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Pity Lim Guan Eng! Posted: 05 Feb 2014 08:11 PM PST When Deputy PM Muhyiddin Yassin announced the 'no toll hike' for all highways this year, the first thing that flashed my mind was how the opposition would react without tagging it to Kajang by-election. And true enough, Pakatan Rakyat mocked the announcement as one of Barisan Nasional's tactics to woo Kajang voters for the March 23 poll. Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng was fast. In his article to Malaysia Chronicle, he wrote: Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's announcement that Cabinet would not impose any toll hikes for 2014, is an opportunistic political tactic clearly intended to please voters for BN in the Kajang by-election on 23 March 2014. BN federal government has only changed the music but not the words by freezing highway toll hikes for one year by paying RM 400 million in compensation to highway concessionaires. Despite promising in its 2013 general election manifesto to reduce intra-city toll rates, the BN Federal government sounded out to the public that several tolls are due for a hike this year. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar has even said that those who disagreed with the toll hikes can use "alternative", non-tolled roads instead when there are no such alternative roads for some routes. BN is clearly only changing with the music but not the words, when the highway concessionaires do not lose out and can still profit with the RM400 million compensaton from the Federal government.This is no solution when the RM 400 million compensation will ultimately be borne and paid by the rakyat. Why should the few toll concessionaires benefit at the expense of 28 million ordinary Malaysians? This short-term solution is only for this year as toll hikes will have to be imposed for next year in 2015 unless the BN Federal government freezes toll hikes by paying out another RM400 million. This tactical move for the Kajang by-election shows that BN has completely forgotten how to govern and is merely approaching its rule day by day based not on any principles of public interest but solely on political expediency. Real reforms of the unfair highway toll contracts will only be carried out when there is no need to use public monies to pay compensation by the Federal government when toll hikes are deferred or abolished. After all, some of the highway toll operators(the Penang Bridge operator have collected more than RM2 billion with costs of RM1.3 billion) have already benefited and recouped their original capital investments, what they are getting now are clean profit. For Lim's knowledge, the announcement came yesterday but the decision was made during a special close door meeting chaired by Muhyiddin at his office earlier last month, weeks before Lim Chin Cheh resigned as Kajang 'wakil rakyat'. It was one of many moves by the government to put a check on spiraling cost of daily goods and parts of a strategy to help reduce the peoples' burden. The toll issue - amid the brouhaha about it since October last year - was discussed at length with all concessionaires and related agencies. The RM400 million compensation was considerably 'small' but was agreed upon by the concessionaires in light of the current economic situation. By logic and simple calculation, each and every highway concessionaire will get a 'small token' as compared to the bigger amount should toll charges are increased. The 'no toll hike for 2014' was not a saccharin. I believe the rakyat will understand it. I am also convinced that the rakyat know better than Lim and other critics that the highways were constructed by private companies, and that these companies have to bear major cost in maintaining and making their roads safe and comfortable for users. Our toll rates are even much cheaper that that of any other countries in Asia amid having the best highway rings in the region. And Lim's wild accusation about the government's cronies reaping 'excessive profits' before the toll charges are increased next year, is even unjustified and 'politically filthy'. To him, each and every public sector project cannot take off without PM, DPM, ministers and senior officials 'planting' their cronies on it. I wonder how Lim and his team will manage the maintenance of the first Penang Bridge if toll collection is stopped. Has he ever wondered the cost of maintaining it? I believe 10-15 years after proper maintenance and toll collection are stopped, the bridge will collapse! There are times when I pity this guy...

Rafizi's stupid joke Posted: 05 Feb 2014 02:16 AM PST                                           In this video, Rafizi issues a warning to Pakatan Rakyat supporters in Selangor not to belittle Barisan Nasional, especially Umno. He says, Umno can at any time apply the emergency power to take over Selangor as it had done that in Kelantan in 1977. What crap! He should study the Kelantan case before opening up his mouth. There is no similarity whatsoever to equate Selangor and Kelantan. PAS was a BN component then and its pact with Umno did not work out well. And that was the last of the five emergencies imposed by the Federal Government. No more, and I don't think it will work for Selangor. Turn on the pages on Kelantan's state of emergency, Rafizi! 'Jangan banyak merapu, bro!'

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