Who owns Kuala Dimensi?

Anyone can get a full list of the shareholders?

That is not hypocrisy but blatant attempts at misleading the international community. These politicians go glob trotting, and making speeches that they hope might not be reported at home - speeches ‘not for domestic consumption’ so they think but on many occasions they do get reported though not in full. Just follow where our PM goes and follow what he says and to whom, his speeches etc.

That is not hypocrisy.

But it had been shamelessly and unscrupulously exploited by the selected few for decades to accumulate enormous wealth.

Wealth had gone to the wrong people at the great expense of the ordinary people and its consequences are permanent, long term and far reaching.

This grossly exploited NEP had done enormous damage and will change the country forever.

They are not cows Sheriff Singh could go to and ask, “Got milk? I have ginger”.

You can accuse the government of many things – the continued pursuit of what is essentially a racist policy to benefit the politically connected few among the Malays beyond its original time frame, the entry into heavy industries like iron and steel, sponge iron and automobiles when they require economies of scale to be viable, the continued use of the infant industry argument to support certain industries which have developed vested interests and long ceased to qualify as “infant industries” - and of wanting to eat the cake and keep it at the same time when it comes to free trade and globalization.

The fact remains that Malaysia’s banking industry, for example, would have been dominated by foreign interests, serving foreign shareholders and causing a massive drain of the country’s foreign reserves as profits are not ploughed back but remitted annually to their headquarters offshore. A Japanese bank, for example, specializing in the financing of foreign trade has no incentive to expand into the rural areas to serve the Malaysian public. The policy requiring their local incorporation is the right step in the right direction.

All I am saying is that when it comes to protecting its own industries, national interests still matter. President Bush an advocate of free trade has been heavily criticized by corporate America. Many American industries are suffering today as they relocate offshore to India and China to take advantage of the FTA, outsourcing everything at the expense of national interests albeit short term.

Like I said earlier, you can accuse the Malaysian government of many things but hypocrisy is not one of them.

1. Where did all the money spent, all RM 2, RM 3 or RM 4.1 billion, come from, from which and whose budget?

2. Is this sum actually budgetted for? If not and if there is a cost overrun, shouldn’t there be an application for additional funds and budget which would have triggered many queries at an early stage?

3. Why this spend first and be dammed policy? What is the Board of Directors and Audit Committee (or similar) doing? Where are the timely checks and balances?

4. All projects, including government projects, have some form of criterias to assess whether they are successful or not, whether they have met their objectives or not etc. etc.

Maybe the Institure of Integrity and also the Corporate Governance Institute might wish to comment on this and other similar issues to justify their establishment and existence. And the relevant Parliament committee as well.

Just because DIGI is 60% foreign owned, they are not awarded the 3G license and the WIMAX license even though it is the most well run mobile company in Malaysia, with marketing and growth outperforming Maxis and Celcom.

Other foreign car manufacturers are not allowed to compete equally with Proton even if it still loses money after 20 years of operations.

Citibank and other foreign banks are not allowed to extend net work of branches whilst Maybank is allowed to dominate with maximum number of branches reaping zero funding cost from the countless current accounts deposits made by Malaysians of all races throughout length and breath of the country in spite of his 50% Malay equity for lawyer policy.

How could Malaysian government outwardly say it embraces Globalisation, become signatory to WTO [World Trade Organisation]’s and free trade agreements [FTAs] and yet maintain the NEP for protection of its political when its tenets and implementation oppose these arrangements with global players?’

Najib is not insouciant about Thierry Rommel’s remarks because of their significance and impact on European and foreign investments to this region.

Malaysia amongst all the ASEAN members is the only one that aggressively enforces affirmative NEP with its protectionist features.

Any stance taken by European Commission Delegation against the Malaysia’s NEP would imply the prospects of pressure being brought to bear by ASEAN members against Malaysia’s affirmative policy if the EEC condemns with negative repercussions to the grouping, in the same manner though perhaps not in same degree as the pressure against renegade Myanmar for its human rights violations.

It is therefore to our collective interest, and the interest of a better Malaysia to support Thierry Rommel’s antipathy expressed towards the NEP rather than take Undergrad2’s approach of attacking his statement on grounds of “hypocrisy” of European countries that themselves through the EC have erected barriers to free trade impeding entry of cheaper goods from Asian countries.

Who cares about EEC’s hypocrisy when our government is no less in its justification of the NEP and the EEC’s hypocrisy helps us to accelerate the unwinding of the NEP that is the source of multiple woes of this country?

So long as the NEP and UMNO hegemony exist, these will continue. Nuff said..

Globalization and Free Trade have its problems - not just to Malaysia or ASEAN but to the developed countries like the United States.

Many American jobs have now been lost to India and China. Certain American industries are in danger of collapse as they are unable to compete with the cheaper priced goods from China. Chinese companies are buying up strategic American assets. More recently, American companies have had to shift to Mexico to make Made in Mexico products to remain in business – and then flood American market with Mexican products.

Talk about the war on the American middle class!

There is so much hypocrisy.

To imply that European countries have and are dismantling all barriers to free trade, allowing cheaper goods from Asian countries to flood their own markets and kill off their industries is mischievous to say the least.

The Ambassador is walking a fine line when he equates the dismantling of protectionist barriers with the politically charged New Economic Policy - a narrow approach to take in any case. A fine line though it is, it has to be addressed but only as far as this Policy protects inefficient industries and serves only the interest of the politically connected few rather than the long term interest of the country.

Surely he is not advocating that Malaysia revert to growing palm oil and rubber?

Waaaah U oso German ah??

many buildings but empty ones.

Air cond on full blasts, lights all on but empty buildings.

putra-tak-jaya

We are always kept in the dark. Like a frog in a boiling water, i dont know whether my choice of not leaving Malaysia (migration) a good choice despite constant request from my wife, my age is catching up and if i dont decide in this few years….. too late perhaps. My excuse is that all countries also have problems of their own if not worst, maybe, that show that i am really a frog.

See what Naguib said of Thierry’s comments on NEP in Bernama:

“Don’t Meddle In Malaysia’s Domestic Affairs, Warns Najib

KUANTAN, June 23 (Bernama) — Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak expressed regret over the statement by the Ambassador and Head of the European Commission Delegation to Malaysia with regard to the New Economic Policy (NEP), saying that the envoy should not interfere in Malaysia’s domestic affairs and policies.”

Poor Najib, it isn’t just the NEP, silly. The NEP, NIP, IDR, PKFZ, RMK9 and what-have-you including 2020, 2057…et.al are all part of a ‘ strategic masterplan’ foreigners see. If it’s not convincing, there goes some more FDI. Malaysia is not an island unto itself. There is competition out there. So don’t go wailing and ask why Britons et.al. visit Malaysia less than neighbouring countries despite the age-old historical links or why we receive less FDIs. It’s simply that Malaysia doesn’t have what it takes to draw them thither! Simple enough, ya? All of BN’s boasting is just hogwash.

So now BN leaders under AAB and Najib not only suffer from myopia (shortsightedness), they also have hyperopia (farsightedness)! Can’t see far enough, can’t see near enough.

Herr Thierry, das ist richtig. Alles sehr verschwommen und ganzlich ungerecht. Diese NEP ist ganzlich nicht notwendig fuer die wirtschaftssytem!

BUt am sure YB did get to breathe in precious and pathetic air worth about RM3bil in PKFZ. They shld turn it into a tourist attraction.

“Breathe the most expensive air ever made” for just RM1 per entry.