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Clueless PM Sabri Wasting Money Again – With Turkey’s Economy In Crisis, It Has No Money To Invest In Malaysia



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Jul 06 2022
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Since taking over in August last year as Malaysia prime minister, Ismail Sabri Yaakob had made overseas trips a whopping 11 times. That’s about one trip every month since the unelected backdoor premier replaced former PM Muhyiddin Yassin, who was forced to resign after just 17 months in the corridors of power – toppled by a faction of his own ally, UMNO.

 

Mr Ismail had jetted to the U.S., the U.K., Vietnam, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia (twice), Brunei, Cambodia, Thailand, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). And the prime minister, who loves showing off his RM5,500 Burberry designer shirt and RM300,000 Audemars Piguet watch while people are struggling to put food on the table, is now in Turkey for a four-day official visit.

 

What’s wrong with a prime minister who globe-trotting like a celebrity? There’s nothing wrong, except in the case of Ismail Sabri, the dozen overseas trips have failed to bring meaningful benefits – either direct or indirect – to the country, except wasting taxpayers’ money to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, money which can be used to help the people during current economic crisis.

Turkey Economic Crisis - Currency Exchange

Joe Biden, the 46th President of the United States, has only made 5 international trips to 10 countries during his presidency so far, which began on January 20, 2021. Yes, the world’s most powerful man (hence the busiest world leader) has only visited 10 nations in 18 months, but the turtle-egg man has already flown to 12 countries in 11 months. It seems like Sabri is busier than Biden.

 

Exactly what tangible benefits that PM Sabri is expected to bring home after his four-day visit to Turkey (renamed as Türkiye last month), which began on Tuesday (July 5)? Let’s forget Turkey – what economic benefits have the premier secured from his previous 11 trips to the U.K., Vietnam, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, Cambodia, Thailand, Qatar and the UAE.

 

To justify his wasteful and unproductive Turkey visit, sexy words were used – to strengthen bilateral and economic ties, as well as cooperation in aerospace and defence industries. The visit reportedly will see 15 memorandum of understanding (MOU) and letter of intent (LOI) to be signed. PM Ismail is also scheduled to meet President Erdogan at the US$600 million 1,000-room Presidential Palace in Ankara.

turkish-president-recep-erdogan

Interestingly, despite diplomatic relations since 1964, total trade between the two countries were only RM16.97 billion (US$4.09 billion) in 2021. Even though the Malaysia government has claimed that it managed to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) as much as US$73 billion (RM322 billion) in 2021, 89% of the FDI came from China, Singapore, Japan, Austria and the Netherlands.

 

Turkey has no money to invest in Malaysia. In fact, the Turkish economy is so screwed up that its inflation continues to skyrocket – from 73.5% (May) to 78.6% (June) – the highest in 24 years. The real rate of inflation, however, could be double (meaning over 140%) the official figure due to hikes in oil and gas prices as the Erdogan government covers up the real economic problems ahead of next year’s general election.

 

A monthly report release by Turkey’s ENAG group of independent economists showed consumer prices had increased by 175% in June compared with a year earlier. According to the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, retail prices had shot by 94% annually in June. Timothy Ash, an economist at BlueBay Asset Management, said – “No one actually believes official Turkish data any more.”

Turkish Lira vs US Dollar - Currency Performance - 10-Year Chart

The problem began as early as 2000, deteriorating during the European Debt Crisis in 2010 when the Turkish currency – Lira – started to tumble and continues its depreciation ever since. Over the last 10 years (July 2012 – July 2022), the currency has lost a whopping 89%. This year alone, the currency has lost 25% of its value due to soaring inflation and the central bank’s refusal to raise interest rate.

 

The ongoing financial and economic crisis in Turkey is so bad that it gave birth to the humiliating “2018-2022 Turkish Debt and Currency Crisis”. In a nutshell, the never-ending skyrocketing inflation and plunging currency were caused by Erdogan’s authoritarianism and his unorthodox monetary policy, corruption, nepotism, economic mismanagement, low savings and whatnot.

 

Instead of getting qualified professionals to run the financial system, Erdogan appointed obedient loyalists, including his son-in-law, even though they were clueless and incompetent. Senior bank officials were fired for opposing Erdogan’s demand for lower interest rates to boost growth. While higher interest rates are used to tame inflation, the Turkish president has stubbornly said the opposite.

Turkey Economic Crisis - Erdogan - Currency Lira Plunge

Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s bizarre theory says high interest rate causes prices to rise. He also used Islam to condemn high interest rate, arguing that not only it is “the mother and father of all evil”, but insisted that interest-based banking is “prohibited by Islam”. Yet, despite Erdogan’s “new economic model” of low interest rates, foreign investors have fled quicker than the president could imagine.

 

Hilariously, the financial-illiterate Turkish president has claimed that Turkey’s problem is not inflation, but rather a cost of living problem. He still has no idea why the local currency is so weak that US$1 can buy 17 liras, when one buck could buy about 2 liras some 10 years ago. Worse, the Turkish net international reserves dropped to just US$12 billion in May his year.

 

At one time, in order to support lira, Turkey lost a stunning US$4.8 billion in just one week. As Erdogan continues to burn the country’s remaining reserves to the ground to prop up the local currency, it’s not rocket science that Turkey has no spare cash to invest elsewhere, including Malaysia. Erdogan’s son-in-law had burnt US$128 billion in foreign reserves (from early 2019 to Nov 2010) when he was the finance minister.

Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali

Instead of hoodwinking the people with lies that his working-cum-pleasure trip to Istanbul is to lure investments from Turkey, Mr Ismail Sabri should explain what has happened to the RM82 billion worth of investments, which former Plantation, Industries and Commodities Minister Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali had brought back after his three-day visit to Turkey in 2020.

 

In the same breath, Minister of International Trade and Industry Azmin Ali, who was caught holidaying with his family in Turkey in July 2021 under the pretext of a working visit, should explain how much real investment money – not empty talks or MOU – has actually invested in the country after his 10 days trip (4-14 July 2021) to Qatar, Austria and Turkey. Is PM Ismail going to sign more dubious MOUs again in Turkey?

 

Other ministers who had previously flown to Turkey on doubtful official trips included Deputy Foreign Minister Kamarudin Jaafar (April 2021), former Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein (June 2021), Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah (Dec 2021), Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Zuraida Kamaruddin (April 2022) and Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin (June 2022).

Azmin Ali - Sad and Worry

It was also highly suspicious when PM Ismail said his trip to Turkey is to explore the possibilities of buying wheat from Turkey as part of food security strategy. Malaysia currently imports 80% of wheat from Australia and the rest from the U.S., Canada and Ukraine. Even though the world is affected by a shortage of wheat due to Russia-Ukraine war, Malaysia is not affected.

 

After all, it was the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry who announced in May that the supply of wheat flour in the country is not affected – even after India banned the export of the commodity. So, either the government lied 2 months ago that the supply of wheat was not affected, or it is lying now to say the country needs to source for wheat from Turkey.

 

Even if Sabri administration tries to cover-up a shortage of wheat, why must it buy from Turkey when Malaysia could easily increase the wheat import from Australia, whose wheat has been boycotted by China? Does Turkey provide steep discounts for its wheat export to Malaysia, the same way Russia gave a 30% discount for its oil exports to China and India?

Indonesia President Jokowi Joko Widodo Meets Russia Vladimir Putin

The best part of the Turkey trip is a session to discuss issues concerning Ukraine between PM Sabri and President Erdogan. While the Malaysian-Turkish discussion will produce nothing but empty talks, Indonesia President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had taken the initiative to play a mediating role in the Ukraine War, meeting Ukrainian President Zelensky and Russian President Putin.

 

Jokowi’s courage to go to war-torn Ukraine and approach Putin to ease the sea blockade of Ukraine has won praise. Even though no country expects Jokowi’s diplomacy could offer a breakthrough largely because the geopolitical conflict between Russia and Ukraine is too complicated to be fixed within such a short period of time, the Indonesian leader did not return empty-handed.

 

The Russian strongman considers Jokowi as an “understanding friend”, who had earlier met Zelensky to deliver his message to Putin. After meeting Jokowi, Putin told reporters that he is ready to fulfil Indonesia’s request for fertilisers. Mr Jokowi said Mr Putin has agreed to open a sea route for Ukrainian wheat exports amid escalating concerns over the global food crisis.

Indonesia President Jokowi Joko Widodo Meets Tesla Elon Musk - Tour at SpaceX

During his recent trip to the U.S., Jokowi met and won the heart of Elon Musk to build a Tesla battery and EV (electrical vehicle) plant in Indonesia. And in his latest trip to Russia, he managed to extract an assurance from Putin to allow much-needed shipments of food and fertilizer. Jokowi is the only Asian leader, and among very few world leaders who have met the leaders of both Ukraine and Russia during the current war.

 

Clueless and incompetent Ismail Sabri, on the other hand, has been wasting taxpayers’ money on unnecessary and unproductive overseas trips. His current visit to Turkey included a huge delegation of ministers – Saifuddin Abdullah, Azmin Ali, Adham Baba, Abdul Latiff Ahmad – and other senior officials. It is actually another free holiday for a bunch of useless ministers.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri - Clueless

 

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Sleepy Sabrina Lowyatkob couldn’t find his chickens he now turns to Turkey. It is a natural progression the helpless and witless Burbebri mannequin buggers off to the Land of 80% Inflation ruled with iron knuckles by the crude thug Erdogan who fancies himself a caliph for the return of the Ottoman Empire.

Erdogan depends on the Muslim fundamentalist votes to keep him in power and since his rule Turkey has been going back to the Stone Age with its religion as it has with its economy. Just as a simple example, lovely Turkish ladies keep getting spat at or slapped or have their hair pulled for not wearing the hijab. We are not far behind with these practices, abuse too are meted out by the self-righteous munafiqs in Bolehland too. When it is not a clear-cut ruling in the scriptures about any headdress. It is not even half as clear as about drinking camel urine, Cheers!…

Erdogan’s dream of empire saw him supporting Uyghur terrorists fighting for the non-existent “East Turkestan” supposedly somewhere in Chinese Xinjiang. To be precise the Uyghurs in China have no real connection long long ago with Turkey at all, they are hardly the same people, and they don’t actually have the same language. With his delusion of empire, Erdogan’s seen the Chinese coming down heavy on the terrorists he used to train to cause death and destruction in China. Not only Turkey was not extending its non-existent empire, China warned Erdogan not to piss about, China has been successful eliminating the fcuking jihadi maniac terrorists in Xinjiang. China even has companies of Uyghur women SWAT teams all eager to pop their wayward menfolk as much as terrorists. I’m sure they are just as eager to put the men in their place, Alhamdulilah!

All round, Erdogan is another big-time failure. Like Sleepy Sabrina. Turkey would be among the first to be hardest hit with the coming huge inflation going on nicely to a crippling recession, Alhamdulilah. The devious old caliph fires all the advisors whom his ego and lack of wit doesn’t agree with, and comes up with all bizarre answers to the mountains of all sorts of problems that beset Turkey, and make all the problems worse. The way Erdogan does or rather doesn’t do things, you could swear he comes from our kind of political sistem, he might even have one of our famous fake certificates of higher learning that the learned among our politicians have.

Like our dirty thieving corrupt politicians, their families are brought in to siphon anything and everything that is worth two bucks and over, don’t we have politicians and their families who are prime examples of rather dim and dull non-achievers who can become miraculously rich, absolutely no talent of any sort required?

Erdogan wants to build a canal cutting Istanbul, à huge and costly and unnecessary project. You wonder why – until you noticed his son-in-law had acquired all the prime land along the new canal route. Everything that can make lotsa money, the Caliph’s trusted henchman has a hand deep in it. The son-in-law certainly qualifies for fast citizenship (the Zakir Express) for Malaisesia for his corrupt and shifty Satanic ways! Come to Malaisesia when Turkey comes unstuck and he will be another idol here, Malaisesians love to hoard any old rubbish and refugee from law, thank you, Alhamdulilah!

Leaving Malaisesia a chicken supply disaster and going for Turkey has a big element of fowl play, though quite a few Bolehlanders have been doing funny things to and with chickens since the heady days of Tanah-whatever. I would vote son-in-law as minister for big dodgy projects, as I would Zakir to replace Hardy Awank if Laurel is not up to a decent Satanic level. The public debt financing son-in-law’s huge unaffordable and useless infrastructure projects is close to usd900 billion, a mouth-watering sum depends on how son-in-law and those among the excessively corrupt see it. No chickenfeed even for them turkeys, I tell ye!

Nothing fundamentally wrong with financing desired projects through public debt, but it is another story, and a nasty one when shady characters and incompetent monkeys are involved. We’ve seen plenty similar in Bolehland where public money is siphoned off, some almost on a permanent basis for dubious, corruption-ridden, disastrously-managed projects thought out and run by crooks with the ultimate purpose just theft. If crooked gomens elsewhere are not as able to operate such dirty schemes, Malaisesia’s plentiful dirty politicians and their cronies can provide the expertise. If anything, Malaisesia is nothing but only abundance of such dirty schemes.

Turkey has not been in any position to indulge in anything good and honest for a good long time. The only other enterprise that has netted some in Turkey a lot of free money is the enterprise of stealing oil from Syria. Yes, that’s a son-in-law enterprise! The lawless shameless theft would easily make son-in-law Mustapha Kemal Kebab the Petron saint of caravan bandits. Uncle Mo with his faulty caravan thieves would be but a small-time petty pickpocket compared.

Turkey also loot grain from Syria. And that’s on top of massacring the Kurds, and backing the murderous jihadis, and returning Syria to the Stone Age, something which not too few of the lunatics that lurked among us had gone to Muslim Syria to do too in exchange for getting pulverised by the Syrian Arab Army and the Russians, Amin. To add to the typical realities of Muslims stealing from Muslims, Erdogan also steal land from Syria by murdering and compassionately and mercifully driving out occupants. With Muslims you don’t have to be any kaffir before your Muslim brothers rob, rape, torture or kill you.

So, again, why would Sleepy Sabrina Lowyatkob on cold turkey for failed ability to function effectually want to go hot Turkey? This a typical Malaisesian mystery and tale for the the Bolehland Twilight Zone – which covers the whole blessed dumbfcuk country. From my deduction – no, I’m not giving any discount on any prices, I can only think Sleepy Sabrina Lowyatkob cannot be going over to borrow money or beg for Investment, Turkey is more than bankrupt and has no honest money for honest purposes.

It follows that the only other reasons can be to launder the beautiful amounts of hot and dirty money, let Malaisesian “Islamic banking” (non-halal) serve as a depository for the lovely money or where funny money can cleanly resurface and be used to line the pockets of politician bandits as well as to invest, Bolehland has plenty of dodgy businesses and dodgy operators for that. There’s also the awkward business of terrorist financing, jihadis don’t slaughter or steal oil etc for the love of the religion of peace. The followers have always been pious lovers and followers of money. There’s also the Turkish Arms trade, buying weapons can help with money laundering.

In any case, wan can only best trust another dear brother in faith, after all, that’s what the Brotherhood is about. Our political parties are the best in the world that money can buy, it may be prudent thinking to buy politicians’ souls, their wives, daughters and slaves too, for strategic reasons, though in Malaisesia nothing can be guaranteed to work – especially our politicians.

I doubt Sabrina went to Turkey for a holiday, he’s too nervously fearing if he’s gone for anything less or non-halal than the above reasons, he may not return to an airport of wailing supporters pretending to sing for his safe return, he may be deposed by his other Muslim bros and sistas, and again, may arrive at an airport and not greeted by his underlings, only this time he can sack nobody for not turning up to wave a flag and sing the anthem.

I dare place my halal bet on the relative benefits of Sabrina, Erdogan, and especially son-in-law Mus Kemal Kebab rubbing each other up and down the right way, and get into some lovely crooked deals. Getting a gift of free hush moolah from the Caliph or his son-in-law a la Jibby and moolah from some obscure mystery Arab Prince would be immensely useful, Sabrina can pay off a sizeable army of yes men cum asslickers to help him stay on his own throne. It can even buy a more decent bunch of wailers to sing a welcome at the airport, the last one was shiite awful.

In the time when the gomens of Sleepy Sabrina Lowyatkob and that of the Caliph are in pretty tough shiite and on course heading for sh*t straits, a nice deal and especially an alliance of the coalition of crooks may be the only way out for countries run by rogues like Bolehland and Turkey, never mind the country collapsing, make sure you run off with the moolah. Preferably those that belong to some country or someone else. Deposit your stolen in Malaisesia and you’ll sleep better at night.

With the kebab artists you’ve got to be extra cautious though, they have scum of the world’s most scary and vicious mafia types who could run after you if you mispend or nick their money. There’s also the violent fascist Grey Wolves which has its own death squads. They may skewer you instead of the shish. Make sure you ask our chief copper for advice on where Fat Jho got his old man disguise that our police force and their international colleagues can never ever find the extra-large wanted creature.

If Sabrina is going to be funny with those nasty kebab salesmen, he’d better discard his loud trademark Burbebri, it’s a dead giveaway spotted a mile away, Sabrina would never be safe in it even with his loving UMNO buddies, scum want to dress him as halal Xmas turkey, scum want him to be the stuffing… Only the unprincipled treacherous two-faced DAP wants to partner Sabrina, if he doesn’t kick the bucket before the DAP holy idol the Snake Pharaoh M for Memali Monster.

As a last note, Sleepy Sabrina may, out of love for his country or for remaining in power, approach the Caliph over the supply of the wheat Turkey stole and is stealing from Syria that Malaisesia could do with. Just recently, Malaisesia was hoping Hindia would, as the Hindians boasted “save the world” by supplying wheat. As usual, and like those Covid vaccines, the Hindians just cannot escape the habit of talking big then find itself utterly useless making good their habitual big-mouthed big talk, and deliver.

On a serious note, Sleepy Sabrina may just want to go cold turkey and volunteer to build the long-awaited and possibly never built new Istanbul canal. Shovel Sabrina is pretty good with the shovel we’ve all seen the evidence of him using the shovel at least once to pick up one single tiny load of dirt to build a dam to stop a flood that’s subsided, Praise Him! Any Turkish kebab artist would welcome him to Turkey with a all-singing and twirling band of bros of Sufis at the airport, would be better than wailing in Ketuanan pidginspeak at a Bolehland airport to welcome him back to Tanah-whatever…

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