Tuesday, November 02, 2010

Liew Chin Tong vs PEMANDU

Seriously, from the news articles and war of words in the press between Bukit Bendera MP YB Liew Chin Tong (DAP) and Senator Dato' Sri Idris Jala, I came to the conclusion that YB Liew is embarrassing himself.

Let me show you why. At first

The MP further alleged that a RM729.4 million operating budget was allocated for 2011 which has mostly been channeled to international consulting firms” (The Malaysian Insider)


As a learned MP with Political Science and Asian Studies degrees from the Australian National University (ANU), I would expect some level of professionalism from you my dear Senior.

What made you to come up with the allegations that most of the RM 730 million allocated to PEMANDU has been channeled to international consulting firms? Assuming "most" is equal to say "50%", that's at least RM 365 million paid to international consulting firms, Senior!

These wild allegations, which smell of "cari publisiti" intention, by YB Liew was shot down by CEO of PEMANDU who clarified that

PEMANDU's operating budget for 2011 is RM40 million. This comprises manpower costs/emoluments; services and supplies; assets under existing and new policies; one-off payment for non-recurring items including costs of conducting labs, open days, workshops, surveys, consultancy fees, research and benchmarking exercises; travel and logistics; and media costs.




Then, YB Liew didn't give up when he slammed the ETP.

This is clearly not in line with the spirit of the NEM. In the NEM 1 document, the National Economic Advisory Council categorically declared that the era of “centralised strategic planning” in which “guidance and approval from the federal authorities for economic decisions” is over. (The Malaysian Insider)


YB Liew clearly do not understand and did not try to understand. I can hear the thousands of people involved with the ETP from the public and private sector laughing already.

Senior, the ETP is not a PEMANDU or Najib Administration production. In layman's terms, the ETP is a compilation of brainstorming session recommendations by captains of industries in Malaysia as well as the private sector's plans to invest in specific sectors over the next 10 years. It is a programme and not a plan as Idris Jala likes to put it.

So, it is neither a "central planning" nor a guided economic decision by the Government.


Just because the CEO of PEMANDU is interactive with the people and the press, it doesn't mean that YB Liew should exploit it blindly to place yourself in the news!

Not everyone can be a Tony Pua or Kit Siang lah, Senior. Next election, it is time for Bukit Bendera folks to vote for Chia Kwang Chye!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bro, you kena hentamin Margeemar again! Read http://margeemar.blogspot.com/2010/11/mahathir-was-never-wrong-wtf.html#links

katdog said...

"The RM729mil as stated consist of Pemandu’s operating budget (RM40mil), National Key Results Area operating budget (RM334mil) and National Key Economic Area operating budget (RM355mil),” Idris said."

So yes, LCT was slightly incorrect in his statement. Actually 729 million was allocated for the operating budget of Pemandu, NKRA and NKEA.

But i think it is just a minor technicality. LCT's question is still pertinent. What is the need for 729 million in operating expenditure for Pemandu, NKRA and NKEA?

Remember this 729 million is just the operating budget. There is no infrastructure development etc. Just operating budget for manpower costs, consultancy fees, conducting roadshows and taking out full page spreads in the newspapers.

Why does the country need to spend 729 million on these? And remember also that we already have 25 different ministries that taxpayers are paying for.

I don't see other countries spending 729 million on pemandu/NKRA/NKEA, and yet they are more successful than Malaysia.

The truth is, if the various BN ministers and their ministries were actually doing the job they are being paid by tax payers to do, then you wouldn't need to waste 729 million on Pemandu/NKRA/NKEA.