Monday, April 21, 2008

Terengganu wants Federal to hand over RM1 billion "wang ehsan"

"Our money". Menteri Besar Ahmad Said, unwanted by the Badawi Administration but there because the Sultan of Terengganu wants him there, has asked Putrajaya to let the State Government manage the oil royalty, which amounts to some RM1 billion a year.

I wonder if he realised what a revelation he was making. Read the Bernama story h e r e. No need to read between the lines:
"... They use our money. When a ministry implements a project, it does so based on its own interests without taking into account the feelings and needs of the people of Terengganu.
"This raises problems for the state government. I am being frank here. Personally, I have been unhappy with some projects because of their high cost and lack of priority for the people. It is other people, not us, who make the decisions when we are the masters (in the state)," he said.
So, will we know who spent the billions of ringgit of "wang ehsan" for the last 4 years? And what were the projects that did not benefit the people of Terengganu? Does this sound like a job for the (proposed) fully-independent ACA (read the story h e r e)?

30 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:49 pm

    See what can happen when the rakyat takes it role seriously. At last we are getting some positives people into the parliament, state governments and we are getting some positive results.

    Don't let this role blurred by the passage of time. The rakyat must play its check-and-balance role conscientiously!

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  2. This is a good move for the empowerement of the state. When state are aloocated the fund they could control, economic development planning could be carried in a more meaningful and targetted to the right sector of development in the state

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  3. Rocky...not only four years...we also want to know what happened to the wang ehsan which Umno hijacked during PAS' rule under TDM's time...You must take a listen to Michael McDonald's classic "I Keep Forgettin"...I know you admire the old man and all...but we know how vindictive he can be..at the expense of the people...he is a human with failings and still answerable...tak aci lah semua Pak Lah ja tanggung...we want to know what happened to ALL the money...dah berapa tahun terengganu dapat royalty,before it was turned into wang ehsan during Pas rule...mana pergi semua wang tu...bukan 4 tahun sahaja...it is gross injustice to put it all on one fella while others who intitiated the tradition go scot free...

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  4. Anonymous2:07 pm

    Now we get to see if the MB gets the money and how is he going to use it.

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  5. Anonymous2:20 pm

    patrick badawi, where are you? before him, who has been spending the wang ehsan with the same wasteful way?

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  6. The goodwill money
    Through oil royalty
    Into the hands of a selected few
    The wealth distribution

    Now a state government wants it
    Telling it is $1 billion a year
    The last 4 years better tendered the accounts
    On the projects, where, who got it

    The people of the state
    They better wake up see what’s happening
    Demand the previous MB to explain
    It is better for a smooth running

    The sleeping beauty must explain
    There are many things he can’t sweep away
    Even the C4 boys can’t escape
    It is time grilling begin

    Unnecessary projects must stop
    People benefits come first
    The goodwill money
    It must be used wisely

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  7. Anonymous3:07 pm

    Get to work, people.I was travelling through a couple of airports in the last few weeks.Airports are important because they expose the souls of nations.

    Jakarta: may be small and not as sophiscated as our KLIA but it's accessible and quicker (to get your luggage and taxis)

    Dubai: where are they going with the massive development? The airport is dirty, user unfriendly (where do people in transit go to rest?The chairs/lounges are not friendly/comfortable at all even the paid lounges/business class)

    People at counters are rude.

    I was happy to be back in KL till I had to queue for taxis (then more queues to get into one) The drivers are lazy and they look very unprofessional in terms of dressing, language they speak etc.I have not used the taxi service for a long time cos' the train is much more cheap and convenient/quicker/accessible.But the service stops after 12.What happens after 12 midnite at KLIA? Taxis are rare (you have to wait longer for the taxis to arrive) and the rate is higher.I don't like the misleading term "budget taxi" because it is not budget price at all.It can mislead our foreign arrivals.That's cheating! It can go up to RM70 something depending on where you go (then just call the service 'airport taxi'...no need the term 'budget')and past midnite it can go up to RM100.
    Some drivers are rude (gossipping about other passengers on their radio in Malay).As a passenger I find that annoying and unethical.

    So this is Malaysia.

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  8. Anonymous3:08 pm

    nice song bro!! or..poem w/e.

    finally good to see a BN guy who work for the people

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  9. ya lah..dimana Pat Bad ?? Lam...aaa tak dengar, tak nampak lagi.

    I dunno how our gomen's run but for sure there was a budget, detailing projects..so they musta spent those billl...ioons somewhere?

    sorry folks.

    I can't get past the picture of rm1billion.I can "picture" how big a heap 1 billion RM in my bathtub will look (I think in RM50 ednomination lah)

    but after that the zeros get to me!

    so if average say conservatively 2billion/yr x 10yrs = 20billion - holy cow!!!

    WHERE DID THOSE SORTA DOSH WENT??? Because T'nu sure don't look like 20 holysmokes billion went there!!!

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  10. As a Trengganu born-bred, I am now very angry with Putrajaya.

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  11. go for it... habis lah dolah...

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  12. Anonymous4:00 pm

    Bro,

    This is the reason why derih and rosol would go to any length to claim for their posts even if it means treason.

    No words could describe these two 'monkeys' better than..."natang".

    "Mung derih nga rosol, due due eko dok paka mende!, pale pengak!"

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  13. Anonymous4:09 pm

    Another example of the Mahathir era schemes and stupidities that needs unravelling and correction. Hope Pak Lah will right this wrong as is his trend these days.

    Yet some people keep on idolising Mahathir, the dictator that he was and still tries to be.

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  14. Anonymous4:28 pm

    Well done, people's MB.
    Korek, korek,korek !!!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous4:33 pm

    ACA independent ?
    Whatttttt ... you mean all this while ACA has not been independent.

    So, PM and DPM are big liars... they also been lying to the rakyat when they said Malaysia is not a secular country !!!

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  16. Anonymous4:49 pm

    From a commentary on politics in Indonesia in the Spore Straits Times today. The commentary is by John McBeth, a senior writer with the paper, and is titled "It's all about pragmatism".

    "...INDONESIAN VOTERS HAVE CLEARLY LEARNT OVER THE PAST DECADE OF DEMOCRACY THAT NO MATTER HOW MUCH MONEY IS THROWN AROUND, THEY HAVE THE POWER TO THROW OUT THOSE WHO DO NOT PERFORM...."

    (emphasis mine)

    It looks like Malaysian voters have finally learnt the same lesson. Scare tactics, masquerading under the "Ketuanan" umbrella notwithstanding.

    And Umno is running scared. Hence it's "back to the wall" spoiler tactics.

    Because of the power that rests in the ballot boxes and free and fair elections.

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  17. Anonymous4:58 pm

    I agree with Anonymous 1:49 pm.

    We have to go back in time before the institution of the Wang Ehsan concept, for even back then Terengganu was treated as a cash cow by the federal government, and it would be interesting to see how the Mahathir administration managed the money.

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  18. Well, just a quick note on history...

    Terengganu had always had the royalty $$$ PRIOR to year 2000 (before PAS's rule), but it was (and still is) one of the poorest state in the country...

    So, go figure!!!???

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  19. now i think it's clear why those 22 Penderhaka really opposed him ...

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  20. Anonymous7:09 pm

    I hope this time there is no obstruction from the 4 storey boy to disburse the money to the state.Last time the previous MB had no say in the "wang ehsan " and the lavish spending of the money was an uproar that made the Sultan angry and hence the downfall of his administration.

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  21. Anonymous8:41 pm

    well, where is khairy? this is the time when he should be most useful for his father in law, by standing up for him instead of wielding krises everywhere.

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  22. terenggau MB and Sultan can make noise about wang ehsan here there and no where they can recover...all 4 years gone monies, even if given 100 years to recover the RM1million so long they rely on ACA...

    what ACA.... "Ada Can Aaaaa...."

    so long Old Town White Coffee is around, teh tarik make no better position to outbeat white coffee, even its white and not black coffee... coffee in coffers, is still coffee ma!

    'kopi' anyone...

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  23. Anonymous11:45 pm

    Pat Badawi has no more place to go!

    HJG

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  24. Anonymous12:11 am

    Yup , we just wanna know how will the T'ganu's present state govt use the money, and what had happened to the wang ehsan/royalty in the preceding years AND will the present state govt ever get the royalty?

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  25. Anonymous5:31 am

    Kami org kampong sangat tak afham kenapa Sabah dan Sarawak mendapat layanan istimewa dari segi royalti minyak ni.

    Tapi Terengganu lain pulak cara layanannya. Mungkin Tun Salleh Abas boleh bagi sedikit insight berdasarkan perjanjian yg beliau dikatakan terlibat dlm draf perjanjian dahulu.

    Kes minyak ni tahun 70an kabarnya DUN Terenggganu bersidang marathon sampai ke tengah malam. Tan Sri Wan Mokhtar masih hidup untuk cerita sebenar berdasarkan apa yang hak.

    Anyway, gua salut sama Dato' Ahmad Said dan merafak sembah Daulat Tuanku kpd SPB yg di Pertuan Agong. Teruskan perjuangan untuk mendapatkan kembali kah rakyat Terengganu. Minyak pun tinggal beberapa tahun lagi dah nak kering ni.

    Satu lagi. Kenapa Terengganu yang keluar minyak tidak merasai nikmat paip gas PGU? Kalaulah ada, tentu dah lama industri berkembang di Terengganu. Kabarnya dulu ada dalam perancangan Petronas. Kenapa tak dilaksanakan? Sila jawab kedua-dua isu dengan telus tanpa dolak-dalih.

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  26. What is the financial arrangement between state and the federal government?

    Can someone point me to English version online for me to read about?

    I want to learn about Income Tax, Other Tax, natural Resource income etc

    Shiok Guy

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  27. I found this online

    FEDERAL TERRITORY (FINANCIAL
    ARRANGEMENT) ACT 1982

    But this does not really tell us much. What and where else can i find it?

    Shiok Guy

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  28. Anonymous12:44 am

    Now I understand why Pak Lah was all out in supporting Idris Yusof to be the MB.Its all about money.Shame on you Pak Lah.

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  29. Anonymous3:38 am

    We will see sparks inParliament! The MP for Wangsa Maju has tabled a parliamentary question on this Wang Ehsan for Pak Lah to answer. Lets wait and see what bullshit he is going to give us.

    Now that Parliament will be sitting soon, I am sure that Patrick Badawi, Tony Fernadez, Kalimullah and other cronies must be shitting bricks!

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  30. Anonymous11:29 am

    wow what a statement! nice catch mr mb.
    a big catch!

    jbranjer

    ReplyDelete