Confirmed Kleptocracy : World Bank Cuts GDP To 4.2%, Mercedes Benz Hits Record High Sales

Confirmed Kleptocracy : World Bank Cuts GDP To 4.2%, Mercedes Benz Hits Record High Sales

First here is a comment by our Editorial Consultant  :

Dear Syed, 

Since Abdullah Badawi's government did not have an economic team both he and MO1 relied on Nor Mohd Yakcop. Since the government relied on economic growth (for the sake of showing some growth figures) he gave them growth. And as revenues were insufficient he just borrowed money.  When Badawi left, the debt had increased to RM250 billion. Now under Najib  debt is actually RM800 billion and not RM600 billion. (They have removed RM200 billion of housing loans to achieve this figure). They are just playing with figures.

The World Bank said that we can rely on consumption. What happened? Our household debt is now among the highest in the world. It is definitely the highest in Asia. Malaysia hutang No.1 !!  1Malaysia Hutang !!  And with retrenchment, unemployment and prices of essentials going up and banks now not lending to people and instead banks recalling loans, how are the people going to consume? Then they have implemented the GST which has stressed the peoples' purchasing capacity further. So the "consumption driven" growth model is failing even more. 

The only way to help the people and stimulate growth now is to reduce taxes all across the board which have a direct impact on the consumers purchasing power ie reduce income taxes, abolish or reduce the GST, reduce car import duties and reduce other direct and indirect  taxes on motor vehicles and reduce workers' EPF contributions until the economy improves. 

But the govt's finances are just rotting to hell.  They are cutting allocations all across the board. The tax boys have been instructed to "arbitrarily" assess companies' taxes. The govt is desperate for money. 

The best solution now is for MOF and also MO1 to resign as he has no idea how to manage the economy.  Calling Nor Mohd Yakcop again for advise will not make any better those things which they have already made so worse over these past years. The economy and the country did not become so bad overnite. It takes years of  incompetence and mismanagement to create so much havoc in the economy.

Maybe MO1 and Jho Low can try and start another 1MDB and see whether with a Paid Up Capital of say RM2 million, they can borrow even RM10.00 (TEN Ringgit) from the international bankers?  MO1's Treasury Bills are now 'zero' rated.  MO1 can show us how he and Jho Low can borrow from the international markets? 

Page 1 of The Star reported that RM114 million corruption.  Why did MACC go and arrest them? Maybe it was just a donation? Maybe they learnt from MO1, Cowgate and many others.  If the AG says no case against MO1 and if the AG also withdrew charges against the Cowgate despite the Federal Court ruling that the Cowgate case must go on then why should MACC go and arrest those two fellows? If they say that the RM114 million was just a "donation" what is the AG going to do?

My comments :

Thank you Sir.  Those are good suggestions to kickstart the economy.  Increase the purchasing power of the entire economy.  When the economy is collapsing like this, it is best to reduce ALL taxes, remove red tape, reduce the costs of doing business and more such things. I agree the GST must go. 

Here is some more strange news that is actually not so strange.  

The World Bank says that our GDP growth will tank at 4.2% this year. The original forecast was 4.4% growth.

Then luxury car maker Mercedes Benz says they are achieving another year of record sales for 2016 with over 11,900 Mercedes Benz cars sold todate.  They already achieved another record year in 2015. 

How do we explain this? The economy is tanking. Growth is going down. But luxury car sales like Mercedes Benz are going up, up and away. 

Here is the news :

Thursday, 6 October 2016
 

World Bank revises Malaysia GDP forecast

KL : World Bank slashed growth forecast for M'sia for 2016 - 2018 

latest forecast M'sia’s (GDP) 4.2% this year from 5% in 2015 

contrasted with its April forecast of 4.4% growth for 2016

oil prices not going to get back to anywhere near 2014

Crude improved to US$51 y'day from US$48 week ago 

Opec’s production cut has limited impact on prices.

Opec ability to affect oil prices less significant now than 30 yrs ago 

because so much oil now comes from non-Opec producers

And here is that news about Mercedes Benz's record sales :

Mercedes Malaysia another record year
Mercedes confident of record sales in 2016

bucking trend in difficult car market 

(11,930 cars sold in 2016 ??)
2016 year-to-date sales 10% higher than 2015
2015 Mercedes record sales 10,845 vehicles - 56% > than 2014

confident of exceeding last year’s figures. 

launched 10 models this year - 22 since 2015

new models in difficult market was “right move to make.”

                                Mercedes Benz uses male "models" to boost sales !

2016 many car companies struggling to maintain performance

slashing TIV forecast downwards to 580,000 units for 2016 from 650,000

Mercedes C350e costs RM289,888 (on-the-road, without insurance).
2003 company invested > RM800m to assemble, distribute, market Merc in M'sia

http://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2016/10/06/mercedes-msia-sees-itself-driving-to-another-record-year/

My comments :  Egypt is a poor country.  They too sell Mercedes cars in Egypt. The people there call the Mercedes owners thieves.  

What about the sales of Proton? The poor peoples' car in Malaysia. Who buys Protons? Which racial group? Which economic group? Not the high end.   Lets figure this out in Malaysia.  No need for rocket science.

The economy is going down. But Mercedes cars are enjoying record sales in Malaysia. Over 11,900 Mercedes cars sold in 2016 alone - so far. Another three months to go before year end.  

Poor people's cars are not selling as well. 

Plenty of illegal money is buying these luxury cars.  This is a given. All that corruption money, the 'projek dan kontrak' money is buying Mercedes Benzes.

Then there is also the more genuine money that buys Mercedes Benz. These are mostly the Chinese folks and some Indian folks (plus the Lain-Lain) who are working hard and who have been able to keep going despite the incredible stupidity of the morons running the gomen.

I can tell you more about this class of people but I will not.  I mix with them and I hear their conversations - supplying equipment to this factory and that factory,  providing IT solutions, running more than one business at one time - these folks are working hard.  They work crazy hard.

At teh tarik time (past 9 pm at nite) they are on the phone getting instructions or giving instructions about work and business. They work on Sundays, shoot off emails on Sundays, work on the computers on Sundays (this one my son does, he works for Chinese bosses).  This is the real economy. No freebies, no endless money pits, no one to pull cables except their own skills and their own wits. They work hard.

This is that other class of people who may buy Mercedes Benz.  

Now these people have even greater responsibility thrust on them.  With the gomen killing the economy and destroying our economic capacity guess who has to take up the slack and tighten up the economy again? 

The gomen? The GLCs? Dont be stupid ok.

It has to be the private sector economy. This is the real economy in Malaysia.

I hope the fools dont get too jealous.