MONEY - MORE WASTE AND LOSSES by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad

MONEY - MORE WASTE AND LOSSES

Posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at July 22, 2008 12:19 PM

The Government of Dato Seri Abdullah Badawi has lost billions of Ringgit by cancelling the bridge project to replace the causeway, postponing the double-tracking and electrification of the North-South railway and the sale of M.V. Agusta by Proton.

The Government had also wasted money - RM2 billion in Terengganu.

Thinking that he had the right to use Wang Ehsan, the royalty from Petronas to the State of Terengganu totalling more than five billion Ringgit over several years Dato Seri Abdullah together with Dato Seri Idris Jusoh, the former Menteri Besar of Terengganu went on a spending spree.

Without any proper study and planning, without bothering about the rules and regulations about how Government money should be allocated and used, Dato Seri Abdullah and Dato Seri Idris and their cronies spent huge sums of the "Wang Ehsan" on a theme park (Crystal Mosque), Monsoon Cup, development of Setiu etc etc.

More than two billion Ringgit were poured into Terengganu.

Then in 2008, Barisan Nasional won and Abdullah happily decided to spend more of the Wang Ehsan on fancy projects.

Unfortunately the Sultan of Terengganu refused to have Idris Jusoh as Menteri Besar. It was a slap in the face fo Abdullah when he was forced to accept the Sultan's nominee as Menteri Besar.

This new Menteri Besar insisted that the royalty due to Terengganu should be paid to the State and the State should manage the fund.

This was as it should be.

But the Menteri Besar insisted that what was spent before this in building the theme park, organising the Monsoon Cup etc worth about RM 2 billion was not from the royalty due to Terengganu.

It was from Federal fund.

He demanded that the full amount of royalty over the years should be paid to Terengganu. So RM2 billion of Federal funds have been expended on Terengganu, the richest State in Malaysia.

Failing this Terengganu has a court case initiated by the PAS Government which the BN State Government has not withdrawn. The Federal Government will now have to find some RM5 billion to give to Terengganu.

Where is this money going to come from?

Obviously from the Federal Consolidated Fund.

Basically the Federal Government will lose RM5 billion because it had assumed that a tame Terengganu Menteri Besar would collaborate in some of the most wasteful projects for the State and the country.

I am told that a Disneyland designer was engaged to design the "Crystal Mosque" and theme park.

Must cost a lot.

Some contractors made tons of money getting projects without proper processes

kzso - long live terengganu!