YOURSAY | ‘Abdul Hakim, no one in the right mind will begrudge you a few sen.’

I'm not making much money, says Zahid's brother

Anonymous 122461436161429: Mr DPM’s brother Abdul Hakim Hamidi, what you and your brother are doing is called nepotism and cronyism.

The contract was awarded to you because you knew about it and because of your connections. Others can do a better job but they didn't know about it and they didn't get the contract because there was no open tender and their brother is not the DPM and home minister.

And please don't bring Allah into this and also don't give us the bulls**t about not making money out of this deal. Why does Umno and its cronies keep thinking we were born yesterday?

Vent: Come now, Abdul Hakim, no one in the right mind will begrudge you a few sen. The point is you will make more than a few sen for your children and grandchildren.

You are really quite inventive in providing a system to Bangladeshi agents in exchange for a contract to provide other services to the workers when they reach Malaysia. And that isn’t small change.

Peter Kandiah: Abdul Hakim, who will buy your sob story? Sure, you are a businessman but don't tell us that there are no other businesses where your brother Zahid is not involved directly or indirectly?

AJ: Is this man for real? Is being dumb run in the family? If you are really an IT expert, ply your trade elsewhere and make any amount of money for all we care.

You are now trying to milking the people's money through your brother. That's why it's called a conflict of interest.

We get it that it's normal for a pirate government to do this but don't expect the rakyat not to rile you for your ability to get contracts from your brother.

Hplooi: Abdul Hakim’s last argument, “Before a system was put in, these agents were buying and selling people, making several thousands of ringgit per worker", is self-serving.

The government is part of the problem not the solution. After putting this 'new' government-sanctioned system in place, it does not mean that extra-legal agents will be cut out. It only means one more layer in the system.

Or to put it bluntly, based on current modalities promoted by the minister, the government (through appointed agents) are trying to corner the market 'top-down'. There is no real political will to solve the decade-old human trafficking problem.

Remember the close relative of the minister in the cow-condo escapade? He, too, claim competency in managing the national beef initiative based on his academic credentials.

And he was awarded a sweetheart deal by the government. Everyone knows the disaster which unfolded notwithstanding his strenuously declared business competency on the strength of his academic qualifications.

Ignoring conflict of interest is a sure fire way for disaster...

XED: A monopoly providing SIM cards and cash cards to foreign workers? Why not make it a rule that employers, not others, must provide such services to foreign workers?

Why a monopoly? What next? A bum will secure a monopoly for providing a service to fill forms for those who seek services in government offices, even for those who can fill the forms themselves.

Unnecessary intermediaries providing unnecessary services at inflated prices. Just imagine, the government can appoint a sole agent to fill forms for parents enrolling their children in school, for people lodging police reports, for people applying for welfare, for tourists arriving in Malaysia, etc.

Is this is the Malaysian way of doing business? No, but only for some privileged ones. What value is added to skills this way?

Pahatian: Just a small telco lot selling SIM cards for a hundred or so people can ‘cari makan’ already.

But with 1.5 million confirmed customers, I don't know how much one can rake in. Mind you, that's for the SIM cards only.

I am sure the commission alone can rake in hundreds of thousands if not millions of easy money.

Pemerhati: The sad reality is that while PM Najib Razak has allegedly raked in and is raking in billions through various deals such as the Scorpenes submarines and 1MDB, Zahid with the help of his brother is trying to allegedly rake in billions by bringing in 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers which the country does not need.

These top Umno leaders are taking their turn to make their billions. Previously, people like Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Daim Zainuddin allegedly made their billions when they were in power. Now it is the turn of the people like Najib and Zahid.

Odin Tajué: Bad analogy, Abdul Hakim. The ship is not sinking. It is sailing on, trawling millions and billions from the sea of 30 million.

And if the captain is your brother, doubtless you are entitled to some of the catch. It may be only a few sen, but each of the sen is bigger than a bullock cart wheel.

Didn't you say you could make money for your children and grandchildren? If the money was small as you have claimed, you wouldn't make enough even for yourself.

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