Rafidah: Political Wisdom?

Rafidah Aziz has advised the Barisan Nasional leadership against repeating past mistakes, by listening to the voters and not party members when selecting candidates for the next general elections.

I think this is one good advice coming from this doyen in a long, long time. I sometimes wonder whether she took her own advice when she was surfing the political waters as Wanita UMNO chieftain.

She said too many good candidates had been axed during Election 2008 because of this policy.

“In the next general election, what we really need are good candidates, the right candidates, winnable candidates.“To get this, we must listen to the people, not the party members,” she said. On the dot, my dear lady, on the dot!

The outspoken leader pointed out that many party members had their own personal agenda to achieve, which could prove to be detrimental to Barisan Nasional (BN) at large.

“If you ask only them (the party members) on who should contest next, they might say the present representative needs to be removed.

“Of course they would say this. Why? Because there is usually already someone else there, waiting in the wings to take over,” she said.

Rafidah said it was important for the leadership to start collecting grassroots feedback from all quarters of society, which includes both party members and the voters themselves.[Who is being task to do this? Is he or she morally upright?]

“Sometimes, the people like their representative. But this representative could not be popular among party members because he or she is maybe not too ‘party-centric’,” she said.

She explained that this may not sit well with the party members who felt that they have not been getting enough “largesse” from the disputed candidate. [ We need a mind-set change here!]

“So that is where the disparity of perception comes in. You ask the party members and they would say to change the candidate but when you speak to the people, they like their representative.

“But do not look at what the party members want alone — the people end up casting the votes in the end,” she said.

Without elaborating, Rafidah said that this had clearly happened during the last general election in March 2008.

The election had seen the Pakatan Rakyat parties of PAS, DAP and PKR unexpectedly rise to power when it swept up five states and denied BN its two-thirds majority in Parliament.

“Last election, too many changes were made without consideration on who these candidates were — whether they could be accepted by the public at large,” said Rafidah.

She commended Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on his leadership to date but urged him to remind his “soldiers” in the government to strive harder to carry out his newborn initiatives.

“He has made real effort in consolidating the country, especially through his 1Malaysia concept.

“But more needs to be done. We need to go to the grassroots and explain to the people that this 1Malaysia not just about ‘one’ everything — one uniform, one murtabak.

“It is not just symbolism... it is about how we are all Malaysians and that despite our differences, we are held together by this one thread that is Malaysia,” Rafidah said.

She said that Najib seemed to understand what needed to be done to strengthen the country’s economy but pointed out that it was one thing to create approaches like the New Economic Model (NEM) and another to ensure that work was actually carried out.

“Having the NEM is one thing but making sure that things are done is another. To me, for any government of any time, there is nothing else but the ‘nose to the grindstone’ approach.[Hard work and clean conscience, my good dame!]

“Everyone in the administration must be diligent in achieving targets. All must be on their toes, there is no slacking, whether or not you are in the Cabinet or in the public service or in the education sector — you have to know your role and achieve your target,” said the former Cabinet Minister cum ex-economics lecturer in Universiti Malaya.

Rafidah added that the government needed to be stern in preventing detractors from politicising policies that were beneficial to the people. “Like the subsidy cuts for example. Do not let these detractors to politicise on it and divide the people because the cuts are for the good of the people. [Who says so? Not the poor. Not the impoverished salaried class!]

“As Malaysians, we owe it to ourselves to accept things that are good for us and the country so if we need to cut back on subsidies, then we must accept it and the government must explain to the people why,” she said.

I guess she is with Jala and suffering the blind spot malady too, in this instance!

The Cabinet in June 2010

The new Cabinet is an old Cabinet plus one new Minister.Ong Tee Kiat has got the tip of the boot and Chor has come in to take over Kong's portfolio. Kong moves to Transport.

We assume that PM Najib is happy with his Cabinet pre-June as except for the MCA replacement and transfer, every one stayed put.

Are we ready for the long haul now?

The MCA New IOUs

Yes, Ong Tee Keat has been summarily removed from the Cabinet. To many, it is just his due desserts. He has lost the political up-manship against his nemesis.

As the gentleman he claimed to be, Dr. Chua has omitted himself from the mini Cabinet reshuffle. What message can we get from this? For public consumption, he said he needs time to go about to unite the party which continues to be in tatters.  This is just shadow play.

Two party supporters were given Cabinet portfolios. Kong transferred to the Transport portfolio whereas Chor was promoted to the Housing Ministry.

Looks like the succession plan is now in place.

Chua Junior has also been elevated to Deputy Ministership to promote a private family succession plan while the two Ministers owe Chua Soi Lek a personal IOU each as well.

It's partial pay-back time for them in supporting Chua Sio Lek in quashing  Liow Tiong Lai's bid for party hegemony.


How he is is going to get his voice heard through the Cabinet meetings is definitely through Kong and Chor. They will have to report to him pronto as soon as any big issues are brought up in Cabinet so that he can lend his wisdom. They will most likely to be at his beck and call.

I believe Chua Soi Lek will leave the presidency by the next MCA AGM to allow Kong to take over to spearhead the next General Elections due in 2013.

We do not know whether all is lost for MCA.

As long as it does not bury its head in the sand every time an issue that affects the community springs up like in the past, there may yet be redemption for this beleaguered party.

OECD: No Double-dipping, only Skinny Dipping

The oraclers at  the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD] have crystal-balled and have concluded sapiently that the world will not double dip in recession. Only a little skinny-dipping, perhaps.

" Taking cognizance of the  austerity measures in some major economies, they heralded affirmatively. Its Secretary-General, Angel Gurria has this to espoused. "“No, I do not see a double-dip, I do not see a recurrence of the recession,”

The OECD is a group of free market democracies that is expanding its membership of 31 mostly developed market economies to include an increasing number of emerging economies, such as Slovenia, which was formally approved last week.

Gurria said latest indicators show there is a chance that low growth and high unemployment could persist for years which can only be prevented by necessary policy changes.

“What we see in the medium term, let’s say 5, 7 years, is a relatively low level of growth, a relatively high level of unemployment and relatively high budget deficits. ... What can change this projection? Well, policies,” he said. [ This is very painful, Mr Angel of Mercy!]

“After we have stabilised the financial system, after we have plotted a medium- and long-term fiscal plan, we have to have also medium- and long-term structural policies so that the recovery is sustainable”.

He also said the euro zone’s help package to its indebted member Greece should calm the jittery markets.

“Considering that the total debt of Greece is about 300 billion (euros), 110 billion on the table is an enormous amount of money and it should give peace of mind,” Gurria said."

Temporary reprieve, I would say,my good man!

MEASAT: What is Your Footprint Now for Section 108?

Yes, you turned around in 2009 thanks to Africasat-, MEASAT-3a and foreign exchange gains.

So things are going great guns for you. As usual, your insensitive BOD has agreed not to give any dividends-an unfriendly gesture in a good year.Why are we paying you Board allowances?

Also, tell us what you are going to do with the RM359,075,000 of your retained earnings? This issue has been cropping up year after year at your AGM. I guess it will be paraded once more on 10th June.

You have up to 2013 to pay franked dividends and this could be as good as any year to begin to do so.

On top of that, you have yet another RM37,992,000 in a separate tax-exempt account. This could similarly be franked out as special dividends.

This can all be paid  in a single tier dividend manner so that it is tax-free to your patriotic shareholders.

Is there any constructive manner you can pay out these retained earnings?

Can it be converted into a paid rights issues?

You can do so by declaring a rights and then  internally  use franked dividends to pay for them.

It is a win-win situation.

Mr. MEASAT Chairman, are you listening?

Post-script:

Is MEASAT's price moving up because of potential special dividends that will be declared, a paid-up rights issue or both?

Do not disappoint us, Mr Chairman. I do hope your ear-print is as sound as the satellites you have above us.

For the Love of the English Tongue

Adib Esa is a rare breed. He knows the importance of English at an early age and it now transmitting the language skills the best he can in all the opportunities God leads him into.

Let us read the engaging telling of his story.

"I remember an unforgettable incident when I was a Standard Three pupil in the outskirts of Pontian, Johor. I nervously sought my class teacher's permission to go to the toilet. The teacher was furious when I uttered "please teacher may I go up" instead of out.

From then on, I was told to pronounce the correct syllable in every sentence of a story. I was also given novels and short fiction stories by my kind-hearted teacher to brush up my command of the English language.

My proficiency progressed as I advanced into the secondary level where English was the medium in all subjects, except for Bahasa Malaysia and Religious Studies.

I took part in debates, dramas, choral speaking and other oratory contests organised at the school, zone and district levels. I even secured top marks for the subject in the then Senior Cambridge Examinations in 1966.
The following year, when I was 20, I became a teacher trainee at the now defunct Mohd Khalid Teachers College or MPMK, located beside SM Sultan Ismail and is now the site for Sekolah Seni and SM Mohd Khalid, both premier secondary schools.

My two years at MPMK was memorable as I was in the first batch of students to be admitted to its newly constructed premises.

I was an English teacher at several primary and secondary schools in Selangor and Johor for the next 18 years.

Although the standard of English among students and pupils of that era was eroding due to a change in the education policy, my students' interest in the subject was very encouraging.

My approach in introducing the subject was very informal. Initially, I requested the pupils to get a jotter book where they could fill in words and find their meanings in the dictionary.

They were also encouraged to write sentences from these words and were told to jot down quotes by listening to conversations on television or radio programmes.

Their efforts will then be discussed in the classroom. My technique succeeded as the students' standard of English improved tremendously.

This was proven by the high grades and marks they achieved in examinations.

My teaching style also produced students who could write short stories and articles. A few of them even sold their works to colleagues.

My teaching career ended in 1988 after I was posted to the Johor Education Department first as supervisor for student affairs and later, as supervisor for health education.

Both positions had little to do with English and I only held on to them for three years. In 1991, I finally secured a job I loved best, as senior state English supervisor and held on to it until 2003.

During my tenure, proficiency courses for English teachers and department personnel were organised in all districts at least twice a year.

As for the students, there were "Speak English Campaign" in schools, singing and choir competitions, poetry, choral speaking and many more.

A few years after retirement, I set up "JELTA" (Johor English Language Teachers Enterprise) along with a group of retired teachers and private teachers from learning and tuition centres throughout the state.

Since its inception, JELTA has organised a series of English courses and seminars on UPSR, PMR and SPM question-answer techniques for students.

Other targeted groups include pre-school teachers, private teachers of religious schools, and individuals eager to master the language.

Two years ago, I was elected the English coordinator for Felda English Language Centre and I also lecture at VSS Academy.

Early this year, I became a relief teacher of a government school under the Education Ministry's programme called "Kumpulan Guru Simpanan Kebangsaan" (National Relief Teachers' Group).

Although the government via the ministry had contributed efforts to enhance the standard of English among students, its objectives are still questionable.

English teachers, in particular, should be more proactive and prepare their lesson plans well before presenting them in the classroom.

A good, creative educator will do away with the traditional approach, and let the young present their ideas, communicate and write freely.

Child-centred learning is beneficial as it allows students to share their points through mind-webbing, brainstorming and words listing in the discussed topic. Teachers should only act as facilitators.

My advice for teachers is to sacrifice some time in learning to be more creative when teaching the subject.

Adib Esa, 63, stays in Bandar Baru Uda with his wife, Nahariah Abd Majid. They have three children and five grandchildren."

We must have more teachers passionate of this subject  such as Adib to ensure English continues to be upgraded in the coming years.

Car Loans- It's Up and Away

ajor bankers have upped interest rates on new non-national car loans has increased by an average of 0.25 percentage point effective yesterday while rates for new national car loans saw a hike of about 0.10 percentage point.

Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) president Datuk Aishah Ahmad said the hikes were likely to have a “small initial impact ” on car sales.

“Car companies may see a light impact at first but the increase is marginal and people will get used to the new rate,” she said when contacted by StarBiz.

 

Aishah said if there was any major impact, it would most likely be on companies that sold affordable, mass-market cars. “The high-end players would be less affected,” she added.

An EON Bank Bhd hire-purchase officer said the bank’s revised interest rates for new non-national cars were 3.5% (5-year tenure), 3.75% (7-year) and 3.85% (9-year).

Meanwhile, rates for new national cars now stood at 3.85% (5-year tenure), 4% (7-year) and 4.10% (9-year), he added.

Previously, new non-national car loan rates at EON Bank ranged from 3.25% to 3.5% while new national car loan rates were 3.75% to 4%, he said.

The last car loan rates increase was in March when the overnight policy rate (OPR), the benchmark interest rate that determines banks’ lending rates, was revised upward by 25 basis points.

On May 13, the central bank raised again the OPR by another 25 basis points to the current 2.5%.

Not too long ago, when the OPR was at a historical low of 2%, users used to pay only up to 2.8% interest rate for a new non-national car.

At the rate of 2.8% over nine years, a person borrowing RM80,000 would have paid about RM70 less per month compared with the one that borrows the same amount but at the current rate of 3.85%.

Nevertheless, MAA’s Aishah said the association would not revise its total industry volume forecast of 550,000 units for 2010, given the steady consumer confidence.

In 2009, sales volume stood at 536,905. Year-to-date sales stand at 196,121 units from 162,075 in the previous corresponding period.

Nasim Sdn Bhd director Samson George was unperturbed by the rate hike, saying that it was unlikely to have any impact on the company’s sales. Nasim is the official distributor of Peugeot cars in the country.

“Higher interest rates will have an impact on car sales in general but the profile of our customers are different, as they tend to be more affluent.”

Earlier this month, Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn Bhd executive director Datuk Dr Ang Bon Beng said the second increase in OPR to 2.5% would not have a major impact on vehicle buyers.

However, should the rate be raised by another 50 basis points by the year-end as predicted by some economists, the motor industry would be affected, he said.

Proton Edar Dealers Association Malaysia president Armin Baniaz Pahamin said that after the first round of OPR hike this year, the company was expecting an “adverse impact” on sales.

Yes, buy more cars for the banks, Proton and Perodua  to stay afloat. After all most of the cars on the road belongs to the banks. The old jalopies are self-owned , of course!

Subsidies: The Jala Myopia?

Dr. Mahathir, in his usual self, pooh-poohed Idris Jala's prediction of Malaysia going bankrupt if subsidies are not removed.

Let us read what the doyen has to say on the Jala Myopia.

"KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 — Dr Mahathir Mahathir today downplayed the country’s debt situation, saying that Idris Jala was “exaggerating” when he remarked that Malaysia could face bankruptcy by 2019 if subsidies were not slashed.

The former prime minister argued that it would be a stretch to say that the country would go bankrupt although it could become “poor” if steps were not taken to address government spending.

“Perhaps Idris was exaggerating. We are not going to be bankrupt but we are going to be poor,” he told reporters during a media briefing on the Perdana Leadership Foundation and The New Club of Paris roundtable and public dialogue on the knowledge economy.


Idris Jala predicted Malaysia could be bankrupt by 2019 if it does not begin to cut subsidies for petrol, electricity, food and other staples, which cost RM74 billion last year.

But the Najib administration has said it is waiting for public feedback before deciding on actual cuts.

Najib Razak has also distanced himself from Idris’ warning and said that the minister’s estimations were merely based on Pemandu’s studies.

However, Dr Mahathir admitted that the government would have to cut subsidies if the country’s economic stagnation does not improve.

“When the country is doing well, most people are working and they are creating wealth and then the government will tax them but in a recession that is when most of the people are unemployed and yet that is the time when we need the most amount of money. At the time when the country is in recession and the government has no money,” he said.

He also warned that the government must cut subsidies gradually.

“We need to accept but I hope that the government will do this gradually and not suddenly pull the carpet from under your feet,” he said.

Dr Mahathir stressed that the public cannot solely depend on government aid.

“In Malaysia, we must accept that when prices of raw materials go up then the prices of the end-product must also go up. You know the prices of petrol during my time was US$30 but at one time it went up to US$140.

“Imagine the amount of money that the government has to roll out. Especially now when our country’s oil production has been reduced to less than 500,000 barrels per day and we use more than 400,000 barrels a day. Therefore we only have 100,000 barrels to sell,” he said."

It think that is fair comment.

The Cigarette Double U-Turns

It is now confirmed. Backpeddling is the name of  the game in Malaysia.

We should request our country to be named in the Guinness book of Records, not so much for making u-turns but more so for the string of them done in succession in such a short duration.

The latest is the U-turn to ban the sale of 14-stick cigarette packs.

Let us read on.

"This policy indecisiveness on the Government’s part may well spell the risk of dampening foreign investor sentiment towards the country.

The last-minute policy U-turn, confirmed last week by the Government, was totally unexpected and did not reflect well on the country as an ideal investment destination, especially among multinational companies, an industry observer said.

He said tobacco companies in Malaysia had actually started making adjustments for the ban on 14s pack since late last year.

“The sudden change in policy stance can be damaging to some companies in terms of competitiveness and lost business opportunities,” the industry observer explained.

“This is particularly so for those that have entirely phased out their production machinery for the smaller packs and exhausted their inventory of the products.”

Already, Philip Morris Sdn Bhd had made noise last week, threatening to take legal action over possible losses that it had to suffer due to the sudden policy deferment.

In Malaysia, tobacco is an oligopolistic industry dominated by three companies – British American Tobacco (M) Bhd (BAT), JT International Bhd (JTI) and Philip Morris.

Besides stiff competition amid a declining industry volume, tobacco companies also have to deal with illicit cigarettes, which, according to the Customs Department, is now at an all-time high of 38% of the total industry in the country.

“Definitely, there are going to be losers and gainers,”  A TA Research analyst said.“And depending on which perspective one is coming from, the policy deferment could actually be helping some companies to adapt, as the longer grace period could give them more room to manoeuvre.”

The rationale given by the Government was that it was not “withdrawing” the ban, but merely postponing it to January next year. This is to allow tobacco manufacturers more time to make the necessary changes and migrate their consumers over to the 20s pack.

The Government’s latest move to “extend the life for legal 14s pack” was also seen by some as a measure to curb the growth of illegal cigarettes. Already faced with the pressure of higher cost of living, more consumers, are going for the lower-priced contraband cigarettes.

The Government earlier noted that the exemption for regulations 9 and 16 of the Control of Tobacco Product Regulations 2004, which banned the manufacturing and sale of cigarette packs with less than 20 sticks, actually extended to the end of this year.

Most analysts saw BAT as the major benefactor of the policy deferment, as the company had the highest exposure to the 14s pack, which accounted for almost 50% of its sales.

The extension of the shelf life of the 14s packs means BAT could still derive revenue from this segment, which generally have higher profit margin compared with the 20s pack, for another six months.

On the other hand, there seemed to a consensus view that the effect on JTI was rather neutral, as the company had never been that dependent on its smaller-pack version in the first place.

The 14s-pack segment accounted for only around 30% of its sales. JTI’s forte had been on its value-for-money 20s pack segment."

Well, let us wait for the next U-turn or backpedal.

Postscript:

Hey, no need to wait. The Cabinet made another U-turn on their earlier U-turn and enforced the ban beginning this month. Walla!