1MDB CEO Arul Kanda should stop trying to be clever by beating around the bush with his constant pussyfooting and start giving straight answers to simple questions.
Newly appointed 1MDB CEO, Arul Kanda Kandasamy stormed into his role like a whirlwind on the 5th January, nearly sweeping many off their feet. He gave dozens of interviews, injected a shot of confidence into a fumbling 1MDB and certainly sounded like a man who meant business.
However over the past month, Arul Kanda had sounded more like a man who is performing awkward evasive manoeuvres to hide the colour of his briefs after discovering a glaring tear in his trousers.
Friday, February 27, 2015
Thursday, February 26, 2015
KPMG Should Declare Its Role In The 1MDB Petrosaudi Scandal
Did KPMG fail their duty to protect the interest of the Government and the Malaysian public when scrutinising and signing of the Financial Reports of 1MDB in the light of the Petrosaudi exposé?
The Sarawak Report exposed the secret 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and Petrosaudi International Limited (PSI) joint venture (JV) agreement dated 29 September 2009, revealing details which points towards a highly elaborate scam to siphon money from 1MDB.
Despite knowing that “1MDB Petrosaudi Limited” had a dubious existing debt of US$700 million, 1MDB agreed to invest US$1 billion (RM3.5 billion) into the newly set up company to subscribe for 40% of new shares. Hence 1MDB had invested US$1 billion in a JV where the JV partner immediately gets to siphon 70% of the funds out of the joint venture for practically nothing in return.
The Sarawak Report exposed the secret 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and Petrosaudi International Limited (PSI) joint venture (JV) agreement dated 29 September 2009, revealing details which points towards a highly elaborate scam to siphon money from 1MDB.
Despite knowing that “1MDB Petrosaudi Limited” had a dubious existing debt of US$700 million, 1MDB agreed to invest US$1 billion (RM3.5 billion) into the newly set up company to subscribe for 40% of new shares. Hence 1MDB had invested US$1 billion in a JV where the JV partner immediately gets to siphon 70% of the funds out of the joint venture for practically nothing in return.
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Idris Jusoh Should Learn What's "World Class" Education
Deputy Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh should stop making a mockery of our Higher Education system by liberally interpreting what is “world class” and selectively highlighting statistics which are favourable to the local universities.
Despite being mocked publicly for his statement that Malaysia has “world class higher education”, Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh continued to dig trenches to defend his fantastic claim.
The Deputy Education Minister continued to defend our local universities’ “world class” status by citing the various overall and subject rankings produced by British firm, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) over the years.
Idris had said Universiti Malaya (UM) was now in 151st position (up from 167) in the list of 400 top institutions in the world in the 2014 QS World Ranking of prestigious universities.
He said besides the aspect of foreign students enrolment and university rankings, the country’s higher education could be said to be world class based on other factors such as achievement in subjects, whereby 11 public institutions of higher learning were listed among the top 100 universities in the world.
For example, “based on QS Ranking by Subject, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is in the 28th position in the world for environmental science while Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) is ranked 54th worldwide for agricultural science based on the Best Global Universities Rankings,” he said.
Firstly, assuming that the QS World Ranking Table is a reliable measure of quality, there is absolutely nothing “world class” about UM being ranked 151st in the world. None of the other 19 local public universities, 36 private universities and 30 university colleges ranked within the top 250 in the world. Even if Malaysia chooses to define the 151st ranking as being “world class”, one swallow certainly does not maketh a summer.
Secondly, while all ranking methodologies are imperfect, why did Datuk Seri Idris choose to cite only the QS rankings out of several reputable global university rankings tables out there? In fact, of the handful of rankings tables, QS is perhaps the most criticised for its lack of rigour and consistency in its methodology.
Between 2004 and 2009, QS had produced their university rankings in partnership with The Times Higher Education (THE) Supplement, the leading publication on higher education in the United Kingdom. However that partnership ended when THE rejected QS and its much criticised methodology, resulting in THE creating its own separate rankings.
Among the biggest critics of the QS rankings is Professor Simon Marginson, a professor of higher education at the University of Melbourne. He described the QS World University Rankings as having "a lot of dark spaces and problems the way they go about it", adding that 40-50 per cent of the ranking was based on reputational surveys.
"They've got a ranking process which they've done very cheaply ... and that's a loss leader for a lot of other business activities," suggesting a conflict of interest between their ranking table and their provision of various consulting services to universities.
Without even taking into consideration of the quality of QS’s work, all other widely cited University Rankings Tables in the world do not rank any Malaysian institution of higher learning anywhere near the top 200.
Not a single Malaysian university made it into the Top 400 list institutions of the THE World University Rankings for 2014 . The Academic Ranking of World Universities produced by Shanghai JiaoTung University placed UM in the #301-400 category in 2014 . For the US News “Best Global Universities” listing, UM again was the only Malaysian institution that made it into the Top 500 at #423 .
In the Ranking Web of Universities compiled by Webometrics, UPM was best ranked at 420, followed by Universiti Sains Malaysia (480), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (552) and UM (646).
Let me emphasize here again that no ranking system is perfect. Such tables do however provide indicative relative quality rankings between global universities. The question to ask is therefore, why is the Ministry of Eduation only selectively interested in the QS Rankings, and failed to cite any of the other studies? Is it because all of the other studies rank Malaysian universities very badly?
Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh appears to be behaving like the proverbial “ayam berkokok, riuh sekampung” when he insisted that Malaysia has achieved “world class” higher education standards. As the Deputy Education Minister, Malaysians would hope that he could be more enlightened and honest in his assessment of our local education standards.
While we are thankful that we are certainly not in the league of many Third World countries, we are far from being able to proclaim ourselves as world class without sniggers from both the academic world and the knowing public.
Despite being mocked publicly for his statement that Malaysia has “world class higher education”, Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh continued to dig trenches to defend his fantastic claim.
The Deputy Education Minister continued to defend our local universities’ “world class” status by citing the various overall and subject rankings produced by British firm, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) over the years.
Idris had said Universiti Malaya (UM) was now in 151st position (up from 167) in the list of 400 top institutions in the world in the 2014 QS World Ranking of prestigious universities.
He said besides the aspect of foreign students enrolment and university rankings, the country’s higher education could be said to be world class based on other factors such as achievement in subjects, whereby 11 public institutions of higher learning were listed among the top 100 universities in the world.
For example, “based on QS Ranking by Subject, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is in the 28th position in the world for environmental science while Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) is ranked 54th worldwide for agricultural science based on the Best Global Universities Rankings,” he said.
Firstly, assuming that the QS World Ranking Table is a reliable measure of quality, there is absolutely nothing “world class” about UM being ranked 151st in the world. None of the other 19 local public universities, 36 private universities and 30 university colleges ranked within the top 250 in the world. Even if Malaysia chooses to define the 151st ranking as being “world class”, one swallow certainly does not maketh a summer.
Secondly, while all ranking methodologies are imperfect, why did Datuk Seri Idris choose to cite only the QS rankings out of several reputable global university rankings tables out there? In fact, of the handful of rankings tables, QS is perhaps the most criticised for its lack of rigour and consistency in its methodology.
Between 2004 and 2009, QS had produced their university rankings in partnership with The Times Higher Education (THE) Supplement, the leading publication on higher education in the United Kingdom. However that partnership ended when THE rejected QS and its much criticised methodology, resulting in THE creating its own separate rankings.
Among the biggest critics of the QS rankings is Professor Simon Marginson, a professor of higher education at the University of Melbourne. He described the QS World University Rankings as having "a lot of dark spaces and problems the way they go about it", adding that 40-50 per cent of the ranking was based on reputational surveys.
"They've got a ranking process which they've done very cheaply ... and that's a loss leader for a lot of other business activities," suggesting a conflict of interest between their ranking table and their provision of various consulting services to universities.
Without even taking into consideration of the quality of QS’s work, all other widely cited University Rankings Tables in the world do not rank any Malaysian institution of higher learning anywhere near the top 200.
Not a single Malaysian university made it into the Top 400 list institutions of the THE World University Rankings for 2014 . The Academic Ranking of World Universities produced by Shanghai JiaoTung University placed UM in the #301-400 category in 2014 . For the US News “Best Global Universities” listing, UM again was the only Malaysian institution that made it into the Top 500 at #423 .
In the Ranking Web of Universities compiled by Webometrics, UPM was best ranked at 420, followed by Universiti Sains Malaysia (480), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (552) and UM (646).
Let me emphasize here again that no ranking system is perfect. Such tables do however provide indicative relative quality rankings between global universities. The question to ask is therefore, why is the Ministry of Eduation only selectively interested in the QS Rankings, and failed to cite any of the other studies? Is it because all of the other studies rank Malaysian universities very badly?
Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh appears to be behaving like the proverbial “ayam berkokok, riuh sekampung” when he insisted that Malaysia has achieved “world class” higher education standards. As the Deputy Education Minister, Malaysians would hope that he could be more enlightened and honest in his assessment of our local education standards.
While we are thankful that we are certainly not in the league of many Third World countries, we are far from being able to proclaim ourselves as world class without sniggers from both the academic world and the knowing public.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
1MDB In Serious Financial Distress?
A RM3 billion bailout from the Ministry of Finance for 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) proves that 1MDB is in serious financial distress despite the valiant denials by the Government.
It did not come as a surprise to read the headlines of The Edge Financial Daily yesterday which hinted of a “MOF Cash Injection For 1MDB” in an article entitled “After loan from Ananda Krishnan, 1MDB may need the ministry’s money”.
The breaking story reported that “1MDB was not only helped by billionaire T. Ananda Krishnan to settle its RM2 billion debt to banks, but it may also require a cash injection of as much as RM3 billion from its owner, the Ministry of Finance (MoF), say sources.”
It did not come as a surprise to read the headlines of The Edge Financial Daily yesterday which hinted of a “MOF Cash Injection For 1MDB” in an article entitled “After loan from Ananda Krishnan, 1MDB may need the ministry’s money”.
The breaking story reported that “1MDB was not only helped by billionaire T. Ananda Krishnan to settle its RM2 billion debt to banks, but it may also require a cash injection of as much as RM3 billion from its owner, the Ministry of Finance (MoF), say sources.”
Monday, February 23, 2015
1MDB CEO's Response To 1MDB Petrosaudi JV Scam Raises Further Questions
CEO Arul Kanda must explain where is the purported US$488 million of “profit” arising from the 1MDB joint venture with Petrosaudi International.
The Sarawak Report exposed the secret 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and Petrosaudi International Limited (PSI) joint venture (JV) agreement dated 29 September 2009, revealing details which points towards a highly elaborate scam to siphon money from 1MDB.
Despite knowing that “1MDB Petrosaudi Limited” had a dubious existing debt of US$700 million, 1MDB agreed to invest US$1 billion (RM3.5 billion) into the newly set up company to subscribe for 40% of new shares.
Immediately after the signing of the agreement, “1MDB Petrosaudi Limited” repaid in full, the US$700 million (RM2.5 billion) of advances to PSI using the newly received funds from 1MDB.
I had earlier asked the Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Razak and 1MDB to explain why on earth did 1MDB invest US$1 billion in a JV where the JV partner immediately gets to siphon 70% of the funds out of the joint venture for practically nothing in return?
The response from the newly appointed CEO of 1MDB, Arul Kanda Kandasamy was both disappointing and obviously evasive.
The Sarawak Report exposed the secret 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and Petrosaudi International Limited (PSI) joint venture (JV) agreement dated 29 September 2009, revealing details which points towards a highly elaborate scam to siphon money from 1MDB.
Despite knowing that “1MDB Petrosaudi Limited” had a dubious existing debt of US$700 million, 1MDB agreed to invest US$1 billion (RM3.5 billion) into the newly set up company to subscribe for 40% of new shares.
Immediately after the signing of the agreement, “1MDB Petrosaudi Limited” repaid in full, the US$700 million (RM2.5 billion) of advances to PSI using the newly received funds from 1MDB.
I had earlier asked the Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Razak and 1MDB to explain why on earth did 1MDB invest US$1 billion in a JV where the JV partner immediately gets to siphon 70% of the funds out of the joint venture for practically nothing in return?
The response from the newly appointed CEO of 1MDB, Arul Kanda Kandasamy was both disappointing and obviously evasive.
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Secret 1MDB Petrosaudi Joint-Venture Agreement Exposed: Gross Abuse Of US$1 Billion Of Funds Revealed
The scandalous 1MDB-Petrosaudi joint-venture agreement stinks to high heavens, highlighting gross abuse of US$1 billion of funds guaranteed by the Federal Government.
The Sarawak Report exposed the secret 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and Petrosaudi International Limited (PSI) joint venture agreement dated 29 September 2009, revealing details which points towards a highly elaborate scam to siphon money from 1MDB. This agreement was signed between Tarek Essam Ahmad Obaid, CEO of PSI and Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, the then Managing Director of 1MDB.
The Sarawak Report exposed the secret 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and Petrosaudi International Limited (PSI) joint venture agreement dated 29 September 2009, revealing details which points towards a highly elaborate scam to siphon money from 1MDB. This agreement was signed between Tarek Essam Ahmad Obaid, CEO of PSI and Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, the then Managing Director of 1MDB.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
1MDB Energy Receives Yet Another Bail Out From The Government
The Government is pulling all stops to bail out 1MDB Energy after multiple Initial
Public Offering postponements with lucrative directly negotiated power contracts at
the expense of higher electricity tariffs in the future.
The Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water has confirmed in his reply to me on
Thursday last week that the Government has awarded another power plant project via direct
negotiations to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). This 2,000MW gas-turbine power
plant sited in Melaka was rumoured to have been awarded in late August this year.
Earlier in April, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) had signed another power purchase pact with
1MDB on the construction of a solar power plant. 1MDB will design, construct, own, operate and
maintain a 50MW solar photovoltaic energy facility in Kedah and supply electrical power to TNB.
Before that 1MDB was also controversially awarded an RM11 billion 2,000MW coal-fired power
plant in February despite offering a higher power tariff in an “open tender” exercise.
Public Offering postponements with lucrative directly negotiated power contracts at
the expense of higher electricity tariffs in the future.
The Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water has confirmed in his reply to me on
Thursday last week that the Government has awarded another power plant project via direct
negotiations to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). This 2,000MW gas-turbine power
plant sited in Melaka was rumoured to have been awarded in late August this year.
Earlier in April, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) had signed another power purchase pact with
1MDB on the construction of a solar power plant. 1MDB will design, construct, own, operate and
maintain a 50MW solar photovoltaic energy facility in Kedah and supply electrical power to TNB.
Before that 1MDB was also controversially awarded an RM11 billion 2,000MW coal-fired power
plant in February despite offering a higher power tariff in an “open tender” exercise.
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Dr Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki Perlu Meminta Maaf Atas Pendapat Yang Rasis Dan Ekstremis
Pengarah Operasi Pusat Penyelidikan PAS (PPP) Dr Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki perlu
meminta maaf kepada semua rakyat Malaysia ke atas pendapat beliau yang
bersifat rasis dan ekstremis.
Berikutan kontroversi yang terbangkit seteleh mesej WhatsApp Dr Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki
dalam kumpulan Ahli Jawatankuasa PAS Pusat terdedah secara meluas, beliau telah
menjelaskan bahawa beliau “tidak termasuk dalam senarai mereka yang menyokong usul
keluar PR itu.”
Beliau berkata “semoga dengan penjelasan ini, nama saya dapat dibersihkan daripada
tanggapan buruk pelbagai golongan ekoran sikap segelintir pihak di dalam PAS yang
membangkitkan fitnah yang sedang tidur."
Rakyat Malaysia tidak mempertikaikan langkah Dr Mohd Zuhdi mengkaji sama ada PAS patut
berada di dalam ataupun keluar daripada gabungan Pakatan Rakyat. Pendirian Dr Mohd
Zuhdi untuk keluar atau kekal dalam Pakatan juga tidak merupakan tumpuan kritikan. Itu
merupakan hak ahli PAS.
meminta maaf kepada semua rakyat Malaysia ke atas pendapat beliau yang
bersifat rasis dan ekstremis.
Berikutan kontroversi yang terbangkit seteleh mesej WhatsApp Dr Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki
dalam kumpulan Ahli Jawatankuasa PAS Pusat terdedah secara meluas, beliau telah
menjelaskan bahawa beliau “tidak termasuk dalam senarai mereka yang menyokong usul
keluar PR itu.”
Beliau berkata “semoga dengan penjelasan ini, nama saya dapat dibersihkan daripada
tanggapan buruk pelbagai golongan ekoran sikap segelintir pihak di dalam PAS yang
membangkitkan fitnah yang sedang tidur."
Rakyat Malaysia tidak mempertikaikan langkah Dr Mohd Zuhdi mengkaji sama ada PAS patut
berada di dalam ataupun keluar daripada gabungan Pakatan Rakyat. Pendirian Dr Mohd
Zuhdi untuk keluar atau kekal dalam Pakatan juga tidak merupakan tumpuan kritikan. Itu
merupakan hak ahli PAS.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Direct Award From Tenaga Nasional To 1MDB
The direct award by Tenaga Nasional Bhd to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) of
a 50MW solar power plant proved a desperate attempt by the Najib administration
to bailout the heavily indebted sovereign wealth fund.
It is bad enough for the Malaysian power sector when the Ministry of Energy, Green
Technology and Water (KeTTHA) shifted goalposts with the qualifying criteria to award
1Malaysia Development Bhd with a 2,000MW coal-fired plant on 28th February despite offering
a higher power tariff in an “open tender” exercise.
Yesterday, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) said it had signed another power purchase pact with
1MDB on the construction a solar power plant. 1MDB will design, construct, own, operate and
maintain a 50 megawatts solar photovoltaic energy facility in Kedah and supply electrical power
to TNB over.
a 50MW solar power plant proved a desperate attempt by the Najib administration
to bailout the heavily indebted sovereign wealth fund.
It is bad enough for the Malaysian power sector when the Ministry of Energy, Green
Technology and Water (KeTTHA) shifted goalposts with the qualifying criteria to award
1Malaysia Development Bhd with a 2,000MW coal-fired plant on 28th February despite offering
a higher power tariff in an “open tender” exercise.
Yesterday, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) said it had signed another power purchase pact with
1MDB on the construction a solar power plant. 1MDB will design, construct, own, operate and
maintain a 50 megawatts solar photovoltaic energy facility in Kedah and supply electrical power
to TNB over.
Wednesday, March 05, 2014
Dato' Seri Najib's “Kangkung” Economic Model With 1MDB
Dato' Seri Najib Razak is practising “kangkung” economics by awarding lucrative
multi-billion contracts to qualified parties who are not the lowest bidders.
On 28th February, the Energy Commission (EC) confirmed weeks of alleged “baseless speculation”
that 1MDB will be awarded the new Independent Power Producer (IPP) 2,000MW coal-fired
power plant concession. The project is said to be worth RM11 billion.
multi-billion contracts to qualified parties who are not the lowest bidders.
On 28th February, the Energy Commission (EC) confirmed weeks of alleged “baseless speculation”
that 1MDB will be awarded the new Independent Power Producer (IPP) 2,000MW coal-fired
power plant concession. The project is said to be worth RM11 billion.
Monday, March 03, 2014
Project 3B Awarded To 1MDB: An Attempt To Prop Up 1MDB
The Energy Commission’s award of RM11 billion 2,000MW Coal-fired power plant
(“Project 3B”) to 1MDB confirms earlier speculations and the complete lack of
transparency and accountability.
The Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water (KeTTHA) openly attacked me on 20th
February that my comments regarding the tender for the 2,000 MW greenfield coal-fired plant or
Project 3B was “baseless and mere speculation”. I had earlier accused the Government of
intending to make the award to 1MDB despite it not submitting the lowest bid for the tender to
supply electricity to Tenaga Nasional (TNB).
However, exactly 8 days later on 28th February, KeTTHA confirmed my “baseless speculation” that
1MDB will be awarded the new Independent Power Producer (IPP) power plant concession.
(“Project 3B”) to 1MDB confirms earlier speculations and the complete lack of
transparency and accountability.
The Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water (KeTTHA) openly attacked me on 20th
February that my comments regarding the tender for the 2,000 MW greenfield coal-fired plant or
Project 3B was “baseless and mere speculation”. I had earlier accused the Government of
intending to make the award to 1MDB despite it not submitting the lowest bid for the tender to
supply electricity to Tenaga Nasional (TNB).
However, exactly 8 days later on 28th February, KeTTHA confirmed my “baseless speculation” that
1MDB will be awarded the new Independent Power Producer (IPP) power plant concession.
Friday, February 21, 2014
Project 3B Awarded To 1MDB Despite Higher Bid
The award of “Project 3B”, a 2,000MW coal-fired power plant to 1MDB despite its
higher bid is nothing less than a backdoor bailout for the financially stricken
company.
The Edge Financial Daily reported on its front page yesterday that “1MDB gets 3B power project”.
The paper confirmed that “the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry (KeTTHA) has
notified the Cabinet that the 2,000MW coal-fired power plant known as Project 3B is to be
awarded to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), according to sources”.
higher bid is nothing less than a backdoor bailout for the financially stricken
company.
The Edge Financial Daily reported on its front page yesterday that “1MDB gets 3B power project”.
The paper confirmed that “the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry (KeTTHA) has
notified the Cabinet that the 2,000MW coal-fired power plant known as Project 3B is to be
awarded to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), according to sources”.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Energy Commission Awards Power Plant Project To 1MDB Instead Of Lowest Qualified Bidder
The Cabinet must prioritise the interest of the rakyat and not the profits of its
companies when deciding on the “winner” of the power plant projects.
It has been reported by The Edge Financial Daily over the past 2 weeks that the Energy
Commission has decided to award the latest 2,000MW coal-fired power plant to 1Malaysia
Development Bhd (1MDB).
The paper reported that “according to industry sources, the board of the Energy Commission (EC)
has decided to propose 1MDB as the preferred bidder for the RM11 billion plantingup exercise to
the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water”.
This is despite the fact that the bid submitted by 1MDB at 25.65 sen per kWh is higher than that
submitted by another tenderer, YTL Power at 25.23 sen per kWh. The difference of 0.42 sen per
kWh is estimated to constitute a difference of RM2 billion over the 25 year concession period.
What is more disturbing is the fact that based on documents sighted by The Edge, “the EC’s
technical evaluation committee had recommended YTL Power as the preferred bidder for the
tender in December last year”.
companies when deciding on the “winner” of the power plant projects.
It has been reported by The Edge Financial Daily over the past 2 weeks that the Energy
Commission has decided to award the latest 2,000MW coal-fired power plant to 1Malaysia
Development Bhd (1MDB).
The paper reported that “according to industry sources, the board of the Energy Commission (EC)
has decided to propose 1MDB as the preferred bidder for the RM11 billion plantingup exercise to
the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water”.
This is despite the fact that the bid submitted by 1MDB at 25.65 sen per kWh is higher than that
submitted by another tenderer, YTL Power at 25.23 sen per kWh. The difference of 0.42 sen per
kWh is estimated to constitute a difference of RM2 billion over the 25 year concession period.
What is more disturbing is the fact that based on documents sighted by The Edge, “the EC’s
technical evaluation committee had recommended YTL Power as the preferred bidder for the
tender in December last year”.
Friday, August 30, 2013
Finance Ministry Secretary-General’s Arrogant Remarks of Fitch Rating’s Outlook Revision
Finance Ministry Secretary-General Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Siregar Abdullah has blamed the Fitch Ratings revision of Malaysia’s economic outlook to ‘negative’ by saying that the ratings agency was run by young analysts. He had even jokingly said he regarded the case of Fitch Ratings as “ratings analysts from Hell”.
The sheer contempt and arrogance in the comments made by the Finance Ministry Secretary-General exposes the fact that the Government doesn’t treat the negative outlook revision by Fitch Ratings last month as important.
These comments are consistent with the position of Dato’ Seri Najib Razak, who is both the Finance and Prime Minister, who tried to make light of the negative revision by pointing out that Fitch still “affirmed our rating”. He said negative element “is just the revision of our outlook but that depends on the move the government would make”.
The absolute lack of gravity of the response by the Finance Ministry does not give Malaysians and investors any comfort that real concrete actions will be undertaken.
It should be emphasized that this isn’t the first “warning” by Fitch Ratings. In August 2012, Fitch has already warned that Malaysia’s “fiscal trends may eventually lead to some form of negative rating action”. This means that the negative rating did not come without warning, and but as a result of complete inaction by the Government over the past year.
Of biggest concern to Fitch then was “the increasing reliance on off-balance sheet funding could potentially call into question the meaningfulness of the 55% of GDP federal debt ceiling.” The “off-balance-sheet funding” refers to Malaysia’s penchance to provide of guarantees to government-linked borrowers which does not officially count as Federal Government debt. In reality, if both official government debt and government guaranteed debt are put together, our debt to GDP ratio will be a much higher and worrying 68.9%, as opposed to the official 53.7%.
Tan Sri Mohd Irwan even went on to praise S&P (Standard and Poor’s) and Moody’s, who were apparently “willing to listen” to the Government, and hence are the “senior fellows”. Even with these 2 reports, the Secretary-General appears to fail to read between the lines which were consistent with Fitch’s statement.
The S&P in its July report, while maintaining the country’s outlook said “we may lower the ratings if the government fails to deliver reform measures to reduce its fiscal deficits and increase the country's growth prospects.” Similarly, in the Moody’s generally positive statement this month stated that “the [Malaysian] authorities have the institutional capabilities for advancing reforms, however, political willingness has been lacking”.
The Government’s penchance for listening only to the statements of praise, and contempt for those which criticise will only lead to our economic downfall.
We would like to remind the Finance Ministry of a Benjamin Franklin quote, “Geese are but Geese tho' we may think 'em Swans; and Truth will be Truth tho' it sometimes prove mortifying and distasteful”, or to quote Bill Clinton, “Our critics are our friends, they show us our faults”.
If the Finance Ministry really believes that the Fitch warning “is a concern that we share as a government and [the Government] would seek to address those concerns”, then the most important measure that he must agree to is to recognise all off-balance sheet loans and contingent liabilities as Federal Government debt in the upcoming Budget.
Only then Malaysians can see the true picture if the Najib administration has the political will to cut down our real budget deficit, instead of just providing a feel-good statistic that does not incorporate hidden debts. If Dato’ Seri Najib does not reform the budgetary process as well as cut wasteful expenditure which are hidden with off-balance sheet loans, then we fear the ultimate consequence of not just a “negative outlook” but an actual downgrade of our sovereign ratings by all three international rating agencies.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Home Minister's Tall Tale Justification to Revive Emergency Ordinance (EO)
On July 11th, the Home Minister Dato’ Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi claimed he will present statistics from a recent study on crime in full at the next Parliament session to justify the need to revive the Emergency Ordinance (EO), to allow the Police to place suspects under detention without trial for 2 years.
He said “I obtained the statistics, which were derived empirically, that in Selangor, 90% of organised crimes were carried out by ex-detainees who were released from Simpang Renggam where they were held under the EO. I will present the statistics and the study in the Dewan Rakyat in the coming session, the September session, to prove the need for the EO.”
When pressed again for statistics and evidence last week of his allegations on the August 17th, Dato’ Zahid Hamidi continued to insist that he had the figures in hand but urged for continued patience before making them public.
He provided the excuse that media captains need to be properly “briefed” by the home ministry and police before the government can allow any disclosure of classified crime data involving former Emergency Ordinance (EO) detainees.
Instead, it is now the Attorney-General, Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Patail himself who has provided the concrete evidence that the Minister was giving cock and bull stories to justify the reinstatement of EO-like laws.
Ghani informed a forum by the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation yesterday that “even after the repeal of the EO in 2011, there was no evidence from the 1,567 investigation papers submitted that violent crimes were committed by former detainees”.
The Attorney-General didn’t even tried to mince his words to say that there was “only some” or “very little” evidence of former detainees committing these crimes. He said “there was no evidence”.
Tan Sri Abdul Ghani was unapologetic in saying that the police had relied on the Emergency Ordinance (EO) to lock up suspected hardcore criminals, as they were simply "addicted to it".
Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi must now own up to making up ficticious claims about how 90% of organised crimes today are being carried out by ex-EO detainees. These claims never held water in the first place because if the study is already concluded, and he already have in his possession the study, why does he need to wait 2 months before the report is presented to the Parliament?
However, if you read into Dato’ Seri Zahid’s statement, one can only deduce that it is completely oxymoronic. If the “study” even exists, then surely for a shocking 90% of the crimes to be identified as being carried out by ex-detainees who were released from Simpang Renggam, these “criminals” would have been identified, arrested, investigated and possibly even charged already. But if they have been arrested and investigated – and there have been very few reports of such, then how come crime is still rampant and the Police still needs the EO?
In fact if Dato’ Seri Zahid’s allegation that 90% of these crimes were committed by former EO detainees were true, it actually doesn’t “prove the need for the EO”. On the contrary, it only proved that the police force to be totally incompetent.
Unlike Dato’ Seri Zahid who seems to have trouble coming up with concrete statistics, we have shown using past published police statistics have shown that the EO was completely ineffective in fighting rising crime. For example, the Malaysian crime index was rising rapidly from 2003 to 2008. At the peak, with the crime rate rose by 34.0% from 2004 to 2007. During this period, the EO was readily available at the Police’s disposal and yet, crime was seemingly unstoppable.
However, despite the EO repeal at the end of 2011, the Police and the Home Ministry were claiming victory in the fight against crime, with the crime index declining by 7.6% in 2012. Hence, based on the above official crime statistics presented by the Police themselves, how can the Home Minister, Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi, now claim that the cause of rising crime is almost entirely due to the repeal of the Emergency Ordinance?
With the damning evidence by the AG, we call upon the Home Minister to heed Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s advice when he announced the repeal of the EO, that “now police must train themselves how to look for evidence.” Instead of just catching suspects and chucking them into EO detention, Dato’ Seri Najib asked the police to now “provide evidence to charge them in court”.
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