IPPs not the only cartels, get rid of the others, too
YOURSAY Tolled roads, sugar, rice, AP permits, Proton, water, sewerage...’
With YTL out, Malay group wants IPPs abolished
Anticonmen: It is not just YTL but all the IPPs (independent power producers), about 10 of them who are sucking the system. Why only blame YTL? Is it because it is Chinese?
But do you know who is the real person behind the deal or deals? No prizes for guessing. After allowing two of the IPPs to milk the system, the government even paid billions to them to "buy" them back through 1MDB.
Do you really understand that the milking is done at three different levels? First, at the government funding level, second at the operations level and third at the ‘bailout’ or buy-back level.
Malay Consultative Council (MCC), wake up from your slumber and put your brains to work for a change if you claim you are an NGO working in the interests of civil society.
Rule of law was cast aside and the checks and controls of an independent executive, judiciary and parliament were dismantled in the 80s and the country slid into dictatorship so much so that the interests of the people was hijacked by a few who control everything.
The problem of lack of capacity by TNB (Tenaga Nasional Berhad) to prevent blackouts at that time was probably created by you know who, in order to justify the ‘piratisation’.
It's all manipulation of the system because the person who had power to privatise also had the power to increase TNB capacity or to stop increase of capacity but blamed the lack of capacity conveniently on TNB management in order to shove the ‘piratisation’ down TNB's throat, as admitted by then TNB chief Ani Arope.
When you control everything and there is no more check and balance, it is so easy to manipulate the system to your advantage and put blame elsewhere except yourself. Can you see this same modus operandi in every decision to privatise national assets?
TehTarik: I fully agree with MCC. TNB has sufficient resources to manage all the IPPs. Many of the IPPs are nothing more than cash cows, built at the expense of the rakyat.
Awakened: I remembered the ideas of IPP was mooted in 1995 when there was a series of blackouts in Malaysia. The last straw was a cable explosion on Penang bridge where it almost black out the whole of Penang. Many factories were affected for days.
There were a number of IPPs licences granted by the government to listed companies like YTL, Tanjung, Genting, Malakoff. You can find out who are the major shareholders of these companies.
According to the then TNB CEO Ani Arope, the terms (usually 20 years) were very favourable to these IPPs at the expense of TNB. The share prices of TNB has never hit its high of RM20 with the establishment of the IPPs.
It is almost 20 years now and why can’t the TNB CEOs stop the IPPs and it needs the MCC to act its behalf? Is TNB management similar to MAS management where the CEOs were appointed by Khazanah or the government. It looks like the hands of many CEOs of GLCs are tied and they are not capable to manage the company independently.
If the MCC is truly and sincerely wants a good governance of the GLCs in terms of awarding of contracts, they must call for abolishment of not only IPPs but all negotiated contracts with GLCs and also all government projects, to be replaced by open tenders.
This will ensure the lowest cost to the government and GLCs but also ensure those who are really competent suppliers get the job. They should call for the ending of all the monopolies of rice, sugar businesses and APs (approved permits).
These will really help the government to save billions of ringgit and channel the money for the rakyat.
Guna Otak Sikit: Why just focus on IPPs? There are many more unproductive monopolies in this country. The tolled roads, sugar, rice, AP permits, Proton, Puspakom, water, sewerage, etc.
Armageddon: If proven that the existing IPPs are making tonnes of money at the expense of the rakyat, why should we allow their contracts to lapse. Terminate them now, for the benefit of the rakyat. Aren't the cronies rich enough?
Waktamnoko: Right on the dot. Do away with all those cronies. Give it back to the TNB. YTL is only one of those and he has only withdrawn from only project. What about the rest?
Sleepy: MCC, you are just changing the model not the mode. Any model will work if the underlying objective is to benefit the citizens of the country.
Without IPPs, will TNB be transparent in its business dealing without outside influence or you (MCC) have a selfish agenda for not wanting IPPs.
Hplooi: As usual, they (MCC) are missing the trees for the forest. Instead of just examining the 'forest', look at the trees first.
If fundamental issues of good governance (which is a main cause) is not looked at then whatever the model, IPP, market-liberalisation, total government control (such as TNB), etc, the problem will not go away.
In my opinion, back-pedaling (or colloquially ‘gostan’) to the old vertically-integrated model will make the electricity market even more inefficient and especially if the old model is re-adopted.
Good governance means, decoupling technocratic decisions from political decisions and ensuring the right competency is present at the right place and the right time. The agenda peddled by the MCC is an autarchic philosophy of 110 percent government contracts and control solely by bumiputera.
The signs are already there, even the 'connection' of the Yeoh Tiong Lay's will now not help YTL. But normal (non-Malay) businessman will in the very near future be totally shut out of government contracts.
Patriot1: Well, at least now we get to see cronyism in true form. After the IPPs are sorted out, maybe the next stop should be the country's highways?
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