Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Nazri: Govt paid FBC Media to repair image abroad
- Pakatan: GST won’t save Malaysia from bankruptcy
- Husni dismisses debt fears, says government has enough funds
- Bahasa Malaysia has no global economic value
- Greek govt heading for meltdown
- Kita is dreaming, says Kedah DAP
- Malaysian companies among the worst ‘bribers’
- How many ministers’ children are studying abroad?
- ETP on track but vision some distance away
- Reforming the A-G’s Office
- Parliament debates docking a month from PM’s pay
- Putrajaya says FBC media helped attract FDI, tourism
| Nazri: Govt paid FBC Media to repair image abroad Posted: 01 Nov 2011 05:46 PM PDT (The Star) - The Government engaged FBC Media (UK) to improve Malaysia's image abroad which was damaged due to remarks made by the Opposition, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz. He criticised Opposition leaders for making disparaging comments about the country internationally, which had damaged the country's reputation. "If they do not bad mouth the government by feeding lies to the international media, we do not have to pay any money to repair our image," he told Datuk Mohamed Aziz (BN-Sri Gading) in Parliament. Nazri said the use of FBC Media did not breach any local laws. "We were informed that the company was now under investigation for conflict of interest by broadcasters for making editorial programmes without declaring that it had commercial interest with some programmes it had featured. "This may be an offence of UK broadcasting and ethic guidelines but they did not commit any criminal offence during our engagement," he told Dr Mohd Hatta Md Ramli PAS-Kuala Krai) during Question Time. Nazri said that the government paid FBC Media 19.6mil Euros (RM83.304mil) for three years of services since 2007. Nazri also revealed that the Government spent RM323,268.19 on a two-day trip to Turkmenistan by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. Five memorandum of understanding (MoU) were signed to strengthen existing bilateral relations.
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| Pakatan: GST won’t save Malaysia from bankruptcy Posted: 01 Nov 2011 05:41 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - The federal opposition said today that implementing a goods and services tax (GST), as suggested by Datuk Seri Idris Jala, will not stop Malaysia from going bankrupt as "it is like throwing money into a pocket with holes." Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers told a press conference that it was government wastage, corruption and mismanagement that caused national debt to jump to 53 per cent of GDP. "The operating expenditure has more than doubled from RM89 billion in 2005 to RM182 billion next year. Until you stitch the hole in the pocket, throwing more money will only make the hole bigger," said DAP publicity chief Tony Pua. Idris, who is the minister in charge of Putrajaya's Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu), repeated yesterday his warning that Malaysia could be bankrupt within a decade if it spends borrowed money on operational expenditure such as subsidies. "If our economy grows less than four per cent ... and we don't cut our operating expenditure, if we borrow at 12.5 per cent, if our annual debt rises to 12.5 per cent and our revenue does not grow, then it will happen," the senator said. He also accused the Opposition of forcing the government to delay GST as "every time the government wants to do it the Opposition makes life difficult for them, saying that they will lose votes." But Pua pointed out today that the government did not need more money as revenue has nearly doubled from RM99 billion in 2005 to RM187 billion projected in Budget 2012. "The issue of GST does not arise. Bankruptcy will be due to wastage," said PAS research chief Dzulkefly Ahmad.
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| Husni dismisses debt fears, says government has enough funds Posted: 01 Nov 2011 05:39 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - Datuk Seri Husni Hanadzlah said today that the government could still fund its spending as it has large reserves including some RM30 billion in trust funds which are under review. This comes as concerns rise over whether the government was at risk of going bust due to spending outstripping revenue. The second finance minister also said that the RM407 billion national debt that grew 12.3 per cent last year was still manageable as it had yet to breach critical thresholds such as revenue to debt service ratio. Husni said that the government has asked the Accountant-General to review trust funds worth more than RM30 billion. "These funds were for various programmes but some are dormant," he told reporters at the sidelines of the MIA-AFA Conference here today. "We have huge reserves." The minister also said that the government had more than RM4 billion in contingency funding, RM5 billion in Kumpulan Wang Amanah Nasional, approximately RM1.2 billion in land assets that could be monetised and that it had plugged loopholes in tax collection and has been conservative in estimating its revenue. Husni said that the national debt was still below the critical level of 55 per cent of GDP and that its loan payment to national revenue was at 10 per cent which was below the "prudent" level of 15 per cent. He also pointed out that external loans were well below the RM35 billion limit and the debt serving ratio for external loans was at about two per cent. "It is well within our capability," he said.
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| Bahasa Malaysia has no global economic value Posted: 01 Nov 2011 05:30 PM PDT Whats the point of flagging Bahasa Malaysia when our economy is weak? (Free Malaysia Today) - Sarawak opposition has called on the federal government to be both sensible and practical in dealing with the issue of Bahasa Malaysia as a useable national language. Drawing attention to Sarawak's multi-dialectical communities, state DAP secretary general Chong Chien Jen said it was disappointing to see the government's 'overzealousness' about pushing the Bahasa Malaysia agenda. Said Chong: "From a Sarawakian perspective it is a stupid move…in Sarawak, Bahasa Malaysia, English and native languages are used alongside each other. "This is written in our Malaysia Agreement…there is no issue. "We understand Bahasa Malaysia is our national language. It is important, but we have to also understand that the country is not an island. We are playing in global fields," he said. No economic value He said from an economic point of view the move would be detrimental to the country in the long run. "When the economy is weak, you cannot be overzealous about Bahasa Malaysia. "If our economy is strong, not only our people will start to learn Bahasa Malaysia, foreigners will also start learning the language. "Just like China now where a lot of foreigners are learning Mandarin because her economy is strong," he said alluding to Malaysia's public debt and the frail global economy.
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| Greek govt heading for meltdown Posted: 01 Nov 2011 05:28 PM PDT (Agencies) - ATHENS: Greece's government appeared headed for meltdown ahead of a confidence vote after Prime Minister George Papandreou called a referendum on the country's EU debt deal. The shock announcement sparked a call for early elections and a defection that left Mr Papandreou's parliamentary majority on a knife edge, while shares plunged 6.92 per cent. Adding to the chaos, Greece's foreign minister cancelled meetings with three foreign ambassadors, while Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos was hospitalised with an inflamed appendix. Amid the political upheaval,Venizelos – a former party rival of Mr Papandreou – appeared to distance himself from the referendum bombshell on Tuesday when sources close to him said he was unaware of it. The assertion was at odds with an impassioned speech Venizelos gave in parliament on Monday in support of the move. The semi-state Athens News Agency said Venizelos made a flurry of phone calls to European and International Monetary Fund officials to brief them on developments. Papandreou, fighting to keep the country's troubled economic rescue on track, will travel to Cannes, France, on Wednesday where G20 leaders are holding a summit on Thursday and Friday. He will attend a working dinner with host Nicolas Sarkozy of France, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European council chief Herman Van Rompuy, EU commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso, eurozone head policymaker Jean-Claude Juncker, new ECB chief Mario Draghi and IMF managing director Christine Lagarde. In a phone call with Ms Merkel on Tuesday, Papandreou insisted that the referendum would "strengthen" Greece in the eurozone and globally, his office said. His call for a referendum was meant as a bid to secure approval of his disputed economic policies without early elections. But the gambit backfired when a former deputy minister defected, reducing the ruling party's majority in the 300-seat parliament to 152 deputies. Papandreou had faced increasing dissent within his own party over the tougher austerity policy monitored by the EU and the IMF that has sparked general strikes and widespread protests, many of them violent. Although the EU deal agreed last Thursday after marathon talks in Brussels included an agreement to write off 100 billion euros of debt owed by Greece, the Athens government still has to implement a painful package of austerity measures to get its hands on bailout funds.
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| Kita is dreaming, says Kedah DAP Posted: 01 Nov 2011 05:26 PM PDT Kedah Kita retorts: So were DAP and PKR in 2008. (Free Malaysia Today) - Kedah DAP today dismissed Kita as an irrelevant party in the state and predicted that its candidates for the general election will lose their deposits. State DAP chief Lee Guan Aik said his Kita counterpart, Zamil Ibrahim, was daydreaming when he spoke yesterday of scoring upset wins in the coming election. He said Zamil was "ignorant of political realities" and "Kita candidates are going to lose their deposits." Zamil, whom FMT contacted for a response, said Kita was only doing what Pakatan Rakyat parties did before the 2008 election. "Pakatan did not expect to win then, but it won," he said. "What's wrong in daydreaming then? Their daydream of forming the state government became a reality. Why not ours?" Lee, who is the state assemblyman for Kota Darulaman and DAP's only representative in the Kedah legislature, said Kedah voters did not even know what Kita stood for. "Kita has a long way to go yet to win over the people," he said. "But they have their right to say what they want to say. Nothing wrong in daydreaming." Yesterday, at a function to introduce Kedah Kita's election manifesto, Zamil said his party was looking forward to replacing PKR and DAP in the state government. He claimed that the two parties never had a firm political presence in Kedah and won in 2008 only because of a "political tsunami". Kita is eyeing six parliamentary and 12 state seats in Kedah. Claiming that both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan were besieged by internal political problems in the state, he said "Kita can fish in trouble waters." Lee said Kita could not get anywhere near DAP's political background and service record in the country. "Our political longevity is second only to PAS," he said, referring to DAP's 44 years of existence as a political party.
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| Malaysian companies among the worst ‘bribers’ Posted: 01 Nov 2011 05:07 PM PDT A Transparency International (TI) survey finds that Malaysian companies are most likely to bribe to get businesses. (Free Malaysia Today) - Malaysia is ranked 15th when it comes to companies most likely to pay bribes when doing business abroad, a survey suggests. Malaysia, Hong Kong, Italy and South Africa were in 15th place out of 28 countries in a poll of 3,000 business executives conducted by anti-corruption group Transparency International (TI). Companies from Russia and China are the most likely to pay bribes and were the top two 'bribers'. The Netherlands and Switzerland came top, while the UK ranked eighth, just ahead of the US and France. Bribery was reportedly most common to win public sector works and construction contracts. "It is of particular concern that China and Russia are at the bottom of the index," said TI in its report. "Given the increasing global presence of businesses from the countries, bribery and corruption are likely to have a substantial impact on societies in which they operate and on the ability of companies to compete fairly in these markets." Other major developing economies came much higher up the rankings. India was 19th, while Brazil, in 14th place, was one spot ahead of Italy. The report called for more international action to outlaw companies from paying bribes in foreign countries. "G20 governments must tackle foreign bribery as a matter of urgency," said Huguette Labelle, chair of TI, who said that more resources must be dedicated to investigations and prosecutions. Linked to corrupt governments "Unfortunately… there are no islands of integrity in Russian public and business life," said TI Russian director, Elena Panfilova. Survey respondents were asked to say how likely companies from each of the foreign countries were to offer back-handers. Bribe-paying was seen as much more common by businessmen from countries whose governments were also considered to have the least integrity, according to a separate "corruption perceptions" survey carried out by TI last year. The sector most affected by bribery was public procurement – where companies compete to win contracts from governments for everything from waste collection to road building.
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| How many ministers’ children are studying abroad? Posted: 01 Nov 2011 01:53 PM PDT By Joseph Tawie, FMT KUCHING: The opposition in Sarawak are backing a call for a referendum to find out how many federal cabinet ministers, their deputies and those involved in education policy-making are sending their children overseas to study where the medium of instruction is in English. The Sarawak opposition parties have also urged the government "to be practical" about the issue. According to Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian, many Sarawakian parents along with party members wanted to know where the ministers sent their children to study and how many were sent abroad. "There is a suggestion by certain quarters that there should be a referendum among the federal ministers where and which schools they are sending their children to. "I support this suggestion so that we know where they send their children to. Are they sending their children overseas to learn English? "With this referendum, then we can see whether these ministers are sincere or they just want to make it (using Bahasa Malaysia to teach mathematics and science) just a political issue," he said. Bian was responding to Education Minister Muyiddin Yassin's announcement that starting next year all schools will start using Bahasa Malaysia as a medium of instruction to teach mathematics and science. De-politicize education Bian, who is the Ba'Kelalan assemblyman, said that both as a parent and a party member he wants the education policy de-politicised. "As a father and a PKR leader, we would like to make a stand regarding the change of education policy as announced by the Education Minister that the teaching of Mathematics and Science should be changed back to the use of Bahasa Malaysia. "An earlier indication from the school was that that they were given option. But now the use of Bahasa Malaysia to teach mathematics and science is absolute and without any option. "Looking at the history of our Education Ministers, each one of them would come with a different kind of policy when he took over the ministry, resulting in very inconsistent educational policies. "Our stand is that you should stick to one policy only as changing it mid-term is really making it worse for our people," said Bian. He added that the government, it appeared, had not learnt from the past. As the country is approaching the 13th general election, he said: "It is irresistible conclusion, as a lawyer would say, that the minister is using it as a political issue to gain political mileage. "As a minister for all races, he should not use it as a political issue. It is not fair to other people," he said.
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| ETP on track but vision some distance away Posted: 01 Nov 2011 01:50 PM PDT By Teoh El Sen, FMT KUALA LUMPUR: The government's Economic Transformation Plan (ETP) is on the right track but the light at the end of the tunnel is still some distance away. The ETP was incepted one year ago and the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) chief Idris Jala is pleased with the results, so far.
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| Posted: 01 Nov 2011 01:37 PM PDT By Zaid Ibrahim, FMT Abdul Gani Patail has been the Attorney General (A-G) for many years now. He assumed office at an early age, and it is his good fortune that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (who was prime minister at the time) liked him. During my short stint working with him, I found him cooperative and a hardworking civil servant. Abdul Gani will probably remain A-G for a while more, even though he has received a lot of flak and criticism. Some are justified, and some are not. The list of cases and complaints is too long for me to recite here but everyone knows that no one has been brought to book for the MAS scandal that caused losses of billions of ringgit. Everyone knows that those responsible for the death of Teoh Beng Hock, and Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed have not been held accountable. Everyone remembers the "no further action" against those implicated in the judge-fixing (i.e., the Lingam Videotape) scandal. There are many other cases involving high-profile personalities who were acquitted or had their charges dropped without the public being given satisfactory explanation of why those cases were not successful. This happened in the 2007 prosecution of Tan Sri Eric Chia for criminal breach of trust. It happened again in the 2009 prosecution of former Land and Cooperative Development Minister Tan Sri Kasitah Gaddam for corruption and cheating. It happened again this year in the high-profile case against Constable V Navindran, who was charged with causing grievous hurt to A Kugan who died in the Taipan police lock-up two years ago. The person who holds the office of AG must be one who make himself transparent and accountable. He must not be the the type who is reluctant to engage with the public. He must not remain below the radar, a personality trait common among those who like fishing. Its true that he is the chief legal adviser to the government and the Prime Minister, and in a sense its true that for as long as his employer is happy with him, why should he care about what the public thinks. But he is wrong to take this attitude. He is no ordinary civil servant. He is ex-officio the Public Prosecutor with powers conferred to him by the Federal Constitution. Malaysian Attorneys-General assume a dual role: they are simultaneously the legal adviser to the government and the Public Prosecutor. Taking responsibility As Public Prosecutor the A-G is entrusted with making sure that the criminal justice system works well and functions with integrity and fairness. As a legal adviser, the A-G makes sure that the activities of the government are legally defensible. The A-G works for the government of the day to make sure that all government actions are in accordance with the law – a good legal adviser will also put his or her foot down when the government transgresses the law. This is easier said than done when there are politicians in the Cabinet who place politics first and law second. Usually the AG will relent in such situation. However as a Public Prosecutor, the A-G works not for the government but for the public at large. He serves the public in providing a justice system that serve them well. As Public Prosecutor, the A-G is a public institution empowered by the constitution with all the discretionary powers in the world to charge or not to charge anyone for any offence or crime. He is the barometer by which we measure our success as a country governed by the Rule of Law. Unfortunately whist he is responsible for the well being of the justice system in the country, he has no control over other stakeholders. He has no say in how the police force should be managed. He has no say in how the investigation team could be improved. He has little say in the efficiency of the court system. He has to accept the quality of politicians managing the country. So its not fair to blame him soley for the weakness and defects in the overall administration of justice in the country. Still he has to assume some responsibility. When a public official has such wide discretionary powers, he or she must exercise them with care, based on established principles and with integrity and fairness. This is where the A-G must be transparent, must engage with the public, and must provide reasons for all his or her actions and decisions. The A-G cannot say "it's my power and that's the end of the matter". The A-G is a public institution and, as such, must be held accountable and answerable to the public. I tried to convince former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that the A-G's post should be made a political position and that the incumbent must be made a Cabinet member. The Attorney General, in my view, must be prepared to stand in Parliament and be held fully accountable. I was of, course, unsuccessful in pursuing this. Are the politicians ready? Making the A-G a political position does not mean that the A-G's Office automatically becomes somehow "better" than if it were non-political. The character and personality of the person appointed as A-G would still be the most important factor, but as a political office the incumbent would not be able to escape enquiry and questioning in Parliament.
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| Parliament debates docking a month from PM’s pay Posted: 01 Nov 2011 01:33 PM PDT By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia allowed MPs to debate today a motion to dock Datuk Seri Najib Razak's salary by RM22,826.65, or the equivalent of a month's wages. He said that although it was purely politically-motivated, he would allow the motion to be debated based on precedent. "Government backbenchers were allowed to debate a motion to dock the Opposition leader's salary in the past. If I don't allow this, then I will be accused of double-standards," he said. PKR vice president Chua Tian Chang had filed the motion last week to approve the government's 2012 Budget with an additional provision to dock the prime minister's salary. The Batu MP had said that "this is akin to a motion of no-confidence in the prime minister's leadership and administration." When tabling the motion today, he cited reasons such as the increase in national debt to over 51 per cent of GDP; the deaths of former DAP aide Teoh Beng Hock and Customs officer Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed while in Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission custody; and the clampdown on the July 9 Bersih rally for electoral reform. |
| Putrajaya says FBC media helped attract FDI, tourism Posted: 01 Nov 2011 01:31 PM PDT By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — The government said today image consultants FBC Media helped raise the standing of Malaysia as a tourism and investment destination during the RM94 million three-year deal that began in 2007. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz told Parliament that the London-based media company, which is facing bankruptcy, "supported the efforts of government leaders and ministers" to burnish the country's image overseas.
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