A RM17 million price tag
On 4 December 2009, Sime Darby Bhd, through its plantation arm, Sime Darby Plantation Sdn Bhd, bought the entire issued and paid-up capital (50,000 shares of RM1 each) of an obscure new company, Nature Ambience Sdn Bhd, for RM16.8 million.
What makes Nature Ambience, which was incorporated only a year ago (on 12 December 2008), so special? Although it will become an oil palm plantation firm, a company search reveals its nature of business to be “general trading”.
On 2 October 2009, the Ministry of Land Development, Sarawak granted Nature Ambience approval to be the investor/developer for 26,211ha of Native Customary Rights land in Kapit and Julau, Sarawak. This was reportedly in line with the Sarawak state government’s “new concept of development on NCR land”. The Ministry is headed by James Masing, who is also the state assembly member for Balleh, one of the constituencies in Kapit.
With its purchase of Nature Ambience, Sime Darby will now be allowed to develop oil palm plantations in the Sarawak NCR development scheme.
This Christmas, give them hope…
If you are wondering how you can make the year-end extra meaningful, why not think of the Monfort Youth Centre in Malacca.
The students of the Monfort Youth Centre
Help the Centre give hope to the young: An artist’s impression of the proposed double-storey building – Images courtesy of Monfort Youth Centre
First of all, I want to say thank you for your support this year with this blog. Some of the discussions and debates we have had here have been priceless. We have witnessed many things together in the struggle for justice and freedom – sometimes “live” as news breaks. At other times, we have been aghast at the environmental and human price some of us have paid for unsustainable development. And if we start to talk about corruption, oppression and exploitation, we could be here all day…
The year end is also a time for us to reflect on our lives, our priorities and what our role is in the larger scheme of things. Jesus himself was born in poverty. He constantly identified with the poor and those whom society often shunned. He empowered them and gave them hope.
The students of the Monfort Youth Centre
Help the Centre give hope to the young: An artist’s impression of the proposed double-storey building – Images courtesy of Monfort Youth Centre
First of all, I want to say thank you for your support this year with this blog. Some of the discussions and debates we have had here have been priceless. We have witnessed many things together in the struggle for justice and freedom – sometimes “live” as news breaks. At other times, we have been aghast at the environmental and human price some of us have paid for unsustainable development. And if we start to talk about corruption, oppression and exploitation, we could be here all day…
The year end is also a time for us to reflect on our lives, our priorities and what our role is in the larger scheme of things. Jesus himself was born in poverty. He constantly identified with the poor and those whom society often shunned. He empowered them and gave them hope.
Jomo’s warning and a film in Papan
Listen to what UN Assistant Secretary-General K S Jomo, an economist from Malaysia, has to say about the perils of financial liberalisation, as reported in theSun:
A bigger crisis awaits Malaysia if we continue on the path of financial liberalisation and fail to learn the right lessons from the last economic downturn in the late 1990s, warns an economist.
The RM1.20 tomato
Friend of mine bought a tomato for RM1.20 at the Tanjung Bunga market.
Now you would think a RM1.20 tomato would have to be pretty special.
No, this was just a little tomato, not even big and juicy.
Unlike ordinary tomatoes that would rot in a few days if left in the open, this one could keep for a while. Makes you wonder.
If a tomato could cost RM1.20, imagine the prices of other fruit and vegetables. The question is, how are the lower-income group coping? As food prices soar, as real wages remain stagnant and as overtime pay is slashed, many among the working class are struggling to put food on the table for their families – while some of our leaders squander our nation’s resources and their spouses go on shopping sprees abroad.
Bad news from Copenhagen; Vroom! in Malaysia
Folks, it’s bad news from the UN climate change summit in Copenhagen as the nations of the world failed to agree on a common platform to reduce the threat.
There is no Copenhagen climate treaty. History was not made; no deal was sealed. This is the grim situation, at a glance:
Najib has committed Malaysia to a 40 per cent cut (compared to the 2005 level) in emissions by 2020. The Pakatan parties, on the other hand, unveiled their common policy framework, which promised to “reduce carbon emission rate to conform with international standards” and to build the foundation for a smooth transition to alternative energy resources.
But in the same week they pledged all this, the deputy sports minister, representing Najib, unveiled the Malaysian-backed Lotus Team drivers for the coming high-octane Formula One season, while over in Penang, street circuit races were revived with the holding of the Petronas Cub Prix at the Esplanade over the weekend. Are these politicians for real? It is as if Malaysians live on a different planet, where rhetoric and reality never meet, where climate chaos will never encroach into our comfort zones.
Part of the problem is that we have been kept in the dark on the key issues surrounding climate change, while a small minority are in denial mode. The other reason is that many of us seem to value unsustainable corporate-led economic growth above environmental protection. This is a piece I wrote for IPS:
Second bridge concession period not yet decided
It looks as if the concession period for the second Penang bridge hasn’t been decided; it will only be finalised in the first quarter of 2010, says Nor Yakcop.
In that case, why did the Malaysian Highway Authority state it to be 45 years in its Annual Report for 2008?
Keep an eye out for this and monitor the total cost carefully. It has already escalated from the time it was first announced in the media. In this era of climate chaos and concern over greenhouse gas emissions, it is also not the most environmentally friendly project around.
Bernama carries the following report:
Second Penang bridge concession is 45 years
The concession period for the controversial 17-km second Penang bridge is a staggering 45 years, according to a reliable source.
File picture of second Penang Bridge construction site at Batu Kawan – Photo by Anil
And what is this reliable source? None other than the Malaysian Highway Authority’s Annual Report for 2008 – although it doesn’t indicate when the concession period will begin.
At 45 years, the project is the highest among nine highways listed as under construction. Of the remaining eight, two are for 40 years each, and the rest 33-34 years. So why is the second bridge so special to warrant 45 years?
File picture of second Penang Bridge construction site at Batu Kawan – Photo by Anil
And what is this reliable source? None other than the Malaysian Highway Authority’s Annual Report for 2008 – although it doesn’t indicate when the concession period will begin.
At 45 years, the project is the highest among nine highways listed as under construction. Of the remaining eight, two are for 40 years each, and the rest 33-34 years. So why is the second bridge so special to warrant 45 years?
Let them know what you think of local elections
So the PR is apparently divided over the issue of local council elections ahead of its convention, according to the Malaysian Insider.
Ai-yah, like that also cannot agree! What’s the problem? Still want to follow the old BN way of rewarding supporters through appointments to local town councils? Or is it the racial bogey they are worried about? I thought we had moved beyond that in our new politics.
Okay, let’s make it easier for them to make up their minds: tell them what you think. After all, they are supposed to represent you, right? And if they don’t want to listen to you, well you know what to do…
[poll id=”51″]
Let them know what you think of GST
A Goods and Services Tax Bill has been tabled in Parliament today.
The GST is a tax on your consumption/expenditure – though it may be mitigated by tax credits and a range of exemptions on essential items.
Proponents say it will broaden the tax base and ensure that the rich too will pay taxes – especially on luxury items – instead of escaping due to loop-holes in the tax system.
Critics argue that it is a regressive tax that will widen income disparities and result in the poor paying taxes for the first time (whereas under the present income tax system, they are exempted). Unlike in the developed nations, the majority of Malaysians do not pay income tax because of their low income; thus, they cannot receive a tax credit to reimburse them for the GST they would incur on a basic level of expenditure. Critics say it would make more sense for the government to raise money by cracking down on corruption and plugging “leakages”.
Here’s your chance to make your voice heard. If they don’t listen to you, you know what to do at the next general election.
[poll id=”50″]
CT scans, mammograms: Be aware of the risks
Just a little public service announcement regarding what they don’t usually tell you.
Beware the cancer risk of CT scans. Also read up on the raging debate sparked by a federally funded US task force of physicians who found that the benefits of regular mammography for women between 40 and 50 are outweighed by the risks.
I have always wondered why cancer is on the rise. Might not some of the cancer cases be due to tests/scans like these?
This from the Wall Street Journal:
The risk of cancer associated with popular CT scans appears to be greater than previously believed, according to two new studies published Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Fright for BN as Budget passed by 66-63 votes
It was fright night for the BN as the national Budget reportedly was passed by a wafer-thin 66-63 majority in Parliament last night.
That’s 48 per cent attendance for the BN MPs and a 77 per cent turnout for the Pakatan reps. If half a dozen more Pakatan MPs had been there and they had defeated the BN in the vote, it would have sent shock-waves across the country. A missed opportunity if ever there was one.
Najib and Ong Tee Keat reportedly had to rush to Parliament to vote – and this was for their “1Malaysia Prosperity for All” national Budget.
Tamiflu: US$3b spent – but does it really work?
This is something that I have been wondering about for a while now: why do so many people believe everything that Big Pharma tells them without conclusive evidence? One would have thought that governments and the medical community would want to see rigorous testing before spending big bucks for some ‘miracle’ drug.
Why have governments around the world spent US$3 billion since the emergence of H1N1 on Tamiflu, a drug that seems to do very little? That’s the question raised by The Atlantic, after the British Medical Journal revealed that researchers were unable to conclude that the drug is really effective.
Reuters reported in May that Malaysia was boosting its Tamiflu stockpile to cover 10 per cent of its 27 million population from 7.5 percent.
Now, in an explosive report, The Atlantic reveals:
Governments, public health agencies, and international bodies such as the World Health Organization, have all based their decisions to recommend and stockpile Tamiflu on studies that had seemed independent, but had in fact been funded by the company and were authored almost entirely by Roche employees or paid academic consultants…
Oil wealth: Blessing or curse?
When Tengku Razaleigh started Petronas in 1974, little did he realise he would live to see the day he would wish the country had not discovered its oil bounty.
Our nation is blessed with a modest quantity of oil reserves. As a young nation coming to terms with this natural bounty in the early 1970’s, our primary thought was to conserve that oil. That is why, when Petronas was formed, we instituted the Petroleum Development Council. Its function was to advise the PM on how to conserve that oil and use it judicially for national development. We knew our reserves would not last long. We saw our oil reserves as an unearned bounty that would provide the money for modernization and technology. We saw our oil within a developmental perspective. Our struggle then, was to make the leap from an economy based on commodities and low cost assembly and manufacture to a more diverse, economy based on high income jobs.
Number of unemployed graduates soars
While the uproar over the BTN continues, let’s look at what happens to some of our university students after they graduate.
The following was the answer received by Selayang MP William Leong in Parliament recently:
In 2004, there were 4,594 unemployed graduates of whom 163 were Chinese, 207 were Indians and 4,060 were Malays; In 2005, there were 2,413 unemployed graduates of whom 31 were Chinese, 70 were Indians and 2,186 were Malays; In 2006, there were 56,750 unemployed graduates of whom 1,110 were Chinese, 1,346 were Indians and 50,594 were Malays. In 2007, there were 56,322 unemployed graduates of whom 1,348 were Chinese, 1,401 were Indians and 49,075 were Malays. In 2008 (as of June) there were 47,910 unemployed graduates of whom 1,403 Chinese, 4,694 Indians and 41,813 were Malays.This more or less tallied with the 47,733 active graduate registrants on the Malaysian Labour Exchange in June 2008. By March 2009, Najib was talking about 60,000 unemployed graduates. This was more or less in line with the 57,701 graduate registrants on the Exchange in March 2009.
Spotlight on Sarawak electricity
The federal government reimburses the Sarawak power supply corporation about RM1.4 million a month so that about 70,000 households in Sarawak can enjoy free power supply, reports the Borneo Post.
Sounds good?
Let’s take a closer look at Sarawak Energy Bhd, which is 65 per cent owned by the State Financial Secretary Sarawak (which falls under the finance minister, who is Chief Minister Taib Mahmud) and 4 per cent by EPF:
Financial year ended 31 Dec 2008Turnover RM1.3 billionProfit before tax RM293m (RM401m in 2007)Directors’ fees, etc RM3.8m (RM2.3m in 2007)
Now, let’s compare that with Tenaga Nasional Bhd, which was 38 per cent owned by Khazanah and 14 per cent by the EPF:
Confusion over Batu Kawan monorail test track
MRails International Sdn Bhd states on its website that the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) has “authorised our consortium to implement a monorail test track for 1.3km in Batu Kawan (near Stadium), Penang”.
The Edge weekly had reported in October that the state had in principle given the green light to businessman Jeyakumar Varathan, believed to be a director of MRails, to build a monorail test track on a 30-acre site in Batu Kawan. Discussions between the Penang government and Jeyakumar reportedly began three months ago.
But confusing statements have been made in the media by various state government leaders.
On 30 Nov, Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy revealed, as reported in The Edge and elsewhere:
Zunar is back with Perak Darul Kartun
You can’t keep a good cartoonist down for long – especially one with a socio-political conscience. Three months after hundreds of copies of the inaugural issue of his Gedung Kartun magazine were confiscated, political humourist Zunar and his creative team are back with a brighter idea.
Photos by Zunar’s team – Click on icon at bottom right of box to toggle to full-screen slideshow mode
This time, they are launching an 80-page cartoon book titled Perak Darul Kartun focusing on the power grab and associated antics in Perak – which undoubtedly offer rich material for satire. Unlike a regular magazine, a book doesn’t require a publishing permit under existing laws.
Appropriately, ousted Perak Mentri Besar Nizar Jamaluddin is expected to launch the book, priced at RM10 with an initial print run of 10,000 copies, in KL this Sunday.
This is what the irrepressible Zunar has to say:
Azhar’s antics on Youtube
In this era of Youtube, elected reps had better be on their toes when discharging their duties as they are coming under ever greater public scrutiny.
Three video clips show Penang Opposition Leader (from Umno/BN) Azhar Ibrahim apparently gesturing with his rear on two different occasions at the Penang State Assembly last week.
The first video has Azhar hitting out at theSun newspaper while apparently gesturing with his hand at his rear: “Itu paper pembohong besar. Ambil you punya paper calit … lagi baik. (That paper is a big liar. Take your paper and smear it with … would be better.)” His statement was made in the mistaken belief that theSun had reported him as commenting on a rowdy BN demonstration outside the state assembly when in reality the paper had not quoted him on the issue.
Anwar trial: Deja vu, but then again…
The more things change, the more they remain the same in Malaysian politics. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has failed to get a court to strike out a sodomy charge against him, which means the controversial trial that threatens to bump him from politics and land him in prison is set to begin on 25 January.
It will represent the second time Anwar faces charges of sodomy, which is considered a criminal act in Malaysia’s Muslim majority society. This time, he faces charges of sodomizing his 24-year-old former personal aide at a condominium in Kuala Lumpur in mid-2008.
LIVE: Nizar speaks to Penangites
Nizar Jamaluddin speaks to Penangites at the Caring Society Complex.
Some 700 Penangites attended the talk and hung on to Nizar’s every word – Photos by Jong. (Click on icon on bottom right of box to toggle to full-screen slideshow mode.)
<a href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=96877bcd0f” mce_href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=96877bcd0f” >LIVE: Nizar speaks to Penangites</a>