Two PKR Leaders on KPSB Board

June 17, 2010 Two PKR Leaders on Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor Bhd Board Two PKR leaders have been appointed to the board of directors of the Selangor government-linked company Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor Bhd (KPSB). In a statement to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, the company announced that party vice-president R Sivarasa and Negri Sembilan chief Kamarul Baharin Abbas [...]

New Suhakam Chairman: Hasmy Agam

June 17, 2010 www.malaysiakini.com Hasmy Agam is the new Suhakam Chairman by Joseph Sipalan & Gavaskar Brian Raj The new line-up of Suhakam commissioners may be enough to do the job, said new chairman Hasmy Agam. He said while it is a big drop in numbers from 16 to the current seven, all the commissioners [...]

Despair over US-Israeli Connection

June 16, 2010 Despair over US-Israeli Connection By W. Scott Thompson* BACK in the Cold War days, I asked the famous American strategist Paul Nitze what the value of the Israeli connection was. He had the reputation, long after it had become politically incorrect, of being a bit anti-Semitic; most of his generation was, in [...]

Dr. KS Jomo on the Malaysian Economy

June 16, 2010 Dr.KS Jomo on the Malaysian Economy (in Bahasa Malaysia)

Research Houses are positive on new Group CEO for Sime Darby

June 15, 2010 Sime Darby : Great Challenges ahead for new Group Chief Executive Officer Research houses OSK Research and Kenanga Research are positive over the appointment of Mohd Bakke Salleh as Sime Darby Bhd’s designated president and chief executive officer (CEO) as it has removed one of the many elements of uncertainty. In its [...]

Melayu Bangkit: A Dump Squib

June 15, 2010 Melayu Bangkit turned out to be a damp squib by Terence Netto (www.malaysiakini.com) By most counts the ‘Melayu Bangkit’ gathering in Kuala Terengganu yesterday turned out to be a damp squib. The rest of the country had eyed its approach with wariness, ever since the event was ballyhooed by its boosters as [...]

New Man at the helm of Sime Darby

June 15, 2010 The New Group Chief Executive and President for Sime: Bakke Salleh by Lee Wei Lian (www.themalaysianinsider.com, June 14, 2010) Datuk Mohd Bakke Salleh was named the new Sime Darby Bhd group chief executive and president today, one of the most coveted yet poisonous positions in corporate Malaysia. The last two chiefs of [...]

The Remaking of “Made in China”

June 15, 2010 The Remaking of “Made in China” by International Affairs Professor Ang Yuen Yuen (at Columbia University, New York) “IT’s a dying business,” said the owner of a garment factory I met in Zhuhai, a city in Guangdong province. Like many in his line of business, he is packing up. Lured by abundant [...]

UN Economist, Dr Jomo KS on 10MP and Bumi Equity Ownership

June 14, 2010 30% Bumi Equity Ownership Target under 10MP is not achievable, says UN Economist, Dr. Jomo Kwame Sundaram by Christine Chan (www.malaysiakini.com) The 30 percent bumiputera equity ownership target under the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP) is not achievable because there is no incentive for bumiputeras to hang on to their shares, said prominent [...]

Sakmongkol AK47 on 10MP

June 14, 2010 One Fingering 10MP: SakmongkolAK47 Who prepared the 10th Malaysia Plan? It sounds so APCOish- another PR exercise meant to boost the PM’s popularity. We must be living in the dark ages- easily suckered by the myth-making machinery. Or it must be written by some people who get some kick out of rhymed [...]

10MP fails to impress some Economists

June 13, 2010 Note: I received the following comments via e-mail from my good friend, Professor Rajah Rasiah, Dean, Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya in connection with Stephanie Sta Maria’s piece (below): “I think my presentation wasn’t reported correctly by the reporter of Free Malaysia Today. I never spoke to her. Let [...]

Professors as Intellectuals

June 13, 2010 Professors as Intellectuals by Dr Ahmad Murad Merican (June 11, 2010) DURING one of my encounters with the late Professor Syed Hussein Alatas, he bemoaned the absence of a functioning intellectual community in Malaysia. By that he meant a group of intellectuals exerting influence on the policies and affairs of the nation. [...]

Titles do not matter

June 12, 2010 Just call me Encik, thank you very much by Neil Khor (www.malaysiakini.com) Whilst we cannot ever hope to understand why Chua Jui Meng was stripped of his Johor titles, one lesson has emerged from Chua’s experience. It is better not to accept any titles and honorifics except the ones that cannot be [...]

Najib’s 10MP: Transformational and Holistic?

June 12, 2010 Najib’s 10MP: Transformational and Holistic? www.nst.com.my Working towards a holistic change Excerpts from the 10th Malaysia Plan speech by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday (June 10). OUR journey towards Vision 2020 is full of challenges and uncertainties at the global level. The global economic landscape today [...]

Jazz Bossa Nova

Friends, It has been some time since we featured jazz on this blog.  Dr.Kamsiah who is aficionado of Latin American music and I agreed that we should feature jazz in Bossa Nova beat this week. The Bossa Nova musical style evolved from samba but is more complex harmonically and less percussive. Additionally, it emerged primarily [...]

Two Party System?

June 11, 2010 The Fallacy of a Two Party System in Malaysia by Ti Lian Ker* (http://tilianker.blogspot.com/) Of late many political amateurs start talking loudly of establishing the two party system in Malaysian political sphere. Anwar Ibrahim had successfully lull Malaysians, especially the younger crowd into believing that our local politics have matured into a [...]

Malaysia’s rm230 billion under 10MP

June 11, 2010 Malaysia’s 10 MP Transformation Plan will cost rm230 billion Malaysia today unveiled a RM230 billion plan intended to spur growth and attract much-needed foreign investment as it faces increasing competition from regional neighbours. The country is aiming to become a high-income economy by 2020 rather than continuing to rely on its low-cost [...]