Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz | November 8, 2012
Free Malaysia Today
Every business and economic project undertaken by Umno is a means by which a small powerful group enrich itself at the expense of the majority.
COMMENT
Bread for the political aristocrats and crumbs for the masses. That’s the economics practised by Umno leaders who display the characteristics of economic crimes.
The recent listing of Felda Global Ventures, for example, will go down in history as a wilful conspiracy to shortchange the Felda settlers.
What do common Felda folks know about the stock market because now all the physical assets that constitute the basis of Felda’s business are converted into paper assets.
The assets traded over the counter do not reflect the integrity and soundness of the physical assets, but reflect the manipulations and agility of stock market players.
Why place a known corrupt person as chairman and replacing conscientious Felda officers with obliging conspirators?
The fact that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak agreed to this reflects his complicity in suckering the Felda settlers. It’s a premeditated plan to plunder Felda.
Every business and economic project undertaken by Umno is a means by which a small powerful group enrich itself at the expense of the majority.
That’s the idea behind Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s economics. Mahathirism is the centralisation of power, emasculation of the judiciary, arrogance, rampant corruption, feigning inclusiveness while actually fanning divisiveness.
This is a Malaysia founded on the principle of natural selection turned on its head.
Instead of free competition, Mahathir carries out selective breeding – now this is Mahathir’s economics. Economic deprivation of the majority is Umno’s agenda.
It’s all about wealth and power for the selected few, economic injustice for the majority.
Umno and Mahathir have created a society consisting of a few millionaires and billionaires while more than 8.5 million Malays live with a monthly income of RM1,500 and a further 3.2 million non-Malays living on the same monthly income.
Simply put, 40% of the population lives under the RM1,500 monthly income level. How would this group fare in Najib’s high-income driven agenda?
Najib is a poor copycat of Mahathir
His New Economic Model (NEM) is but a continuation of Mahathirnomics – the use of absolute and discretionary power to create winners from a selected field of friends and cronies.
It is the same rapacious greed displayed by politicians that is behind the decision to award the Automatic Enforcement System (AES) business to two private companies.
The government has contracted out the income generating resource to Beta Tegap Sdn Bhd and Commercial Circle Sdn Bhd.
If this revenue source earns the country RM50 billion a year, why outsource it?
And what do we do with the over 3,000 cameras already installed by the police at so many places in the country?
Najib’s NEM is just an extension of Mahathirnomics – the same selective life-giving patronage for friends and cronies in business. Should these friends fail, there are always the contingent funds to bail them out.
We have a government that is lazy, driven by rapacious greed, eager to surrender revenue-earning assets in order to support the leisurely life of the rich and powerful political aristocrats.
The writer is a former Umno state assemblyman but has now joined DAP. He is a FMT columnist.
#1 by Bigjoe on Thursday, 8 November 2012 - 9:29 am
The greatest crime of FGV is ‘spin’ being put about its future prospect. It is already the largest palm oil plantation company – increasing acreage is marginal idea – improving yield is slow and track record poor. Its other business is not remarkable. Its best bet is another round of global price increase which is possible but not in the immediate future..
Its a stock that will underperform..If the management messes around with it entering all sort of business they have no expertise, the stock will stay depress while other counters will race ahead..
There is NO MORE FUTURE BENEFIT FOR THE FELDA SETTLERS TO VOTE FOR UMNO/BN. In fact, if they don’t want a disaster to happen – they should kick out UMNO/BN so that PR can bring in strong management that will put FGV and Felda in strong position for them..
#2 by cseng on Thursday, 8 November 2012 - 11:22 am
//If this revenue source earns the country RM50 billion a year, why outsource it?//
This is the point of dispute. Why a noble objective of limiting speed for public traffic safety, but public focuses are on possible abuses?
Because of Umno-nomics, this is what made Umno before, what Umno is made for, today. Umno became strong of this and will doom at this too.
It explains a universal law, short-term ‘privileges’, if prolonged, eventually evolves into long term ‘curses’. That is how cancer developed.
#3 by Godfather on Thursday, 8 November 2012 - 10:17 pm
When Mamakthir “requested” Petronas to buy out Mirzan’s Kumpulan Logistik or his son’s company would be taken over by the banks, both Hassan Marican and Anwar balked but finally agreed to an independent valuation by Chase Manhattan Bank. That act alone meant the end of their relationship with Mamakthir.
The UMNO hierarchy knew the whole story, so why won’t they rape and pillage since Mamakthir had already shown the way ?
#4 by Cinapek on Thursday, 8 November 2012 - 11:29 pm
“…Bread for the political aristocrats and crumbs for the masses….”
One is reminded of the infamous reply from Marie Antoinette, Queen of France who famously retorted “..let them eat cake if there is no bread…” when told of the hunger the poor masses were facing just before the French Revolution.
Amongst others, this reply helped fueled the citizen’s anger that resulted in the revolution that overthrew the French monarchy and culminated in the guilotine execution of both Marie Antoinette and her husband, Louis XIV.
Would we see a similar anger amongst the settlers triggered by the crumbs and help throw out the BN Govt?
#5 by waterfrontcoolie on Saturday, 10 November 2012 - 7:06 am
Unless the vast majority of Malaysians, especially those in the rural areas begins to think rationally and judge objectively on the present Gomen, the nation will continue to be under their Bullshits! I hope they realize by noiw that the slanting on religious issues is just to frighten and confuse them. And somehow until they can be awaken to this fact, they will continue to be led by their nose!