Change lifestyle....this is what Badawi asks all the people to do. Everyone must tighten their belts and SUCK it up, the days of cheap oil is over says the govt. The RM4.4Bil will be used for better public transport (i've not seen any improvement NOR announcement that shows improvement....maaaaybe RapidKL more routes but that's all, nothing else)
And this is how the govt tightens its belt. I wonder whose hands gets greased, and greased WELL dont you doubt it!! IMHO, i think the govt is f*cked in the head (or heads for this matter cos we have an XXXXXXL sized parliament).
Welcome to bolehland people. Wake up and smell the roses!
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Malaysia plans to build RM490 million sports academy
Located on the outskirts of London, the extravagant project is raising eyebrows
By Leslie Lopez
The Straits Times
Malaysia’s plan to build a half-billion-ringgit sports academy on the outskirts of London has drawn flak from some quarters who say this is an extravagance the country cannot afford.
Government officials say that the Sports Ministry is quietly pushing ahead with an ambitious project to build a sports excellence academy at the cost of roughly 490 million ringgit on a 17.8ha piece of prime real estate owned by a Malaysian research agency in Hertfordshire.
Proponents of the plan say the new academy will help Malaysian athletes excel internationally, develop the country's capabilities in sports science and medicine and improve the standard of coaching.
'The land already belongs to the Malaysian government, so the cost of setting up an academy is significantly reduced,' says a member of a special committee set up by the Sports Ministry to oversee the development of the project.
But several sports specialists and government officials argue that the project is an extravagance Malaysia can ill-afford.
They argue that apart from the exorbitant construction costs, the maintenance of a top-rate sporting facility would be a major drain on the country's sporting budget.
'An academy run by Malaysia won't expose our athletes to a foreign environment that will help them take on challenges head-on,' says a senior sports consultant to the Malaysian government, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Several other government officials also said that a more effective and economically viable strategy would be to send selected Malaysian athletes for training stints overseas and allow them to participate in international events on a regular basis.
Criticism from the sporting community aside, several analysts say the sports academy project in Britain could turn into a serious political headache for Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's government.
Analysts also say that the lack of transparency surrounding the project highlights the waning commitment of Datuk Seri Abdullah's administration in pushing for public tenders in the awarding of large infrastructure undertakings.
Shortly after taking over the premiership from Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in November 2003, Datuk Seri Abdullah pledged that his government would move away from the practice of awarding large projects on a negotiated basis and would encourage open bidding and greater public disclosure on government contracts.
But those reforms have yet to materialise.
The 17.8ha site in Hertfordshire is a research facility owned by Malaysia's Rubber Board and is known as the Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre, after Malaysia's second premier.
The research facility houses a large administration building, laboratories, unused stables, a chapel and a house surrounded by a moat.
Government officials say that a special Cabinet committee on sports, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is the son of the late former premier, decided last October to turn the sprawling grounds of the research centre into a sporting academy.
A special steering committee was later formed comprising officials from the Sports Ministry and private sector officials.
Government sources say the project is being actively promoted by Mr Muralee Menon, a businessman who enjoys close relations with Datuk Najib.
The promoters have recommended that the academy be called the Razak Elite Athlete Performance Centre.
And this is how the govt tightens its belt. I wonder whose hands gets greased, and greased WELL dont you doubt it!! IMHO, i think the govt is f*cked in the head (or heads for this matter cos we have an XXXXXXL sized parliament).
Welcome to bolehland people. Wake up and smell the roses!
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Malaysia plans to build RM490 million sports academy
Located on the outskirts of London, the extravagant project is raising eyebrows
By Leslie Lopez
The Straits Times
Malaysia’s plan to build a half-billion-ringgit sports academy on the outskirts of London has drawn flak from some quarters who say this is an extravagance the country cannot afford.
Government officials say that the Sports Ministry is quietly pushing ahead with an ambitious project to build a sports excellence academy at the cost of roughly 490 million ringgit on a 17.8ha piece of prime real estate owned by a Malaysian research agency in Hertfordshire.
Proponents of the plan say the new academy will help Malaysian athletes excel internationally, develop the country's capabilities in sports science and medicine and improve the standard of coaching.
'The land already belongs to the Malaysian government, so the cost of setting up an academy is significantly reduced,' says a member of a special committee set up by the Sports Ministry to oversee the development of the project.
But several sports specialists and government officials argue that the project is an extravagance Malaysia can ill-afford.
They argue that apart from the exorbitant construction costs, the maintenance of a top-rate sporting facility would be a major drain on the country's sporting budget.
'An academy run by Malaysia won't expose our athletes to a foreign environment that will help them take on challenges head-on,' says a senior sports consultant to the Malaysian government, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Several other government officials also said that a more effective and economically viable strategy would be to send selected Malaysian athletes for training stints overseas and allow them to participate in international events on a regular basis.
Criticism from the sporting community aside, several analysts say the sports academy project in Britain could turn into a serious political headache for Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's government.
Analysts also say that the lack of transparency surrounding the project highlights the waning commitment of Datuk Seri Abdullah's administration in pushing for public tenders in the awarding of large infrastructure undertakings.
Shortly after taking over the premiership from Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in November 2003, Datuk Seri Abdullah pledged that his government would move away from the practice of awarding large projects on a negotiated basis and would encourage open bidding and greater public disclosure on government contracts.
But those reforms have yet to materialise.
The 17.8ha site in Hertfordshire is a research facility owned by Malaysia's Rubber Board and is known as the Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre, after Malaysia's second premier.
The research facility houses a large administration building, laboratories, unused stables, a chapel and a house surrounded by a moat.
Government officials say that a special Cabinet committee on sports, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is the son of the late former premier, decided last October to turn the sprawling grounds of the research centre into a sporting academy.
A special steering committee was later formed comprising officials from the Sports Ministry and private sector officials.
Government sources say the project is being actively promoted by Mr Muralee Menon, a businessman who enjoys close relations with Datuk Najib.
The promoters have recommended that the academy be called the Razak Elite Athlete Performance Centre.
