The proposed RM2 billion terminal – but not enough funds for public transport? (Image from penangsentral.com.my)
Worried about low EPF dividends?
Here’s some food for thought.
Did you know that EPF is somehow associated with Penang Sentral?
Note 47 of the EPF Annual Report for 2007 shows a list of the EPF’s associated companies. Among them is Penang Sentral Sdn Bhd and it shows that the EPF has an effective equity interest of 100 per cent.
A huge majority of Malaysians feel that Gobind should have been referred to the parliamentary Rights and Privileges Committee instead of being summarily suspended from Parliament over his point-blank remarks aimed at Najib.
The results of an SMS poll over ntv7 last night revealed:
CURRENT YEAR QUARTER | PRECEDING YR CORRESPONDING QUARTER | CURRENT YEAR TO DATE | PRECEDING YR CORRESPONDING PERIOD | ||
31/12/2008 | 31/12/2007 | 31/12/2008 | 31/12/2007 | ||
RM’000 | RM’000 | RM’000 | RM’000 | ||
| 1 | Revenue | 96,953 | 102,340 | 373,324 | 385,565 |
| 2 | Profit before tax | 5,612 | 23,992 | 7,821 | 44,179 |
| 3 | Profit for the period | 2,153 | 18,786 | 3,171 | 36,445 |
Source: Utusan’s fourth quarter 2008 unaudited results as submitted to Bursa
Utusan workers are demanding better terms from their employer. But the firm’s revenue shows a drop from the previous period.
Did the second stimulus package announced by Najib give enough attention to public transport – or did the discounts offered owners of older vehicles to replace their cars with new Proton and Perodua cars overshadow the public transport component of the package?
Blogger Ong Eu Soon has come up with a proposal to ease congestion on the Penang Bridge, which deserves serious consideration. It involves the use of shuttle buses (or trams?) and park-and-ride facilities. If ferry services are also increased, expanded and upgraded, we could go a long way in easing road congestion in Penang. I hope the Penang state government will seriously consider this. The state government is also considering an earlier suggestion to have a rail link from the mainland to the island. This is worth considering for that would mean folks from JB, KL, and the mainland could enter Penang Island by rail while leaving their cars at home. This would be a great first step in promoting the wider use of public transport in Penang in a bid to create a more sustainable and liveable habitat.
Each day hundred of thousands of Penangites face traffic congestion as they commute to work in their cars via the Penang Bridge. The impact from this congestion is substantial in time, resources, and pollution. The vehicle trips per day are estimated to be 120,000. It is estimated that the Penang Bridge congestion alone cost travelers 328 million hours of delay, 10 million litres of wasted fuel, and minimum RM140 million in toll fees per annum.
Finally, they seem to be taking the economic crisis a bit more seriously. Or maybe they just didn’t want to make us panic and to undermine business confidence any further by telling us that dark clouds lay ahead. But the cat is out of the bag now.
Here’s an analysis I did for Asia Times:
Malaysia wakes up to crisis
By Anil Netto
PENANG – A big new economic stimulus package unveiled by Malaysia’s Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak is being viewed as belated official recognition that the country is being hard hit by the global economic and financial turbulence, with worse to come.
The Malaysian economy grew by just 0.5% last quarter and many economic analysts have predicted a technical or real recession later this year. The government has revised its own forecast for 2009 down to between negative 1% and positive 1% growth in gross domestic product (GDP).
Perak PR turns one with a bite of red eggs under the Democracy Tree – Photos by Kinta Kid
Birthday boy Nizar receives a basket of pomelo
Kinta Kid reports from the Democracy Tree in Ipoh:
A year ago today the new government of Perak was sworn in. Coincidentally it was also the birthday of “MB yang sah” Nizar Jamaluddin. Today, I received an sms at around 5.00pm about a birthday party for Nizar and it was to be held under Pokok Demokrasi at 6.00pm. Where else!
The PR team turns one today and the situation today has completely changed compared to the previous 50-odd years. For his birthday, Nizar was presented with a pomelo. (The pomelo is a fruit identified with Ipoh. It is segmented inside but is juicy and refreshing and its outer appearance is packaged well with a smooth and rounded exterior.)
With Ali Rustam now out of the running, the coast appears to be clear for Muyhiddin to claim the Umno deputy presidency with his only challenger now being Mat Taib.
The thing is, does it make any difference who the No. 2 is?
If anything, this move will only worsen factionalism within the party.
Industrial Production Index plunges further Source: Statistics Department
The old model is dying. It can never be business as usual again.
The Selangor exco have made public their respective disclosure of assets.
At first glance, it looks great.
The only problem is that most of these are ‘declarations of assets’ that do not publicly reveal the assets!
What they do reveal are monthly salaries and other allowances of the individuals concerned and their respective spouses as well as their outstanding loans and monthly loan repayments. A few have indicated that “other income” would be diclosed when their EA forms are released.
But no details of their assets are provided among the few that I checked. (The exco members are only required to declare additions and disposals to their assets since assuming office.)
One chartered accountant, when he first heard that the asset disclosures would only show assets acquired from March 2008, sent me a text message: “Sounds like a watered-down version, ha ha.”