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World Bank: M’sian varsities a poor show

Patrick Lee | November 21, 2011
Free Malaysia Today

Malaysia spends a lot on tertiary education, but its universities are not as good as others in Asia and many of its graduates are not equipped for the job market.

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has little to show for its universities despite spending more money on tertiary education than do many other countries.

Malaysian universities lag behind many counterparts in Asia, including those located in neighbouring countries like Thailand and Singapore, according to a World Bank report released today.

“While Malaysia spends slightly more than most countries on its university students, leading Malaysian universities perform relatively poorly in global rankings,” said the report, entitled Malaysia Economic Monitor: Smart Cities.

Citing the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings 2010, it noted that Universiti Malaya (UM) was ranked 207th worldwide and 29th in Asia. Continue reading “World Bank: M’sian varsities a poor show”

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Let Muhyiddin explain to PAC why the RM300 million NFC project he approved in 2006 has become such a mess and scandal

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyidddin Yassin is the current Cabinet Minister most responsible for the RM300 million National Feedlot Centre (NFC) project, as he approved it in 2006 as the then Agriculture Minister.

Muhyiddin should appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC)on Wednesday when it examines the issue to explain why the cattle production project has become such a mess and scandal, beyond the worst fears of the Auditor-General’s Report 2010 as it is snowballing everyday to expose layer after layer of scandalous transactions.

The Auditor-General Report 2010 on the continuing horror stories about misappropriation and waste of public funds, criminal breach of trust, negligence and gross abuses of power is a damning indictment on the first full-year Najib premiership demonstrating that nothing has really changed despite grandiloquent sloganeering of “1Malaysia, People’s First, Performance Now” in terms of government efficiency, effectiveness, accountability, transparency and integrity.

However, it is an even greater indictment on the Deputy Prime Minister as it exposes his personal and direct Ministerial responsibility for the RM300 million National Feedlot Centre (NFC) and National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) scandals as it was during his tenure as Agriculture Minister that the troubled and controversial project was approved. Continue reading “Let Muhyiddin explain to PAC why the RM300 million NFC project he approved in 2006 has become such a mess and scandal”

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Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #89

By M. Bakri Musa

Chapter11: Embracing Free Enterprise

Let there be amongst you traffic and trade by mutual goodwill.
—Surah An-Nisaa (The Women) (4:29)

When you are lost, goes an old Malay saying, revert to the source. That seems to be Malaysia’s new economic strategy following the Asian economic crisis of 1997. Buffeted by the turmoil of globalization and open markets, Malaysians yearn for the simpler days of fixed exchange rates and controlled commerce. Some even suggest regressing to the old days of bartering! But as in the jungle, the path back is often overgrown, and one could just as easily get lost in retreating. Malaysia is better off preparing for the new realities of open markets and globalization, instead of retreating to some imagined good old days of yore.

With the collapse of communism free enterprise remains the only viable economic system. It is successful because it has proven to bring the greatest prosperity to the largest number of people. Many have sought a “third way,” a mid course or a bridging between free enterprise and state planning. Alas, there is no such alternative.
Continue reading “Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #89”

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Let the people judge

— by Lucius Goon
The Malaysian Insider
Nov 20, 2011

NOV 20 — There is a new mantra in Putrajaya: when they are caught in a tricky or difficult situation, they say “Let the People Decide”.

There is a reason why Muhyiddin Yassin and Hishammuddin Hussein have suddenly become lovers of the public opinion. It is because they hope to end whatever debate is going on, to recoup their position and then hope that Malaysians forget about the particularly embarrassing event.

Muhyiddin caught at the centre of National Feedlot Corporation (let us not be mistaken: he is a central figure in this scandal because he approved the project), says that the public upon reading Shahrizat Jalil husband’s porous defence will not swallow the lies of the Opposition.

The DPM just wants to end the debate on an issue which can embroil himself.

Now Hishammuddin Hussein, the man who denied the will of the people for free elections, is also keen for the people to judge the government’s actions in using the ISA to arrest 13 alleged terrorists. Continue reading “Let the people judge”

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Would Muhyiddin have said in 2006 that it was legally, morally and ethically proper for NFC to use 2%-interest RM250 million soft-loan to buy condos?

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has said that it was up to the public whether they wanted to accept the explanation given for the National Feedlot Corporation’s (NFC) “cattle condo” scandal.

Saying that the government “already knows the facts”, Muhyiddin had this to say after the NFC executive chairman Datuk Seri Dr. Mohamad Salleh Ismail had broken his three-week silence on the “cattle condo” scandal:

“We will leave that to the people to decide whether to accept the NFC’s explanation or not because the NFC has explained each issue that has surfaced.

“For us, the government, we know the truth. We don’t buy stories made up by the Opposition.”

Muhyiddin cannot be more wrong. Continue reading “Would Muhyiddin have said in 2006 that it was legally, morally and ethically proper for NFC to use 2%-interest RM250 million soft-loan to buy condos?”

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Something is rotten in the state of Malaysia

— CL Tang
The Malaysian Insider
Nov 19, 2011

NOV 19 — The line “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”, expressed by Marcellus to Hamlet, was in response to the former’s disgust at the moral decay and political corruption in the little kingdom.

In Malaysia, even as the foul stench of the National Feedlot Corporation’s (NFC) financial shenanigans permeates throughout the country, our leaders fail to smell anything fishy, leading to the question: “Do our leaders have any ounce of ethics left?”

This NFC fiasco has all the ingredients of cronyism, nepotism, corruption, incompetence and fraud.

Yet, there is no Marcellus in our government who thought it stank. Continue reading “Something is rotten in the state of Malaysia”

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Unscrupulous actions, unethical behaviour

by P Ramakrishnan
19 November 2011

Wild tales are being told and blatant lies are being spread with impunity. What is being done is to deliberately create uneasiness, anger and hatred against the Christians and their faith in order to undo our peace and unity.

Christian bashing has become a way of life for some unscrupulous people that their conduct seriously threatens to undermine our harmony. It would appear that these people are intent on causing chaos to promote their evil political agenda on behalf of the Barisan Nasional and Umno.

All kinds of absurd rumours have been spread to suggest that there is a conspiracy to turn Malaysia into a Christian state. Accusations have been levelled that rampant attempts are underway to convert Muslims to Christianity.

On 5 November 2006, the mufti of Perak, Harussani Zakaria, spread a malicious and vicious rumour that a church in Ipoh was conducting a baptism ceremony for Muslims. As a result, about 300 Muslims gathered at the Ipoh church in Jalan Silibin to protest against the ‘conversion’, forcing the police to be called in. This incident could have led to an ugly religious clash.

According to Sisters in Islam (SIS) programme manager Norhayati Kaprawi, “this is not the first time the mufti has made careless statements and allegations.” She cited a number of previous statements made by the mufti, including in February where Harussani claimed that between 100000 and 250000 Muslims had renounced Islam. Continue reading “Unscrupulous actions, unethical behaviour”

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Its Muhyiddin and not Noh Omar who should answer whether the decision to award NFC project was discussed during Cabinet meetings

The Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Datuk Seri Noh Omar has denied that the decision to award the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) project was discussed during Cabinet meetings.

He said: “I can confirm that NFC is under the High-Impact Projects Committee and at the time of the loan approval to NFC, that was not under the Cabinet, not (mentioned) in the meetings.”

It’s the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who was the Agriculture Minister in 2006 and who was responsible for the approval of the NFC project, who should answer whether the decision to award the NFC project was discussed during Cabinet meetings as Noh Omar only became Minister after the March 2008 general elections – and whether it gave rise to “conflict-of-interest” situations involving the Minister for Women, Family and Community Development Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and her family responsible for the NFC project.

Muhyiddin should also explain whether he and his Ministry were aware of the involvement of Shahrizat’s family when his Ministry made the NFC award. Continue reading “Its Muhyiddin and not Noh Omar who should answer whether the decision to award NFC project was discussed during Cabinet meetings”

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Spain struggles to find lenders, despite high interest rates

By Michael Birnbaum,
Washington Post
November 17, 2011

MADRID — As Europe’s debt crisis escalates, investor fears are also rising, making it increasingly difficult for some countries to raise money to pay their bills. That dying demand, despite the record-high interest rates they are being forced to pay, is raising concern that those nations could face a credit freeze similar to the one that brought the world’s economy to its knees in 2008.

Spain is the latest country to try to borrow, only to find few takers. In an auction of its bonds on Thursday, Spain fell $600 million short of its goal. Demand was the lowest since the depths of the 2008 recession — even though the nation’s bonds are paying the highest interest rates since it joined the euro more than a decade ago. An earlier auction this week also raised less money than the nation had hoped.

The situation in Spain raised new alarms about the European debt crisis and helped drive U.S. stocks lower Thursday. By mid-afternoon, the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index were down nearly 2 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq was off more than 2.2 percent.

The lack of willing lenders could send countries into bankruptcy faster than the high interest rates alone, analysts say, because countries can typically withstand a temporary spike in borrowing costs. But if they can’t find anyone to lend to them at any price, that’s a sign of more dire straits, because unlike most countries that can print money in an emergency, they have no lender of last resort. Continue reading “Spain struggles to find lenders, despite high interest rates”

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Muhyiddin’s folly

— Ali Kadir
The Malaysian Insider
Nov 18, 2011

NOV 18 — Now I know why Najib Razak is always out of the country: the prime minister wants to show us what he also knows — that he has a pretty mediocre deputy.

Muhyiddin Yassin is at best of mentri besar quality, but unfortunately because of the dysfunctional system of Umno’s president and deputy president being given the number one and number two leadership posts in Malaysia, Muhyiddin is one position away from being the PM.

His handling of the National Feedlot Corporation scandal has been ridiculous and shifty. From the beginning he has tried to shift the responsibility of explaining the project to Noh Omar and others but he was the man who helmed the Agriculture Ministry which promoted and endorsed this project!!!

Today, he is quoted as saying that he leaves it to the public to accept or reject the explanation put forward by Mohamed Salleh of the National Feedlot Corporation but quickly says that as far as the government is concerned, these are all stories created by the Opposition.

Really? But the failure of the feedlot project was highlighted by the Auditor General, not Anwar Ibrahim or Lim Kit Siang. Continue reading “Muhyiddin’s folly”

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Asia must safeguard its growth by protecting its people

By Noeleen Heyzer | November 18, 2011
The Malaysian Insider

NOV 18 — While European and North American leaders struggle to regain fiscal credibility by cutting back social entitlements, those of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meet in Bali this week at a historic turning point, an economic coming of age for their region, which may require them to move in the opposite direction.

Asia remains by far the most dynamic region in the world and the locomotive of global growth. Its growth rate is one and a half times that of any other region. But this growth has been accompanied by growing inequalities, and remains fragile.

The region’s recovery has come under pressure in recent months from multiple crises — increases in food and energy prices, the continuing global financial crisis, and severe disruptions in Japan and six ASEAN countries caused by adverse climate conditions and natural disasters. Because of these multiple shocks 42 million additional people will fall into poverty by the end of 2011, according to estimates by the UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
Continue reading “Asia must safeguard its growth by protecting its people”

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Malaysia’s economy likely to slow despite earlier boom

By Debra Chong | November 18, 2011
The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 — 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.

“It’s part of monetary easing if they let their currencies weaken,” the business news agency reported United Overseas Bank economist Ho Woei Chen as saying.

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.
Continue reading “Malaysia’s economy likely to slow despite earlier boom”

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Empty vessels make the most noise

By Douglas Tan | November 18, 2011
Free Malaysia Today

Remember the adage: silence is golden? I’m sure many parents have taught their children that if you do not have anything nice to say, you should keep quiet.

However in politics these days, we have mud-slinging from both sides of the political divide.

It appears that the less relevant you have become, the more you have to shout at the top of your lungs.

For the MCA, it is able to see that it is fast disappearing off the political scene just like Gerakan.

The party has been criticised over the years for being gutless and pandering to the demands of Umno, just to ensure that it still gets a slice of the pie.
Continue reading “Empty vessels make the most noise”

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It’s a mad, mad world

By Zairil Khir Johari | November 18, 2011
The Malaysian Insider

Those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad. So goes the ancient phrase that has, throughout the millennia, remained an appropriate and relevant dictum to this very day.

The systemic trait of madness has been an inherent hallmark of declining autocratic regimes since time immemorial. Take, for example, the story of the Roman emperor Caligula, whose reign began with much promise and great popularity, but who quickly succumbed to the luxuries of power and who, towards the end of his short-lived rule, attempted to appoint his favourite horse as a consul of the Roman Senate.

And then of course there is the late totalitarian President Saparmurat Niyazov of Turkmenistan who, apart from styling himself Turkmenbashi (Leader of Turkmens), also deigned to rename calendar months after members of his own family, in addition to outlawing long hair and beards for Turkmen men and advising the citizenry to gnaw on bones in order to strengthen their teeth, because apparently it works for dogs.
Continue reading “It’s a mad, mad world”

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NFC beat target, says Shahrizat’s husband

The Malaysian Insider
Nov 17, 2011

GEMAS, Nov 17 — The controversial national cattle farming project went beyond its set target, chairman Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail said today, disputing a federal audit describing the scheme as being “in a mess”.

“In fact, [National Feedlot Corporation (NFC)] has raised 8,016 head of cattle in 2010, surpassing its target of 8,000 head of cattle. We are importing cattle from Australia and we have to feed them for between four and six months. Continue reading “NFC beat target, says Shahrizat’s husband”

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NFC boss says twin cattle condos are rental cash cows

By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
Nov 17, 2011

GEMAS, Nov 17 — Dogged by claims of irregularity, the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) finally broke its silence today to defend its purchase of multi-million luxury condominum units in Bangsar as a “good business decision”.

In a press briefing opened to selected mainstream media organisations, its chairman Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Salleh reasoned that the investment had helped yield better returns for the NFC project compared to keeping the money in a bank.

It was also revealed then that the NFC owns two units at the upmarket condominium, as opposed to one as previously reported.

According to Berita Harian Online, however, Mohamad said the condominium units had cost over RM6 million each, instead of the RM9.8 million originally alleged by PKR.

Mohamad reportedly claimed that the money, if held in a bank, would have only yielded 2.6 per cent in annual returns. Continue reading “NFC boss says twin cattle condos are rental cash cows”

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DAP says toll extension punishes Penang folk

By Shannon Teoh | November 17, 2011
The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 — The DAP said today PLUS Expressways is “cheating” the public especially Penang folk by extending toll collection on three highways as part of a deal that sees the highway concessionaire waive RM6.5 billion in compensation from the government.

Secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said the 17-year toll extension on the Penang Bridge to 2038 was “in fact a toll increase.”

“What waiver? They are cheating. I thought only my children will pay the toll but now even my grandchildren will pay. This deal punishes Penangites,” the island’s chief minister told a press conference.

Publicity chief Tony Pua also said that with two of the three extensions affecting Penang specifically, “most of the burden of covering the waiver falls on Penangites.”
Continue reading “DAP says toll extension punishes Penang folk”

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Malays feel Penang under Chinese rule, survey shows

By G. Manimaran, Bahasa Malaysia Editor | November 17, 2011
The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 — Malay voters in Penang say the state is being run by the Chinese despite backing Lim Guan Eng over other leaders.

A survey of 720 Malay voters by researchers Ilham Centre found that when the island was under a Gerakan-led administration until 2008, Malays saw the Barisan Nasional (BN) government as being led by Umno.

“Lim Guan Eng (picture) is popular and respected for being humble, approachable and being on the ground. But because of the sentiment and prejudice from Umno, he is seen as a Chinese who is threatening Malays,” said the study on perceptions of Malay voters towards Penang and its Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government.

It said this showed the media has indoctrinated Malays to see the current administration as “a Chinese or DAP government.”

“It is seen as a DAP, not a Pakatan Rakyat government,” the study concluded, despite nearly 30 per cent of respondents picking current Chief Minister Lim as the most popular and respected leader in the state.
Continue reading “Malays feel Penang under Chinese rule, survey shows”

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Koh’s sacrifice, BN’s future

The Malaysian Insider
November 17, 2011

Fact is, Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon’s fate was sealed the day Gerakan lost all its state seats and the government in Penang on March 8, 2008. It took him more than three years to realise that.

The Gerakan president’s announcement today that he will not contest in the next general election has been a foregone conclusion in Barisan Nasional (BN) circles for some time now. Both the Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia and MCA-owned The Star have been harping on the party’s poor leadership and performance over the past few months that there is nothing shocking about Koh’s decision.

So what use is it to hold on to his political posts? Why remain Penang BN chief and state Gerakan boss?

In explaining his “ultimate sacrifice” today, Koh said he meant that he would continue devoting his time and energy to campaign for his party’s candidates in the coming polls. “When I talk about sacrifice, I am talking about time and energy for the party,” he said.
Continue reading “Koh’s sacrifice, BN’s future”

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Pakatan Rakyat MPs are the real heroes fighting for the interest of Malays and poor Malaysians

By Tony Pua

Pakatan Rakyat members of parliament have over the past 2 weeks exposed the fact that many of the goods sold in Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (KR1M) were not only substandard, illegal and unhealthy, many of these products were also not cheaper than products sold in existing hypermarkets.

We were criticised by the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister, Dato’ Ismail Sabri as being unfair by not comparing “apple to apple”, that is we should not be comparing 1Malaysia products with house-branded products from Tesco, Giant or Carrefour.

However, we have proven that the comparison was indeed not “apple to apple” for products such as the “oyster sauce” because the sauce from Tesco contained real oyster extracts, the 1Malaysia product had only flavouring and no oysters.

At the same time, the comparison of 1Malaysia milk powder with that of Nestlé’s Nespray 1+ demonstrated not only that the former is a far inferior product but also the fact that the latter was 24% cheaper. The 1Malaysia milk powder was short of at least 15 legally required vitamins and minerals, deficient in calcium and iron and provided a 802% overdose of Vitamin A, putting at real risk our very young children.
Continue reading “Pakatan Rakyat MPs are the real heroes fighting for the interest of Malays and poor Malaysians”