Rudyard Kipling"
“When you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
COMMENT | LCS fiasco: Even our nation’s security is pawned - Raman Letchumanan
Saturday, August 13, 2022
Malaysiakini : In this respect, it is instructive to make reference to my series of
articles on “klepto-economics”, a term I coined to define our nation’s
economic and financial (mis)management which defies all contemporary
economic, business, accounting rules and thoughts. It explains why such
mega scandals as the LCS happen over and over again.
In
Malaysia, for some privileged leaders and elites, criminal offences
such as corruption, stealing, abuse of power, criminal breach of trust,
and money laundering take the form of political donations, gifts,
welfare aid, religious cause etc. The key ingredient is money, lots of
it in cash, and nothing is sacrosanct from pilferage, including national
security.
Nonsensical defence
Former
defence minister and deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi issued the
letter of award for the LCS in Dec 2011, but within two months changed
the design of the ship from that recommended by the navy (the end-user)
to that of the contractor. That may have precipitated the scandal or,
more likely, was designed for that purpose.
Zahid now says he is
not to be blamed and wants to shut down any debate/investigation citing
national secrecy. Former and current senior defence minister
Hishammuddin Hussein signed the contract in 2014 and oversaw
implementation, but now claims everything was transparently done and
calls for those guilty to be charged. Former finance minister and prime
minister during that period Najib Abdul Razak is doing a 1MDB on LCS,
loudly defending and blaming everyone else.
Former defence minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
Let’s
review some of their responses, including that of the current CEO of
the Armed Forces Pension Fund (LTAT), Ahmad Nazim Abdul Rahman.
Nazim
says all six LCS are to be built and delivered concurrently. This is
contrary to the contract provisions to be delivered on a staggered
basis. But Hishammuddin said only the first LCS is expected to be
delivered in about two years and nothing about the rest. Who approved
this “delivery switch”, like in the design switch? In any case, it is
laughable they can deliver all at one go but can’t even deliver one
ship.
Nazim says of the RM1.4 billion cost overrun, RM400 million was used
to cover the debts of a previous project. Boustead Holdings Bhd (BHB) is
a public-listed company that must follow all statutory accounting
standards and Securities Commission rules. Bad debt can only be offset
from a profit or a surplus generated, not from an ongoing bleeding
project. Now we have two failed projects instead of one. Bravo!
Would
BHB need another project to salvage LCS? No one has yet unravelled
Rafizi Ramli’s claim of unnecessary sub-contracting or layering, which
pushed up the cost from RM397 million, if contracted directly with the
original equipment manufacturer (OEM), to RM1.185 billion.
Najib
and Nazim, of course, latched on to the default, fail-proof,
bumi-template argument to justify the direct award to LTAT and that
3,000 engineers and 400 companies (presumably mostly bumiputras)
benefitted.
Can they now explain the current situation to them,
where all the vendors have stopped working/supplying because they are
not paid, and the 3,000 engineers that are likely to be absorbed by the
gig economy?
In any case, I don’t think any of them would want to
be associated with the LCS project, as it may affect their future
prospects. BHB shares are now trading at RM0.76 compared to a high of
almost RM4.00 a few years ago.
As
a major conglomerate of LTAT, it is anticipated that if BHB/LCS fails,
almost 50 percent of the LTAT members’ contribution would be wiped out.
Would Najib dare promote this narrative to the army veterans who
recently picketed against LTAT and offer a solution to revive BHB
without any further injection of taxpayers’ funds?
PAC chairperson
Wong Kah Woh described the site visit by the PAC team on Dec 11 as
heart-breaking. He described the construction site as seemingly
abandoned, OEM suppliers not fully paid and no workers on site. Of the
total equipment value on storage of RM1.75 billion, about 15 percent or
RM263 million has become obsolete.
Finally, while all promises are
made about future deliveries, no one has mentioned about needing more
funds from the government. Isn’t it patently clear the project can only
be revived by a huge injection of taxpayers money?
What is even
more alarming, despite all their mismanagement and nonsensical rebuttals
and promises, the above-mentioned leaders are setting the future
narrative for this project using their powerful positions.
I would
suggest the most sensible decision would be for the government to
immediately isolate all those involved who failed in the delivery of the
LCS. Secondly, a team of independent professional experts should be
formed to evaluate the project on an ongoing basis, compared to the
alternative of scrapping the project and making a new order of LCS with
the latest technology.
To me, as a scientist and professional
accountant, the solution is obvious. The huge cost of salvaging this
project ends up with a product that is at least 15 years technologically
outdated, as they say, is dead in the water.
The option of
ordering a new set of equipment with the latest technology, but
by-passing the failed bumi agenda (read: merit sans cronyism), will
ensure the navy gets its ships in less time than the outdated LCS, if at
all it is delivered and not another mock one.
To avoid
interference from politicians and cronies, this team should report to
Parliament, through the bipartisan PAC, in terms of its assessment,
options and implementation.
Currently, the government and the
opposition are preoccupied with establishing a Royal Commission of
Inquiry and conducting more investigations. While this may be necessary
as a long-term measure, a decision has to be made now on the option
moving forward as I suggested above.
PAC chairperson Wong Kah Woh
Retirement funds raided
Looking beyond this LCS scandal, what is happening now is the depletion of our retirement funds from scandals after scandals.
The
government pension fund Retirement Fund Inc through 1MDB, the armed
forces pension fund LTAT through LCS, and Employees’ Provident Fund
through Pembinaan PFI Sdn Bhd and premature withdrawals are being raided
by these privileged class and elites who position themselves as the
protectors of race and religion. Previously we had Felda and Tabung Haji
that were bailed out using taxpayers’ funds.
So what is the
Malay-Bumiputera agenda all about where the one percent privileged
squander the nation’s savings/wealth? No wonder the bumiputeras only own
17 percent of the nation’s wealth after 50 years of NEP.
Conservatively, if we deduct about seven percent owned by the elites,
the 60 percent of bumiputras only own 10 percent of the wealth.
Usually,
retirement funds are rarely withdrawn for other purposes apart from
benefiting the members, and that too only as a last resort. All
investments have to be prudent and conservative. But if a country
squanders these retirement funds through dubious or failed projects,
which invariably require bailouts from the taxpayers’ consolidated
funds, then that is an indication we are surely on the path of Sri
Lanka.
What is worrying is that Najib, who was primarily involved
in the 1MDB scandal, still insists that taxpayers’ money was not used
to settle 1MDB debts. Apparently, while accounting principles dictate
that all liabilities of a failed entity should be counted as bad debts,
1MDB debts are not included in our national debt, therefore distorting
our true financial position.
Now Najib and his cohorts are singing
the same narrative for LCS. Honestly, I don’t think they are that
stupid in their responses but cunningly projecting to the gullible
masses that they are not at fault and that the government has to pump in
a huge bailout using public funds to revive the mothballed and
abandoned LCS project. And it seems they control the levers of power to
get what they want.
Most tellingly, despite all the scandals, no
one top official has been jailed or even punished. The latest case of
the attorney-general withdrawing the charge of embezzling RM50 million
by the nation’s spy chief is baffling. And she gets to keep the loot. No
questions were asked about how she earned the money as a civil servant.
Aug
15, 2022, is shaping up to be a crucial day. The BN supreme council
meets, and Najib’s final appeal on the SRC case starts. Will Umno reform
or the federal court meet out a fair judgement?
Personally, I am
not expecting a tsunami. But I have to quickly sort out my retirement
funds before it is taken away or devalued. My personal security is more
important than national security. I am not going to shed a single drop
of blood for our country as long as these traitors rule.
RAMAN
LETCHUMANAN is a former senior fellow at the Nanyang Technological
University of Singapore, a former director at the Minister of Science,
Technology and Environment, and a former head of environment/disaster
management at the Asean Secretariat in Jakarta. Contact:
raman.asean@gmail.com.
