Selasa, 3 April 2012

Philosophy Politics Economics

Philosophy Politics Economics

Muhyiddin Says Our Education Outperforms US, UK & Germany!

Posted: 03 Apr 2012 06:03 AM PDT

It completely defies belief that our Minister of Education of pronounce Malaysia as having better quality of education than United States (US), Britain and Germany.

Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also our Deputy Prime Minister, based his statement on one partial study in the World Competitiveness Report by World Economic Forum (WEF) on quality of education. In that specific study, Malaysia was ranked 14th as opposed to Germany (17th), Britain (20th) and United States (26th).

However as an Education Minister, he must surely have found out how the above "rankings" were arrived at. In essence the survey asked 87 local businessmen "How well does the educational system in your country meet the needs of a competitive economy?" by rating it between a scale of 1 to 7.

Two agencies were entrusted to do the survey by WEF - government-linked Institute Strategic & International Studies (ISIS) and government-owned Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC).

Surely such a tiny survey with such "surprising" outcomes must be benchmarked against other credible international studies before it is accepted at face value. And surely, as the Education Minister, he would have seen many objective studies on the quality of our education and students.

In the latest Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA) 2009+ released late last year showed Malaysian 15 year olds being far behind the rest of the developed world. The PISA study reviewed the literacy, mathematics and scientific understanding of 522,000 students across 74 countries, with nearly 4,999 students coming from Malaysia.

Malaysian students were ranked well below the Organisation of Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) average, and specifically against the US, UK and Germany in all 3 tested areas.

In terms of reading literacy, we were ranked a poor 55th out of 74 countries.  In Mathematics literacy, it was 57th and faring only marginally better in Science at 52nd.

The conclusion of the report on Malaysia was even more damaging when it was reported that "56% of students are estimated to have a proficiency in reading literacy that is at or above the baseline level needed to participate effectively and productively in life."

For Mathematics, only "41% of students are proficient in mathematics at least to the baseline level at which they begin to demonstrate the kind of skills that enable them to use mathematics in ways considered fundamental for their future development."  And for Science, "57% of students are proficient in science at least to the baseline level at which they begin to demonstrate the science competencies that will enable them to participate actively in life situations related to science and technology."

Why did Muhyiddin not cite the PISA 2009+ study which he is fully aware of which is objective in its study across countries by using standardised tests?  PISA 2009+ was also conducted with the cooperation of the Ministry of Education. Instead Muhyiddin decided to endorse and boast of a survey of 87 local businessman on a single subjective question.

The Deputy Prime Minister appears to be suffering from the "jaguh kampung" syndrome where we only measure ourselves based on criteria which will make ourselves look good but fail to be objective in evaluating our performance and achievements which have been lacking and declining in the recent decades.

Noh Omar Puts the Cart before the Cows

Posted: 31 Mar 2012 06:00 AM PDT

The Minister of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry, Datuk Seri Noh Omar has announced on Tuesday 27 March that the Government is inviting bids to take over the National Feedlot Centre project from the scandal-tainted National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd (NFCorp).

The announcement to invite bids for the project is mind-boggling and outlandish at just so many levels.

Firstly, the Ministry of Agriculture has an existing "Implementation Agreement" for the National Feedlot Project signed with NFCorp on 8th March 2010.  With the call for new bids, does it mean that the Ministry of Agriculture has already terminated the Agreement with NFCorp?  And if it hasn't been terminated, would not the Government then be in breach of the Agreement which defines NFCorp as the implementor?

Secondly, as highlighted in the National Audit Report 2010, the Ministry of Finance has specifically issued an order to halt the entire National Feedlot project in May 2009 and requested for a cost-benefit analysis to be carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture to justify the project's viability.  This has of course raised the earlier question as to why an "Implementation Agreement" was signed in 2010 when a halt to the project was directed in 2009.

Regardless, now that Datuk Seri Noh Omar has announced the request for new bids, does it mean that a cost-benefit study has been indeed carried out and the project's viability has been approved by the Ministry of Finance?  Based on our inquiry with both Ministries' officials at the Public Accounts Committee as late as last week, there has been absolutely no study over its viability carried out to date.

Thirdly, both the Finance and Agriculture Ministries must surely recall the RM250 million soft loan granted to NFCorp for the implementation of the National Feedlot project since Datuk Seri Noh Omar has confirmed that there will be new parties being appointed to develop project.  It is completely untenable and against all common sense that the NFCorp Directors continue to enjoy the benefits of the RM250 million soft loan when they are no longer the project implementer.

As it stands, the 2% interest loan was fully drawn down even before the Implementation Agreement was signed has been abused by the NFCorp directors to acquire luxury properties in Malaysia, Singapore and even Kazakhstan and invest in unrelated businesses under their own names.

In public interest, and to ensure that every sen of tax-payers' monies are recoverable, both Ministries must immediately demand the return of RM250 million loan given to NFCorp, whose directors are the family of UMNO Wanita Chief, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil.

Should both Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is the Finance Minister and Datuk Seri Noh Omar fail to take immediate and all necessary steps to such effect, all other pronouncements about making good the National Feedlot project will just be a public relations damage-control exercise and political rhetoric.  In fact their reluctance and failure to come down hard on parties who outrageously abuse public funds proves their bias and support for embattled Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil, at the expense of tax-payers.

Najib's Son Gets Free Stock Market Ride?

Posted: 30 Mar 2012 05:58 AM PDT

We call upon the Securities Commission to investigate an act on the extremely unusual price action of the stock, Supercomnet Technologies Bhd which smacked of manipulation and insider trading.

The ACE-listed Supercomnet saw its stock price rallied from 12.5 sen on 20 March 2012 (Tuesday) to 29.5 sen (Friday) and hit a peak of 58.0 sen on the very next trading day on 26 March 2012 (Monday).  The spike on Monday represents a 96.6% increase in price over Friday's closing or a more spectacular 362% increase over Tuesday's close.  The stock closed at 49.5 sen on Monday.

When queried by Bursa Malaysia over the unusual stock activity, Supercomnet had only responded on Monday after trading hours that the major shareholders of the company had the day before signed "an Agreement with Mohd Nazifuddin Bin Mohd Najib to give an option [to Nazifuddin] for the purchase of 45,357,000 ordinary shares of RM0.10 each at RM0.225 per share, representing 18.66% of the issued and paid-up capital of Supercomnet.

The announcement caused the stock to rise further on Tuesday morning to 52.5 sen before a collapse to 36.0 sen at the close.  What was perhaps shocking was that after trading hours, Supercomnet announced that "it had on March 27, 2012 received a letter dated March 27, 2012 from En. Mohd Nazifuddin Bin Mohd Najib indicating that he will not be pursuing the option to purchase the 18.66% stake in the Company as stated in the Option Letter".

This has resulted in a further collapse of the stock yesterday to 22.5 sen.

The rise and fall of Supercomnet share price smacks of massive manipulation and outright negligence on the part of both the existing shareholders and Nazifuddin in ensuring material information is made available to investors on a timely basis.  Nazifuddin's downright bizzare U-turn on the acceptance of the "option to purchase" 18.66% of the company, only to reject it within 48 hours is clearly suspicious must be immediately investigated.

Despite Nazifuddin being the son of our Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Najib Razak, the Securities Commission must show its teeth and act without fear or favour against parties who bring disrepute to our stock markets.  The question must be asked as to who made tonnes of money from the entire exercise - by buying up the shares before the option agreement was announced on Monday evening, and subsequently sold the shares before the rejection of the offer was announced on Tuesday evening.

What is more damaging is the fact that this isn't the first time Nazifuddin is involved in a controversial stock restructuring exercise.  Nazifuddin made headlines when he was appointed to the Board of harvest Court Industries Bhd in October last year and resigned within one month.  Harvest's shares were trading below 10 sen for the longest time but it hit 40 sen just before Nazifuddin joined the Board.

Harvest's shares then soared to a peak RM2.14 by November 14, before it all came crashing down following Nazifuddin's hurried departure.

Without stern and prompt action from the Securities Commission, we can expect this pattern of Nazifuddin's proposed entry into and quick exist from a penny stock company being repeat ad nauseam to make some parties a whole load of money at the expense of ordinary investors.  The end result will be Bursa Malaysia becoming the butt of jokes among the global investing community.

Pakatan to Expropriate MEX

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 06:07 AM PDT

Pakatan promises to buy back MEX if voted to power
By Clara Chooi Mar 28, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pledged today to buy back the part publicly-funded Maju Expressway (MEX) from its concessionaire should they wrest Putrajaya in the coming polls, claiming the move would save over RM4.6 billion in taxpayers' money.

In a statement signed by representatives from all three PR parties - Rafizi Ramli (PKR), Tony Pua (DAP) and Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (PAS) — the leaders noted that it was one of PR's Buku Jingga promises to restructure toll rates and the country's many highway concession agreements, many of which they claim have over-benefitted Barisan Nasional (BN) cronies.

Speaking at a press conference in Parliament today, Pua, DAP's publicity secretary, said it was more sensible for Putrajaya to buy back the highway with a maximum payment of RM400.9 million, instead of allowing Maju Holdings Sdn Bhd to profit from its sale.

He said that Maju Group executive chairman Tan Sri Abu Sahid Mohamed stands to make a clean profit of RM1.09 billion or 1,800 per cent of his initial investment of RM60 million from his sale of MEX to EP Manufacturing Bhd (EPMB) for RM1.7 billion.

"This profit is too high because the government has already used taxpayers' money to fund 74 per cent of the highway's construction cost," he said.

This, added Pua, amounts to a whopping RM976.7 million.

"This money will not be returned to the public but will be a great profit for Abu Said," he said.

Pua explained that according to EPMB's March 16 Bursa Malaysia filing on its purchase of MEX, there is an "expropriation" clause attached to the concession agreement.

The clause, he said, allows the government to buy back MEX and terminate the concession with three months' notice.

Pua added that the acquisition cost to the government would be a maximum of RM401 million which, according to the compensation terms, is the sum of the value of construction work less the government grants, liabilities, dividends or interest to shareholders, plus 12 per cent interest per annum on investments by shareholders.

"This RM401 million compensation is sufficient returns for the concessionaire which only needed an investment of RM60 million over eight years.

"This is in comparison with the RM3.2 billion that that concessionaire would have earned in projected net profits over the 25 years of its agreement. This profit will be reaped from toll payments from Malaysians of over RM5 billion," Pua said.

"With the decision to buy back MEX, savings for the people would exceed RM4.6 billion."

For the full article on The Malaysian Insider, click here.
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