Faux Pas by Rafidah?

Is it a Faux Pas? Or is she now telling the sad-truth, nothing but the truth?

The Star WONG SULONG had described Rafidah's latest statement that the Approved Permit system be abolished as causing consternation among local car manufacturers and assemblers, not to mention her colleagues in the Cabinet.

“I don’t know whether she means it, but if the Government abolishes the AP system, anyone can import cars into this country. You’ll have free importation of cars, and that’s going to devastate local car makers and assemblers.”

Let's Ponder: Will abolishing AP mean that everyone can import cars into the country without being taxed and without duties paid?

According to Wong, Rafidah’s jest are not helpful at this stage as it is adding to the confusion in the industry and among the public.

"No doubt what she said about abolishing the AP system was a personal opinion (not shared by the Cabinet, she admitted), but coming from such a senior member of the Government and who, until recently, was in charge of the issuance of APs, is certainly inappropriate and wrongly timed," commented Wong.

"It’s another faux pas from a once savvy minister," conclude Datuk Wong.

The Malaysian community, including Datuk Wong and many bloggers seemed to be flummoxed in their prognosis. We can observe that most opinions are targeted at a single person, rather than a system dysfunction.

The fundamental issue that brought the subject matter into the limelight is based on the defilement of Mahaleel and the belligerence of Mahathir, pertaining to the disadvantages suffered by Proton; implying AP as the sole cause of Proton's uncompetitiveness and incapability to compete heads-on with foreign car-makers.

In this age of globalization and liberalization, product competitiveness and cost efficiency within an effective system is the one and only way an organization can survive in the cut-throat industry such as otomobil.

It implies that Proton is a retrograde. After 20 years, they are still crying for breast-feeding, snorting foul and barking about an uneven playing field???

Rafidah and AP Saga is an issue but should not be within the continuum of the current saga - it actuates into an antithesis. Investigations into MITI and her involvement within the context of kleptorism and corruptive behaviors are necessary and is on-going. The affairs should be made public and transparent, and any wrong-doers should be indicted and tried by the legal system.

But the AP Saga is drawing black smogs and the uninvited browbeating. The fact of the antithesis and her call to have the AP system removed is clear that the cabinet team are desultory by conduct and proven to be pusillanimous. The system managers just don't know what they want and don't understand what is needed to correct the deficiencies.

The cabinet had landed themselves in a juxtaposition - on one side they are musing over how to keep Proton solvent using the AP system to cause foreign cars to be uncompetitive; and the other is, how to keep the AP system rolling in order to continue to develop this UMNO money-spinning machine under the legitimacy of the divine NEP Agenda.

In the end, the ones who suffered is the rakyat - the consumer.

Whatever it is, the Blitzkrieg, those Chagrin, the Eristic and the Polemic; nothing seemed to be done for the benefit of the Rakyat as a whole. Put it in another way - kill Naza's business; kill-off all competitors of Proton and let the govt increases the duties and tax of foreign made cars by another 500%, and let Proton increase their car prices by another 250%, then Proton Waja will be selling at $120,000 and Kia Spectra or Chery would be priced at $200,000 - that way, most Malaysians would be forced to buy Proton and in return, Proton's profit would tripled.

Is that what we want? Is that what Mahathir and Mahaleel are propagating for the sake of Proton?

If that's what the govt wants, then to make it easier, why not asked every Malaysian buyers of foreign-made car to contribute money directly to Proton as tribute, so that Proton need not make cars or sell cars, and still can have billions of profit to fill up the pockets of those coterie.

This is not ABSURD! the govt had set a precedent - look at Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) - they collect 0.25% from every construction contracts in the country, to the sum of many billions of dollars over the decades; and they contribute nothing, absolutely nothing, that had benefited each of those contractors who are contributors, except for a few cronies; but yet, they are allowed to continue to collect the usuries in the name of statutory contribution; in the name of developing the industry, and in the process, building up a gaint corrupt system which had never publish it's annual account and are shielded by the masters of the kleptosystem.

While the public are directing their diatribes on the AP system and directing their petulance on Rafidah, let's not be inconoclast and act like imbeciles. Rafidah may not have done right; but she is not doing this today - it's been done for decades - it's the system design and it's embedded. If ever any action are to be affirmative, it should be system reconstruction and it should be centered on system restructuring - flushing out the political cronies - the leeches.

In the current scenario and jesting, even the removal of Rafidah will not correct the system of the embedded kleptocrats and leeches; we will see the transformation of a new coterie of kleptocrats and leeches, dressed in another clothings but are more potent.

In fact, there is clear sign that the new administration have allowed the building up a new coterie of kleptocrats who are much younger; are intellectuals; and far superior in scheming and conniving; and smarted with clandestine approach. It will make Daim Z. and Halim Saad pale by comparison.

We shall have to Welcome the New Regime and maybe, string ourselves with them and kiss their ass! Hurray Malaysia Boleh!