Rich Getting Richer
Some really bad news for the super rich in Malaysia. One was Patrick Lim in Penang, His PGCC in Penang is no more, and we are also told Patrick is no more close with the Badawi family. You can read this here in Anil Netto’s blog.
Another mighty hit is for another favourite son Francis Yeoh. His bullet train is now a dream. Dream on Francis. This is the Bernama report that says:
The government has not made a decision on the RM8 billion Kuala Lumpur-Singapore bullet train project, said Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop.
Our new MP and blogger Jeff Ooi has said it correctly, “follow the money, follow the gravy train”. Read this below.
April 15, 2008
Francis Yeoh and his urgent train
Remember Francis Yeoh, who got one of the first Independent Power Producer (IPP) licenses — Terengganu and Johor — during Dr Mahathir’s time? Remember the Francis Yeoh who swiftly dumped Dr Mahathir soon after Abdullah took the helm in 2004? Remember the Francis Yeoh who proposed the RM10 billion “bullet train to reach Singapore in 90 minutes”?
Citizen Nades had an earful for this Francis yesterday. Quote:
Yeoh was quoted by the NST as saying: “This project is economically viable, so I think the government will listen to the people and put this project an urgent basis again.”Well said! The key phrase is “listen to the people”. There were also other clichés like “environment-friendly”; “save the government billions in fuel subsidies”; and “the government is supportive of this project”. Anyone can give a thousand and one reasons for the project to go ahead, but very importantly, two questions have to be answered: One, do we need such a link, and two, can we afford it?
The people, I dare say, do not want their hard-earned money to go into land acquisition, soft loans and one-sided contracts and agreements. The people, I dare say, want their money to be used prudently to meet their needs – not those of businesses. The people, I dare say, want an efficient public transport system and not some form of luxury travel which they cannot afford and to which they become unwitting and unwilling contributors to a monopoly.
I think I speak for the majority – We would rather spend six hours on a slow train than watch fellow citizens suffer, unable to pay for medical treatment. How many hospitals and how many rural clinics can we build with that kind of money?
If Yeoh and YTL still want to proceed with it, please go ahead without touching our money. You do the feasibility study; you acquire the land at your cost and pay the prevailing market price; you don’t ask for soft loans or handouts from the government, or letters of guarantee for that matter and don’t even ask for protection by asking the existing efficient bus service to be restricted to keep you in business.
After all, Yeoh himself has said that “nobody looks at it as a mega project, an artificial project that you do for prestige”. If that’s the case, it’s time to put your money where your mouth is.
Remember this Francis Yeoh? I ain’t. But I do remember the quo pro quo in the rich KTM land bank around the Tanjung Pagar train station.
Follow the money! And the gravy train.
