One of my favorite cakes is indeed the tiramisu cake from Secret Recipe. My only complaint is its price because I normally will buy the whole cake instead of a slice or two. I’m not sure if the cake has shrunk since the price increases but I suppose if you like it so much you’ll still pay for it. The tiramisu cake will be super nice if you “chill” it in the fridge. At least the tiramisu has not shrunk (assuming they did not add extra baking powder) compared to other foods whereby the portion was ridiculously small even after they raised the price in tandem with the fuel hike.

Lately the politicians are fighting nail and tooth to justify their candidacy as the most powerful person in their respective country. Sadly while the Americans may see Barack Obama as their first black President of the United States, Malaysians are still very much a racial country. No doubt the cake of wealth is shrinking as we speak because there’re too many people talking while too few people are building the wealth pie. In fact the country is reaching the tipping point whereby the cake is not enough to be distributed to the lazy and greedy cronies of politicians that the same pool of cronies might end up cannibalizing each other.

The mandatory requirement of 30 percent equity for bumiputra ownership of companies under the NEP (New Economic Policy) started in 1970 was already obsolete and flawed in the first place. Frankly who would work his life away only to give away 30 percent of his company’s stake to bumiputra? Even if they’re willing to do that in order not to anger these people who always scream they may run amok if provoked, wouldn’t 50 years are too long a time to spoon-feed these parasites? The fact is if this wealth of 30 percent equities were to be distributed “equally” and “fairly” to the bumiputra, you should see the genuine improvement of bumiputra’s lifestyle since 50 years ago.

But NEP’s objective was the eradication of poverty irrespective of race so why the need to constantly find a bumiputra and beg him / her to take your 30 percent stake away? Strangely despite the equity given out, the bumiputra’s stake was claimed to be still at 19 percent since 1970. Of course professional thieves are always creative in their justification that the loots are never enough. And what better way then to use the companies’ shares par value, a stagnant and nonsense method, to ask for the 30 percent freebies forever? Best still, exclude the ownership of GLCs (government linked companies), EPF (employee provident fund) and other state-owned companies. In this way the non-bumiputra would work for generations like cows to generate the wealth so that these bumiputras can enjoy the fruits of hard labour. However even the most hardworking cow can work for so long before give up and “migrate” or “transfer” their wealth overseas. Hey, don’t under-estimate the cows because with the current internet technology, anything is possible.

In reality the genuine poor bumiputras were never there to receive the golden eggs laid by the NEP. It was the small elite and cronies who armed themselves with shoe polishers that enjoyed the bumiputra equity ownership which was believed to have reached as high as 45 percent. But the illiterate villagers value the slogan of “30% bumiputra equity” more than anything else, never mind that they still do not enjoy basic facilities such as electricity and clean waters. Stupid or purely ignorance, the politicians knew such explosive firearms can be ignited with ease and they never fail to amuse me with their propaganda. You can’t blame the villagers (and even graduates) because the “divide and rule” strategy deployed by former dictator Mahathir Mohamad was so successfully that such racism mentality is still strongly entrenched in the minds of the bumiputras, well the Malay-bumiputras to be precise. So you should not be surprise when these people ran wild with the idea of having Low Siew Moi as acting general manager of PKNS (Selangor State Development Corporation) despite her capabilities and qualifications – because she is a Chinese and not bumiputras.

We’re already living in a borderless world and with each recession every 10-year, you don’t need to be a heart surgeon to realize the impact on the economy if the country is not prepared. If the politicians and the UMNO-bumiputras still think they are invincible, can demand 30% free stakes and more whenever they like and the tiramisu cake will continue to grow itself, this country is a very risky place for foreign investors to pour their money in. Get real! While the local non-bumiputras have no choice, the foreign investors are pampered with many alternatives.

Other Articles That May Interest You …

• Hooray! Another Fuel Reduction but it’s a Little Too Late
• Second Tsunami – Anwar to form the next Government?
• Top Reasons Genting Is A Winner
• PAR or EQUITY/Market Value ?

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November 2nd, 2008 by financetwitter

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