Keep Profit in the Hands of "SELECTED" Malays

Keep Profits in Malays Hands

"The Profound Obscrurity of our Ignorance is scarely illuminated by a few Glimmers of our Insight. ...that the process in the unconscious or in the id obey different laws from those in the Preconscious Ego."

- Sigmund Freud

Keep Profit in the hands of the Malays? Of course! But which Malay? What then if there is no profit?

Where does profit come from? Profit is equal to total revenue minus total expenses and net profit is equal to gross profit minus overhead and taxes.

No one with sound mind would hand over profit to another person, be it their friends, relatives, or person from other races.

When I was young, just started my vocation, my mother told me to keep any money I had and deposit it with her. I asked her why? She said, that way, it will ensure that I won't spent it away. Then I asked her: "Why don't teach me the knowledge of how to save money so that I will learnt to keep them and nurture them myself." She said: "No, you will spent it away."

Today, I told my children: "You must learnt to save for your future." My son said: "Dad, every month I park a few hundred dollars with mum and she will save it for me." I told my wife: "Don't do it for him. You are not educating him if you do it. He must learnt to handle it himself as he will have to plan his own financial freedom. We must let "go" of him so that he can live and survive independently. We can't cuddle him forever. If we don't make him take care of himself, he will continue to depend on us for directions and decisions and someday, we will leave this world and then he will be without our guidance. He will then suffer."

I am absolutely certain, Malays are able to take care of themselve. They are educated and they know how to differentiate between the right and wrong.

When Khairy said: Keep the profits with the Malays, it puzzled me! What does he mean?

My first presumption is: Malays given projects must do it themselves so that the profit will be kept within the community and thus, over the years, more Malays will have achieve financial freedom, meeting the objective of the NEP.

This presumption, I strongly support! It will work.

But caution must be taken as business is also about risk taking. When projects are awarded, every businessmen will take the presumption that every project will make profit. But that is idealism. Take for example of the steel bar price increase of $600 per ton. If you have tendered and awarded a project before the price increase, then subsequently, the price increase will affect the financial bottomline and you end up losing money. But how can businessmen predict accurately what's going to happen? Look at the price of crude oil. One year ago, it was USD30 per barrel. Now, it is USD60.

For the Chinese and Indians, they never had a problem about ALI-BABA-ism. When a Chinese contractor gets a project, almost all of them, will sub-contract it to a few sub-contractors. This is because, they do not have the competency to carry out the operation of the specialized work packages. They would concentrate on management and finance aspects. They are never called Ali Baba. Similar actions are taken by Indian contractors.

But when a Bumiputra contractor does it, they are called AB and most likely, their PKK licence may be withdrawn. At such, most Bumi contractors have to engage their own workers to do the specialized work packages themselves of which they have no competency and technical ability. To add to the complexity, their workers may not perform to the planned productivity which lead to delay and ultimately cost more money. In the end, their profit were eaten up by their high cost and overheads and which lead them to a state of insolvency. Some even suffered termination of contract and bankruptcy. When this happened, the NEP is defeated.

The biggest challenge to Bumi and non-bumi contractor is the political contributions every project had to pay. Known throughout the whole construction industry, only denied at the executive and political level, it cannot be denied and shut-out that most government projects awarded, there is always been an unwritten convention that the potential contractor have to lobby for the project through politicians and there is always a price to pay for the "goodwill" service". Often, the goodwill is millions of dollars for each project. Before you start work, and earned revenue (get progress payment), you have to pay-upfront - likely in millions or hundreds of thousands - that's a sure and certain expenses that has to be paid to get the award letter. With this upfront cost, most bumi contractors (except the PLCs) will have to source the money as they do not have them. The only natural way is to get anyone who is a cash cow towkay to fund the over-the-table money. Naturally, the towkay will have conditions for funding them - thus, it ends up that the towkay will be the China-Baba or Mamak-Baba or Singh-Baba.

That's what caused Ali-Baba-ism.

Can we eradicate it? ONEROUS!

We have yet to see a minister who is not rich! Osu Sukam only spent a few years as federal minister and two years as chief minister, and it was reported in the affidavit that he gambled away RM156 million in the casino (see: The Star: How Osu frittered away those millions ) and lostRM31.17mil at the casino in just seven months, from February to September 2002. Casino gaming manager Robert Whitehall, who filed the affidavit on May 29, 2003, said the lowest amount that the Malaysian politician had gambled was £700,000 (RM4.66mil) on Feb 15 2002. Even then, he lost £600,000 (RM3.99mil). Then in just one day, on Sept 9, 2002, Osu gambled away £2.06mil (RM13.72mil) and lost £1.75mil (RM11.65mil). It seemed the amount he would gamble increased with every visit. The affidavit mentioned that Osu could not afford to repay his £1.75mil debt and an instalment arrangement was therefore made.

I dare not say every minister is corrupt - there is no evidence to support this statement. But in our society, we cannot hide and pretend ...... the political system have been derived from kleptorism and cartelism of the emperor's men. [period].

The greatest sandiwara is about to unfold. It is a master plan and a great master piece of strategic management.

The government under Pak Lah's leadership has declared that mega projects is yesterday's dream. There will be no more pump priming for the construction and development projects. This decision will definiately affect the new emperor's men. In the age of a new dynasty and a new emperor, there are many rising lieutenants that had waited for the crowning glory and the wealth distribution via projects. Now, the emperor pronounced the negative: There will not be anymore mega projects and pump priming! Disappointment and Dismayed ... psychologically betrayed!

Oh, don't worry, the eunuchs are innovative and creative. They now called for the setting up of an agency to assist and to be empowered to advice GLCs and Petronas. They claimed it will promote better management and to act as police and auditors to ensure that the interests of the Malays will be protected and that it could act against rent-seekers through market intelligence measures. WOW, great master tactician!

With lesser projects, attention is turned to Khazanah and Petronas. Now, these eunuch wants the power to influence decision-making in these two organizations because they are the only cows with plenty of milk. Azman Mokhtar and Hassan Merican must bring themselves to be prepared to face and deal with this powerful chief eunuch of the royal chamber.

The Malays are never lack behind in economic prosperity. Over the last twenty years, we have seen the rise of Tajuddin Ramli, Syed Mokhtar, Halim Saad, Wan Azmi, Ahmad Pardas, Jalaluddin Mohd Jarjis, Izham Yusoff, Charon Wardini, Khalid Ibrahim, Nasir Razak, Amin Shah, Jamaladdin, Azman Yahya, Syed Azman, Mohd Haniff, Azzuddin Ahmad, Ishak Ismail, Rozali Ismail, Ahmad Aznan, Johari Abdul Ghani, Izhar Sulaiman, Abdul Rahman Ibrahim, Mohammadiah Moner, Zainuddin Abdul Rahman, Zainol Izham, Muhammad Faizal, Ayob Saad, Ramzia Arshad, Faridah Ghazali, Zatizam Ghazali, Diam Zainuddin, Khairy, Kalimullah, etc, etc. There are many thousands more if we have to name them. they are all successful and rich; many are ultra rich.

What is the problem with NEP? It definitely have proven successful in breeding millionaires amongst the Malays and the UMNO politicians and ministers. Be comforted that all Malaysians of other races respect them and in fact feel happy for them.

Probably, the only set-back is that the vast majority in the kampung is still struggling to make ends meet. But will the new Malay Agenda ensure that these kampung folks will benefit. I am not pessimistic; just realistic! IT WON'T!

All the rhetorics made at the general assembly sounds to be fighting for millions of deprived Malays. Believe the truth - it is shouted in their name but any harvest will definitely not meant for their pockets. It will still end up with the eunuch system of the dynasty. Each dynasty that had ended always saw the emergence of a new Phalanx and a mad-wealth grabbing by the phalanx in the name of equality and equity. For 49 years, the same song had been sung so many times, and each time, the voice grows louder and Asphyxiating.

Those in the deprived sector when hearing of it thought: This time is for real; but each time, and each year passes with a new agenda paraded and each time the voice gets incendiary, but, they remain empty handed and they see politicians parading their multi-million dollar bungalows and contributing millions to casinos. This will go on for the next 49 years, and the next dynasty will have to come up with a new agenda to parade in front of the credulous lot.

You can't clean up the system without first cleaning up the house. Charity always must begin from the home. Honesty is a value and can only become a culture within the society if the same value is ingrained within those who inherited and exercise power. No honest person can accumulate hundreds of millions within 5 years; neither can Warren Buffet. It took Warren Buffet more than 20 years to make his hundred million. In Malaysia, even 28 years old protege is worth hundreds of millions but they still cry foul! Is it that they do not have enough? Or, are they benchmarking with Diam?

God bless them and all the Malaysians. May God shower his wisdom on Pak Lah so that he can make a better and prosperous Malaysia for all Malaysian; not just the eunuchs.