Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Tun Musa And Umno !

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno is in dire need of a drastic change and young blood with new ideas are the plausible solution, said former deputy prime minister Tun Musa Hitam.

“I understand that the experience of seniors are needed for top posts like president or vice-president, but other than that, they should choose the younger ones,” he said.

Musa said the party had been raising the same issues which were raised 20 or 30 years ago, and bickering about emotional rather than substantial issues, such as the economy.

“Umno is already over 61 years old and is experiencing penyakit tua (old age sickness) which cannot be remedied by senior citizens but rather the younger generation with new ideas,” he said after launching the Bridges “ Dialogues Towards a Culture of Peace forum here yesterday.

He also claimed that Umno was “too introverted” by focusing on its own problems and looking for acceptance among its own members, but not the rakyat, whose perceptions would determine its future.

“It is important for Umno to realise that it has lost its popularity because of public opinion.

“The party has many problems that it cannot rectify, like corruption, accountability issues and abuse of power,” he said.

“The new generation will not accept wholesale what politicians are saying because they don’t accept the politicians,” he said.

Musa believed that certain politicians were fighting for their own benefit rather than for the benefit of the larger community.



Source : The Star

"The nation wants party that is sensitive to their needs and is one step ahead of the citizens thinking.These are hard words, I know, but I will only say it once. When I say it, I mean it and I’ve been thinking long and hard about it." Tun Musa Hitam.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Funds to buy undervalued stocks raised to RM10bil

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government has doubled the amount of money available to buy undervalued stocks to RM10bil and will also continue with its spending to boost the country’s economy.

Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced that these two moves were part of the Government’s plan to ensure that the economy would not be affected by the global financial crisis.


“The country is not in a financial crisis and we certainly should not talk ourselves into one,” said Najib during his keynote address at the Khazanah Megatrends Forum yesterday.

However, he warned that the country should brace for a lower economic growth next year in view of the global slowdown.

Among the measures Najib touched on were:

> INJECTION of RM5bil to double the size of Valuecap Sdn Bhd that was set up by the Government in 2003 to invest in undervalued companies;

> REVIEW of some foreign investment committee guidelines to make it more attractive for foreign investors, especially in the property and commercial sectors;

> LIBERALISATION of the service sector to attract more investment and generate more local employment;

> RE-PRIORITISING projects with focus on those that can be implemented expeditiously and with high economic multiplier effects; and

> STRENGTHENING of small and medium-scale enterprises through new initiatives by financial institutions and access to special Bank Negara funds.

On Valuecap, Najib said the funds were being pumped in given the current opportunities for value investing.

“The stock market has many fundamentally strong companies. Many companies are presently trading at attractive valuations, creating opportunities for value investing.”

On re-prioritising projects, Najib said some “lumpy projects” with little economic multiplier effects could be postponed but promised that the Government would continue with its spending.

“The planned expenditure for 2009 will continue and there will be no financial cutbacks. This position was agreed upon by the National Economic Council executive council under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister.”

He said short-term measures to tackle external financial turmoil should not come at the expense of the country’s long-term development and global competitiveness.


Source : The Star

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Terima kasih Kerajaan ini !

Kerajaan menurunkan lagi harga bahan api sebanyak 15 sen bagi petrol dan 20 sen bagi diesel, iaitu penurunan kali ketiga dalam tempoh tidak sampai tiga bulan.

Dengan penurunan harga minyak hari ini, bermakna dalam tempoh tidak sampai tiga bulan kerajaan telah menurunkan harga petrol sebanyak 40 sen seliter berbanding harga RM2.70 seliter pada Jun lalu.

Dalam tempoh yang sama, harga diesel pula telah mengalami penurunan 38 sen berbanding RM2.58 sen seliter ketika harga minyak dinaikkan Jun lalu.

Dalam satu langkah untuk mengurangkan beban rakyat dan menyelaraskan harga bahan api di Malaysia dengan penurunan harga minyak di pasaran dunia, kerajaan mengumumkan harga baru petrol dan diesel itu akan berkuat kuasa esok.

Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi dalam satu kenyataan berkata, mulai esok harga runcit petrol RON97 dikurangkan 15 sen iaitu daripada RM2.45 seliter kepada RM2.30 seliter.

Harga diesel diturunkan sebanyak 20 sen seliter daripada RM2.40 seliter kepada RM2.20seliter manakala pada masa sama, harga petrol RON92 pula dikurangkan sebanyak 10 sen seliter daripada RM2.30 seliter kepada RM2.20 seliter.

Abdullah berkata, kerajaan membuat keputusan mempercepatkan pengurangan harga runcit bahan api berikutan harga minyak dunia telah menurun dengan ketara akhir-akhir ini.

“Penurunan itu juga bagi membolehkan orang ramai menikmatinya dengan lebih segera,'' kata Perdana Menteri dalam satu kenyataan di sini hari ini.

Harga minyak di pasaran dunia kini berlegar sekitar AS$77 dan AS$80 setong berbanding hampir AS$140 setong pada Mei lalu.

Perdana Menteri berkata, harga baru petrol dan diesel itu merupakan pelarasan harga ketiga dilakukan sejak kerajaan menaikkan harga minyak buat pertama kalinya pada pertengahan tahun ini.

Ketika itu harga petrol ditetapkan pada RM2.70 seliter manakala diesel RM2.58 seliter.

Selari dengan penurunan harga minyak mentah dunia, kerajaan membuat pelarasan pertama pada 23 Ogos lalu menyaksikan pengurangan harga sebanyak 15 sen daripada RM2.70 seliter kepada RM2.55.

Bulan lalu, kerajaan menurunkan lagi harga petrol sebanyak 10 sen menjadikan harga runcit petrol RM2.45.

Menteri Perdagangan Dalam Negeri dan Hal Ehwal Pengguna, Datuk Shahrir Samad baru- baru ini berkata, kerajaan mungkin dapat menurunkan harga petrol ke paras RM1.92 seliter jika harga minyak di pasaran dunia jatuh di bawah paras AS$72 setong.


Sumber : Utusan

Monday, October 13, 2008

Islam, AS perlu fokus faktor penyatuan

KUALA LUMPUR 13 Okt. - Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi menggesa dunia Islam dan Barat mengalihkan fokus kepada perkara yang boleh menyatukan mereka agar jurang yang wujud selama ini dapat diatasi.

Perdana Menteri berkata, daripada hanya menumpukan kepada soal perbezaan, pemimpin dari kedua-dua dunia itu sepatutnya memberikan tumpuan kepada isu-isu yang dapat menyatukan mereka.

"Agak jelas kepada saya bahawa dalam mendamaikan Amerika Syarikat (AS) atau Barat dengan dunia Islam kita tidak seharusnya melihat kepada penyelesaian terhadap perkara yang menjadi jurang sahaja sebaliknya ia perlu turut melibatkan faktor- faktor yang menyatukan.

"Dengan hanya menyelesaikan satu isu dan mengabaikan isu yang satu lagi tidak akan membawa kita ke mana-mana," katanya ketika menyampaikan ucaptama pada Forum Serantau Amerika Syarikat (AS) dan Dunia Islam di sini hari ini.

Forum dua hari bermula hari ini yang dihadiri kira-kira 100 peserta dari dalam dan luar negara itu bertujuan membincangkan isu-isu yang relevan antara kedua-dua dunia.

Sementara itu, Abdullah berkata, dunia Barat dan Islam seharusnya cuba berkongsi aspek yang menjadi persamaan bagi menjadikan usaha merapatkan jurang lebih efektif.

"Kita perlu fokus pada banyak prinsip dan perkara yang menjadi kepentingan bersama.

"Kita mesti elakkan kecenderungan untuk berfikir yang kita merupakan satu-satunya penjaga kepada apa yang baik, manakala lainnya tinggal di dunia yang gelap dan sengsara," tegasnya.

Abdullah berkata, sebagai contoh, walaupun daripada segi sejarah, penduduk Islam di Asia Tenggara pernah dijajah oleh kuasa Barat namun mereka menerima keadaan pada masa lalu itu dengan hati terbuka.

"Apabila kita nilai keadaan hubungan antara negara penduduk majoriti Islam di Asia Tenggara dengan AS dan negara Barat yang lain pada hari ini, kita kurang dibebani jurang itu sebaliknya menjalin hubungan yang baik dengan mereka.

"Ini dapat dilihat bagaimana AS dan Eropah merupakan antara rakan dagang dan pelabur paling penting bagi Indonesia, Malaysia dan Brunei," katanya.

Kata Abdullah, jurang antara dua dunia ini sebenarnya lebih terarah kepada faktor politik dan bukannya kerana agama.

"Sebahagian besar disebabkan faktor politik, seperti isu Palestin dan pencerobohan di Iraq, yang kekal menjadi duri bagi hubungan kedua-dua pihak selagi ia berlarutan," ujarnya.

Sumber : Utusan