The Magic numbers....

Time and again, we always hear some politician churning out numbers, from RM50million in missing jet engines to RM 1 million (which we are later told that the actual amount was around RM500,000.00 based on the report of the two officers that are being charged in court).
It started out as RM50million and it gradually became lower.

What about other numbers? Most of the time it is about Ringgit and Sen. Here is another perfect example of how numbers are simply bandit around. But SPAD tried to justify the figures and used these numbers instead.

The point is, with the internet, so much can be said about so little.

The latest numbers bandied by the most efficient Chief Minister (and so they say). And how was he portrayed to have been key in the 'revival' of Penang?
'He has become the first governor in Malaysia to open up all state tenders to competition. This has entailed dismantling the special preferences for ethnic Malays that have underpinned the BN’s rule since the early 1970s.'

But did he really?

Given the latest tender results and how 19year olds are instrumental in getting RM1 million contracts, such is not the case.

In fact, the figures showed that only 0.2% of contracts that were awarded through Penang's open tender system was awarded to Chinese (RM700,000.00 from only two projects out of 968 worth a total of RM125 million was given out to Chinese). So who is telling the truth? The DAP state government, The Economist or what?

It would not really surprise anyone then given that CM Lim Guan Eng is one that shoots first then justifies later.

His latest magical figures are probably aimed at inciting more people to hate the Election Commissions, says EC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar. Why?

In the latest salvo from Mr.Eng (at least, this is how The Economist would rather call CM Lim), he had claimed that there were 32,000 new voters registered in Penang from April to June of 2011. Sensing possibly that he was mistaken, LGE later revised the figure to 26,133 a day later.

It was later confirmed that ....The Election Commission clarified that it had displayed 25,558 names for the second quarter in Penang, of which 6,845 names were to be struck off, as they were no longer in the armed forces.

“Therefore, the actual figure of new voters and those who had requested for change of address in Penang is 18,713, and not 32,000 as claimed by the Chief Minister,” he said.

(read here for the actual report)

Its just so common isn't it, how politicians quote figures and then revise them or say that they have been misquoted. And if they get rapid fire reactions from their die hard supporters that fire away, they pat each other on their backs and say that they have the support of the rakyat.

Malaysians, should and must know by no how to access hard facts rather than accpet them wholesale from politicians. And the next time you see an official figure or fact, try not to discount it as propaganda.

For if you do, there will never be a stop to it.