Repairing the maligned Protons

The Contracts-Wallahs.

I was hoping not to re-enter into the fray of making noises about the purchase of 14 Mercedes by the Terengganu government. For goodness sake- the KT government has bought them. Look, if you don’t want them cars, my house compound is big enough. Hey I like that black colour. It gives a stern and officious look. Perhaps using that car will belie my lack of credentials. A certain file-searcher who is now a political secretary uses no other cars but Mercedes. Just like a uniform, it gives me a sense of power-lah!

So? Am I speaking out of my platonic love of the depressed rakyat? Or am I speaking from the depths of my envious subconscious alter ego- hell why can’t I too use a merc? Nothing hides my contempt for the downtrodden masses than craftily pretending as though I am championing them.

If any of our EXCO members or ADUN cabuk want to use a Mercedes, or jaguar, or aston martin, or an X5 or X3 or any of the luxury marques, please do so by all means. But use your own bloody money.

I just don’t understand the ballyhooed hoohaa about the Trengganu excos using mercs. In the past, when I was younger, I clearly remembered all ADUNs and EXCOs who didn't use Mercedes would be failing in their designated role as the chosen fews. Or maybe our true other self is actually proclaiming:-

"And thus I clothe my naked villainy
With odd old ends stol'n out of holy writ,
And seem a saint, when most I play the devil."

Ok, I hope I will not have to partake in the feast of demonizing the Mercs or Proton. But something else caught my attention today.

It is the information regarding Spanco Sdn Bhd. This company obtained a monopoly over the maintenance of government cars. We are told that the government pays Spanco RM 80,000,000 a year to maintain its fleet of 1400 Perdanas. It’s another damn story about another company in this damn world of rent seeking world of Bumiputeraism. I have always thought about Bumiputeraism as an euphemism for the privileged few exploiting us all. The damnest thing of all, they exploit us in the name of Bumiputeras.

Now, if the government pays them RM 80 million a year to maintain 1400 Perdanas, then each Perdana guzzles up RM 57,000 a year. If I, an independent Bumiputera mechanic with a basic workshop, were to be assigned 10 Perdanas to maintain, tallyho! my regular and stable yearly income would be RM 570,000 a year. Please Mr(s). Robinson- give me that contract. That would give me a base to expand my business.

But where the hell is Spanco? In Kuantan, I don’t see our proton perdanas being maintained by Malay mechanics. With a budget of RM80 million, assuming one Malay mechanic were to be given 10 cars to handle, we can patronise 140 Malay contractors all over the country. Instead I know for a fact that almost all government cars are sent to a Chinese owned workshop in Semambu( a place in Kuantan) and I don’t see the face of a single Malay mechanic there!.

Strangely, I don’t see any Spanco outlets in Kuantan. Thus I conclude, that Spanco like the other paper tiger companies owned allegedly by Melayus is another of the illustrious rent seeking bastard full of holy camel dung.