squeak. speak. roar!

Your menteri besar needs to be voted out. Here’s why.

First he said:

It’s the boot for excos placing huge number plate bids

KUANTAN: Pahang state executive councillors will be given the boot if they are found to have made bids for registration numbers that cost more than RM10,000, warned Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob.

“I will only allow bids that are less than RM10,000,” he said after the question and answer session during the state assembly sitting here yesterday.

The Mentri Besar had earlier sought permission from Dewan Speaker Datuk Wan Razali Mahussin to speak on the matter after the last written question was posed during the sitting.

Adnan made the remarks following newspaper reports on Friday quoting State Youth, Sports and Unity Committee chairman Datuk Dr Ahmad Shukri Ismail and State Entrepreneur Development Committee chairman Datuk Shahiruddin Ab Moin as having offered RM62,400 each for the CCC 3 and CCC 8 numbers.

It was also reported that they were the second highest bidders, with the first being the Sultan of Pahang, for the CCC 1 plate that fetched RM76,600.

The sultan also obtained CCC 2 plate for RM37,000 in an open tender for the CCC series of registration numbers that was opened for 45 days until Oct 25.

Also on the list was Teruntum State Assemblyman Datuk Ti Lian Ker who got the CCC 5 with a bid of RM32,000.

But this is what happened. I gather some of you might not read the Malay media so I’m attaching it here below with a brief translation after that.

Untuk kereta tetamu – MB

KUANTAN 27 Nov. – Menteri Besar Pahang, Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob berkata, nombor pendaftaran kenderaan CCC 9 bernilai RM48,000 yang dibida pihaknya bukan untuk kegunaan peribadi beliau tetapi kenderaan tetamu kenamaan kerajaan negeri.

Beliau berkata, pihaknya akan tetap membeli nombor CCC 9 itu walaupun melibatkan kos yang tinggi kerana ia telah dibincang dan diluluskan dalam mesyuarat Exco serta tidak dianggap sebagai satu pembaziran.

“Soal membazir tidak timbul, pasal duit itu kerajaan bayar kepada Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan (JPJ). JPJ pula akan gunakan duit itu untuk membayar gaji.

“Apa membazir pula? Duit itu pusing daripada kerajaan ke kerajaan. Bukan untuk Adnan Yaakob (tetapi) untuk kerajaan,” jelasnya.

Beliau berkata demikian selepas Majlis Penyerahan Bayaran Penebusan Bon Tranche Pertama 2007 sempena perasmian Kompleks Dagangan Mahkota di sini hari ini.

Adnan berkata, beliau sendiri mahukan nombor pendaftaran kenderaan itu menggunakan nombor satu angka iaitu sembilan.

“Kenapa sembilan? Sebab sembilan paling besar. Saya sendiri suruh ambil sembilan. Itu ceritanya,” kata beliau.

Menurut Adnan, penggunaan nombor pendaftaran satu angka juga bertujuan memudahkan pengenalan kereta kerajaan negeri yang membawa tetamu.

Namun, beliau juga tidak menafikan nombor satu angka itu boleh menjadi sasaran mudah pihak yang berniat jahat.

Beliau secara peribadi tidak menggunakan nombor pendaftaran satu angka dan tidak gemar jika ada Exco yang menggunakannya.

“Dulu, Exco semua guna nombor tunggal. Bila saya jadi Menteri Besar, tidak ada single digit, itu yang bercelaru sikit,” katanya.

Menurut Adnan lagi, nombor pendaftaran satu angka juga mampu memberi pulangan lumayan jika dijual.

Ini kerana jelasnya, anggota Exco, Datuk Shahiruddin Abdul Moin pernah ditawarkan RM40,000 untuk nombor pendaftaran CAP 8 yang digunakannya.

Utusan Malaysia hari ini melaporkan, Pejabat Menteri Besar memenangi tender bagi mendapatkan nombor pendaftaran CCC 9 selepas membida pada harga RM48,000 walaupun Adnan, pada Jumaat lalu, memberi ingatan kepada Exco kerajaan negeri supaya tidak membida melebihi RM10,000.

In gist, Pahang menteri besar Adnan Yaakob who initially warned that state excos cannot bid for a car plate for more than RM10,000 - has hypocritically bid for car plate numbering CCC 9 for a whopping RM48,000!!!

And he justifies that it is not for personal use but for state guests. To quote him:

“The question of wastage does not arise because the government pays the Road Transport Department (RTD). The RTD will use that money to pay their wages. Where’s the wastage? The money will rotate between governments. It’s not for me but for the government. Why number 9? Because it is a biggest (single digit) number. I expressly asked for number 9. That’s the story.”

He also says the use of the CCC 9 plate is to ease the identification of state government cars carrying guests and the single digit number can give a hefty return if it was sold.

This is a load of bull. They are using tax payers money to buy a car plate? The money rotates between department? So you mean it does not go back to the people? And the thought of selling the car plate for a higher price … who gets to keep the money - will there be any transparency at all?

RM48,000. It is not a small sum. And for what? A car plate. This is the kind of nonsense that is quietly going about in the country. A lot of it goes unreported. We don’t know about it, we don’t hear about it.

Any bloggers in Pahang willing to take this issue up and get the story out to other people? This is your MB using your money to buy a piece of plastic that benefits nobody except for himself and his cronies. Are you going to take this sitting down?