TR EMERITUS

MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu will become a liability to the Barisan Nasional (BN) in the next general election because his leadership has failed, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said. The former prime minister said he was worried that the people’s support for the BN would erode and the coalition would be the victim because Samy Vellu was still leading the MIC. Samy Vellu must step down as party president because he must take responsibility for the party’s failure in the last general election and for his own loss, Dr Mahathir said in an interview with Bernama yesterday. "If we look at other countries, whenever a leader fails, he resigns. In Japan he commits harakiri. We're not asking him (Samy Vellu) to commit harakiri. "You (Samy Vellu) have failed to lead the MIC until you yourself lost," he said. Citing the example of former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who resigned after his poor performance, Dr Mahathir said: "Samy Vellu performed worse than Pak Lah (Abdullah) but he did not want to relinquish the post. "He should have resigned before things got to this stage." He said he had a right to criticise anyone for the sake of the BN, adding: "I've criticised Pak Lah; who's Samy Vellu that I cannot criticise?" Dr Mahathir's criticism of Samy Vellu before the MIC elections last week was seen as an attempt to interfere in MIC affairs and had raised the ire of a delegate who suggested that a garland of slippers be placed on his portrait. Dr Mahathir said leaders must realise that the post they held was not for life. "This is not directed at Samy Vellu alone because there are others who are like him," he added. He said he had wanted to resign in 1998 but, because of the economy and the Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim issue, had to continue leading the nation until 2003. "I resigned not when people criticised me. I resigned because I had stayed too long. "Malaysian leaders still do not understand that when they fail they should resign of their own volition, no need for others to tell them. When you fail, your party fails. You are responsible," he said. Asked what the BN could do in view of its principle of not interfering in the affairs of component parties, he said that when the matter became a problem for the BN, the coalition would become the victim if it did not intervene. He said BN leaders must admonish Samy Vellu because as BN leaders they were responsible not only for the performance of their own parties but also that of the BN as a whole. "If I know that a person will cause the BN to lose, that is already a BN problem, no longer an MIC problem. We cannot keep saying don't interfere. This is a BN affair. Because of him, the BN lost. "Previously there was no Hindraf. Now there are scores (of pressure groups from the Indian community.) It's him that the people don't want but he still wants to be president," he added He said leaders who resorted to money, pressure, abuse of power and threats could remain as party presidents but would not win elections. On Samy Vellu's chosen leaders winning the party elections last week, Dr Mahathir said they could win party elections but would lose in general elections because the people would not support them. He also criticised Samy Vellu for not playing a role to stop the building of temples without approval despite having promised to do so. He said Samy Vellu became popular because he (Dr Mahathir) had helped him. "He wanted to build a university, I persuaded the government to give a RM50 million allocation and I've helped in many more of his projects," he said. Reflecting on his past duties as prime minister, Dr Mahathir said he had to persuade the Malays to allow the BN to place MIC candidates in Malay-majority areas because no constituency in the country had an Indian majority. "Besides that, I also strove to get the MIC candidates supported by the Malays. Without support from Umno members and the other Malays, the MIC could not win. So that's my service to the MIC. "But when the MIC does something that will cause it not to be supported by the Indians, Chinese and Malays, I have to criticise," he said. — Bernama MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu will become a liability to the Barisan Nasional (BN) in the next general election because his leadership has failed, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said. The former prime minister said he was worried that the people’s support for the BN would erode and the coalition would be the victim because Samy Vellu was still leading the MIC. Samy Vellu must step down as party president because he must take responsibility for the party’s failure in the last general election and for his own loss, Dr Mahathir said in an interview with Bernama yesterday. "If we look at other countries, whenever a leader fails, he resigns. In Japan he commits harakiri. We're not asking him (Samy Vellu) to commit harakiri. "You (Samy Vellu) have failed to lead the MIC until you yourself lost," he said. Citing the example of former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who resigned after his poor performance, Dr Mahathir said: "Samy Vellu performed worse than Pak Lah (Abdullah) but he did not want to relinquish the post. "He should have resigned before things got to this stage." He said he had a right to criticise anyone for the sake of the BN, adding: "I've criticised Pak Lah; who's Samy Vellu that I cannot criticise?" Dr Mahathir's criticism of Samy Vellu before the MIC elections last week was seen as an attempt to interfere in MIC affairs and had raised the ire of a delegate who suggested that a garland of slippers be placed on his portrait. Dr Mahathir said leaders must realise that the post they held was not for life. "This is not directed at Samy Vellu alone because there are others who are like him," he added. He said he had wanted to resign in 1998 but, because of the economy and the Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim issue, had to continue leading the nation until 2003. "I resigned not when people criticised me. I resigned because I had stayed too long. "Malaysian leaders still do not understand that when they fail they should resign of their own volition, no need for others to tell them. When you fail, your party fails. You are responsible," he said. Asked what the BN could do in view of its principle of not interfering in the affairs of component parties, he said that when the matter became a problem for the BN, the coalition would become the victim if it did not intervene. He said BN leaders must admonish Samy Vellu because as BN leaders they were responsible not only for the performance of their own parties but also that of the BN as a whole. "If I know that a person will cause the BN to lose, that is already a BN problem, no longer an MIC problem. We cannot keep saying don't interfere. This is a BN affair. Because of him, the BN lost. "Previously there was no Hindraf. Now there are scores (of pressure groups from the Indian community.) It's him that the people don't want but he still wants to be president," he added He said leaders who resorted to money, pressure, abuse of power and threats could remain as party presidents but would not win elections. On Samy Vellu's chosen leaders winning the party elections last week, Dr Mahathir said they could win party elections but would lose in general elections because the people would not support them. He also criticised Samy Vellu for not playing a role to stop the building of temples without approval despite having promised to do so. He said Samy Vellu became popular because he (Dr Mahathir) had helped him. "He wanted to build a university, I persuaded the government to give a RM50 million allocation and I've helped in many more of his projects," he said. Reflecting on his past duties as prime minister, Dr Mahathir said he had to persuade the Malays to allow the BN to place MIC candidates in Malay-majority areas because no constituency in the country had an Indian majority. "Besides that, I also strove to get the MIC candidates supported by the Malays. Without support from Umno members and the other Malays, the MIC could not win. So that's my service to the MIC. "But when the MIC does something that will cause it not to be supported by the Indians, Chinese and Malays, I have to criticise," he said. — Bernama  Read More →

By The Temasek Review It was reported by the state media that most of the incentives for senior management, which include bonuses, are deferred for three to 12 years, while its junior staff will take home relatively more in shorter-term compensation. If wealth added is positive, employees get a wealth added bonus. (Does that mean that they will not get a "negative bonus" since the wealth added is negative now?) Key staff such as executive directors, senior managing directors and managing directors have half or more of their wealth added bonus deferred to future years. If Temasek's wealth added turns negative in the future, then these deferred bonuses will be 'clawed back'. Temasek has a propensity of using self-invented complicated jargons like "negative wealth added" never heard of in the corporate world to mask its dismal performance. Instead of going round in circles trying to placate public fury and discontent, why not simply state the obvious: 1. The exact numbers and identities of its executive directors, senior managing directors and managing directors and their CVs. 2. Each of their basic monthly salaries. 3. The exact amount of bonuses they receive in 2008 and the amount which will be "clawed back" now following the dramatic decrease in Temasek's portfolio. 4. Any other additional incentives and perks. The "negative bonus added" in an inaccurate assessment of the performance of the Temasek Board. For example, if a senior executive received an annual pay of $1 million a year, it will matter little if he has his bonuses "deferred". Since Temasek loves to protray itself as a pure "investment firm", then it should adopt the standards and practices of a real commercial company. The latest "rebound" was not due to the acumen of Temasek's executives. Till today, they still have not explained the decisions behind the sale of stakes in Bank of America and Merrill at a low which cost Temasek to lose probably more than $5 billion dollars when they are supposed to be "long-term investments". Without the timely sale of the three power stations which are national assets in the first place, Temasek will be in the red by now. It doesn't take a genius to make a profit from an asset plucked from thin air. In the corporate world, many of Temasek's directors will be fired or receive a pay cut rather than just a "negative bonus". (deferred somemore) If Temasek find it hard to adhere to the degree of accountability and transparency as demanded of a public-listed company, then it should well revert back to its true status as a government sovereign wealth fund owned by the people of Singapore. Either way, Temasek cannot escape public scrutiny when it is managing such a huge amount of funds, not to mention the fact that they may be partially or completely derived from budget surpluses accumulated over the years. In a public-listed companies, the shareholders are entitled to question the decisions made by the directors and vote them out if their performance is not up to mark. Unless Temasek somehow transforms itself into a "private family fund", it has to be held accountable for its actions and decisions and be completely transparent about its modus operandi as well as the pay and bonuses of its senior management.  Read More →

From our Correspondent Faced with a rising number of families who defaulted on their home loans, HDB has allocated trained staff to give them "debt management advice". Such defaulters have climbed from 5 per cent to 8 per cent of all HDB home loans. About 800 families who owed HDB money have downgraded to smaller flats last year through this initiative. These housing counsellors were deployed in HDB branch offices last year following a growing number of households in arrears. MPs have noted that they have seen a growing number of home owners asking for help after falling into financial difficulties. In the midst of the global economic turmoil, some Singaporeans were retrenched and took up a job with lower pay. They are unable to continue paying for the mortage loans which can be as high as $800 a month for a five-room flat in Sengkang. HDB declined to provide the latest numbers of those who default on their housing loan payments when asked by the state media. It was reported in January this year that the number of defaulters on home loans for periods of three months or longer has risen significantly over the last five years. Part of the reason for the rising number of defaulters lie in the high prices of HDB flats which hit a record high in June. The homes of these defaulters are bought a few years ago when the prices are much lower. It is not known how Singaporeans who bought the flats at exorbitant prices lately are going to finance their loans if they run into similar problems in the future. In a letter published in the Straits Times Forum yesterday, a deputy director of HDB claimed that a couple need only fork out $1,500 a month to finance the loan for a 5-room flat costing $364,000 and therefore they are "affordable". Despite the growing discontent on the ground, the government remains oblivious to the plight of ordinary Singaporeans. In the absence of any meaningful political competition, Singaporeans have little choice but to believe in the repeated one-sentence reassurances issued by their leaders - "HDB flats are affordable".  Read More →