Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- How Pakatan aims to finance its budget
- PSC: Bersih barred, but members can attend
- Under fire over AirAsia-MAS deal, Fernandes seen shifting ties
- Australia concealed KL banknote bribes, says report
- Government spent RM1.2b keeping IWK afloat
- Economists see new recession increasingly likely
- The ONE ring still confounding all
- Dam will damn us, say villagers
- RR orders to be lifted for 125 as first security law is repealed
- Putrajaya says Malaysia was colonised, disputes MPN’s version of history
- Putrajaya ditches Chinese US$1b Pudu Jail plan for local developers
| How Pakatan aims to finance its budget Posted: 04 Oct 2011 11:10 PM PDT By Syed Jeymal Zahiid, FMT KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Rakyat today defended its "prosperity for all" budget, saying that the fund to finance its RM220 billion allocation would come from various existing revenue sources, loans and other measures to improve income. The opposition's 2012 "shadow budget" was criticised for being too simplistic, with some analysts saying the amount "was plucked out of thin air" and not based on realistic estimations. Yesterday, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, who unveiled Pakatan's budget, said that as much as RM220 billion will be spent to implement measures that will "add 20% value into the rakyat's money". PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli told a press briefing that the amount set by Pakatan is not far from the Barisan Nasional's, which is expected to be in the region of RM230 billion. Based on improved tax collection and increased revenues from oil and gas in 2011, Rafizi said Pakatan expects total government income for next year to stand at RM181 billion, which will not be far from Putrajaya's estimate. Although the estimation will not be much, Rafizi said the focus should not be on the difference in income projections but on the ability to reduce dependence on the profit of national oil company Petronas. "The extent of difference in the amount of government revenue projection will be decided by BN's discipline to keep its hands off from Petronas coffers in the form of dividends" he said. In June, Petronas, whose RM30 billion dividend payout last year formed nearly half the government's revenue, had reached an understanding with the government to fix the dividend payout ratio at 30% of net profits. Capping Petronas payout The move, expected to take effect in 2013, came after Petronas said that the dividend payouts are a constraint on the group's growth plans as significant re-investments are necessary to generate future revenues. Rafizi said Pakatan is committed to helping Petronas achieve its objective and cap the payout to RM26 billion for 2012 as a measure to inject fiscal discipline. Pakatan also aims to spend RM6.9 billion to provide senior citizens a bonus of RM1,000 per annum; pay RM1,000 to qualified home-makers yearly; pay RM550 to increase welfare aid per recipient; and giving out RM1,000 childcare allowance for qualified families. The coalition will also spend an additional RM5.9 billion on public service's emolument with the payment of RM500 allowance to all teachers and also implementing a mininum wage policy of RM1,100 which would immediately benefit some 300,000 civil servants. This will be financed by low loans, Rafizi said, adding that other policies to increase income like auctioning off approved permits (APs) will also be implemented. "Auctioning off APs can give us an extra of at least RM1.5 billion," he said, adding that an additional RM5 billion to RM6 billion can easily be acquired by stopping "wastage and leakages of public funds".
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| PSC: Bersih barred, but members can attend Posted: 04 Oct 2011 08:40 PM PDT By Patrick Lee, FMT KUALA LUMPUR: Bersih 2.0 will not be allowed to attend public hearings at the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on electoral reforms as it is not a registered organisation. PSC chairman Maximus Ongkili said that only legally registered bodies or "personalities" were allowed to attend. "Anybody can come, including legal institutions, associations or personalities. Bersih 2.0 is not a registered organisation. They'll have to come as individuals," he told reporters in the Parliament lobby. He added that Bersih 2.0 chairperson S Ambiga was more than welcome to attend the hearing as a former chairperson of the Bar Council or as herself. "Parliament works on the basis that personalities or persons or registered organisations. (If you're not) a registered organisation, how can you use the title of (one)?" he said. Ongkili was briefing reporters on the PSC's upcoming meetings; the first of which would take place on Oct 12, from 12:30pm to 2:30pm. He said that the committee would hold "two or three" closed-door meetings, whereby members of the group would be allowed to raise "whatever concerns" they have with regard to electoral reforms. Six public hearings After this is done, the committee would make decisions on matters it could agree on. "Contentious issues", Ongkili said, would be opened up for public hearings. |
| Under fire over AirAsia-MAS deal, Fernandes seen shifting ties Posted: 04 Oct 2011 08:38 PM PDT By Debra Chong, The Malaysian Insider Aviation tycoon Tan Sri Tony Fernandes appears to be moving his allegiance from one former prime minister to another since coming under attack from influential Malay right-wingers over AirAsia's controversial share swap deal with Malaysia Airlines System (MAS). Having won the public backing of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad last month, the AirAsia boss has now distanced himself from former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the latter's circle, which was believed to once hold great influence over the government and included Abdullah's son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin and businessman Datuk Kalimullah Hassan. The ambitious Fernandes has been hard-hit following allegations he is using the national carrier to further his personal aspirations — the latest being the acquisition of English Premier League football club, Queens Park Rangers. The country's flag carrier will sponsor QPR's home jersey for the next two seasons, while AirAsia's logo will be emblazoned on the team's away and third kits. In an exclusive interview with Malay-language news portal, Agenda Daily, earlier this week, Fernandes addressed head-on the questions that have cast a shadow on his involvement in the airline industry. Football-mad Fernandes recounted how his problems started when Khairy, a fellow football lover, said he could bring "My Team" to Old Trafford, the home of Premier League champions Manchester United. "I said 'great idea', because it was a dream... and from there the problem started," said the businessman who managed to turn a RM1 company into Asia's biggest budget carrier. When quizzed, he rubbished the suggestion that he owed AirAsia's dramatic success to Abdullah who approved the budget carrier to fly into Singapore. "No, our first international route was during Dr Mahathir's time. The route we got during Pak Lah's time was the KL-Singapore (that became controversial)," Fernandes was reported as saying. He also played down his close ties to Khairy, who was seen as having an influence on the fifth prime minister who governed from October 2003 to March 2009 — around the time when AirAsia took off. "Actually, we didn't get anything, what we got was mostly during Dr Mahathir's and Datuk Seri Najib's time. During Pak lah's era, it was very little," Fernandes said.
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| Australia concealed KL banknote bribes, says report Posted: 04 Oct 2011 06:28 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - Senior Australian central bank officials helped conceal evidence of corruption at two bank subsidiaries accused of bribery to help win overseas contracts to print banknotes, the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper alleged today. Top Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) officials suppressed damaging information between 2007 and 2008 about payment of secret commissions to middlemen hired by Reserve firms Note Printing Australia (NPA) and Securency to win bank note contracts in Malaysia and Nepal, the report said. The RBA has a half-share in Securency International, which is being investigated by Australian police, Britain's Serious Fraud Office and Malaysia's Anti-Corruption Commission, prompting calls from some Australian lawmakers for a judicial investigation so far rejected by the government. "The government will not be running a commentary on these matters while they are still under investigation by the appropriate authorities and there are court proceedings pending," a spokesman for Treasurer Wayne Swan said. RBA Deputy Governor Ric Battellino, a former deputy governor, Graeme Thompson, and former NPA boss Chris Ogilvy were among officials who knew of the concerns, the Herald said. Evidence of the cover-ups was contained in dozens of internal documents from the bank and the bank note firms, including many seized by police after executing search warrants, it said, without naming sources. Police in July charged Note Printing Australia and Securency over alleged payments to officials in Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam between 1999 and 2005 following a two-year inquiry. The RBA and its partner in the Securency joint venture, Innovia Films, are looking for a buyer for the firm, and this year valued its half share at A$54 million (RM164.20 million).
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| Government spent RM1.2b keeping IWK afloat Posted: 04 Oct 2011 06:21 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - Putrajaya said today it had spent RM1.2 billion to sustain Indah Water Konsortium's (IWK) operations since nationalising the national sewerage company in 2000. The finance ministry said in a reply to a parliamentary question from Anthony Loke (DAP-Rasah) that IWK has liabilities amounting to RM2 billion, while its assets were valued at about RM1.2 billion. "The government has spent about RM1.2 billion to cover IWK's operational deficit due to low sewerage tariffs as compared to the true cost of operations. "IWK's total liability up to June 2011, most of which are government support loans, is RM1.98 billion," it said in a written reply. The finance ministry also said that there are no plans to privatise IWK but the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry would be restructuring the sewerage industry, reviewing sewerage tariffs and guaranteeing future capital expenditure. Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah had said on September 10 that IWK would be merged with a government unit, confirming a report by The Malaysian Insider. Ahmad Husni said that the merger process was already underway but declined to disclose the name of the government subsidiary, except to say that IWK would continue to be government-owned after the merger. The Malaysian Insider reported on September 8 that IWK would be privatised into a consortium led by strategic investment agency 1MDB, some 11 years after the government was forced to bail out the national sewerage company from financial difficulties under its previous owners.
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| Economists see new recession increasingly likely Posted: 04 Oct 2011 06:03 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chances of a new U.S. recession are rising rapidly as employment and housing remain depressed and Europe's debt crisis threatens to spill over, according to a number of prominent economists. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday described the recovery as "close to faltering," economists at Goldman Sachs said the United States is on "the edge" of recession, and forecasters at the Economic Cycle Research Institute said the country's economy was "tipping" into another downturn. Bernanke delivered the warning in testimony to the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, saying the Fed -- the U.S. central bank -- is prepared to do more to support the recovery. Economists at Goldman Sachs lowered their forecast for U.S. economic growth in the first quarter of next year to a paltry 0.5 percent, citing Europe's ongoing debt crisis as a possible catalyst for a U.S. slump. "The European crisis threatens U.S. economic growth via tighter financial conditions, reduced credit availability and weaker growth of U.S. exports to the region," said Andrew Tilton, economist at Goldman Sachs. "This impact is likely to slow the U.S. economy to the edge of recession by early 2012." On Friday, the Economic Cycle Research Institute, a business cycle forecasting firm, argued that the economy was already past the point of no return, as was the ability of policymakers to help. "The most reliable forward-looking indicators are now collectively behaving as they did on the cusp of full-blown recessions, not 'soft landings'," the group said in a report. For many Americans, the economy never felt as if it had recovered at all. Incomes have remained stagnant while a slump in housing that began more than five years ago shows no sign of letting up. Growth in the U.S. economy, the world's largest, averaged less than 1 percent in the first half of the year, and the country's unemployment rate has hovered just above 9 percent for several months. Long-term joblessness is at a record, despite unprecedented monetary easing by the Federal Reserve. The Conference Board, an industry group, recently argued the chances of recession, while still below 50-50, have risen in recent months. "There is a growing risk that sustained weak confidence could put downward pressure on demand and business activity, causing the economy to potentially dip into recession," said Ken Goldstein, an economist at the firm.
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| The ONE ring still confounding all Posted: 04 Oct 2011 04:32 PM PDT
Nazri Aziz has tried to explain away 'Rosmah's diamond ring' but some are still sceptical about the one ring's Malaysian journey. (Free Malaysia Today) - A former PKR supreme council member Badrul Hisham Shaharin says that Minister in the Prime Minister Department Nazri Aziz's explanation of the RM73 million "Rosmah's diamond ring" has a hollow ring to it. Yesterday, Nazri said in a written reply to Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), after checking with the Customs Department, "confirmed that there was no such purchase of the ring". He also admitted that the ring was brought to Malaysia for a private exhibition display and sent back after four days. Badrul Hisham said he is also diappointed that Nazri did not mention about allegations that there were also diamond-fitted bangles. "I am not making any accusation but it is about time Rosmah provided an explanation and not just say 'it's all nonsense and they envy me,'" he said. He said thare is still a cloud hanging over the allegations as Nazri has failed to address the screenshots from the Customs office computers which clearly indicate that Rosmah as the recipient of the diamond ring. Screenshots of the alleged Customs computer displays also revealed that the ring did not have import duties. The diamond ring episode started in July, when a blog called "MiloSuam" claimed that a diamond ring worth a whopping US$24 million (RM73.48 million) was sent to Rosmah sometime in April by New York-based fine jewellers, Jacob & Co. After a few days another blogger called "Semut and Papan Kekunci" published photographs of Rosmah wearing bangles that were strikingly similar to Jacob & Co's "Zebra Safari Collection". A check by FMT with Jacob & Co revealed that the Safari collection bangles were worth nearly RM1.65 million.
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| Dam will damn us, say villagers Posted: 04 Oct 2011 02:23 PM PDT By Queville To, The Malaysian Insider KOTA KINABALU: The villagers of Kampung Tambatuon in Kota Belud unanimously rejected the state government's offer of an "annual gratuity" of RM500,000 as well as a study tour to Kedah as an inducement to make way for the construction of a dam in their village. The mostly farming community, who have been battling the government relocation, plan pointed out that they are already earning far more from their agriculture activities which include padi and rubber plantations as well as orchards. The amount offered by the state government works out to about RM500 for each of them annually. The village currently consists of 898 villagers. According to Singkui B Tinggi, the former village chief of the picturesque and fertile village located at the foot of Mount Kinabalu, most villagers are currently earning between RM5,000 and RM10,000 per month. He noted that a majority of the villagers there owned rubber plantations ranging from 10 acres to more than 20 acres, besides farms for other agriculture produce. Two Barisan Nasional elected representatives have been pushing for the construction of a dam at the site which they said could generate RM500,000 for the villagers. In a statement issued on Tuesday, Singkui disclosed that the decision to reject the offer made by Kedamaian state assemblyman Herbert Timbun Lagadan in July this year was reached at an emergency meeting held by the Tambatuon Dam Action Committee (TDAC) at the village's mini hall on Sept 11. "We hereby reject all the offers made to us by Herbert and Abdul Rahman Dahlan (MP for Kota Belud). We do not wish to sell our village," he said. He reminded the two that the villagers voted for them in the last general election so that they could further improve the economy of the place, rather than threaten their livelihood and destroy their village. Poor irrigation, not water shortage to blame The Village Action Committee recently also submitted a memorandum on the matter to Chief Minister Musa Aman and his deputy Joseph Pairin Kitingan. Kampung Tambatuon is nestled on the banks of Sungai Kadamaian and Sungai Kilombon which are fed by waters running off Mt Kinabalu. The place is popular with tourists who flock to the village to see the unique "tagal" practice in Sabah, a sustainable freshwater fishing practice that allows harvesting only once a year. Since news of the proposed construction of the RM450 million dam first surfaced early last year, it has drawn strong protests and criticism from hundreds of villagers, environmentalists and academics.
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| RR orders to be lifted for 125 as first security law is repealed Posted: 04 Oct 2011 02:06 PM PDT By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today that 125 restricted residence orders will be lifted once the first of the security laws is repealed under his latest reforms. Calling it "obsolete and irrelevant," the prime minister said that 200 warrants due to be served under the Restricted Residence Act will also be cancelled by the Home Ministry. "Virtual communication has become an alternative to individuals who are limited in physical contact," he told Parliament. The prime minister said, "The home minister will free all 125 individuals under Restricted Residence orders immediately. Simultaneously, the Home Ministry will also cancel more than 200 warrants that have not been served." Najib is also due to table the repeal of the Banishment Act later today. The repeal of the two laws kicks off Najib's reform package as announced in his Malaysia Day address. |
| Putrajaya says Malaysia was colonised, disputes MPN’s version of history Posted: 04 Oct 2011 02:01 PM PDT By Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 — Putrajaya finally resolved today the confusion over Malaysia's historical past and rubbished claims that the country had never been colonised by the British. Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin told Parliament today that although the Malay Rulers had retained their sovereignty while under British rule, they were compelled to accept advice from their colonisers, a clear indication that the country "was not free". "On the question of whether Malaysia was colonised, the answer is — yes. I take that stand although there are some views stating otherwise. "If we study historical facts carefully, we will know that our celebration of Merdeka is not in vain because we were colonised. "The Malay Rulers had to accept the advice of the British commissioner or resident and this means we were not free," he told the House. Muhyiddin, who is also deputy prime minister and Umno deputy president, was responding to a supplementary question from Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak), who had pressed for a response from Putrajaya on the issue. Azmin had pointed out that the recent claim by the National Professors' Council (MPN) that Malaysia was never colonised by the British and the government's subsequent silence had caused confusion among Malaysians, particularly students who are scheduled to sit for SPM examinations next month. |
| Putrajaya ditches Chinese US$1b Pudu Jail plan for local developers Posted: 04 Oct 2011 09:40 AM PDT By Jahabar Sadiq, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 — The Najib administration has dropped a mainland Chinese developer's US$1 billion (RM3.2 billion) redevelopment plan for Pudu Jail in favour of splitting the eight-hectare prime land into parcels to be developed by mainly Bumiputera companies, sources say. The Malaysian Insider understands that Pudu Jail land owner, UDA Holdings Bhd, has been instructed by its shareholder, the Ministry of Finance (MOF), to set up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to oversee the redevelopment and carve up the land with two parcels to be given to Bumiputera companies and one to a non-Bumiputera firm.
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