YOURSAY ‘At end the day, the gov’t will still have to pay the concession holder...’

 

At least Vincent Tan is grateful, says minister

Hplooi: PPP (public-private partnership), of which PFI (private finance initiative) is a subset, is a financial concept heavily promoted by international business for its benefits of no-capital cost.

 

For governments, PFI requires government guarantee which in itself is a form of money creation (M3 money supply). After having created the money via debt, the government is now obligated to pay long-term interest to private interest.

 

The pernicious part of PFI is it holds a government 'enslaved' to private capital when the government can just create and use the capital themselves. For example, Abraham Lincoln funded the American Civil War by printing money (the greenback).

 

PFI will increase government expenditure and debt in the long run. In the case of Malaysia, the taxpayer suffers a double whammy when the capex (capital expenditure) reported is inflated or the business model in reality is not sustainable (i.e. apart from reporting a reasonable capital cost, the business model is strong enough to sustain the business without bankrupting the nation).

 

Of course, tycoon Vincent Tan has to be grateful to the government. Do you think he would be allowed to buy and own the land where Berjaya Times Square stands (in the heart of Kuala Lumpur) without approval from the inner cabal?

 

These tycoons do not represent the Chinese and can be considered part of the system (a comprador who milks both sides of the political and class divide). Of course, to be a comprador you have to "play balls".

 

Unfortunately, compradors like him are frequently trotted out to show the ostensible 'fairness’ of the system - to a dominant race electorate, they are used as examples to show the ostensible conniving nature of the Chinese, and at the same time as accompaniment to the oft-repeated refrain of the 'evil Chinese dominating and stealing the wealth of this country'.

 

Both are outrageous lies which are still 'currency' in use.

 

Anonymous5: Indeed, PFI is not charity. At end the day, the government (i.e. we, the rakyat) will still have to pay the concession holder in one form or another for years to come.

 

This is the problem when we take a low-grade tribal leader from remote Kota Belud and ask him to handle national matters.

 

CiViC: Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Abdul Rahman Dahlan, who are you to comment?

 

What have you contributed in comparison to tycoons Francis Yeoh or Vincent Tan? You think these people just took and gave nothing back to Malaysia like all your Umno cronies?

 

On one side, you condemn Chinese for dominating the economy, on the other you want to claim credit for giving them this privilege.

 

RR: Abdul Rahman, you missed the main point of what Vincent Tan was saying.

 

Why build a new incinerator when the Bukit Tagar landfill has capacity for decades? Use the RM1 billion for sports development for youth. These are crux of his views.

 

My dear minister, no private investor will put his money if your ‘tipping fee’ is not lucrative.

 

Lidah No Bone: Pay for the cost of the incinerator, be it RM1 billion or whatever, and be done with it. But do not adopt the PFI model as you will not see the end of the road.

 

Negarawan: The Umno government expects the rakyat to be grateful to it. Let's get this right, Abdul Rahman.

 

Any government is subservient to the rakyat, not the other way around. Umno is trying to impose upon the rakyat projects which are not beneficial, even harmful, only because Umno has a hidden and selfish agenda.

 

Speaking Sense: Abdul Rahman should be grateful that someone as unqualified as him is able to enjoy what he has purely by virtue of his race.

 

I am no fan of Chinese cronies of Umno, but at least even people like Francis Yeoh and Vincent Tan had to use brains to get what they have.

 

No one of whatever race has to be grateful to the government for what they have if they achieved it by hard work and brains, which is certainly not the case with the minister who has received his on a silver spoon.

 

This country belongs to all, not just Umno.

 

AJ: There is no free lunch, whatever means it is paid for in the beginning it will charged back to the user, the people, many times over. So don't build unnecessary white elephants.  

 

Keturunan Malaysia: Abdul Rahman, please read all the comments here in Malaysiakini - once, twice or even three times if you have to.

 

First and foremost, why should anyone be grateful to the government?

 

As Hubert H Humphrey said: "There is too much government today. We've got to remember the government should be by the people, of the people, and for the people" and "There are not enough jails, not enough police, not enough courts to enforce a law not supported by the people."

 

And if that's not enough, this is what Daniel Webster said: "The people's government, made for the people, made by the people, and answerable to the people."

 

Are our government and you anywhere near any of the above?

 

Clearwater: I'm sure Vincent Tan is grateful. So is Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary. Others as well. So will any businessman who gets the kind of opportunities given to these crony kings.

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