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How much of approved FDI is actually coming?

Anil Netto
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15

Projects approved by state

State 2008 2007
No Domestic Invest (RM mill) Foreign Invest (RM mill) Total Investment (RM mill) No Domestic Invest (RM mill ) Foreign Invest (RM mill) Total Investment (RM mill )
Sarawak 39 1988.3 13180.5 15168.9 23 403 631.4 1034.5
Selangor 302 2866.2 9004.7 11870.9 318 6989.7 4191.7 11181.5
Johor 173 2315.1 9396.6 11711.7 188 2495.4 6747.4 9242.8
Penang 151 5068.7 5087.6 10156.3 134 1625.2 3143.4 4768.7
Melaka 41 182.3 3452.2 3634.5 38 1618.5 2219.2 3837.7
Perak 50 696.8 2433.2 3130 59 651.7 1382.9 2034.6
Kedah 46 288.1 2279.3 2567.3 46 7856.7 6133.6 13990.2
N Sembilan 26 821 294.8 1115.8 40 493.6 2181.9 2675.6
Pahang 23 1017.7 63.1 1080.7 28 406.9 1156.9 1563.8
T’ganu 9 636.8 355.5 992.3 11 2772.2 3391.1 6163.2
Sabah 40 620.6 343.8 964.4 41 1080.9 2176.7 3257.5
Perlis 2 63.3 107 170.3 2 7.1 0 7.1
KL 12 94 23.8 117.8 12 52.8 39.6 92.4
Kelantan 3 17.6 66 83.6 9 52.6 30.1 82.7
Labuan 2 9.8 10.7 20.5 – – – –
Total 919 16686.2 46098.8 62785 949 26506.3 33425.9 59932.2

Source: MIDA

If you consider that RM17.4 billion is for foreign investments in the electronics sector (think Penang and Selangor) and RM20.4 billion for foreign investments in basic metal products (think aluminium smelters in Sarawak), then you begin to wonder how many of these approved projects will actually materialise.

The global electronics sector is in deep trouble; so the Penang government shouldn’t rely on these figures for comfort this year. The figures for Sarawak include the proposed aluminium smelter (notice the sharp jump from 2007), which is nowhere near to being implemented – though that would be a blessing given the environmental implications.

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Speaker’s lawyers making another bid

Anil Netto
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The Speaker’s lawyers (from left): Chan Kok Keong, Augustine Anthony, Tommy Thomas, and Phillip Koh Tong Ngee Photo by KK

V Sivakumar’s lawyers are going back to court again in another attempt to represent the Speaker, says my source in Ipoh after a press conference held by the lawyers.

Yesterday, the court ruled that only the state legal adviser could represent the Speaker.

This time the lawyers will argue that under Article 132 (3) of the Federal Constitution, the Speaker is not part of the public services, and therefore he should be allowed to engage private lawyers.

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Fed gov’t interested in helping cronies: Water Panel

Anil Netto
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The Selangor government’s Water Review Panel has accused federal Water Minister Shaziman Abu Mansor of being more interested in protecting the private interests of businessmen rather than the Selangor and KL public.

In a Berita Harian interview yesterday, Sharizan had given two reasons for wanting to speed up the restructuring of the Selangor water industry:

  • to take over the water concessionaires’ assets by 31 March and avert a water tariff hike and
  • to assist the concession companies in bearing the costs of borrowings and bonds that they currently cannot afford.

In contrast, the Water Review Panel stressed in a statement that there would be no increase in tariffs should the Selangor government take over the assets.

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MACC officers question Speaker’s lawyer

Anil Netto
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A couple of MACC officers from Putrajaya turned up this afternoon to question Augustine Anthony, one of the five lawyers representing Perak Speaker V Sivakumar, a source in Ipoh informs me.

They questioned Augustine from 4.00pm to 4.40pm in Ipoh today.

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Khalid explains S’gor water talks position

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Selangor MB Khalid Ibrahim says the federal government recognised that its water privatisation policy had failed; so it introduced a restructuring of water management under which a federal body would take over the water assets and lease them back to the operators in the various states.

In Selangor, the state government owns about 70 per cent of the water assets with the remainder held by private companies.  The assets owned by the  state are valued at RM9 billion. The state government values the private sector’s assets and imputed equity at RM5.7 billion. (The assets alone are valued at RM4.6 billion though the federal government has valued them at RM5.0 billion).

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A tale of two post mortems

Anil Netto
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Remember A Kugan, who died in police custody?

Well, he died as a result of “acute renal failure due to rhabdomyolysis due to blunt trauma to skeletal muscles,” an independent second post mortem has revealed. In layperson’s language: kidney failure as a result of repeated beatings. More accurately, his death was due to his muscle cells disintegrating into his bloodstream and absorbed by the kidney, which led to kidney failure.

His body also had severe burn wounds including those caused “by the repeated application of heat with an instrument or object with a triangular surface, causing multiple V-shaped imprint burn wounds on the skin of back”.

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Pokok Demokrasi stands tall as institutions lose lustre

Anil Netto
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26

democracy-tree

The majestic Democracy Tree that has now entered the annals of Ipoh folklore Photos by Jong (click to expand)

The raintree stands tall providing shade as the Perak State Assembly convenes an emergency sitting in the open air amidst the people.

All around, as Penang-based lawyer-writer Tan Ban Cheng observes, the traditional institutions of governance and democracy have not exactly distinguished themselves among the public.

perak-state-assembly-3rd-mar09-conducted-under-big-tree-0521

Tense moments outside the state government building this morning (Click to expand)

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Meanwhile, over at the High Court…

Anil Netto
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bn-lawyers-l-r-firoz-hussein-lead-counsel-faizul-hilmi-cheng-mei-datuk-hafarizam-harun-umno-legal-adviser-badrul-hishah-copy

The beaming BN lawyers (from left): Firoz Hussein, Faizul Hilmi, Cheng Mei, Datuk Hafarizam Harun, and Badrul Hishah Photos by KK

rejected-pr-lawyers-l-r-chan-kok-keong-augustine-anthony-tommy-thomas-phillip-koh-tong-ngee-copy
And the rejected, dejected PR lawyers (from left): Chan Kok Keong, Augustine Anthony, Tommy Thomas, and Phillip Koh Tong Ngee

The Judge had ruled that the Speaker could only be represented by the state legal adviser and not the PR lawyers.

From The Edge website:

2.55pm: Perak speaker sent letter to JC Ridwan Ibrahim stating he has not authorised state legal advisor Ahmad Kamal to act on his behalf

2.15pm: Lawyers for Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir are already at the Ipoh High Court studying legal points ahead of a hearing for an application of injunction to stop further meetings of the Perak state assembly. The hearing in the chambers of JC Ridwan Ibrahim is scheduled to start at 2.30pm.

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A tree knelt in praise

Anil Netto
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On this historic day, the Perak state assembly held an emergency sitting under a tree, 200 metres away from the state government complex, after the people’s reps were prevented from sitting in their usual venue.

Democracy was returned to the people, gathered in a solemn assembly beneath this humble but majestic tree, its outstretched branches reaching out to the heavens while embracing and providing shade for the multitude below.

Thanks to Rain Tree for sending in this poem by Hamza Yusuf:

perak-state-assembly-3rd-mar09-conducted-under-big-tree-076
The historic "Pokok Demokrasi" - now part of Ipoh's folklore (Photo by Jong)

A tree knelt in praise

I know that I shall never see
A poem that bows quite like our tree
A tree who like us loved to pray
In adoration every day

A tree who humbly knelt in praise
To God and never chose to raise
Itself above the other trees
Instead remained as if on knees

A tree who gave our scholars shade
And never asked that it be paid
A tree whose needles never hurt
But gently fell upon the dirt

A tree whose worth cannot be told
Or ever lent or bought with gold
A tree who showed us all its height
With God by bowing with delight

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LIVE: Perak assembly holds historic sitting under trees

Anil Netto
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