your say 'Does Switzerland, a true blue high-income nation with real smart people, get that way by implementing mega-construction projects?'

Malaysia needs mega projects, say reps

Ghkok: The country does not need another record-breaking tall building.

The country needs to fix its problems - its record-high crime rate, its record-high road accident rate, its record-high budget deficit, its record-high illegal immigrants, its record-high toll rates, its record-high car prices, its record-high traffic congestion, its record-high number of people emigrating, its record-high number of unemployed graduates, and most of all - its record-high corruption.

This is what we need to fix. We don't need another stupid building!

Truman: After more than 50 years of managing the country, they still don't know why we cannot achieve high-income nation. All these so-called graduates still think that we need more and more hardware (i.e. 100-storey buildings) to improve our nation's income.

Driving a sport car does not mean that I'm a high-income earner. It is our software (human capital and education) that has problems.

DOC: From my understanding, one of the reasons an Umno AGM is conducted is for it to be a podium where party intellectuals (if there are any left) bring forward innovative ideas on the running of the country. This Umno AGM seems to be a meeting of swindling imbeciles.

Ruben: We have to remember that some mega-projects have worked but a number of them ended up being white elephants or a total write-off or ballooned in terms of actual costs versus agreed contracts.

Mega-projects that did not work are:

1) Putrajaya - it has not produced its intended benefits. Have the embassies moved to Putrajaya as intended? Not forgetting, the high maintenance cost as well.

2) Putrajaya monorail - a total write-off.

3) Perwaja Steel - we know what happened.

4) Bakun dam - Costs have escalated. The original intention of building a submarine cable to West Malaysia did not materialise. Now power-hungry mega aluminium smelting plants are planned together with the possibility of environmental disaster.

The problem with these Umno representatives is that they have mega-bucks in their pocket already and want more.

Md Imraz Muhammed Ikhbal: "The country needs mega-projects to become a high-income nation," said the ‘Baziran Negara' rep. The brutal truth is, "BN needs mega-projects to become a nation with high-income politicians."

Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia: An Internet commentator drew parallels between Umno's proposed mega-tower and the similarly misconceived 105-storey Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea - the glory project of the late Kim Il-sung.

The Ryugyong was abandoned almost 20 years ago after nearly bankrupting the already criminally-mismanaged country, but the structure still stands as a monument to corruption , megalomania and insanity. It looks like Umno is bent on going down the same path as North Korea and other failed states.

Matrix: How is having a 100-storey building going to create more jobs if nobody is occupying the office? Just like in CyberJaya and Putrajaya, there's too much office space and not enough workers to fill it.

And have they thought of the seriousness of the traffic jam in KL? It is already unbearable now, what will happen to the jam if this building is fully occupied? They'll need another RM10 billion to use helicopters to transport workers to and from Menara Warisan!

Allan Kong: Razali Ibrahim, you are already high-incomed. How high do you want to get? Your goal should be to allow those with low-income to have a decent income.

Amaso: To Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin - it looks like you won't get even crumbs from Najib Razak's Menara Warisan mega-project as you did not say a word about it, let alone support it in your speech .

Your deputy chief, Razali Ibrahim, will get it as he is singing Najib's tune. Consider jumping over to Pakatan Rakyat?

Freemsia: Another attempt by Umno to give projects to cronies and enrich themselves at the expense of the rakyat ala Mahathirism. Khairy said that change in Umno is necessary but it would not be easy. He wasn't kidding.

Anonymous: "When Putrajaya first came up, they said they would sell it off. Now they are racing to take it over."

The opposition wants to take over the government from you goons, not the place.

"When the Penang bridge was built, they said the government would go bankrupt. Now they are asking for a second bridge."

Well, you are charging an exorbitant amount for the toll on the bridge (and still charging) - if not, yes, you will be bankrupt by now.

"When the SIC (Sepang International Circuit) was built, they said it was a waste of money. Now they are saying Singapore should have had its own circuit a long time ago, which shows that they actually agree to the (SIC) project."

That's because Singapore's circuit is based on an "existing" track (i.e, roads), while we have to build from scratch. And the roads are used almost all-year round, while our Sepang is only used for a few days.

Stop spinning guys... the more you do it, the worse it becomes.

Anonymous: As far as I know, PNB profits and reserves are from government contracts and government-to-government contracts as well as assistance from the government in the form of soft loans. So the reserves should rightly be channeled back to all Malaysians, not to just a few selected contractors.

Tailek: Surely Umno will say the country needs mega-projects because guess who will get all the contracts awarded to them. Not the ordinary Malays and bumiputeras. Only Umnoputras gets the lion share of the mega-contracts, then they sub-contract them to some well-connected cronies and take their cut.

Clearwater: Malaysia needs mega-projects like it needs mega-holes in its finances; and Umno delegates need mega-holes in their heads to let the sunshine through. What thundering fools are these?

Does Switzerland, a true blue high-income nation with real smart people, get that way by implementing mega-construction projects? Does Sweden?

Dood: In truth, it is not Malaysia that needs mega-projects, but Umno/BN members and their cronies so that they can make money off the overpriced, lucrative contracts.

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