YOURSAY 'Well, you can't charge people with being stupid, you can only curse that you are paying for others' stupidity.'

Ani Arope on how TNB got a raw deal from IPPs

Kit P: Former Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) executive chairperson Ani Arope's book confirms that the cushy contract terms that independent power producers (IPPs) obtained were the product of direct federal government intervention.

This was not a normal commercial negotiation, this was the height of crony capitalism.

Tehachapi: The future of this nation looks very dark indeed. Where is the commitment for nation building and for a brighter tomorrow? Clearly the seeds of self-destruction have been planted. In time, the future generations will live to eat the bitter fruits.

Once again, Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his self-centred Umnoputra cronies, in a hurry to get rich and powerful, activated and subverted the administrative machinery and perverted the instrument of power for private gains.

Important agencies set up to safeguard the interest of the public such as the Economic Planning Unit (EPU), attorney-general (AG), police and others fell victim to manipulations and various power schemes.

They have effectively destroyed the very foundations of this nation and successfully inflicted irreparable damage which in time will send the country crashing. Already the cracks are appearing and the writing is on the wall.

James_3392: Well, you can't charge people with being stupid, you can only curse that you are paying for others' stupidity. Malaysia Boleh.

Give me this IPP contract, I can do better than tycoon Francis Yeoh, winner of the entrepreneur of the year award sometime back.

Cala: Clearly YTL Power Generation Sdn Bhd became instantly rich overnight due to rent-seeking, any fool close to Mahathir can also do it.

Would anyone buy from an IPP at 30 sen per unit (kWh) when TNB's own cost is only 8 sen per unit (to sell at 17 sen per unit)? Hello, where on earth is the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)?

That is why I used to argue Malaysia is a third world state where its institutions are subjected to abuse by greedy politicians for self-interests, cronies' interests and family members' interests.

Now you know how Marcos, Suharto and Mahathir became so rich - they made public decisions based on private interests. Meanwhile, men on the street have to work hard, stomach the traffic jam, and earn their hard-fought living.

For a small number of ruling elites to escape unpunished after stealing so much, these elites would put up a front as the saviors of the dominant-majority against commercially successful Chinese.

The rhetoric will be repeated day in and day out so that the dominant-majority becomes so scared that no question is asked about the misconduct of its leaders.

Swipenter: Just imagine how much the old man pocketed over the years since it was blurted out by one of his cronies that 30 percent of the IPPs' profit allegedly goes into his pockets?

The generators of electricity (IPPs) make all the money and the sole buyer cum distributor (and also generator) of power becomes their piggy bank, with the money coming from the people. A good case study of the poor subsidising the rich to become richer.

They are still building plenty of dams to generate electricity in Sarawak but have no national planning for power. The blackout at Sabah recently shows that clearly.

What is happening to the scaled-down Bakun Dam after more than two decades? It's still plagued with big problems. Crony capitalism is alive and kicking since Mahathir's time.

MockingYou: Indeed, patience is a virtue. Don't forget the power of the pen (keyboard). I bet "M" didn't see this coming for all his ‘tin kosong' talk.

Malaysiawatch4.blogspot: And the beautiful thing is that the lucrative crony deals continue with government-owned company 1MDB buying up the Genting power plant at inflated prices when their contract expires in a few years.

Jeremy Ng: Most of Malaysia's privatisation deals are always legal but not fair in public interest. And sadly, all the top civil servants (including politicians within BN) involved will either happily or quietly support the deals in order to protect their livelihood/interest.

No top civil servants has ever publicly voice out while in office. Responsibility and accountability to public interest and welfare is never a criteria.

Buddyoo: "There was no negotiation; absolutely none. Instead of talking directly with the IPPs, TNB was sitting down with the EPU. And we were harassed, humiliated and talked down every time we went there," says Ani Arope.

Was it because of TNB's poor performance? Could it be possible that if negotiations were left to TNB it would lead to more delays and blackouts? Again if there were no countrywide blackout - your claim may hold water.

Ramsingh: Since the Umno election are around the corner, may the party delegates open one percent of their brains to realise what Mahathir had done to the country. And now he is going all out for his son.

BN is a robbers' party. They are cheating the citizens and plundering the nation's wealth. When they are cornered they hide under race, religion, the New Economic Policy (NEP), the Bumiputra Economic Empowerment (BEE) agenda and other garbage.

Bystander: It's good of Ani to reveal all this unhealthy and questionable dealings and free wheelings by the powers-that-be, albeit a little late. But there again it is better late than never. Tan Sri, we are still proud of you.

Absalom: Ani Arope has been seen as a man of integrity who would, and in fact did, give up his job on principles. Now, how many others can you recall someone who would stand up for what is right and resign.

What we mostly see are people in high positions who will cling on to their positions through years of blunder, plunder, looting and scavenging at the expense of the taxpayers' money and then hang on some more. So when we come across a man of principles, it is a somewhat a pleasant surprise.

The IPPs are designed to take money from the masses (including the poor and less well-off who struggle financially) and giving them to the few super-rich friends of the regime.

Dizzer: Classic old school Malayan. He learnt his Al-Quran from an Arab-speaking Jewish neighbour in Penang - oh, for the tolerance of the old days...

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