Understanding the beras Imbroglio. Tales by an unknown blogger. No 53.

1. Fuyooh, the PM has announced that Syed mokhtar has agreed to give 30m to padi farmers. The right wing groups and other Malay supremacists are quick to point to the benevolence of a Malay potentate. Hurrah!

2. Forgive my sarcasm and cynicism. I really salute and appreciate the 30m. Given. It's damn a lot of money. To a person like me, to get 100 ringgit is already difficult.

3. What we probably don't know is, that 30m is 10% of the abnormal profits Syed mokhtar makes in a month! Also, what does he get in return? A guarantee that he gets to retain the monopoly over rice imports? Unobstructed Access to the pm and other sweetheart deals?

4. Imagine if tuan Syed mokhtar teams up with other potentates and start giving out money,what do we have? A plutocracy!

5. Combined with those who have amassed political power , we have a combination between plutocracy and oligarchy.

6. The triumphant and celebratory announcement by the PM, can herald the coming of plutocratic oligarchy.

7. With many doltish characters in the government we have a kakistocracy plutocratic oligarchy. Like the pekan people say, waber!

8. Or, poh pale aok'! Waber kite wok!

9. Even if the floor price for our padi farmers is raised to 1800, the rice issue is not a mic drop!

10. This business of throwing and dropping of mics is the Hallmark of mat shabu2. When he does that he thrills the crowd .

11. The crowd acclaimed, hebak abang mat. Macam pok ya concoday(Concorde). Hok kawin budok ttino 17 tahun. Bau badan pun belum begheh!

12. You all have heard of Murphy's law right? Work expands so as to fill the time available.

13. In our case, the price of inputs increase as opportunity expands. The opportunity is the increase in the floor price. The suppliers of inputs will surely increase the price of inputs given the rise in the floor price

14. What happens then? Eventually, the cost of inputs will eat up into the new floor price of 1500 and farmers will again ask for new floor price. This will be a vicious cycle.

15. Let's not talk of productivity as a resultant. Ie as in how many tons per acre or hectare

16. Instead let's talk about the beginning - what are the immediate factors that cause how much we produce per size of a farm.

17. We will then talk about the inputs going into padi production. Things like the quality of seeds, the herbicides, the pesticides, farm equipments like portable pumps, hoses, planting equipments, tilling machinery,right up to the end story like harvesting machines, dehusking machines and maybe as in some countries, portable milling machines. Most of these machines don't run on mat sabu's saliva. They run on diesel. We have to talk about diesel then.

18. The labour part is a given. Mending bunds, pumping water, planting seeds, applying herbicides and pesticides etc. Malay farmers work as hard as the sekinchan farmers. Except perhaps the sekinchan farmers have better supporting facilities.

19. So don't go around saying Malay farmers are lazy. At noon under the blazing sun they might be pumping water, even manually scooping the water with buckets because the pumps are not working or leaking . Don't tell them to pull out the rumput and lalang perhaps because the herbicides the farmers buy are not effective.

20. The MOA people seems so besotted and sayang sangat the monopolistic suppliers of inputs. They appear to be overly protective. We never hear nafas being asked to donate 30-40b to padi farmers despite making billions over the years

21. So asking Syed mokhtar to donate millions and asking maybe others too, is actually a fire fighting strategy

22. It's not a triumphant strategy and a celebration of Malay philanthropy.

23. Try liberalise the inputs supply market. Padi farmers can buy from the free market. For instance, why reserve a few areas for nafas. Why call tenders if at all? Just give contracts to nafas. Don't dupe the public of showing being above board and playing fair.

24. Wasn't nafas embroiled in the 1. 8b Baja supply? On top of that, there is a 1.2b variation order?

25. Have we asked, who approved the VO? Must be the top officers at MOA, mof and maybe technical endorsement from Mardi.

26. This confirms the existence of the ' deep state' within the MOA. Ie the collusion between top officers and business.

27. Possibly many get angpows,go for holidays while some get their frequent,'massat services' and make happy days .

28. The floor price has been increased from 1300 to 1500. Some 15%. Good.

29. But what happens if the input suppliers also increase their price by some percentage points? Wouldn't that eat into the newly triumphantly declared floor price? Saayya!

30. Which means, you don't sort out the beras Imbroglio without 'destroying' the monopolistic supplies chain .

31. Just who are the officers and economists who advised the agricultural minister and the PM? Did they get their degrees from capcay universities?

32. How much will the plants/mills charge the famers. They have their own cost elements to look after. Diesel, equipments, spare parts, lubricants, consumables etc. Now that the floor price has increased, they may want to increase their processing charges too.

33. The combination of higher prices by input suppliers and plants will eat into the increased floor price. Raising the floor price to 1500 comes to naught. Next year the farmers will ask for another raise. Tablay into macam, la tamby dei!

34. Let us say, the mills charge 300 per ton. The price per ton ex plant, own collection is 1800. Delivered 1900 per ton.

35. The government sets a controlled price of 3000 ex retail points. This enables retailers sell rice at 30 per 10kg.

36. Between the plants and retail points, there's a spread of 1100 to 1200.per ton. Let's assume, retailers make 200 per ton.

37. Who makes between 900 to 1000 per ton? Why, the middlemen conglomerates of course!

38. Where's the incentive for farmers to produce more beras putih? The additional income they earned will go to input suppliers and plants. Farmers will be subjected to a variant of the backward bending supply curve of labour .

39..so, agriculture minister tuan, you won't solve the beras issue by piecemeal methods and adopt a fire fighting strategy. Study the rice industry as a whole.

40. And just because bernas is owned by the great Malay Syed m, you described as a superbly managed outfit owned by a great philanthropy ..don't touch! My middle finger is up. It's a bloody monopoly la!

41. Next I hope to write something about felda . Writing about an entity for which I am familiar with.

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What a tangled web we weave..if we first practise to deceive. Part 1. Tales by an unknown blogger no 52.

1. One of the memorable quotes by Franz fanon which I remember is o body, make me always a man who questions. Something like that .

2. Only I forgot whether it was said in ' the wretched of the Earth' or ' black faces, white mask' . It does not matter .

3. Asking questions, thinking critically and independently is our first line of defense preventing us from being sucked into the vortex of collective stupidity.

4. Suspending critical and independent thinking makes otherwise intelligent people being herded into blinding uniformity.

5. It leads them to dumbing obedience, fearful obeisance and servile concurrence.

6. It makes people believe in false narratives, propaganda, conspiracy theories and outright lies.

7. Thinking critically and independently is not only a sufficient but necessary precondition to defend us from being sucked into the whirlpool of collective stupidity; shielding us from believing in lies, conspiracy theories, fake news and false narratives.

8. So, my body, make me always a man who asks questions.

9. The social media is nowadays inundated with bigotry and false narratives. I propose to debunk some of these .

10. I predicted the closure of the kilang padi in Perlis will become a combustible issue.

11. It has become one. There are already allegations that the Malay farmers toil the under the sun, fat Chinese cartels are making money.

12. Do we stop and asked we questions? Are these runaway statements true or false?

13. Are the middlemen conglomerates all Chinese? Or are most of them consist of Malays? Why don't we ask the gomen to publish a list of these middlemen conglomerates?

14. Looks like I have to write another full article on the beras imbroglio. 15.we ask what are the immediate actions needed to

(a) to address immediately the rising price of the cost elements in the cost of production and

(b) elevating the welfare of padi farmers. Not talked about, seemingly appearing intelligent, the mumbo jumbo thing about long term productivity. Productivity is a long term resultant, babe. It does not occur overnight!

16. We will leave the beras issue just now and ask critically about the incessant calls asking the PM to step down now?

17.what is the basis for asking Anwar to resign before GE? On account of his alleged failure to defend Islam as pas sees Islam?

18. Or the pm musr resign because he has failed to ask Hannah Yeoh to leave the government? Or because the PM has allowed the DAP to interfere in the affairs of Islam? What to do with a great number of Malay Muslims who themselves are unhappy as to how Islam is being managed by half past six Jakim and it's equally inept Ustaz minister?

19. If we unravel the theatrics behind this point, it's nothing than vindictiveness and hate speech.

20. Not to mention that much political capital can be made using religion to condemn the PM. Malays , upon hearing of alleged threats to Islam,are easily herded into blind rage.

21. And let me remind readers, that speaking on pas platform, do not make these people holier than thou chaps . aren't lying, deceiving people, using religion for it's benefit, defaming people -all are 2nd nature to these ecclesiastical warlords? The people condemning the PM on religious issues could be that group too .

22. The PM must resign because he is alleged to have allowed the DAP controlled the government?

23. Be real la sikit..use our brains. Wouldn't that means we are assuming that the malays in cabinet and in government are duds and are muted? That they can't dispute if the DAP comes out with disagreeable suggestions?

23. That mean

24. These false story tellers want us to reach a ridiculous stage believing that if we appoint non Malay ministers especially from the DAP, they must have sinister designs on the Malays.

25. Wouldn't the false story tellers actually revealing their xenophobic and racial supremacy instincts?

26. If we suspend our critical thinking, we would be sucked into collective stupidity and start believing the false narratives hawkered by these storey tellers

27. So what is the basis asking the pm to quit? Because a few barking mongrels don't like his person?

28. Is the PM suffering from incapacitating ailments? Has he voluntarily resign as Dr Mahathir did? We're there any successful vote of no confidence? No, were there? We must hold on the idea, that the only legal means to change a government, is through a GE not some wet dreams of a coup.

29. Ever wonder why UMNO has never been part of any vote of no confidence? Because UMNO has no balls. It knows that if it loses in any vote of no confidence, UMNO will be out of the government. It can't afford that. Absolutely!

30. Out of government means out of power. Out of power, UMNO fades into oblivion. Being in power is it's raison de tetre , it's life blood. UMNO is lost without power, it does not know to be in opposition.

31. So it's cling to power by any means necessary. Even if it has to prostitute itself.

32. It's in UMNOs interest, if more people suspend their critical thinking. It can only rule over dumb masses.

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A gentle reminder butban acerbic wake up call. Tales by an unknown blogger no.51.

1. Like the first few passages of the American declaration of independence, I too hold these truths to be self evident :-

2. * Never break the faith of people in you. People see Anwar Ibrahim as a change agent. He must live up to expectations

3. * Promises made must eventually be fulfilled. Never set a time limit you cannot keep .

4. * Whosoever rules Malaysia, must have that iron in him. He can't afford to be a softie.

5. These, I think ought to be the political mantra of the present pm. Those close to him should endeavor to provide the guard rails to the pm . If he veers away from these principles, they ought to pull him back.

6. Those close to him, wife, political secretaries, party members etc should be vigilant watching over him

7. Adapting the saying of a famous writer, we should see him as 3 persons.

8. As he sees himself, as WE see him and as he truly is.

9. As a public figure and a politician, we don't give a damn about 1 and 3. It's number 2, how the public sees him is all important.

10. This means his personal views and feelings, such as his personal sense of justice ( a stickler to procedural constructs) such as believing a convict is entitled to be heard by the king, a former pm should be preferentially treated , are not important.

11. For instance, as regards Najib, not even what UMNO thinks of the person matters, it's what the majority of people, the law abiding citizens think that is more important.

12. An ex pm shouldn't be given any preferential treatment. He should also be subjected to the same rule of law and common law. The key word here is EX.

13. The PM shouldn't countenance Najib being given very special treatment - separate lodgings, food being delivered, macchiato fix from Starbucks, pudding raja fete etc.

14. In countenancing these and giving his personal opinion that an ex PM be given preferential treatment, the PM has erred.

15. It's not as if Najib is asking for a personal favour to redress a civil wrong, this man has committed a reprehensible crime la.

16. It's incumbent to those close to the pm, to remind him, tell him even at the expense of being scolded or shouted at.

17. The PM ought to be magnanimous enough not be offended by opinions spoken with candour and spoken honestly.

18. Those close to him, must constantly remind and counsel the PM. If they allow the edifying effects of being comfortable in power corrode their cageyness and sensitivities, very soon the PM will be infected with the same malaise .

19. The theory of permanent revolution translate into the practice of constant reminders and ingat mengingat.

20. Don't talk about muhasabah diri or nasihat nenasihati if these people don't know wtf thing it ought to mean.

21. Remember, the 1st test to see the intelligence of the leader is to see the people he has around him. If he has duds around him, very soon he will become the biggest dud .

22. I have a special reminder to AMK. It should be the vanguard defending the PM.

23. It should defend the pm, vociferously and ferociously against allegations, slurs and lies. It should act proactively and not a passive reacting group..it must not let a political arsonist like Akmal to steal the thunder from it! Carpe diem!

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The Beras Imbroglio. Tales by an unknown blogger no 50

1. When it was reported that a big kilang padi in Perlis will close down, I thought this will be cannon fodder.

2. The kilang padi is Malay owned. While they become poorer, the cartels and the towkays get richer. As they become like that the government doesn't care about their lot. Pity the Malay farmers .

3. The racial connotations and imputation are unmistakable. Malays get poorer, the Chinese get richer. The cartels and Chinese are mentioned in the same breath. The ethnicity is clear. People can't wriggle out of that connotation, by saying I don't mean it that way. Admit saja lah!

4. That's a good recipe for such a watery brain statement to become incendiary, combustible and conflagatory.

5. It just needed a spark to s to start a prairie fire. The pas salukis are hunting for eatable and halal desert animals. The UMNO Tibetan mastiff named akmal, can cause some vigilante groups to splash red paint and Molotov cocktailed rice retailers premises.

6. Saluki and Tibetan mastiff are dog breeds ok

7. Except these Mardi gras and 'karnaval' champions have got it wrong. That is, if they use their brains.

8. The cartels are more often than not, Malay owned. Formed by the collusion between businesses and the deep state.

9. The visible part of the equation, yes may be mostly Chinese owned. They make a little money, the cartels make the lion's share of the money .

10. Take for instance, the case with nafas. Over a 35 month period they stand to make 1.8b. then there's a variation order of 1.2b. that's 3b over a period of 35 months!

11. That's 1.5 times 1MDB. Mat shabu2, please do something. Don't just humor the ceramah crowd or throw the microphone.

12. Try dismantling all the monopolistic suppliers of farm inputs restructure nafas, it's umno surrogate anyway. Multi sourced supplies of farm equipments and dismantle the deep state in MOA .

13. The profit taking activities of these fuckers, already eat much of the present floor price.

14. The opposition people have discussed the tail end of the story-the cost of production. They have not discussed the elements in the rising cost of production and the parties inflating them .

15. Hamzah didn't discuss about them. Ustaz Idris is only interested in making political capital from this issue. Blame the Chinese Cartels and towkays. And blame the government for ignoring the lot of Malay farmers.

16. We are making one BIG assumption here. We are assuming the kilang padi in Perlis is run very well. It's not closing down because it's run in a lousy manner.

17. Then we must discuss the profit taking activities of middlemen conglomerates, the real parasitic class. For that I have to illustrate.

18. Let's say the floor price is 1300. This floor price was arrived at when the price of inputs was 300. Supplied by the monopolist suppliers.

19. Now the price of inputs is 600. Yet the floor price stays at 1300. The farmers get rammed from behind by the monopolistic suppliers. Baja, farm equipments, seeds etc.

20. On the marketing side,they get fucked by the middlemen conglomerates.

21. The floor price is 1300..by the time they reached the retailers, ie towkays, the price is 3000 per ton.

22. There's a spread of 1700. Let's say, retailers get 200 per tom. The middlemen conglomerates get 1500. That's why I say, retailers make money but the lion's share goes to the middlemen conglomerates!

23. So unleash the salukis and the Tibetan mastiffs on the monopolistic suppliers and the middlemen conglomerates.

24. People say, how can you say the Baja price affects the floor price? The Baja is given free by nafas?

25. Hello inche, from nafas they use imputed price..from the others , seeds, farm equipments, diesel etc they used actual price. As the price of these increases, they eat at the floor price. Ada faham,?

26. When the price of local beras become expensive because of its scarcity, importers of beras asking make abnormal profits. That's bernas, because it's the sole importer. How come nobody talks about bernas?

27. So, unleash the Arabian salukis and the Tibetan mastiffs on the monopolistic suppliers, the deep state, the middlemen conglomerates and bernas..just liberalise the market. Remember, we are not interested in preserving the status quo but we are interested in overthrowing it!

28. The Chinese cultural revolution caused u told misery , death and upheaval. It was followed up by ' putting things right,' movement. The business as usual approach in the beras industry is causing a lot of hardships. Let's have our own putting things right,measures. Ok nana non? Ok abang mat?

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An imbecilic PC. Tales by an unknown blogger. No. 4

1. When I heard Taqiyuddin giving a press conference as to what the AGC wants to appeal some more, it confirms 1 thing to me.

2. The AGC wants to appeal to the federal court on the appeal courts decision to allow Najib addendum Razak appeal for a judicial review.

3. A long time ago, a lawyer friend told me lawyers and judges, are like eggs. They fall into grades A B and C. C being the worse.

4. Taqiyuddin must fall into grade C. Just because HE cannot see the legal basis by which the AGC appealed, doesn't mean it does not exist.

5. He maybe limited by his so so law qualifications, limited experience and not so sterling record as a trial lawyer

6. Moreover, Taqiyuddins talk is very unlawyerly. Isn't a lawyer able to resurrect the dead? Turn black to white?, tired of one side turn to the other side?

7. Allow me to ask a few awkward questions. Pardon my ignorance.

8. Was the addendum, if one exists done out of the ftpb meeting?

9.if done separately, it cannot be said as part of the pardons proper. It has no l ocus standi. Hence it cannot be tendered in court. It's defective by nature

10. In the first place, we have to establish whether such an addendum exists? Otherwise we are building a sandcastle case.

11. Perhaps these cocksure people are relying on a letter from the sultan of office at jalan padang polo, signed by the chamberlain on the pejabat sultans stationery.

12. Does such a letter have the same legal standing as a letter of the ftsb singed by the king?

13. Then there is a question of ultra vires. Can the ftsb determine the place of incarceration?if it can, why not consider a reban ayam? Then the convict is truly one of the people .

14. Taqiyuddins PC reveals more of his stupidity than his prowess as a sharp lawyer.

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The beras issue - revisited. Tales by an unknown blogger no. 48.

1. Like many others, I was watching the furious debate on rice in parliament, not in front of padi farmers.

2. People focus on the cost of production. The opposition cited the rising cost of production as a cause for the disappearance of local rice. The government responded on measures to manage the rising costs.

3. Perhaps a variant of the backward bending supply curve of labour is in operation here. Padi farmers just refuse to produce more, because the money from producing more will go to inputs suppliers. Making them rich while farmers get imeserized.

4. The quick fix solution preferred by politicians of all persuasions, manage the rising c.o.p. ,artificially created by raising the floor price and 'hulok" subsidies.

5. Greed overcomes the input suppliers, the artificially inflated cost will increase again; people will ask for another round of increase in floor price, the donkeys in mof and MOA recommend hulok subsidies lagi. It becomes a never ending problem.

6. It occurs to me that Chinese padi farmers are better at managing rising cost of production.

7. They accept organic price increase in inputs but not artificially inflated price of inputs. They refuse to be swindled by rapacious vendors.

8. They buy seeds from their sources. Not from those recommended by nafas, Mardi or farmers coop..they don't buy fertilisers issued by nafas. They rent or buy farm equipment from their own sources. They have infra support such as cemented irrigation canals. And so on. They take subsidies if given but never regard them as entitlements.

9. Politicians of both divides are lazy to analyze the cost components. They wooly eyed themselves into believing the issue can be kautim by simply raising the floor price. Then surely, local rice will reappear. In the end, politicians of both divide will perpetuate the subsidy mentality.

10. Speaking for myself, I am not big at the idea of insisting that these organizations looking out for Malay farmers must be malays

11. It's not as if having malays helming these organizations, you expect miraculous benefits accrue to Malay padi farmers automatically. Thats hogwash!

12. Zaaba said a long time ago, almost always the people who oppress, suppress, immesarize the ordinary malays are Malay leaders themselves.

13. I am not advocating these malays be replaced wholesale, by non malays .

14. Replace the corrupt, dishonest and incapable malays with virtuous, honest and capable malays. There are other malays who can do their jobs better.

15. Just look at the institutions looking out for Malay farmers. Nafas- all malays, Mardi - mostly malays, vendors - malays or comprador malays, MOA officers - comprador Malay bureaucrats 'assisting' Malay padi farmers.

16. By all means argue and debate about cost of production till you are blue in the face. But analyse the cost elements carefully. Are they artificially inflated or increased organically?

17. If you have only touched only cost of production aspects, albeit loudly and with much aplomb, don't say the lot of Malay farmers is defended!

18. You have looked at a very superficial aspect of the rice issue and you have looked at it from a racist point of view. Why were Chinese farmers absent from the demo and why are they not affected so much by the cost of production?

19. In the meanwhile, the pm humors the opposition mofos by answering the question of raising floor price and the need for subsidies.

20. Because the pm knows while the hypocritical opposition just want to be as heroes- that the real causes for the increase in cost of production is brought about by a constellation of evil factors.

21. The ownership structure of the kilang padi,the rapacious greed of monopolists such as nafas and other licensed potentates, the role of comprador vendors,the role of middlemen organized groups, the role of bernas, the activities of the deep state within the MOA,the lack of infrastructure to padi farmers etc.

22. The pm is about to dismantle these , most of them legacies of UMNO, without the opposition knowing of them.

23. The PM is not interested in retaining the status quo but is interested in overthrowing it.

24. Long live Nana Non.

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Noble intentions, bad economics. Part 2 of 2. Tales by an unknown blogger no 47

31. What's going on with the Gaza proposal and the PM's rambling responses are like the many MADANI advertisements that appear on TV - we don't understand most of them.

32. What is most important is to appear as doing something. Even if for dramatic effects. So long as at end of the advertisements ada MADANI, mada, Dani etc.

33. Similarly, it's most important to appear religious. Talk about Islamic humanities and the care for the less fortunate. It's a sense of religious noblesse oblige, the responsibilities that come with important posts.

34. Especially if one is a Muslim leader of a predominantly Muslim country such as Malaysia. Must be seen as doing something dramatic, meh .

35. Being seen as doing something is a bad proposition. It suggests the pm is easily duped into believing something substantive is being done. Hence the various MADANI advertisements suggest something solid is being done. In reality only money is paid to 2 bit actors. Mat shabu2 sleeping over at MAHA does not mean the rice issue, the Baja issue, the existence of the deep state in MOA, selesai!

36. Hopefully the pm doesn't get this contagious disease. Having made the bed he must now lie in it. Or is a case promises made is a thing of the past, promises broken is a thing of the present?

37. Did anyone ask whether the PM's decision was in response to market signals?

38. No, because it was a judgemental call and therefore not rational. Hey, I am looking at this from an economics perspective, ya .

39. Anything done not in response to market signals and therefore not rational is defective.

40. Were any sophisticated economics models and other simulations made? I remember India, when wanting to industrialise did a huge input output tabulation. Perhaps our economists will want to simulate some input output matrices, carry out some econometrics simulations and other empirical tests?

41. All done to help the PM decide rationally. If they just follow along, might as well quit mof.

42. Let me remind the pm that it's not the Palestinians in Gaza who will vote for you but many unhappy Malaysians will. It doesn't take rocket science to predict who they will vote .

43. Saying that domestic issues and problems will endure until the end of days, does not justify an irrational decision.

44. True, domestic issues will endure until the end of days, the present pm does his part and successive PMs will do theirs. This goes to show the world doesn't revolve around you. Please don't be conceited. Only UMNO people do.

45. There's another thing the PM said that I find very disturbing and unsettling. Orang dah mintak maaf , kita terimalah dengan baik.

46. He was of course referring to the apology tendered in by the crook in chief.

47 . As pm and father to the nation, when people say sorry he must accept with open heart. Well, speak for himself, only UMNO degenerates and perhaps smarmy PKR people will agree with him.

48. For many law abiding, they are indifferent or will not the fictional apology. For many , the common law ought to apply .

49. It would have been better if the pm said it's up to the courts to value the crooks apology. Because the pm accepted the apology, we hope it won't be a signal for the courts to give the crook preferential treatment.

50..like Denning says, we are not until in the technicalities and niceties of the law. We are more interested in justice. The PM should too.

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