This is exactly why the government and the advisors ARE NOT ABLE to read the people's desires and wishes properly. Why such a puny project like email accounts for all, can stir up such a vociferous reaction from many quarters, including this tiga-suku? I can come up with cost, transparency, need, "forced down our throats", relevance, expediency, railroaded over, effectiveness, red tape, coercion ... off the top of my head.
My comments below will highlight that despite the huge run up in Tricubes yesterday, if they are allowed to charge 50 sen per email, the stock is still undervalued at RM1.00. But I strongly deter any my readers to even participate in the madness and unfairness of it all. The stock will be clouded with tons of storm clouds.
My site is now linked to the ETP Lite site, let's see whether they take off my link after this article, or do they really welcome sensible debate on important issues.
http://www.pemandu.gov.my/etp/blog/
Let's look at the points and comments in the media, my comments in color:
KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 — The Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) has said government agencies will pay Tricubes Bhd to use the company’s 1 Malaysia e-mail database, which it called both a government and private initiative.
“Agencies would have to pay a certain fee to use that, as in any other e-mail database,” business services NKEA communications content and infrastructure director Dr Fadhlullah Suhaimi Abdul Malek said in an interview on radio station BFM today. (OK, no public funds is being used, so somebody has to lend Tricubes, a GN3 company RM50m ... wonderful, I wonder how many GN3 or PN17 companies can even borrow RM10,000 with their financial status as such??!! Anyone??!!)
He said Tricubes’ database of verified e-mail addresses would ensure that correspondence from government agencies got to their intended recipients, adding that this would “quickly move citizens into the digital age”. (Verified email accounts is a superflous name, you telling me that gmail is not secure... pleaaaassseee la).
“What’s important is actually the database,” he said. “That... information gets verified because it is then linked to the National Registration (Department).”
Tricubes was involved in the nationwide deployment of the country’s MyKad identity card system and supplies biometric scanners to 170 organisations.
Fadhlullah Suhaimi said he expected agencies to pay Tricubes about 50 sen per e-mail, cheaper than the RM1.00 printing, stationery, postage and dispatch cost of sending a regular letter.
He said that, as the per unit cost of regular mail might double to RM2.00 if a misaddressed letter was sent back on the taxpayer’s dime, the government stood to save between 50 sen to RM1.00 per e-mail. (Oooh, here's how Tricubes make money, 50 fucking sen per email??!!! Why do you need to compare to postal services cost structure? If it actually cost RM10.00 per letter, does that mean Tricubes can charge RM5.00 per email as that would still save money??? There is no justification for 50 sen per email. I know many company doing SMS, MMS blasts that charges between 10-50 sen only, why 50 sen, you gonna be sending us messages with moving pictures and video clips on how much I owe the tax department? No, its simple messages, cost should be much much lower.
Here is the big wondering, why no talk about how much money Tricubes will make, and what constitutes supernormal profits. Assuming that there are 7m taxpayers, and you forcibly assign our name and IC as the username so that you get 7m email accounts automatically (e.g. Siva_A/L_Laxmanramakrishnanmoorthy731122089098@1Malaysia.com).
Hence the tax office can send you notices, accounts summary or even summons, and they will make it that once sent by email, its considered delivered, so you got no choice but to check your brand new email account, even though you already have 5 email accounts ... company email, yahoo, gmail, facebook, and now another one.
So, now we forcibly have the mass database, you can imagine just how much money if the tax office, and/or NRD, even the Road Transport, or even more departments ... send you something ... I bloody well hope they never send us festive greetings as well, unless revenue at Tricubes is deemed to be falling short, I guess.
Back to supernormal profits, none is elaborated. Assume you managed to force open 7m accounts and you charge 50 sen an email, conservatively two departments send one mail a month = 2 x 50 sen x 12 x 7m = RM84m a year conservatively. Fuck me silly, thats the easiest way to rob the public.
If its costing just RM50m to implement the system, there should be a proper rate of return, something akin to build, operate and transfer ... then sellback option to the government. Not fair to have the government (our money) paying RM100m a year at the barest minimum year after year.
There should be a term sheet that details: amount invested by Tricubes RM50m; Set them KPIs, they must deliver an unlimited email account like gmail, link up with NRD and get the 7m or 10m accounts set up, before they even get any fees; Once fees start flowing in, Tricubes will only get to keep RM100m of revenue; beyond that all fees are waived forever. Tricubes will get paid a reasonable fee to maintain the system on a yearly basis, say RM5m a year.
Say la something like that, then no one will even second guess the government's intentions or the reciepient's credibility in getting the project. If anyone tells me 100% return is not enough, please justify la, I am sure we can put this up for a tender and see what bids we get.
“The poor taxpayer, without realising, is actually allowing wastage of RM2.00 per post that goes out,” Fadhlullah Suhaimi said. (Yea, Faddy, the poor taxpayer will never know what hit them if the per email cost is 50 sen and runs forever, even Samy Vellu will say "Wah, like that also can aaahhhh, how come my tolls cannot one!!!).
He cautioned, however, that these expected savings were based on Tricubes’ own estimates. He said the actual cost per unit would vary depending on the volume and complexity of the transaction, as well as the number of people who eventually sign up.
Reflecting the earlier confusion on Pemandu’s website, Fadhlullah Suhaimi first said the 1 Malaysia e-mail project was “government initiated and private sector led” before referring to it later as a “private sector initiative”.
Pemandu was forced earlier today to defend changes on its webpage for the 1 Malaysia email project, claiming the switch of the project’s description from a government to a private sector initiative was to correct “a genuine error”.
Fadhlullah Suhaimi nonetheless stressed that no public funds would be used at any point to develop the e-mail service despite the fact that it may fail.
He said the project would be entirely market-driven, with Tricubes bearing the risk entirely if the 1 Malaysia e-mail project does not get off the ground.
“They must make it unique, make it compelling and they must make sure they can run a service that has value for end users,” he said.
“If they fail to deliver they lose their investment... There is no loss to the government or the taxpayer.”
Fadhlullah Suhaimi revealed that Tricubes was chosen as it was the only listed company out of the five that pitched for the project. He explained that listed companies were preferable as the public would be free to scrutinise their finances.
He said Bursa Malaysia had assured Pemandu that the ACE-listed company’s Guidance Note 3 (GN3) status was an “accounting issue”, adding that the entry point project (EPP) evaluation team had determined that Tricubes’ business model was “sustainable”.
Loss-making Tricubes is at risk of being delisted after its weak financial standing triggered Bursa Malaysia Securities’ GN3 in October last year.
Fadhlullah Suhaimi also admitted he was “surprised” by the intense public reaction to the 1 Malaysia e-mail project but said it was good there was such strong interest in an EPP.
“If Tricubes can put it out by July (as planned)... they will have good brand equity,” he joked.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has said that the project will have a gross national income (GNI) impact of RM39 million up to 2015 and will allow direct and secure communications between Malaysian citizens and the government.
But critics say the government should focus on infrastructure project such as providing clean water or broadband across the country rather than working on a free email service which is already available through Hotmail, Yahoo! and Google Inc.
Tricubes has said it is collaborating with Hotmail service owner Microsoft Corp for the project but no provided no details.
Malaysians already enjoy online services such as MyEG and utilise banking portals to pay for a variety of utilities and services without the usage of email accounts.
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