THE ART OF TAI CHI PAKATAN HARAPAN

The art of Tai Chi; not the martial arts but of making other people looking bad

When we become politics observers, we come across many personalities who issue statements; official or otherwise; through various media. Some are true, some are just rhetorics and lots are just plain Tai Chi; to pass the proverbial buck due to one’s incompetence and make other people take the blame.

Well, with amount of information bombarded onto us constantly, we must have the mental faculty and capabilities to sift and sieve through what is true or trash. In no uncertain terms, let us have a read and evaluate the newstory by NST that appeared today:
'BN govt didn't reveal hidden costs of HSR project'

July 19, 2018 @ 9:01am
THE previous Barisan Nasional government did not reveal the hidden costs of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project, Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali said.
Speaking at the Dewan Rakyat, Azmin said this could be seen in the actual cost of the project, which was RM110 billion, and not RM55 billion as announced by the BN administration.
“The RM55 billion announced is the project cost. But, there are many hidden costs not revealed by the previous government. (This is Tai Chi. Say something damaging about the previous Government but didn’t really mention what did they do wrong.)
“Therefore, the Pakatan Harapan government today has the responsibility of revealing the total cost of the project,” he said during the question-and-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday. (Another Tai Chi. Using the word ‘responsibility’ is to paint a pretty picture of the KERAjaan Phitnah as doing the right thing whereas the are doing nothing just double up certain figures like RM9bn jumped to RM31bn then brilliantly slashed it to about half and announced the ‘real’ amount should be RM15bn or so.
Same thing about SST vs GST collection. The BN-led administration collected RM42bn in 2016 from GST for the benefit of the people, and yet what did the so-called Finance Minister said when challenging Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak? RM22bn is better for the people than RM42bn!

Lesser collection, lesser burden for the people? It just shows that you are incompetent and inefficient in doing your job!
The RM42bn pays for lots and lots of benefits for the people that we need not mention as the information is commonly accessible.
And now the Minister for Economy is using the same playbook as the Finance Minister in jacking up a number 100 per cent and later; after alledged studies axed the amount by about 50 per cent! And these two persons are responsible for our country’s finance and economy?)
 
Azmin was answering an additional question from Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam), who was asking on why the estimated RM110 billion cost was double of what was originally announced.

Azmin, who is Gombak member of parliament, said the government was studying the financial viability of the HSR project by holding ongoing discussions with Singapore.
“We will see the government’s ability to take on the project,” he said, adding that this was due to the present economic situation. (Continues to Tai Chi. ‘Present economic situation’ my foot! The present economic situation is brought by you KERAjaan Phitnah nincompoops! And its not about ‘the government’s ability to take on the project’ but more towards which crony could give the highest benefit to them is what they’re considering!)

“Therefore, the government takes the stand of discussing with the Singaporean government to ensure all terms of the agreement are abided with.”
In answering the original question from Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (BN-Bagan Datuk), who wanted to know what was being looked into when the government said it was reviewing the HSR project, Azmin said Attorney-General Tommy Thomas was studying the terms of the project signed on Dec 13, 2016.

He said Thomas found that the matter must be resolved according to the law and with two-way discussions between both nations.
He said the project’s agreement allowed a party to cancel the project, but this was subject to other terms in the overall agreement.
Speaking to reporters at the Parliament lobby later, Azmin said the fate of the project hinged on the meeting he was expected to have with Singapore by the end of the month.

“Any party that wants to cancel the project can do so because it is allowed by the agreement, but it must be based on the terms and agreement.
“All options, including reducing the cost, cancelling the project or deferring it, are available to us. So we will table them and discuss the matter with them.

“However, we have not excluded the possibility of the project continuing, but we are not making any suggestions unless there is a consensus from both countries.” (This is just stating the obvious and in order to fill in the blanks.)
He said Singapore’s Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan wanted to meet by the end of the month and he would do his best to accommodate the request.
The meeting will discuss options on the HSR project, which was expected to be completed in 2024.

On the compensation to Singapore, which has reportedly spent more than S$250 million (RM740 million) on the project, Azmin said Malaysia would respect the rule of law and due process, and terms contained in the agreement, but it would be subject to the discussion with Khaw.

“There is a formula, but the actual quantum has to be determined by both parties,” he said, while declining to state what the formula was. (Still continues to Tai Chi. This part is very important but the KERAjaan Phitnah is trying to bury it and a reason why the HSR project is not cancelled outright.

Singapore; truth be told; look forward to the HSR and has given full cooperation on their part to make it happen as it is a win-win situation for both countries to have such an infrastructure. If the project fails to get off the ground, the island nation could claim their rights and sue Malaysia to bankruptcy and not limited to SGD250 million!
Singapore don’t suffer fools gladly and they take their rights and the HSR project very, very seriously!)

Of course the same newstory can be understood differently, but we based our evaluation on obtainable facts, and figures. We love our nation but now we are really, really scared what the primates heading the KERAjaan are doing to Malaysia.

@ Tempora the Dissector  TTD