Bumi equity - explosion of government's lies

Now, after publications of two independent reports that bumi equity had long passed the aspired 30% and the accompanying aggressive but unsubstantiated denials from the AAB government, the government has finally succumbed in the revelations of the Universiti Malaysia (UM) report published FOUR YEARS AGO!

Cornered like a dirty rat by the twin prongs of professionally derived facts, namely the Asli and UM reports, it has finally, grudgingly and reluctantly confessed, though still making resisting long claw marks on the sill of its house of lies.

During question session in the Dewan Rakyat (Parliament) yesterday, Deputy Finance Minister Dr Awang Adek Hussin admitted that bumi share ownership hit 36.64% but only as at Dec 31 last year (1st claw mark, perhaps implying when the 9MP was being formulated the bumi equity was only 18.9% - and why should we believe him!).

He also said 717,935 companies were registered with the Companies Commission last year, of which, only 172,568 (or 24%) were considered to be bumiputera-controlled.

He explained that a company with over 50.1 percent shares in bumi hands is deemed to be bumi-controlled (2nd claw mark, because when we talk about bumi equity, it’s not just bumi controlled companies or those with 50.1% bumi holdings – it’s the bumis’ sum total equity, whether of shares, assets or in kind, like if a bumi sells the shares for money)

His reply was in response to a question from Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah (BN-Gua Musang), who asked for the number of bumi-controlled companies (not including those controlled by Malay Trust Fund) listed on the Bursa Malaysia and the value of their shares.

Note that the admittance of the 36.64% did not include those controlled by Malay Trust Funds. If included, would the bumi equity be more than 45%, or even more?

Dr Awang continued to propagate the stubborn but indefensible mantra that the government’s methodology was the best, but of course without revealing it – and we can understand why he won’t (how to admit a lie or if we want to be kind, a monumental error?) but we certainly cannot accept nor condone the bullsh*t.

Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timor) raised the UM and Asli studies, asking for the deputy minister’s views on those.

Dr Awang dared not answer and thus in typical government parliamentary unaccountability, brushed those damn inconvenient ‘facts’ aside.

And his ‘scintillating’ ministerial response? He has not read the findings and is therefore unable to make a stand as to whether or not the two studies are acceptable.

What utter bull or what utter ministerial irresponsibility in not reading reports that challenge the governments questionable figures.

When the press queried him on the government’s methodology in the Parliament lobby later, Awang Adek again defended it, saying this had been prepared with advice from World Bank leaders and international scholars. Then why not reveal it? Was the advice related to the true outcome of that methodology, or was the 18.9% massaged?

When asked when the government would reveal its methodology as promised, he had the f**king nerve to aver that his (unrevealing) reply in the House was ‘a way of revealing the government’s methodology’.

WTF can you do with such a ministerial response or rather bullsh*t non-response?

Meanwhile Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdul Rahman Suliman, told reporters at the Parliament lobby later that his explanation in Parliament was in line with the government’s move to reveal the methodology but, again like Awang Adek, admitted (unashamedly) his statement to Parliament however represented only ‘part of the methodology’ which, dear readers, had definitely nothing revealing on the government so-called 'methodology'.

He did not provide any breakdown of figures. He said a detailed methodology will soon be discussed and finalised by the government. Why not now? What's being selected for hiding or cover-up?

As we can see, the government is in full damage control, attempting to bullsh*t its way out of its unmitigated indefensible lies.

Not surprisingly, Abdul Rahman criticised the UM research paper which asserted the 30% bumi equity ownership had been reached TEN YEARS AGO.

He argued the methodology used in the research led by UM academician Dr M Fazilah Abdul Samad did not differentiate between the bumiputera ownership and government-owned shares. He accused the UM’s report of inaccurately putting under bumi equity those agencies which the government has interests.

malaysiakini chart

However, it’s plain f**king obvious that either he didn't know or was attempting to bull his way through. Dr Fazilah’s calculations in 1997 did not include government-linked companies - see above chart. Fazilah had put the government-held ownership at 9.5 percent in 1997 under another category.

Again, another pathetic attempt at blatant fibbing by a minister. He merely confirmed what we knew all along, that the UMNO-led government had been lying through its rotten teeth.

I wonder how his disgraceful act of attack on Dr Fazilah's report, but which is inconvenient to the government's sinister manipulations will engender academic excellence in our universities that AAB has been calling for?