The Cuckoo’s Nest

 
The other proposal for a high-speed rail link connecting KL and Singapore is from a Barisan Nasional (BN) component party to form a special purpose vehicle with capital from some of its other partners in the ruling coalition.


 

Did I read this right was my first reaction? Political parties now forming SPVs to go into business to earn money? In the open? Have we gone mad? Throw out any sense of propriety; political parties are now openly revealing their true purpose of coming to power- conferring upon themselves a right to pillage the country.

Doesn't matter you called it a Swiss bid or not. When it comes to Malaysia, anything foreign brought in will be UMNOnised or Malaysianised or MCAcised (as in PKFZ) ir MICed in the case of whatever. The people? All will be circumcised.

Everyone knows that Gamuda or MMIC already contained large chunks of shares owned by political parties. Maybe Gamuda has the involvement of the Perak Royalty with some Chinamen as the prominent front man- but it has UMNO's interest there.

Why do you confine the whole thing to a Swiss bid? Because it's in the nature of the business? The one coming in, though unsolicited will be given the handicap? The 3^rd one coming in is allowed in just for show purpose to give some sort of transparency and probity?

What happens when there is actually a 3^rd bidder who comes in with a very low price? Will the government then exercise its authority and tells the original proposer to match the low price? What's stopping the government from inviting in just another friendly party with a 'losing' price bid just to show that the unsolicited proposal by the first bidder was done in a saintly manner?

It's time for the government to actually do what it claims it wants to do and give no more excuses to justify some special circumstances in order to carry out some magic show. What's all the mumbo jumbo about KRA, KPI, fight corruption, carry out good governance, transparency all that? Are we supposed to be comforted when the label Swiss is used? This isn't eating Swiss chocolate you know.

What's so special say about the development of the Sungai Besi airport that it was done almost in a hushed hushed manner? Or that the development of the RRI land in Sungai BUloh has already been predetermined.

So now, if high speed rail link project has already been 'pre-given' no sanitization hiding behind some fanciful terms such as Swiss Bid or what bid can hide the fact that it's all going the same style of daylight hand in the till.

Its better if we paraphrased Proudhon- Property is theft to Government tenders are theft! Or, i like this one:

“Laws Tenders: We know what they are, and what they are worth! They are spider webs for the rich and mighty, steel chains for the poor and weak, fishing nets in the hands of the government.