Iskandar: Red Flags on the Horizon

It is telling. All is not well in Iskandar Malaysia, the country's showpiece economic corridor project.

Two chief executive officers of the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) have not lasted two years on the job and there are now rumblings over the slow pace of progress from Middle East investors.

Apart from that, the relationship between some of the main players — the Johor Civil Service (JCS), Khazanah Nasional, Iskandar Investment Board (IIB) — leaves much to be desired.

Unwilling for the situation to unravel further, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman is signalling his intention to Putrajaya for the state government to take more control of the mammoth project billed as Malaysia's Shenzen to the developed Singapore across the Johor Straits.

He wants IRDA to come directly under the purview of the state government, and rely less on instructions from Khazanah Nasional, the federal sovereign wealth fund tasked with developing the economic zone named after the state Ruler.

The IRDA board is now jointly chaired by the Prime Minister and the MB but The Malaysian Insider understands that the Johor MB could be assigned full chairmanship, giving him control of the regional authority.

Ghani has already started exerting his authority, much to the chagrin of the top brass in Khazanah Nasional. Late last month, he demanded the resignation of the incumbent CEO Harun Johari.

Officials at Khazanah Nasional wanted Harun to be given six more months on the job but last week, the IRDA board quickly accepted Harun's resignation. He will leave in January 2010 for IRDA to have another fresh start.

Harun, an ex-Shell stalwart, was hand-picked by Khazanah Nasional for the top position. He quickly brought in several of his former Shell colleagues to fill senior executive positions, and the organisation ballooned to over 150 staff under his charge.

His critics charged that he lacked charisma but his supporters argued that he is a process-driven individual who was effective behind the scenes. Harun replaced Datuk Ikmal Hijaz, the former Pos Malaysia CEO.

The latter was also hand-picked by Khazanah Nasional to drive IRDA and make it a world-class, one-stop centre for investors.

After being appointed, Ikmal also surrounded himself with several former colleagues from Pos Malaysia or the now defunct Renong Group, in which he oversaw the construction of the Gelang Patah crossing and massive land acquisition in Nusajaya.

The Malaysian Insider has learnt the new CEO of IRDA is Ismail Ibrahim. He is currently director of the National Physical Planning Division under the Urban and Rural Planning Department.

The Muar-born career public servant, who is a British-trained town planner, was among the pioneers assembled by Khazanah Nasional back in 2006 to draw up the Comprehensive Development Plan for the south Johor Economic Region (now known as Iskandar).

He later served as senior vice-president (Planning & Compliance) and became Johor's Federal Commissioner, but quit suddenly to return to the Housing and Local Government Ministry.

Ghani has already told Ismail that he expects an overhaul of the top management of IRDA, wanting him to rid the authority of deadwood.

At least four senior personnel are expected to be removed.

The JCS — a body whose support is necessary if any project is to take off in the southern state — has welcomed the appointment of Ismail.

Relations between the JCS and Khazanah Nasional have been uneasy since the inception of the project in 2006, with Johor civil servants complaining of being sidelined from the decision-making process. They have resented the fact that important decisions regarding Iskandar were being made in Kuala Lumpur.

The shortcomings in IRDA, and to a lesser extend IIB, come at a time when several of the Middle East investors are exhibiting signs of restlessness at the pace of the project.

Government officials told The Malaysian Insider that Khazanah Nasional was forced to buy back some land in Node 1 of Iskandar which it sold to a consortium of Middle East investors. This happened after some disagreement over responsibilities and obligations.

So is Iskandar reeling from unresolved Federal-State relationship issues or more so because of lack of political will? This is a rhetorical question.

Endgame: Curtains for Oprah

It's official.

Oprah Winfrey will end her top-rated daytime talk show that has featured newsmakers from President Barack Obama to movie star Tom Cruise, in September 2011.

“I can confirm that she’s planning to make an announcement that she will end ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ at the completion of the 25th season, in September 2011,” said the representative for Harpo Inc.

The announcement is expected on today’s programme where Winfrey is expected to detail the reasons behind her decision.


Industry watchers believe Winfrey will move to cable network OWN, a Los Angeles-based joint venture she has with Discovery Communications Inc, where she will air another talk programme similar to the current show.

OWN had been expected to launch as early as 2009, but that date has been delayed. When the network is up and running, it will be available in more than 70 million homes.

“The Oprah Winfrey Show,” broadcast from Chicago on ABC stations across the United States and in some 145 countries worldwide, is one of the TV industry’s biggest money-makers and the top-rated US daytime talk show, averaging 7.1 million viewers this year.

Winfrey, 55, is regarded as one of the most influential opinion-makers in the United States, and just this year was No. 45 on Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s most powerful people.

The programme has made her among the world’s wealthiest individuals, with a net worth estimated at US$2.3 billion (RM7.81 billion), according to financial magazine Forbes, and she regularly ranks at the top of the list of the most powerful women in media.

Ending her current show will hit CBS Corp’s CBS Television Distribution arm, which syndicates the show, and Walt Disney Co’s ABC’s owned and operated TV stations that broadcast the show.

Malaysia: Worse is over in April 2009?

I like the show of sheer bravado. I certainly love the optimism. Let us read what Mustafa Mansur,FMM's president has to say.

"There are signs of recovery in the country’s exports with regional trade picking up the slack from traditional export markets," he says.

"Nevertheless, the overall picture for exports is still unstable," he added.

“It’s slowly picking up, we’ve seen some improvement in the third quarter compared to the second quarter this year,” Mustafa told a media briefing at the launch of the National Shippers’ Conference 2009.

“I think we’ve reached rock-bottom and for Malaysia, the worst month for exports was April,” he further added.

He noted that regional trade with the Asean nations, China and India had been instrumental in mitigating the impact of the economic slowdown, adding that “the pharmaceuticals, food and furniture industries have seen improvement in overseas demand.

However he cautioned that the overall picture for exports was still not stable with those in the electrical and electronics industry seeing a rise in demand due to seasonal adjustments for year-end holidays.

He reckoned that based on the more positive economic data currently available, the global economic recession would not continue into next year.

Some economists have warned that the recession would extend to next year if the effects of pump-priming measures wear off or if governments started to withdraw stimulus initiatives.

The Statistics Department’s updated report for the September external trade showed exports declined 1.1% to RM47.2bil month-on-month while year-on-year, they fell 24.2%.

Morgan Stanley Research analysts in a Nov 13 report stated that “exports will show second-order derivative improvement but nonetheless declining by double-digit as Malaysian exports have lagged the region.

Recovery in Asia’s exports-reliant economies such as Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore is largely premised on a better outlook for external trade, which has fallen drastically in 2009.

Singapore’s trade ministry said in a statement yesterday that the recovery of the island-republic’s economy in 2010 was closely linked to global conditions and a slower recovery in demand for exports would moderate growth prospects.

Arent'we all hopeful? I hope the optimism is not misplaced.

Malaysia: Cross- Border Con

What has become of Malaysia? Is this the kind of things that are allowed to happen here? Is there lax enforcement at the border or by the local police and immigration authorities?

These are rhetorical questions. No answers required.

Such news item are are a bane for Malaysia.Let us read one of the happenings.

November 19,2009:
City police today rescued 14 Thai women and a 15-year-old Thai girl who were forced to work as “hostesses” after being lured into the country on the promise of lucrative jobs.

A team of 11 police officers found the victims, aged between 20 and 30, in four different locations around Cheras — four at the Awana Puri Condos, three at the Taman Yulik Apartments and eight in two town-houses in Taman Midah, here.

DSP Razali Abu Samah, an officer with the Secret Societies, Vice and Gambling Unit at the Kuala Lumpur Police Headquarters, said the women came to the country legally but had overstayed as most of their visas and passports had expired, and that they were kept like prisoners at the locations.

“We believe these women were tricked into coming to the country by their ‘agents’ on the promise of getting decent jobs, but instead, they were forced into selling their bodies,” Razali told reporters at the raid scene in Taman Midah.

A 37-year-old local man, believed to be pimp, was also arrested outside the Awana Puri Condos.

“It took us three days to observe their movements. And finally today, we could only arrest one of two suspects. We managed to grab him while he was taking the girls to see the clients,” he said.

During the four-hour operation, which started at 1.30pm, police seized a car with several packets of condoms and lingerie inside. Investigation revealed that the girls were locked up in the houses and were fed once every three days.

Apart from that, there was electricity but no water supply in the houses and the women were only permitted to come out during night when they were taken to see the clients, he added.

Such inhumanity. Have we descended to the level of animals?

Get Them and Hang 'em High

The order is out.

It's disciplinary action,police action or investigation by the MACC if you are found wanting in your duties that cause misappropriation and wastage of public funds in the 2008 Auditor-General's Report. The same goes for power abuse.

The job of taking immediate action on officers in ministries, departments, agencies or government-linked companies is given to the secretaries-general of ministries, department heads and chief executives of government agencies.

In issuing the order, Chief Secretary to the Government Sidek Hassan said the Special Task Force headed by him to study the report had agreed that the Audit-General Ambrin Buang write in to the ministry secretaries-general, department heads and chief executives of government agencies concerned asking them to take prompt action. The actions are:

* Conduct further investigations into power abuse cases, misappropriation and wastage of public funds that have been identified and take appropriate action against those involved either disciplinary action under Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993 or recommend surcharge under the Financial Procedure Act 1957. If it was proven the offence committed was a criminal case, a report has to be lodged either with the police or with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

* Inform findings of investigations and action taken to the Auditor-General within one working week. The Auditor-General will then table the report received at the Special Task Force meeting; and

* Disciplinary action can be taken against secretaries-general, department heads and chief executives for failing to take action within the stipulated period.

Sidek said in a statement today that the line of action has been agreed upon by the Special Task Force at its second meeting on Nov 12. The meeting also agreed that the Attorney-General’s Department would prepare the procedural guidelines to serve as a guide to ministry secretaries-general, department heads and chief executives of government agencies.

The procedures are necessary to ensure actions taken on the people implicated are not challenged in court, he said. On cases involving ministry secretaries-general or department heads, he said the letter (from the Auditor-General) will be sent directly to the Public Service Department director-general.

Sidek said cases involving contractors or consultants will be reported to the professional body concerned and a copy of the report will be sent to the Finance Ministry and the Contractor Services Centre in the Works Ministry to be blacklisted.

“The government agencies involved has been asked to step up enforcement to ensure the blacklisted companies are not awarded government contracts,” he added.

For the public who has heard all of this before,is it for real this time?