Malaysiakini Your Say

‘Peter Chin’s statement that ‘the government has got no power to reveal IPP contracts’ sounds like the lamest excuse given by any politician.’

Minister: Gov’t has no power to reveal IPP contracts

Susah Kes: Funny. For a government that places people under the Internal Security Act, uses police or judiciary powers to suit its whims and fancies, has no qualms about hijacking state governments, has enough thick skin to try and bribe voters, and is not shy in booting Anwar Ibrahim out of his position as DPM in an atrocious manner, Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Peter Chin’s statement that the “government has got no power to reveal IPP contracts” sounds like the lamest excuse given this year by any politician.

Prussia blue: By that logic, TNB and the independent power producers (IPPs) also don’t need government’s approval to raise the electricity levy, but that is not the case, isn’t it?

Why is that, especially when the government is a stakeholder. As a party that has an interest in the matter, of course the government can reveal it since the document is also in the government’s possession.

What are TNB and IPPs going to do, sue the government?

Watchful eyes: Electricity is an issue of national security. The way the government puts it, it’s as if it has lost total control over this crucial energy source. As far as I know, it’s the government who moved for the IPPs’ involvement. Now they look powerless to stand up to them.

Who grants the IPPs subsidised fuel, the government or someone else? Who pays the subsidies, the government or someone else? What kind of irresponsible government is this?

On your toes: TNB is a private entity? Yes, it is private in management and ownership perhaps (even that is doubtful). But TNB is certainly performing a public function because it is a public utility and a monopoly.

Quigonbond: The contract is signed between two parties, let’s say Government of Malaysia and YTL. If the government wants to reveal the terms of the contract, all it needs to do is, subject to the nature of confidentiality clause in the agreement, get consent from YTL to do so.

Now, if YTL for its own self-serving reason refuses to allow the government to disclose, at least Malaysians know what a marvellous corporate citizen YTL is, and YTL’s Malaysian customers can react appropriately.

As all the IPPs will reveal the terms, there is no question of disparity of information giving advantage to any IPP or future IPPs.

Standardisation of fundamental contract terms are not alien to Malaysia. After all, every developer in this country has been subject to standard sale-and-purchase agreements for a long time now, and yet they remain in competition.

Justicekini: Peter Chin, you think the rakyat are stupid fools? If the cabinet can declassify documents like the ones on the PKFZ (Port Klang Free Zone) issue, why not the ones involving TNB and the IPPs?

Are they above the government? Or is this the usual lame excuse?

KJ John: Excuse me, Minister Chin, this is flawed logic. Is not the government the major shareholder of TNB? Did not the government agree to the terms of the TNB-IPPs contract? Is not power production a government-controlled public good? I rest my case.

Minister, you are better off saying that the government has no political will to make the contracts public because they are one-sided. That, at least, is the truth.

Wfworker: Chin, if you and gang have no intention to tell the truth; just shut up. The more you explain, the more problem you going to get.

You sign the contracts on behalf of all Malaysians and now you are telling us we have no right to it? We all know the main objectives of all such contracts – to enslave Malaysians through a new version of piratisation or financial colonisation.

Kita: When it comes to make public statement without making much sense, it is Peter Chin. Just last week, he claimed that the subsidy given to IPPs is not subsidy but a loss of profit by Petronas, which contradicted the statement of fellow minister and Pemandu CEO Idris Jala.

Can he really not understand basic English and does not know what power the government can exercise?

M’siaKiniFan: Government is a ‘nobody’ when they try to protect their cronies’ benefits but a monster when it comes to controlling the MACC, police and judiciary.

Salleh Nordin: Why so secretive about a contract which involves public money lest you have something to hide?

If it was done with public interest in mind and not to fill up pockets of some unscrupulous politicians, then I think we should have nothing to fear and bring it out in the open.

We should not go down the undignified route of Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his merrymen in making corruption a way of life in Malaysia.

Sarawakian_3ff9: The question still remains: why are we the taxpayers subsidiing these rich companies? Or is this too difficult for Peter Chin to answer?

When it comes to cronies, all sorts of excuses are used to protect them, but we consumers are taken for a ride by the government every time.

Ferdtan: By saying that the government has no power to reveal IPP contracts, Peter Chin is what I suspect most ministers in the BN cabinet are – “Stupid is as stupid does”.

This line is from the movie ‘Forrest Gump’, which means that you cannot expect anything except stupidity from a stupid person.