Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has accused his predecessor Najib Abdul Razak of being a firm believer that cash is the ultimate panacea for all conundrums and winning the hearts of the people.
He often recalls a conversation with Najib when the latter was in power and how the former premier had told him point blank that “cash is king”.
However, a source close to the former premier repudiated Mahathir's version of that conversation.
“The words were mentioned. But not in the vein Mahathir claims,” he told Malaysiakini.
The source claimed that Mahathir objected to the Najib administration's BR1M financial handout scheme and wanted subsidies to be maintained instead.
“But Najib told him that recipients of BR1M should decide for themselves how they wanted to spend their money. Instead of giving them subsidies they might not benefit from.
“'Cash is king' to the recipients. This is what he told Mahathir,” he added.
The source accused Mahathir of later giving the impression that it was Najib who believed that cash is king as opposed to the latter pointing out that cash would benefit the people more compared to subsidies.
He claimed that the difference between the two was that Najib believed the B40 households could make their own decisions in a wise manner with regard to the extra income.
“Would you rather buy a necessity like kerosene or food grains at a subsidy or receive an equivalent amount of cash instead?
“Would you prefer that the government decides your consumption pattern rather than figuring out on your own how to spend your income?” he asked.
The source claimed that Najib believed that BR1M would increase resources available to households whereas subsidies distorted the market.
“The most obvious distortion is that subsidies, which reduce the market price and by definition cannot be targeted. It allows everyone to benefit, even those who don’t need help.
“Whereas direct cash transfers can, in principle, be targeted directly to the poor,” he added.
Apart from this, the source claimed that Mahathir and Najib also disagreed on minimum wage, which the latter was supportive of.
He then cited a blog post from 2012 where Mahathir said the increase in wages would not be a concern for the government.
“But it should worry the private sector. Already Malaysia's wages and salaries are higher than all the Asean countries excepting Singapore. It is certainly higher than China. This might deter both domestic and foreign investors.
“If investments do not come in, the number of new jobs created would be diminished. This might increase unemployment,” he added.
The source further commented that this was one of the key differences between the thinking of Mahathir and Najib that eventually caused their relationship to fall apart.
"Najib believes more in raising the wages and income of the ordinary folk while Mahathir continues to think of the interest of the businessmen.
“This can still be seen today where Najib had continued to raise the historically low civil service salaries while one of Mahathir's first acts was to review the pay hikes of the civil service," he added.
He often recalls a conversation with Najib when the latter was in power and how the former premier had told him point blank that “cash is king”.
However, a source close to the former premier repudiated Mahathir's version of that conversation.
“The words were mentioned. But not in the vein Mahathir claims,” he told Malaysiakini.
The source claimed that Mahathir objected to the Najib administration's BR1M financial handout scheme and wanted subsidies to be maintained instead.
“But Najib told him that recipients of BR1M should decide for themselves how they wanted to spend their money. Instead of giving them subsidies they might not benefit from.
“'Cash is king' to the recipients. This is what he told Mahathir,” he added.
The source accused Mahathir of later giving the impression that it was Najib who believed that cash is king as opposed to the latter pointing out that cash would benefit the people more compared to subsidies.
He claimed that the difference between the two was that Najib believed the B40 households could make their own decisions in a wise manner with regard to the extra income.
“Would you rather buy a necessity like kerosene or food grains at a subsidy or receive an equivalent amount of cash instead?
“Would you prefer that the government decides your consumption pattern rather than figuring out on your own how to spend your income?” he asked.
The source claimed that Najib believed that BR1M would increase resources available to households whereas subsidies distorted the market.
“The most obvious distortion is that subsidies, which reduce the market price and by definition cannot be targeted. It allows everyone to benefit, even those who don’t need help.
“Whereas direct cash transfers can, in principle, be targeted directly to the poor,” he added.
Apart from this, the source claimed that Mahathir and Najib also disagreed on minimum wage, which the latter was supportive of.
He then cited a blog post from 2012 where Mahathir said the increase in wages would not be a concern for the government.
“But it should worry the private sector. Already Malaysia's wages and salaries are higher than all the Asean countries excepting Singapore. It is certainly higher than China. This might deter both domestic and foreign investors.
“If investments do not come in, the number of new jobs created would be diminished. This might increase unemployment,” he added.
The source further commented that this was one of the key differences between the thinking of Mahathir and Najib that eventually caused their relationship to fall apart.
"Najib believes more in raising the wages and income of the ordinary folk while Mahathir continues to think of the interest of the businessmen.
“This can still be seen today where Najib had continued to raise the historically low civil service salaries while one of Mahathir's first acts was to review the pay hikes of the civil service," he added.
mahathir context is well proven by looking at how much cash in najib home. no?
ReplyDeleteYup...thi$ Najib i$ a guy with a $eriou$ly unhealthy fixation with Ca$h
DeleteMahathir also said Anwar buggered his toyboy previously. Do you stand by what he said then?
Deleteeveryone see the cash, u see what mahathir said pertaining to anwar?
DeleteWe also seen the tilam with purported DNA sample. So do you still stand by what Mahathir said?
Deleteyes. i am fine with what mahathir said.
DeleteGreat! So you were also fine that you folks were portraying him as the devil incarnate and the essence of all evil and anything wrong in Malaysia before he was baptised by PH's holy water and now is treated like some sorta angel? Ever heard of the word hypocrisy? No? What about double standards?
Deletelearn how to stick to topic, i said i am fine with what mahathir said pertaining to najib cash is king n anwar buggered his toyboy which we r now talking abt. not sure u have problem to understand simple sentence, or have this habit to bring out something that have nothing to do with the topic at hand. now go read english comprehension 1.0.
DeleteYup Ca$h i$ King..... best example is Ktemoc.
ReplyDeleteNow....ju$t think critically.
Just becau$e a clo$e a$$ociate of Najib conveniently make$ the accu$ation again$t Mahathir, you a$$ume Najib kena Uan Ong ?
Najib also trusted that Malaysians can make the right choice in choosing their leaders. Apparently he was mistaken in both accounts, and that Malaysians truly needs a 93-year old benevolent dictator to tell them what to think, how to do, and when to lick. Never in history did a person trust in such fallacy as did Neville Chamberlain to trust in Hitler's peace offering.
ReplyDeleteBoth characters are now in the wrong side of history.
https://www.malaymail.com/s/1634569/1mdb-taskforce-pledge-mutual-legal-assistance-after-meeting-fbi-doj-officia
ReplyDeleteGreat news.
Malaysia pledges full cooperation with the United States Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigations.
One of the main reasons there was a major gap between 1MDB transactions unearthed overseas and those in Malaysia, is that earlier the Najib Administration refused point-blank to cooperate with US, Switzerland and Singapore law enforcement authorities.
Aaahhh.....the famous “the source” and “a souce” who cannot be named I presume? Why didn’t this source speak up before GE14 ? Too late now.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.malaymail.com/s/1634579/raja-bomoh-latest-visitor-to-najibs-home
ReplyDeleteNow.....Raja Bomoh offers his services to Najib....
Wakakakakaka
Raja Bomoh with the coconuts no can lawan the witchery of Rosmah's very powderful black magic ! But I suppose at this stage of drowning, "he is willing to grasp even faeces" ( wakakaka, quote courtesy of one prince from down south )
DeleteHi Monsterball, questioning session at MACC has just finished. No orange uniform.
ReplyDeleteAkan datang
Deletehttp://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2018/04/19/daps-seng-giaw-stands-by-1mdb-statement-on-najib/
ReplyDeleteTan Seng Giaw still loves Najib......wakakaakakaka...
Even after all we have seen exposed these last few days, including a massive cover-up over 1MDB in MOF that could only be orchestrated with approval from the Former Minister of Finance, this Tan Seng Giaw guy still spins for Najib.
very childish of you to shoot people who read the audit report honestly. Whatever might be discovered now has nothing to do with TSG's proper reading at an earlier time. You makan dedak way too much or are plain wicked in your continuous push to demon-ise everyone who didn't or don't condemn Najib without evidence, as you would want them to do
Deletei think u mean read the audit report stupidly.
DeleteYou mean Tony Pua as well?
Deletetoo stupid to merit a response. can we debate on subject u know well?
DeleteThe former Auditor General is himself in deep shit, after the exposure of secret Malaysian Government Black Accounts.
DeleteWhat did the Auditor General know and when did he know it ?
If he didn't know, why didn't he know ?
If he did know, did he look the other way ? Was he asked to look the other way ? Did he hide the facts ?
The former Auditor General could well find himself facing criminal charges if the evidence goes badly against him.
You mean TP wasn't well versed with the audit report? But he was going along the breadth of Malaysia disclaiming that he signed off on the PAC findings report.
Deleteboth sign off, tsg insist najib not accountable, tp said cant be sure due to tis n tat. monster not talking abt sign off, he talked abt the opinion express later on.
Deletebtw, u think najib accountable or no?
Doesn't matter what I think. I'm a nobody. But what matters is whether the hearing will be impartial and truthful. So far the Finance Minister seems to have already made up his mind on what the verdict is, and everything else is just a procession.
Deletebut u seem to think tsg is right, which mean najib not accountable, if not whats the point trying to refute my statement? just for fun?
DeleteCash is King, and the King mandates everyone pays taxes, but does the King pay GST or even Import Duty for 284 Hermes handbags for instance? I hope whoever claims ownership of the handbags can prove all duties and taxes were duly paid. A bird flew by and tweeted to me that the Malaysian distributor for Hermes is a company called Valiram:
ReplyDeletehttp://valiram.com/
Now check the past 1MDB Board of Directors (before taken over by MoF:
http://english.astroawani.com/malaysia-news/1mdb-board-directors-who-are-they-101511
Suckers !!
I know the director of 1MDB Datuk Kamal Mohd Ali personally. We were in the same batch in training. We completed the training amongst the top three. He married someone from Kedah royalty, and got his Datuk from Kedah too. I would like to advise him to study 1MDB carefully and fully before making any adverse comment that he may regret later.
DeleteDatuk Kamal Mohd Ali ....usual cable guy..
DeleteHe is a very good football player - midfielder position.
DeleteWhat Uan Ong?
ReplyDeleteMy closer source to Ahjibkor says words like "Pendekar Bugis" and "Cash is King" were all coined by Nostradamus and used by both of them.
Not the right post but I would like to advise Anthony Loke. Do not disband SPAD. The MRT/LRT/HSR/ECRL needs SPAD to progress/expand smoothly. Apart from supervision, SPAD is doing the co-ordination works of several departments/agencies. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteDuties subsumed under Transport Ministry
DeleteThere are so many issues and problems especially land acquisition and compensation. The SPAD was set-up to hasten and resolve things. SPAD mirrored Land Transport Authority in Singapore. I have given my honest opinion. All the best.
DeleteNot the wisest of decisions, KT. SPAD was supposed to put focus on public transportation and streamlining the various modes of transport. With less bureaucracy from SPAD, we were one of the 1st ASEAN countries to legalise ride sharing in the overall public transport framework. The various bus services were also streamlined and placed under RAPID. For this effort, it earned the ire of many many parties (taxi companies & drivers, private bus owners, transporter owners & drivers, the underworld triads, corrupt JPJ staffs, and ironically Uber/Grab drivers as well).
DeleteNeither does dissolving SPAD help to reduce staff count because all of them are absorbed into JPJ, making those who were monitoring them now reporting to them!
the direction is streamline n reorg, especially line of authority, or else the old way remain.
DeleteThe old way was when JPJ was kautim'ed by the underworld. SPAD was to clip all these, now its back to square one. No wonder the taikors were so glad to support PH.
Deletedid spad complete the objective?
DeleteThe underworld tontos threatening and even harassing SPAD officers at their homes bore witness to their effectiveness so far. If they had been more ruthless in their duties, some might just end up inside a concrete barrel.
DeleteWhat happened to the beautiful 1MDB debt rationalisation plan , which PAS fully supported ?
ReplyDeleteLooks like all the future payments are from the Malaysian taxpayer.
Liars ! Thieves
And Ktemoc apologist for liars.
You stop calling us liars, thieves, zombies, etc.
DeleteWe have done a lot of successful turnarounds and bailouts and we would always know what/who are the real problems/culprits and we removed them.
Investors/government exit will always be through listing. In one of our turnaround/recapitalization exercise with the state government involvement, we bought assets at RM4.00 per sq. ft.; we then repackaged/enhanced the assets and sold them at RM30.00 per sq. ft. Of course to you that is robbery of rakyat's assets. Nope, at the end the government will always get back its money.
There are many financial models available. The main objective is always to keep the organisation/business alive and jobs available but not to steal or to yield.
Unknown is a fucking liar. Nik aziz told me so.
DeleteMore a syiok sensitive + bodoh sombong hp6 business con-sultant JUST to make a living by jaga nasi beriuk by swaying with the prevailing political wind!
DeleteLooes Nick Aziz still owes me this weekend winning 4D number. Tick tock Tick tock Tick tock Tick tock.....
Delete