It’s one for the money, two for the show…

Nades at The Sun, seems to be keeping the pressure on Azalina:

Let the shows begin without our money
Mon, 31 Mar 2008

"The result of the elections was a strong message that I have not moved fast enough in pushing reforms that I had promised to undertake. I thank the Malaysian people for this message. Point made and point taken." - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

Thank you Sir, for these brave words to give Malaysians comfort that some of the old bad habits of some of the ministries and government departments will be sorted out. I don't want to be called a Prophet of Doom, but what happened on our shores on Thursday set me thinking.

What was reported in the newspapers the following day was: Four teams will make their debut in the second edition of the Champions Youth Cup (CYC) in Malaysia from Aug 2-16.

What has this tournament got to do with the PM's "point taken" stance? Plenty. During the past four years, no one wanted to listen or talk about the Brickendonbury project, which was doomed from Day One. Yet, at the end of the day, we not only had egg splattered on our faces, but also spent a fair bit of money, which I hope the new sports minister will make public. Not only that, even larger amounts were spent under the guise of having our juniors "train with Arsenal". Truth be told, there was no such thing and a few hundred thousand ringgit was spent.

Yet again, the sports ministry is going to use taxpayers' funds to "sponsor" or be associated with the CYC. We are not talking about "rojak money" to quote our former finance minister, but mega bucks running into millions - RM17 million if last year's price tag is any indication.

Of course, there will be no dearth of people saying it is worth paying millions because "they can train our youngsters". This is utter bunkum. The players are here for a holiday, a junket to be exact. They'll be off after two weeks and by the way, our youngsters can't learn anything by watching them in action or gain anything by having a one-off "coaching clinic"!

Remember the coaching clinics in Pengerang, Pekan and Kepala Batas conducted by Everton? Where are the players now? What could they have learnt in a day?

Last year, we spent RM17 million for a tournament which brought no benefits to Malaysia or its people. Yes, we had glittering names like Arsenal, Bayern Munich and AC Milan, but how did it benefit us?

But then, there'll be another school of thought - the government should pay because it is promoting tourism and there's no guessing which ministry it is coming from! Don't laugh at this suggestion. When questioned about last year 's CYC, the (former) sports minister retorted that it was part of Visit Malaysia Year. Did tourists flock by the Jumbo loads to watch? No, there were more officials with tags around their necks than paying spectators! To say the tournament was a complete flop would be an understatement.

Taxpayers' money should not be touched on the CYC. Besides, GLCs should not be compelled to do "national service" by parting with funds. Since this is a commercial undertaking, it should be left to the promoter to balance its books instead of making taxpayers ensure it is a financial success.

Speaking of promoters, Jonathan Price of Gifted Group who is organising the CYC went on record last year saying that RM17 million was the "bidding fee" and that "there were other countries interested in hosting it".

Mr Price, take them to the other countries, we don't want to pay the price (pun intended) for anyone else's well-being or welfare. We don't need to part with our hard-earned money for such extravagance. For that kind of money, we can build rural hospitals and more schools. Perhaps, some are of the view that we Malaysians are suckers for punishment!

Did we not learn our lessons from the debacle last year? Did any thought go into this before the signature was put on the dotted line? One does not need a degree in rocket science to understand all the preparations were done before the new sports minister assumed office and that he has to carry the burden of the past administration.

No point in asking the former minister to explain. She has only a one-line explanation for this - "if you don't like my policies, stand for elections." And if this was directed at you, you could not have answered because the microphone would have been unceremoniously snatched from you!

We should not embark on wasteful projects. We should prevent activities which are meant to line the pockets of a few. I am sure his cabinet colleagues will agree that prudent spending should be the order of the day. So, while the PM admits the shortcomings and acknowledges that he has taken the point, why are others acting like demi-gods? Both the past and present
sports ministers have to give a plausible explanation.

My comment:

I think Azalina’s one-line “if you don’t like my policies, stand for elections” stands out, like her second uncontested parliamentary win, like a sore thumb. Of all persons, the one who ‘happened’ to win uncontested twice, challenged another to stand for elections! As far as I am concerned, she has yet to be tested in a proper campaign and being voted in by the electorate.

If her first uncontested win was accidental, the second coincidental, will she be able to pull a hattrick without creating suspicions?