The numbers don’t add up
IT does not take a degree in rocket science to come to the conclusion that Malaysia had (yes, in the past tense), the most expensive taxis in the world. At RM7 million for five taxis, it would have cost a whopping RM1.4 million each. Not many may have had the opportunity to ride in these taxis, but bless those who had because they will have their names etched in gold in the annals of Malaysian transportation history.
Having used the Opels in the eighties and Protons over the years, never had many imagined travelling in such luxury. Never mind that some of our cabbies overcharge and throw tantrums, but when you do the numbers, something does not compute. Let’s assume each taxi runs for five years. To re-coup the investment, you must generate revenues of RM768 a day. That does not include fuel and maintenance charges. Let’s put that at a conservative RM100 a day. So, to make it worthwhile for the cabby, he has to rake in at least RM1,000 a day. That means he has to do the KLIA-city run at least 12 times a day.
But what beats me is what car can cost RM1.4 million? Surely a Porsche or a Ferrari with just two seats and hardly any luggage space cannot be used as a taxi. Rolls Royces are owned by car rental firms and are never used as taxis. So, what are we left with? The S-Class Merc? The BMW 7 series? Have you seen any such taxis in Malaysia?
My hunch is that the government overpaid. And that someone deceived the people at Tourism
Malaysia or that the same people gave the nod knowing that the prices quoted were exceptionally high. That aside, did Tourism Malaysia and Pempena in particular, know anything about managing a fleet of taxis?
But really, why do government agencies want to compete with the private sector? Or for that matter, why should Tourism Malaysia or its companies spend their money on businesses which are alien to them? How could Pempena have parted with RM18 million? Were they lured by greed because the project paper forecast a RM17 million profit? Didn’t someone realise that an almost ringgit-for-ringgit return from investment (annually at that) was something out of Grimms’ Fairy Tales or to put it in local context, Pak Man Telo’s get-rich-quick scheme.
The whole exercise stinks to high heaven. But the key question is: What is the principal role of Tourism Malaysia? Annually, millions of ringgit are allocated to the agency to promote tourism. Why then did it venture into this business?
Didn’t someone smell a rat?
IT does not take a degree in rocket science to come to the conclusion that Malaysia had (yes, in the past tense), the most expensive taxis in the world. At RM7 million for five taxis, it would have cost a whopping RM1.4 million each. Not many may have had the opportunity to ride in these taxis, but bless those who had because they will have their names etched in gold in the annals of Malaysian transportation history.
Having used the Opels in the eighties and Protons over the years, never had many imagined travelling in such luxury. Never mind that some of our cabbies overcharge and throw tantrums, but when you do the numbers, something does not compute. Let’s assume each taxi runs for five years. To re-coup the investment, you must generate revenues of RM768 a day. That does not include fuel and maintenance charges. Let’s put that at a conservative RM100 a day. So, to make it worthwhile for the cabby, he has to rake in at least RM1,000 a day. That means he has to do the KLIA-city run at least 12 times a day.
But what beats me is what car can cost RM1.4 million? Surely a Porsche or a Ferrari with just two seats and hardly any luggage space cannot be used as a taxi. Rolls Royces are owned by car rental firms and are never used as taxis. So, what are we left with? The S-Class Merc? The BMW 7 series? Have you seen any such taxis in Malaysia?
My hunch is that the government overpaid. And that someone deceived the people at Tourism
Malaysia or that the same people gave the nod knowing that the prices quoted were exceptionally high. That aside, did Tourism Malaysia and Pempena in particular, know anything about managing a fleet of taxis?
But really, why do government agencies want to compete with the private sector? Or for that matter, why should Tourism Malaysia or its companies spend their money on businesses which are alien to them? How could Pempena have parted with RM18 million? Were they lured by greed because the project paper forecast a RM17 million profit? Didn’t someone realise that an almost ringgit-for-ringgit return from investment (annually at that) was something out of Grimms’ Fairy Tales or to put it in local context, Pak Man Telo’s get-rich-quick scheme.
The whole exercise stinks to high heaven. But the key question is: What is the principal role of Tourism Malaysia? Annually, millions of ringgit are allocated to the agency to promote tourism. Why then did it venture into this business?
Didn’t someone smell a rat?
Didn’t someone do the numbers?
Didn’t someone’s eyes pop out or didn’t someone’s antenna go up when they saw these figures?
Or did they know and chose to keep their lips sealed because they were merely people yang menurut perintah?
Wouldn’t it have been prudent to ensure that every sen of government money (read: people’s money) is spent with a view to increasing revenue from tourism?
These questions have remained unanswered, for the simple reason that no one can provide plausible answers. The issue cannot be swept under the carpet. If people who misuse ministerial letterheads and stationery can be sacked, what about those who caused this colossal loss?
It is frightening that despite having qualified and learned people on the boards of some of these companies, no effort was made to bring the culprits to book. Yes, an audit was carried out, but what happened next? Parts of the audit were made public, but the key issues raised were never pursued. The irony is that after the hullabaloo, Pempena thought it fit to operate its own taxi services.
Does its management have the expertise or is it a case of spending good money chasing after bad?
The documents sighted by theSun show other irregularities including the wife of a Tourism Malaysia director getting the contract to service and maintain the cars, but that’s for the authorities to investigate as it involves pecuniary interests. But here’s an inkling on what these documents reveal. If these figures cause your eyes and mine to pop out, here’s something more to digest:
» Re-spraying 60 units of Hyundai Sonata was invoiced at RM182,000 or RM3,035 a unit; and
» The cost of five litres of engine oil was invoiced at RM180 or RM36 a litre.
From the little I know, engine oil comes in four-litre packs unless it is bought in bulk in 225-litre drums and Syntium 800 SM 15W/50 from Petronas costs RM86 a pack. But I will concede that there are synthetic oils that cost an arm and a leg. But that I believe is for high-end cars. Walk into any spray painter’s shop, and he’ll gladly do the job for under RM2,000.
So, what we have before us is a blatant abuse of public funds. There can be no justification and neither can anyone mitigate getting involved in such a business and paying extraordinary prices. With a new minister at the helm, there’s no better way to start than getting to the bottom of this and holding them accountable for such a colossal waste of money.
R. Nadeswaran is willing to part with his collection of documents on wrongdoings to the authorities with a view to bringing the culprits to book. Anything less, would be a waste of everyone’s time and effort. He is editor (special and investigative reporting) at theSun, and can be reached at: citizen-nades@thesundaily.com).
Updated: 09:07AM Mon, 13 Apr 2009
It is frightening that despite having qualified and learned people on the boards of some of these companies, no effort was made to bring the culprits to book. Yes, an audit was carried out, but what happened next? Parts of the audit were made public, but the key issues raised were never pursued. The irony is that after the hullabaloo, Pempena thought it fit to operate its own taxi services.
Does its management have the expertise or is it a case of spending good money chasing after bad?
The documents sighted by theSun show other irregularities including the wife of a Tourism Malaysia director getting the contract to service and maintain the cars, but that’s for the authorities to investigate as it involves pecuniary interests. But here’s an inkling on what these documents reveal. If these figures cause your eyes and mine to pop out, here’s something more to digest:
» Re-spraying 60 units of Hyundai Sonata was invoiced at RM182,000 or RM3,035 a unit; and
» The cost of five litres of engine oil was invoiced at RM180 or RM36 a litre.
From the little I know, engine oil comes in four-litre packs unless it is bought in bulk in 225-litre drums and Syntium 800 SM 15W/50 from Petronas costs RM86 a pack. But I will concede that there are synthetic oils that cost an arm and a leg. But that I believe is for high-end cars. Walk into any spray painter’s shop, and he’ll gladly do the job for under RM2,000.
So, what we have before us is a blatant abuse of public funds. There can be no justification and neither can anyone mitigate getting involved in such a business and paying extraordinary prices. With a new minister at the helm, there’s no better way to start than getting to the bottom of this and holding them accountable for such a colossal waste of money.
R. Nadeswaran is willing to part with his collection of documents on wrongdoings to the authorities with a view to bringing the culprits to book. Anything less, would be a waste of everyone’s time and effort. He is editor (special and investigative reporting) at theSun, and can be reached at: citizen-nades@thesundaily.com).
Updated: 09:07AM Mon, 13 Apr 2009
