Jojo Struys' Official Site has Disappeared!

It must have been the unwarranted publicity after being showcased on the nuff-nang's innit.Actually it was good because if not for it, I would have paid scant attention to who Jojo really is.

I have been fortunate to go through the official website before it was barred from public scrutiny.

Now there is a watchdog authority holding the access to the site and so if you are not the welcomed type of people, you are disallowed entry.

Indonesian Maids for Muslim Employers Only?

A wild suggestion. Is it beyond the reality of the true ground situation in Malaysia?

Let's look at the issues.

A Bernama report today(20 June) says that Bocehe Dewe Association chairman, Ambar Setiowibowo has urged the government and the relevant agencies in Malaysia to ensure that Muslim Indonesian maids are placed with Muslim employers only.He believes this could help end maid abuse since normally the problem relates to differences in language, culture and religion.

“If possible, Muslim maids are placed with Muslim Malay employees. This should take precedence now."

“If this is not possible, a condition should be imposed that the maids are allowed to perform their religious duties like prayers and fasting and are not told to do something that goes against their religious belief,” he told Bernama.

“Bocehe Dewe” in Java means “group for youths only” and it is a social network formed in 2001 to help all Indonesian workers in Malaysia.

Ambar came up with the suggestion after Siti Hajar Sadli, 33, from Garut in West Java was believed to have been abused by her employer since three years ago. She was also said to have been given pork to eat.

Her single mother employer Hau Yuan Tyng has been charged at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court and pleaded not guilty to causing her grievous hurt.

Presently, the Immigration Department allows foreign Muslim maids to work for non-Muslim employers.

Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies (PAPA) president Datuk Raja Zulkepley Dahalan said about 80 per cent of employers of 320,000 legal foreign maids in the country were non-Muslims.

Most foreign maids came from Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Thailand with a small number coming from China.

From the total, 270,000 are Indonesians and most of them are Muslims.

Raja Zulkepley said this explains why most abuse cases reported involved non-Muslim employers bent on recruiting maids individually or using illegal employment agencies.

“Most of the Indonesian maid abuse cases, especially those involving the Muslims, started from communication breakdown resulting from language, culture and religion differences,” he said.

Raja Zulkepley said there were also cases where maids were forced to do something else like washing the car and looking after the shop.

“PAPA’s suggestion is for more maids from China to be brought in to solve the different religion and culture problem. With this, food, language and religion issues will not arise again,” he said, adding that the agencies have the capability in handling the recruitment of maids from China if allowed by the government.

PAPA also calls for a ban on individual recruitment of foreign maids because it believes that this is the source of the abuse problem.

Presently, foreign maids can be brought in by agencies registered with the Manpower Department and the Immigration Department, and individually by the employers.

According to PAPA estimates, however, there are 150,000 illegal foreign maids including those brought in by illegal employment agencies.

The Bocehe Dewe Association agreed that the activities of illegal maid agencies in both Malaysia and Indonesia should be stopped.

“In my opinion, the preliminary step should start in Indonesia, to check these illegal agencies. The management of Indonesian manpower should be made through legal means with sufficient training and all,” said Ambar.

He said both governments could also sign a memorandum of understanding to allow employment agencies to visit their maids on regular basis to monitor their condition directly.

“It all depends on the governments of the two countries. Where there is a will there is a way. The solution is there,” he said.

Maid problems will always be there. It's as old as the hills.

Do you think this is the solution?

Can't Maids take Leave?

A storm is raging over the government's plan to give the nation’s 370,000 foreign maids one day off every week.

Employers and business groups are unhappy with this plan and they have their reasons for feeling so.

Some fear these helpers will run away or catch diseases. Suhakam, the National Human Rights Commission said while it generally supported the move,it is still concerned about the decision.

“Maids would get naughty and there would be adverse outcomes,” one of the commissioners, Khoo Kay Kim, told Utusan Malaysia. He suggested that employers take their maids to designated places during their day off so that they could be monitored.

Accountant Audrey Tan, who employs two Indonesian maids, said: “They might run away with boyfriends, contract sexual diseases or get pregnant".

“I am responsible for their welfare and if this happens I have to fork out my own money for their treatment,” she said.

The changes to labour laws to allow this weekly leave for maids will be implemented by the end of the year. Employers who failed to follow the rules could be fined up to RM10,000.

“The changes are for humanitarian reasons, to prevent domestic abuse and are in keeping with international standards,” the Human Resources Minister told Parliament. He said the government was "serious about the changes and will be explaining the rationale to maid agencies and employers.”

Labour experts say the changes are an attempt to change Malaysia’s image as an exploiter of migrant workers. In the most recent case of abuse, police yesterday charged Hau Yuan Tyng, 42, with causing injury to her Indonesian maid, Siti Hajar Sadli, using hot water, a hammer and scissors.

Siti, bleeding from her injuries, fled Hau’s upscale flat on June 6, and took a taxi to the Indonesian embassy. The case has been widely reported in Indonesia, sparking outrage.

This week, the United States put Malaysia on a people-trafficking blacklist of 17 countries — with its treatment of foreign maids listed among the reasons.

Employers groups say a day off for maids is not practical because domestic work takes place seven days a week.

“Offices and factories can be shut down for a day off but we can’t do that in a home,” said Norizan Sharif, president of the Macom community group. “A home is formal place and maids work or rest in an informal environment. If they take leave, the home comes to a standstill.”

A spokesman for Papa, an association of maid recruitment agencies, said they feared many helpers would run away on their day off.

“This is already a big problem and inevitably would get worse if maids get a day off to be free and unsupervised,” she added. “They will run off with their boyfriends, leaving their employer in desperate need of a new maid. The cost will jump as every few months a replacement maid is needed.”

However, not all employers are opposed to the idea, as many have already been giving their maids Sundays off without any untoward problems, whatsoever.

“I have no problems with my maid on her day off,” said opposition lawmaker A. Sivanesan. “I can’t understand why there is a hue and cry.”

Sivanesan must be one lucky chap to be blessed with good maids thus far! Hope he continues to have good maids ever after..............

Ready to Bite the Bullet!

Be forewarned.

GLCs will likely go on a hair-cut exercise by September to trim salaries of its workers. The reason: fallout from the current global recession.

After having lived off the fat of the land for countless years, these GLCs which operated off-budget and enjoyed perks and pay better than civil servants,will finally feel some reality which has been experienced by its comrades in the more volatile private sector.

GLC personnel could not feel the pain when the foreign-based E&E companies closed the doors to local engineers and operators beginning the last quarter of 2008. These retrenched staff, especially those in the senior age-group oftentimes find it hard to find alternative employment.

MTUC vice-president Mustafa Maarof disclosed on 18 June that this message has been conveyed to the unions when the management of these companies headed by Khazanah Nasional met the workers' representatives recently.

Mustafa, who is also the executive secretary of the Malaysia Airlines System (MAS) Employees Union, told Bernama that the management also told them that "if the salary cut does not improve the companies' results, then they should expect to be subjected to either a mutual separation scheme (MSS) or voluntary separation scheme (VSS)".

Besides MAS, 90 other companies are also categorised as GLCs, among them, Sime Darby, Tenaga Nasional, Telekom Malaysia, Felda, Felcra, Pos Malaysia and Bernas.

Almost 200,000 of the workers in these companies are former public servants who opted for the new entities when their departments were corporatised or privatised in the early 80's and 90's.

Encik Mustafa fears that while the top executives who are highly paid and enjoy excellent perks like large bonuses and entertainment allowance, will be spared,the middle and lower-level staff may feel the brunt of retrenchment.

But that is the way of the world. Someone must go.....

Is the government's assurance to prevent job cuts good when the economy has gone from bad to worse because of the poor response to the economic stimulus package? No,because government has also to act responsibly. It's time to bite the bullet.

So does it looks like the days of the insulation of adverse economic effects on the iron rice bowl of civil servants and public servants are finally over? Yes or No?

Cash Talks Loudest in Mean Times

Izwah Idris wrote in the online STAR today (19 June) about how money talks in quiet times. I would like to amplify that.

Cash talks loudest in mean times!

These cash-rich companies enjoy a significant advantage over their less fortunate rivals in these horrendous times.Having lots of cash in the treasure chest provides these firms leverage to buy into strategic assets when an opportunity arises as well as to hunker down when business is slow.

In a recession, cash is king, or so the cliche goes. and money is useless insavings with current almost dead-beat interest rates.

To boost returns to shareholders, cash-laden companies like Genting Bhd and Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd have set out plans to make their pile of cash work harder.

Genting recently bought bonds and a small equity stake in troubled US gaming giant MGM Mirage. Analysts say this is likely a prelude to bigger things, with a potential partnership between the two groups being the most anticipated outcome.

Genting has an estimated RM3bil cash hoard, the bulk of which comes from subsidiary Resorts World Bhd’s RM4.8bil stash.

There is lingering talk on the possibility of Genting selling off its power business, which could expand “the group’s cash hoard in preparation for potential merger and acquisition (M&A) deals,” a CIMB Research said in an update on the company dated June 15.

Meanwhile, the market is waiting for Carlsberg Malaysia to announce a regional acquisition.

Earlier this year, the local unit of the Danish brewer held back at least RM52mil cash from shareholders after it cut the dividend payout for 2008, citing the need to conserve funds for expansion.

With a war chest of RM220mil, Carlsberg Malaysia is probably intending to make a significant purchase.

Another company said to be on the prowl for acquisitions and new projects is YTL Power Bhd. After completing the Power Seraya acquisition last year, YTL Power’s gross cash position remained at a strong RM7bil.

Companies operating in the gaming, consumer and utility sectors normally have steady positive cash flow from operations given the nature of their businesses.

This helps big-sized firms in these industries to build up their cash holdings rapidly.

RHB Research Institute estimated that Petronas Gas Bhd added about RM150mil in net cash every quarter and had in its coffers some RM1.5bil in cold cash as at end-March. This is after taking into account total liabilities that amounted to nearly RM500mil.

An interesting finding is that most listed motor vehicle players in the country have strong balance sheets.

As at end-March, Proton Holdings Bhd’s cash and equivalents stood at RM900mil, while total debt was RM358mil. UMW Holdings Bhd, which has a significant oil and gas business, has RM1.5bil in cash and RM1.27bil worth of debts.

Parts maker APM Automotive Holdings Bhd’s net cash position is RM180mil, while Oriental Holdings Bhd has about RM1.4bil net.

About half of both APM and Oriental Holdings’ current market values are supported by cash.

Among the smaller capitalised companies, quite a few companies have very little borrowings and a healthy cash pile.

Oil and gas equipment maker APB Resources Bhd is one of those companies with a clean balance sheet. It had no debts and RM71mil in cash, mostly placed in banks, as at end of last year.

At yesterday’s close, the stock was valued at RM112mil.

So, for those intending to enter the market;watch these stocks:

Genting Berhad
Genting Malaysia Berhad(formerly known as Resorts World Berhad)
YTL Power
Carlsberg
Bursa
Proton
Petronas Gas
UMW holdings
Oriental holdings
APM Automotive Holdings.

Remember entry point is important!

Happy shopping on the Bursar.

The Illegal Proxies

Certainly a pertinent issue.

I think most companies do not follow the letter to the law. The possible reason is more the enforcement incapacity than just allowing the breach.Practical issues rule the day.

Section 149 of the Companies Act 1965 states that "a member is not entitled to appoint a person who is not a member of the company as his proxy unless that person is an advocate, an approved company auditor or a person approved by the Registrar of companies in a particular case."

Roselie from Genting Berhad explained to me that you must be firstly a shareholder to be made a proxy. If not, you would fall under the category called "illegal proxies". I guess no company is stopping these people who are not shareholders from being nominated as proxies at AGMs.

Anyway, if they can get rid of the illegal proxies, a lot of problems especially the 'greedy mob syndrome' can be cut off at the bud.

So,when you attend the next AGM, ask yourself - are you attending as a valid proxy or otherwise?

In seek of Marital Solace in Singapore

Yes, it is confirmed at least in Singapore.

Bachelors who 'missed the boat' there have been importing foreign wives.

The Straits Times reported today (18 June) that older Singaporean men whom Cupid missed, are seeking marital bliss by marrying non-Singaporean women. The numbers have increased substantially from 18% ten years back to 35% last year.Most involved men above 40.

These men married foreign women significantly younger, with four-fifths of their brides being under 40.

These figures were culled from an occasional paper put out by the National Population Secretariat (NPS), corroborating anecdotal evidence from marriage agencies, counsellors and MPs.

A number of these marriages have failed fail due to cultural differences or financial difficulties. Howver, there are success stories where the children of their union, exceled academically.

At the national level, most marriages involving foreign spouses tie persons of similar educational levels together.

Half of the Singaporean men with foreign brides had secondary education or lower, a figure that was similar for their brides.

Almost all these brides came from Asia, according to the NPS.

Matchmaking agencies point to significant demand for brides from places like China and Vietnam. (This was to be expected!)

Now let us look at the other picture-Singaporean brides marrying foreign men. The demographic here is vastly different. These women are younger, with three-quarters aged between 25 and 39. Also, half of these ladies, like their foreign grooms, have a degree.

Last year, around 70 per cent of their grooms were from Asia, 15 per cent from Europe and 6 per cent from the Americas.

NPS expects more citizens will marry foreigners as Singapore continues to globalise.

The Government will expand the network of Overseas Singaporean Clubs in major cities abroad in a bid of promote marriage.

There are now 13 such clubs in Singapore-owned or Singapore-run hotels in places like New York, Beijing, Sydney and Hanoi. They hold monthly events for citizens to meet, and have a reading corner with Singapore newspapers and magazines.

In Malaysia, there are also efforts locally by MCA in this direction. The unmarried Senator Chew Mei Fun once helmed such a club. Strangely there was no proposal for her.

Has Cupid missed again?