vox populi small thumbnail'There is no country in the world where the construction cost of mass rapid transit can be recouped by passenger fares.'

MRT project: Show us the money

DOC: Prime Minister Najib Razak's economic outlook for the MRT project is simple. The cash for MRT project will come from the usual sources - bank loans, EPF (Employees Provident Fund) and Petronas. Once the project has been completed, after the multiple delays and cost overruns, the MRT project will be sold to an Umno crony at a discounted amount.

EPF would have to foot the losses and as usual it will declare a low dividend and the rakyat would have to swallow this. After reaping the benefits of the MRT project, the Umno crony will forward the appropriate dues to Umno. The MRT project will be mismanagement and the cost overruns will be passed to the rakyat by increasing fares. Again the rakyat have to suffer financially.

Finally, the project would be sold to state investment agency Khazanah or EPF at a premium price and the crony and Umno laugh their way to the bank. In the end, the rakyat get the raw end of the stick again as Khazanah and EPF have to foot the constant losses. The PM will then say the losses are justified, taking into consideration of the rakyat's needs.

Kgen: There is no country in the world where the construction cost of mass rapid transit can be recouped by passenger fares. The cost must be paid by public funds and written off. Yet the BN leaders are claiming that building the MRT using private funds is a viable business.

What makes Malaysia so special? It's not that the MRT cannot be built with public funds but they should come clean on it instead of misleading the public and going for a mega-bailout later.

SMC77: For such a massive amount of funding requirements, the only source will be the domestic bond market.

Syarikat Prasarana Negara (SPN) can still tap the domestic bond market with the ‘guarantee' from the federal government. So who will be the buyer of these bonds? EPF and PNB (Permodalan Nasional Berhad) will be the biggest investors in these bonds.

So long the investors still believe in the IOU (I owe you) from the federal government, these bonds will sell like hot cakes. I am not so much concern about the funding source but the repayment ability of federal government for these long-term bonds.

Amaso: This MRT project is just another promise - giving out sweets to entice rakyat to vote them into power again come next GE13. They don't care about the financial burden of MRT which will eventually be borne by rakyat. BN is treating the rakyat like stupid children.
Yobama: Prime Minister Najib Razak wants to build an image of being the best PM ever. Money to him is no problem. After all, what's Petronas for? Isn't it the cash cow of the BN government? And what's the rakyat for? They will be milked dry, believe you me.

As the GE13 is near, there will be enough 'bullets' to shoot during the election campaign. When the rakyat reject the 100-storey Wawasan Tower and ask why not use the money to improve the much-needed public transport system, it will present Najib the best opportunity to announce what the rakyat have been demanding. So now you have it! I see nothing but another GE ploy.

Hann Wei Toh: I do not think it is appropriate for a private company to bear the construction cost. In Singapore, the government pays for the infrastructure, probably including the tracks, the trains and the stations. Private companies are only in charge of operating the system, paying the salary of staff, etc.

Is there any example elsewhere in recent years where a company pays for everything and yet is able to survive, especially in a place where almost everyone has a car as an alternative mode of transport?

JBGUY: Tony Pua, you have the makings of a good finance minister in the near future. The present and past finance ministers have been pushing us to the brink of bankruptcy and we desperately need a finance minister who is astute and prudent in ensuring the sustainability of all government projects.

The rakyat to a large extent are ignorant of the vast corruption and mismanagement by the present government and this fact has to be disseminated to one and all.

Not Confused: Keep it up, Tony. Keep pressuring the government for more open information and transparency. They must answer these and many more questions about how the rakyat's money is being spent.


Ex-Sime Darby official charged, claims assault

Changeagent: The moral of the story is if you have to engage in corruption, make sure you are someone high up in the food chain of BN. Otherwise, the judicial system and MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) will come down hard on you, or in the worst case scenario, they could even throw you out the window of a 14-storey building.

On the other hand, if you are a VVIP from BN, the consequences will be less dire. You could either get a 'Tun' title which absolves you of any past wrongdoing, be charged under the lesser penal code which carries a significantly lighter sentence, or in the best case scenario, the MACC will not even bother to open the books on your case.

Coleen: See how narrow-minded people are - when MACC failed to investigate, they asked MACC to investigate. But when MACC did investigate, they keep blaming MACC.

Habib RAK: MACC must hire forensic audit experts. These are people who excel in forensic accounting and pursuing paper trail. All of us leave clear footprints even when we deal in cash. If you get the proper training and have the right grey matter, it will be easy to establish the trail and pin down the culprits. Such skill sets are usually found among audit and accounting firms, insurance companies and banks.

MACC must pay top dollar for these experts. These people are usually CPAs (certified public accountants). Getting a rank-and-file from MACC or someone with lesser qualification to investigate white collar crime would not yield good results.

Cheong Sai Fah: What is bothersome is that MACC seems to have adopted police tactics, if what is reported it true. They are supposed to investigate, not interrogate to extract information. Haven't they learned from Teoh Beng Hock's case.

Sentinel: Tell me MACC, would you make Dr Mohd Khir Toyo stand on one foot and was he blindfolded?

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paid subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.