Thesun 2009-04-13 Page10 The Numbers Dont Add Up

10

theSun

| MONDAY APRIL 13 2009

speak up!

The numbers don’t add up IT does not take a degree in rocket science to come to the conclusion that Malaysia had (yes, in the past tense), the most expensive taxis in the world. At RM7 million for five taxis, it would have cost a whopping RM1.4 million each. Not many may have had the opportunity to ride in these taxis, but bless those who had because they will have their names etched in gold in the annals of Malaysian transportation history. Having used the Opels in the eighties and Protons over the years, never had many imagined travelling in such luxury. Never mind that some of our cabbies overcharge and throw tantrums, but when you do the numbers, something does not compute. Let’s assume each taxi runs for five years. To re-coup the investment, you must generate revenues of RM768 a day. That does not include fuel and maintenance charges. Let’s put that at a conserv-

ative RM100 a day. So, to make it worthwhile for the cabby, he has to rake in at least RM1,000 a day. That means he has to do the KLIA-city run at least 12 times a day. But what beats me is what car can cost RM1.4 million? Surely a Porsche or a Ferrari with just two seats and hardly any luggage space cannot be used as a taxi. Rolls Royces are owned by car rental firms and are never used as taxis. So, what are we left with? The S-Class Merc? The BMW 7 series? Have you seen any such taxis in Malaysia? My hunch is that the government overpaid. And that someone deceived the people at Tourism Malaysia or that the same people gave the nod knowing that the prices quoted were exceptionally high. That aside, did Tourism Malaysia and Pempena in particular, know anything about managing a fleet of taxis?

revenue from tourism? But really, why do These questions have government agencies remained unanswered, want to compete with for the simple reason the private sector? Or for that no one can provide that matter, why should plausible answers. The Tourism Malaysia or its issue cannot be swept companies spend their under the carpet. If money on businesses people who misuse which are alien to them? ministerial letterheads How could Pempena and stationery can be have parted with RM18 million? Were they lured CitizenNades sacked, what about those who caused this by greed because the by R. Nadeswaran colossal loss? project paper forecast It is frightening a RM17 million profit? that despite having qualified and Didn’t someone realise that an learned people on the boards of almost ringgit-for-ringgit return some of these companies, no effort from investment (annually at that) was made to bring the culprits to was something out of Grimms’ Fairy book. Yes, an audit was carried out, Tales or to put it in local context, Pak but what happened next? Parts of Man Telo’s get-rich-quick scheme. the audit were made public, but The whole exercise stinks to high the key issues raised were never heaven. But the key question is: pursued. The irony is that after the What is the principal role of Tourhullabaloo, Pempena thought it fit ism Malaysia? Annually, millions of to operate its own taxi services. ringgit are allocated to the agency to Does its management have the promote tourism. Why then did it expertise or is it a case of spending venture into this business? good money chasing after bad? Didn’t someone smell a rat? The documents sighted by Didn’t someone do the numbers? theSun show other irregularities Didn’t someone’s eyes pop out or including the wife of a Tourism didn’t someone’s antenna go up Malaysia director getting the when they saw these figures? Or contract to service and maintain the did they know and chose to keep cars, but that’s for the authorities to their lips sealed because they were investigate as it involves pecuniary merely people yang menurut perininterests. But here’s an inkling on tah? Wouldn’t it have been prudent what these documents reveal. If to ensure that every sen of governthese figures cause your eyes and ment money (read: people’s money) mine to pop out, here’s something is spent with a view to increasing

more to digest: » Re-spraying 60 units of Hyundai Sonata was invoiced at RM182,000 or RM3,035 a unit; and » The cost of five litres of engine oil was invoiced at RM180 or RM36 a litre. From the little I know, engine oil comes in four-litre packs unless it is bought in bulk in 225-litre drums and Syntium 800 SM 15W/50 from Petronas costs RM86 a pack. But I will concede that there are synthetic oils that cost an arm and a leg. But that I believe is for high-end cars. Walk into any spray painter’s shop, and he’ll gladly do the job for under RM2,000. So, what we have before us is a blatant abuse of public funds. There can be no justification and neither can anyone mitigate getting involved in such a business and paying extraordinary prices. With a new minister at the helm, there’s no better way to start than getting to the bottom of this and holding them accountable for such a colossal waste of money. R. Nadeswaran is willing to part with his collection of documents on wrongdoings to the authorities with a view to bringing the culprits to book. Anything less, would be a waste of everyone’s time and effort. He is editor (special and investigative reporting) at theSun, and can be reached at: [email protected]).

letters

[email protected]

Judge CM Lim on his record I THANK Jeffrey Chew for his letter, “Credit due to state for a job well done” (April 2), which was in response to my assessment of Lim Guan Eng’s performance as chief minister of Penang, “Penang govt must change tack” (March 25). However, after studying Chew’s reply, I find the response to be unsatisfactory, as it did not address any of the concerns I had highlighted and in fact raised even more questions. I had, in my appraisal, concluded that Lim’s administration has been focusing too much on trivial and superficial issues while eschewing strategic and long-term thinking and planning. In addition, I had

also observed an over-emphasis on public relations, excessive image building for the chief minister and a steady stream of self-congratulationary statements emanating from the chief minister’s office. I had also pointed out to the current Penang state government’s unfortunate proclivity for claiming credit for the successes obtained through efforts by others while quick to abdicate responsibility for issues facing the state. Instead, Lim’s administration chooses to pass the blame on and responsibility to their predecessors, the federal government or its agencies. Let’s examine some of the “sig-

nificant successes” as pointed out by Chew. The much-hyped Wireless@Penang project was hailed by the CM as an innovative initiative that would propel Penang to be the first WiFi state in Malaysia. For a start, the name itself is unoriginal, obviously “inspired” by Singapore’s Wireless@SG project. What Lim has failed to inform Penangites is that the project itself is a recycled effort that was originally conceived and launched by former chief minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon in 2005. A part of the Penang i-Land 2010 Masterplan, the original WiFi project by the previous BN government was designed to provide the necessary infrastructure to make Penang a fully connected state by 2010 and was one of the projects under the National Broadband Plan. When Lim assumed office in March 2008, at least 34 free WiFi hotspots were already operational with another 100 or so hotspots on track to be fully operational by the first half of 2008 Hardcore poverty elimination is another subject that has been politicised by the DAP-led Penang government. Based on 9th Malaysia Plan data (the latest available), the incidence of hardcore poor in Penang in 2004 was below 0.05%. The percentage for the year 2009 surely would be even lower. As such the claim by Lim to have eliminated hardcore poverty in a year is highly ludicrous, misleading and irresponsible. As for the Komtar building, what was once the pride of Penang has over the years deteriorated into an eyesore. However, Lim’s simplistic and superficial cleaning up job that cost taxpayers millions will not solve the problems facing Komtar. The chief minister has wasted public funds and showed a lack of understanding for the root causes of Komtar’s sad decline. As for the Penang Global City Centre project, I also read Lim’s comment that the project was “good as dead”. However, having been exposed to politicians’ doublespeak for many years, most Penangites want the state government to cancel the project outright rather than making vague comments that can be interpreted in different ways. If Lim wants the public to be convinced of the sincerity and effectiveness of his CAT (competency, accountability and transparency) principles, he has to walk his talk. Lim is no longer a member of the Opposition or an NGO but the chief minister of Penang. People no longer judge him based on his press statements but on his record in delivering the promises that were made to Penangites in the “Dynamic Penang” manifesto. Otherwise the vision of “Dynamic Penang” would translate into reality as “Gostan Penang”. Calvin Sankaran Bukit Mertajam

No room for school bullies I REFER to the article in a local English daily on the bullying case in a secondary school in Serdang, “More trauma for victim as video clip surfaces” (April 12). I am writing as a concerned citizen and parent, firstly, as to the kind of students we are producing in our schools. Secondly, the quality of civil servants and ministers who are running the Education Ministry. I also saw the video clip on ntv7 the night before where the director-general of education said in response to the parents of the victim complaining why no action was taken by the authorities since the incident on Oct 14 last year: “Please ask the parents to contact me regarding this matter ...” And Deputy Education Minister Datuk Wee Ka Siong was quoted as saying in the news article that he was aware of the matter and had instructed the state education department to submit a report. Quote, “ ... If he (Tee, the victim) is unable to get help from his school, he can come to see me.” Pray tell me and every parent and citizen, what kind of message are the DG and Wee sending to the headmaster, district and state education department heads with their statements? Are they saying, “It’s okay NOT to do your job, sweep it under the carpet and if nothing happened forget about it. If it appears on national TV and newspaper, don’t worry, I will handle it.” I would have expected the DG to say nothing less than, “If this is true that no action is

taken, then I am truly disappointed with the headmaster, district and state education department heads for their inaction. I will personally investigate this matter and institute disciplinary action action against these officers for not doing their jobs. And let this be a warning to all other officers and headmasters, please do your job and if you can’t then resign.” Similarly, Wee’s statement is a reflection of the state of the education system, where the disciplinary system is in a shambles. Do you need a deputy minister to handle a straightforward disciplinary case? What happened to all his officers who are in charge of such matters? Not a word was mentioned to address the bullies. Can we allow these teenage bullies to go unpunished and off the hook without taking responsibility for their actions? Or are we Malaysians only good at making statements, promises and press releases after lives are lost? Are we producing responsible leaders and productive citizens who respect life and the law or gangsters and murderers from our school system? Everyone is talking about key performance index these days, let us start with the Education Ministry and show the public how KPI will be used to measure the performance of the headmaster, respective officers, right up to the education minister on such matters. White Shadow Puchong