http://newskini.serveftp.net/news-01-bs_tonypua.htmlNewsKini RSS Feeds for bs_tonypuaMon, 22 Mar 2010 07:58:23 GMTNewsKini RSS Custom FeederSee http://newskini.serveftp.nethttp://tonypua.blogspot.com/2010/02/astro-awani-in-frame-pas-dap.htmlThis talk show programme was broadcast quite a few months back, during the height of the "crisis" in Selangor. Was the crisis real? Can PAS and DAP work together? Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad, MP for Kuala Selangor and myself "face-off" on "In Frame" hosted by Shamsul Akmal. Happy viewing! ;-) Part I Part IIFri, 12 Feb 2010 17:01:00 GMThttp://tonypua.blogspot.com/2010/02/all-about-rm2-company.htmlDropped Penang PKR Chief and MP for Bayan Baru, Zahrain Hashim dropped a bombshell a few days back by giving The Star an exclusive, calling Penang Chief Minister, a "dictator", a "chauvinist" and a "communist". Where, most will ask, did that come from? Short of Zahrain telling you the "why" himself, or anyone who can read his mind, we can only speculate on the reasons for his incredible outburst. Penang DAP has provided some plausible reason for this. Firstly, could Zahrain be a closet racist, and after being dropped by PKR as the Penang chief become politically frustrated? [Chow Kon Yeow, Penang DAP Chief] also rapped Zahrain for questioning why a third of Lims speech during the first Pakatan Rakyat National convention last Dec 19 was in Mandarin. Clearly Zahrain was absent as Lim had spoken 85 per cent in Bahasa Malaysia with the remainder 15 per cent in English and Mandarin. But even if one third of Lims speech had been in Mandarin, is it a crime to speak in one owns mother tongue? This extremist approach befits a typical Penang Umno leader and not a PKR or Pakatan Rakyat leader, Chow added, saying Zahrain appeared politically frustrated over his removal as Penang PKR chairman. Or could it be because of a RM2 company? Further, Lim had informed me [Chow] of Zahrain frustrations with Lim for refusing to endorse Zahrains decision last year as Chairman of Island Golf Properties in awarding a tender for the privatised management of the Bukit Jambul Golf Club to a RM2 company. As Chairman of PDC, Lim had recommended that the Board of Directors over-rule the award of tender and called for a fresh retender... The Board of Directors of PDC had accepted Lims recommendation that to give the tender of running the only golf club in Penang worth tens of millions of ringgit to a RM2 company would not comply with Penangs CAT governance of Competency, Accountability and Transparency. Giving contracts to a RM 2 company would make a mockery of change that Penangnites voted for in the 2008 elections and make Penang Pakatan Rakyat no different from BN, he added. Chow said by holding firm to CAT, the Penang state government has been able to turn a projected deficit of RM35 million in 2008 budget to a record surplus of RM 88million. The next question is, is this true? Or did we make the story up to cover up for Guan Eng's "dictatorship"? Zahrain did not refute the claim that he wanted to award the contract to a RM2 company. He only offered lame excuses as to why he did so: Kata beliau, apabila tender pengurusan kelab itu dibuka hanya sebuah syarikat yang membuat bidaan. Oleh kerana hanya satu syarikat mengemukakan bidaan, maka lembaga kelab memutuskan agar syarikat berkenaan menaikkan modal berbayar dan diberikan tawaran projek pengurusan. Ini keputusan lembaga, bukan keputusan saya seorang selaku pengerusi kelab... ini keputusan bersama lembaga, kata beliau. So first, he claimed that only ONE company made an offer to manage the Golf club, the only one on Penang Island. Secondly, it was the Board's decision and nothing to do with him. I can only say that it is laughable that in an "open" tender (if it was ever an "open" tender) to manage Penang Island's sole golf club which is owned by Penang Development Corporation, only ONE company, and only a RM2 company without any track record of managing golf clubs was interested in submitting a bid to manage the club. And even if there was only 1 bid by such a RM2 company, then it will then be reasonable to expect the tender to be called off, and a re-tender exercise be carried out so that more qualified firms will bid to manage the club. But no, Zahrain had wanted the RM2 company to be awarded the contract to manage the multi-million ringgit golf club where he was appointed the chairman by the Penang State Government. And guess what, with the re-tender exercise, it had no problems attracting proven and successful golf club management companies to take part in the tender exercise. So Zahrain, was the Chief Minister not right to cancel the initial award? Were you upset because you were not "consulted" or because the RM2 company was not successful in the bid? Why don't you explain further who are the owners of this RM2 company, what is their background and track record? The Pakatan Rakyat government has no time for the practise of selective favouritism in the management of the government affairs. We are serious about implementing a competent, accountable and transparent government. Anybody who doesn't share these goals can go join UMNO where crony contracts, for the moment anyway, are still aplenty and awarded without even the need of a tender, open or closed. And Zahrain has the cheek to claim that "Saya seorang (pemimpin) yang ada prinsip. Jangan perlekehkan saya. What a joke!Mon, 01 Feb 2010 06:28:00 GMThttp://tonypua.blogspot.com/2010/01/malaysia-pertengahan-utusan-threatened.htmlUtusan Malaysia must be feeling the heat. The UMNO owned paper has been at the forefront of extremist views in Malaysia, to stir communal sentiments and create the atmosphere of tension and intolerance in the country. While other mainstream newspapers are forced to be put on a tight leash, Utusan gets complete freedom to defame, outrage and promote its views on racial supremacy. But our shifting the debate to "Middle Malaysia" must have spooked Utusan, to the extent that it feels sufficiently threatened to actually dedicate a column by 'Awang Selamat' to DAP, entitled " Melayu sokong DAP? " In the years past, we wouldn't have expected Utusan to have paid that much attention to DAP, so I must say we must be doing something right. ;-) ... Ada yang menyatakan Middle Malaysia mempunyai agenda rasis. Menurut satu tulisan: Sekiranya diterjemahkan Middle Malaysia ke dalam bahasa Mandarin, ia membawa maksud tersirat Malaysia untuk kaum Cina . Ini boleh ditafsirkan kaum Cina mahu menjadi tauke Malaysia kerana Chung adalah sinonim dengan Penguasa Cina di Malaysia. Awang tidak pasti sejauh mana kebenarannya. Namun tanpa hujah seperti itu pun, Awang memang tidak mempercayai DAP. Jika DAP benar-benar menjadi parti untuk semua kaum, Awang tidak akan mempersoalkannya tetapi itu semua hanya pembohongan dan tipu daya. Banyak tindak tanduk parti itu membahayakan asas kenegaraan kita, ia umpama musuh dalam selimut. Tindak-tanduk DAP menyerang secara konsisten agensi awam di bawah kepimpinan Melayu seperti Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM), Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM), Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR), Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (ATM), institusi perundangan Islam dan banyak lagi, menyerlahkan lagi belang parti itu. Sikap keterlaluan DAP memanipulasi isu yang membakar sentimen bukan Melayu juga tidak boleh diterima. Lihat sahaja isu kematian Teoh Beng Hock, penggunaan kalimah Allah oleh pihak gereja Katholik dan kejadian gereja dibakar, amat tidak bertanggungjawab. Pada Awang, DAP adalah parti paling ekstrem, yang berselindung di sebalik nama demokratik tetapi agendanya ultra Cina. Selagi parti itu tidak komited untuk menjunjung dan mempertahankan Perlembagaan negara, selagi itu Awang tidak akan terpengaruh biarpun pemimpinnya memetik ayat al-Quran dan hadis. Biarlah Melayu yang tidak sedar diri dan yang punya agenda peribadi dipergunakan oleh DAP. Awang bukan jenis itu. Below are excerpts from a commentary written by our MP for Rasah as well as our DAPSY chief, Sdr Anthony Loke on " what is 'Middle Malaysia'? ", but in Bahasa Malaysia. Read both articles to see who's the extremist in this country, DAP or UMNO/Utusan Malaysia. ...Namun, konteks yang ingin dipertengahkan oleh DAP melalui Malaysia Pertengahan adalah lebih luas daripada pengertian ciri-ciri pentadbiran ekonomi semata-mata. Kata kunci dalam konteks Malaysia Pertengahan ialah kesederhanaan. Dalam menangani sebarang isu dan dasar yang memberi impak kepada masyarakat umum, prinsip kesederhanaan perlu dititikberatkan. Dalam kata-kata Guan Eng, Malaysia Pertengahan mengutamakan kerjasama daripada konflik, konsultasi daripada konfrontasi dan sebuah masyarakat yang inklusif bukannya eksklusif. Ini merupakan prinsip-prinsip utama dan pendekatan utama yang perlu dibawa oleh DAP dan Pakatan Rakyat. Sekiranya pendekatan dan prinsip ini dapat diterjemahkan dalam erti kata yang sebenarnya, tidak mustahil majoriti rakyat Malaysia akan menyokong agenda perubahan yang ingin dibawa oleh Pakatan Rakyat. DAP sering dilabelkan oleh UMNO sebagai sebuah parti cauvinis yang ekstrem, sebuah parti orang Cina yang ingin menguasai segala-galanya di bumi Malaysia dan parti yang agendanya anti-Melayu dan anti-Islam. Sememangnya label-label ini menyebabkan ramai pengundi di kalangan masyarakat Melayu yang berwaspada terhadap DAP dan ramai yang menjauhinya selama ini. Walaupun DAP tidak pernah berfikiran sedemikian, namun ketiadaan peluang untuk DAP melaksanakan dasarnya selama ini tidak memungkinkan parti tersebut dapat mengubah persepsi negatif masyarakat Melayu terhadapnya. Kemunculan kerajaan negeri di bawah Pakatan Rakyat khususnya di Pulau Pinang membuka satu lembaran baru buat DAP. Satu contoh yang baik ialah pendekatan yang diambil dalam menangani isu agama. Umum diketahui bahawa pendirian DAP yang tidak bersetuju dengan penubuhan Negara Islam dalam konteks Malaysia. Ia juga merupakan senjata yang sering digunakan oleh BN untuk melaga-lagakan hubungan DAP dengan PAS selama ini. Namun, ia sama sekali tidak bermakna bahawa DAP menentang agama Islam. Malah DAP telah secara terbuka menyatakan komitmennya mendukung status Islam sebagai agama rasmi persekutuan seperti yang termaktub dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Pendirian ini jelas dinyatakan dalam Dokumen Dasar Bersama Pakatan Rakyat yang dipersetujui bersama pada bulan Disember lepas. Komitmen ini bukan sahaja dinyatakan di atas kertas namun telah dimanifestasikan dalam pentadbiran kerajaan negeri yang dipimpin sendiri oleh Lim Guan Eng. Kerajaan Negeri Pulau Pinang telah menggandakan peruntukan tahunan untuk tujuan agama Islam sehingga RM24.3 juta untuk tahun 2010 berbanding RM12.5 juta pada tahun 2008 di bawah kerajaan terdahulu yang dipimpin BN. Bukankah ini bukti kukuh bahawa kedudukan agama Islam bukan sahaja tidak tergugat malah didukung dan diperkukuhkan oleh sebuah kerajaan yang diterajui oleh DAP? Bukan sahaja peruntukan ditambah, malah Guan Eng memberi sokongan padu untuk menubuhkan sebuah Majlis Syura yang mengumpulkan sekumpulan pakar agama Islam untuk menasihati Kerajaan Negeri Pulau Pinang dalam hal-ehwal agama Islam. Pada masa yang sama, perkembangan agama-agama lain tidak disekat dan dimudahcarakan seperti bantuan kewangan kepada tokong, kuil dan gereja. Permohonan tanah untuk pembinaan tempat beribadat pula diluluskan tanpa banyak karenah birokrasi. Ini tidak sama sekali mengugat kedudukan Islam sebagai agama rasmi di negara kita. Inilah pendekatan Malaysia Pertengahan untuk mewujudkan sebuah masyarakat pelbagai agama yang harmoni. I suppose in the eyes of extremists, everyone else who believes in the Middle way are "extreme" in their views.Sun, 24 Jan 2010 01:33:00 GMThttp://tonypua.blogspot.com/2010/01/high-speed-train-to-kuantan.htmlDodgy companies selling fancy rail projects to the Federal Government? Below is a letter from TRANSIT questioning this particular high-speed train project which will apparently cut short the travel between Kuantan to Kuala Lumpur to just a mere 45 minutes. It appears that this train project is even more ludicrous than the abandoned one proposed by YTL to connect Malaysia and Singapore earlier. RE: Article - Traveling time 45 minutes - Site to be based in Pekan. KL - Kuantan High Speed Railroad to start in May The members of the Association for the Improvement of Mass-Transit wish to express their concerns at the information in the article Traveling time 45 minutes - Site to be based in Pekan. KL - Kuantan High Speed Railroad to start in May . We are concerned with the information in the article, which suggests that construction for this project is set to begin in May 2010. If this were to happen it would be quite illegal. The Railways Act 1991 makes it very clear that a Railways Scheme cannot start construction until a feasibility study has been completed and a copy of the Railway route has been sent to the Director General of the Department of Railways for conditional approval. Once conditional approval has been granted by the Director General of the Department of Railways, then a 3 month public display period must take place. After the 3 months of public display, objections must be heard. If everything goes well, the Director General of the Department of Railways can recommend that the Minister of Transport approve the project. So far there has been no conditional approval and no 3-month public display. So how can the project start construction in May 2010? Another concern is the misleading claims about the feasibility of the project, the actual cost of the project, the time it will take to construct the line, and the length of time for the trip between KL and Kuantan. The proposal is to link KL and Kuantan using High Speed Rail. However, the Titiwangsa range which is just north and east of KL would present a formidable barrier for the construction of this line. Anyone who has traveled along the KL-Karak highway knows that the Titiwangsa range is substantial. Building a highspeed rail line across the range would require very precise and detailed engineering, cost a lot of money and take a lot of time. Yet Mr. Jayakumar of MRails International claims the project can be completed in 3-5 years. Mr Jayakumar also claims that the project will cost RM1 billion. However in a later paragraph he says the 3 High Speed Railroad and Magnetic Levitation (Maglev) projects will cost RM1 billion together. To give you a comparison, the double-tracking & electriication of the existing conventional KTM railway between Rawang and Ipoh cost RM1.14 billon. The extension from Ipoh to Padang Besar is projected to cost at least RM12billion. The 17.7km extension of the Kelana Jaya LRT line (which uses a special Linear Induction Motor) will cost nearly RM4 billion. Thus it does not seem possible that a high-speed rail link can be built across the Titiwangsa range, linking KL-Kuantan, for less than RM1billion within 5 years. TRANSIT also questions the 'track record' of Mr. Jayakumar and his MRails International company. We note that Mr. Jayakumar has appeared out of nowhere in recent months and none of our contacts in the railway industry are familiar with him. TRANSIT is deeply concerned that the public, the media and members of the civil service have been fooled by the actions of salesmen who have managed to convince state governments to take a look at their 'interesting' railway projects. These high speed rail proposals from MRails will join a long list of other unsuccessful railway proposals that have been 'sold' to state governments, such as the Aerorail in Melaka, the Aerobus in Penang, and the Johor Baru Maglev elevated monorail. A Malaysian company (Pembinaan Aktif Gemilang) is also involved in a very strange "Hydrogen High Speed Superhighway" that has been sold to the state government of Central Java. People involved in these proposals usually focus on using high-pressure sales tactics to convince politicians to look at their proposals. They take money for the 'studies' , make attempts to get the attention of the media, and ultimately, waste people's time and make them look foolish. In Penang, the state government has already had to defend itself for granting the free use of state land to two companies for their 'test tracks' and approving a feasibility study for Aerobus. And we can only wonder how the Prime Minister of Malaysia and the Menteri Besar of Pahang will extract themselves from this High Speed Railroad and Magnetic Levitation railway project. Anyone who visits Jakarta, Indonesia can see the pillars of the proposed monorail line which was never built. Malaysian cities are littered with enough abandoned housing and commercial projects. We do not need to add a few incomplete railway lines to the existing mess. Sincerely Moaz Yusuf Ahmad on behalf of TRANSITSun, 31 Jan 2010 02:32:00 GMThttp://tonypua.blogspot.com/2010/02/government-to-raid-petronas.htmlI've written a few times over the past few months that the Government is bleeding Petronas dry. For example, despite Petronas profits before tax dipping 50.7% for its first half of the financial year ending September 2009, Petronas will still maintain its record dividend payout of RM20 billion to the Federal Government this year. Now we fear worse is to come with the unwelcome change at the helm of Petronas. Below is my comments to AFP on the change of guards. Malaysia's opposition Friday accused the government of meddling in cash-rich energy giant Petronas after a new chief executive was named for the state-owned company. The government announced on Wednesday that Shamsul Azhar Abbas, 57, would replace Hassan Merican, who has led the company since 1995. In a statement, it noted that Hassan's contract expires next Tuesday but gave no more explanation. Analysts have lauded Hassan for his independence. Petronas -- Malaysia's only Fortune 500 company -- contributes almost half the country's budget revenues. Its cash is all the more valuable after Malaysia last year ran up its highest budget deficit in 20 years, at 7.4 percent of gross domestic product, during the global financial crisis. "The fear is that the wealth of Petronas is now at risk of further plunder by the government," opposition parliamentarian Tony Pua told AFP. "There is fear that (Prime Minister) Najib Razak will arm-twist Petronas into providing more funds than Petronas can afford into funding the federal government," said Pua, who is from the Democratic Action Party. The prime minister's office declined to comment to AFP. But analysts at AmResearch said the company was in safe hands under Shamsul, formerly the chief executive of shipping giant and Petronas subsidiary MISC. "We are positive on this development as Shamsul's extensive experience with Petronas should ensure that the group's strategies, direction and policies remain intact," AmResearch said in a report. "This is vital given the group's thrust in further developing deep-water and overseas projects such as the four recent oil well concessions in Iraq," it added. Petronas is part of a consortium led by PetroChina that has formally signed a 20-year deal with Iraq to develop the Halfaya oil field, which has proven reserves of about 4.1 billion barrels. Petronas is also helping to develop offshore gas resources from the vast Sunrise field off East Timor.Sat, 06 Feb 2010 03:30:00 GMThttp://tonypua.blogspot.com/2010/01/abdullah-ahmad-on-middle-malaysia.htmlTan Sri Abdullah Ahmad wrote an insightful piece on "Middle Malaysia" in Sinar Harian. I will not be surprised if the article was first rejected by the other Malay press. Excerpts are quoted as follows, and the full article's available here .Majoriti pasif dijangka penentu PRU-13 TAN SRI ABDULLAH AHMAD [...] DAP, komponen Pakatan Rakyat dan pemerintah di Pulau Pinang dalam konvensyennya hujung minggu lalu di Ipoh berpendapat sebaik jalan ke Putrajaya adalah melalui jalan tengah atau middle way. Mengikut definisi DAP, jalan tengah bermakna Pakatan Rakyat mesti bersikap sederhana, wajar, konsisten dan relevan pada majoriti rakyat majmuk. Pada fikiran Lim Guan Eng, Setiausaha Agung DAP yang juga Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang jangan kita salah langkah, dasar sederhana akan menunjukkan Pakatan mana yang menang pilihan raya umum akan datang. Barisan Nasional (sebelum ini Perikatan hingga 1974), adalah parti yang dilihat dan dipercayai ramai sebagai sebuah parti yang sederhana sebab itulah tiap pilihan raya sejak 1950-an lagi hingga sekarang ia menang. Negeri yang ada sistem dua parti adalah Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Pulau Pinang, Selangor dan Perak. Sebelum itu Sabah. Dasar sederhana atau middle Malaysia ala Pakatan Rakyat yang dianggotai DAP, dulu terkenal dan tersohor sebagai parti perkauman Cina, sebuah parti chauvinis dan Pas, dulu tersohor dan ditakuti bukan Islam kerana ketaksubannya mahu menegakkan sebuah negara Islam berpandukan al-Quran, hadis dan syariah dan Parti Keadilan Rakyat termuda antara tiga pragmatik dan menarik kerana kalau DAP dan Pas ingin ke Putrajaya mereka terpaksa bersama Keadilan dan pendekatan yang diambil oleh DAP itu amat wajar. Pendekatan kesederhanaan sepatutnya mendapat perhatian pengundi yang muhasabah. Nampaknya pilihan pengundi nanti antara dua pakatan: Pakatan lama yang teruji dan pakatan baru yang belum terbukti. Middle Malaysia pada anggapan saya, terdiri daripada rakyat semua kaum, semua lapisan, mereka yang tidak sempit pandangan, rakyat pertengahan, tidak muda dan tidak juga tua: bukan kaya keterlaluan dan bukan juga miskin. Mereka yang mobiliti sosialnya kian meningkat. Lazimnya, dalam politik, mereka konservatif dan digelar sebagai silent majority atau majoriti yang pasif (senyap). Golongan ini berpengaruh dalam bidang ekonomi, sosial dan pendidikan. Keseluruhan golongan ini kuat berpegang kepada pemikiran tradisional yakin mereka bermoral, bersopan, beradab, tidak suka, bahkan benci, pada mereka yang suka dan asyik berdemonstrasi dan puak ekstremis semua bangsa. Mereka ini tidak senang hati dengan puak pelampau yang mudah menimbul ketidakstabilan, mereka yang sering membangkit isu-isu yang lapuk, sensitif dan berbentuk provokasi, batu api! Mereka juga tidak ada ideologi, selalunya mereka fleksibel dan praktikal. Mereka begitu sayangi kestabilan apa pun harganya mereka sanggup membayarnya. [...] Masa depan kita suka atau duka - ialah middle of the road politics yakni politik yang sedang dan pendamai. Yang bertolak ansur dari semua puak. Politik tolak ansur keterlaluan Tunku Abdul Rahman mengecewakan orang Melayu: beri betis mahu paha amat bencana," tegas seorang pemimpin UMNO kepada saya. Sikap sedemikian harus dibanteras jika kita ingin mengelakkan malapetaka, tambahnya bersungguh-sungguh. DAP bijak mengubahkan pendekatannya, Lim menegaskan, ini tidak bermakna perjuangan tulen DAP 'Malaysian Malaysia' sudah dilupai. Mereka hanya sesuaikan dasar dengan zaman dan semangat masa kini. Politik lama mereka seperti siasah lampau Pas tidak akan membawa mereka ke Putrajaya. DAP dan Pas terus menukar pendekatan mereka kerana mahu sokongan Middle Malaysia. Satu perkara yang bijak, UMNO, MCA dan parti komponen lain BN tidak banyak berubah .Benar mereka tukar pemimpin tetapi dasar mereka terus agak sama sahaja ada sedikit perubahan pada UMNO jika dibandingkan pada zaman si Lembab dulu dan sekarang. Dalam MIC pula tiada pembaharuan. [...] Perdana Menteri Najib Tun Razak telah membawa beberapa pendekatan baru. Apa yang lesu dulu sudah diberi suntikan tenaga, yang buruk bertambah baik, ada pula busines as usual. Apa yang sudah dilakukan bagus tetapi jelas tidak mencukupi lagi. Masih ramai rakyat yang ternanti-nanti dengan apa yang dijanjikan. Amat wajar projek-projek harus disegerakan pelaksanaan tanpa pula cepat runtuh seperti yang berlaku di Terengganu. Kita mahu cepat tetapi kerja mestilah cermat dan baik. Saya takut melihat kelakuan sesetengah pemimpin, sudah mula bercakap besar kerana ada kesulitan dan kemelut dalam PKR dan Pas. DAP agak tegap dan berdisiplin. Percayalah mereka akan mengatasi kemelut itu. Apapun ingat: Pas, PKR dan DAP sepakat mahu menumbangkan BN. Mereka tidak mahu status quo berterusan. Kalau saya pemimpin, saya akan tumpukan masa untuk memperkemaskinikan organisasi parti, daftar pengundi baru dan perkukuhkan barisan sendiri dan memberi roh baru kepada ahli dan penyokong dengan idea baru yang boleh mendorong mereka bersemangat berkobar-kobar dan mempunyai minda yang cerah dan kukuh. Tak payahlah suka nak jaga tepi kain musuh.Lebih baik tumpukan masa memujuk dan memikat hati orang muda yang yang minat Internet dan melayari alam siber - majoritinya kini menjauhi diri dan tidak nampak menyokong BN dan UMNO. Pergolakan politik semasa baik di peringkat nasional, kemelut di Kelantan, Terengganu, Perak dan Selangor tiada kena-mengena dengan moral, prinsip dan idealisme. Semuanya adalah real politics, kenyataan siasah. Inilah hakikat politik kini, dulu dan akan datang.Fri, 22 Jan 2010 04:23:00 GMThttp://tonypua.blogspot.com/2010/01/toothy-grin-interview-to-z.htmlIt's an edited 8 minutes (part 1) interview from a total of probably 45 minutes(?) with Klik4Malaysia , which covered issues A to Z. The MP with the toothy grin? ;-) Heh...Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:44:00 GMThttp://tonypua.blogspot.com/2010/02/who-says-malays-cant-compete.htmlThe truth cannot be better illustrated by the results of the open tender processes which has been implemented in Penang for the state owned agencies. Some 70 per cent of two state firms open tenders have been won by Malay contractors, showing the community to be as competitive as others... Malay contractors won 16 out of 23 tender awards, or 70 per cent, from the Penang Development Corporation(PDC) and 44 out of 66 or 67 per cent of contracts issued by the Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang(PBAPP) in open tenders since Pakatan Rakyat took over Penang in March 2008. The performance by Malay contractors in an open tender system with non-Malays proves that Malay contractors can compete with others and win tender awards on their own merit, [Lim Guan Eng] said in a statement... And the conclusions are clear as day. Malays can compete under an open tender system and they have been winning contracts, despite so-called criticisms that Penang has "marginalised" the Malays. What the Penang government has marginalised are not Malay contractors. Instead we have marginalised the crony-based contractors who are unable to compete and relies instead on political cables to secure jobs with the Government. These crony-based contractors will either be unable to competently deliver the goods or, will as per Malaysian culture, sub-contract these jobs to other parties, be they Malay or non-Malay contractors. What we have in effect done is to cut out the middlemen "contractors" whose only role is to skim off easy profits from the contracts awarded and leave the scraps for other honest contractors to carry out the actual works. In such a system, it'll also encourage corruption between the middlemen and the government contracting agencies. And the result? The Penang state government has been able to turn a projected deficit of RM35 million in 2008 budget to a record surplus of RM88 million. And in 2009, a projected deficit of RM40 million has been turned around to record a surplus of RM77 million. The proof is in the pudding.Tue, 02 Feb 2010 03:11:00 GMThttp://tonypua.blogspot.com/2010/01/mps-jumping-ship-good-riddance.htmlZulkifli Noordin, MP for Bandar Baru Kulim came out all guns firing against his Pakatan Rakyat "partners" over issues relating to his hardline views of Malay dominance and religious dominance. Zahrain Hashim, MP for Bayan Baru came out no holds barred calling Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng a " dictator, chauvinist and communist " because he was unable to secure contracts for his RM2.00 crony company for a project in Penang. (Or was it due to him failing his party's KPIs?) Unsurprisingly, the rumour mill went wild with news of possible defections of 10 MPs led by Zahrain, which will give Barisan Nasional a 2/3 majority in Parliament. WIth the 2/3 majority, Barisan Nasional will have the ability to amend the constitution at its whims and fancies, including a likely re-delineation of parliamentary and state seats expected next year. With such an achievement, it will ensure Zahrain a Ministership post in Najib's cabinet. It is of note that Zahrain has to date only politely dismissed inferences that he will join UMNO, but had not denied the likely possibility that he'll join the newly formed "Parti Cinta Malaysia" based in Penang. Other MPs have denied outright speculations that they will join Barisan Nasional, including MP for Indera Mahkota (whom I have respect for), Azan Ismail and MP for Merbok Datuk Rashid Din. The question then is who else will join the Zahrain and Zulkifli bandwagon (Z2)? There's a possible hint here when MP for Balik Pulau, Yusmadi Yusof gave a rather peculiar answer when asked if he was jumping ship by The Malaysian Insider: Balik Pulau MP Yusmadi Yusof said he has to study the media reports before giving a response, adding he was feeling unwell after returning from a conference in Manila. Honestly, what is there to "study"? There are also rumours that another anti-Lim Guan Eng cum anti-DAP Chinese MP will also make the jump. Will they or will they not? Regardless, I'll bet my bottom dollar that Z2 does not have any where near the 10 MPs to cross over to Barisan Nasional. I do hope however, that Z2 and the less than handful of the other recalcitrant MPs will quickly jump ship so that we can rejoice at the good riddance of bad rubbish.Sun, 31 Jan 2010 03:49:00 GMThttp://tonypua.blogspot.com/2010/02/petronas-change-of-guard.htmlHere's another take on the change of guard at Petronas, by The Financial Times, UK. Concerns are being expressed everywhere internationally on this issue as the Government desperately seeks to gain easier access to the cash pile within our national oil company. Malaysia on Tuesday ended the 15-year tenure of the executive who transformed its state-owned energy company from a natural gas exporter into one of the very few sophisticated state-owned oil and gas companies with a broad international presence. Uncertain circumstances surrounding the replacement of Hassan Marican as chief executive of Petronas have intensified concern that one of the worlds only successful state-owned energy groups or national oil companies (NOCs) will suffer at the hands of its own government. NOCs survive or thrive on whether they are left alone, said an oil executive, adding that the issue of autonomy was part of the reason for Mr Maricans departure. He noted that Statoil of Norway was the only other national oil company of a resource-rich state that has become an international player. Mr Marican, who was fiercely protective of Petronass autonomy, had opposed the board appointment of an important ally of Najib Razak, Malaysias prime minister. Mr Maricans internationalisation of Petronas has resulted in the company sourcing more than a third of its oil and gas from outside Malaysia, whose own production is falling. Christophe de Margerie, chief executive of Total, which has several partnerships with Petronas, called Mr Marican an excellent leader, while Alexander Medvedev, deputy chief executive of Russias Gazprom, said he was sad to see such a high-level executive leave. In the dysfunctional world of state-owned oil companies there are very few excellent or high-level leaders. That lack of leadership has prompted the International Energy Agency, the rich countries watchdog, to warn of another possible supply crunch by mid-decade. Mr Marican contributed to reduce the risk of such a shortage by his relentless search for oil development deals overseas until the final weeks of his tenure. Late last year Mr Marican struck three deals to tap some of Iraqs biggest oil fields, adding up to 800,000 barrels of potential production to Petronass portfolio. Petronas has also done well in trickier places such as Iran and Sudan where international oil companies fear to tread. He persuaded Tiaa-Cref, the large US asset manager, to keep its stake in Petronas in spite of misgivings about the companys impact in Sudan, where the government has been condemned for human rights abuses. Three Chinese companies and an Indian company also involved in Sudan were unwilling or unable to assuage Tiaa-Crefs concerns and lost its investments. Petronass ability to invest in oil and gas could be curtailed if the Malaysian government were to decide to take a more hands -on approach, analysts and government officials said. Tony Pua, an MP for the opposition Democratic Action party, said: The fear is that the wealth of Petronas is now at risk of further plunder by the government. Petronas amassed a $30bn cash pile in the past decade. The balance sheet of Malaysias finance ministry is not so healthy. The countrys budget deficit reached a 20-year high of 7.4 per cent of gross domestic product in 2009 after the government introduced two fiscal stimulus programmes. There was no direct government reply to Mr Pua but many Malaysians saw the appointment of Shamsul Azhar Abbas to succeed Mr Marican as chief as a sign that Petronas would remain relatively free of government interference. Mr Shamsul was previously chief executive of Misc, Petronass shipping subsidiary. Robin West, an industry consultant, said changing the policy of allowing Petronas to make decisions with minimal interference would be a disaster. Mr West, chairman of PFC Energy, said Mr Shamsul was capable and experienced. But much of his success will depend on whether he is forced to compete with Malaysias prime minister for control of Petronas.Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:09:00 GMThttp://tonypua.blogspot.com/2010/02/zulkifli-nordin-fitnah.htmlAs usual, renegade Pakatan Rakyat MP has gone on another rampage. This time, he is accusing various DAP leaders of various wrong-doings which justifies our being "chauvinist, racist and communist". I shall not comment on his accusations on other leaders, although as far as I'm concerned, they are equally baseless. However, there's a specific accusation against me which I will show is a complete and baseless lie, or "fitnah". This Bandar Kulim Bahru MP accused me of: ...tindakan biadap YB Tony Pua yang mendesak YB Datuk Hasan Ali, Ahli Exco dan Pesuruhjaya PAS Selangor dipecat selepas pertikaian mengenai Selcat dan kebenaran penjualan arak di kedai serbanika di dalam negeri Selangor; Let me categorically deny that I've ever mentioned, much less "mendesak" Datuk Hassan Ali be sacked from his office as the state executive councillor. This is despite the fact that many would then agree that such a call may actually be justifiable then. In fact, it was Datuk Hasan Ali who had publicly called for his Pakatan colleague, Ronnie Liu's position to be reviewed. My statement which is available on DAP's website here , and widely reported in Bernama and The Malaysian Insider , focused strictly on the fact that Datuk Hasan Ali needs to follow "due process". Similarly, I've posted a statement with regards to the Selcat controversy involving Datuk Hasan Ali, and again, I've asked that he "must start behaving like he is part of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition." I had also an earlier statement that said that Datuk Hasan Ali needs to learn how to be a coalition partner, and for PAS Selangor under his leadership to better understand multi-racial politics. There was absolutely no mention of any request for Datuk Hassan Ali to be sacked in any of the above statements and reports. Unlike Zulkifli Nordin, I don't shoot of my hip without using my head. His statement is clearly defamatory in nature, and he had repeated the same on his TV3 interview a few nights ago. Should I sue him? No-lah, that'll make him "important". At the moment, I just can't wait for him to leave Pakatan and join UMNO where he belongs. As far as I'm concerned, he needs to answer to his Allah, for I'm certain that "fitnah" is a major sin.Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:07:00 GMThttp://tonypua.blogspot.com/2010/02/does-khazanah-know-what-it-is-doing.htmlKhazanah's investment of RMB300 million in Oriental University City Limited (OUC) in Hebei Province, China raises more questions than confidence What exactly is Khanazah's investment role, strategy and philosophy will be the biggest question raised with its recent acquisition of a 10% stake in OUC for RMB300 million or RM150 million. Is Khazanah a strategic investor meant to play an active role to bring and develop key industries and technologies in Malaysia via mega developments such as the multi-billion Iskandar Malaysia project? Or is it a strategic investor in Malaysian companies to help provide local firms with the necessary capital and financial backing for success, such as its holdings in PLUS Expressways, Malaysia Airlines Systems, Malaysia Airport Berhad, Silterra semiconductors as well as many prior failed projects such as the Langkawi prawn farming project? Or has it now become Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund taking up portfolio investments in businesses overseas without a strategic role in them, such as the 10% OUC investment where Khazanah is neither experienced in the education sector, nor does it have the scale and leverage to manage its Chinese investments? Khazanah Managing Director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar claimed that the latest investment is part of their China and education services strategy giving exposure into the exponential growth potential of China's education services sector. The pertinent question to ask then is What is Khazanah's 'China and education services strategy'? How much funds has Khazanah allocated to its China or education services portfolio or is this investment more opportunistic in nature, and isn't really part of any strategy? In fact, when reviewing the entire list of Khazanah's existing portfolio companies, there is not a single education services provider in sight, whether in or out of Malaysia ruling out any like synergies between its investee companies. When reviewing the details of the acquisition, more questions arise, for not only has Khazanah turned itself into some form of portfolio investor, but it has also become a pre-IPO venture capitalist. It's valuation of OUC at RMB 3 billion with its 2009 net profit of RMB 52 million meant that Khazanah paid an astronomical historical price-earnings (PE) ratio of 58 times for its purchase. In addition, the acquisition is valued at more than 8 times OUC's net book value. It is clearly a high-risk transaction for the investment is predicated on a stock exchange listing in 2013. As a comparison, at today's prices for substantially lower risk, but equally exciting global growth prospects, Khazanah could have purchased Apple Inc for a PE of 24, Google Inc for a PE of 26 or even Amazon.com Inc at the same PE of 58. Why did Khazanah pick an investment in Hebei which is expensive, high-risk and illiquid? Should Khazanah not be focusing its energies on ensuring the success of Iskandar Malaysia which is today threatened with not only declining investments but also investor withdrawals, to ensure that its RM7.6 billion investment in the project over 5 years will generate reasonable returns to the government and its rakyat? Instead, it's out-of-the-blue investment in education services provider all the way in Hebei, China drains the confidence of Malaysians in Khazanah's ability to professionally manage the wealth of the nation.Fri, 12 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMThttp://tonypua.blogspot.com/2010/03/tony-on-opposition-to-gst.htmlWell if you are not yet sick of the Goods & Services Tax (GST) topic, below is the link to an exclusive video interview with Malaysiakini.com which was done before the BN Government chickened out and withdrew the Bill from debate in Parliament. I had predicted a U-turn by the current Najib administration, after earlier U-turns on the 5% real property gains tax as well as the tiered petrol subsidy programme, but only after the Bill has been approved. However, it appeared that this government clearly didn't think through their policy considerations in depth, and withdrew the Bill even before debate on the pretext that "further consultations are needed with the public". The question is, why didn't they consult first, then draft/present the bill, but instead, try to force the bill through, then say consult later? For those who prefer to read about the interview, instead of watch it over Internet video, you will find 2 reports on Malaysiakini - " U-Turn on GST was waiting to happen " and " GST = Taxation without End "Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:38:00 GMThttp://tonypua.blogspot.com/2010/03/why-was-hassan-merican-replaced-as.htmlI blogged on the change of guard in Petronas earlier this year. I was curious why one of our best known CEOs in Malaysia for Petronas did not have his contract renewed and my question in parliament was addressed to the Prime Minister. I also asked why was Omar Mustapha appointed to the Petronas Board of Directors despite the objections from Tan Sri Hassan Merican. Of course, the reply in parliament completely avoids the essence of my question. Read it for yourself. Tony Pua meminta Perdana Menteri menyatakan sebab Tan Sri Hassan Merican telah diganti sebagai ketua eksekutif Petronas walaupun prestasinya adalah cemerlang sejak pelantikannya pada 1995. Apakah rasional Omar Mustapha dilantik sebagai pengarah Petronas, dan sebab perlantikan beliau ditolak oleh Tan Sri Hassan? The answer: Kerajaan tidak menafikan bahawa Y. Bhg. Tan Sri Hassan Merican mempunyai pengalaman yang luas dalam industri petroleum. Beliau juga telah berkhidmat dengan cemerlang dalam Petronas sejak tahun 1989 sebagai Naib Presiden Kanan Kewangan sebelum dilantik sebagai Presiden dan Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif dalam tahun 1995. Perlantikan Y.Bhg. Dato' Shamsul Azhar sebagai Presiden dan Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif yang baru juga adalah berasaskan prinsip yang sama di mana beliau juga mempunyai pengalaman yang luas dan prestasi yang cemerlang semasa perkhidmatan beliau di Petronas. Beliau mula berkhidmat dengan Petronas pada tahun 1974 dan pernah memegang beberapa jawatan kanan iaitu Naib Presiden Perniagaan Minyak, Naib Presiden Eksplorasi (Upstream) dan Naib Presiden Maritim dan Logistik. Namun begitu perlantikan Presiden dan Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Petronas dan juga ahli Lembaga Pengarahnya adalah di bawah bidang kuasa penuh Y.A.B. Perdana Menteri berdasarkan pada Akta Pembangunan Petroleum 1974. Tentang kenapa Y. Bhg. Tan Sri Hassan Merican menolak perlantikan Omar Mustapha sebagai Pengarah Petronas, persoalan ini haruslah ditujukan kepada beliau dan bukannya kepada kerajaan.Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:42:00 GMThttp://tonypua.blogspot.com/2010/01/middle-malaysia.html"Transformation Malaysia" was the theme of DAP 2010 Annual Convention held yesterday. But it was the approach of "Middle Malaysia" in the Secretary-General Sdr Lim Guan Eng's speech which caught the imagination of the press and commentators. "Middle Malaysia" is apt in times like this, as we swim in various parochial and fringe controversies like 'Allah' and 'Ketuanan Melayu', it is time to position DAP and our partners PAS and PKR as taking the middle ground where the overwhelming majority of Malaysians stand, while leaving our political enemies to take the extremist positions. I won't write about it in detail here, but you can read the full text of Sdr Lim's speech here (warning: it's long), or an excellent succint report by Andrew Ong in Malaysiakini here. Excerpts from Andrew's article is below. Amidst a gloomy backdrop of intensified religious and racial bickering, DAP has mapped out the path of 'Middle Malaysia' which the party hopes Pakatan Rakyat would ride on towards the ultimate destination - Putrajaya. DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng told delegates at the party 15th national conference in Ipoh today that the nation was "at war with itself" and the way forward is by threading the middle path of inclusiveness, equal opportunities and ending discrimination. "We must occupy the electoral centre that is diverse and united, moderate and sensible, consistent and relevant to ordinary Malaysians. We must become 'Middle Malaysia'," he thundered to some 1,200 delegates. [...] DAP can't do it alone Currently, the party is half-way through its term as coalition governments in Penang and Selangor and the new slogan by Lim is viewed as DAP's new direction as it gears up for the polls. [...] "Remember that DAP will never win alone. We nearly won all the seats in Negeri Sembilan but still unable to govern. We need to win as a coalition, as a full partner in power together. "It goes without saying that we would expect our coalition partners to understand our platforms and build and expand our common grounds," he said. In his speech, Lim repeatedly stressed that Pakatan' focus should be to capture the 'Middle Malaysian' vote as it matters most to what he terms as a "second round of nation building". "It is crucial to note that there is only one middle ground in Malaysian politics, and it is the middle ground that matters. Make no mistake that 'Middle Malaysia' will decide which coalition governs next. "To embrace 'Middle Malaysia', Pakatan must be seen as moderate, inclusive and distance and differentiate ourselves from our exclusive, racist and extremist opponents," he said. Yes, lets take Middle Malaysia to Putrajaya! ;-)Mon, 18 Jan 2010 07:01:00 GMThttp://tonypua.blogspot.com/2010/01/more-middle-malaysia.html'Middle Malaysia' isn't a new slogan. It's not a new cool term to replace "Malaysian Malaysia" or "Malaysian First". It's a political description of the centre-majority of the Malaysian public. It is a statement and approach that the DAP seeks to fulfil the wishes of "Middle Malaysia". Sdr Lim Guan Eng has said that "Middle Malaysia prefers co-operation not conflict, consultation instead of confrontation and an inclusive, shared society rather than an exclusive, separate society... We want no part of the extremist fringes with pronouncements and positions that frighten off any decent Malaysian." And Middle Malaysia comes in the context of the fierce 'Allah' debate, where the hardline conservative positions taken by UMNO leaders have dragged the country to nearly the brink with more than 10 religious institutions defiled. As UMNO and Barisan Nasional move to the fringe with extremist tendencies, DAP and our Pakatan Rakyat colleagues want to occupy the centre where most Malaysians are, and that's "Middle Malaysia". There used to be a time when "Middle Malaysia" believed that a power-sharing agreement between the major races represented by 3 race-based parties was the perfect approach to multi-cultural Malaysia. And that was when BN occupied the political centre of the public perception spectrum. But "Middle Malaysia" has shifted for the "power-sharing" pact between UMNO, MCA and MIC has been increasingly exposed as a failure for each party continues to pander to the parochial needs of each community defined by race, and often in direct conflict to create a fair and just society, and to foster national unity. The inability of Barisan Nasional to stay in touch with "Middle Malaysia" is best epitomised by BN apologist, Professor Shamsul Amri Baharuddin, who was sceptical on Middle Malaysians being the majority of voters in the country and harshly criticised DAP for misconceiving the definition of 'middle'. "In Malaysia, there is no such thing as middle voters. They (DAP) have messed up their calculations. The idea of middle voters is in their imagination... if they do not conceptualise their ideas properly, it can backfire, said Shamsul, director of the Institute of Ethnic Studies (Kita) in UKM. The academic firmly believes that in the case of constituencies, voters are still split on an ethnic level, and not all voters necessarily reside in the area that they vote in. He claims that 30 per cent of voters in a constituency are urban folk who come from rural areas, hence they have different interests in mind and do not care about local issues. The situation is like this. You have three types of constituencies in Malaysia; the Chinese, Malay/Bumiputeras and the mixed group. These groups, which make up 70 per cent of voters, are generally politically-inclined towards a certain party, be it opposition or government. Like BN, he is still trapped in the mindset where "constituencies" in Malaysia is still strictly defined by race and their attachment to "certain" political parties. It is to Pakatan Rakyat's advantage that they have failed to (or is unwilling to) perceive and adapt to the changing electorate who are more sensitive to policies and less to party. If Professor Shamsul is correct, then the Chinese would never have voted in such large numbers in support of PAS in the last general elections, as well as the subsequent by-elections. Similarly, DAP would not have received such significant support from the Malays, who had in the past avoided the party at all cost. While DAP members and leaders may be majority Chinese, we are not a "Chinese" party like the BN counterpart in MCA. Similarly, while PKR and PAS are overwhelmingly Malay, they are not a "Malay" party like how UMNO is defined. Our policies are not race-based, but one based on needs. DAP for example, has no problems with Malays benefiting because they are poor or disadvantaged. However, there is real injustice if the rich Malays receive aid while the poor Indians continue to be marginalised. Race in the above examples are purely incidental, and the determination of assistance should be based strictly on merit and needs. That is our view is what 'Middle Malaysia' has come to believe, and they no longer see race-based parties, those with specific mission to promote a particular race-agenda as being viable or acceptable. Capturing the 'Middle Malaysia' will take us to Putrajaya in the next General Elections.Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:38:00 GMThttp://tonypua.blogspot.com/2010/01/get-registered-to-vote.html4.4 million Malaysians who are above the age of 21 have not registered to vote . This forms 30% of eligible voters in Malaysia. Which means that if these, mostly young people get registered, the outcome to any election in our country could actually be very different. Go register with your identification card at the nearest post office (it just takes 5 minutes). Or if you have queries, please email leongooikuan(at)gmail(dot)com at my office. We'll help you along the way.Sat, 23 Jan 2010 16:12:00 GMThttp://tonypua.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-political-parties-act.htmlOne of the Prime Minister's key National Key Result Area (NKRA) Labs is on Fighting Corruption. The were plenty of proposals within this NKRA made by the labs, and it's available for review here. However, it is curious that the chief of the lab choses to focus on one tiny aspect among the tonnes of proposals within, that is creating new laws to control political funding . Is there an ulterior motive? You decide. Below is the write up on the press conference I gave a few days back on the issue by The Malaysian Insider .A proposed law to regulate funding of political parties ostensibly to curb corruption has failed to impress the opposition, in particular the DAP. The proposed Political Parties Act, seeks to enforce existing political laws and conduct a study to revamp political funding. This is under the corruption lab, which is one of the NKRA (National Key Result Areas). The government has put it up on their website, www.transformation.gov.my, although it has not been publicised in great detail, said Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua today. Pua said he was curious as to why only one aspect of the entire NKRA for corruption was paid due emphasis, and wanted to know the governments rationale for doing so. I am worried that the reason for this Act is that they are looking to potentially control the support of funds. Listing down the names of donors of opposition parties presents a problem for a lot of donors, said Pua. Without an even playing field, this creates a major problem for politics in Malaysia. The DAP man also questioned the governments motives as the papers were presented as if these were policies which will be enacted by the government, not proposals. He also took the opportunity to point out other policies, namely the government allocation to MPs, whereby all MPs have a right to receive funds regardless of political affiliations. There are other important policies other than the Political Parties Act. To combat corruption the government should disclose details of all government procurement contracts ... what about the details of Matrade? What about the IPP contracts? Why dont you declassify them in the interest of achieving NKRAs? We'll be setting up a meeting with Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz to figure out exactly whether the proposals by NKRA has actually been adopted or approved by the cabinet. And if they are, why aren't we seeing their implementation such as equal allocations for all Members of Parliament, or public disclosure of information for all privatisation contracts.Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:48:00 GMThttp://tonypua.blogspot.com/2010/02/khazanah-responds-on-oriental.htmlThe following is the response by Khazanah after I've raised questions with regards to its RM150 million investment in Oriental University City (OUC) investment in Hebei, China. You can read the Bernama report here or below. Unfortunately, I'm still not at all convinced by the arguments put forward by Khazanah, and it fails to address some of the questions which I've raised in my earlier statement: What exactly is Khazanah's fund management philosophy? If its a conservative strategic investor (e.g., Iskandar Malaysia, PLUS Expressways), then you don't invest in high risk ventures, or become a portfolio manager and vice-versa. You don't invest out-of-the-blue RM150 million all the way in Hebei, in a high risk education venture in which you have not an iota of experience in. The above applies even if OUC does indeed pose a valid investment thesis on its own. Another way of putting it is, if you are in the business of building cars, you do not suddenly take your profits and start investing in fisheries (or luxury fashion or education), even if the latter provides very attractive potential returns. You should instead focus on increasing the market reach of your cars and building even better cars. For a price-earnings (PE) ratio of 58, and for it to list on a stock exchange in 2013, the earnings growth target will need to be fantastic in the next 2-3 years to lower the PE to an acceptable 12-20 times, even for a high growth stock. With all due respect to the investment team, but the forecast looks like "spreadsheet magic" to me. If I have that risk appetite, I'll take up stakes in Google, Apple or Amazon.com any time. If OUC is indeed such a fantastic investment (as claimed in the latest statement, "discounted cash flow valuations and internal rate of return estimates that were significantly above the risk-adjusted investment hurdle rates"), then there will be plenty of high-risk capital and funds available in China to make the investment. Why do they need to come all the way to Malaysia for what is arguably only a mid-sized investment? I don't want to sound like a wet blanket, but my position remains that Khazanah should remain a strategic investor focused on growing and catalysing Malaysian critical sectors, and based on current priorities, would be to make a success of the RM50 billion Iskandar Malaysia where Khazanah's expected invest up to RM8 billion, instead of gallivanting all over the world conducting piece-meal investments. Leave the high-risk, sectoral or country portfolio investments to the relevant specialist funds Khazanah response is as follows: KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 Khazanah Nasional Bhds RM150 million investment in Chinas Oriental University City Ltd (OUCL) fulfills both its strategic objectives and financial returns requirement. In a statement today, the governments investment arm said the 10 per cent stake acquisition in OUCL from Singapores listed Raffles Education Corporation Ltd (REC) allowed it to tap into the expertise of Raffles and capitalise on the upside of Chinas growing and underserved education sector which saw 26 million new students and was worth US$39 billion (RM132 billion) annually. The detailed investment evaluation applied in the transaction as a matter of investment policy had looked significantly beyond the historical performance and valuation multiples for 2009 that was quoted in various reports, it said. It also more than satisfied the stringent financial criteria that included discounted cash flow valuations and internal rate of return estimates that were significantly above the risk-adjusted investment hurdle rates, forward earnings multiples comparable to industry averages, and compared favourably against inherent growth rates expected in the education sector in China. Khazanah said that the investment had a clear and liquid path for exit if so desired through a planned listing over the medium term. In the event that the planned listing does not occur, the conditional sale and purchase (S&P) agreement for the 10 per cent investment in OUC also comes with an inherent downside protection for Khazanah that will effectively protect Khazanahs capital investment and adequately covers Khazanahs cost of funds over the period, it said. Therefore, it said, the investment represented a strong combination of robust upside potential in a sector and geography with exceptional growth prospects and significant downside protection. Beyond this investment, Khazanah and REC were committed through the conditional S&P agreement to jointly explore the viability of replicating such University City business models in Malaysia and other countries regionally. It said this initiative would support the countrys human capital development objective by acquiring experience and expertise to address vocational skills shortage and improve employability of graduates. BernamaWed, 17 Feb 2010 14:39:00 GMThttp://tonypua.blogspot.com/2010/03/tribute-to-dap-founder-dr-chen-man-hin.htmlThis tribute was presented during the Pakatan Rakyat Selangor Convention held earlier today to honour the heros of Pakatan Rakyat.Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:22:00 GMT