Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Alastair Campbell Is Advising Najib On How To Win Election – Exclusive!
- Ibrahim Ali disappointed by Himpun turnout
- WIKILEAKS: ELECTION AFTERMATH: ABDULLAH AND UMNO STOKE MALAY FEARS
- The Auditor-General’s Report and Debt Management: Anwar vs Najib
- Malaysia, Maids and the Lash
- The China Alternative – Malaysia
- MACC opens 36 cases following federal audit
- Ibrahim calls Perkasa ‘catalyst for Malaysian unity’
- Ambiga: Putrajaya stalling over electoral reform
- 1bestarinet awarded to YTL
- Let’s talk about (halal) sex
- Perkasa eyes ‘kingmaker’ role in polls
- DINNER WITH AMBIGA SREENEVASAN IN SYDNEY (BOOK NOW)
- Bazir Wang Negara Satu Pengkhianatan
- Pre-vocational subject in 50 schools next year
- Hudud: BN hanya perlu beri laluan
- ‘Tarik balik semua sekatan terhadap Aziz Bari’
- Audit report proves failure of Najib’s reforms, says Anwar
- In Australia, Ambiga serves notice of people power
- Atrocious defence procurement is microcosm of failing state
- Guan Eng under siege
| Alastair Campbell Is Advising Najib On How To Win Election – Exclusive! Posted: 26 Oct 2011 05:49 AM PDT SARAWAK REPORT Sarawak Report can now add to growing questions in Britain over Tony Blair and his former PR advisors' links with repressive regimes. We have learnt from exclusive sources that the former PM's ex-Communications Chief, Alastair Campbell (world-famous for the so-called 'Dodgy Dossier' that sanctioned the invasion of Iraq), is now advising Malaysian PM, Najib Razak on how to win the next election! This follows the recent scandal over FBC Media, a story also broken by Sarawak Report, which revealed that Najib and Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud were illegally buying positive publicity on worldwide TV-news shows. A common link between FBC Media, the PM's previous PR firm, APCOA and now Alastair Campbell is believed to be Paul Stadlen, who is a British PR man, close to Najib and based in KL. Najib is said to be desperate to brush up his international image, on the eve of an expected election and in the wake of the appalling world publicity gained by his treatment of the July 9th Bersih rally. He also wants to increase his voter appeal towards an increasingly independently-minded urban electorate in Malaysia. Our sources say that Campbell recently visited Najib in KL and has been behind advice over the past couple of months to show a more friendly image, such as the promise to reform detention laws (a gesture which has subsequently been put on indefinite hold) and the concept of a "Cool Najib", reflective of the coining of Tony Blair's "Cool Britannia" back in the 1990s! Cosying up to oil-rich dictators? Our revelations about Malaysian links with Tony Blair's team of advisors past and present, come hard on the heels of weekend reports in the UK's Financial Times and Daily Mail newspapers about similar activities in Khazakhstan. Alastair Campbell was seen returning earlier this month from Astana, the Khazakh capital, where he admitted to doing some consultancy work "but nothing like on the scale that Tony is doing". Tony Blair himself is believed to have forged close relations with the Khazakh President, Nursaltan Nazabayev during his period in office and to have continued those relations, including making a number of visits this year. Nazarbayev is another potentate with international image problems, given the notorious cruelty and corruption of his 20 year regime. Intriguingly, the growing ties between him and Najib Razak, particularly in the field of public relations, have already been well documented in Sarawak Report's coverage of the FBC Media scandal. Both countries had hired FBC's PR services and were frequently featured on FBC programmes. The question now must surely be what ties have there been between FBC and people linked to Tony Blair and how directly linked has Blair himself been to these and related PR initiatives?
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| Ibrahim Ali disappointed by Himpun turnout Posted: 26 Oct 2011 01:26 AM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali has expressed embarrassment over the poor turnout at the Himpunan Sejuta Umat rally, despite the Malay rights movement earlier shrugging off the low attendance. Only 5,000 people filled the 100,000-seat Shah Alam Stadium where the rally against the alleged Christianisation of Malaysia took place last weekend. "Even as late at 4pm, there were fewer than 10,000 people... I was embarrassed as a Malay and a Muslim. Where are our Malays? "But when there's a conference or an assembly, why this, why that?" Ibrahim said in his winding-up speech at the 2nd Perkasa general assembly here. The Malay rights leader lamented that Malays were very good at asking for things but were reluctant to put their money where their mouth was when time came for action. "What is our sacrifice? How far are we willing to go?" he said. Ibrahim added that if Malays remained too passive in voicing their objections despite being "under attack from within and without", they would suffer the same fate as Singaporean Malays and Malays in Penang, whom he said were marginalised.
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| WIKILEAKS: ELECTION AFTERMATH: ABDULLAH AND UMNO STOKE MALAY FEARS Posted: 26 Oct 2011 01:00 AM PDT
UMNO leaders publicly warn the Penang government not to foment unrest, but UMNO's media campaign itself seems intent on stoking the fires. Were demonstrations for Malay rights to break out (or be staged) in Penang, UMNO and BN would have grounds to discredit the fledgling opposition authorities or, in a more extreme scenario, to invoke Article 150 of the Constitution to declare a state of emergency. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin
Classified By: POLITICAL SECTION CHIEF MARK D. CLARK, REASON 1.4 (B AND D). 1. (C) Summary: Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and senior officials from his UMNO party seemingly are using the media to stoke ethnic Malay fears over opposition Chinese political gains at the expense of Malays, using the new Chinese-led opposition government in Penang as the lightening rod. UMNO's coordinated media offensive appears intended to rally ethnic Malays back to UMNO while undermining the Penang state government, and represents the first counter-attack against the opposition that fared so well in the March 8 polls. End Summary. 2. (C) In the aftermath of the shocking March 8 election set-back (reftel), Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and senior officials from his United Malays National Organization (UMNO) party seemingly are using the media to stoke ethnic Malay fears over opposition Chinese political gains at the expense of Malays, using opposition-held Penang as the lightening rod. In bold initial statements, newly-installed Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng of the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) announced that his state government would stop implementation of measures under the New Economic Policy (NEP), which provides for Malay preferences in contracting, hiring and other areas. Abdullah and UMNO leaders quickly seized upon this assault on the NEP, a long-held centerpiece of Malay politics, to launch their own offensive against the opposition. 3. (U) Since March 11, a day after the King swore in Abdullah for a new term as Prime Minister, the government-dominated Malay-language media, both television and print, have carried strong warnings by the Prime Minister and other senior UMNO leaders against actions that disadvantage Malays and thus fuel racial tensions. In statements carried on Malay television news broadcasts on March 12, Abdullah publicly warned, "the (Penang) state government must not try to create an atmosphere which can cause racial tension...." UMNO Vice President Muhyuddin Yassin told reporters, "I'm not sure if the rights and fate of the Malays will be taken care of...," while a second UMNO Vice President, Ali Rustam, said Penang's decision victimizes Malays. Former de facto Law Minister Nazri Aziz called Malays who voted for the opposition "traitors" and veteran UMNO leader Tan Sri Abdul Aziz said such Malays lacked patriotism. 4. (U) The UMNO-owned Utusan, the largest circulation Malay language hard news daily, has led the way in the print media, exemplified by its March 13 front-page headline, "Warning to Guan Eng - Don't Take Actions that Fuel Racial Tensions." Political columnists cautioned that Penang could break away "like Singapore" and letters from unnamed contributors attracted headlines like "Malays' Survival Threatened." State news agency Bernama carried similar articles, including one on March 13 under the headline "DAP's Arrogance Can Stoke Racial Tension," quoting former deputy Information Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. 5. (U) Lim Guan Eng and senior leaders of his Democratic Action Party (DAP) tried to refute publicly the UMNO attacks and assure ethnic Malays. The Penang Chief Minister told reporters on March 13 that Malays in his state would not be marginalized and he clarified that doing away with the NEP meant a transparent tender process for government contracts. Lim accused Utusan and the Bernama news agency of inaccurate reporting, and said unnamed parties were spreading tension-building rumors, for example that the Chinese-led Penang government had ordered mosques to turn down the volume in the call for prayers. Lim said, "It is easy to play up this kind of sentiment. If the BN (UMNO's National Front coalition) has any dignity, it should do things according to the facts and not just create issues and they whack us." 6. (C) Comment: Lim Guan Eng's bold announcement of the end of NEP provided UMNO with a convenient opportunity to play the Malay race card. Charges of marginalization of the Malays at the hands of ethnic Chinese and rumored challenges to the practice of Islam are highly emotive issues in Malaysian politics and invoke memories of the 1969 race riots that followed gains by the Chinese political opposition. UMNO's coordinated public attack on the new Chinese-led government in Penang, carried out primarily in the Malay media, appears intended in part to rally ethnic Malays back to UMNO, following its electoral set-back which saw a swing in Malay votes in support of the opposition. Additionally, UMNO's campaign serves to undermine the legitimacy of the Penang state government and represents UMNO's first counter-attack against the opposition that fared so well in the March 8 polls. 7. (C) UMNO leaders publicly warn the Penang government not to foment unrest, but UMNO's media campaign itself seems intent on stoking the fires. Were demonstrations for Malay rights to break out (or be staged) in Penang, UMNO and BN would have grounds to discredit the fledgling opposition authorities or, in a more extreme scenario, to invoke Article 150 of the Constitution to declare a state of emergency. The intense UMNO media campaign is reminiscent of government tactics used to set the stage for Abdullah's decision in December 2007 to jail ethnic Indian rights activists on national security grounds. KEITH (March 2008)
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| The Auditor-General’s Report and Debt Management: Anwar vs Najib Posted: 25 Oct 2011 06:06 PM PDT Fiscal deficit is not always bad. However, persistent fiscal deficits even when economy is growing – meaning there's a serious lack of fiscal discipline – would weaken a government's position to meet its debt obligation later on, especially in time of recession. And when this happens, that means the future generation will be burdened with ballooning public debt. By William Leong Jee Keen, Member of Parliament, Selayang In collaboration with Political Studies for Change (KPRU – Kajian Politik untuk Perubahan), a local research institute as well as a political think tank. Persistent fiscal deficits! That's the best description of the Federal Government's fiscal position which had been governed by Barisan Nasional (BN) over past few decades except a brief period of federal budget surplus from 1993 to 1997 when Anwar Ibrahim was the Finance Minister. This year's much-delayed Auditor-General's Report again revealed wasteful spending by government departments as well as weaknesses of governance which have contributed to the Federal Government's embedded deficit and debt problems. The report's specific remark on rising trend of public debt which is approaching alarming level is a serious issue. Due attention shall be given to the questionable debt management capability by the BN Government. Fiscal deficit is not always bad. However, persistent fiscal deficits even when economy is growing – meaning there's a serious lack of fiscal discipline – would weaken a government's position to meet its debt obligation later on, especially in time of recession. And when this happens, that means the future generation will be burdened with ballooning public debt. Mathematically, drafting a national budget very much depends on a country's economic growth projection over next year and thus its nominal value of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). A robust growth will mean higher GDP and higher revenue as tax and other revenues go up. That will provide a smaller value of budget deficit forecast and of course a smaller percentage of public debt. However, when economic growth projection is over-optimistic or when economy is slowing down, that will mean smaller-than-anticipated tax and other revenues, hence, the actual nominal value of GDP is smaller, driving the shortfall higher. That will provide a bigger value of budget deficit and thus a higher percentage of public debt. The world economy is on a downward spiral. As one of the most open economies and very dependent on international trade, various growth projection of Malaysia for next year is significantly lower despite Prime Minister Najib Razak's over-optimistic growth forecast of 5.0 to 6.0 percent and budget deficit forecast of 4.7 percent for 2012 in his proposed RM232.833 billion Budget 2012 tabled on the 7th of October, 2012. Most research houses have lowered their 2012 growth projections for Malaysia despite Najib's optimism in his 2012 Budget proposals, which critics have said is primed for the imminent 13th General Election. Against this background, the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) downgrades 2011 GDP growth rate to 4.6 percent year-on-year. For 2012, MIER revises the GDP growth forecast to 5.0 percent.1 According to the RHB Research Institute, Malaysia's economic growth could slow to just 3.6 percent next year from a projected 4.3 percent this year due to the increasing risk of a double dip global recession. Given the projections and path we are currently on, that means even higher deficits than we have now. Worse than the worst, if we go into a recession, we will see record-level deficits and public debts. By that time, as the government's debt obligations are mathematically impossible to resolve, the rakyat will then wake up one morning to the reality that they are a lot poorer than they thought. According to the 2010 Auditor-General's Report released on 24 October 2011, Malaysia's public debt rose by 12.3 percent or RM44.72 billion to RM407.11 billion last year compared to RM362.39 billion in 2009. The Auditor-General said in the report that the government owed 53.1 percent of GDP, slightly down from 53.3 per cent last year. That's the second consecutive year the Federal Government debt to GDP ratio surpassing the 50 percent level. By referring to the following chart provided in the 2010 Auditor-General's Report, public debt from domestic sources rose by RM41.76 billion to RM390.36 billion while external debt rose to RM16.75 billion, up RM2.96 billion. Sources: 2010 Auditor General's Report. It is in this context that I shall try to argue that, fiscal discipline and prudent debt management of the government of the day should be taken seriously as the most basic and important elements of good governance. In the following chart, Federal Government deficits figure compiled by a local research institute as well as a political think tank Political Studies for Change (KPRU – Kajian Politik untuk Perubahan) has shown that, there's a serious lack of fiscal discipline in the Federal Government under the administration of then Finance Minister Mahathir Mohamad, later Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and now Najib Razak. It is worth noting that the country has been in deficit for 14 consecutive years, and this is set to continue in 2012. This trend started in 1998 in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis, which coincided with the sacking of Anwar, the Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister at that time. In fact, ever since Anwar was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in 1993, the country's budget had been in surplus every year until his sacking. After being appointed Finance Minister in 1991, Anwar turned the budget deficit into surplus in two years' time, which was no mean feat as the country's account had been in deficit for more than 20 years before his helming of the treasury2. A brief period of surplus was recorded and they were 0.2 percent in year 1993, 2.3 percent in year 1994, 0.8 percent in year 1995, 0.7 percent in year 1996 and 2.4 percent in year 1997. In contrast, current government under the administration of Najib has run on budget-deficits with increasing Federal Government debts. Source:
When one takes a deeper look into the numbers, one has to say that Anwar's record as Finance Minister is indeed impressive. Total Federal Government debt actually decreased from 1992 until 1996 after more than 20 years of consecutive increases8. The total Federal Government debt level had also been kept between RM89 billion to RM100 billion from 1991 to 1997. In the Anwar era, besides a 4.6 percent increase in Federal Government debt in his first year as Finance Minister, and a 0.3 percent surge and 14.7 percent surge in 1997 and 1998 respectively when the country was badly hit by the economic crisis, the debt level had been decreasing at a stable rate of 1 to 3 percent every year. In contrast, total Federal Government debt had been increasing rapidly at a rate of more than 10 percent every year since Najib became Finance Minister in 2008. To make things worse, the BN Government has a tendency to approve supplementary budgets in dealing with over-spending one after another, quite often without valid ground. The basic principle to table a supplementary supply bill is when unexpected expenditure takes place especially when a country is in a crisis like the earthquake and nuclear disaster in Japan. However, having been criticized for over-spending and persistent budget deficits, the BN Government has manipulated the supplementary budget as a political tool to hide escalating deficit and debt figures during annual announcement of the National Budget rather than as an avenue in dealing with unexpected spending. For example, in the latest Supplementary Supply (2011) Bill 2011 tabled in June this year, the Najib administration had been criticized for manipulating RM1 billion of allocation for emolument of Health Ministry as emolument shouldn't fall under unexpected spending. That's also one main reason why initial forecast of deficit figure announced during annual budget session used to be lower than the actual one. The following tables compiled by KPRU have shown that, the BN Government has tabled two supplementary supply bills outside the 2009 National Budget, another two supplementary supply bills outside the 2012 National Budget and up until today, one supplementary supply bill outside the 2011 National Budget. Although the 2012 National Budget has just been tabled, past records show that the BN Government could table another supplementary supply bill outside the 2011 National Budget during current parliament session or in year 2002. KPRU STATISTIC: ACTUAL ALLOCATION FOR YEAR 2011 NATIONAL SPENDING (UP-TO-DATE)
Source: Supply Bill and Supplementary Supply Bill. KPRU STATISTIC: ACTUAL ALLOCATION FOR YEAR 2010 NATIONAL SPENDING
Source: Supply Bill and Supplementary Supply Bill. KPRU STATISTIC: ACTUAL ALLOCATION FOR YEAR 2009 NATIONAL SPENDING
Source: Supply Bill and Supplementary Supply Bill. On the 7th of October, 2011, in a politically staged event of utmost importance to his own survival as well as UMNO-BN, Najib gave a positive prognosis of the Malaysian economy by proudly claiming a projected 5.0 to 5.5 percent growth rate for 2011, and then unrealistically projecting a 5.0 to 6.0 percent growth rate for 2012. On top of that, Najib also touted a reduction of the federal fiscal deficit to 4.7 percent of the GDP in 2012 from 5.4 percent in 20119. Missing from his speech was any mention of our national, external, or total Federal Government debt. In fact, the last time any of this was mentioned in a budget speech was two years ago in 2009, when Najib conceded that the rate of our national debt was getting higher and higher10. 2009 was also the year in which the total Federal Government debt recorded a marked increase to 53.3 percent of the GDP from 41.3 percent the year before. The Federal Government debt to GDP ratio had maintained at rate of around 53 percent to 54 percent since then, with the 2011 figure projected at 53.8 percent11. According to Bank Negara Malaysia's latest report, as of 30 June 2011, Federal Government debt stood at RM437 billion, with domestic debt amounting to RM421 billion and foreign debt at RM16 billion. According to the 2010 Federal Government Financial Statements prepared by the Accountant General of Malaysia, for the year 2010, total Federal Government debt increased by 12 percent to RM407.101 billion as against RM362.386 billion in 2009. Borrowings increased by RM45.062 billion or 13 percent to RM399.711 billion from RM354.649 billion in 2009. Reacting to the latest debt figures, Parliamentary Opposition Leader Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim warned that Malaysia was on course to breach the public debt limit due to the Federal Government's failure to resuscitate the country's under-performing economy12. Based on the Government Funding Act 1983 and Loan (Local) Act 1959, currently, the ceiling under both Acts is not more than 55 percent of total GDP. In addition, external loans are obtained with limits of borrowing based on the External Loans Act 1963. Currently, the ceiling under the Act is RM35 billion. Viewing the situation from another perspective, we turn to the work of Carmen Reinhart and Ken Rogoff entitled 'This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly'. They studied the factors contributing to 29 past sovereign defaults and found that default or debt restructuring occurred, on average, when external debt reached 73 percent of Gross National Product (GNP). Note: 2011 figure is based on estimate. Source: EPU 13 14 15 16 (1991-2008), MOF Economic Report 17 18 (2009-2011). Based on the above chart compiled by KPRU, total Federal Government debt was RM99.073 billion in 1991, the year Anwar became Finance Minister. It dropped to RM97.005 billion in 1992, RM95.898 billion in 1993, RM93.078 billion in 1994, RM91.369 billion in 1995, and RM89.681 billion in 1996, before it rose minimally to RM89.920 billion in 1997, and more significantly to RM103.121 billion in 1998. Total Federal Government debt was RM306.437 billion in 2008 when Najib took over as Finance Minister. It rose to RM362.387 billion in 2009 and RM407.101 billion in 2010. It was projected to hit RM455.745 billion in 2011. According to Bank Negara Malaysia's latest report, as of 30 June 2011, Federal Government debt already hit RM437 billion. Note: 2011 figure is based on estimate. Source: EPU 19 20 (1991-2008), MOF Economic Report 21 22 (2009-2011). Based on the above chart compiled by KPRU, the reasonably well managed debt levels during Anwar's time as Finance Minister can be attributed to sound management of the domestic debt. Anwar had managed to keep the domestic debt level below RM80 billion until 1997 until it hit RM88.197 billion in 1998. In the seven-year period from 1991 to 1998, domestic debt rose by a total of RM14.542 billion or 19.7 percent, with the bulk of it coming from the period of 1997 to 1998. From 2008 to 2011, in a short span of three years, domestic debt rose by a total of RM152.346 billion or 53.2 percent. This shows that the domestic debt level rose sharply since Najib took over as Finance Minister until now. Note: 2011 figure is based on estimate. Source: EPU 23 24 25 26 (1991-2008), MOF Economic Report 27 28 (2009-2011). In fact, Najib's debt management seems to be worse than his predecessor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's. Based on the above chart compiled by KPRU, the total Federal Government debt grew 5.6 percent and 5.9 percent in 2005 and 2006 respectively, and they were the smallest since an 8.7 percent increase was recorded in 1999. Note: 2011 figure is based on estimate. Source:
Based on the above chart compiled by KPRU, the period in which Anwar was at the helm of the Treasury also saw a remarkable decrease in the Federal Government debt to GDP ratio, from 73.3 percent in 1991 to 31.9 percent in 1997. In contrast, Najib's helm of the same office was marked by an increase of more than 10% in the Federal Government debt to GDP ratio from 2008 to 2009. The numbers do show that Anwar is a more prudent and effective manager of the economy as compared to Najib. Najib can point to the weakness of the global economy time and time again, but the increase in spending, and more specifically, extravagant spending in the wrong areas and money-corrupted governance seems to be the reason for our continuing high debt level. How much public money has been lost through corruption? How much of it has been used to subsidise big corporations instead of the people? How much of it has been used to pay for 'commission' for big business deals involving the government? We may never know how much, but we do know that it is one hell of an amount. A corrupt governments' moral or legal right to bind future generations of citizens to repay foreign creditors is questionable. The problem is that this is the beginning of a string of crises and not the end. It's time that a government practicing good governance vis-à-vis debt management is being put in place so as to safeguard a better tomorrow for future generation of Malaysia. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 25 Oct 2011 05:57 PM PDT By Luke Hunt, The Diplomat Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak hasn't put a political foot wrong since speculation began an election could be called for as soon as November or early in the New Year. First, he announced an inquiry into electoral reforms, then repealed laws curtailing civil liberties and delivered an election friendly budget. But Najib pulled off a real coup last week, winning an agreement from Jakarta that will allow Indonesian maids to return to work in Malaysia. That decision will prove popular, particularly among the middle class Muslim women of Peninsula Malaysia who say they are suffering from a lack of domestic help after Indonesia banned its women from working there because of appalling treatment meted out by many employers. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The China Alternative – Malaysia Posted: 25 Oct 2011 05:49 PM PDT By Cindy Tse, China Briefing Oct. 25 – The Malaysian government recently announced an ambitious goal to become a high-income nation by 2020, necessitating equally bold changes to the country's social and economic policies. The state's reform program, the New Economic Model, was launched in March of 2010 and involves ambitious schemes to restructure the economy and pull it out of low value-added manufacturing and increase private investment. The NEM is just one of four economic programs to come out of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's office in 2010. The Tenth Malaysia Plan will direct the state's public sector capital expenditures, the Government Transformation Program will address corruption and issues with Malaysia's social welfare provisions, and the Economic Transformation Programs will be dedicated to spurring growth in foreign and domestic private investment. Background Malaysia is governed as a constitutional monarchy, though Peninsular Malaysian states retain hereditary rulers who are often referred to as "Sultans." The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, a bustling metropolis of 1.6 million. Malaysia's population of 28.7 million is comprised of three main ethnic groups – Malay, Chinese and Indian. As would be expected in a society where multiple cultures and religions co-exist, relations between various groups are not always harmonious. However, in the case of Malaysia, most policy changes have to take into account the effect on the often competing interests of these ethnic groups. English is widely used as a second language, particularly in the workplace, making Malaysia a relatively easy place for foreign enterprises to operate in. Most Malays are multilingual, with Bahasa Malaysia as the official national language. Various mother tongue languages are spoken as well, such as different dialects of Chinese, Tamil, or Bahasa Indonesia, which is quite similar to Malaysia's official first language. Economy The country's account balance is in a comfortable position, with its US$34.14 billion surplus ranked 13th in the world – though naturally a minor point when compared with China's US$305.4 billion surplus. Aside from the United States, Malaysia's trading partners are highly concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region, with Singapore, China, Japan, Thailand and Hong Kong having the highest shares of imports and exports.
Investment climate Given the highly racialized nature of politics in Malaysia, governments throughout much of Malaysia's recent history have been quite cautious in enacting policies to encourage FDI. Since the 1970s, there has been a "30 percent equity rule" in Malaysia, which requires 30 percent equity of any enterprise to be held by a Bumiputra – an ethnic Malay or indigenous person. The purpose of the policy was to increase Malays' share of the nation's wealth to a fair 30 percent. And while the government maintains that it has yet to reach this target (they claim Malay ownership is at 18.9 percent), studies on the subject say the 30 percent target may have already been surpassed. Since 2009, there have been more and more exceptions to these Bumiputra ownership rules. Investment in the manufacturing sector, 27 non-controversial services sub-sectors, and investment in the Iskander Development Region are exempt. Prior to 2009, all initial public offerings (IPO) on the Bursa Malaysia were required to set aside 30 percent for purchases by Bumiputra. This 30 percent has since been reduced to 12.5 percent for new listings of foreign-owned corporations. While there are substantial incentives offered by the government to encourage foreign investment, they are not without performance requirements, and they certainly won't last forever. Specific requirements are incorporated directly into each individual business license for both foreign and domestic investors. These can include export targets, local content requirements, and mandatory transfers of technology. In 2003, in an effort to increase investment in high value-added sectors, the government extended the existing tax exemption from 10 to 15 years for firms that qualified for "Pioneer Status." This status is given to enterprises involved in specific geographical regions, as well as products or services deemed by the government to be of high priority for development. There is also a more modest 5 to 10 year tax holiday in some lower priority sectors under the "Investment Tax Allowance" scheme. These incentives are said to be provisional, though it's unclear when they will expire. As part of the 2010 Economic Transformation Program, the state has selected 13 sectors in which to boost private investment, though it remains to be seen how welcome foreign participation is in these plans. These sectors include electronics, medical devices, green energy, machinery and equipment, oil and gas, and transportation equipment. Resource-based industries and services like logistics are also targeted sectors.
Doing business in Malaysia Malaysia has been climbing in the rankings gradually, bolstered by the ease of getting credit in the country (ranked 1st overall) and its protection of investors (4th). Its recent jump into the top 20 can be attributed to this past year's dramatic improvements in the ease of starting a business (from 111th in the 2011 rankings to 50th this year) and enforcing contracts (from 60th to 31st).
Starting a business in Malaysia has become significantly faster, easier and cheaper over the last few years. In 2006, it took an average of 37 days, 10 procedures and 25.1 percent of the average Malaysian's income to start a business. Now, just five years later, it takes only 6 days, 4 procedures, and about 16.4 percent to get your business off the ground. Online filing of registration documents started in 2009 with more and more procedures done online each year. As of this year, companies can register various business and tax documents with the government's "SSM e-lodgement" web service 24 hours a day. However, as is the case with China, the difficulty of dealing with construction permits in Malaysia – where a process like acquiring building plan approvals can take up to 90 days – contributed to keep Malaysia behind other Asian countries including Singapore, Hong Kong (2nd) and South Korea (8th). Another major deterrent for potential investors in Malaysia is the weak enforcement of patents. Without a special court dedicated to dealing with patent infringements, one cannot be certain that innovations will be protected. Labor Aggregate numbers on the legal work force in Malaysia are slightly worrying, as their productivity growth is low (3.3 percent) compared to that of China's (8.7 percent), which is the highest globally and has risen steadily. However, Malaysia's advantage over China might be its low turnover (5 percent) and wage inflation (5.5 percent). With China's highly mobile workforce, some enterprises in concentrated industrial zones in China's manufacturing hubs complain of extremely high turnover, such that competitors are merely swapping workers and raising salaries. Official estimates show average wage increases of 13 percent per year since 2005. Enterprises in Malaysia can expect to retain their employees longer with more stable wage increases. In addition to this sustained labor shortage, it's the state's fluctuating policies on immigration and labor that have led many companies – local and foreign alike – to relocate their businesses outside of Malaysia. The government has at various times cracked down severely on illegal workers. In 2006, Malaysia saw periodic raids from government task forces attempting to flush out illegal immigrants. One factory alone was found to be employing around 1,500 illegal immigrants. More recently, during the global economic recession in 2009, the government enacted a complete ban on new hires of foreign employees in the manufacturing and services sectors, which was subsequently lifted. Investors are currently waiting on legislation proposed in June of 2011 to offer amnesty to the existing illegal workers in Malaysia, thereby increasing the legal labor pool. For the state, the dramatic move will raise much-needed tax revenues, improve national security, reduce human trafficking, and most importantly, attract more foreign investment. Naturally, this proposal has faced staunch opposition from Malay nationalists, whose interests lay with the rights of local workers. Nonetheless, until a decision is made official, employers should be cautious in knowingly hiring illegal migrants, as the government reportedly performs approximately 16,000 canings per year, many of which are on illegal migrants working in Malaysia's manufacturing, agricultural and services sectors. The law also stipulates caning as the maximum punishment for an employer who hires illegal workers, though an offending employer has yet to receive the brutal lashing. In addition to shortages in low-skill labor, Malaysia's labor force also suffers from a sustained "brain drain," as talented and highly-skilled professionals have been lured overseas by seemingly better job opportunities. From March 2008 to August 2009 alone, an exodus of 304,358 Malaysians did little to help the growth of the nation's economy, as the majority of those who left were professionals. The newly established Talent Corp Agency under the Prime Minister's office will create programs and incentives to encourage the country's nationals engaged in key sectors and professions to return home. The World Bank estimates that approximately 1 million Malaysian nationals are currently working overseas, with 60 percent of those surveyed by the World Bank citing "social injustice" as the primary cause for Malaysia's brain drain. Many of Malaysia's most talented and experienced professionals settle in Singapore instead for its stable and financially promising work environment. It remains to be seen how the government will balance the need to build a highly-skilled labor force when higher education levels remain relatively low compared to the former East Asian Tigers, such as Korea, Taiwan and China. Free trade zones and free trade agreements In order to make use of the ASEAN free trade area's Common External Preferential Tariff rates, there is a procurement requirement that 40 percent of a product be sourced from ASEAN member states. Manufacturing and storage activities in these FIZs and FCZs can often be difficult, as approvals from the zone's administrators are required for different activities. Operating factories and warehouses outside these zones gives a greater range of freedom. Malaysia is a member of the ASEAN Free Trade Area, and has seen significant growth in trade with AFTA member states, which include Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Through ASEAN, Malaysia has also signed multilateral trade agreements with a number of trade partners such as China, India, Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. A few promising FTAs with Chile (2010) and the European Union (under negotiation) bode well for the country's hopes to improve its trade surplus and find comparative advantage in high value-added sectors. Transportation Real estate The Malaysian government has started a program to induce foreigners to relocate to the country with the "Malaysia, My Second Home" program, which offers 10 year visas with property purchases above RM400,000 (approximately US$128,000). Other privileges under the program, like duty-free car purchases, sweeten the deal further for those whose investments in the country might keep them there for a long period of time. While prices are on the rise, particularly in Kuala Lumpur, they are nowhere near the prices one can invariably expect to find in nearby Hong Kong, Singapore, and Shanghai. Conclusion
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| MACC opens 36 cases following federal audit Posted: 25 Oct 2011 05:43 PM PDT By Debra Chong, The Malaysian Insider PUTRAJAYA, Oct 26 — The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has opened up 36 files to investigate the public sector following the Auditor-General's Report 2010 released two days ago. In a statement yesterday, the national graftbuster said the investigations were initiated based on public feedback after the federal audit revealed discrepancies in the spending of various government ministries, agencies and companies over the past year. It said Sabah and Perak topped the list of ongoing investigations with seven cases each. This was followed by Kedah and Terengganu with six files each; three in Penang; and two cases each in Sarawak and Putrajaya. The two-year-old commission, which was also taken to task in the recent audit report for being among nine government departments that overspent their allocations by 0.73 per cent, also acted promptly to explain its action. The MACC defended the excess payments as due to the federal government's directive last year to pay a special government financial aid scheme for officers ranked Grade 54 and below. "The excessive spending does not mean MACC breached any Treasure rules or any other financial management procedure but actually was approved by the government as it actually a bonus payment approved by the government," it said in the statement. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ibrahim calls Perkasa ‘catalyst for Malaysian unity’ Posted: 25 Oct 2011 05:41 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - Perkasa is not a racist party but a champion of national unity, president Datuk Ibrahim Ali said today. The Malay rights leader said the group was a "catalyst for unity" as it sought to keep intact the social contract agreed upon by the country's founding fathers for the sake of peace and harmony. "Perkasa fights to ensure the country is free from threats. This means Perkasa is not overly obsessed or too focused... on Malay and Bumiputera issues only. "Perkasa is the catalyst for Malaysian unity overall," he said in his policy speech at the second Perkasa general assembly here today. Ibrahim pointed out that adherence to and respect for the social contract and Bumiputera constitutional rights had allowed Malaysians of all races to prosper since independence. "Any threat to [the social contract] will threaten everyone... Perkasa intends to keep the national contract from being the spark for racial conflict that will burn us all," he said.
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| Ambiga: Putrajaya stalling over electoral reform Posted: 25 Oct 2011 05:40 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - Bersih 2.0 chief Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan accused Putrajaya of dragging its feet on electoral reform ahead of key national polls likely to be called by early next year, Australia's national broadcaster reported today. In an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) earlier today, Ambiga highlighted the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government's refusal hold off on the 13th general election until after it implements reforms to the polling system. This, she said, was despite the formation of a bi-partisan parliamentary select committee (PSC) by the Najib administration following widespread global criticism over its crackdown of Bersih 2.0's July 9 rally here. "We've started a campaign called 'Clean Before 13'," she told the ABC in its Connect Asia radio programme this morning. "What is crying out for reform is the cleaning up of the electoral roll. My own view is we can't go to the polls with the electoral roll in the state that it is," she said, adding there was no point implementing the reforms only after Malaysians have voted. The ABC reported Ambiga saying proposed reforms, such as the enrolment of three million unregistered voters and automatic voter registration at the age of 21, should only take six months, though she also admitted cleaning up the electoral roll may take longer. The prominent lawyer is currently touring Australia to alert Malaysians there of their voting rights and rally support for the movement demanding clean and fair elections she heads.
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| Posted: 25 Oct 2011 05:12 PM PDT
Hi RPK, I am sure by now the news is out that 1bestarinet has been awarded to YTL Communications Sdn Bhd. Attached is the notification documents I pulled it from the Ministry of Education website at 1.00 pm today but, by 3.00 pm, it was removed from the MOE website. This whole tender process has been laden with non-protocol (non-compliance to the tender procedures) and is full of suspicion. There were also no proper tender clarifications/specifications, no POC, no negotiations, etc. I am writing to you today in the hope that you will reveal and investigate further on the following issues that appalled me: 1) Tender is awarded to an unproven service provider. 2) The tender process wreaks of non conformity. 3) This implementation of MBMMBI (as part of 1bestarinet) despite of it being challenged by angry parents and confused school administrators. 4) Tender is very vague (specifications are very brief). You are welcome to contact me if you require more info. Regards, Concerned citizen of Malaysia   | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 25 Oct 2011 04:52 PM PDT "When a man reached the highest spiritual level, he can appear in multiple apparitions and have sex with his wives even though they are in separate locations". Personally, I find this frightening. If a man can do this, I would think he has a hantu raya. If my husband, who's supposed to be in Frankfurt, appears in bed with me in KL, I would file for divorce on the spot. I am very scared of hantu. Dina Zaman, The Malaysian Insider Of course this essay would have to be about the Obedient Wives Club. One can't pass up the chance to write about the one very titillating piece of news in the media, though the recent Auditor-General's Report comes close. And that is a painful read. Like many Malaysians, I was flabbergasted and speechless when I read online accounts of the launch of the book titled, "Seks Islam – Perangi Yahudi Untuk Kembalikan Seks Islam Kepada Dunia (Sex in Islam –Wage War Against Jews To Return Islamic Sex To The World)". One, the English titled begged to be deciphered as it made no sense. Two, the title, even when understood, also begged for a suspension of disbelief. They cannot be serious about this: Having kosher sex meant that the Jews would be destroyed? How? What position would help destroy the Zionists for good? The Star quoted Hatijah Aam, "When a man reached the highest spiritual level, he can appear in multiple apparitions and have sex with his wives even though they are in separate locations". Personally, I find this frightening. If a man can do this, I would think he has a hantu raya. If my husband, who's supposed to be in Frankfurt, appears in bed with me in KL, I would file for divorce on the spot. I am very scared of hantu. Feminists, conservatives and righteous men and women condemned the Obedient Wives Club and their book. On Twitter and Facebook, everyone I knew just howled and wet themselves laughing over the latest faux pas. They were crazy, those women. But allow me to put this to you: Their book is no different than the many sex manuals you can get off the Internet. We even have our infamous Permata Yang Hilang and Mona Gersang. What's the big deal? While we deride these women for having the audacity to talk about sex and launch a book on halal sexual positions, you gotta give it to them. These women own their sexuality. The only difference is that these women have sex in a marriage, monogamous or polygamous. "How can women as unattractive as them HAVE sex?" a friend asked. Precisely. These women may not win any modelling contests, but they're having nookie. And there are quite a number of women who are the antithesis of the OWC, who aren't getting any. Any woman, married or single, who hasn't Googled "How To Perform Oral Sex" and "Various Sex Positions" is lying about it. It doesn't matter if she is Muslim, Christian or an atheist. I repeat again. Any woman who hasn't Googled for a sex act is a liar or under-aged. And any woman who does not discuss bedroom secrets with her girlfriends and gay male friends is a freak. Who else will tell you what not to do and what to do, to please yourself and your man? Your parents? The OWC women own their sex lives. Whether they receive pleasure from giving in to their husbands' desire is something we will never know, but they have taken all this into their hands, figuratively. Read women's magazines: The Pursuit of the Elusive Female Orgasm is always a hot topic. Read November's issue of the Malaysian Women's Weekly. There's an article expounding on behaving like a whore in bed, which may save one's marriage. I spoke with two heterosexual male friends about this. One acquiesced to the fact that it was these women's right to have a great sex life. Hooray for them, hijabbed or not.
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| Perkasa eyes ‘kingmaker’ role in polls Posted: 25 Oct 2011 04:49 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - Perkasa believes it can be a "kingmaker" in the next national polls by getting members to withhold votes from candidates and parties that insult Malays or Islam. Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali said the Malay rights group had made a list of lawmakers who committed such offences and was ready to blast instructions via text message to its 300,000 members come polling day. "All this while, people thought Indians were important despite their small numbers as they've become kingmakers. "Even though they're few, they can be the deciding factor. Same with Perkasa. It's very likely that we'll play this role," he told reporters at the second Perkasa general assembly here today. Ibrahim said Perkasa would only focus on seats where offending lawmakers had won by small margins, but was confident the group's estimated 500 to 600 members per state seat would make a big impact. He stressed that Perkasa was not against any particular party or race — pointing out that it also had Umno members in its sights — and would target anyone who hurt the feelings of the Malay community. "They shouldn't think only they have votes. They shouldn't think only of getting votes from their factions. Perkasa's members are not few," he said.
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| DINNER WITH AMBIGA SREENEVASAN IN SYDNEY (BOOK NOW) Posted: 25 Oct 2011 04:23 PM PDT
DINNER: Sunday 30 October in Sydney's Chinatown UNIVERSITY LECTURES – Monday 31 October University of Sydney (evening): https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=292621054081821 The Facebook pages for the university events will be updated as we get more details about lecture theatre etc., so please bookmark and check as we near the date. DINNER - FULL DETAILS Sunday, 30 October Emperor's Garden, corner Dixon & Hay St, Chinatown, Sydney 6.30pm - registration, payment and seat allocations 7.00pm - dinner Cost: $40.00 per person Vegetarian options, please contact Teresa Lee.
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| Bazir Wang Negara Satu Pengkhianatan Posted: 25 Oct 2011 04:17 PM PDT A Kadir Jasin BUKANLAH tujuan kita sepanjang masa mencari salah Kerajaan. Kita juga harus mengiktiraf perkara-perkara betul yang Kerajaan lakukan. Tetapi kalau Kerajaan melalukan kesalahan, kita berhak mengutuknya kerana kita tidak memilih dan membiayai Kerajaan untuk melakukan kesalahan. Atas prinsip itu, kita menyambut baik Laporan Ketua Juruaudit Negara yang memberi markah tinggi kepada kebanyakan Kementerian, Jabatan dan Agensi Kerajaan. Tetapi kita juga mengutuk kegagalan Kementerian, Jabatan dan Agensi yang gagal menunjukkan prestasi baik. Pada 24 Oktober, portal berita Malaysian Insider melaporkan yang Jawatankuasa Akaun Awam Dewan Rakyat (PAC) akan menyiasat tujuh Kementerian dan Agensi kerana pengurusan kewangan yang lemah. Mereka adalah Kementerian Kesihatan, Kementerian Sains, Teknologi dan Inovasi, Kementerian Tenaga, Teknologi Hijau dan Air, Kementerian Pengangkutan, Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri, Jabatan Kastam dan Perbadanan Stadium. Pengerusi PAC, Azmi Khalid dipetik memberitahu pemberita bahawa ini adalah tujuh yang diperakukan oleh Ketua Juruaudit Negara dalam laporan tahunannya yang terbaru. Kata Azmi, PAC akan memutuskan minggu depan kalau bilangan yang akan disiasat akan ditambah. Azmi yang disertai Ketua Juruaudit Negara, Ambrin Buang, berkata, pengurusan kewangan Kementerian dan Agensi Kerajaan bertambah baik dengan 43 daripadanya mendapat skor tertinggi empat bintang, 60 tiga bintang dan dua mendapat dua bintang. Tidak ada yang memperoleh penarafan bintang merah iaitu satu bintang. Saya tidak bercadang membuat analisis laporan Ketua Juruaudit Negara itu kerana media massa arus perdana dan baru telah banyak melaporkannya. Memadailah kalau saya katakan, kelemahan pengurusan kewangan awam, biar sekecil mana pun, tidak boleh dipandang remeh, apatah lagi dalam suasana kewangan negara yang semakin terhad dan mencabar. Penyalahgunaan, pembaziran dan kebocoran peruntukan kewangan negara bertentangan langsung dengan mantera 1Malaysia, Rakyat Didahulukan, Pencapaian Diutamakan dan menggambarkan kegagalan Pelan Transformasi Kerajaan (GTP) yang menjadi wadah perjuangan Perdana Menteri Mohd Najib Abdul Razak. Apatah lagi, Perdana Menteri sendiri, sebagai Menteri Kewangan, adalah ketua turus kewangan negara. Jadi, kalau ada autoriti mutakhir yang perlu dipersalahkan kerana kelemahan pengurusan kewangan awam, hendak tidak hendak, orang itu adalah Perdana Menteri sendiri kerana beliau adalah Menteri Kewangan.
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| Pre-vocational subject in 50 schools next year Posted: 25 Oct 2011 03:21 PM PDT By Ahmad Fairuz Othman, NST SINGAPORE: A pre-vocational subject would be introduced to 50 secondary schools next year to expose students to various professional skills at an early stage. Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also education minister said the pioneering project would allow students between Form One and Three to aquire basic knowledge in various professional fields. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hudud: BN hanya perlu beri laluan Posted: 25 Oct 2011 03:16 PM PDT By Fazy Sahir, FMT SHAH ALAM: Barisan Nasional (BN) hanya perlu memberi laluan bagi membolehkan undang-undang hudud dilaksanakan tanpa mengambil kira 'menang majoriti' di peringkat parlimen. Exco Hal Ehwal Islam Kelantan, Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah berkata, PAS tidak perlu menang di peringkat parlimen bagi membolehkan parti itu melaksanakan hudud. "Kita minta BN timbang hasrat kita agar beri laluan untuk kita pinda akta yang menyekat pelaksanaan hudud ini.Tak perlu tunggu pilihan raya. Itu yang kita minta dengan penuh rendah hati kepada pemimpin BN," katanya. Beliau berkata demikian dalam sidang media selepas Wacana Sinar Harian: Hudud Dilema dan Pelaksanaanya di Auditorium Kumpulan Media Karangkraf di sini semalam. Beliau merujuk kepada pindaan ke atas Akta Mahkamah Syariah (Bidang Kuasa Jenayah), 1998 yang sekadar memberi peruntukan kuasa kepada mahkamah berkenaan untuk menjatuhkan hukuman penjara maksimum tiga tahun, denda RM5,000 dan enam sebatan. Beliau berkata masalah utama kini apabila kerajaan BN tiada kesungguhan untuk menjayakan hudud dan PAS hanya meminta agar hukum hudud dapat dilaksanakan di Kelantan sahaja dan bukannya di Malaysia. Ujar beliau, "satu jawatankuasa teknikal juga telah dibentuk oleh kerajaan negeri bagi membolehkan undang-undang hudud dilaksanakan tanpa meminda perlembagaan dan keputusan jawatankuasa itu akan dikemukakan kepada Kerajaan Persekutuan kelak. "Hasrat telah kita suarakan. Perjumpaan rasmi antara Perdana Menteri (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak) dengan (Menteri Besar Kelantan Tuan Guru Dato') Nik Aziz Nik Mat belum ada. Kita tengok penemuan dahulu, selepas itu baru kita jumpa Najib."
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| ‘Tarik balik semua sekatan terhadap Aziz Bari’ Posted: 25 Oct 2011 02:52 PM PDT (FMT) - PETALING JAYA: Angkatan Muda Keadilan (AMK) mendesak Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA) menarik balik semua sekatan yang dikenakan terhadap pensyarah undang-undang dan juga pakar perlembagaan Profesor Dr Abdul Aziz Bari dengan serta merta. "Walaupun penggantungan tugas beliau ditarik balik tetapi beliau masih di siasat oleh polis dan Suruhjaya Komunikasi Multi Media (SKMM). Malahan komputer pejabat Aziz Bari turut ditarik," kata Mohd Saifullah Mohd Zulkifli, Pengarah Biro Mahasiswa AMK dalam satu kenyataan media. Beliau memberi amaran agar Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak dan pihak UIA tidak membuat kenyataan berunsur politik dan bermain politik dalam isu Aziz Bari ini. Tegas Saifullah, "hal ini tidak seharusnya berlaku. Isu ini bukan sahaja melibatkan individu, pensyarah undang-undang universiti yang mengeluarkan pandangan yang tidak sealiran dengan pemerintah, tetapi ini adalah isu ini melibatkan kebebasan akademik yang menjamin kualiti pendidikan dan masa depan generasi muda. Laporan FMT mengesahkan bahawa peguamnya Zulqarnain Lukman berkata faks yang meminta Aziz Bari melaporkan diri untuk meneruskan tugasnya di UIA semalam telah diterima pada lewat petang. Aziz Bari digantung tugas oleh UIA minggu lalu kerana meluahkan pendapatnya berhubung titah Sultan Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah atas pemeriksaan Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor ke atas Gereja Methodist Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya pada 3 Ogos lalu.
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| Audit report proves failure of Najib’s reforms, says Anwar Posted: 25 Oct 2011 02:43 PM PDT By Debra Chong, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 — Pointing to the Auditor-General's Report for 2010, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim denounced the Najib administration for failing to deliver its transformation plans ahead of national polls that could elevate the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pact into Putrajaya. The opposition leader also accused Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak of deliberately delaying the report's release in a bid to cover up the Barisan Nasional (BN) government's inefficiencies. A former deputy prime minister and finance minister, Anwar said the latest audit report, released on Monday, was late 17 days from October 7 when the government's Budget 2012 was presented in Parliament. He said the Auditor-General's Report should have been presented on the same day to allow the public to assess how the federal government spent taxpayers' money. "The delay in distributing the report should not arise unless there is a strategy to hide the facts from the public," the de facto PKR chief said in a statement last night. "Even though Datuk Seri Najib announced many promises to overcome the imbalances and weaknesses, clearly those promises have not been fulfilled," Anwar said. He appeared to be capitalising on the fact that Najib is seeking his first mandate since becoming prime minister after Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi quit office ahead of term in April 2009. "The Auditor-General's Report 2011 [sic] has exposed and proved the failure of the prime minister's transformation policy," Anwar said. The 64-year-old who is also economic advisor to Selangor — Malaysia's richest state — said the audit of 32 government ministries, their agencies and seven companies revealed various weaknesses stemming from poor supervision, ineffective monitoring, insufficient funding, labour and expertise.
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| In Australia, Ambiga serves notice of people power Posted: 25 Oct 2011 02:40 PM PDT By KC Boey, The Malaysian Insider  MELBOURNE, Oct 26 — Bersih 2.0 will hold Pakatan Rakyat (PR) to the civic movement's eight demands on elections and governance should the opposition pact come into government, chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan said at a public forum here yesterday. "Not only Pakatan," Ambiga said of her movement that transcends party politics. "We will hold all parties accountable. That's the way it should be. The power is with us (the people), not with them (political parties). It's only when power is in the hands of the citizenry that we have a working democracy." Ambiga was responding to a question at a public lecture at the Asian Law Centre, University of Melbourne, to kick off a speaking tour of four of the most renowned law schools in Australia. On Friday she shares Bersih 2.0 stories with Malaysians at a solidarity evening organised by Bersih 2.0 Australia and the Melbourne chapter of Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia Australia (SABMoz). Ambiga speaks at the University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney on October 31, and the College of Law at the Australian National University in Canberra on November 1, at each stop encouraging Malaysians to register as voters. Malaysians waiting in line to greet Ambiga (right) after the talk. "We registered 26 voters (last night)," said David Teoh, co-ordinator for Bersih 2.0 Australia and SABMoz Melbourne. More than 300 mostly young Malaysians filled a lecture theatre at the Asian Law Centre for the lecture hosted by Dean of Law Professor Carolyn Evans. In her talk on electoral reform and the quest for democracy in Malaysia, Ambiga spoke on the significance of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights to which Malaysia is a signatory. She recounted events leading up to Bersih's rally on July 9, the implications of the rally, and considered whether the government's subsequent undertaking to amend or repeal laws such as the Internal Security Act might offer hope for a more democratic Malaysia. She drew attention to the aspirations of youth, lamenting the "disconnect" of old politics with new technology, a yellow pashmina draped around her neck, and sporting a "CleanBefore13" lapel badge. As Ambiga was speaking, Global Bersih was following events on microblogging service Twitter, using the #CleanBefore13 hashtag. Moderator Professor Tim Lindsey, director of the Asian Law Centre, had to apologise for not being able to accommodate all those who had questions for Ambiga, almost all of them from Malaysians studying or living in Melbourne, who make up the highest number of Malaysians in Australia.
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| Atrocious defence procurement is microcosm of failing state Posted: 25 Oct 2011 01:45 PM PDT This means that the Malaysian government is paying Deftech RM7.55 billion (RM29.4 million each), which in turn pays FNSS RM1.7 billion for these 257 vehicles (RM6.6 million each). By Kim Quek How would you feel as a taxpayer if someone tells you that our defence ministry pays RM7.55 billion for some armoured vehicles that are actually worth one quarter of the price? If you really know what RM7.55 billion (or RM 7,550 million) means, you would most probably be stunned and express some kind of incredulity and exclaimed: "Is our government that bad? Are they really so daring?" The answer is yes; and the drama is unfolding right in our parliament, not some anonymous allegations in some websites. Member of parliament Tony Pua asked Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi in parliament why the ministry was paying the exorbitant price of RM7.8 billion for 257 wheeled armoured vehicles, and Zahid's answer was that the ministry had no knowledge of the price of RM7.8 billion as claimed by Tony, as the finalized contract price was RM7.55 billion. Zahid added that he also knew nothing about the deal that enabled the supplier to procure the same armoured vehicles from Turnkey at less than one quarter of the MinDef price. But Zahid's denial fell flat, as Tony pointed out that Zahid himself witnessed the signing of the agreement that sealed the deal in Angara, Turkey in February this year between the Malaysian supplier Deftech and the Turkish defence manufacturer FNSS, which is a joint venture between BAE Systems Inc. of UK and Nurol Holding of Turkey. The deal was reported in a press release dated 3 Jun 2011 in BAE System Inc. website as a USD559 million contract awarded to FNSS for the "design, development and manufacture of 257 DEFTECH AV-8 8x8 wheeled armored vehicles and Integrated Logistics Support for the Malaysian Armed Forces". The vehicle, though tagged 'DEFTECH', is actually a "FNSS-designed PARS 8x8 multi-purpose, multi-mission, wheeled amored vehicle". Atrocious price hike This means that the Malaysian government is paying Deftech RM7.55 billion (RM29.4 million each), which in turn pays FNSS RM1.7 billion for these 257 vehicles (RM6.6 million each). If you as a taxpayer are incensed by this daylight robbery of RM6 billion from the public coffer, wait till you hear of market prices that are even much cheaper than that offered by FNSS. Tony Pua in a statement dated 9 Mar 2011 in his blog reported the following prices for the equivalent armoured vehicles transacted or offered in the market: · The Portuguese Army paid RM4.4 million each for the Pandur II 8x8 armoured vehicles (EUR364 million for 353 units). · The latest version of Pirahan III 8x8 armoured wheeled vehicle developed by the Swiss MOWAG GmBH costs RM3.9 million each (USD1.2 million). With these prices as reference, it is reasonable to expect that, had MinDef conducted an open tender and sealed the deal at arm's length, we could have slashed the purchasing price down to no more than RM4.5 million from the present RM30 million each, bringing the total contract sum to RM1.15 billion instead of RM7.55 billion. This means that the Barisan Nasional government has hiked the price by 6 to 7 times through its defence procurement policy that totally lacks transparency and accountability. Such an astronomical scale of artificial cost inflation is so mind-boggling that it is probably unheard of even in the most corrupt of countries. Outrageous spending spree And this armoured vehicle deal is only one case amidst defence ministry's multi-billion spending spree that saw it splurging on patrol boats and helicopters at equally outrageous prices. For instance, it is purchasing 6 offshore patrol vessels (OPV) from Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd at RM1 billion each (total price RM6 billion), which is 5 times what the Royal New Zealand Navy paid for its OPV, procured at only RM210 each (NZ$90 million) from the world renowned BAE Systems, which is the second largest global defence company. Similarly, Malaysia is buying the Eurocopter EC725 helicopters at RM190 million each (RM2.3 billion for 12 units) while Brazil purchased the same helicopters at only RM82 million each. A quick glance at the figures for these 3 contracts alone – armoured vehicles, patrol vessels and helicopters – would indicate that there could have been a total leakage of RM12 billion arising from these dubious MinDef transactions. For this amount, we could have provided low cost housing for a quarter million families, housing more than a million have-nots. That Malaysia's opaque defence procurement is a hive of corruption is well known among international defence executives and documented in a recent exposure from Wikileaks which revealed US Embassy cables during 2004 – 2009 recording conversations with relatives and agents of Malaysia's top politicians including prime minister (Abdullah Badawi) and deputy prime minister (Najib Razak). Besides giving specific instances of corruption, the US cable also alluded to such corruption as a major source of political funds that sustains the local power structure. Unacceptable draining of resources Looking at the larger picture, the leakages of the 3 contracts mentioned above is only a small corner of massive leakages that pervade the entire procurement system of the BN government, as starkly reminded by the freshly released annual report by the Auditor General. Such annual reports, which unfailingly chronicle widespread corruption and management failure (some to unimaginable extremes) serve as regular reminders that we have been stuck with an entrenched system of governance that extensively and continuously drains our reducing resources. But if we were to realize that what the Auditor General reports is only the tip of the iceberg, as he can only cover a small fraction of the sprawling government bodies every year, don't we have reason to be concerned, very concerned? And do we see any remedy through institutional reforms under the present political leadership? From the deteriorating credibility of our institutions and federal leadership, isn't it apparent that the needed remedy is not institutional by political solution. Only through a change of political leadership can we bring sweeping reforms to the country.
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| Posted: 25 Oct 2011 01:42 PM PDT The attempt to break and destroy Guan Eng and derail his political career via the attack on his family is surely most immoral, and a terrible transgression against normal human propriety, and an assault on and an abuse of the fundamental concept of acceptance and respect for all persons under the universal principles of human, civil and constitutional rights. By Thomas Lee Some uncouth and unethical Barisan Nasional politicians, mostly from Umno, the MCA and Gerakan, have been going on an unrelenting unilateral campaign against the Rakatan Rakyat-led Penang state government by making all sorts of malicious allegations and malevolent accusations to frustrate the smooth running of the state administration under Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. The most protuberant case is of course the recent disgusting and despicable evil smear campaign against Guan Eng's son led by Bukit Gelugor Umno division chief Novandri Hasan, with the apparent endorsement by the party's youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, and, horror of horrors, the shameful public questioning by the Umno deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also the country's deputy prime minister and education minister, on the cast-iron denial by the school principal, the solid rebuttal by the alleged sexual harassment victim, and the firm verification by the Penang state education director that the alleged incident never happened.
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