The Country Today

Today, there aren't any unified themes in my writings. These are just takes on several topical issues.

A LATE COP AND HIS RM47 MILLION ESTATE.

I would like to see the administrator of the estate belonging to a late deputy IGP who left RM47 million conduct a course. Such a course will be more meaningful than any of the BTN modules which are currently conducted by many mediocre instructors.

The course will be appreciated by a multiracial audience. It will be, if it can reveal the secrets of how to make RM 47 million.

The estate of RM47 million is now contested between the uncle (brother of the late deputy IGP) and nephew (son of the deceased). That will make for interesting write-ups by stringers. They like this kind of story.

Tell us how we can make that amount of money. I can't imagine anyone rising through the ranks and even making it to the 2^nd top job in the police force being able to make RM 47 million. How? Never on a cop's pay. Business?

RM47 million is more than what PKNP, the Pahang state owned GLC made over a number of years.

Maybe the Pahang MB needs to send either the CEO of PKNP or his deputy to be on a watching brief on behalf of the Pahang state or failing the legal criteria of being able to do so, can apply to be an amicus curiae. Then, they will be able to come back to Pahang and brief law makers on the art and maybe science of making money.

May I come along for that course?

KJ GIVEN A POST.

Much has been written on the prospects of KJ becoming a member of PM Najib's team. His distracters mainly from the camp supporting MUkhriz are condemning such moves. They have called KJ a liability.

The question is: Liability for whom?

If one looks through the HANSARD (the written reports containing proceedings in the Dewan Rakyat), one could not help but appreciate the substance of KJ's thinking. He has given credible views concerning PKFZ and GST. On another occasion, look at his sterling performance in demolishing Chua Jiu Meng on TV.

Unfortunately, the man he defeated for the post of Ketua Pemuda who was appointed a deputy Minister could only come up with shallow analyses on most things.

PM Najib will eventually need to appoint KJ to a post in the government. The Ketua Pemdua of MCA, the ketua Puteri, Ketua wanita MCA, ketua wanita UMNO are all given posts. It is a glaring anomaly when the ketua Pemuda of his own party is not given a post.

What is happening in UMNO at the moment is best summed up by a conversation I had with several PAS stalwarts recently. They are saying, if UMNO can do this to their own Ketua Pemuda, imagine how WE will be treated. You can't even have 1UMNO, you are calling for 1Malaysia.

The above was a less than cerebral take- but one which the foot soldiers of one camp in UMNO can readily identify with. They are living in a dream.

The reality is, KJ's eventual appointment into the cabinet either as a minister or a deputy minister is part of the strategy of distancing the PM from the influence of Tun Mahathir. Mark my words; there will be a series of moves deftly taken by the PM to signal his distancing from the former PM. Some anticipated moves involve shakeups at PETRONAS and other GLCs.

NAZRI'S BITES ARE WORSE THAN A ROTTWEILER'S.

I may have disagreed on certain points raised by Dr Mahathir before and have written several articles. For that, I have been accused of trying to demonize Tun Mahathir. But the one thing that I cannot bear and tolerate is when Nazri Aziz condemned Tun Mahathir. I have made known my views regarding Nazri Aziz before.

Now Nazri Aziz has done it again. Long time ago, I have characterized Nazri Aziz as a cowboy whose emission from the mouth is faster than the operations of his brain.

Now he has made his strongest condemnation of Tun Mahathir. I will step back and watch what Tun Mahathir's guard dogs will do.

So far, I am rolling on the floor laughing out loud watching the childish repartee from Tun Mahathir's supporters. All they can yelp is to ask PM Najib to sack Nazri.

That will never happen. Just like the impending entry of KJ into the PM's team, what are said by Nazri is also part of the strategy of isolating and distancing the current administration from Tun Dr Mahathir.

As such I am not adding anything to the current spate between Nazri Aziz and Tun Mahathir.

I am even more perplexed as to why the prodigal son is keeping quiet. As an oriental gentleman if a cabinet member belonging to the same party as you says something very bad about your father, the honorable thing to do is to resign from your government position.

PAHANG BUDGET 2010.

When the budget session started last month, I was talking on the phone with an EXCO friend from Pahang. I was chiding him about yet another budget deficit. He countered by saying that all the other states are also having budget deficits. Yes I said- but other states are having bigger GDP. Johor had a budget deficit of only RM 1 million. Selangor has a balanced budget. Pahang? RM92 million budget deficit.

Budget Year.

The budget year is one calendar year. The proceeds obtained by the government as I understand it, are calculated on a year to year basis. Hence if the previous budget calendar ended on August 2008, the following budget year ends in August 2009. Still, the revenues earned by the state are over a period of one year.

We can't vary the rules of the game so to speak as in the case of offering strenuous reasons to say our budget is balanced. We can't for example, say that "if we take into account the revenues up to 31^st December each year, then the budget is balanced". We can't do this as this amounts to shifting the goal post.

Deficits. Good or bad?

Taking the bull by its horns, let us analyze any budget for any year. So we have deficits. But whether that is bad or otherwise depends on the nature of the spending.

As regards to the opposition condemning that Pahang has been operating on budget deficits for a number of years, I have already said in a few articles, deficits are not necessarily bad. It depends on where the spending is directed to. If the spending is directed to expanding productive capacities, then deficits are necessary.

We are only concern if deficits are directed to consumption expenditure or if the deficits arose because of lack of financial discipline. But then, censure of this kind of deficits is not the monopoly of opposition. The government of the day is equally disturbed by this kind of deficit. Hence, when the opposition in Pahang is having a field day condemning the deficits, look at the substance of their criticism.

The difference between the government of the day and the opposition windbags in Pahang is that, the government can and will do something about it. The opposition cannot.

Typing error.

Back to the answer given my EXCO friend. Perhaps in desperation he answered- what to do, our officers do not know how to count.

Now it looks like, what they don't know is even worse than not knowing how to count. They don't even know that in order to pass the budget for 2010, the financial documents must be dated in the preceding year. Hence all the documents related to the passing of the 2010 budget must be dated in 2009 and each document must be initialed by the authorized officers of the state.

That's ok. People can make mistakes. It may be a genuine typing error which the opposition in Pahang may like to embellish.

The Pahang Assembly can reconvene and correct the technical mistake. I see no shame in admitting it is a typing error and the opposition in Pahang should have big enough heart to appreciate a very innocent error.