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- Ex-Sabah BN MPs in Pakatan panel
- Najib’s Achilles heel and poison arrow
- Of eggs and AES
- Peniaga PKNS bimbang kadar sewa naik
- Tiga kriteria calon Pemuda Umno
- 209 mati dalam tahanan sejak 2000
- Police report filed against Kohilan
- Another death in prison, family cries foul
- Pemuda Umno tuntut kerajaan tangguhkan sistem AES
- Mallya to unveil ‘restart’ plan for Kingfisher
- Saya tidak akan berundur kerana desakan, kata Nik Aziz
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| Ex-Sabah BN MPs in Pakatan panel Posted: 30 Oct 2012 04:00 PM PDT
APS is led by Tuaran MP and former-deputy president of United Pasok Momogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) Bumburing while PPS is headed by Beaufort MP Lajim who is a former Umno supreme council member. Both the MPs had on July 29 quit all posts that came with their positions as BN coalition members and pledged support to former prime deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim who now leads Pakatan. However, both Bumburing and Lajim have yet to join any of the opposition coalition component parties. Bumburing’s former boss in Upko, Bernard Dompok, was quick to paint the two former senior BN leaders ‘partyless’ status as indecisive, saying that they displayed the lack of confidence in Pakatan’s political struggle. Dompok, the Plantations Industries and Commodities Minister, who is fighting his own battle to remain relevant in the ruling coalition, also questioned the need for Bumburing and Lajim to establish APS and PPS as their political platforms. Dompok likened the Anwar-led opposition “as a duck in the water where on the surface the bird looked calm but underwater it was paddling hard.” However, APS deputy president Maijol Mahap, an Upko vice-president until he resigned in August this year to team up with Bumburing, has hit back at Dompok. “It is not for anyone to say whether or not Bumburing has any confidence in any of the political parties that make up Pakatan Rakyat. (Joining a political party) is not his priority," said the former senator who lost his position after he quit the BN. Upko has already given the senator post to its deputy secretary-general Lucas Umbol whose nomination was unanimously passed by the Sabah Legislative Assembly last week. ‘Pakatan made up of equal partners’ Mahap disclosed that after going through a series of discussions with several Pakatan party leaders including Anwar, it was agreed that Bumburing and Lajim through APS and PPS, assist the opposition coalition in their quest to topple the BN government and wrest control of Putrajaya. "In relation to this understanding, leaders from APS and PPS have been appointed as members of Pakatan National Council," he said. “Unlike BN where Umno is the dominant force and all the other parties have to follow the dictates of Umno, Pakata) is made of equal partners where no single party dominates the other members of the coalition,” he said. The former senator also backed Bumburing’s stunning revelation that Upko leaders had discussed pulling the party out of the BN and joining Pakatan. "In fact before July 29, there were suggestion coming from several Upko leaders wanting Bumburing and his group to postpone their intended date to quit BN-Upko." According to Mahap, the leaders eventually agreed to let Bumburing go first while Upko leaders sort out some technicalities. "However all these notions suddenly changed when Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak promised to announce the formation of RCI," he added. Mahap pointed out that currently Upko leaders are in a quandry and find themselves “trapped” by the announcement as until today the members of the RCI have yet to sit while “the terms of reference unveiled is nothing but a tool to try to appease the people”. Upko leaders, he said, are aware that Sabah’s broken immigration system has posed a huge problem for the state and the country with no solution in sight and questions are now being asked about how tough or tender the federal administration will be towards the million or so immigrants already in the state. “What will Upko do or say should the RCI fail to complete its reports during the stipulated time given to it and/or in the midst of it Najib dissolves Parliament and calls for elections? "Perhaps the RCI might not even be able to sit for their first meeting before the general election is called," he said, adding that Upko leaders would find it tough to go down and convince locals to defend the failure of the Umno-BN government in solving the problem. Also read: |
| Najib’s Achilles heel and poison arrow Posted: 30 Oct 2012 04:00 PM PDT
I suspect the Umno camp is really worried about the attacks on their man that they have to do a spin on the whole works. That's Umno thinking for you. When something is not working for them, they will manufacture a preferred storyline. Hence the story line they come out with is that Mahathir is doing his usual reverse psychology. Every Umno leader knows that Mahathir blames Rosmah Mansor for the position Umno finds itself today. Rosmah is the heel to Najib's Achilles. Mahathir is the poison arrow. Mahathir never ceases to bully Malays into believing they are inadequate and therefore the solution is to entrust their future in the hands of good people like him. Social evils, intoned Mahathir, arise from the activities of evil people and if only known devils like him and the band of marauders and plunderers are in control, Malaysia is safe. What is wrong with this kind of thinking? Well, it only requires one to be unthinking and self-praising. Mahathir likes to self-praise although he has a round-about way of doing it. The medical doctor uses self-deprecation to disarm and defeat opponents. Malay disengagement scares Mahathir So what's really bothering Mahathir? Mahathir’s biggest fear is that the process of Malay disengagement has spread so widely that it is threatening Umno's stranglehold on the people. Let look at the situation before us and perhaps help Mahathir make peace with himself. First, Malaysians have acquired a new tradition of embracing democratic values and the sense of importance and self-worth. These are natural outcomes of economic and social advancements with our own borders and also arise as a result of an almost complete removal of artificial physical barriers between nations. Advances in the internet have demolished almost all barriers set up by autocratic government and has allowed people to learn and make comparisons. Governments established by using autocratic means are finding themselves under increasing assaults from civil rights groups and people. And that is happening to Umno and BN who have thrived on unchallenged autocracy. Malaysians have acquired new values and traditions- that of liberty and liberal values. The second force checking Umno's hegemony and autocracy is simply its own success. Mindless Umno leaders Umno is a victim of its own success. Once Umno and BN acquired a false sense of invincibility, they become victims to the baneful influence of corruption and power abuses. Umno and BN have become a corrupt government. The government endorses, incubates, nurture and encourage rampant and rapacious corruption buoyed by its believe in its own invincibility. The desire to stop a corrupt government has become both a unifying and motivating force for Malaysians. So Mahathir harangues the public with simplistic takes. If Umno is vanquished, Malays will be finished. So, Malays need to continue to place their future in the hand of good people like Umno people. Associating Umno with all the goodness is easy to do. It needs only an appeal to the emotions. And that is what Mahathir and the menagerie of Umno political animals do. To reason with people requires overcoming prejudices and subordinating the emotions. That would require analysis and a thought process. And that is something that Umno people and its cyber troopers sorely lack. The writer is a former Umno state assemblyman but has now joined DAP. He is a FMT columnist. |
| Posted: 30 Oct 2012 04:00 PM PDT
From the week before Hari Raya Aidil Fitri which is the third week of August to the third week of October, the price of eggs had shot up from RM2.90 to RM3.65 for a tray of 10. If the government can no longer afford to subsidise the most basic foodstuff, then it is a warning sign that all is not well with the nation’s economy no matter how much the government tries to deny it. The mismanagement of the nation’s economy is at its most critical stage during the tenure of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. This is because it is only during his tenure that the national debt has surpassed the RM500 billion mark. And if contingent liabilities amounting to over RM100 billion is added, it will be over RM600 billion. Clearly the economic skills of the Najib administration is sorely lacking. And yet the prime minister still insists on holding on to the posts of finance minister and minister for women, family and community development. Is there no capable woman in BN able to head the Women’s Ministry? Are we putting ourselves up as the world’s laughing stock? This is certainly not the hallmark of a nation marching towards Vision 2020 nor a nation which aspires to achieve first world status. Is Najib proving himself to be the end of the RAHMAN legacy with his incompetence? And not only him but also Transport Minister Kong Cho Ha is another minister who has got a lot of explanation to do. And this is pertaining to the AES (Automated Enforcement System) which is part and parcel of the government’s efforts to reduce road accidents. Although it is a noble move, the fine of RM300 as a blanket sum is steep to say the least. Is this an Activated Easy Scam to generate income? One zap by the camera and RM300 disappears from the rakyat’s pockets! The whole project needs further explanation instead of just being rushed through as it creates an impression that certain parties want to earn a fast buck. The government’s motives to reduce deaths on the highways must of course be lauded as a good move but there should be some leeway on the fine and the amount should be between RM100 to RM300 instead of a fixed sum of RM300. The public should be allowed to negotiate on the sum on a case to case basis. Explanations needed From eggs to AES, the Najib administration has definitely got some explanation to do. The rakyat are not as dumb these days although there are still some gullible ones around. New laws should not be rushed through, for example the Peaceful Assembly Act 2011 which was bulldozed through in Parliament in November last year and Section 114A of the Evidence (Amendment) Act 2012 (with regard to postings made on the internet) that was rammed through by the BN MPs in April this year. From ground surveys conducted, many citizens are unhappy with the way things are being run and many city folk now opine that the BR1M cash aid is the people’s money and so we have the right to take it without feeling obligated to vote for BN. Actually what the government is giving is just a pittance to placate the low-wage earners who are unhappy with the ever-rising cost of living and this might lower the number of votes BN may obtain at the ballot box. Therefore BR1M is a sort of incentive to safeguard the government’s popularity. And as prices of basic necessities are soaring even before the Goods & Services Tax (GST) is implemented, what can we expect post-GST?! The assurance given by the federal government that prices of basic necessities will be controlled is thus highly doubtful. For a long time now, the incumbent government has engaged in double-talk. At the end of November two years ago, a local English daily reported that the government will not be increasing the price of RON95 but in early December the price of RON95 went up. In the social media, many citizens had put up the daily’s news report side by side with the December news report on the price increase to highlight the government’s duplicity. Therefore, now the government has wisen-up and price increases will at times not be highlighted in the press. No one must forget the way the prime minister had played what can be labelled as the "Stadium Trick" last year when he told the Bersih organisers to gather in a stadium but at the end of it, the request made by the Bersih organisers to use Stadium Merdeka was flatly denied. This means that whatever the government says must be taken with a large pinch of salt. There is always a lot of play on words and vagueness in what they say. Their explanations pertaining to scandals and fiascoes belie belief due to a lack of logic in their statements. Blanket statements are also the norm as in the case of the Ampang LRT contract. Global conditions are always blamed for the increase in the price of goods. When the mood suits them, the government just keeps silent and ignores the rakyat’s demands. Take for example the request made by the rakyat to the government to clean up the electoral roll. Till today are they still not keeping quiet on this? Overall to sum up, if the government feels like it, they will toss some silly explanation at us. Otherwise they just ignore us. After 55 years, is this what we deserve? Selena Tay is a FMT columnist. |
| Peniaga PKNS bimbang kadar sewa naik Posted: 30 Oct 2012 05:33 AM PDT
Gesaan itu dibuat mewakili kira-kira 300 peniaga yang turut menyatakan kebimbangan berhubung nasib mereka yang masih menjalankan perniagaan di Kompleks PKNS Shah Alam. Yang Dipertua Persatuan Peniaga PKNS, Amran Yahya berkata kebimbangan mereka disuarakan memandangkan pihak PKNS sendiri tiada inisiatif untuk memberi penerangan lanjut mengenai hala tuju syarikat tersebut. Katanya, tindakan itu secara tidak langsung memberi kesan kepada para peniaga memandangkan kadar sewa tapak di kompleks tersebut masih belum dimuktamadkan. Malah tindakan PKNS yang ingin menjalankan ‘corporate exercise’ turut menimbulkan tanda tanya serta kebimbangan mereka. “Mereka masih mahu menjalankan ‘corporate exercise’ tetapi kami juga mahu tahu hala tuju sebenar PKNS. Kami tidak mahu perkara ini diselindungkan. Kami berhak tahu bagaimana hala tuju PKNS ini. Kadar sewa baru? “Awal tahun lalu kata nak naik sewa 100 peratus. Mereka (pihak PKNS) kata akan bagi kata dua. Namun kami tidak tahu apa masalah sehingga sekarang kadar sewa baru itu tidak diumum,” katanya dalam sidang media di sini hari ini. Menurut Amran, sehingga kini seramai 300 peniaga Bumiputera tersebut masih membayar kadar sewa lama yang mengikut saiz tapak iaitu dari RM750 sehingga RM10,000 sebulan. Ujarnya lagi, majoriti para peniaga masih terikat dengan perjanjian lama dan sehingga kini tidak mengetahui nasib mereka. Pada Februari lalu PKNS bersetuju menangguhkan kenaikan sewa premis terbabit selepas peniaga menarik balik saman serta mengenepikan perintah injunksi terhadap perbadanan berkenaan. Namun semalam, Menteri Besar Selangor Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim berkata PKNS perlu menstruktur semula asetnya bagi menampung perluasan operasinya. Namun menurutnya langkah itu perlu dilakukan dalam usaha menjadikan PKNS sebagai syarikat hartanah terbesar di negara ini. |
| Tiga kriteria calon Pemuda Umno Posted: 30 Oct 2012 05:21 AM PDT
Ketua Pemuda Barisan Nasional (BN) Khairy Jamaluddin berkata, kualiti-kualiti itu perlu ada pada setiap calon memandangkan generasi muda merupakan golongan pengundi paling ramai dan mampu menjadi penentu sesuatu kemenangan. Katanya, setakat ini senarai nama calon sudah pun melepasi tahap pusingan pertama untuk dinilai dengan Presiden Umno Datuk Seri Najib “Kita tak tentukan peratusan kuota Pemuda kerana yang penting kualiti yang ada pada seseorang calon,” katanya selepas mempengerusikan mesyuarat Exco Pemuda Umno di sini hari ini. Ditanya mengenai kewajaran supaya calon dikemukakan lebih awal, Khairy berpendapat tindakan itu tidak perlu kerana baginya bukan setiap Namun, tidak menghalang sekiranya kawasan yang hendak diumumkan itu merupakan kubu kuat BN dan calonnya nama besar serta boleh diterima pengundi. “Dua minggu sebelum PRU mungkin boleh diterima. Kalau umum tiga bulan lebih awal takut ‘masuk angin’ nanti,” kata Ahli Parlimen Rembau itu. Selain itu, beliau berkata jentera sayap Pemuda BN akan membantu dalam proses pendaftaran Bantuan Rakyat 1 Malaysia (BR1M) 2.0 dengan mengedarkan 2,000 borang kepada setiap 191 Bahagian. Katanya, borang itu akan mula diedarkan di pejabat Bahagian selain mengagihkan ke kawasan perkilangan bermula 1 November sebelum menghantar kepada Lembaga Hasil bagi memudahkan urusan golongan sasaran. |
| 209 mati dalam tahanan sejak 2000 Posted: 30 Oct 2012 03:30 AM PDT
Bagaimanapun bukan semua kematian yang beraku adalah disebabkan oleh polis. “Harus difahami, bahawa tidak semua kematian berlaku di dalam lokap polis sebaliknya sebahagian besar di hospital. “Di antara punca-punca kematian adalah disebabkan oleh HIV/AIDS dan penyakit-penyakit lain seperti tibi, hepatitis C, asma dan (sakit) jantung,” kata Menteri Dalam Negeri Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein dalam jawapan bertulis beliau kepada Ahli Parlimen Kota Melaka Sim Tong Him. Hishamuddin menambah bahawa Polis Di Raja Malaysia prihatin terhadap tahap kesihatan tahanan dalam lokap dan perhatian khusus terhadap golongan yang berisiko tinggi dan kes kritikal. “Jika tahanan sendiri tidak mendedahkan masalah kesihatan yag dihadapi, adalah sukar bagi pihak polis untuk membantu mereka,” tambah beliau. Menurut Hishamuddin terdapat satu aduan berkaitan kematian orang kena tahan dan seorang anggota polis telah menghadapi tuduhan dan dibicarakan di bawah Seksyen 330 dan 331 Kanun Keseksaan. “Selain itu, tatacara pengendalian kes kematian dalam tahanan dibuat berdasarkan Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) yang diperbaharui. Setiap kes kematian dalam tahanan disiasat di bawah Kanun Tatacara Jenayah,” kata Hishammuddin. |
| Police report filed against Kohilan Posted: 30 Oct 2012 03:28 AM PDT
S Surendran, deputy chairman of the People’s Welfare and Rights Organisation (Power), lodged a police report with the Batu Caves police station this morning. Kohilan had claimed that he did not approve the condominium project but only approved the preliminary planning proposal of the Dolomite township project during his tenure as a councillor in the Selayang Town Council (MPS) in 2007. Kohilan had blamed the Pakatan Rakyat-led Selangor state government over the condominium approval after he attended a protest held by the Batu Caves temple committee last Friday. However, Selangor exco Ronnie Liu provided evidence showing Barisan Nasional’s hand in approving the proposed condominium. At a recent a press conference, Liu had exposed a planning approval issued on Nov 30, 2007 that detailed the height, size and type of the development slated on the land. He explained that the building approval, which was issued in March 2008, was the work of BN councillors. He said this was because Pakatan councillors were only sworn in during July 2008. “So, it is crystal clear that Kohilan has confused the Indians with ‘false information’,” said Surendran. “Thus, it is the police’s duty to investigate the deputy minister,” he added. Last week, the Sri Mahamariamman Devasthanam chairman R Nadarajah raised concerns over the proposed 29-storey project to be built adjacent to the temple. He said the matter might be referred to the courts if there was no sign of a permanent stop work order against the developer, Dolomite Properties Sdn Bhd. Today Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim Selangor said the state has ordered a temporary halt to the project pending the findings of an independent state-level task force. Also read: Karpal offers to help stop condo project |
| Another death in prison, family cries foul Posted: 30 Oct 2012 03:25 AM PDT
Relating the case at the Kajang Hospital mortuary, G Sivamalar of Lawyers for Liberty said inmate Kumarajah died due to negligence of prison officials. Kumarajah, 27, who was serving time for petty theft, had complained of stomach ache last Friday and prison authorities allegedly did not provide him medical attention. The prison's doctor only gave Kumarajah pain killers on the second day when the pain persisted. However, on the third day, his stomach bloated up. According to Sivamalar, the doctor had the audacity to suggest that Kumarajah was faking his illness. "The doctor told Kumarajah to stop play acting and that if he wanted to die, to go ahead. He was sent back to the cell while still in pain," said Sivamalar. Kumarajah’s body was brought to the Kajang Hospital Mortuary at 4.40pm yesterday and his family was informed of his death at 10.30am today by the prison officials, said Sivamalar. No post mortem has been conducted thus far and the family is demanding that it be done swiftly so as not to delay his burial. "We are waiting for a post mortem to be conducted. There is not even a single officer from the prison here to explain what actually happened,” said Sivamalar outside the mortuary. "The case is clear cut. Kumarajah's death is due to negligence and carelessness of the prison doctor and officials. “If only they had given proper medical attention to him, most probably his life could have been spared," she said. Kumarajah was serving time after being found guilty of motorcycle theft. He was to be released in February 2013. "We will consult a pathologist for the preliminary findings and also lodge a police report against the prison authorities and the doctor who treated Kumarajah," said Sivamalar. "Although we do not think there is any foul play, there is definitely negligence on the part of prison authorities. Looking at his body, we found blood stains near his mouth.” Kumarajah's mother M Suryaghandi, 51, when met at the mortuary, said she learnt of her son's death from his friend in the prison at 9am today. The prison warden only called much later at 10.30am, said Suryaghandi. Suryaghandi is a single mother and Kumarajah is her youngest. She lives alone as her daughter is married. She said last saw her son on Oct 25. Also read: 209 mati dalam tahanan sejak 2000 |
| Pemuda Umno tuntut kerajaan tangguhkan sistem AES Posted: 30 Oct 2012 03:14 AM PDT
Ketua Pemuda Umno Khairy Jamaluddin berkata, terlalu banyak kelemahan AES dikenal pasti walaupun sistem itu bertujuan untuk menangani berlakunya kes kemalangan. “Bukan tak setuju. Mungkin pada dasarnya ia satu cadangan yang baik tapi kami sebulat suara tuntut kerajaan tangguhkan AES dan kaji semula pelaksanaan tersebut,” katanya dalam sidang media selepas mempengerusikan mesyuarat Exco Pemuda di Bangunan Umno di sini hari ini. Ahli Parlimen Rembau itu berkata, kajian itu perlu meliputi kewajaran lokasi kamera itu dipasang, had laju yang praktikal, serta pendedahan “Penangguhan ini juga tak bermakna menghalalkan pengguna jalan raya melanggar undang-undang sedia ada tapi AES ni terlalu banyak masalah. “Harap jemaah menteri yang bermesyuarat pada minggu ini dapat membincangkan mengenai isu ini dan dapat keluarkan satu keputusan,” Semalam, empat negeri yang ditadbir Pakatan Rakyat – Selangor, Kedah, Pulau Pinang dan Kelantan – memutuskan untuk menangguhkan pelaksanaan AES di negeri-negeri terbabit. Pemasangan AES Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang Lim Guan Eng dilaporkan berkata, sebanyak 331 kamera AES dicadang untuk dipasang di empat negeri itu, namun pelaksanaannya terpaksa ditangguhkan. Ini memandangkan pemasangan AES itu seharusnya mendapat kelulusan daripada pihak berkuasa di peringkat kerajaan negeri terlebih dahulu. “Kami akan bertemu Ketua Setiausaha Kementerian Pengangkutan Datuk Long See Wool bulan depan bagi mendapatkan maklumat lanjut mengenai AES termasuk kos dan syarikat pengendali,” katanya dipetik Bernama. AES adalah sistem kamera automatik berteknologi tinggi yang dipasang di lokasi ‘hitam’ bertujuan meningkatkan kecekapan sistem Ia merakam pesalah trafik yang melanggar dua kesalahan utama iaitu memandu melebihi had laju dan melanggar lampu merah. Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan (JPJ) juga sebelum ini pernah membuat kenyataan menafikan pihaknya akan mengaut keuntungan daripada sistem tersebut. Katanya, setakat ini hanya dua daripada tujuh syarikat yang memohon layak mendapat tender pemasangan kamera AES dengan tempoh konsesi 66 bulan, iaitu ATES Sdn Bhd yang menggunakan teknologi robot daripada Jerman dan Beta Tegap Sdn Bhd yang menggunakan teknologi Redflex daripada Australia. |
| Mallya to unveil ‘restart’ plan for Kingfisher Posted: 30 Oct 2012 02:46 AM PDT
Vijay Mallya, a Formula One tycoon nicknamed the “King of Good Times”, met India’s Civil Aviation Secretary K. N. Shrivastava ahead of presenting a revival blueprint for his beleaguered carrier. “I have briefed him on revival and restart plan,” the 56-year-old, who is also an independent member of parliament, told reporters after the meeting in New Delhi. “It will be a comprehensive plan. All hurdles will be crossed,” Mallya said without elaborating. India’s Directorate-General of Civil Aviation, the airline industry’s regulator, suspended Kingfisher’s licence earlier this month until it came up with a “viable” revival plan. The debt-ridden airline, named after Mallya’s biggest beer brand, owes billions of dollars in taxes and airport fees. A pay dispute that led to a strike by pilots was only resolved last week. Mallya owns a yacht, property across the world and a fleet of vintages cars. But his empire is facing an increasing financial crunch. His flagship United Breweries (UB), India’s biggest brewer, is in talks to sell a stake of the profitable liquor empire to Diageo, the world’s largest distiller, which analysts say could raise $800 million. Kingfisher, which has $1.4 billion in debts, currently has a fleet of 15 aircraft, down from an earlier 64 planes, as it battles to curb costs. It has halted international operations and has the smallest market share among Indian airlines at 5.4 percent, after being the second-largest among the country’s six largest carriers at its peak. The problems of Kingfisher are reckoned to be the worst among India’s private carriers, partly due to overly rapid expansion, while the government is reviving debt-laden state-run Air India with a nearly $6 billion bailout. The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, a Sydney-based consultancy, in a recent report said Kingfisher’s debt was $2.49 billion including bank debts of $1.1 billion, and it had accumulated losses of $1.9 billion. -AFP |
| Saya tidak akan berundur kerana desakan, kata Nik Aziz Posted: 30 Oct 2012 02:39 AM PDT
Mursyidul Am PAS itu berkata, beliau hanya akan berbuat demikian (melepas jawatan MB) jika desakan itu datangnya dari PAS sendiri. “Setiap ketua ada orang di bawahnya, jadi kita boleh menyerahkan tanggungjawab menguruskan kerja-kerja (tadbir) kepada orang di bawah walaupun saya uzur fizikal. “Sihat atau tidak inilah saya…nak lawan Umno bukan perlu ada pada tubuh sihat tapi perlu pada otak betul,” katanya kepada pemberita selepas merasmikan Majlis Sambutan Hari Inovasi Peringkat Negeri Kelantan, di sini hari ini. Otak masih cergas Nik Abdul Aziz berkata, beliau yakin minda dan otaknya masih cergas walaupun dari segi lahirnya kelihatan uzur atas faktor usia. “Saya tidak akan layan desakan daripada mana-mana pihak supaya saya lepaskan jawatan lebih-lebih lagi dari ‘pemimpin buangan’, kecuali dari parti (PAS) sendiri,” katanya. Semalam, Presiden Perkasa, Datuk Ibrahim Ali, menggesa Nik Abdul Aziz supaya melepaskan jawatan sebagai Menteri Besar memandangkan beliau ‘gagal mentadbir negeri ini kerana telah uzur dan kesihatannya sentiasa terganggu’. Sementara itu Nik Abdul Aziz menyambut baik saranan Ibrahim supaya kerajaan negeri menubuhkan suruhanjaya bebas bagi menangani isu yang dikatakan wujud penyelewengan dalam pembangunan Lembah Sireh yang melibatkan pelabur asing. Semalam, Pemuda Umno Kelantan dan Orang Muda Berpadu Anti Korupsi (OMBAK) membuat laporan menggesa Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) menjalankan siasatan menyeluruh terhadap projek Lembah Sireh. Projek itu yang melibatkan pembangunan dan pengindahan tebing Sungai Kelantan yang bernilai RM2 bilion meliputi kawasan 400 hektar secara pajakan selama 99 tahun dipersoalkan selepas didedahkan dalam laporan Ketua Audit Negara 2011. “Kita (kerajaan negeri) sedia menerima apa saja bentuk suruhanjaya dalam menentukan ketelusan kerajaan negeri dalam melaksanakan sesuatu projek di negeri ini,…tak ada apa, tubuhlah,” kata Nik Abdul Aziz. |
| PKR warns of a ‘forest-less’ Negeri Sembilan Posted: 30 Oct 2012 02:35 AM PDT
PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli said the Auditor-General Report 2010 showed that the state government had failed to replace about 8,600 hectares of forest reserve land which was de-gazetted for logging purposes, between 2005 and 2010. "About 5% of the state’s forest reserve is not replaced. If that percentage continues yearly, Negeri Sembilan would lose its forests in five decades," he told a press conference at the Parliament lobby. Also present were PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution and his deputy T Kumar. On why the issue was not raised last year, Rafizi told FMT that he was not aware of the matter until he received a tip-off from a whistleblower about two months ago. “Once I received the information, I did some research on the matter and found some irregularities,” added the executive director of the National Oversight and Whistleblowers’ Centre. Last week, Rafizi accused Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Mohamad Hassan of "illegally" excising huge pieces of forest reserve land for logging and development for his cronies. He also said that Mohamad Hassan breached the Town and Country Planning Act 1976 by de-gazetting a piece of land in the Jeram Padang Selatan area as it was an "environmentally sensitive area". "Unfortunately, both [former menteri besar] Isa Samad and Mohamad Hassan have no regard for the law and allowed such developments [to take place]. "All the trees in this forest have been cut down and now the land is being converted for oil palm cultivation," he added.
"Section 12 of the Act clearly says that if the state government de-gazettes a forest reserve for whatever reason, the authorities must replace it with an equal area of land taken," he added. Rafizi urged Mohamad Hassan to reveal the names of the companies that had received timber concessions from the state. "These companies received about 4,800 hectares of land to do logging annually. The rakyat deserve the right to know who are behind all this. "If Mohamad Hassan refuses to do so, we will reveal the names of the companies, which are linked to the state Barisan Nasional ," he said. Rafizi is scheduled to lodge a police report on the matter at a police station in Seremban on Thursday. Negeri 'illegally' clearing off forest land Negeri Sembilan semakin lemah di bawah BN |
| Posted: 30 Oct 2012 02:27 AM PDT
Their spokesman, K Kunasegaran, said an official at Najib's office told them this morning that the Prime Minister would not see them. The investors, who are trying to get back the money they put into Bestino's failed gold investment scheme, have been trying to get an appointment with Najib for several weeks now. The group that went to Putrajaya today numbered nearly 250. Kunasegaran said the investors were upset with the way they were treated this morning. “We had already sent numerous memorandums and letters to inform the office of our arrival today,” he told reporters. “However, we were told that Najib is heading for Kedah today and will be back after two days. “It is seems like the Prime Minister is not concerned about our demands. "So it is time for us to take some drastic action to show how important the matter is." Bestino was once the nation's largest gold investment scheme. It had collected more than RM411 million from investors before Bank Negara and Securities Commission officers raided its premises in 2010 on suspicion that it was guilty of money laundering.
Click here to view the video on YouTube. Since then, investors have been trying to get back their money by petitioning both Bestino and Bank Negara. The protestors outside Najib's office are led by Parti Sosialis Malaysia's deputy president, M Saraswathy. She said they would not budge until they got an appointment to meet the Prime Minister. The investors have also expressed disappointment over MIC's failure to champion their cause. “Most of the Bestino agents were MIC members," said a protestor who would not reveal his name. "But today they are hiding and not one of them has come out to help us.” |
| Khir Toyo tentang umum calon awal Posted: 30 Oct 2012 02:06 AM PDT
Beliau bimbang ia akan mendedahkan calon-calon BN yang diumumkan itu kepada budaya fitnah. “Budaya politik negara kita terlingkung dengan budaya fitnah. Kalau diumum calon, orang akan sebar fitnah terhadap orang baru itu. “Umum calon awal boleh memecahkan sokngan di peringkat bawahan,” katanya lagi. Dr Mohd Khir berkata demikian ketika diminta mengulas kenyataan Setiuasaha Agung BN, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor yang mengatakan BN mempertimbangkan untuk mengumumkan calon lebih awal untuk PRU 13. Menurut bekas Menteri Besar Selangor itu, di Malaysia orang memilih wakil rakyat berdasarkan `kenal dan tahu’ orang tersebut dan bukannya melalui kebolehan dan pengetahuan mereka. “Sebab itu kempen benci antara satu sama lain berlaku bukan memilih calon seperti Amerika Syarikat setelah rakyat menilai mereka berdebat terlebih dulu,” kata Dr Mohd Khir lagi. Beliau menambah, calon tidak menang sendiri melainkan jika mereka dibantu oleh jentera di peringkat cawangan dan bahagian. Dr Mohd Khir menilai tokoh korporat selalu akan gagal menjadi ahli politik sebagaimana yang berlaku ke atas Menteri Besar Selangor, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim. “Orang korporat jika menceburi politik selalunya tidak kekal lama,” katanya lagi. |
| Posted: 30 Oct 2012 01:34 AM PDT
Pengurus Besar Ilham Marzuki berkata, Yayasan Selangor kini amat berhati-hati dan mensyaratkan pulangan kepada YS daripada sesuatu projek usahasama (joint-venture) adalah 30:70; di mana YS perlu mendapat 30% keuntungan daripada GDV (Gross Development Value) projek tersebut. “Ini dilakukan bagi menjaga kepentingan Yayasan Selangor dan rakyat negeri Selangor,” tegas beliau dalam satu kenyataan media hari ini. Beliau berkata demikian bagi menjelaskan isu tapak seluas 7.5 ekar di Jalan Kg. Pandan, Kuala Lumpur milik YS akan dibangunkan sebagai pusat komersil sebagaimana persekitarannya. Pembangunan tersebut akan dimulakan pada awal tahun 2013. “Sebagai ganti kepada Asrama Yayasan Selangor Kuala Lumpur (AYSKL), YS akan membina sebuah Sekolah Berasrama Penuh (SBP) yang boleh menampung 1,000 pelajar, yang menelan belanja tidak kurang daripada RM50 juta (tidak termasuk kos tanah). “Kos pembinaan SBP di biayai daripada pulangan cadangan projek usahasama memajukan tapak AYSKL, Jalan Kg. Pandan dengan pulangan kepada YS tidak kurang daripada RM300 juta (“in cash and kind”),” katanya. Beliau berkata, berbeza dengan proses pembangunan semasa pemerintahan Umno-Barisan Nasional (BN) dahulu, di mana YS hanya mendapat antara 3 – 5% sahaja daripada GDV. “Ini terbukti daripada pembangunan tanah di Persimpangan Jalan Raja Muda/Jalan Tun Razak, Kg. Baru apabila YS hanya mendapat sebuah bangunan bernilai RM54 juta, sedangkan GDV projek tersebut adalah sekitar RM1.8 billion. “Begitu juga dengan projek-projek lain seperti pembangunan tanah di Petaling Jaya, Klang dan Kelana Jaya,” ujar beliau. Ilham Marzuki berkata, semua projek kini adalah melalui proses tender terbuka, sedangkan pada zaman BN dahulu ia dijalankan secara rundingan terus (direct negotiation). “Disebabkan pulangan yang amat rendah dan proses rundingan terus, pihak kami berpendapat kemungkinan berlaku penyalahgunaan kuasa dalam proses tersebut,” jelas beliau. Menurut beliau, semua kepincangan proses pembangunan hartanah YS pada masa dahulu akan melalui proses "forensic audit" tidak lama lagi. Pemilihan Auditor kini sedang ditender secara terbuka. “Tuduhan-tuduhan kononnya pihak pengurusan tertinggi YS atau kerajaan negeri Selangor mempunyai kepentingan dan berhasrat untuk menjual tanah milik YS adalah fitnah semata-mata. “Kami menganggap tuduhan liar tersebut hanyalah tindakan terdesak pihak-pihak tertentu untuk memancing undi dan menjatuhkan imej kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat, memandangkan Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 akan diadakan tidak lama lagi. “Oleh itu, pihak kami ingin mengingatkan kalangan tertentu supaya tidak menyamakan proses tender kini yang dikendali secara telus/terbuka di YS, dengan proses pembangunan secara “runding terus” semasa zaman BN tidak lama dahulu,” ujar beliau. |
| Qatar PM: ‘War of extermination’ in Syria Posted: 30 Oct 2012 01:24 AM PDT
Sheikh Hamad in an interview with Al-Jazeera satellite channel late yesterday took issue with UN-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who earlier in the day had characterised the deadly conflict ravaging Syria as a “civil war.” “What is happening in Syria is not a civil war but a war of extermination against the Syrian people,” Sheikh Hamad said. This war, he charged, was being waged “with a licence to kill, endorsed firstly by the Syrian government and secondly by the international community.” He was apparently referring to Russia and China, which have repeatedly vetoed UN Security Council resolutions threatening action against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. “We have confidence in Mr Brahimi… but we need him to develop a clear proposal for a solution that can be put before the Security Council paving the way for a transition period and a transfer of power,” said Sheikh Hamad. Brahimi, who saw the truce he had brokered for the four-day Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday shattered in an explosion of violence soon after it took effect on Friday, said in Moscow the situation in Syria was “bad and getting worse.” “If it’s not a civil war, I don’t know what it is,” he said after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Brahimi, who is also due to visit China, is to go to the UN Security Council in November with new proposals to push for talks between Assad and the opposition. Qatar is widely accused of arming rebels fighting Assad’s forces. It called, without success, in the UN General Assembly last month for an Arab intervention force in Syria and a no-fly zone to protect refugees. - AFP |
| Bank of Japan unveils new loans Posted: 30 Oct 2012 01:21 AM PDT
The BoJ, which also said it would provide new loans to banks, had been under pressure from politicians calling for urgent action, as more data indicated a post-disaster recovery is stalling because of the global slowdown and strong yen. Official data Tuesday showed factory output came in weaker than expected for September, while Japan recently posted its worst September trade figures in more than 30 years, as a territorial dispute with China hit exports. The BoJ said it would expand an asset-purchase programme — its main policy tool — by 11 trillion yen ($138 billion) to 91 trillion yen, while keeping rates unchanged at between zero and 0.1 percent. The move its its second since central banks in the United States and debt-hit Europe announced huge policy easing measures in September to stoke growth. The BoJ programme is aimed at injecting liquidity into markets through purchases of government and corporate bonds, and commercial paper. Tuesday’s expansion was aimed at preventing “Japan’s economy from deviating from the path of returning to a sustainable growth path with price stability”, the BoJ said in a statement. A new programme offering “unlimited” loans to commercial banks was designed to spur their own lending to businesses and households, it added. However, the new measures came with a warning as policymakers slashed their growth forecast for the fiscal year to March, saying the economy would expand just 1.5 percent, well off an earlier 2.2 percent estimate. The BoJ also said it expects prices to have fallen 0.1 percent in the year to March, instead of the 0.2 percent inflation tipped earlier, suggesting Japan was a long way from winning its battle with deflation that has plagued its economy for years. A rare BoJ-government joint statement said politicians and policymakers were committed to quashing the problem “as early as possible”. Japan has been stuck in a deflationary spiral — cutting corporate profits and encouraging consumers to put off new purchases — with efforts to battle a general trend of falling prices having little impact. Earlier Tuesday, official data showed Japan’s factory output fell 4.1 percent last month, worse than the 3.1 percent fall expected by the market, with a slump in production of cars, auto parts and machinery leading the downturn. The figures underscored slowing demand for Japanese exports and the impact of a diplomatic tussle with China which has hit the Asian giants’ trade ties. Japan’s economy, which was hammered by the quake-tsunami disaster on March 11 last year, is also suffering from Europe’s long-running debt crisis and the strong yen. The Japanese currency hit record highs around 75 on the dollar late last year and remains strong, making exporters’ products more expensive overseas while shrinking the value of their repatriated foreign income. The problem is particularly acute for major export brands such as Japan’s automakers. Honda Motor said on Monday that the yen’s strength would dig into its full-year profit, now expected to be about 20 percent lower than previously forecast. Japan’s jobless rate, meanwhile, remained steady at 4.2 percent in September, largely due to post-disaster reconstruction-related employment, but household spending slipped 0.9 percent on-year, a sign of weakening consumer confidence. Auto production tumbled 12.4 percent last month partly due to a drop in sales in China, the world’s biggest vehicle market. Japan-China trade has been hurt by a long-standing spat over an East China Sea archipelago, called the Senkakus in Japan and Diaoyu islands in China, which erupted anew after Japan nationalised the chain in mid-September. Japanese factories and businesses across China closed or scaled back operations in September over fears they or their workers could be targeted by mobs protesting against Tokyo’s move. -AFP |
| Myanmar unrest could destabilise wider region: ASEAN Posted: 30 Oct 2012 01:20 AM PDT  JAKARTA: ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan has warned that sectarian bloodshed in Myanmar could radicalise minority Rohingya Muslims there and destabilise the whole of Southeast Asia.Surin called on the international community to help after clashes in the western state of Rakhine between Muslims and Buddhists this month killed at least 88 people and displaced more than 26,000. The Rohingya in Myanmar face “tremendous pressure, pain and suffering”, the Jakarta Post today quoted Southeast Asia’s top diplomat as saying at a human rights dialogue in the Indonesian capital. “If the international community, including ASEAN, are not able to relieve that pressure and pain (the Rohingya) could become radicalised and the entire region could be destabilised, including the Malacca Straits,” Surin said. The Malacca Straits are the main shipping lane between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. ASEAN is in a position to offer humanitarian aid to Myanmar, he said, as it did after Cyclone Nargis hit the country in 2008, killing 138,000. “Let’s see what we can do to relieve them from poverty, shortages of food, shelter and sanitation,” added the head of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes Myanmar. Decades-old animosity between Buddhists and the Rohingya exploded in June after the apparent rape and murder of an ethnic Rakhine woman sparked a series of vicious revenge attacks. The total death toll since June has reached 180, although rights groups fear the actual number killed could be much higher. Other Muslims in Rakhine have also been swept up in the latest violence, including the Kaman, one of Myanmar’s officially recognised ethnic groups. The unrest has prompted a growing international outcry, with the United Nations warning it could jeopardise the country’s widely praised reforms. - AFP |
| Shark brains could hold key to attacks Posted: 30 Oct 2012 01:18 AM PDT
Great white sharks, otherwise known as white pointers and made famous by the horror movie “Jaws”, have killed an unprecedented number of surfers and swimmers off Australia’s west coast in the past year. The government last month announced a new catch-and-kill policy for sharks that stray too close to beaches after five fatalities in 10 months. But it is also funding research into other measures, including technology to repel them. University of Western Australia shark researcher Kara Yopak, who has dissected the brains of more than 150 species, said new studies of the great white shark’s brain had revealed important similarities to human brains. “Great white sharks have quite large parts of the brain associated with their visual input, with implications for them being much more receptive to repellents targeting visual markers,” Yopak told AFP of the research, published in a special edition of the journal Brain, Behaviour and Evolution. Most repellents now on the market target the electrosensitive pores on a shark’s head which are used to detect the weak currents emitted by prey, by sending a strong electrical signal to drive them away. Yopak said studies found this technology could be effective but failed to repel great whites in all cases. Understanding how their brains work could be vital to developing new deterrents, which could be something as simple as marking patterns on surfboards and wetsuits. “A shark may recognise a poisonous sea-snake’s markings and swim away, for example, and we can use this information to cue a response,” she said. “It’s about understanding how their neurobiology affects their (behaviour).” Yopak is part of a multidisciplinary team at the university’s Oceans Institute working towards new commercial repellents. Most sharks had been found to have brains of the same relative size as mammals or birds, she added, debunking any idea they are “tiny-brained eating machines”. Sharks are common in Australian waters but deadly attacks have previously been rare, with only one of the average 15 incidents a year typically proving fatal. Experts say the average number of attacks in the country has increased in line with population growth and the popularity of water sports. - AFP |
| Afghan presidential vote date is set Posted: 30 Oct 2012 01:14 AM PDT  KABUL: Afghanistan’s presidential election will be held on April 5, 2014, months ahead of the final withdrawal of NATO combat troops from the insurgency-plagued nation, a poll official said today.President Hamid Karzai, who is serving his second term, is constitutionally barred from running in the election and has been under pressure from opposition groups to announce the date. Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission said in a statement that the date for the vote was set and would be officially announced at a press conference on Wednesday. But a senior official in the commission told AFP on condition of anonymity that the scheduled date was “Hamal 16, 1393″, referring to the Afghan solar calendar. The date coincides with April 5, 2014. Karzai’s re-election in 2009 was marred by widespread allegations of fraud, and the credibility of the next vote is seen as crucial to Afghanistan’s stability after the NATO withdrawal. “The transparency and credibility of the elections are of paramount importance for NATO,” its spokesman in Afghanistan, Dominic Medley, said last week. The International Crisis Group think-tank warned this month that the Kabul government could fall apart after NATO troops withdraw, particularly if the presidential elections are plagued by fraud. The Afghan government announced last week that it will not accept foreigners on a key election watchdog for the presidential elections, a move that may undermine the credibility of the poll. Karzai said the presence of foreigners in the Electoral Complaints Commission went against the “sovereignty of Afghanistan”, suggesting that the two foreigners on the five-member body will be removed. Karzai’s spokesman, Aimal Faizi, said foreigners were still welcome as election monitors but the government was able to ensure the poll was fair. Karzai has been the only elected head of state in Afghanistan since a 2001 US-led invasion brought down the hardline Islamist Taliban regime. - AFP |
| White House race beckons after calm of storm Posted: 30 Oct 2012 01:10 AM PDT  WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney looked to console the nation and show leadership today after a devastating storm struck days ahead of election day.Both candidates scaled back their White House campaigns as Hurricane Sandy carved a path of destruction across the US eastern seaboard yesterday, with Obama returning to the White House to lead the disaster response. Now they will have to tip-toe back onto the campaign trail, resuming their closely-fought battle for the White House and showing leadership in a time of crisis without being seen as exploiting suffering for political ends. Romney, who canceled some campaign appearances yesterday, was set to attend a storm relief event today in Ohio, a key battleground state, at the same place where a campaign event had been announced before the storm. Obama can meanwhile harness the power of incumbency by directing relief efforts and addressing a storm-battered nation from its highest podium. Coming so close to the neck-and-neck election on Nov 6, the historic storm threw closely planned campaign strategies into disarray as it threatened to dampen early voting, and drown out the candidates’ closing arguments. “The great thing about America is, when we go through tough times like this, we all pull together,” Obama warned after meeting emergency officials at the White House and ditching events in battlegrounds Florida, Ohio and Virginia. “The election will take care of itself next week. Right now, our number one priority is to make sure that we are saving lives,” he said. Romney also cancelled some events Monday evening as a mark of sensitivity towards millions in the path of the storm, but went ahead with scheduled appearances in Iowa and Ohio. He was also briefed by the deputy administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Richard Serino, on the storm relief effort, aides said. “The damage will probably be significant, and of course a lot of people will be out of power for a long time,” Romney said in Iowa Monday. “Hopefully your thoughts and prayers will join with mine and people across the country as you think about those folks who are in harm’s way.” “We love our fellow Americans – wish them well,” he said, and appealed for supporters to make donations to the Red Cross. Romney must balance a desire to use the precious last days of the campaign to maintain momentum without appearing oblivious to suffering Americans. He has already been accused of muscling in on tragedy for political gain – over the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi last month – and so can ill afford any missteps seen as motivated by hope of an electoral dividend. Equally, any errors by Obama in the wake of the storm could help Romney build his case that Benghazi was a symptom of a wider malaise and unraveling of leadership in the White House. Top US office holders have been acutely aware of the potential of disasters to wreak a political price ever since president George W. Bush’s bungled handling of Hurricane Katrina seven years ago. High-level campaign operatives deplore events they cannot control, hence the fabled history of the “October Surprise” — the sudden happening, at home or abroad, with the potential to reshape the late stages of an election. For Romney, there is political danger in being seen as an afterthought as Obama shapes the narrative of the post-storm response, possibly squelching a head of steam the Republican has built up in recent weeks. The hurricane and likely widespread power cuts in swing states like Virginia will also disarm plans by both campaigns to deluge voters with non-stop television advertising in the final days. “We are winning this race,” insisted Obama’s senior aide David Axelrod. “We base it on cold, hard data based on who has voted so far and on state-by-state polling.” In a memo however, Romney’s Ohio state director Scott Jennings said the president was facing a “nightmare” scenario in the key state. Romney leads by a few points in some national polls of the popular vote, but Obama is clinging to a slim advantage in the state-by-state race to 270 electoral votes needed to secure the White House. But Obama was up one point, a swing back to the president of three points from last week, in the latest GWU/Politico/Battleground poll Monday. A CNN/ORC poll in Florida, the biggest swing state, meanwhile suggested the race there has tightened, with Romney leading by only a single point. - AFP |
| BP says net profit jumps to $5.43 billion in third quarter Posted: 30 Oct 2012 01:08 AM PDT
BP added that it was hiking its quarterly dividend by 12.5 percent to nine cents a share on the back of the strong earnings. “BP’s performance and the strong progress we are making in transforming the company give us the confidence to increase distributions to our shareholders,” the company’s chief executive Bob Dudley said in an earnings statement. “We are on track with our strategy to 2014 and are laying the right foundations for sustainable growth during the coming decade,” he added. The company, which last week unveiled a massive strategic deal with Russian state oil firm Rosneft, said net profits increased in the third quarter, or three months to the end of September, from $5.04 billion a year earlier. BP had plunged into a net loss during the second quarter of 2012, hit by lower output, falling oil prices and a near $5.0-billion writedown on the value of assets. “The (third) quarter’s results benefited from a strong performance in BP’s downstream business, where good operational delivery capitalised on increased refining margins,” it said. “In the upstream, performance was similar to the second quarter as increased production from new projects and completion of turnarounds in the Gulf of Mexico was offset by seasonal maintenance in North Sea and Alaska and the impact of Hurricane Isaac in the Gulf. “In addition, more stable oil prices in the third quarter resulted in some positive reversal of the unusual price effects seen in the second quarter earnings,” BP added. BP, seeking to reposition itself after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster in 2010, agreed last week to sell its half of Russian venture TNK-BP to Rosneft for $17.1 billion plus a 12.84-percent share of the state company. BP added it would spend $4.8 billion of the proceeds to buy another 5.66 percent of Rosneft from the Moscow government, bringing its total stake in the Russian company to 19.75 percent. On Tuesday, BP said that its oil and gas output during the third quarter, excluding TNK-BP, stood at 2.26 million barrels a day, down 2.7 percent compared with the third quarter of 2011. “Looking ahead we expect fourth-quarter reported production to be higher than the third quarter as we exit the maintenance season, and see the continuing benefit of our major project start-ups,” the company statement said. “The extent of the increased production will likely be muted by the timing of Gulf of Mexico and North Sea divestments expected to be completed during the fourth quarter.” For the past two years, BP has set about selling what it sees as non-core assets to help fund massive compensation costs resulting from the Gulf of Mexico disaster. In the third quarter, it sold its Carson refinery in California to US peer Tesoro Corporation for $2.5 billion. Earlier this month, BP offloaded its ill-fated Texas City refinery and a portion of its US retail and logistics network to US-based Marathon Petroleum Corporation, also for $2.5 billion. The Texas City facility suffered a deadly explosion in 2005 that killed 15 workers and sparked safety concerns across BP’s US operations. The British group’s reputation took a far bigger hammering two and a half years ago after an explosion on the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig killed 11 workers and sent millions of barrels of oil spewing into the sea. The blast on April 20, 2010 sparked what has widely acknowledged to be the worst environmental catastrophe in US history. BP on Tuesday said it had so far sold assets totalling more than $35 billion to help cover the costs of the tragedy, a figure set to reach $38 billion by the end of 2013. -AFP |
| New York plunged into fearful darkness Posted: 30 Oct 2012 01:05 AM PDT  NEW YORK: The fury of “Frankenstorm” plunged New York into fearful darkness, leaving the Wall Street financial district and lower Manhattan with no power nor any firm idea when the lights would be turned on.The streets, many waist deep in floodwater, were eerily quiet under the downpour, with the only sounds distant sirens and the only light cast by candles in apartment windows and the blue and red flashes of police cars. “It’s kind of scary. There is no light in the street, no people in the street,” said Ilona, a 22-year-old student from Russia, as she looked out over the murky water. From time to time an acrid smell of burning drifted by, as short circuits in the electrical grid sparked distant fires. Even the traffic lights were out. Special generator trucks were ordered in, and authorities reopened the George Washington bridge so some could be driven in from neighboring New Jersey. But when would the people be able to move again? Seven subway lines and six bus stations were submerged in seawater, in what network bosses said was the worst disaster in city transport history. “We have been sent to provide power for buildings and answer the 911 emergency calls,” the driver of one generator truck said. Desperate owners sought to check on businesses, apartments and cars. Olatz Schnabel, the former companion of the artist Julian Schnabel, rushed with her two sons to check whether her decoration shop had been flooded. “The water did not get that far. We managed to get everything out of the cellar,” she said. But there was devastation, as floodwater poured into the city from the East River, inundating road tunnels and subway stations and threatening several days of transport chaos.
At the 148th Street station in Harlem, a thick layer of garbage floated on the filthy water that covered the platforms. Workers stared forlornly at the devastation, hardly knowing where to start the cleanup. “It’s disgusting, and it always seems to happen here,” said Ryan Gambill as he waited at the entrance. Without power, news was scarce, and the final death toll was impossible to guess. One New Yorker was confirmed dead, crushed by a falling tree in the borough of Queens, but many more may have been trapped, or worse. Rescue operations were launched on Staten Island, at Rockaway Beach and Coney Island, seafront districts where many residents had ignored pleas to move to safety, and where some houses were said to be flooded almost to their roofs. Waves from the storm tore up the wooden beach boardwalk at Coney Island and nearby Brighton Beach, weekend resorts for New York’s working class. Cars floated in the water at Long Beach. Police appealed for boats to conduct rescue missions in Staten Island and at Coney Island in Brooklyn. “I am seriously concerned for people’s lives,” said Vincent Ignizio, a New York City councilman from Staten Island. - AFP |
| Swiss bank UBS cuts 10,000 jobs Posted: 30 Oct 2012 01:03 AM PDT
The jobs will go over the next three years, and amount to 16% of its current workforce of 64,000. UBS lost 39bn Swiss francs ( $42bn) during the financial crisis and had to be bailed out by the Swiss authorities. The cuts are aimed at saving 3.4bn Swiss francs. UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti said: “This decision has been a difficult one, particularly in a business such as ours that is all about its people. “Some reductions will result from natural attrition and we will take whatever measures we can to mitigate the overall effect.” Risk averse Zurich-based UBS will focus on its private bank and a smaller investment bank, ditching much of the riskier trading business which was responsible for the bulk of its losses. In a joint letter to shareholders, chairman Axel Weber and chief executive Mr Ermotti said: “We will no longer operate to any significant extent in businesses where risk-adjusted returns cannot meet their cost of capital.” UBS announced its restructuring plans as it reported its results for the third quarter of the year. The bank reported a net loss of 2.17bn Swiss francs for the July to September period, compared with a profit of 1.02bn Swiss francs a year earlier. The loss was mainly due to an impairment charge of 3.1bn Swiss francs that UBS is taking to cover the cost of the changes to its investment bank. UBS was one of the banks hardest hit during the global financial crisis. Then last year, it lost a further 2bn Swiss francs due to the activities of Kweku Adoboli, an alleged rogue trader. This prompted the-then chief executive Oswald Gruebel to resign. Mr Adoboli is currently on trial for fraud and false accounting. He denies the charges. -Agencies |
| Posted: 30 Oct 2012 12:48 AM PDT
In the years following, with the departure of many of its early members, the Society became inactive but was never de-registered. In September 1975, a group of expatriates and Kuching residents came together to revive the KSPCA. Their first meeting was held on the Oct 10, at “Eversleigh”, the residence of the then British Council Representative Philips Williams. Others who were involved in the committee at that time were Dr Hsiung Kwo Yuen, Elizabeth Kok, Chua Siang Cheng, Florence Foo, DSP Lim Tian Kim, Andy Lo, Ali Adenan and Celine Foo. In 1977, the Society's legal counsel, the late Sahathevan revised the constitution to better reflect its rules and regulations. The amendments included a change of name – it became the Sarawak Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or SSPCA. In the years that followed, this group of dedicated volunteers and their very active cadre of junior members, organised awareness – raising events, rescued and re-homed stray animals, initiated a pilot neutering scheme, and organized fundraising events. They were also instrumental in reaching an agreement with the local councils in Kuching to house and care for all the stray animals picked up by these councils. It's an agreement which has carried through to this day, and remains the only such arrangement between an animal welfare organisation and local councils in Malaysia. Perhaps their most notable achievement was securing tax-deductible status for the Society. This has proved an invaluable asset to the Society in its fundraising efforts. In 1999, through the generosity of the Sarawak government, the SSPCA secured a 0.6-acre piece of land at 61/2 mile Penrissen Road, Kuching on which to build its animal shelter. In the years since, this little piece of land has served as a refuge, a haven for thousands of stray, abused and abandoned animals. Some have been fortunate enough to be given a second chance at life, others have lived out their days in the loving care of our shelter staff, and many have gone on to the 'Great Kennel in the Sky'. Short list of achievements As with all NGOs, committees came and committees went, but the good work continued. Here is a short list of their achievements:
And through it all, they enjoyed the support of animal lovers in Kuching and around the world, through donations of food, equipment and other essentials, as well as much needed funds that allowed them to keep their shelter doors open. The SSPCA at 50 The Shelter had a very unfortunate incident when they experienced major flooding due to a whole day of heavy rain on Jan 11, 2011. Countless rescued animals were trapped throughout the ordeal. The lucky ones were able to climb to higher ground while the smaller and weaker ones struggled to keep from drowning. SSPCA committee members and volunteers rushed to the place in the middle of the night to save lives. It was indeed a sad sight. Staff and volunteers carried out a cleaning up event nonetheless. The tragedy strengthened many hearts, including those of the animals. In 2012, SSPCA assisted in the first successful prosecution of animal abuse in Sarawak, something for all of us to take pride and learn from. Even so, all citizens are encouraged to not just stop there as we know all four-legged creatures deserve to have equal rights to live. They are no different from humans in a lot of ways. Their biggest birthday wish is to secure a new and larger piece of land, away from development, on which to build a state-of-the-art Animal Shelter that can continue to serve the needs of the animals and people of Kuching for the next 50 years, and beyond. That's why they are channeling all their efforts this year to secure that piece of paradise and to raise funds to build and equip their new shelter. This is where you, the good people of Malaysia and beyond come in. They need you to turn out in huge numbers for the events that they have lined-up in this year and 2013, and to dig deep into your generous hearts (and pockets!) to help them raise the RM1.5 million they need. [Main photo shows Dona Drury Wee, president of SSPCA, giving her address/ photo credit: Veronica Ng] |
| Selangor catat prestasi cemerlang Posted: 30 Oct 2012 12:38 AM PDT
“Laporan Ketua Audit Negara 2011 secara jelas memberi perbandingan kecekapan pentadbiran dan penggunaan wang rakyat secara berhemah demi kebajikan rakyat,” kata Timbalan Pengerusi MPN PKR Selangor merangkap Ahli Parlimen Ampang Zuraida Kamaruddin. Justeru itu katanya, PKR Selangor mengucapkan jutaan tahniah kepada pentadbiran kerajaan negeri Selangor yang diterajui Pakatan Rakyat dan Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim sebagai Menteri Besar. Dalam satu kenyataan media hari ini beliau berkata, kerajaan Selangor masih terus mendepani pentadbiran negeri-negeri lain dari segi jumlah wang yang dipulangkan kepada rakyat melalui pelbagai program kebajikan. “Tidak ada negeri lain yang berupaya mengadakan Skim Air Percuma kepada rakyatnya, pada ketika penduduk Selangor adalah penduduk yang paling ramai di seluruh Malaysia,” terang beliau. Sebab itu katanya, kejayaan pentadbiran Pakatan di Selangor meningkatkan Kumpulan Wang Disatukan (atau Total Net Asset) sebanyak 23% sehingga mencecah RM1.944 bilion pada akhir 2011 seperti dilaporkan Ketua Audit Negara adalah satu pencapaian yang membanggakan dan perlu dipuji. “Maknanya, dalam keadaan kerajaan Selangor paling banyak membiayai program-program rakyat, ia masih berjaya menabung sehingga ia menjadi negeri paling kaya dan banyak simpanannya. “Ini adalah hasil dari disiplin fiskal yang diamalkan pentadbiran Pakatan Rakyat di Selangor yang mengutamakan "value for money" (atau nilai bagi setiap ringgit wang rakyat yang dibelanjakan),” jelas beliau. Zuraida yang juga ketua wanita PKR menjelaskan bahawa perbelanjaan per kapita bagi setiap rakyat Selangor masih lagi rendah berbanding negeri-negeri di bawah pentadbiran Barisan Nasional walaupun rakyat Selangor adalah teramai dan program ekonomi rakyatnya adalah yang paling menyeluruh. “Ini jelas menunjukkan bahawa penjimatan hasil dari pentadbiran yang tidak rasuah membolehkan wang rakyat dikembalikan dalam bentuk program-program ekonomi rakyat. “Ini berbeza jika dibandingkan dengan negeri-negeri lain seperti Terengganu, Sarawak dan Sabah yang berbelanja besar tetapi rakyatnya masih kekal antara yang termiskin kerana wang tidak sampai kepada mereka,” terangnya. Menjana reformasi berterusan Katanya, PKR Selangor percaya sudah sampai masanya lebih wang disalurkan kepada rakyat melalui projek-projek perumahan, kebajikan, pengindahan bandar dan ekonomi rakyat yang bertujuan menjana reformasi berterusan di Selangor. Menurut beliau, PKR Selangor akan berbincang dengan Menteri Besar untuk merangka beberapa program khusus berhubung dengan beberapa perkara, iaitu:
Selain itu katanya, PKR Selangor juga mengharapkan program-program ekonomi rakyat yang menggalakkan penyertaan golongan wanita dan anak muda dalam ekonomi perlu dirancakkan melalui peruntukan khusus dari dana tersebut. “Keseimbangan di antara dana simpanan dan perbelanjaan berterusan untuk rakyat bakal melonjakkan kedudukan Selangor sebagai negeri paling maju merakyatkan ekonomi dengan terus memulangkan hasil negeri untuk rakyat,” kata Zuraida. |
| Bar sees red over ‘dubious’ Star report Posted: 30 Oct 2012 12:30 AM PDT
The Star article on Oct 21 reported that "all young Malaysian lawyers do not meet the standard international quality benchmark set by their employers, according to a Bar Council survey." However, Malaysian Bar vice-president Christopher Leong accused The Star of misquoting, claiming that the report did not accurately represent what the speakers had said at the forum. "The New Young Lawyers Constitution forum was a useful platform for a discourse on the requisite training of young lawyers, and their work conditions. "So we are disappointed that The Star dubiously placed on record our unequivocal position that the employability survey covered new entrants to the Bar (and not all young lawyers), and that it is not our stand that all our young lawyers are below bar," he said in a statement. The Star, he added, should know that the survey reflected the views and experiences of the employer-law firms in seeking to employ new law graduates and was not a survey to determine the quality of such law graduates per se. Two surveys conducted Leong said that the Bar Council conducted two major surveys recently. The first survey was aimed at obtaining the feedback of employer-law firms as to the attributes, skills and abilities that they deem important, and look for, when seeking to employ new law graduates, and to what extent such requirements or expectations have been met. The second survey was conducted by the Bar Council National Young Lawyers Committee to gather data on the working conditions of the younger members of the Bar, particularly those within the first three years of employment. On Oct 20, the NYLC held a public forum to discuss the results of the two surveys. Based on the results of the second survey, the NYLC made the following recommendations: (a) Young lawyers ought to continue and strive to improve themselves, particularly by attending the Bar Council's Continuing Professional Development seminars and courses; (b) As a guide for employers, the proposed allowance for pupils in chambers should be a minimum of RM2,000 and RM1,000 per month, within, and outside, the Klang Valley, respectively; (c) As a guide for employers, the proposed remuneration for first-year lawyers should be a minimum of RM4,000 and RM2,500 per month, within, and outside, the Klang Valley, respectively; and (d) Employers should consider including both cash and in-kind benefits in a young lawyer's remuneration package. For example, if a firm is unable to offer the recommended monthly amount of RM4,000 to a first-year lawyer in Kuala Lumpur, that firm could consider offering medical and dental benefits, or a telecommunication allowance, so that the value of the remuneration package would approximate the proposed figure. This proposal represents a short-term measure in the hope that employers will eventually offer the recommended minimum salary amount in cash. Concern over multiple routes On the other hand, the Bar Council’s employability survey revealed that there is divergence between the expectations and requirements of employers, and the attributes and skill sets of some of the new entrants to the Bar. Law firms that responded identified these four skill sets and attributes as priorities: proficiency in spoken and written English; communication skills; knowledge of the law; and commitment to the firm. "The survey responses indicated that lawyers with foreign law degrees generally fare better in these areas than those with local qualifications, except where ‘commitment to firm’ is concerned. Within the former category of graduates, those who need not undertake the Certificate of Legal Practice (CLP) generally fare better than those with the CLP qualification. "The expectations and requirements of the legal profession are dictated by the market, and the demands placed upon lawyers by the public, who are the consumers of legal services," said Leong. He said the survey also found that employer-law firms were also concerned over the disparate and multiple routes of entry into the legal profession, which led to differing standards of learning and training amongst the new entrants. He added that this appeared to be a cause for the disparity in the skill sets and attributes detected by the survey. "An overwhelming majority of employer-law firms felt that a single entry system into the legal profession, as is the case in other jurisdictions, is desirable and viable. "To this end, they agreed that a Malaysian Common Bar Course, with a vocational training component, is needed to enhance the employability of new entrants to the Bar," he said. |
| RM100m suit: Kugan’s mother to testify on Nov 2 Posted: 30 Oct 2012 12:16 AM PDT
N Indra had filed the suit on Jan 13 this year against Khalid Abu Bakar, police officer V Navindran, former Subang Jaya police chief Zainal Rashid, the then-inspector-general of police (IGP) as well as the government for negligence and breach of statutory duty. In the statement of claim, Indra had said Kugan was arrested by the police on Jan 14, 2009. On Jan 20, at about 9pm, a police officer informed her that her son had died while he was in police custody. Indra had claimed on Jan 21, Khalid had issued a false explanation to the media on the cause of death, alleging that Kugan had asked for a glass of water and then collapsed and died. She had claimed that the defendants made attempts to cover-up the real cause of death and issued statements calculated to exonerate the police from blame or liability. In a separate trial in June this year, Navindran had been found guilty on two counts of causing hurt to Kugan. Shah Alam Sessions Court judge Aslam Zainuddin sentenced him to three years' jail on each count, to be served concurrently. Today, the Kuala Lumpur High Court was told that before his death, Kugan had taken care of his mother and provided her with a portion of his salary every month. Thus, as the plaintiff, Indra would also be making a liability dependency claim. Pathologist left the country Lawyers for the defendants later told reporters that they were willing to pay the amount as long as it was a "reasonable sum." "They said that Kugan earned RM3,000 a month and paid his mother RM1,00 every month," said Azizan Md Arshad. "We are now trying to solve the issue of income as they have not provided us with his pay slip," he told reporters. "But if it's a reasonable sum, then we will pay," he added. Lawyer RL Bani Prakash, who is representing Indra, had also told Justice VT Singham in court that they would call a total of five witnesses, including former lead counsel N Surendran who is now a key witness. R Sivarasa, who was not in court today, would replace Surendran as lead counsel for the plaintiff. Bani also revealed that they were not able to subpoena University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) pathologist Dr N Prashant, as he was not in the country. Dr Prashant had conducted the second autopsy on Kugan which revealed that his death had been caused by “acute renal failure…due to blunt trauma to skeletal muscles.” This was after the first post-mortem had concluded the death was due to fluid accumulation in the lungs. “We are still waiting for confirmation from the hospital on whether Dr Prashant is returning to the country,” Bani told the court today. “We went to serve the subpoena , but was informed by the front desk that he was no longer there.” Instead, Bani said, they will subpoena Dr Nazarina Abdul Rahman, the head of UMMC's forensic pathology department. "I am only interested in justice. The doctor is a material witness and we could have made arrangements to record his statement earlier," said Singham. "He is a foreigner, so you should have checked for how long he would be remaining in the country. For the sake of justice to prevail in the courts, you could have applied to record his evidence earlier." Meanwhile, the lawyers for the defendants informed the court that they would be calling in nine witnesses. Kugan, from Puchong, had been arrested to facilitate investigations into a luxury car theft syndicate. He died six days later. The case was then reclassified as murder following the results of the second autopsy, and 11 rank-and-file policemen were transferred to desk duty at the Selangor police headquarters over this case. However, only Navindran was charged with Kugan's death. |
| Migrant Care syak warga Indonesia dalang iklan amah untuk dijual Posted: 30 Oct 2012 12:09 AM PDT
Menurut Pengarah Migrant Care, Anis Hidayah, iklan tersebut bukan semata-mata kecuaian kerana pemerintah Indonesia telah mengesahkan TKI melalui UU Nombor 39 Tahun 2004 Tentang Penempatan dan Perlindungan Tenaga Kerja Indonesia di Luar Negeri. “Ada sindiket TKI terkait iklan tersebut. Saat ini, TKI sudah menjadi industri dan kami mencurigai adanya orang Malaysia serta Indonesia yang bermain,” ujar Anis, saat dihubungi Okezone, hari ini. Anis menambah, bisnis TKI yang sah di Indonesia berdasarkan UU Nombor 39 Tahun 2004 semuanya dikuasai oleh pihak swasta. “Ini merupakan celah yang membuat adanya iklan amah untuk dijual di Malaysia,” tuturnya. Kerana itu, Anis meminta KBRI di Malaysia dan Kementerian Tenaga Kerja dan Transmigrasi (Kemenakertrans) untuk menyelidiki siapa dalang penyebaran brosur iklan tersebut. “Brosur tersebut telah menghina bangsa Indonesia dan merendahkan TKI, kerana iklan tersebut sama saja dengan perdagangan manusia,” tambahnya. |
| Great Dane Gade passes baton to youngsters Posted: 30 Oct 2012 12:00 AM PDT
Gade battled, seemingly single-handedly at times, to hold back the tide of Asian dominance for over a decade and the five-times European champion and former world number one said he was at peace with how his career came to a close. “It was a great battle and the right way to finish. Instead of losing to an unknown, I lost to Jan, and I’m fine with that. The baton is hereby passed,” the 35-year-old told reporters at the Paris Open last week. Gade, who topped the world rankings from 1998 to 2001 before a brief return to number one in 2006, lost in the quarter-finals to compatriot Jan Jorgensen but stayed in Paris where he was honoured by tournament organisers at Sunday’s final. He will make one final appearance in front of his home crowd when he takes on Olympic champion Lin Dan in Copenhagen in December as a curtain-raiser for the Danish Masters tournament. National team coach Lars Uhre believes the country’s future is secure in the hands of its young players. “Gade will be missed, but in Viktor Axelsen, Jan Jorgensen and Hans-Kristian Vittinghus, Denmark has three world-class players. I think the future looks exciting,” said Uhre. Jorgensen was placed 11th in last week’s rankings with Vittinghus 17th and teenager Axelsen 31st. The current top 10 contains four Chinese players, two Japanese and one from each of Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea and Vietnam. Axelsen, 18, lost the Paris Open final to Malaysia’s 24th-ranked Daren Liew but he can expect to move up in the world rankings when they are updated on Thursday. “I’m happy that already I can give the world’s best a good fight,” said Axelsen. -Reuters |
| MACC report over ‘failed’ Kedah project Posted: 29 Oct 2012 11:56 PM PDT
Kedah Gerakan Youth today lodged a report asking the MACC to start investigations into the project which the 2011 Auditor-General’s report said brought millions in losses to the state. “We estimate it be about RM14 million, and want the MACC to investigate,” Kedah Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang told reporters outside the MACC headquarters here. The AG’s report also revealed that a goodwill payment was made to a third party (vendor) for the purpose of “lobbying to minister” for the project. Tan said he was puzzled as to which minister the report was referring to, and why such lobbying was necessary. “There were no feasibility studies, no due diligence done on the company. It does not justify the RM1.21 million paid to this third party vendor,” he said. Tan said the worse part was that the Kedah state government was trying to wash its hand of the mater and shift the blame to other parties. “With power comes responsibility and accountability,” said Tan, who lodged a police report last week over the same matter. Tan said it was up to the authorities to see if there were criminal elements, including criminal breach of trust (CBT) or corruption, involved in the case. KCB, a subsidiary of Menteri Besar Incorporated, had bought a 70% stake in MAS Incorporated Ltd (a company registered in Papua New Guinea) for RM31.21 million. This was for the development of two areas totalling 114,429 hectares in Papua New Guinea. ‘Goodwill payment’
Click here to view the video on YouTube. The project, however, was terminated by the KCB board of directors on March 1 last year on the grounds that it was not feasible and contained many irregularities. The failed investment, according to the AG’s report, caused KCB to incur losses amounting to RM13.49 million. The incurred losses of this ‘high risk investment’ reached the extent where the company concerned had to take a RM135 million offshore bank loan. The move that did not have the approval of the KCB board of directors and the loan was cancelled in 2010, but a RM1.6 million in “commission and legal fees” had to be paid by KCB. KCB also had to pay RM1.21 million to the vendor, appointed by KCB to run the business in Papua New Guinea, a goodwill payment for the transfer of the 70% equity to KCB. The terms did not favour KCB. Acording to the report, the goodwill payment to the vendor included the work of “developing land” and “payment to lobby to the minister”. Last week, Kedah Mentri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak, who is one of the directors in KCB, defended the state over losses incurred in the project. He dismissed allegations that the state government was at fault for having caused KCB to suffer a loss of RM13.49mil. He said that a senior officer of KCB, who had since gone missing, had secured the RM135 million offshore loan in 2009 without the knowledge of the board of directors. He said that a committee was set up to investigate the operations. However, the state did not lodge a report with the police or MACC, and denied committing any criminal offence. |
| Day-night cricket Test inevitable Posted: 29 Oct 2012 11:47 PM PDT
The International Cricket Council (ICC) decreed on Monday that countries could agree to play day-night tests and Sutherland said CA would put them on the agenda when negotiating all future tours to Australia. “Test cricket is by definition played on at least three week days, times when most people are at work or school, and this limits the ability of fans to attend or watch on TV,” he said in a news release. “We know that the audience for the Perth test, which is on TV in the evening on the east coast, is up significantly because fans in the East can tune in after work.” Although he believes 50-over and Twenty20 cricket have proved that batting is possible under floodlights, Sutherland conceded finding a ball with the visibility for night play and the durability required for tests was a stumbling block. “Finding a test ball that is as easily visible in the day as it is at night is still a technical work in progress that the ICC is now leading and it has not yet been possible to predict when such a ball might be available,” he added. “Experiments with other colours such as pink, orange and yellow have seen some promising developments in recent times and Cricket Australia will … continue to encourage research and development that delivers a ball with the optimal colour and durability for test cricket.” -Reuters |
| Rafizi was too loud, Nazri tells Parliament Posted: 29 Oct 2012 11:32 PM PDT
That appeared to be de facto law minister Nazri Aziz's message to Parliament today when he was trying to explain why PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli could not use the Whistle Blowers Act 2010 as a shield against prosecution over his exposes of the NFCorp scandal. Rafizi and former bank employee Johari Mohamad are facing charges under the Banking and Financial Institution Act (Bafia) over their exposure of bank documents related to the accounts held by the National Feedlot Corporation. “They are trumpet blowers, not whistle blowers," Nazri said in response to a question from Khalid Ibrahim (PKR-Bandar Tun Razak). He said the Whistle Blowers Act was not meant to protect law breakers. “You blow the trumpet to the whole world. So what protection do you need? “This act cannot protect those who commit a wrongdoing. It protects whistle blowers. We can’t protect him if he breached Bafia." Responding to Bung Mokhtar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan), who asked for a further explanation, Nazri said the Official Secrets Act and Bafia both described the kind of information that could not be divulged to the public. Also read: Rafizi charged under banking law |
| Amy Search terpaksa tutup Cheng Ho Posted: 29 Oct 2012 11:18 PM PDT
Menurut laporan Kosmo pada Rabu lepas, Amy, berkata, restoran yang terkenal dengan masakan ala Cina itu terpaksa ditutup dan menurut kenyataan beliau, keputusan tersebut terpaksa dilaksanakan setelah berdepan dengan pelbagai masalah perniagaan. Amy kini mencari pelabur baharu bagi mengusahakan kembali restoran itu atas jenama sama di lokasi lain yang sedang dikenalpasti. Restoran Cheng Ho miliknya yang terletak di Wangsa Maju menyediakan jenis makanan Chinese Islamic seafood ini telah beroperasi lebih empat tahun dan sebelum ini pernah terlibat dengan satu kontroversi apabila pernah di saman kerana kecuaian pekerja restoran tersebut terhadap seorang kanak kanak. [This content is provided by FMT content partner galaxtar.com, hiburan informasi terkini dan sensasi] |
| BN members still fighting over SAPP seats Posted: 29 Oct 2012 10:43 PM PDT
Leaders of Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), United Pasok Mompogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko), Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and BN’s backbone Umno have all thrown their hats in the ring for their members to contest the MP seats of Sepanggar, Tawau and the state seats of Likas and Luyang. SAPP, now in the opposition holds the two parliamentary seats through party deputy president Eric Majimbun (Sepanggar) and vice president Chua Soon Bui (Tawau) while Liew Teck Chan and Melanie Chia are the state assembly representatives for Likas and Luyang. All four had won the seats on BN ticket but the party led by former chief minister Yong Teck Lee quit the coalition on Sept 7, 2008. PBS president Deputy Chief Minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan has announced that his party has applied to BN chairman, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, to register the mixed constituency of Sepanggar seat under PBS. Pairin is basing the party’s claim ahead of other BN coalition aspirants on the shaky premise that PBS enjoys huge support in the constituency. SAPP proved their contention a fallacy in the Nov 9, 1999 election. The constituency was then known as Gaya. Yong defeated PBS candidate Johnny Goh Chin Lok, now the Inanam assemblyman, 15,315 votes to 11,198 votes. Third candidate Hamzah Abdullah of PAS only managed 729 votes. However, PBS is this time also in a skirmish with Upko head Bernard Dompok, Pairin’s archival for the Kadazandusun political crown. Dompok who is the Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister announced the party’s claim to the Sepanggar also on the basis of enjoying huge support in the constituency. The last time Upko’s strength was tested was in the March, 1999 election where its candidate Christine Van Houten, a former civil servant, was defeated in the state constituency of Inanam. The constituency together with Karambunai is within the Sepanggar parliamentary constituency. BN minnows, PBRS, headed by Joseph Kurup and LDP whose president Liew Vui Kiong is Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department have also established bases in Sepanggar but unlike PBS, Upko and Umno, they are not active in the area. Easier seat for BN Umno, the main party in the the Sabah BN coalition, can be said to have the upper hand in any tussle among coalition members to contest Sepanggar. Its divisional head Jumat Idris, is seen as a close aide of Chief Minister Musa Aman, the Sabah BN chief. Idris is also the BN chairman for the constituency. Incumbent Majimbun is rumoured to be all set to move into state politics by contesting in his home constituency of Inanam. Majimbun, who is SAPP deputy president, however also disclosed that his party would nevertheless field a candidate to defend Sepanggar. The Sepanggar MP seat is said to be one of the easier seats for the BN to wrest from the opposition irrespective of who in the BN coalition gets the nod to be the candidate. Political pundits say the electoral balance is tipped against the opposition here given that there are about 3,000 postal votes registered in Sepanggar. According to them, based on past election results, postal voters by and large have always proved to be ‘government supporters’. This is more so in Sepanggar where there is a naval base as it has also been seen in the past that constituencies with a large military presence have always elected a BN candidate. In the last general election, BN contested in all the 25 MP and 60 state seats. It was a landslide victory for the coalition who only lost the Kota Kinabalu parliamentary and Sri Tanjong state seat to DAP. However a series of subsequent defections right up to a month ago has allowed the opposition to make further in-roads in the BN’s ‘fixed-deposit’ state. Meanwhile, apart from the seats now held by SAPP, seat allocation for the Sabah BN members has almost been settled, according to Dompok. Opening Upko Beaufort division delegate conference over the weekend, he said there was no more problem in seats allocation as all the component parties had been informed of the seats they will be contesting in the elections. |
| Calon PRU: Tranformasi total untuk Umno Posted: 29 Oct 2012 10:26 PM PDT
AJK Umno Arau, Dr Ammar Hassan berkata, beberapa tokoh popular yang menang dalam PRU lalu perlu digugurkan supaya tidak memberi kesan buruk terhadap sokongan pengundi muda. Beliau menamakan Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Mohd Isa Sabu, dua bekas menteri kabinet – Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid dan Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad – sudah melampau zaman. “PRU 13 ini bukan zaman mereka lagi kerana faktor usia, kita bimbang pengundi muda akan lari kepada pembangkang. “Walaupun mereka menang dan berpengalaman tetapi kurang wibawa..” kata Dr Ammar lagi. Manakala Wilayah Persekutuan menyerahkan kepada Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak untuk memilih calon dalam PRU 13. Setiausaha Umno Wilayah, Datuk Syed Ali Alhabshee berkata, sama ada calon itu yang menang, kalah ataupun tidak pernah bertanding, Najib yang tentukan. “Jika kita (ahli) asyik mempertikaikan itu dan ini, kita akan kalah. Terpulang kepada Najib,” tambah beliau lagi. Ketua Umno Ampang, Datuk Ismail Kijo berkata, Selangor memerlukan gandingan muka baru dalam PRU 13. Beliau berkata, pemimpin lama boleh menjadi pembimbing kepada muka baru. “Kita tidak boleh meletakkan seratus peratus muka baru,” katanya. Ismail yang juga ADUN Lembah Ampang berkata, pihaknya boleh menerima calon luar asalkan memenuhi kehendak rakyat. Setiausaha Agung Umno, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor dilaporkan berkata, parti sedia membawa calon luar untuk PRU 13. |
| Antara teknologi membran dan Langat 2 Posted: 29 Oct 2012 09:43 PM PDT
Kerajaan Persekutuan mahu membina loji air Langat 2 untuk mengatasi masalah kekurangan air tetapi kerajaan Selangor di bawah pimpinan Pakatan Rakyat menentang projek tersebut tetapi Kerajaan Selangor menawarkan alternatif teknologi membran yang didakwa lebih murah. Noriah hari ini menyatakan bahawa teknologi membran hanya boleh menjadi alternatif untuk jangka pendek, bukannya jangka panjang. “Teknologi membran ialah teknologi moden untuk merawat air tetapi tidak dibuktikan boleh meningkatkan kapasiti air dalam skala besar. Mungkin dalam jangka pendek, tetapi tidak dapat memenuhi unjuran jangka panjang,” kata Noriah. Menurut Noriah kos sebanyak RM95 juta untuk satu loji sahaja. Abdul Khalid yang juga ahli Parlimen Bandar Tun Razak membidas jawapan Noriah yang didakwanya mengelirukan kerana merasionalisasikan projek Langat 2. “Adakah Timbalan Menteri pernah baca kertas kerja untuk menentukan pilihan air dari Pahang? Bagaimana unjuran dan kos bandingan dibuat? “Ada pilihan lain lebih baik dari segi kos dan kecekapan pengurusan. keluaran air terawat melebihi 5 juta liter sehari, yang dipakai 3.5 juta liter dan 1.5 juta liter bocor,” kata Abdul Khalid. Pada ketika tersebut beberapa ahli parlimen BN mula riuh kerana projek mitigasi jangka sudah pun dijalankan. Abdul Khalid berkata beliau sanggup membandingkan data dengan Timbalan Perdana Menteri Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yang mengetuai jawatankuasa kabinet untuk isu projek Langat 2. “Kalau saya dapat buktikan teknologi membran yang kos lebih rendah, adakah kerajaan Persekutuan sanggup menolak projek tersebut. Untuk keluarkan 130,000 liter hanya RM800,000 berbanding dengan harga lebih RM30 juta. Kalau angka betul, sanggupkah menteri tolak projek ini? “Kos lebihan (projek Langat 2) terlalu tinggi sebab itu kerajaan negeri jaga hak rakyat,” jelas Abdul Khalid. Noriah membalas bahawa kajian persekutuan bermula sejak tahun 1990 an dan membuat keputusan paling ekonomi ialah pemindahan air dari Pahang dan Langat 2. “Kita teruskan juga dengan tender. Saya rasa akan setuju kerana akan tukar kerajaan (Selangor). Mengata teknologi membran murah senang tapi sumber air yang diperlukan banyak. |
| Negeri Sembilan semakin lemah di bawah BN Posted: 29 Oct 2012 09:38 PM PDT
Pengasas Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM), Badrul Hisham Shaharin dalam satu kenyataan media berkata pihaknya memandang serius perkara ini. Pada tahun 2010 katanya, kerajaan Negeri Sembilan memiliki ‘aset’ berjumlah RM23.40 juta dalam bentuk saham di beberapa syarikat seperti Telekom, Tenaga Nasional Berhad, Malaysia Airport tetapi menjelang tahun 2011 pegangan tersebut cuma tinggal RM590,000 sahaja. “Media propaganda Umno-BN menuduh kerajaan negeri Pakatan Rakyat Pulau Pinang mengenepikan pembangunan Islam namun semua “Dari peruntukan sebanyak RM25.7 juta pada tahun 2008 ketika di bawah BN, kini kerajaan negeri Pulau Pinang di bawah Pakatan memperuntukan sebanyak RM64.03 juta pada 2012 untuk Hal Ehwal Islam. “Berbanding di Negeri Sembilan di bawah pemerintahan Umno-BN peruntukan bagi hal ehwal Islam menurun dari RM7.15 juta pada tahun 2010 menurun kepada RM5.63 juta pada 2011,” jelas beliau yang juga dikenali sebagai CheguBard. Menurut beliau, pengurangan serius ini akan mengakibatkan banyak program pembangunan dan keagamaan telah terbantut. Pengurangan bajet Hal Ehwal Agama ini berkaitan dengan kelembapan ekonomi dan berkurangan pendapatan kerajaan negeri. Selain itu katanya, peruntukan pembangunan agensi kerajaan bawah kerajaan negeri dari RM85 juta jelas berkurangan kepada RM82.49 juta yang akan memberi kesan secara langsung terhadap keselesaan hidup rakyat. Beliau menegaskan bahawa kerajaan negeri jelas makin hilang kemampuan untuk mengumpul pendapatan negeri. “Pendapatan kerajaan negeri dari hasil utama seperti cukai tanah, terimaan dari agensi, perkhidmatan, perolehan dari segi lesen dan permit dari tahun 2010 berjumlah RM326.99 juta menurun dengan serius kepada RM280.11 juta pada 2011. Katanya, ketika Laporan Ketua Audit Negara 2011 memuji negeri-negeri Pakatan seperti Selangor dan Kelantan, kerajaan Negeri Sembilan di bawah Umno-BN terus ditimpa kelemahan pentadbiran, hanya dapat terus bernafas kerana berhutang dengan kerajaan pusat. “Selangor walaupun memberikan air percuma dan perbagai bentuk kebajikan pada rakyat namun masih mampu mencatat lebihan hasil RM60 juta dan Kelantan dalam keadaan kerajaan pusat menafikan banyak haknya tetapi dapat menambah aset sebanyak RM90 juta,” katanya. CheguBard berkata banyak lagi kelemahan kerajaan negeri, kalau hendak dibongkar satu persatu seperti dalam isu perumahan dan kerugian yang dialami YNS Management Sdn Bhd. Beliau mengajak rakyat berfikir dari segi rekod empat tahun berturut-turut pencapaian dan rekod pentadbiran negeri di bawah Pakatan cemerlang berbanding pentadbiran Negeri Sembilan di bawah Umno-BN. |
| Posted: 29 Oct 2012 09:35 PM PDT
In a statement to the Malaysian stock exchange on Monday, Honda and Proton’s parent DRB-Hicom said the partnership will explore collaboration in “technology enhancement, new product line up, platform and facilities sharing”. “This collaboration will provide positive impact to Proton and the DRB-Hicom Group in the long run,” added the statement, which gave no further specifics on the proposed cooperation. Proton was formed in 1983 as part of a plan to jump-start a national industrialisation programme. But it has suffered from weak sales, a reputation for unimaginative models and poor quality, and has struggled to stay competitive and penetrate global markets. Early this year, DRB-Hicom, a leading car distributor and importer, acquired state investment arm Khazanah Nasional’s stake in Proton. Khazanah said it sold the stake as part of a bid to increase the carmaker’s prospects amid growing competition from Japanese, European and Korean carmakers in the Malaysian market. Honda, Japan’s third-largest auto manufacturer, has suffered troubles of its own. It recently lowered its sales target in China, the world’s largest auto market, as Chinese consumers have shunned Japanese brands owing to a territorial row between the two Asian powers over a group of islands. Previous negotiations to sell stakes in Proton to Volkswagen and General Motors fell apart because of the Malaysian government’s desire to keep the company domestically-owned. Proton also owns money-losing Britain-based sports car unit Group Lotus. -AFP |
| PRS to launch first of 24 retirement funds within 2 weeks Posted: 29 Oct 2012 09:34 PM PDT
KUALA LUMPUR: The Private Retirement Scheme (PRS) will see the launch of the first of its 24 funds within the next two weeks, followed by the remainder in the ensuing months. Eight providers will provide three default, or core, funds, along with an optional five to seven non-core funds. The funds were initially planned for launch in September, but because the concept is new to the country, PPA took extra measures to ensure there were no administrative hiccups and the funds would continue to be run smoothly, Private Pension Administrator Malaysia (PPA) chief executive officer Steve Ong Chong Gain told The Malaysian Reserve on the sidelines of the 17th Malaysian Capital Market Summit, in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. "It's at the final approval stages (from the Securities Commission (SC)) and we expect the providers will be able to launch within the next two weeks. Those that submitted earlier will of course get the approval quicker," he said. Syariah-compliant funds will also be available for investors, differentiating the scheme from those offered in other countries like Singapore, the US and Australia, he said. The eight approved providers are AmInvestment Management Sdn Bhd, American International Assurance Bhd, CIMB-Principal Asset Management Bhd, Hwang Investment Management Bhd, ING Funds Bhd, Manulife Unit Trust Bhd, Public Mutual Bhd and RHB Investment Management Sdn Bhd. PRS is a voluntary retirement saving scheme structured by private sector fund managers, subject to the SC's approval. The fund is intended to provide employees with an additional option to save for retirement, and unlike the Employee Provident Fund (EPF), is structured to meet the requirements of the self-employed. The amount required to sustain an employee's standard of living postretirement is 35% of their last drawn salary. Employer and employee EPF contributions, combined, is around 23%, leaving employees at least 12% short, which the PRS can help with, said Ong. Unlike unit trust funds or insurance plans, the PRS is specifically structured for retirement. The employee may only withdraw up to 30% of their investment, subject to an 8% tax penalty on the amount withdrawn, said PPA chairman Zaiton Mohd Hassan. The tax penalty is imposed to offset the tax break given to investors with a minimum contribution of RM3,000 per year. Ong said the reason why Malaysia is only beginning the PRS now, after more than two decades of the establishment of the EPF, is because Malaysia does not offer Pillar 1, or government-funded pension schemes, like those in the US or Europe. EPF is considered a Pillar 2 scheme, while voluntary schemes like PRS are considered Pillar 3. Meanwhile, the size of the PRS is expected to reach RM1 trillion in 25 years, based on the size of the working population with an average age of 35 years and a contribution of RM3,000 per annum. The pension scheme is also expected to deepen the equity market as funds required by companies will come directly from the PRS as an alternate source or capital, said Ong during his presentation yesterday. PPA, a body regulated by the SC, facilitates and maintains all PRS-related transactions made by contributors and members. [This content is provided by FMT content partner The Malaysian Reserve] http://themalaysianreserve.com/main/ |
| Sharp shares jump on US tech giant tie-up report Posted: 29 Oct 2012 09:30 PM PDT
The maker of Aquos-brand products surged as much as 7.4 percent to 175 yen in early Tokyo trade before easing slightly to 172 yen, or 6.2 percent higher, in the early afternoon. Sharp was talking to the US firms about supplying them with small and medium-sized power-saving liquid crystal display panels for laptops, tablet computers and smartphones, Kyodo news agency said. Sharp has also asked iPhone-maker Apple, chip giant Intel, Google, Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard about injecting fresh funds into the struggling firm, which has suffered massive losses, the report said. However, a Sharp spokeswoman told AFP that the firm “is not in talks with these companies over a possible capital tie-up”. “We decline to comment on individual talks over business tie-ups,” she added. An expected capital injection from Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision, which makes Apple gadgets in China, has stalled, with Intel recently emerging as a possible partner for the Japanese firm. Sharp’s share price plunged to four-decade lows in August when it reported a quarterly loss of about $1.76 billion, prompting Standard & Poor’s to cut its credit rating to junk status. The Osaka-based company has struggled amid fierce overseas competition and a strong yen, with the bigger-than-expected loss tied largely to writedowns of its LCD panel inventories caused by weak demand and heavy restructuring costs. Sharp has said it would slash 5,000 jobs worldwide, with later reports saying it would shed 19 percent of its 57,000-strong global workforce, by the end of March 2014. The firm has also announced wage cuts for thousands of employees — from the factory floor to the executive boardroom — and the sale of real-estate to shore up its bleeding balance sheet. -AFP |
| Karpal offers to help stop condo project Posted: 29 Oct 2012 09:25 PM PDT
“In the event the matter is taken to court, I will offer my services pro bono to ensure a successful judicial pronouncement in favour of the temple committee,” said Karpal. Last week, the Sri Mahamariamman Devasthanam chairman R Nadarajah raised concerns over the proposed 29-storey project to built adjacent to the temple. The Sri Maha Mariamman Devasthanam manages the running of Sri Subramaniar Swamy temple in Batu Caves which has the tallest Lord Murugan statue in the world. Nadarajah said the matter may be referred to the courts if there was no sign of a permanent stop work order against the developer, Dolomite Properties Sdn Bhd. He also urged the Selangor government to scrap the project. ‘Stop the blame game’ Karpal said: “The state government cannot afford to ignore the manifestations of protests against the project. “There is no scarcity of land in the land bank to provide an alternative site for the project. In fact there is no reason for the developer not to accept an alternative site,” he added. Karpal who is also Jelutong MP, urged BN and Pakatan Rakyat to stop the blame game over which party was responsible for approving the project. Selangor exco Ronnie Liu had blamed the previous BN administration in the Selayang municipal council in approving the project in 2007. Stop work order for Batu Caves condo project Liu shows proof it was all BN's work Cancel Batu Caves condo project, says Kula |
| Posted: 29 Oct 2012 09:20 PM PDT
Lorna Kleidman, a world champion in kettlebell competition, said a modern kettlebell workout effectively combines cardiovascular, resistance and range-of-motion training, all in one hour. “It’s all in the swing,” said Kleidman, who teaches kettlebell classes at the Fitness Cell Collective in New York City, where women constitute up to 70 percent of her students. “You can lift the kettlebell as if it were a dumbbell,” she added. “But to get the most out of it you need to use it in circular, swinging movement.” Essentially cast-iron, handled balls, the modern kettlebell became a fitness tool when Russian weight lifters took to lifting market counterweights for strength training. Kleidman said the idea dates back to ancient Greece, where athletes trained by lifting stones with holes in them. She believes the appeal for women is obvious.
Classes typically start with 6.8-kg kettlebells, and can go up to 11.3kg. Men start with 9kg kettlebells, progressing to 15.8 and above. Kleidman said it takes about an hour for most people to learn the proper technique of driving, or initiating movement, from the leg and hip while keeping the spine straight. “There are hundreds of movements,” said Kleidman. “Swing it, bring it to hold, rest it in the crook of your elbow.” There are also presses, pushes, and figures-eight, side-to-side twists. “You’re limited only by your imagination,” she said. Paul Katami, group fitness center director at the Equinox fitness center in West Hollywood, California, said more women are overcoming their initial fear of the kettlebell. He said by lowering the weight of the bells used in classes, people are able to do more complex moves. “We’re keeping the essence of kettlebell training while moving it from personal training to group fitness,” said Katami, creator of the upcoming DVD “Ultimate Kettlebell Workouts for Beginners.” He added the swing is the cornerstone kettlebell exercise and that the power of the workout lies in its ability to displace the center of gravity, creating more core involvement.
Even simple moves, such as squats and bicep curls, are enhanced. Pete McCall, an exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise (ACE), describes the kettlebell advantage as a matter of the position of the mass, the use of momentum and the need to control that momentum. “We found that the energy expenditure of the kettlebell for one workout was similar to cross country skiing, which is seen as one of strongest physical activities you can do,” he said. McCall is pleased that more women are getting comfortable with weight lifting in general. “It’s a misconception that in order to weight train, women want to stay lighter,” he said, “because then they’re not really activating the muscles responsible for the definition and tone they want.” He urges would-be kettlebellers to find a certified trainer to teach the technique. “It’s all in the technique,” he said. “People look at it say it’s dangerous. If you have good technique it’s not dangerous at all.”—Reuters |
| Haddin left out of Australia squad Posted: 29 Oct 2012 09:16 PM PDT
The 35-year-old has been replaced by Matthew Wade, 24, who impressed when he deputised for the 43-Test veteran in April’s tour of the Caribbean. Captain Michael Clarke said: “It was a tough decision. They’re two very good wicketkeepers and whichever way we went, the team was going to be fine.” The first of the three-Test series is in Brisbane, starting on 9 November. The other notable omission from the squad was 19-year-old fast bowler Pat Cummins, who claimed seven wickets in his only Test appearance – against South Africa in Johannesburg last year. “We didn’t feel as though Pat Cummins was ready to play in a Test match,” said chief selector John Inverarity. The 12-man squad includes four pace bowlers – Ben Hilfenhaus, Peter Siddle, James Pattinson and Mitchel Starc – and spinner Nathan Lyon. -Agencies |
| Asian markets rise ahead of Japan bank decision Posted: 29 Oct 2012 09:14 PM PDT
With US markets closed because of Hurricane Sandy, there was no lead for regional investors from Wall Street but comments out of Spain and Greece brought back eurozone concerns. Tokyo was 0.41 percent higher by the break, Hong Kong added 0.11 percent, Sydney climbed 0.30 percent, Seoul rose 0.66 percent and Shanghai was up 0.22 percent. The consensus is that the BoJ will add at least another five trillion yen to its 80 trillion ($1 trillion) asset purchase scheme that aims to grease the wheels of the market to kickstart economic activity. Another expansion of the scheme would follow a similar move last month — and by the United States and Europe — and comes as data continues to show the economy unable to break out of its stupor. Earlier Tuesday official data showed factory output fell 4.1 percent last month, much worse than the 3.1 percent drop expected, with a slump in production of cars, auto parts and machinery a key cause. “The BoJ is certainly the focus today, especially with currency markets little changed,” said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager of equities at SMBC Nikko Securities. “Anything above 10 trillion yen in additional asset purchases will strike the market as a surprise,” he said. In Greece the finance ministry said banks would not be able to swap greatly devalued holdings of national debt for bonds issued by the new European Stability Mechanism. The news comes as Athens remains locked in talks with its international creditors over accessing its next tranche of rescue funds as well as over a possible extension of a timetable to initiate crucial reforms. However, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy reiterated his view that the debt-laden, recession-struck economy does not need a bailout — even as a ninth region made an appeal for rescue funds from Madrid. In early Asian trade the dollar bought 79.87 yen, compared with 79.80 yen in New York late Monday. The euro bought $1.2915, compared with $1.2900, and 103.15 yen, up from 102.95 yen. On oil markets New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in December, was down 28 cents at $85.26 a barrel in the morning, while Brent North Sea crude for December fell 46 cents to $109.09. Gold was at $1,709.90 at 0300 GMT compared with $1,712.20 late Monday. -AFP |
| Why is it so difficult to give up a seat? Posted: 29 Oct 2012 09:09 PM PDT
Welcoming the call as “timely and fair” to all party candidates, Pahang vice-chairman J Apalasamy and Taman Gembira branch chairman Ivan Ho Fook Keong also urged all nine party elected representatives who held two seats to heed Karpal’s suggestion and publicly declare their choice of seat. The duo could not understand why it has been so difficult for the double-hat wearers to scale back on one seat. Both Apalasamy and Ho said if the elected representatives insisted on contesting double seats in the next polls, it would show that they were selfish and power crazed politicians. They accused the dual seat holders of wanting to monopolise power and enjoy multiple perks at the expense of majority party members. "They must put party interests above their selfish interests. "They should make way for other capable and dynamic party members to contest. “The party should build for the future," they told FMT here today. Penang has the most number of elected representatives who are both MPs and assemblymen. Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is Bagan MP and Air Putih assemblyman, Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy is Batu Kawan MP and Prai assemblyman and the state senior executive councillor and Penang DAP chief Chow Kon Yeow is Tanjung MP and Padang Kota assemblyman. Other DAP double-hatters are Beruas MP and Sitiawan assemblyman Ngeh Koo Ham, Taiping MP and Pantai Remis assemblyman Nga Kor Ming (Perak); Seputeh MP and Kinrara assemblywoman Teresa Kok Suh Sim (Selangor) and Rasah MP and Lobak assemblyman Anthony Loke Siew Fook (Negeri Sembilan). In Sarawak state DAP chairman Wong Ho Leng is Sibu MP and Bukit Assek assemblyman while state party secretary Chong Chieng Jen is Bandar Kuching MP and Kota Sentosa assemblyman. Strong support from grassroots Last Friday, Karpal who has all along proposed for a one man– one seat formula, called on all double-seat holders to declare that they would only contest a seat in the next polls instead of waiting for the party decide for them. Under Karpal's proposal, exemption could be given to the Penang Chief Minister and candidates in Sabah and Sarawak to contest dual seats on a-need-to basis. Karpal's call met stinging criticisms from likes of Chow and Teresa Kok. They described the issue as "an old story" and rebuked Karpal for highlighting it in the media. Supporting Karpal, Apalasamy said it would be an injustice if the party were to favour a handful to contest both federal and state seats as safety nets when majority candidates were going for broke contesting one seat. He also questioned the need to provide the safety nets to certain politicians. "Whats so special about them that they must be given two seats? As a socialist party, the DAP must be just and fair to all," insisted Apalasamy. He rebuked politicians who want dual seats as safety nets of lacking confidence and at the same time denying another winnable candidate a chance to serve the people. When these politicians go for double-headers, he said it showed that they lacked confidence in winning either one or both the seats. Stop being a hypocrite
Pointing out to BN’s one man-one seat policy, he called on the DAP to drop its outdated policy of allowing certain candidates to contest double seats. He said complaints had persisted among party members and constituents against under performance of these dual seat holders, who failed to balance out and devote their time and resources fairly for voters. He said the public moaned that the representatives could not perform effectively as both a parliamentarian and a state representative, and it was worse if the representative was also a state executive councilor. "Political landscape, needs and demands have changed over the past few years. "The DAP should transform and reform to meet these changes and, the one man–one seat formula is the right way forward. "The dual seat holders should see the writing on the wall and heed to the chairman's call. “They should step aside and allow others to come in," insisted Ho, who is a a lawyer by profession. |
| Swift to co-host Grammy nominations Posted: 29 Oct 2012 08:54 PM PDT
Swift, 22, who has won six Grammy awards, will join rapper-actor LL Cool J to announce nominees in some of the major categories during a one-hour live telecast on Dec 5, featuring performances from country artist Luke Bryan and pop-rockers Maroon 5. The singer is currently on a touring blitz to promote her latest album, “Red”, and has become an awards show favorite, most recently premiering her new single at the MTV Video Music Awards in September. Swift’s addition to the roster is part of the Grammy organization’s celebration of country music this year, moving the nominations concert from Los Angeles to Nashville, home to the Grand Ole Opry and dozens of recording studios that have spawned artists such as Swift, Carrie Underwood and Lady Antebellum. Organizers began televising the nominations in a live show five years ago in a bid to boost TV viewership for the annual Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles in February. This year, 39.9 million viewers tuned in to see British singer Adele sweep the awards with six major wins.—Reuters |
| Singapore Airlines ups pressure on Qantas Posted: 29 Oct 2012 08:52 PM PDT
The move by Singapore Airlines, the world's second-largest carrier by market value, marks both a step to preserve its dominant position in the Asia-Pacific premium air travel market and an effort to deal with its troubled budget associate, Tiger Airways Holdings Ltd. As part of a series of deals revealed today, Virgin, Australia's No.2 carrier, will buy 60 per cent of Tiger Australia for A$35 million and invest a further A$62.5 million to increase the fleet size to 35 aircraft from 11 by 2018. City Index analyst Peter Esho said Qantas's ambition to become a premium player in the Asia-Pacific aviation market was meeting stiff resistance from Singapore Airlines. "We see today's move by Singapore Airlines as a strategic shift down south to back Qantas's main domestic competitor," he said. Virgin is also buying regional and charter carrier Skywest , which services fly-in fly-out mining camps, in a deal worth A$93 million. Virgin shares rose as much as 6.5 per cent to A$0.49 and shares in Skywest surged 53 per cent to A$0.43. Qantas shares were flat, while Singapore Airlines rose 0.4 per cent. Shares in Tiger Airways, 33 per cent owned by Singapore Airlines, were suspended after the carrier reported a S$18 million second-quarter net loss. Partner up Virgin's efforts to shore up its position follow Qantas's proposed 10-year alliance with Dubai's Emirates, revealed last month. Qantas ditched its 17-year alliance with British Airways, owned by IAG, in favour of a 10-year alliance with Emirates, a key step in the carrier's efforts to shore up its loss-making international business. Qantas, which has been propped up by earnings from its domestic operations, will operate through Dubai rather than Singapore as part of that deal. Singapore will join unlisted Etihad Airways, Abu Dhabi's flag carrier, in taking a minority equity stake in Virgin. Etihad also has a 10 per cent stake. "Singapore and Tiger recognise how difficult it would be to continue to operate in the Australian market and this is a good resolution for them," said White Funds Management portfolio manager Angus Gluskie, who holds Virgin shares. The three deals would make Virgin a stronger competitor in all segments, including budget, domestic and international, Virgin Chief Executive John Borghetti said in a conference call with analysts and media. "I think we are a formidable group now," Borghetti said. He said Tiger's financial performance would impact Virgin's earnings from the three months to June 2013, and both the Tiger and Skywest deals should be completed around March. Borghetti said after the deals, Virgin would expand to 139 aircraft and more than 9,000 employees. – Reuters |
| 7 ways to make better decisions Posted: 29 Oct 2012 08:48 PM PDT
Gather all of the information Set yourself a deadline Make a pros and cons list Get a second opinion Get in the right mindset Sleep on it Flip a coin LINKS |
| Economy may skirt direct hit from Hurricane Sandy Posted: 29 Oct 2012 08:43 PM PDT
Economists say some of the impact caused by businesses closing will be offset by reconstruction efforts, and point to catastrophic storms like Katrina, which devastated New Orleans but did not deal lasting damage to the national economy. Still, Sandy’s sheer breadth – 10 states have declared a state of emergency – means it could hurt this quarter’s economic output, even if the long-term impact ultimately proves neutral. Gross domestic product in the region between New York and Washington amounts to some $2.5 trillion, so that every day the region’s economy grinds to a halt amounts to about $10 billion in foregone output, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. At the local level of course, the destruction can be severe, and vary in direction depending on the industry affected. Peter Morici at the University of Maryland estimates that Sandy will cause about $35 billion to $45 billion in losses and damages but then be followed by as much as $36 billion in recovery spending. Damage caused by last year’s Hurricane Irene totaled as much as $20 billion, he said. Predicting the impact of Sandy is made all the harder by complexity of the rare, hybrid “super storm” involving other weather systems that could get trapped over the Northeastern United States and amplify inland flooding. “The range of possible scenarios for Hurricane Sandy remains enormous. There are examples of natural disasters ultimately exacting only minimal toll – Irene – and others having an outsized impact, such as Hurricane Katrina when the (New Orleans) levees broke,” said Eric Lascelles, chief economist RBC Global Asset Management Inc. “Really, it is a game of probabilities.” Disaster modeling company Eqecat forecast economic losses caused by Sandy at $10 billion to $20 billion. The toll from Katrina in 2005 exceeded $100 billion by most accounts. U.S. economic growth slowed in the quarter immediately after the devastation inflicted on New Orleans but bounced back quickly. The U.S. economy grew 2 percent in the third quarter of 2012, picking up from earlier in the year but still a weak number, as consumer spending helped to offset a worrisome pullback in business investment. Many analysts were already concerned that retail sales could suffer later this year. Retailers bear a significant brunt of any storm’s economic impact as shoppers stay at home. But the last-minute scramble for supplies and emergency goods has a moderating effect on the overall sales declines. Still, Evan Gold, a senior vice-president at Planalytics, a Philadelphia consulting firm that advises businesses on weather-related matters, was less optimistic about seeing any upside, particularly with Sandy hitting so close to the holiday season. “If consumers in this part of the country are spending hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to buy things like generators, or after the storm, to do clean-up, that is likely going to cut into budgets that people might have for their holiday shopping,” said Gold. One thing economists do agree on is that data releases in coming weeks will be even harder than usual to forecast. For instance, the impact of Sandy is likely to skew figures on weekly jobless benefit applications and chain store sales. “The monthly economic data will become more volatile – October retail sales, vehicle sales, and industrial production will be hurt, but they will bounce back in November and December,” Zandi said. “Restaurants will be hurt, but grocery stores will benefit; general merchandise stores will lose business, but online retailing should get a boost, he added. “Of course, if the storm knocks out major infrastructure like refineries, cell towers, trains, sea and airports, then the economic damage will be more severe and difficult to recover from.” The hurricane has the potential to cause some of the largest losses the global insurance industry has faced this year, but nothing that would strain insurers financially aside from hurting earnings this quarter, according to analysts. -Reuters |
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