Cronyism Rears Its Ugly Head (again!)
Malaysia is famed for its beaches, culture, food and among businessmen, cronyism.
The recent news that billionaire Syed Mokhtar Albukhary has pitched his bid to EPU to take over the country’s toll roads to the tune of RM45 billion, is an example of this practice of cronyism.
This comes in the face of a former attempt worth RM50 billion by Asas Serba, believed to be backed by Halim Saad and his Renong boys.
Cronyism exists in many forms and guises in many countries, but none is practised as blatantly as in Malaysia.
Mention mega-millionaire such as Halim Saad, Tajuddin Ramli and Amin Shah, and immediately what jumps to mind is their corporate failures only to have the government using lots of tax payers’ money to mop up their financial sorrows.
Those who thought the bail outs in the early 1990s would mark the end of the crony era, were very wrong.
Just like with every bad movie, there is always a sequel. Halim and his ex-Renong merrymen are back again, without any regard for the mess they had created the last time around.
Meanwhile, Syed Mokhtar had a little hiatus but he too is back. Not only does he have a monopoly over the country’s rice supply, but also a partial monopoly over sugar and now he is gunning for a monopoly over the country’s toll roads.
Godzilla is back. This time, he is also chomping up the MRT system and not happy with what’s above ground, he is also vying for the underground tunnel system.
How much more does a man need or is enough never enough?
At the rate we are churning out and reviving the same cronies, never mind NEP, even the New Economic Model will never be achieved.
Worse than that, it destroys business and the merit of competitiveness.
Remember the school bully everyone hates? It’s the same. The moment anything is successful, a crony comes and takes it away, before destroying the business completely.
At the end, no one wins. But the innocent tax payers will have to pay over and over again for these bullies who never get taken down because the school master chooses to turn a blind eye.
Macam aci?
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