Malaysians are not ready to host big games

By ANN TAN anntan@thestar.com.my

Malaysains have to discard freebies mentality, says sports minister

Tweet

GEORGE TOWN: Malaysians are not ready for any major multi-sports event like Asian Games despite the country being the host for the Commonwealth Games in 1998.

Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said the people’s mindset and attitude have to be changed before the country decides to bid to be the host for any such games.

“Malaysians are still looking for freebies such as complimentary tickets. They are also always asking to be paid despite volunteering to help out in a sport events.”

Citing the 590,000 volunteers during the recently concluded Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, as an example, he said over a million people had volunteered themselves to help out in the event without asking for anything in return.

“Those who were picked were only given a uniform each and food coupons, and they even made their way to Guangzhou on their own.

“We need such a spirit before we can even consider hosting an international sport event but I am sad to note that we have yet to reach such a standard,” he told reporters after officiating the 2nd Malaysia Youth Sports and Cultural Carnival at the Universiti Sains Malaysia last night.

It was earlier reported that the Cabinet had rejected an attempt to bid for the 2019 Asian Games, which was estimated to cost of RM1.7bil.

To this, Shabery said the cost, which excluded the budget for infrastructure, was estimated before they witnessed the Asian Games in Guangzhou.

“China has set a very high standard and if we were to host a similar event, we will have to use them as a benchmark.

“We must think of something more creative and more advanced with better co-ordination and manpower as the Asian Games will definitely cost more to host than the Commonwealth Games,” he said.

Shabery said it would not be a wise to bid for the games when the Government was cutting subsidy on petrol and sugar.

“This is not an impossible task but we will need to wait until the country is more financially sound.”

Proton and a terribly flawed Malaysian Automotive Policy

A QUESTION OF BUSINESS BY P.GUNASEGARAM

Once we realise that people and productivity come first, it will be easier to solve the myriad headaches facing the car industry in general and Proton in particular.

Tweet

THE problem with Proton Holdings Bhd is that it feels that Malaysia owes it a living. It wants to continue to make profits at the expense of Malaysians. It does not realise that 25 years is too old for it to be babied.

And now it wants to marry its competitor, Perodua or Perusuhaan Otomobil Kedua, which has surpassed Proton in sales and become number one, so that its future will be sort of assured by larger scale and access to a foreign partner.

But Perodua is a reluctant bride and its top management has openly, and understandably, expressed opposition against the merger because it gives no benefit to Perodua while being potentially rather harmful.

A forced marriage is a recipe for disaster, and it is high time that the Government stood up and took notice of these objections and examined clearly how irrational the reasons are for the proposed merger. The reality of the situation is that Proton, or for that matter any other Malaysian manufacturer, including Perodua, is unable to have the scale and technological expertise to be a viable world manufacturer of cars on its own.

That leaves Proton with no other choice but to find a technological partner, or merge with a reputable, large manufacturer. The first alternative would mean that it will never become competitive and will rely on the partner for its survival.

The second alternative, the only viable one, was very near to completion a few years ago when it was completing a deal with the world’s fourth largest car company Volkswagen in 2007 (and again earlier this year) but the deal was scuttled at the last minute by vested interests.

If that deal had materialised, Proton would have been well on the road to a bright future full of promise as Volkswagen geared all Proton’s excess capacity up to become a regional manufacturer.

By now, Malaysians and South East Asians could be driving the Volkswagen engineered cars at a fraction of their current price.

We could have seen the local parts manufacturing industry getting a boost from increased volumes and expertise from the German manufacturer which helped the Czech manufacturer Skoda become a major automotive power in a relatively short period of time.

The price to be paid would have been to surrender majority control of Proton to Volkswagen, but even there arrangements could have been made to keep Malaysian distribution and service operations under local majority control (as with Perodua) and let Volkswagen take majority control of manufacturing and regional operations.

That would have been win-win for both parties but pride and vested interests dictated otherwise. Since then the attractiveness of Proton and what it has to offer has diminished in the eyes of international car companies and the national car manufacturer has been unable to strike a deal with any of them.

Proton realises that it is in desperate straits because its local, home-grown models have been unimpressive, as a result of which it lost the lead to the much more reliable Perodua with its popular Myvi range of models. Perodua has not looked back since.

But the baby still wants its milk and now it is looking to Perodua to mother it and provide it with a badly needed lifeline after it desperately did a deal with Mitsubishi to re-badge the Lancer as the Inspira – hardly inspiring stuff.

Now it is turning the screws on Perodua and is applying pressure for a merger. Perodua has built itself a successful niche operation with technological help from Toyota-controlled Daihatsu and has become a regional manufacturer of sorts. Its models are more in demand simply because quality and performance is better than Proton’s.

It is a merger that Perodua clearly does not want. But will it have a choice at the end of the day? Both Proton and Perodua are essentially controlled by the Government or by Government-linked companies, with only Perodua’s manufacturing operations under Japanese control.

The Japanese, through Toyota and Mitsui and Co, can raise their objections here, especially since Toyota has already more or less made its regional plans here in Indonesia, Thailand and elsewhere.

Malaysia lost out because of – yes, Proton and a terribly flawed National Automotive Policy which favours inefficient local manufacturers and assemblers and some favoured franchise operators who rely on approved permits for their trade.

The business solution is very clear – wean the Proton baby off, and ensure that the punitive import duties on cars are progressively removed so that Malaysians don’t have to subsidise the profits of the likes of Protons and can enjoy cheaper cars.

Perodua is likely to survive that move as it has a solid technological and equity relationship with Daihatsu and is fast becoming a regional manufacturer but Proton will have to merge or go extinct. The sooner Proton is weaned off the faster it will see its predicament and sort something out.

Surely that solution cannot be pulling under the water another perfectly well established national car project which is currently flourishing under the only workable model under which a national car project will survive.

Proton lost its chance with Volkswagen. Let it go out there and find an alliance with a world manufacturer like Perodua did a while ago. Let it leave Perodua well alone.

>Managing editor P. Gunasegaram says we should not throw good companies after bad.

PROTON :  [Stock Watch]  [News]

Penang houses are just ‘not affordable’

Tweet

"Developers prefer to cater to investors and  speculators who buy for rent or to flip over and make money"

Making their point: Mohd Idris (right) and Dr Lim showing a chart on the percentage of the vacant house units in some states in Malaysia.

THE average price of a house on Penang Island in 2009 was RM550,000 — the highest in the country and RM160,000 more than the average price of a house in Kuala Lumpur.

State government think tank, Socio-Economic and Environmental Research Institute (Seri), said the price was eight times the average household in-come.

Its senior fellow Dr Lim Mah Hui said the house price should be between three and four times the average household income.

Dr Lim added that most houses that were built did not cater to the need of the majority of people.

“The building of super luxurious condominiums should not be encouraged. There are too many empty houses in Penang. The demand is there but it’s not affordable,” he told a press conference yesterday.

Consumers Association of Penang president S.M. Mohd Idris said house prices have soared to exorbitant levels in major cities of the country.

“Even the middle class cannot afford to own a house or apartment, let alone the lower income group,” he said.

Mohd Idris said that it was time for the government to start a public housing policy that provided affordable housing, particularly in urban areas, to people from the lower income group.

“A good example worth studying is the Singapore Housing Board where the government spearheads the building of affordable housing for a majority of its citizens,” he said.

He said the majority of Malay-sians want affordable homes but developers are supplying houses that they cannot afford.

“Developers prefer to cater to investors and speculators who buy to rent or to flip over and make money.

They also go overseas to aggressively market properties as they are still cheap by international standards.

“Unlike Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand, Malaysia is one of the few countries in Southeast Asia to allow foreigners to own landed property,” he said.

Source: The Star

Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Hightway, a tribute to him, holds many important lessons for Malaysians

Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway, Penang 
 

Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway (23 April 2009)
© Timothy Tye using this photo

Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway (Federal Route 3113) is a 17.84 km expressway that runs along the eastern coast of Penang Island. It starts at the junction with Prangin Road Ghaut, across from Weld Quay, and ends in Batu Maung, at the junction with Jalan Batu Maung and Jalan Permatang Damar Laut. The expressway includes the entire lengths of the former Jelutong Expressway and Bayan Lepas Expressway.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng announced the renaming of the expressway in honour of Dr Lim Chong Eu, the second Chief Minister of Penang who passed away on Wednesday, 24 November, 2010. The renaming of the expressway is meaningful to many Penangites as a tribute to the man who personally ushered the state into becoming one of the most developed in the country.

This the full name is quite a mouthful, I will henceforth call it the Chong Eu Expressway. This is the second road in Penang named after the Lim family, as Tun Dr Lim's father had his name immortalized when Prangin Road was renamed Jalan Dr Lim Chwee Leong.

The Penang Brige and Bayan Lepas Penang from the air:
 


CERITALAH by KARIM RASLAN 

A Tribute to Tun Dr. Lim Chong Eu, Holds Many Important Lessons for Malaysians

His personal journey from wealthy Penang scion, to doctor, Independence activist, politician and statesman, holds many important lessons for Malaysians on both sides of the political divide.

WE lose something as a nation when our great men and women pass away. The late Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu – Penang’s Chief Minister for over 20 years – was a remarkable leader and a great Malaysian.

Dr Lim’s personal journey from wealthy Penang scion, to doctor, Independence activist, politician and statesman, holds many important lessons for Malaysians on both sides of the political divide.

Foremost was his intellectual prowess.

Dr Lim excelled as a student.

Notwithstanding his privileged background, he distinguished himself by securing a prestigious Queen’s Scholarship to read medicine at Edinburgh University.

Many Malaysians, in their haste to be egalitarian, have tended to down-play the importance of educational excellence for politicians.

This aggressively anti-elitist stance is both foolish and dangerous.

An elite dominated by the anti-intellectual or poorly-educated is clearly ill-equipped to formulate and execute policies in a complex and ever-changing global environment.

Next, Dr Lim’s leadership of Gerakan to victory in Penang during the 1969 general election was to thrust him back into the very heart of national politics, at a time when Malaysia was at its lowest ebb.

Indeed, the creation of Gerakan itself was a remarkable achievement.

The party rejected racial politics, instead seeking to combine social democracy with liberalism.

It brought together an eclectic group of activists, ranging from academics (Syed Hussain Alatas and Wang Gungwu), trade unionists (V. David and V. Veerapan) and politicians (Tan Chee Khoon, Dominic Puthucheary and Lim Ee Heong).

Despite its current weakened state, it was – until the rise of PKR – one of the most successful multi-racial parties in Malaysia’s history.

One can only imagine what Dr Lim must have been thinking in May 1969 as he observed Malaysia descend into chaos. He was clearly shaken by the riots and killings.

Perhaps inevitably – given his background – he found himself more comfortable with the Alliance’s conservative milieu. He hence brought his party into the embrace of the much-weakened Alliance, later to be reincarnated as Barisan Nasional.

It was a historic, much-criticised decision, but he stood firm. Moreover, having chosen to side with Barisan, he remained loyal to the end.

As Malaysia emerged from the trauma of 1969, Dr Lim quickly grasped the challenges facing Penang.

The removal of the island’s free-port status and the closing down of British military bases were seen as death blows to its prosperity.

However, Dr Lim was creative and resourceful. Having made peace with the Federal Government, he crafted and implemented policies (often via the Penang Development Corporation) that were to attract scores of global electronic companies to the island.

He could be dictatorial but he certainly delivered on his promises.

He modernised the island-state, turning it into an industrial hub that was to generate hundreds of thousands of jobs for its people.

These achievements were all the more remarkable considering that he had to stand up to strong opposition from within and outside Barisan.

On one hand, he had to battle DAP supremos like Karpal Singh and Lim Kit Siang, and on the other, he had to manage Penang Umno with emerging nationalist voices like Anwar Ibrahim.

However, as many have pointed out, one of Dr Lim’s mistakes was that he compromised too much vis-a-vis Gerakan’s position in Barisan. This in turn sowed the seeds of the party’s collapse in the 2008 polls.

But one thing which cannot be taken away from him was his loyalty to his state, to Gerakan and the coalition.

He never once spoke ill of his successors or Barisan colleagues.

Indeed, his silence and forbearance after he lost power was a mark of his humility and dignity.

He understood that the younger generation of leaders had to be allowed to make their own mistakes and learn from them.

Dr Lim’s distinguished political career is an important reminder that politics is fluid and impermanent.

In 1990, after decades of hard work, he was swept away by an unexpected groundswell.

To Barisan Nasional, he is a symbol of its lost multi-racial and service-bound past; something they must regain to win back Penang and the nation in the next elections.

For Pakatan Rakyat – especially the DAP which currently governs Penang – he is a reminder they must bridge the divide with the Federal Government while managing their own, sometimes fractious, allies.

Nonetheless, Penangites are determined and inventive.

Even without federal funds, they’ll craft an alternative future that will no doubt be as ground-breaking as Tun Dr Lim’s prescriptions were all those decades ago – all testament to his dedication, perseverance and brilliance.

Guess Hu’s number one ?

Chinese president Hu Jin Tao tops Obama as the most influential man, according to Forbes’ list.

A Different Spin Ben Ibrahim

Tweet

The World's Most Powerful People:

View complete list

#1 Hu Jintao



#2 Barack Obama



#3 Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud



#4 Vladimir Putin



#5 Pope Benedict XVI



#6 Angela Merkel



#7 David Cameron



#8 Ben Bernanke



#9 Sonia Gandhi



#10 Bill Gates

WHILE presenting a morning talk show with my colleague Shah, I asked my co-host if he knew who the Forbes’ most influential man was? He was not quite sure at that time, as it was not yet announced, he just asked: “Who?”

I responded in a pun tone, as the news was also just being communicated to me via my earpiece, and said “Who you might ask, well it’s Mr Hu (pronounced WHO at that time on air) Jin Tao.”

At the beginning of the month, Chinese President Hu Jintao topped the Forbes magazine list of the world’s most powerful people.

Making this achievement even more memorable was the fact that he dethroned US President Barack Obama who slipped to second spot.

Once upon a time I wouldn’t have thought that an Asian leader would be the cream of the crop or the top of the pick.

When I was growing up it was all about how Bill Clinton did this and how Ronald Reagan achieved that and how hard Tony Blair worked towards finding peace in the Middle East.

Then, when Barack Obama became the first African-American President; my theory that the West was more progressive than the East, was almost a foregone conclusion.

But Hu Jintao has given us Asians something good to feel about and confidence that an Asian leader can achieve great things.

I remember a story once told to me by my good friend Thomas when he was studying in the United States that he had to act like the stereotypical Chinaman to get things done.

Stereotypes like speaking broken English, laughing like the typical loud Chinaman who did not know any better, and being perpetually bullied by the egocentric Western bigot.

Thomas would always say that he hated it, but it got things done without having to offend anybody.

How the times are changing as many Western entrepreneurs are trying to tap the Chinese business market and are now trying to kow tow to Chinese businessmen. I love change!

While I am writing this article with a bit of laughter, as these rankings are usually a bit subjective, I am sure many of you are wondering if it is fair to compare leadership efficiency of both leaders as both the United States and China have very different ways of doing things.

Well, according to the Forbes magazine, they used four criteria to define power – whether the person has influence over a lot of people, whether they have significant wealth compared to their peers, whether they are powerful in more than one sphere and whether they actively wield power.

Based on these criteria, let’s analyse this carefully – Hu presides over 1.3 billion people, one fifth of the world’s population, and over one of the globe’s largest army.

Under his leadership, China has become the second biggest economy.

He has managed to increase the purchasing power of the average Chinese citizen and he has also managed to censor the Internet.

While I disagree with his censorship of the Net, I have to salute the man overall as he managed to bring change which is usually the biggest obstacle and hurdle of any leader.

If we are to analyse Obama’s leadership effectiveness, his key result indicators are not so positive.

Twenty four months ago, he came in with his big slogan “Yes, We can” and promised America how he can bring change to the land of the free and the home of the brave.

While I can’t fault the man for his efforts and endeavours, we have to measure him by his results. Under his leadership, his Democratic Party suffered a big blow in the US midterm elections, with the president losing support of the House of Representatives and barely holding onto the Senate.

He was also heavily criticised by the US media for being too slow, a sentiment that some say was shared by his former Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, even though this statement is not substantiated.

However, Obama can still boast that he remains the leader of the world’s largest economy and is commander-in-chief of the world largest and deadliest military. Afghanistan can vouch for that!

To also illustrate how times are changing, once upon a time the world used to dance to the tune of the US currency exchange rate. Now, many economists around the world are trying to predict if China will adjust its currency peg.

The Americans have failed at trying to get China to revalue the yuan and are now trying to pass a Congressional bill that would impose taxes on Chinese goods, in order to compensate for China’s undervalued currency.

Well folks, times have changed and are still changing.

Even though some would say Hu Jintao is a draconian dictator, he still manages to bring change to the world’s biggest country and he managed to relegate the head of the developed world to the silver medal spot.

I would have never thought that this would be possible, but as we live in a very complex world, stranger things will continue to happen, and let’s hope for the better.

In the recent report that announced the magazine’s “most powerful list”, Forbes described Hu Jintao as a Moses-type character. They said: “Unlike his Western counterparts, Hu can divert rivers, build cities, jail dissidents and censor the Internet without the meddling from pesky bureaucrats and courts.”

Judging by how well the Chinese economy is progressing, it may also seem that Hu Jintao is the better businessman. Maybe due to the fact that he knows how to set a good price for all Chinese goods and services compared to Obama and in my opinion I think he knows how to open an international business discussion better than his American counterpart, and that is by starting the discussion with the words “DISCOUNT DISCOUNT!”

> Ben Ibrahim has a Masters in Management, and works as a TV Presenter. He is also a lecturer, MC and writer. He has hosted a wide variety of shows, and is currently hosting a business program called Entrepreneur, and a daily morning talk show on Bernama TV called The Breakfast Club. For more information about Ben, log onto www.benibrahim.com or Benb.ibrahim@gmail.com