Malaysiakini Your Say

‘If Mahathir could compel them to sign the deal with IPPs at a giveaway rate, why can’t they be asked to similarly disclose the agreements?’

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

Swipenter: This is one of the many ways the Umno-led government abuse and misuse OSA (Official Secrets Act) for the self interests of their cronies in the privatisation of essential utilities.

Sometimes we wonder why we are paying taxes to the government when we still have to pay market price for essential services, which in the first place should be provided at minimum cost to us by the government from taxes collected from us.

To add insult to injury, the government subsidises these privatised operators of essential services at an escalating pre-determined price (profit) over the privatised period and pass the price increase to us, the end-users.

The end-users must stand up to such abuses and vote the BN (Barang Naik) out in GE13. Revenue of Petronas belongs to Malaysians, not to Umno/BN. They are just custodians on our behalf (or so we think?).

Black Mamba: Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Peter Chin is telling us some cockamamie story. On one hand, he says it’s an agreement signed by private entities, why then the OSA is being used?

We were not born yesterday but a good half century ago. You may kid the children who attend the World Youth Day event to defend “your” Putrajaya, which incidentally doesn’t belong to you but us, as we are the ones who decide who should be there.

When we throw the BN government away in the next general election, make sure you are around to defend your stand or be prepared to go to prison.

The IPP (independent power producer) deals are no different from PKFZ (Port Klang Free Zone) scandal. If there is an iota of neligence, fraud, mismanagement or collaboration to deceive, cheat or mislead the rakyat, the minister shall be held accountable and be scrutinised in the court of law. Be very afraid.

GI Joe: Millions of people are affected by the increase in tariff and yet the government is so concerned about the PPA (power purchase agreement) being a private document and that this cannot be revealed to the public.

I am no lawyer but surely the right of the general public is paramount over the few IPPs. After all, BN always say ‘people come first’. Refusing to reveal these documents will only prove that they have something big to hide.

TehTarik: What baloney! Instead of trying to protect the interests of the citizens, the minister is using the OSA to shield the IPPs. So whose interest does the minister represent?

TNB (Tenaga Nasional Berhad) is a government-linked company and can easily be told that the agreements be made public. Peter Chin, you are the energy minister and can always demand that the contracts be released. What are you trying to hide?

The lopsided contracts are gravely disadvantageous to TNB. Many of these one-sided contracts were signed during the hey days of Dr Mahathir Mohamad. So is Peter Chin trying to protect Mahathir and his cronies?

Burstaxon: I’m resigned to the fact that we get the government that the majority of us voted for.

And apparently the majority of us live hand to mouth, no need to pay income tax, use less than 300 kW/h electricity, less than 20 cubic meter of water, live where there is no toll, can’t tell a Cayenne from a Wira, that English is not important, and so forth. Sigh. GE13 won’t change a thing.

Save Our Children: What a load of rubbish by an absolute fool. Former TNB chairman Ani Arope publicly said he was forced to sign the IPP agreements. And when he refused, he was sacked.

The agreements caused massive losses to TNB and the public. If in fact such an agreement was signed by a public servant, who is under oath to protect the public interest and the terms of the agreement are so one-sided that no reasonable government official would sign, then such an agreement can amount to an offence under the Penal Code, where the individuals involved can be charged with cheating.

Petronas, TNB and the other signatories of these agreement must be brought to justice and the assets of these companies be confiscated for all the wealth they have stolen from the public. If you don’t do that, then you are aiding and abetting a crime.

Bluemountains: Peter Chin is indirectly telling the rakyat that the government has nothing to do with the lopsided PPA (power purchase agreement) and therefore has no power to reveal it.

If it is just between two private entities, how could the government interfere by classifying it under OSA? The rakyat deserves a more intelligent answer.

Fellow Malaysian: The government has no right to get TNB to disclose the IPP agreements? TNB is very much a GLC (government-linked company) and if Mahathir could compel them in the 1990s to sign the deal with the IPPs at a giveaway rate, why can’t the government-owned company be asked to similarly disclose the agreements?

Malaysians Are Not Stupid: What is so secretive about a commercial contract that it needs to be classified secret? Surely there are a lot of hanky-panky that don’t see the light of day.

Anyway, what is it that the government cannot do if it has the political will to do so? Just amend the act or pass a new act to compel the IPPs to release the contract.

Nicole: Peter Chin has also (in)famously said that nuclear energy is ‘green’. Really? He loves to turn us livid.

TC: First we had S Samy Vellu now we have Peter Chin to utter stupidity in public. Do they ever look at themselves in the mirror?