DRT - 'DIRTY' OR GOOD DEAL? 60% FARE SUBSIDY FOR FIRM CO-FOUNDED BY HANNAH YEOH'S HUSBAND & EX-CEO OF PRO-ANWAR NEWS PORTAL? - EVEN AS SUBSIDIES FOR ELECTRICITY, FUEL ARE CUT!

DRT - 'DIRTY' OR GOOD DEAL? 60% FARE SUBSIDY FOR FIRM CO-FOUNDED BY HANNAH YEOH'S HUSBAND & EX-CEO OF PRO-ANWAR NEWS PORTAL? - EVEN AS SUBSIDIES FOR ELECTRICITY, FUEL ARE CUT!

Written by Stan Lee, PoliticsNow!

KUALA LUMPUR (politicsnowmy.blogspot.com) - Malaysians have been fuming over a cushy deal awarded without open tender to a rather obscure firm founded by the husband of one of PM Anwar Ibrahim's ministers and the former CEO of a pro-Anwar news portal. And rightly so, they should be!

As some details emerge from the founders of the firm, Asia Mobility, during a video interview with Trick Lama, it appears the deal could actually involve a shocking 60% fare subsidy for the controversial firm that snared the Demand Responsive Transit project from the Selangor state government controlled by Anwar's Pakatan Harapan coalition.

This at a time when ordinary Malaysians are struggling with sky-rocketing electricity and water bills and soon-to-be fuel hikes due to harsh cuts in government subsidies by the Anwar administration. 

SCARY LONGER-TERM IMPLICATIONS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOlAHgRBVHE

The longer-term implications are also extremely worrisome - will the DRT, a fancy name for what is essentially an e-hailing mini-bus public transport system, be the next parasitic monopoly to be formed? Will the public actually end up paying fares for a feeder service that currently charges minimal fees?

"DRT is actually a highfalutin way of saying 'on demand vans' or 'bus on demand' or 'e-hailing minibus shuttle' between house and the MRT stations, heavily subsidized by public funds", writes commentator Syed Akbar Ali in his blog.

"Say what you like but that is what it is to the public, the end user. Because that is what you are getting. Except e-hailing is available 24 hours. This one operates for 14 hours only." 

"So Grab, Buddy, EzCab, inDrive, Mycar etcetera are all e-hailing companies. The main difference is the existing e-hailing companies can seat four persons and not more than 11 persons including the driver. The DRT is targeting the 12 - 19 passengers niche, using mini-buses and drawing heavily upon government subsidies," added Syed Akbar.

'GIFT' BUT FROM WHO TO WHO? 

Ramachandran with Selangor chief minister Amirudin Shari

The founders of DRT - Ramachandran Muniandy, who is the husband of Youth and Sport Minister Hannah Yeoh, and Premesh Chandran, who is the former chief executive of  news portal Malaysiakini - have claimed the deal is aimed "to solve the problems of public transport in the cities of the developing world" and they had "have national interest at heart here."

Yet Malaysians, long accustomed to the corrupt and hypocritical ways of past regimes, remain cynical - with many demanding complete transparency and distrusting the placating assurances from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission as further examples of how the Anwar administration is now following the 'abusive tradition' of past regimes and turning the anti-graft watchdog into its own barking dog.

Some like Syed Akbar bluntly point out there is little value-add from Asia Mobility despite the self-praise by Ramachandran and Premesh - arguing that unless fully clarified, it could look more like a 'gift' from Anwar's Selangor state government.

For example, according to Ramachandran's own comments, for seven months DRT had 17,000 riders a day. This would mean DRT has been earning 17,000 x RM3.00 = RM51,000 in subsidy per day or about RM1.5 million subsidy per month. 

In other words, DRT would have already 'earned' a mind-boggling RM10.5 million in subsidies in the past seven months.

MIND-BOGGLING 'EARNINGS' BUT STILL SHROUDED IN SECRECY

Ramachandran Muniandy and wife Hannah Yeoh

Yet the deal is still shrouded in secrecy with the total project cost still unknown, what sort of capital expenditure will be required, will soft loans be granted or even how long will the concession period be?

"The three senior Press guys in the video interview did not ask what is the total project cost? Billion ringgit figures have been mentioned. What is the exact figure? And how are the funds going to be applied? Capex versus Opex etcetera," Syed Akbar pressed on.

"And how long is the concession period? There must be a concession period. 5 years? 15 years? 30 years? 

"Are there any other subsidies, cash grants, soft loans, financial concessions granted by the government? For example who will own or pay for the mini-buses? DRT or the State?" asked Syed Akbar.

WILL ANOTHER 'PARASITIC' MONOPOLY BE BORN?

PM Anwar Ibrahim

Indeed, it does appear the deal desperately needs greater public scrutiny.

Not only is it possible for Malaysians to find out too late they may end up footing the bill for greater government debt - but also be forced to live with yet another monopoly that makes money for those who walk the corridors of power - and ultimately result in the people having to dig deeper into already hollowing wallets to pay for a service they now get for free.

"Fine bro. But can you do it WITHOUT that 60% subsidy by the public? You said that in your Proof of Concept for the past seven months your cost is RM5.00 for each passenger. You said the State government pays you a subsidy of RM3.00 and you collect RM2.00 from the passenger. That is a 60% subsidy. How bright do you have to be and how much talent do you need to run a business where the State government pays you a 60% subsidy for your passenger fare?  You don't have to be a rocket scientist," said Syed Akbar.

"But how can you guarantee that the mini-buses will not run empty? You say that to save cost  "if there is no booking the mini-bus will not run". Ok but supposing only three people book the mini-bus at a certain time then the mini-bus will still have to go and pick them up, even though there are only three passengers for a 19 seater mini-bus. That is not cost effective at all. It can suddenly become a very high cost per passenger operation. This is where you need that 60% fare subsidy from the State."

"There is also some confusion over that 60% government subsidy. Right now the feeder buses are free. The people do not have to pay a fare. But their schedules are not reliable. There is also no subsidy because the feeder buses are run by the government. But in this new business model the government  has to pay DRT RM3.00 per passenger or a 60% subsidy. That is using public funds. Plus the public must now pay RM2.00 each. So the public has to pay for the entire RM5.00 "cost" of operating this business," Syed Akbar pointed out.

LITTLE VALUE- ADD, HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON STATE SUBSIDIES

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_jvwWUKEL4

https://www.youtube.com/@polnow

Talk by Asia Mobility's founders of pioneering and even exporting the DRT 'technology' to other Asian countries have also failed to hold water. 

"Wow! Fantastic. But will other Asian countries give you such generous subsidies to run the business which you are getting now? Your business model is heavily dependent on the State government subsidizing your passenger fares - at least 60% subsidy," said Syed Akbar.

"This technology is not new. It is now quite 'off the shelf'.. It is simply e-hailing software which is well established. There are already so many e-taxis, e-parcel delivery services, e-food delivery, e-grocery shopping."

"So this technology is quite common already. So brother, if this technology is already existing and proven around the world then how are you going to pioneer your DRT services to other cities in Asia? Perhaps it shall remain 'Malaysia mobility' after all," added Syed Akbar a tad sarcastically. 

Indeed, whether long-suffering Malaysians will end up with a true benefit or additional cost of living, greater risk of national indebtedness and 'second-hand' technology is still very much up in the air. 

All eyes are now on Anwar to walk his anti-corruption talk but despite some preliminary assurances, little action or follow-through action has come from him. 

Written by Stan Lee, PoliticsNow!

https://politicsnowmy.blogspot.com/