StuxNet: New Cyber Weapon

I came across a malware called Stuxnet somewhere around end of August but thought it might just another common medium-risk category virus that surfaced around da globe. However, after went thru some updates I realized this is a new cyber weapon designed to either destroy or sabotage Iran’s nuclear programme.

Although many security experts have yet to identify da crafter of this nasty bomb, assumptions have pointed that Stuxnet is da work of a national government agency.  I’m sure many of us would think that US and Israeli government capable to create such an advanced technology that can infiltrate remote computer systems especially against their rivals with da likes of Iran, Pakistan, India and even Indonesia. This malware also dubbed as “Super Aurora” was targeting these countries that posses nuclear power plant.

Simple terminology:  When this malware successfully infiltrate into Windows-based platform computers  that  running nuclear programming software such as Siemens SCADA, it can replicates by itself, manipulate and manage itself, including backfire da entire systems.

My guess is this attack got something to do with da Iranian’s President’s recent outburst during his opening speech at UN Summit on da 24 Sept 2010. He told da floor that da US government was behind da 9/11 attack on d American soil.  He quoted that “There was a theory that some segments within the US government orchestrated the attack to reverse the declining American economy and its grips on the Middle East, in order also to save the Zionist regime”. (Read more)

US President Barrack Obama responded fiercely by condemning da Iranian President’s remark as “offensive” and “hateful”.

Think about it.. United States and Israel always wana be da “Army” and “Police” of this world. They are da people who can only carry weapons and armory. Da rests of the countries are just “civilians” who must obey their “rules and laws”. B*S#!

Property Bubble in Sabah

Property market evolution has surpassed many expectations. Speculations are heating up so much so that prices of the properties esp housings in da state have becoming increasingly 'out of control'. Back in da 90's, prices of a standard double-storey terrace house cost between RM150K-RM250K.

Financial Recession 1998:

During the 1997-1998 financial crissis, the real estate market in da states struggled big time when BLR (basic lending rate) recorded highest in history of up to 12.27% . Many sectors and industries fallen to da ground and housing market as well as developments came to a stand still for couple of months. During da same period, our former PM Tun Mahathir administration has taken drastic measures including pegging the Ringgit to cushion da country's volatility against foreign currency attack and prevented deeper recession in our economy. However, the trend took a spin and since the year 2000, the property market has started to bubble. At this point, developers and property players began to 'fry' da market and speculations escalated inevitably. A double storey unit terrace which was cost RM150K 5 years in da past went up more than 30% to RM200K and above.

What I observed during this moment, da demand of our country's comodities such as palm oil has boosted da economy of da Sabah state. Planters who used to seek more land for expansions had shifted their profit sight on property market. Unlike majority players in da peninsular, wealthy planters who doubled their fortune within few years managed to sustained their stakes at longer period of time. After da crisis, da states tourism industry boomed tremendously. Sabah becoming increasingly popular among Asian tourists and property investors. Judging by da fact by its political and social stability, Sabah ranked among da top 5 in terms of most expansive housing and residential markets.

Great Recession 2008:

In 2003 Oct 31, Tun Mahathir stepped down as da country's premier and handed over to Tun Abdullah to continue his legacy whereby this country continue to enjoyed a significant growth with an average annual GDP of 5.5%. Da year 2008 was very much unfortunate for us as d economic powerhouses such USA and many European countries slumped into great recessions prior to their own 'unethical' financial practices since decades (click here for more info). All the financial and economic perspective, projections and statistics went downwards. Malaysia's annual GDP growth rate in da year 2008 and 2009 was 4.6% and -1.7% respectively.

During this period I remember when da crude oil price shot up to $108 per barrel, our government was unable to subsidiced petrol fuel and eventually raising da price gradually. As da result, many industries especially retail business were badly affected - consumer prices increased when production costs, materials costs, bla bla costs etc jumped sky rocketing, forcing da economy to sluggished and businesses shutting down. Surprisingly, all these factors didn't implicate much on da property market in da state of Sabah but rather a slight impact. By end of 2009, the cost of a 1600sqf DST/I in da states has doubled to RM300K-RM400K, 50% up within 10 years period.

Recently, da Central Bank has planning to cap 80% on housing loans but then called it off as many voices protested againts it. The initial objective for da 'study' was to avert the risk of a potential property bubble. However, looking into da current situation, I doubt that da measure wouldn't slow down da pace of housing development sectors any time soon.

Cara AirAsia mencari rakan - Sejauh mana kesahihannya?

Tony Fernandes

MUNGKIN ramai yang tidak menyedari bahawa seorang ahli muzik yang pernah mengetuai syarikat rakaman Warner Music (M) Sdn. Bhd., Tony Fernandes kini merupakan seorang tokoh korporat tanah air yang disegani kerana kejayaannya mencetus revolusi dalam industri penerbangan rantau Asia.

Bagaimanapun, kejayaan yang dibinanya sejak enam tahun lalu itu, bukannya datang bergolek, kerana Fernandes, yang mahir bermain keyboard itu, terpaksa melalui ‘ranjau dan duri’, sebelum berjaya membina firma penerbangan tambang murah AirAsia Bhd. sehingga dikenali di peringkat antarabangsa pada masa ini.

Kejayaannya itu juga telah mengheret beliau ke dalam kancah kontroversi termasuk dikaitkan dengan Naib Ketua Pemuda UMNO, Khairy Jamaluddin, tokoh korporat T. Ananda Krishnan (seorang hartawan), Tan Sri Vincent Tan (tokoh korporat), Datuk Mokhzani (anak Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad) dan beberapa orang lain, tetapi Fernandes mengambil sikap ‘membisu’ kerana tidak mahu kontroversi itu merebak menjadi isu.

Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Air Asia itu ketika menceritakan detik permulaan beliau menceburi industri penerbangan berkata: “Saya sudah lama bercita-cita ingin menceburi perniagaan secara serius, tetapi tidak tahu perniagaan apa yang ingin dijalankan.”

Fernandes berkata, idea untuk menubuhkan syarikat penerbangan datang secara spontan semasa beliau berada di London, ketika menonton televisyen.

“Saya tertarik melihat iklan sebuah syarikat penerbangan tambang murah, Easyjet. Kemudian saya bergegas ke Lapangan Terbang Luton (di London) dan menghabiskan masa selama dua hari di sana.

“Saya tertarik dengan konsep perniagaan itu dan bercadang untuk memperkenalkan perkhidmatan itu di Malaysia dan menyimpan impian untuk mengembangkan konsep itu di rantau Asia,” katanya ketika ditemui di Kuala Lumpur, Sabtu lalu.

Katanya, setelah kembali ke Malaysia, beliau telah menyatakan hasratnya itu untuk menubuhkan syarikat penerbangan kepada kawan rapatnya (Datuk) Kamarudin Meranum yang merupakan bekas kakitangan sebuah bank pelaburan dan kini menjadi Pengarah Eksekutif AirAsia.

“Saya mengenali Kamarudin menerusi Sheila Majid (Ratu Jazz Malaysia) dan selain itu, Kamarudin juga merupakan kawan rapat kepada Roslan Aziz (penerbit muzik).

“Saya menyatakan hasrat saya untuk menjadi usahawan dan menubuhkan syarikat penerbangan kepada Kamarudin.

“Setelah mendengar penjelasan saya itu, Kamarudin bersetuju untuk bersama dan kami kemudian mengeluarkan wang simpanan masing-masing dan berjaya mengumpulkan sebanyak RM1 juta sebagai modal permulaan,” katanya.

Fernandes berkata, beliau masih ingat lagi tarikh keramat itu ialah pada Mei 2001.

Beliau dan Kamarudin menjemput seorang lagi rakan baik mereka dalam industri muzik tanah air iaitu Aziz Bakar untuk menyertainya.

“Kami kemudian menemui Datuk Pahamin Ab. Rajab, untuk meminta bantuannya bagi mendapatkan lesen penerbangan.

“Kami meminta bantuan Pahamin kerana beliau sebelum itu banyak membantu industri muzik dalam memerangi cetak rompak semasa menjadi Ketua Setiausaha di Kementerian Perdagangan Hal Ehwal Dalam Negeri,” katanya.

Menurut Fernandes, Pahamin kemudian mengatur temu janji bagi pihak kami dengan Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad yang ketika itu menjadi Perdana Menteri.

“Dalam pertemuan itu, Tun Mahathir telah memaklumkan bahawa lesen syarikat penerbangan tidak lagi dikeluarkan dan jika kami berminat, kami diminta mengambil alih mana-mana syarikat penerbangan yang ada ketika itu.

“Pahaminlah yang telah menukar impian kami menjadi kenyataan,” katanya.

Atas jasanya (Pahamin) itu, Fernandes berkata, beliau telah mempelawa Pahamin menjadi rakan kongsi.

Fernandes dan rakan-rakan kongsinya itu kemudian mengambil alih syarikat penerbangan AirAsia Sdn. Bhd. daripada DRB-Hicom Bhd. menerusi Tune Air Sdn. Bhd., pada 8 September 2001 untuk diterapkan konsep tambang murah.

Ketika mengambil alih Tune Air, mereka juga terpaksa mengambil alih hutang tertunggak syarikat tersebut dengan Malaysia Airlines Bhd., Malaysia Airport Holdings Bhd. dan Petronas yang berjumlah RM20 juta, katanya.

“Selepas mengambil alih AirAsia, kami diberi tempoh selama enam bulan untuk melunaskan kesemua hutang yang tertunggak itu. Kami telah berbincang bagi mencari jalan bagaimana untuk menjelaskan hutang tersebut kerana kami tidak mempunyai modal yang mencukupi,” katanya.

Penyelamat

Menurut Fernandes, penyelamat mereka ketika itu adalah kontrak AirAsia dengan Tabung Haji yang diwarisi daripada DRB-Hicom, yang menjana keuntungan kepada AirAsia.

Beliau berkata, keuntungan daripada kontrak AirAsia itu telah digunakan untuk membayar balik hutang tersebut.

“Kontrak penerbangan jemaah haji yang berbaki dua tahun ketika kami mengambil alih AirAsia telah menjadi penyelamat, kalau tiada kontrak itu, tak tahulah apa yang mungkin berlaku pada kami ketika itu.

“Kami juga telah meminta seorang lagi rakan kami iaitu, bekas pemain gitar base kumpulan Discovery (Datuk) Nasser Abdul Kassim yang pernah bermain bersama Fauzi Marzuki dan Goh Boon Hoe untuk menguruskan kontrak tersebut,’’ katanya.

Nasser kini merupakan Pengarah Rantau Kargo AirAsia, tambah beliau.

Nasser berjaya melaksanakan tugasnya dengan cemerlang, namun begitu kontrak tersebut tidak dilanjutkan kerana kerajaan memberikan kontrak itu semula kepada MAS, katanya.

“Kami di AirAsia memang suka berkawan dan kami melantik kawan-kawan daripada pelbagai latar belakang dan keturunan untuk menjadi rakan kongsi kami. Ternyata formula ini telah membuahkan kejayaan kepada AirAsia,” katanya.

Fernandes berkata, kejayaan AirAsia bukan sahaja merupakan manifestasi kejayaan negara tetapi merupakan simbol kejayaan masyarakat majmuk dalam menguruskan sebuah syarikat perniagaan.

Ketika menceritakan lebih lanjut perkembangan AirAsia, Fernandes berkata: “Baru-baru ini, kami telah melantik Mark Lankester (adik kepada pelakon Susan Lankester) sebagai Timbalan Ketua Eksekutif Tune Hotels.Com; Datuk Seri Kalimullah Hassan sebagai Pengerusi AirAsia X; Tengku Zafrul Aziz (bekas Ketua Avenue Securities Sdn. Bhd.) sebagai Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Tune Money Sdn. Bhd. dan penyanyi rock, Jason Lo sebagai Ketua Eksekutif Tune Talk Sdn. Bhd.”

Fernandes berkata, beliau mengenali Kalimullah semasa makan di sebuah restoran.

Beliau berkata, kesemua mereka itu adalah rakan-rakan rapatnya dan langkah melantik mereka ke dalam syarikat adalah bertujuan mengembangkan AirAsia.

“Saya sedar, kejayaan besar saya dalam tempoh yang singkat itu telah menimbulkan pelbagai tuduhan kononnya syarikat kami dimiliki oleh Ananda Krishnan, Vincent Tan, Mokhzani, Khairy dan beberapa orang lain.

“Malah ada yang mendakwa nombor pendaftaran pada pesawat kami bermula dengan ‘AK’ membawa maksud Ananda Krishnan. Sebenarnya nombor itu telah lama ada pada pesawat kami dan kami warisi nombor itu daripada syarikat induk terdahulu iaitu DRB-Hicom Bhd.,” katanya.

Sambil menafikan semua desas-desus itu, Fernandes berkata, kejayaan syarikat tersebut adalah hasil kerja keras seluruh warga kerja AirAsia yang terdiri daripada berbilang kaum, yang bertungkus-lumus membawa AirAsia ke puncak kejayaannya sekarang.

Mengenai hubungannya dengan Khairy, Fernandes berkata, beliau mengenali Khairy semasa Naib Ketua Pemuda UMNO itu memperkenalkan program pasukan bola sepak berkonsep realiti, MyTeam pada tahun 2006.

“Saya tertarik dengan konsep itu kerana merasakan ia berpotensi untuk diketengahkan dan kemudian bersetuju menaja pasukan tersebut, tidak lebih daripada itu,” katanya.

Fernandes juga bangga kerana kejayaan AirAsia adalah atas sikap berdikari dan tidak bergantung kepada subsidi kerajaan.

Katanya, tiada yang istimewa dalam AirAsia, sesiapa sahaja mampu melakukannya, jika ada tekad dan azam yang kuat, di samping sikap tidak mahu mengalah.


Dalam tempoh enam tahun sejak penubuhannya, kakitangan AirAsia kini meningkat daripada 200 orang kepada 5,000 orang dengan pesawat meningkat kepada 65 buah berbanding dua buah pesawat pada permulaan dan jumlah penumpang daripada 200,000 setahun kepada 18 juta setahun.

Kini Fernandes dan rakan-rakan daripada semua kaum membuktikan syarikat Malaysia mampu bersaing di pentas global dan mengubah landskap industri penerbangan negara selaras dengan label syarikat itu, ‘Now Everyone Can Fly’.

Dipetik daripada Utusan Online (Arkib 17/12/2007)

Google TV - simply gona change our way of web entertainment

Google TV is a new experience made for television that combines the TV with the freedom and power of the Internet. Apparently, Google is developing this technology after its announcement on May this year. Guess wat.. Apple & Sony are not gona back down either! With the social networking and media are currently booming I believe our country require better SPEED & High Bandwidth Broadband! Instead of hooking up with lousy 1MB at RM98/mth + frequent downtime, we all deserve BETTER! Dont u think so??..

Social Networking - the boon and bane

By Bjorn Engelhardt, Vice President, Symantec Hosted Services, Asia Pacific & Japan


Social networking is no longer just a term in the urban dictionary but a way of life. Sites like Facebook and Twitter connect millions of users around the globe, breaking down traditional geographical barriers with the aid of the Internet. Organizations too have come to realize the value of social media with many companies jumping on the social media wagon. It is not uncommon to find companies running their own corporate blogs, Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. This phenomenon can be attributed to the number of followers that social media sites attract.

As of February 2010, Facebook had 400 million users with 70% of users based outside of the US. Asia alone has an estimated 59.6 million users making up about 15% of the global Facebook population. Social networking site Twitter has approximately 240 million users worldwide with an estimated 18.6 million users from Asia.


Countries like Malaysia have an estimated 5 million Facebook users with a majority of users falling between the 18 to 24 year age group . Malaysia also boasts the sixth largest Twitter population in Asia with an approximate 1.1 million users far surpassing countries like China, South Korea and Thailand .

Not the Real McCoy

Through social media, businesses now have increased capabilities to interact with customers, vendors, stakeholders and supporters – the sites act as a platform to allow companies to discuss business issues and even introduce new products – making them invaluable branding and marketing communications tools. However, despite the benefits that social media offer businesses, there is a downside – the increased risk of having a company’s IT system infiltrated by web-based viruses and spyware.

When a user accesses a compromised social media website hosting a seemingly harmless link or video, spyware hosted on site can be activated to lure users to fake websites that trick them into divulging personal details and passwords. There are social media threats aplenty but one of the best-known social-networking viruses is Koobface.

• In 2009, the virus attacked a number of social media sites including MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Koobface sent messages to contacts of an infected account, tricking users into downloading a Trojan from a malicious website. Facebook has also seen other targeted attacks including phishing attacks. Hackers have used the social networking site’s internal messaging system to trick users into giving up their credentials on a fake Facebook log-in screen.
• 2010 saw the ‘Kneber botnet’ gathering login credentials of email systems and social networking sites. Shortened URLs are also a common ploy used by cybercriminals especially in social networks like Twitter. Users can’t preview the actual page of a link within a tweet and tend to trust that the link is legitimate. These shortened URLs usually lead to malicious website that launches malware attacks compromising users’ accounts.

Cybercriminals are not partial when choosing their victims but high profile individuals are a popular target:

• In June 2010, UK Minister of Parliament Therese Coffey, a member of the conservative party had her Twitter, Facebook and personal blog hacked into. The hacker then proceeded to pose as the politician and posted several sexually explicit messages on those sites.
• One of Facebook’s board members, Jim Breyer also became prey to an attack when his Facebook account was hacked in May 2010. His account was used to send a spam message to more than 2,300 friends in his network.

Find out more about how to handle social media security risks

My Views - MCA CEC, Subsidies & Economic Liberalisation

The Chinese Economic Congress which was held on da 14/8/10 by MCA has caused stir among our society - politically n economically. After gone thru CSL full text on da speech it come to my thought tht is ths some kind of orchestrated political event or just merely an innocous remark by da chinese leaders?

Days aft da congress several NGOs including DPMM n Perkasa stood up n raised their dissatisfactory n called for da PM to reject d 13 resolutions proposed.

In my point of view merely less than minority bumis benefited frm da previous Msia Plan n NEP, therefore lots of issues need 2b rectify before doin any justifications if govt seriously wana realize da high income nation by 2020. If our PM gona consider accepting da resolution than i reckon majority bumis wil struggle to catch up. Apparently, a huge economical gap occured among our society - da rich bcme richer n vise versa, so what's d implications if da country's economy monopolize entirely by non-bumis?

On da contrary, I assume our PM was 'testing da water' by asking da chinese community to play a leading role in helping the country to become a high-income economy.. Well then da bumis shud treat it as a wake up call so as not to treat ths priviliges for granted. Instead of responding 2d so called 'ungrateful' n provocative statmnt by CSL, bumis shud realize our country wil goin thru tough times ahead.

1. Skilled Work Force
Skilful n knowledgeable work force is vry significant to lift a country's economic status. I'm not gona compare Msia wit Singapore whereby its main eco-factor is human resource, but if we can emulate some elements frm our neighbour then are we suppose to focus on developing n nurture our own people? Increasing salary wages, allowances or whatsoever..

2. Subsidies
Subsidies is a form of financial asst paid to a business or sector n it's represents govnt policies tht benefit particular sectors of our economy. Unfortunately Msia can't afford ths in da long run due to high fiscal deficit. In July, da govt announced tht subsidies for sugar, petrol, liquified petroleum gas n diesel will b cut as part of the gradual subsidy rationalisation programme. My question is does govnt realized tht ths move wil trigger price-rise in almost every households items? We must look into boon n bane, pros n cons, as well as long term implications...yes?!

What CSL quoted in his speech tht liberalising telcos sector is one good option. TM has been monopolizing da streamyx market for years. Govnt shud consider allowing more players so tht when ther's competitions, efficiencies wil improve! The objective to increase broadband penetrations n super-speed bandwidth initiatives will b fruitful when consumer can enjoy cheaper price!

Full text speech by MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek at MCA's Chinese Economic Congress

Govt must consider liberalising M’sia’s oil, gas sector: Dr Chua


By NG SI HOOI and TEH ENG HOCK


Full text of the welcome speech by MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek at MCA's Chinese Economic Congress is below


KUALA LUMPUR: The Government should consider liberalising the Malaysia’s oil and gas sector for the country to achieve accelerated growth, said MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek on Saturday.


He said the Government should also allow more of non-Bumiputra investors to be joint-venture partners, contractors and sub-contractors in areas such as exploration, platform constructions, logistics, deep-sea operations and others.


“Our oil and gas sector has reached a stage in which we are already an established player in the global stage. Yet the opportunities for the SMEs are still small compared to other countries including non-oil producing nations like Singapore.


“Therefore, given the maturity of the sector, the opening up of the sector will boost the country’s GDP by many folds,” he said at MCA’s Chinese Economic Congress at the Prince Hotel here on Saturday.


He said the telecommunication sector also needed to be fully liberalised as increased competition benefitted operators and consumers.


Dr Chua encouraged more GLCs to open their Board of Directors to include more non-Bumiputras as well as international expertise.


“It is important that GLCs open up their procurement system to include competitive SMEs based on the quality of service and products offered. Rather than based on race or equity requirement,” he said.


Dr Chua also called for greater transparency in the tendering process as closed tender systems had always been associated with corruption and kickbacks.


“We hope all public procurement is open to all local SMEs and they are provided with equal access and opportunities,” he said.


He said the party also called for the execution of a minimum wage policy on a sectoral and regional basis to accelerate the process of reducing the reliance on foreign labour.


WELCOMING SPEECH BY YANG BERHORMAT DATUK SERI DR CHUA SOI LEK IN CONJUNCTION WITH MCA’S CHINESE ECONOMIC CONGRESS


14 AUGUST 2010


Yang Amat Berhormat Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Haji Abdul Razak The Right Honourable Prime Minister of Malaysia; Distinguished Guests, Distinguished Speakers, Ladies and Gentlemen; and a very good morning to all of you. Welcome to the “Chinese Economic Congress” with the theme “Role of the Chinese community in achieving the NEM and 10th Malaysia Plan targets”.


We are honoured that YAB Dato’ Sri Najib is with us today to officiate this event. His presence here says a lot about the importance of the matters that will be discussed in this economic congress.


The NEM and the 10 Malaysian Plan are two of the 4 pillars of national transformation that will enable Malaysia to achieve the goals of Vision 2020, that is, to be a high-income economy and developed nation by 2020.


The other pillars are the 1Malaysia concept and the Government Transformation Programme.


Much thought and effort has gone into crafting the NEM and 10MP, and, of course, far more work needs to be done for the actual implementation.


Let us bear in mind that these are national plans, and not just the Government’s plans. This means the nation as a whole has to come together and pull in the same direction in order for the NEM and the 10MP to succeed.


Our immediate priority is to jointly grow the economic pie, instead of noisily debating over which slice we deserve. Make no mistake, failure is not an option.


Sir, you had, when the launching of the NEM, clearly stated that the nation was in need of a dramatic transformation in order for all Malaysians to achieve the next level of growth driven by innovation and competitiveness.


And, I would like to congratulate the Prime Minister on his vision and far sightedness in wanting to make a better future for all Malaysians for generations to come. We are here to ensure that the transformation is successful and the targets for both the NEM and the 10th Malaysia Plan are met.


The end result will be beneficial to the rakyat in general and, in the process, further improve the rakyat’s confidence in the Government.


Ladies and Gentlemen,


1. Liberalisation of the economy


For a country to achieve accelerated growth, one needs to liberalise the economy. One of the better examples of sectors is the liberalisation of the oil and gas sector which encompasses areas as such shipping, distribution of gas, petrochemicals, education and vocational/technical training, and so on.


Our oil and gas sector has reached a stage in which we are already an established player in the global stage.


Yet the opportunities for the SMEs are still small compared to other countries including non-oil producing nations like Singapore.


Therefore, given the maturity of the sector, the opening up of the sector will boost the country’s GDP by many folds.


As such, sir, I sincerely urge you to consider liberalising the Malaysia’s oil and gas sector, and allow many more of our non-Bumiputera investors to be joint-venture partners, contractors and sub-contractors in areas such as exploration, platform constructions, logistics, deep-sea operations and others.


Another area that needs to be liberalised is also the telecommunications sector. The incumbent players have been operating for a few decades now.


With the full opening of the sector, increased in competition actually augurs well for both the operators and the consumers. With protectionism, rates of telecommunication services offered are high.


Thus the country’s broadband usage is less than desired. We are hardly touching the 40% penetration rate as compared to the higher levels achieved by other countries.


Full liberalisation of the market will see competition bringing down telecommunication services’ rates. This will provide a better business environment for foreign companies especially the MNCs to set up their businesses here.


2. The Role of the GLCs in the NEM


The GLCs make up nearly 40% of the value of the Bursa and there is no denying that they dominate the private sector in the economy in terms of their assets and capitalisation.


GLCs have been instrumental in helping the Bumiputera Business Community to flourish – to give them a head start to form a core cluster of Bumi entrepreneurs to which it is to spin off, mentor and nurture others to be equally competitive and to be confident in the global stage.


But at the same time, it must be recognised that Malaysia is just a small market with 26 million people.


As such, GLCs must take the bold step to venture regionally and/or globally like CIMB bank. CIMB has expanded its financial wings to Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and is doing very well in South East Asia.


However, to be regionally and globally competitive, we need to make sure that the best talent remains within our shores.


I encourage more GLCs to open up their Board of Directors to include more non-Bumiputeras as well as international expertise.


It is important also that GLCs open up their procurement system to include competitive SMEs based the quality of their service and products that they offer. Rather than based on race or, equity requirement.


3. Open Tender System


Likewise, we call for greater transparency in our tendering process. Closed tender systems have always been associated with corruption and kickbacks. Quality of projects would also be compromised.


This does not go down well with the good governance that the government is trying to project. Vying for projects under an open tender system will not only remove accusations and talk of corrupt administration but also lower the cost of projects.


We hold the opinion that all the public procurement should be open to all local SMEs and provided with equal access and opportunities.


Under the 9th Malaysia Plan, over RM1bil was allocated for SME development alone. Bank Negara estimated the number of SMEs in the country at about 600,000.


The importance of the SMEs is recognised by the government. The NEAC report stated that SMEs currently make up 35% of Malaysia’s GDP and 20% of its exports.


If the future procurements were to be opened to the SMEs, the SMEs would account for much more than the current 35% of the GDP. If the value of the SMEs were to double, they will account for over 50% of the country’s GDP.


Following upon your decision to relax the 30% Bumiputera equity requirement for IPOs as well as the liberalisation of the 27 services sub-sectors, I urge you, sir in similarly consider to be flexible in implementing the 30% Bumiputera equity in other sectors.


Rather than enforcing the 30% bumi equity requirement across the board, a more flexible system in the form of a Margin of Preference system should be implemented on a sector-by-sector basis.


In the days of traditional economic structure, when capital and land were the major economic input, we could insist upon a certain percentage of equity distribution and still be fairly successful.


But we are now in the age of a knowledge economy, where brain power in the forms of innovation and creativity, is the major (if not sole) requirement. If a talented investor, weather local or foreign, wants to start a new venture to design and manufacture a product based on his innovation for the new IT generation consumers in Malaysia, we cannot insist that he shares 30% of his creativity with us.


He is talented and can go to any other part of the world to pursue his dreams. Instead we should offer him all the assistance he needs so that he can come to Malaysia, create high-paying jobs and help propel us to being a high-income economy.


Ladies and Gentlemen,


4. Merit –Based and Needs – based System


Fundamentally, the Malaysian Chinese have been and still are very understanding and loyal citizens. Globalisation has presented Malaysians many opportunities but it has also forced us to continue to be a competitive nation. Malaysians cannot remain globally competitive unless we go a merit-based system.


On the other hand, we must inculcate a caring society in which, the poor must be looked after. The NEM has pointed out that the bottom 40% of households earn less than RM1,500 per month. Thus, it is clear that preferential treatment must be given according to need rather than race.


5. Retaining and Attracting Talent


Ladies and Gentlemen, To achieve high income nation status, the NEM sets out a couple of primary thrusts and enablers to move the economy up the value chain and also to address the persistent socio-economic inequalities.


Amongst the enablers is to develop a quality workforce and reducing dependency on foreign labour. In order to retain our talent pool in the country, we must recognise their contribution to the nation – to make sure that they are rewarded according to their merit.


Therefore, at this juncture, I would like to applaud Y.A.B. Dato Sri’s recent decision to offer scholarships to all students, regardless of race who scored 9A+ in their SPM examinations. This is truly in the 1Malaysia spirit.


This shows the Government’s efforts to develop human capital. Don’t forget high achievers are, in fact, hidden talent and asset to a nation.


Elevating and improving the level of education in the country also means paying more attention to vernacular schools.


Approximately 20% of Malaysia’s total trade over the last couple of years was with countries that adopt Mandarin as its main language.


Total trade in the primary countries that use Mandarin as their mother tongue has been estimated at over US$2.5 trillion per annum.


Malaysia’s trade with these countries, in turn, accounts for only 2% of their total trade. This goes to show that the importance of this potential to date has been way underestimated.


Given our multi lingual and multi cultural society, we believe Malaysia has yet to tap into the full potential of these trading nations.


The great strategist Sun Tzu has been frequently quoted on this where he said that whoever is first in the battle field and awaits the coming of the “competitors” will be fresh for the fight.


Whoever trails behind in the field will arrive exhausted, having to hasten to battle.


Thus, with more schools, we would be able to produce more students from these vernacular schools. Only then will we be able to generate a workforce conversant in Mandarin in order to be able to seize the opportunities offered in the global markets.


Not only are additional schools required to cater for future demand and population growth but, more importantly, to ease the current overcrowding problem which we have been combating exhaustively over the last few years.


To add to the problem, the number of students in the Chinese schools is expected to increase by an additional 65,000 over the next five years.


Ladies and Gentlemen,


6. Rationalisation of Subsidy, Minimum Wage and Skilled Workers


In Malaysia, only 23% of workers (11 million) are skilled workers, including those with higher education degree. We are one of the countries with the least qualified workers in the region. Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan have about 40% skilled workers. Lack of skill and qualified workers in Malaysia is impending economic progress and do not attract FDI.


Malaysia is addicted to cheap foreign workers. Study by the Human Resources Ministry show that 34% of 1.3 million works earn less than RM700 per month, below poverty line of RM720 per month.


What is worrying is that the World Bank Study on wage trend in Malaysia recorded only an annual 2.6% growth in the last 10 years. The influx of foreign workers depresses the wage increase of local workers.


To accelerate the process of reducing the reliance on foreign labour, MCA here calls for the execution of a minimum wage policy on a sectoral and regional basis. Over 90% of the countries in the world already have legislation in place on minimum wage but Malaysia is still lagging behind.


The setting up of a minimal wage system is in line with MCA’s calls for rationalisation of subsidy. Subsidy cut is a must to prevent distortion in the allocation of the country. Implementation of subsidy reduction schemes cannot stand alone as it needs to be complemented with a minimal wage system to offset negative impact of the reduction in subsidy.


The activation of the Minimum Wage Council now is, therefore, looking more and more appropriate as the current situation we are in, seems to be calling for one.


At this point, our businesses can no longer win market share by trying to be the cheapest producers of goods or providers of services. In a globalised world, such an edge is only fleeting.


Lasting competitive advantage today has to come from productivity-led growth and innovation. The 10MP includes Government measures to create an environment in which the creativity, energy and initiative of private enterprises can be nurtured and harnessed.


On that note, I believe the Chinese Economic Congress held today is most timely. We need to ensure we know each and everyone’s role, to be able to tap into each others forte to ensure that the NEM and 10th Malaysia Plan are executed efficiently to achieve the targets already set out.


There is no denying the road ahead will undoubtedly be tough indeed but I have full confidence that under your leadership at the end of the day, we will see bright light at the end of the tunnel.


I acknowledge that the business community has certain expectations of what the Government should and should not do. In the overall scheme of things, 10 years is a mere blink of an eye. But for Malaysia, the next decade may well prove to be a crucial phase in our nation’s history.


As we can see from the audience patronising this Economic Congress, the Chinese community is well represented here with a significant number of Chinese organisations coming out in full force to ascertain its role in ensuring that targets are met as per the theme of today’s Economic Congress.


Yang Amat Berhormat Dato’ Sri, Ladies and Gentlemen,


Before I end, I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you and congratulate the organising committee and those involved for the hard work in organising this event successfully.


Also, permit me to end with a couple of ancient sayings by Confucius for you audience to ponder. We should “better be a diamond with flaws rather than a pebble without”. Also, “only the wisest and stupidest of men never change” and for one “to know what is right and not to do it, is the worst type of cowardice”.


So we intend to change for the better and to do what is right. We can start off with this Congress where we can brainstorm, learn our roles and how we can help in ensuring the target of becoming a high income advanced nation can be met.


Once again, thank you.

FriNge - my no.1 TV series 2010

2-mths ago i was told by a good friend of mine.. "Hey u shud watch ths Fringe tv series..vry cool! I rate 10/10". I myslf already a fan for range of criminal and sci-fi actions series like X-Files, 24, CSi, Heroes, etc etc..but "Fringe" is a another hybrid of these tv series, combining paranormal activities, pseudo sci-fi & thriling criminal investigations.


Walter Bishop (John Noble) d infamous scientist - chairman of d biochem @ harvard uni is my favourite cast. When he discovered another universe existed - a parallel world they called 'alternate world', he manged to designed a door that eventually created a strings of paranormal incidents tht forced Homeland Security to setup a Fringe Division - lead by FBI agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) n Philip Broyles (Lance Reddick).


The reason Walter tempered da physics methodology to cross over is to bring back his ill-fated son, Peter (Joshua Jackson) frm the other side to cure him but his wife Elizabeth refused to let Walter send him back b'coz she doesn't wana lose Peter again after he supposedly died when Peter was 7. This had triggered Walter frm d other side to established da same Fringe Div & with da help frm William Bell (founder of MD) 'Walter-nate' redefined da masterpiece tht require Peter to destroy da current world.


In d end of season 2, Olivia-nate was instructd by Walter-nate to infiltrate d current world & what gona happen next?.... Man I seriously can't wait...