Splurge vs Purge Malaysian Style

ARCHIVES 2010

By admin-s On Jun 17, 2010

Frankly, any government splurge will make our heads spin while we purge from the rising costs of living. If this continue, many of us will end up in hospital from ‘dehydration’ or ‘malnutrition’ of the economic kind!

By Masterwordsmith

Despite spending a whopping RM35 MILLION, the Malaysian Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo may not reach the target number of visitors by the end of the expo later this year, if the current visitor trends persist. This was revealed by Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen in a written reply to Batu Gajah MP Fong Poh Kuan in Parliament yesterday as reported HERE by Malaysiakini.

I must admit I am no expert in building technology, construction or architectural skills. But I do know that for RM35 million, one may build a hospital/universities or even a small low-cost housing project for the poor.

To think that RM35 million was spend on a pavilion after which it is likely to be donated to the Wuxi province of China after the expo ends on Oct 31 is outrageous to say the least. What is the rationale of spending RM35 million on a structure that will be DONATED to another country? What benefit does it give to Malaysia and to the rakyat? It could be a tourist site for the Wuxi province and could perhaps give some mileage to Malaysian culture but what else beyond that which can justify the obscene expenditure of RM35 million??

I would not be so horrified if the returns matched the input but the Malaysiakini report said that the Malaysian pavilion only attracted an average 22,383 visitors per day from its opening day on May 1 until May 31.

This is about half the number of average visitors it should be attracting to reach its reported target of 10 million for the whole six months.

Malaysiakini reported:

The exhibit’s performance in attracting 693,368 visitors in the first month of the expo also pales in comparison to that of other Asia Pacific countries.

“Thailand received 880,000 visitors while Australia and Indonesia received one million visitors respectively,” Ng said.

Allegations of corruption

The Minangkabau-roofed exhibit, which houses examples of Malaysian culture and lifestyle, including a miniature golf range, has courted significant interest due to allegations of corruption.

According to Independent MP Wee Choo Keong, the contract for the project was granted through direct negotiations to Venturepharm Sdn Bhd.

This, he alleged, was despite the fact that Venturepharm had no experience in the area of design and architecture, but specialised in pharmaceuticals.

The allegations prompted the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) to seize the files of the company in July last year.

The MACC also probed the granting of a contract for bio-feed to the same company by the Ministry of Science and Technology (Mosti).

Venturepharm’s bio-feed grant has been temporarily put on hold by Mosti and payments have been frozen, pending completion of the MACC investigation.

However, no progress reports have been made on the matter thus far.

Most of us have to work and toil to earn salaries which are NOT being increased in tandem with inflation/rising costs of living. Yet, the rakyat dutifully pay taxes to the government.

One would expect the government to demonstrate a frugal habit when it comes to PUBLIC EXPENDITURE.

As for the Malaysian Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, why was project was granted through direct negotiations to Venturepharm Sdn Bhd. which had no experience in the area of design and architecture since it specialised in pharmaceuticals? What is the outcome of the investigations carried out by MACC last JULY wrt this matter and also wrt to the granting of a contract for bio-feed to the same company by the Ministry of Science and Technology (Mosti)?

Who will be held accountable for this situation? Why haven’t any progress reports been submitted YET???

What else do we see in MSM reports? Another report today revealed that the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) may soon be the new Parliament House under a plan by the Najib administration to use the under-utilised building. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz told The Malaysian Insider in an exclusive interview that some RM150 million would be used to repair the existing Parliament building, which had already undergone a RM100 million renovation five years ago. Bear in mind that this change was because of opposition from within the Cabinet over a much-criticised proposal to build a brand-new Parliament building in Putrajaya for an estimated RM800 million, to replace the current legislative complex in Kuala Lumpur. Why did they NOT consider the second option (which represents a savings of RM650MILLION) right from the start but announced the more expensive option??? The money belongs to the rakyat. Public funds must be spent with fiscal responsibility and the benefits MUST go DIRECTLY to the rakyat to develop the country!