Saudara / Saudari,
Again we have heard that the Government is encouraging its people to venture into argriculture and other business ie industry, research, ICT..etc. Actually the call by the Government to go this direction is good and should be applauded. So now how is the Government going to walk the talk? At the moment, 4 years already, there is still nothing done about it.
Let us look into vrious industries:
1. Agri/Aqua/Hoti - culture
In order for a TOM, DICK and HARRY to invest into this business, TOM, DICK & HARRY must undergo tedious levels of red tapes and at the end of the day, the investors' moral will be low and get fedup with the process and will eventually give up. Mind you, this is only at the application stage!
Agri business is very much a slow turnover industry where an investor will have to wait till harvest and also maturity period before they could enjoy the bounty. It is further worsen when these products are deem alive and is very much at the fancy to the term "ACT OF GOD". What guarantee do you have that you'll have 100% harvest? What about Flood, Drought, Disease ...etc?
Now, what are the criteria of the Banks for you to obtain the loan? Pledge your land? Ok if you do it and you do not get a good harvest then what happen? You'll definitely default on your loan right? What the bank do to your land?
This is already a success if you get this far. A check with Bank Pertanian last year about some small loan to start up a Cattle feedlot business where PNB Bhd has already given a contract to supply and buy back. We just fatten tha cattle within a period of time.
You know what we were inform...mind you this was done just 3 months after PM announce to have allocated a big budget to Bank Petanian for argri business purposes. We were informed that they budget has all been taken up and there is no more budget. Wow what eficiency!!!! Just 3 months after announcement and budget allocation, the bank has done an extremely good job.
Ok now, who got the funds? Until now we do not see any of such ventures take off since money had been allocated and dispersed. Ada apa apa tak sekarang? Our Agri business picking up? If it is so successful, we would not have to face the shortage of food.
I have said numerous times that food is tantamount to NATIONAL SECURITY. If we are sanction or even in chaotic sitatuion of war, Malaysia would surrender in within months. Our stockpile just cannot sustain us in situation of such. We can have F18s, Sukhoi, Submarines Nuke, Atomic bomb, you name it the best and advance aresenal in the world but without food? ha ha ha our best fighters will take off their white underware and tied it to a stick and surrender withour much fight.
Ok, another question, when someone wants to go into agri business, they'll need land right? Can anyone inform us which state can we apply the land? Is it easy to obtain land? Do we need to pay through our noses to obtain even 1 acre? Even in the remote town like Segamat, 1 acre of land will cost you at least RM 20,000 or more. Mind you that you would need to spend extra money to clear the land before you could do anyplanting work. How much do you think a farmer has in order to obtain the land. Ok not to mentioned that there are many different confusing land titles.
So if the bank are not helpful and ready to assist, there is no way any farmer wannabes to venture and take up the challenge. So at the end of the day, would this programme be successful?
There is a saying about bank in Malaysia..."They'll give you an umbrella on a sunny day and ask you to return the unbrella on rainny days" . The GOVERNMENT MUST do something about this especially when Pak Lah is in the MOF. Any complaint about the banks if they do not follow the Governments direction, they loose their licenses. Cannot appleal and loose it forever...may it be Chinesebanks, foreign banks or whatever.
Bank's business is lending and they make a profit from that! Taking our money and then lending to us at a cost.
I remember during TDM time, when he is determine to promote a industry, just see how bank line up to loan to prospectors. Today the bank are the one Killing us not anything else.
In the past where most banks are control by the Chinese, people say Cina lintah darat, Along, tak peras hati and all that. That's why the perception on the Chinese stucked until today. However today, most Chinese banks already bungkus or telah hilang di absorb by bigger banks which is slowly control by the Malays/UMNO. Are there any changes? It is the the same..."Dulu, Kini & Selamanya"
Now only cronies or people with 20,000KW cables boleh dapat. This is the same spelt across our business environment.
2. Industries.
In term of Industries also we can see ABU DAJAL's hands everywhere. UOB once told me "See you in 3 years"...meaning, we have to have 3 years record...kena buat duit, Kalo rugi....jumpa lagi another 3 years...kena buat untung/duit....
My question is how to make money if without the bank's help? A chicken and egg multi million dollar question.
Say you managed to pinjam from Along (Along is crutial here) to start up and survive to high interest ordeal and scrap though 3 years and you got a small trade line with the bank...Kalau turnover drop or the bank feels uneasy, they pull their lines and you would have to pay up if not they wind you up. Then they blacklist you. You know what happen when you get blacklisted? You can basically call it a day!
Ok, then you have the Government coming out with goodies such as Grant. Woow! Bombastic. Any reader wants to obtain Govt Grant can come up and we see how tedious this process can be.
Example:- A friend of mine take up SME grant & MIDF soft loan to buy machines to produce a product which the Govt promotes in the IMP3. Submission was done in Nov/Decm or even a couple week earlier. Results? Until now 12/05/08, SME's loan is still in the branch not yet passed or read or approved by the branch manager because too much Training, Khursus and other non productive seminars, and forums...not taking into consideration of sick leave, annual leave, nenek sakit, anak demam and etc.
The loan applied via SME bank is RM100k machine grant and the balance term loan (for the machine) while RM1.5million for working capital. Was informed by SME Bank that the RM 100k grant will take another few months for approval. So SME advice us to proceed with banks' trade line while waiting for the grant which later will minus off from the loan. This also will take another 2 months.
So anyone who wants to start will have to bear all start up cost and other cost while waiting almost 1 year to obtain the loan/grant or whatever you want to call it. Not many dare venture this far or maybe already bungkus waiting this long. OK ever if SME bank has approve all by end this month...the money actually disperse from CIMB bank. This will take another 2 mnths.
Now lets come back to MIDF. We have submitted the application for months and we were lucky that they had agreed to offer us a loan for another 2 machines. Letter of offer was signed in January'08. Until now they money has not been disperse and the machines are sitting pretty at a huge factory which cost more than RM 10,000 a month in rental. We cannot touch the machine because we are WAITING FOR Midf TO COME SEE AND SIGN OFF BEFORE MONEY COULD BE DISPERSED. Machine supplier has not been paid. Frankly these people are good friends and they can wait to be paid but in normal circumstances no businessman want to wait 1 year before being paid. I see my Malay friends face this problems too. Where is the Government here. Where is the spirit of tolong melayu, Bumi Privileges, naik kan taraf melayu, beri support kepada Melayu....Semua hanya Rethoric saja, tak ada apa apa pun!
Same as SME bank, MIDF officers has many important seminars, forums, talks, trainings, sessions,..etc to attend to which is more important that working as you cannot find someone who could talk to you or attend to you.
Please take up your phone and call them say ask for an officer. A common joke goes as such.
Call them at:
08.00am - Belum masuk
08.30am - Breakfast / Ada but maybe in Tandas or could not be found.
09.00am - Meeting with dpet or boss. Cannot be disturbed.
09.30am - Abother meeting
10.00am - Break/minum kopi/smoking/ Keluar / with customer.
11.00am - Tak tau ke mana / Keluar
11.30am - Meeting
12.00pm - Lunch
02.00pm - Belum balik lagi
02.30pm - Meeting / Keluar
03.00pm - Tak tau mana
03.30pm - Tea break
04.00pm - Belum balik lagi / dgn customer / meeting
04.30pm - meeting dgn boss / tak jumpa / keluar and will call back
04.45pm - Tak jumpa
05.00pm - dah balik.
This is already an achievement at least you know he/she is around but very bsuy and could not talk to him/her. Normally it is the same reply, SEMINAR! KHURSUS!
Bank terms are also a killer. While prices are skyrocketing, many people are caught ie steel prices. They need more capital to buy hugher priced goods while only maintain the same profit or even dropping profits. In short you need more to do the same forgeting about the idea of expanding. Look at steel prices. From 1st Qtr to 3Qtr prices has gone up almost 100% while Coke has gone up 300%. Now you go to the banks to increase your lines or for more loans....and banks take 3 months to process and disperse. Please do not discount that upon approval, banks need securities ie, property or FD. say you go to the banks in Jan'08 and by March/April'08 your line are ready to use...but then Steel prices has already shot up in 2Qtr. You tell me is it enough?
I foresee many would not be able to pull through 2008. 2009 will be the survival of the fittest...I mean small boys already died, SMI/SME reduces only to a handful, and this fight will be between the big boys. By 2015 instead of realizing our wawasan 2020, we will have ghost towns all over, empty huge factories (breeding ground for criminals), many reposses property (incl cars) and crime rates will be higher than usuals...ha ha ha especially when criminals are unemployed gradutes...probably an expert in their respective fields while police is only from 5 qualification.
Situation will be worsen by the reversal of the Oil/Petroleum position. By then we will be net importer of petroleum/Oil and we have not built up strong reserve to handle that. Our Industries are no where near the Asean Tigers and the NIE (Malaysia will out of that league)loosing even to Vietnam. Our FDI is nothing to shout about. Our Agri culture will be a shameful state, loosing to Thailand by huge gap. Don't even dream of competing with Singapore in terms of Trading and Financial.
Although there are many plans launched, I'm doubtfull it will be a success. The Govt MUST wake up and put a stop alltogether.
Ini lah yang dikata kata kan Harap kan Pagar, Pagar makan Padi!
Nevertheless untuk contructive action plan, Biro Economy WP akan mengadakan satu forum and Mesti mengadakan perjumpaan dan dialog dengan Menteri MOF dan Kementrian your relevent untuk mendapatkan satu penjelasan and tunjuk ajar bagaimana SMI/SME boleh "spearhead" untuk membentuk tulang belakang Negara.
Kita juga akan mendapat commitment daripada Kerajaan yang issue seperti ini akan memberi confidence kepada rakyat and ahli perniagaan tak kira kaum and bangsa yang Kerajaan serious and memandang berat issue berkenaan.
Nevertheless saya tak pernah dengar Pakatan Rakyat mempersoalkan issue dan problem sebegini. Adakan semua ini akan juga di perjalankan and continue oleh P.Rakyat? Benda benda dan issue issue yang di perkatakan semasa PRU12 yang lalu hanya gula gula HACKS saja la. The real thing pun tak cakap. Saya merintih kerana say tau Rakyat akan jadi mangsa...ingat-ingat lah GAJAH lah yang BERGADUH dan RUSA akan MATI DI TENGAH2X.
Salam berjuang and Satu Hati.
Yang Benar,
Julian Leong (PPN)
Pengerusi Biro Economy Wilayah Persekutuan PGRM
Exco Negeri Wilayah Persekutuan.
