Sunday, August 27, 2006

TOO MUCH FOR A MAN?

GIVE ONE UP. Opposition MP Fong Po Kuan has told Parliament that Abdullah Ahmad Badawi may have too many portfolios to handle. [TheSTAR yesterday, "Fong:PM should give up Internal Security portfolio"].

Abdullah, who is Prime Minister, is also Finance Minister, who is also Minister for Internal Security.

She wants Abdullah to relinquish one and suggests that he gives up the Internal Security portfolio [a "full-time" minister is what the ministry needs to fight rising crime, she argues).

Fong seems to think that the PM is also sitting on too many (24) Cabinet committees.

5 comments:

  1. Bro Rocky,
    I agree with the MP. And while the PM is at it, he might also want to consider giving up the Finance Minister portfolio. He should know holding on to this particular post would invite more controversy. Erm, was he formally trained in finance matters, by the way?

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  2. reader mohamad has asked me to post this story. i don't it falls under any of the pm's other portfolios but yes, i agree mohd, it's another headache for pak lah...

    Chad president orders Chevron out

    Saturday, August 26, 2006; Posted: 12:38 p.m. EDT (16:38 GMT)

    N'DJAMENA, Chad (Reuters) -- Chad ordered U.S. energy giant Chevron and Malaysia's Petronas on Saturday to leave the country within 24 hours for failing to honor tax obligations, in a move apparently motivated by a desire to earn more from its oil.

    "From tomorrow, the representatives of Chevron and Petronas must leave Chad and close their offices," Idriss Deby, president of the central African nation, told a government meeting.

    The surprise move followed Chad's decision to create a new national oil company, which it said should become a partner in the country's existing oil-producing consortium, led by U.S. major Exxon Mobil and including Chevron and Petronas.

    Landlocked Chad, which began pumping crude in 2003, produces around 160,000-170,000 barrel per day but most of its people remain poor.

    Deby said the government had asked Chevron and Petronas this month to honor corporate tax obligations in their contracts.

    "Unfortunately the government has received no reaction from the two partners," Deby said.

    "Chad must get involved in the production of its oil to control its wealth and develop and increase its participation in the [consortium] pipeline," Deby said, referring to a 250,000 barrels-per-day pipeline to the Cameroon coast.

    Under the 1988 agreement with the foreign consortium, Chad gets 12.5 percent of the wellhead value of total production, before quality discount and the cost of sending it through the pipeline to Cameroon's Kribi terminal.

    "Despite the rise in the price of a barrel, now estimated at around $70, Chad doesn't get much from its oil revenues," Deby told the meeting with government ministers and political parties.

    "In less than three years of exploitation the consortium has earned $5 billion for a $3 billion investment. In contrast, Chad has just received crumbs: $588 million, just 12.5 percent."

    The current and former ministers who had handled Chad's oil negotiations are being dismissed. They would answer before the courts on charges they had sent letters to the two foreign oil firms advising them not to pay the taxes, Deby said.

    Deby, whose needs increased oil revenues to tackle a security threat from eastern rebels and also poverty, has called the original 1988 oil development deal "a fool's agreement" and called for its renegotiation.

    A Transparency International survey last year ranked Chad the world's most corrupt state.

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  3. Anonymous1:50 pm

    He has a lot of things to do and yet he chose to 'draw batik,toreh getah' and others. To top it all will be when he rebrand the mat rempit to mat cemerlang this Sept. Doesn't he have better things to do like thinking of how to improve the economy or how to answer Mahathir's questions correctly with facts.
    It is too much for him to hold any posts!!! Plse do us a favour and relinquish all posts (PMship included).
    Selamat Hari Merdeka (eventhough noone feels like celebrating it this year)

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  4. Anonymous10:53 am

    I do agree.
    I think in all fairness to himself, our Prime Minister should relinquish one or two of his posts.
    In particular his finance portfolio which has already been compromised.
    I get the feeling -- and I am not alone-- that in financial matters, the Prime Minister is very much being given counsel/advice on some major critical decisions.
    I will not make comparisons between him and Tun Dr Mahathir because it is simply not fair. In this saga of Pak Lah vs Dr Mahathir, i think there are some things we have to agree with/on. I won't go into detail here.

    MERDEKA!MERDEKA!MERDEKA!

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  5. Anonymous8:26 pm

    Rocky & Pujangga,

    Well, if those so-called Muslims are already weak, it is our duty to strengthen their spirits. Don't blame Bibles that have been translated into BM (I'm sure there are many by now).

    Kalau orang tu dah nak convert, biarlah dia convert, especially when the Muslims themselves cannot fix the person. Kan?

    Sama la macam a man and woman yg dah kawin. After a while, they fall out of love. Can't wait to split, despite counsellings, advice from relatives, friends and their own children.

    So, apa lagi? Blah la!

    My best wishes to Lina.

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