Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- PAS to re-visit Malay ground
- Apostasy, compulsion, and Nurul’s point
- Sabah’s oil curse strikes again
- Will Social Media Sway Malaysia’s Elections?
- Rush for ‘who-wants-to-be-a-candidate’
- Nurul Izzah's costly remarks
- SapuraKencana moves to next level
- Labis is where MCA’s haunted past may cause a GE13 disaster
| Posted: 13 Nov 2012 07:37 AM PST During the muktamar which starts on Friday in Kelantan, PAS leadership will likely seek to quash perceptions that the party had become subservient to the liberals in PKR and DAP. For the first time, this Islamist party will be more worried about the Malay electoral ground than the non-Muslim ones. Since 2008, PAS has been accused by its opponents of abandoning its principles and religious credentials. Hawkeye, FMT PAS finds itself in a unique situation when the annual muktamar (party gathering) gets underway beginning this Friday in Kelantan. For the first time, this Islamist party will be more worried about the Malay electoral ground than the non-Muslim ones. Since 2008, PAS has been accused by its opponents of abandoning its principles and religious credentials. The party has also faced questions over how it had managed issues confronting Muslims in Selangor, Penang and Perak (where Pakatan Rakyat was briefly in control). This has resulted in a belief that PAS has suffered an erosion of support among the Malay/Muslim ground in the peninsula. Some by-election results also indicated that the Malay ground has either reversed into a stagnant position as a sign of protest towards both PAS and Umno, or shifted back to Barisan Nasional. A perception was sowed that PAS has become subservient to the liberals in PKR and DAP when handling Islamic issues and that it was inclined to take a muted stance when faced with the congregation's concerns. One of its harshest critics is its own member – the former Penang PAS Youth head Mohammed Hafiz Nordin, who said that he remains loyal to PAS as it is the closest organisation towards advocating Islam. However, he is also critical over how PAS reacted to issues, saying its lack of leadership in Penang and Selangor as well as its unwillingness to speak up on the proposal by non-believers to use the "Allah" (God) word, has cast a shadow of doubt over PAS' ability to uphold Islam's non-compromising principles. The lingering faultline in the party between the ulama (clerics) and technocrats (professionals and academicians) is also a source of friction in the party. The highlights in the past year were the controversial sacking of its former Selangor PAS commissioner Dr Hasan Ali as well as the emergence of critical voices such as its ex-deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa, who had openly expressed unhappiness over how PAS responded to issues of faith and Islamic policies. Such issues will likely reverberate on the sidelines when some 3,000 delegates converge in Kelantan for the respective ulama, women, youth and supporters' club assemblies with the highlight being the main body's gathering from Nov 16 to 18. Ageing leadership Established in 1951 with over one million card-carrying members, PAS is now considered the senior party in its strategic election link-up with PKR and DAP, in what is now called Pakatan Rakyat. One grouse likely to be on the whispering rounds among the delegates, is the party's ageing leadership as well as its seemingly unwillingness to engage issues confronting the Muslims. Its revered spiritual adviser Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat is 82 and ailing while its president Abdul Hadi Awang is 65. Below the rung are a group of leaders aged in their 50s, who have yet to strike a similar chord with the electorate as Hadi and Abdul Aziz have done for the past three decades. Deputy president Mohamed Sabu's credential is questioned as he is not a traditional ulama while vice-presidents Mahfuz Omar, Husam Musa and Sallehuddin Ayub are said to be too cautious to the liking of the grassroots, who are growing anxious by the day to see the future course of the party. Here, two PAS activists provide their input and expressed their hopes on what the party can achieve in the muktamar. Former Perak PAS commissioner Awang Ahmad agrees that PAS needs to revive its momentum for the Malay ground to complement the fact that non-Muslims remains solidly behind Pakatan. Awang said this coming general election is the most important one in the Malaysian electoral history. "It is a do or die for the ruling BN coalition. As for Pakatan, there is no better time to take over the country than now. If we lose, it would take a long while to regain support for another serious attempt at winning Putrajaya." This must be emphasised at the muktamar. He said PAS must also build on the support among non-Muslims by embarking on preaching programmes to enlighten them about Islam. On the polemical issues of ulama versus professionals in the party, Awang said the definition of ulama cannot be restrictive in PAS.
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| Apostasy, compulsion, and Nurul’s point Posted: 11 Nov 2012 04:30 PM PST The PKR vice-president said last week that religious freedom is for everyone, even Muslims and Malays. Well, here are the facts to prove she has a point. Anisah Shukry, FMT Yet again, Umno as well as the likes of Ibrahim Ali and Nasharudin Mat Isa have resorted to misusing Islam to discredit a member of the opposition bloc. According to a transcript provided by Malaysiakini, Nurul Izzah Anwar said at a forum last weekend that "…there is no compulsion in religion… How can anyone really say, 'sorry, this only applies to non-Malays.' It has to apply equally." Hishammuddin Hussein, the home minister, described Nurul's statements as insensitive and causing public anger. Nasharudin, the former PAS vice-president, said that she must repent and what she said goes against Islam. Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the former prime minister, said her statement was stupid. Now, putting aside the fact that nearly every time good ol' Hisham, Nasha and Mahathir open their mouths, they say something stupid and insensitive that anger the public, Nurul, on the other hand, did not say anything "radical", "liberal", "dangerous to the faith" or even new. On the contrary, what she said has been discussed among Islamic scholars across the globe for years. It's just that no one seems to have clued the Powers That Be on this. And she has a point. Islam is all about an individual's own voluntary submission to Allah; there can be no coercion because faith cannot be forced upon anyone, even on those Malays who are born Muslims. I mean, if I asked you, at gunpoint, to believe in Islam, would you? Unless you're already a believer, then of course not. You'd probably blubber a bit about how being at the brink of death has opened your eyes to Islam, but your convictions would remain the same. So compulsion is not the answer – education is, just as Nurul mentioned in a later statement. In fact, even in the Quran, Surah Al-Nahl, verse 126 states: "Invite [all] to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance." (16:126 – translated by Yusuf Ali) Now, for those of you who are going to say that I'm no scholar and should just keep my mouth shut and let the experts talk it out, allow me to produce a quote from the former Chief Judge of Pakistan, SA Rahman. "Man is free to choose between truth and falsehood and the Prophet's function is to convey the message, exemplify it in his own life and to leave the rest to God – he is no warder over men to compel them to adopt particular beliefs," he wrote. This is further fortified in several Islamic verses, including Surah Ali Imran, verse 20 and Al-Ma'idah, verse 92, which state if individuals turn away from the message of Islam, then the Prophet Muhammad's duty is only to educate – not force nor coerce. Freedom to choose still exists Unfortunately, we still have the likes of Nasharudin who argue that the "no compulsion in religion" verse (2:256) only applies to non-Muslims in the issue of converting to Islam. In other words, once one becomes Muslim, let the coercion begin! Now, I challenge him and other like-minded individuals to point out any verse in the Quran which states that that sort of double standard exists. Nasharudin did mention Surah al-Ahzab verse 36 as "proof" that there is no freedom in religion for Muslims. "It is not fitting for a Believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and His Messenger, to have any option about their decision: if any one disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong Path." (33:36 – translation by Yusuf Ali) But, as you can see, this verse just states that when Allah has commanded something, it is not fitting for a believer to have any choice in their matter – the freedom to choose still exists, as mentioned several times in the Quran. But while freedom exists, the Quran still states what is right and wrong. And if one chooses what has been forbidden, then one will face the consequences of that decision, whether in this life or the hereafter. Islam and apostasy Now, by virtue of the fact that freedom of religion exists in Islam, does that mean Muslims, and Malays, have the freedom to renounce their religion and should not be coerced or punished into remaining as Muslims? Since I'd rather not have 15 policemen raid FMT's office over this article, I'll refrain from stating my stand, but just share the views of several revered scholars in Islam who are not Malaysians, not Malays, and do not have any vested political interest in the issue. The former chief judge of Pakistan, SA Rahman, wrote in his book "Punishment of apostasy in Islam" that: "There is absolutely no mention in the Quran of mundane punishment for defection from the faith by a believer, except in the shape of deprivation of the spiritual benefits of Islam or of the civil status and advantages that accrue to an individual as a member of the well-knit fraternity of Muslims. "He should, however, be free to profess and propagate the faith of his choice, so long as he keeps within the bounds of law and morality, and to enjoy all other rights as a peaceful citizen of the State, in common with his Muslim co-citizens." He also added that apostasy is an offence in the realm of the rights of God, rather than the rights of mankind, thus there would be no pressing necessity to punish a peaceful change of faith.
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| Sabah’s oil curse strikes again Posted: 11 Nov 2012 04:27 PM PST Poverty-riddled Sabah is the sixth biggest contributor to the national economy, contributing more than a quarter of the total oil and gas produced in the country. Queville To, FMT Sabah lost control of its oil wealth more than 30 years ago but the fallout of the widely acknowledged cock-eyed contract is continuing to roil business dealings in the state. The state Barisan Nasional government is now facing more questions over how it is managing the Petronas-sponsored Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal (SOGT) project that began more than a year ago. The Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) has accused Chief Minister Musa Aman's Umno-led BN government of failing to safeguard the interest of the local companies in the ongoing multi-billion-ringgit project. Melanie Chia, the party's outspoken women's wing chief said there appeared to be no attempt by the state government to ensure locals get a bigger share of the spin-offs from the SOGT project. She said they had since discovered that the main contract work had been handed over to a Sarawak company which had in turn subcontracted the job valued at RM2.4 billion to a South Korean company to the extent that even the canteen at the site was operated by Koreans. She noted that while 35 companies with Sabah connections had obtained sub-contract works, the value of these contracts totaled a fraction of the value of the main contract. "The total value of these sub contract works is only RM470million, or a mere 19.6 per cent of the total contract value of RM2.4 billion. Even the Kimanis new township will be developed by Miri- based Homelite Development Sdn Bhd. "I don't believe that we do not have enough local companies who can do the jobs. We also have very established and esteemed developers who can develop the new township. "Do we have to be subservient and remain playing second fiddle all the time even in our own state?" she asked. Sabah's oil reserve She said the issue of out-of-state companies not only taking the lion's share of the SOGT work and then sub-contracting it out to foreign companies needed to be studied. "The government owes the people a good explanation as to why Sabah remains the poorest state in Malaysia despite being blessed with abundance of natural resources," she added. The state is the sixth biggest contributor to the national economy, contributing more than a quarter of the total oil and gas produced in the country. Sabah's oil reserve were calculated at 1.5 billion barrels as of last year but new oil fields discovered since then have raised the estimate substantially. Gas reserves stand at 11 trillion cubic feet with four new oil fields found in the Sabah waters in the last two years. The projected production from one area, the Gumusat/Kakap Project, is 135,000 barrels per day will come on stream soon, but Sabah's share is unknown as other oil producing companies are in on the project with Petronas on a contract sharing basis. SAPP and the opposition have been hitting on the wealth extraction from the state and at the same time holding up its high poverty rate and unemployment figures. Sabah has the highest number of unemployed in the country at 5.6% or 76,000 people without jobs. The opposition says that the ruling coalition government has had almost 20 uninterrupted years of power in the state but has yet to come up with a coherent and comprehensive development policy to ensure the state's well-being well into the future. "Obviously something is not right with the present government otherwise Sabah would not end up the poorest despite having abundance of oil and gas," Chia said.
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| Will Social Media Sway Malaysia’s Elections? Posted: 11 Nov 2012 04:11 PM PST
Politicians are becoming media savvy in Malaysia, using Twitter, Facebook and Youtube to appeal to netizens.
Malaysia is gearing up for a general election in six months and as the campaigns enter the crucial voter-courting phase many observers are wondering if the political 'tsunami', which severely weakened the ruling National Front coalition (BN) at the 2008 polls, might be repeated. That political tidal wave – which stripped the BN of its two-thirds majority in parliament for the first time since independence and handed five state governments over to the opposition – was precipitated by the spread of Internet-based social media as a campaigning tool, harnessed primarily by the opposition. "In 2008 neither the government nor opposition expected the result they got," Ramanathan Sankaran, author of 'Media, Democracy and Civil Society', told IPS. The proliferation of independent websites and blogs such as Malaysia Today and Malaysiakini rendered the ruling coalition's propaganda machinery less effective during the electoral race, as formidable opponents appeared in the crucial arena of cyberspace. "Six or seven bloggers, who had been unknown (to most of the ruling coalition) got into parliament. It shocked the BN," Sankaran added. Three of these bloggers have now become well-known opposition figures in Malaysia. Former human rights activist and environmental campaigner Elizabeth Wong is now the minister for Tourism, Consumer Affairs and the Environment in the opposition-ruled Selangor state government that covers the capital Kuala Lumpur. Tony Pua, who defeated a BN parliamentary secretary candidate to win the Petaling Jaya federal constituency, is now the "shadow minister" for Higher Education in the federal parliament. Meanwhile Jeff Ooi, who won a state assembly seat in Penang, clinching another crucial win for the opposition in 2008, has taken the reigns as senior aide to the Chief Minister. "One of the first things (then Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad) Badawi said when the results came out was 'we lost the Internet war. We didn't realise that was important. We relied too much on mainstream media'," recalled Steven Gan, editor of the leading alternative news website Malaysiakini. "When (current Prime Minister) Najib Tun Razak came to power in 2009 there was substantial focus on the Internet. He set up his own Facebook (account), along with other politicians, and he is tweeting as well." The Prime Minister also has a website called '1 Malaysia' which is updated daily. According to Sankaran, Razak has instructed other ministers and senior government officials to make good use of the Internet and respond to emails within 48 hours. Even the former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, has set up his own blog, 'Blogging to Unblock', whose comments are regularly picked up by the mainstream and alternative media. And long-term opposition member in federal parliament, Lim Kit Siang, who first entered parliament in 1969 and is currently the Chinese-dominated Democratic Action Party's parliamentary leader, has his own blog through which he has been relentlessly attacking the government on corruption issues for several months. Nudged by the outcome of the 2008 election, "BN made a concerted move to (mobilise) its own cyber-troopers," Gan told IPS. According to Sankaran, BN's determination to learn from past mistakes is reflected in their decision to field Kamalananthan Panchanathen, a young Internet-savvy candidate, for the seat of Hulu Selangor, an electorate with a large Indian population. The 40-year-old blogger won back the seat in the by-election of 2010 "partly because of his appeal to young (netizens), and he now has his own website," Sankaran added. "The government has opened up the Internet (to encourage better governance)," he added. Prominent Malaysian political commentator Chandra Muzzafar, a former political ally of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, agrees that the Internet will play an important role in coming elections. "It will be a major actor in some constituencies and controlling it is difficult," he told IPS. Censorship rears its head But along with the government's attempt to become more media savvy ahead of the elections has come a desire to curtail the freedoms allowed to other social media practitioners and rights groups who utilise these channels to spread their message to civil society. On Sep. 13, the independent Star newspaper reported that the prominent human rights group SUARAM was being investigated by the Home Ministry and five government agencies, including the Registrar of Societies, on allegations that they received funds from the Open Society Foundation (OSF), whose chairman is international financial speculator George Soros. SUARAM's membership includes a number of opposition MPs linked to Anwar Ibrahim's People's Justice Party (PKR). The rights group has waged a long anti-corruption crusade against the government. Government-controlled media reported that investigations by the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry found three letters addressed to SUARAM dated 2007, 2008 and 2010, detailing grants amounting to nearly 189,000 dollars from the OSF. "Civil society is now continuously portrayed in the media as the enemy who is seeking to overthrow the government at the behest of foreign powers. These accusations have also been hurled at BERSIH (the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections), more so since July last year when we had a successful rally of more than 50,000 people on the streets of Kuala Lumpur, clamouring for clean and fair elections," Ambiga Sreenevasan, co-chair of BERSIH, said in a commentary published by 'Malaysian Insider' last week. Another alternative media outfit that has been consistently accused of receiving funds from Soros is Malaysiakini. "While we are non-partisan that doesn't mean we are apolitical. We are very political. We cover issues we feel strongly about such as corruption, press freedom and human rights," Gan said in an interview with IPS. "We will speak for people who do not have access to mainstream media. We speak for the voiceless, those who suffer human rights abuses that are not covered properly by mainstream media. That has always been our position. People see us as pro-opposition because we cover those issues," he added. Internet – or economy? But though active netizens are breaking the government's "monopoly on truth", and the powerful Reformasi movement – comprised of a Malay core and based on exposing corruption and abuse of power within the government – is on the rise, experts like Muzzafar believe BN will have an easy victory at the polls. He believes the economy will be the key factor in determining the outcome of the election. The Malaysian economy is currently strong and stable. Unemployment is at a low 2.7 percent as of August 2012, gross domestic product (GDP) growth was 5.6 percent in the second quarter of 2012 and industrial production was up by 4.9 percent in September 2012, according to the Department of Statistics. Though Malaysia enjoys a strong alternative media network, a vibrant NGO sector and a robust opposition – the three ingredients necessary to topple a ruling government – Gan believes that BN will win on account of their huge state machinery and state funds – the government's television and radio networks, along with the government-controlled mainstream newspapers, have a huge influence on Malay rural voters who form the backbone of the electorate. And though the opposition has been targeting young voters, the recent nationwide university elections don't augur well. According to Star, Pro-Aspirasi, a group widely seen to be pro-establishment and pro-government, "won big" in elections at 8 out of 15 public universities on Sep. 25.
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| Rush for ‘who-wants-to-be-a-candidate’ Posted: 11 Nov 2012 03:03 PM PST The highly popular 'who wants to be a millionaire' television concept has taken a political twist in Sabah. Thomas PI, FMT Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, the younger brother of Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman, once said something about "lucrative positions" in the Cabinet. He was naively confirming what many surmised. So it is hardly surprising that scores of Sabahans want to be contestants in the upcoming 13th general election and some may even be forgiven for considering a new group as organisers of Sabah's version of "who wants to be a millionaire" with an election slant. Days after announcing its formation, the "Sabah Independent Candidates Sponsorship Body" has received 30 applications by wannabe electoral candidates in the upcoming 13th general election. Co-founder and chairman of the body, Abdul Kadir Tahir who launched the organisation to act like a party to help provide voters not satisfied with the usual field of candidates, a third choice, said he was happy with the surge of interest. He told reporters here that the applicants were from Pensiangan, Keningau, Pitas, Beaufort and Kuala Penyu as well as one who wants to contest both state and parliamentary constituency seats in an interior district. He described the response from the interior and west coast areas of the state as "very encouraging" and said a second meeting would be held here soon to decide on the organisation's committee line-up as well as to screen all the independent applicants seeking their help. Part of the mechanishm to measure applicants' suitability for being candidates is their views on eradicating hardcore poverty, reducing crime, corruption and malpractices within the government. "We want well educated, credible and trustworthy persons to be our independent candidates… we need to know their motives behind offering themselves to be candidates first before we can proceed to the final decision on who will become our candidates," he said. Abdul Kadir, an ex-liaison officer to former Silam MP Samsu Baharom Abdul Rahman, said the organisation's intention is to place its independent candidates in all 60 state and 25 parliamentary constituencies in Sabah, but a final decision would be made after the parliament is dissolved. According to him, the body was formed to strike a balance between the mighty Barisan National and opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalitions. It will help its candidates by providing "advice to them in upholding the interest of the people". "After one-and-a-half years of watching the political situation in our country we feel there is a need to provide a third force in the elections. "With the emphasis on clean and healthy politics, this body can play its role in assisting the new government rule after the elections," he said. Abdul Kadir, who declined to name the people backing his organisation, said the backers believe almost half of the voters in Sabah are still uncertain who they will support, thus giving independent candidates' a chance.
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| Posted: 10 Nov 2012 04:37 PM PST
WORRYING STATEMENT: There is nothing courageous or inspiring in espousing the merits of religious freedom for Muslims in the context of Malaysia Already, PKR -- the smallest party in Pakatan Rakyat -- is caught in a cross-fire between Parti Islam se-Malaysia (Pas) and the Democratic Action Party (DAP) over conflicting ideologies. |
| SapuraKencana moves to next level Posted: 09 Nov 2012 02:31 PM PST
Jagdev Singh Sidhu, The Star ON Monday night after announcing a US$2.9bil deal that will make SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd the world's largest tender rig operator, president and group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Shahril Shamsuddin got a phone call from the United States. It was from a fund manager of an institution who just heard about the deal with Seadrill Ltd.
"Someone called in last night asking for a placement of a block of shares. And these are big overseas funds, guys whom we saw in the US recently. Our company was fresh in their minds and we were at a certain ebitda level (before the proposed deal) and with this deal, we have crossed the threshold in terms of size and liquidity of shares," he tells StarBizWeek. The non-binding MoU with Seadrill, once completed, will see SapuraKencana take a 51% share of the global tender rig business, in the process making the company more appealing to investors who want exposure to large companies. With 21 tender rigs, and with its next closest competitor globally having four, the deal lifts SapuraKencana to another platform. Analysts too have become bullish on SapuraKencana, with many raising their earnings projections and target prices. "We are positive on this deal, operationally and financially speaking. This exercise instantly transforms SapuraKencana into the largest tender-assisted rig operator in the world, by fleet size. This is an earnings accretive deal," says Maybank Investment Bank in a note after the deal was announced. Amresearch raised its forecast of SapuraKencana's earnings per share for its 2014 and 2015 financial years by 24%-30%. It says earnings from the injection of 10 tender-assisted rigs (TAGs) plus a 49%-stake each in five TAGs was partly offset by a 7% increase in share capital. How the deal came about Prior to the merger between SapuraCrest Petroleum and Kencana Petroleum Bhd, the former had a working relation with Seadrill after Semdvig, a company it had a joint venture with, was taken over by Seadrill. The new-found relationship with Seadrill took off and Seadrill's chairman John Fredriksen started to work closer with SapuraKencana. He introduced the Malaysian company to Brazil where it won a US$1.4bil contract from Petrobas to build and operate three pipe-laying support vessels (PLSVs). Shahril says discussions then proceeded over combining the rigs SapuraKencana had with that of Seadrill. "We said why don't we combine and strengthen our position and instead of just the five rigs, why don't we look at the whole tender rig business. About a month ago, we looked at it again very seriously and in the last two weeks we intensely had negotiations. The deal was closed Friday night (Nov 2)." "It's a way for them to refocus and reposition their business and at the same time help SapuraKencana transform itself into a very solid high margin business. The tender rig business brings pretty strong margins and overall what will happen is our margins will be a bit more robust." The tender rigs bought by SapuraKencana have contracts up to 2019 and an orderbook of US$1.6bil. Furthermore, the tender rig business is a higher margin business and at 40%, is larger than what SapuraKencana is currently enjoying. Consolidating the operations also settles the issue of the company having 2 licences from Petroliam Nasional Bhd. One concern analysts have voiced is that the acquisition of the tender rigs will change the make-up of the group from an oil and gas service provider to that of a tender rig operator where the price earnings multiple investors are willing to pay is lower. Shahril disputes that assumption, saying the acquisition re-inforces the vision of the company to become a fully integrated oil and gas service company. "In our business there are four verticals. There is offshore construction services, fabrication, drilling and energy. Energy is the one that takes on all the RSC (risk-service contract) opportunities. And with RSCs, there are so many services that go into supporting that business and drilling is one of them. There are a lot of symbiotic relationships between the verticals to support each other." "The more rigs you have, the more chances there will be to mature. Overheads are spread over and we get scale. And in this business, it is very difficult to compete globally without scale. So the choice was very obvious. It is facilitated by the fact the relationship was good, the assets are young, it has a good backlog and it's margin enhancing and value accretive," he says. What it means for SapuraKencana Apart from being more profitable, the scale of the business will allow SapuraKencana to be more competitive in its bids. But it's the balance sheet size that was created from the merger between SapuraCrest and Kencana that allowed the Seadrill deal to happen. "You have to be of a certain size before something like this gets presented to you. The merger allowed us to get onto a lot of people's radar to see where the big deals come in," says executive vice chairman Datuk Mokhzani Mahathir. "But Seadrill is unique because of the relationship SapuraCrest has had, both on the personal and working level that has been established over many years. That's why this deal was made possible." "In terms of value, it meets all of the requirements the board has asked us to look at, such as in terms of value, synergy, growth, control and management... everything. So we are quite comfortable with it." Completion the deal will see SapuraKencana have an order book of RM18.5bil and its cashflow should improve as a result of the contracts the rigs have secured. It's ability to cross-sell its services will improve and Shahril says multiple rigs, newbuilds and the company's track record will help in access to new markets and opportunities. Shahril says the improved financials will help but the group has already planned and allocated on the capital requirements for the four segments it "We have almost fully invested for the next 5 years in offshore construction services with the 5 new vessels coming up. That's going to grow," he says. The transaction with Seadrill settles the expansion in the rigs segment and the company has already calculated just how much it needs to take advantage of the marginal oilfield business. Capex for the modernisation of its fabrication business has also been settled. Both Shahril and Mokhzani feel securing more marginal oilfields will depend on how the company bids and the larger tender rigs business will only help in its proposition to Petronas for more RSC jobs. "The more integrated services you have, the better chance you will have in order to quickly deploy the development of these marginal oilfields," says Shahril. Although the group's gearing will rise, Shahril says that's momentarily and will rapidly climb down after 2 years. "Any acquisition will have borrowings and the borrowings will be depleted over time as we payback. We are comfortable with the gearing and its in line with the growth companies in this sector anyway. " Shahril says allocating more cash for dividends as cashflow improves will be balanced by the needs of the business versus reward for shareholders. "Once the debt levels goes down in 2 years, then we will start increasing our dividend payments," he says, adding that the value of the company to shareholders will be either captured in dividends or in the value of the shares. If there is one risk from the transaction with Seadrill, it is the execution of the business. "Execution risk is always there. When you do business in the oil and gas, execution risk is everything. But we have the asset and the people to deploy and execute projects and in that sense, the risk is minimal for us anyway," says Mokhzani. "I don't think Seadrill would have sold this to anyone else because they know we can take care of this business for them. I think that is also why John Fredriksen has agreed to join the board because he is not going to let go of this business, this asset to anybody and he is comfortable with the people he is dealing with now." Fredriksen on board The acquisition of the tender rigs from Seadrill will see Fredriksen join the board of SapuraKencana, a move that both Shahril and Mokhzani feel will add value to the company given his experience, contacts and knowledge of the oil and gas industry. But is there also a risk in Fredriksen and Seadrill increasing its stake in SapuraKencana from 6% to 13% from this deal given his previous record of trimming down Seadrill's shareholding in SapuraCrest? "I don't see that, not with him coming on the board," says Shahril. "The last time he sold he had invested in the company when it was worth 49 sen and then the value of the shares grew tremendously. He had a US$450mil exposure in a company he had no control over. By him coming onto the board, he can have influence as opposed to before it was just an investment. So he liquidated half," says Shahril, who says Fredriksen liquidated the shares in the past and re-invested it with SapuraKencana in Brazil. Shahril also doesn't think Fredriksen on board will lead to a clash of personalities and influence. "Good solutions come out of constructive conflicts. Differences in ideas is not a bad thing. He identified with our direction and now he is endorsing it by coming on board. He will not have taken that step if he did not see the value in this company," he says.
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| Labis is where MCA’s haunted past may cause a GE13 disaster Posted: 09 Nov 2012 02:02 PM PST
The next general election is expected to be the closest fight to form the new Malaysian government. And several seats across the nation are likely to be heated battles with the slimmest of majorities. The Malaysian Insider takes a look at some of these hot seats in what will be an intense election for control of Malaysia. Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider Labis feels like an island, secluded and quiet with nary a sound from the hustle and bustle one would expect to see in a constituency held for six terms by two prominent MCA stars — former president Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik and current chief Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek. Like its name, which some historians believe was derived from "labi-labi" or river terrapins, the daily pace here is almost tortoise-like; slow and sleepy. Most of its residents work in rubber estates or oil palm plantations, while the others are petty traders, government servants or merely passing through to the busier parts of Johor. Here, one can neither hear the buzz of industries nor see white plumes of smoke polluting the skies as the nearest factory is miles and miles away. After 7pm, buses no longer ply the town's roads — rarely do passengers get off at this stop, anyway. "Labis becomes a remote area after 7pm... a dead sea. The irony of it all... Ling Liong Sik was the transport minister when he held the Labis seat," local resident S. Madhavan remarked recently when met in the evening of a characteristically quiet Monday in this sleepy hollow.  Dr Ling held the Labis seat from 1986 to 2003. "MCA... they are all the same, aren't they? They have big-shot government posts and they forget who gave them the opportunity," he told this news portal. "There is so much anger with the MCA... sometimes, they are so angry that people cannot even remember why they are angry. But they know for certain that they want a change," said Tan Chin Guan, a local DAP leader. "The Labis people get slaughtered in so many ways... but many do not even know, they are so innocent. "But today, some have leapt off the fence... they say they want to try something new," former Education Ministry officer G. Krishnabagwan said. Madhavan, Tey, Tan and Krishnabagwan, who each spoke at separate interviews recently, are among the estimated 22,600 non-Malay voters who make up a sizeable 62 per cent of the 36,000-strong electorate in Labis. Their voices echo a growing resentment among the non-Malays here against the MCA and may well be the death knell for the party, which has been struggling since its dismal performance in Election 2008 to recapture at least some of its lost Chinese support. But during the interviews, there was one resounding sentiment that could not be avoided — Labis' non-Malay voters have largely gone pro-opposition. At every step of the way, those interviewed were too quick to blame the MCA and Barisan Nasional (BN) for every hardship they face — from the common flooding of their neighbourhoods and the lack of street lamps to the lack of job opportunities and affordable housing. Tan, a 60-year-old who spoke in halting English, lent voice to a perceived sentiment when he said that some voters feel so strongly against the MCA that they have even forgotten their reasons. "But it makes sense... when you see the same faces everyday, read about the same names, and your life remains the same, you tend to want something different. It's always been MCA's... Tun Ling for so many years, then Soi Lek... now Tee Yong," he said, the last referring to the incumbent MP, a son of Dr Chua, the town's previous parliamentary representative. "You begin to think to yourself, let's try something new. What's the harm in that? We could always change the government again," he said, during the interview at his home in the Labis town centre here.  Dr Chua won the Labis seat in the 2004 general election, but stepped down in late 2007 after a sex scandal. He was succeeded by Dr Chua in the 2004 polls, after which the latter was appointed health minister in the Abdullah administration. The seat is held today by Datuk Chua Tee Yong, son of Dr Chua, who took his father's place after a sex scandal in late 2007 forced the veteran politician to exit politics briefly, just months before the 2008 election, no less. Tee Yong is said to possess the same boldness and bravado exhibited by his outspoken father. Taking into account his relative youth — he is now 35 years — and his reputation as the man who accused the Selangor Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government of a RM1 billion Talam Corp accounting scandal, Chua junior is said to be a popular face among his Labis constituents. But youth and passion may not be enough to win the game for the MCA in Labis, which is fast becoming the stage for a political battle that could very well spell the party's demise in its southern fort. It is not Tee Yong that the non-Malay voters are against — it is the flag that he flies and memories of the years of alleged neglect that it carries with it. "The present MCA president, he is doing better. His son comes here often, we see him a lot. "Last time, Dr Ling never came at all... I think his reputation itself has ruined things for MCA," said one drinks stall owner, who only identified himself as Mr Tan. "Everyone called Dr Ling a yes-man. A weak man. The Chinese here, when we speak of MCA, we equate it to weakness. "It is not a deep-seated hatred. But for sure, the non-Malays are for the opposition, for the DAP," Mr Tan said. The father of two agreed that Labis town has seen no development over the past few decades, pointing out that its population is ageing and disappearing quickly to seek better opportunities elsewhere.
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