Thoughts Round-up

Rare earth plant – apparently rare earth is a very dangerous substance despite its important uses. No rare earth, no iPad. What would life be without iPads and Plant vs. Zombies ... Apparently no one apart from the Chinese (in China) wants anything to do with processing, producing rare earth. We on the other hand are more than willing to build a plant in Kuantan despite the disaster in Bukit Merah. And yes, there is a lot of money involved, something like RM8 billion a year from 2013 onwards. It appears our lives are worth much less than that ...

Sex in the city – Datuk T, I wonder if he is related to Mr T of the A-Team. Related or not, he has a recording of a politician resembling PKR chief Anwar engaging in a sexual intercourse in a hotel. The clip was allegedly recorded on the 21 February; Anwar claims he was blogging and twitting at the time of the incident. If precedent is followed, Anwar should not worry because if “correct, correct, correct; looks like me, sounds like but its not me” can get away, I see no reason why Anwar can’t. Chua Soi Lek is the president of the MCA now, if Dr Chua can, Anwar also can! Haha

Where is our politics heading? To the dumps no doubt.

Nuclear power – I’m sure there are many other alternative energy sources; solar, wind, hydro, gas and even coal which are safer (but not necessarily cheaper or cleaner) than nuclear but why does our government insist on embarking on a nuclear energy programme? I suggest they read about what is happening in Japan.

Malay language bible – has anyone seen an English language Quran? What if the English speaking countries ban the distribution of English language Quran because of the same reason given by our Government? Or the Chinese government banning Qurans to be translated into Mandarin? What will Sheikh Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria say to that? While I agree that the bible can be printed in Malay, I also agree with the requirement to print the “only for Christians” advice.

Evans can but Carragher (or anyone for that matter) cannot – Man Utd players can do whatever they want, no matter how bad and Sir Alex will say it’s allright lad, do it again but if anyone else does the same thing ... Crybaby Nani coldly rejected Carragher’s apology but the gentleman Stuart Holden (of Bolton Wanderers) accepted and forgave Jonny Evans for whacking him out of the game till next season. Good manners and courtesy is not something Alex Ferguson practices or preaches.

Interlok – I’m not even bothered to understand what the issue is. Apparently it concerns the use of the term ‘Pariah’.

Libya – the allied forces wasted no time to attack Gaddafi’s forces to ‘protect’ the people of Libya. Where were the allied forces while the Israel armed forces attacked stone throwing Palestinian boys with guided missiles?

Ibrahim and the Chicken

Ibrahim Ali never ceases to annoy me with his harebrained ideas, suggestions and demands. Now he says [here] KFC must remain in Malay hands. By KFC he means Kulim Berhad and QSR Brands. I guess the Perkasa chief got spooked after hearing Ali Hashim say that JCorp might sell Kulim.

Doesn’t he know that YUM! Brand decides who they want to give the Malaysian KFC franchise to? So, if they decide to take it away from QSR Brands and give it to Ah Chong or Muthusamy, there is nothing Ibrahim Ali can do.

Secondly, if selling Kulim will enable JCorp to re-invest the proceeds into higher yielding assets, what is wrong with selling?

Thirdly, I don’t understand the pre-occupation with owning everything. I mean, I would rather own 20% of something that will make me RM100 than owning 100% of something which will only pay me RM20.

Fourthly, if I want something maybe I should work hard at getting it fairly. I shouldn't be using the federal constitution to demand everything to be given to me. If I work to get something, it will truly be mine.

And finally, when will Ibrahim Ali shut up?

Show Us Your Money

I wrote about Roman’s riches [here] and how he was asked to declare his assets before contesting in the parliamentary elections. Malaysia should also compel aspiring wakil rakyats and YBs to disclose their wealth before being allowed to stand as a candidate.

When I go out to elect my wakil rakyat, I would very much like to know who he/she is, where he/she’s from, what is his/her credentials, education & professional background. I would also want to know his/her financial standing (including that of the immediate family) not because I want to be a busy body but to ensure that the wakil rakyat does not use or abuse his/her position to enrich themselves. There is nothing wrong with enriching one’s self (and family and friends) but the means must be ethical and fair.

Still on the political front, Sarawak has been in the headlines a lot lately. We have the Sarawak born sister in law of the former British PM, her Iban sidekick and a radio station going all out to expose Taib Mahmud’s shenanigans. Our efficient Home Minister efficiently called for Radio Free Sarawak to be efficiently investigated. Hisham the Home Minister said the investigation is "not about politics, it is about spreading malicious lies, the issue of unity and harmony among the races," (I got this from Bernama, verbatim). I suggest Hishamuddin (our Home Minister) applies the same argument on Utusan Malaysia which has been spreading whatever RFS is being accused of, for a very long time. That Hata Wahari guy can attest to that. Did the home minister ever think of finding out if the RFS “lies” are really lies?

Then we have Taib Mahmud’s soon to be former daughter in law demanding RM400 million as divorce settlement from Taib Mahmud’s son who is called Mahmud and has a son called Taib. She says she wants a divorce because she’s been beaten, abused and not given any nafkah batin since 2001. That’s 10 long years without sex! Damn! She also says she knows he’s worth double that. If Junior is worth almost a billion Malay bucks, I wonder how much T-daddy is worth.

Still on the political front … when is Mahathir going to shut up

Good Buy, Good Bye

Fernando Torres is without doubt a great striker, a proven goalscorer and given the inflated absurd transfer fees of late, is also probably worth the 50 million pounds Roman Abramovich paid for him.

The question is; was he a good buy?

Being a Liverpool fan, I say Chelsea paid at least 20 million pounds too much for him and I say that without an iota of bitterness. As a Liverpool fan, I want to say thank you to Mr. Roman; especially after watching Suarez play, how he ignites games, twisting and turning around defenders and swerving in accurate freekicks. Liverpool paid less than half the price and got a more complete player. Sir Alex and Carlo Ancelotti are probably kicking themselves in their groins for not buying him. Torres was a goalscorer, full stop. Suarez is a goalmaker as well as a goal scorer; two qualities for half the price. That is definitely what I’ll call a good buy. Having said that, I’m sure Torres will eventually settle in and start scoring again. He will also prove to be a good buy for Chelsea, just not at a good price.

If Torres is overpriced at 50 million, did Liverpool over paid for Andy Carroll? Kenny Dalglish is no stranger to record breaking purchases having broken the record in 1987 paying £1.9 million for Peter Beardsley and he paid £3.3 million for Alan Shearer in 1992. Seven years ago, MU paid £27 million for the young and inexperienced Wayne Rooney; I don’t see why people should question Carroll’s £35 million price tag given that he is a more complete player than Rooney was back then.

From the business perspective, the Torres for Suarez-Carroll deal seem a good one, Liverpool got more than sufficient replacement of superior quality and quantity for a mere £8 million.

Roman Abra-more-rich

Roman Abramovich is worth over £11billion. That is two ones and nine zeros. How do I know that? I read it on the internet of course, Yahoo news I think it was.

Apparently, in order to stand for election in Russia, one has to declare his/her wealth and since Roman aspires to be a parliamentary deputy (I’m guessing that’s the Russian wakil rakyat), he has to declare what he owns.


Our 13th General Elections is coming soon and I propose the Election Commission implement similar rules.

According to the web, Abramovich is Russia’s fourth richest man but according to his spokesman the declared numbers may not show the full extent of his wealth.




John Mann (the spokesman-n) says the numbers may not show the full extent of his wealth because it only shows the interest income on his bank deposits and not his full income. Wow!

Apart from the extensive list of residences in several countries, Abramovich's taste in cars may seem less opulent than expected. The most luxurious of the vehicles declared is a Mercedes S500L, but a four-year-old Volkswagen Golf fills out his garage. Abramovich's more majestic purchases, such as his four super-yachts and collection of private jets and helicopters, were however not disclosed in the report.

The declaration is unlikely to interest the residents and voters from Chukotka, where the average income is estimated at £11,000 a year.

Abramovich's fortune is mostly held in companies including Millhouse Capital, Eucla Investments Limited, Primerod International Limited and Chelsea Limited, which owns the Premier League club.

Some highlights of Abramovich's December 2010 declaration of wealth include:

Properties

Seven in Britain, two in the United States, three in France, four in Russia, and one in the Caribbean. Estimated total value of property: £300m

Cars

Seven, notably Mercedes S500L (2010), BMW 760Li (2010), VW Golf (2007). Estimated total value of car collection: £650,000

Cash and shares

£71.78m across 22 separate bank accounts, £25.48m tied up in shares

Ownership

100% of Chelsea Limited (football club estimated worth of £402.19 million), 100% of Lowndes Square Management Company Limited, 100% of Croe France Chateau de la Croe and Eucla Investments Limited, 25% of Primerod International Limited, 100% of Wotton Overseas Holdings Limited, and 100% of Camberley International Investments Limited.

graphic "courtesy" of soccerlens.com

MRT – Did we Learn from Past Mistakes?

I saw the plan for the proposed Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit system and I must say we never learn from past mistakes. What I saw gave me the impression that interconnectivity and commuters’ convenience were not on the planners’ minds when determining the alignment and location of the stations.

The MRT line runs from the existing Sungai Buloh KTM komuter station to the exsiting Kajang KTM station. It passes through Kota Damansara, Bandar Utama, TTDI, Section 17, goes along the Sprint Highway to Damansara Heights, submerges underground somewhere near Parliament, comes back up above ground after Maluri, goes along the Cheras-Kajang Highway passing through Plaza Pheonix, Taman Suntex, Ceupacs, Bandar Tun Hussein Onn, Balakong and Saujana Impian before arriving in Kajang. The underground section of the MRT covers the city centre. The sentence is as long as the MRT line and probably as perplexing.

My complaints – The interchange stations are really not interchange stations.

The MRT line doesn’t intersect with enough LRT/Monorail/KTM stations. What the planners forgot was that a public transportation system is supposed to make travelling easier. What I saw sort of made me not want to bother using the MRT. There is this station (tentatively) named ‘Kota Damansara’ which appears to be in the middle of nowhere. Maybe the satellite image used to map the railway line is out of date; the area is probably fully developed now for all I know. If the satellite image reflects what is on the ground, I say they have wasted their scarce resources on a station which will probably end up like Putra’s Abdullah Hukum station.

• The TTDI station is in a neighbourhood which probably has the highest concentration of German made cars in the country.
• The Section 17 station borders the cemetery and KGPA (a golf course).
• The KL Sentral MRT station is NOT in KL Sentral. In case no one noticed, the KL Sentral monorail station is also NOT in KL Sentral. Don’t these people ever learn? And KL Sentral is supposed to be a transport hub? Maybe someone should tell them what ‘hub’ means.
• The MRT line has two stations in the Bukit Bintang area and neither of them connects with the existing two monorail stations in the BB area!
• The proposed MRT Merdeka station is no where near the monorail Merdeka station.
• Only the lucky residents of Maluri get a connecting STAR-MRT station (I think).

Why am I making so much noise about this interconnectivity issue? Good, efficient transport links are supposed to be links, linking one place to many other places. 
Good efficient transportation system must be commuter friendly. 
Good, efficient transportation system must be able to transport commuters from one point to another point with minimal fuss. Maximum fuss is when a commuter has to walk a mile (probably under the hot sun) to change stations in order to get the train that will take them to their destination. Maximum fuss will discourage people from using the system. The planned MRT system in my humble opinion does not have the characteristics of a good, efficient transport system.

Let’s illustrate; let’s say I live in TTDI and work in KLCC and I decide to leave my Lexus at home and take the MRT to work. I however have to take the MRT from One Utama because the TTDI station doesn’t have Park & Ride facilities (at least what the plan says). So I drive from my home and park my car at 1U. I take the MRT to KL Sentral which is NOT in KL Sentral, walk from the National Museum area (well, that’s where the MRT station is in the plan) across (the wide and busy) Jalan Travers to KL Sentral to get connecting the PUTRA LRT train to KLCC. I do the reverse in the evening. I don’t mind walking from the Putra LRT station in KL Sentral to the KTM station in KL Sentral because they are in the same building (that’s how interchange stations are supposed to be) but walking from the Muzium to KL Sentral to change trains is just not convenient and is such a big turn off. If my fellow TTDIians feel the same way, we will all drive our quarter of a million dollar cars to work everyday and the TTDI station will join the Abdullah Hukum club. Mind you, most TTDIians have been to London and they would have experienced the seamless travel on the tube; giving them the MRT (in the planned form) would not convert them to MRT users.

I think the MRT is a rush job. It was announced not very long ago and in a few months time work on the system will start. Where is the EIA? Was a proper feasibility study done? If it was, where is it? What about tender process for the engineering and construction jobs? Is the proposed alignment the best? Does it serve the needs of the masses or will it only benefit the project promoters? What about high density areas such as Damansara Uptown and SS2; don’t they deserve a station too?

I use the LRT quite frequently and I was hoping the system and network will be improved. Sadly, the planned MRT seems to not offer any hopes of a fully integrated, interconnected and most importantly, a convenient and user friendly transport system. I’m really disappointed.

*I apologise if my choice of example offends any TTDI-ians or TTDI-ians to be or TTDI-ians wannabe. It’s just an example la.
** Graphics "courtesy" of The Star