" 3M and The Day of the Tan SRIs - Part 2, THE Leader Emerges "

POLITICAL ECONOMY - Column: " from THE fringes "

Federal Territory of  Kuala Lumpur & Putrajaya, MALAYSIA

Tuesday, 13th  October 2015 

3M Malaysia Makes a Surprise Acquisition

( Based on those seated, what was NOT said were MORE than what was said )

3M  Checks and the Day of the 4 TAN SRIs -Part 2

(A line-up across generations - 90, 70s, 60s & 50s)  

Read HERE, 3 weeks ago I'd written about Malaysia's own 3M political consortium and the fact that they appeared 'listless' by making perpetual checks without achieving any or much results whatsoever. Yesterday, at a press conference in Putrajaya-the Administrative and Political capital of Malaysia, 3M Malaysia makes a 'surprise political acquisition' which instantly reminds me of Machiavelli.

Add in a press conference later in the afternoon around the KLCC area which also discusses the forecast for sukuk issuance for at least the next 6 months and one can derive that though the haze have lifted and API readings have headed down south, the clouds on the horizon still looks bleak with a corresponding temperature increase.

- MORE to FOLLOW -

If at first you don't succeed - try, try and try again.

Part 1 of  "The Day of the Tan Sris" was basically an 'administrative-led initiative' if one could call it such as the Tan Sris were all from the administrative branch of the government. Malaysia's version of Indonesia's 1965 'Day of the Generals' in Lubang  Buaya resulted in amongst others the AG being dropped on Tuesday in a 'backdated' Monday resignation, the Deputy President and Vice-President of UMNO being dropped in a cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday, a fire in the Royal Malaysian Police HQ at Bukit Aman, MACC officers being transferred and then re-transferred back and the IGP being the IGP!.

Then there were the Yellow (BERSIH) and Red gatherings.The people were spooked when DPP Morais went wissing and later on found murdered. Rumours had earlier circulated on the social media that Morais was the person who drafted a fabled 'Charge Sheet' which disappeared together with a disappearing official day. Wrong or right, the death of DPP Morais' and a Malay NGO leader were pereceived to be a tit for tat by the public, an impression which the Police tried to put to rest with their announcements and declared investigations.

Part 2 begun with a statement issued by the Malay Rulers for the investigation into 1MDB to be expedited.
It is made even more intriguing during a press conference in Putrajaya in that what was said were no where as important as what was NOT said during the press conference at Perdana Leadership Foundation. Machiavelli's  " The Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend " is proven right again.
Ku Li's presence at the press conference speaks volumes in itself. The 3M consortium had just increased market share with the addition of Ku Li and to a certain albeit limited extent former MCA President Dato' Ong Tee Keat and former Minister and Kedah MB Tan Sri Sanusi Junid.

It will be interesting to see the consequences as a result of Part 2 of "The Day of the Tan Sris - 3M Makes a Surprising Acquisition and THE Leader Emerges ". Will a second 100-days of Madness be unleashed???

As per popular trilogies like Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, expect Part 3 to conclude matters.
A few Tuns have not been seen yet with Tun Mahathir. Depending on circumstance, Part 3 might be "The Day of the Jedi/Darth Tuns".

( This week's column is based on a myriad of  Press Conferences, informal interviews with government and corporate personalities as well as  academic and coffeeshop discussions held in KL(Brickfields, KLCC & TTDI), Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor (Gombak and Kelana Jaya) and Putrajaya.  )

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. )