Khalid now playing 'you help me, I help you'
Khalid slammed for siding with Kidex firm
Aries46: Selangor MB Khalid Ibrahim’s enthusiasm for the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) puzzles considering the many negative aspects of the project.
Foremost, any number of expressways in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya will not solve the massive congestions as long as BN perpetuates its protectionist policy for Proton at the expense of an efficient public transport system.
Secondly, Pakatan Rakyat’s election manifesto was to disallow future BN lopsided crony concession highway agreements and even dismantle the existing toll system in Selangor.
Thirdly, considering the perceived corruption and manipulation involved in these BN ventures why must Selangorians bear this burden anew knowing that length of toll collections are indefinite and every likelihood of taxpayers having to bail out the crooks?
Why a toll highway in the heart of congested Petaling Jaya when existing tolled highways are jammed up and bursting at the seams with toll paying motorists being given a rotten deal having to crawl on these corrupt highways where toll booths denote daylight robbery?
Why does Khalid promote all these?
Abasir : Good questions, Aries46. Khalid and his inner circle of advisers would have considered all the issues you have raised and then proceeded to put the interests of the cronies above those of the people of PJ.
It is clear that a 'you help me, I help you' arrangement is in the works. Khalid must be yanked out before he can do any more damage to both the people and the coalition.
Pakatan and Anwar Ibrahim in particular face a litmus test: do they have what it takes to restore the fast fading people's trust in it by getting rid of this overrated, underperforming, renegade MB who really represents Umno and its parasites, Emrail and Zabima Engineering Construction?
I remember PKR strategies director Rafizi Ramli and Selangor speaker Hannah Yeoh making promises that Pakatan will never introduce tolled highways in the state. Selangorians have had it with a government that puts the interests of businessmen/cronies above those of the people.
There is now a groundswell of discontent against PKR in particular - a rudderless party that simply does not know what to do with its menteri besar who has obviously left the reservation.
Put simply, Khalid does not represent the people who voted for Pakatan. Get rid of him.
Mushiro Something is fishy - Khalid has been making many wrong statements lately. The Kidex deal is again another negotiated inflated tender awarded by the Umno government to unqualified and inexperienced Umno cronies because of favours done for Umno.
Adsertor A government is elected by the people for the people and must act in the interests of the people.
Here we have the compromised Khalid (all his personal legal and financial headaches having miraculously vanished in thin air) protecting corporate interests at the expense of the people.
Fair Play It has become increasingly clear that after the PKR general assembly with the likelihood of party deputy Azmin Ali securing the deputy president post again, there would be a change of MB in Selangor.
Harsh as it might sound, it looks like MB Khalid has morphed into something totally unexpected.
Casey: It is easy for those vested with power to make callous decisions in say, authorising toll concessions and appointing independent power producers (IPPs), with or without consciously knowing that such actions - if poorly structured and ill-conceived - will result in protracted negative impacts with serious and adverse consequences.
It is perhaps moot to debate whether former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad was in the know when he started to dish out overpriced concessions to his cronies - all in the name of privatisation - that the knock-on effects brought about by the huge leakages of overpriced concessions will continue to burden the people, impair national growth and competitiveness over an extended period of time.
This is because the cost to the nation as a whole far outweighs the illicit billions that he and his cronies had amassed. In all likelihood, these decisions may well continue to haunt the nation for generations to come - long after the demise of the culpable culprits or long after they are out of power.
The insight behind this assertion is simple. Apart from the government having to maintain a high tax regime to fund these overpriced largesse, charges and levies imposed by the concessionaires become: 1) a function of cost to the producers; and 2) reduction of disposable income to the people at large.
It is a double whammy. The higher the cost - whether due to arduous terms or artificially inflated prices - the higher the charges or levies will be.
Indeed, in most instances, the negative multiplier effect that these callous privatisations inflict on the masses and the nation far outweighs the leakages or financial gains to a small group of corporations or recipients.
It’s been a common practice of Tenaga National Berhad (TNB), for instance, to keep increasing levies to fund the lopsided IPP supply contracts. Similarly, the toll charges for a round trip from Bukit Kayu Hitam to Johor Bahru are an insane RM215 for a private car and RM430 for a truck.
Now, infrastructure like adequate electricity and water supplies, highways and railways are non-tradable inputs to our economy. Measured by today’s standard of living, these physical resources are the basic necessities.
To producers of goods and services, they are major determinants of price, efficiency and competitiveness. Given an environment where all producers around the world have equal access to tradable inputs - such as raw materials - at comparable prices, the degree of competitiveness will be determined by the costs of non-tradable inputs - primarily labour, infrastructure services and utilities.
Hence, a non-tradable sector sitting on high rents distorts the allocation of productive resources. This is because the performance of tradable sectors depends heavily on the degree of competitiveness and efficiency in non-tradable sectors.
Mikey: Just remember what happened to Kedah prior to the last GE. The late Kedah MB was being very hardheaded on a number of issues and refused to listen to his exco to the point of the government being close to breakup.
PAS made the mistake of not removing him before the election and they lost the state. A few weeks agom many were chiding Anwar when he moved to strike out Khalid with the Kajang Move to the point of accusing Anwar of self-interest.
Do many out there think that Anwar is hard up for the post of MB? He couldn't even be bothered to be president of PKR. The Kajang Move was a strategic and surgical move and had to be done. Deals were being made that were contrary to the interest of Pakatan.
It's still not too late. Remove Khalid now. Don’t let him finish his term.
Bluemountains: The Pakatan presidential council needs to remove Khalid urgently before more damage is done. To protect the interest of the people of Selangor, he should be asked to step down immediately.
Failing which, a vote of no confidence should be passed against him in the state assembly. Pakatan has more than enough votes to carry out the no confidence motion.
If Pakatan does not act now, it will be thrown out in GE14.
Iiiizzzziiii: We are all human, hence we are subject to falling from grace. Similarly, Khalid seems to be going in that direction too. Sometimes temptations become too great and a person will sell out to the devil.
This is Khalid's last term as MB and perhaps he may see it as his last opportunity to make good before riding off into the sunset and living happily ever after. Perhaps vested interest in the Kidex project has influenced him because nothing should derail it due to the alleged large payoff.
So, be it Umno or PKR, nothing has changed when it comes to personal enrichment. It would be extremely naive to think that corruption can be eradicated so easily. Corruption has evolved in tandem to the mindset of the present society and has become more complex, and at times sophisticated and sublime.
Welcome to the dark age of mankind.
Stried: The day Khalid increased his own salary substantially was the day he checked into Hotel Umno.
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