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Utusan’s sales and profits slide

Anil Netto
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24
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.

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Shuttle buses/trains/trams across the Penang Bridge?

Anil Netto
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19

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.

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Can Najib’s RM60b economic stimulus do the trick?

Anil Netto
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10

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).

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Perak PR marks 1st birthday under Democracy Tree

Anil Netto
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30

4-happy-birthday-with-a-bit

Perak PR turns one with a bite of red eggs under the Democracy Tree – Photos by Kinta Kid

2-being-presented-with-a-ba

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.)

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Ali Rustam out; does it really matter?

Anil Netto
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32

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.

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Industrial production limbo: How low can it go?

Anil Netto
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3

ipp_januari09

Industrial Production Index plunges further Source: Statistics Department

The old model is dying. It can never be business as usual again.

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In contrast, another set of asset disclosures…

Anil Netto
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9

A more meaningful set of asset declarations – this time from the elected reps of Parti Sosialis Malaysia.

Simple – just one sheet of paper for each rep – but the disclosures tell you a lot more than the Selangor exco’s.

Download/open the disclosures (in .pdf format) from here.

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Selangor’s public declaration of assets, minus the assets

Anil Netto
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15

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.”

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Democracy Tree plaque removed

Anil Netto
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57

1-the-hoe-did-this

Smashed, scarred and now uprooted and gone without a trace – Photos by Kinta Kid

2-brother-vincent-corkery-of-nearby-st-michaels-institution-at-the-tree-this-morning

Now, who did this?: Bro Vincent Corkery, former director of St Michael’s Institution, inspects the site

3-the-rakyat-are-still-coming1

… and the rakyat are still coming

On the third day, the Democracy Plaque vanishes… Another metaphor for our lost democracy.

Kinta Kid reports from Ipoh:

The plaque under the now famous Democracy Tree has been removed. According to an  eye witness account,  it was removed at around 7.00am today, presumably by the Ipoh City Council’s enforcement department. A view of the site indicates that a tractor was used to remove the structure.

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Democracy Tree vandalism caught on camera

Anil Netto
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17

5-the-cctv-image-the-light-at-the-centre-of-picture-shows-the-car-parking-before-breaking-the-plaque

Friday the 13th, 1.30am: The light at the centre of the image is from the headlights of a car parking before a vandal alights to smash the Democracy Tree plaque – (Click to expand) Image sourced by Kinta Kid

2-an-expression-of-disappointment

Smashed and scarred: A disappointed little girl looks sadly at what remains of the Democracy Tree plaque – Photos and images by Kinta Kid

The tragicomedy surrounding the Democracy Tree continues as the resourceful Kinta Kid reports from Ipoh:

The plaque was vandalised a second time today. This time the wording was covered with what appears to be road tar. The general consensus amongst all present was that it was once again a sad and cowardly act.

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