Sekitar Penamaan Calon PRK N27 Rantau

Reintroducing bumiputra shareholding quota will cause further drops in share market, says MCA

PETALING JAYA: Any move by the Pakatan Harapan government to reinstate the 30% bumiputra shareholding quota in listed companies will cause further drops in the local share market, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.

The MCA president said that such policies, if introduced, could accelerate outflows from foreign investors because new stock market listings in the country are at an all time low.

“Our stock market fell badly last year and is the sole loser in Asia this year,” Dr Wee said in a Facebook post on Sunday (March 31). 

He was responding to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who said that the 30% bumiputra shareholding quota in listed companies is necessary because bumiputras are not prudent in managing finances and tend to spend on unnecessary things.

According to Dr Wee, the issue of uneven distribution of wealth and income is not between different races, but within each racial group.

He said that by reinstituting the 30% quota system in public listed companies, it will encourage the wealthy with political and economic means to continue accumulating wealth and equity.

“Such a requirement will deter foreign direct investment flows, disincentivise business investment, and promote unproductive rent-seeking activities via ‘Alibaba collaboration’.

“It couldn’t work when we were not yet deeply integrated into the world economy when it was implemented 40 years ago, how it is going to work when our economy is already so deeply open and linked to the world now?” he questioned.

In 2009, during the former Barisan Nasional administration under former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the government had removed the 30% bumiputra requirement for companies seeking to be public listed.

If Dr Mahathir really intends to improve the habits of investment and savings among the Malays, then the government should start providing them with the incentives to do so, said Dr Wee, adding that effective economic policies have always been incentive-oriented.

“Malays are not used to accumulating shares? Then give tax incentives for savings and shareholdings, and educate students on investment and shares through school syllabus/extracurricular activities,” he said.

“Give tax preferences on small investors so that they become more likely to own shares,” he added.

An affirmative action policy like the 30% bumiputra shareholding quota in listed companies, Dr Wee said, is outdated, short-sighted, and doomed to fail.

“Otherwise, why is it still not showing any results despite being practised for more than 20 years?” he questioned.

Dr Wee pointed out that plans to bring back the 30% bumiputra shareholding quota in listed companies would not facilitate the bumiputra communities to directly hold shares if they still do not have access to resources and funding channels.

“In fact, the uneven distribution of wealth in the Malay community will only get worse.

“If the government believes that equity is too concentrated, and hence needs to be de-concentrated, then policies should be incentive-based and focused on the equity-less majority, not the equity-rich elite,” he added.- Star

TUN MAHATHIR AKHIRNYA SEDAR BELIAU HANYALAH PERDANA MENTERI SEMENTARA

Berikut adakah antara petikan temubual terbaru antara Tun Mahathir Mohamad dengan akhbar mingguan ekonomi, Fokus Malaysia:-

“Saya bertuah untuk hidup selama ini. Sebenarnya, saya tidak patut hidup lagi untuk menyaksikan apa yang berlaku terhadap pengganti saya tetapi saya bernasib baik kerana saya bukan sahaja tua tetapi masih berupaya berfungsi.

“Tapi saya sedar saya sangat tua dan tidak lama lagi saya akan kehilangan kudrat dan saya akan mati.

“Jadi, saya tergesa-gesa. Orang lain mungkin mengambil perkara dengan mudah, tetapi saya hendak cepat kerana saya sedar saya sudah tidak banyak masa lagi untuk melakukan apa yang sepatutnya dibuat di negara ini.

Dr Mahathir juga maklum beliau cuma perdana menteri sementara dan bersedia melepaskan jawatan itu apabila tiba masanya.

“Mereka (PH) telah berkata saya hanya (perdana menteri) sementara dan akan ada orang lain yang akan mengambil alih.

“Saya fikir masanya mungkin lama sebelum pilihan raya umum akan datang.

“Jika saya diminta berundur, saya akan pergi kerana tiada tarikh khusus yang diberikan.”

Ini adalah suatu perkembangan yang baik yang ditunjukkan oleh Tun Mahathir di mana beliau akhirnya mengakui kedudukannya hanyalah sebagai Perdana Menteri sementara saja.

Sebelum ini, beliau tidak pernah mengungkapkan perkataan sementara itu apabila ditanya berhubung kedudukannya.

Apa yang kerap disebutnya ialah ialah bellau mungkin dua tahun, mungkin lebih dan mungkin kurang daripada tempoh itu memegang jawatan sebagai Perdana Menteri.

Di suatu ketika beliau mengusik Anwar agar memberinya tempoh untuk menjadi Perdana Menteri sehingga dua tahun setengah.

Kekaburan pendiriannya itulah yang antara lain menyebabkan berlakunya keretakan dalam PH, di samping tindakan Tun Mahathir sendiri yang dilihat cuba menonjol-nonjolkan pemimpin terentu secara berlebihan seolah-olah sedang dipersiapkan untuk menggantikan tempatnya.

Atas kedudukannya sebagai cuma Perdana Menteri sementara, selain kerana soal penggantinya sudah ditetapkan, sikap Tun Mahathir itu adalah sesuatu yang tidak wajar sama sekali.

Sejak awal sebelum PRU14 lagi telah dipersetujui bahawa Tun Mahathir hanya Perdana Menteri untuk suatu tempoh tertentu saja sebelum beliau wajib menyerahkan jawatannya kepada Anwar Ibrahim.

Untuk itu, sikap yang sewajarnya ditunjukkan oleh Tun Mahathir ialah menepati janji dan sentiasa berpegang kepada janji peralihan kuasa itu.

Blog ini telah acapkali mengingatkan PH, termasuk kepada Tun Mahathir sendiri bahawa beliau hanyalah Perdana Menteri sementara dan tidak ada pilihan lain selain mesti menepati janjinya berhubung penyerahan jawatan kepada Anwar itu.

Jika itu tidak dilakukan, ia bukan saja mencemarkan nama baiknya sebagai negarawan, dilihat masih berpolitik secara jahat, malah sudah tentu akan menyebabkan berlakunya perpecahan dalam PH yang sekaligus akan memberi kelebihan kepada UMNO/BN merampas semula kuasa di Putrajaya.

Antara tulisan itu ialah pada 4 Januari 2019 yang bertajuk “Tun Mahathir hanya Perdana Menteri sementara, tolonglah jangan mengada-ngada – http://shahbudindotcom.blogspot.com/2019/01/tun-mahathir-hanya-perdana-menteri.html?m=1

Alhamdulillah kini Tun Mahathir, dalam usianya menginjak 94 tahun, nampaknya semakin sedar mengenai kedudukan dirinya yang hanya bersifat sementara itu.

Diharapkan, pendirian beliau ini kekal sehingga peralihan kuasa yang dijanjikan benar-benar berlaku dan tidak berlaku lagi sebarang “U-Turn” atau masuk simpang di sana sini sebelum ke destinasi yang telah dipersetujui dan dimuktamadkan dalam PH sebelum ini.

-https://shahbudindotcom.net

FROM ONE-THIRD OF THE MALAYSIA PIE TO ONE-THIRTEENTH – THAT’S HOW UMNO-BN TRICKED & ROBBED SABAHANS & SARAWAKIANS FOR OVER 4 DECADES

KUCHING — Former Bintulu MP Ting Ling Kiew today revealed that he deliberately skipped out on Parliament proceedings the day legislators were to vote on a constitutional Bill that cost Sarawak and Sabah their status as equal partners to the peninsula in the Federation of Malaysia.

The story of how Sarawak and Sabah, freed from colonial British rule, became among the 13 states in the federation dates back to 1976 but has become a hot topic in Borneo recently as the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government seeks to table another Bill to restore equality to the two territories.

“Malaysia is a big cake and Sarawak shares one-third of it. After the passing of the Bill, Sarawak would have to share the cake with 12 other states.

“This is not fair to us,” the Bintulu MP from 1974 to 1990 who was opposed to the Bill told a news conference here.

Ting said he and former federal minister Tan Sri Leo Moggie were the two MPs from Sarawak who were absent from Parliament when the Bill to amend Article 1 of the Constitution was debated and then put to vote in 1976.

He believed that Moggie, who was overseas on ministerial duties, would have voted for the amendments if he were in Parliament when the Bill was put to vote.

Ting said he made the decision to stay away from Parliament after consulting Sarawak National Party (SNAP) president the late Datuk Amar Dunstan Endawie, former Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) president the late Tan Sri Ong Kee Hui and former Opposition Leader the late Tan Sri Dr Tan Chee Khoon.

Ting said he relayed his strong objection on the amendments to the Federal Constitution in a long telephone call to Endawie after the tabling of the Bill.

“I called him and we had a long talk over phone. I asked him if SNAP was going to expel me or not. He replied it all depends. For him personally, he would not have me expelled, but the party would have to take action if the Barisan Nasional put pressure on him.

“Then he advised me to go to Singapore and play mahjong there,” he recalled.

On his meeting with Ong, Ting said it was to consult him after reading through the provisions of the Bill.

He said Ong was a respected parliamentarian from Sarawak whose views were normally sought after by other parliamentarians from the state.

“I asked him what he thought of the Bill. Instead of answering my question, he asked me what I thought about it.

“I told him I was not going to support it because we needed time to thoroughly study the provisions and the implications it would have on Sarawak.

“I also suggested that the Bill should be tabled after, not before, the next general election,” Ting said, adding that the tabling of the Bill should not be rushed.

He recalled Ong totally disagreed with his view, insisting that he must support the Bill.

“He said if we opposed the Bill, then the Barisan Nasional would take action against us,” he said, adding that he could not be bothered so long as SNAP did not take action against him.

After meeting Ong, Ting said he sought Dr Tan’s opinion on the Bill.

“He advised me if I did not want to support the Bill, then I should not be in Parliament when voting took place.

“If I were in Parliament, my name would be registered as being present and then I would have to give my support,” he said, telling Dr Tan that he would think of his advice to stay away from Parliament.

Law Minister Datuk Liew Vui Kiong is due to table a Bill to amend Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution to restore the status of Sarawak and Sabah to the original pre-1976 position next month.

The Bill is scheduled to be debated on April 8 and 9, after which it will be put to vote.

MALAY MAIL

NURUL EXPLAINS WHAT MAHATHIR FAILS OR CONVENIENTLY CHOOSES NOT TO UNDERSTAND – THE FIRST YEAR IN ANY POWER TRANSITION IS CRITICAL: PEOPLE MUST SEE OUR POLITICAL COMMITMENT TO MAKE SURE CHANGES ACTUALLY HAPPEN – OR THEY WILL LOSE FAITH IN PAKATAN

KUALA LUMPUR — The first year in power for any new government is the most vital as it sets the tone for the administration’s commitment towards political change and reforms, said Nurul Izzah Anwar today.

“We have to understand the first year in any transition of power is a very important year.

“That is the year that we can see their political commitment to make sure changes actually happen,” said the Permatang Pauh MP when asked for her view on the reforms undertaken by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration

She was speaking to reporters after the launch of six books published by Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Abim) at the Putra World Trade Centre today.

Among the six included one titled Anwar Ibrahim: Semangat Darah Muda, a memoir of reform aspirations published by Abim in collaboration with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Nurul Izzah and her opinions on reforms have made headlines the past week, after she announced her resignation from all government and political party positions, citing her dissatisfaction at the sluggish pace of reforms as one of her reasons.

Nurul Izzah had said she would also not seek re-election at the next general elections.

She also caused another stir last week when she labelled Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad a ‘former dictator’ during an interview with a Singaporean daily, later defending her position as saying the moniker given to the nonagenarian was factually correct.

Nurul Izzah today also touched on her fight for prison reforms, saying those within the entire institution, including the incarcerated, wardens, and the labour that goes into maintaining the prisons must always be championed.

She said dialogues between her and the affected agencies had agreed that financial allocation for the prison systems must not be solely to sustain inmates and those working there, but should instead be spent on making the rehabilitation system more effective.

“The agencies have shared their ideas with me that allocations should not be used to sustain more and more inmates in jails.

“It is to make sure the inmates are more effective to be absorbed back into the society and given a second chance in line with their levels of preparations towards rehabilitation,” she said.

She added that the Malaysian Prisons Department was also working behind the scenes and scrambling to achieve their goal of moving as much as 75 per cent of non-violent inmates into community and interactive rehabilitation programmes come 2030.

MALAY MAIL

SHOCK PAKATAN INTERNAL SURVEY: MAT HASAN STILL HAS THE UPPERHAND – BUT DON’T GIVE UP DR STRERAM, FENCE SITTERS CAN STILL UPSET THE UMNO APPLE CART TO YOUR FAVOR

THE stakes are stacked against Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the Rantau by-election as Umno’s Mohamad Hasan has things going his way, a study conducted by PH in the last two weeks revealed.

Apart from the large Umno support, voter sentiments against the PH government is also working in Mohamad’s favour, PH insiders said.

“There are more positives for him than us in this constituency,”   said an insider who has been busy working the ground.

He said a study of the state seat showed that 79% of Rantau voters said they will pick Barisan Nasional (BN) on polling day. There are 22,096 voters in Rantau.

“We already know that Umno, for instance, has over 5,000 members in Rantau, making it 26% of the total electorate here,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

However, there is some good news for PH candidate Dr S. Streram (PKR) as almost half of those who had said they would back BN in the study are fence sitters, and as such can be converted to support Streram.

Pakatan candidate for the Rantau by-election Dr S. Streram visiting constituents while making his campaign rounds today. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Seth Akmal, March 31, 2019.

The source said after filtering out the hardcore voters through a series of additional questions about their perception of PH, 48% who said they will pick BN were fence sitters at best.

“So, while they have a big advantage going into this by-election, there’s still a lot to fight for,” the PH insider said.

He said the first to win 9,000 votes should bag the seat.

According to the Rembau federal seat data for GE14, PH barely scraped through in Rantau with 48.1% of the popular vote compared to BN’s 45.6% and PAS’ 4.5%. Rantau is one of four state seats under the Rembau federal constituency.

The by-election, which was triggered by an election petition, will pit acting Umno president Mohamad against Streram, and two independents, Malar Rajaram and Mohd Nor Yassin.

Ilham Centre director Mohd Azlan Zainal, meanwhile, said the stakes are much higher for Mohamad, the former Negri Sembilan menteri besar who is popularly known as Mat Hasan.

“Rantau is a must-win seat for Mat Hasan. Firstly, he is the three-term assemblyman here and he’s also the Umno deputy president.

“He needs to win this badly to boost the party morale and at 62 years old, it could be the end of his political career of he loses in his home seat.

“It’s also important for him to win this if he’s to continue as the acting Umno president,” said Azlan.

Mohamad Hasan greeting constituents during a campaign event for the Rantau by-election last night. Winning the by-election will cement his position as acting Umno president and losing it may mean the end of his political career. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Seth Akmal, March 31, 2019.

Voter sentiments in Rantau

The PH study also showed that cost of living (79%), PH’s manifesto promises (80%) and dissatisfaction with the federal government (79%) continue to top voters’ sentiments in Rantau.

The sentiments were squarely reflected among the three races.

Some 62% felt that the government was being dictated by DAP, which was threatening the position of Malays and Islam in the country – an agenda largely pushed by Umno to portray that the Chinese-majority DAP is dominating the ruling PH pact.

A total of 74% Malays felt that DAP was the problem while 43% of Chinese and 47% of Indians felt the same.

One thing that everyone seemed to agree on was that the BN-PAS cooperation can strengthen Malay unity – Malays (83%), Chinese (62%) and Indians (70%).

Some 38% of the voters surveyed also said they did not believe the corruption issues involving BN, adding they would vote for Mohamad in Rantau.

the malaysian insight

IN THE EYES OF MALAYSIANS, NAJIB ALREADY A DEMON – WHAT NEED IS THERE TO DEMONIZE HIM FURTHER? I CAN’T EVEN EAT MY ‘NASI CAMPUR’ IN PEACE – KLEPTOCRATIC EX-PM TURNS RACIAL AHEAD OF SRC TRIAL, AGAIN CALLS STUDENT PROTESTERS OF CHINESE ETHNICITY ‘DAP PEOPLE’

KUALA LUMPUR — Datuk Seri  Najib Razak today accused the Pakatan Harapan government of harassment after he alleged to have been heckled by the coalition’s supporters this morning.

The former prime minister claimed the “provocation” happened when he was about to have breakfast at an unnamed location in Selangor.

“Just like how DAP “people” created trouble when I was at a restaurant near UM (Universiti Malaya) last week, now they tried to provoke me when I was having breakfast in Selangor,” Najib wrote on his Facebook page.

“PH can’t even let me eat my nasi campur in peace,” he added.

Najib also shared photos of the incident on his Facebook. Most of it showed a handful of people carrying what appeared to be placards.

One of them, a middle-aged man in an orange shirt, was seen carrying a poster of Najib in clown makeup

Another was seen in a shirt with “Harapan” embroidered on it.

The former prime minister said the police helped defuse the situation. He also claimed his own supporters helped prevent an altercation by showing restraint.

Najib claimed the provocation was a PH ploy to force a reaction in a targeted demonisation campaign against him.

“Our supporters will no longer fall for the provocation trap including those set by Pakatan Harapan which seems to be eager for a fight,” he wrote.

malay mail

ANWAR: DON’T BE SO QUICK TO BLACK MARK DR MAHATHIR – GIVE HIM SOME SPACE TO RESOLVE SOME OF CEP’S RECOMMENDATIONS BEFORE MAKING REPORT PUBLIC

PADANG TERAP — All parties should give Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad space to resolve some of the recommendations by the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) before publishing its report to the public.

PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said although, in principle, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) wanted the CEP report to be published but there were some recommendations which could be implemented that needed to be identified so that it could be explained to the people.

The Port Dickson MP said this to reporters after a dialogue session with the Padang Terap district rubber tappers in Pengkalan Tok Mas near here today.

Anwar was commenting on Dr Mahathir’s statement yesterday that the government cannot make CEP’s 100-day report ­public as some matters were still at the consultation stage. — Bernama

Cabinet will decide whether CEP report should be revealed, says Wan Azizah

KUALA LUMPUR: The Cabinet will consider a suggestion to release the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) report from the Official Secrets Act, says Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

“I understand a meeting will be held and the Cabinet will decide on this. I will talk to the prime minister myself.

“As of now, there are a few matters that can’t be revealed because the issues are unresolved,” she told reporters this afternoon.

Yesterday, 50 NGOs urged the government to make public the CEP report, instead of placing it under the OSA.

The NGOs said the OSA is a repressive law which needed to be reviewed and placing the CEP report under OSA meant that the government was hiding something.

CEP chairman Daim Zainuddin had said he wanted the report to be made public so that it can be open for debate.

Economic Affairs Minister Azmin Ali and CEP member Jomo K Sundaram have also disagreed with the decision to classify the report under OSA.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the government cannot make the CEP report public as some matters are still at the consultation stage.

He said he was aware that the government would be accused of not being transparent due to this stand, but it needed more time before making any further decision on the matter.

“I do not know what it is that we can’t tell as we’ve revealed almost everything. But there are some matters under consultation and we cannot reveal what we are negotiating until a decision has been reached.” – FREE MALAYSIA TODAY

BERNAMA / FREE MALAYSIA TODAY

‘CHANGE THE MALAYSIAN FLAG AS WELL’ – SOUR GRAPES JEFFREY KITINGAN, UNABLE TO ACHIEVE WHAT PAKATAN SABAH & S’WAK HAVE DONE WITH RESTORING EQUAL PARTNER STATUS, NOW WANTS AMENDMENT TO BE DELAYED SO AS TO INCLUDE HIS ‘WISH LIST’

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah opposition leader Jeffrey Kitingan has set out several proposals on restoring the status of Sabah and Sarawak and urged the federal government to defer the amendment of Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution for more consultations with all stakeholders.

Kitingan, who is MP for Keningau, said people in both states were eagerly awaiting the proposed amendment and contended there were reservations because the matter seems to be “shrouded in secrecy”.

Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution is to be amended to restore the status of Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners with Malaya in forming the federation of Malaysia.

The change is part of demands made by leaders of Sabah and Sarawak for the federal government to adhere to the terms of the Malaysia Agreement of 1963 (commonly referred to as MA63).

Kitingan said Article 1(2) and the Malaysia Agreement was the fundamental basis of the formation of the federation. “Its proposed amendment should not be rushed. Sufficient space should be given to all stakeholders and parties to study and deliberate on any proposed amendment,” he said in a statement.

He said a federal cabinet committee on MA63 is scheduled to present its final report in June or July, and any amendment to Article 1(2) should be tabled together with any others to be proposed later.

Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen had previously confirmed that the bill to amend Article 1(2) would be tabled in Parliament on April 8 and 9.

Kitingan said many other amendments would be needed in order to restore an equal partnership.

He set out several suggestions, among them:

• Article 160 defined “federation” by reference to the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957, which would only include the peninsula.
• The Malaysian flag should be changed to reflect a federation of three nation states and not 13 states and the federal territories.
• The heads of state of Sabah and Sarawak should be styled as the “Yang DiPertua Negara” as was the case in 1963;
• Each of the three nation states should have a head of state, and there should be a federal head of state for Malaysia.
• The representation of MPs, both elected representatives and senators – as well as the Cabinet – should be revised to reflect the equal partnership.

Kitingan, who is president of Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku, said his proposals were presented merely as food for thought.

“True equal partnership between Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak is not just a simple amendment of Article 1(2). He contended that the amendment of Article 1(2) in 1976 was not constitutional as it was done without the consultation and consent of Sabah and Sarawak.

“Accordingly, whether it is revoked or amended, it has no valid or legal effect on the status of Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners.”

Closer to home, he said the Sabah government had failed to involve all stakeholders in the deliberations. Sabah should emulate the Sarawak government’s actions and sincerity by involving members of the opposition and civil society.

“Unfortunately, in Sabah, the MA63 committee only comprises government and pro-government leaders. Many of them are not ardent fighters or supporters of Sabah’s rights in Malaysia.

“Worse still, many of them have in the past have been pro-Malaya and pro-federalist as well as were against the rights of Sabah, MA63 and the 20-Points,” Jeffrey claimed.

He added any amendments should first be tabled and debated in the Sabah legislative assembly after the bi-partisan deliberations.

FREE MALAYSIA TODAY