Wednesday, December 31, 2003

NST Online has a new skin

UPDATED VERSION. NST Online has a makeover for 2004, and it's unveiled a while ago!

NSTOnline_20031231.jpg

It's a new interface that looks more orderly than before. The architecture remains very much the same. But there's a strong emphasis on photojournalism!

If it was you, Mishar, thank you!

* * *

Mishar emailed this blogger at 21:21:01 last night, a couple of hours after this blog entry went up:

Dear Jeff,

I can't take the credit for NST Online's new look because I'm no longer its editor although I had plans for the makeover when I was still there before they transferred me back to the News Desk during the fasting month.

The credit should go to the new team led by E. S. Tung, a former NST City sub-editor, and his bunch of young designers and programmers.

Credit should also go to the E-Media team of general manager Akram Mohamed, chief programmer Bakhtiar Hamid and programmer/designers Zarimah Ali and Husna Sarirah for their inputs.

All the same, kudos to the team. I believe Mishar shares my advocacy for a newspaper's online strategy as I noted he also believes that the web version should "serve as the primary conduit for news, information and value-added services while its bricks-and-mortar brethren is where readers get analysis, commentary and features, even if it appears in Page 1."

Many thanks for the input, Mishar.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 31, 2003 07:49 PM
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Lim Goh Tong retires

Lim Goh Tong, 85, founder and patriarch of the Genting Berhad Group, has retired effective today.

It is understood that the company made the announcement at a press conference this morning, but the news was embargoed until 5pm to comply with KLSE ruling.

According to a statement issued by Genting Berhad deputy chairman Mohammed Hanif Omar, the board of directors has accepted Lim's request to retire as a Director and the Chairman of the company.

Lim has also resigned as executive director of Asiatic Development Berhad effective today.

In a separate statement, Genting Berhad also announced that the President and Chief Executive, Lim Kok Thay, 52, has been appointed the Chairman of the company with effect from January 1, 2004. He is a son of Lim Goh Tong. His designation will be Chairman, President and Chief Executive of Genting Berhad.

In recognition of Lim as the founder of the Genting Group, the Board has proposed to appoint him as "Honorary Life Chairman" of the company.

In view of that, corporate governance procedure would require the company to take the necessary steps to seek shareholders' approval to amend the Articles of Association of the company to provide for such honorary post at a general meeting to be convened later.

Lim Goh Tong:
Founder of the Genting Berhad Group. He is a Director of Kien Huat Berhad and the Chairman of Lim Foundation, a charitable foundation established by him and his family in Malaysia.

Lim Kok Thay:
Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of London.
Working experience and occupation : He is also the Chairman, President and Chief Executive of Resorts World Bhd, the Joint Chief Executive and a Director of Asiatic Development Berhad and the Chairman of Genting International PLC. He is the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Star Cruises Limited. In addition, he sits on the boards of other Malaysian and foreign companies. He has served in various positions within the Group since 1976. He also sits on the Board of trustees of several charitable organisations in Malaysia.

Directorship of public companies:
1. Resorts World Bhd("RWB")
2. Asiatic Development Berhad ("ADB")

* Posted by jeffooi on December 31, 2003 05:23 PM
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Forgotten badminton heroes

You would be able to see this picture at the lobby of a family-owned resort in Pangkor run by Tan Yee Khan.

ThomasCup_1967.jpg

The 1967 picture (above) shows Yee Khan (second from right) with Yew Cheng Hoe, Tan Aik Huang, Teh Kew San, Khir Johari and Billy Ng on the tarmac of the Subang Airport, triumphantly holding the Thomas Cup, having beaten Indonesia 6-3 in Jakarta.

To the present generation, Citizen Nades says, the faces and the names will never ring a bell. All of them were plain "Encik" and remain so except for Khir, who was made a Tan Sri some 10 years ago.

Today, Citizen Nades devotes his last column for 2003 to the forgotten badminton heroes. For bringing back the Thomas Cup, each member of the team was rewarded with a Rolex watch worth about RM260 at that time.

The columnist, who visited Yee Khan recently, says the photo was just distant memories for the forgotten badminton hero. Excerpts:

There was a tinge of sadness (not bitterness) when he talked about those glorious days. They, he said, were full of sorrows.

And what did he ask for contributions?

"Nothing."

Didn't the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) have anything to offer?

"Nothing. When Boon Bee and I were inducted into the All-England Hall of Fame in 1998, we were asked to come to Kuala Lumpur for the ceremony.

"There was no hotel accommodation. Nothing.

"When a BAM official asked how he could help, I told him that three of us being civil servants - Kew San, Boon Bee and myself - be given our last drawn salary as our pension.

"(Then BAM president) Datuk Fadzil Che Wan asked me to talk to Datuk S. Samy Vellu about it," Yee Khan said with a chuckle.

To my knowledge, Boon Bee was a meter-reader with Tenaga Nasional (his last-drawn salary won't be as high as a director-general's). Kew San has coached his son Thomas Teh Cheang Hock, a deaf, to help Malaysia win three gold medals and one silver at the Sixth Asia Pacific Games for the Deaf in Taiwan in 2000, and two silver medals in the singles and doubles in 2001 World Games for the Deaf in Rome, Italy.

The BAM has since been put under the leadership of Mohd Nadzmi B Mohd Salleh of NadiCorp Bhd.

Famous last words from Citizen Nades: At a time our sportsmen are being rewarded with cash and property for mediocre performances, it's a pity that those who gave their blood, sweat and tears for the country have been forgotten.

"Perhaps, Yee Khan and company were champions in the wrong era, but it's not too late to acknowledge their contributions.

Let's make that a New Year wish for 2004.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 31, 2003 01:26 PM
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Zam's New Year gift

Deputy Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin (Zam) said RTM will broadcast a segment titled: 'Wajah Sebuah Parti' starting January 5 to 'expose to the rakyat the attitude and behaviour of PAS leaders who are fond of disparaging and belittling others.

Zam said PAS has used Islam as an opium to disable the rakyat. Via Utusan Malaysia:

"Segmen ini bukan kita buat-buat dan tokok tambah, tetapi dipetik daripada apa yang pemimpin berkenaan ucapkan. [...]

"Ia tidak lain kerana politik kebencian yang ditanamkan oleh Pas termasuk yang terbaru menuduh orang Melayu sebagai Yahudi kerana tidak sokong negara Islam yang dibawa oleh Pas,'' katanya.

Tambah beliau, Pas hari ini jelas mempergunakan Islam untuk mempengaruhi rakyat dengan mengetepikan prinsip dan ajaran Islam yang sebenar.

Katanya, jika Islam yang diperjuangkan parti Pas itu benar ia tentunya akan membawa lebih kemakmuran dan ketaqwaan umat Islam di negara ini.

"Sebaliknya Pas gunakan Islam sebagai candu untuk melalaikan rakyat dengan perkara-perkara yang mereka bawa, tidak perlu berusaha gigih tetapi duduk dan dengar sahaja apa yang pemimpin mereka kata," ujar beliau.

Tit-for-tat, I expect Harakah and PAS propagandists to put up a good fight in opinion-shaping, from now till the next general election.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 31, 2003 07:42 AM
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Same old Star?

Singapore Straits Times predicted that there would be few significant changes in editorial policy for The Star when Wong Sulong, 56, takes over as its Group EIC tomorrow.

Traditionally, the top editor of The Star, with its wide Chinese readership, has always taken a much lower profile than that of the New Straits Times, where former (Singapore) Straits Times correspondent Datuk Kalimullah Hassan is set to take over as Group Editor-in-Chief in the New Year as well.

While Wong Sulong declined to comment on his appointment, Wong Chun Wai, 42, deputy Group EIC II from tomorrow, told Straits Times correspondent Leslie Lau that The Star would widen its coverage to attract more Malay readers to the MCA-owned newspaper.

'At one time, it was predicted that the readership of English-language newspapers would decline because of the increase in the number of Malay-educated Malaysians but that has not happened,' he said.

He said The Star has seen tremendous growth in the number of Malay readers and would continue to position itself as an alternative to the New Straits Times and Malay daily Utusan Malaysia, two newspapers controlled by Umno, for political and entertainment stories.

Are Malay readers turned-on via political and entertainment news alone? Surprisingly, with the emergence of Melayu Korprat, Chun Wai didn't say a thing about the business-sheets that are in for a keen 3-corner fight among StarBiz/BizWeek, The Edge/FinancialDaily and NST-Business Times.

The Edge FinancialDaily today carries an InsiderAsia report produced by Asia Analytica Sdn Bhd, an investment adviser licensed by the Securities Commission, on the relavent topic:

"... the race to gain circulation will no longer be hampered by (NSTP's) political affinity, but will be driven primarily by content.

We expect business content - rather than politics - to be the key for urban readers, given the recovering economy and stockmarket. In this respect, Kalimullah's experience in both the media and corporate world augers well."

Frankly, I look forward to the battle of wits among the new helmsmen, namely Wong Sulong, Ho Kay Tat and Kalimullah. Only one among them has clocked in as journalist cum businessman.

That, I heard, was what gave Chun Wai's chief the mounting pressure. Now, read on for a brief bio on Wong Sulong as a journalist.

Wong Sulong as a journalist

Datuk Wong started his career with The Straits Times in 1966, working for 2 1/2 years in the newspaper's Kuala Lumpur office.

He then spent more than 20 years here (Malaysia) and in Australia as a correspondent for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), as well as the local representative here for the Financial Times.

In 1996, he became The Star's Business Editor.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 31, 2003 07:21 AM
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Form and Substance

I find this posting by reader fashiondesigner (December 31, 2003 01:52 AM) to the Conversations section of 'Mati Adat, Hidup Islam' both amusing and thought-provoking:

The form is "Pakai Tudung" but the substance is "Tutup Aurat".

"Pakai Tudung" for me is only a strategy to "Tutup Aurat".

If the objective of the clothing is to "Tutup Aurat", then unfortunately, the Malays in Malaysia has not been creative in achieving this goal differently. I think clothing such like those worn by little red riding hood can also serve the same objective. Or consider the spaceman costume - I am sure it will serve the same purpose. Suppose that we were to send man or woman to MARS in the year 2020, then "Tudung" become irrelevant.

The tricky part is: What is this thing called "aurat"? If it really means - "part of the women torso that can excite the libido of men". Sorry to say that a women's neck doesnt excite me - thus is not aurat for me. Sorry to admit this - a 55 year old lady who wears G-string will also not arouse me - thus not "aurat" to me but maybe for a 25 year sexy beautiful girl. I think aurat should be defined as - "part of the women torso that can excite the libido of MUSLIM men".

Tricky -eh?

IMHO, tempted with lust, iman - and in its equivalent in all semantics - is the real test for all men irrespective of their religions.

Taqwa, which may thwart lustful adventures, could be strong due the culture of god-fearing while iman comes from innate acculturation in oneself, due to the god-loving urge in him. The objective may be the same, the path starkly different.

Admittedly, I need to contemplate on this further. I will stay sober in the countdown to 2004 tonight.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 31, 2003 06:55 AM
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Tuesday, December 30, 2003

English: PMR, SMS and Internet

UPDATED VERSION. There is a 1.8% decline in English language passes in the Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) examination this year.

Education director-general Abdul Rafie Mahat blamed it on the short messaging services (SMS) and Internet. He said the students were "economising words and phrases" in their answer scripts which "clearly show they have overlooked the basic rules of English". Students used short form when writing, the education administrator said.

Education Minister Musa Mohamad said today, via Bernama:

"The lowering in performance by 1.8 per cent is not a significant lowering. So let's not be unnecessarily alarmed and start finding all sorts of reasons for the downward spiral. It is not a downward spiral," he said after a visit to the Education Ministry by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

I am devoting the MoE DG (an education expert?) a message which I culled from all places... the Internet:

The English Language

Let's face it - English is a crazy language.

There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.

We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices?

Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend, that you comb through annals of history but not a single annal? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? If you wrote a letter, perhaps you bote your tongue?

Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? Park on driveways and drive on parkways?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race (which, of course, isn't a race at all).

That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it, but when I wind up this essay, I end it.

Thanks Danny Khoo for sharing your English. The MoE DG should dine at your place to pick up the finer points in the language.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 30, 2003 03:58 PM
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Rocky plays safe

It's a supposed to be a story about its own parent company.

But, as today's Malay Mail goes to print this morning, its Page 3 will lift a Bernama story to announce the appointment of Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan as the Group EIC of the NSTP Group.

Probably Rocky wants to make sure that he is politically correct. And more - the caption for DKL's photo is:

ABDULLAH: Out.

Thanks little bird for the pointer.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 30, 2003 08:04 AM
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Go... No Go?

Via The Star, December 29:

Malaysia will join relief crews worldwide being sent to Iran, following the devastating earthquake that killed tens of thousands of people in the south-eastern part of the country on Friday.

The Special Malaysian Disaster Relief and Rescue Team (SMART), which will leave in the next few days, is one of the efforts taken by the Malaysian government, following Iran’s call for international help.

Via Utusan Online, December 30:

The SMART team's mission to Iran to join relief crew worldwide in the earthquake-hit Silkroad city of Bam has been cancelled.

The Malaysia SMART team comprising 26 members was originally scheduled to leave from the TUDM airport, Subang at 8pm last night.

However, it was postponed for 24 hours as the TUDM aircraft failed to get clearance for airspace over Maldives and Sri Lanka.

Subsequently, team commander DSP Ahmad Zailani announced that he has been instructed by the SMART HQ to cancel the mission around 9pm last night.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 30, 2003 08:00 AM
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Cheaper cars?

If Pak Lah kept to his timeline, he must make an announcement on the tariff structure for the automobile industry in less than 48 hours.

Earlier, the government has said that it would announce by year-end the 2004 tax structure as a temporary bridging measure running up to the full implementation of the Asean Free Trade Agreement (Afta) in 2005.

To Joe-Public, what we want is cheaper car. The expectation is that there will at least be a 10 to 15% price drop for new cars in 2004.

The understanding is that excise duties, which are meant to make up the difference in price from import duties, should not discriminate between local and foreign carmakers, as long as 45% of the manufactured product comprises products made in Asean countries.

Diana Oon Abdullah has a story in Singapore Business Times yesterday, which reflect the general industry and consumer sentiments:

Despite improving economic growth and a stronger domestic economy, motor sales have dipped throughout this year as potential buyers held off purchases in expectation of cuts in car prices.

None has been hit worse than Proton, the national carmaker. Sales of the marque were down 18 per cent in the first ten months of this year, to just under 137,000 units against 166,000 in the same period last year.

The drop in sales has come despite government assurances that there will be no price changes, and that the implementation of Afta will be price neutral. No amount of statements to the contrary has dampened expectations.

November's passenger vehicle sales fell 16 per cent year-on-year to 24,210 units, and sales in the first 10 months of the year were 11 per cent lower than the year before.

Industry observers and analysts who support the view that prices of foreign cars will come down, by perhaps 10 to 15 per cent, support their argument with what has happened in the past year.

They argue that import duties, which at the moment are on a sliding scale of between 42 and 80 per cent for completely-knocked-down vehicles, must have already been levied on the lower end of the scale as foreign carmakers have been offering price discounts this year.

Sales of non-national cars jumped by 60 per cent in the first ten months of this year, chipping away at Proton's monopoly of the passenger car market.

Read these for context.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 30, 2003 07:41 AM
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Monday, December 29, 2003

A snub for SMAB

If this Reuters dispatch at noon is true, Putrajaya must have snubbed SMAB (Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary) in less than 24 hours.

Sarawak Hidro, manager of Southeast Asia's largest hydroelectric dam, will delay a planned 3.0 billion ringgit (US$789 million) bond sale by at least one to two months, sources said on Monday.

The company, majority owned by the Ministry of Finance but due to be taken over by tycoon Syed Mokhtar Albukhary, had intended to sell 2.5-3.0 billion ringgit of AAA government-guaranteed Islamic bonds by the end of this year.

But sources close to the deal said it had still not obtained government backing for the proposed paper needed to fund the long-delayed $2.4 billion project. [...]

Affin Bank Bhd , Bank Islam Malaysia and CIMB Bhd are the three lenders arranging Sarawak Hidro's bonds.

State pension manager, the Employees Provident Fund, is expected to buy the bulk of the long-dated issuance.

Sunday, Dubai-based businessman Mohamed Ali Alabbar Alabbar and SMAB squeezed themsleves into a 20-minute meeting with Pak Lah, who is also the Finance Minister, after the PM officiated a Felda function at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC).

Ali Alabbar, the UAE investor touted as GULF International Investment Group Capital Sdn Bhd's (GIIG Capital) joint partner, immediately told the press that the US$2 billion (RM7.6 billion) aluminium smelter project in Sarawak will proceed as schedule the latest by 2005.

Related to this, earlier this year, GIIC Capital bought 60% of Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd, the Bakun dam project owner, construction overseer and eventual operator.

Development related to SMAB: Today, MMC responded to a KLSE query dated 27 December 2003 in relation to the article appearing in The Star, Bizweek (Page 3 Dec 27: "Will Maersk go for PTP's IPO plan?") and denied reports of plans to list Port of Tanjung Pelepas. It also said the company has no intention of divesting its 38% shareholding in Malaysia Smelting Corporation Berhad.


UPDATE, December 30 7:35am: There's a silver lining beyond the dark cloud for SMAB.

The NST-Business Times reported that the Securities Commission (SC) has approved Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s disposal of a 40% stake in Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd to Bukhary Capital Sdn Bhd for RM206.8 million cash in a sale involving 90.34 million shares of RM1 each.

The SC has also approved the proposed disposal of 67.75 million shares by Commerce Asset-Holding Bhd (CAHB), representing a 30 per cent stake in Bank Muamalat, to Bukhary Capital for RM155.1 million cash.

The approval is subject to the condition that Khazanah/CAHB/Bukhary Capital fully comply with any conditions imposed by the relevant authorities with regard to the proposals. The Foreign Investment Committee does not object to the proposal.

The moral of the story is that,

  1. SMAB has to put the money on the table for his business proposals presented to the government, and burden himself with the business risk.

  2. The days of playing up the numbers and de facto public funding may be over.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 29, 2003 05:42 PM
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Kalimullah, confirmed!

Four days ago, December 26, this blogger was the first non-journalist to pinpoint December 29 as the date for the appointment of Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan (picture below) as NSTP's Group EIC.

TheEdgeDaily.com reported at 4.02pm that the NSTP board had approved his appointment today.

Singapore Straits Times' Brendan Pereira also mentioned the exact date, one day later than Screenshots, on December 27.

The NSTP today informed the KLSE that Kalimullah has been appointed as the executive director and the Group Editor-in-Chief of The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad with effect from 1 January 2004.

In an earlier announcement, the NSTP also informed the KLSE that Abdullah bin Ahmad has resigned as Executive Director with effect from 1 January 2004.

Thanks the little bird who gave me the surer-than-sure insider tips.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 29, 2003 05:09 PM
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Police, the next reform target?

NST's Tony Emmanuel got the scoop yesterday!

Today, via Bernama, PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said a royal commission will be set up to study and recommend steps to enhance the capability of the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM).

This is the gist of the PM's latest imperative:

"The PDRM, as a force that deals with the public, must be well-versed in human rights when discharging its duties and dealing with members of the society.

Issues like police brutality, poor service, corruption and other negative traits must be eradicated," he said when opening the conference of police commissioners/police chiefs, General Operations Force brigade commanders/commandants, here (Putrajaya).

The PM disclosed that he had discussed the matter with Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, Chief Secretary to the Government Samsudin Osman and Home Ministry Secretary-General Aseh Che Mat. All the details are being finalised before presentation to Yang di-Pertuan Agong for his consent.

Sean Yoong of Associated Press explains the function of a Royal Commission in the Malaysian context:

Royal Commissions are sub-judicial inquiries ordered by governments that use a British-based legal system and are usually carried out in a court-like setting by former high-ranking judges to investigate issues of great public interest.

Malaysia's last Royal Commission was into the beating of former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim while in police custody in 1998, and recommended that former national police chief Abdul Rahim Noor face criminal charges for the attack.

Today, however, the PM did not give precise details of the royal commission's duties or cite specific allegations it would investigate.

Contrast this with what Tony Emmanuel said in New Sunday Times yesterday:

IF whispers in the corridors of "Peace Hill" (Bukit Aman) are anything to go by, the three-day CPOs meeting, which ends with a New Year's Eve gala event, is expected to be an interesting affair.

While it is still not known if golf would be part of the programme, it is understood that policemen would be urged to watch more television.

The TV viewing list will include investigative drama series CSI, The Shield, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and World's Wildest Police Videos.

It is hoped that by watching these programmes, policemen and the public can better understand the limitations and expectations on both sides of the law.

(IGP) Bakri (Omar), known not to mince his words, will set the pace and direction for police in the new year, the 197th since inception of the force.

Already, following his appointment as IGP on Nov 6, the Government announced a salary revision for policemen under a new service scheme to take effect on Jan 1. [...]

After having salaries reviewed, Bakri is to discuss discipline.

The number of detainee deaths in lockups, and the "coming back to life" of the M-16 Gang which was said to be packing more firepower, does not reflect well on the force. [...]

At the same time, CPOs must have their say over promotions for suitably-qualified officers. They must also look into transfers and matching the right officer for the job.

Of what use are crime-busters if they are assigned to Logistics and Licensing departments in Perak and Terengganu or asked to lecture at the Senior Police Officers College in Cheras? Similarly, policemen trained in forensic sciences should not be doing desk jobs.

Is it because Kalimullah has taken up his new job at the NST and has stopped feeding the scoop that The Star missed out the story today and yesterday - except for year-end police personnel transfer?

* Posted by jeffooi on December 29, 2003 04:20 PM
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Rescue: People, animal & science

Via Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), December 28, 17:03:19hr:

Rescue workers have managed to save the lives of more than 1,000 inhabitants of Bam, who had been buried under rubbles in historical city of Bam, which was rocked by a strong earthquake early Friday morning.

The team of rescue workers from Iran and 21 other countries saved the victims using sniffer dogs and sophisticated electronic instruments.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 29, 2003 01:50 PM
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Mati Adat, Hidup Islam

I have stopped reading Shamsul Akmar a long while ago, but reader Paul Warren alerted me to relook at his column in New Sunday Times yesterday. It was very thought-provoking.

In the Op-Ed piece titled "Religion, rather than ‘adat’, leading community now", Shamsul went back to the foundation of adat that made the Malay race. "So firmly did Malays of those days follow their adat that it gave rise to the saying biar mati anak tapi jangan mati adat (let the child perish but not the custom)," he said.

Shamsul referred to Adat Melayu Serumpun, a book compliled by Dr Abdul Latiff Abu Bakar, a member of the Melaka Museum's board of directors, with contributions from Malay intellectuals and academicians, to lend an authoritative view about the customs practised in the Malay archipelago during the Melaka sultanate.

He said, the book has extensive references on how adat (custom) had influenced and shaped the direction of Malay nation states.

He said, a phrase used on the book cover, adat bersendi syarak, syarak bersendi kitabullah (customs propped up by religious laws, religious laws propped up by the Book, in this case the Quran) is very telling.

However, the phrase also accents the change that has taken place in the inner sanctum of the Malay mind. Adat Melayu is anything but pronounced dead. In came the transplanting with Islam.

These are some of Shamsul's interesting paragraphs:

Much as these intertwining of adat and Islam has persisted till today, there have been attempts to separate the two by Islamists.

Though it can be argued that some aspects of adat are nothing less than a direct affront to the principles and teachings of Islam, it can also be argued that adat ensured the archipelago was a fertile land for Islam to flourish. [...]

But what of the adat that should continue to be promoted in the present day drive towards Islamisation? The Malay adat is not lacking for it has all the universal values of love, compassion, humanity, respect for elders, humility, moderation in all aspects of life, fairplay, justice, generosity, integrity, pride, and sense of shame.

After reading the book, one feels that much of these values seem to have eroded away if not removed from Malay Muslims of today who are perceived to be more aware of religious requirements.

It is not a trip of nostalgia but it is a question of why it is that adat cannot flourish in the present day "Islamic environment" when Islam could flourish in the "Malay environment" of the past? Fingers are pointed at the social-political evolution the Malay Muslim community went through over the years.

In the past, it was Malay nationalism steeped in adat that led the community forward. Now it is religious consideration which is providing the thrust.

The signs are out there, according to Shamsul. They are no more complicated than a debate of form over substance.

These changes are obvious. Gone is the selendang, the cloth used by Malay women to cover their head, and in comes the tudung, the headscarf.

The baju melayu, the traditional attire worn by Malay men, is competing with the jubah, the flowing Arab robe, that seems to denote religious piety.

While such a viewpoint may be deemed simplistic, these changes have affected almost all levels of Malay society.

Shamsul quoted an anonymous consultant with a Government think-tank, who observed:

"Most of these changes can indeed be superficial. Take the tudung, for example. While it is accepted as a religious requirement, many of our womenfolk are wearing it as a representation of religious awareness.

"I have nothing against that. However, to force the use the tudung, either by legislation or peer pressure, is something which should not be encouraged.

"Wearing the tudung then becomes a mere form without any substance. There could be cases of Muslim girls with the tudung indulging in vice and this, when publicised, could affect Islam." The consultant said the tudung was only one example of form being emphasised without first ensuring that substance becomes the essence.

"If substance is of the essence among Malay Muslims, then form is a natural progression. There is no need for laws and peer pressure. Here is a case of putting the cart before the horse."

You may think that the issue of "enforced" tudung seem strivial but it had caused much debate not only within Malaysia but also in Singapore and Europe. But how do the Muslims react to this?

According to Shamsul, most Malay Muslim writers tend to stay away from questioning the wisdom of enforcing the wearing of the tudung though they may be in the forefront opposing any move to stop Muslims from wearing the headscarves in public schools.

This, he said, is proof that the manner most Malays treat each other had also departed from much of the adat, as exemplified by the politicians during the 1999 general election. I quote Shamsul again:

It was one election when anything went, with Malay politicians, from those without Islamic credentials to those revered as tok guru or ulama (religious experts), making vitriolic political statements, some of which are not fit to be printed.

If politicians without Islamic credentials had acted in this way, it would have been something expected of them.

But when tok guru themselves so behave, what hope then is there for the religious and adat values of Malays? All these reflect on form rather than substance. [...]

But somehow or other, Malays seem to be able to overlook such aspects and are still comfortable with these developments... it is possible that such indifference could very well be caused by the erosion of adat.

All these do not paint a nice countenance of modern Malays.

General election is coming again. Will the Malays continue to be indifferent to the looming death of their adat the way it started five years ago?

To seek wisdom that may lead to some answers, Shamsul invites you to visit the Melaka Museum. "They are lucky though for there is still the statue of the Malay warrior in Malacca who has that kind face for reflection," he concluded.

For those who know, the statue of the Malay Warrior is marked with a plaque which reads: "Malacca Sultanate: 1400-1511". Next to it are respective statues of a Portuguese man (1511-1641), a Dutchman (1641-1824), a Briton (1824-1957) and a Japanese soldier (1942-1945).

Life is a paradox, but it can't be the case for adat unless it's long dead without your realising it.

That was my impression after reading Shamsul.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 29, 2003 07:37 AM
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Blacksheep spotted!

This blogger has been alerted by Malaysian Business section editor Habhajan Singh that his email address - hab@beritapub.com.my - has been used by a third person - nicknamed habringer - without his prior knowledge and consent to post messages disparaging other journalists in the Conversations section in two of my blog entries:

Habhajan had discussed the issue with his editor and colleagues at Malaysian Business, with whom I have a 3-year professional relationship as a columnist in the fortnightly journal. In the interim, Habhajan has given me the authority to expose such act of malice as he has never and will not be posting to this blog.

Meanwhile, I have compiled the digital trail left by the imposter, down to the Streamyx sub-net and node from which the imposter logged-in to the Internet with relevant time-stamp. I shall reveal just four of the recent ones:

- 2003-12-26 20:55:27 via IP Adress 219.92.18.22
- 2003-12-27 21:02:51 via 202.188.72.184
- 2003-12-25 22:13:23 via 202.188.72.238
- 2003-12-25 10:18:53 via 202.188.72.70

Should the complaint escalate to the authorities - including but not limited to the ISP, the police (digital forensics and digital crimes), and the Malaysian court of law - I shall endeavour to cooperate fully by submitting the digital trails I have compliled on this imposter as a Friend of the Bench to ensure justice takes it due course.

I shall proceed with contacting the following person to whom the APNIC block of IP addresses ranging 219.92.0.0 - 219.93.255.255 has been assigned:

person: Ainol Shaharina Sahar
address: 4th Floor, Block C5, CCL Plaza,
address: Jalan SS6/12, 47301 Petaling Jaya,
address: Selangor
country: MY
phone: +603-78043106
fax-no: +603-78042204
e-mail: ainol@tm.net.my
nic-hdl: AS115-AP
mnt-by: TM-NET-AP
changed: azmi@tm.net.my 20000502
source: APNIC

While the imposter has the liberty to ignore the fact that there's even honour among thieves, he should remember that he should bear all consequences for breaking ranks from the fraternity of scribes.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 29, 2003 06:46 AM
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Sunday, December 28, 2003

After 20 minutes with Pak Lah and he says...

Alabbar_20031229.jpgDubai-based businessman Mohamed Ali Alabbar Alabbar (picture left via NST-Business Times) and bumiputra supertycoon Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary had a 20-minute meeting with Pak Lah, who is also the Finance Minister, after the PM officiated a Felda function at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) yesterday.

Ali Alabbar, the UAE investor touted as GULF International Investment Group Capital Sdn Bhd's (GIIG Capital) joint partner, immediately told the press that the US$2 billion (RM7.6 billion) aluminium smelter project in Sarawak will proceed as schedule the latest by 2005. Via Bernama:

"I think we (the company) should give the government some time to understand our project and its effect on the economy," Alabbar said, adding that the government has been very supportive.

"Everything is on track. The technology (for the smelters project) from China is very attractive," he added.

Taking the unilateral announcement from a foreign merchant - much in the same manner the double-tracking rail contract was awarded to MMC-Gamuda - Pak Lah has to be careful in convincing the rakyat that the Malaysian government still resides in Putrajaya and nowhere else.

Time check: The PM's honeymoon expires in 34 days' time.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 28, 2003 11:08 AM
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A. Kadir Jasin in circulation again!

Former NST Group EIC, A Kadir Jasin, writes a long political commentary in Mingguan Malaysia - half of ad-free Page 6 with a mugshot - today. He thinks the yadda yadda on the MCA-Gerakan merger could be a reality despite the gimmicky glimpses.

Interestingly, Mingguan also skillfully balances his analysis with the viewpoints (Page 7) from Prof. Madya Dr. Oong Hak Ching, a history lecturer from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) whom the paper describes, arguably, as a historian who is well-versed with political development in the Chinese community since the pre-Merdeka days.

Dr Oong says it's a 'cerita biasa' which Chinese intellects and the grassroots don't even talk about.

Is A. Kadir in the good books again since his fallout with Umno? The timing of his guest writing in Utusan/Mingguan, and the visual treatment, baffled me a little.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 28, 2003 09:55 AM
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Movers & Shakers 2004?

I must admit my last post Movers & Shakers 2003 was intended to trigger some cerebral diarrhoea on how people perceive Corporate Malaysia, but many chose to shoot from the hip. That's fine by me, as the more we discourse, we'll get refined along the way.

So, many thanks folks, for sparing your time and sharing your thoughts. Here's another round to prick your thoughts, moving forward.

The Edge team at Capital Markets and Companies section, headed by Anna Taing, compiled their own list of Top 10 Companies To Watch 2004 while they polled fund managers, analysts, dealers, market players, chief executives etc for the same.

The results are conflicting. The journalists and the analysts concurred only on three companies, namely AirAsia, Measat Global and Southern Peninsular Industries, in alphabetical order.

However, their view is almost unanimous that 2004 will be an exciting year for equities. The dominant theme will be one of change and the emergence of a new group of corporate players (Remember? I mentioned six of the 10 Chinese-Malaysians telescoped as Movers & Shakers 2003 are aging!)

And of course, 2004 is also seen as a year of recovery and growth backdropped against these elements:

  • An improving domestic and global economic climate

  • Diminishing geo-political risks

  • Rising commodity prices

  • Completion of almost all corporate restructuring exercises

  • Cleaner balance sheets, and
  • Expectations of higher earnings growth

Macroeconomic factors are conducive:

  • In Q3 of 2003, the US economy expanded by 8.2%, the fastest in two decades, and 2003 growth is projected at 4%

  • Wall Street has bullish performance, trading for most part above 10,000 points towards year-end

  • Japan economy shows signs of pulling out for stagnation

  • China is strengthening its position as the new economic powerhouse for Asia

Of course, there are an equal amount of down-sides:

  • Potential volatility in the US recovery - the recent slide in greebacks may curtail export growth from Asia

  • Geo-political risks, if US screws up on its foreign policies despite hav9ing captures Saddam Hussein, remain a reality that may disrupt global equities market

On the other hand, stats for domestic economy look assuring:

  • GDP (services and good produced) expanded by 5.1% in Q3, 2003, with entire year GDP growth expected to exceed 4.5%

  • Optimists among our economists say 6% is do-able in 2004

Not forgetting that there are catalysts that may help push the sails, such as:

  • Emergence of a new group of young and dynamic corporate leaders

  • A new prime minister after 22 years, and

  • General election anytime from now

Now, I invite you to park your emotions somewhere else, not that there are of no good, and to try put these companies under your microscope - in the new year - to see the merits if they made it to be Movers & Shakers 2004.

In the final analysis, be prepared to amaze yourselves that our Malay-Malaysian brethren - at least some of them - have been working their way up and must be credited for their skills and leadership. Here's a summary of The Edge's report:

The Consensus:

  1. AirAsia: CEO: Tony Fernandez

    The Analysts: Fast establishing itself as a major budget airline in Asia, piloted by dynamic young entrepreneur.
    The Journalists: Cheap flights for both the passenger and the airline. A great case of having its cake and eating it too.

  2. Measat Global: Majority Owner: Tatparanandam Ananda Krishnan (fondly known as AK to his inner circle)

    The Analysts: Hot birds (satellites), hot slots. Therefore, a growth story.
    The Journalists: It has to be the AK factor.

  3. Southern Peninsular Industries: Owners: The ECM Libra Boyz

    The Analysts: Set to give the big boys in merchant bank a run for their money, powered by three aggressive personalities.
    The Journalists: There are three reasons here. Their names are Lim Kian Onn, David Chua and Datuk Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan.

Analysts' Choice: (in alphabetical order)

  1. Equine Capital: CEO: Patrick Lim
    Market is betting it will redevelop the Penang Turf Club.
  2. Kumpulan Guthrie: New CEO: Datuk Abdul Wahab Maskan
    Turnaround story; new man at the helm.
  3. Naim Cendera Holdings: Chairman: Datuk Abdul Hamed Sepawi; MD Datuk Hasmi Hassan
    Seen as a beneficiary of theincreased government spending on infrastructure in Sabah and Sarawak (RM11 billion allocated under the 8th Malaysia Plan 2001 - 2005).
  4. Scomi Group: CEO: Shah Hakim Zain
    Well connected, seen to be in the right sector (oil and gas) at the righttime.
  5. Sunrise Berhad: CEO Michael Yam
    Entry of new major shareholder Tong Kooi Ong.
  6. Symphony House: CEO: Datuk Azman Yahya
    Azman, Azman, Azman.
  7. UEM Builders: Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop believed to be pulling the strings behind-the-scene
    Jewel in the crown for the restructured UEP Group, touted as a "mini UEM", likely to kick-start Penang's second link project.

Journalists' Choice: (in alphabetical order)

  1. AMMB Holdings: CEO: Tan Sri Azman Hashim
    A takeover story, a turnaround story, a recovery story.
  2. ASTRO: Majority Owner: T. Ananda Krishnan
    It has to be the AK factor, again.
  3. Celcom (Malaysia): CEO: Datuk Ramli Abbas
    Large is beautiful in some cases.
  4. GHL Systems: CEO: Alex Tay Beng Lock
    A growth story, talented management.
  5. KLSE: Yes, it's Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange
    This will be one mamma of a listing story.
  6. Magnum Corp: Pure gaming play parked in a NewCo for now
    A clean-up which will get rid of the clutter and allow its inner beauty to shine through.
  7. Ranhill: President and CEO: Tan Sri Hamdan MohamedThe anointed leader for the second national oil consortium together with Jewala Corp and Crest Petroleum, and holder of Johor water treatment and supply concession, and RM1 billion in Sabah water supply distribution systems. Whoever said oil and waterdo not mix?

End Note: You like to know that in the equity market, Genting and Maybank, though blue-chips, are perceived as expensive and unexciting, while others in the league (Tenaga Nasional, Telekom Malaysia, Sime Darby etc) are regarded as boring.

Nevertheless, names like Gamuda, Maxis Communications, SP Setia and Tanjong Plc still do pop up some analysts and fund managers' radar screen.

My caveat is this: Don't take this blog entry as your investment advisory. We are just here to see beyond human emotions of WHO are making Corporate Malaysia. I leave it to you to discover the KNOW-WHO and KNOW-HOW.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 28, 2003 09:07 AM
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Saturday, December 27, 2003

National Service... Request to postpone

Another earful for Najib the tap-dancer.

Out of the blue, the Jamaah Islah Malaysia (JIM) has requested that the National Service (NS) be put on hold for at least a year until proper planning is done to ensure the success of the programme.

It proposes - yeah, you've got it right - the setting up of another committee to clean up the mess.

Via NST, datelined Kuala Terengganu, 5:28pm:

Its president, Prof Dr Mohamed Hatta Shaharom said a memorandum would be forwarded to the government requesting that a committee be set up to advise and revise the plans for the NS programme as not enough preparation had been done before its implementation.

"The NS seems to be a hastily set up programme without any proper planning or feedback from the general public.

"An important programme such as this should be well-developed and fortified with suggestions and ideas from various sources namely non-governmental organizations (NGO's), political parties, community agencies and Islamic institutions," he said.

But would Najib grab this as a saving grace? Read earlier blog for context.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 27, 2003 05:37 PM
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Movers & Shakers 2003

People who perceived Chinese Malaysians are the ones who control and dominate (ConDom) the country's economy had better think twice.

The Edge (Dec 29 - Jan 11 Year-end Issue) compiled a list of movers and shakers 2003 in the stock market, irrespective of their market worth, the Malays outnumber the Chinese and the Indians 15:10:1.

Here's the list of people who rocked Corporate Malaysia but The Edge didn't qualify its selection criteria:

    Individuals:

  1. Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, Entrepreneur with finger in many pies

  2. Datuk Abdul Wahab Maskan, New CEO Kumpulan Guthrie

  3. Tan Sri SM Nasimuddin SM Amin, one-time "AP King", now head of Naza Group

  4. Datuk Shahril Shamsuddin, 42, Executive VP, Crest Petroleum

  5. Tengku Ibrahim Petra, 48, CEO, Petra Perdana

  6. Shah Hakim Zain, 38, CEO, Scomi Group

  7. Tan Sri Hamdan Mohamed, President and CEO, Ranhill Group

  8. Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani, Group Managing Director, KFC

  9. Datuk Jamaluddin Ibrahim, CEO, Maxis

  10. Tengku Tan Sri Mahaleel Tengku Ariff, CEO, Proton Berhad

  11. Datuk Ramli Abbas, CEO, Celcom

  12. Datuk Seri Adam Sani Abdullah aka George Lin Yong Tong @ Maung Ng We, Chairman, Atlan Holdings

  13. Datuk Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh, Executive Chairman, Nadicorp Holdings

  14. Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, special economic adviser to the Prime Minister, and mentor to new faces in Corporate Malaysia

  15. Datuk Mohamed Moiz JM Ali Moiz, 43, Executive Chairman, Bandar Raya Berhad
  16. Datuk Lin Yun Ling, CEO Gamuda Berhad

  17. Lim Beng Leong, 33, Head of Research, UOB Kay Hian Research

  18. Chua Ma Yu, Chairman, Waterfront

  19. Tan Sri Chan Ah Chye, Executive Chairman, Talam & Europlus group

  20. Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah, Chairman, Sunway Group

  21. Alex Tay Beng Lock, CEO, GHL Systems

  22. Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan, 61, Patriarch, Hong Leong Group

  23. Datuk Patrick Lim, 37, CEO, Equine Capital

  24. Yvonne Chia, CEO, Hong Leong Bank

  25. Datuk George Ting Yew Tong, 57, head honcho, Shakey's Restaurant
  26. Tony Fernandez, 39, CEO, AirAsia

    Companies:

  27. The ECM Libra Boyz, Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan, David Chua and Lim Kian Onn

  28. Bina Fikir (Corporate Consultancy), Azman Mokhtar, Mohd Rashdan Yusof and Mohd Zainal Shaari

    Foreigner:

  29. Mohamed Ali Alabbar, Dubai-based businessman and Syed Mokhtar associate

Those who made a temporary exit:

  1. Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad, ex-NSTP Group Editor-in-Chief

  2. Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, 57, ex-CEO, Kumpulan Guthrie

You would have noticed that, of the ten Chinese individuals profiled, at least six are aging.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 27, 2003 04:23 PM
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ardabili.com, Iran

Iranians frustrated by traditional marriage customs and strict restrictions on mingling with the opposite sex now have a remedy. The Internet.

To be specific, they turn to ardabili.com, a match-making website run by mid-ranking Shi'ite cleric Jafar Savalanpour Ardabili, 38.

He found himself a niche. In a country where many women are forced into marriages brokered by their parents and morals police often close down coffee shops and restaurants where young boys and girls flirt discreetly and exchange telephone numbers, Ardabili sees himself as a bridge between the modern and traditional world.

Via Reuters/Utusan Malaysia. It's not easy to access the website as it's overwhelmed by traffic.

Before this, I have been astounded by the flourishing weblog community in Iran.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 27, 2003 09:06 AM
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Friday, December 26, 2003

Dec 29 on Kali's diary?

The vibes are getting stronger to indicate that next Monday, December 29, will see the appointment of Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan (picture below) as Group EIC for NSTP, filling the void left by DKL who lost his job November 21.

Kalimullah_150x.jpgKalimullah, or Kali as he is fondly addressed by his peers, will probably become the first person to rejoin the world of journalism as a millionaire who has made it in the corporate sector.

December 24, I blogged that if Kalimullah accepted the post - for a Mr Somebody who is already so high up there as the executive chairman and co-chief executive of ECM Libra - it must be due the call for his 'national service'.

The first indication of his call-up was on October 31, the day Dr Mahathir passed on the premiership to Pak Lah. However, the news of Kali preparing for his new job was overwhelmed in the aura of a country in political transition. But, knowing Kalimullah as a veteran media practitioner, it could have been intentionally well-timed to keep things low-keyed.

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT.

I believe when Kalimullah wrote a tribute on the former and present prime ministers (The Star, November 1), he has already put the finishing touches to his own script and readied himself to move on to his next tour of duty.

Observant readers wouldn't have missed out two announcements by Second Board-listed Southern Peninsular Industries Berhad (October 30 and November 3), and two stories in StarBiz, bylined Izwan Idris, October 31.

StarBiz's first story mentioned about the ECM Libra group, a boutique investment banking business that Kalimullah co-founded, was to be listed on the KLSE through a reverse takeover of South Peninsular Industries Bhd (SPI) in a deal worth RM522.3 mil.

The second story traced the backgrounds of the three co-founders of ECM Libra, namely Kalimullah, Chua Ming Huat and Lim Kian Onn - collectively known as the ECM Boyz.

The articles are an immediate reaction to SPI's voluntary disclosure to the KLSE announcing the agreement it has reached with the ECM Boys and ECM Libra group for the reverse take-over (RTO) exercise.

The agreement, which is inter-conditional, involves SPI's acquisition of ECM Libra's financial services businesses for RM330 million, together with the acquisition of BBMB Securities - a stockbroking company with head office in Kuala Lumpur and a branch in Penang - for RM192.3 million from Khazanah Nasional Bhd. SPI will then place out a minimum of RM100 million worth in new SPI shares and apply for a transfer of its listing to the KLSE Main Board.

The purchase would result in the vendors of ECM Libra, Kalimullah, Lim and Chua, having a 62.4% stake in SPI before the RCULS conversion. It was learnt that the vendors will seek a waiver from making a mandatory general offer (MGO) for the remaining shares in SPI.

The announcement, made on a Thursday evening, triggered unusual market activity on the counter on the following Monday, and was queried by the KLSE Listing Compliance Division on November 3 and November 19, respectively.

Sources said, with his appointment as NST's Group EIC, Kalimullah will relinquish his posts as the executive chairman and co-CEO of ECM Libra but will remain as director as shareholder.

However, it is not known whether he will also relinquish his other positions as the chairman of national news agency Bernama and independent non-executive chairman of AWC Facility Solutions Berhad, to which he was appointed on July 7, 2003.

Kalimullah has gone on record by saying that the RTO of SPI would be completed in Q1, 2004.

TOP 10 COMPANIES TO WATCH 2004.

ECM Libra, through its subsidiaries ECM Libra Investment Bank Ltd and ECM Libra Securities Ltd, is involved in providing investment banking services in the region and stockbroking services in Hong Kong.

The group has made big strides after winning a series of major corporate advisory deals recently, which include:

  • Arrangement for a private placement of 120 million shares for YTL Power Bhd

  • Advisor for Maxis Communications Bhd Bhd's placement of 260 million shares at RM5.10 per share, and another 140 million shares for Measat Global

  • Corporate advisor for massive RM3.8bil recapitalisation scheme for Technology Resources Industries Bhd, now Celcom Bhd

Their success in these complex deals had earned them much respect in the local corporate scene as well as some envy among competitors. Although there is skimpy information about the earnings of the ECM Libra group, The Edge (Dec 29 - Jan 11) reported that the group earned RM30 million last year, and expected to make profit of about RM40mil for 2003.

The Edge (Dec 29 - Jan 11) has also named ECM Libra aka SPI as one of the Top 10 Companies to Watch in 2004.

ADDING TO NST'S STATISTICS OF CASUALTIES?

First of all, Leela Barrock has atoned her own speculations on the new Group EIC by renouncing her November 24 list of wannabes: Ahmad A. Talib, Rose Ismail, Munir Majid, A. Kadir Jasin and Dr Noordin Sopiee.

In the year-end double issue of The Edge she writes:

The new head at NSTP will have on his shoulders not just the task of running the group but also of trying to win back interest in the publications produced by the group.

Also, he would be expected to return the group to its heyday as the most profitable media group around. No mean task for anyone, and one made a lot more difficult by the perception that this is a political hot seat.

"The GEIC of NSTP will also have to contend with the surat layang mentality, where people will be just waiting for any wrong move to pounce. This will be a challenge," a pressman says. "Then, there are the various 'camps' thathave been rooting for their own horses and these people will have to be mollified."

All these are set against industry backdrop that The Star shall sustain its dominant position with 81% of the advertising expenditure (AdEx) and the NSTP trailing with 16%. One consolation is that Nexnews, which owns The Edge and theSun, still needs time to strengthen its beachhead after the recently accomplished acquisition exercise.

Consolation two is the government's 5-year anti-dumping duties for newsprint imposed since May 28, 2003, which is perceived as an act to protect one company, Malaysian Newsprint Industries Sdn Bhd (MNI). The duties will impact The Star adversely as it sources over 90% of its newsprint supply from outside, while newsprint consumption takes up someone-third of the total running cost for a newspaper. In contrast, NSTP sources 75% of its newsprint from MNI, of which it is a major shareholder.

NARROWING THE GAP WITH THE STAR.

Will Kalimullah have any fair chance in narrowing the yawning gap with The Star in terms of circulation, readership and AdEx-share?

First, let's take a look at an official biography published October 15, 2003 by a Second Board company he sits on as the independent non-executive chairman:

Dato' Kalimullah started off as a Cadet Journalist with Penang-based National Echo in 1970* (sic), before joining The Star Newspaper as the Chief Reporter in its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

Later, he joined Reuters news agency and the New Straits Times before serving as Press Secretary to the former Deputy Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba. In 1990 he rejoined the media as an Editorial Consultant for the Singapore Press Holdings and in 1995, he left journalism to become the General Manager of FACB Berhad. He left FACB Berhad in 1997 to join Samudra Baru Darul Aman as an Executive Director and in February 1999, he became a Consultant in TA Enterprise Berhad.

He held directorships in MBf Holdings Berhad, FACB Resort Berhad, FACB Industries Berhad, TA Enterprise Berhad, TA Securities Berhad, Botly Securities Sdn Bhd, TA Unit Trust Sdn Bhd, TA Futures Sdn Bhd and TA-OUB Asset Management Sdn Bhd. He resigned from the boards of these companies to focus on his own investment in ECM Libra.

Dato' Kalimullah currently retains his position as Chairman of MBf Capital Berhad and as Director of Taylor's Education Berhad. He was appointed as Chairman of National News Agency Bernama by His Majesty The Yang di-Pertuan Agong for a two-year term beginning September 2002.

Dato' Kalimullah is now the Managing Director of financial services group, ECM Capital Sdn Bhd which owns an offshore investment bank, ECM Libra Investment Bank (Labuan).

UPDATE: * Another source told this blogger that the official bio has got it wrong for the year Kalimullah entered journalism. 1978 could be more likely. If Kalimullah is 45 this year, he can't be a journalist at aged 12! END UPDATE.

A media insider told this blogger that Kalimullah will have quite an easy time to dislodge The Star if he plays his cards well. People in the know say his vast contacts will ensure scoops in both political and business news for the NST.

Interestingly, apart from having a Star history, Kalimullah happens to have two relatives working in The Star. One is Shah A. Dadameah, whose younger sister (Helinna Hanum Dadameah) he wed, and the other is Purwaiz Alam, a chief sub.

I personally look forward to a friendly competition among three papers helmed by two business journalists and one businessman as the respective Group GEICs: Wong Sulong at The Star, Ho Kay Tat at Nexnews and Kalimullah at the NST.

We can only expect nothing less than quality that rules the day.

Read on for additional info on the ECM Boyz.

The ECM Boyz

From StarBiz (October 31): In a recent interview with Star Bizweek, Lim who is ECM Libra managing director and joint CEO, remarked that the group's business model was "driven by individuals":

Chua, who worked previously in First Pacific Securities and Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong, contributes his vast experience in regional equity and debt markets.

Lim, who started his career in London and joined Zalik Securities Sdn Bhd, now known as HLG Securities Sdn Bhd, provides the depth in corporate advisory work.

Kalimullah is a journalist-turned-entrepreneur with wide political and business networks as well as experience in financial services.

Lim owns a 40% stake in ECM Libra, while Chua and Kalimullah hold 30% each.

The group has certainly moved fast. In just a year since the partnership begun, ECM Libra has become an integrated investment banking services group with the combination of solid financial and stockbroking operations.

The proposed acquisition of BBMB Securities would give the partners a strong foothold in the local stockbroking industry, something that had been lacking for ECM Libra despite having similar operations in Hong Kong.

From The Edge Weekly (December 29):

Lim is the corporate finance wizard behind TRI's RM1 billion recapitalisation and restructuring exercise in 2002. (TRI is now known as Celcom). He is also the founding partner of the ECM Libra group. Lim is known to be reserved, the quietr of the three.

Chua is the former head of HLG Capital, ex- of American giant Merril Lynch. He is the second partner of the three and left a lucrative career at the helm of one of Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan's companies to strike out on his own. Then he said, "If I don't do it now, I'll never know if I could have done it." He's the fast-talking, friendly one of the three.

And Kalimullah is the former journalist now turned businessman... now turned very successful businessman.

It is worthy to note that Kalimullah has dispelled the perception of political links at work for ECM Libra in his reply to emailed questions from The Edge (Dec 29).

"knowing people is never a liability. But this perception of political links is a myth. We have not and will never leverage on such so-called linkages to secure transaction."

"We are professionals and want to be known as such. I believe we have individually, collectively and painstakingly achieved that reputation over the years," he adds.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 26, 2003 07:43 AM
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Hail Husam!

November 14, under the blog titled: Trouble for Wong Sulong if Husam can count, I highlighted a PAS MP's debate in the parliament on the controversial double-tracking rail contract, and his presenting of a well-researched argument on the issue which went into permanent record in the Hansard.

Yesterday, December 25, this Opposition MP, Husam Musa (picture below) an economics graduate and a former political secretary to Kelantan menteri besar Nik Aziz Nik Mat, was chosen as malaysiakini’s ‘Newsmaker of the Year 2003’.

Malaysiakini's Newsmaker of the Year for 2001 was de facto Law Minister Dr Rais Yatim, and 2002 was Zainuddin ‘Zam’ Maidin, respectively.

Here's malaysiakini's citation on Husam:

husam_newsmaker_of_the_year_2003.gifHe represents a new breed of politician and is a rising star of his party. Those in government have learnt the hard way to keep a wary eye on him, for he is a dab hand at uncovering what some would prefer to keep buried.

Combining the honed skills of a private eye and a researcher, he has been the year’s most prolific whistleblower. He is hard to ignore, and even harder to silence - and naturally, malaysiakini’s ‘Newsmaker of the Year’.

Husam Musa, 44, has made a name for himself as the opposition parliamentarian with a penchant for painstaking research in proving his point. This elevates him from many who shoot from the lip and are, consequently, easily disregarded by those in authority.

The MP for Kelantan’s Kubang Kerian, he is also a central committee member in PAS. His popularity appears to growing within the party as well. At this year’s general assembly, he beat a number of senior leaders among the 18 candidates to secure the fourth-highest vote.

But it is in the Dewan Rakyat where his oratory has found full play, with his speeches backed with dispassionate facts and figures that cut to the chase in his criticism of Barisan Nasional (BN) policies.

He has repeatedly taken on the government and its decisions to spend billions of ringgit on financially questionable projects - and won several concessions in terms of policy reviews.

And all this, in his first outing as MP after winning a seat in the 1999 general election.

Interviewed by malaysiakini, Husam said: "I have always been interested in figures and think nothing of going through pages and pages of contracts and financial reports because data doesn’t lie."

The following are some of Husam's expose that helped put Malaysia's governance on check:

  1. Target: Mokhzani Mahathir

    Husam exposed Mokhzani Mahathir’s shareholding stakes and post on the board of various profitable companies, hinting at gains from nepotism. The media picked up the issue and the resultant pressure led to Mokhzani announcing that he would divest his interests and quit the domestic business scene, so as not to tarnish his father’s reputation.

  2. Target: National Convention and Exhibition Centre, RM1.2 billion

    Last year, he spoke out in Parliament against a proposal to build a RM1.2 billion national exhibition centre at the site of the former Subang international airport. He got a personal invitation for a chat from Daim Zainuddin, then the finance minister. The project was later shelved.

  3. Target: Bukit Tinggi Casino

    Husam discovered that Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor (a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department) and Pasdec Corporation Sdn Bhd (a subsidiary of the Pahang economic development body) were among major shareholders in Bukit Tinggi Resorts, which holds a licence to operate gaming slot machines in a highland resort in Pahang.

    Armed with documents obtained from the Companies Commission of Malaysia, he revealed that the minister and Pasdec had owned 64 million and 46 million shares respectively in the company.

    Tengku Adnan denied any involvement, while Pahang Mentri Besar Adnan Yaakob failed to defuse the debate started by wagging tongues and wondering minds. Pasdec merely said it had sold its shares.

    Eventually, Mahathir ordered the Finance Ministry to investigate the terms and conditions of the gaming licence, and suspension of the Bukit Tinggi casino operations until the check is completed - it is still in progress.

    Subsequently, Husam wrote ‘Malaysia: Darul Kasino’ to chronicle the government’s ‘role’ in gambling and lottery operations through its various investment arms.

  4. Target: Ibrahim Ahmad, Pak Lah's brother.

    In August, Husam made the connection between the privatisation of the lucrative catering subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and its purchase by businessman Ibrahim Ahmad, who is Abdullah’s brother.

    Ibrahim was believed to be the main shareholder of Gubahan Saujana - which bought into MAS Catering - through his company, Fahim Capital.

    Husam sent Abdullah an official letter seeking clarification, but none came. proceeded to reveal that an ‘unfair’ profit guarantee clause was included in the sale and purchase agreement. Under the clause, Gubahan Saujana was given a 80-85 percent profit guarantee over nine years for its 70 percent share in MAS Catering valued at RM175 million.

  5. Target: Umno Pahang

    At the September sitting of Parliament, Husam was among opposition MPs who forced attention on a shady logging deal. They demanded an official inquiry.

    Husam called a press conference at the Parliament lobby where he distributed copies of a police report lodged against Pahang Mentri Besar Adnan Yaakob, over alleged involvement in the deal.

    The report was backed by several receipts for payments totalling more than RM320,000, which were allegedly made to two of Adnan’s right-hand men. Following intense pressure from opposition colleagues, the Anti-Corruption Agency began investigations.

    This issue is well-chronicled in a series of malaysiakini exclusives.

  6. Target: The RM14.45 billion double-tracking railway contract to MMC-Gamuda JV

    Husam disputed the government’s claim that the "lowest bid" proposed by the local joint-venture partners - he pointed out that the award could not have been based on this criteria because a clause for a variation order had been included, thereby allowing for a mark up later.

    In asking the government to reconsider the decision, Husam expressed concern over possible bilateral and trade repercussions on the diplomatic front. He even visited Indian and Chinese embassies in Kuala Lumpur to get more information.

    Eventually, the government indefinitely postponed the project - a decision which also highlighted the fact that its privatisation programme since the 1980s had cost the country almost RM250 billion.

    "The decision to defer the railway project alone wasted RM4.73 million already spent on the preparatory works along the Ipoh-Rawang stretch, and now made redundant," Husam noted ruefully.

This blogger has been highlighting on the manoeuvres behind the awarding to the double-tracking rail project - in both government and business sheets - that brought blemishes to Malaysia's track record in good governance.

I blogged that, October 23, as news broke on Jamuluddin Jarjis having issued the RM14.448 billion Letter of Award to MMC-Gamuda JV, StarBiz has helped Gamuda Lin to categorically answer two key issues contended by industry players:

StarBiz: Can MMC-Gamuda categorically say its proposal does NOT contain a 30% variation clause the effectively allows the consortium to increase the cost of the project by 30%?

Lin: "Yes. Our price of RM14.448bil is the final price. There is no agreement to vary the price unless the government changes its SoN. "

StarBiz: By bidding for the double-tracking project, is MMC-Gamuda interested in KTM's landbank?

Lin: "I think those who ran KTM previously were interested in what they could do with the KTM land. For us, we told the government: “We are not interested in the land. You take back all the land. We want the rail assets and operate the railways. Just leave us alone to do it.”

The StarBiz-Gamuda Lin testimony was put to further debates in the Parliament.

November 5, two deputy Transport Ministers "testified" on the per-kilometer costing of double-tracking railway and the stats went into the Hansard (DR.05.11.2003, pages 5 -7, and 124 - 127, respectively). One of them admitted to the existence of a variation clause in the LA, though quantum was not specified.

To date, the relevant Hansard record (Nov 5, 2003) has not been challenged or denied.

I have asked StarBiz editor Wong Sulong to come clean with documentary proof to augment Gamuda Lin's claim of non-existence of a variation clause. It has been a deafening silence.

As a taxpayer and newspaper reader, I must credit Husam for putting the record straight on Hansard, and lament the business journalists for not doing so on their sheets.

It's an irony that I can't swallow too easily.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 26, 2003 07:30 AM
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Thursday, December 25, 2003

Mad Cow Disease: Why EU sits still on American incident

At the time I blogged this entry, there were over 3,500 headlines on Google News about the possible outbreak of mad cow disease in Washington state - the first in USA - that potentially roils the beef market.

Just as the US media was asking how mad cow disease - formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) - had breached the US firewall, there is but one particular news item that attracted my attention.

Via New York Times:

The European Union took no immediate action on American beef because Europe already bans most American beef imports in a dispute over the use of growth hormones in the American cattle industry.

Related to the incident that sparked off the scare in the US food supply chain, CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien asked Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman hard questions on governance in the US meat industry:

At the same time, it was certainly surprising to me to learn that a downed cow, or an animal that's so sick it can't even make its way on its own steam to the slaughter, would be killed and then the parts could actually make its way to store shelves. That was surprising to me. Are you convinced that there is no risk for a problem with the meat cuts that end up on store shelves from sick animals like this?

You must read how Dubya's agri secretary dodged the question, twice. It does make America sound like a banana republic in food handling.

Malaysia has joined other countries in banning American beef. We are lucky. The ban would not affect our meat supply as US beef only made up about 0.3% of the total imports.

Meanwhile, the Consumers Association of Subang and Shah Alam Selangor (CASSA) commended the government for taking proactive measures but it also urged the Malaysian authorities not to "downplay" the threat here.

In a statement to www.usj.com.my, CASSA president and legal adviser, Dr Jacob George, asked the government to seek clarifications from American based fast food chains in the country on their source of beef, and if required, to enforce a blanket ban on these outlets.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 25, 2003 02:31 PM
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TNB: Show us the catch, not red herrings

This Saturday, I wish The Edge and Star BizWeek journalists will pit against each other to bring us insightful analyses on the latest moves by Tenaga Nasional Malaysia helmed by Umno protege, Dr Awang Adek Hussin, a.k.a. former Assistant Governor at Bank Negara Malaysia, and former Chairman of the Exchange Committee of the Labuan International Financial Exchange (LFX).

There were two interesting news on TNB early this week:

  1. It is selling assets to pay debts and to fund capital expenditure - valued at RM4.4 billion;

  2. It is being shortlisted for a water desalination and power project in Saudi Arabia - valued at US$1 billion (RM3.8 billion).

I am looking at 6 angles coming from these developments, and need help from our business journalists to educate me, a news junkie, and readers at large:

  1. Asset sales: TNB would its minority stakes in independent power producers (IPPs) to put about RM4.4 billion in its coffers by the middle of next year.

    The RM4.4 billion sales involved disposal of TNB's stakes in Kapar power plant to Malakoff in return for RM3.6bil cash, and the remaining RM800mil would come from the sale of TNB's stakes in Genting Sanyen (20% for RM240mil), YTL Power (71 million shares for RM234mil), and stakes of 20% each in PD Power (to Sime Darby Berhad) and Segari Energy Ventures (to Malakoff).

  2. More asset sales: TNB is expected to complete the disposal of its remaining holding of 31 million shares in YTL Power by the Q1 next year and its stakes in Segari and PD Power by the second quarter. No details on quantum.
  3. Debt repayment: Proceeds from the RM4.4b asset sales would be used to meet the company’s RM1bil debt repayment commitment for the financial year ending Aug 31, 2004.
  4. Debt containment: TNB announced that it did not plan to issue any debt instruments to meet its capital expenditure requirements since it had enough cash to finance its RM4bil capital expenditure for 2004 and 2005.

    It's pertinent to remind ourselves that TNB's total debts currently stand at RM30bil currently, and that they would be reduced by RM1bil to RM29bil next year.

  5. Power purchase: TNB is expected to complete its power purchase agreement with Jimah Teknik Sdn Bhd in Q1, 2004. Jimmah is set to build a 1,400 MW coal-fired power plant in Negri Sembilan.

    December 15, The Edge reported that TNB is saddled with excess electricity supply as high as 40%, one of the highest in its history. This means for every unit of power generated, there is a standby of 40% of power while the ideal reserve margin for a utility company is at 25% or less.

  6. Catching birds in the bush: TNB meted out a smokescreen hinting that an international consortium it forged with Saudi Arabian and US partners, and a local player – believed to be Malakoff Bhd – has been shortlisted for a US$1bil water desalination and power project in Saudi Arabia.

    Again, no quantum was given, but the business sheets have deemed it fit to help spin the story that the winner of the contract is expected to be announced in Q1, 2004.

I reckon only business journalists worth their salts will give us definitive reporting on this. Please show us the catch beyond the red herrings, please tell us what do all these mean.

Meanwhile, I have my eyes trained on TENAGA watch (KLSE: 5347).

* Posted by jeffooi on December 25, 2003 09:18 AM
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e-Fatwa

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yesterday launched the e-Fatwa website, which will act as the official reference site for all fatwas (religious rulings) issued by the National Fatwa Council (Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan).

e-Fatwa will carry complete information about decisions made at the national fatwa level, and those issued by the Mufti Department and gazetted by the state governments in the process for the implementation of law.

The website is developed by Jakim (Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia) and administered by a technical committee comprising officials from various Mufti departments in the country. It demonstrates the process involved before a fatwa is issued.

According to Utusan Malaysia:

Semua fatwa merangkumi bidang termasuk akidah, ibadah, munakahat, zakat, ekonomi dan muamalat selain koleksi fatwa itu dapat membuka ruang kepada umat Islam di negara mengetahui sesuatu hukum dan permasalahan semasa yang sedang mereka hadapi.

The website (URL: http://ii.islam.gov.my/e-fatwa was launched in conjunction with the meeting between the PM and the ulama and religious officers at Institut Kefahaman Islam (IKIM).

The PM said the government will ensure that Islamic subjects taught in schools - including elements like Quranic studies and Arabic language - will produce Muslims equipped with worldly knowledge and imbued with Muslim qualities.

He said the Islamic Education subject must not be isolated under the national education system so that the Muslim students would eventually pursue various disciplines like science and technology, the arts, humanities and vocational subjects to ensure that they would attain progress for a better life.

I reckon Islamic dominion in Malaysia will be decided by de-mystifying Nik Aziz/Abdul Hadi charades and winning over the hearts of the people. The informed society has questioned hard on the validity of fear motivation that allows form to supercede substance.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 25, 2003 08:14 AM
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Veterans Hospital

"That's one euphemism for a 'Swiss bank account.'"

Credit: Peter Eigen (Germany), founder and executive chairman, Transparency International.*

Question 1: Which countries are the big bribe payers and bribe takers?

According to Bribe Payers Index (BPI) 2002 released by Transparency International May 14, 2002:

  • Russian, Chinese, Taiwanese and S. Korean companies widely seen using bribes in developing countries.

  • High propensity to bribe overseas also seen for companies from Italy, Hong Kong, Malaysia, United States, Japan, France and Spain.

  • Construction and arms industries top sectors of heaviest bribery.

Read the TI Bribe Payers Index (BPI) 2002 in full (Words or PDF).

Question 2: How many Malaysians are now inmates in the Veterans Hospital?

I have no answers except leaving you with this clue:

TI-Bribers_2002.jpg Source: TI Bribe Payers Index (BPI) 2002


*Source: Reader's Digest January issue, Malaysian edition (Page 108).

TI’s BPI is based on surveys conducted in 15 emerging market economies by Gallup International Association.

The BPI shows that US multinational corporations, which have faced the risk of criminal prosecution since 1977 under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, have a high propensity to pay bribes to foreign government officials. The US score of 5.3 out of a best possible clean 10 is matched by Japanese companies and is worse than the scores for corporations from France, Spain, Germany, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

The highest scores, indicating the lowest propensity to bribe abroad, were for companies from Australia, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Canada, the Netherlands and Belgium.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 25, 2003 07:14 AM
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Merry Christmas, everyone!

Let's join the world in saying a prayer for peace and harmony.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 25, 2003 06:43 AM
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Wednesday, December 24, 2003

NST GEIC: Kali getting more likely

The latest vibes I got is that Datuk Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan (picture below) looks set to get appointed as Group EIC for NSTP, filling the void left by DKL.

Kalimullah.jpgKalimullah, 45, is currently the chairman of Bernama, and Pak Lah's pointman for media strategies. If he accepts the post, it must be due the call for his 'national service' as he is already so high up there as the executive chairman and co-chief executive of ECM Libra, which has a front as a financial services group.

Kali, as he is fondly addressed by his close friends, has clocked in 25 years as a journalist in Bernama, NSTP, Star, and again NST before joining Reuters and Singapore Straits Times.

He entered the corporate world in 1995.

Is Ahmad A. Talib having bad dreams?

* Posted by jeffooi on December 24, 2003 08:04 AM
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Two men and Gamuda Lin

I had devoted valuable time to blog two important entries this Monday week:

Why you think I had blogged these two long entries for, if not the two men who broke rank from the fraternity of scribes?

I am still disgusted reading what I have read in StarBiz, November 5.

But my belief in our business journalists' ethics has not wavered. Anita Gabriel (Star BizWeek) and Toh Lye Huat (The Edge FinancialDaily) have both displayed professional counterweights to Leela Barrock (The Edge Weekly) and Errol Oh (Star BizWeek), respectively.

You don't have to hit below the belt at your brothers to get noticed by whosoever.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 24, 2003 07:49 AM
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A picture that's worth every second of fear

CY Leow's photoblog: "Snap Shots of Wellington" had received emails asking a tough question:"So what about beautiful Malaysia?"

"Oh that hurts," CY the sifu says. So, he had decided to feature the next few photoblogs with memorable shots he did while in Malaysia, starting with this one: a night shot of Shah Alam.

Shah_Alam_night_450.jpg

Don't ever treat it as yet another postcard because it takes a lot of guts to capture the picture. Hear it from the horse's mouth:

To get this view I decided that I had to get up to the roof of the Blue Wave Hotel (Shah Alam). When the manager took us to the "roof" I nearly had a heart attack!

The roof was enclosed by a two storey high wall (to conceal the air condition evaporators), to see the view below I had to climb up a small metal ladder mounted on the wall and stand on two beams on the top! And I hated height! And how do you carry a huge bag of two camera bodies with drives and five lenses AND a huge Manfrotto tripod up that ladder?

Well, I was lucky to have young photographer Kevin Tan of The Star with me! We made it to the top when there was still light! Thanks Kevin! Rigging the tripod on that ledge was no fun and you had to watch your step or fall to your death! I could kick myself for not bringing a touch light! And you thought pro are well equipped? Ha ha ha... The real horror was to GET DOWN!

Man, I swore I would NOT do that again! Was risking an arm and a leg for this shot. Worth it? ;-)

A photo enthusiast, kdgill/Kev, had this comment after seeing CY's picture:

It's spectacular, beautiful to look at, well composed and exposed, and the comments add interest to an already great picture. Worth every second of fear. :) -- Kev

The night scene was shot with a Canon EOS1n camera with 28-70 zoom on Kodak Ektapress film. Why not digital? CY tells you why... in his Photoblog.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 24, 2003 06:50 AM
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Prof Dr Harchand Singh Thandi

I received several emails from readers who related their privilege as having been a student under Prof Dr Harchand Singh Thandi.

I would like to tell all my fellow 'alumni' - especially my seniors K. Balaguru and Tong Ah On whom I only 'met' through this blog - that Harch has accomplished his mission in life, that all his children have received and completed quality education. They are now repaying the tidings by contributing their bits to society, albeit a global one.

I thought you may, out of the blue, like to send Harch an email and rekindle our privileged relationship with him, no matter where you.

Harch can be reached at his email which I purposely jpg-ed to prevent bots-spamming. Here's his portrait, if your glimpses of him have blurred over the years.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 24, 2003 06:38 AM
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We are very touched

No, the SB boys weren't after me. ;-) I have to apologise for bringing you only two blog enteries yesterday as I had an assignment by day and a private Christmas dinner at a friend's house that didn't end till almost midmight.

I haven't finished reading those hundred-over alert/private emails that this blog generated yesterday, and every weekday. Thank you for your kind and warm rapport. As a blogger, I really treasure that.

And there were so many Christmas and season's greetings for me and family yesterday.

Culturally and traditionally-by-family, we celebrate Chinese New Year. But I would like to thank my readers, who may have mistaken me as a Christian and wished me a Merry Christmas, for having us in your kind thoughts. We are very touched. Thank you so very much.

To those who keep a vigil tonight, please join the world in saying a prayer for peace and harmony. I think we are all true Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and Baha'is at heart.

Merry Christmas all the same!

* Posted by jeffooi on December 24, 2003 06:38 AM
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Tuesday, December 23, 2003

Two men (journalists) and Lee Kim Yew

The two men are Errol Oh, Star BizWeek senior writer, and Toh Lye Huat, The Edge FinancialDaily editor.

They both attempted to give readers some perspectives to what coffee-shop gossips largely regard as the bailing out of Lee Kim Yew of Country Heights fame.

December 20, Oh commented that Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the government's investment arm, has made a puzzling move by paying RM125 million cash in return for loan stocks and a golden share issued by East Vision Leisure Group Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Country Heights Holdings Bhd (CHHB).

In the deal, East Vision Leisure Group is made a special purpose vehicle (SPV) that will eventually own a shopping complex, five office blocks, and a convention centre.

Ultimately, East Vision will buy into the equity of three other units of Country Heights for RM655 million, acquiring the Mines Shopping Fair, Mines Waterfront Park and Mines International Exhibition & Convention Centre, which are part of Country Heights' sprawling Mines Resort City in Seri Kembangan, Selangor.

Of the RM125 million cash received from Khazanah, Country Heights will use RM105 million to pay the lenders, while the rest will be used to refurbish the three properties.

Star BizWeek.

Now the big question. By taking such a position, Oh was asking whether Khazanah has drifted from its corporate objectives: One is to hold and manage investments entrusted to it by the government; Two is to make new investments that fulfil one of three criteria – strategic, high technology and of national interest.

Khazanah is also given leeway to make any other investments that meet the financial criteria as defined; and investments as directed by the shareholder.

Analysts and industry-watchers have pointed out that the three assets cannot, by any stretch of imagination, be considered as strategic, high technology and of national interest.

Unless, of course, bailing out Lee Kim Yew can be considered as being strategic and of national interest.

Excerpts from Oh's analysis:

Last June, Pernas International Holdings Bhd announced a restructuring scheme that included Khazanah taking up a sizeable stake in Arena Target Sdn Bhd, which will end up owning 10 hotels.

However, Khazanah already had an interest in Arena Target because the latter had issued redeemable cumulative convertible preference shares to Khazanah five years earlier. The government investment arm was basically switching status from creditor to shareholder.

This is not the case with the East Vision deal. Khazanah is coming in as a new investor.

Oh has also talked to a property advisory expert who said the properties Khazanah bought into are not exactly prime properties. Please read Oh's story in its entirety to get the details underpinning this statement.

Another point to ponder is that, according to Oh's article, Country Heights' unaudited balance sheet for the quarter ended September indicates that the company had long-term and short-term borrowings of RM1.2 billion, almost double its shareholders' equity.

You may like to ask to whom Country Heights owe that big amount of money, and how Khazanah's 'investment' into the SPV would give Lee Kim Yew the latitude to manoeuvre further? I'll excerpt this part later.

The Edge Financial Daily.

Two days after Oh's story went to print, December 22, Toh came out with a frontpage story, byline to himself, to give Lee his say about the Khazanah deal.

EdgeFD_20031222_LKY.jpgFirst and foremost, from the first paragraph of Toh's story itself, Lee welcomed the entry of Khazanah as a strategic investor for three of its prime properties in a corporate exercise that will also clean up the company’s balance sheet.

With the financial burden taken care of substantially, Lee said the company would now be able to concentrate on its property and resort development business and its medical tourism and time-share operations.

By numbers, this translates to helping CHHB to lower its gearing sharply with its property investment’s debt being reduced from RM850 million to about only RM50 million upon the completion of the exercise. It also has another RM150 million loan taken for its 13 property projects, which have total sales revenue in excess of RM1 billion.

It's good to quote the man himself on how CHHB's debts are taken away with the entry of Khazanah, as told to The Edge FinancialDaily:

He says the negative perception on CHHB’s balance sheet and its RM1 billion gearing will no longer be there with this corporate deal. [...]

He says EVL is the first major step to solve its debt problem by placing three properties, valued at RM655 million, into the company.

Lee says EVL will have a seven-member board comprising two each from Khazanah and CHHB, and one each from the three lender banks.

On the bonds issue, Lee says he now owns 84% of the issue. As for the remaining 16%, CHHB investees are looking at taking it up. At the end of the day, he says the group will be left with some RM50 million debt.

Lee says the three properties would also be able to service the RM25 million interest for the loan stocks.

In the worst case scenario, he says CHHB will still have RM490 million worth of assets if it were to lose the three properties. He adds that the company has the option to redeem the loan stocks.

Frankly, my friends, you have to advise me as I am equally undecided after reading in between the lines for days on the Khazanah's buy-in. Has the Khazanah drifted away from its corporate objectives?

Should I listen to the coffee-shop gossips - some are from merchant bankers and retail investors, and no less amount of loyar buruk.

Or should I disbelieve it's a bail-out of Lee Kim Yew, albeit by another name?

You may like to ask to whom Country Heights owe that big amount of money, and how Khazanah's 'investment' into the SPV would give Lee Kim Yew the latitude to manoeuvre further?

I quote Oh, again:

According to Country Heights, the RM655 million price tag for the three assets works out to approximately RM197 per sq ft of built-up area. The announcement does not provide details such as occupancy rates and financial figures of the target companies.

Following the RM125 million cash injection into East Vision, the SPV will issue Khazanah with redeemable convertible secured loan stocks (RCSLS) of a total nominal value equal to the investment. The RCSLS will have tenure of seven years and a six per cent interest rate.

East Vision will also issue loans stocks to three lenders – AmMerchant Bank Bhd, RHB Bank Bhd (RHB) and Bumiputera Commerce Bank Bhd (BCB). As at October 25, Country Heights owed these lenders almost RM470 million, and these debts are secured over the three assets.

The lenders will get RCSLS with a nominal value of RM295 million as settlement of part of the debts. These loans stocks will have the same tenure and interest rate as those issued to Khazanah. [...]

At the same time, East Vision will issue a second series of loan stocks to the lenders for the remaining outstanding amount. The redemption of the second series is subject to two conditions – that the first series of loan stocks is fully redeemed first, and that the three properties are disposed of for more than RM420 million.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 23, 2003 08:02 AM
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Christmas card

I am not talking about the one Pak Lah sent to those 1,500 'lucky' selected people.

This greeting one, a very special one, is reserved only for me and my family. The sender is my MBA supervisor (Class of 1995/96), Prof Dr Harchand Singh Thandi.

I was almost brought to tears when I received it through the email, via indiaexpress.com. He remembers me after all these years.

Harch_Xmas_20031223_web.jpg

Very fondly, we called him Harch. He was the programme leader who supervised my final year on Strategic Management at RMIT University, Melbourne. Harch is now Senior Lecturer and Supervisor for PhD Programmes at Swinburne University, Victoria.

I respect him as a good man for many reasons, and cherish fond memories of having our durian feast by the roadside in Serdang one evening when he last visited me in 1999.

I shall tuck his kindness warmly in my heart and cherish it always!

* Posted by jeffooi on December 23, 2003 07:00 AM
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Monday, December 22, 2003

Pak Lah reacts to Nik Aziz's statement

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Kelantan menteri besar Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat has insulted the Malays when he likened members of the community who refuse to accept PAS' Islamic state concept to the Jews.

Read earlier blog: Nik Aziz: 'Melayu = Yahudi' for context.

Meanwhile, Malaysia is not alone in rejecting a US report which claimed the country restricts religious freedom.

According to Xinhuanet, China also rejected the US report with "strong displeasure" and "resolute objection".

The annual International Religious Freedom Report issued by the US State Department listed Malaysia alongside Turkey, Russia, Indonesia, Brunei, Belarus, Eritrea, Moldova and Israel as among nine countries with laws or policies that favoured certain religions and placed others at a disadvantage.

The report said such policies curtailed religious freedom, citing for example the difficulty of a Muslim in Malaysia to switch religion.

December 18, according to the NST, Pak Lah "abruptly cut short" the press conference when he was asked by a TV3 reporter to respond to the US report at a Islam related function at PWTC. As he was leaving, journalists heard him saying that he was in no mood to talk about other matters.

The PM had invited US representatives to visit Malaysia and witness the different religions practised freely here, and said: "If I had to say it myself, the representatives would not believe me."

* Posted by jeffooi on December 22, 2003 04:50 PM
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Nades on ethics among journalists

I don't supposed Citizen-Nades reads this blog attentively, but what he writes in his Monday column (Marketing Sense) in The Edge FinancialDaily tells me I am not all alone on an issue journos could choose to sit up or walk away. Excerpts:

But recent claims that selected journalists were offered shares in a company about to be listed on a public bourse has raised serious ethical questions.

While propagating ethical conduct and practices, shouldn't journalists comply with what they preach? Two important questions here:

Would you buy products or use the services of companies which resort to such practices?

While journalists who allegedly accepted the offer have put their credibility on the line, how would you, as a consumer, react? Would you continue buying the paper? Some food for thought on a Monday morning!

Readers who postured as media insiders have reacted to my past two blogs, please take a look:

Meanwhile, another reader NationCom analysed REDtone's prospectus and came out with a perspective that may be good input for you to make an informed decision.

I transcribe hereafter.

Posted by: NationCom at December 19, 2003 07:00 PM

I was analysing their prospectus :-

Redtone International Bhd (RIB) had fully paid 136,920,000 RM0.10 shares, i.e. worth RM13,692,000.

They are selling 31,080,000 RM0.10 shares in this IPO. They want to sell them at RM0.95 a piece. With other right issues, they want to raise RM35+ million.

And interestingly, by announcing a "Bonus issue", they are going to increase a further 84,000,000 shares just prior to the IPO. As a result, there will be 252,000,000 RIB shares.

Look at their financial performance, they are making a pre-tax profit of RM2.923 million from a turnover of RM19.679 million for four months period ending June 2003.

If you assume (just an assumption and there is no guarantee that they will) that they are going to make the simialr amount of profits for the rest of the year, their annual profit will be about 8.7 million. Dividing that by 252 million shares, that works out to be about RM0.0345 a share.

If you assume that their IPO price will start at RM0.90 a piece(this is just a wild guess - assuming it will increase from RM0.63 which is the adjusted ex-bonus IPO price. Again, this is just an assumption and there is no guarantee that an IPO price will go up.), the PE ratio will then be 0.90/0.0345=26 years. In other words, it will take about 26 years to recover the RM0.90 investment.

According to IDC, there are 4 similar Application Service Providers (ASP) each has sizeable market shares and are closely behind Redtone. There are also 50 plus more ASPs doing virtually the same thing with a combined market share of 62% market share. All these do not even include the 4 dominant telcos in Malaysia with much a stronger brand names.

Further more, as the voice market is also going to be further deregulated, one can expect more players and more competitions. As jeff implied, even one day you could be an ASP like RIB, i.e. buy at wholesales rates and sell at retail prices. Easy. There is no reason for you NOT as successful as them !!

Is it a good investment ? Well, conclude for yourself. Read their prospectus carefully. If you are not careful, your investment might well be RIP.

End Note: Reader NationCom expresses his opinion and in no way shall it be taken as this blogger endorses or disagree with his standpoint.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 22, 2003 01:15 PM
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Murder: Engineer accused and charged

Of the 10 people placed under remand to assist the police in the investigation of Noritta Samsudin's death, one person is charged with her murder this morning.

According to Star Online around noon:

(Engineer) Hanif Basree Abdul Rahman, 36, is alleged to have murdered Noritta, 22, at the Puncak Prima condominium in Sri Hartamas, Brickfields (sic), between 1.30am and 4am on Dec 5.

Here's a screencapture of Star Online's updated version in the early evening:

Star_Noritta_20031222.jpg

The accused was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction. No plea was recorded from the accused. The case is being transferred immediately to the High Court.

I would like to see how certain mainstream media which sensationalised the murder in their coverage - and earned the IGP's warning - close their stories on the other nine.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 22, 2003 12:32 PM
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Two ladies (journalists) and Khalid Ibrahim

UPDATED VERSION. The two ladies are Leela Barrock and Anita Gabriel. Last week, they both covered former Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd CEO, Abdul Khalid Ibrahim - his exit, and reportedly his business strategies that caused his exit.

Barrock is The Edge weekly's deputy section editor at Capital Markets + Companies, while Gabriel is editor, Star BizWeek.

Both the ladies were former colleagues at The Edge weekly. The difference is, Gabriel was trailing the news curve on Guthrie-PNB seven days behind.

December 13, Barrock had scooped with an interview with Khalid December 8. In the midst of the interview, a representative of the PNB board phoned in to inform Khalid that his contract was not going to be renewed. It was a chance-in-a-million for any journalist on earth.

Khalid's last interview as PNB CEO, hurriedly terminated after the phonecall, went on to make the frontpage feature for the December 15 issue of The Edge. It hit the street at lunch time on December 13. Star BizWeek, published every Saturday morning, appeared the same day.

In the story, Khalid was said to have run loggerheads with the PNB board's direction for opposing the proposed merger of the listed plantation and property companies controlled by PNB.

Last Saturday, December 20, BizWeek's Gabriel scooped with a 4-hour interview with seasoned equity investor Chua Ma Yu and pitched the coverage from the other side.

In the story: Man with the Plan, Chua, who buys on fundamentals, talked about the possibility of KLCI hitting 1,200 points nest year if - if - Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB)-controlled counters get their act together and value is unlocked.

Gabriel had a helping hand in Errol Oh, an ex-Malaysian Business, who did the explanation, that it was Chua Ma Yu who had mooted the plan to then Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in April last year to merge the listed plantation and property companies controlled by PNB.

It's so heartening to note that our business journalists have sprung back to bring readers some perspective business reporting.

Thumbs up ladies!

DISMANTLING WORK HAS BEGUN. But for the adventurous observers of the powerplay, they look at Khalid's exit in a different perspective.

One of the boldest versions I have heard is that Khalid is but a sacrificed pawn in the process of dismantling (ya, that's the word!) Years of Excesses to favour prudent financial management of the country without disparaging Dr Mahathir's legacy. (Mau tak mau, the Tun has been declared the Father of Malaysia's Modernisation.)

They gave me a clue: Khalid Ibrahim carries the burden of being a protege of Dr Mahathir's late brother-in-law, Tun Ismail Ali. Both had been instrumental in executing the famous "dawn raid" on Guthrie Corp on the London Stock Exchange in 1981.

Khalid turned 57 on Dec 14, 2003. Abdul Wahab Maskan, current group chief executive of Golden Hope Bhd , is replacing Khalid as chief executive of Guthrie effective Jan 1, 2004.

This is Khalid's statement on PNB's intent to merge its plantation assets, as told to Leela Barrock, The Edge weekly:

What do you think of plans to merge the PNB plantation assets?

I have made a statement before that we need to rationalise Guthrie first. Then, we can think about the bigger picture. But, having said that, what is the purpose of the merger? It is to make you internationally competitive. But if you just merge plantation companies, it does not solve the problem, because it is already internationally competitive. Because the product that each of the companies sells is already internationally competitive.

What we need to do is create the merger for the value added. But that is not the case here. Even if you merge, you are just merging yourself. The value added is the products that you can produce.

We calculated that when you reach up to 50,000ha, it is the optimum for economies of scale. Even if you take one million hectares, you still have to divide them into blocks of 50,000ha.

So does it make sense then to merge all the plantations of the PNB companies?

You can have a big head office but that's it. It does not make any sense.

According to The Edge, it is no secret that some of PNB's top echelon, including chairman Tan Sri Ahmad Sarji and CEO Datuk Hamad Kama Piah, do not see eye to eye with Khalid on a number of issues.

This is Chua ma Yu's pitch to Dr Mahathir, proposing to PNB to merge its plantation assets, as reported by Errol Oh, Star BizWeek:

“I've been following the (plantation) sector. It's important to the Malaysian economy. We cannot ignore these companies (the PNB-linked plantation and property companies). These are principal assets of the economy,” he says.

He argues that if his proposal is realised, the two mammoth companies – one in plantations and the other in property – that will finally emerge will propel the KLSE to new heights, and long-term investors in the KLSE like him will stand to gain. (PNB-related companies currently represent about 40 per cent of the market capitalisation of the KLCI component stocks.) [...]

The bedrock principle of the plan – the document is titled “Consolidation and Re-organisation of Selected PNB-related Plantation and Property Companies" – is that the PNB companies need a vigorous shake-up to yield their true worth.

Chua explains: “I believe the next phase of the Malaysian capital market has to be led and driven by PNB's stable of listed companies. The group has of a lot of undervalued assets in Malaysia. If they perform, this will lead to a quantum jump in corporate earnings, significantly improving market valuations.”

He points out that companies such as Golden Hope Plantations Bhd and Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd are among the country's biggest plantation owners despite them missing out on the opportunity to expand aggressively into Sabah and Sarawak.

(Golden Hope's estates in Malaysia cover close to 133,000 hectares (ha), while Guthrie's planted area in Malaysia totalling slightly over 100,000 ha.

In addition, Guthrie has almost 163,000 ha in Indonesia. Golden Hope's merger with Island & Peninsular Bhd (I&P;) will increase the former's plantation land by about 70,000 ha)

Furthermore, the land is carried in the companies' books at low historical costs of RM600 to RM2,000 per acre.

Another important factor is that the PNB companies are also among the largest property owners in Malaysia. Most of the plantation land has huge development potential because the estates are near towns and highways.

Says Chua: “They have the biggest land bank at the cheapest cost.”

Despite these advantages, Golden Hope and Guthrie are under-performing when compared with current sector favourites such as IOI Corp Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK) and PPB Oil Palms Bhd.

Buoyed by strong palm oil prices, IOI, KLK and PPB Oil Palms have recently reported impressive earnings, whereas Guthrie and Golden Hope fail to catch the investors' fancy.

Chua recalls that at the time when Guthrie and Golden Hope passed from British to Malaysian hands, the two companies were industry leaders and stock market darlings.

“Today, they have disappeared from the investors' radar. Why? Because, we investors look at earnings and yields. Are you able to perform? If you can, we'll invest in you. We sell the losers and follow the winners,” he adds.

“If the PNB management can turn the biggest plantation and property companies into companies that follow the industry standards, the stocks will run. It's good enough that they just perform according to the average benchmarks; there is no need even to outperform.”

Chua says it is essential for PNB to get maximum value out of its listed companies because it no longer enjoys the privilege of being able to subscribe for shares in initial public offerings at discounted prices. The unit holders of PNB's unit trust funds will also benefit if the mergers are successful.

In addition, he contends that something has to be done to improve the output of PNB's property companies, particularly in the affordable housing segment.

If addressed properly, this will help keep the inflation rate low and improve the quality of life among the low-income group.

Chua dismisses any notion that his plan is all about merging companies to create giants. “Just adding one and one together means nothing. There must be re-organisation and restructuring to improve yields and earnings.

“The idea is to improve the returns to shareholders. And this will ultimately flow to the PNB unit holders.”

This is why his plan looks at ways to weed out duplication and wastage, and to rationalise operations.

For instance, estates can be consolidated to reduce the number of managers. There can also be cost saving in logistics and inputs such as fertilisers.

And he sees no downside to his plan. “There's no risk at all. The trees will still be there. Things can get better but they cannot be any worse.”

Chua's original plan calls for PNB to inject its shares in Golden Hope, Guthrie (which has two listed subsidiaries, Guthrie Ropel Bhd and Highlands & Lowlands Bhd) and I&P; into Sime Darby Bhd.

Sime Darby will then acquire the remaining shares held by the public and the plantation companies will be de-listed.

The enlarged Sime Darby will have a market capitalisation of more than RM20 billio

* Posted by jeffooi on December 22, 2003 07:55 AM
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Freedom Tower

The New York Times observed that no fewer than a half-dozen times at the unveiling ceremony December 19, the Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center site was called the world's tallest building.

The newspaper of record says it's a boast that invites an argument while the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, a recognized arbiter, has not yet ruled. Excerpts:

It will certainly be the world's tallest cable-framed, open-air, windmill-filled, spire-studded superstructure, rising atop 70 stories of offices, restaurants, a broadcast center and an observation deck.

Whether that makes it the world's tallest building is another matter. [...]

That is because the Freedom Tower will be a hybrid structure with several pinnacles: the top of its enclosed, occupied space is to be at about 1,150 feet; the top of the superstructure at 1,500 feet; and the top of its slender spire at 1,776 feet.

In other words, about one-third of the Freedom Tower will be more of a structural framework than a habitable building.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 22, 2003 07:06 AM
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TIME Person Of The Year

Pax Americana won the day!

TIME_MOTY2003.gifLast night, TIME magazine's editors chose the nameless American soldier as its Person of the Year 2003.

The US soldier, attributed as a person who bears the duty of 'living with and dying for a country's most fateful decisions', was chosen to represent the 1.4 million men and women who make up the US military, which led the invasion of Iraq nine months ago and captured deposed leader Saddam Hussein a week ago.

Today, about 130,000 US soldiers still remain in Iraq, with others serving in Afghanistan, South Korea, Japan, Germany and elsewhere.

There are two interesting articles on the war merchants in the year-end issue of TIME:

Other people who were considered for Person Of The Year, no prize for guessing right, include:

  • The soldier who got rescued;

  • The PM who caught flak;

  • The bodybuilder who took California;

  • The dictator who did have weapons of mass destruction;

  • The newsman of the year; and

  • Others who made 2003 memorable.

Read TIME managing editor James Kelly's piece on the editors' rationale for their ultimate choice.

End Note: A Sunday columnist made this observation yesterday. I quote the opening and ending paragraphs:

THE Christmas presents have arrived early for US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. What could they possibly ask for now that former despot Saddam Hussein has been arrested after being found in a filthy hideaway? [...]

Bush and Blair have received their Christmas gifts but the US-led troops won't be home for Christmas this year – that's for sure.

Food for thought.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 22, 2003 06:43 AM
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Sunday, December 21, 2003

Roti benggali

It brings back lots of fond memories to this blogger.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 21, 2003 12:05 PM
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Staying together rain or shine

Over 20,000 Malaysians braved the rain and traffic jams to give their undivided support to the country’s fifth Prime Minister at a special dinner jointly organised by the five Chinese-based parties in the Barisan Nasional and the Chinese associations.

It's a symbolism that we are not just fine weather friends. It's not about Islam and non-Islam. It's about a symbiotic relationship seperti aur dan tebing. We need each other more than ever.

Cherish, Bangsa Malaysia!

* Posted by jeffooi on December 21, 2003 09:36 AM
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'Kod Efisien' for beer and fag labels

You hadn't heard of Kod Efisien Sdn. Bhd., had you?

It's a little-known private company given an exclusive concession to put security-label packaging on all locally produced cigarettes and beer, a government imperative that will take effect by March next year.

Kod Efisien was awarded the contract on September 2, during the last days of Dr Mahathir's administration, unpublicized.

On Oct. 16, the Customs Department, a unit of the Finance Ministry, informed cigarette and beer makers that they must begin to security-label their packaging
and use Kod Efisien-supplied ink and equipment to do so.

The government contends that the concession will help reduce smuggling of cigarettes and beer, but industry sources say it may trigger increases in cigarette and beer prices.

Companies expected to come under direct hit include several large locally listed companies, British American Tobacco PLC and Carlsberg AS of Denmark.

How would Kod Efisien benefit from the concession?

According to Asian Wall Street Journal December 20 (subscription required), the arrangement could generate more than RM140 million in annual revenue for the concession-holder.

Here's the economics behind it, according to S. Jayasankaran of AWSJ:

The concession... could be lucrative for Kod Efisien, which is 99%-owned by two relatively unknown Malaysian businessmen.

Cigarette producers will pay Kod Efisien five sen to security-label every pack manufactured, an amount equal to about 64 million ringgit a year at Malaysia's current consumption level.

Labeling for each can or bottle of beer produced could generate up to 80 million ringgit in revenue annually for Kod Efisien, some industry executives estimate.

Who are behind Kod Efisien?

AWSJ reviewed documents filed with the Companies Commission, which indicate Kod Efisien is capitalized at RM100,000 and owned by Dr Hashim Abdul Wahab and Aminuddin Harun, who together control 99% of its stock.

Dr. Hashim, Kod Efisien's chairman, is a retired civil servant, who has served as the vice president of the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS), an NGO known for environmental work.

How did Kod Efisien get the concession - another direct negotiation?

Quote AWSJ:

Dr. Hashim said Kod Efisien first submitted a proposal for the security-labeling concession to the government in February. It isn't clear whether other companies or individuals competed for the concession or how the selection process was conducted. Dr. Hashim said he was "made to understand" that other "parties" were interested, but he didn't identify them.

Dr. Mahathir first indicated that the government would mandate security labeling for cigarettes and beer in his September 2002 budget speech, when he was also serving as finance minister. He suggested cigarette manufacturers label their products with so-called banderols, a type of customs sticker. [...]

After Dr. Mahathir's 2002 budget speech, the confederation of tobacco makers wrote to the Finance Ministry suggesting that security ink be used to label packaging instead of banderols.

According to Shaik Abbas Ibrahim, the confederation's chief executive, the group also suggested that Switzerland's Sicpa Product Security SA, one of the world's biggest suppliers of security ink for currencies, supply the needed equipment and ink. A tobacco company executive said manufacturers
initially expected to do the security inking and labeling themselves.

Instead, the government decided to give that job to Kod Efisien.

Dr. Hashim said an independent concern was appointed because "there might not be uniform standards if the manufacturers do it themselves." Under the arrangement reached with cigarette makers, Kod Efisien will supply Sicpa-produced security ink and equipment for the labeling.

Going ahead.

Kod Efisien reportedly has reached agreement with cigarette manufacturers to implement the arrangement. The company was said to have started negotiation with beer makers last month. However, some beer industry executives privately complain the procedure is unnecessary. Quote AWSJ:

"I can't think of anywhere in the world where they security-label beer cans or bottles," said one senior executive at a local brewery, who declined to be identified.

Counterfeit cigarettes have been a serious problem to both the industry players and revenue collectors. The Confederation of Malaysian Tobacco Manufacturers has estimated a loss of RM1.2 billion in unpaid duties in 2002, while its members lost an estimated RM1 billion in revenue.

If the issue of uniform standards is the key deciding factor in appointing Kod Efisien, couldn't a strict guideline be drawn up for the manufacturers to do the security-labelling themselves? Beer and cigarette manufacturers are among the most obedient when it comes to regulatory compliance for fear of losing their precious licences.

If enforcement is lax, you may have the best security-labels and yet counterfeits and smuggling activities will remain unckecked.

But now you hear of an extra layer added to the value chain, and the fats may ultimately be passed down to the end-users. In the kampung, we call that lintah darah.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 21, 2003 09:08 AM
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Worst press junket

From Nury Vittachi's Traveler's Tales (FEER, cover-dated December 25, 2003 - January 01, 2004):

Journalists who turned up at the airport for an inaugural flight from Bangladesh to Thailand were taken on the trip - by road. The airline did not want to splash out on air tickets.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 21, 2003 08:09 AM
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Nik Aziz: 'Melayu = Yahudi'

PAS leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat has a new pitch:

  • The Malays in this country are like Jews because they refuse to accept the Islamic State concept that PAS proposed;

  • The Malaysian government and its leaders are 'Jews' proxies' in this country for refusing to accept the Islamic teaching and Islamic State that PAS advocates.

Date: December 19, 2003
Place: Kompleks Sri Iman, Kuala Terennganu
Witnesses: PAS president/Terengganu menteri besar Abdul Hadi Awang; PAS Informational Chief Haron Din and Terengganu Exco Mustafa Ali.
Source: Mingguan Malaysia

I recall what Wong Chun Wai wrote in his Sunday column on September 7, which received a full-page rebuttal by Majlis Ulamak PAS Pusat in Harakah, still holds true:

To silence its critics, PAS has adopted this intimidating approach – any criticism of PAS is equated with criticism against Islam.

... not many leaders in Umno today were prepared to take PAS politicians head on.

Perhaps Pak Lah's image as a Muslim leader of humulity has posed a counterweight to PAS. But if Umno sent in spin-doctors like Zam, it's suicide.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 21, 2003 07:58 AM
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Saturday, December 20, 2003

RM2.7b Tenaga shares... to whom?

The Minister of Finance Inc has sold 300 million Tenaga Nasional Bhd shares
representing 9.64% shareholding in an off-market deal on Dec 15.

According to theEdgeDaily.com, filings with the KLSE yesterday showed that after the December 15 private placement, the MoF's stake in the utility company was reduced to 231.15 million shares or 7.42%.

Before the latest disposal, government agencies collectively held 80.73% in Tenaga through Khazanah Nasional (34.63%), Finance Ministry (17.07%), Employees Provident Fund (11.55%), Bank Negara (11.32%) and Amanah Raya Nominees (6.16%).

The government's effective holdings in Tenaga will ease to 71.1%if the Finance Ministry had placed out the Tenaga shares to non government-linked agencies.

Singapore Business Times said analysts, though surprised by the big placement exercise, did not think the shares had ended up with foreign investors. They could have moved the shares to other government agencies, said an analyst.

Interestingly, five days after the shares were disposed, the price and name of the buyer or buyers have not been disclosed.

Taking into consideration that the stake is worth RM2.7billion based on December 19's closing price of RM9, you may like to know where the shares had gone to.

What is the government going to do with the extra liquidity, every sen the rakyat's money?

* Posted by jeffooi on December 20, 2003 03:13 PM
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Inexcusable Sun!

Reader hisab2 discovered something on Sat, 20 Dec 2003 00:13:28:

If u have a copy of the Sun date (sic) Friday, December 19, turn to page 36. See the main article under the caption (sic) 'For the young and young at heart'?

Now turn to page 42 and see the main article under the caption (sic) 'Iswara gets new lease of life'.

Compare the two articles and what do you get?

Yaaaaaaa, smart! They are the same article word for word by the same writer!

Here's the screenshot of the two pages of identical stories by YS Khong, Page 36 (on the left-hand side) is part of Motoring supplement, Page 42 (the black-and-white) is part of Wheels, a Friday regular.

theSun-20031219_550x.jpg

Is this YS Khong the same "famous five time Malaysian Rally Champion, Y.S. Khong"?

Since when has theSun privatised and two-timed its own editorial pages?

* Posted by jeffooi on December 20, 2003 10:12 AM
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Did you know...

Did you know that, by having early stop-press on Thursday night/Friday morning, The Malay Mail has missed out, again, the Michael Jackson story when news broke on live TV at 5am yesterday? The last miss-out was the US North-East Blackout and Hambali's capture on August 15.

As news broke yesterday, Sundeep A Lal woke up to an SMS alerting him of a 'live' media conference by District Attorney Tom Sneddon who announced that Michael Jackson has been charged with 9 counts of child molestation.


Did you know that The Free Anwar Campaign website, run by Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK), has been closed down by the web host?

To get the story out, RPK had to post to the Bungaraya mailing list stating that "We don't know why yet other than there has been a complaint received by our host that our website is "inflammatory".

Thanks YW Loke for the pointer.


Did you know that yesterday, The Star, de facto owned by MCA, is the only peninsular English daily that did not report on the MCA-Gerakan merger mooted at a unity dinner in Alor Setar?

Both MCA president Ong Ka Ting and Gerakan president Dr Lim Keng Yaik said the proposed merger was not aimed at undermining the importance of BN partner Umno, but would enhance the spirit of unity and co-operation which was its foundation.


Did you know that the police are unhappy that newspaper coverage on Noritta Samsudin's murder focused only on her character?

City Chief Police Officer Deputy Commissioner Dell Akbar Khan said despite the lurid stories reported by the Press on the death of Noritta, police will ignore all insinuations about her character and focus only on her alleged murder.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 20, 2003 08:28 AM
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Friday, December 19, 2003

Bribery index: Malaysian journalists rank low... very low

This is an eye-opener and I really do not know how to fit The Ghost of PY Chin and REDtone privileged shares offer into these findings.

Malaysian journalists are ranked 53rd among 66 countries surveyed for the level of corruption in the journalistic profession.

One consolation is that Malaysia is effectively ranked 24th as many countries higher up in the index share the same score.

Via Malaysiakini 2:06pm today:

Malaysia is ranked close to the bottom of the pile among 66 countries by the first-ever global index which measures the level of corruption in the journalistic profession.

The index ranks the countries according to the likelihood of journalists will seek or accept cash for news coverage from government officials, businesses or other news sources.

Malaysia is placed 53rd of the countries surveyed with an average score of 2.38, but officially it is ranked 24 as many countries higher up in the index share the same score.

The survey revealed that bribery of the media is most likely to occur in China (66), Saudi Arabia (65), Vietnam and Bangladesh (both share 63-64 ranking), and Pakistan (62).

Meanwhile, those countries with the best ratings for avoiding such practices are Finland (1), Denmark, New Zealand and Switzerland (all share 2-4 ranking), Germany, Iceland and United Kingdom (all share 5-7 ranking).

According to Malaysiakini, the ‘media bribery’ index, the first of its kind, was developed by two academics, University of Northern Iowa’s Dr Dean Kruckeberg and Purdue University’s Katerina Tsetsura.

The survey was commissioned by two public relations organisations - the British-based International Public Relations Association (IRPA) and the Institute for Public Relations (IPR) of the United States, and sponsored by Hurriyet, the leading Turkish daily.

This is how journalists in Malaysia scored in the following 8 variables:

  • Longtime tradition of self-determination by citizens: 4

  • Perception of comprehensive corruption laws with effective enforcement: 0

  • Accountability of government to citizens at all levels: 2

  • High adult literacy: 4

  • High liberal and professional education of practicing journalists: 3

  • Well-established, publicized and enforceable journalism codes of professional ethics: 3

  • Free press, free speech and free flow of information: 1

  • High media competition (multiple and competing media): 2
  • Raw Score: 19

  • Mean Score: 2.38

Because of that, I would like to emphasis that the survey did not quantitatively prove our journalists are corrupted - it's very hard to prove journalists on-the-take in the first place - but more to indicate their susceptability to being bribed due to the prevailing conditions under which they practise their profession.

Hence, the preamble to reading the survey report is to look at the index that compares the 66 countries’ likelihood of whether or not “cash for news coverage”

  • likely does not exist i.e. having high mean score and comparative ranking, or

  • likely does exist i.e. having low mean score and comparative ranking.

Quotable quote: “Bribery of the news media in too many countries robs citizens of credible information they need to make personal and collective decisions,” said Ms. Vuslat Doğan Sabanci, vice president of Hürriyet.

Read the abstracts of the "Cash for News Coverage" Report (PDF). It was released on September 8, 2003.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 19, 2003 02:34 PM
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Najib's tap-dancing

There have been so many strategic flaws and resultant hiccups in logistics that people have now overlooked the objectives of the National Service Programme (PKN).

Sources say defence minister Najib Tun Razak is calling for a press conference today to clear up confusion.

And the confusion arose because the right hand does not know what the left hand does. If you remember well, it was only 49 days ago that Pak Lah wanted bureaucracy done away.

  1. First, you have the National Service Training Department, set up in October at the Defence Ministry. It has chosen 17.7% among the 480,000 citizens born in 1986, totalling 85,000, to join the PKN by compulsion.
  2. Next, you have the Cabinet Committee on PKN, chaired by none other than Najib himself.
  3. Next, you have the National Service Training Council, chaired by Universiti Utara Malaysia vice-chancellor Kol. Prof. Dr Ahmad Fawzi Mohd Basri, which had its first meeting on Monday, Dec 15. Council members include secretaries-general of the Defence, Education and Youth and Sports ministries, director-general of the Public Services Department, and representatives of the major races.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking away. For the 3-month training, the first batch of trainees are scheduled to start on Feb 16 while the second and third batches are scheduled to begin from March 22 through June 13.

Education minister Musa Mohamad said his ministry has adjusted the dates of admission into local institutions of higher education to accommodate the programme. Trainees selected for the second and third batches will have to continue their last one month of PKN training the following year if they are to continue their studies in Form Six and matriculation courses.

Najib, a former education minister, may not be aware that the Form Six study term starts on May 15, and matriculation on May 10. They clash with the intake schedules for PKN batches two and three, which run from Mar 22 through June 13.

There are two complications. One, you do not know who among those selected for the PKN programme will enrol for Form Six and matriculation until the SPM results are released on Feb 28 - twelve days after the first batch of PKN training is scheduled to start.

Two, questions on deferrment and exemption had cropped up.

Najib has gone on record to say participation is compulsory for the selected trainees. He has reportedly asked the MoE to send in a request to the National Service Training Council on behalf of all affected Form Six and matriculation students. In other words, the buck originating from Najib's ministry has been passed to Musa's court.

This led to contradicting statements from the defence minister and education minister Musa Mohamad. The MoE chief claimed the mechanism has been agreed to by the Cabinet Committee that Najib chairs, but Najib said it has yet to be finalised. And the trainees and their parents are made none wiser.

A little bird told this blogger that there are critics in Putrajaya that feel the PKN should have been implemented immediately after the SPM examinations, which normally ends in mid or late December.

The 3-month PKN training could have been slotted in nicely within the post-exam holidays and completed by March. By then, the timing is just right for the born-in-1986 to prepare for Form Six, matriculation or tertiary education in the country or abroad.

The long and short of it is that Najib has screwed up on timing and neither can he postpone the PKN.

More importantly, such strategic flaws and operational shortcomings have exposed Najib's vulnerability as a leader who may be contending for Malaysia's top job.

Notably, Pak Lah has been watching without saying anything on the matter. I am quite sure he will lend out a helping hand when - may be too late for 'if' now - Najib falters. That is checkmate in political terms.

* * *

The PKN Website. Xybase MSC Sdn Bhd, the company engaged and paid by the government to operate the PKN website, has been given a run for its money.

Fed up with the website's persistent outage, two IT-experts have set up mirror sites WITHOUT the resources of the National Service Training Department, the Ministry of Defence and Xybase MSC Sdn Bhd. They did for free and they did it better!

Alphaque.com reader Roopinder Singh, snarfed the HTML tree from the Mindef server at 4.51am MYT December 12. He promptly put up his mirror at http://www.midearth.co.uk/natservice/ and uploaded a gzipped tarball of the entire HTML tree (2.5MB total) at http://www.midearth.co.uk/public/natservice.tar.gz.

Dinesh Nair, who tried the same thing but was denied access due to server congestion at Mindef, downloaded Roopinder's tarball and put up his mirror here.

Voila folks! You have two unofficial mirror sites for the checking of Senarai Peserta Khidmat Negara, which run far more robust! This is what it means to the layman, quoting Dinesh:

It's a simple demonstration that things do not need to be as complicated as some people make it out to be, and to show exactly how to implement "a well thought out and coordinated system".

BTW, Xybase Sdn Bhd executive vice-president Mohamed Izmi Md Said told NST-Business Times yesterday that the company is confident of achieving a 150% increase in revenue, or RM100 million, in 2004.

Very good business!

* Posted by jeffooi on December 19, 2003 08:00 AM
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I want this guy!

Yesterday's blog: It took TM Net 52 days... which talks about Telekom Malaysia's broadband pitch, attracted private emails that I thought should go public.

Berserker - a familiar name, has this guy also posted in this blog's Conversations section? - has this interesting posting in LowYat.net two weeks ago:

I have a friend that has a close friend working in Telekom. He just informed me lately that his line is now 2 Mbps since his Telekom friend do him a favor by uncapping the port for him. I'm jealous with the speed that he has now. Will Telekom know if there is something wrong with his download and usage after 1 months..Will Telekom banned him or do something about this matter..??

He just subscribe to the RM 40.00 per month package and now is using the 2Mbps line...

Can you get this Telekom Insider to fix 2Mbps for me, too? Probably TM Net won't get to know it until 2020!

Thanks KW Wong and TV Smith for the pointer, 11 hours apart in the last 12 hours while I was asleep.

Berserker-20031218_250x.jpg

Wong said Berserker's forum posting was mentioned by Ng Ken Boon in his Computimes column: Mbox yesterday (Picture above: NST-Computimes Dec 18, Page 31).

* Posted by jeffooi on December 19, 2003 07:59 AM
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Pak Lah's stamp of authority

Pak Lah has halted two of Dr Mahathir's 11th hour decisions:

  • The indefinite postponement of the RM14.48 billion double-tracking railway project awarded to MMC-Gamuda JV. Reason: Prudent financial management.

  • The listing on KLSE of Felda, a government-held plantation cooperative. Reason: Further study needed.

International responses are coming.

Associated Press via Singapore Straits Times:

The decision... is being viewed as a sign that he is emerging from Dr Mahathir's shadow.

It sent ripples through financial markets, with rumours that Malaysia's reputation for chummy deals between politicians and tycoons may be about to change.

Brendan Pereira via Singapore Straits Times:

Mahathir era comes to an end

It was a story I thought I would never write, an event many predicted would never happen.

And that is why the changing of the guard in Malaysia on Oct 31 was such a compelling story for many. It debunked the theory that orderly and planned succession of leaders was the monopoly of developed nations.

According to the original script, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad would cling to power until life left him. His death in office would leave the country he led for over two decades orphaned and at the mercy of a power tussle.

Why would a leader who fought so hard to stay in power in 1998 give it up so easily? The answer: He had reached the end of the road.

I noticed this has been Pereira's fourth article emphasising the end of Dr Mahathir's legacy since December 2. Read these blogs for context.

Our print media journalists don't have the balls to write like this, I believe. Some say it's kurang manis if they did.

But Pak Lah wants truth, doesn't he?

* Posted by jeffooi on December 19, 2003 07:43 AM
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It's an order

Terengganu menteri besar Hadi Awang said all karaoke and snooker centres in the state would have to be closed and Muslims are also banned from patronising shops or restaurants which sell alcoholic liquor.

Via SinChew-i and Singapore Straits Times.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 19, 2003 07:11 AM
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Circumcision United

Circumcision can bring Malaysians of all races and religions together. That seems to be the latest idea coming from the PM's Department.

To be precise, it's from the prime minister's religious affairs adviser Dr Abdul Hamid Othman.

Romuald Navin alerted me from overseas, and since Jonathan Kent has put it up on BBC News, the whole world has come to know about it.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 19, 2003 07:11 AM
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EPF: Is this the last say?

UPDATED VERSION. It was Human Resources Minister Dr Fong Chan Onn who went on record December 17 to say the Cabinet has rejected the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) proposal to disallow contributors to withdraw their savings in a lump sum upon reaching 55.

Though the announcement did not come from MoF, the ministry that oversees EPF, I hope Fong's statement denotes the government's official stand and will not be overcome by policy flip-flops.

Hope that puts the last nail in the coffin, and let's move on.

If EPF CEO Azlan Mohd Zainol still thinks it's a "thinking-stage" idea, we need to tell him flat on his face: Don't you ever think about it again!

With a graph like this staring at you for years, has Azlan overstayed our welcome?

UPDATE: Dec 19, 09:58 hr: Via Bernama, December 18, 2003 22:38 PM:

Second Finance Minister Dr Jamaludin Jarjis said yesterday that since there had been an intense public debate with negative response aired by those concerned, the Cabinet decided to shoot down the EPF's idea.

As the Cabinet has made a final decision on the matter, he said EPF should discontinue any review of the withdrawal system by contributors.

OK, the last nail on the coffin. Thanks YW Loke for the pointer.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 19, 2003 07:00 AM
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Thursday, December 18, 2003

It took TM Net 52 days...

I noticed it took TM Net 52 days to respond to a Letter to the Editor carried in the NST on October 27... maybe it's better late than never.

Let me transcribe as the NST archive expires in seven days. Sorry, if you feel TM Net's Ghazali Omar has conveniently taken a leaf off the brochures:

NEW STRAITS TIMES Thursday, December 18, 2003

TMNet Streamyx has the solution

WE write in response to the complaint by M.M. of Rawang entitled “Malaysia way behind in broadband infrastructure” (NST, Oct 27).

On the issue of lack of broadband infrastructure, we would like to inform him that our TMNet Streamyx is a high-speed broadband Internet access service that allows customers to access the Internet from 384kbps up to speeds of 2Mbps over standard copper telephone lines with DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) technology.

TMNet Sdn Bhd is trying its best to increase coverage of high-speed broadband Internet service. TMNet started offering broadband Internet access to Malaysians with TMNet Streamyx using Digital Subscriber Loop (DSP) technology. We are also coming up with several other broadband access options so that more Malaysians can enjoy high-speed broadband Internet access.

Currently, TMNet Streamyx is available at more than 210 exchanges in major cities nationwide. However, there are limitations to the technology. The ADSL speeds offered by TMNet Streamyx packages are actually the "last-mile" connection. This means that there are several factors that influence the availability of the service in your area.

First, make sure that you have a telephone connection with the proper wiring. Your phone line has to be a fixed line, not a hunting line or on a PABX system, or an ISDN line. The copper line from the exchange to your residence must also not be more than five kilometres. So your residence must be within a five-kilometre radius from the nearest exchange, but if the line is more than five kilometres in distance, then you will need an alternative solution for broadband access.

However, we would be most grateful if M.M. could contact us to enable us to conduct a thorough physical investigation and testing on your telephone-cable connection, to see if it can support the TMNet Streamyx service.

Please call us at 1-300-88-9515, or e-mail custcare@tm.net.my. Letters can also be sent to:

Customer Relations Management or PR Department TMNet Sdn Bhd, TM IT Complex, 3rd Floor, 330 Lingkaran Usahawan 1 Timur 63000 Cyberjaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan

GHAZALI OMAR
for TMNet Sdn Bhd

Remember, I'm just a postman here. Frankly, I myself have had enough.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 18, 2003 12:00 PM
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Nothin' sheepish about being Proton

WARNING! Close the windows if you feel the graphics herein are offensive.


Proton-ad_CU.jpg

After 18 years of building a national pride, we begin to find out what a Proton car is good for, Down Under.

Proton-ad_550x.jpg Click on the jpg to view larger image (548kb).

This is an ad taken by Proton Cars Australia in the recent issue of FHM magazine (Australian edition) in conjunction with the launching of Proton Jumbuck GLSi / GLI - a variant of Proton Arena - in the Australian market.

Roadshows had kicked-off with World Series Sprintcar in Brisbane (Queensland) on November 15, and drove on to Wagga Wagga (New South Wales), Adelaide (South Australia) and Geelong (Victoria) before breaking off for Christmas.

The multi-cities roadshow would resume as the Proton Jumbuck Speedweek Series from December 26 through January 18, ending with a presentation dinner in Adelaide. Other state-cities like Perth (Western Australia), Darwin (Northern Territory) and Hobart (Tasmania) would be bypassed.

Proton Jumbuck, positioned as a cross activity vehicle, carries a pricetag of AU$17,990 (RM49,472) for the GLSi model.

Proton Cars Australia Pty Limited, incorporated in 1996 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Proton Bhd, is headquartered in Wetherill Park in Sydney's western suburbs.

It is understood that Proton Bhd reserves total control of Proton Cars Australia's operations, including advertising and marketing executions.

Read earlier blog for context.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 18, 2003 07:20 AM
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Who dumped Proton shares at the last minute?

The EdgeDaily.com has a breaking news and subsequently updated at 11.10pm last night, bylined Faizal Zakariah:

Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Bhd shares dipped RM1.10 in the last minute of trade yesterday to RM7.55 due to a "completion order" by a single institutional broker, an institutional dealer with a bank-backed brokerage said. [...]

Another dealer said he believed that the vertical drop in Proton was due to a “mistake” by the transacting dealer, who erroneously keyed in a sell order at RM7.55 instead of RM8.55.

He said the sharp drop in Proton shares was due to a mistake rather than completion order as institutional brokers have the option to keep the unsold shares in a temporary account for sale the next day, but on paper, the order was completed.

So much for the icing. Here's the cake:

December 16, the Prime Minister said the government would announce details of the new tax structure for the automotive industry by end of the month - just before the 20% cut in import duty on completely built up (CBU) cars on Jan 1, 2004, which was announced in Budget 2004.

December 10, S. Jayasankran of Asian Wall Street Journal (AWSJ) reported that Proton, was preparing for increased competition ahead of a looming Southeast Asian free-trade pact by asking the government for continued tariff protection for another 20 years.

The AWSJ said Proton's requests posed an embarrassing dilemma for Malaysia.

In a letter to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi last month, Proton Chief Executive Tengku Mahaleel Ariff asked that the state-controlled car maker be given another 20 years of protection. Since its inception in 1985, Proton has been sheltered from local and foreign competitors by duties ranging from 40% to 300% on imported auto-parts and cars.

According to auto industry executives, Tengku Mahaleel has also requested immediate exemptions from all import duties and excise taxes, and has asked for new government grants for "research and development" purposes.

Proton's requests pose an embarrassing dilemma for Kuala Lumpur. Under the rules governing a Free Trade Area, known as AFTA, proposed by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, tariffs on manufactured goods -- including cars and auto parts -- are to be reduced to no more than 5% by 2003. Malaysia, while agreeing to the overall AFTA pact, has obtained special treatment for its auto-sector, however. It has delayed tariff cuts on cars and components until Jan 1, 2005, when duties are to be reduced to no more than 20%, instead of the 5% mandated by AFTA.

Should Malaysia now renege on those commitments in order to prop up publicly listed Proton, fellow Asean members, as well as auto-sector investors who have moved into Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries expecting a level playing field by 2005, are likely to be furious. "Thailand and Indonesia would kick up a fuss and there could be trade retaliation," predicts a senior Malaysia-based auto executive who declined to be identified. "It would be just too messy."

I am quite annoyed that local business-sheets have again lost out to foreign media in reporting insightful news like this.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 18, 2003 07:11 AM
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State funds won't take MMC's GO

This blog was held over as there were too many entries yesterday, but it doesn't mean it's any less important to me.

During Dr Mahathir's administration, three government-linked agencies were made to take up 37.98% of Malaysia Mining Corporation's (MMC) equity with conditions that they found it hard to reverse.

The state funds, namely Permodalan Nasional Berhad (0.02%), Amanah Raya (33.12%) and the Employees Provident Fund (4.84%), have given undertakings not to accept Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary's (SMAB) general offer of RM2.0145 even if MMC's share price dropped below the trigger point for an MGO. On the record, the offer expires on Dec 31.

December 16, MMC's share went as far south as RM2.11. Another 10 sen and it's going to be a RM1.36 billion MGO headache for SMAB.

Errol Oh of Star BizWeek summarised this last Saturday:

The MGO is for 59.86 per cent of the MMC equity not already owned by him via Indra Cita Sdn Bhd. (Indra Cita's wholly owned subsidiary Seaport Terminal (Johore) Sdn Bhd holds the MMC shares.) That translates into 673.55 million shares and a potential total payout of RM1.36 billion.

To recap, December 12, I blogged about probing SMAB's Achilles' heel after reading Eddie Toh's (Singapore Business Times) findings on MMC and its drooping share prices.

Accrding to Eddie, SMAB must make an expensive general offer - RM1.3 billion - for the rest of MMC should the price fall to his general offer price of RM2.01.

On December 11, MMC plunged 11.8% to RM2.17 in the aftermath of the Cabinet's announcement to indefinitely postpone the RM14.48 billion double-tracking project given to the MMC-Gamuda JV.

Eddie has a new calculation yesterday: it would now be less than half-painful for SMAB should the worst materialise. The pricetag is now reduced to RM496 million.

The share price of his Malaysia Mining Corporation (MMC) fell to a low of RM2.06 yesterday (December 16) - marginally above his general offer price of RM2.0145 - before closing at RM2.11.

He controls 40.14 per cent of MMC and triggered the general offer following an exercise to consolidate his holdings in MMC earlier this year.

The exercise was almost academic as MMC's market price of nearly RM3 apiece then was much higher than his GO price. No minority shareholders would have accepted his offer. [...]

Syed Mokhtar's offer will find full acceptance should MMC's share price fall below his GO price of RM2.0145 each. Full acceptance would cost him more than RM1.3 billion but some state funds have given an undertaking that they would not accept the offer.

According to the offer document, Syed Mokhtar had, among other things, made his offer conditional on irrevocable written undertakings from three agencies not to accept the offer.

State-owned investment vehicles Permodalan Nasional Berhad (0.02 per cent), Amanah Raya (33.12 per cent) and the Employees Provident Fund (4.84 per cent) have given undertakings not to accept the offer.

With the major shareholders acting in concert, the actual free float is 21.88 per cent. Syed Mokhtar's Indra Cita must cough up RM495.9 million should minority shareholders, excluding the state funds, accept his offer.

'The offeror confirms that the offer would not fail due to insufficient financial resources available to the offeror and every accepting holder who wishes to accept the offer will be paid in full by way of cash,' adviser Commerce International Merchant Bankers said on behalf of Indra Cita.

I think it's worthwhile to invest some time watching MMC from Eddie's angle.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 18, 2003 06:51 AM
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Wednesday, December 17, 2003

MMC-Gamuda abide by Govt's decision

The government chose to issue a statement to Bernama last night stating that the Cabinet has decided to postpone the implementation of the double-tracking electrification rail project (DTP) because of the need to prioritise Malaysia's many development projects.

In the statement, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that the Cabinet recognised the letter of award to the consortium comprising Malaysia Mining Corporation Bhd and Gamuda Bhd (MMC-Gamuda), which was issued to intiate negotiations on terms and conditions of an agreement between the government

In response, the MMC-Gamuda JV issued a statement stating "the government knows best as to what its priorities are and we respect its decision."

Here's the Prime Minister's statement in full.

Bloomberg said analysts and fund managers, who are concerned with Malaysia's policy flip-flops, are waiting for further details.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 17, 2003 10:47 PM
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A warning...

A little bird dropped me something.

It's about your freedom machine engineered to exhilarate.

It's going to shock you. Tomorrow...

* Posted by jeffooi on December 17, 2003 06:04 PM
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REDtone shares for business journalists

UPDATED VERSION. My blog yesterday: VoIP: I say, you say, in which I recapped the success story created by Mesdeq-bound REDtone International Bhd, received a different kind of response.

Read your post on VOIP. You mentioned RedTone as a great VOIP company.

I couldn't agree more, but the company ruined its reputation in my eyes by doing something incredibly, unbelievably stupid and unwarranted recently: it offered its shares to journalists.

And I'm not talking about some special ballot or anything of that sort -- the shares have been directly placed to the journalists concerned; it's theirs unless they don't take up the offer.

I checked with several sources and was told that the offer letter, minimum two lots at 95 sen per share, came via REDtone's underwriter, CIMB.

I have decided to blog this as, before, I had appraised REDtone positively for its business case. For two reasons:

  1. I fear no one will continue to read any story on VOIP that comes out in a Malaysian blog without suspecting the worst, especially if REDtone is mentioned.
  2. Someone may say I am sour grapes as I am not a business journalist and don't get CIMB's offer letter falling on my lap.

Come to think of it, it at all, it's better for people to insinuate me for the second reason rather than the first.

Anyway, I am keeping company with some journalist friends who have refused to take up the REDtone offer. They say ( 1 ) company policy forbids; ( 2 ) it's unethical for a journalist to write on a company whose shares he holds privilegedly.

If you want to know the business journalists who have been offered REDTone shares via CIMB, just Google for bylined stories on REDtone. Or better still, talk to the bizdesk smarties themselves.

I am sorry I can't reveal names made known to me - top guns included - or else the list of Jeff Ooi-haters at bizdesks will grow sky-high.

Read Steven Gan's editorial (February 28, 2001) for context.

UPDATE: Dec 17, 15:25 hr: I made one mistake in this blog earlier: It was not only business journalists, but just about every other editor in town who was offered the privileged shares from REDtone.

The manner REDtone/CIMB's offer letters were delivered was shocking. The whole list of names of the recipients could be seen openly as the delivery guy was ticking off on a piece of paper. The delivery guy was transparent!

Already, the PR folks at Redtone were following up closely by giving reporters vague hints at doing assignments on the company. Let's see how many manage to observe Rule No 1, i.e. for any journalist to ignore such offers.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 17, 2003 12:45 PM
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Star English... Day 4

More than a hattrick!

Reader sorespot wrote in today, Wed, 17 Dec 2003 09:12:31 hr:

Here is another mistake that appears in Star Online today under the headline "RM1b for Ranhill's Sabah job":

Star_sub_20031217.jpg

(Sigh)...such is the state of the Star's English decline.

The print version carried the error in StarBiz, Page 3 lead story.

I still believe it's lapses in newsroom workflow and quality control of production processes that gave The Star the top score. Am I just half-clever on this?

* Posted by jeffooi on December 17, 2003 10:22 AM
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More Zipped Code

This image was taken by reader SL Tan at the Damansara Jaya post office in PJ.

3 mail boxes are shown here.

On the left most, is a new post box with an exposed padlock. The middle one is the postlaju mail box. The ZIPPED postbox is on the right, covered with plastic bag.

POBox_DJ_350x.jpg

Related blogs: Here and here.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 17, 2003 08:00 AM
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Jaring Raya

From a little bird which flew over Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club (KLGCC) yesterday:

JARING is burning more cash at KLGCC today, its last hurrah, before being eaten-up by TMNET.

People know JARING chief is noted more as a hacker than a golfer, and all things sports for that matter, but JARING's Raya celebrations today started with a round of Golf in the morning.

The Raya budget was for 500 pax, but it swelled to more than 900 pax. I guess many wanted to attend the FINAL Jaring Raya celebration.

Meanwhile, the deputy minister from KTKM said something about the Jaring-TM Net merger, yesterday. He is looking at end March for merger talks to wrap up.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 17, 2003 07:59 AM
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Excess power

M. Shanmugam estimated that Tenaga Nasional is saddled with excess electricity supply at 40% in one article, and as high as 45% in another in the same issue of The Edge weekly (December 15).

The conflicting percent point is not an issue for me to contest here. But I do not know how we found ourselves in such a no-win situation: Sprouting independent power plants (IPP) and excess electricity supply.

This is the state of affairs of our excess power supply, which is in a way perishable, according to M. Shanmugam:

Tenaga's reserve margin of 40% is one of the highest in its history. This means for every unit of power generated, there is a standby of 40% of power.

Ideally, the utility company is looking at maintaining a reserve margin of 25% or less.

But for that to happen, Malaysia must have a high economic growth rate of about 8% which causes electricity consumption to increase.

Economic growth is expected to be 4.5% this year and between 5.5% and 6% next year. Last year's growth was 4.1%.

Tenaga is said to have a smart idea to overcome this problem, and some IPPs are very interested to participate in the solutions:

Tenaga Nasional Bhd, which is saddled with a reserve margin of more than 40%, is reviewing a plan to export electricity to Sumatra.

Sources say several independent power producers (IPPs) have expressed interest in constructing the submarine cable that is expected to cost about US$150 million. One of them is believed to be Powertek, a company that is wholly owned by Ananda Krishnan's Tanjung plc.

Although Tenaga has stated that it will not build any more new power plants in the next few years, it has already committed to at least another 2,100mw in 2008 when the Tanjung Bin power plant is due for completion and commercial production. Besides Tanjung Bin, Tenaga is also staring at the possibility of excess power from the Bakun Hydroelectric dam being transmitted to the peninsula.

Even if Tenaga was successful in building the electricity export grid to Sumatra, there are two issues to tackle:

  1. High political risk that may jeapardise jeopardise receipt of payment - each region in Indonesia wants autonomy.

  2. Indonesian IPPs could build coal-fired plants to supply cheaper electricity.

Are we to keep Tenaga shares or to throw YTL Power and Malakoff? Any analyst advice?

* Posted by jeffooi on December 17, 2003 07:49 AM
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Digital photography

If you are looking for festive gifts, why not consider a digital SLR camera? I have had lots of satisfaction since acquiring Nikon D100 in October last year.

Take a look at the zen-like photography around Wellington, NZ, that CY Leow produced using a digital SLR, Canon D60, and you will be over-awed.

No snap shots of Wellington is complete without pictures of Karori, the suburb where CY stays... Shangri-La the Lost Horizon?

09_Karori_winter_350x.jpg
This was one cool winter morning in Karori... it was 6.30am and I was drawn to the window by the red sunrise, I grabbed my D60 and shot this mist covered Karori valley scene from my deck!

Yes... the deck of our house is overlooking the Karori Valley and also the hills surrounding it. On a good day, you will be able to see some truly amazing sunrise and sunset! Take a look at this "TRI COLOUR" sunset I captured at the deck!

10_Tri_Sunset_550x.jpg

And rainbow... where is the pot of gold?

11_Rainbow_550x.jpg

CY assures you that these photos are real. He has also captured a breath-taking 360-degree view of Wellington, taken from the Mt Victoria look-out. It's all in his Photoblog, twelve images in all.

Yesterday, Star In-Tech ran a cover feature on digicam. Tan Kit Hoong, who just bought a Fuji FINEPIX S2 PRO that's tailored on Nikon F80 and swappable with Nikkor lenses, has some good tips that's easy to digest.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 17, 2003 07:42 AM
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Politikus

Quotable quote:

Politicians usually come at the end of the queue.

Like people say, first there's the prophet, and then you have the poet, and then the philosopher and then last of all you have the last "P", which is the politicians.

Credit: Dr Chandra Muzaffar, president of International Movement for a JUST World.

Context: An interview with The Edge Option's Leela Barrock (December 15), in which he says individuals and social activists articulate ideas on reforms outside the political party arena, and eventually "you find that politicians take up these issues".

* Posted by jeffooi on December 17, 2003 07:26 AM
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Saddam released!

SaddamDoll_20031217.jpg

Barely 24 hours after being captured, Saddam Hussein the prisoner has been released in doll version.

Via ChannelNewsAsia.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 17, 2003 07:13 AM
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Get well soon

Glad to hear US Secretary of State Colin Powell is recovering quickly from prostate cancer surgery on Monday, and will be back at his desk in the New Year. His prognosis is good.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 17, 2003 07:07 AM
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Tuesday, December 16, 2003

Star English... 3 days in a row

Three English mistakes in three days - Dec 14, 15 and 16?

Queen's English, step aside. Here comes Star English! Reader Roger Dodger, wrote in today, December 16, 2003 10:03 AM:

More mistakes in today's Star (Page 3). From the article about the Noritta Samsudin murder:
Star_sub_20031216.jpg

Don't know the difference between 'accept' and 'except'? Duh...

Another reader, desiderata, wrote at 11:04 AM December 16, 2003 to point out that a Sunday Star story titled "Are there two halls too many?" (Dec 14, 2003) is also against-the-grains vis-a-vis the Queen's English.

The writer said, at issue are just two bodies -- SCAH (Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall) and its latest contender, KLCAH (Kuala Lumpur Chinese Assembly Hall).

Star_sub_20031214.jpg

Going by the norm, the headline should read "Is there one (a) hall too many?" unless The Star is hinting that both the Chinese associations are redundant - which might be politically incorrect for The People's Paper to take as a stance.

Read details here.

I frowned at one Pak Lah-related headline yesterday.

Let's hope this blog won't be held responsible if Kee Thuan Chye had to cancel his year-end leave to run English camps for the subs and the managing editor.

But there is a possibility that the recurring errors is due to lapses in the quality control of newsroom workflow and production processes.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 16, 2003 11:28 AM
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VoIP: I say, you say

In the December 1 issue of Malaysian Business, I wrote in my fortnightly column, titled: VoIP changes the rule, and mentioned that US regulator's attempt to control Internet telephony may be futile. I observed that many traditional telcos are warming up to VoIP as they see it as a big revenue generator. I also quoted a Malaysian success story built on VoIP, from RedTone, which is slated for KLSE listing next month.

Over sixteen months ago, I wrote in the same column (Malaysian Business, August 16, 2002) about the shifting paradigm in telecommunications: From VoIP to Computer Telephony. I even suggested it was about time we threw off our telco shares as they no longer qualified to be considered blue-chips.

Today, blogger Oon Yeoh, now back as a career journalist, writes on the same subject in Page 4, The Edge FinancialDaily: VOIP the future of telecommunications (not yet uploaded on theedgedaily.com as I blogged this).

Observing the trendlines, I had made a summary of VoIP as the emerging force in telecommunications:

VoIP created several impacts. The strict division between voice networks and data networks is collapsing with the uptake in VoIP. Secondly, voice connections routed through digital switches are regarded as data, hence future improvement in Internet infrastructure would further entrench its market position. Thirdly, telephony routed through the Internet, at a tariff pretty close to local calls, erodes the monopoly and revenue structure of the incumbents. Fourthly, regulation over the VoIP operators may be made redundant in a liberalized market environment.

These are, indeed, unfathomed frontiers for the upstart companies, the incumbents, the end-users as well as the industry regulators. (Read full story here).

Now, I hope the blogger and career journalist are both right in our observations.

Perhaps, I should get dn_gray (corrected for spam prevention) aka Malaysian to help me with the SIP-phone soon.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 16, 2003 07:46 AM
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Sukhoi Su-30MKM

A challenge for defence minister Najib Tun Razak as we are talking about a RM3.4 billion deal here.

Via newindpress.com, December 14:

Sukhoi develops trouble, India stops payment
Sunday December 14 2003 00:00 IST

NEW DELHI: Worried over the high rate of engine failure of its frontline (Sukhoi) SU-30MKI, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has refused to accept the latest batch of multi-role Sukhoi fighters from Russia.

Sukhoi-20031214.jpg

According to sources quoted by the Indian news website, the SU-30MKIs began to experience a high rate of engine failure after induction. Each engine has a life that is measured in hours, around 300 hours spent flying, taking off and landing between overhauls. To maintain them, the engines are subjected to periodic overhauling, calculated as Time Between Overhauls (TBO). A majority of the SU-30MKI's engines were withdrawn even before their TBO.

Newindpress added that though a batch of the Sukhois has been dispatched to the Lohegan Air Force Station in Pune, the IAF has decided not to accept them until the Russian manufacturers Rosvoorouzhenie accept its demands to rectify the several glitches in the aircraft.

The IAF has also suggested to the Ministry of Defence that further payments to the Russians be stopped until the demands are met.

In May, Malaysia had agreed to buy 18 Sukhoi Su-30 MKM jets under a RM3.4
billion deal
signed during a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Kuala Lumpur.

The deal was also supposed to include a RM95 million package to send Malaysia's first "astronaut" into space.

In April 2002, The Times of India reported that Russia wanted India to participate in the development of Sukhoi aircraft for the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) as the fighter jet sought by Kuala Lumpur would be a derivative of SU-30 MKI, which are being operated by the Indian Air Force.

Meanwhile, Najib Razak said the Defence Ministry will look into the news report of IAF's rejection, and the Royal Military Air Force (RMAF) will determine whether this will affect Malaysia's deal with Russia to buy the Sukhoi Su-30 MKM.

Thanks YW Loke for the pointer.

Incidentally, tomorrow - December 17, 2003 - marks the centenary of man’s first heavier-than-air flight, thanks to Wilbur and Orville Wright.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 16, 2003 07:32 AM
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Proton hype

Via NST-Business Times:

Thanks to several photographs that first appeared in a motoring-based website — autoworld.com — last week, the purported Wira Replacement Model (WRM) has sparked excitement among consumers, but uneasiness and anger from top Proton executives. [...]

It (Proton) did not deny that the photographs were of the real WRM but took up several newspaper advertisements threatening to take legal action against anyone infringing its rights and properties.

One of its contractors has lodged a police report against autoworld.com editor Chips Yap.

Are the little birds' droppings in this blog identical to what autoworld has published? Please advise.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 16, 2003 07:27 AM
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It came all too soon!

People are criticising Dr Mahathir's policies as they answer Abdullah's invitation for feedback.

But Dr M knew it was coming his way.

'Criticisms will be levelled against me, and against my faults when I was governing the country.

'There are already people writing petitions to Abdullah on the need to reform what I did. This will increase. I accept that.

'They can say whatever they want to say, I don't care... Otherwise, I will not be able to live.'

Read Brendan Pereira today.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 16, 2003 07:10 AM
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Zipped Codes

Zipped Code here...

SS15 Subang Jaya (100m from Post Office)

Zipped Code here, here, here, here and here...

POBox_250x.jpg POBox_250x.jpg USJ Taipan (Persiaran Perpaduan) | USJ 9 (in front of Petronas station)

POBox_250x.jpg POBox_250x.jpg
Damansara Jaya (Post Office) | Section 19, PJ (in front of a bus stop)

POBox_250x.jpg POBox_250x.jpg
Petaling Gardens, Section 5 PJ | USJ 3/1, Subang Jaya

SOURCES: USJ.com.my and Screenshots

NOTE: While location feedbacks are gathered from readers who wrote to both blog/websites, the pictures are for illustrative purposes and they were duplicated from the original sent in by mwtwong on December 12.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 16, 2003 06:07 AM
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Monday, December 15, 2003

Star's chief-sub & ME

Probably, after failing maths, I failed my English again.

But I am still baffled with a headline on Page 4 The Star today, which carries Pak Lah's response to EPF's 'thinking-stage' proposal on withdrawals:

Star_sub_20031215.jpg

It's not a matter of life-and-death, really. But then, it's very seldom for a newspaper to get a scoop and to foul up on headlines the next day, especially when the story concerns the PM's perspective on a major issue. Visibility is high and the embassies are reading it, for sure.

Perhaps, the managing editor, the chief-sub and all those who helped put The Star to bed last night should make a beeline at Kee Thuan Chye's "Mind Your English" clinic this morning... you (do) have to make your own decision, don't you?

* Posted by jeffooi on December 15, 2003 07:46 AM
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IGP's warning to media

I don't suppose IGP Mohd Bakri Omar reads this blog, but what this blogger detested over the media coverage of the Noritta Samsuddin murder (Utusan x 2, Malay Mail's open query on The Star) has found a strong echo. Via Bernama:

Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Bakri Omar on Sunday advised the media to refrain from speculating on the identity of the killer in the murder of marketing executive Noritta Samsudin.

He said Kuala Lumpur police were still waiting for reports from medical specialists at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital, including findings of DNA tests.

Hence, it was premature to draw any conclusions, he said.

"Let the police conduct their investigations," he told reporters...

Via theSun Page 3 lead bylined Charles Ramendran, quoting the IGP:

Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Omar referred to local dailies which published details and pictures of suspects who are still in remand.

"They (local dailies) should be more responsible in their reporting or face any consequences that may arise as a result of this," he said. [...]

In the past, when a suspect is under remand, newspaper reports would only contain sketchy details and if a picture was used, the prominent features of the suspect, usually the eyes would be blanked off or covered.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 15, 2003 07:41 AM
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Aluminium smelters aplenty

Suddenly, two menteris besar start talking about having aluminium smelters in their respective states.

In Perak, via StarBiz Dec 12: The Perak state government has received a fresh proposal from a company prepared to invest about RM9.3bil in an aluminium smelting plant in the Manjung district following its failure to attract Masco Aluminium to set up its operations there.

In Johor, via NST-Business Times: A Sino-US consortium of investors are keen on setting up an aluminium smelting plant and supporting amenities worth RM16 billion in Tanjung Langsat Industrial Estate near Pasir Gudang, Johor.

Will SMAB-Allabar's "aluminium smelter for Bakun Dam" plan die a stillborn in PowerPoint? P. Gunasegaram of The Edge weekly (Oct 13) has said the super tycoon was eyeing at borrowing RM2.5 billion from EPF to fund the project.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 15, 2003 07:26 AM
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What's your top story?

This blog went public on January 2. Soon, I will be completing my first year of non-stop (well, almost...) blogging. What do you think are the top stories of the year?

SARS? Dr M's retirement? The United States invasion of Iraq, terrorist bombings at our door-steps in Asia, or the capture of Saddam Hussein?

Please use the search engine on this page to refresh your memories, and propose your Top 5.

I will try to collate your verdict by January 1.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 15, 2003 07:03 AM
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Sunday, December 14, 2003

'Ladies & Gentlemen... We got him!'

Breaking news:

TIME.com: US Intelligence Official Confirms that Saddam Hussein has been Captured. Image link via Guardian and BBC:

The hideout is a 8-foot deep hole beneath a rural farmhouse, south of Tikrit, northern Iraq. No resistance when captured.

Qoute U.S. commander Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez: Prisoner is 'talkative and cooperative'... he appeared to be a man "resigned to his fate".

A historic day. What does it mean?

* Posted by jeffooi on December 14, 2003 07:58 PM
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All your EPF savings at age 70, that's the earliest!

If The Star's report on EPF is accurate and true - and we have no reasons not to believe so - we now have a major crisis at hand.

I call on all of you to speak up and speak out!

EPF_20031213.gif

Would you agree we are now being forced down the throat and to take it to mean that:

  • The EPF is anticipating great cash flow and liquidity problems which would actualise soon?

  • 'Simpanan Masa Tua Anda' has now become 'Simpanan Arwah Anda'?

  • The EPF - and the government - can change rules to affect the majority just because minority contributors had screwed up their withdrawn savings upon retirement?

  • You have no say over your money you placed in trust with a fund manager whom you would normally fire if he under-performs?

If the government did not put the issue to rest by next week, I suggest you start considering the following actions, in the exact sequence, but the choice is yours:

  • Withdraw all your entitled portions to invest in EPF-approved unit trust funds or CF-ready properties of your choice - Do it tomorrow before the EPF closes the gate on you!

  • Petition the government to boot out EPF's CEO Azlan Mohd Zainol - formerly Arab-Malaysian Bank Bhd's managing director - and his entire management team for coming up with such bizzare idea. Give a January timeline.

  • Failing which, you boot out the present government that houses EPF come general election time.

Pak Lah's government, whose ministerial portfolio in treasury oversees EPF, is having a major credibility crisis and the PM should nib nip it in the bud.

EPF wants to play fire with the rakyat's savings! We have to say NO!

Get some inspiration from here, here, here and here.

Take a look at this if you are hesitated:

EPFDividend_20031213.gif Source: The Star
* Posted by jeffooi on December 14, 2003 01:01 PM
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Changing tune

On November 6, Star's Wong Sulong wrote a commentary on the awarding of the double-tracking project to MMC-Gamuda: "It all boils down to price". It attracted the attention of PAS Kubang Kerian MP Husam Musa who made a direct reference to it a week later in Malaysiakini.

Apparently, it took more than a month for The Star to come to terms that the controversial deal is not just as 1-2-3 as pricing. It's editorial today says: Ultimately, it came down to a matter of cost and timing.

Star-Rail_20031214.jpg

Friday, I blogged about a reader's questioning on Cabinet members' about-turn on the double-tracking project - majority of the same ministers were all ayes during Dr M's administration.

In today's New Sunday Times, Munir Majid turns his guns on the civil service who, he says, also contributed to the ruckus:

There is, however, a concern that the level of professionalism in the civil service has taken a dive and is only to be found in certain pockets of the service.

This is worrying because, as I have said, the service is critical to the performance of the executive.

People are asking, for example, with regard to the decision on the rail track project, how is it that what was thought financially feasible up to one and half months ago has now been found not to be so? The Government's finances have not deteriorated so dreadfully since. The commitment to achieve a balanced budget had already been made in the last Budget speech.

So what kind of advice did the civil servants give, then and now? Was there a deficit in information or a shortfall in advice? Or was there a glitch in procedure? If there was still uncertainty, how did a letter of award go out? Indeed, how did even just a letter of intent go out, at a contract of over RM40 billion, when even RM14 billion was subsequently felt to be unaffordable? These are the kinds of questions people are asking, and perhaps MPs in the Dewan Rakyat might want to ask.

Putting the two together, it would be a tragedy if Malaysian journalism were to go to the same dogs as did our civil service. It's a war that surviving journalists must soldier on from within their ranks.

Sorry, journos, we can't fight your war apart from being sympathetic spectators. And as spectators, we could only cheer and jeer, and rise to the occasions as and when we could afford to. What else you expect we readers do?

* Posted by jeffooi on December 14, 2003 12:30 PM
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Seah Chiang Nee... many thanks

I take it as a compliment for Singapore-based veteran journalist Seah Chiang Nee (Reuters 1960 - 70, Singapore Herald 1970, The Asian 1072 - 73, Hong Kong Standard 1973 - 74, Straits Times 1074 - 82, Singapore Monitor 1982 - 85) to include me on his radar screen for keeping vigil on the double-tracking issue.

See littlespeck.com of which Seah is the editor.

SeahCheangNee.jpg

I treat Seah's mention as a rare honour for a blogger as he has been writing a Sunday column, since 1986, in The Star - whose handling of the Gamuda Lin spin in its businessheets - intentionally or unknowingly - I deplore and detest.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 14, 2003 11:51 AM
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Saturday, December 13, 2003

Zipped Code

I leave you with this - for a good laugh maybe - as I take leave to go yachting (and carrying suitcase for VIPs ;-)

POBox_LRes.jpg

Photo courtesy of reader mwtwong, who emailed:

I just can't resist takling a snap shot of this sealed up collection letter box. I think the "rosak key" is just an excuse because 100m down the road, there is the new Subang Jaya Post Office. Why would they waste their time opening up this collection Box.

They might as well cart it away.

I say, to POS Malaysia, defeat is an option.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 13, 2003 12:03 AM
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Friday, December 12, 2003

Probing Achilles' heel

Is there a precarious spot on Syed Mokhtar the super tycoon? Eddie Toh's story in Singapore Business Times today gives some inklings.

MMC plunged 11.8 per cent to RM2.17 yesterday, while Gamuda dropped 10.5 per cent to RM6.40.

This wiped off more than RM360 million in the capitalisation of MMC, which is 40 per cent-controlled by Syed Mokhtar.

More alarmingly for the tycoon, he must make an expensive general offer for the rest of MMC should the price fall to his general offer price of RM2.01.

The exercise could cost him more than RM1.3 billion should he buy out all minority shareholders.

But some state funds had earlier given an undertaking they would not cash in their shares.

The answer lies in the last paragraph, obviously. Pak Lah - the MoF - can call the shot, and JJ the minister can play the Devil's Advocate if he so chose.

Reader Perry Mason ('PM'), perhaps, has a remedy. En. Ali can walk away doing his bit for national service, and let Baba sinseh take the hair-cut - if that is what he's ('PM') trying to say.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 12, 2003 01:57 PM
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'What sodomy?' Malay Mail asks The Star

A follow-up to media coverage of Noritta Samsudin murder.

MM-20031212_Noritta.jpg

In Page 2 today, The Paper That Cares openly asks The People's Paper on the serious business of accurate news reporting:

Police have yet to receive the post-mortem report on murdered company executive Noritta Samsudin... Brickfields police deputy chief superintendent Mohd Kuzi Minai said he was unable to confirm or deny a report that Noritta was raped and sodomised by her killer in the incident between midnight and 4am.

"Even the police have yet to receive the post-mortem report. I do not know where they got the information from," said Mohd Kuzi, commenting on a report by The Star yesterday.

The Star's headline yesterday was: Noritta was not only raped she was sodomised

Hold your breath and wait out which tabloid is right.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 12, 2003 07:39 AM
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Strong feeling in the Cabinet

The message from Pak Lah's administration yesterday is that the majority of Cabinet members, which met on Wednesday, strongly felt that the double-tracking project must be postponed.

If you had missed anything, surely my good friend YW Loke hadn't. He wrote early this morning:

The things that strikes me in the wee hours... it just occurred to me that the Cabinet which now feels "strongly" that the rail project should be postponed, is made up of the very same people who formed the Cabinet under Dr M, except for Dr Ling Liong Sik and Dr M himself.

Those who now opined that "going ahead with a project that will require such a large sum of money was not a priority at the moment" did not voice, or were never reported to have voiced, any such thoughts just a short while ago.

Has there been any drastic change in the "priority of needs" and affordability in that time...? Methinks no.

Why now the change?

Aah! Cabinet reshuffle?

* Posted by jeffooi on December 12, 2003 07:39 AM
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Teknodaie

Learn a new word today, via Utusan Online:

Teknodaie ialah golongan pendakwah yang menggunakan teknologi untuk menjalankan kerja-kerja dakwah bagi menyeru manusia ke jalan Allah s.w.t. dengan melakukan kebaikan dan meninggalkan kemungkaran.

Can someone please translate the above for the benefits of our international readers? Thanks.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 12, 2003 07:36 AM
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Negotiated contract vs open tender

This is revealed in Cindy Yeap's story in NST-Business Times today:

In general, margins for negotiated contracts are higher at between 20 and 25 per cent range versus open tenders where margins fall to about 8 and 12 per cent range, he (unnamed analyst) said.

Can somebody plot how many of SMAB's projects were awarded via negotiated contracts?

* Posted by jeffooi on December 12, 2003 07:29 AM
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Passing Pak Lah's mean test

In the aftermath of the government's announcement on mega-projects, Brendan Pereira of Singapore Straits Times came out with this engaging story: Large-scale projects must pass the Abdullah means test. Excerpts:

Now that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has done the unthinkable and tinkered with his predecessor's legacy of mega projects, there is expectation he will do the same to other projects and policies.

But that is not going to happen.

The decision to postpone the RM14.5 billion (S$6.6 billion) double-tracking rail network project - Malaysia's most expensive infrastructure project - will not signal the start of a campaign to revisit all privatisation contracts awarded by the previous administration of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

What will happen from now on will be a selective screening of a few giant projects such as the Bakun dam and an assessment of whether they pass the Datuk Seri Abdullah means test of viability, utility and cost.

What will also happen is a distancing from large-scale infrastructure projects and a clear bias towards those that benefit people at the grassroots level, such as rural development, agriculture and education.

And I think the subsequent paras are insightful, because we didn't get to hear them before October 31:

From the time the rail contract was awarded to the Malaysia Mining Corp-Gamuda consortium in late October, friends, aides, senior government officials and businessmen have been telling him that the country did not need and could not afford the double-tracking system.

They argued that the rail line stretching the length of West Malaysia would not be commercially viable and would strain finances for years to come.

For many, it was the first time they were voicing a sentiment which had been percolating in their hearts for a long time - that they had grown tired of large-scale infrastructure projects.

Pereira says Pak Lah has to give Malaysians a sense that some things are changing. And that feeling was pretty much in the air yesterday.

I recall what Wong Chun Wai said last Sunday in his column: 'Expect real action is graft clean-up... brace for some serious surprises soon.' Is it coming now?

* Posted by jeffooi on December 12, 2003 07:06 AM
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Thursday, December 11, 2003

Further signals?

LATEST at 7.45pm: The Star Online updated after the PM's press conference held in Tokyo a while ago.

Pak Lah said the Cabinet will meet next week to make the final decision but the controversial RM14.5bil double-track railway project must be postponed because the government has priority for other needy development projects.

He cited prudence management and affordability as the main reasons for such a move.

Excerpts of reports from Wong Chun Wai:

He said the majority of Cabinet members, which met on Wednesday, strongly felt that the project must be postponed.

He said if the project was revived in future, the consortium would be offered the job “if they still want it.”

Asked whether other expensive projects such as the Bakum dam project would be affected, he said the government would continue to monitor these projects.

Bernama has a similar dispatch from Tokyo at 20:13 hr, bylined Mohd Fisol Jaafar.

* * *

UPDATES to the Dec 10 Cabinet's decision:

At noon, Wong Chun Wai reported from Tokyo, where he is covering Pak Lah's attendance at the Japan-Asean Commemorative Summit, that the PM is expected to provide details of the government's decision to postpone construction of the RM14.5bil double-tracking railway project at a press conference at 5.30pm Malaysia time.

Development at a glance:

  • At 12:07pm, Bernama quoted the Transport Minister as saying there was a strong feeling in the Cabinet at its meeting yesterday for the double-tracking rail project to be postponed for the time being. However, he said decision on the matter has yet to be made pending further details to be discussed by the Cabinet next week.
  • At 14:02:53 hr, Dow Jones quoted a Transport Ministry spokesman as saying the government would reach a decision on the project following a cabinet meeting next week.
  • mmcGamudaDec11.jpg Graph: NST-Business Times

  • At 17:00 hr, Gamuda (5398) shedded 10.49% and closed at RM6.40, down 75 sen, with 20.61 million shares done. It opened at RM6.70 and fell to a low of RM6.30.

    Its warrants also tumbled with Gamuda-WB (5398X) and Gamuda-WC (5398wc) down 56 sen (-18.92%) and 47 sen (-14.42%), to RM2.40 and RM2.79, respectively.

    MMC (2194) opened at RM2.42 and tumbled to RM2.17, shedding 11.79% with 4.98 million shares done.

  • At 17:10:15 hr, Reuters reported that Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) lost nearly 1% by midday on Thursday, led by steep falls in the shares of MMC and Gamuda. The former plunged to their lowest level in six months while the latter hit a two-month low with a 10.5% fall.

    MMC and Gamuda have a combined market capitalisation of RM7.9 billion, or slightly under 2% of the market's overall capitalisation of more than RM500 billion.

    "Speculation has also swirled that tycoon Syed Mokhtar's star might be waning," Reuters said.

  • At 20:24:57 hr, Dow Jones said MMC issued a brief statement announcing that it has not received any notification from the Malaysian government regarding the status of a rail project.
  • At 20:29 hr, Bernama quoted Tengku Abdul Aziz Tengku Ibrahim, the President of Transparency International Malaysia, as saying the Cabinet's decision is a step in the right direction.

    "We have got to be transparent and accountable in the way we award projects," he said referring to the controversy surrounding the award of the project which irked constractors from India and China, despite negotiations undergoing for the award of the project on a government-to-government basis.

    "We can expect a more consistent and transparent approach as far as public procurement and supplies contract is concerned which is highly susceptible to corruption," he said.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 11, 2003 07:32 PM
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Believability: Reuters and Syed Mokhtar

Many woke up to a piece of pleasant news, that the December 10 Cabinet meeting has decided to postpone indefinitely the RM14.5 billion double-track railway project because of “priority of needs” and affordability of the country.

The Edge broke the news at 6.19pm yesterday - updated at 9.37am this morning - quoting unnamed sources. It carries a strong message with far-reaching implications.

Implication One: It reiterates that Malaysia's government resides in Putrajaya, and not at 10th Floor, Block B, Wisma Semantan, or editors' desks behind the business-sheets.

Related to this, Brendan Pereira of Singapore Straits Times alludes by saying that Pak Lah is sending a clear signal of his style by overturning controversial contract awarded to tycoon Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary (SMAB).

Naming Syed Mokhtar as the big loser after yesterday's Cabinet decision, Pereira said it also served notice that the days of a choice group of businessmen monopolising the country's infrastructure projects are over.

On the other hand, the Asian Wall Street Journal quoted government officials who insisted that the decision to shelve the project was not aimed at any particular business group and did not represent a rejection of policies pursued by Dr. Mahathir's government.

"We're pushing for fiscal prudence and some projects had to be shelved," said a senior government official. "The [railway] project was that elephant in the middle of the room that you couldn't ignore."

Implication Two: Order books at Malaysian Mining Corporation Bhd and Gamuda Bhd, the direct beneficiaries of the controversially-awarded project, will look drastically different. So may be their shares, and credit ratings.

According to another theedgedaily.com breaking news at 10.21am today, Gamuda and MMC shares tumbled in early trade, down more than 11% and 7% respectively.

At 9.30am, Gamuda was trading at RM6.40, down 75 sen, with 3.29 million shares done. It opened at RM6.70 and fell to a low of RM6.30.

Its warrants also tumbled with Gamuda-WC and Gamuda-WB down 46 sen each to RM2.80 and RM2.50.

MMC opened at RM2.42 and tumbled to RM2.25. Within the first half-hour, it was trading at RM2.29, down 17 sen from yesterday’s close of RM2.46 with 722,500 shares done.

These are but knee-jerk responses among retail players. Brace for the real thing. Bloomberg has an early edition analysis.

Reuters - SMAB Rendezvous. It is now a known fact that Syed Mokhtar had picked Reuters for a one-on-one dinner meeting on December 8. The newswire returned the gesture with two stories, on December 9 and yesterday, respectively.

The first Reuters story, quoting "sources close to the deal", talked about Malaysia, the country, being in the midst of announcing the financing details for the double-tracking rail project by the end January. The story said the fund-raising plan may tap the domestic bond market with the sale of AAA-rated asset-backed paper.

The second story from Reuters, by Patrick Chalmers, portrayed a benign Syed Mokhtar who feels that by instituting a price drop in the rail project had in itself left him a happy Malaysian.

"If I lost this contract, I wouldn't mind because morally, I have won," he said late on Monday.

So, how do you read the cabinet's decision within 48 hours of the Reuters' stories? Coincidental, sequential or consequential?

First, let's recap how the new development unfolded yesterday, a Wednesday and a cabinet meeting day. If you notice, The Edge's breaking news at 6.19 yesterday was swiftly picked up - with attributes - by AFP (via Malaysiakini) (20:00 hr) and Bernama (19:57hr). Notably, both international newswires had opted to quote The Edge as the definitice source.

This morning. the news was further extended by Asian Wall Street Journal (read transcript in BeritaMalaysia maling list), Singapore's Straits Times and Business Times (using AFP story).

While The Star carries its own source story in general news section, the NST-Business Times holds a contrarian view by quoting an unnamed senior government official as saying no decision has been made on the status of the project.

It's only yesterday did Syed Mokhtar go on Reuters to announce that the double-tracking project, complete with funding arrangements, would be finalised by end January (See Dec 9 news report).

Now, we are left with the task of deciding the believability of the story behind all these: Who and whose version should we place our bet on if not for the prime minister and his signals.

Meanwhile, Eddie Toh has got to know the philanthropic side of Syed Mokhtar, which he gallantly wrote on December 9: Syed Mokhtar to build KL complex for charity foundation. The project, next to the national mosque in KL, is being undertaken by listed IJM Corporation, in which SMAB holds about 20% equity.

That aside, this little piece of news should not be overlooked. With or without the double-tracking rail, the Singapore-Kunming Rail Link looks set to take off with work on some missing link stretches starting as early as next year. Malaysia had agreed to donate used tracks for the missing stretches, over 48km between Poipet and Sisophon in Cambodia.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 11, 2003 12:39 PM
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The 1,000m cable that 'snapped and plunged'

There had been interesting Conversations on The Star's frontpage-pix story on the 1,000m cable that "snapped and plunged down Penang Hill'.

Hisab called me splitting hair, Thomas Lee called me silly, Wan called me "ignorant and arrogant", and many resorted to Pythagoras' theorum to help explain the confusion. Thank you all the same.

Today, Straits Times Singapore carries the story picked up from AP, The Star/Asia NewsNetwork. Please compare the copy treatment.

The Star today also runs a follow-up story on Page 3, bylined Sira Habibu , in which:

  1. Verbs like "slid down" and "slide downhill" are used instead of "snapped and plunged more than 1,000m down the hill"

  2. The original story of "1,000m long cable imported from Switzerland" has been changed to "2km-long replacement cable"

  3. The original description of "a newly imported cable being laid along the Penang Hill funicular railway track snapped" is now changed to "The steel cable, weighing seven tonnes, slid down the hill after one of the clamps gave way during cable-cutting works..."

However, there is no definitive word on whether it was the cable that had actually snapped, or the clamp that held the cable that gave way, that had caused the incident.

I must say there's no sense of feeling vindicated as I seek to be educated, and re-educated, on Journalism 101.

But if the editors at Menara Star did listen to what readers in this blog said about the copy treatment - especially Wan who suggested the verb 'slide' rather than 'plunge' - my hats off to you guys at the newsroom.

But the managing editor who put the Dec 10 edition of The Star to bed should buy the next rounds of teh tarik Tongkat Ali. I heard there were faces that looked like cooked lobster, up there.

Wah wah, I said Teh Tarik, didn't I?

* Posted by jeffooi on December 11, 2003 10:58 AM
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StarBiz tradition

As the year draws closer to an end, StarBiz has rekindled its tradition of talking to corporate titans for their cystalball-gazing. CEO Outlook 2004 has started since December 9. The series will run 5 days a week, from Tuesdays to Saturdays.

Wong Sulong summarises that the CEOs, while giving Pak Lah the thumbs-up, believe their companies will perform better next year.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 11, 2003 06:36 AM
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sCreamyx!

Screamyx (sic) problem again. I was cut-off from most websites, including Screenshots and The EdgeDaily which are hosted locally, since noon yesterday. Both at work and at home.

On Streamyx, surfing The Star, Bernama, Malaysiakini and even NST, was ironically fast. Google News was completely inaccessible.

TM Net/Streamyx didn't announce its problems on its website, except for a terse recorded message on the 9515 IVR. But judging from rumblings in lowyat.net forum, the problem was extensive. Ping time-out and a lot of 404s...

TV Smith, who told me he was also hit, suggested a web tool to take a peep at Streamyx's autonomous system (AS) and its directed graphs, and such info as the route tables and linkages from Streamyx to other AS.

If you have other tools that allow you to look at Streamyx's BGP or CIDR route tables, please share it here.

As I can't log-in to my editing console, no updates on this blog since yesterday evening - though there was a breaking news.

My last Screamyx outages were on November 11 and December 4. Can't be more on-the-dot than my wife's menses!

* Posted by jeffooi on December 11, 2003 06:23 AM
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Wednesday, December 10, 2003

National Service: Side-income

You can make money - good money - out of people's anxiety!

Business scenario: Youngsters eager to find out if they had been picked for national service - there's a penalty if they shirk the call-up. Their parents and also relatives, equally anxious, will scamble to find out the details.

The mouse-trap: Set up a National Service website and also the National Service short messaging service (SMS) server. People will come like ants take to sugar.

Modus Operandi: Offer only two formats for SMS. Use KN-860513015008 as the SMS for checking by using the identity card number; Key in SemakNama-Mohd Ali Omar if checking by name for, say, Mohd Ali bin Omar. Then send the SMS short code 36188.

Then bill RM2 per SMS.

Day one alone, the operator received 100,000 SMS sent by these anxious people.

Ever wonder how big is the money? Reader Theophillus Theophillus emailed to tell me this:

110,000 people SMS-ing in, some multiple times. Take an approximate of 300,000 SMS sent in overall. Who is MINDEF trying to kid?

Sure, they didnt make money, but someone sure did (to the tune of 300,000 x RM 2).

The cost of infra to setup a short code service can be as low as RM 1,500 if you use a provider like AKN.

Got the picture? Has minister Najib revealed where the money goes to?

Read The Star, Page 3.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 10, 2003 11:41 AM
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Probably, I fail maths again!

UPDATE (December 11):

Straits Times Singapore carries the story picked up from AP, The Star/Asia NewsNetwork. Compare the copy treatment.

I have a detailed update, separately.

* * *

Admittedly, my mathematics has always been 'half-past-six'. But I really can't figure out how a cable could ( 1 ) plunge 1,000m down Penang Hill ( 2 ) landed at mid station/mid hill ( 3 ) when the hill resort is quoted at 830m high?

It's in The Star, Page 4 lead, bylined Siow Yuen Ching with a frontpage pix:

Scores of workers ran for safety when a newly imported cable being laid along the Penang Hill funicular railway track snapped and plunged more than 1,000m down the hill. [...]

The cable tumbled down the hill and landed near the tracks at the middle station of the 830m hill resort, one of Penang’s major tourist attractions.

Someone please educate this blogger!

* Posted by jeffooi on December 10, 2003 10:55 AM
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Phoneless 3G

I wrote in my column in Malaysian Business (May 1, 2002): 3G: Going, Going, Gone! The subhead was: The irony could mean ultimate winning for “Last-to-Market” telcos

Exactly one year ago, I told a few seniors at Telekom Malaysia and Maxis to first deploy 3G on bandwidth-hungry road warriors, who are notebook-dependents, and to forget about handsets. They pooh-poohed at my suggestions.

Yesterday, Vodafone Group Plc, the world's largest mobile telecoms operator, said it was launching new third-generation mobile services for choice German and Italian clients, but not for making phone calls.

According to Reuters Technology, Vodafone will target company laptop users in need of high-speed mobile Internet links as its first customers, starting with PC cards and data calls only - not mobilephones!

This means, Vodafone is ignoring ordinary consumers, because the 3G handsets that offer features such as video telephony are still riddled with technical glitches.

In the European scenario, operators had hoped to strike a gold mine when they spent 100 billion euros (US$123 billion) for licenses to bring the so-called "fast Internet access and video calls" to mobile phone users.

But most have missed several launch dates and some had to surrender their licences as their business case had evaporated. Currently, the telecoms industry still grapples with fundamental issues like bulky, expensive 3G handsets, short battery lives and calls that drop when users are on the move.

Back in Malaysia, in terms of business-case, it's good that Telekom Malaysia has delayed the 3G roll-out, and Maxis a further 6 months behind the taiko.

But this makes MCMC look very dumb for keeping silence on its roll-out imperative to the licencees.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 10, 2003 07:01 AM
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Dependable government and stupidity

This blog is dedicated to Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, the minister:

Quotable quotes:

Describing himself as the number one servant to Malaysia, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said yesterday that he may institute policy adjustments in the country if the need arises but stressed that it will not be for personal glory.

"We have to be dynamic, nothing is cast in stone that cannot be changed. If the situation warrants changes, and if I don't make the changes, then somebody will say 'he must be stupid'.

"But if there is no need to change but I want to change it because I want (to do) it for my name, somebody will say that is stupid too. Why are you doing all this just for your name?"

Backgrounder: Granting an interview to members of the Japanese media, ahead of his first-ever trip to Japan since becoming prime minister on Oct 31. The event is Asean-Japan Commemorative Summit in Tokyo held on December 11.


Another quote:

"If a government cannot respond to this, the government cannot exist; the people will bring down the government."

"...Now, I have no boss to refer to, you know."

Backgrounder: Abdullah was asked whether he would continue with the
policies implemented under former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad or
introduce his own ideas. He avoided a direct answer and said a government that failed to cater to changing situations, demands and aspirations of the people would only invite trouble for itself.

Source: Bernama.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 10, 2003 06:46 AM
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TheEdgeDaily recovers

I am very glad theedgedaily.com has decided to move forward and continue to break news. It updated at least 15 new stories yesterday, intensely from 8.05pm to 10.53pm.

I am very glad I didn't skip lunch in vain just to blog on the topic: Web strategy and customer promise at 1.36pm yesterday.

Many thanks to Ho Kay Tat and Toh Lye Huat! Now, let's make FinancialDaily less staid and give StarBiz a friendly competition.

The Australian Financial Review, my favourite paper when I re-studied there, is a good business tabloid to model on. The online version is revenue-generating tool via subscriptoin.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 10, 2003 06:22 AM
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Tuesday, December 09, 2003

Proton Sutra?

Proton's replacement model for Wira is still under embargo. But a little bird dropped this at my window this evening. Would this Alfa Romeo rear-look-alike (some say C-Class coupe) be Proton Sutra?

Proton_Sutra_01.jpg Proton_Sutra_02.jpg

Listening to the chirps, the new model powered by Proton's Lotus Campro engine will be competitively priced as there's no more royalty payable to Mitshubishi. Korean marques that have dented some of Proton's market share lately should be in for a good run for money.

Are we looking at something not exceeding RM50K... before Gong Xi Fa Cai?

* Posted by jeffooi on December 9, 2003 07:40 PM
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Web strategy and customer promise

December 3, I commented that The EdgeDaily dotcom has got its web strategy driven backward. I said its website no longer breaks news but has now become a repository of stale news published in the FinancialDaily, the weekday print version.

I don't suppose Group EIC Ho Kay Tat reads this blog attentively, but The Edge (December 8) has an explanation on the questions I raised, in Page 3: Behind The Stories. Ho says, with The Edge weekly, the FinancialDaily and the multimedia channels, The Edge is now able to deliver business news "that matters to you" seven days a week:

  • Throughout the working day via SMS through Maxis and DiGi and the Internet at www.theedgedaily.com;

  • In print Monday to Friday via Financial Daily; and

  • The Edge weekly every Saturday and Sunday

As an example, on the afternoon of Dec 4 (Thursday), we got wind that Telekom was buying a 15% stake in Measat and that it would be announced to the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange after 5pm. We immediately put the story out via SMS to Maxis and DiGi subscribers at 2.55pm. Within the next 30 minutes, it was on our website with the message that full details will be available in Financial Daily the next day.

"This story showed the entire components of our delivery channels at work, first reporting on a story as it broke and then giving the details and analysis as the story unfolded," says Ho. "By the weekend, this issue of The Edge will wind up the news break with an insightful report on what the deal means."

I surfed theedgedaily.com during lunch break and found these headlines - which are basically local business news - with this morning's time-stamps, respectively:

  1. BNM to issue savings bonds
    By Jimmy Yeow, 10.52am 09/12/2003
  2. MDCH to introduce shares collateral facility in 1Q04
    By Jimmy Yeow & Goh Kar Han, 5.24pm 08/12/2003
  3. Sime Darby bids for InterGen’s assets
    11.03am 09/12/2003
  4. Palm oil outlook good next year, says Keng Yaik
    By Tong Yee Siong, 10.05am 09/12/2003
  5. M’sia, China explore paper making using oil palm fibre
    11.02am 09/12/2003
  6. Ganad revamp to complete in 1Q04
    By Tong Yee Siong, 11.01am 09/12/2003
  7. Protasco pre-qualified for RM1.3 bil Indian projects
    11.00am 09/12/2003
  8. Measat shares close at RM4.14
    By Yap Lih Huey, 10.59am 09/12/2003
  9. RHB Bank foresees 2-3% loan growth
    By Kevin Tan, 10.57am 09/12/2003
  10. RHB’s Hague to stay put
    10.55am 09/12/2003
  11. Market firmer in early trade
    By Joseph Chin, 10.49am 09/12/2003
  12. Yu Neh Huat opens 25% higher at RM1.25
    By Michelle Kuan, 9.46am 09/12/2003

In summary, headline 2 is yesterday's breaking news and is carried as frontpage lead story of Financial Daily today. Headlines 1, 8, 9 and 10 are carried on Page 2, headlines 6 and 7 are found in Page 4, and headlines 3, 4 and 5 are in Page 6.

With Financial Daily hitting the streets around 5.30am, this means theedgedaily, which carries the eight pieces of news I sampled above and they didn't get uploaded until 9.46am the earliest - has been materially made a web repository of stale news, not breaking news as claimed.

To be fair, headlines 11 and 12, above, are new updates, while today's frontpage second lead story in Financial Daily: Salary increase based on performance bylined Michelle Kuan, was updated last night 9.56pm.

When you contrast this with a customer promises that says: "Within the next 30 minutes, it was on our website with the message that full details will be available in Financial Daily the next day", the strategy looks sound but execution and service delivery, in actuality, may be off-edge.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 9, 2003 01:36 PM
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Who is the boss?

Quotable quotes:

  1. "We as politicians are elected by the people, we are not government servants... we are political masters..."
  2. "But he (ACA investigations director Nordin Ismail) is trying to say he is with the PM's Department, 'so don't touch me... if you touch me you are touching the prime minister'. I think that is rubbish."

Credit: Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, Minister of Entrepreneur Development
Backgrounder: Should ACA be answerable to the PM's Department or the Cabinet?
Source: theSun Page 2, December 9.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 9, 2003 10:11 AM
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Trial by media

The Noritta Samsudin murder: Probably Rose Ismail - herself a practising journalist with impeccable track record - didn't get to whisper to her husband last night.

Group EIC Khalid Mohd has gone ahead to allow Utusan Malaysia blow it large today on three suspects under remand: A Malay couple and a Chinese man. Click here.

At the material time, one is made to understand that the three are in remand to assist police investigations. Makes me wonder, is innocent until proven guilty still a valid convention in the newsroom today?

If Khalid thinks I am putting him on trial-by-weblog, please use the Conversations section to say his piece.

UPDATE: Just flipped through the NST and Malay Mail. They appear to be the in the same league as Utusan Malaysia. The Star and theSun have avoided carrying the suspects' mugshots.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 9, 2003 07:17 AM
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The ACA ruckus

Noise level has heightened, the real issues sunken.

Yesterday, Chief Secretary to the Government Samsudin Osman said there is no specific provision in the General Orders that bars government officers from criticising ministers, however, it is not the practice among government officers to criticise ministers as they were the administrators.

Entrepreneur Development Minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz was reported to have said Monday that there is a paragraph in the General Orders which states that a public officer cannot criticise ministers.

The minister yesterday challenged the ACA to arrest him. Read Utusan Online: Saya hendak Nordin tangkap saya - Nazri. Minister of Rural Development Azmi Khalid also upped the ante and advised the ACA not to get emotional in carrying out investigations.

Samsudin said it was out of place for civil servants to criticise ministers
as they (ministers) have to abide by their own code of ethics and were only
answerable to the Prime Minister.

"I think it is not appropriate for civil servants to criticise, ministers have their head -- the Prime Minister," he said.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Dr Rais Yatim said he would propose to the Cabinet this week on the need to set a time frame for Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) investigations.

In this respect, Dr Rais said amendments would have to be made to the Anti-Corruption Act 1997 in particular Section 60 to set a reasonable time frame for completing investigations.

He said accordingly Section 107 and Section 120 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) would also be amended to penalise investigating officers who failed to complete their investigations within the time frame set.

He said an earlier proposal to impose a jail sentence was considered too harsh a penalty.

Yesterday, the NST gave the ACA ruckus a frontpage treatment with a lead story by Balan Moses, Ramlan Said and Lim Chee Wei: War of words between ministers, ACA played up.

DAP chief Lim Kit Siang yesterday commented again on the issue and called on the PM to give priority to reforming the ACA by making it a fully independent watchdog answerable to an all-party parliamentary standing committee on corruption led by an opposition MP.

Meanwhile, Nazri Aziz said he is is ready to meet the PM regarding the verbal spat between him and ACA Enforcement Director Nordin Ismail. "I'm waiting for the call from the Prime Minister," he said.

Malaysiakini news editor Nash Rahman warns that Nazri may become a victim of Umno politics. Dr Mahathir's retirement from public office may signal the fall of his former proteges including Nazri, he said.

He cited the removal of the NST Group EIC Abdullah Ahmad and Pasir Puteh Umno division chief Ibrahim Ali as examples of the political quicksand in Umno.

Nash highlighted that Nazri's parliament constituency, Chenderoh, has been redelineated into two: Padang Rengas and Lenggong. Nazri has been appointed the pro-tem Umno division chief for Padang Rengas while his stronghold is in Lenggong.

The fact that Nazri's squabbles with ACA "erupted" so suddenly goes to show there is a price to be paid as Nazri has openly called for Najib Tun Razak to be appointed the deputy PM, Nash said.

Lest we get distracted by the antics of the politikus: Pak Lah is supposed to get all the truth in graft-fighting in the public service and among corporate titans!

But this is fast becoming yet another sandiwara!

UPDATES: The NST has a blow-by-blow account of Nazri's anger, while its editorial says:

The verbal spat is an unwelcome diversion in the country's renewed efforts to eliminate corruption because it raises doubts about the integrity, professionalism and independence of the lead agency in the anti-graft war. It also does not do the credibility of the two ministries involved any good.

There are no winners, only losers in this bickering. The biggest loser is the nation because it throws a spanner in the anti-corruption drive.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 9, 2003 07:03 AM
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Monday, December 08, 2003

Invalid mobile

That's what appeared intermittenly on my 012 Maxis mobile-phone, all morning, all afternoon today.

HLR2 problem again? Cool!

Wonder if there are MCMC folks who suffered the same outage and yet won't complain, like me. (The difference, if you insist, is that: I've given up. They? Probably yet to wake up.)

Until such time the Public Complaints Bureau is up and running at the Communications & Multimedia Consumer Forum to handle telco-related QoS issues, MCMC should take proactive measures to discipline Maxis.


HLR: Home Location Register where specific mobilephone numbers are parented to certain geographically-based authentication centre.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 8, 2003 03:15 PM
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Business journalist

The beautiful part for being a business journalist is that you could offset your market-shatterring news with subsequent on-the-other-hand Op-Ed pieces so as not to estrange the tycoons who were made the subject of your business stories.

KL-based Eddie Toh (picture left) of Singapore Business Times is someone I admire for that reason.

December 4, he reported, rather professionally cautious, that "controversial tycoon Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary has had to amend a key term in one of his major government contracts - (from concession to turnkey) - as Malaysia's new Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi continues to fine-tune some mega privatisation deals awarded by the previous administration... It's unclear if the change in the contract is a blow to Syed Mokhtar as concessions need not be superior to turnkey contracts.

Today, December 8, he appears obligated to qualifying his earlier story with this Op-Ed piece: Don't write off Syed Mokhtar.

I am not suggesting somebody was buying lunch in between the two dates. But the message conveyed in the paragraphs that follow is rather clear.

Quoting SMAB's achievement in building, owning and operating Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) - the concession is to last for 60 years - and winning over two of the biggest shipping lines in the world, Maersk Sealand and Evergreen Marine, from the grip of Singapore, Eddie asks:

It's easy to take Dr Mahathir to task for having favoured Syed Mokhtar. But the simple question remains: Could another Malaysian businessman have pulled off such a major coup?

Eddie went on record for Syed Mokhtar as somebody who "has also been shrewd in playing the national-interest card in the North-South Railway project":

Although the whole exercise could have been carried out in a more orderly and transparent manner, it is clear the government has saved billions of ringgit as a result of the last-minute bid by Syed Mokhtar - he has shown that he can run a successful business and serve Malaysian interests at the same time.

That is why Dr Mahathir had kept his door open to Syed Mokhtar.

Then, comes the qualifier that proves to be equally effective in babysitting the sentiments at Putrajaya and you-know-where:

It's still unclear, however, if new Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will be as friendly towards Syed Mokhtar. Mr Abdullah has a different style.

One thing is certain, though: It won't be easy to shut out Syed Mokhtar completely.

Clever boy!

* Posted by jeffooi on December 8, 2003 03:03 PM
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Desperado

Out of the blue, the NST decided to run a story on Page 8, titled Internet - gateway to borderless world, featuring MAL's rants.

Rants? Yes, rants! - "Anywhere any place any time"; "a tool to education, freedom of expression and creativity"; "soon, se won't need cash:' "e-money"; "brick-and-mortal banks may not be of much use"; "live and compete in a borderless world". Yadda yadda yadda...

The problem is, the article not only sounded like a leaf taken off a 1993 Jaring brochure, it certainly lacks a context.

Worse, if you attribute the article to Tengku Mimos, it still works!

The quarter-page-on-broadsheet article looks neither like an advertorial, an extract of MAL's speech or presentation paper, nor a commemorative PR in conjunction with an event.

In fact, I can't find the elaboration to a blurb which reads like this:

Eleven years it's been since the Internet's introduction in Malaysia but Jaring chief executive officer Dr Mohamed Awang Lah, aka Mr Internet. warns that the 'best (and maybe the worst)' is yet to come.

Beneath MAL's 1 col x 5cm photo is captioned: Mohamed Awang: Schools needed. But the corresponding paragraph says:

"Think of what will happen to our schools: we don't need so many classes and the government expenditure on education, which includes buildings and classrooms, will definitely go down.

"Perhaps the meaning of 'school' would need to redefined, he said."

Someone out there must be bloody desperate - the PR, Balai Berita and probably, MAL himself?

* Posted by jeffooi on December 8, 2003 02:07 PM
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If Utusan still believes in journalism...

Rose Ismail at the NST please listen. Before you put your husband to bed tonight, please whisper to the other side of Utusan Malayu Group EIC Datuk Khalid Mohamad how old your daughters are, and make sure that they are well-guarded at all times. Don't make them Noritta and any motherly soul worth her salt should know the pain of losing someone she once rocked the cradle.

Yesterday, I have asked that Utusan spare some thoughts for the unfortunate. This comes from the father of a bereaved family:

In Kangar, Noritta's father voiced dismay over the unsavoury news reports about his daughter's murder.

Saying that some of the reports bordered on sensationalism, Samsudin Ahmad said Noritta “has been made out to be different from the friendly and easygoing person the entire family knows”.

“She was a nice person who was always willing to help friends,” he said of the part-time model.

The 55-year-old retired civil servant said what was worse was that Noritta was not around to defend her reputation or that of her family.

“Speculative accounts of her personal life are like rubbing salt to the wound. This must stop before the public starts having the wrong impression of Noritta, who was a model child.

“I know certain media want to sell astounding news but don't drag the family into this by saying 'we said this and that', when we did not. Let the police investigate and don't speculate.

“I have lost a daughter but I hope the police will nab the culprit. I want justice done, but in the proper way.

“Right now, only three individuals know what exactly happened and they are my daughter, the perpetrator and Allah,” he added.

Via The Star, Page 3 lead.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 8, 2003 11:55 AM
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What hangs over Dubya's head

UCLA professor Tom Plate has this observation:

Only a die-hard Bush-hater would wish Iraq to become another 'Vietnam' disaster. But the truth is, more and more Americans are beginning to worry about this possibility, as every day more American men and women die.

All historical analogies wind up being intellectual stretches: The Munich analogy has been used so many times that maybe it ought to be retired. The analogy of Iraq to Vietnam is certainly a reach.

The first dissimilarity is the menacing image of a major power - China - that hung over Vietnam and then-president Lyndon Johnson's head. It's the spectre of 9/11 and Islamic extremism that's hanging over President George W. Bush's head.

Another major discrepancy is the nature of the conflict. Vietnam was a civil war in which one side (Hanoi) was far better organised and steeled than the other; Iraq is a former authoritarian state, mostly Muslim, occupied by Western armies, mostly Christian.

Plate's recipe is that Dubya should listen to little voice like the late Senator Mike Mansfield (as told in a biography by former Washington Post foreign correspondent Don Oberdorfer).

Democrats should not oppose the Iraq intervention simply because they despise the Republican president; Republicans should not support it simply because they support their standard-bearer.

All must understand that only the president of the US is in a position to make these hard foreign-policy decisions - and Iraq is becoming increasingly more difficult by the day.

But, before President Bush makes any more decisions, he needs to hear a Mansfield-like voice in his head.

Via Singapore Straits Times.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 8, 2003 07:50 AM
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'Act of God'

Quotable quote:

'Maybe it was an act of God. I hope the audience found it funny.'

  • Credit: Iin Arifin Tahyan, Indonesia Energy Ministry official

  • Backgrounder: Power supply to the hotel auditorium was cut off by the state-owned power provider, PLN, when the official was speaking about the need for Indonesia to get more energy-sector investments during a high-profile conference in Bali, December 5, leaving the speaker speechless, and hundreds of bankers and analysts - and a few investors - in the dark.

  • Source: Singapore Straits Times

* Posted by jeffooi on December 8, 2003 07:30 AM
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Signals... Kit Siang and Nazri's signals?

Yesterday, minister Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz upped the ante against the Anti-Corruption Agency's (ACA) efficiency by asking the government to remove the agency's investigation director, Nordin Ismail, and replace him with someone "neutral and of high calibre".

DAP chief Lim Kit Siang, on the other hand, commented on Pak Lah's signals on fighting graft, and wanted top civil servants who publicly contradicted the PM, sacked.

Regrettably, Lim himself has sent out erratic signals by taking aim at the defenceless civil servants, and conspicuously avoids Malaysia's super tycoons and the ministers - past and present - who made them so.

Remember, even pro-government editor dares to say something sensible in the mainstream press.

As usual, DAP would send the government a memo. Subject matter? The party will express its "grave concern" over conflicting remarks between Abdullah, who declared graft-busting as top priority, and the Chief Secretary to the Government Samsudin Osman saying it is not a serious problem.

According to Malaysiakini, Lim was referring to Samsudin’s remarks at the closing of the 4th Regional Anti-Corruption Conference for Asia and the Pacific on Friday that the rate of corruption in Malaysia was low in the civil service.

Lim doesn't believe it because "we have fallen from 23rd position in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index in 1995 to 37th placing this year!"

The DAP wants Samsuddin removed. He said Anti-Corruption Agency director-general Zulkipli Mat Noor should also bear full responsibility for Malaysia’s deteriorating ranking.

Meanwhile, minister Nazri Aziz warned the ACA not to lawan tauke (challenge the boss). He also warned the agency not to resort to threats and gangster-like methods in solving its cases. Via The Star:

“I want to give Nordin a warning, don't repeat this threat to any minister or anyone else.

“He (Nordin) is a government officer and under the government's structure, the Cabinet is the highest,” he said.

“So it is wrong for a government officer to issue threats to a member of the Cabinet who is his employer,” he added.

Nazri reiterated he had given the ACA until the end of this month to present the results of its investigations on allegations that 6,000 taxi permits were given to an individual through 19 companies.

If the ACA failed to do so, Nazri said he would display the list of companies which were given taxi permits together with the names of the owners and board of directors next month.

On the other hand, Pak Lah said he would get to the bottom of the spat between two ministers and the ACA over allegations that the agency was talking too long in several investigations.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 8, 2003 07:19 AM
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Sunday, December 07, 2003

ACA: We'll arrest ministers if necessary

Would you believe these?

  1. The Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) said there are cases they could not touch without the approval of the Finance Minister, which are best left to the police.

  2. There are cases implicating certain ministers which are referred to the Attorney-General's Department and got stuck there.

Mingguan Malaysia today devoted four major stories to the current round of washing-dirty-linens-in-public pertaining to the ineffectiveness of the ACA.

But there's nothing that you don't already know.

In essence: Two ministers had fingered at the ACA for being lethargically slow and having no balls to catch the big fish.

ACA, in turn, blamed some ministers for not being cooperative and, while pleading that their hands are tied, threatened to get the police to issue warrants of arrest on delinquent ministers in the future.

Sounds like sandiwara, you may say. Reading in between the lines, I just hope Mingguan's stories have something to do with Wong Chun Wai's early warning signals today.

UPDATE: Pak Lah has a casual response in Bernama, December 07, 2003 17:05 PM.

Backgrounder:

The Minister of Entrepreneur Development, Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz and the Minister of Rural Development Azmi Khalid had complained about ACA's delay in the investigations on allegations of corruption involving the two ministers as witnesses.

Nazri had questioned the ACA's tardiness in carrying out its investigations on an individual who was allegedly given 6,000 taxi permits, a case which has taken over three months and the delay has made him to be perceived negatively by the society.

He had asked for the assistance of the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Dr. Rais Yatim, to direct the ACA to expedite the investigation.

In August, Yusoff Lahir, the president of Pertubuhan Pemandu dan Pengusaha Teksi Limosin dan Kereta Sewa Malaysia (Pertekma), had alleged abuse in the awarding of taxi permits and named the official at the Commercial Vehicle Licencing Board who was alleged to have been involved in the case.

On the other hand, Azmi had questioned the ACA on the delay in its investigations on alleged abuse of RM6 million involving several agencies in the Ministry of Rural Development. The minister said he had taken the initiative by asking the ACA to conduct investigation on his ministry, but to date, the allegation has not been investigated despite the fact that reports have been lodged two years ago.

Story 1: ACA: Warrant of arrest if ministers refuse to give witness' evidence

ACA Director of Investigation Nordin Ismail said the agency will no longer compromise in getting witness evidence, especially in cases that implicate the ministers to assist in investigation.

He said, all along the ACA has been accommodative to the ministers who are witnesses in corruption cases, and taken into consideration their packed work schedule.

"We have a lot of diplomacy, they can come at their convenience, but after this, we would want to invoke provisions of the law to call up the witnesses," he said.

"Whoever is being called but doesn't show up, we will make police report and ask for warrant of arrest to be issued, including the ministers. We don't want to be diplomatic any more," he reiterated.

Nordin clarified that the ACA was only empowered to conduct investigations under the Corruption Prevention Act 1997 which has purview only over corruption crimes.

Cases that involve breach of trust had to be reported to the police for their investigation, he said.

He added that there are cases the ACA could not touch without the approval of the Finance Minister, and they are best left to the police.

He also disclosed that there have been cases implicating certain ministers which were referred to the Attorney-General's Department and got stuck there.

He said further information on the case mentioned by minister Azmi Khalid could be obtained from the Attorney-General.

Story 2: Nazri gives ultimatum till end December

Minister of Entrepreneur Development Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz has given the ACA until end of December to complete its investigation on an individual who was alleged to have been given 6,000 taxi permits.

He reiterated that he did not want the ACA to give the excuse that other cases have slowed down the investigations on the alleged abuse in the awarding of taxi permits.

"Don't be slow in the investigation so that justice is done to my officers and myself personally because many people are now thinking that I am involved."

"I want to clear my name," he added.

Story 3: Azmi Khalid wants ACA to be proactive in all cases under investigation

Minister of Rural Development Azmi Khalid said investigations that took too long a period would create other problems if the officers under investigation went on pension. It would also be perceived that abuse and corruption are rampant amog the civil servants.

Story 4: Azmi Khalid: Not on confrontation with ACA

This is a full-fledged interview with minister Azmi Khalid. Mingguan Malaysia said while the ACA has yet to recover from its old image as an agency that is lacking in transparency and efficiency, now came the 'shocker' of two ministers publicly attacking the ACA for being slow.

Minister Azmi said he was being confrontational with the ACA. He said:

"We are not challenging anyone. I don't question the credibility of the ACA because I know all its officials are professional. But I have been waiting for two and half years."

"I am ashamed to answer 'sedang disiasat, sedang disiasat' in the Parliament... newspaper readers, the Opposition and government supporters, they find it hard to believe," he said.

He lamented that he could not take any action on the official as the ACA has not concluded the investigation, and he, as the minister, is bound by procedure.

He regretted the fact that the ACA has not been responsive.

"But I expect them to respond. I don't only talk through interview like this, I have also sent them three written reminders about the matter."

"Even their letter is not so encouraging. And I have noticed in big cases reported to them, (there is) no action at all. On the contrary, it's small cases involving RM10,000 and below that are acted upon.

"Where are the (investigations on) big cases? In fact, in some big cases I noticed that some of them are easy to settle." [...]

"I agree if this case is like Perwaja that involved (investigations on) external parties like foreign entities.

"But this particular case is only regarding tender. I noticed that it has handwriting on it, so I believe there was fraud in the tender documents. That's why I asked the ACA to investigate.

"To me, it shouldn't take up too much time except that there might require some forensic assistance from the Chemistry Department." [...]

"If the ministers have raised the issue, whether it's Datuk Seri Nazri Tan Sri Aziz (Minister of Entrepreneur Development) or me, that person is considered important. If a report and complaint from a minister asking for investigation to be expedited cannot be accommodated as such, who else (can move things)?

"How about those people below? How about the kampung folks or the ordinary people? That's the reason I have to stress the point that they (the ACA) have to be proactive."

Ironically, it was the Director-General of ACA, Zulkipli Mat Noor, who had warned that nobody should challenged the credibility of the agency under his charge. He was not available for the Mingguan Malaysia interview as he was leaving for the UN-sponsored Anti-Corruption Convention in Mexico.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 7, 2003 03:56 PM
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Signals, signals, signals?

This must have been Wong Chun Wai's 3rd article in 5 weeks on Pak Lah's conviction in fighting graft.

The headline:
Expect real action in graft clean-up

The opening paragraph:
IF those in government still treat the warnings by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi against corruption lightly, then they had better brace themselves for some serious surprises soon.

The closing paragraph:
Enough warnings have been given by Mr Nice Guy – expect real action from now.

The in-between:
But more importantly, we need to support Abdullah in promoting corporate governance. Requiring company directors to attend courses on business ethics amounts to nothing if the leadership continues to give special treatment to a handful of businessmen through direct negotiations.

Every Malaysian businessman deserves a chance in bidding for a contract. It is only through an open contract that the government can ensure accountability, healthy competition and to ensure that the best and most qualified man wins.

That is the manner that businesses should be carried out in Malaysia if we want to hold our heads high. Rules cannot be changed mid-stream or when a deal has been concluded. A gentleman’s handshake used to be good enough, but now, even with a signed agreement, no one is quite sure.

Such fickle-mindedness tarnishes our reputation, even if everything is legally carried out. While the leadership must be allowed a free hand to decide on awarding contracts to certain companies and individuals in exceptional cases, Abdullah must certainly take a fresh look at our business practices and ensure that the economic cake will be enjoyed by as many businessmen as possible.

I hope SMAB and Gamuda Lin are reading his column and my blog.

I know Pak Lah is not good at punctuality, but he should let out the signals, big and fast.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 7, 2003 12:07 PM
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SEA Games: Doing battle without arms

I can't forgive the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) - Sieh Kok Chi included - for this hopeless oversight.

It's been donkey years the OCM organised and participated in international sports meets. But a little bird sent me an email from Hanoi yesterday afternoon, and it only tells us something totally bizarre and unbelievable for Malaysia Boleh!:

Dear Jeff

I bet that you have heard/read about the problem our shooting team is facing in sea games.

They arrived in Hanoi without their weapons and was unable to shoot. We have to borrow weapons from Vietnam to compete. That cost us 3 potential gold medals!

Who's fault is it? The association or the team manager? Or both? How can this happen?

It's so embarrasing that this would happen to us. I hope you can highlight this matter if you thing it's worth highlighting. The official is clearly not doing his job!

I was informed the team manager is DSP Ishak Hashim from the National Shooting Association of Malaysia (NSAM). But I waited for the morning papers to confirm the little bird's tip-off.

Both Bernama Sports and StarSports in Sunday Star today run the grim story: A deep feeling of devastation among our sportswomen:

NUR Suryani Mohd Taibi shot down a silver medal with a borrowed rifle in the individual 50m free rifle prone event at the Hanoi Shooting Range yesterday but there was no joy in the Malaysia camp.

In fact, the gloom over the Malaysian camp only deepened as they rued the three possible gold medals they missed on the opening day of the shooting competition.

With their weapons still on the plane to Hanoi, the Malaysian women had to forgo the chance to defend their title in the team event of the 50m free rifle and the individual sport pistol competition.

The shooters arrived in Hanoi without their weapons because they had not met the Vietnam Airlines' procedure for clearing the equipment.

The guns only left Kuala Lumpur on a MAS flight yesterday morning.

Hosts Vietnam could only lend the Malaysian team two rifles. Nurul Hudda Baharin used the other rifle and eventually finished seventh. Dalilah Ibrahim had no rifle and Malaysia were out of contention for the team medals.

Just minutes before the sport pistol event began, defending champion Bibiana Ng Pei Chin received the heartbreaking news from the Vietnamese team that there was no gun for her.

A distraught Bibiana did not even remain at the range to lend support to her teammates.

At the hotel later, Bibiana said she was very upset at having to relinquish her title this way.

“They told me that they could not spare me a pistol. There was nothing I can do. I had trained diligently and was looking forward to defending my title.

“I don't know whether to be angry or sad. I just feel like I have come here as a tourist,” said the 26-year-old police officer.

Suryani herself was in no mood to celebrate after the results were announced.

The Sunday Mail said coach Izroil Saidov had to toss a 20 sen coin to choose Nur Suryani ahead of Dalilah Abu Bakar because the organisers were able to provide only two rifles instead of three for the team event. "The coin decided for me," said the coach who hails from Tajikistan.

On the return leg, I suggest OCM president Imran Ibni Tuanku Jaafar and Sieh be put in the luggage compartment on an Aeroflot flight via Siberia and dumped there from mid-air.

No coin-tossing is needed as the choice is rather obvious.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 7, 2003 11:33 AM
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Finding problem for a solution

Quotable quote:

Bakun Dam is the solution to Sarawak's power shortage. But they forgot Sarawak has no power shortage.

That's no problem to the Dam promoters, just create shortage by building an alumnium plant. That way they suceeded in finding a problem for the solution.

Author: mysay
Source: Whatzzz-up, SMAB?

* Posted by jeffooi on December 7, 2003 09:52 AM
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Saturday, December 06, 2003

Whatzzz-up, SMAB?

Super bumiputra tycoon Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary's (SMAB) West Asian financier, Mohamad Ali Alabbar, has been removed as the vice-chairman of Dubai Aluminium Co. Reuters reported it yesterday.

The news broke three days after MMC, another SMAB's listed vehicle, moved the motion to revoke the 50:50 JV with Gamuda over the RM2.5 billion 'Smart' project - as Pak Lah's administration has changed the rule. Via NST-Business Times, bylined Dalila Abu Bakar:

DUBAI Aluminium Co (Dubal) will not participate as a technology partner in the US$2 billion (US$1 = RM3.80) smelter project in Sarawak due to changes in the company’s corporate structure in which vice-chairman Mohamad Ali Alabbar was replaced.

A source said, however, some board members of Dubal, including Mohamad, who remains a director of the company, will participate in the aluminium smelter project in their own capacity as private investors.

In September last year, Mohamad, who was then the vice-chairman of Dubal, signed a joint venture with GIIG Capital, controlled by SMAB, for the setting up of Smelter Asia Sdn Bhd to construct the smelter in Similajau, Sarawak.

GIIG, jointly owned by Mohamad and SMAB, holds 60% of Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of MoF Inc., which is the promoter and owner of the RM4.5 billion Bakun hydroelectric dam project.

With the pulling out of Dubal, Mohamad becomes a private investor whose personal financial strength and gearing has never been revealed.

However, NST-BT quoted sources as saying Mohamad's group of private investors is looking elsewhere for technology assistance and various options of financing for the smelter project.

It is noted that a power purchase agreement (PPA) is needed as a guarantee in order to secure the financing. That becomes a job cut out for SMAB:

No Smelter, No (justification for) Bakun.
No Bakun, No
(business viability for) Smelter.

So symbiotic! But can he pull through with a Microsoft Powerpoint presentation?

Eddie Toh of Singapore Business Times says while cracks have appeared in the aluminium smelter project, uncertainty over Alabbar's control of Dubal could also cast a pall on his other ventures with SMAB.

GIIG is raising RM1 billion to invest in SMAB's array of projects in Malaysia and to look in at regional opportunities, the paper says.

Bottom-line, the Dubai-guys have read their tea-leaves very well as far as political change in Malaysia is converned.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 6, 2003 01:48 PM
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Photo Op, Photo Oops!

What's wrong with this Thanksgiving photo? Dubya is fine, but Bush's turkey...

Bush Turkey.jpg

If you may recall, the photo of Dubya holding the bird on a platter laden with trimmings was so well circulated by the White House that it became the most memorable image of the president who sneaked into Baghdad International Airport for a 2 1/2-hour stay with U.S. troops in Iraq.

Washington Post says Bush's standing rose in a poll conducted immediately after the trip. Administration officials said the presidential stop provided a morale boost that troops in Iraq are still talking about, and helped reassure Iraqis about U.S. intentions.

White House has now acknowledged that the beautiful golden-brown Bush's turkey was for show, not for eating.

Apparently, a contractor had roasted and primped the turkey to adorn the buffet line, while the 600 soldiers were served from cafeteria-style steam trays, the officials said.

There is also the question of time-zones. If media stories of Dubya's appearance were taken the way they were reported, Wayne Madsen of CounterPunch thought the Yankee soldiers would have taken their Thanksgiving dinner at 6:00 am local time!

Air Force One touched down at Baghdad International Airport, under cover of darkness, at 5:20 AM Baghdad time. Bush was on the ground for two and a half hours, his plane departing Baghdad at around 7:50 AM.

Considering that it likely took some 30 minutes for Bush to disembark from Air Force One and travel by a heavily secured motorcade to the hangar where the troops were assembled, that means our military men and women were downing turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and non-alcoholic beer at a time when most people would be eating eggs, bacon, grits, home fries, and toast.

With that, opened the pandora box that raised new credibility questions for a White House that has dealt with issues both petty and large by international standards, e.g.:

  • Who placed the "Mission Accomplished" banner aboard the aircraft carrier Bush used to proclaim the end of major combat operations in Iraq?

  • Where' sthe proof for presidential assertions about Saddam Hussein's arsenal of unconventional weapons and his ability to threaten the United States.

Remember White House's earlier account of an airborne conversation in which a British Airways pilot wondered into his radio if he had just seen Air Force One and was told that it was a Gulfstream 5, a much smaller plane?

White House officials first said that the British Airways pilot had talked with the Air Force One pilot.

The White House (pointman: White House press secretary Scott McClellan) has since updated its own version and now says the conversation occurred between the British Airways pilot and an air traffic control worker.

Then, came the British rebuttal. British Airways said it has been unable to confirm White House's new version. I quote WashPost:

"We've looked into it," a spokeswoman said from London. "It didn't happen."

Finally, the cold turkey fell back on the laps of Dubya's boys:

White House officials do not deny that they craft elaborate events to showcase Bush, but they maintain that these events are designed to accurately dramatize his policies and to convey qualities about him that are real.

Now, back to the birdy story. Asked whether the turkey was genuine, Scott McClellan made a rare joke by deflecting attention to the White House Christmas tree, due to be unveiled later.

He said: "The tree today, as far as I know is real."

Journalists made to report fiction. Washington Post staff writer Mike Allen has an account of the journos' dilemma:

Some of the reporters left behind at Crawford Middle School, where they work when Bush is staying at his Texas ranch, felt they had been deceived by White House accounts of what Bush would be doing on Thanksgiving.

Correspondent Mark Knoller said Sunday on "CBS Evening News" that the misleading information and deception were understandable, but that he had been "filing radio reports that amounted to fiction."

"Even as President Bush was addressing U.S. personnel in Baghdad, I was on the air saying he was at his ranch making holiday phone calls to American troops overseas," Knoller said. "I got that information from a White House official that very morning."

There are now no less than 1,000 entries if you keyword "Bush's Baghdad turkey" on Google News.

Before and after the Baghdad invasion, the operative word has been CREDIBILITY.

The webforum in Russian newspaper Pravada is less forgiving. It hints Dubya's aides have been seasoned artists in make-belief. It recounts an incident on January 22, 2003 when Dubya travelled to the Midwest to deliver another pitch for his economic plan.

When Dubya delivered his remarks, he did so from the floor of a warehouse with American flags in the background along with the logo "Strengthening America's Economy" on a backdrop of boxes. The boxes were stamped "Made in U.S.A."

One problem: The boxes were made in China.

Americans are feeling it more real than ever, for now. And you shouldn't miss this one, a weekly news commentary by CBS news correspondent Andy Rooney.

Thanks YW Loke for the tireless research, and dJ_phuturecybersonique for the pointer to CounterPunch.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 6, 2003 11:55 AM
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Oh no!

Then, Bangsar Shopping Centre... Yesterday, Puncak Prima Condominium, Sri Hartamas. Now, the media.

Not another Canny Ong!

Utusan Malaysia's frontpage headlines shouted 'rape' without police and pathological confirmation.

20031206_Utusan.jpg

Whereas, underneath the loud headlines, the copy merely says:

Polis mengesyaki gadis itu dirogol sebelum dibunuh dan perbuatan kejam itu dipercayai dilakukan oleh individu yang dikenalinya kerana cemburu.

Contrast with stories from Bernama, and theSun, Page 4: "The naked body of Norrita Samsudin, 22, was found covered with a blanket, with her hands and legs tied with wire and raffia string. Her mouth was stuffed with a piece of cloth and she was believed to have been strangled as a bolster cover was wound around her neck."

Spare a thought for the bereaved family and read their story here.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 6, 2003 09:01 AM
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Caught in the act

Hong Kong students caught Education Secretary Professor Arthur Li playing the Bejeweled game on a handheld computer during a lengthy legislative meeting on Monday. They demanded an apology from Li for being 'disrespectful and arrogant'.

Li at first declined to comment, but later he said he did play the computer games because no constructive opinions were raised during the session. He refused to apologise.

According to Straits Times Singapore, his actions not only incurred the wrath of opposition lawmakers, but also angered students and staff in the education sector.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 6, 2003 08:33 AM
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Blogs: Not just American perspective

Hong Kong-based Phil Ingram (flyingchair.net) advocates the Asian perspective. Here's his official message. And here's a personal message to Malaysian bloggers:

Could do with your help. After deciding that the Weblog awards currently going on in the USA are a bit US focused (shock, horror) I decided on a whim to do the Asia Weblog Awards for blogs, personal sites, diaries etc.

I am essentially begging everyone to help support it - vote (for themselves or someone else in an many categories as they can), and mention it and if possible display the logo which is on the nav bar of my site.

I really want to make an effort at building a buzz in the Asia community that is not so dependant on the US.

I definitely want to see more from Malaysia but I need help spreading the news.

Phil Ingram
www.flyingchair.net - even bad sarcasm needs a home

Phil has launched the Asia Weblog Awards on December 4, and you may cast your votes in the special page located here. As the host, he has this message for everybody: "YOU CANNOT VOTE FOR ME. As host, I feel it inappropriate to be a take part."

Currently, there are 7 nominees for Best Malaysian Blog category.

Someone have nomionated Screenshots for the categories of Best Malaysian Blog and Best political blog.

CY Leow's Photoblog, my 5-star recommendation, has been nominated for the Best Photoblog category.

The list is live and growing.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 6, 2003 07:17 AM
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Friday, December 05, 2003

The rise and rise of the Asia weblogs

Phil Ingram of FlyingChair.net (who has been on my blogroll since I first started) has really big kind words for this blogger. I feel indebted for the publicity and hope to measure up.

But to liken a Malaysian blogger to Andrew Sullivan and Glenn Reynolds? Uhh!

20031205_Asian-Star.jpg

Both Phil and this blogger are mentioned in Bandwidth Magazine/Asian Century (Inaugural Issue: Nov/Dec 2003): The rise and rise of the Asia weblogs.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 5, 2003 07:21 PM
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Dr Rahim: From Telekom to MCMC

The last hurdle for Telekom Malaysia Bhd deputy chief executive Dr. Abdul Rahim bin Haji Daud (picture below) to be appointed the new MCMC chairman has been cleared.

Dr Rahim MCMC.jpgThis is the same man who was the Telekom COO when Asahi Shimbun exposed - on February 11, 2000 - on alleged RM10.6 million kickbacks Mitsui paid to Telekom Malaysia for a switchboard contract although it was not among the nine companies which took part in the open tender.

The controversial tender was advertised on January 18, 1991, closed on April 23, 1991 and the contract was awarded by the Ministry of Finance in 1992. Dr Rahim was then the General Manager, Information Systems at Telekom Malaysia - a position he held from 1988 to 1993.

Former ACA director-general Ahmad Zaki Hussein left his job soon after this. He did not conclude the case during his tenure, despite having strong media support from Mingguan Malaysia in an exclusive interview on February 20, 2000.

I believe Lim Kit Siang would be the last person with a short memory on this matter.

Meanwhile, MCMC staff could heave a sigh of relief as Tengku Mimos has been retained at his e-abbey for another two years. He has to spend time to get the 2002 Mimos Financial Reports published after all. It's long over due.

Different little birds chirped on my windows this morning.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 5, 2003 01:34 PM
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Listen! Are we getting some signals?

UPDATED VERSION. Whoever that advises Pak Lah must have had that master stroke.

Because barely 33 days after Pak Lah has taken office as the Prime Minister, the MMC-Gamuda alliance appeared to have headed for collapse.

December 2, MMC informed KLSE that its subsidiary MMCEG has entered into a Deed of Revocation with Gamuda in relation to the 50:50 Joint Venture Agreement they signed on July 26, 2002, which was to enable the JV undertake the RM2.5 billion Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (Smart) project.

Gamuda also made a similar disclosure to KLSE on the same day.

In layman's term, certain changes in business scenarios have happened rather drastically that warrant MMC to part ways with Gamuda over the 'Smart' project.

Why I say it's a master stroke?

You don't chop off Ali-Baba's heads or rescind Syed Mokhtar's RM30 billions' worth of projects the last government gave him, or Dr Mahathir will get very angry.

But to get the same outcome, just grab them by the balls - Squeeze! if needs be - and ask them to deliver the projects on time at their cost.

Next, change all lucrative concessions - traditionally near perpetual but always awaiting bail-outs - into turnkey projects. The message: Deliver the project, take your one-time payment and fart off.

The first signal, if it comes, could be a revamp of such projects that usually gave the rakyat the shorter end of the stick in the last 22 years.

Sorry, I couldn't blog on this breaking news earlier (my Streamy was down), but I thought you'd still like to read this Singapore Business Times story dispatched by its KL-based journalist Eddie Toh, yesterday:

Scrapped: Syed Mokhtar's concession for RM2.5b project
He will now undertake job as turnkey contractor

CONTROVERSIAL tycoon Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary has had to amend a key term in one of his major government contracts as Malaysia's new Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi continues to fine-tune some mega privatisation deals awarded by the previous administration.

Syed Mokhtar's listed vehicle Malaysia Mining Corporation (MMC) and Gamuda will now undertake the Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (Smart) project as a turnkey contractor.

The massive project, which calls for the building of a tunnel, is to help divert rainwater from flood-prone Kuala Lumpur.

MMC and Gamuda had bagged the contract worth RM2.5 billion (S$1.1 billion) from the government of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to carry out the project as a concession. No tender exercise was conducted in that instance.

Apart from designing it to channel rainwater during heavy downpours, the earlier blueprint would have allowed MMC and Gamuda to collect toll from motorists who opt to use a stretch of the 9.7 km tunnel during a dry spell.

The two companies did not give any reason for the change in the terms of the agreement. They also did not state the new contract value. Company officials could not be reached for clarification yesterday. It's unclear if the change in the contract is a blow to Syed Mokhtar as concessions need not be superior to turnkey contracts.

Note, Eddie Toh has succinctly recapped the implications of such a change: A concession generates recurrent income from future fee collection to help repay the contractor for undertaking a job, while a contractor in a turnkey contract earns a one-off income.

The talk of the town right now is that the change in the RM2.5 billion concession agreement for 'Smart' is one of the early signals from Pak Lah that the country must be run differently from before. There could be more casualties of political change, pundits say.

SMAB is apparently having his plates full with nearly RM30 billion worth of jobs awarded - mostly through direct negotiations, and often as sole contender - during Dr Mahathir's administration. These are some of the controversial eggs put in super-bumiputra's one basket:

Nevermind that StarBiz has run a story bylined A. Letchumanan (Page 5, Col. 5, 24 cm tall) which is largely no different from the AFP/Bernama dispatch. I am still book-building on Wong Sulong/Jagdev Singh Sidhu re: Gamuda Lin. I hope I don't have to blog it here.

Dare we say SMAB is headed for history? Pundit's book is still open.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 5, 2003 07:19 AM
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Thursday, December 04, 2003

Report No. 854868

My home Streamyx has been down since 11.00am today. Still down. Was told outage affects Puchong and parts of USJ with ADSL line starting with 03-80xx-xxxx.

I am now on Jaring dial-up, 48kbps. Don't think I can do anything meaningful on the Net tonight.

CIC at 1300-88-9515 (Deva) has been prompt, though.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 4, 2003 07:58 PM
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Promote polygamy, not ICT

PAS state assemblyman Satiful Bahari Mamat asked the Terengganu government to promote polygamy rather than teaching computer literacy to single mothers who face financial hardship. He said this is allowed under Islam.

He said computer will be difficult for them to learn.

Debating the 2004 Budget speech, Satiful said he also noted that Menteri Besar Abdul Hadi Awang practised polygamy.

BN assemblyman Tengku Putera Tengku Awang interjected to ask whether Abdul Hadi had two or three wives, but Speaker Husain Awang ruled that the discussion was unnecessary.

Summing it up a day later, state Social Welfare and Health Committee chairman (a.k.a. Exco) Abu Bakar Abdullah said old single mothers with many children were not wooed because most men in Terengganu prefer to take unmarried women or young single mothers with few children as their life partners.

It was reported that there are more than 4,000 single mothers in the state - young and old.

Via Straits Times Singapore and Bernama.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 4, 2003 07:51 AM
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Chinese papers merge

Is this a sign of trying time for Chinese newspapers in East Malaysia?

Come January 1, Miri Daily News and Chinese Daily News will merge and be called United Daily News. It will have a daily circulation base of 35,000 in Sarawak and Brunei.

There are two other Chinese dailies in Sarawak: See Hua Daily News and International Times.

Nielsen Media Research did a computer-assisted telephone-poll in April, and the results indicate the following readership of vernacular newspapers - excluding See Hua Daily - in four Sarawak towns:

2004_EM_ChinesePapers.jpg

Noted that PJ-based Sinchew Daily has gone from strength to strength in market dominance since it introduced regionally-printed editions in East Malaysia.

With the expansive reach, even Nanyang and China Press cannot match Sinchew's advertising rate. Come January 1, the latter will raise rack price to RM40 per single column cm while Nanyang/China Press will level to RM23.80.

I wonder how is See Hua's sister paper, Oriental Daily News (based in Subang Jaya), doing now. Have they managed to break the cartel blockage imposed by Sinchew and Nanyang Press' distribution network?

* Posted by jeffooi on December 4, 2003 07:28 AM
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Advertisers bear more

In three weeks' time, major newspapers will raise their advertising rates in the range of 4% to 20%.

2004_Ad_Rates.jpg Advertising rates were being adjusted at Berita Harian, New Straits Times and Sarawak Tribune at the time this data was compiled.

The foreseeable impact is that newspaper ADEX will continue to be strong in 2004, and that inflation for the medium will go up quite significantly.

Two questions:

  1. Will the increase in advertising cost be passed down to consumers?

  2. Will media with major ADEX share slash prices for large accounts and long-term future contracts, thus undercutting minor players?

Some say no, when you have people willing to take up full-page ad to congratulate Pak Lah having completed his first month in office.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 4, 2003 07:00 AM
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Wednesday, December 03, 2003

Fighting corruption... ini macam kah?

UPDATED VERSION. Today, Pak Lah tells reporters why he is 'angry' with corruption, via AFP picked up by Straits Times Singapore:

'It makes life difficult, it makes the government ineffective, and it creates a bad name for the government and for Malaysia. That's why I'm angry.'

As a result, he wants Malaysia to do two things:

  1. To set up a regional anti-corruption academy with an approved allocation of RM17 million.

    It would function 'as a regional centre for anti-corruption capacity-building, promoting best practices in investigations, monitoring and enforcement, and in newer areas such as forensic accounting and forensic engineering', he said.

    Significantly, the academy will be managed by the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA).

  2. To sign the United Nations' Anti-Corruption Convention later this month in Mexico, to demonstrate Malaysia's strong commitment to eradicating corruption.

The platform Pak Lah chose to articulate these two imperatives was a regional conference - the fourth in the series - organised by the Asian Development Bank and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The ADB-OECD initiative was launched in Manila in 1999 and 21 countries have so far endorsed an 'Anti-Corruption Action Plan' under which they are committed to combating bribery and money laundering and promoting public sector integrity.

At the conference, ADB principal audit specialist A. Michael Stevens said there is no 'best' way to erase corruption except there are widely accepted principles to follow.

For the time-being, my plea to the PM is for him to send us clear signals. Start by shaking up those mega-projects-on-paper. The academy can wait.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 3, 2003 08:52 PM
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NexNews' new line-up

UPDATED VERSION. littlebird, Ben and burungkecik HKT told me days ago are proven true.

NexNews announced the new editorial line-up, in the presence of deputy chairman Tong Kooi Ong, at the official launch of The Edge FinancialDaily today.

The Edge editor Ho Kay Tat and deputy managing editor Dorothy Teoh are now NexNews' Group EIC and Deputy Group EIC, respectively, effective December 1.

Former theSun editor Pak Non, The Edge editor-at-large P. Gunasegaram and The Edge managing editor Azam Aris have been made Group Executive Editors. They will be theSun political editor, The Edge financial analysis editor, and The Edge opinion page/marketing editor, respectively.

Group-EE_web2.jpg

Chong Cheng Hai has been made the editor of theSun. He and FinancialDaily editor Toh Lye Huat, Personal Money editor Lim Yin Fong and Haven editor Au Foong Yee will report directly to Group EIC Ho, who remains as the editor for The Edge Weekly.

Editors_web2.jpg

Nexnews managing director for media services Lim Siang Jin said the group plans to introduce more products utilising new delivery technologies in 2004.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 3, 2003 12:33 PM
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Tong still 'open-necked'

Nexnews deputy chairman and CEO Tong Kooi Ong is back in town to launch The Edge FinancialDaily today - still as open-necked as when I first saw him in 1995.

He mentioned Nexnews is the media organisation with the 'weakest political back-up'. Among those who burst into laughter were Munir Majid and Mirzan Mahathir.

Tong reiterated the group's track record built on quality, innovation and aggressiveness, despite being a young media organisation, relatively speaking.

He said, The Edge will continue as a high quality business paper, while theSun will strive to remain innovative and daring.

While media business is serious, Tong said there should be fun along the way.

Top4_web2.jpg From left: Regional managing director Tan Boon Kean, managing director Malaysia Lim Siang Jin, Director and Group EIC Ho Kay Tat, and Tong.

This blog was queued early this morning, but the photo was taken awhile ago. That explains the time-stamp.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 3, 2003 07:07 AM
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(No more) breaking news

EHT EGDE YLIAD TOD MOC has gone backward.

Edge_FD_20031202.jpg

Since the launching of The Edge FinancialDaily two days ago, The EdgeDaily.com website, whose news-gathering feeds the print daily, has stopped breaking news as it happened.

It has become a total replica of the print version at least 6 hours after the free business sheets hit the street.

Yesterday, tokenism came in via a sole breaking news, which was uploaded as late as 10.32pm last night, an update of a 4.39pm dispatch.

Is this a tactic to promote better readership of the print version in order to improve ABC audit and justify its advertising rates? Is it short in manpower?

Or is this Tong Kooi Ong 's media strategy?

* Posted by jeffooi on December 3, 2003 06:52 AM
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Tuesday, December 02, 2003

Rummy's 'Foot in Mouth' mantelpiece

This blog, which I put up on June 16, has won US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld the 'Foot in Mouth' Award given out by Britain's Plain English Campaign.

OK, I was plain kidding. It wasn't my blog that landed Rummy a FTM. He earned it by himself.

Well, there is this campaign that strives to have public information delivered in clear, straightforward English.

And Rummy's mantelpiece (AFP calls it gobbledegook), "The Unknown", is based on the February 12, 2002 Department of Defense news briefing, where Rumsfeld's thoughts were as illusive as his reasoning for waging a war on Iraq invoking the dangers of the WMD. Recap:

Reports that say something hasn't happened
are always interesting to me,
because as we know, there are known knowns;
there are things we know we know.

We also know there are known unknowns;
that is to say
we know there are some things we do not know.

But there are also unknown unknowns --
the ones we don't know we don't know.

John Lister, spokesman for the campaign, has 'unknowingly' said: "We think we know what he means. But we don't know if we really know."

Via Guardian, CNN and agencies.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 2, 2003 04:33 PM
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Bravo MCMC...

Until I read Raslan Sharif's story on Page 3 In-Tech today, frankly, I had missed this important report from MCMC re: Public Consultation on Effective Competition in the Access Network.

The long and short of it is that MCMC is going ahead to open up the local loop access despite strong objections from incumbent, Telekom Malaysia Bhd.

In July, MCMC had signalled its intention to promote greater competition for high-bandwidth services like broadband Internet access in the country. The immediate way to do it is by opening up the copper last-mile, over 90% of which is owned by Telekom Malaysia.

The local loop currently connects about 4.5 million subscribers to fixed line services; and 2.5 million dialup and 70,000 broadband access subscribers to the Internet.

It's noted that Telekom objected to the opening up of the local loop, giving reasons such as disruption to efforts in narrowing of digital divides and improving "teledensity" in the rural and remote areas.

Based on industry feedback, MCMC has given its rebuttal, and suggested that Telekom Malaysia starts thinking about providing wholesale broadband data services, besides traditional voice services. It's a new business opportunity, the industry regulator says.

Good take, MCMC.

But I will wait till July next year to see if your back-dated cheque is really cashable.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 2, 2003 03:15 PM
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Aaahh, Rohaizad

At last, Rohaizad A. Rahim has a bylined story on Page 26, The Star today. I wonder if this is his first after returning from his seconded tour of duty at the former DPM's press office.

Star Online is so 'thrilled' that a search would return two links to identical documents. ;-)

* Posted by jeffooi on December 2, 2003 02:26 PM
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Mickey Mouse Show

As circumstances warrant it, Walt Disney Co. Vice Chairman Roy Disney, an heir of the branded family, has left the company's board.

But not before he sent a three-page letter to Chairman and CEO Michael Eisner, which says, in parts:

Dear Michael,

...You well know that you and I have had serious differences of opinion about the direction and style of management in the Company in recent years. For whatever reason, you have driven a wedge between me and those I work with even to the extent of requiring some of my associates to report my conversations and activities back to you. I find this intolerable. [...]

Michael, I believe your conduct has resulted from my clear and unambiguous statements to you and the Board of Directors that after 19 years at the helm you are no longer the best person to run the Walt Disney Company. [...]

In conclusion, Michael, it is my sincere belief that it is you who should be leaving and not me. Accordingly, I once again call for your resignation or retirement. The Walt Disney Company deserves fresh, energetic leadership at this challenging time in its history just as it did in 1984 when I headed a restructuring which resulted in your recruitment to the Company.

I have and will always have an enormous allegiance and respect for this Company, founded by my uncle, Walt, and father, Roy, and to our faithful employees and loyal stockholders. I don't know if you and other directors can comprehend how painful it is for me and the extended Disney family to arrive at this decision.

In accordance with Item 6 of Form 8-K and Item 7 of Schedule 14A, I request that you disclose this letter and that you file a copy of this letter as an exhibit to a Company Form 8-K.

With sincere regret,
Roy E. Disney

cc: Board of Directors."

Via Google News.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 2, 2003 12:56 PM
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Give us clear signal, Pak Lah!

I want you to help me identify who this Malay businessman is.

Because Brendan Pereira runs a story in Singapore Straits Times today without naming names.

But there appears to be an interesting clue. Besides two fallen-from-grace Malay tycoons - Halim Saad and Tajuddin Ramli - he mentions just one name among the many reigning super-bumiputras, Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary. Excerpts:

Some time last week, a prominent businessman who enjoyed unfettered access to former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad in Putrajaya received a little jolt when he went to see the new premier.

He was hanging around the Prime Minister's Office like in the old days, roaming about with the ease and nonchalance of an insider, waiting for the moment to catch the eye and attention of the country's most powerful man.

That opportunity came. Seeing the PM usher a visitor out of his office, the businessman rushed forward, hoping to grab his chance for small talk or grand discussions.

Instead of a welcoming embrace, he was asked if he had an appointment and told to stay in the visitors' lounge to wait his turn.

It was neither a scolding nor a snub, just a reminder to the businessman that some things had changed after Oct 31 - that it will not be business as usual.

Brendan summarises it as a signal to the politically connected entrepreneur and his ilk that while the Abdullah administration will continue to promote the concept of Malaysia Incorporated, it will be less infatuated with the idea of dishing out special treatment to the select few.

He cited another problem typical of Malaysia: Many of the contracts were dished out in direct negotiations between the government and the sole contender.

The result, according to the reporter, is that this system did not encourage competitive bidding or promote the idea of a job going to the most qualified person.

Domestically, even among the Malays, the consequence of putting wealth in the hands of a few has became a sore point.

Internationally, the reporter says foreign investors and fund managers are still arguing that businessman Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary had interests in everything from power and ports to hotels and manufacturing.

The Singapore paper says the same people getting contracts convey a message that is inconsistent with what the administration wants to put out. There's a subtle reminder: 'The people are observing. The foreign embassies are watching.'

However, the Straits Times understands that most government contracts are now being bid through open tenders. Direct negotiations are employed only in exceptional cases.

So, shall we start with some brutal shake-up in those mega-projects-on-paper and see if Pak Lah's pledges to promote better business practices and combat corruption really go hand in hand.

Give us the clear signal, and we'll know if it's safe to lean on you, Pak Lah.

It's barely 60 days left for your honeymoon.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 2, 2003 07:18 AM
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Longhorn available in Malaysia?

Another Malaysia Boleh! This Reuters news, datelined Johor Baru, has circulated throughout the world last night:

Malaysia's brazen software pirates are hawking the next version of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system years before it is supposed to be on sale (RM6 per CM-ROM copy!) [...]

The software is an early version of Longhorn demonstrated and distributed at a conference for Microsoft programmers in Los Angeles in October, Microsoft attorney Jonathan Selvasegaram told Reuters.

Bill Gates has said Longhorn, which would rank as Microsoft's largest software launch this decade, is not expected to be released before 2005.

Via CNN Money, Reuters and agencies. Thanks Michael Lai for the pointer.

Meanwhile, Reuters said Microsoft Corp. is investigating a report of seven new security holes in its Internet Explorer browser discovered by a Chinese researcher.

Two holes are critical and could allow an attacker to run a program that would delete files, crash the machine or take control of it from a remote location, said Russ Cooper of TruSecure Corp. who edits the NTBugTraq e-mail list.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 2, 2003 06:50 AM
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Monday, December 01, 2003

Red carpet... Peter Jackson!

Answering my humble request, CY Leow took a half-day off, on a Monday, to shoot the parade run-up to the world premiere of LOTR: The Return of the King at Wellington, NZ, today.

He emailed:

I left work at 1 pm, my boss wished me good luck! The radio made everything look bad... more than 100,000 fans crammed into the CBD in Wellington, massive traffic jams! [...]

Once outside the Reading Cinema I got a little stunned, 1.30 pm and it looked like 100,000 fans alright! And that red carpet looked a mile long! You might wonder how I got a high vantage shot of the carpet and crowd?

My D60 with a 15mm fish-eye was mounted to a mono-pod, the self-timer was activated; held up the podded camera and waited for the shutter to go off! Neat trick eh?

Redcarpet_350x.jpg

Redcarpet2_550x.jpg

Even having arrived "early", I had to squeeze in "second row"; the girl in front of me said she had been waiting since 9 am and I was told there were 400 who slept along the red carpet since last night! [...]

Finally, the parade started off from the Beehive at 3.30 pm and wormed its way towards us at Courtenay Place. I managed to take some pictures, being sandwiched between two other fans and, with more shoving, was NOT an ideal photo opp situation! I envy those media photogs on the red carpet! Those were the days :-)

Film director Peter Jackson was on the street to sign-off his autographs! My Canon D60 with 17-35 lens was wedged behind a fan's head! Talk about shooting blind!

Holly_Jack_350x.jpg

Savour it all at CY's Photoblog! These pictures are probably the very first of the premiere that ever come out in a blog around the world!

* Posted by jeffooi on December 1, 2003 07:12 PM
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LOTR premiere: Today's pix

CY Leow just alerted me that he has taken pictures at the Parade from Wellington Parliament House to the red-carpeted Embassy Theatre for The Return of the King world premiere today.

He is 5 hours ahead of Malaysia, almost 8.30pm his time now.

I will upload the entire story and pictures (need Photoshop to optimise for web) once I've reached home. Wow!

Have you tried the webcam streaming?

* Posted by jeffooi on December 1, 2003 03:26 PM
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DKL gone. Tunku?

DKL was a contrarian to history when he became adamant in assigning the royal honorific to the late first Prime Minister Abdul Rahman Putra al-Haj as Tengku instead of Tunku, the version officially recorded in the National Archives.

I revisited DKL's argument which he wrote in The NST Diary column on September 1, 2002:

Perhaps it is a measure of our lasting debt to the Tengku (Abdul Rahman Putra al-Haj) that some readers complained to the Diarist's alter ego about the spelling change from "Tunku" in this column.

The Diarist remembers clearly that "Tengku" was the original usage in this newspaper before it was changed, by what was obviously the toss of a coin, to "Tunku".

"Tunku" is the preferred spelling in Kedah and Negri Sembilan. For the other States, it is "Tengku", and among the Malaysian Chinese, "Tungku". A prince or princess is called "Raja" in Perak and Perlis, and in ancient times "Rajah".

When the Diarist wrote a book on his foreign policy, the Tengku, who launch-ed it, did not object to the spelling. In any event, the book was well-reviewed.

Tengku Abdul Rahman Putra was his name at birth. "Putra" was not, as one reader claimed, added in 1957 to distinguish him from the first King, Tuanku Abdul Rahman, the Yang diPertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan.

Now that DKL is gone, will NST honour Malay legacy by reviving the use of 'Tunku'?

In New Sunday Times yesterday, the president of the Malaysian chapter of Transparency International, Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim, was addressed as such.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 1, 2003 01:42 PM
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The Edge FinancialDaily

Will your daily read of the business news become more meaningful from today?

Sun_Edge_20031201_web.jpg

Together with The Edge FinancialDaily and theSun, Nexnews - self-proclaimed as the name behind Malaysia's definitive publications - has sent out many messages in the financial daily's inaugural edition:

  • News with a strong back bone - engaging hearts and minds, built on integrity, driven by professionalism

  • Less fat, more definition

  • Reader-friendly, clutter-free

  • Powerful insights: Clear perspectives on market trends and boardroom moves

While it definitely takes time for Nexnews to fulfil its customer promises, theSun's 150,000 copies and NST-Business Times' 130,000 daily circulation, combined, will now give a good counter-balance to StarBiz's dominance (circulation circa 300,000).

Intense is the unassuming word to describe the friendly competition among Wong Sulong - Yap Leng Kuen (Star), Zainul Arifin - Cheah Chor Sooi (NST-Business Times) and Ho Kay Tat - Toh Lye Huat (NexNews).

We will see how advertising revenue kicks in to the business sheets.

MEDIA SHAKE-UP. The Edge weekly (Dec 1 edition) added to what this blogger reported on November 24 on the new editorial line-up at The Star. New info includes:

  • June HL Wong will be elevated to executive editor and remain as StarMag editor

  • Michael Aeria will have an additional designation - "Special Adviser to the MD" - besides Group EIC I which he retains

  • General Manager Koh Beng Huat will be reassigned as Corporate General Manager

  • Advertising head Linda Ngiam will be promoted to deputy general manager

There is no news yet on the replacement for DKL though Balai Berita is rife with rumours, The Edge says.

Meanwhile, The Edge FinancialDaily reports that Hashim Makharudin will replace Kamarul Ariffin as Utusan Malaysia Group's executive chairman effective January 1, 2004.

Hashim, a former Bernama journalist, was special assistant and chief press secretary to former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 1, 2003 07:54 AM
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Al-Jazeera woes

Al-Jazeera has dismissed, Yvonne Ridley, a Muslim convert, as the senior editor of its English-language website, english.aljazeera.net, launched three months ago.

Ridley is reportedly the ninth journalist to leave the fledgling website.

She shot to fame in 2001, shortly before the US bombing campaign against Afghanistan, when she sneaked into the country disguised as an Afghan woman riding a donkey. The Taliban jailed her for 10 days.

Via John R. Bradley, managing editor of the Jeddah-based Arab News who writes for Straits Times Singapore.

Ridley became not the martyr to radical Islam she claims the West had planned for, but a convert to Islam - and then, as a journalist with Al-Jazeera, a thorn in the West's side in the build-up and aftermath of the US-led invasion of Iraq, most notably with a series of powerful articles attacking the war's assumed justification.

Ridley was also upset that Al-Jazeera website editors quietly bowed to pressure from the Bush administration in September by pulling from its website two cartoons deemed 'inflammatory' by Washington.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 1, 2003 07:39 AM
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Master & Slave

Say No! to discrimination of a technical kind?

Los Angeles County has asked computer and video equipment vendors to consider eliminating the terms "master" and "slave" from equipment because they may be considered offensive.

To those uninitiated to industry terminologies, the term "master" and "slave" -when applied to electronic equipment - describes one device controlling another.

The issue cropped up in May when a black employee of the Probation Department filed a discrimination complaint with the county Office of Affirmative Action Compliance after seeing the words on a videotape machine.

"Master" and "slave" were then replaced by "primary" and "secondary."

Via Chicago Tribune, China Daily and agencies.

Currently, elsewhere in this blog, there is a debate going on regarding ketuanan Islam, vis-a-vis PAS' distinct differentiation between Muslims and Chinese-Muslims.

* Posted by jeffooi on December 1, 2003 07:17 AM
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