Posted on

Explain disparity between ‘actual’ and ‘approved’ FDIs, DAP tells Putrajaya

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 29, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 — The Najib administration must explain the wide disparity between approved foreign direct investments (FDIs) and actual investment figures, the DAP said.

DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua told reporters that a written reply by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MITI) revealed that from 1996 to 2010 only RM179.8 billion out of the RM289.9 billion of approved investments had been realised.

“A shocking RM199.1 billion of declared FDI had disappeared without a trace,” he said in a statement today. Continue reading “Explain disparity between ‘actual’ and ‘approved’ FDIs, DAP tells Putrajaya”

Posted on

GST only removes tax burden on ‘wealthier’ minority, says Pua

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
June 25, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 — Implementing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) while reducing the existing income tax will only benefit the “wealthier” minority, says Tony Pua.

The DAP national publicity secretary said that currently only 15 per cent of the working population earned enough to qualify to pay taxes, which meant 85 per cent of the country’s workforce earned less than RM3,000 a month. Continue reading “GST only removes tax burden on ‘wealthier’ minority, says Pua”

Posted on

Maybank, CIMB call off RHBCap takeover plan

by Izwan Idris
The Sun
23 June 2011

LUMPUR (June 23, 2011): Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) and CIMB Group have announced separately that they have aborted plans to take over RHB Capital Bhd.

“In light of recent developments and following further deliberations, the board of directors of Maybank has decided not to pursue the possible merger at this juncture,” Maybank said in a short statement to Bursa Malaysia today.

Maybank and its biggest local rival CIMB Group had obtained Bank Negara Malaysia’s approval last month to start merger talks with RHB Capital.

The announcement from Maybank was released after trading on Bursa Malaysia ended for the day. Continue reading “Maybank, CIMB call off RHBCap takeover plan”

Posted on

Roubini Says ‘Perfect Storm’ May Threaten Global Economy

By Shamim Adam | June 13, 2011, 12:12 AM EDT
Bloomberg

June 13 (Bloomberg) — A “perfect storm” of fiscal woe in the U.S., a slowdown in China, European debt restructuring and stagnation in Japan may converge on the global economy, New York University professor Nouriel Roubini said.

There’s a one-in-three chance the factors will combine to stunt growth from 2013, Roubini said in a June 11 interview in Singapore. Other possible outcomes are “anemic but OK” global growth or an “optimistic” scenario in which the expansion improves.

“There are already elements of fragility,” he said. “Everybody’s kicking the can down the road of too much public and private debt. The can is becoming heavier and heavier, and bigger on debt, and all these problems may come to a head by 2013 at the latest.”
Continue reading “Roubini Says ‘Perfect Storm’ May Threaten Global Economy”

Posted on

Subsidies masking IPP ‘inefficiencies’, says think tank

By Lee Wei Lian
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 13, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, June 13 — Independent Power Producers (IPPs) would have to charge much more than their Singapore counterparts if natural gas were sold to them at market rates, due to their bloated and inefficient cost structures, claimed Research for Social Advancement (Refsa) today.

The think tank estimated that local IPPs would need to raise their average prices from 25 sen/kWh to 74 sen/kWh if subsidies were removed and gas prices were allowed to rise from RM10.70/mmBTU to the present market price of RM47.42/mmBTU.

In comparison, Singapore power producers charge 41 sen/kWh.

“Put simply, if the gas subsidy in Malaysia is completely removed, the IPPs generation cost would be 80 per cent higher than that of power generators in Singapore,” said Refsa executive director Teh Chi Chang, noting that in Singapore fuel prices are market based. Continue reading “Subsidies masking IPP ‘inefficiencies’, says think tank”

Posted on

Minister: Soi Lek approved diesel subsidy cuts

S Pathmawathy | Jun 13, 11
Malaysiakini

MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek did not object to diesel subsidy cuts during the National Economic Council meeting when the matter was decided, revealed Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumer Affairs Minister Ismail Sabri.

Speaking to reporters at the Parliament lobby today, Ismail said that Chua should have raised his concerns during the meeting instead of letting his party leaders complain now through the media.

“How can he now turn back and say it’s not fair? The MCA statement is unfair to government,” he said.

He added that the MCA should be helping the government in tackling protests by C2-class fishing trawler operators because the party had a hand in making the decision in the first place. Continue reading “Minister: Soi Lek approved diesel subsidy cuts”

Posted on

Welfare state: DAP dares Najib to enact minimum wage

By Boo Su-Lyn
Jun 11, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 11 — As Umno and PAS battle over their welfare state policies, DAP’s Lim Guan Eng said today Penang’s welfare policies were sparked by Barisan Nasional (BN)’s failure to impose a national minimum wage and increase real wages.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday that the results of the recent PAS party election was a victory for the DAP, pointing out that the new PAS line-up now championed a welfare state and not an Islamic one. Continue reading “Welfare state: DAP dares Najib to enact minimum wage”

Posted on

Ku Li calls for RCI on power deals

The Malaysian Insider
Jun 10, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 — Veteran politician Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah today called for a royal commission to probe Tenaga Nasional Berhad’s contracts with independent power producers (IPPs), saying the lopsided deals may be burdening consumers.

“The commission must investigate and propose the best suitable measures to be taken by the government to ease the burden to be borne by the consumers following the inevitable increase in the electricity tariff after the IPPs charged higher rates to TNB,” the Gua Musang MP was quoted by Bernama Online today.

The Cabinet raised power tariffs by an average of 7.12 per cent effective June 1, in a bid to trim a growing subsidy bill and widening fiscal deficit.

But the move has also thrown the spotlight on the purchasing power agreements that TNB is engaged in with the IPPs. Continue reading “Ku Li calls for RCI on power deals”

Posted on

Key resignation, resentment hits new national innovation initiative

By Lee Wei Lian
June 10, 2011
The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 — Unik, the prime minister’s initiative tasked with restructuring the country’s public innovation ecosystem has hit a setback with the resignation of its technical advisor N Danaraj who was in charge of putting together the National Innovation Policy (NIP).

His resignation earlier this week could come as a blow to Unik due to the loss of experience as Danaraj has a masters degree in public administration from Harvard, a doctorate from Oxford and was also technical advisor to the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC), a senior fellow at Khazanah Nasional and a research fellow at the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research.

His departure, which sources say was due to various disagreements with Unik CEO Dr Kamaljit Singh over the NIP, comes as several innovation agencies have been privately expressing concern over the Unik chief’s leadership style.
Continue reading “Key resignation, resentment hits new national innovation initiative”

Posted on

Asia leads the world’s recovery, but high food and fuel prices threaten gains

By Noeleen Heyzer and Nagesh Kumar
June 07, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

JUNE 7 — Asia and the Pacific, more than any other region in the world, will experience greater transformation and change in the coming years, as the region’s economic strength plays a greater role in the global economy and as its population centers struggle to overcome the burdens of poverty, hunger, natural disasters and social inequalities.

The region’s economic growth figures, recently released in the UN ESCAP Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2011, indicate just how powerful Asia’s economy is for the world already.

The Asia-Pacific region recovered strongly in 2010 from the global financial crisis and recession of 2008-09 with the region’s developing economies growing at 8.8 per cent. In 2011, growth in developing economies of the region is forecast to be 7.3 per cent — lower than 2010’s high growth which represented a recovery from the low base of the 2009 recession. Continue reading “Asia leads the world’s recovery, but high food and fuel prices threaten gains”

Posted on

The bigger subsidy addicts

By Sakmongkol AK47
June 07, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

JUNE 7 — The favourite excuse of CEOs and politicians is always to attribute external factors as the cause of our inconvenience. Consider for example, the increase in electricity tariffs. Its unavoidable says the government because cost elements are increasing. What cost elements — workers’ wages and cost of fuels? What about subsidies going to IPPs? These are the bigger subsidy addicts who deserve the mandatory death sentence.

Many years ago, our country suffered the worse outage in our nation’s history. We were without electricity for many days. Manufacturers lost a lot of money. Industrialists were screaming their heads off and their voices reached Sri Perdana, the abode of the 4th PM then. Continue reading “The bigger subsidy addicts”

Posted on

PwC says KL needs revamp to be competitive city

By Lee Wei Lian
June 07, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 7 — The city needs to improve its hard and soft infrastructure to compete with global commerce and culture capitals, says Andrew Chan Yik Hong, PwC Malaysia’ executive director in charge of capital projects and infrastructure.

This comes after PwC released a report (www.pwc.com/cities) this week predicting the trajectory of 26 select cities based on a wide range of criteria such as intellectual capital, transportation, health, economic clout, liveability and lifestyle assets.

Kuala Lumpur did not make the list.

New York topped the list, followed by Toronto, San Francisco, Stockholm and Sydney. Singapore was the top-ranked Asian city, finishing ninth on the list, ahead of Hong Kong (10) and Tokyo (14). Continue reading “PwC says KL needs revamp to be competitive city”

Posted on

Subsidy flip-flops sign of deeper problems, say economists

June 07, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 7 — Economists perceive the Najib administration as prone to backtracking on policies, with political concerns trumping the need for economic reform.

In a scathing commentary published today by the Singapore Straits Times, the government’s dithering over subsidy cuts for energy and basic consumer goods was criticised by regional economists who are stirring a wider debate over the country’s long-term economic prospects.

The Straits Times said the big question being asked now was whether resource-rich Malaysia had fallen out of step with the global environment. Continue reading “Subsidy flip-flops sign of deeper problems, say economists”

Posted on

Respond to Ani’s expose, Najib told

By Teoh El Sen
June 6, 2011 | Free Malaysia Today

PENANG: The DAP has demanded that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak explain why the public must suffer high electricity tariffs when the government could cut its subsidy bill by undoing the so-called “gas subsidy scandal” recently exposed by former Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) chief Ani Arope.

Referring to Ani’s allegation that the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) forced TNB to accept lopsided purchase deals with independent power producers (IPPs) nearly 20 years ago, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said a review of those deals would be “more than sufficient” to reduce the subsidy bill.

“Clearly, there is no justification for Putrajaya to hike electricity tariffs by 7%,” he said.

Ani said in a recent Facebook posting that the EPU bullied TNB into buying electricity from an IPP at 14 sen per kilowatt hour (kWh) despite an existing offer of 12 sen. Continue reading “Respond to Ani’s expose, Najib told”

Posted on

As Malaysia’s assets wane, Umno scrambles for wealth control

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
June 06, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 6 — The fight is on for the country’s diminishing resources and assets, and leading the charge to secure rights to projects and land ownership are Umno warlords and politically-connected individuals.

As Malaysia grapples with imminent tariff hikes and a subsidy bill that could double to RM21 billion this year, individuals within the ruling Malay party appear to be wasting little time in demanding that the Najib administration award them immediate rights to government and commercial projects.

This is evident in the current tussle surrounding Umno’s attacks on UDA Holdings Bhd’s sale of prime land in downtown Kuala Lumpur, where despite the agency’s assurance that the sale to Mutiara Goodyear would benefit Bumiputeras, Umno leaders have attacked the agency, saying RM215.5 million deal would hurt Bumiputera interests. Continue reading “As Malaysia’s assets wane, Umno scrambles for wealth control”

Posted on

Meniarap (planking) membantah kenaikan kadar elektrik

By Roketkini
4 June 2011

MUAR, 4 JUN – Marah dengan kenaikan kadar elektrik? Geram kerana harga barang juga akan turut naik? Bengang tapi tak pasti apa nak buat?

Apa kata tindakan kerajaan Barisan Nasional itu dibantah dengan mengambil gambar aksi “planking” atau meniarap di kawasan umum (asalkan bukan di tengah jalan raya yang sesak atau di litar perlumbaan Sepang sewaktu motosikal atau kereta sedang laju bersaing) dan dihantar ke laman sosial maya Facebook?

Juga pastikan apabila mengambil gambar aksi planking itu, ia tidak menghalang lalu lintas atau mengganggu ketenteraman awam. Planking yang merupakan aksi meniarap dengan merapatkan kedua-dua tangan dan lengan di sisi badan di tempat awam adalah fenomena bantahan biasa di seluruh dunia sejak sedekad lalu. Continue reading “Meniarap (planking) membantah kenaikan kadar elektrik”

Posted on

Our health and lives in exchange for FDIs

Malaysiakini Your Say | Jun 2, 11

‘We sometimes marvel at how parents in some Asean countries are willing to sell their daughters into prostitution in return for a few dollars. Now we know.’

Panel: Waste won’t be 100% radiation-free

Swipenter: “It is not easy to do a study on the impact of health from a rare earth plant as it requires a large number of samples and a long duration of study to demonstrate statistically significant results.”

The rare plant in Bukit Merah is not proof or good enough to show the negative effects on health on a long-term basis? This panel is just a eyewash – they cannot even name one safe rare earth plant anywhere in the world.
Continue reading “Our health and lives in exchange for FDIs”

Posted on

Reducing the political cost of liberalisation

By Hafiz Noor Shams | June 02, 2011
The Malaysian Insider

JUNE 2 — A price-control mechanism has its economic cost, on top of that associated with the current subsidy regime in place in Malaysia. There are also some political costs to the control.

In tight times when commodities are becoming dearer, any government that dares to reset retail prices upwards invites public wrath.

There was talk of an early general election, but the rumour machines now suggest that the election will be held only later. The Barisan Nasional-led federal government needs room to manoeuvre before renewing its mandate.
Continue reading “Reducing the political cost of liberalisation”

Posted on

Rakyat atau Kerajaan yang perlu berjimat?

– Mohd Yusof Hadhari
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 01, 2011

1 JUN — Sekarang kita semua perlu terus sedar bahawa penjimatan kini sudah menjadi wajib. Ia patut menjadi kata kunci kepada semua orang, bukan lagi kepada yang berpendapatan rendah sahaja. Kanapa saya berkata begitu. Harga gula sudah naik, harga minyak sudah berapa kali naik. Untuk harga barang yang lain harap tidak di naikan lagi, sekurang-kurangnya tidak dirasionalisasikan dalam masa terdekat. Harga petrol Ron95, diesel dan gas masih lagi bertahan, entah sampai bila subsidinya dapat diteruskan! Kita tunggu dan lihat.

Dan mulai kemarin (1 Jun), bagi pengguna elektrik antara 301kW dan 1000kW unit, tarifnya sudah dinaikan daripada 0.1 hingga 10 peratus, atau RM0.07 kepada RM30.30. Macam biasa, tenang semua. Harga gas asli di Malaysia masih lagi murah berbanding Negara jiran meskipun dengan kenaikan itu. Menurut kerajaan, sebelum atau selepas kenaikan, setelah dirasionalisasikan, harga di Negara ini masih murah jika di bandingkan dengan Thailand sebanyak RM18.23 setiap juta unit termal British (MMBtu). Indonesia RM21.04, Singapura RM43.32 dan Vietnam RM18.70.

Kerajaan kata kenaikan dalam bekalan gas ke sektor perindustrian adalah wajar, iaitu daripada RM15 setiap MMBtu kepada RM16.07 setiap MMBtu, jika dibandingkan dengan Negara serantau seperti Thailand (RM19.46), Indonesia (RM18.74) dan Singapura (RM113.45). Apa pun, yang jelas pengguna tidak akan selesa dengan sebarang kenaikan. Continue reading “Rakyat atau Kerajaan yang perlu berjimat?”

Posted on

Current Bumi economic agenda not viable, says UDA chief

By Yow Hong Chieh | June 01, 2011
The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 — Putrajaya cannot keep throwing money at agencies tasked with furthering the Bumiputera economic agenda without consideration for profit unlike in the past, says Umno leader Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed.

The UDA Holdings Bhd chairman warned there will come a day when the government, whose finances were “being stretched over time”, would no longer be able to dole out grants to statutory bodies like Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) as it does currently.
Continue reading “Current Bumi economic agenda not viable, says UDA chief”