Battle Royale Underway

THE 55TH MCA ANNUAL GENERAL assembly on Oct 18 promises to be a heated affair. With the ‘no contest’ consensus lifted to fill the vacancy for outgoing party chief Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting, who assumed responsibility for MCA’s dismal performance in the 12th general election, few prominent party veterans are likely to stage a comeback into active politics. If the recent MCA division elections can serve as an indication, a likely three- or maybe four-corner battle may Underway United: Soi Lek (right) sharing his wealth of political experience with his second son Tee Yong, who recently contested under the MCA ticket and won the Labis parliamentary seat be brewing, with the aspiring contenders already in the process of getting their act together before airing their desire to contest publicly. To date, only party Vice-President and Transport Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat has openly expressed interest in contesting for the party’s top post while other potential candidates are keeping mum on their intentions – presumably still in the midst of strategising or gauging their grass roots strength.

Moreover, Tee Keat is also the only ‘non-casualty’ among incumbent MCA Members of Parliament (MPs) from Selangor at a time when the Barisan Nasional (BN) only managed to retain five out of 22 parliamentary seats in the state during the March 8 polls. Morally considered the ‘cleanest’ among other potential contenders in the race for the party president’s post, Tee Keat is certainly a rung above other Chinese-educated MCA leaders. Often labelled as a ‘lone ranger’ as he does not fancy having a running mate or being affiliated to any ‘team’, the mechanical engineer by training is not only noted for his ability to speak fluent English and Bahasa Malaysia, but is best remembered as someone who dares to speak his mind, albeit in a subtle and gentle tone and way.

PROFITING FROM A LACKLUSTRE MARKET

THE GLC TRANSFORMATION PROGRAMME INITIATED IN 2004 HAS PRODDED GOVERNMENT-LINKED COMPANIES TO STRIVE FOR HIGHER LEVELS OF ACHIEVEMENT. NOW, FIVE YEARS LATER, HOW ARE THEIR SCORECARDS? ARE THE COMPANIES SUFFICIENTLY EVOLVED TO MEET THEIR KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS FOR 2008 GIVEN THE CURRENT TOUGH OPERATING ENVIRONMENT OF HIGH COSTS AND SLOWING DEMAND?

NATIONAL UTILITY COMPANY Tenaga Nasional Bhd came under the spotlight recently with regard to a proposal to give its top management a huge pay increase. The move, coming when Malaysians are bracing for tough times following the Government’s reduction of subsidies for petrol and diesel, didn’t go down well with many. Add to that the rising prices of essential items and Tenaga’s move to raise electricity tariffs, the mood was positively dour. While Tenaga’s major shareholder Khazanah Nasional Bhd defended the pay hike proposal, citing the need to pay market rates to retain talent, many quarters wonder whether the utility company is really meeting its key performance indicators (KPIs) given that the tariff hike would give an instant lift to its operations and camouflage inefficiencies.

Under the Government’s 10-year transformation programme for government-linked companies (GLCs) initiated in 2004, companies like Tenaga have to meet quantitative and qualitative targets which would be measured by the KPIs. One fund manager, in questioning the proposed pay rise, says Tenaga should explain its cost savings from efficiencies minus the tariff increase in order to give a more complete picture. (For the record, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is also Finance Minster, has shot down the pay hike proposal.) RHB Research, in a recent report on Tenaga, says the tariff adjustment would cover the company’s RM4.2 billion added cost of gas (arising from the reduction of subsidy) and RM1.4 billion added cost of coal (arising from market price increases). However, this is for financial year (FY) 2008. As for Tenaga, despite the tariff increase, it expects its FY08 profits to be lower. It says the new rates cannot cover fully its operating costs due to the higher prices of gas and coal which it uses to power its plants.