FMT News |  |
- Penang opposition chief suspended again
- 7 signs that you’re in love
- Assaulted by guard, man lives in fear
- Victorious Chavez looks to Venezuela state polls
- Macau gambling revenue hits all-time monthly high
- Sabah RCI identifies 48 witnesses
- Myanmar’s neighbours urged to let in refugees
- Putin cancels trips due to health problem
- Japan ‘misspent’ tsunami rebuilding money: Audit
- Halloween bashing precursor to Hungry Ghost festival ban?
- Japanese woman crushed to death by elevator
- Asia growth hopes lifted by manufacturing data
- Musa pulls back ‘punches’, spares MAHB
- AIM 19 – Semakin panas dan mendebarkan
- An end to flood woes in sight
- Kill your speed or kill a child
- No more eating quietly at your desk
- SUPP expels two but hesitates on Wong
- Adakah kerajaan menyokong perasuah?
- PSM minta Ketua Polis NS ambil alih kes
- Pentagon continues use of BlackBerry,door open to others
- Asian markets mixed, China up on manufacturing data
- RM40m donation linked to sale of Navy secret?
- First Angry Birds theme park
- Houseowners left in the lurch
- President gives whole salary to charity
- ‘My son was no criminal’
- ‘Tycoon’s Hummer used by Nazri’s son’
- MP Pakatan desak Kong jawab soalan AES di Parlimen
- Don’t curb judges’ sentencing discretion
- PM: Tingkatkan pengeluaran makanan
- ‘Mana bukti…jangan bercakap saja’
- Storm costs New York City $200 million a day
- Islam rahsia kejayaan kerajaan PAS Kelantan
- Asians buy London apartments
- Obama front and center in storm crisis as Romney subdued
- Flood ebbs, Northeast picks up after epic storm
- About 6 million remain without power in Northeast
- Philippine street kid a global inspiration
- Carrefour Malaysia sold to AEON
- Civil service must be depoliticised
- Sandy unearths 200 years old skeleton
- Wall Street scrambles to raise cash
- Rakyat dihukum, kroni dimanjakan
- Want to be Hungarian?
- Bank Negara has collected 2,000 art works to date
- BMD trading hits record historical high of 78,401 contracts
- Sacked for growing beards
- Changing channels: Sony, Sharp in turnaround battle
- ‘Nurturing’ Mukhriz Mahathir
| Penang opposition chief suspended again Posted: 01 Nov 2012 03:41 AM PDT
The motion to suspend him was passed last May and then referred to the Rights and Privileges Committee to decide on the duration. Azhar refused to attend all of the committee's hearings on the matter. His offence was to suggest that there had been a manipulation of the Hansard report on a debate over the demolition of a Hindu temple. At today's session of the state assembly, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng gave him a chance to apologise and retract the offensive words before putting the motion to another vote. He rejected the offer, saying he stood by his words. All Pakatan representatives voted for the motion. In his speech today, Lim said Azhar had humiliated the House and insulted the stenographers who produced the Hansard recording. Azhar is the state assemblyman for Penaga. This was the third time that he has been suspended from the assembly. The previous suspensions also lasted six months. The first time was on Dec 3, 2009. He was accused of showing his posterior to PKR's Pantai Jerejak assemblyman Sim Tze Tzin. The second suspension began on Nov 1, 2010, after he was alleged to have made unacceptable remarks regarding the May 13 riots. After today's vote, Azhar told a press conference that the report he had allegedly disparaged did not represent the official minutes of proceedings but was a draft copy that must be verified and passed by the House before being included in the Hansard.
Azhar had earlier announced that he planned to retire from politics, but he said today that recent developments had forced him to reconsider the plan. "I wish to retire, but my constituents want me to continue," he said. However, he added, he was leaving it to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to make the final decision.      |
| Posted: 01 Nov 2012 03:23 AM PDT
Here we show you seven signs that you are head over heels in love, so that you can know for sure if it's love or if it's just lust. Crazy in love Although serotonin affects us all in different ways, a study undertaken in 1990 by an Italian researcher found that those people who had recently fallen for someone showed symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Order. Maybe Romeo and Juliet would have behaved differently if they'd have known that their feelings were just a chemical reaction? You become a vampire Nothing gets you down They seem perfect You feel like a teenager You forgot your birthday You're blind LINKS    |
| Assaulted by guard, man lives in fear Posted: 01 Nov 2012 03:09 AM PDT
Last Monday, a security guard allegedly assaulted Sumendran with an iron rod as he was entering the apartment premise, leaving the latter with a fractured hand and nose. "On Oct 22, at around 3pm, I was with my father about to go into my [apartment premise], but the security guard refused to let us enter," he related the incident at Hindraf's headquarters here. "And my father gave the security guard his IC, [but] he refused to take my father's IC, and he asked for his licence instead," he said, adding that the security guard did this often to irritate his family. "I went out of the car to talk to him. He thought I was going to threaten him or something; he took the iron rod and hit me," he claimed. Sumendran has been given a medical leave for an entire month following the painful beating, and still wears a cast around his left hand. According to the medical certificate issued by Hospital Putrajaya, he suffered a "closed fracture of left ulna styloid." To make matters worse, Sumendran claimed that the police have not taken action following the report he lodged on that same day over the assault. As a result, on top of the injuries he suffers, he still encounters his assailant on a daily basis – who, aside from still guarding the area, is also a resident of the apartment. "My whole family is very traumatised by the experience, we are not able to concentrate on our work," said Sumendran. "My son asked me, what if the same incident happened to him, or even my wife?" he said, adding that his assailant recognised his family members. "My wife calls me every day to ask me where I am, what I am doing, how the children are doing. We are all frightened and traumatised." Asked why the security guard targeted his family, Sumendran said he believed it was because his family had refused to pay the "dubious" security company its monthly fees since April this year due to their unsatisfactory services. He also said the security company, which had been hired by the residents' association, could not be terminated as its employers mostly comprised apartment residents who would otherwise be unemployed. And because the security company was not hired by the apartment management, the latter was unwilling to take responsibility over the issue. "This case doesn't just involve me; it involves the safety of my family as well as the other residents," he stressed. "How long can we live in fear?" Police must take action Click here to view the video on YouTube. Meanwhile, Hindraf leader P Uthayakumar slammed the police for their alleged inaction since the report was lodged over a week ago. "There has been no action, no prosecution, no arrest. Why? They can't go around hitting people like this and just get away with it," he said. Uthayakumar said he had been receiving many complaints recently over high-handed security guards, and urged the government to take action over it. "The Home Ministry and the police force should provide compulsory one-week training for security guards outlining what they can and cannot do. "Houseowners pay a substantial amount to have security guards, yet these guards are usually not even formally trained," he pointed out.    |
| Victorious Chavez looks to Venezuela state polls Posted: 01 Nov 2012 02:49 AM PDT  CARACAS: A newly re-elected Hugo Chavez will try to finish off the opposition in December regional elections, targeting important state governorships now held by top rivals, analysts say.With 23 governorships and dozens of legislative seats at stake, the December 16 elections will be a key test of the opposition’s viability after its defeat in the October 7 presidential election. It also will test the depth of Chavez’s mandate to broaden his socialist agenda and shift power in the states to community councils he controls. “The opposition’s goal is to retain the five states that are the symbols of its power,” said Jose Vicente Leon, who heads the polling firm Datanalisis. “The government’s goal is to deliver a death blow by winning in Miranda and Zulia, the country’s most powerful states, now in opposition hands,” he said. The 58-year-old president, who has been in power since 1999, will also try to win the “rebel states,” governed by one-time allies who turned on him, “to show that anyone who crosses him will be punished,” Leon said. In the 2008 regional elections, the opposition won the governorships of the five richest and most populous states, as well as two others whose governors had switched sides. The winner of an eighth state turned against Chavez but remained independent. “The opposition will try to hang onto the governorships it has and will consider it a triumph if they win any others and consolidate their positions in other regions,” said Mariana Bacalao, a professor at the Central University of Venezuela. “Chavez, on the other hand, is seeking to reaffirm the results of October 7,” when he won another six-year term in office with 55 percent of vote, with a majority in 22 out of 23 states. “Obtaining a big majority in many governorships will send the message that he has total support to deepen socialism and advance toward a communitarian state,” she said. Low turnout could be key But the government and opposition both face a tough slog getting supporters to the polls, fearing a lower turnout than in the presidential vote, in which a soaring 81 percent took part. “What could end up producing low turnout in the opposition is the high frustration or demoralization level after losing the presidential vote,” said political analyst Farith Fraija. The government will meanwhile have to insure its supporters do not grow complacent after their victory last month, he said. “In the local election, fewer people vote… We are expecting two million fewer than the 15 million who voted in the presidential election,” Leon said. “A lot of the people who do not vote are pro-government,” Leon stressed. “So the challenge for the opposition is to get over the (presidential) loss, and the disappointment, and get out to vote.” The charismatic Chavez, who has made few public appearances since winning re-election, will have to hit the campaign trail again to rally supporters in states where ruling party governors have seen their popularity wane. “Chavez is going to be very much present, trying to project his leadership to the regional leadership, because these governors are not strong,” said Bacalao. “There are states where the government clashes with formal allies. In some cases people there tend to always vote for Chavez but against his governors.” The president has hand picked his gubernatorial candidates, including several cabinet ministers who left their posts in recent weeks. The most famous such case is former vice president Elias Jaua, who is running for governor of Miranda state against Henrique Capriles, the opposition candidate Chavez defeated in the presidential vote. Capriles lost the presidential race in his state by some 7,000 votes. “Miranda state gets special attention,” said Fraija, because the race there could bring about Capriles’s exit from the political scene. For Leon, the “Crown Jewels” in play are Miranda and Zulia, an oil-producing state that also has a high-profile opposition governor, Pablo Perez. If Capriles and Perez were to lose, “they might either be wiped out politically, or take devastating losses,” he said. - AFP    |
| Macau gambling revenue hits all-time monthly high Posted: 01 Nov 2012 02:44 AM PDT
Gambling revenue hit 27.70 billion patacas ($3.5 billion) in October, up 3.2 percent from 26.85 billion patacas in the same month last year, according to statistics on the official Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau website. Accumulated gross revenue for the first 10 months of the year stood at 251.01 billion patacas, up 13.5 percent from the same period in 2011. The October figures surpassed the previous monthly high, recorded last October, showing the continuing strength of the local gaming industry. The former Portuguese colony of Macau, the only part of China where casino gambling is legal, overtook Las Vegas as the world’s gaming capital in terms of revenue after the sector was opened up to foreign competition in 2002. Six firms are licenced to operate casinos in Macau, which was handed back to Beijing in 1999. Casino operators have plans to build new multi-billion-dollar resorts on Macau’s Cotai Strip, a former swamp which has been reclaimed to transformed into Asia’s glittering gambling hub. -AFP    |
| Sabah RCI identifies 48 witnesses Posted: 01 Nov 2012 02:29 AM PDT
With the 13th general election due anytime now and some expecting Parliament to be dissolved this month, the five-man panel headed by former chief judge of Borneo Steve Shim Lip Kiong announced Jan 14 as D-Day for Sabahans to hear evidence of what many claim is a massive immigration system fraud. Shim said the panel had so far identified 48 witnesses to be called for the public hearing which will be held at the Kota Kinabalu High Court. “We met today to finalise the list of witnesses and (look at) their relevance in our inquiry,” he told reporters after the panel met for its first meeting since its appointment on Sept 21. Shim disclosed that since their appointment, they had set up an investigative team to identify witnesses for the inquiry into the illegal immigrant problem. He said the investigative team had done a good job identifying witnesses who will give evidence at the public hearing. He declined to reveal the witness list but urged “anyone who can give us relevant information” to “come forward to testify”. Shim also rejected criticism that the RCI panel was dragging its feet on the issue. “No delay… in fact, our team of investigators has covered a substantial part in identifying witnesses.” Six months target “Barring any complications, we hope to complete it within six months. Hopefully, we will be able to solve the problem (of illegal immigrants in the state),” he said The RCI’s terms of reference empower the panel to determine the number of immigrants in Sabah that have been given Malaysian citizenship and, if so, whether the issuance of citizenship documents was legal. The terms of reference also stipulate that the panel can investigate the legality of the issuance of citizenship to immigrants in Sabah, verify if they are indeed holding blue identity cards or temporary identification receipts or citizenship documents that had been illegally registered into the electoral rolls. The panel can also investigate the reasons for the abnormal increase in Sabah’s population. The other members of the panel are former Universiti Malaysia Sabah vice-chancellor Kamaruzaman Ampon, former Sabah deputy chief minister and state attorney-general Herman Luping, for state secretary KY Mustafa and Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation president Henry Chin. The secretary of the panel is Saripuddin Kasim, who is also Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry secretary-general.    |
| Myanmar’s neighbours urged to let in refugees Posted: 01 Nov 2012 02:06 AM PDT  KUALA LUMPUR: Myanmar’s neighbours should prepare to accept refugees from the country’s Rohingya minority who may try to flee abroad to escape bloody communal violence, refugee organisations said today.Violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state pitting Buddhists against members of the Muslim Rohingya minority has killed dozens since June and swamped refugee camps in the country, with tens of thousands fleeing the bloodshed. Rohingya have for years trickled abroad to neighouring Bangladesh and, increasingly, to Muslim-majority Malaysia by boat. The violence has sparked warnings of a potential surge in refugees opting for the dangerous sea voyage. Bangladeshi police say about 130 people are missing after a boat sank Sunday while carrying Rohingya refugees heading for Malaysia. “We are appealing to countries to keep borders open and to ensure safe access and whatever assistance they can provide,” said Vivian Tan, Asia-Pacific spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. “The main thing is that they have a safe place to land,” she said. Rohingyas, a Muslim minority who speak a Bengali dialect in mainly Buddhist Myanmar, claim decades of persecution. The government views the roughly 800,000 Rohingya in Rakhine as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and denies them citizenship. Decades-old animosity between Buddhists and Rohingya exploded in June after the apparent rape and murder of an ethnic Rakhine woman sparked a series of revenge attacks. Human Rights Watch warned this week of a potential “dramatic increase in the number of Rohingya taking to the sea this year” in the wake of the unrest. Aid and refugee agencies have said they were monitoring the situation and no large-scale exodus had yet been detected, but they urged nearby countries to prepare. The UNHCR in Malaysia has registered some 24,000 Rohingyas as refugees but community leaders estimate actual numbers in the country could be double that. Malaysia largely turns a blind eye, allowing them into the country but denying them any sort of legal status that would allow access to health care, education and other services, activists say. Malaysia must prepare for more arrivals and provide access to such services, said Sharuna Verghis, co-founder of Malaysian refugee help organisation Health Equity Initiative. “It is a humanitarian crisis. That’s why a regional solution is needed, and part of the solution must be that everyone does their bit,” she said. “Countries need to show their generosity and compassion at this time of crisis.” - AFP    |
| Putin cancels trips due to health problem Posted: 01 Nov 2012 02:04 AM PDT  MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin has shelved trips at home and abroad due to an old injury which he aggravated during his controversial hang-glider flight with cranes, a report said today.The president is now undergoing treatment for the injury but the main recommendation of doctors is to refrain from flying which has a negative effect on the spine, the Vedomosti daily said, citing sources close to the Kremlin. It also quoted a manager at a top energy firm as confirming this was the reason why Putin cancelled a trip in October to Siberia to open the new Bovanenkovo gas field on the Yamal peninsula. Instead, Putin opened the field on October 23 by pushing the button in Moscow in a live link-up with the far-flung region. Vedomosti also noted that Putin had been travelling less and less recently and had been increasingly confined to his suburban residence of Novo-Ogaryevo outside Moscow. A summit of leaders of ex-Soviet states in Turkmenistan has been postponed to December after Putin indicated that he would not be able to come in November. Meanwhile, media reports have indicated that trips to Bulgaria, India and Turkey that were planned for November have been put back to December. Vedomosti did not give further details on the nature of the injury. Putin’s aides had confirmed he was suffering from a sports injury when he hosted the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Vladivostok in September when television pictures clearly showed him limping. However Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday denied this had any influence on the work of the president, saying the reports were the result of the “stubbornness” of the media. “We have repeatedly said that such ideas do not have any foundation,” he told the Interfax news agency. “Any sportsman gets injured but this is not a reason for restricting activities.” Peskov denied the injury was caused by Putin’s hang-glider flight with Siberian cranes to guide them on their winter migration path, a stunt that many commentators see as one of the biggest PR disasters of his rule. Widely mocked by bloggers at the time, it emerged this month that the endangered birds had failed to migrate south and in the end had to be flown to a wildlife reserve as passengers on a plane. - AFP    |
| Japan ‘misspent’ tsunami rebuilding money: Audit Posted: 01 Nov 2012 01:51 AM PDT  TOKYO: Cash earmarked for tsunami reconstruction work was diverted to unrelated projects, a Japanese government audit shows, as residents of the devastated northeast vent frustration over the slow pace of rebuilding.Parts of the 14.9 trillion yen (US$187 billion) were used to fund an array of unconnected works, including road-building on the southern island of Okinawa and boosting security for Japan’s controversial whale hunt. Eight billion yen was used to buy rare earths, key components for high-tech products such as electric cars and smartphones, and 4.2 billion yen used to send disaster-prevention equipment to Southeast Asian countries. The March 2011 earthquake-triggered tsunami killed nearly 19,000 people in one of Japan’s worst peace-time disasters, which also left it grappling with a nuclear emergency at Fukushima. Nearly 20 months on, more than 300,000 people are still living in temporary homes, either because they have been unable to rebuild after the tsunami or because radiation levels around the nuclear plant mean it is unsafe to return. Politicians from the devastated northeast repeatedly express exasperation at the slow pace of reconstruction and a lack of leadership from Tokyo. An official from Fukushima prefecture said needs in the area around the crippled nuclear plant were not being met. “We need lots of money for decontamination of radiation, but the implementation of budgeted projects tends to be delayed,” said Chizuo Hayashi, from the Fukushima reconstruction bureau today. “We residents in the disaster-hit area hope the reconstruction budget will be used primarily for rebuilding our communities,” he added. The figures came in a government-commissioned 141-page audit released last week detailing 192 public projects purportedly aimed at reconstruction and disaster prevention. “The purpose of the report is to expose to the eyes of the public details of the budgeted projects,” board of audit official Tetsuya Hosokawa said today. “We didn’t say which projects were appropriate and which were not, but following criticism by media and the public, each ministry may review their budgeted projects,” he said. The report shows the foreign ministry spent 4.2 billion yen in providing disaster-prevention equipment to Southeast Asian countries in the year to March. It also spent 164 million yen strengthening visa-screening processes for foreigners visiting Japan. The industry ministry was awarded 201 million yen for an exhibition on “advanced forms of agriculture, forestries and fishery in Tokyo and other places”. The audit report said only half of the money set aside for reconstruction had actually been spent, blaming a shortage of staff in local municipalities. In December last year the government admitted around 2.3 billion yen from the fund was being used to boost security around its much criticised whale hunt. Today, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said his administration was looking at the budget’s priorities. “The government as a whole will pay close attention to the needs of disaster-hit areas,” he told parliament. The audit revelations are reminiscent of the worst years of Japan’s pork-barrel politics that observers say have left the countryside littered with useless bridges and barely-used roads that go nowhere. - AFP    |
| Halloween bashing precursor to Hungry Ghost festival ban? Posted: 01 Nov 2012 01:50 AM PDT
Chiew was responding to Terangganu PAS commissioner Abdul Wahid Endut's statement yesterday that Halloween costumes and parties amounted to “devil worshiping". Besides Wahid, Johor PAS commissioner Dr Mahfodz Mohamed also urged parents to keep an eye on their children participating in Halloween parties, which he said could lead to moral decay. Chiew warned that the Islamic party may eventually outlaw the Hungry Ghost festival, which is considered the Chinese version of Halloween Day, as the costumes used in the performances are too devilish. "In Kelantan, PAS has even classified the Chinese cultural mid-autumn festival as a form of entertainment and sought to ban it from being celebrated in SJK © Kai Chih," he said. Chiew asked whether PAS would apply the same logic they have for Halloween on live theater that carries costumes-based performances and costume rental shops. "Does PAS consider the English classical musicals such as Cats and Phantom of the Opera be linked to devil-worshipping as well? "Will costume rental shops be closed down as well for being deemed as propagating devil worship?" he asked. The MCA Youth federal territory chairman criticised Wahid for being simplistic in finding fault against Halloween and narrowing down the get-togethers and costumes solely to ghoulish costumes. He said in America, children disguised in costumes would go from house-to-house in their neighbourhood asking for "trick-or-treat", and a particular house owner would drop candies into the pouches the children carried. "It is all done in merriment, and (there’s) nothing religious about it," he said. Chiew noted that children do not only dress in ghoulish costumes but in anything ranging from movie or cartoon characters to police or doctor costumes. "Does PAS wish to tell Malaysian children that the superhero Batman, or a doctor at a clinic are devils?" he asked.    |
| Japanese woman crushed to death by elevator Posted: 01 Nov 2012 01:47 AM PDT
The 63-year-old woman was trapped between the floor of the elevator and the ceiling of the building. “The doors opened and she went to get in, but the cage was still moving up,” said a police official in Kanazawa, central Japan. “She stumbled over the rising lift floor and fell.” “The cage kept ascending, trapping her between the ceiling (of the building) and the elevator floor,” the official said, adding a colleague standing behind her witnessed the accident which occurred Wednesday afternoon. The lift’s manufacturer, Switzerland-based Schindler, said in a statement it was cooperating with a police probe into the incident, adding the elevator in question was installed in 1998. Since 2009, Japanese law has required lifts to be equipped with a brake that prevents them moving when the doors are open. One of Schindler’s lifts was involved in a fatal incident in 2006 when a 16-year-old schoolboy in Japan was crushed to death. - AFP    |
| Asia growth hopes lifted by manufacturing data Posted: 01 Nov 2012 01:40 AM PDT
The figures come on top of other indicators tentatively pointing to an uplift from months of slumber caused by Europe’s long-running debt crisis and a stuttering recovery in the United States. In China the official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 50.2 last month, up from 49.8 in September, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The result marked the first time since July that the figure stood above the 50.0 mark that indicates expansion, and adds to increasing optimism for the world’s second biggest economy. Anything below 50 points to contraction. Also Thursday banking giant HSBC released its own PMI for China, which came in at 49.5 for October, up from 47.9 in September. Despite being below 50 the figure points to a continuing uptrend and is a vast improvement on the more than three-year low seen in August. “This improvement suggests that China’s growth momentum has rebounded and this trend will be sustained further”, economists Liu Li-Gang and Zhou Hao of ANZ bank wrote in a commentary after the release of the official PMI. Thursday’s numbers will fuel hopes China — a key driver for global growth — will begin to pick up the pace after seeing the rate of expansion ease significantly in recent months. Latest data on exports, retail sales and government investment also point to a brighter outlook. Elsewhere in Asia, which has suffered months of contraction in manufacturing activity, other surveys by HSBC showed improvements, with South Korea, Taiwan and India all picking up. However, while the situation is getting better all but India and Indonesia remain in negative territory, highlighting that further improvement is needed before a full recovery in the sector can be trumpeted. HSBC’s PMI for South Korea was at a seasonally adjusted 47.4 in October compared with the 43-month-low 45.7 in September, while Taiwan’s rose to 47.8 from 45.6 and Indonesia was up to 51.9, compared with 50.5. Seoul also on Thursday also reported that exports bounced back in October after contracting for three months as demand in China and Southeast Asia improved. October exports grew 1.2 percent from a year earlier to $47.2 billion, compared with a 2.0 percent contraction in September, according to government data. HSBC’s India PMI rose to 52.9 from 52.8, according to Dow Jones Newswires, although the sluggish improvement suggested the sector lacked vigour as the government battles to spur sluggish growth in the South Asian economy. The indices, compiled by information services provider Markit and released by HSBC, track manufacturing activity and are closely watched barometers for the region’s manufacturing-reliant economies. Separately, the Australian Industry Group performance of manufacturing index rose to 45.2 in October from 44.1 in September, though remained in contraction for an eight consecutive month. In a statement the group’s chief executive Innes Willox blamed the ongoing weakness on the strong Australian dollar, soft demand in exports and “flat conditions across the non-mining sectors of the domestic economy”. -AFP    |
| Musa pulls back ‘punches’, spares MAHB Posted: 01 Nov 2012 01:39 AM PDT
Chief Minister Musa Aman told MAHB that the closure of the airport last Thursday and Friday evening – which affected about 50 flights – was unacceptable. However, he did some somersaults to spare MAHB the blushes by relieving it of total responsibility for what has become known as the “KKIA fiasco”. The foul-up caused all evening and night flights to be diverted or cancelled due to non-functioning runway lights. "I understand that the blame cannot be entirely placed on MAHB but MAHB should also have been more prepared in responding to this type of situations,” he was quoted as saying by the local press. Stranded passengers, he said, should not have been left “in the dark” about the problem which infuriated many including international passengers here for a holiday who missed their connecting flights. “At the very least provide them with basic drinking water," Musa told MAHB chairman Bashir Ahmad Abdul Majid and its senior general manager, Azmi Murad, at Wisma Innoprise here yesterday during the state cabinet’s weekly meeting. The climbdown by Musa and his cabinet colleagues, some of whom had demanded for “heads to roll”, over the fiasco was not unexpected. Despite the shrill voices of outrage from the state government, including Musa and his deputy Yee Moh Chai, few ever believed that the state government would have the nerve to insist that top officials in the federal government and its agencies be held responsible and forced to resign. MAHB already had its cover story for the KKIA runway blackout ready for Musa and his cabinet. It had said earlier that the runway was “not up to the required brightness” due to faulty transformers and leaking cables. Bashir explained in his briefing to the cabinet that when the KKIA runway lights failed, the airport had to be shut down for safety reasons. "MAHB followed every procedure in responding to the incident. We, however, do apologise for not being able to respond fast enough," he said. He also assured that MAHB would do its best to rectify problems associated with the runaway and any shortcomings at KKIA immediately. The state is ever reliant on tourism and foreign tourist arrivals to boost the state economy and Yee, mindful of a backlash from the state’s already chafing Chinese business community, had demanded MAHB haul up those responsible and replace them. State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Masidi Manjun also told the local media last week that he expected MAHB and the Civil Aviation Department to explain what happened to the state cabinet. “There is still no certainty that the runway lights problem will be solved and this is an issue of great concern to Sabah. This should nudge those in authority like the Transport Ministry and MAHB to immediately take action and ensure it does not happen again,” he reportedly said. KKIA is the busiest airport after Kuala Lumpur International Airport and it is quite unthinkable that its operations could be knocked out by runway light problem with no apparent back up contingency plan. The lengthy runway blackout also called into question whether KKIA is of international standard. Opposition politicians have called for a full independent inquiry, claiming that the whole project is bogged down in controversy. Tawau MP Chua Soon Bui has also alleged “elements of corruption”, delayed payments and non-payments to the sub-contractors by the government. When the upgrading work costing nearly a billion ringgit is completed, KKIA will be able to accommodate the world's largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380, and have an annual combined capacity of 12 million passengers at its two terminals – Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. Sabah still waiting But the company awarded the contract in 2006 to upgrade the airport and a related flyover project by the Transport Ministry – Sarawak-based Global Upline Sdn Bhd – has been unable to complete the work on schedule. The KKIA upgrade is now two years overdue. Ting Pek Khiing, the company’s flamboyant managing director who was also awarded Sarawak’s Bakun Dam project via Ekran Bhd, was declared a bankrupt by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Oct 28, 2010. Ting's bankruptcy declaration followed a legal suit initiated in 2004 after he defaulted on a loan by Bank of Commerce Bhd to part-finance his subscription of shares under Ekran's rights issue in 1997. As at July 2005, Ting owed some RM60.79 million to the bank. Musa said at the time that the state government had sought advice from the Transport Ministry following the bankruptcy move and the federal government promised to look for solutions to complete the projects and he was happy with this assurance. Musa considered the runway project more important because it affected air traffic at the KKIA. "We hope the flyover can be completed soon, but our major concern is the runway as it affects other airlines landing in KKIA due to a lot of chartered flights from other countries,” he had said. But two years on and he and his state government are still waiting.    |
| AIM 19 – Semakin panas dan mendebarkan Posted: 01 Nov 2012 01:29 AM PDT
Sebanyak 16 kategori akan dipertandingkan dan calon-calon yang bertanding juga sangat hebat. Anugerah berprestij yang dianjurkan oleh Persatuan Industri Rakaman Malaysia (RIM) bakal menyatukan artis-artis diseluruh negara. Dengan bertemakan "Black & White Glam Glitz", AIM 19 akan diserikan dengan pelbagai persembahan dari lebih 20 artis popular termasuklah band lagenda May dan Lefthanded. Sesuatu yang menarik pada AIM kali ini ialah Aznil Haji Nawawi dan Adibah Noor bakal digandingkan buat pertama kalinya dalam sejarah pengacaraan dan sudah pastinya kedua-dua selebriti ini bakal menggegarkan dan menghangatkan pentas pada malam tersebut. Kemeriahan akan di tambah pula dengan gandingan Awal Ashaari dan pengacara baru Dahlia Shazwan bagi mengacarakan segmen 'Karpet Glamor" sebelum bermulanya acara anugerah utama. AIM pasti tidak akan menghampakan para penonton kerana ia akan mengetengahkan artis-artis ternama termasuklah Faizal Tahir, Tam Spider, Nora Danish, Hattan dan juga Dato' Fazley bagi menyampaikan anugerah. Anugerah Industri Muzik 19 akan berlangsung pada hari Sabtu, 17 November 2012 di Stadium Malawati, Shah Alam dan akan mula bersiaran secara langsung pada jam 8.30 malam untuk segmen 'Karpet Glamor' eksklusif di Astro Ria. [This content is provided by FMT content partner galaxtar.com, hiburan informasi terkini dan sensasi]    |
| Posted: 01 Nov 2012 01:24 AM PDT
And to end this 10-year flooding problem, developer IOI Corporation, Klang Municipal Council, Kota Raja MP Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud, the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) and representatives of the residents had a brainstorming session yesterday The developer was asked to deepen the two retention ponds in the area as a short-term measure. Siti Mariah said the second measure was for all the drains to be cleaned within a week's time. Also, all bulk rubbish is to be disposed off by this week. "The Klang Municipal Council (MPK) had asked for Sungai Aur, which is between Bandar Puteri Klang and Taman Sentosa, to be upgraded. The project has been approved and will commence in one or two weeks' time," she said. A new retention pond was proposed to be built at the Botany Park in Klang. The drawings for the project are completed and have been submitted to be approved by the DID. Siti Mariah said Bandar Puteri Klang's infrastructure should be studied once more as the township was built on peat soil which has different properties from normal soil. "The Housing and Local Government Ministry was asked to draw up a guideline on peat soil as the guidelines for normal soil are unsuitable. "We hope for the cooperation from all parties involved and discussion should be done prior to the commencement of a particular project. DID and the ministry should work hand in hand in all future projects," she added. Also read:    |
| Kill your speed or kill a child Posted: 01 Nov 2012 01:12 AM PDT
We were 17 and didn't know any better. On that fateful Saturday evening I waited for Rai to pick me for some serious merrymaking. Rai was a girl we all loved to hate: she was faultless. Blessed with the intellect of a genius, sharp attractive features, soft wavy hair and a smile that rivaled any of Colgate's billboard models, Rai was a ray of sunshine for her family. Above all, to me, Rai knew how to be a friend whenever I was in need. 1992 was Rai's year. She aced all the subjects in her SPM, passed her driving test and even got herself a new boyfriend. To top it all off, her parents had just surprised her with a brand new Honda Civic in the porch – for her sole use. But my wait that Saturday had no end. Seconds turned to minutes, minutes to hours and as twilight turned to night, I knew something was wrong. In the pre-handphone era, I lost count how many times I had dialed Rai's home number. I fell asleep not knowing if tomorrow would come. Rai died instantaneously; some said her death was painless. In her rush to pick her boyfriend before making her way to my house, Rai was speeding at 130 kilometres an hour – at least. She lost control of the Honda; hit the concrete dividing barrier; and turned the vehicle over a few times around before an oncoming factory bus eventually crashed into her. Checkmate. The next few days were a blur of activities I can no longer recall in exact detail. But what still haunts me until today is the sound of Rai's mother wailing in despair. The loss of her only daughter was so great; she was never the same woman again. If only Rai had been educated on road safety; if only someone had drilled into her brilliant skull that speed killed; if only Automated Enforcement System (AES) had instilled the fear of God into her… we would now be taking our kids to play gym on weekends and complaining about our husbands. However, I live in a nation with massively polarised political views. Let's call a spade a spade: we all love to politicise everything. Everyone out there – especially the politicians – is set to get us and cheat our hard-earned money in the name of administration and tax. All is good in the name of the overrated phrase of 'we agree to disagree'. I have been following the intense debate on AES closely. But it was Kinabatangan MP Bung Mokhtar Radin's statement that brought my simmering anger to boiling point. He wanted AES to be postponed because it is too near to the general election. Yes, you heard me. Please Kinabatangan, don't forsake the safety of my family on the road to pave way for your ambitions in the election. You can keep your reservations about the AES where the sun doesn't shine. And Pokok Sena (Mahfuz Omar), please don't hide behind your pseudo-Herculean effort of providing free legal service to those caught. You are a politician and I am a mother. How could we then ever speak the same lingo in so far as safety is concerned? So my quest began. I researched and read about AES until I became blue in the face from sleep-deprivation. I called the relevant authorities and companies. Some were gracious enough to feed me information I needed while the rest just slammed down the phone on me. No matter, for I wanted to know better. Judgment must be formed on a correct axis and someone must set the record straight. This article stands to be corrected from any angle, however, in the spirit of putting issue into perspective. I will cover only a few concerns arising from the AES. AES is a private finance initiative (PFI) which sees the government not forking out a single cent to set up the system or guarantee any payment in exchange of services rendered by the two companies that had won the contract over nine other bidders. At the end of five years, the government will fully own the system without having to reimburse the companies. The profit return of the two companies is designed on a risk-reward mechanism as opposed to market norms and other government lopsided contracts. But as the opposition clouds the public's view on the issue of revenue of the companies alone, no one seems to care about how much money had been spent to implement the AES. Each of the AES camera costs RM240k per unit (excluding the cost for telecommunications, civil works, infrastructure, back office and depot costs). Above all, if you are not speeding or beating red lights, not a single cent can be raised from the RM700 million projected revenue. Camera at 30 kilometre per hour spots Referring to the question as to why some of the AES locations are not within a “blackspot” area, JPJ had issued a statement prior to the launch of the first phase that these proposed locations will be updated from time to time, based on the findings of the JPJ’s AES technical committee. This is actually a non-issue. Pemuda Umno Malaysia, too, has issued a statement questioning the need to place AES cameras at locations with a 30km/hour speed limit. While the question is valid, the five proposed cameras at the 30km/hour zones have a greater spirit and reasoning behind it: these five spots are in close proximity to schools and hospitals. This is actually in line with the findings of a non-profit company based in the UK known as Safer Roads. If you hit a child – who has smaller body surface area and lack the ability to make correct decision on road safety – at a speed of 40 miles per hour, you will kill the child. Road safety is a habit. If we don't start now, we will lose another Rai everyday on our roads. Have we become so calculative with dollars and cents that we are skeptical of devices set up to save our lives on the road? Have we become a nation so jaded with every public policy that we fail to see what matters the most while driving are discipline and a sense of responsibility? Have we become a nation so obsessed in fine-tuning implementation that we forget that life does not carry a price tag? Have we become a nation so bereft of compassion that we put political interest ahead of a child's safety on the road? And how I wish the AES had been implemented 20 years ago, so I could still have Rai in my life; so Rai's mother can still crack a smile on her face. Speed kills. That is all there is to it. Elviza is a lawyer on sabbatical leave; she is a mother first above everything else. She tweets at @elviza    |
| No more eating quietly at your desk Posted: 01 Nov 2012 12:53 AM PDT
An up-tempo alternative to munching quietly at a desk or slogging through a long line at a local cafe, midday parties provide a place to shake and shimmy at least for a while. “There’s so many great aspects — the exercise, it relieves stress, it gets people out of their routine,” the New York Daily News quoted Sarah Reynolds of Astoria, who organizes events called Lunch Beat LIC in Long Island City, as saying. “Everyone just comes out and they have a wonderful time,” she said. The hour-long bashes are based on the Swedish-born Lunch Beat, which bans shop-talk, is not-for-profit and serves water for free. Similar events have popped up around the globe from Porto, Portugal to Portland, Oregon. “It’s one of those ideas that’s ‘the more, the merrier,’” Reynolds added.—Agencies    |
| SUPP expels two but hesitates on Wong Posted: 01 Nov 2012 12:48 AM PDT
In a statement issued today, party secretary-general Sim Kui Hian said that “it was up to the disciplinary committee to investigate” and declined comment further. However the statement did note that the committee had deliberated on two other members – Wong Kie Yong (Sarikei) and Hii Huat Chuong (Bintagor) – and had recommended that they be expelled for conducts seen as detrimental to party interests. Both Kie Yong and Hii had allegedly questioned the integrity of the Peter Chin led leadership. Wong, who is Second Finance Minister and Minister of Local Government and Community Development, had also been issued a show cause letter for allegedly appointing community leaders, political secretaries, councillors and other government-related appointments without consulting and referring to the party headquarters. Wong and Chin have publicly been at each others’ throat since December last year following the latter’s eleventh hour decision to contest the party presidency. In the run-up Wong had alleged irregularities in the branch level elections and reported the party to the Registrar of Society (ROS). The matter is still pending ROS investigations. Said . Sim: “After having deliberated the disciplinary enquiry reports on Wong Kie Yong and Hii Huat Chuong as submitted by the disciplinary committee of the party, the Central Working Committee (CWC) had accepted the findings and recommendations to expel them. "The CWC met on Oct 29, 2012 to discuss the issue and has accepted the committee's recommendations to expel them. "Under Article 46 of the party's constitution, they have 30 days to appeal against the decision to the party," said Sim. "As regards the disciplinary complaints against Wong Soon Koh relating to alleged misconducts brought up by central committee members during the last CC meeting on Sept 23, 2012, the complaints have been forwarded to the disciplinary committee. "It is up to the committee to investigate the complaints. "We are still waiting for the committee's reports," he said. Sim refused to say whether the decision on Wong was a deliberate tactic to delay the process in view of the coming general election. A furious Wong had on Tuesday demanded to know if he was “in or out” of the party. "It's a simple yes or no on sacking me… why the delay? They already have the answer yet they sealed their lips,” said Wong, who is Sibu branch chairman. He also pointed out that the delay was affecting the image of the party, and this might not be good for the coming general election.    |
| Adakah kerajaan menyokong perasuah? Posted: 01 Nov 2012 12:36 AM PDT
“Ini membuktikan bahawa keputusan hakim seolah-olah tidak berminat mendengar kes yang akan memberi implikasi dalam kes saman Ketua Wanita Umno, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil terhadap saya dan (Pengarah Strategi PKR) Rafizi Ramli. “Ia juga mencerminkan seolah-olah kerajaan Malaysia termasuk polis dan SPRM menyokong pemberi rasuah dengan melindungi (Pengerusi Ekskutif NFC) Datuk Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail dari menghadapi pertuduhan,” kata Zuraida dalam sidang media di lobi Parlimen yang turut dihadiri Shamsul. Pada hari Isnin lepas, hakim mahkamah tinggi Kamardin Hashim telah menolak permohonan Shamsul Bahrin yang menghadapi pelbagai tuduhan termasuk tuduhan menyogok polis. “Lebih menghairankan lagi bukti yang telah diberikan kepada pihak SPRM menunjukkan Dr Mohmad Salleh adalah individu yang telkah merancang serta menyurul Shamsul untuk menyogok pihak polis bagi menutup kes NFC yang ketika itu sedang disiasat. “Orang yang memberi rasuah tidak dituduh tetapi orang yang disuruh memberinya dituduh. Kenapa SPRM tidak melaksanakan pertuduhan terhadap Dr Mohamad Salleh tetapi menuduh Shamsul Bahrin,” tambah Zuraida. Sementara itu Shamsul Bahrin pula mendedahkan kesangsian yang dirasakan beliau sejak ditahan dan dibicarakan. “Dr Mohamad Salleh tidak memberitahu SPRM bahawa dia beritahu saya untuk membayar upah rundingan saya. Dia tak sebut bahawa dia suruh saya bayar duit kepada polis. Banyak lagi perkara yang diselindung. Beliau juga tidak puas hati dengan perjalanan kes mahkamahnya. “Hakim tiada minat untuk mendengar permohonan saya dan ambil keputusan membatalkan dalam tempoh sepuluh minit,” katanya yang terkejut kerana dokumen permohonannya yang tebal. Beliau mendakwa hakim mendengar hujahan pihak pendakwa raya dari SPRM meskipun pendakwa raya tersebut bersikap biadap. “Dia biadap terhadap hakim tetapi hakim mendiamkan dirinya. dia berkata tuan hakim tiada kuasa untuk membatalkan kes,” kata Shamsul Bahrin yang akan membuat rayuan untuk penolakan kes beliau pada hari Isnin.    |
| PSM minta Ketua Polis NS ambil alih kes Posted: 01 Nov 2012 12:35 AM PDT
Bagaimanapun memorandum tersebut diterima oleh Pegawai Hal Ehwal India, ASP Alagaesan, pada jam 12.30 tengahari tadi bagi pihak Ketua Polis Negeri Sembilan. Menurut Setiausaha Agung PSM, S Arutchelvan, tindakan segera oleh Osman amat diperlukan kerana beberapa perkara atau insiden yang berlaku di IPD Rembau baru-baru ini. Perkara tesebut berlaku rentetan daripada satu insiden pergaduhan di antara 12 lelaki daripada keluarga yang sama dengan empat orang lelaki yang tidak dikenali di hadapan rumah keluarga tersebut pada 20 Oktober lalu. "Kami mendapati bahawa segelintir anggota polis Rembau telah menjalankan tugasnya dengan sikap yang tidak profesional dan beretika serta menjalankan tugasnya dengan menanam sikap dengki dan membalas dendam terhadap Setiausaha PSM Cawangan Seremban, S Tinagaran. "Berdasarkan kenyataan-kenyataan yang diberikan oleh beberapa anggota keluarga yang ditahan dan beberapa anggota polis, bahawa memang ada unsur untuk menfitnah dan memangsakan Tinagaran. "Kami juga mendapati siasatan yang dijalankan adalah hasil dari perasaan yang kurang memuaskan dan dengki serta membuat kesimpulan bahawa semua tahanan (12 ahli keluarga) ada kaitan dengan kumpulan gangster. "Kami mahu Ketua Polis menyiasat kerana kesemua 12 ahli keluarga yang ditahan tidak ada rekod jenayah atau didakwa di mana-mana mahkamah. "Kami menyeru kepada Ketua Polis supaya membentuk satu pasukan baru di bawah beliau kerana kami telah hilang keyakinan kepada IPD Rembau. Mereka (12 ahli keluarga) ini merupakan mangsa kepada provokasi tujuh lelaki yang tidak dikenali itu," kata Arutchelvan. Arutchelvan berkata Tinagaran merupakan salah seorang yang mempunyai kaitan kekeluargaan dengan 12 lelaki yang ditahan dan beliau pergi ke IPD Rembau untuk mengetahui status tahanan mereka. Arutchelvan turut mengutarakan insiden salah guna kuasa polis dan penyiasatan yang tidak profesional apabila membuat penahanan semula (tukar gari) ke atas M Sharvin Raj dan K Jakan, di mana polis Tampin juga mengatakan bahawa mereka berdua tidak ada kes. "Penahanan itu sengaja dibuat dan ini mencabul Hak Perlembagaan Perkara 5. Malah ada tahanan tidak diberi rawatan perubatan apabila tahanan mengadu sakit dan ada tahanan dipukul apabila batuk. "Menampar dan menendang seorang tahanan bawah umur S Mathuraiweeran, 17 tahun dan menggari bersama tahanan lain hanya untuk memaksanya mengaku terlibat dengan kumpulan gangster. "Ada juga ahli keluarga yang sekadar pergi ke balai polis untuk mengetahui perkembangan kes turut ditahan", katanya. Sebelum itu seramai tujuh ahli keluarga daripada 12 ahli keluarga tersebut membuat laporan polis dan kandungan laporan polis itu menjelaskan kronologi insiden pergaduhan yang berlaku pada 20 Oktober di Taman Koperasi, Pedas, Rembau. "Pada hari Sabtu 20 Oktober lalu, keluarga kami membuat kenduri untuk bayi yang baru lahir mengikut tradisi dan adat agama Hindu. "Lebih kurang jam 12.30 pagi, dua remaja lelaki menaiki sebuah motorsikal membunyikan enjin motorsikal dengan kuat. Abang saya menegur mereka kerana ada empat bayi sedang tidur di dalam rumah. "Tidak lama selepas itu dua lelaki itu datang dengan beberapa lelaki lain dan berlaku pergaduhan di antara mereka dan ahli keluarga kami. "Tidak beberapa lama kemudian polis tiba dan menahan empat lelaki yang menjadi punca pergaduhan. Kami (12 ahli keluarga) turut mengikuti polis ke IPD Rembau tetapi kami juga ditahan. Justeru itu Arutchelvam berharap Ketua Polis Negeri Sembilan membuat penilaian semula kes terhadap 12 ahli keluarga yang ditahan selama tiga hari atas satu kesalahan yang tidak masuk akal dan tanpa bukti yang kukuh dan munasabah.    |
| Pentagon continues use of BlackBerry,door open to others Posted: 01 Nov 2012 12:20 AM PDT
The U.S. Defense Department last week invited companies to submit bids for software that can monitor, manage and enforce security requirements for devices made by Apple and Google Inc, with an eye to awarding a contract in April. The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) quietly posted its request for proposals on a federal website on October 22, the same day that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency said it would end its contract with RIM in favor of Apple’s iPhone. Losing some of its Pentagon business to other providers could deal another blow to RIM, which once commanded the lead in the smartphone market but has rapidly lost ground to Apple and Samsung’s line of products as customers abandon its aging BlackBerry devices. For many years, the Pentagon relied solely on BlackBerry phones because RIM met its tough security requirements, but other companies have been improving security on their devices, and a growing number of military commanders are clamoring for rival devices with bigger touch screens and faster browsers. A Pentagon spokesman said the U.S. military was working toward allowing vendors to supply other smartphones, while maintaining strict security requirements. He said the department aimed to use commercial mobile technologies as it stepped up the use of “new and innovative applications” to support the military’s evolving requirements. But the Pentagon also stressed it was not moving away from its use of BlackBerry phones. “DISA is managing an enterprise email capability that continues to support large numbers of RIM devices while moving forward with the department’s planned mobile management capability that will support a variety of mobility devices,” the spokesman said. The DISA request for proposals said the software would manage at least 162,500 devices to start, but that number could grow to 262,500 by the end of the contract, which will have a one-year base and four six-month options. Ultimately, the Pentagon wants the software to support a total of 8 million devices, according to the document. RIM spokesman Paul Lucier said his company’s BlackBerry Mobile Fusion product could also be used to manage Android and Apple devices, and RIM was “excited for the opportunity to include BlackBerry Mobile Fusion in the DOD’s portfolio.” Lucier said the product could enable the Pentagon to “support a growing number of mobile devices across multiple platforms.” Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM is also planning to introduce new smartphones that will run on the BlackBerry 10 operating system, offering a faster and smoother user interface and a better platform for various smartphone applications. -Reuters    |
| Asian markets mixed, China up on manufacturing data Posted: 01 Nov 2012 12:19 AM PDT
Wall Street’s lead was tepid in a quiet first session back after superstorm Sandy battered the US East Coast on Monday and Tuesday, forcing markets to close for two days. Shanghai surged 1.70 percent and Hong Kong was up 0.57 percent, while Tokyo closed 0.21 percent higher, gaining 18.58 points to 8,946.87. Seoul eased 0.71 percent, or 13.62 points, to 1,898.44 and Sydney tumbled 1.32 percent, or 59.4 points, to 4,457.6. Results from China showed the country’s manufacturing activity expanded for the first time in three months, adding to renewed optimism that the world’s number two economy is beginning to awake from its recent slumber. The official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) stood at 50.2 last month, better than 49.8 in September, according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing and the National Bureau of Statistics. A PMI reading above 50 indicates expansion, while anything below points to contraction. Separately, a survey by HSBC came in at 49.5 in October — from 47.9 in September — which, although still in contraction, represents another rise. The official PMI had contracted in August and September because of a broader slump in the economy caused by weak demand in Europe and the United States. The official number is “showing that the economy is on the way to a moderate recovery”, said Grace Ng, senior China economist at JPMorgan. She told Dow Jones Newswires that it is “reinforcing the message that the economy has bottomed out”. On Tokyo’s Nikkei, shares were weighed down by Panasonic, which dived almost 20 percent a day after it said it expected to post a loss of $9.6 billion in the fiscal year to March, almost as much as it lost in the previous 12 months. The firm blamed the horrific estimate — which is a sharp reversal from its previous vow to return to the black by March — on restructuring costs and writedowns. The projection was a reversal of its earlier vow to return to the black by March next year. In New York, traders resumed work for the first time after a historic two-day closure of markets caused by Sandy, which has wreaked havoc on the country’s eastern seaboard. But many market participants were still unable to get to work owing to power and transport outages as well as severe flooding. The Dow and S&P 500 closed flat after opening higher, while the Nasdaq lost 0.36 percent. In Europe, Greece unveiled a tough new austerity budget as the European Union said there was still work to be done before the recession-hit country could access loan funds needed to stave off bankruptcy. And data showed unemployment in the 17-nation eurozone hit a record high of 11.6 percent in September. On currency markets the dollar fetched 80.04 yen in afternoon trade, compared with 79.78 yen in New York late Wednesday. The euro bought $1.2960 and 103.70 yen against $1.2958 and 103.39 yen. Oil prices were lower with New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, shedding a cent to $86.23 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for delivery in December dipping 16 cents to $108.54. Gold was at $1,721.78 at 0655 GMT compared with $1,721.80 late Wednesday. In other markets: – Taipei closed 0.19 percent, or 13.59 points, higher at 7,179.64. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co rose 0.56 percent to Tw$89.2 while HTC fell 0.95 percent to Tw$209.0. – Wellington fell 0.66 percent, or 25.99 points, to 3,931.88. Fletcher Building was down 1.56 percent at NZ$6.93, Contact Energy fell 1.99 percent to NZ$5.43 and Telecom lost 0.21 percent to NZ$2.40. – Manila was closed for a public holiday. -AFP    |
| RM40m donation linked to sale of Navy secret? Posted: 01 Nov 2012 12:18 AM PDT
In an open letter released today, Mat Zain said the transactions for the political donation and the document sale were made around the same time in Hong Kong. He alleged that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail had had full knowledge of both incidents since 2008 or earlier. In August 2008, timber tycoon Michael Chia, alleged to be a proxy of Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman, was detained at Hong Kong with S$16 million (RM40 million) in a suitcase. He had booked a flight to Sabah. Last May, news reports alleged that a subsidiary of the French company DCNS had paid 36 million euros (RM146 million) to the Hong Kong-based Malaysia-owned Terasasi (Hong Kong) Ltd for a document that contained the Malaysian Navy's evaluation of the Scorpene-class submarines that the government was planning to buy. Najib confidante Abdul Razak Baginda was one of the owners of Terasasi. "As long as Najib refuses to reveal the source of the RM40 million political contribution to Sabah Umno and refuses to initiate any investigation into the account of Terasasi Hong Kong, it remains possible that the two incidents are related," Mat Zain said. He noted that the Scorpene submarines were currently docked at Sepanggar, Sabah, saying this might explain the involvement of Musa, who leads Sabah Umno. Last month, amid accusations of corruption directed at Musa, Minister in the Prime Minister Department Nazri Aziz told Parliament that the cash Chia was carrying was not meant for Musa personally but was a donation to Sabah Umno. He also said that Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail had cleared Musa of any wrongdoing. In a recent letter addressed to the police and Najib's administration, Mat Zain accused Gani of conflict of interest in his investigation of Musa. The two are related through marriage. He claimed that Najib was aware of the conflict but had chosen to compromise with Gani under former's "you help me, I help you" principle. Mat Zain also noted the government's lukewarm response to the allegation about the sale of a secret defence document, contrasting this with its reaction to the recent arrest in Lebanon of two Malaysians suspected of having terrorist links. "I think Lebanon's arrest of two Malaysians was similar to arrests made by other countries of Malaysians who smuggle drugs, kill or commit other serious crimes," he said in today's letter. "But the sale of national confidential information is an act of treason and a threat to national security." He urged Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar to immediately set up a special team to investigate his allegations.    |
| Posted: 01 Nov 2012 12:03 AM PDT  SHANGHAI: The company behind “Angry Birds” said yesterday it would open its first theme park in Asia next year at a site near Shanghai as it builds on the brand of the hugely popular game.“Angry Birds Land” will be located in Haining city in China’s Zhejiang province, next to the commercial hub of Shanghai, and will be the firm’s third theme park after one in Finland and another in Britain. “People in China want to get out and spend their free time at a leisure destination,” Rovio Entertainment’s general manager for China, Paul Chen, told AFP. “We’re hoping to open (the theme park) by Chinese New Year next year, February,” he added as the Finnish company launched a playground on the campus of Shanghai’s Tongji University.
China has the world’s second-highest number of downloads for Angry Birds at 190 million, trailing only the United States. The mobile game involves using slingshots to launch birds at fortresses built by green pigs — an addictive challenge that became the world’s most-downloaded app and spawned a franchise of merchandise and media tie-ins.—AFP    |
| Posted: 01 Nov 2012 12:00 AM PDT
Despite this, Khoo must continue servicing the remainder of his loan (RM382,840, with interest) to the bank, having lost a decade-long legal battle against the developers. Now without the home and on the verge of bankruptcy, Khoo sought help from the Housing and Local Government Ministry, Bank Negara, and the courts. But none assisted him and Khoo is forced to continue the battle alone. Meanwhile, fellow homeowner Foo Chee San faced a similar fate after purchasing a unit at the same condominium — and he has already been declared bankrupt. According to the National Consumers Complaint Council (NCCC), Khoo and Foo are among many homeowners in Malaysia cheated of their property and unable to find a resolution to their woes even decades later. "Housing cases increase day by day, and it runs to the thousands," said K Ravin, the deputy director of NCCC. "They are rarely, if ever, solved, and this is because housing laws are very weak, general and vague. “On top of that, there is no synchronising between the housing ministry, banks and developers, and this leaves buyers in the lurch when they face problems," he added. Government not taking responsibility Ravin said that while the government is keen on creating more affordable homes for the people, there is little to no monitoring done over its implementation. Nor is there any proper redress system to protect house buyers should they find themselves stuck with houses that are unliveable and mounting debts from the bank. Ravin’s comments come at a time when Housing and Local Government Minister Chor Chee Hung announced hat Malaysians earning less than RM2,500 may soon purchase the government-initiated People’s Housing Project units for only RM35,000 each. Revisions to the first home ownership scheme in the Budget 2013 have also waived the requirement for three months of savings in the installments, making it even easier for first-time owners to cope with property costs. But Md Wahab Md Ali, another homeowner who faced problems similar to Khoo, likened the ministry, Bank Negara and the judiciary to “tombstones” when it came to solving housing woes. “I met Michael Chong (MCA Services and Complaints Department Head) regarding my problems, but he just told me they had too many complaint files to look through,” he said. “I sent a letter to the National Housing Department, and they merely informed that they would take ‘tindakan sewajarnya’ (suitable action). “But they have done nothing; the ministry is just lip service and ‘tindakan sewajarnya’ is their favourite phrase,” he said in disgust. Life savings are robbed Md Wahab had purchased a condominium unit in 1995, but the developers went bankrupt and the units — one of which he was still paying for — were left abandoned and rotting; littered with gaping holes; and filled with broken or vandalised facilities. When the bank attempted to auction the units at less than half its original price, there were no takers and Md Wahab as well as fellow buyer Lee found themselves in a financial conundrum. “Our life savings are robbed just like that, I am now blacklisted under CITOS, and soon the bank will come after me,” said Md Wahab. “Meanwhile, the original developer gets off scott free.” He expected the ministry to take a more serious stand to protect buyers from errant developers, especially if the former expected the same people to give them support in the next general election. “What is the ministry for? If you give license to these companies to develop homes, then control them as well. Go after them,” said Md Wahab. Meanwhile, Ravin warned potential housebuyers to research the property and the developers first before committing to a purchase. “All these people who came to complain here today purchased their homes legally and followed all the right procedures,” he pointed out. “Yet they still face all these financial and legal problems, and there doesn’t seem to be an end to it,” he added.    |
| President gives whole salary to charity Posted: 31 Oct 2012 11:49 PM PDT
But the President of Uruguay, José Mujica, has earned the nickname of the ‘poorest’, or the ‘most generous’ President in the world — depending on how you see things— after revealing that he donates 90 percent of his earnings, to charitable causes. In a recent interview, Mujica told Spain's El Mundo that he earns a salary of US$12,500 a month, but only keeps $1,250 for himself, donating the rest to charity. The president said that the only big item he owns is his VW car, valued at $1,945 dollars. The farmhouse in which he lives in Montevideo is under his wife's name, Lucía Topolansky, a Senator, who also donates part of her salary. "I do fine with that amount; I have to do fine because there are many Uruguayans who live with much less," the president told El Mundo. The 77-year-old Mujica is a former guerilla leader, who fought against Uruguay's military regimes in the 1970s. He was also Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries from 2005 to 2008 and afterwards, served as a senator. Later on, as presidential candidate for the Broad Front, the left-wing coalition, Mujica won the 2009 election becoming Uruguay's president on March 1, 2010. Uruguay is the second smallest nation in South America by area, after Suriname. However it is one of the most developed countries on the continent, with a GDP per capita of $15,656. That's less than half of United States' GDP per capita, but it triples earnings in Honduras which has a GDP per capita of just $4,345. Under Mujica's stewardship, Uruguay has become known for low levels of corruption. The South American country ranks as the second least corrupt country in Latin America in Transparency International's global corruption index. Uruguay also made it to the world cup 2010 semi-finals while Mujica was in office, and the country won the South American Soccer championships in 2011, stunning tournament hosts Argentina, in a memorable performance by striker Diego Forlan. It seems therefore, that it's a good time to be Jose Mujica. Without bank accounts, and with few debts, Mujica told El Mundo that he sleeps peacefully. When his term is over, the President hopes to rest even more peacefully in his farmhouse, along with his wife and his inseparable dog, Manuela. -Agencies    |
| Posted: 31 Oct 2012 11:34 PM PDT
"I’m licensed money changer, own a plantation business and run a mini market. My son helps me in my trade and I pay him about RM10,000 in monthly salary and commissions. “I’m also a former treasurer of the Negeri Sembilan PPP and Karthic was a youth member of the party. Tell me, is there any reason for my son to become a burglar?" asked Rajah, 51. On Dec 3,2010, Karthic was found murdered at a shophouse in Taman Sri Sunga Pelek, Sepang. Eyewitnesses claimed he tried to enter a shoplot unit through an opening in the ceiling. However, two Indonesian brothers guarding the shop were said to have spotted Karthic and killed him before fleeing the scene. Frans Hiu and Dharry Frully Hiu were sentenced to death on Oct 19 by Shah Alam High Court judge, Nurchaya Arshad. Relating his ordeal, Rajah said that Karthic went to the shop at about 9am on that day to collect RM5,000 he loaned to his friend, Leong Wai Yiaw, who was working at the shop. "He was supposed to leave for India on that day but decided to get his money first," said Rajah. He added that Karthic and his girlfriend Juliet Rani Nadarajah were waiting downstairs of the shoplot before being dragged upstairs by four men. "The day market was operating then and many can vouch for this. Even my brother in law, R Murugan, was there shopping and saw Karthic being taken upstairs," he said. Rajah claimed that he received a frantic call from his wife at about 11am saying that Murugan had heard a commotion at the shoplot. Rajah said that when he arrived at the scene, he was stopped by a police officer from entering the crime scene. "The officer, named Corporal Asrul even refused to tell us what happened. Only after three hours, did he break the news to us. "He even accused my son of breaking into the shop while the investigations were going on. He just dismissed me," said Rajah. Two still at large
"But it was God’s grace that Justice Nurchaya sensed something was amiss and decided to visit to the crime scene,” said Rajah. "She realised that my son could not have came down from the ceiling as the opening was too small. She also spotted many errors in the statements made by the police and the accused.” Rajah added that Hindraf secretary-general P Uthayakumar also assisted him by holding a watching brief during the trial. Raja’s brother in law, Murugan, said that two more people responsible for Karthic’s death are still at large. "I saw my nephew being taken up by four men. I panicked when I heard Karthic screaming from upstairs and I rushed back to inform my sister," said Murugan. He also said that Juliet Rani had fled the scene by then, and later lodged a police report. Murugan added that he was never called to give a statement by the police despite being a witness to the incident. "I even went to Bukit Aman to inform them that I could help in their investigations but they ignored me," said Murugan. Rajah urged the public to read the case facts first before making a conclusion about Karthic. He also said that his son was good man and is even a registered organ donor. "My son’s heart was harvested and is to be given to a man with heart ailment on Nov 18," he said.    |
| ‘Tycoon’s Hummer used by Nazri’s son’ Posted: 31 Oct 2012 11:34 PM PDT
Armed with photographs and screenshots, PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli detailed an extensive account of Nedim Nazri Aziz’s use of a black Hummer worth more than RM459,000. He showed that the Hummer (registered plate: WNX 9776) was not only used by Nedim’s personal bodyguard and driver, but was also seen parked at the Clearwater Residence apartments, Damansara Heights, where Nedim is said to live. The expose comes several days after Nazri, the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, denied receiving any money from Chia, who was embroiled in the RM40 million Sabah Umno scandal involving various senior government officials, including Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman. “We have established that this Hummer is not owned by Nazri’s son, but Chia,” said Rafizi. He said that they were first able to determine the car’s owner by checking the Hummer’s traffic fine status through the MyEg website; which clearly showed that the car belonged to a Chia Tien Foh, or Michael Chia. Rafizi added that PKR devised a surveillance team of its own to not only tail Nedim and the car, but to also monitor his Internet usage, particularly through his and his wife Bee-Khan’s Twitter acounts. He also showed photographs of Nedim’s Clearwater apartment, sourced from various Twitter accounts. To cement this further, Rafizi said that he and his team disguised themselves as “real estate agents” to probe the apartments and see if the photos were similar to what they saw at Clearwater. He also showed a blurred image of Nedim and Bee-Khan’s son supposedly traveling in the Hummer. “If this is not bribery I don’t know what it is. At the very least, ethically there is a question of conflict of interest where he (Nazri) should take moral and political responsibility for it,” Rafizi said. He asked how Nazri was able to let his son use Chia’s car, after the tycoon was supposedly arrested by Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) for smuggling RM40 million. Nazri had earlier told Parliament that Chia was never arrested by the ICAC, a matter that was disputed by Rafizi. ICAC’s reputation at stake He added that he intended to go to Hong Kong and was waiting for a response from the ICAC over this. “It’s going to be a different ball game this time around. It’s not about ICAC, but the reputation of ICAC which has been dragged into this,” he said. Rafizi added that he was in contact with “other parties” in Hong Kong over the matter involving ICAC. He added that he would “eventually” lodge a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over the matter. ‘Between my son and Chia’ He added that he had no influence over the AG’s chambers or the MACC, and shrugged off concerns that this would affect his political carreer. Nazri also did not plan to sue Rafizi over his claims, terming the PKR man’s allegations as less than a “mosquito bite”. Also read: 'I did not get RM3m from Chia but the car…'    |
| MP Pakatan desak Kong jawab soalan AES di Parlimen Posted: 31 Oct 2012 11:30 PM PDT
Ahli Parlimen Batu Gajah Fong Po Kuan hari ini meminta agar Peraturan Mesyuarat Dewan Rakyat 66.5 digunakan untuk mengambil tindakan terhadap Menteri Pengangkutan Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha berikutan ketidakhadiran beliau. “Sepatutnya, Kementerian Pengangkutan ditetapkan tetapi dipindahkan ke 20 haribulan. Boleh kami pohon Menteri Pengangkutan sendiri jawab bagi pihak kementeriannya, lebih-lebih lagi berkenaan isu AES. “Kedua – dua belah pihak mohon untuk tangguh tapi menteri hingga hari ini belum datang dewan untuk menjawab isu ini,” kata Fong. Beliau menyatakan Kong juga tidak hadir semasa jumlah denda dinaikkan, mesyuarat dasar tidak hadir dan terlepas apabila usul ditolak. Menteri hanya buat kenyataan di luar dan bukan di dewan mulia ini. Peraturan mesyuarat 66.5 menyatakan bahawa sejumlah 20 hari diperuntukkan untuk membincangkan rang undang-undang biasa dan anggaran pembangunan dan biasa di peringkat jawatankuasa. Fong menambah bahawa Kong senyap dan tidak menjawab meskipun terdapat permintaan dari Ahli Parlimen Sri Gading Datuk Mohamed Aziz, Ketua Pemuda Umno dan Timbalan Pengerusi Kelab Ahli Penyokong BN ,Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin agar sistem AES ditangguhkan. Kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat juta sudah mengumumkan bahawa sistem AES akan ditangguhkan. Usul Fong disokong Ahli Parlimen Pokok Sena Datuk Mahfuz Omar. “Sepatutnya menteri kena hadir. Dia tak boleh lari dari memperjelaskan kepada dewan,” kata beliau Yang Dipertua Dewan Rakyat Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia bagaimanapun menolak usul Fong. Kamera AES tahan Kong “Ini yang dibangkitkan ialah ketidakhadiran. Tidak ada mana-mana peraturan mesyuarat yang beri kuasa kepada saya untuk meminta atau memaksa menteri hadir. Jadi tiada peraturan mesyuarat yang dilanggar,” kata Pandikar. Mahfuz bagaimanapun meminta Pandikar menggunakan budi bicara beliau untuk menasihatkan Kong. “Kalau Tan Sri ada kuasa memberhentikan menteri waktu menjawab, saya fikir Tan Sri mempunyai budi bicara,” kata Mahfuz. Pandikar membalas dengan menyatakan ketidakhadiran termasuk dalam ruang lingkup refleksi. “Memberi nasihat pun tidak boleh. Ia terpulang kepada menteri dan timbalan menteri sama ada mahu datang atau tidak. Fong yang tidak puas hati menegaskan Kong patut hadir kerana Pandikar membenarkan penangguhan sesi jawapan Kementerian Pengangkutan. “Mengambil tanggungjawab menjawab di dewan penting tapi dia lari. Dia hanya buat kenyataan di luar dewan. Dia tak berani berdepan dengan ahli-ahli dan tidak pernah menjawab walau sekalipun berkenaan isu AES,” kata Fong. Sementara itu Mahfuz mencadangkan agar kamera AES dipasang untuk menahan Kong menyebabkan ahli parlimen ketawa.    |
| Don’t curb judges’ sentencing discretion Posted: 31 Oct 2012 11:07 PM PDT
This move is said to be as a result of the allegedly lenient sentence given in the case of Nor Afizal Azizan v PP where the Court of Appeal gave a suspended sentence to the accused. Sentencing is the humanising aspect of the law. It provides an opportunity for a judge to mitigate the harsh application of the law in deserving cases. Many factors are taken into account in sentencing and no two cases are identical. In the Nor Afizal case, the Court of Appeal gave valid reasons for its decision. I quote from the judgment: "Whatever sentence to be imposed on this type of offences must be based on the facts of each individual case. It is neither feasible nor desirable to attempt to lay down any fixed sentence that is meant to govern this type of cases. Therefore, observations made by this court herein should not be construed as intending to have a blanket application or applying to all cases involving young offenders charged with similar offence as the appellant. (para 23)" The Court of Appeal also indicated the various factors that could call for a more stringent punishment as follows; "If the appellant had been older, or had used force, coercion or violence on the victim, or had tricked the victim into submitting to him, or had not cooperated with the police, and had not shown any remorse, or there is no guarantee that he will not be committing the same offence in the future, we would not have any hesitation, as we have done in many other cases of similar nature, to impose a lengthy custodial sentence." There was a furore over the fact that a custodial sentence was not given. But public opinion is not always a good or reliable determinant of what a judge should do. It must be noted that the public make conclusions on sentencing: • without experience of the principles and factors relevant to sentencing; • on the basis of little information about the circumstances of the crime and even less about the circumstances of the offender; • with no strong sense of the offender as a real person; and • without a proper knowledge of sentencing options. Sentencing is not a simple or callous process. It draws on the experience and learning of the judge. Many considerations are taken into account. No perfect sentencing régime These considerations were noted in an Australian case R v Geddes by Jordan CJ as follows: "This throws one back upon a preliminary question as to the general principles upon which punishment should be meted out to offenders. …the judge must, of necessity, be guided by the facts proved in evidence in the particular case. The maximum penalty may, in some cases, afford some slight assistance, as providing some guide to the relative seriousness with which the offence is regarded in the community ; but in many cases, and the present is one of them, it affords none. The function of the criminal law being the protection of the community from crime, the judge should impose such punishment as, having regard to all the proved circumstances of the particular case, seems, at the same time, to accord with the general moral sense of the community in relation to such a crime committed in such circumstances, and to be likely to be a sufficient deterrent both to the prisoner and to others. When the facts are such as to incline the judge to leniency, the prisoner's record may be a strong factor in inducing him to act, or not to act, upon this inclination." Sentencing systems anywhere in the world are not perfect but they are a more flexible system and are therefore less likely to lead to injustice There can be no perfect sentencing régime. It is not possible to do more than seek to improve the process. Mandatory penalties are not an improvement but are likely to lead to greater injustice than discretionary sentencing. Although the exercise of the sentencing discretion by judges might have some flaws, it is a more flexible system and, therefore, less likely to lead to injustice than schemes of mandatory sentencing. It is more flexible in that it is capable of achieving the goal of proportionality so that the sentence has due consideration for the nature and degree of the offending (which includes the effect upon the victim) as well as to the circumstances of the offender. If the goal in sentencing is proportionality, it is a goal more likely to be achieved by an exercise of a judicial officer's sentencing discretion than by mandatory penalties prescribed by Parliament. Public concerns about the adequacy of sentencing are best addressed by public education, not by circumscribing the sentencing discretion of judicial officers. In my personal experience as a lawyer, I have not found judges to be soft on sentencing. They usually make their sentencing decisions after careful consideration of a multitude of factors that have been tested and tried in the courts as relevant to such decisions and after hearing counsel both for the prosecution and the defence. It is to be hoped that mature consideration and extensive research is done before introducing mandatory penalties. We should not let emotional reactions in a particular case dictate our policies on sentencing. DP Vijandran is a senior practitioner in the High Court of Malaya.    |
| PM: Tingkatkan pengeluaran makanan Posted: 31 Oct 2012 10:23 PM PDT
Ancaman kekurangan makanan yang berpunca daripada bencana alam, kemerosotan kualiti tanah dan pelbagai faktor lagi kini menjadi semakin terlalu nyata, katanya. Beliau juga berkata ancaman pemanasan global dan perubahan cuaca menjadikan pertanian dan jaminan makanan isu kritikal bagi Malaysia dan rantau ini. “Bagi Asia dan Asean, sebagai satu daripada lembangan pertanian dunia, jaminan makanan dalam sebuah dunia dengan penduduk yang semakin meningkat dan jumlah tanah pertanian yang terhad kini menghampiri tahap kritikal,” katanya pada mesyuarat kedua antara sesi Majlis Penasihat Sains dan Inovasi Global (GSIAC) di sini hari ini. Presiden dan ketua pegawai eksekutif Akademi Sains New York (NYAS), Ellis Rubinstein, turut menghadiri mesyuarat itu, acara pertama anjuran Malaysia oleh Kumpulan Industri-Kerajaan Malaysia bagi Teknologi Tinggi (MIGHT) dengan kerjasama NYAS. Najib berkata kunci kepada jaminan makanan haruslah melalui penambahan pengeluaran melalui cara inovasi, teknologi lebih baik, menambah baik pengairan dan kualiti sumber manusia. “Saya percaya kita akan mendengar penyampaian Majlis Penyelidikan Sains Negara (NSRC) yang akan memperkata mengenai usaha memajukan pengeluaran mapan beras dan industri ayam itik melalui penyelidikan inovatif dan persaingan dan kemungkinan dari situ kita boleh bertukar-tukar pendapat dalam aspek yang lebih luas mengenai jaminan makanan,” katanya. Najib juga berkata kerajaan amat bimbang dengan peningkatan insiden penyakit tidak berjangkit (NCD) di Malaysia. Kesejahteraan rakyat “Kita (kerajaan) prihatin terhadap kesejahteraan rakyat, dan kesihatan serta penjagaan kesihatan merupakan perkata paling diutamakan. “Penduduk yang sihat ialah penduduk yang produktif, dan kita perlukan penduduk yang sihat untuk mencapai sasaran yang telah kita tetapkan bagi Malaysia menjelang tahun 2020,” katanya. Najib berkata dalam pada negara-negara berusaha ke arah kemajuan ekonomi, kemapanan dan kesejahteraan penduduk mestilah menjadi kepentingan utama. “Malaysia amat menyedari akan perkara ini dan kita telah menjadikan kemapanan sebagai benteng bagi semua perancangan masa depan kita. “Malah Belanjawan 2013 baru-baru ini disediakan sejajar dengan perkara ini dengan tema ‘Memakmur Negara, Mensejahtera Rakyat: Sebuah Janji Ditepati’. Sementara itu, Najib berkata beliau gembira kerana Rubinstein dapat menghadiri mesyuarat hari ini dan tidak terbabit dengan ancaman Taufan Sandy. “Dalam masa yang sama, saya mendoakan semua rakan-rakan warga Amerika dan keluarga mereka yang dikasihi terselamat daripada kesan buruk bencana itu,” katanya. - Bernama    |
| ‘Mana bukti…jangan bercakap saja’ Posted: 31 Oct 2012 10:11 PM PDT
Beliau menegaskan Jabatan Perhutanan tidak boleh mengambil tindakan andainya PKR tidak memberi maklumat tepat mengenai perkara tersebut. “Saya minta tunjukkan bukti..kalau betul ada (pengambilan hutan simpan) sila tunjukan bukti, kita boleh ambil tindakan. “Tempat mana yang dikatakan pengambilan hutan simpan untuk aktiviti pembalakan oleh Menteri Besar. “Jangan bercakap sahaja tetapi tidak berikan bukti,” katanya ketika dihubungi hari ini. Ahmad Fadzil juga menjelaskan dakwaan itu kini dalam tindakan Mohamad yang juga Exco Perhutanan Negeri Sembilan. Beliau juga menegaskan perkara itu adalah sulit dan butiran lanjut tidak boleh didedahkan. “Saya tidak mahu membuat komen mengenai perkara tersebut,” katanya ketika diminta mengulas laporan PKR akan membuat laporan polis mengenai perkara tersebut di Seremban petang ini. Dalam sidang media di Parlimen Selasa lalu, Pengarah Strategi PKR, Rafizi Ramli meminta Mohamad perlu mendedahkan segera semua maklumat skandal konsesi pembalakan di negeri itu melibatkan kuota 4,800 hektar. "Rakyat berhak tahu siapa yang mendapat konsesi balak ini, berapa hasilnya kepada kerajaan negeri dan status hak milik tanah-tanah ini setelah diterokai,” kata Rafizi. Pemimpin muda PKR itu juga mendakwa 8, 616 hektar hutan simpan di Hutan Simpan Jeram Padang Selatan hilang. Sementara itu, Rafizi yang dihubungi berkata, Menteri Besar sepatutnya menjawab persoalan itu dan bukannya Pengarah Perhutanan Negeri Sembilan. “Yang patut jawab ialah Exco atau Menteri Besar. “(Tetapi) Kalau Pengarah Perhutanan hendak bukti, dia boleh merujuk kepada Laporan Tahunan Jabatan Perhutanan Semenanjung Malaysia. “Hutan simpan di Negeri Sembilan berkurangan lima peratus setiap tahun menjadikan yang terburuk berbanding negeri-negeri lain. “Bukti-bukti lain akan ditunjukkan dari masa ke semasa,” tambah Rafizi.    |
| Storm costs New York City $200 million a day Posted: 31 Oct 2012 09:40 PM PDT
New York City generates up to $2 billion a day from various economic activities on average. But the Big Apple could lose 10 percent or more of that forever, Comptroller John Liu said in a Reuters interview. Sandy made landfall on the New Jersey coast on Monday, leaving massive flooding, power outages, crippled transportation systems and 64 people dead in its wake. The storm’s long-term impact on the world financial capital is still unclear, but the city should eventually recover much of that. “Over the last couple days, economic activity is down to about 20 percent of usual. It’s a huge drop. And it’s probably not going to get back to 100 percent for some time,” Liu said. “Based on past history, most of that economic activity is not completely lost, it’s just postponed. We don’t believe the permanently lost economic activity will exceed $1 billion.” The city that never sleeps is also losing “several million” dollars a day in tax revenue, Liu said. New York City has also paid $29.2 million in emergency preparations to cover heavy equipment, manpower, transportation, ambulettes, ready to eat meals, oxygen tanks, construction equipment, structural engineers and more. By comparison, the city spent $12 million on these emergency contracts for Hurricane Irene in 2011, Liu added. Sandy may have caused $10 billion to $20 billion in total economic damage, with $5 billion to $10 billion in insured losses. Between 30 percent and 40 percent of those costs are in New York City, according to EQECAT, a catastrophic risk consultant to insurers. The Federal Emergency Management Agency could reimburse the city for up to 75 percent of losses. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo asked the federal government on Wednesday to reimburse up to 100 percent of state and local government clean up costs. Money from FEMA, the billions of possible dollars from private insurance companies and the construction and repair work they pay for could be an “economic shot in the arm” for the city, but one that is still several months to a year away, Liu said. The city normally borrows $12 billion to $15 billion a year to pay for capital costs and refinancing old debt. It could use some of that money to pay for infrastructure repair after Sandy, but Liu does not expect “a huge amount of borrowing on the part of the city to recover damaged assets.” Other agencies, such as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, separately issue billions in debt each year and also have major stakes in New York City area infrastructure. Liu does not anticipate that the storm will impair the city’s ability to borrow money at low rates. -Reuters    |
| Islam rahsia kejayaan kerajaan PAS Kelantan Posted: 31 Oct 2012 09:36 PM PDT
“Ketika pihak lain tidak meletakkan Islam sebagai asas pentadbirannya, namun Alhamdulillah kerajaan Kelantan bergerak dengan kehendak Islam,” kata Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat. Beliau berkata demikian ketika diwawancara akhbar Harakah baru-baru ini bersempena genap 22 tahun pada tanggal 22 Oktober lalu kerajaan Kelantan di bawah pentadbiran Islam. Menurut beliau yang juga Mursyidul Am PAS, pihak yang menolak Islam khususnya Yahudi sejak awal lagi menanam fahaman karut yang memisahkan agama dan politik. “Mereka menjadikan fahaman ini sebagai senjata utama untuk memisahkan umat Islam di muka bumi ini. Kerana membesarkan kebangsaan menyebabkan bangsa Melayu sering bertengkar. “Begitu juga bangsa Arab turut menghadapi masalah serupa kerana tidak mengikut ajaran Islam sebenar. Tindakan itu umpama racun dalam ‘mawaddah’ sesama manusia,” terang beliau. Nik Aziz menegaskan, “PAS ditubuhkan oleh ulama dalam Umno. Bermula dari situ, kita semai, kita baja, kita siram mengikut teknik yang dibawa Rasulullah s.a.w. dalam memperjuangkan Islam. “Saya memberitahu dunia ini tidak akan terjadi dengan sendirinya tanpa pencipta, yakni Allah. Selain dunia ini, Allah juga menciptakan akhirat. “Hanya Islam yang mengajar manusia mengingati akhirat. Ideologi barat seperti demokrasi tidak mengajar manusia peringatan berhubung perkara itu. “Alhamdulillah, hasil usaha bersama dan kita solat hajat akhirnya benih yang kita tanam diterima dan berkembang sehingga hari ini,” jelasnya. Beliau turut melahirkan rasa syukur kerana usaha yang mampu dilakukannya dengan kerjasama anggota Exco kerajaan negeri dan pemimpin parti pelbagai peringkat telah memperlihatkan suatu hasil yang cukup baik. “Malah beberapa perkara yang telah kita laksanakan akhirnya menjadi ikutan pihak lain seperti cuti bersalin, cuti mingguan dua hari, kediaman tiga bilik, pajak gadai Islam Ar-Rahn, menyimpan wang dalam bank Islam dan banyak lagi. “Pihak lain menggunakan wang dan ugutan untuk menarik perhatian, namun perjuangan Islam hanya akan mempamerkan keindahan Islam yang dibawa junjungan besar Nabi Muhammad s.a.w. “Kita perlu ingat bahawa ugutan, wang ringgit tidak akan berjaya menawan hati manusia. Hanya ajaran Islam akan dapat menyelamatkan manusia,” ujar beliau.    |
| Posted: 31 Oct 2012 09:32 PM PDT
The sales mean buyers from Asian countries like China and Malaysia have bought more than 30 per cent of flats sold at One Hyde Park, where apartments cost from £7 million (RM35 million) up to £136 million each, a higher proportion than any other region. "One of the reasons why Asian buyers are investing so heavily in the London property market is because China's economic growth has slowed down," said Nick Candy, development manager and designer of the scheme close to the Harrods department store. "The Chinese are specifically looking to diversify away from keeping all of their investments in China, and super prime central London real estate is perceived to be and actually is a very safe investment," he said. Asian buyers stepped up investment in the UK capital as the global economy wobbled, fuelled with cash from their region's commodities and manufacturing industries and attracted by the weakness of the British pound and London's safe haven qualities. The rush to invest abroad has accelerated amid political and economic uncertainty in China, which is on course for its slowest annual expansion for 13 years after economic growth slipped for seven consecutive quarters. The Knightsbridge office of property agent Savills recently sold a house to a Hong Kong buyer at 23 per cent above the guide price after the property received 12 bids, a spokeswoman said. The Asian buyers of the latest five flats, which include two and three bedroom apartments, paid about £6,000 per sq ft, a One Hyde Park spokeswoman said. The scheme is owned by Project Grande, a joint venture between Guernsey-based group CPC Group and the Prime Minister of Qatar. Ukraine's richest man, mining magnate Rinat Akhmetov, paid £136 million for the penthouse at One Hyde Park, a record price for a UK flat. Seven apartments remain unsold at the development, where other buyers have come from Kazakhstan, Greece and Canada. A record number of offices in London's upmarket neighbourhoods are being turned into luxury flats this year as property developers look to cash in on international demand, property consultancy DTZ said. A spokeswoman for Westminister Council, which decides whether developers can change offices to homes in the Knightsbridge and Mayfair districts said the local authority was reviewing its planning policy to protect the area's office stock.    |
| Obama front and center in storm crisis as Romney subdued Posted: 31 Oct 2012 09:31 PM PDT
The devastation wrought by mammoth storm Sandy allowed Obama to project an image of a president in charge at a time of crisis. Tied in polls six days before the election, he is fighting to gain an edge over Republican Romney whose recent momentum may be slowing. The Democrat took a helicopter tour of the damage in New Jersey with Governor Chris Christie, a high-profile Romney supporter who has nevertheless praised Obama lavishly in the last two days for expediting federal storm relief. With Christie at his side, Obama promised quick federal aid. “We’re not going to tolerate red tape, we’re not going to tolerate bureaucracy,” he said. In unusually warm remarks, Christie again lauded Obama. “It’s really important to have the president of the United States acknowledge all the suffering that’s going on here in New Jersey and I appreciate it very much,” he said, later thanking the president for his “compassion.” His comments were all the more remarkable given that Christie, normally a hard-nosed partisan, was the keynote speaker at the Republican convention in August and has often accompanied Romney at rallies. Obama clung to a slender lead in most of the swing states that will decide who captures the 270 electoral votes needed to win. He scrapped three days of campaign events this week to deal with the storm, a move that may in fact improve his standing with voters. A Washington Post-ABC News poll found eight in 10 voters gave Obama an “excellent” or “good” rating for his handling of the emergency. Romney senior adviser Kevin Madden, asked by reporters whether he agreed with Christie that Obama was doing a good job handling the hurricane response, said: “I believe the response is still going on so I’m not in a position to qualify the response by the federal government. I believe it’s still ongoing.” Visiting the swing state of Florida, Romney had to tone down his remarks for a second consecutive day in order to avoid appearing too political after the storm that crippled transportation, knocked out power for millions and killed 64 people on the eastern seaboard. Rather than blasting Obama for what he typically calls failures to turn around the economy, Romney did not mention his rival’s name, instead saying a change in course is needed and that he would bring Americans together if elected. “Look, we can’t go on the road we’re on, we can’t change course in America if we keep on attacking each other. We have got to come together,” he said in Coral Gables. Polls tight, slight Obama edge Sandy forced the presidential race into a deep freeze, just as Romney was gathering steam in the last leg toward the Nov 6 Romney. Both campaigns will be back in full swing today when Romney travels to Virginia and Obama begins a two-day trip to Colorado, Ohio and Nevada. A Reuters/Ipsos national online tracking survey, like most other similar polls, found the race effectively tied, with Obama on 47 percent to 46 percent for Romney. The rivals were also neck and neck in four of the most hotly contested states, but Obama holds a slight advantage in two of them. The online Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Obama leading by 3 percentage points in Ohio and 2 points in Virginia. The two are dead even in Florida, and Romney leads by 1 percentage point in Colorado. Another poll, by Quinnipiac/New York Times/CBS News, showed Obama with slight leads within the margin of error in Virginia and Florida, and a 5-point edge over Romney in the vital battleground of Ohio. A Romney loss in Ohio would make his electoral math very difficult, and his campaign has aired new ads in recent days in Democratic-leaning Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Michigan in an effort to put those states in play. Recent polls have shown all three states tightening in what the Romney camp calls a sign of momentum. The Obama campaign said the move to expand the electoral map was a sign of desperation but launched its own ads in those states to counter Romney. “There is a growing recognition on the other side that Ohio is fading away. There is no battleground state where they can be comfortable,” said Obama senior adviser David Axelrod. “They are looking for opportunities.” Romney aides noted that Obama’s levels of support still did not reach 50 percent in most swing states, a bad sign for an incumbent, and said that Romney had opened up leads with independent voters who will make the difference. Romney adviser Madden said the Republican’s campaign still believed it would win Ohio and called the moves into the three new states a positive sign. “Where we feel most confident is that we’re playing offense with the map whereas they’re playing defense,” he told reporters. “We feel like we’re really well positioned now.” Obama’s support for the 2009 auto bailout has helped him in Ohio, where one in eight jobs is tied to the car industry. The Obama camp continued to hammer Romney for his recent claim that Chrysler planned to move Jeep production out of Ohio to China - a charge refuted on Tuesday by Chrysler’s chief executive. The two campaigns have aired dueling advertisements on the issue, and Vice President Joe Biden took up the cause on a visit to Sarasota, Florida. “It’s an outrageous lie, a lie that is so deceptive and so patently untrue that Chrysler Corporation, including the chairman of the board of Chrysler, they actually spoke up,” Biden said, adding the Romney campaign was trying to “scare the living devil” out of auto workers in Ohio. Romney’s running mate, US Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, countered that American taxpayers would lose $25 billion because of Obama’s handling of the auto bailout and that Chrysler and General Motors were expanding overseas production. “These are facts voters deserve to know as they listen to the claims President Obama and his campaign are making,” Ryan said in a statement. “President Obama has chosen not to run on the facts of his record, but he can’t run from them.” - Reuters    |
| Flood ebbs, Northeast picks up after epic storm Posted: 31 Oct 2012 09:26 PM PDT
Financial markets reopened with the New York Stock Exchange running on generator power after the first weather-related two-day closure since an 1888 blizzard. Packed buses took commuters to work with New York’s subway system idle after seawater flooded its tunnels. President Barack Obama, who has halted campaigning with the election six days away, set aside political differences with New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie for a helicopter tour of the devastated coast, where they saw flooded and sand-swept neighborhoods and burning homes. “The entire country’s been watching. Everyone knows how hard Jersey has been hit,” Obama told residents at an evacuation shelter in the town of Brigantine. “We’re not going to tolerate any red tape. We’re not going to tolerate any bureaucracy,” he said of the relief effort. The US Navy said it was moving ships closer to areas affected by the disaster in case they might be needed, including the helicopter carrier USS Wasp. Sandy killed 69 people in the Caribbean as a hurricane before crashing ashore with 130-kph winds on Monday as a rare hybrid superstorm after merging with another system. It was the largest storm by area to hit the United States in generations. Sandy was likely to rank as one of the costliest storms in US history. One disaster-modeling firm said Sandy may have caused up to US$15 billion in insured losses. Long road to recovery About 6 million homes and businesses in 15 US states remained without power yesterday, down from a high of nearly 8.5 million, which surpassed the record 8.4 million customers who went dark from last year’s Hurricane Irene. As markets reopened, floodwaters receded and residents went back to work by car, bicycle and bus in New York, the country’s most populous city suffered some setbacks. Damage forced evacuation of Bellevue Hospital, known for psychiatric and emergency care. Five hundred patients were being moved, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. Evacuations of four other hospitals and 17 chronic-care facilities had already been ordered. An evacuation order for 375,000 New Yorkers in low-lying areas remained in effect. With subways down, the mayor said cars must have at least three passengers to enter Manhattan. Across the Hudson River in Hoboken, New Jersey, water that reached chest high on Monday was knee high on Wednesday morning. “I thought it was the end. I kept telling my sons to pray,” said Marcelina Rosario, 47, who was trapped in the second floor of her Hoboken apartment. “Everything happened so fast. The water started coming up, the refrigerator was floating.” More than half of the gas stations in the New York City area and New Jersey were closed due to power outages and depleted fuel supplies, frustrating attempts to restore normal life, industry officials said. Tempers flared and horns blared in a line of some 30 cars at a Getty service station in Gowanus in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. “I don’t have any lights and need this gasoline for my generator,” said Abdul Rahim Anwar as he put two full jerry cans into his trunk. Fuel spilled from a northern New Jersey oil facility shut down by Sandy, according to Motiva, the site’s operator. NBC, citing the US Coast Guard, said 115,000 liters of diesel had been released and 200 people were working on the cleanup. The New York area’s John F Kennedy and Newark airports reopened after thousands of flights had been canceled, leaving travelers stuck for days. LaGuardia, a third major airport, was scheduled to reopen today. Limited New York subway service was due to start on today, four days after the system, with daily traffic of about 5.5 million people, shut down. Brooklynite Matthew Gessler went to Breezy Point, the New York neighborhood where fire destroyed 111 homes, to inspect damage to his mother’s house, and was disturbed by what he saw. “Where the fire happened, you could honestly take that picture and say it was somewhere in the Middle East, like in Afghanistan, and no one would doubt you at all,” Gessler said. Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said more than a dozen people had been charged with theft and looting in connection with the storm for targeting businesses in the badly flooded Far Rockaway neighborhood of the New York City borough. Political considerations With six days to go before Tuesday’s presidential election, Obama and Christie put aside politics to tour devastated areas together. The two boarded the president’s Marine One helicopter and from the air saw wrecked piers, swamped beach homes and streets under water. “We are here for you and we will not forget,” Obama said. Christie, a vocal backer of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, has repeatedly praised Obama and the federal response to Sandy. “I cannot thank the president enough for his personal concern and his compassion,” Christie, known for his aggressive political style, said after the tour. Obama was scheduled to resume his campaign today with visits to battleground states Nevada and Colorado. Romney, who had also canceled political rallies because of Sandy, limited his attacks on Obama while campaigning yesterday in Florida. Christie issued an executive order moving his state’s Halloween celebration to Monday, postponing trick-or-treating. Wednesday’s Halloween parade through New York’s Greenwich Village was postponed as well, but some parents in the suburbs held daytime gatherings for their costumed offspring in parks and parking lots. The growing US death toll from the storm reached at least 64, with 30 people killed in New York state, nine in Maryland, and six each in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Five other states reported fatalities. Remnants of the storm were over Pennsylvania on Wednesday, forecasters said. Winter storm warnings were in effect along the central Appalachian mountains and flood watches and warnings were issued across New England and northern mid-Atlantic states. Sunday’s New York Marathon will go on as scheduled, but Thursday’s National Basketball Association season-opening game between the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets was postponed. - Reuters    |
| About 6 million remain without power in Northeast Posted: 31 Oct 2012 09:21 PM PDT
The power companies had restored electricity to some 2.4 million customers in the Northeast, although the pace of recovery in New York appeared to lag behind other storm-hit states, the data showed. At the storm’s peak impact on Tuesday, 8.48 million customers in 21 states from North Carolina to Maine and as far west as Illinois were without power after Sandy came ashore with hurricane-force winds in New Jersey late Monday, according to Department of Energy (DOE) data. Power has been restored to nearly 600,000 customers in New Jersey, out of more than 2.6 million that lost power, although more than half the state still remains in the dark, according to the data as of 3 p.m EDT. In New York, where Sandy knocked out power to nearly a third of the customers in New York City and Westchester County, only about 150,000 customers of the total 2.1 million that lost power in the state have seen it restored, according to the figures. The DOE did not provide any further comment or explanation for the figures. New York city outages In New York, power company Consolidated Edison Inc said about 795,000 storm-hit homes and businesses in New York City and Westchester County remained without power. Con Edison said its crews had restored service to about 109,000 customers by 11:00 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) yesterday. That is less than the estimated 140,000 customers the company said it restored on Tuesday. Officials at Con Edison were not immediately available to explain the difference. Con Edison said those customers still out include: about 237,000 in Manhattan, 115,000 in Staten Island, 109,000 in Queens, 108,000 in Brooklyn, 40,000 in the Bronx, and 176,000 in Westchester County. The power company said its Courtland district in Manhattan, which spans from just below the World Trade Center to the lower tip of the island, regained power Wednesday morning, and restoration of the company’s Brighton Beach district in Brooklyn is expected by 4 p.m., said John Miksad, senior vice president of electric operations at Con Edison. Customers in Manhattan and Brooklyn, who are served by underground electrical equipment, should have power back within three days. Restoration to all customers in other areas served by overhead power lines like Westchester and Staten Island will take at least a week. Miksad said there was a large crew assembled at Con Edison’s 14th Street station, the site of a large explosion that caused most of lower Manhattan’s power outages, and customers served by this station are expected to regain power by Friday or Saturday. For areas served by underground wires, Con Edison said workers must clean and dry equipment of seawater before it can be safely placed back in service. “In 120 years we’ve never seen damage this significant,” Miksad said. Con Edison said Sandy was the largest storm-related outage in its history. The previous record was the more than 200,000 customers affected by Hurricane Irene in 2011. Irene left an estimated 8.38 million customers out along the U.S. East Coast from South Carolina to Maine. Tuesday night, Con Edison said it cut power to about 160,000 customers in southern Brooklyn and central Staten Island due to Sandy-related problems on high-voltage systems supplying electricity to those areas. The company also said it reduced the voltage in several neighborhoods in Brooklyn by 8 percent Tuesday night as workers fixed problems there. The company said Sandy knocked down more than 100,000 electric wires. Some roads were blocked by trees or flooding, slowing those working to restore power in areas served by overhead wires like Westchester. Con Edison said it has secured assistance from 1,400 external contractors and mutual aid workers from utilities as far west as California to help with the restoration efforts. - Reuters    |
| Philippine street kid a global inspiration Posted: 31 Oct 2012 09:04 PM PDT
Valdez, 13, won this year’s International Children’s Peace Prize for his work as head of a charity organisation that educates and hands out gifts to thousands of youngsters in his poverty-plagued hometown. South African human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu gave Valdez his award at a ceremony in the Netherlands in September, declaring him a “voice for the voiceless” and a “true inspiration”. After returning to the streets of Cavite, a coastal city on the outskirts of Manila, Valdez spoke in a soft voice to AFP about his noble philosophies that emerged from personal devastation and the people who turned his life around. “I help because I see myself in children who roam and live on the streets,” Valdez said during one of his weekend community outreach programmes. “Some good-hearted people showed me love and changed my life, and I am just paying it forward.” Valdez, nicknamed “Kesz”, was born the third of nine children from a desperately poor couple who lived with hundreds of other squatter families on the fringes of a huge garbage dump in Cavite. The city was once a picturesque, colonial Spanish enclave and fish port, but deteriorated into a mostly rundown urban mess in a familiar pattern across the country where a quarter of the population now live on less than a dollar a day. His parents called him “bad luck” because they tried to sell him when he was a baby but failed, according to Harnin Manalaysay, the head of a local Christian youth charity who eventually rescued Valdez. Manalaysay said Valdez was forced to start scavenging in the garbage dump from the age of two. At ages three and four, Valdez was sleeping anywhere he could, including atop tombs at the city cemetery, because he frequently fled home to escape beatings by his rickshaw-driver father, according to Manalaysay. At an age when children are just learning how to make friends, Valdez was learning to beg and steal. “I found him sleeping on a curbside covered in flies. He was very dirty and being kicked by passers by,” Manalaysay said. Manalaysay enrolled Valdez, then aged four, in his alternative learning programme for street children, in which volunteer teachers use mobile classrooms on pushcarts to bring classes to the students. In between lessons, Valdez still scavenged for scraps to help out his family. Then bad luck struck Valdez again when he was five. Fellow scavengers jostling around a dump truck accidentally shoved him into a pile of burning tyres, badly injuring his arms and back. “My father was angry when I came home and said I deserved it for being stupid,” Valdez recalled. Valdez said his mother took him to Manalaysay, who paid for his medical treatment and allowed him to recuperate at the charity worker’s shelter for street children, called Club 8586. “She came back (months) later to tell me they did not want him back anymore,” Manalaysay said. Manalaysay, a portly marine engineer whose club has been helping troubled youths for more than 27 years, became his legal guardian. Under his tutelage, Valdez recovered, and his grades improved. He also began volunteering as a six-year-old to teach other street children about basic hygiene. When Valdez turned seven, Manalaysay asked him what he wanted as a birthday gift. “I told him I wanted other children to receive what I had: rubber slippers, toys and candies,” Valdez said. So Valdez and his guardian spent the day giving various items to street children. The giving became a yearly tradition and led to the creation of Valdez’s own charity, called Championing Community Children. Under Manalaysay’s guidance, Valdez built the charity into one that raises funds from private donors to buy basic living items for children, including sandals, toys, food and clothes. Volunteers, made up mostly of Valdez’s friends, also teach basic hygiene, nutrition and gardening, as well as educate children on their rights to help prevent abuse. Valdez’s charity has helped 10,000 children in Cavite over the past six years, according to the judging committee of the International Children’s Peace Prize, which was founded by Dutch organisation KidsRights. “Kesz is like any other normal kid. But his achievements, and the number of people he has helped, surpass those of most adults,” Manalaysay said. Valdez’s plans for the immediate future are to continue with his charity, while making sure his school work does not suffer from his busy schedule. Eventually, he wants to work in one of the toughest jobs of all, while expanding his charity work. “I’m studying hard because I want to be a doctor… I want to help more children, not only in the Philippines, but also in other countries,” he said. -AFP    |
| Carrefour Malaysia sold to AEON Posted: 31 Oct 2012 09:01 PM PDT
The sale ― effective yesterday ― is the latest notched up by recently installed chief executive, Georges Plassat, who is seeking to refocus the world's No. 2 retailer on its key markets and cut its debt after years of underperformance. Carrefour is the fourth-largest retailer in Malaysia with 26 hypermarkets, which brought in €400 million in revenue in the 12 months to June 30. "The transaction is part of Carrefour's strategy of refocusing on its core activities and allocating its resources to mature countries where it occupies strong and established positions and emerging markets where it has strong growth potential," the company said in a statement. AEON, Japan's top supermarket operator, which began as a Kimono store in the late 1700s, is looking for overseas profit drivers as its business at home is hurt by a fall in consumer spending, a shrinking population and persistent profit-sapping deflation. Carrefour recently agreed to sell its stores in Colombia to Chile's Cencosud for US$2.6 billion (RM7.7 billion). It also plans to shut its Singapore unit by year-end and pulled out of recession-hit Greece in July amid falling sales. Plassat has made clear Carrefour will stay in Brazil and China, but analysts expect disposals in Indonesia, Turkey, Romania and Taiwan, with proceeds of between €1 billion and €3 billion. -Reuters    |
| Civil service must be depoliticised Posted: 31 Oct 2012 08:51 PM PDT
Pakatan Rakyat’s battle cry for change in the next general election is a necessity to check the socio-economic rot afflicting Malaysia. But, is change enough to reverse Barisan Nasional’s 55 years of misrule and plundering of the national coffer and the country's wealth? I believe change must be followed up with real and drastic socio-economic transformation policies backed by a completely overhauled civil service. Our unproductive civil service today is a creature encouraged by corrupt BN leaders and politicians. BN's politicising of the civil service has sucked individual civil servants from top to bottom levels to only concentrate on grabbing as much a share of the gravy train and the national coffer as possible. The rot starts from the head, they say. It's the executive's pressure and corrupt practices that set the tone of the whole administration of the country. Many in the civil service today are unhappy with the executive's heavy hand in directing them to do things that are against public good. Failure to follow instructions will be seen as disloyal, subjecting them to unfair action. Officially, from Budget 2013, our federal debt is at RM502.4 billion or 1.3% short of the 55% legislated debt ceiling. Isn't this too close for comfort? Isn't it time for Malaysians to press the red button to stop the Umno-led BN? Not included in Budget 2013's federal debt calculation are RM118 billion in liabilities or sovereign guarantees for private corporations like the Port Klang Free Zone and government-linked company loans ending 2011. And many believe the federal debt could be as high as RM800 billion, thereby breaching the federal debt ceiling. This figure was revealed by Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Mukhriz Mahathir in a report by TheEdge. With Malaysia blessed with vast and rich natural resources, including oil and gas, our current economic standing, to say the least, is shameful. Mounting debts and rising cost of essentials, with extremely slower wage and salary growths, are signs of a government losing control of the economy. Serving the political agenda The BN government's inability to increase national productivity is the key reason for slower wage and salary growth. With the dependence on borrowings to survive, it is now unable to sustain the subsidies on the essentials to help the poor and low-income groups. This is obviously the cause of much discontent among the rural and urban poor, especially the majority of Malay villagers. Sadly, the BN, after 55 years of being returned to govern despite the open abuses of power and corrupt practices, has become arrogant, perpetuated by a false sense of invincibility. Its continuous refusal to heed the rakyat's call for justice, accountability, to fight corruption and forge peace and prosperity by uniting Malaysians as one, not pursuing racist policies which are alienating a large proportion of the populace. Every government agency is now viewed by the public as a tool of the BN, exploited to serve BN's political agenda and to intimidate the rakyat, especially political rivals. You can clearly see this happening in the dispensing of justice. It is happening in the police force, the judiciary, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and in all government enforcement agencies that wield power to intimidate the rakyat. Therefore, should Malaysians make the historic decision to change the ruling government, one of the biggest challenges for the Pakatan Rakyat must be to overhaul and raise the civil service's professionalism, thereby enhancing productivity. The civil service is not set up to serve the BN or Pakatan. The people's mandate is for the politicians to govern and serve the rakyat. The civil service is to help the government of the day to administer and implement policies professionally to serve the rakyat. In short, governments must be competent and incorrupt to win the everlasting confidence of the rakyat. Chua Jui Meng is PKR vice-president and Johor state chief. He is also a former MCA vive-president and an ex-Cabinet member.    |
| Sandy unearths 200 years old skeleton Posted: 31 Oct 2012 08:49 PM PDT
The remains likely belonged to a victim of yellow fever or smallpox who might have been buried on the New Haven town green between 1799 and 1821, police spokesman David Hartman said. Headstones for those buried below the green were moved to a local cemetery in 1821, but the bodies of potentially thousands of residents were never relocated, he said. This week’s storm brought 40 to 70 mile per hour winds to New Haven, knocking out power, downing trees and causing some flooding to properties, Hartman said. Sandy’s force overturned a well-known oak that was planted on the town green in 1909 in honor of the 100th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s birth. A passerby looking at the fallen oak on Tuesday spotted human bones in its roots and alerted authorities, Hartman said.
“It was a great deal of fun, with no disrespect intended to the dead of course,” Hartman said. “It was good Halloween stuff.” A death investigator from the medical examiner’s office and a research associate from Yale University’s Department of Anthropology are collecting the remains. The city is discussing how to properly bury them after they are studied, Hartman said. Given the likely history of the skeleton, no criminal investigation is planned, he said.    |
| Wall Street scrambles to raise cash Posted: 31 Oct 2012 08:41 PM PDT
Major banks and investment houses rely on the money markets – a key cash source for financial markets – to finance trading positions and loans they make. Companies sell commercial paper and other short-term debt to money market funds and other investors to fund their inventories and payrolls. The massive storm, Sandy, disrupted these markets, thinned trading and drove up borrowing costs on Monday and Tuesday, although analysts expect money market rates to return to normal levels by early next week. “It showed a bit of stress that everyone was trying to fund themselves,” said Mike Lin, director of U.S. funding with TD Securities in New York. Some companies were heard withdrawing heavily from their accounts with money market funds last Thursday and Friday in preparation for possible market disruptions this week, analysts said, although the latest data available showed money fund assets had risen through Oct 24. If banks were to struggle to obtain short-term funding, they could turn to the U.S. Federal Reserve, but there were no signs any banks needed to borrow emergency cash via the central bank’s “discount window,” analysts and traders said. The Fed currently charges 0.75 percent at its discount window on loans to creditworthy banks. A spokesman with the New York Fed, which oversees open market operations for the central bank, declined to comment. MONTH-END COMPLICATION But overnight borrowing costs in funding markets have since receded from levels seen on Monday and Tuesday, which were levels not seen since the height of the global credit crunch in late 2008. “It was about the market being illiquid. People tried to close their books before the storm,” Alex Roever, short-term interest rate strategist at J.P. Morgan Securities who is based in New York, said about the trading on Monday and Tuesday. Investors charged a borrower 0.35 to 0.40 percent for an overnight loan in the repurchase agreement (repo) market on Wednesday. This was double what they charged last week, analysts and traders said. However, this was sharply lower than the 1.25 percent heard quoted late on Monday before Sandy made landfall in the U.S. Northeast. The storm knocked out power for about 8 million people and flooded the New York subways. Money market funds and other large investors also commanded slightly higher compensation to buy commercial paper (CP). The trading volume of these short-term corporate IOUs was a quarter of their average daily volume, traders said. “The challenge was on the investor side. They were trying to figure what their month-end outflows were,” J.P. Morgan’s Roever said. Interest rates on commercial paper that matures in a week on average was quoted at 0.25 percent, fractionally higher than last Friday. CP activity was non-existent on Monday and Tuesday, according to market participants. The timing of the interruption also complicated the jobs for money market traders who typically seek cash to settle trades and exit positions on the last trading day of the month. Traders at banks and other institutions rushed to raise money Monday and Tuesday to insure their trades were funded at least through Wednesday, when they had expected the stock and bond markets to reopen. “It’s not as bad as it could have been, but people are still operating with skeletal staffs,” TD’s Lin said. The staffing at banks and Wall Street firms should improve as the city’s subway system resumes limited service on Thursday. On Friday, the overnight repo rate ended at 0.20 percent. In the $1.8 trillion tri-party repo market, a borrower obtains cash from investors by pledging Treasuries and other securities as collateral. Longer-term repo rates were lower on expectations of trading returning to normal soon, analysts said. “By next week, we should be back to normal ranges,” said Dave Sylvester, head of money markets with Wells Capital Management in Minneapolis. Well Capital operates a dozen money market funds with combined assets of $130 billion. One-week repo rates, for example, was last quoted at 0.20-0.25 percent, while one-week commercial paper rates were quoted in a similar range. -Reuters    |
| Rakyat dihukum, kroni dimanjakan Posted: 31 Oct 2012 08:39 PM PDT
Nampaknya Kerajaan Negeri Sembilan pimpinan Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan benar-benar melaksanakan slogan 'rakyat didahulukan'. "Ini terbukti apabila Kerajaan Negeri Sembilan amat tegas menghukum rakyat walaupun tunggakan hanya kurang seribu ringgit tetapi sangat bermurah hati dan berlembut apabila membabitkan syarikat besar dan kroni walaupun tunggakan mencecah puluhan dan Itulah kenyataan tidak puas hati Pesuruhjaya PAS Negeri Sembilan, Mohd Taufek Abdul Ghani dalam sidang akhbar khas di Ibu Pejabat PAS Negeri Sembilan semalam, bagi merujuk kepada sikap Menteri Besar dan kerajaan negeri. Mohd Taufek mempertikaikan kenapa National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd (NFCorp) diberikan keistimewaan apabila gagal menjelaskan tunggakan sewa tapak projek Pusat Fidlot Nasional (NFC) sebanyak RM200,000 yang tertunggak sejak setahun lalu. "Berdasarkan kenyataan Menteri Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani, Datuk Seri Noh Omar yang berkata bahawa Kerajaan Pusat akan memberi peluang kepada mana-mana syarikat lain yang berminat mengambil alih projek NFC, ternyata projek NFC ini gagal. "Jika NFCorp gagal, kenapa diberi tempoh lagi. Sepatutnya Kerajaan Negeri perlu mengambil tindakan undang-undang untuk dapatkan semula tunggakan sewa tapak tersebut. Ia adalah hak rakyat dan hasil Kerajaan Negeri", katanya yang juga ahli dewan undangan negeri Paroi. Mohd Taufek memberi satu lagi contoh dalam Laporan Audit 2011 untuk Negeri Sembilan mencatatkan syarikat Negeri Roadstone gagal mengutip hutang daripada syarikat pelanggan untuk tempoh yang agak lama. Negeri Roadstone adalah sebuah anak syarikat milik Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Negeri Sembilan (PKNNS) yang menjalankan operasi galian dan menjual batu-batan serta membina dan menurap jalan raya. "Laporan Audit tersebut menyatakan sebanyak 10 buah syarikat atau pelanggan Negeri Roadstone mempunyai hutang terkumpul secara keseluruhan sebanyak RM511,951. "Contohnya ada pelanggan yang berhutang sebanyak RM214,085 selama 39 bulan (tiga tahun tiga bulan) dan satu lagi pelanggan berhutang sebanyak RM42,408 selama 58.5 bulan (empat tahun 10 bulan). "Malah amat tidak patut apabila Negeri Roadstone tidak mengenakan sebarang caj faedah kepada penghutang. “Dalam Laporan Audit juga disebut bahawa alasan yang diberikan oleh Negeri Roadstone sebab caj faedah tidak dikenakan ialah kerana ia akan menjejaskan hubungan baik di antara Negeri Roadstone dengan pelanggan. "Tetapi bila seorang rakyat miskin gagal menjelaskan tunggakan sewa rumah selama lapan bulan di Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) Bersepadu Senawang, sebanyak RM992.00, Kerajaan Negeri mengeluarkan notis sita untuk mengunci rumah individu tersebut. "Saya bukan galak rakyat tak bayar sewa rumah PPR tetapi kenapa Kerajaan Negeri bertolak ansur dengan syarikat besar walaupun jumlah tunggakan amat besar tetapi dengan rakyat amat tegas sekali walaupun jumlah tunggakan yang agak kecil. "Mungkin inilah yang dipanggil 'rakyat didahulukan' yang sering dilaung-laungkan oleh pemimpin Barisan Nasional”, sindir Mohd Taufek. Mohd Taufek mengulas demikian merujuk kenyataan Mohamad semalam yang memberi kata dua kepada NFCorp menjelaskan hutang Mohamad juga berkata jika NFCorp gagal jelaskan bayaran tunggakan dalam tempoh yang ditetapkan, kerajaan negeri akan batalkan sewa pajakan tapak tanah seluas 607 hektar (1,500 ekar) itu di Gemas. Sebaliknya kerajaan negeri akan naikkan kadar sewa tapak tanah itu dalam perjanjian baru, kata Menteri Besar.    |
| Posted: 31 Oct 2012 08:29 PM PDT
Proposed legislation listed on parliament’s website would grant permanent residency and ultimately Hungarian citizenship to outsiders who buy at least 250,000 euros (US$322,600) worth of special government bonds. Hungarian passport holders are entitled to live and work throughout the European Union. The move, backed by the ruling government party, is designed to attract new investors, especially from China. Hungary has billions of euros worth of foreign currency debt maturing in the next few years and has explored a variety of ways to refinance. Its plans include selling euro-denominated bonds to domestic buyers and trying to attract major new investors from Asia. Selling debt in western bond markets would happen only after tricky talks with international lenders wrap up, the government has said. Budapest has asked for a financing backstop from the EU and the International Monetary Fund, but talks are dragging on and analysts see only a 50 percent chance of a deal. The proposed legislation calls for the debt management office to issue special “residency bonds” to foreigners. Holders of at least a quarter of a million euros’ worth of the paper would get preferential immigration treatment. “The goal of the modification is to create the institution of ‘investor residency’ in Hungary,” the lawmakers who put forth the legislation wrote in their proposal. “The proposal ties gaining citizenship to buying bonds because it intends to aid state financing this way,” they wrote. “Other investments from those applying for such residency could boost the real estate, retail and investment markets.” One of the authors of the proposal said Chinese investors were specifically targeted. “The Chinese have articulated repeatedly that we should help their Hungarian investments,” ruling party lawmaker Mihaly Babak told the daily Nepszabadsag. “If someone is a Hungarian citizen they have more (investment) opportunities.” “The condition of a preferential process is the purchase of 250,000 euros worth of bonds with a five year maturity … We can attract capital from the so-called Third World this way and also finance reducing state debt.”—Reuters    |
| Bank Negara has collected 2,000 art works to date Posted: 31 Oct 2012 08:27 PM PDT
KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has garnered about 2,000 pieces of art works to date that include paintings in various media, and other art pieces such as prints, collages, photographs, ceramic and metal sculptures. "We have to preserve our Malaysian art and our collection which was started by the late Tun Ismail Ali and I am pleased to continue this," said its governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, adding that the artwork collected is not as an investment. When asked if the central bank would sell any piece of its permanent collection, Zeti said: "Never!" "We are collecting and sometimes we do participate in auctions so we could get some of the older works no longer available in the market," she told reporters after launching the "Two Worlds — Different Points of Viewing" art exhibition at its gallery yesterday. These art works are displayed at BNM's office premises and the art centre where more than 100 pieces of art works representing some of the best works in its collection are displayed. The works by renowned artists such as Yong Mun Sen, Syed Ahmad Jamal, Ibrahim Hussein, Latiff Mohidin, Chuah Thean Teng, Mohd Hoessein Enas, Ahmad Zakii Anwar, Chang Fee Ming, Ismail Zain, Tew Nai Tong and Khoo Sui-Hoe form part of its permanent collection. BNM has been actively supporting Malaysian contemporary art by acquiring artworks by Malaysian artists since 1962. BNM was present at Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers Sdn Bhd's art painting auction recently but its museum and art gallery director Lucien de Guise did not comment on whether BNM made any purchase. The current art exhibition celebrates the cultural and creative relations between Malaysia and Austria as well as to commemorate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic affiliation between these two countries. Meanwhile, Zeti remains mum on outstanding financial related issues ahead of the upcoming Monetary Policy Meeting to be held on Nov 8. The meeting, scheduled to be the last one this year, will determine the overnight policy rate. "We are having monetary committee meeting soon and it is common to have a blackout period for the week preceding the meeting where nobody is allowed to talk," she said. "As a run-up to that, I am not allowed to comment on any monetary related matter," Zeti added. This content is provided by FMT content partner The Malaysian Reserve    |
| BMD trading hits record historical high of 78,401 contracts Posted: 31 Oct 2012 08:20 PM PDT
Contracts traded on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives (BMD) hit a record historical high on Monday, a milestone that may signal the growing importance of the local options exchange to global traders and investors. On that day, trades reached a daily historical high of 78,401 contracts, surpassing the previous high of 77,703 contracts recorded on May 16, 2012. The daily volume would have been 84,359 contracts if Negotiated Large Contracts (NLT) were taken into account. BMD chief executive officer Chong Kim Seng said this demonstrated the acceptance of the BMD market to international traders and risk managers. He said it would enhance BMD's attractiveness as active price discovery becomes a catalyst to attract new players. BMD's products are traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Globex, something which the company will use to fuel its future growth. Chong said the company is also enhancing its distribution channel by recruiting more entrants, dual licensees, new locals and interbroking intermediaries. BMD has also been innovative in bringing new products to the market including Options on Futures on Crude Palm Oil, Options on Futures of the KL Index, NLT's and Exchange For Related Positions. These innovative products have brought further diversification to BMD trade, as seen in the growing demand for NLTs on the exchange. "The application of NLTs provides latent liquidity in which institutions may trade out in the future," said Chong. This content is provided by FMT content partner The Malaysian Reserve    |
| Posted: 31 Oct 2012 08:17 PM PDT
The policemen had sought to challenge an unwritten rule that stopped members of the security forces from growing beards during the rule of President Hosni Mubarak, who used the police to crush Islamist groups he saw as enemies of the state. Mubarak was swept from power in February, 2011. Propelled to office by the Muslim Brotherhood, a mainstream Islamist movement, Mursi had said during his campaign he had no objection to members of the security forces growing beards. Mursi himself has a beard. “Nothing in the law prevents us growing beards,” said Hany Maher, one of 64 suspended officers who were referred to a disciplinary court after growing their beards in what they described as a statement of faith, not politics. Four of the officers challenged their dismissal in the courts and secured rulings that obliged the Interior Ministry to reinstate them. But the court orders have not been implemented. Mohamed Fadly, one of the dismissed officers, described the ministry’s refusal to reinstate them as an effort to “appease secular powers”.
But today, top officials including the prime minister have beards. Many Muslims grow their beards to emulate the Prophet Mohammad. “Why does the ministry reject the teachings of the prophet?” read a banner held aloft in the protest. Another unwritten rule from Mubarak’s era was broken after Mursi came to office, when state television putting three veiled anchorwomen on camera. It was unthinkable in Mubarak’s era, though many Egyptian women wear headscarves.—Reuters    |
| Changing channels: Sony, Sharp in turnaround battle Posted: 31 Oct 2012 08:12 PM PDT
Sony shares, valued at less than $12 billion, have dropped 16 percent since end-June and its 5-year credit default swaps – the cost of insuring against debt default – have jumped by almost 60 percent. The benchmark Nikkei average is down by less than 1 percent. The maker of Bravia TVs, Vaio laptops and PlayStation game consoles, battling weak demand and tough competition, is expected to say it earned operating profit of 33.8 billion yen ($424.7 million) in its second-quarter, after losing 1.6 billion yen a year ago, according to an average estimate from five analysts on Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Sony has sold a chemicals unit to state-backed Development Bank of Japan for 58 billion yen, and other asset sales may further inflate operating profit this business year. The Japanese group, which blazed a trail in the early 1980s with its Walkman portable music players, is closing the Shinagawa Technology Center, a 31-storey Tokyo office built in 1998 and may even sell the 37-storey Sony Tower, the New York headquarters of its U.S. business, according to media reports. Sony has said it expects to reduce its global workforce by 10,000 people by end-March, around 6 percent of its total, as it seeks to lop 30 billion yen off its costs. High risk Kazuo Hirai, who took over as CEO in April, has pledged to rebuild Sony around gaming, digital imaging and mobile devices, and nurture new businesses such as medical devices, as the TV business shrinks – Sony has lost close to $9 billion in TVs over the past 8 years. In late-September, Sony agreed to pay 50 billion yen to become the biggest shareholder in Olympus Corp, a world leader in medical endoscopes. “The areas in which Sony is continuing to focus are of course high-risk, high-return markets,” said JP Morgan analyst Yoshiharu Izumi in a recent report. “Although we expect (full-year) margin improvement in the electronics segment, we think it’s too early to appraise a sustained recovery.” While battling weak demand for its products, fierce competition from Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics and others, Sony is also up against a strong yen and a depressed global economy. Panasonic Corp, a rival Japanese TV maker, said on Wednesday it will lose almost $10 billion this business year as it cleans its house of risky assets – writing down billions of dollars of goodwill and assets in its mobile and energy units and preparing for more restructuring that is likely to see it shift away from money-losing TVs and other consumer electronics. In August, Sony cut its full-year operating profit forecast by more than a quarter to 130 billion yen, still some way above the average forecast by 19 analysts for 107 billion yen. At a net level, Sony sees annual profit of 20 billion yen, while the market prediction is for around a third of that. “It’s unclear if Sony will cut its full-year operating profit guidance, but we see considerable potential for second-half shortfalls, mainly in smartphones and games,” Goldman Sachs analyst Takashi Watanabe said in a client note. Sales of Sony’s handsets, including its Xperia smartphones, are expected to have slid by more than a fifth in July-September, to below 8 million devices, a Reuters poll showed last month. [ID:nL6E8LAL10] For next year, it’s forecast to sell 34.4 million mobiles, about the same as Samsung shifts each month. The South Korean firm and Apple are also encroaching on Sony’s gaming business, and Hirai has cut the forecast for annual sales of the hand-held Vita and PSP consoles to 12 million from 16 million. After four straight years of net losses, Hirai is also hampered by weakened finances. At end-June, Sony’s shareholder equity ratio fell to below 15 percent – a rate of 20 percent is generally considered a healthy minimum. While selling off non-core assets, Sony has also spent to bolster its business portfolio – laying out $1.8 billion in four months on the Olympus stake, a cloud gaming firm and a website for doctors, but this has prompted both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s to lower their long-term debt rating on the company to the second-lowest investment grade. Sharp downturn At rival Japanese TV maker Sharp Corp, which also announces quarterly earnings on Thursday, the need to return to profit is more urgent. The maker of Aquos TVs has secured a $4.6 billion bank bailout, and has pledged to axe 10,000 jobs, sell assets, and return to profit. At end-June, Sharp’s shareholder equity ratio was 18.7 percent. After adding restructuring charges, valuation losses on stocks of LCD display panels and other costs, Sharp is expected to post a 400 billion yen net loss for April-September, almost double the company’s estimate, the Nikkei business daily reported last week. In front-loading those costs, and taking the hit now, Sharp may be better placed to return to profit in the current second half of the year, allowing lenders to justify the bailout. Sharp is said to be increasing production capacity for its high-definition power-saving IGZO screens, which it hopes to sell to makers of ultrabook computers, including Lenovo Group, Dell Inc and Hewlett-Packard, Japanese media have reported. For the second quarter, Sharp is expected to have made a 50.4 billion yen operating loss, according to the average of six analysts on Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Both Sharp and Sony may also have felt the impact of a recent dispute with China over ownership of islands in the East China Sea, which triggered sometimes violent protests against Japanese products. Sharp had almost a fifth of its revenues in China, while Sony has around 8 percent of its business there. Sharp shares have more than halved since end-June, to record lows below 150 yen. Five years ago, the stock traded at above 2,440 yen. Its market value has slumped to below $2.4 billion. -Reuters    |
| Posted: 31 Oct 2012 08:05 PM PDT
The gap in Umno and the distrust amongst the leadership is getting wider. Umno deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin has asked his camp to play low key. If anything has to be unleashed against Najib and his “mentor”, it has to be sudden and at a crucial time, so as not to allow for an opportunity for the Mahathirian camp to fight back. “It should be swift and decisive, there will be no turning back,” Muhyiddin was quoted as having told his inner circles. Muhyiddin is very uncomfortable with Mahathir and he has to watch every step he takes. He can’t have his plans leaked. Thus far he seems to be doing fine on that score, but you can never tell in Umno, especially with Mahathir who is famous for buying out Umno boys to get what he wants. And there are people in Johor Umno who are willing to align with Mahathir in this war. Uphill task for Muhyddin Mahathir has the funds or at least the sources from which he can squeeze it out. Muhyiddin has his back against the wall. Under normal circumstances, an Umno deputy will be able to muster funds at will, but now after the Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s NFC affair, it has been made very difficult for him. In Umno today, it’s money that talks, not Bahasa Melayu, but money! So it is an uphill task for Muhyiddin, but sources say he has a good following and can turn the tables – money politics or not. The not so intelligent (Home Minister) Hishammuddin Hussein does not have enough money to spend so lavishly to win any position. He also does not have the support of the grassroots to make himself invulnerable, so he goes the way of Mukhriz, whose father and siblings together with their cronies will outbid anyone on the scene. So Hisham will play the Mahathirian plan although he hates it, like his father, he will be used by Mahathir as a stop gap premier and then moved out ungraciously. Mahathir is looking to park his son Mukhriz’ interests. If you notice Mukhriz has been rather quiet, very quiet for anyone’s liking. He has ambitions and his father has plans to nurture that ambition but where he parks himself in this controversy and this power struggle in Umno will determine his future in the party, and both him and his father know that and are worried sick on how to solve this power equation. Muhyiddin, a stop-gap Muhyiddin has no place in the equation and he knows it. Mahathir never liked the fellow. The only reason Mahathir placed him as deputy was to threaten Najib that Muhyiddin would be president if Najib did not go for (Abdullah) Badawi. Once Najib took the position, it was time to begin the process of grooming Mukhriz but, a few stop gap personalities had to be put in place first. The first stop-gap was Muhyiddin who would play a Ghaffar Baba-type role, then Hisham would come in to unseat him and Mukhriz would move for the vice-president’s slot as a measure towards party presidency. Najib would be asked to make way for Hisham. Hisham will take over and appoint Mukhriz as his deputy just like when Hussein named Mahathir. The stage will be set for Mukhriz to close the curtain on Hisham and take over the PM’s post within the next five years. Toffee Rodrigo is a businessman who spends his free time writing to create awareness. He blogs at Toffee’sTurn.    |
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