Coming soon: June 1, 2015 - 8,000 @ MAS to lose their jobs and CEO Christoph Mueller on fate of 20,000 employees @ SAYS.com

“It is my duty to tell you today that the medicine is bitter and that the fitness programme which is required to bring us back into shape will cause a lot of sweat and sometimes tears. But it will be rewarding in the end.” Christoph Mueller - MAS CEO.

@ SAYS.com
8,000 MAS Employees To Lose Their Jobs In The Biggest Staff Layoff Malaysia Has Ever Seen
http://says.com/my/news/more-than-8-000-people-will-be-losing-their-jobs-in-upcoming-mas-lay-off


@ SAYS.com
What MAS CEO Christoph Mueller Has To Say About The Fate Of 20,000 Employees
http://says.com/my/news/mas-ceo-christoph-mueller-on-the-fate-of-20-000-mas-employees

Malaysia's debts might BOOM. Penang sees boom

Malaysia’s debts a potential time bomb, say economists

By Lee Wei Lian

July 18, 2012

Penang sees boom after Thailand and Japan disasters

By Clara Chooi

July 19, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 — Recent natural disasters in Malaysia’s regional neighbours have perpetuated an industrial boom in Penang as global manufacturers flee to the Pearl of the Orient to park their businesses in a bid to spread risk, the Asian Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported today.

The international paper wrote that global tech firms, eyeing Penang not only for its strong logistics infrastructure but also its geographic location outside the the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, now find the island an attractive alternative investment destination.

File photo of the Komtar Tower, a Penang landmark, is seen in the background as ferries park at a jetty in Penang. Multinational firms are now looking to invest more in Penang. — Reuters pic

This investment climb, it said, has helped Penang rediscover its industrial dynamism from the 1970s and placed the Pakatan Rakyat-ruled (PR) state onto the global investment map.

 “Longer term, many multinational companies are preparing better for natural disasters and supply-chain disruptions, and they now see Penang and Malaysia as an attractive location,” the paper quoted Globetronics Technology Bhd managing director Heng Huck Lee as saying.

The article noted that the only possible risk to investing in Penang was the prospect of political turbulence as the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) is facing stiffer competition from PR in the coming polls.

This, it added, ultimately meant that PR-ruled states like Penang could face policy conflicts with the federal capital.

“But those tensions are relatively minor compared with those of some of Malaysia’s neighbours,” WSJ wrote, pointing to Malaysia’s geographic location.

“The country sits safely away from the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, mostly unaffected by the earthquakes and volcanoes that can afflict countries such as Japan and Indonesia.

“Malaysia also is less likely to fall victim to the kind of flooding that left Thailand’s economy flailing last year,” it said.

WSJ reported that the earthquake in Japan and floods in Thailand last year had left companies in both nations flailing.

The hardware industry was hit especially hard from Thailand’s flooding, it said, even forcing renowned electronics firms like disk-drive maker Western Digital and electronics companies Sony Corp, SNE and Toshiba Corp to temporary shut down their plants.

At one point, global prices for disk drives even doubled, WSJ reported, before Western Digital and other manufacturers began bumping up their productions in Malaysia.

“Now the California company is expanding across Malaysia in a five-year, US$1.2 billion (RM3.8 billion) effort to whittle down its dependence on Thailand.

“A new Malaysian plant is expected to open this year,” the paper wrote.

Others, including chip-maker Intel Corp, audio firm Bose Corp and electronics-equipment makers National Instruments Corp and Agilent Technologies, have also begun expanding their operations here.

With investments pouring in, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is banking on another “bumper year” in 2012 after having pushed for the construction of more industrial parks to accommodate the investment boost.

“We had fallen off the radar screen, so we went back to the drawing board. It just takes a little time to shake off the rust,” Lim was quoted as saying.

Gap between rich and poor: Can ETP reduce GAP?

Gap between rich and poor

The second to last paragraph of the article says:
The Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) of the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) has focused on major development and investment projects. It is now the time for them to work towards the elimination of poverty to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor.

Idris Jala once said his own village in Sarawak did not have electricity. By now, the ETP should have brought electricity to his own village. If not, the ETP has failed miserably.

2012 GDP growth: StanChart 2.7% vs Gov 5% - 6%

StanChart sees 2.7% GDP growth for M'sia in 2012

Posted on 17 January 2012 - 05:38am

IZWAN IDRIS
sunbiz@thesundaily.com

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 17, 2012): Malaysia's economy is expected to hit a trough this quarter, before growth accelerates as the year progresses, boosted by a pick-up in domestic activity, analysts at Standard Chartered Research said.

They expect the still-robust demand for commodities, led by palm oil, rubber and liquefied natural gas (LNG), to cushion the impact of weaker export numbers from the manufacturing sector.

Standard Chartered predicts the country's gross domestic product (GDP) will expand at a "sub-par" rate of 2.7% in 2012, which is about half the pace of the government's official forecast of between 5% and 6% this year.

The economy grew 4.8% last year.

The government's growth target for 2012 is "too aggressive" given the poor global economic outlook this year, said the bank's Southeast Asia head of research Tai Hui.

"Malaysia, being an open economy, is susceptible to the fallout in the West,'' he said in a briefing yesterday.

Standard Chartered also sees the possibility of a 50-basis point (bps) rate cut by Bank Negara Malaysia in the first half of 2012, starting with a 25bps cut in March. "The focus will be growth over inflation,'' Tai said.

While growth will not collapse like it did in 2008 and 2009, a further deterioration of the European debt mess will prompt central banks across Asia to be more dovish and growth-oriented in the first quarter of 2012.

"Asia has not decoupled from the West, but is better insulated and more diversified,'' the bank's chief economist Gerard Lyons said.

He also sees the trend of inflows from the West into Asia continuing, as global investors continue to seek higher yields outside their home markets.

With the West still deep in crisis, gold is poised to become a winner again this year.

The bank's global head of commodities research Hsi Han Pin said gold price is expected to rebound toward US$2,000 an ounce from its recent pullback to US$1,600.

Hsi also has a relatively benign view on crude palm oil (CPO), which he expects to average RM3,450 a tonne in 2012, up from RM3,216 in 2011.

This is higher than local analysts' prediction of an average RM3,000 a tonne.

Royal Kate's fashion sense boosts UK's economy!

We all know that Duchess of Cambridge is a trend-setter. But the fact that Kate has pumped a whopping £1 billion into the UK economy, is a feat unto itself. Retail experts have reportedly calculated women to be spending an average of £250 on Kate's dress lookalikes.

We always knew the Duchess of Cambridge was a trend-setter but to an extent that she pumps a whopping £1 billion into the UK economy! Retail experts have reportedly calculated women to be spending an average of £250 on Kate's dress lookalikes. The Duchess has not only increased the sales of dresses but even shoes, jewellery and other fashion accessories, reports The Sun.

Right from her nude heels and  her fancy headgears to her conservative hairstyle and even the sapphire ring, the Duchess' style is definitely a rage. In fact, even the sales of chocolate brown hair dye has gone up by 12 percent! Ever since her wedding to Prince William, there has been a tremendous demand for her dressing styles.

Lisa Bond, marketing director at fashion chain Peacocks told the Sun: "The appeal of our new princess is turning the nation into Kate watchers."

Consumer analyst Alexandra Richmond added saying, Kate's look has something to appeal to everyone.

The report does not come as a surprise, considering most of Kate's dresses get sold out hours within her being spotted in it.

(Source)

Malaysia masih boleh bankrap. BN=Bankrap Negara

Malaysia could still face bankruptcy, Idris Jala warns

UPDATED @ 11:20:49 PM 01-11-2011

By Debra Chong

November 01, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 1 — Datuk Seri Idris Jala said today that Malaysia could still become bankrupt within a decade if it spends borrowed money on operational expenditure such as subsidies instead of investing the cash.

“If our economy grows less than four per cent... and we don’t cut our operating expenditure, if we borrow at 12.5 per cent, if our annual debt rises to 12.5 per cent and our revenue does not grow, then it will happen,” Idris (picture) said today after announcing the latest investment updates for the government’s economic transformation programme (ETP).

The performance management minister triggered alarm bells with his controversial bankruptcy forecast last year.

Malaysia’s national debt rose by 12.3 per cent to over RM407 billion last year, according to the Auditor-General’s latest report released last week.

Although the economy grew by 7.2 per cent in 2010, last year’s fiscal deficit maintained public debt at over 50 per cent of GDP for the second year running.

The Auditor-General said in the report that the government owed 53.1 per cent of GDP, slightly down from 53.7 per cent last year.

Economists have also said the country’s economic growth could slow to just 3.6 per cent next year from a projected 4.3 per cent this year due to the increasing risk of a double dip global recession.

Idris said today that Malaysia will not go through a recession but will suffer an economic slowdown as a result of the ongoing financial crisis in Europe spreading.

“It’s not as rosy as we would like,” the Sarawakian minister admitted during a public question-and-answer session.

He noted that the GDP this year was only at 4.4 per cent.

But he assured Malaysians “our government will not allow that to happen”.

He also said his forecast did not mean Putrajaya should stop borrowing.

“We should borrow money provided the money is spent as investment rather than as operating expenditure,” he said.

“We must make sure our borrowing is in proportion to investment,” he added.

Subsidies are among the government’s biggest operating expenses.

The CEO of the government’s Peformance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) said bankruptcy could be avoided even if the GDP falls below the targeted six per cent a year as long as it can increase its revenue collection.

Idris said that the country’s population has grown to 28 million but highlighted that only one per cent was currently paying income tax.

He said one of the ways to raise revenue was to implement the goods and services tax (GST).

He added that the GST would also help make the country globally competitive, noting that 140 other nations have already done so.

“If we do that, it propels competition. Sooner or later, we’ve got to implement GST,” he said.

He said the government has proposed the consumption tax but was unable to carry it out due to objections from the opposition Pakatan Rakyat pact.

1Malaysia: From high-income economy to charity?!

Read:

The economics of 1Malaysia Menu

Now let's wait for PM's answer to the question posed by Teo Nie Ching in Parliament as posted in her blog:

5.  Puan Teo Nie Ching [Serdang] minta PERDANA MENTERI menyatakan syarat-syarat perjanjian dengan Kumpulan Mydin yang menggunakan logo 1Malaysia untuk membuka kedai runcit khasnya adakah kumpulan ini mendapat bantuan kewangan atau subsidi membolehkannya menjual barang dengan lebih murah dan memudaratkan perniagaan-perniagaan lain. [25/10/2011]

Malaysia dijangka capai hutang 1 trilion tahun 2020

Should the federal government’s debt grow at a rate of RM50 billion annually, it could reach RM1 trillion in 2020, said independent think-tank Research for Social Advancement (Refsa).

Refsa explored this mind-boggling scenario was explored in its focus paper on Budget 2012, which warned that Vision 2020 could “crumble into broken dreams” unless the government exercises financial prudence.

Refsa points out that the current deficit stands at RM437 billion, which  is more than double the RM217 billion budget deficit reported in 2004.

“Put another way, the government has added on more debt in the six-and-a-half years since 2004 than in the 47 years following Merdeka. Between 2007 and 2011, the deficit has been growing at about RM34 billion annually on average but assuming this increases to RM50 billion in additional debts annually, Malaysia can expect its total debt to double again by 2020 to RM1 trillion. That is 1 with 12 zeros behind it - RM1,000,000,000,000.” reads the paper.

Refsa said, “Assuming an interest rate of five percent, interest charges alone would be RM50 billion per year. That is about the cost of the MRT project. We haven’t even started thinking about repaying that debt yet.”

MIER, banks 'contradict' PM's economic prediction!

MIER trims GDP estimates as global economic slump bites

By Lee Wei Lian

October 13, 2011

MIER said Najib’s Budget 2012 will not be able to make up for a slump in external demand. — File pic

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 — The Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) cut to 4.6 per cent, from 5.2 per cent, its projection for the country’s economic growth this year, citing a sliding global economy that it said could hurt exports.

The government-funded MIER also downgraded its estimates for 2012 to 5.5 per cent, which is within the Najib administration’s projected growth range of between five and six per cent.

Some market and bank analysts have described next year’s projections as too rosy, with RHB Research Institute saying this week that Malaysia’s economic growth could slow to just 3.6 per cent next year, from a projected 4.3 per cent, this year due to the increasing risk of a double dip global recession.

MIER executive director Zakariah Abdul Rashid said today that while the 2012 Budget unveiled last Friday will help boost private consumption, it will not be able to offset a slump in external demand.

“The 2012 Budget is insufficient to overcome external weakness,” he said in a briefing today.

Zakariah said that MIER’s tentative forecast for next year was five per cent, pending the collection of more data at the upcoming National Economic Outlook Conference meeting next month.

“We will not be able to say confidently it is five per cent,” he added.

Most research houses have estimated growth at less than five per cent for next year, with Bank of America Global Research predicting Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) to grow at 4.2 per cent in 2012.

Maybank Investment Bank said it expected Malaysia’s GDP to expand at between 3.5 and four per cent, and CIMB Investment Bank forecast a GDP growth of 3.8 per cent next year.

MIER’s Business Conditions Index, which tracks domestic manufacturing, dropped by 9.6 points to 104.5 in the third quarter from the second quarter.

The CEO Confidence Index, meanwhile, also fell from 111.9 to and 93.3 points.

The Consumer Sentiment Index rose slightly, however, to 108.7 points but remained below the 115.8 point level seen during the same period last year.

In his Budget 2012 proposals, Datuk Seri Najib Razak promised cash handouts, more money for civil servants, schools and a fund for “high-impact development” projects as part of measures to put money in the pockets of the majority of Malaysians who live in the lower income group.

The government will offer a one-off RM500 cash handout to households with a monthly income of less than RM3,000, a RM100 cash aid and RM200 book vouchers for students from the Budget, which is forecast to only have a 4.7 per cent fiscal deficit, down from the projected 5.4 per cent this year.

Authorities will trim development spending and maintain subsidies to keep prices down, while banking on low borrowing costs and a healthy job market to keep economic growth on an even keel next year.
The 2012 Budget funds for subsidies is expected to total RM33.2 billion.

Chinese ghost cities: Video, pix, Google map links!

China's Ghost Cities by Adrian Brown of SBS Dateline

Vast new cities of apartments and shops are being built across China at a rate of ten a year, but they remain almost completely uninhabited ghost towns.

It’s all part of the government’s efforts to keep the economy booming, and there are many people who would love to move in, but it’s simply too expensive for most.

Video journalist Adrian Brown wanders through malls of vacant shops, and roads lined with empty apartment buildings… 64 million apartments are said to be empty across the country and one of the few shop owners says he once didn’t sell anything for four or five days.

So are the efforts to boost the economy going to end up having the opposite effect and creating a financial crisis for China?

WATCH - Click to see his report.

PHOTO GALLERY - Some satellite and street-level images from the Chinese cities, showing the scale of the construction and the empty streets. Thanks to Gillem Tulloch at Forensic Asia for the information.

GOOGLE MAP LINKS - Follow the links to explore the ghost cities for yourself.

VIRTUAL CHINESE COMMUNITY - SBS now has an online community for Mandarin and Cantonese speakers - click to find out more about this story on its website.

Some not so sugary comments on Budget 2012. ;-)

Some incidental chats:

Last Sunday, I informed one of my friends that contributions to all places of worship were eligible for tax deductions.

Then, I said, 'So, must vote for BN, ok.'

Instantly, he replied, 'That depends.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A friend passed by.

I said to him, 'Budget 2012. Very good.'

He said emphatically, 'Too good.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday, I was standing behind a senior citizen who was paying for his parking ticket at the  vending machine.

He told me, 'This machine won't accept coins. Why ah? Is it a holiday?'

'I think Najib is giving free parking after the Budget.' he said sarcastically.

Then, I said, 'Ya loh. I think so. Election is coming mah.'

Economists uneasy over sugary Budget. Of course!

Economists uneasy over sugary Budget

By Lee Wei Lian

October 10, 2011

Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (right) shake hands after the tabling of the 2012 Budget in Parliament. — File pic

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 — Economists said today that the 2012 Budget risks committing Malaysia to the path of unsustainable spending at a time when the global economic outlook remains uncertain.

Bank of America director of global research Chua Hak Bin noted that both Malaysia’s public and household debt levels were at worrying levels, and said the government appeared to be kicking the debt can further down the road by not addressing it in the Budget.

“Will debt dynamics increase and will Malaysia face a year of reckoning?” he asked at the post-Budget dialogue organised by the Malaysian Economic Association and University of Malaya here.

Chua said there was a chance government revenues would be hit by a recession, which would make it harder to meet the commitment to trim the deficit to 4.7 per cent next year from 5.4 per cent now.

“The deficit is extremely sensitive to the state of the economy,” he pointed out.

The economist also said that despite plans by the Najib administration for the private sector to drive the economy, his analysis showed that the bulk of investment so far has been from the government, government-linked corporations (GLCs) and Petronas.

“The private sector has not kicked in [meaningfully],” he said.

Marie-Aimee Tourres, a senior research fellow at the faculty of economics and administration at the University of Malaya, said that the Budget’s “goodie strategy” was not linked to any productivity commitment.

“A lot of tax collection (projections) is based on optimistic growth, which may not have taken into account the deteriorating global situation,” she said.

Tourres said that the Budget was good in a way that it was a “socialist type budget” where “a lot is given but little is asked”, but added that the sustainability of such an approach was a concern.

“I can only worry about the end cost,” she said. “It is common that what is supposed to be a one-off (handout) becomes permanent and long term.”

She added that the allocation of RM2.1 billion by Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia according to race appeared to contradict the 1 Malaysia concept.

The 2012 Budget was supposedly formulated to address rising cost of living, with salary hikes for civil servants and cash grants to select groups, including RM500 payments to those earning below RM3,000, as well as billions in blanket subsidies.

The structural issue of distortions and inefficiencies in the economy that result in lack of competition and subsequently high prices was left largely unaddressed.

As a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), Malaysia’s household debt increased from 66.7 per cent in 2004 to 76 per cent in 2009, which is uncomfortably close to the levels seen in the US prior to the 2008 financial crisis.

It is also the second-highest level of household debt in Asia, after South Korea.

Malaysia’s public debt, meanwhile, stood at about 54 per cent of GDP in 2010.

Replace your priorities in the budget or you will soon be replaced

Replace your priorities in the budget or you will soon be replaced

By Teo Nie Ching 

Najib Razak took two hours to deliver his Budget speech in Parliament yesterday - his longest speech ever since he was appointed as the PM of Malaysia. As expected, the goodies and sweeteners made the headlines in all the mainstream media but beneath the surface, the real extent of the Government's practice of cronyism and misplaced priorities is revealed.

In the 2011 Budget tabled in October 2010, Najib announced a five-year freeze on toll rates on four highways owned by PLUS Expressways and in January this year, Najib again told us that several toll operations have been restructured following a review of transportation costs aimed at easing the people's burden.

But the truth is, the compensation paid out to toll concessionaires has increased from RM200 million in 2011 to RM343 million, amounting to an increase of 71.5%! Therefore Najib's so-called grand transformation and restructuring plan is nothing but a scam as the Government is simply passing on the financial burden of motorists to all taxpayers in Malaysia.

In Budget 2012, Najib also announced that all primary and secondary school fees will be abolished, beginning with the 2012 school term and RM1 billion will be allocated for the betterment of school premises. But what he conveniently chose not to mention in his speech was that the Federal Government’s total development expenditure for education and training has been reduced from RM12 billion (2010) to RM8.5 billion - slashed by nearly 30%. As a direct consequence, there is less allocation for building new schools.

According to the guidelines set out by the Department of Town and Country Planning, Peninsula Malaysia, in areas with a population of 7,500, a primary school should be built while a secondary school should be built in areas with a population of 15,000. In line with this ratio, we need 9 new secondary schools and 18 primary schools by the year 2015 in the areas that fall under the authority of Majlis Perbadanan Kajang.

That's not all, our country needs more special education institutions for disabled children. Currently there are 21 special education institutions for the disabled in Singapore but there are only 32 in Malaysia despite the fact that Malaysia is approximately 500 times larger than our southern neighbour.

I find it even more disturbing that the Federal Government’s total development expenditure for defence has increased from RM2.6 billion to RM3.6 billion. Malaysia does not face any immediate threats to its national security. BN should review its priorities, failing which its position as the Government of Malaysia could soon be replaced.

TEO NIE CHING is MP for Serdang

(Source: Malaysia Today)

Thanks to Teo Nie Ching for enlightening the rakyat further on the real extent of the Government's practice of cronyism and misplaced priorities.

Boleh PM jawab duit datang dari mana, pinjam dari mana?

PM: ‘Jika tak ada duit tak akan saya berani’ bawa bajet RM232b

October 08, 2011

Soothe now, suffer later. Dr M warns of long financial crisis

DAP & Dr M seem to be on the same page on the economy.

Certainly, PM is making people happy just in time before the general election. Smart move, I say.

The Prime Minister may refuse to share the date of the next general election, but judging by  his Selangor roadtrip today, one would imagine it is not too far away.

Kicking off his daytrip in Ijok this morning, PM Najib Abdul Razak went on the road to prove to Selangorians that it is time to set the Pakatan Rakyat government packing and said, pensioners whom he had sat next to during breakfast had “tears in their eyes” when they thanked him for remembering them in the Budget 2012, which Najib tabled to Parliament on Friday.
 

Hopefully, those pensioners won't cry more later and for a much longer time - thanks to Najib! ;)

One-off cash hand-outs are rightfully rakyat's money

Yesterday, I told one of my colleagues the 'good news' about the one-off cash assistance of RM500.

He said, 'In the first place, RM3000-and-below household income shouln't exist. The government should improve the economy so that the people's income will increase.'

He added, 'I think no employees in our company can qualify for this one-off payment.'

I agreed with him totally!

One-off cash hand-outs are rightfully rakyat's money that the government has wrongfully kept back from the rakyat!

Credit cards, personal loans: Banks give 'easy money'

Friday September 30, 2011

Bank Negara steps in to curb rise in credit card bills and personal loans

PETALING JAYA: Rising credit card debts and easy approval of personal loans have moved Bank Negara to introduce a fresh ruling.

Effective tomorrow, banks will implement a new payment allocation method for credit card balances to enable cardholders to better manage their mounting debts.

Banks will tabulate credit card balances by focusing on expenses hit with the highest interest rate. This will result in considerable savings in terms of interest payable.

Maybank, the country's largest bank, also wants the authorities to tighten control on the ease with which personal loans are being approved by non-bank lenders.

Its chief executive officer Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar said “over-competition” among banks was also worrying him.

Related Stories:
Helping credit cardholders to cut losses'
Rein in super-easy personal loans' 

Occasionally, I do receive calls from a certain bank that offers 'attractive' personal loans. I only have to say 'yes' and it will be approved 'on the spot'.

Frankly, being human, I'm always tempted to take up the offer each time I get a call. Why? Instant approval, that's why. Easy. In fact, it's so easy that I know a bank actually calls it 'EASY - express loan'. ;)

Bumiputera quotas set to go. Bright Bumis boleh! ;)

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said today the government is seeking to do away with the quota approach in building the capacities of the bumiputera as it does not serve the purpose.

Instead, Najib said, the 30 percent bumiputera equity quota only hampered capable bumiputera entrepreneurs from developing their abilities and added, saying, “We want to do away with quotas, but we will support (bumiputera entrepreneurs) to grow. If we give quotas, they will rest on their laurels and not gain expertise to manage their businesses.”

Answering a question from the floor at a question-and-answer session at the Khazanah Megatrends Forum 2011 in Kuala Lumpur, Najib (left) said setting a quota “does not mean anything” reason being the bumiputera entrepreneurs would sell off their shares when the prices were high and only a small percentage of the amount allocated for bumiputeras will be left in bumiputera hands.

As such, the PM said, the government will “go on a different footing” in affirmative action by finding “good, tested bumiputera who can succeed and to support them in ways so they will be more competitive” and have identified more than 1,000 companies through Teraju that the government would see how to help these companies become bigger and better, referring to the government agency set up to oversee bumiputera economic affairs.

By supporting the “bright bumiputera”, not only will it develop the talent pool in the community but also avoid resentment from their non-bumiputera counterparts, Najib said.

Warren Buffett says, "Tax me more!": The super-rich pay LOWER tax rates!

The Truth-O-Meter Says:

The "mega-rich" pay about 15 percent in taxes, while the middle class "fall into the 15 percent and 25 percent income tax brackets, and then are hit with heavy payroll taxes to boot."

Warren Buffett on Sunday, August 14th, 2011 in a "New York Times" op-ed

Warren Buffett says the super-rich pay lower tax rates than others

It's not often you see someone stand up and say, "Tax me more!"
Yet that's just what famed investor Warren Buffett has done in an op-ed in the New York Times headlined, "Stop Coddling the Super-Rich." Buffett says that very wealthy people like himself pay lower tax rates than the middle class, thanks to special tax categories for investment income.

Curb inflation: Zeti's boost food supply vs DPM's food stamp plan. How lah

Increasing food supply is one way to check inflation rate, says Zeti

Read more: Increasing food supply is one way to check inflation rate, says Zeti http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/Increasingfoodsupplyisonewaytocheckinflationrate_saysZeti/Article/index_html#ixzz1TtQNIaaX

Five days later, Muhyiddin said:

Food stamps being considered to cushion rising cost of living

Seriously, I trust a lady more than a man to run the country!