Aliran Monthly Vol 25 (2005): Issue 2

	PLUS should change its name to PLUS, PLUS, PLUS Thinking Allowed

It appears that someone has released the toyol from its bottle and s/he is now wreaking havoc for the Selangor MB. First there was the proposed overseas trip by the Selangor Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to study best PA practices in, of all places, Egypt! The eight-day trip was to include a cruise along the Nile, a visit to the pyramids and other tourist attractions, a belly dancing performance, and discussions with Egyptian PA officials, uh, pending confirmation.

Luckily DAP Assemblyman for Sekinchan Ng Suee Lim blew the whistle on the proposed �study tour�, sparking a public outcry, which in the end saved tax-payers RM80,000. But our little toyol must have been working overtime. For the Selangor PAC deputy chief Ahmad Bhari Abdul Rahman, who was going to lead the trip, threatened to deduct Ng�s monthly allowance in order to pay for the aborted trip! Back from a haj to Mecca, the MB then stepped in. Not influenced by his near namesake, Mohamed Khir Toyo announced that he had not been informed of the trip and the state would not underwrite the costs incurred.

Next came the massive land-clearing of some 1,200 ha of forests by 35 developers in Shah Alam. Conducted at the edge of the Cahaya Seri Alam Agricultural Park, the green belt next to Putrajaya, the land clearing threatened the ecology of the area. In this case, the prime minister himself expressed concern after surveying the area from a helicopter.

The MB, away on an overseas trade trip when the issue broke, quickly ordered a halt to all land clearing activities as soon as he returned. He also pleaded that approval for these development projects was given prior to his time in office.

Then it was the �exco village� in section 7, Shah Alam. Another DAP assemblyman Teng Chang Khim � inspired by the toyol?- blew the whistle this time. The village comprised 10 large bungalows, fully furnished with bedroom and dining room sets, a clubhouse with a swimming pool, and other recreational facilities. The MB, this time in town, quickly clarified that it was an �officers� complex� meant for senior state officers. Some of the existing houses were old, even leaking. He just wanted to give the officers �a proper place to stay�. And the clubhouse was, uh, �for meetings,� perhaps to host official functions too.

He admitted though that some exco members who lived away from the capital could stay there as well while attending meetings. Even if that was the case, why was there need for a swimming pool and other recreational facilities? And why couldn�t such official functions be held in the well-equipped Kelab Shah Alam, just next door? Too public? Too many toyols there?

Sepang Gold Coast

And then there was the Sepang Gold Coast project. A joint venture between Permodalan Negeri Selangor Bhd and Sepang Bay Sdn Bhd, the project would involve developing 1,492 ha of land and would cost RM4 billion. Meant to rival the Gold Coast in Queensland, or even Miami, Florida, the project would entail a �massive holiday paradise complete with a Jurassic theme park, a nature resort, an open zoo and even a replica of Venice.� Alas, it would involve the destruction of mangrove swamps and land reclamation in the ecologically sensitive Bagan Lalang-Tg Sepat area, a shoreline stretching 22 km. Thanks to the PM�s call for the preservation of mangrove swamps, which had protected coastal villages from the full effects of the tsunami in December, the entire project has been scaled down to �a cosy hideaway featuring clusters of chalets branching out into the sea.�

There are now plans to construct a new power plant in Port Dickson, just 5 km away from the proposed Gold Coast. Coal-based, the plant could heat up the area. �Who would want to come to a beach resort � no matter how fancy it is if it is going to be hot?�; certainly the smartest statement made about the entire episode. Was this toyol speaking?

PLUS, PLUS and more PLUS

What�s in a name? PLUS should change its name to PLUS, PLUS, PLUS.

Just earlier this year, toll charges on the North-South Expressway were increased. Works minister Samy Vellu explained then that PLUS had been most cooperative and had on several occasions agreed to postpone implementing the increases that were its due as per its concession agreement with the government. Hence PLUS had acted �in the public interest.� Yeah, right.

It was now Samy�s turn to be fair to PLUS. There were plans to upgrade the highway from four to six lanes between Rawang and Ayer Keroh and between Rawang and Tg Malim. Relocation of the Jelapang toll gate, the site of many fatal accidents, was also in the offing. Hence the toll increases earlier this year were more than fair, the minister assured us.

Samy Vellu also refuted speculation that construction of the new lanes and relocation of the Jelapang toll gate - which would cost some RM1.37 billion - would result in a new round of toll hikes. The cost would be shared by the government and PLUS, he revealed. But wait a minute! He also added that a new agreement was being drawn up with PLUS.

Now, this is worrying. What does this new agreement say? To finance the upgrading cost, PLUS would get to take over the Seremban-Port Dickson Highway. Plus, the upgrading work would be partially financed by a Federal Government loan of RM962 million. Plus, the concession period would be extended by another 8 years and 7 months i.e. from 2030 to 2038, making it a total of 50 years!

This would be the third occasion the concession period is extended (the first extension extended the period by five years to 30 years and the second in 1999 by 12 years to 42 years i.e. an extension from 2018 to 2030).

Put a stop to this PLUS, PLUS, PLUS. We say �open the books� - for Samy cannot be trusted to represent the public�s interest?

Whither public interest?

These questions are increasingly pertinent as the people are hit by increased charges for all kinds of privatised services and utilities these days. And yet there is no transparency in the approval of these hikes, whether it is for the N-S Expressway, the telephone, postal services, electricity, sewage disposal, and soon for water as well. Regulation in the public interest is especially important when essential public utilities and services have been put in the hands of private monopolies. In the US, for instance, consumer groups are allowed to scrutinise the books of providers of public utilities to ensure that profits are not siphoned away and that tariff increases are justified.

Here, there is growing suspicion of collusion between the government and these concessionaires. Consider this latest development: contrary to the objections of various groups, the government is now going to amend the law to allow PLUS to fine those who commit �toll fraud�. This is based on PLUS� claim that it has been losing about RM2.5 million a year due to suspected fraud by 3,500 users, mostly lorry drivers. PLUS investigations revealed that there might have been 709 errant cases out of 221,375 road users on Jan 19, and 311 out of 158, 343 road users the following days.

Yet Samy has whimsically dismissed the proposal that PLUS should call in the police, and that we resort to the court in case of a dispute on such occasions. In fact, he has claimed that doing so is not practical, besides being cumbersome and time consuming. But this is the crux of the matter, Samy. It�s called natural justice and in keeping with common law. This is public interest.

Justice perverted

Yet, in a perverted way, Samy might have a point: going to the courts can be time consuming and cumbersome. Ask Joseph Pairin Kitingan, once chief minister of Sabah when Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) was in the opposition from 1985-1994.

Three charges of graft were brought against him in Jan 1991. The first charge was for approving a RM1.483 million contract for 12 two-storey shoplots in Tambunan on Sept 11 1985 to Rimkaya Sdn Bhd in which his relatives were directors and shareholders. The second charge was for awarding a RM1.5 mil contract in Nov 13 1985 for the construction of a road to Pakarama Sdn Bhd in which his brother-in-law was director and shareholder while the third charge was for approving 2,000 ha in the Bonggaya forest reserve on Sept 19 1987 to a group of ten people including his relatives.

In January 1994 Pairin was found guilty of the first charge by the High Court and fined RM1,800, which was not large enough a fine to terminate his political career. However, there was no follow-up on the other two charges.

In March 2005, the court reviewed the two remaining charges which had been lying in the courts for more than a decade. Pairin�s lawyer, of course, pleaded that he be acquitted. However, the DPP asked that the two pending charges against Pairin be withdrawn and that Pairin be discharged.

To this, the judge (different from the original one) declared that �to make an order as sought by the DPP would open the court process to abuse as the charges could be brought up again.� Tellingly, the DPP replied that �these were the instructions given to me�!

Fortunately, the judge this time was learned enough and Pairin was discharged and acquitted. No doubt, too, the DPP had not pursued his case because Pairin and his PBS were now back in the BN fold.

Our unemployed graduates

Numerous people, not least the prime minister, have expressed concern about the 80,000 unemployed graduates. Among other things he has directed those in charge of curriculum development to seek the views of the private sector. According to the exec director of the Malaysian Employers Federation, the majority of these jobless graduates lack the necessary �soft skills� i.e. the ability to communicate effectively and to analyse and solve problems effectively. Another complaint is that most of them are in the �wrong fields of study�; instead of being IT-savvy, they are arts and humanities graduates. Yet others say that it is �the quality of graduates� that is the main factor.

Well, one way to solve the problem of those lacking IT skills might be to retool them for a period of time. Those not able to communicate effectively, we might want to put them through a crash course based on Dale Carnegie�s How to Win Friends and�.

In fact, a more general problem facing these graduates is that they might be under-trained. Recall that in the early 1990s, we changed the 4-year honours university system to a three-year one? That was a time when the economy was booming and there were lots of jobs a-begging. Against the protests of university dons, the changes were pushed through by our present deputy prime minister, then education minister. Yet we pretended that chopping off a year of learning in the university did not compromise standards.

Ask any lecturer who has taught under both arrangements and they will immediately tell you that one additional year made a world of difference. Fortunately, the matter is under investigation and it is not unlikely that we might revert to the four-year system. The previous education minister, who once ran a university and who had strong reservations about the three-year scheme, at least, was pushing for it.

There was also the proposal, a silly one, to absorb these unemployables into the teaching profession. Imagine the consequences, people lacking �soft skills� and of poor quality generally, teaching our young in schools!

But the icing on the cake was the March 28 statement by the minister in the prime minister�s department that there were only 18,070 graduates who were jobless, not 80,000 as claimed by certain groups (does this include the PM himself? The VC of UKM? ) By his sleight of hand he hopes to dismiss public discussion of a serious problem.

The controversial malaise

Courtesy campaigns normally do not arouse much enthusiasm and attention from the Malaysian public. But recently the TV ad that showed a rude train commuter of ethnic Malay descent stoked the ire of some Malay parliamentarians because they felt that the ad had maligned the Malay community particularly its youth.

In the ad the Malay youth was portrayed as someone who was selfish enough not to vacate his seat for a pregnant woman and a blind man. The primary objective of the ad was surely to instil among all Malaysians the need to be considerate to others especially the elderly and the disabled. But given that Malaysian society is so heavily drenched in ethnic considerations, that simple but vital message was apparently lost as zealous politicians tried to �save� the �dignity� of their own community.

Being rude is not and cannot be the preserve or monopoly of a particular community. It is a trait that is found in all human beings, and this is why there is the constant need to remind us all of the importance of being gentle and considerate. Conversely, gentleness and politeness cannot be associated with one particular community.

Therefore the rude Malay youth in the courtesy ad represents our human race. That person, in another scenario, could be someone from the Chinese or Indian community.

There is indeed a danger of being too �ethnic-sensitive�. For if it is true that that rude youth in the commuter train unfairly represents the Malay community, then it should have been equally devastating to the Malay community if it were to consider the misbehaviour of certain members of UMNO Youth who broke the door and barged into the APCET II meetingand disrupted a serious conference on peace some years ago in a KL hotel. Then there was the case of a certain Malay delivering a blow to a blindfolded Malay, thereby causing a black eye for the word to see.

Malaysia Boleh

Finally, a joke making the rounds:

After digging to a depth of 100 metres last year, Russian scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 1000 years, and came to the conclusion that their ancestors already had a telephone network one thousand years ago.

Not to be outdone, in the weeks that followed, American scientists dug 200 metres and headlines in the US papers read: �US scientists have found traces of 2000-year-old optical fibres, and have concluded that their ancestors already had advanced high-tech digital telephone 1000 years earlier than the Russians.�

One week later, the Malaysian newspapers reported the following: �After digging as deep as 500 metres, Malaysian scientists have found absolutely nothing. They have concluded that 5000 years ago, their ancestors were already using wireless technology.�

Proud to be a Malaysian....

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