Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Talking Bibles: PAS won’t entertain Hasan
- Few non-Malays in vocational schools
- Ex-minister: Saifuddin has distorted NFC cattle purchase
- Malaysia’s economy likely to slow despite earlier boom
- Businessman says Khairy non-factor in ECM Libra’s RM330m valuation
- PAS stirs more discomfort in Kedah
- RM100mil meant for Miri port repairs missing
- RM250 Million From Govt A Loan, Not Grant - NFC
- Zahid not in Russia to sign arms deal
- Ling trial: 12 Ministers to be called in defence
- Solar bibles: Hasan Ali insulting Muslims, says Asri
- RM70k rental for cattle condo ‘unbelievable’, say property gurus
| Talking Bibles: PAS won’t entertain Hasan Posted: 17 Nov 2011 07:13 PM PST Selangor PAS Commissioner says that responding to Hasan would be giving a small issue great importance. (Free Malaysia Today) - Selangor PAS Commissioner, Abdul Rani Osman, today said that PAS will not entertain the latest claim by his predecessor, Hasan Ali, that solar-powered talking Bibles are being used to convert Muslims in Selangor. Hasan, who heads the state's Islamic affairs portfolio, yesterday announced this as part of research conducted by the state's religious authority (JAIS). His statement has earned him a tongue-lashing from Islamic scholar, Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, for insulting both Muslims and the Islamic faith. But no PAS leader has publicly chastised Hasan as yet and Abdul Rani said he doubted that any would take the bait. "Hasan's statement is a provocative move and unfortunately we don't have a state disciplinary body," he said. "But entertaining this would only have a negative affect on Pakatan Rakyat." Hasan's claim comes just three months after a controversial raid by JAIS on the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) following allegations of proselytisation during a charity dinner there. But Abdul Rani dismissed speculation that it could further resurrect tensions between Muslims and Christians in the state. "PAS is not at all worried about that because this issue is not as big as certain quarters hope to make it," he said. "So we will turn a blind eye rather than add fire to it. With elections around the corner, we have bigger issues to focus on like corruption." Abdul Rani, the Meru assemblyman, also confirmed rumours of controversial booklets being distributed in Selangor aimed at triggering Muslim-Christian conflict. According to a source, these booklets are being circulated by suraus in the state and depict Muslims holding baptism certificates with a background image of DUMC.
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| Few non-Malays in vocational schools Posted: 17 Nov 2011 06:31 PM PST (The Malay Mail) - Malays and Bumiputeras seem to dominate the government's vocational and technical secondary schools as well as its tertiary training institutions, leaving Malaysia's other ethnicities behind with only a two per cent representation in these establishments. This was the concern highlighted by the Action Committee on Technical and Vocational Education Malaysia who tried to submit a memorandum titled: Malaysian Technical and Vocational Education in Malaysia's Future Development to Deputy Prime Minister also Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. Sadly, the Committee was left disappointed despite attempts to meet an officer from the Deputy Prime Minister's Department. "We emailed them, called them, sent them letters time and again for months without success. So today we decided to come here and try our luck but all we got was to submit it to the Department's mailroom," said the disappointed Committee's Programme Director Ho Yock Lin. The Committee chairman Tan Chin Yim said he believed the government needs to take a more pro-active reasure to ensure an ethnic balance in vocational and technical institutions in light of the nation's move towards being a developed nation by 2020.
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| Ex-minister: Saifuddin has distorted NFC cattle purchase Posted: 17 Nov 2011 06:02 PM PST (The Star) - A former minister has slammed PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution for allegedly distorting the facts surrounding the purchase of cattle from the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC). Ex-federal territories minister Datuk Seri Zulhasnan Rafique admitted there was a delay in the payment for 25 cows bought to celebrate Hari Raya Aidil Adha three years ago, but it was because the invoice was only sent a month later. He said NFC only faxed the invoice for the RM70,000 purchase to his service centre in Setiawangsa on Jan 28, 2009 more than a month after the purchase on Dec 17, 2008. "Upon receipt of the invoice, the service centre issued full payment on Jan 29, 2009, via a cheque handed over to NFC on the same day," he said in a statement yesterday. Saifuddin was quoted in news portals yesterday as claiming that Zulhasnan had bought the cows on credit in 2008 and only settled the debt in 2009. Zulhasnan, who is also Setiawangsa MP, accused Saifuddin of taking his statement in bad faith. "It was a manipulation of facts in an attempt to make political insinuations," he said. Works Minister Datuk Seri Shaziman Abu Mansor, meanwhile, said NFC had donated two cows worth RM5,281.87 to the poor in the Tampin constituency in 2009. Shaziman, who is also Tampin MP, said he was shocked to learn of the Opposition's claim on Wednesday that the cattle was given to him, and had ordered an immediate investigation.
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| Malaysia’s economy likely to slow despite earlier boom Posted: 17 Nov 2011 06:01 PM PST (The Malaysian Insider) - Malaysia should brace for a protracted economic slump despite the expected announcement today that its economy has grown by up to 4.8 per cent in the past three months, analysts have warned, as the mushrooming debt cloud from the US and Europe spreads eastwards. As the country heads into the last six weeks of the year, Bloomberg News reported today that most Asian currencies have been falling in the past three months on concern the nations that led the recovery from the 2009 global recession will falter.  File photo of a weekly night market in Kota Kinabalu. Analysts have said Malaysia should brace itself for a slump despite the recent growth in the economy. — Reuters pic The ringgit has fallen more than five per cent in the past three months while the Thai baht has weakened 3.3 per cent but neither countries have cut their rates even as Indonesia and Australia lowered borrowing costs in this last quarter. "Probably they are not cutting interest rates that aggressively but letting their currency depreciate," Ho said, adding he expects Malaysia and Thailand to highlight the risks to growth going forward. Citing United Overseas Bank Ltd, Bloomberg reported that policymakers throughout the region may allow more weakening to support non-oil exports to Europe and the US, which have been crashing across the board in Singapore. The republic's main electronics sector has been battered and dropped by 31 per cent last month compared to the same period last year due to poor demand for disk drives and integrated circuits which plunged more than 50 per cent. Analysts observed that Malaysia's growth spurt in the last quarter was due to its strong domestic demand and export before the sovereign debt-crisis deepened in Europe.
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| Businessman says Khairy non-factor in ECM Libra’s RM330m valuation Posted: 17 Nov 2011 05:59 PM PST (The Malaysian Insider) - Businessman Datuk Seri Kalimullah Hassan denied today Khairy Jamaluddin's involvement with ECM Libra Bhd resulted in the investment bank's valuation to rise to RM330 million in the reverse takeover of South Peninsular Industries (SPI) in March 2004. The former New Straits Times Press (NSTP) deputy chairman told the High Court here in his defamation suit against lawyer Matthias Chang that the son-in-law of then-Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi only joined the company as "a junior staff" after the deal was done. Chang's lawyer Datuk R. Kamalanathan had said that ECM Libra was preparing to make the Rembau MP a shareholder "on the basis of his relationship with the prime minister, who was also the finance minister", allowing the board of directors to value the company at 10 times its projected earnings for the year. "Absolutely not true. Khairy is not relevant. That is untrue and scurrilous," Kalimullah said. He said the valuation was based on "industry norms and a willing buyer, willing seller basis," citing Kencana Petroleum's recent 25 times valuation in its merger with SapuraCrest. Kalimullah said "there is nothing wrong" with hiring Khairy as a director in ECM Libra for his connections but stressed that this was "not just politicians but with industries, this is how business is done." "Wouldn't you agree that this is entirely corrupt? Stealing a march on an ordinary person who has no connections?" Kamalanathan asked. "Then every investment banker in town is corrupt," Kalimullah replied.
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| PAS stirs more discomfort in Kedah Posted: 17 Nov 2011 05:23 PM PST MCA has alleged that non-Muslim business operators in the state are being forced to 'close-shop' for 15 minutes during prayers times. (Free Malaysia Today) - A directive by the local councils in Kedah for non-Muslim shops to cease operations for 15 minutes during prayer times has riled the Kedah MCA. Crying foul, the party cited several other regulations imposed by the local councils which infringe on the rights of non-Muslims. In a statement today, Kedah MCA chairman Chong Itt Chew criticised the Pakatan Rakyat led state government for emulating Kelantan in its approach which he described as 'a failure'. Kedah is helmed by PAS' Azizan Abdul Razak (photo). "Although the Syariah Criminal Enactment, which was passed in Kelantan in 1993, has yet to be enforced in the state itself, Kedah's local councils readily adopted its doctrines," said Chong. For starters, Chong said, business premises including those that belonged to non-Muslims, are told to cease operations for 15 minutes during Muslim prayer times. "They are also forced to close their business at 3pm during Ramadan," alleged Chong. Threat to license He claimed that the local councils had also threatened to confiscate their business licenses should the businessmen fail to comply with the regulation. Chong also raised the unresolved issue of the 40-year swine abattoir which was demolished in 2009.
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| RM100mil meant for Miri port repairs missing Posted: 17 Nov 2011 03:49 PM PST Barisan Nasional's 'crony-orientated policies' has also been blamed for the 30-year-old squatter problem in Miri. (Free Malaysia Today) - KUCHING: Where has the RM100 million federal allocation to resolve the silting problem in Miri port gone? This question was posed by Piasau assemblyman Ling Sie Kiong during the debate on the state's 2012 budget. "And what had happened to the RM5 million fund allocated for study and RM100 million allocated by the federal government to solve the Miri port problem?" he asked. Ling said Miri port is facing problems of shallow waters due to silting and big ships can no longer dock there. Hence many ships now bypass Miri for Bintulu port instead. "The Miri port is the notorious 'white elephant' that is grossly under-utilized after its costly construction and expensive maintenance to keep it running. "There is still a never-ending debate about whether to dredge the waters regularly at heavy costs or relocate the port further away from the river mouth, " he said. He described the Miri port as an epic wastage and a result of bad planning by the BN government. "The same can happen with dams, and such situation must be avoided for the sake of the people and environment," he said referring to the Bakun dam and the proposed 12 other dams. "Hydro-electric power dams are both a boon and a bane for the people around the world, and the larger they are, the larger their effects," he added. 30-year-old squatter issue Ling, who slayed his six-term predecessor and former deputy Chief Minister George Chan in the April 16 state election, also highlighted Miri's perennial squatter issue. He blamed Miri's unresolved squatter problems on the government's crony-orientated politics. He said there was no reason for sprawling Miri division to experience squatter problems. "It is ironic that the largest state in the country could not even provide land to house the poor and needy people in the large division of Miri, when so much state land in Miri had been alienated to big companies over the past few years.
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| RM250 Million From Govt A Loan, Not Grant - NFC Posted: 17 Nov 2011 10:59 AM PST (Bernama) - GEMAS -- The National Feedlot Corporation(NFC) obtained a loan of RM250 million from the government and it is not a grant, said its . executive chairman, Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail. He said the loan must be repaid as any commercial loan, albeit certain concessions given. The RM250 million, at an interest rate of two per cent, was repayable commencing on the third year of full disbursement of the said loan and upon completion of the construction of an export quality abattoir, he said. "Currently the loan has not been fully disbursed to the NFC. There is RM69 million of the remaining loan to be utilised," he told a press conference to address allegations by PKR on the NFC's performance here, yesterday. Mohammad Salleh said the loan was placed in Special Loans Account but a drawdown process was required before funds could be utilised by the NFC. On the allegation that the Meatworks chain of restaurants received special discount amounting to RM2.9 million in 2009, Mohammad Salleh said the same discount was received by all 70 customers it had during that time. Creating Meatworks as a brand name in selling quality meat had enabled NFC to penetrate into an already tightly managed and controlled market, Mohammad Salleh said. "People cannot believe that Malaysia can produce good quality premium meat," he added. On the higher price of NFC cattle compared to cows purchased in Malaysia, Mohammad Salleh said the NFC cows usually weighed 70-100 per cent more than local cows. Mohammad Salleh said NFC now had 150 client companies and a few of its biggest clients were Jusco, Giant and Cold Storage. NFC supplied 46 per cent of its meat to wet markets, 20 per cent to hypermarkets, 22 per cent went to processing meat for burgers and patties and only 11 per cent to hotels, restaurants and catering companies, he said. He said in the three years since its inception, NFC had managed to develop infrastructure such as feedlot, abattoir, feedstore and cold rooms. Next year, he said NFC would embark on contract farming. "We have already broken-even and expect to register a profit," he added. |
| Zahid not in Russia to sign arms deal Posted: 17 Nov 2011 10:58 AM PST (The Sun) - An aide to Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has denied claims that he was in Russia to sign a deal to purchase fighter jets. His media director Kol Fadzlette Othman Merican told theSun in a text message yesterday that Zahid was invited to visit Russia by its government. "It's a long overdue visit. He was not there to sign any deal," she said. Fadzlette declined to state if any negotiations took place during the visit. It is believed that this was Zahid's first visit to Russia since being defence minister. The Russian state news agency Ria Novosti had created a stir when it reported that Zahid might sign a contract to buy 18 Sukhoi Su-30MKM fighters during the visit. Zahid had recently been reported as saying that plans to purchase 18 new multi-role combat aircraft for the Royal Malaysian Air Force had been postponed due to the lack of funds. The Russian news agency cited a report in the Izvestia daily which said that Malaysian had plans to buy 18 fighters fit to carry the Russian-Indian Brahmos supersonic cruise missiles. The paper, citing miitary sources, reported that Zahid would visit the Irkut aviation plant, producing Su-30MKI fighters. Izvestia reported one such aircraft would cost Malaysia about US$50 million (RM150 million). The minister "may sign a contract to buy 18 Su-30MKM multirole fighters," the paper said. The paper had said that Zahid also plans to discuss installing new missiles, including the BrahMos, on the 18 MKM fighters that Malaysia received under the US$900 million (RM270 million) contract signed in 2003. |
| Ling trial: 12 Ministers to be called in defence Posted: 17 Nov 2011 10:48 AM PST By S Tamarai Chelvi, The Sun The defence in former Transport Minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik's cheating trial intends to call a dozen former and present cabinet ministers, including prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak and his two predecessors: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Ling's lawyer Wong Kian Kheong said this after the prosecution closed its case after the 25th witness, Investigating Officer Supt R Rajagopal completed his testimony at the High Court today. Senior DPP Tun Majid Tun Hamzah closed the prosecution case and offered 113 prosecution witnesses to the defence team. "We will make them available upon request," said Tun Majid. At this point, Wong said the defence will be calling Najib, Mahathir, Abdullah, Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, Tan Sri Musa Mohamed, Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Zainal Abidin, Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir, Tan Sri Leo Moggie, Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid, Datuk Seri Utama Rais Yatim, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and Tun Dr Lim Keng Yaik. At this point, the judge Datuk Ahmadi Asnawi asked: "You are calling almost all the cabinet ministers?", causing those seated at the public gallery to break out into laughter. Wong explained that the charge stated that Ling cheated the cabinet and asked the court for more time to obtain instruction from Ling on other witnesses. Wong said the defence is calling cabinet members who were present at a meeting chaired by Najib, who was then Deputy Prime Minister on June 27, 2007. The meeting gave retrospective approval for the Port Klang Free Zone project development cost to balloon from RM1.08 billion to RM4.6 billion in 2007. Several other ministers who Wong intends to call were in the cabinet in 2002. Also on the list of intended witnesses is Tan Sri Ali Abul Hassan Sulaiman, who was special economic adviser for Mahathir during the period. Judge Ahmadi then fixed Dec 12 and 13 for both parties to submit at the end of the prosecution case. He also said the parties can prepare written submissions to highlight important points. Ling, 68, is charged with cheating the government by not disclosing to the Cabinet an additional interest rate of 7.5 percent per annum on the purchase price of the land for the PKFZ project, which had been fixed at RM1,088,456,000 by the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH) based on RM25 per sq ft inclusive of the coupon/interest rate. He also faces two alternative charges, of cheating and intentionally omitting from the Cabinet that the 7.5 percent per annum was an additional interest rate on the land price. The offences were allegedly committed at the fourth floor of the Prime Minister's Office, Perdana Putra building in Putrajaya, between Sept 25 and Nov 6, 2002. |
| Solar bibles: Hasan Ali insulting Muslims, says Asri Posted: 17 Nov 2011 10:46 AM PST By G Manimaran, The Malaysian Insider Islamic scholar Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin sniped at Selangor PAS leader Datuk Dr Hasan Ali today for "insulting Muslims" by claiming they would be influenced by Christians using high-tech devices to proselytise to them. "It is an insult to Muslims and the Islamic faith. As if Muslims who listen to Bible readings would eventually be swayed.
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| RM70k rental for cattle condo ‘unbelievable’, say property gurus Posted: 17 Nov 2011 09:29 AM PST By Lee Wai Lian, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 — The reported RM70,000 in monthly rental for not one but two condominiums owned by the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) has property consultants and real estate agents shaking their heads in disbelief. The experts say that the highest rental that can be expected for even the penthouse at Bangsar's One Menerung condominium is about RM24,000 per month. They also point out that even if the tenants were renting the biggest condominium unit at One Menerung, which is between 6,000-7,000 square feet, the tenants would be paying least RM10 per sq ft, which is double or more the rate at KLCC's Binjai On The Park, currently KL's most expensive condominium address. The NFC also said yesterday that the rental yield for the two condominiums had hit 12.9 per cent, which is far in excess of the industry benchmark of three per cent or less. "Who is the tenant?" asked one veteran property consultant. "It is unbelievable. To get RM70,000 for a condominium is unheard of. Usually when renters pay more than RM15,000 they expect to get a whole luxury bungalow." He pointed out that multinationals were very unlikely to have such a huge budget for rent and wealthy Arab businessmen would prefer to buy their own place rather than rent. Real estate agents for One Menerung contacted by The Malaysian Insider said that it was "not possible" to get RM70,000 in monthly rent and that it would be difficult to find anyone willing to pay even RM4 a sq ft. Figures from a valuation report on One Menerung obtained by The Malaysian Insider pegged rents for the penthouse at about RM24,000 and between RM14,000 and RM17,000 for the smaller units below 5,000 sq ft. "Nobody would pay RM70,000 for a condo," said one valuer. NFC executive chairman Datuk Mohamad Salleh Ismail reportedly said at a press conference yesterday that it bought two condominiums at RM6.9 million and rented them out at RM70,000 a month, giving a yield of some 12.9 per cent. The size of the purchased units was not reported.
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