The King, his family and U

Or … “Who needs to be a crony when you can be a Royal Crony Pt 2”

Damansara, 6/12: Ten years ago, this blog published the article Who needs to be a crony when you can be a Royal crony?  This was way before 3R (Race, Religion and Royalty) was a buzzword but we stuck to facts, we were careful not to be seditious in our writing, and we were fair in our comments. Unfortunately, the blogger and the players in the “royal JV” parted ways after the article, and subsequent articles, were published. The price of writing the truth and of trying to be champion of the larger and better interest of society, if you like.

I republish that 5 June 2014 article for some context to today’s headlines:

In a letter to the media yesterday, billionaire Francis Yeoh blamed Malay Mail Online's article Crony Capitalism in Malaysia has to go, son of YTL founder says for the bad press he's been getting. "The title of this article is inaccurate and it does not reflect the content of what I actually said ...", his letter said [Francis Yeoh says not a crony of former PM, StarBiz 5/6/2014].

So, Francis is saying that only the title (heading) of the article is inaccurate. The news content is.

Let's read what Francis said in the Malay Mail Online article, among other things:

“The good thing about [Singapore, Australia and the UK], I don’t have to kowtow to the prime minister before I do deal(s), I don’t have to see them even, even after I’ve won the deal." 

“I turn west because of this transparent, coherent regulatory framework.” 

“I don’t think you’ll have a chance. Even in Petronas contracts, if (you are) a non-bumi you won’t get to do anything." 

“Like me, I had to survive so 85 per cent of my business (is) outside, I had to invent a lot of the stuff, for my own self-interest, to make sure I survive." 

“I don’t depend on the largesse of the government." 

"I think this crony capitalism stuff has to go, it's 20 years old this idea. I think we should replace it with new, fresh, truthful idea."

At the forum, when asked about how his "close links" with former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had contributed to YTL's successes, Yeoh denied being the latter's "crony" and credited the company's achievement to "innovation".

Innovation? A lot of people disagree with Francis it's cakap tak serupa bikin. 

In fact, people in the industry have been complaining of the RM3.5 billion power project that Francis had just won and they are saying that the project went to YTL Power because of its "close links" with the Johor Istana. Find out H E R E who owns SIPP, Francis Yeoh's partner in the successful "direct nego" award! 

I call it Royal Capitai Cronyism of the Highest Order, which carries the title Tan Sri.

                              ——————————————————-

Now, fast forward a decade, we are faced with a similar situation in U-Mobile, the company least expected to win the coveted second 5G network and is threatening to be the bane of the Madani government which has awarded it that network. 

The second network, as we all know, was the result of the Madani government’s steadfast wish to break away from monopoly but two issues re U-Mobile - 1. The King’s 22% shareholding and 2. Singapore’s 48 per cent stake in the Malaysia telco  - have threatened to turn this good intentions into a major crisis.

And it’s about to get worse with today’s headlines on the King and U-Mobile:

Johor royal family set to become U Mobile's biggest shareholder

Published:  Dec 6, 2024 8:00 AM

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Updated: 8:22 AM

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Johor’s royal family is set to become the biggest shareholder in U Mobile.

This is after Singapore’s ST Telemedia - currently the largest shareholder - sells most of its stake to Mawar Setia Sdn Bhd.

After the exercise, which was announced yesterday, ST Telemedia’s share in U Mobile...

In Malay, read Kerabat Raja Johor bakal pemegang saham terbesar U Mobile.

For deeper context, read Singapore Straits Times’ U Mobile’s winning for Malaysia’s 5G spectrum sparks talks or cronyism

Now, I understand that the members of our Royalty are human and need to earn their keep and maintain their lifestyles. We certainly don’t want our kings and princes to be paupers. 

But the thing is, the Constitution clearly bars active participation of our King in business. 

In U Mobile’s case, as I’ve argued in my last posting The King and U,  King Ibrahim’s 22% shareholding may not make him an active shareholder. He does not have executive powers in the company, some people have also argued. 

But with the latest news that the King’s family will become the biggest shareholder in U Mobile, these arguments may not hold water anymore. 

In the good name of our Institusi Raja-Raja, we need to have a conversation on this. 

ENDS

The King and U

The King and U-Mobile and the tale of two brave Hassans

Kuala Lumpur, Nov 22: The vocal YB Hassan Karim was called up by his own party’s disciplinary committee for criticizing the PMX and the King recently. The Pasir Gudang MP is very likely going to be censured. But how they deal with Hassan could define Anwar’s premiership. After all, one can say that Hassan was merely speaking out on behalf of the Rakyat who elected him  

The committee’s action still also have a bearing on our freedom of speech and expression.

In the meantime, two weeks have gone since Perkasa, the Malay NGO, lodged a police report on claims made in the media that the King had a 22% stake in U-Mobile, the telco that has been picked by the government to set up the long overdue second 5G network. 

Syed Hassan Syed Ali, the Perkasa president, told me he hadn’t heard from the cops since making the report.

According the Perkasa, the Constitution clearly prohibits the King from active participation in business. And according to Hassan when he lodged that report Perkasa wasn’t certain if the claims made in the media were true. 

If it’s untrue, he wants the police to act against the authors of those reports for trying to tarnish the image of the King. If it’s true, well, “we’ll have to find a way to deal with it”.

One portal saw Hassan and Perkasa’s report as Reverse psychology at play.

But are the actions by the two Hassans a mere charade, or do they echo what the masses, especially the Malay rakyat, feel? This is something the PKR Disciplinary Committee and the police have to decide. They must consult the Constitutional experts before making a decision. The Constitution is supreme. Avoid, at all cost, another Constitutional crisis.

As a citizen, I understand what YB Hassan and Perkasa’s Syed Hassan are leading to. Ten years ago, several bloggers and I wrote against the business partnership between a major corporation and an heir to the Johor throne. We felt obliged to take the risk because we agreed that the active participation of the prince in such business would not augur well for the image and integrity of the Rulers. 

It can be argued that the King’s 22% shareholding in U-Mobile does not make him an active participant. He’s not an executive and, furthermore, Sultan Ibrahim has held those shares since 2015 or 2016, long before he became the King and longer before 5G. Blogger Salahuddin Hisham puts forward a solid defence in a recent posting in Thick as a Brick.

Excerpts from U-Mobile: Putting aside Vincent Tan, Spore, Istana and Politics

Perhaps, the intention is either to create impression that Maxis and DigiCelcom could not match the influence of Agong's 22.3% stake in U Mobile or anti-Forest City Mahathir throwing stones while hiding his hands.

Nevertheless, the Sultan is merely a passive investor and legally speaking does not have any executive role or represented on the Board of Directors. Thus there is no enforceable breach of the Constitution. 

In all fairness, his Majesty had long been a passive investor in U Mobile. His initial equity was 5% before raising it to 10% in 2015, 9 years ago. The earlier investment was longer.

But that’s just one good blogger’s assertion. What about the rest of us, the Bar Council, BERSIH, Rapera? What say the Prime Minister?

Talk about the PM, I must say I have to disagree with YB Hassan’s accusation that by awarding the second 5G network to U-Mobile, Anwar Ibrahim  is repeating the same mistakes committed during Dr Mahathir Mohamad's first term by surrounding himself with individuals and corporate entities out to get lucrative contracts.

It’s rather unfair to put the blame on Anwar like that. Because all of us know that all big businesses in Malaysia involve some crony or other. Unless you know one that isn’t!