Pariah GLCs to "HERO"!!!???

POLITICAL ECONOMY - Column: " from THE fringes "

Taman Tun Dr. Ismail-KL & Gombak-SELANGOR, MALAYSIA

Tuesday, 6th  October 2015 

WORLD PARIAHs to "HERO" ???

( 1MDB, The elephant in the room. )

I had to sort out a parcel supposed to be delivered by Poslaju over a week ago which the intended recipient never received. In a queue at the local Post Office today, an elderly gentleman who claims to have been in the Armed Forces and I engaged in some meaningful discussion on the country's state of affairs while waiting for the doors to be opened for business. After a couple of minutes, the retired armed forces officer volunteered me the following;-

Gentleman:
Its interesting what one can 'pick up' from the local traders.

Me: Yah! Not surprising. I supposed they've been around....to get supplies and such.

Gentleman:
Do you know what 1MDB stands for?

Me: What? (not even bothered to state the official meaning as I knew a punchline was coming.)

Gentlemen:
" 1Melayu Dapat Bilions" (translated - One or a Malay got Billions).

Me: WaQAQA.......in a coughing laugh! 
Uncle C, we must go for teh tarik one of these days.

Jokes aside, GLCs who at one time have been 'whacked' - left, right and centre, ridiculed for buying/investing in overseas assets at hugely inflated prices with a sniff of corruption in the bidding/buying process, blamed for the economic and political turmoil the country is in or accussed of just being headless chicken(s) for not sticking to their initial mandate, might just become Malaysia's saviours.

Such are the vagaries of the manipulative riba-based financial markets, that pariahs might just become 'the prodigal son'. Reason being is the widening band for the Malaysian Ringgit against foreign currencies. A case in point is 1MDB. Others are purchases of foreign assets(properties) by MARA and Tabung Haji.

( Tabung Haji and 1MDB )

(MARA)

(MORE TO FOLLOW)

Gut feelings is one of those matters which cannot be explained scientifically but almost always points to the right direction. I had a "gut-feeling moment" the morning before this article is supposed to be published starting with my encounter with the retired Armed Forces officer the local Post Office.  Lo and behold, my gut feeling turned out to be right.

First, when I was invited to participate in an economics programme at a local public university on the same Tuesday and I was informed that the university had in August issued several warning letters to more than 10 student leaders for highlighting the 1MDB issue even before the issue blew up in our faces.

An issue which led to the "Day of the 4 Tan Sris (ala Indonesia's Day of Generals)
...or 5 or 6 or 7 Tan Sris depending on whose version one might have heard it from!"

An issue which led to the AG being dropped;
 (some speculated a smokescreen was thrown to get official approval),

An issue which led to the DPM and a Senior Minister being dropped in a Cabinet Reshuffle late July;
...never before have the UMNO Deputy and Vice-President been dropped EVEN at the height of the Team A and Team B spat in the late 1980s which led to the emergence of Semangat 46 party,

An issue which led to the Yellow Shirts rally;
...only to be countered by a Red Shirts rally 2 weeks later,

An issue which led to the Ringgit heading south, the worse in 17 years;
despite ratings agencies and the government claiming Malaysia's fundamentals are strong,

An issue which "right or wrong" led to bodies starting to pile up,

An issue which led to the unheard of statement by the Malay Rulers ;-

" Raja-Raja Melayu Mahu Siasatan Berkaitan 1MDB Diselesaikan Secepat Mungkin "

(translated means "The Malay Rulers Wants the Investigation Relating to 1MDB be Completed Soonest Possible" )

Hence, some facts and figures that I had wanted to present to back the article's title will have to take the back-burner for now.

( This week's column is mainly based on personal discussions held in KL, Selangor (Gombak), Pahang, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka. )