The "Corruption" Of Lim Guan Eng

By Syed Akbar Ali

This is from The Star. You can read the full story again here

LGE likes people to think he is humble - this stunt of flying economy was pulled during his early days as Penang CM

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“Guan Eng: No open tender for WiFi project

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GEORGE TOWN: Only one public-listed company has come forward to provide free broadband access under the Penang Government's free WiFi initiative, said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

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He said an open tender system was not offered for the project as the state government wanted a reputable company to take charge.

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“The company has to be public-listed, so there is some sort of guarantee,” he said when asked why there was no open tender for the project.

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Lim said REDtone International Bhd was willing to provide and maintain 750 free WiFi hotspots in public areas in the state without any funding from the state government under the first phase.

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“Under phase two, the state government is paying RM8.49mil to install 750 free WiFi hotspots over the next five years in Penang,” he said after launching the Penang for Japan Disaster Relief Charity Drive at Straits Quay in Tanjong Tokong yesterday”

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I don’t know if Guan Eng will deny this report tomorrow or accuse The Star of misreporting but for today lets go with this news.

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What in the dickens is the meaning of “only one public listed company has come forward” ?

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And I cannot believe this statement : “He said an open tender system was not offered for the project as the state government wanted a reputable company to take charge.”

Back to Normal . now he flies Business Class just like any executive

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Come again? I say kawan, isn’t it the other way around? Didn’t you and Daddy make your career by accusing the BN Government of engaging too much in ‘direct nego’ contracts? Didn’t you and Daddy accuse the BN of denying “reputable companies” chances at contracts by not being open enough ? Now you are doing the same thing maa !! What is happening to you?

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Didn’t you and Daddy accuse the BN Government of using the ’closed’ system to award contracts to less reputable and crony companies? So how does it become ok just because it is you who is now saying that “an open tender system was not offered for the project”?

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If other people do this, you will accuse them of hypocrisy lah. If you do the same thing, its ok ke?

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And what does this mean : “The company has to be public-listed, so there is some sort of guarantee”. What exactly is ’some form of guarantee’ ? Why are you guaranteeing a “public listed company’s guarantee” ?

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Here is the stranger part : “Under phase two, the state government is paying RM8.49mil to install 750 free WiFi hotspots over the next five years in Penang”

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OK so the State Government is paying lah. At the end of the day, public funds are involved. It is NOT free wifi in the true sense. The reputable and very lucky ’public listed company’ is going to get the benefit of this RM8.49 million public funds.

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So where does the “free” come in? The people are not getting “free wifi” lah, they are paying for it - using RM8.49 million of public funds. Jangan klentong ok.

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Guan Eng, if it is really free, then ask the “reputable” company to use their own money lah - not RM8.49 million public funds. Let them earn back their investment from advertisements and stuff. And still provide “free” wifi to the public. Baru lah betul-betul free.

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Otherwise, this model is nothing new lah. The State pays the infra cost or CAPEX cost. Then the ‘reputable company’ operates it. And they also sapu the ad revenues. Plus it is also a monopoly - they will solely cover Penang Island (from which they must pay the operating expenditure). So please tell us how much or what exactly is this “reputable company’s” own investment in the project? Sendiri punya duit ada masuk tak? Don’t tell me they are coming in for free?

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The RM8.49 million CAPEX is paid by the State and it is a monopoly - so they should be able to make money.

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I say kawan, isn’t there another name for this type of business model? Isnt it called the Dasar Ekonomi Baru? Also known as the New Economic Policy?

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You know - where the gomen pays for the capex, then they get the bumi company, through ‘non competitive tender process’ to run the business? Haiyya apa beza sangat, Guan Eng?

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“Under phase two, the state government is paying RM8.49mil to install 750 free WiFi hotspots over the next five years in Penang”

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Five years to wifi 750 hotspots? So who gets free wifi first? Maybe CM’s office gets it first, then CM’s house, then Pakatan constituencies, then the others? If you are paying the RM8.49 million up front, but it still takes five years, someone may get some free lunches. People in Penang say the quality of the free wifi is going to be debateable.

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Having said that, everything does cost money. I think Guan Eng is finding that out. I hope Guan Eng can make the free wifi in Penang work as good as or better than Streamyx etc but at RM8.9 million. That would be an achievement. I really hope Guan Eng succeeds in this. Then we can kick the butt of Telekom and the other service providers.

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But it is not easy to run a State. It is more difficult to run a country. Jangan cakap besar. Don’t go around accusing others of being corrupt, incompetent, not transparent etc when you yourself end up saying "an open tender system was not offered".

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It would appear that you are learning the ropes very quickly indeed.