An act of political cowardice
Balik Pulau Umno Youth's behaviour at the opening of Tanjung Umno building as "an act of political cowardice".
"This kind of behaviour goes against the grain of the Barisan Nasional (BN) spirit, and as mentioned by the Prime Minister, it is also very rude," said Datuk Henry Wong, head of MCA's Youth Economic Bureau.
"When the Chinese community is in hardship, we approach the respective Mentris Besar (MB) for a solution but we do not go round accusing the MBs for leaving the Chinese behind. We would help the Malays and anyone else who are in need of help.
"We understand and sympathise with the Malays as well as other communities living in poverty in isolated areas in Penang as well throughout the country," he added.
Yesterday (Sept 5, 2006), Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi ticked off some state Umno members for displaying banners criticising Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon at the opening of the Umno division office on Bishop Street.
"(It's) not nice!" said Abdullah of the banners bearing slogans criticising Koh, who is Gerakan deputy president, and Gerakan president Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik and the lack of development in Malay areas.
The banners were put up by Balik Pulau Umno Youth. Balik Pulau Youth chief Datuk Dr Hilmi Yahya said: "It was a stupid and shameful act. The banners are a shameful display
and I have no knowledge of who is behind it.
"Pak Lah has asked for an investigation into this incident," Hilmi said at the official opening of the Jelutong Expressway by Abdullah yesterday.
Wong said the Prime Minister last month announced the South Johor Development Corridor, a project amounting to RM15 billion. In addition, the East Coast Development Corridor to be carried out by Petronas and the Northern Development Corridor by Sime Darby are also in the pipelines.
"These have been planned and proposed by the government precisely to address the issue of lopsided regional development. Everyone should take advantage of it.
"The Malays are well represented in Penang through the BN. Umno holds the deputy chief minister's post, 14 state seats, including three state assemblymen in Balik Pulau alone, and four MPs.
"The Umno representatives should work harder to help their communities grow and enhance their skills and standard of living by taking advantage of the various developmental programmes from the federal and state governments.
"There should be no question about the Malays being left out in the development of the state when they have such a strong show of representatives," said Wong.
"Successful entrepreneurs must be competitive nowadays, and to work to form genuine partnerships with other Malaysians or foreign partners to capture their own niche skills to the fullest."
"In a knowledge economy, we can no longer work in isolation. We must use our own initiative to build our own capabilities through innovation, creativity and performance. We need to speed up the uptake of our competitive skills by learning through others."
"We are very concerned about having our people pull their weight to grow the economy and build our nation into a strong one. Hence, MCA has set up the Malaysian Economic Consultative Council (MCECC) with the other major associations.
"It is the platform to use if entrepreneurs want to match their skills and knowledge with the Chinese business community for good partnerships," he added.
Gerakan Youth and MCA Youth officials said they were disappointed and saddened by the ruckus caused by Penang Umno Youth involving Penang Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon.
Gerakan Youth chief Datuk Mah Siew Keong urged Penang Umno Youth to listen to the Prime Minister’s advice and resolve issues in a Barisan Nasional meeting in the Barisan spirit.
He said the banners criticising Dr Koh which were put up by Balik Pulau Umno Youth had embarrassed Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and was disrespectful to the state government and the Chief Minister.
“My Penang Youth were very angry with the action, but I advised them to stay cool and not to react emotionally. The action taken was wrong and Penang Gerakan Youth should not react with a similar wrong move,” he said in a statement.
Mah said it was disappointing that members of a component Barisan party had displayed such banners.
He was confident that the issues the Penang Umno Youth were unhappy about could be resolved.
He added that this should not be perceived as a racial issue, which would affect unity and harmony among the different ethnic groups, especially in Penang.
On Saturday, Abdullah ticked off some state Umno members for displaying banners criticising Dr Koh at the official opening of the Tanjung Umno division.
Koh was a guest at the function. The Prime Minister who is also the Penang Umno state liaison chief said it was not nice to do this to a guest.
He said the Barisan way was presenting facts for discussion in a Barisan meeting and looking for solutions.
MCA Youth’s economic bureau chief Datuk Henry Wong said the behaviour of the Penang Umno Youth went against the grain of the Barisan spirit and was “also very rude”.
“The young generation of MCA cannot tolerate this act of political cowardice. When the Chinese community is in hardship, we approach the respective Mentris Besar for a solution. We do not go around accusing the MPs of leaving the Chinese behind,” he said.
Wong said the Chinese would help the Malays and anyone else in need.
He added that MCA Youth understood and sympathised with the Malays and other communities living in poverty in isolated areas in Penang and throughout the country.
He noted that the 9MP was to address these problems and bring about a more regionally balanced growth.
Wong also said that the Malays were well represented in Penang through the Barisan as they have an Umno deputy Chief Minister, 14 state seats, including three in Balik Pulau alone, as well as four parliamentary seats.
Lim Kit Siang said :
" What happened at the official opening of the Tanjong UMNO division premises in Penang yesterday is most unusual in Malaysian ruling coalition politics.
Although Penang Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon was seated on the centrestage next to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at the opening ceremony, Tsu Koon was treated as a total stranger and completely ignored by the Tanjong UMNO Division head Datuk Ahmad Ibnihajar in his speech.
An open protest was also staged at the official opening by Balik Pulau UMNO Youth, unfurling banners attacking Tsu Koon and Datuk Seri Lim Keng Yaik (Gerakan President/Minister for Energy, Water and Communications).
Although Abdullah told the media not to “play up” the protest by Balik Pulau UMNO Youth (and all the “free” printed media promptly complied, with not a single one carrying a photograph of the protest banners the next day), the “banners protest” probably had deeper political implications.
Of course, it was a slap-in-the-face for Tsu Koon, but it was not just disrespect for Tsu Koon, but also a slap-in-the-face and disrespect for Abdullah as the Prime Minister and UMNO President.
What does this imply? That Abdullah’s writ as Prime Minister and UMNO President does not run very far even in UMNO and UMNO Youth? "
World Bank - business-friendly economy world ranking
Within Southeast Asia, Thailand was ranked the 18th business friendly country ahead of Malaysia which came in at 25th.
Singapore is the easiest country in the world to do business in, while China is rapidly simplifying business procedures to keep it ahead of India in the global rankings, the World Bank said.
New Zealand is the second most business-friendly place, according to the annual "Doing Business" report, which ranked 175 economies in terms of regulations that enhance or constrain business.
"Singapore became the most business-friendly economy in the world in 2005/2006, as measured by the 'Doing Business' indicators," said the report released ahead of the bank's joint meetings with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) here next week.
Singapore, a global manufacturing hub, regional financial centre and a pioneer in signing bilateral free-trade pacts, pipped New Zealand which was in first place in the previous report.
Hong Kong was the other Asian economy in the top 10 list at fifth, trailing third place the United States and fourth place Canada.
Australia was the eighth easiest place in the world to transact business in, better than its ninth-place finish previously.
Japan came in at number 11, improving one notch, while South Korea remained in 23rd place.
The bank evaluated regulations facing investors in 10 categories, which included starting a business, obtaining licences, employing workers, registering property and investor protection.
It also reviewed regulations in credit, taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and closing a business. An economy's average score determined its ranking.
For example, it takes only six procedures and six days to start a business in Singapore, while the same process takes 12 steps and 97 days in Indonesia.
Within Southeast Asia, Thailand was ranked the 18th business friendly country ahead of Malaysia which came in at 25th.
Other Southeast Asian economies, however, fared poorly in the global rankings.
Vietnam was in 104th place, falling from 98, but the communist nation still came in well ahead of the Philippines which was ranked 126th, down from 121, and just above the war-torn West Bank and Gaza strip.
Indonesia was in 135th place, from a previous 131st, while Cambodia was ranked 143rd and Laos was 159th, improving from its 164th finish previously.
Timor Leste remained in the second-to-last place at 174, ahead only of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Asian powerhouse China was ranked in 93rd place, but improved sharply from 108th, reflecting the pace of reforms being carried out and making it one of the top 10 economies with the most changes to simplify business procedures.
"Watch out, rest of the world: China is a top-10 reformer," said the report jointly published by the World Bank and the International Finance Corp.
"The government sped business entry, increased investor protections and reduced red tape in trading across borders. China also established a credit
information registry for consumer loans. Now 340 million citizens have credit histories."
India, the other emerging Asian giant, was in 134th place, improving only four notches. It ranks behind Pakistan which was in 74th place, Bangladesh at 88th and Sri Lanka at 89th.
Pakistan's overall ranking declined from its 66th place in the previous report, but was praised by the bank for a new customs clearance process that cut the number of days to import goods to 19 days from 39.
Bangladesh's ranking fell from 81 and Sri Lanka's position was unchanged.
China fared better than India in terms of licensing regulations, employing workers, registering property, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and in closing a business.
But India scored better than China in terms of the ease in starting a business, getting credit, protecting investors and tax payments.
The Malaysian economy expanded by 5.3 percent in 2005, and the outlook remains broadly positive.
In 2005, real GDP expansion was supported mainly by strong growth in manufacturing output (4.9 percent), spurred by the recovery in the production of electronic and electrical (E&E) products in the latter part of the year, and sustained activity in the services sector (6.5 percent), following robust growth in consumption, and in trade and business services, including finance.
Exports of goods and services grew by 8.4 percent in 2005, supported by higher exports of manufactured products, minerals, especially crude oil and LNG, and higher growth in tourism receipts. Imports of goods and services grew by 7.6 percent.
Aggregate domestic demand expanded by 7.3 percent in 2005, reflecting sustained growth in private consumption (9.2 percent) and higher public consumption (5.9 percent). Gross fixed capital formation (including changes in stocks) expanded by 4.7 percent. Looking ahead, despite some softening in aggregate domestic demand, partly from rising inflation and higher interest rates, a further increase in the global demand for E&E products is expected to raise overall growth to 5½ percent in 2006 and 5.7 percent in 2007....(read more)
( Read World bank 'Doing Business - Malaysia here )
Malaysia Ahmad Badawi Merdaka Malaysia Economy Mahathir Penang Koh Tsu Koon Balik Pulau umno world bank
"This kind of behaviour goes against the grain of the Barisan Nasional (BN) spirit, and as mentioned by the Prime Minister, it is also very rude," said Datuk Henry Wong, head of MCA's Youth Economic Bureau.
"When the Chinese community is in hardship, we approach the respective Mentris Besar (MB) for a solution but we do not go round accusing the MBs for leaving the Chinese behind. We would help the Malays and anyone else who are in need of help.
"We understand and sympathise with the Malays as well as other communities living in poverty in isolated areas in Penang as well throughout the country," he added.
Yesterday (Sept 5, 2006), Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi ticked off some state Umno members for displaying banners criticising Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon at the opening of the Umno division office on Bishop Street.
"(It's) not nice!" said Abdullah of the banners bearing slogans criticising Koh, who is Gerakan deputy president, and Gerakan president Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik and the lack of development in Malay areas.
The banners were put up by Balik Pulau Umno Youth. Balik Pulau Youth chief Datuk Dr Hilmi Yahya said: "It was a stupid and shameful act. The banners are a shameful display
and I have no knowledge of who is behind it.
"Pak Lah has asked for an investigation into this incident," Hilmi said at the official opening of the Jelutong Expressway by Abdullah yesterday.
Wong said the Prime Minister last month announced the South Johor Development Corridor, a project amounting to RM15 billion. In addition, the East Coast Development Corridor to be carried out by Petronas and the Northern Development Corridor by Sime Darby are also in the pipelines.
"These have been planned and proposed by the government precisely to address the issue of lopsided regional development. Everyone should take advantage of it.
"The Malays are well represented in Penang through the BN. Umno holds the deputy chief minister's post, 14 state seats, including three state assemblymen in Balik Pulau alone, and four MPs.
"The Umno representatives should work harder to help their communities grow and enhance their skills and standard of living by taking advantage of the various developmental programmes from the federal and state governments.
"There should be no question about the Malays being left out in the development of the state when they have such a strong show of representatives," said Wong.
"Successful entrepreneurs must be competitive nowadays, and to work to form genuine partnerships with other Malaysians or foreign partners to capture their own niche skills to the fullest."
"In a knowledge economy, we can no longer work in isolation. We must use our own initiative to build our own capabilities through innovation, creativity and performance. We need to speed up the uptake of our competitive skills by learning through others."
"We are very concerned about having our people pull their weight to grow the economy and build our nation into a strong one. Hence, MCA has set up the Malaysian Economic Consultative Council (MCECC) with the other major associations.
"It is the platform to use if entrepreneurs want to match their skills and knowledge with the Chinese business community for good partnerships," he added.
Gerakan Youth and MCA Youth officials said they were disappointed and saddened by the ruckus caused by Penang Umno Youth involving Penang Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon.
Gerakan Youth chief Datuk Mah Siew Keong urged Penang Umno Youth to listen to the Prime Minister’s advice and resolve issues in a Barisan Nasional meeting in the Barisan spirit.
He said the banners criticising Dr Koh which were put up by Balik Pulau Umno Youth had embarrassed Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and was disrespectful to the state government and the Chief Minister.
“My Penang Youth were very angry with the action, but I advised them to stay cool and not to react emotionally. The action taken was wrong and Penang Gerakan Youth should not react with a similar wrong move,” he said in a statement.
Mah said it was disappointing that members of a component Barisan party had displayed such banners.
He was confident that the issues the Penang Umno Youth were unhappy about could be resolved.
He added that this should not be perceived as a racial issue, which would affect unity and harmony among the different ethnic groups, especially in Penang.
On Saturday, Abdullah ticked off some state Umno members for displaying banners criticising Dr Koh at the official opening of the Tanjung Umno division.
Koh was a guest at the function. The Prime Minister who is also the Penang Umno state liaison chief said it was not nice to do this to a guest.
He said the Barisan way was presenting facts for discussion in a Barisan meeting and looking for solutions.
MCA Youth’s economic bureau chief Datuk Henry Wong said the behaviour of the Penang Umno Youth went against the grain of the Barisan spirit and was “also very rude”.
“The young generation of MCA cannot tolerate this act of political cowardice. When the Chinese community is in hardship, we approach the respective Mentris Besar for a solution. We do not go around accusing the MPs of leaving the Chinese behind,” he said.
Wong said the Chinese would help the Malays and anyone else in need.
He added that MCA Youth understood and sympathised with the Malays and other communities living in poverty in isolated areas in Penang and throughout the country.
He noted that the 9MP was to address these problems and bring about a more regionally balanced growth.
Wong also said that the Malays were well represented in Penang through the Barisan as they have an Umno deputy Chief Minister, 14 state seats, including three in Balik Pulau alone, as well as four parliamentary seats.
Lim Kit Siang said :
" What happened at the official opening of the Tanjong UMNO division premises in Penang yesterday is most unusual in Malaysian ruling coalition politics.
Although Penang Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon was seated on the centrestage next to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at the opening ceremony, Tsu Koon was treated as a total stranger and completely ignored by the Tanjong UMNO Division head Datuk Ahmad Ibnihajar in his speech.
An open protest was also staged at the official opening by Balik Pulau UMNO Youth, unfurling banners attacking Tsu Koon and Datuk Seri Lim Keng Yaik (Gerakan President/Minister for Energy, Water and Communications).
Although Abdullah told the media not to “play up” the protest by Balik Pulau UMNO Youth (and all the “free” printed media promptly complied, with not a single one carrying a photograph of the protest banners the next day), the “banners protest” probably had deeper political implications.
Of course, it was a slap-in-the-face for Tsu Koon, but it was not just disrespect for Tsu Koon, but also a slap-in-the-face and disrespect for Abdullah as the Prime Minister and UMNO President.
What does this imply? That Abdullah’s writ as Prime Minister and UMNO President does not run very far even in UMNO and UMNO Youth? "
**********
World Bank - business-friendly economy world ranking
Within Southeast Asia, Thailand was ranked the 18th business friendly country ahead of Malaysia which came in at 25th.
Singapore is the easiest country in the world to do business in, while China is rapidly simplifying business procedures to keep it ahead of India in the global rankings, the World Bank said.
New Zealand is the second most business-friendly place, according to the annual "Doing Business" report, which ranked 175 economies in terms of regulations that enhance or constrain business.
"Singapore became the most business-friendly economy in the world in 2005/2006, as measured by the 'Doing Business' indicators," said the report released ahead of the bank's joint meetings with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) here next week.
Singapore, a global manufacturing hub, regional financial centre and a pioneer in signing bilateral free-trade pacts, pipped New Zealand which was in first place in the previous report.
Hong Kong was the other Asian economy in the top 10 list at fifth, trailing third place the United States and fourth place Canada.
Australia was the eighth easiest place in the world to transact business in, better than its ninth-place finish previously.
Japan came in at number 11, improving one notch, while South Korea remained in 23rd place.
The bank evaluated regulations facing investors in 10 categories, which included starting a business, obtaining licences, employing workers, registering property and investor protection.
It also reviewed regulations in credit, taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and closing a business. An economy's average score determined its ranking.
For example, it takes only six procedures and six days to start a business in Singapore, while the same process takes 12 steps and 97 days in Indonesia.
Within Southeast Asia, Thailand was ranked the 18th business friendly country ahead of Malaysia which came in at 25th.
Other Southeast Asian economies, however, fared poorly in the global rankings.
Vietnam was in 104th place, falling from 98, but the communist nation still came in well ahead of the Philippines which was ranked 126th, down from 121, and just above the war-torn West Bank and Gaza strip.
Indonesia was in 135th place, from a previous 131st, while Cambodia was ranked 143rd and Laos was 159th, improving from its 164th finish previously.
Timor Leste remained in the second-to-last place at 174, ahead only of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Asian powerhouse China was ranked in 93rd place, but improved sharply from 108th, reflecting the pace of reforms being carried out and making it one of the top 10 economies with the most changes to simplify business procedures.
"Watch out, rest of the world: China is a top-10 reformer," said the report jointly published by the World Bank and the International Finance Corp.
"The government sped business entry, increased investor protections and reduced red tape in trading across borders. China also established a credit
information registry for consumer loans. Now 340 million citizens have credit histories."
India, the other emerging Asian giant, was in 134th place, improving only four notches. It ranks behind Pakistan which was in 74th place, Bangladesh at 88th and Sri Lanka at 89th.
Pakistan's overall ranking declined from its 66th place in the previous report, but was praised by the bank for a new customs clearance process that cut the number of days to import goods to 19 days from 39.
Bangladesh's ranking fell from 81 and Sri Lanka's position was unchanged.
China fared better than India in terms of licensing regulations, employing workers, registering property, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and in closing a business.
But India scored better than China in terms of the ease in starting a business, getting credit, protecting investors and tax payments.
**********
The Malaysian economy expanded by 5.3 percent in 2005, and the outlook remains broadly positive.
In 2005, real GDP expansion was supported mainly by strong growth in manufacturing output (4.9 percent), spurred by the recovery in the production of electronic and electrical (E&E) products in the latter part of the year, and sustained activity in the services sector (6.5 percent), following robust growth in consumption, and in trade and business services, including finance.
Exports of goods and services grew by 8.4 percent in 2005, supported by higher exports of manufactured products, minerals, especially crude oil and LNG, and higher growth in tourism receipts. Imports of goods and services grew by 7.6 percent.
Aggregate domestic demand expanded by 7.3 percent in 2005, reflecting sustained growth in private consumption (9.2 percent) and higher public consumption (5.9 percent). Gross fixed capital formation (including changes in stocks) expanded by 4.7 percent. Looking ahead, despite some softening in aggregate domestic demand, partly from rising inflation and higher interest rates, a further increase in the global demand for E&E products is expected to raise overall growth to 5½ percent in 2006 and 5.7 percent in 2007....(read more)
( Read World bank 'Doing Business - Malaysia here )
Malaysia Ahmad Badawi Merdaka Malaysia Economy Mahathir Penang Koh Tsu Koon Balik Pulau umno world bank
posted by Ah Yun Wong at
10:16 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home