Is the Privatisation of our government’s services merely a process of Piratisation?

At the heart of this issue is the question as to whether concession or monopoly agreements entered into by government (federal, state or local) if found to be terribly one sided and a burden to the public are legally enforceable?

Many of these agreements and concessions were done under the policy of Privatisation. However, Privatisation may be good in theory but bad in practice as it is often open to abuse.

The Privatisation concept was originally intended to take loss making, ineffective and inefficient government services and turn them into profit making and efficient services thereby relieving the financial burden of the government in providing these services.

So when does Privatisation become Piratisation? When is the line crossed and Privatisation is used as yet another mechanism to dissipate public assets and monies?

There is no easy answer this question and not all Privatisation contracts are bad. There are certainly several questions that can be asked to decide whether such Privatisation / concession Agreements really are a disguise to steal from the public; these questions are;

1.    Just who were awarded the Privatisation / concession Agreement and what were their track record and expertise in the area. What is the standing of the individuals running these companies?

2.    What are the terms and conditions of Privatisation / concession agreement and what is the benefit and liability to the government and to the private companies?

3.    Is Privatisation / concession agreement fully available for scrutiny in order to determine whether the terms are commercially reasonable in favour of the government?

4.    What steps were taken to maximise the benefits to the government and minimise any risk?

5.    Are there any other companies that can give the government better terms with less risk?

It is high time that the legality of Privatisation / concession Agreements are reviewed. All such agreements should be fully transparent and negotiated so that the best benefit of these agreements with minimum risk is given to the Rakyat.

The government may not bound to comply with illegal agreements even if signed by a previous administration. At stake here is the issue of integrity which is “doing a right thing even though nobody is looking”.

For the lack of integrity in Privatisation contracts will lead to depletion of this Nation’s resources, damage the economy and burden the people.