Spotlight on some who got government scholarships

Read:

PSD scholars do not repay loans

Petronas scholars do not repay loans

40,573 civil servants amongst those who default on on government study loan

Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan

Muhyiddin:Some people consider Badawi’s handover date in 2010 is too long

Muhyiddin: Leave it to Umno members to decide on leadership

Some people consider the succession date  in 2010 as too long, Umno vice-president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.

“Some have expressed concern that if the duration is that long the situation will not become more convincing. This needs to be taken into account,” he said.

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He said that if Umno was still practising the democratic system, it surely  would not prevent party members from voicing out on what was best for them and the party.

Who are the ’some people’, read:

Muhyddin says HE feels 2010 handover is too long, Badawi should start delegating responsibilities to Najib

Muhyddin says he feels 2010 handover is too long, Badawi should start delegating responsibilities to Najib

Muhyiddin: PM should show Najib the ropes

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi should start delegating responsibilities to his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to show that the power transition plan is taking shape.

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Speaking to reporters, he said it was vital for the power transition to be implemented soon to boost the confidence of party members and the rakyat.

“We asked for the transition of power and Umno supreme council has endorsed a date for the transition to take place in 2010.

“I said recently the time frame was too long and many things could happen that would further erode the people’s confidence in the Government,” he said after opening the Pagoh Umno group branches general meetings yesterday.

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The polls also showed that “Umno is no longer a powerful component party in Barisan and we need to take drastic measures to gain back the people’s confidence,” he said.

Read:

Umno on the way down

Umno conservatives stalling reforms

Umno full of Yes-men and hypocrites

Umno hegemony is under threat, Malays are not under threat

Umno lacks intellectual capability, courage, energy to lead

Umno implemented NEP for all  races, or for  Umnoputras ?

Umno rebuked for its arrogance, corruption and shrill racist rhetoric

Umno’s arrogance of power

Umno’s day is over until it learns to respect Malaysian people with more dignity

Umno’s formula – turn everything racial

Subra: Scholarship should be based on academic performance

Subra: Give scholarship based on academic performance

The main criterion for academic scholarships should be based on scholastic results and not subjective terms like interview performance and students’ participation in extra curricular activities (ECA), said Datuk S. Subramaniam.

The president of Nesa Multipurpose Cooperative Society (Nesa) said the criteria, apart from academic excellence, should be abolished.

“No matter how good you are at your ECA or your interview performance, you should not be eligible for a scholarship for tertiary education with low academic results,” said Subramaniam. He was handing out keys to 10 newly-licensed LCCT taxi drivers and scholarships to 45 children of Nesa members.

Read:

PSD scholars do not repay loans

Petronas scholars do not repay loans

40,573 civil servants amongst those who default on on government study loan

Discrimination and lack of meritocracy in Malaysia

’special position’ of Malays

‘Bhumiputra’ policy has polarised Malaysia

Affirmative action: What went wrong

Malaysia back-pedals into the future

NEP was bastardised to benefit select few

Umno’s formula – turn everything racial

Muhyiddin:Some people consider Badawi’s handover date in 2010 is too long

Muhyiddin: Leave it to Umno members to decide on leadership

Some people consider the succession date in 2010 as too long, Umno vice-president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.

“Some have expressed concern that if the duration is that long the situation will not become more convincing. This needs to be taken into account,” he said.

Nazir Razak says the newly legislated Independent Power Producer (IPP) windfall tax benefits nobody and is like shooting a golden goose

Business Times Online

Top banker Nazir Razak says there’s no winner with this tax on independent power producers as credit spread has widened, bond volume has dropped and investors are nervous

THE windfall tax on independent power producers (IPPs) has posed a serious threat to the country’s bond market and will lead to more expensive infrastructure projects in the future, warned a top banker.

CIMB Group chief executive Datuk Seri Nazir Razak yesterday strongly urged the government to review this tax quickly because it is badly affecting both the share and bond markets.

“Some think IPPs earn a lot of money in the past, so it’s okay to tax them a bit more. In reality, the impact of the windfall tax is way beyond that,” he said. CIMB has submitted its view to the government, he said.

About a fifth of the bonds in Malaysia is issued by the IPPs, whose debts were tied to their cashflow. The recently gazetted windfall tax will erode the IPPs’ returns and affect their ability to repay their debts.

The development may also signal increased regulatory risk for all infrastructure projects going forward, including those of toll roads and others. This means future projects will have to raise debt financing at much higher costs.

“For future issuance, this is a huge setback,” Nazir said in Kuala Lumpur. Shareholders of Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings Bhd, the owner of CIMB, yesterday met to approve the plan to merge its Indonesia lender PT Bank Niaga with PT Bank Lippo.

“There’s no winner with this IPP tax. Credit spread has widened, bond volume has dropped and investors are nervous. As a result, borrowing costs in Malaysia will go up,” Nazir said.

Malaysia’s bond market was the most successful local currencies debt market in the emerging world, but the IPP windfall tax has dented it, Nazir said.

“It is like shooting a golden goose. I hope the government will respond quickly to this,” he added.

The government stands to lose also. He said Malaysia probably has about RM100 billion worth of infrastructure to be built in future, but because the risk premium has risen, the government will have to fork out more for upcoming projects. In comparison, the government is estimated to collect RM500 million a year from the windfall tax.

“The impact of incremental borrowing costs to the government far exceeded any proceeds that they hope to raise from the IPPs windfall tax,” he said.

Read:

Barisan Nasional politicians not capable of mature debate

Malaysia is a pale shadow of itself compared to 10 years ago

The cabinet is not very knowledgeable and sometimes stupid

Umno conservatives stalling reforms

What leadership should be, but is not in Malaysia’s politicians

Wither Malaysia, under BN ?