Best Way To Produce Competitive Bumiputra Contractors

The best way to produce competitive Bumiputera contractors
by
Koon Yew Yin

I recently published an article with the title, “Room for Competitive Bumiputera Companies - A Wasteful National Mission”.  My intention was to support Petronas Chairman Tan Sri Shamsul Azhar Abbas who is under fire from the Malay Economic Action Council (MTEM) for allegedly marginalizing Bumiputera companies and favouring more competitive foreign companies. 


In fact MTEM has conveniently forgotten that in 2010 and 2011 alone, Petronas awarded a huge sum of about Rm 74 billion worth of contracts to Bumiputera controlled companies.  Apparently this is not enough for MTEM which has called for Tan Sri Shamsul and the board members of Petronas to resign. MTEM expects to get most of the contracts irrespective of whether they are competent to undertake the contracts. 

This politicking against Petronas - a national company with all Malaysians as stakeholders - is certainly not good for our economy. I wish to emphasize that Petronas is not a Malay company and Malay cronies of UMNO should not expect hand outs and contracts as if we are still living in the NEP era. 

It is time that all Malay business enterprises and individuals grow up and realize they have to become competitive if they wish to survive in the business world.  Nowhere in the real world is there preferential treatment for Bumiputera or any other ‘putera’!  

Continuously giving out contracts to Bumiputeras as MTEM is calling for - without competitive tenders - will make them more inefficient and result in poor quality work.  At the end of the day, it will be all Malaysians who will have to bear the collapse of a crony-driven and Malay-oriented Petronas if it loses its standing in the global market.  

Giving out contracts without a full tender process is akin to corruption. Why a closed tender or Bumiputra favouring policy has to be pursued by Petronas needs to be openly justified by MTEM rather than swept under the carpet and hidden by the veil of threats.

The best way to produce efficient and competitive Bumiputera contractors 

I would like to share my experiences in the contracting industry with Bumiputera contractors so that they can understand why they have failed and what needs to be done by the government to correct this situation. 

Most difficult huddle is to submit the cheapest tender

Firstly, it is necessary to warn that contracting is a difficult business although it is so easy to register as a contractor in Malaysia. It is not well known that there are more failures and bankruptcies in contracting than in any other business. Another little known fact is that almost all construction projects are NOT completed within the original scheduled time. This explains why one can often see uncompleted or abandoned projects.  

A key point to note is that contractors – under an open tender system - always have to produce good work at the cheapest price. 

In order to submit the cheapest tender, the contractor must be very optimistic in all his assumptions. He must assume that he will not encounter any cash flow difficulties and that he will always get his progress payments on time. 

He must also assume that he will not encounter any difficulty in getting all the required materials to avoid any delay and also that there are ample workers for him to choose. 

Furthermore, he must also assume that he will not meet any inclement weather or other adverse factor during construction. Invariably, some of these assumptions will be proven wrong, thus delaying completion. Often, the infrastructure will cost more to complete than provided for in the contract.



The importance of teamwork 

Teamwork is important in all business endeavours. It is more so in the contracting business. Every contractor must realise that his success is not going to be determined by his own knowledge or abilities. It is determined by his ability to develop a great team. His co-workers will help determine the level of his success. 

Every efficient contractor must have a reliable team comprising managers, sub-contractors, material suppliers, foremen and skilled workers. All the team players must cooperate with one another. Their main goal must be saving cost. If they cannot complete the contract within the tender price, all of them will be affected. 

Construction material pricing 

There was no material price escalation clause in the conditions of contract before I became the Secretary General of the Master Builders Association. During the unprecedented oil crisis, building material prices shot through the roof. As a result, many contractors could not complete their contracts for schools and other projects. After several appeals the Public Works Department (PWD), now known as Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR) and Tengku Razaleigh, the Finance Minister then, eventually allowed cement and steel for price variation reimbursement. 

This was only a partial solution as hundreds of other items were excluded. 

Without a protective price fluctuation clause for the other items, contractors are exposed to risk. Invariably, most materials would increase in price due to inflation. Contractors require many years of experience to anticipate such price changes and to make provisions for them whilst at the same time not overpricing their tenders and losing the bid. 



No two contracts are exactly the same 

Construction of a building is always akin to making a prototype. The process is much more difficult than manufacturing any product where there is repetition. In the construction of buildings or other engineering works, there is very little repetitive work. Every construction site is different. 

On top of this, there may also be inexperienced supervisory staff that can create a lot of difficulties for the contractors. Invariably, by the time all parties get used to the routine, the scheduled time is over. 

Financing 

Most contractors do not have sufficient capital to finance their undertakings. Contractors generally do not have fixed assets like most manufacturers. Unfortunately, banks do not accept moving assets as collateral for a loan. Without bank financing, contractors will find it more difficult to undertake their business. 
Beginning at the bottom: key to success

I have provided some insight into why contracting is not a business that is as easy or profitable as it is commonly perceived. 

There are other factors explaining why or how some of the most successful tycoons associated with the construction industry have managed to get to where they are. Perhaps the main one is learning by starting at the bottom. For example, Lim Goh Tong of Genting began his working career as a scrap iron dealer and a contractor; and Yeoh Tiong Lay of YTL Corp. started off as a small general contractor. 

Generally, Bumiputeras are not interested in managing small businesses and earning small profits. Because of the NEP, many have hopes of securing concessions for big deals. There are relatively few Bumiputeras involved in small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs). 

More Bumiputeras should start by becoming traders for building materials. The business skill they can learn from these humble beginnings will carry them a long way. I am sure some of them will eventually become good contractors if they learn the trade at the bottom. 

Importance of skilled workers

There are so few Bumiputera construction foremen, carpenters and other skilled workers. If you were to go into any construction site, you would see the truth of what I am saying. How many Malay carpenters have you seen in KL? 

Without skilled Bumiputera workers, it would be more difficult for Bumiputera contractors to succeed. More Bumiputeras should be encouraged to work as apprentices in the construction industry. 

Conclusion: Half-baked contractors are not in our national interest 

Contracting is one of the most difficult businesses and it takes a long time to produce competent contractors. 

It is dangerous to quickly produce half-baked ones as they will soon find themselves in financial difficulties and require bailouts. The bankruptcy record shows that many debtors are Bumiputera contractors unable to pay back the loans given by government-controlled financial institutions. 

The government must change its policies which have proven unworkable. There is no urgency in producing more Bumiputera contractors as many of the key industries e.g. the banks, toll roads, water, electricity, plantations, commodities, etc are already under the control of Bumiputeras. 

Our government must not be narrowly communalistic and should make use of all the groups, irrespective of race, that are more efficient in the contracting business. 

HIV - Important Developments

Many are trying not to jump to too many conclusions too soon, but we could possibly see significant developments in curing babies of AIDS soon. That should be a first step towards finding cures for adult patients.

By RON WINSLOW (Wall Street Journal)

The report that a 2½-year- old Mississippi baby appears to be cured of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has provoked intense interest, excitement and some skepticism among AIDS researchers and the community at large.

The toddler's case, if confirmed in further research, could have important implications for treatment of more than 300,000 babies born with the virus each year—mostly in the developing world.

The baby is the second person ever documented to be cured of the virus during the 32-year global AIDS epidemic. The first, a man named Timothy Brown and known as the Berlin patient, was cured as an adult as a result of a bone-marrow transplant he received to treat his leukemia.

Here are answers to some questions raised by the report, which was disclosed Sunday and formally presented Monday at the annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta.

WSJ's Ron Winslow reports on the unprecedented cure of the HIV virus in a two-year-old girl in Mississippi and its potential impact on broader treatments. Photo: Getty Images.

Q. Beyond the report of the cure itself, what stands out about this case?

A. Two important details are these: The baby was started on a more aggressive regimen than normal—and within 31 hours of birth—well before test results that confirmed the HIV infection were available. Generally, doctors start with a lower dose and wait for confirmation of infection before starting such an intense regimen, something that can take four to six weeks. Researchers believe the rapid, aggressive treatment likely led to curing the child of the virus.

Second, the mother decided to take the baby off therapy, something a doctor would almost never do. When the baby was brought back for care after a hiatus of at least five months, standard tests were unable to detect any virus. "I fully expected to see that the child's viral load had gone up quite high," said Hannah Gay, the doctor at University of Mississippi Medical Center who started the baby on the intense regimen.

Q. This is just one case. Will this treatment strategy cure more babies?

A. Much more research is required to validate the finding before it could become part of standard treatment. Deborah Persaud, the researcher at Johns Hopkins Children's Center who is the lead author of the cure report, said further studies are now being planned to test the intense, very early treatment regimen in more infants. In addition, the baby will continue to be monitored for her HIV status.

If the findings hold up, the approach could significantly alter developing-world treatment of babies born with HIV, perhaps playing a major role in the global health community's goal of halting HIV infection of newborns. "This news gives us great hope that a cure for HIV in children is possible and could bring us one step closer to an AIDS-free generation," UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé said in a statement.

Q. What are the implications for people already diagnosed with HIV or who have progressed to developing AIDS?

A. It isn't clear how the new case applies to people with established infections. Such infections are characterized by "viral reservoirs" where HIV lurks in immune-system cells, hidden from treatment and ready to roar back when treatment stops. The latent reservoirs persist for years and are the major barrier to an overall cure of HIV and AIDS.

In the case of the baby, researchers believe the early treatment likely prevented the establishment of the reservoirs, which typically can form very quickly after exposure to HIV.

Q. So was the baby infected or was the infection prevented by the treatment?

A. Some researchers question whether the baby was truly infected. Cells in the baby "may have been infected—there was virus around," said Steven Deeks, an AIDS researcher at University of California at San Francisco. "But the cells being infected weren't the type that become long-lived reservoirs."

The key issue in prevention is reversing the effect of the latent reservoirs, Dr. Deeks said. "What is probably happening [in the Mississippi case] is that latency is being prevented, not reversed."

Q. Why do researchers think the baby was infected with HIV?

A. The baby tested positive for the virus based on five separate tests, including two taken within 31 hours after birth. After treatment began, levels of the virus gradually declined. At one month, the virus couldn't be detected by commonly used tests, an expected result based on the therapy she was given.

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said, "They did the right things in their study." The findings are a "proof of concept" that very early treatment—before the viral reservoirs are established and before the immune system is damaged—could cure babies of the infection.

In any event, if the strategy is proven effective in additional studies, it likely wouldn't matter whether the infections were being prevented or just rooted out before they became established in the reservoirs, researchers said. Babies would still become free of infection.

Q. How would the strategy fit into current efforts to prevent infections among newborns?

A. The well-established approach is to treat infected pregnant women with antiretroviral therapy during pregnancy and during birth. That reduces the rate of mother-to-child transmission to under 2% from a range of 15% to 45%, according to the World Health Organization.

That's why WHO, UNAIDS and other public-health organizations have made providing pregnant mothers in the developing world with access to antiretroviral drugs the primary strategy in preventing mother-to-child transmission.

"We still need to focus on prevention," said University of Mississippi's Dr. Gay. "Prevention works and prevention is the best form of cure."

Its A Shifting Tide, Its A Breaking Wave, ... Nooo... Its A Tsunami (Again)

The last University of Malaya Centre for Democracy and Elections (Umcedel) polls conducted between Dec. 26 and Jan. 11 reinforce the forecast that the outcome of the 13GE is too close to call, as the difference between those who believe BN can beat PR in the 13GE has been decimated:
25% in December 2011 
5% in January 2013.

Respondents who believe that Pakatan Rakyat can take Putrajaya in the 13GE have steadily climbed from:
18% in December 2011 
21% in April 2012 
30% in Sept. 2012 
37% in Jan 2013.

In contrast, respondents who believe that Barisan Nasional can win the 13GE:
43% in Dec. 2011
49% in April 2012
44% in Sept. 2012
42% in Jan 2013.

Respondents undecided or unsure who could win the 13GE:
39% in Dec. 2011
30% in April 2012 
26% in Sept 2012 
21% in Jan 2013.

On this Umcedel scenario, all that is needed for PR to beat BN in the race to Putrajaya in the 13GE is to win over more than five per cent of the undecided or unsure respondents, which stands at 21% in January 2013.

Asset Class Returns As At End February 2013

As the table is based in USD, a stronger dollar last month clipped returns of foreign stocks and bonds from a U.S. currency perspective. U.S. equities and bonds, by contrast, posted respectable gains in February, although the domestic pop wasn't enough to offset the drag from foreign markets in U.S. dollar terms for a globally diversified portfolio. As a result, the Global Market Index (GMI) slipped 0.1% last month, although GMI is still up a handsome 2.4% for the year so far through February's close.

The big loser last month was commodities, which shed more than 4% overall. Meanwhile, REITs continue to rise, adding 1.2% in the U.S. market and gaining 1.0% on an offshore basis. Over the past year, REITs generally are in the performance lead among the major asset classes. Foreign REITs in particular are higher by a strong 24.6% through the end of February 2013. REITs has been on a tear for most of the past 12 months, a strong indication  of the recovery in commercial properties - the fact that money is leaving the sidelines and venturing into stocks and properties in the US is a strong trend for a buoyant market in 2013.

By comparison, bonds, US and foreign have been muted, again a show of money exiting bonds. You would think that considering a market rally in equities based on liquidity (thanks to all central banks printing press) would have seen an effect in commodities, the reverse is happening. That is not a good thing as it may mean that the current equity rally is largely a bubble as it is not translating into real activity (i.e. pickup in commodities buying for end products or consumption). A better explanation would that there has been so much excess capacity and inventory for commodities that they will only pick up by June July methinks, same for the precious oil.

Something Is Not Right With This Case In Singapore

Something like this was not supposed to happen in Singapore. Its a brilliant piece of investigative journalism by FT. Its also very sad for the family involved. The whole thing reads like a convoluted but brilliant movie script .... C'mon Singapore, come clean ...

The entire article is so very long like a mini novel but very gripping, read the rest at this link:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/afbddb44-7640-11e2-8eb6-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2MGXpfB7d

February 15, 2013 1:10 pm

Death in Singapore

By Raymond Bonner and Christine Spolar

On June 24 last year, the body of a young US electronics engineer, Shane Todd, was found hanging in his Singapore apartment. Police said it was suicide, but the Todd family believe he was murdered. Shane had feared that a project he was working on was compromising US national security. His parents want to know if that project sent him to his grave

Shane Todd on a dragon boat in Singapore during an outing with friends and colleagues in 2011. This is one of a number of images featured on Shane’s Facebook page. The photographs of Shane Todd have been provided by the Todd family

Mary and Rick Todd were anxious about entering the apartment where their oldest son had lived and died. Late last June the couple had flown from Montana to Denver to Los Angeles to a colonial-era house in the Chinatown district of Singapore to try to make sense of an unthinkable loss: Shane Todd, a young engineer who had just wrapped up an 18-month stint with a government research institute known as IME, was dead – an apparent suicide, according to the Singapore police. Mrs Todd felt her heart pounding as she climbed the narrow staircase to his apartment and thought about what the police had told her two days earlier.

Shane had died a week before he was to return to the US. The police said he had drilled holes into his bathroom wall, bolted in a pulley, then slipped a black strap through the pulley and wrapped it around the toilet several times. He then tethered the strap to his neck and jumped from a chair. Shane, 6ft 1in and nearly 200lb, hanged himself from the bathroom door, the autopsy report said.

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So the Todds, along with two of Shane’s younger brothers, John and Dylan, were unnerved by what theydidn’t see as they crossed the threshold. The front door was unlocked and there was no sign of an investigation – no crime-scene tape, no smudges from fingerprint searches. “The first thing I did was make a beeline for the bathroom,” Mrs Todd recalled. She wanted to see exactly how Shane had died – and she saw nothing that fitted the police description. The marble bathroom walls had no holes in them. Nor were there any bolts or screws. The toilet was not where the police had said.

E.U. Recovery Faces Huge Stumbling Blocks From Italy

Just when everything seems to be going hunky-dory, along comes the Italian Job. The election results is one of the worst you could get which could impede ECB's strategy for recovery. Italy could very well opt out of E.U. and adopt back the lira. Its ok to opt out if you are the weak link like Greece as opting out could help resuscitate your country better. To opt out, if and should Italy do so, one must question Italy's loyalty and sense of belonging in the E.U. .... Italy is basically opting out when it looks terrible for them. Let's boycott pasta!!!

-----------------------------------

Italy’s electoral earthquake is ‘‘a catastrophe for the euro and the European Union’’, according to Luxembourg’s foreign minister, Jean Asselborn.

Italy is big enough to bring down the eurozone if mishandled. 

The verdict was much the same in chancelleries across the eurozone, especially in those countries already starting to feel the first wave of contagion.

‘‘The result touches us all,’’ said Spain’s foreign minister, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo. ‘‘It is a jump into the void that bodes well for nobody, neither for Italy, nor for the rest of Europe.’’

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Almost 57 per cent of the Italian vote went to parties that have vowed to tear up the EU austerity script. Together they control a majority of senate seats.

The Five Star movement of comedian Beppe Grillo, which won 25 per cent of the vote, has called for a euro referendum and has a return to the lira as one of its manifesto pledges, while ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi has threatened to pull Italy out of the currency bloc unless the EU switches to a reflation strategy.

Even if the centre-left leader, Pier Luigi Bersani, can put together a ‘‘grand coalition’’ with Mr Berlusconi, there is no going back to the hairshirt regime imposed by Mario Monti’s technocrat government at the EU’s behest over the past 15 months.

‘‘A deal with Monti is impossible,’’ said Mr Berlusconi yesterday. ‘‘His austerity policies have put the country into a dangerous recessionary spiral, with rising debt and unemployment, and the closure of a thousand firms a day.’’

The great fear is that the European Central Bank (ECB) will find it impossible to prop up the Italian bond market under its Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) scheme if there is no coalition in Rome willing or able to comply with the tough conditions imposed by the EU at Berlin’s behest. Europe’s rescue strategy could start to unravel.

Andrew Roberts, credit chief at RBS, said: ‘‘What has happened in these elections is of seismic importance.

‘‘The ECB rescue depends on countries doing what they are told. That has now been torn asunder by domestic politics in Italy. ‘‘The big risk is that markets will start to doubt the credibility of the ECB’s pledge.’’

It is a widely shared view. Luigi Speranza, from BNP Paribas, said: ‘‘We fear the markets could lose faith in the OMT’s effectiveness.’’

Bond buying under the OMT can begin only after countries in trouble request a rescue from the EU’s bail-out fund under strict terms.

This then requires a vote in the Bundestag.Germany’s ECB board member, Jorg Asmussen, backed the plan when it was unveiled in August, signalling the crucial acquiescence of Chancellor Angela Merkel. The concern is that Germany could withdraw that assent if provoked.

Mr Roberts said: ‘‘The big unknown is how much Germany is going to buckle over the next six months. German leaders want to keep up the appearance that the eurozone crisis has been solved, at least until their elections in September.’’

In one sense, Italy is in a weak bargaining position. It must raise 420 billion euros this year, making it acutely sensitive to the latest surge in borrowing costs. Yields on 10-year bonds surged 34 basis points yesterday, pushing the spread over German Bunds to 330, with traders eyeing the 400 level where stress begins in earnest. Italian bank shares tumbled in Milan, with Intesa Sanpaulo down 8.4 per cent on fears of losses on sovereign bonds.

Yet Italy is big enough to bring down the eurozone if mishandled. It is also the one Club Med country with enough fundamental strengths to leave EMU and devalue, if it concludes that would be the least painful way to restore 35 per cent of lost competitiveness against Germany since the launch of the euro.

It has low private debt and euros 9 trillion of private wealth. Its total debt level is 265 per cent of GDP, lower than in France, Holland, the UK, the US or Japan.

Its budget is near primary balance, and so is its International Investment Position, in contrast to Spain and Portugal. It could in theory return to the lira without facing a funding crisis, and this may be the only way to avoid a crisis if the ECB withdraws support. Any attempt to force Italy to knuckle down risks backfiring disastrously for EMU creditors.

The question is whether the election will prompt a radical rethink in Brussels and Berlin. Martin Schulz, the European Parliament’s president, said the vote had shown the intellectual bankruptcy of current EU policies.

‘‘People will make sacrifices, but not at any cost,’’ he said.

Defenders of the Monti policy say in retrospect that it was an error to push fiscal tightening of 3 per cent of GDP last year when Italy was already in depression - and did not have a deficit crisis - and neglect the greater task of marshalling public support behind reforms.Critics are harsher.

Nobel economist Paul Krugman said the EU policies imposed on Italy and others has been ‘‘a disastrous failure’’. If there is no change in strategy, this election will be ‘‘just the foretaste of the dangerous radicalisation to come’’.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/catastrophe-for-euro--europe-frets-over-italy-20130227-2f4ua.html#ixzz2M4tGayvZ

Let's Get Serious - Pakatan's Manifesto

Can they govern? .... Of course they can, just look at the current cabinet, you tell me we cannot find capable people to replace them??? Gawd!!! As for some cynics who question as to how the missions will be funded or whether they are empty promises - seriously, I don't think they will be able to meet all that has been written in the manifesto, but I do think they can achieve at least 1/3 and maybe another 1/3 work in progress and the balance will be status quo, even then that will be 100x better than the administration we had for the past 50 years. Much of whats written below has to do with economics, but to me another key point which I am sure Pakatan can do and will do is restore credibility and independence to the judiciary ... and improve the regulatory and policing bodies - only when its fair can you live in our own country without fear or favour. Why is it that we Malaysians hesitate to talk about which political side we are aligned with??? Where did that fear come from? What are we fearful of??? Who put those things there? Why aren't things that are supposed to protect me of my rights  there to protect me when I need it?

Below is the summary of Pakatan's Manifesto:


THE FRATERNITY
OF THE PEOPLE 
1.  Eliminating discrimination
2.  Recognizing the contribution of women and senior citizens
3.  Developing the national education system and a rming all
educational streams 
4.  Respecting the position of Sabah and Sarawak within the Federation
5.  Preserving Orang Asli customary land rights and welfare
6.  Respecting the position of Islam as the o cial religion,
guaranteeing the freedom of religion
7.  Promoting culture as the foundation of community living

"It’s for the good of BN that we vote for PR and for better future for the people at the same time.   What happens when PR becomes the New Government? We have a New Government with Less Experience in CORRUPTION and SCANDALS..... good for people.  We have a STRONG and RICH Opposition with 50 years Experience  in matters pertaining to CORRUPTION and SCANDALS.  They know the ins and out of corruption and scandals, so they can better check the PR government...."


THE PEOPLE’S ECONOMY
1.  1 million job opportunities for the people
2.  Equitable productivity sharing through minimum wage
3.  One million school leavers trained as skilled labour
4.  Education reform to drive the economy
5.  Cultivating smart partnership of trade unions, employers
and government
6.  SMIs and innovation to drive the national economy
7.  Tax adjustment to promote equity
8.  Sustainable economy
9.  Defending military veterans’ economy and welfare
10. Making taxi entrepreneurs viable
11. R & D investments to reach 5% of GDP
12. Public transportation – the lifeline of the national economy
13. Breaking monopolies, encouraging competition


Pakatan Rakyat will increase the government contribution to the Armed Forces Fund Board (AFFB) from 15% to 20% to secure soldiers’ savings. An additional contribution of 5% will be administered in a special fund and separated 
from the pension fund contributions, to be used to finance funds and direct assistance to pensionable and non-pensionable soldiers.

Pakatan Rakyat will introduce a Soldiers’ Dividend which will remunerate non-pensionable veterans to the amount of RM2,000 per year, derived from supplementary governmental allocation and profit gains of AFFB. The estimated allocations needed to finance the Soldiers’ Dividend is RM400 million per year.



MAKING TAXI ENTREPRENEURS VIABLE
Pakatan Rakyat will abolish the system of granting taxi permits to selected companies who profit from taxi drivers’ labour. Taxi permits will be given directly to the taxi drivers in order to produce more taxi entrepreneurs.



URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
• Public transportation to be made free for differently-abled people.
• Remodeling the planning of the Klang Valley public transportation system from being MRT-centric, to an integrated plan involving MRT and buses to improve the existing network and access.
• Examining each contract awarded in the MRT package in light of updated legislation, to ensure it is corruption-free and cost-effective for the people.
• Additional investment of RM2 billion in the first year to double the number of buses and bus routes in the Klang Valley 

INTER-CITY PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM
Initiating steps towards building the first inter-city high speed rail system in Southeast Asia Pakatan Rakyat is committed to resolve the problem of traffic congestion in the Klang Valley and other major cities within 10 years 
of coming to power, with the aim of reducing congestion by 50% during its first term. Congestion problems have worsened due to policies which have neglected inter-city and intra-city public transportation systems. For a 
long time, investments in the public transport system were ignored until people had no choice but to use private vehicles.

Reliance on private vehicles has adverse effects on the economy. It increases subsidy expenditure, the economic burden on families, pollutes the environment and contributes to congestion.

Prudent and wise investment in public transport systems under Pakatan Rakyat will make public transportation a national economic lifeline.

"There is far too much subservience in our society. Observe functions where a minister turns up. Immediately there will be the sound of shuffling chairs as people stand up. Why should we do so? Why the grovelling and hand kissing? Democratically elected officials are just like any one of us and to afford them such obsequiousness is unseemly and an affront to the entire idea of democracy and equality amongst all people. - Azmi Sharom"

PUBLIC TRANSPORT – THE LIFELINE OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMY MANIFESTO RAKYAT

BREAKING MONOPOLIES, ENCOURAGING COMPETITION
Monopolies are an encumbrance to economic growth and discourage competition. Allowing big companies to monopolise goods and services gives them the power to impose exorbitant and burdensome price increases. Monopolies impede competition and narrow the space for new businessmen and entrepreneurs to grow.

Pakatan Rakyat economic policy will focus on breaking up monopolies and encouraging competition. It will lower the price of goods from burdensome levels and build a resilient national economy that will produce many successful new entrepreneurs.

• Establish an Anti-Monopoly Commission and amend existing laws relating to competition to have more power to stop unfair business practices
• Establish a Public Contracts Commission to evaluate and act as arbitrator to ensure that all agreements between the government and private sectors are not biased or unfavourable to the people
• Dissolve 1MDB so that Khazanah remains the only state investment body
• Disposal and handover of government holdings in government-linked companies (GLCs) which are not involved in businesses of national importance. This will be done via management buy-out (MBO), with
the objective of producing more viable Bumiputera entrepreneurs
• Break up monopolies in communications, essential foods, pharmaceuticals, civil aviation and other key sectors
• Restructure unfair independent power producer (IPP) agreements to stop the enrichment of cronies via public funds
• Restructure the role of Ekuinas so that the agency assists in the takeover of GLCs by the management and qualified entrepreneurs
• Ensure overall implementation of procurement by open tender in the 
management of public entities






THE PEOPLE’S WELL-BEING 
1.  Alleviating the burdensome cost of living by        abolishing monopolies and reducing prices
2.  Restructuring automotive policy to reduce the people’s burden
3.  A ordable and comfortable housing for all
4.  Free education for all, abolishing PTPTN
5.  Abolishing AES, revoke AES summonses
6.  Justice for Felda settlers
7.  People’s safety
8.  Ensuring free basic health access
9.  Building a social safety network



THE PAKATAN RAKYAT GOVERNMENT WILL 
TAKE OVER THE HIGHWAYS IN STAGES FOR THE 
PURPOSE OF ABOLISHING TOLLS.
As promised in the Orange Book (Buku Jingga), Pakatan Rakyat will take over the highways with the intention of gradually abolishing tolls. The financing of the highway operations will be accommodated by using the RM5 billion fund that has been paid as compensation to the concessionaires. Abolishing tolls will help to reduce the price of goods


PRICES WILL BE LOWERED WHEN MONOPOLIES 
ARE ABOLISHED.
Monopolies held by several cronies linked with the present ruling party have allowed them to control product prices. As a result, monopolies have become 
the main cause of why product prices are rising in the country. Monopolies exist in many key sectors – from telecommunications to ASTRO, from rice prices to sugar prices. Pakatan Rakyat will abolish these monopolies to 
increase competition such that lower product prices will result.




RESTRUCTURE THE AUTOMOTIVE POLICY TO 
REDUCE THE PEOPLE’S BURDEN
The ratio of car prices in Malaysia to average household income is one of the highest in the world. The lack of effective public transport facilities gives the people no choice but to buy their own cars.  As a result, car debts are the main financial burden incurred by every household. Every month a large portion of their income goes to servicing their car loan installments. To reduce the people’s burden and increase their disposable income, Pakatan Rakyat will 
restructure automotive policy as follows:

Car excise tax that is currently being levied is at an excessive 70 %, resulting in high car prices. Car excise prices will be lowered in stages with the 
intention of abolishing it in 5 years’ time in order that car prices can be more competitive.

150,000 affordable homes in the low-cost category (below RM75,000) and medium-cost category (between RM150,000 and RM250,000) will be built 
in the first term of the Pakatan Rakyat administration. A National Housing Corporation (PPN) will be established as the primary agency to build, regulate 
and develop affordable housing. PPN will be responsible for building houses for the people in order to balance the private sector’s exorbitant 
housing prices.

It will ensure the sustainability of the national housing industry by ensuring fairness to the buyers and developers, including implementing the ‘build and 
sell’ concept more extensively. 

Pakatan Rakyat will invest RM 5 billion in the first year to build affordable housing, followed by RM 2 billion funding every year from the second to fifth year.

Liberalising the national automotive industry will increase its competitiveness and add value for people. Pakatan Rakyat believes that a truly competitive 
automotive industry can produce cars priced as low as RM 25,000.


DIGNITY, PERFORMANCE & REPUTATION OF FELDA
Pakatan Rakyat will defend the dignity, performance and reputation of FELDA to ensure the economic position and land ownership of the settlers. This includes restructuring all ownership in Felda Global Ventures (FGV) with the aim of returning operation and ownership of FELDA land to the settlers and staff. FELDA settlers’ contribution to the country’s wellbeing is immense. Palm oil revenue will be used to fund other development projects.  Therefore, FELDA settlers are entitled to receive a fair and higher proportion of revenue sharing.

JUSTICE FOR FELDA SETTLERS FAIR EXTRACTION RATES 
Settlers are not paid their real income through manipulation of the Grade Extraction Rate (GER) by FELDA. Pakatan Rakyat will review all compensation 
claims as a result of the GER manipulation and pay appropriate compensation to affected FELDA settlers.

"I have said many times in the past that a clean electoral system is a diffuser of political chaos. When people feel that a party has won or lost fair and square, there is no need to take to the streets. There is after all the next time an election is called and you can make changes then. It is only in the face of a brutal and unfair system that anger spills over. It happened in the Philippines, in Indonesia, in Egypt and many other places where people felt they either had no voice or their voice had been disregarded by a flawed and corrupt election. A government that truly respects democracy understands this.They will be willing to lose an election in the hope and expectation that they will be able to fight another day and win back the power they lost if they have the right ideas. They will also understand that a lasting peace depends on a sound democracy. Only a government that is totally obtuse and totally uncaring about anything else except their own precarious clutch on power will fail to realise the importance of a fair electoral system. - Azmi Sharom"



THE PEOPLE’S SAFETY
The rapid increase in crimes throughout the country, whether in urban or rural areas, with victims of young and old, illustrates the immense failure of the policing system we have today. Pakatan Rakyat is determined to return the police personnels’ focus and responsibility to protecting the people and solving crime. This will restore the position and respect of the Royal Police Force of Malaysia (PDRM) in the eyes of the people.

The following measures will be implemented to restore the dignity of  police personnels and to protect the public:
• Aim to increase police personnels’ remuneration by 15% in stages through manpower rationalisation and resource reallocation from non-core duties to core duties of crime solving and ensuring people’s safety;
• Rationalising manpower and resource allocation will involve transferring and retraining of personnel in order to increase personnel strength of the Crime Investigation Department (CID), including reducing the size of General Task Force (PGA) and other non-core task forces; 
• Additional allocation of RM 50 million a year to build police posts in places of high public concentration;
• Extra allocation of RM 200 million a year to increase PDRM’s capabilities and effectiveness in forensic investigation.




THE PEOPLE’S GOVERNMENT 
1.  Reforming Islamic and religious institutions
2.  New remuneration and service packages for civil servants
3.  Clean, fair and transparent elections
4.  Reforming the judiciary, Attorney General's Chambers, MACC and PDRM
5.  Reforming Parliament
6.  Media freedom and restoring trust in media practitioners
7.  Abolishing UUCA and ensuring academic freedom
8.  Abolishing all anti-people laws
9.  Corruption Elimination Policy (DEBARAN)


CORRUPTION ELIMINATION POLICY (DEBARAN)
The war on corruption is at the centre of Pakatan Rakyat’s struggle. The Pakatan Rakyat administration will introduce the Corruption Elimination Policy (DEBARAN) with an integrated approach that is incisive and specific in order to eliminate corruption.

DEBARAN is based on two major principles, namely empowering MACC fully through leadership and administrative reforms so that it will earn the respect of the people and amending current legislations to enhance its effectiveness in combating corruption. For this purpose, through DEBARAN the Pakatan Rakyat administration will:

• Restructure MACC’s power and leadership in order to rebuild its integrity in the people’s eyes which may include giving MACC the power to prosecute
• Restructure the practices and processes of MACC to focus on investigation and prosecution towards big corruption cases that involve the public interest in order to dispel the perception that MACC only concentrates on small cases whilst being lenient on the big cases
• Tighten corruption-related legislation (including the Whistleblower Protection Act) to firmly implement anti-corruption laws that can tackle  significant corruption cases that involve the public interest

"Only when we have people in power, and by this I mean the legislature, executive and judiciary,  who have the aspiration of protecting rights as far as possible; who believe that human rights are an ideal, not an imposition on governments; and who have the conviction to live and make decisions according to these principles; only then can the Asean Human Rights Declaration have any meaning. Maybe I am not being pragmatic; perhaps the thin air in my ivory tower has made me light headed and foolish; but I don’t care, because the alternative to living without aspirations, ideals and principles is not worth contemplating. - Azmi Sharom"