Sureduit
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About 200,000 people are expected to attend the Hari Raya open house hosted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his Cabinet Ministers at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) on Saturday, said The Star today.
Putrade Property Management Sdn Bhd (Putrade) president-cum-chief executive officer, Senator Datuk Yaakob Mohammad, said that about RM1.5 million had been spent for the event that is being held at the venue for a fourth consecutive year.
He said the event would be opened to the public from 12.30pm to 5pm, while VIPs including foreign dignitaries and ambassadors would arrive from 11am to 12.30pm. Six halls would be used for the purpose, and 30 types of dishes, including ketupat, satay, rendang and raya cookies would be served, he said.
“Two halls will be reserved for the VIPs, while the other four will be opened to the public. People from as far as Sabah, Sarawak, Johor and Perlis have been attending the event for the past years. I advise the public to come after 12.30pm, as it could be tiring for them if they arrive early,” Yaakob told reporters after a briefing about the preparations at PWTC yesterday.
Present were Putrade vice-president-cum-executive director Dr Ahmad Fadzli Yaakob and its senior manager (operations) Suratta Mohd Rus. Yaakob said about 50,000kg of meat, vegetables, fruits, chillies and fish would be used to prepare the dishes.
He said chairs would be provided for senior citizens, pregnant women and the handicapped. Drinks would also be served for those waiting in line, to ensure their comfort. He said 600 PWTC staff would have to sacrifice their Hari Raya for the event, while 100 police personnel would be stationed there.
“There will be 76 cooks preparing the food for the day.” Yaakob said parking would not be a problem as there were 1,000 lots at PWTC and 850 at the Hentian Putra parking lot opposite PWTC.
Now, let us analyse The Star’s news report above.
It will take the Prime Minister about five seconds to shake the hand of one guest, if he does not talk to them and indulge in idle chit-chat. The five seconds includes the time for this person to get out of the way so that the next person in line can move forward to shake Abdullah’s hand. They then go and enjoy the feast.
So, in one minute, Abdullah can shake the hands of 12 people and in an hour 720 people. Considering the open house is for only six hours, Abdullah will be able to shake the hands of only 4,320 people.
Let us assume that all the guests drive there and each car averages four people. Considering there are 1,850 parking lots and we give each car half an hour to an hour to get in and then out again, at the most 50,000 people can drive there unless they take a train, bus or taxi. And we are assuming it will be a quick in and out with no time wasted in-between. But then if you are queuing up for an hour waiting for your turn to shake the Prime Minister’s hand then the figure would drop to 35,000 or 40,000.
Logistically speaking, it is impossible for 200,000 people to drive there and shake the Prime Minister’s hand in six hours. 20,000 would make more sense. If not, the whole place will turn into a Tsunami refugee centre.
Now, this could mean either of the following:
1) 195,680 guests will just go there and eat without wishing Abdullah Hari Raya or without shaking his hands.
2) Abdullah will have to extend his six-hour open house to 278 hours or almost twelve days (and that is only if he stands there for twelve days non-stop without sleeping, eating, praying, bathing, sitting down, answering the call of nature, etc., in-between shaking the hands of 200,000 people).
3) The 200,000 guests is a bullshit figure and a spin by the Fourth Floor boys to impress upon us that the Prime Minister is still very popular whereas less than 10% of that or 20,000 will actually turn up.
Nevertheless, one important point to note and which warrants asking is: who is the caterer, how much is their contract worth, and for how many people are they actually catering for?
Since they are spending RM1.5 million for this open house, this would mean it comes to RM7.50 per head if it is really 200,000 guests. But if the actual number of guests will come to only 20,000, then the cost spirals to RM75.00 per head. I would put my money on 20,000 guests and RM75.00 per head. Now we only need to find out who the caterer is because whoever it is they are going to make plenty of money tomorrow.
If I was the caterer I would not prepare food for 200,000 guests as I know it would be impossible for 200,000 people to get in and out of that place, plus eat in-between, in a mere six hours. Even if you shake hands with half of them and the other half eats and ‘runs’, you will still need at least a week. So I would prepare food for just 20,000 people, knowing that this would be the actual figure, and then charge the government for 200,000 people. I would make a net profit of more than RM1 million, even after deducting the kickbacks and the under-the-table money I need to pay those who awarded me the catering contract.
I love festivals.:-?
Putrade Property Management Sdn Bhd (Putrade) president-cum-chief executive officer, Senator Datuk Yaakob Mohammad, said that about RM1.5 million had been spent for the event that is being held at the venue for a fourth consecutive year.
He said the event would be opened to the public from 12.30pm to 5pm, while VIPs including foreign dignitaries and ambassadors would arrive from 11am to 12.30pm. Six halls would be used for the purpose, and 30 types of dishes, including ketupat, satay, rendang and raya cookies would be served, he said.
“Two halls will be reserved for the VIPs, while the other four will be opened to the public. People from as far as Sabah, Sarawak, Johor and Perlis have been attending the event for the past years. I advise the public to come after 12.30pm, as it could be tiring for them if they arrive early,” Yaakob told reporters after a briefing about the preparations at PWTC yesterday.
Present were Putrade vice-president-cum-executive director Dr Ahmad Fadzli Yaakob and its senior manager (operations) Suratta Mohd Rus. Yaakob said about 50,000kg of meat, vegetables, fruits, chillies and fish would be used to prepare the dishes.
He said chairs would be provided for senior citizens, pregnant women and the handicapped. Drinks would also be served for those waiting in line, to ensure their comfort. He said 600 PWTC staff would have to sacrifice their Hari Raya for the event, while 100 police personnel would be stationed there.
“There will be 76 cooks preparing the food for the day.” Yaakob said parking would not be a problem as there were 1,000 lots at PWTC and 850 at the Hentian Putra parking lot opposite PWTC.
Now, let us analyse The Star’s news report above.
It will take the Prime Minister about five seconds to shake the hand of one guest, if he does not talk to them and indulge in idle chit-chat. The five seconds includes the time for this person to get out of the way so that the next person in line can move forward to shake Abdullah’s hand. They then go and enjoy the feast.
So, in one minute, Abdullah can shake the hands of 12 people and in an hour 720 people. Considering the open house is for only six hours, Abdullah will be able to shake the hands of only 4,320 people.
Let us assume that all the guests drive there and each car averages four people. Considering there are 1,850 parking lots and we give each car half an hour to an hour to get in and then out again, at the most 50,000 people can drive there unless they take a train, bus or taxi. And we are assuming it will be a quick in and out with no time wasted in-between. But then if you are queuing up for an hour waiting for your turn to shake the Prime Minister’s hand then the figure would drop to 35,000 or 40,000.
Logistically speaking, it is impossible for 200,000 people to drive there and shake the Prime Minister’s hand in six hours. 20,000 would make more sense. If not, the whole place will turn into a Tsunami refugee centre.
Now, this could mean either of the following:
1) 195,680 guests will just go there and eat without wishing Abdullah Hari Raya or without shaking his hands.
2) Abdullah will have to extend his six-hour open house to 278 hours or almost twelve days (and that is only if he stands there for twelve days non-stop without sleeping, eating, praying, bathing, sitting down, answering the call of nature, etc., in-between shaking the hands of 200,000 people).
3) The 200,000 guests is a bullshit figure and a spin by the Fourth Floor boys to impress upon us that the Prime Minister is still very popular whereas less than 10% of that or 20,000 will actually turn up.
Nevertheless, one important point to note and which warrants asking is: who is the caterer, how much is their contract worth, and for how many people are they actually catering for?
Since they are spending RM1.5 million for this open house, this would mean it comes to RM7.50 per head if it is really 200,000 guests. But if the actual number of guests will come to only 20,000, then the cost spirals to RM75.00 per head. I would put my money on 20,000 guests and RM75.00 per head. Now we only need to find out who the caterer is because whoever it is they are going to make plenty of money tomorrow.
If I was the caterer I would not prepare food for 200,000 guests as I know it would be impossible for 200,000 people to get in and out of that place, plus eat in-between, in a mere six hours. Even if you shake hands with half of them and the other half eats and ‘runs’, you will still need at least a week. So I would prepare food for just 20,000 people, knowing that this would be the actual figure, and then charge the government for 200,000 people. I would make a net profit of more than RM1 million, even after deducting the kickbacks and the under-the-table money I need to pay those who awarded me the catering contract.
I love festivals.:-?
