Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Butcher's credibility lost with public


Butcher (or someone by the name of Tan Sri Idris Jala) scared the public into thinking that the country is heading for bankruptcy in 2019 like Greece.

That remark was an unethical act of influencing the public to fill-in his Pemudah survey to achieve his prefered result.

This is but a repeated old formula applied at the wrong place.

Scare or lie to the people, get their support even if it is from DAP, and slash the budget mercilessly without due consideration for the common people.

The difference this time is that it is not about company but merely an item of the national economy.

Butcher erred on his first major public announcement and in one swift move, he has lost credibility with the public. Rather than having the people lose confidence with the Government, Butcher must be discredited.

To understand why Butcher lost credibility in his reckless remark to claim Malaysia will go the path of Greece to turn bankrupt by 2019, it is because his understanding of economics is so f**ked up. Read Dr Norraesah's comment of Butcher below:

Norraesah: Malaysian Economy Too Strong To Fail

KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 - The conjecture that "Malaysia-will-go-bankrupt by 2019 like Greece if subsidies are not withdrawn", while terribly dramatic, overlooks the country's key pre-emptive strengths to prevent such financial catastrophe -- Malaysia's economic outlook, prudent financial management and tight monetary policies, says Umno supreme council member Datuk Dr Norraesah Mohamad, a Sorbonne University-trained economist.

In assessing Malaysia's economic position, she said it was "ridiculous to subscribe to a formula" that Malaysia will be condemned to bankruptcy.

"It's even more absurd to speculate that Malaysia will be another Greece," she asserted.

"More appropriately, Greece is but a cautionary reminder of how Malaysia should manage its spending, control its budget deficits and keep down her total national debt to GDP."

Norraesah supported her contention that Malaysia can keep bankruptcy at bay with the following policies already in place:
  • Malaysia's most important saving grace is its economic outlook: Positive two-digit growth was registered for the first quarter of this year;
  • Malaysia's budget situation will substantially improve over the next couple of years because the economy is growing;
  • Malaysia's very prudent financial management and tight monetary policies do not allow for dubious cross country swaps like what happened in Greece that further aggravated its debt situation;
  • Malaysia is not caught in the euro capsule like Greece.
"We have our own money and therefore can deal and manage our costs and prices" said Dr Norraesah in analysing the declaration last week by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala that Malaysia will go bankrupt in 2019 if subsidies are not reduced across-the-board over five years, a move which Idris described as the "most unpopular decision that the government has to make since independence".

Idris, who is also chief executive officer of the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu), said the cuts are aimed at saving up to RM103 billion to partially repay the nation's huge debt and address fiscal deficit.

The government now spends RM74 billion a year to subsidise various economic and social sectors. It currently owes various parties a total of RM362 billion while the fiscal deficit stands at RM47 billion.

In addition, Dr Norraesah said that:
  • Malaysia enjoys a high saving rate, another saving grace (The Employees' Provident Fund has accumulated savings of RM360 billion as at Dec 31, 2009);
  • Malaysia's abundant resources and diversified economy are reinforcing factors that guarantees the country will not plunge into bankruptcy.
Dr Norraesah agreed that phasing out subsidies was a "pragmatic move and a sound economic decision" that must be made because it eats into Malaysia's fiscal position, misallocate resources and distort more effective use of available development funds.

"Besides, the one-size-fits-all subsidy policy is unsustainable and socially unacceptable," she said.

"The opportunity cost lost is monumental and therefore must be phased out. No one can argue with this."

Nevertheless, Dr Norraesah described the prospect that Malaysia will be bankrupt in 2019 if subsidies are not withdrawn as a "terribly dramatic, albeit inappropriate way" to justify the burial of subsidies.

"Once we get beyond the crude look at budget deficits, a favourite attacking weapon of certain quarters, we immediately see that the parallel between Greece and Malaysia is not even close," she said.

Greece, Dr Norraesah pointed out, has all sorts of problems that are not found in Malaysia.

Her reasoning was based on the fact that:
  • While Greece's budget deficit is an unacceptable 13.6 per cent in 2009, Malaysia's budget deficit has been brought down from 7.0 per cent to 5.6 per cent in last year's budget;
  • Compared to Greece, Malaysia's deficit is respectable and is expected to shrink further in the 2011 budget; and,
  • Greece's total national debt is 113 per cent of its GDP, a level unimaginable in Malaysia.
"We have a strong current account surplus and big financial reserves," she pointed to the fundamental strengths of the Malaysian economy. -- BERNAMA

Once credibility lost, it is difficult to regain.

This is the usual happening of people rising to the level of incompetence. They repeat the same way of doing things. They apply the same formula from one successful situation and experiance to even an entirely different situation. In their mind, they think that the same approach works in every situation.


Having got away with deceiving the public that he manage to turnaround MAS, Butcher must have thought his successful turnaround of Shell's Bintulu plant could be replicated for MAS and also on the nation's subsidy.

Same tactic was employed.

Scare them. Bullshit them about it is for general survival. When they pathetically gave their trust, the faithed butcher knife falls on their neck.

At Shell, it was wholesale sacking.

Then MAS, same wholesale sacking with bits of ethnic cleansing to fulfill the stereotype Melayu bodoh dan malas, and slash capacity of MAS so that this Melayu-infested Airline will never be among the Airline stars ever.

Now in Government at Pemandu, Butcher thinks the same style of lies will work. There is more watchdog. Not this time.

This is not a company run by autocratic CEO and using lazy template solution of turnaround manager fast with the trigger to slash jobs instead of looking at it as human resource.

Is he thinking that cutting subsidy is like kicking people out of company? Did he ever think that those people affected will remain within the country border? And they vote!

Alas this is yet another proof that corporate man are so myopic to within the task they are assigned. They can't see things beyond their scope of functionality.

Since they can't, they have no business to be in public office and deal with public policy with it's wide ranging implications.

In a public administration, there is no such thing as CEO style autocrasy.

Lastly don't get me wrong. I am not against slashing wasteful and low impact subsidies and particularly those given to corporations that end up lining the pockets of tycoons.

Hell man, do it sensibly, delicately, and responsibly!

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Voice,

Don't forget about Butcher's good buddy ex-shell, Harun Johari, that got kicked out twice, first by PTP, second by IRDA. Could those ex-Shell graduates have this mentality that others (esp Melayu) are stupid?

Oh btw, The Government paid Harun Johari close to RM2 million to boot him out from IRDA, of course after the approval of CEO and Board of IRDA. In other companies, if you dont perform, out you go. But in IRDA, if you dont perform the Government will pay you million of taxpayers' money for your early retirement. Im sure Harun Johari and Dato Ikmal (IRDA's 1st CEO) are laughing like hell for that stupid arrangement.

If the Government will go bankrupt by 2019 as claimed by Mr Butcher, why paid those losers in IRDA million of taxpayers' money? And what about the RM7 billion ringgit for "development" in JB under RMK9? Why waste people's money easily and bitch about subsidies. There are too many leakages in the system, why dont Mr Butcher focus on that first. I think he reads too much text-book, just like that other moron, the MD of Khazanah.

p/s Or the Government is encouraging the rakyat to start migrating?

Anonymous said...

Idris Jala, who has a Chinese wife, can barely speak Malay you know?

What achievement in Shell? Do you know that most Shell managers from Malaysia are promoted wayyy beyond their capabilities? That is why they can get screwed around by Shell Hague so easily.

Anonymous said...

But then the person who made that Greece comment is a cabinet minister. If he is wrong then it is serious. He should be investigated for trying to undermine the economy of this country. Comments like that could lead to outflow of funds and restrictions on the inflow of foreign investments.Not to mention it cound undermine the confidence our trading partners have on Malaysia.Ramala

Over to you PDRM and MACC.

Anonymous said...

Rencana yang baik, patut dibaca oleh Melayu-Melayu yang tak sedar diri di Malaysia ini.

Anonymous said...

This bastard Idris Jala is good in what a lot Shell staff are good at: Powerpoint presentation.

Sammy said...

Great, again the poor are being stepped..never mind what race, poverty recognises no one, color or religion!

Who stands to gain? The government? or the Umno politicians who transfer millions nay, billions out of the country via the mamak money changers!

tebing tinggi said...

I think what Idris Jala trying implicate heare are the way that Na Jib is giving out subsidy to the focous group on every by election could coused the nation goes bangkrup in 2019, but he dont dare to tell it directly.

One thing to remenber that Idris Jala is not a politicion,he just trying to be frank,he hasent learn the trade yet like Noor Muhamad yacub,thank Allah fo that.

Give him a brake will you,I think he has learn the trade by now, and we all had to careful.


1sekolah >1bahasa >1Malaysia.

Wake UP! said...

Melayu tak sedar diri berada di segenap ceruk dalam UMNO, dalam PAS, dalam PKR dan dalam DAP pun.

CommonerNinetyNine said...

butcher is just the mouth piece.

hardly believe that butcher can 'move' without the blessing from his boss, mr number one.

from the way that mr number one run the country thus far, i think it would be unfair to fully blame his subordinates for 'move' like this.

this topic is parallel with other 'moves' that mr number has implemented, want to implement and try to implement.

mr number one favourite style so far is consistent, send someone out to talk out loud an idea, and then get feedback!

it is like mr number one has no idea what to do, just test water all his way.

running a country like testing water? it is like lack of direction, courage and leadership!

stop running around with hundreds of people causing massive traffic jammed! if mr number one really wants to get to know the real situation, just sneak in and do spot checks! for god sake! stop showing off as if mr number one cares and those bloody publicity stunts!

Mona said...

"At Shell, it was wholesale sacking."

I was not aware of any wholesale sacking of Shell MDS employees when Idris was the Managing Director.

If you go around SMDS now, a lot of staff still think fondly of him and admire him for the successful turnaround. He was very generous & listens to the staff. Not high & mighty like some Mat Salleh managers.

It is sad that you made him sound like a monster.

Anonymous said...

Idris Jala is not a Malay, forgive him if his bahasa melayu is poor. Why must you bring his wife's race into the foray? Nothing to do with all of us lah! Ever thought if the press may have put a dent into his speech, afterall, newspapers have been known to send "cadets" to cover boring, boring news conferences. As for calling him Butcher, if the cut is for good, then it is. No more tongkats and wheelchairs, all the better, now we see how Malaysians function without these assets.

Anonymous said...

Waiyyyyooo....i start wondering what gonna happen to NKRA esp. for Police Department when there is a lot of adhoc initiative that start to haywired the force. Comprehensive study required lah..woiii...serious result expected should come from serious approach of study...jangan ikut rasmi org politik sbb jangkahayatnya pendek..after reshuffle dah tak dipedulikannya..jadikan budaya kajian mendalam fakta yg tepat sebagai asas membuat langkah dan inisiatif yg berkesan...selamat mencubalah Pak Deris..

Anonymous said...

What Mr Butcher did in MAS was no magic either..

Roti Jala said...

Why Idris Jala said Msia will go burst by 2019 because he has information that government does not want the public to know.

What is the INFORMATION?

Information that more GLCs are losing billion of dollars every second.

So far, the public only knew about Sime Darby, PKFZ, Maika, and few other ikan bilis.

I'm sure Idris Jala knows that other GLCs are losing money that will easily bring Malaysia into backruptcy, latest by 2019. At the rate those GLCs are losing money, Malaysia can go into bankruptcy even earlier than that. That's why Idris Jala made that bold statement now in 2010, thanks to the impressive performance of CEOs of GLCs in Malaysia. Well done boys!

Anonymous said...

Anon 9.48am,

Can u please enlighten us how cut in subsidies is good for Malaysians?

As for your statement "No more tongkats and wheelchairs, all the better, now we see how Malaysians function without these assets".....

.... i'm just curious..."are you a Singaporean?"

U wrote "Ever thought if the press may have put a dent into his speech, afterall, newspapers have been known to send "cadets" to cover boring, boring news conferences"....

..since you looked down on those newpapers' cadets, are you from Shell as well?

Prebet Sekolah Pondok

PJ Moorthy said...

http://malaysia-instinct.com/english/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15313:the-cat-in-selcat&catid=35:main-news&Itemid=82

PJ Moorthy said...

Idris Jala has the tendency to make things dramatic. Met him when he was in MAS for an interview, and found him rather.....normal.

Did he do 'magic' when he was in MAS. Sure yes...alot of extraordinary income, I'll say, to make MAS look good on paper!

Anonymous said...

Gua rasa Idris Jala confused between MAS (short-form for Malaysia Airlines, dulu ler) and MAS (short-form for Malaysia, SIN for Singapore, INA for Indonesia, etc, etc).

What he was refering was MAS (Malaysia Airlines) will go insolvent by 2019 because of the WOW proposal by Binafikir!

EatRice anak lelaki Jala

Anonymous said...

I truly believe that we Malaysians are in denial, and Mr. Idris has warned us in a simple language, if we don't do nothing, then such possibility may happen. We need more preventive measures rather than painful corrective actions to remedy the damage later. At least, the awareness now has increased.

Anonymous said...

Calling Prebet Sekolah Pondok!

Nope, not from Shell (only stop to buy fuel if the Petronas kiosk is jammed up).

No, not a Singaporean. Maybe like you, orang semenanjung (Sarawakians refer us this way).

Tongkats & Wheelchairs: Subsidies after subsidies. Cannot go on forever. Even mountains go flat if continued digging.

Cadets: I do not look down on newspapers, I subscribe to many newspapers, just to get different reporting, eg harakah, nst, bharian, aliran.

Now my question to you: Did you think Idris Jala was a malay, when you mentioned he could not speak malay well? As far as I can recall, the accent/loghat for melayu sarawak is different entirely. Maybe Idris is uncomfortable speaking the semananjung malay.

Unknown said...

Voice,
Another perspective on the subsidy issue...
SO MALAYSIA WANTS TO SET THE TRAIL BLAZER?
Samples of subsidies in developed countries
Close to $US15 billion of taxpayers' money has been used every year since 1990 to prop up the fossil fuel and nuclear industries in subsidies from the EU and Western European governments.
Annual direct subsidies paid by the EU and European governments to energy production - in $US Billion: Fossil Fuels: US$10.2 Billion; Nuclear Energy: US$4.7 Billion; Renewables: US$1.5 Billion.
EU agriculture subsidies worth billions of pounds under the CAP are being paid out to businesses and multinational corporations with little connection to traditional farming.
The subsidies have included payments to Haribo, the sweet manufacturer, and Coca-Cola.
New information gathered by the researchers Farmsubsidy.org since May this year has shown that over 13 billion euros (£11 billion) - about a quarter of the £47.5 billion spent under the EU's Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), is paid to big business and industry, not farmers.
Agricultural subsidies to European farmers and fisheries make up more than 40 percent of the EU budget[1]. As the EU budget is around 120 billion, this means that 48 billion is spent on agricultural subsidies alone; or about 0,321% of the EU's GDP.[2] Since 1992, the EU's Common Agricultural Policy has undergone significant change as subsidies have been decoupled from production. About € 30 billion are now spend as direct income support for farmers (the so-called Single Farm Payment). The next major reform of the CAP (scheduled for 2013) is currently being negotiated. The main issue is to target subsidies at public goods, such as biodiversity and clean water.
The United States currently pays around $20 billion per year to farmers in direct subsidies as "farm income stabilization via U.S. farm bills. These bills date back to the economic turmoil of the Great Depression with 1922 Grain Futures Act, the 1929 Agricultural Marketing Act and the 1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act creating a tradition of government support.
During the fiscal years of 2002-2008 the United States handed out subsidies to fossil fuel industries to a tune of 72 billion dollars, while renewable energy subsidies, during the same period, reached 29 billion dollars. Conducted by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) in partnership with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the research shows that the US government has heavily subsidized 'dirty fuels' that emit high levels of greenhouse gases.
In 2005 The EU's agricultural support amounted to about $133 billion, Japan's to $49 billion, America's to $47 billion, South Korea's to $20 billion and Canada's and Switzerland's to $6 billion each.

Anonymous said...

Dear Superconfused Anon 4:38pm,

Thank you for your kind reply.

On your question whether i think idris jala is a malay and i said he cannot speak malay bla bla bla..... Please read my previous comment as I clearly never mentioned about Idris's race and inability to speak malay.

Prebet Sekolah Pondok

p/s In my previous comment, i asked you whether you are from shell since you looked down on newspapers' cadets, and your answer was " i didnt look down on newspaper". Brader, newspaper's cadet and newspaper are 2 different animals ma!

Anonymous said...

Animals? I would think of calling such names! Thanks for answering, anyway. I have no grouse with you!

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