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.
- 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.
Graph: NST-Business Times
First, kudos to the JJ's of Subang Jaya - 1. Dr. Jacob George - the chief to the outspoken Consumers Association of Subang and Shah Alam, (CASSA), also I understand - the proterm chief of the 'Double Track Watchdog Committee" for a well written note above and indeed, on track and 2. our friend Mr.Jeff Ooi for the timely report! Bravo indeed sir!
But let me also say a little and in particular reference to the following:
'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.'
1. On one side, we blow hot and cold - and on the say something extremely stupid! Even, those claiming to be 'business editors'?
2. First, we will look quite silly if not stupid, if we 'back away' from this project now, just because of the alleged follies of the great Tun and his band of thieves in suits and bush jackets by the "likes of JJ, SAM Black,Dirty Ling - proxy Syed and Baba Lin".
What - with the rest of the ASEAN LINK going ahead and we been the 'ASEAN SECRETARIAT' and all that and 'backing away' just because of these corrupt idiots.
That would be foolish.
But believe me - this project will proceed, and as planned under new management and at a price structure that is favorable to Malaysia in the long run.
MMC-Gamuda would be grandly screwed if not 'sodomised' and truly deserve it! - India and China will be in and with, new more 'acceptable players!'
Anything else is just 'sandiwara' and not on - so lets see!
Kirby - get the car - lets go to Concorde Hotel in Shah Alam for some Japanese food and saki ole chap.
On the way we could also witnessed the horrific artificial Palm Trees put up along the route to the MB's house.
I had thought stupidity was confined to the decision makers of the controversial RM3-6 million(?)Millenium Park in Subang Jaya, but, this has been exported to Bandarraya Shah Alam (MBSA)now!
I smell a big rat here, kirby!
Posted by: Perry Mason at December 11, 2003 07:38 PMPredictably stock market tanked, at one point was down 7 points, though index perked up at closing as per norm. The Big question is what other projects will be affected, and which are the companies that will be affected? Given the strong nexus betweeen corporates and politicians, theimpact on the KLSE could be hugely negative...Could oil and gas companies be next?what about water privatisation etc, fate of the spate of projects give in the dying days of the previous regime.
In any case. the stock market is in for a turbelent period..Our neighbours cleaned up their act post 1997 crisis, we dragged the corporate carcasses, dressing them up in new names and gave them different contracts, hoping that no one will smell the stench..
So called business editors/anlaysts should have seen the mess a mile away, and should have highlighted to the market, but chose to play up the positives...Maybe the same guys who gave the thumbs up for a bridge connecting Sumatra and Malacca..Remember that one?
Where are the business analysts who said index will reach 880 by year end? Buy, buy they said. How do these guys sleep at night?
cheers
Posted by: raj at December 11, 2003 08:47 PMIn total agreement with raj,those business analysts' at Star and Straits Times are just reporters selling off the welfare of their children. To rank them as journalist would be an understatement as they are merely reporters. Wonder what they write/what is the spin in Malay venercular press ???
To put money where my mouth is, tommorrow I'll call up my broker and buy Nexnews and support em thru' and thru'. Pricewise it's currently hovering at $2.25. If only they have better coverage on the races with complete track guide and all, I'll cancel Star subsciption with immediate effect. Those newly minted Datuk's at the Star are really pissing me off, MCA mouthpiece. Bring Samy into the picture and what do we have ? The biggest culprits that have kept quiet while those UMNO fella's pilfrage and plunder the country's wealth. ACA, go for the mother load ... scrutinise Petronas, go thru' the books since inception and lay bare to all and sundry the extend of the damage. It's about time we all wake up and make some noise.
We can't declare the cloud is clear.
Although it sound contradicting, IMHO, SMAB may be the key ingredient that left by the Tun for Pak Lah for cooking.
Playing the last minutes shopping during the last 10 days of the Premier is actually a huge insult to him. JJ and SMAB never learn from their books of politics.
Posted by: Moo at December 11, 2003 10:15 PMQuote from Raj :
"Where are the business analysts who said index will reach 880 by year end? Buy, buy they said. How do these guys sleep at night?"
Raj, you must be joking. Trust me, they will laugh and having sweet dream at night, for those stupid retailer that follow their advise.
Posted by: Moo at December 11, 2003 10:22 PMHegemony or Hedge-Your-Money?
No contest on this...
Do we have a Stock Exchange in this country? I thought we have 2 casinos, one in Genting Highlands and the other one in KL.
Having tried at both places, I won more at Genting Casino.
This is nothing compared to current 'tender' exercise where 'Salted Egg' (in Cantonese) is trying to novate contract to profit some 15-25mil. so that he can go on a spending spree of acquisition of utility asset, courtesy of the stupid banks, see what happened to the project in Kedah?
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