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Oil royalty hike, NCR land key issues - The Borneo Post Online Berita Sarawak - News 2 Sarawak

Oil royalty hike, NCR land key issues - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 24 Jun 2014 12:00 PM PDT

by Churchill Edward, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on June 25, 2014, Wednesday

DPM says BN has identified key issues to be addressed before next state election

KUCHING: The Barisan Nasional (BN) has identified issues relating to Native Customary Rights (NCR) land and the state's request for oil royalty hike to 20 per cent as those which should be addressed prior to the next state election.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said positive steps had been taken to ensure that BN would not be hampered by these issues.

He said one of the steps was a thorough briefing to the state government by Petronas next Monday on their operation and revenue among other things.

On land issues, the government has started the perimeter survey of NCR land, he told a press conference after chairing a BN meeting at a hotel here yesterday.

Muhyiddin said since the last Sarawak election in 2011 Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and he himself had announced an allocation of over RM3 billion for various development projects to be implemented in Sarawak.

"The directive today is for all the projects announced to be implemented in line with the concept of 'janji ditepati' (promises fulfilled). If there are issues involving sites, contractors and other matters at the state level, these will be solved before the coming state election."

On BN's performance in fulfilling its promises in Sarawak, he said based on the current situation, the performance was good but what was important was for all the projects announced to be completed within the next two years.

The deputy prime minister said many projects were announced in stages and were on different scales, but each required scrutiny.

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<b>Sarawak</b> has the right to ask for royalty increase Batu Lintang rep <b>...</b>

Posted: 06 Jun 2014 12:35 PM PDT

KUCHING: Sarawak has the right to request for a 15 per cent increase in oil and gas royalty without having to, among others, demonstrate its financial management competency first.

Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How, who stated this, stressed the issue of Sarawak and other oil-producing states asking for a hike in oil and gas royalty from five to 20 per cent must be examined and deliberated in a critical and rational manner.

Responding to an article 'Is oil royalty hike the solution?' that appeared in a renowned national weekly recently, state PKR vice chairman See said the writer and his team of "unnamed market observers and industry analysts" ought to have taken the sensitivities of Sarawak and Sabah into consideration too.

"It lays bare our consciousness towards mutual understanding between East and West Malaysians for meaningful national integration, which until now still rings empty," he lamented.

"The typical knee-jerk reaction or rhetoric of politicians and writers who probably are not familiar with the territorial features and delicate intuition of communities in Sabah and Sarawak may be hurtful and divisive."

See pointed out that Pakatan Rakyat had long pledged to increase oil and gas royalty from five to 20 per cent when it comes to power, but the BN coalition government was hesitant and reluctant then.

"The writer had actually recognised that Sabah and Sarawak are the least developed states despite them being the richest states in the federation," said See, who noted that the writer also wondered whether the additional money (from the royalty hike) would help propel Sarawak's development.

"But his arguments against the two East Malaysian states having improved and enlarged share of the exploits from their petroleum deposits were, uncharacteristically and quoting unnamed market observers and industry analysts, questioning Sarawak's wealth management … that the state has a large revenue base with several uncompleted or pending projects."

See admitted that the new Sarawak administrators must address the issue of fair distribution of opportunities in the operation, utilisation and management of the state's rich natural resources, and to make sure that the wealth generated would bring about greater development and improve the lives of all Sarawakians.

"However, it is nonsensical to suggest that the Sarawak government must show it can make good use of the money before it is entitled to ask for oil and gas royalty hike … as if the federal government is free from leakages, corruption, wastages and financial mismanagement." See said since the Auditor General's Reports were referred to in the article, the writer and his sources should be equally objective and critical with the federal government's fund management or mismanagement.

"Nick any one of the national scandals and recover the monies misappropriated. That alone is enough to pay the oil producing states their entitlement for a good number of years!

"What about disclosing the Petronas monies received by the federal government annually, as well as those in the Production Sharing Agreements (PSCs), and compare it to the oil producing states?

"Please be frank. The federal government wholly owns Petronas. In contrast, there is no equity holding in Petronas for the oil-producing states?"

See said the most interesting thing about the article was the writer's comparison of the annual budgets between Sarawak (RM4.2 billion), Sabah (RM4.1 billion) and Terengganu (RM2 billion) with the RM1.6 billion of the most developed state, Selangor, for this year.

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Equities weekly: Developed markets cheer another taper <b>...</b>

Posted: 28 Jun 2014 08:01 AM PDT

by Fundsupermart.com Research Team. Posted on June 28, 2014, Saturday

Over the week ended June 20, 2014, the MSCI AC World Index posted a gain of 0.95 per cent, with developed markets leading the way. European equities (represented by the benchmark Stoxx 600 index) climbed by 0.66 per cent when the week ended June 20, 2014.

The US equity market greeted the news of the Fed taper with optimism, with the benchmark S&P 500 index rallying by 1.33 per cent over the week. Meanwhile across the Pacific, the Japanese equity market (as represented by the Nikkei 225 index) posted a gain of 1.48 per cent over the week, making it the top performer among the developed equity markets under our coverage.

Emerging and Asian markets generally underperformed their developed markets peers, with the MSCI Emerging Markets index falling by 0.42 per cent and the MSCI Asia ex Japan index falling by 0.71 per cent respectively over the week. Among the East Asian equity markets under our coverage, only the Taiwanese equity market was in the black over the week, with the TWSE index increasing by 0.79 per cent when the week ended. The Korean equity market (represented by the Kospi index) incurred a loss of 1.31 per cent over the week, while the Hong Kong equity market (represented by the Hang Seng index) declined by 0.33 per cent. The local Chinese equity market incurred losses as well, with the CSI 300 index falling by 1.53 per cent and the Shanghai Composite index falling by 1.86 per cent over the week. Indonesia was the bottom performing equity market under our coverage, with the JCI index incurring a loss of 3.08 per cent over the week – partially contributed by the weakening of the rupiah against the ringgit (an approximate 1.58 per cent decline). Gold prices rallied over the week as well, gaining US$38 per ounce on geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Thailand: Central bank holds rates

Over in Southeast Asia, the Bank of Thailand (BoT) maintained its benchmark interest rate at two per cent, a move which was in line with consensus expectations. The central bank mentioned that "the economic recovery should pick up pace given reduced political uncertainties and a resumption of functioning public policy management."

Ever since the Thai military took control of the government, the junta has made payments due to hundreds of thousands of rice farmers, cut diesel prices and sped up budget spending to boost expansion and pressed for renewal of stalled infrastructure development plans. The BoT added that a slow recovery in exports and tourism remain as downside risks to growth, but that "a significant reduction of political uncertainties" should consequently lead to "improving public and private spending that should benefit the economy."

Singapore: Non-oil domestic exports declined in May

South of Thailand, Singapore's non-oil domestic exports posted an unexpected 6.6 per cent year-on-year decline in May 2014, after a 0.9 per cent increase in April. The consensus had forecast a 0.5 per cent gain in the measure. Exports were weighed down by weakness in both electronic and non-electronic exports, with the former posting a hefty 15.3 per cent y-o-y decline on weakness in consumer electronics. Pharmaceuticals also weighed on overall non-oil domestic exports, although the segment tends to be fairly volatile and can cause big monthly swings in export and industrial production data. With the latest data point, non-oil domestic exports are running at a 1.3 per cent y-o-y rate so far in 2014, a far cry from IE Singapore's one to three per cent forecast for the year – exports will need to grow by an average of 2.6 per cent for the rest of 2014 in order to meet the low end of the government's forecast.

To read more articles on what is happening in the markets, visit Fundsupermart.com.

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&#39;<b>Sarawak</b> needs a clear agenda for women, children&#39; BorneoPost <b>...</b>

Posted: 06 Jun 2014 12:14 PM PDT

KUCHING: Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem should come up with a clear agenda that will empower women and children in the state.

Wanita PKR national vice chief Voon Shiak Ni, who suggested this in a statement, said there was no such clear agenda even though Adenan had been in office for 100 days.

"In the past 100 days, no doubt he has tried to be bold and to be different in his approach to strengthen his influence and power as the new chief minister. He had tried to mediate the then existing political bickering among BN component parties and had also tried to be more friendly and approachable to the Opposition.

"We applaud his earnest efforts positively in trying to stabilise the political scenario in Sarawak.

"However, as an observer in the aspect of welfare of the society, we are still waiting for his agenda for women and children in the state."

Voon cited examples of social crises such as baby dumping and teenage pregnancies as worrying social issues.

"What has our state government in mind to combat these social crises? Create more awareness campaigns or introduce sex education in schools?

"The number of teenage pregnancies is on the rise in Sarawak over the last two years and there has been an increase of unwed and underaged pregnancies registered in a few major hospitals in the state, as revealed by Datuk Fatimah and her ministry.

"We hope Adenan, in the next 100 days, will produce an agenda that empowers our state women ministry and the women NGOs to combat these serious social crises.

On sexual abuse issues, Voon said Sarawakians were still waiting for the state government to step in on the allegations of rape and abuse of Penan girls and women in the interior of Sarawak by timber loggers.

"We have waited six long years for justice to be seen, but no light has been shed by the state government on the issue, so far."

On schools in the rural areas, Voon lamented that many of them were dilapidated and in need of repair.

"We have been given to understand that even though there has been funds allocated for the education sector, but funds for repairing and rebuilding of the many dilapidated schools are not clearly specified.

"It would be a relief to many Sarawakians if Adenan can step in to get added funds and assistance for the upgrading of the many dilapidated schools in the interior of Sarawak. We believe that only when the basic needs and welfare of the society and the people are looked after properly will political stability comes along."

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&#39;Effective communication vital in understanding individuals <b>...</b>

Posted: 28 May 2014 12:28 PM PDT

by Anasathia Jenis, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on May 29, 2014, Thursday

KUCHING: Effective communication is important in understanding individuals and circumstances, says Minister of Welfare, Women and Family Development Datuk Fatimah Abdullah.

She also said such communication would enable one to acknowledge and appreciate differences in a multiracial society.

"We must be able to articulate and communicate our message and aspiration in a very clear and compelling manner so that it will inspire people to act, and promote a clear sense of purpose and urgency," she said at the launch of the ninth Language For Specific Purposes seminar (LSP) and the sixth Global Advances in Business Communication conference (GABC) 2014 here Tuesday evening.

The three-day event with the theme 'Language, Society and Practices-Getting Along by Communicating' is being hosted by The Language Academy of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and GABC. It is first time held here.

Also present at the launch were chairman of UTM LSP 2014 Dr Adlina Abdul Samad and chairman for UTM GABC 2014 Associate Professor Dr Hadina Habil as well as the Language Academy dean Associate Professor Dr Noor Abidah Mohd Omar.

Fatimah, who was representing Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem further said that effective communication among professionals would lead them to a work together.

"We must be aware that we are not only required to handle vast quantities of information but also to disseminate those that are proven reliable and useful."

"Effective communication is more than just exchanging informations it is also about understanding the values and the socio- cultural context behind the information.

"It enables you to communicate even complex or difficult concepts or messages without crating mistrust, prejudice, misunderstanding or conflict," she added.

Hadina also spoke. She hoped the conference would be able to produce more publications in the areas of LSP and Business Communication.

"Language Academy has its in-house journal (ESP Malaysia) published by UTM Press which will be rebranded as LSP International Journal. The journal is available online. Efforts have been made to have the journal indexed in Scopud."

"Similarly, the GABC conference has its own GABC journal which is also available online.

"The publications in these two journals will be the contributions from this conference," she said adding that the conference gathered academics, professionals, students and other parties who want to share and offer their knowledge and expertise with each other.

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