VOXPOP 'The Taib family is invincible and no one dares touch them. They are above all laws, and they won't lose sleep over this latest revelation.'

Taib-linked firm bags RM600mil S'wak Energy job

voxpop, voxDudeno: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will never gain any credibility as a effective agency in eliminating graft whilst Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud and his family are left to commit daylight robbery in Sarawak.

We have already lost a large portion of our natural heritage whilst the Penan unique culture and lifestyle is being decimated. MACC has yet to produce charges against Taib to stop this. Isn't over 30 years of plundering by these rapacious fiends enough?

2zzzxxx: Exposé upon exposé on this powerful family but what is the use? The Taib family is invincible and no one dares touch them. They are above all laws, and they won't lose sleep over this latest revelation.

Hang Tuah PJ: Why are Sarawakians so stupid? Why do they keep giving votes to BN and then cry when this happens? Because of them, we peninsular Malaysians have to continue living with the Umno government.

Odin: Hang Tuah PJ, I've had high regard for you as you have exhibited signs of maturity, common sense and intellect. However, I am very disappointed that you have insulted Sarawakians.

Yes, there may be some stupid people in Sarawak just as there are plenty not only here in Malaya but also among the readers of Malaysiakini. The reason I have all this time ignored such readers insulting East Malaysians is simply that I did not wish to go down to their level.

A few points for you to ponder. Point 1: The same problem that you have in the peninsula, i.e., gerrymandering, is found there. Point 2: Not all Sarawakians vote for BN at elections. So, saying they are stupid is very unfair.

Point 3: You need to be informed that Sarawak is almost as big as the whole of Malaya, but communication is very poor, and most of the voters whose votes can strongly affect election results are found in the rural areas.

The people in the rural areas there are mostly not well-educated or even totally illiterate, and they do not have access even to the MSM (mainstream media) and never mind to alternative information.

In most places, the only ‘Net' you can find are the mosquito net and the fishing net. Deep in the interior, you don't even find either. These people rely on their representatives for information, but the latter tell them lies for their own benefit.

Here in Malaya, there are all sorts of problems also. Now, imagine East Malaysians saying you all are stupid because you have voted for the BN since 1957 and so you deserve what you are getting. How would you feel?

Anonymous #30879322: We are all aware that the general literacy level is low in most of rural Sarawak. They have no inkling of what is going on, other than the information given to them by their village heads.

And we are all aware that the village heads, for their survival, are easily bought with pittance. Stupidity is not the reason. Help them to realise the predicament they are in, then will we see results.

DAP: Come clean on Pemandu's payroll

SMC77: I am afraid Pemandu analyst Goh Wei Liang is correct. Pemandu employees do not share the same perks as top civil servant. Goh however forgot to state that Pemandu employees get much higher pay than top civil servants.

Ding Jeng Chung: "YB (Ong Kian Ming), none of us want to leave comfy, long-term jobs with Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Digi, etc, to work in the government (on) two-year contract and get bashed everyday."

Goh, then why did you leave your comfy job? Normal sane people will definitely stick to their job and won't leave. Unless you are so "patriotic" and love your country so much as to sacrifice yourself. Or you may have other motives or purposes...

Oldman57: I am sure that working in Pemandu has many advantages including information about various GLCs (government-linked companies), connections, etc, all well worth more than all the salaries they are getting. After all, knowledge is money.

TTT: I bet the next thing the government will say is, 'Malaysia is paying among the lowest in salary in the region for government servants, and Singapore pays much more.'

Honestly, I am not impressed with these 'contractors' when dealing with them in the past. Half the time, they have no idea what they want and all they do is 'project manage' the consultants.

Indeed, they are getting highly paid people (e.g. Pemandu) to manage consultants (e.g. McKinsey) that get paid even more to fix problems due to inefficiencies by people who get paid salary and board fees. Awesome model!

Joker: I've met a couple of Tan Sris and Dato Seris. They all lament about their 'misfortune' for being selected to head various departments/committees/GLCs.

They all think that their time could be better spent doing their own business. But being good Malaysians, they comply and see it as 'national service'. How patriotic.

They all get paid millions by the time their tenure is over and they are sought after by PLCs (public limited companies) and MNCs (multinational companies) to sit on their boards as they are deemed to be politically connected after their 'national service'.

Similar cases can be found in United States where their lawmakers are given cushy jobs as 'consultants' in multibillion MNCs after they leave their government posts.

So Pemandu, do forgive us 'ordinary' folks if we don't sympathise with your 'predicament'.

Sodom Me Sodom You: Millions of tax dollars are wasted on Pemandu and the likes that have nothing to show for themselves. How can they do their job when they are reporting to a political party?

How much honest work actually goes into providing results that matter, and how much of it is just apple polishing?

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