It appears that public opinion on Asas Serba’s proposed take over is starting to gain traction amongst the average person. To my surprise there was a section in the NST yesterday which published not one but three letters from readers regarding their dismay towards Asas Serba. Thought I’d share it with you all here and see what you think?
Proposal shrouded in secrecy
NEWS about Asas Serba Sdn Bhd’s proposal to take over the 23 toll highways has resurfaced again. Asas Serba made news last year when it proposed consolidating all the toll highways and reducing the toll rates by 20 per cent.
As a regular highway user, I find the offer attractive but there is something not quite right with it.
First of all, nobody knows exactly who is behind Asas Serba. According to its company profile, there are six directors, one of whom is Ibrahim Bidin, who seems to have experience in running a toll highway company.
Secondly, the company intends to finance the proposed RM50 billion takeover via the issuance of dividend bonds through a new concession company. But according to OSK Research, this can potentially cause “indigestion” in the bond market.
Third, while the offer is pretty much irresistible, there seems to be a lack of strong business strategy. I wonder how it plans to sustain its business when there won’t be any increase in revenue while the cost of operations would go up. Does this mean the government would still have to subsidise the operation?
Many questions have been put forward but none have been answered. What makes it worse is the government’s recent indication that it is willing to consider the proposal.
Asas Serba should have approached the stakeholders to sell its proposal but instead opted to ask the government to decide.
I hope the government will do the right thing.
AZIZ JAAFAR
Kuala Lumpur
Another monopoly
READ with horror the report that Works Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor welcomed a proposal by Asas Serba Sdn Bhd to take over all toll concessions in the country. In effect, a monopoly.
Monopolies are not new here — examples include Tenaga Nasional Berhad and Astro. The Malaysian experience with monopolies is that their services are not good and become more and more expensive.
As a taxpayer, I am against a monopoly on toll roads. I have seen how our money has been used to bail out bad monopolies.
ALPHONSUS JOSEPH
Kuala Lumpur
Respect contracts
IF Asas Serba, which doesn’t seem to have any track record in managing toll highways, is allowed to take over toll highways, it could mean that there is no respect for contracts already signed.
Any businessman or foreign investor who wants to come to Malaysia will think twice if there are frequent policy changes and if Malaysia does not respect the spirit of the contract.
RAMESAN V.K
Penang
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This entry was posted on June 15, 2010 at 5:14 am and is filed under Reader Commentary. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.
Tags: Asas Serba, Highways, Toll Roads
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[Letters] NST – Toll Roads
It appears that public opinion on Asas Serba’s proposed take over is starting to gain traction amongst the average person. To my surprise there was a section in the NST yesterday which published not one but three letters from readers regarding their dismay towards Asas Serba. Thought I’d share it with you all here and see what you think?
Proposal shrouded in secrecy
NEWS about Asas Serba Sdn Bhd’s proposal to take over the 23 toll highways has resurfaced again. Asas Serba made news last year when it proposed consolidating all the toll highways and reducing the toll rates by 20 per cent.
As a regular highway user, I find the offer attractive but there is something not quite right with it.
First of all, nobody knows exactly who is behind Asas Serba. According to its company profile, there are six directors, one of whom is Ibrahim Bidin, who seems to have experience in running a toll highway company.
Secondly, the company intends to finance the proposed RM50 billion takeover via the issuance of dividend bonds through a new concession company. But according to OSK Research, this can potentially cause “indigestion” in the bond market.
Third, while the offer is pretty much irresistible, there seems to be a lack of strong business strategy. I wonder how it plans to sustain its business when there won’t be any increase in revenue while the cost of operations would go up. Does this mean the government would still have to subsidise the operation?
Many questions have been put forward but none have been answered. What makes it worse is the government’s recent indication that it is willing to consider the proposal.
Asas Serba should have approached the stakeholders to sell its proposal but instead opted to ask the government to decide.
I hope the government will do the right thing.
AZIZ JAAFAR
Kuala Lumpur
Another monopoly
READ with horror the report that Works Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor welcomed a proposal by Asas Serba Sdn Bhd to take over all toll concessions in the country. In effect, a monopoly.
Monopolies are not new here — examples include Tenaga Nasional Berhad and Astro. The Malaysian experience with monopolies is that their services are not good and become more and more expensive.
As a taxpayer, I am against a monopoly on toll roads. I have seen how our money has been used to bail out bad monopolies.
ALPHONSUS JOSEPH
Kuala Lumpur
Respect contracts
IF Asas Serba, which doesn’t seem to have any track record in managing toll highways, is allowed to take over toll highways, it could mean that there is no respect for contracts already signed.
Any businessman or foreign investor who wants to come to Malaysia will think twice if there are frequent policy changes and if Malaysia does not respect the spirit of the contract.
RAMESAN V.K
Penang
Like this:
This entry was posted on June 15, 2010 at 5:14 am and is filed under Reader Commentary. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.
Tags: Asas Serba, Highways, Toll Roads
You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.