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Thursday, January 8, 2015

Govt’s many ‘moronic’ ventures landing us in hot water

The government should seriously consider doing less, not more as too many of its ventures have gone awry and are burdening the taxpayer.
COMMENT
By TK Chua
govt malaysia2There is a Midas touch and there is a touch that turns everything into mud. I am sorry, the latter applies to the government of Malaysia.
I think the government of Malaysia should seriously consider doing less, not more. The less the government does, the less harm and mud it will churn out.
The government has always claimed noble intentions and objectives when embarking on a venture. It wants to do great things for our economy and for our well-being, so to speak. But what do we get instead? The exact opposite! We get more debts, more tax burdens, more lawsuits and counter suits, more inefficiency and more distortions in our economy.
Here are a few examples. The government wanted to develop entrepot trade with Port Klang as a transhipment hub. But what we ended up with was the PKFZ fiasco with its unending debts, investigations, studies, court cases and lawsuits.
The government wanted quality beef supplies at reasonable prices for Malaysians but what we ended up with was the National Feedlot Corporation or NFC, a corporation that did almost everything except the thing it was set up to do. It has been drowning in countless investigations and protracted lawsuits since.
The government wanted strategic investments to leap-frog Malaysia’s development but what we ended up with was a corporation like 1MDB which is now saddled with numerous dubious dealings and massive debts. And this is even before the corporation did anything tangible for Malaysia.
We build airports as if we have unlimited land and resources. Poor finishing aside, why must we have KLIA2 when KLIA could be easily extended to cater to the needs of other passengers? I guess in Malaysia we build airports more so contractors may profit from it and to suit the fancies of respective airlines. Changi, Schiphol, Hong Kong and Shanghai are all big airports but I don’t think they have one terminal separate from another at such a distance and inconvenience.
By the way, do you know why our KLIA terminal looks so congested? Go to the departure deck and see for yourself the three lanes that are strictly reserved for VIP and “special” people. The rest of us must struggle and share the remaining three lanes further away from the terminal building. When is this feudal mentality going to stop? Can we all jointly petition the Transport Minister to open up all the lanes for all?
The government wanted nanotechnology; wafer fabrication; the creation of technopreneurs as well as movie and entertainment industries but we have ended up failing miserably on almost every front (check the annual budget and see where the allocations have gone).
Why then must the government do more when it should be doing less? Don’t you think with lesser “ventures” and so-called “strategic investments”, we would actually be better off?
On the contrary, the government has been neglecting things it is supposed to be giving attention to. Public transportation infrastructure and systems; water resource conservation and management; environmental protection and pollution control; public safety and security; public health and hygiene; waste collection and disposal; education and human resource development; a more comprehensive revamping of taxation and subsidy systems; inflation management; income policies as well as other macro-economic concerns.
Instead, all the government cares about is the beef industry; port ventures; stashing money away in the Cayman Islands; creating more monopolies (the latest one being MyEG Services Berhad given the monopoly to handle applications to extend foreign worker’s work permits); approving more toll roads; imposing more restrictions and permits on trade; acquiring more private companies through massive borrowing; issuing more bonds; and engaging in more wheeling and dealing.
Seriously, can someone tell me why it was so strategic for 1MDB to acquire the energy assets owned by Malaysian firms already domiciled and operating in Malaysia?
Quite clearly, the pre-occupation of this government has been geared towards helping high net worth and well-connected individuals in the name of trickle-down economics.
Felda was set up to help the landless. Instead, it has become a global corporation turning settlers into perpetual landless workers.
Please also look at the overall NEP allocations and programmes. The thrust has always been on creating a commercial and business class, rather than eradicating poverty and ensuring better income distribution.
Hence, the emphasis has always been on money-making ventures; property trusts; share ownership schemes; dishing out contracts and licences to selected entrepreneurs; and selective privatisation et cetera.
Who, for example, monitors and evaluates the performance of Bumiputra Property Trust Foundation and Ekuinas. Did they serve the purpose of poverty eradication and income distribution? Or are they just money-making schemes using public funds to enrich certain people?
Please, the government of Malaysia; it is not your forte to indulge in sophisticated ventures and investments. Those savvy investment bankers and advisors you employ will either profit from you or swindle you. The moral hazard involved in government ventures is just too colossal for you to produce decent and tangible results.
Best to leave it to the private sector to use its own money and take risks to leap-frog development in this country.
Trust me; it will definitely work better than your moronic ventures, one after another.
TK Chua is an FMT reader

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