Umno’s 1Malaysia hypocrisy

Malaysia under Barisan Nasional – stunted development, set to fall behind small neighbour, Singapore

Forty-five years after Singapore’s expulsion from a union with Malaysia left Lee Kuan Yew in tears on national television, the economy of the city-state he led to independence is poised to overtake its neighbor.

Singapore’s gross domestic product will cap its fastest annual growth this year since independence, rising as much as 15 percent to about $210 billion, while the economy of Malaysia, a country 478 times its size, will expand 7 percent to $205 billion, government forecasts show. The nations are scheduled to release their 2010 data by February.

The island that former economic adviser Albert Winsemius once said was considered a “poor little market in a dark corner of Asia” is now ranked by the World Bank as the easiest place to do business, has the world’s second-busiest container port, and boasts the highest proportion of millionaire households, according to the Boston Consulting Group.

“Singapore kept on moving to the next level as the world economy evolved and adjusted to market demands and investors’ interests,” said Lee Hock Guan, senior fellow at the Singapore- based Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. “Malaysia was struck by the curse of resource-rich countries: It didn’t optimize its human capital.”

From a low-cost manufacturing center for companies such as Texas Instruments Inc. in the 1960s, Singapore has become the world’s fourth-largest foreign-exchange center with a S$1.2 trillion ($932 billion) asset-management industry.

Rising Wealth

Smaller than New York City and the only Southeast Asian nation without natural resources, Singapore has grown 189-fold since independence in 1965, helping boost GDP per capita to $36,537 last year from $512. Malaysia’s economy expanded at one- third the pace during the same period and had a GDP per capita of $6,975 in 2009, up from $335 in 1965.

Malaysia’s growth fell to an average 4.7 percent a year in the past decade, from 7.2 percent in the 1990s, when former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad wooed overseas manufacturers, built highways and erected the world’s tallest twin towers.

“Development is like a marathon and all policies geared toward it must be sustainable and continuous,” said Thomas Lam, chief economist at OSK-DMG, a venture between Malaysian securities firm OSK Holdings Bhd. and Deutsche Bank AG. “Malaysia runs the marathon like a 100 meter event, so you see the initial spurt but not continuous progress in the race.”

….

Singapore was kicked out of the union partly because Lee opposed Malaysia’s affirmative-action policy, which provides special rights to the ethnic Malay majority. While Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has pledged to roll back key policies of ethnic favoritism, he told UMNO’s 61st General Assembly last month that the “social contract” that gives benefits to the Malays cannot be repealed.

Najib’s Plan

“Singapore will overtake Malaysia because its focus is just on economic growth,” Mahathir, Malaysia’s prime minister from 1981 to 2003, said in an e-mailed response to questions. “There is no social restructuring goal such as fair distribution of wealth between races as we have in Malaysia.”

Najib is trying to return the Malaysian economy to the levels of growth that boosted stock prices almost fivefold in the decade through 1996. He set a goal of tripling gross national income to 1.7 trillion ringgit ($550 billion) in 2020, from 600 billion ringgit in 2009 and creating 3.3 million jobs.

His government unveiled an economic transformation program in September aimed at attracting investment, including $444 billion of programs this decade ranging from mass rail to nuclear power, led by private and government-linked companies.

“Malaysia has to ask itself why its investment rates are so low,” said Vikram Nehru, World Bank regional chief economist for East Asia and the Pacific. “There are questions about availability of labor, entry and exit barriers, and underlying concerns about policy executions.”

…

Singapore beat 182 economies to take first place in the World Bank’s annual ranking of business conditions, which looks at property rights, taxes, access to credit, labor laws and regulations on customs and licenses. Malaysia climbed two steps to 21st, according to the Nov. 4 report.

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source: Bloomberg

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‘Apex’ University Sains Malaysia blunders in first direct intake – 4574 students wrongly informed of admission (1Malaysia – Performance now ?)

USM’s blunder irks parents and students

An online blunder by apex-status Universiti Sains Malaysia in its first direct intake of undergraduates led to some 200 irate parents and applicants causing a ruckus here yesterday.

The error resulted in 4,574 students being wrongly informed that they had obtained places at the university.

Red-faced university officials apologised for their mistake when confronted by hollering parents and applicants, some sobbing.

Kuala Lumpur among top 5 riskiest offshore locations

KL among top riskiest offshore places, says survey

Kuala Lumpur is listed among the top five riskiest offshore locations in the world while Singapore is in the top five safest locations in a worldwide survey.

The riskiest and safest lists are published in the 2009 edition of the Black Book of Outsourcing, brought out every year by US-based Brown-Wilson Group.

The annual publication is considered a major independent analysis and advisory research for the outsourcing players and investors globally.

The rankings of safest and riskiest places are based on factors like high terrorist or rebel target threats, uncontrolled environment waste and pollution, corruption and organised crime, unstable currency, geopolitical conditions and unsecured networks and technology.

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Barisan Nasional’s track record

Port Klang Free Zone sinks deeper into money woes

Malaysia port project sinks deeper into money woes – News Wires – CNBC.com

A scandal-plagued port project that has embarrassed the Malaysian government amid accusations of mismanagement is in worse financial trouble than thought, according to an auditor’s report released Thursday.

The Port Klang Free Zone — a 1,000-acre (400-hectare) industrial and trading hub that opened in November 2006 — has been a publicity nightmare for the government over the past two years after Malaysia’s main port authority incurred massive cost overruns to develop the project.

The government approved a loan in 2007 to rescue the Port Klang Authority from debts exceeding $1 billion, raising opposition allegations of corruption and a lack of transparency in government-linked projects.

The port authority might have problems paying the loan installments, which would result in additional interest and send the project’s bill soaring to 12.5 billion ringgit ($3.5 billion), according to a report by accountancy firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers, which was appointed in October to audit the project.

The project had originally been targeted to cost 1.8 billion ringgit, but the figure ballooned to 4.6 billion ringgit by the time it was ready to open, officials previously said.

The auditor’s report listed a wide range of missteps, saying there was “a general lack of board oversight and governance.” It also noted there could be “potential conflicts of interest” in company officials involved in land acquisitions for the project.

Transport Minister Ong Tee Keat had promised Wednesday that the government would act on the report and take action against anyone involved in wrongdoing.

Dozens of companies involved in manufacturing, trading and logistics have set up shop at the Klang zone. It is targeted mainly at investors from the Middle East, China, Japan and India.

Government bailouts of prominent companies occurred regularly in the 1990s, damaging public confidence in big state projects. The opposition blamed the bailouts on corruption and undisciplined spending.

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Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy was happy with progress

The Port Klang Free Zone scandal

Khazanah Nasional’s net worth drops by MYR 19.4 billion (36.5%) in six months

Khazanah begins reshuffling GLC chiefs

Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng, a qualified accountant, told parliament Khazanah’s performance had not been encouraging despite the economic storm, saying its records showed that in 2008, Khazanah’s portfolio fell RM17.8 billion with overall Realisable Asset Value (RAV) deteriorating to RM70.4 billion on December 31 from RM88.2 billion on May 31 2008.

“What is more frightening is the net worth – RAV less total liabilities – stood at RM 33.7 billion at Dec 31 against RM 53.1 billion at May 31 2008. That is a reduction of Rm19.4 billion or a drop of 36.5 per cent in just six months,” said Lim, who is also the Penang chief minister.

The DAP secretary-general also said Khazanah’s equity investments has been poor with RM5 billion wasted in silicon maker Silterra Corp, apart from the sale of MV Agusta by Proton Holdings for one euro in 2006 after buying it in 2004 for RM368 million in 2004. He noted MV Agusta was later sold for RM800 million to BMW and Harley-Davidson Motorcycles.

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Nation governed by BN

Najib’s report card – economy slipping, more rent-seekers

Asia Sentinel – Mahathir and Najib in Divorce Court

Najib faces serious challenges. In addition to the widespread perception of his own corruption in connection with billions of dollars in contracts let to UMNO cronies when he was defense minister, he has the continuing millstone of the economy around his neck. As late as two weeks ago, the stimulus package he put into place was expected to result in gross domestic product growth of plus or minus 1 percent. However, the economy slipped disastrously, by 6.2 percent year-on-year in the first quarter and Najib said Thursday that it could contract by as much as 4 to 5 percent for the full year.

And, as Mahathir has pointed out, despite his promises to rid the party of the old-guard rent-seekers that got UMNO in trouble with the wider public prior to the 2008 election, he has brought them back in growing numbers.

Read:

Najib’s track record

Rabble rouser Khairy inciting Penanti voters not to vote

Sun2Surf

A police report against Khairy was to be lodged at 3.30pm today at the Kubang Semang Police Station by PKR Youth Chief Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akim. However, Shamsul told reporters at the police station later that the PKR Youth decided to give Khairy 24 hours to retract his alleged statement.

“We would also want to clarify the accuracy of the news report first,” he said.

Earlier, PKR Information chief Latheefa Koya said the alleged statement would constitute an offence under Section 4(A) of the Election Act, as it promotes ill-will, discontent or hostility to induce voters to refrain from voting.

If convicted, the offender can be jailed up to five years or fined not more than RM10,000 or both.

“This is statement made goes against democracy,” she said, adding that the police and Election Commission should investigate the matter.

Malay daily Sinar Hariam had reported Khairy made the statement on Thursday (May28).

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Rabble rouser Khairy

Police action increasingly high-handed and one-sided

Malaysian opposition leader questioned by police | World | Reuters

“Police action has become increasing high-handed and one-sided … this is not the way to go,” said Cynthia Gabriel from Voice of the Malaysian People human rights group.

“The government must recognise that it would not augur well for them to charge people under the Sedition Act or other laws that are draconian in nature,” Gabriel added.

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Malaysian police raid opposition headquarters without warrant

Barisan Nasional – same old, same rot

Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (mentioned in the PKFZ report) wants to sue

Developer to sue over ‘negative’ report

Port Klang Free Zone turnkey developer Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd will sue the Port Klang Authority (PKA) or audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, or both, over the PKFZ report.

Its group deputy CEO Datuk Faizal Abdullah said the report which was made public on Thursday was “not done in good faith” and Kuala Dimensi had no choice but to defend itself.

“I have told the legal team to proceed. They are drafting the lawsuit, but I do not know who it will be directed at yet. We have just finished reading the report, so the lawsuit will be either against the PKA or PwC, or even both,” he said yesterday.

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Kapar Umno Youth Chief MPK Councillor Faizal Abdullah previously resigned because he too built a house without approval from MPK

Port Klang Free Zone had problems since 2003

The Port Klang scandal