and they do not guard (against punishment).” I am certain keeping one promises is an important element in every religion on earth.

I am disappointed with the SSG on this matter. The most basic element of people empowerment is being ignored. In MPAJ we have all sorts of political nominees who take turns to sit on the council. The backgrounds of the councilors are far from satisfactory and do not meet the sacred component of the Act. They have not been able to use their position in the council effectively to ensure the best interests of the residents are protected. They have not come forward and push for new policy development and get it enforced by the authorities. Instead they merely function as rubber stamps of whatever is being presented at the council meeting.

Section 10 of ACT 171 says; “

10. Councilors

 (1) The local authority shall consist of—

(a) The Mayor or President; and

(b) Not less than eight and not more than twenty-four other Councilors, to be appointed by the State Authority.

(2) Councilors of the local authority shall be appointed from amongst persons the majority of whom shall be persons ordinarily resident in the local authority area who in the opinion of the State Authority have wide experience in local government affairs or who have achieved distinction in any profession, commerce or industry, or are otherwise capable of representing the interests of their communities in the local authority area.

I encourages all residents in Selangor to study the background of the existing councillors and they will be surprised on the findings. For those that is unaware, the term of councillors has been extended for another month as the SSG could not make up their mind on who should be a councillor in 2012/13.

 I envy MBPJ for having  several knowledgeable and eloquent local council members.  They are very knowledgeable of the ACT and are able to control the council and the decision making process. It was in MBPJ, the billboard standardization and policy first came out. It was later endorsed and to be applied in the whole of Selangor. Did it happen? I can say confidently that it happened in PJ partly but not at all in Ampang. Ampang is filled with all sorts of billboards and yet the local authorities earn pittance from this lucrative business. They complain of shortage of funds and are not able to meet their obligation to the ratepayers. Despite that they chose to close their eyes on one lucrative source of revenue where it can be used to mitigate any increase in quit rent. Based on experience of a councilor from MBPJ, enforcing this policy has been difficult because councilors are weak as well as the billboard owners had invested in the councilors.

 The onus is on us, the people who voted PR into government to demand that they do what they had promised us.  Should we maintain them for the hatred towards BN when they have not done what they had promised? We cannot simply close one eye on the promises made. A popular Malay proverb says this aptly; “Lembu di pegang pada tali dan manusia dipegang pada janjinya”

• Yesterday Khazanah announced that they have sold their strategic stake in Proton (42.7%) to DRB-Hicom for RM1.3 billion. I am not convinced that the sale would benefit the company or the automotive industry. What is clear though is that now that Proton is in the hands of private individual, then we can no longer call it a national car. Since there is no longer any national car around, there is no reason for the government to maintain the preferential tax treatment that is given to Proton. It is time to liberalize and allow a fairer tax structure for the benefit of all Malaysian. The preferential tax structure for Proton must be removed.

• Is it the best deal for Proton and its shareholders? The world automotive industry has change. Technology is moving fast and my own assessment is that Proton is trailing far behind. The days of car manufacturer produces every single part is over. Giant manufacturers today are nothing more than Giant assemblers. Their products are designed by assembling all available components that is available in the world market. From a pure business angle, I am not convinced that Khazanah is getting the best deal here. I am far from convinced that DRBH entry into Proton would bring any strategic value considering they are also not on the world automotive stage. DRBH survival has always been dependent on government procurement especially from the Military. I believe there are hidden hands that interfere in this decision making process. I suspect DRBH would be a mere middleman where it would now seek international partners to take a stake in Proton and make some money from the transaction. Can we conclude that it was a controlled lelong?

• I was hoping to see Proton cars with BMW or WW technology in it but I suspect this is not going to happen any moment soon. In any case, the government has no more reason to give protection to proton. It must liberalize the tax structures for all locally assembled cars. They must  use only one tax structure. Since Khazanah and Proton is not a real winner in this deal, maybe the government would consider making the rakyat as the real beneficiary where we are given option to buy cars with a level tax regime.  Maybe it is time the people demand for it. Who knows BN may consider it, as part of pre-election goodies the people would enjoy. After all the government has been giving plenty of goodies lately. Lets push for it.Who knows we might be lucky.