| The Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) said today its investigation revealed the coach operators and the association had engaged in price-fixing of the coach tickets from 2006 to 2008. |
| In a statement, CCS said through regular meetings under the auspices of EBAA, the coach operators either fixed the coach prices at, or above the minimum selling prices, or imposed fuel and insurance charges across the board to mark up ticket prices. During the three-year period, CCS said it was estimated that the coach operators pocketed over S$3.65 million from the sale of fuel and insurance charges. CCS’ investigations showed there was an agreement reached on June 1, 2005 by the EBAA to fix coach ticket prices to various destinations in Malaysia. This agreement continued after Jan 1, 2006 when the Competition Act came into effect in Singapore. CCS said it was found out that the introduction of the minimum selling price was premised on an intention to prevent any price war and minimise any slashing of coach ticket prices among competitors. Before introduction of the MSP, EBAA members were selling coach tickets at various prices, in particular, lower prices. For example, the minimum selling price was first fixed at S$25 for one-way coach tickets to Kuala Lumpur, but most of the EBAA members were then selling their tickets at S$20 or S$23. CCS Chief Executive Teo Eng Cheong said investigations showed 16 companies and the association colluded to fix prices. Instead of stopping the collusion, the association facilitated the price-fixing through its regular meetings and a rebate system to encourage the sale of fuel and insurance charge coupons, he added. — Bernama |
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Singapore bus operators fined for fixing ticket price to Malaysia
Sunday, October 11, 2009
RM35,000 ceiling price for public housing units
The Prime Minister said that this would involve all 44,146 units of houses up for sale. Of these, 29,562 are PPR houses in 20 areas and 14,584 DBKL units in 17 areas.
PPR houses would be sold at RM35,000 a unit while the DBKL ones at between RM21,500 and RM35,000 a unit depending on the number of rooms and size, he said.
“The government won’t sell these houses at market rates which is between RM80,000 and RM85,000 but at prices affordable to the average Malaysian.
“This is a special gift (to them) in line with the 1Malaysia tagline which is ‘People First, Performance Now. On July 11, in marking my 100 days as Prime Minister, I did say I will be announcing several gifts for the people, this is one of them,” he said.
Najib was speaking when launching the sale of PPR houses in Kerinchi here. Also present were Federal Territories Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal and Housing and Local Government Minister, Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha.
Elaborating further, Najib said that following the announcement, forms to purchase the houses would be circulated to those eligible to buy them from Monday.
He said priority would be given to those who have been renting these houses for a long time and whose household income did not exceed RM2,500 a month.
“We expect those who qualify will get their approval letters or the sale and purchase agreement in November or December,” he said, adding that the government would also assist buyers get loans.
“This is also part of the government’s National Key Result Areas (NKRA) and Key Performance Indicator (KPI) initiatives so the average Malaysian gets to live comfortably,” he added. — Bernama
Fomca: Green strategy needed in automotive policy review
Fomca president Datuk N. Marimuthu said the present NAP merely outlined "easier ways to get cars into consumers' spending list by increasing fuel subsidy and easy car loan facilities."
The review should also integrate a green technology policy into the NAP so that less carbon dioxide was emitted into the environment by reducing the number of cars on the road, he said when commenting on the Government's intention to review the NAP.
The reduction, he said, could be done by improving the public transport system and making it more efficient, convenient and user-friendly.
He added that the NAP should also emphasise on the efficiency of the car itself.
"Consumers in Malaysia deserve fuel-efficient and eco-friendly cars with alternative energy that helps reduce fuel usage and carbon dioxide emission," he said.
Marimuthu said the NAP should also address traffic management issues, because putting more cars on the road caused parking woes, traffic congestion and pollution.
He suggested that an "end of life vehicles" scheme be incorporated into the NAP to make it more affordable for consumers to own new cars.
According to him, many countries, like Japan and the United States, had such a scheme which helped to develop a new industry based on recycled car components.
"Base on statistics, 90% of car components can be recycled, thus helping to reduce pollution and preserve Mother Nature," he said. - Bernama
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Penang Ferry Service To Be Separate Entity From Oct 1
PENANG, Sept 24 (Bernama) -- The Penang ferry service will be separated as a subsidiary of Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) from Oct 1 as part of a restructuring plan to list PPSB on Bursa Malaysia.
PPSB Managing Director Datuk Ahmad Ibni Hajar said the plan had received the blessing of the Economic Planning Unit in the Prime Minister's Department, Finance and Transport Ministries.
" The move to separate the ferry service from PPSB was instructed by the EPU. The EPU wanted two separate entities -- PPSB and ferry service. Both are different operations," he told reporters.
Ahmad however said PPSB will work with Rapid Penang Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of RAPID KL, to use the ferry services to transport Rapid Penang buses with passengers to the mainland.
He said PPSB will hold talks with Rapid Penang for its buses to use the ferry service to destinations on the mainland and vice-versa. "
Currently, there is only 25 per cent passenger load on our ferries. We're looking into ways to cut wastage.
" We've been making losses since 2002 in operating the ferry service," he added.
Last year, the ferry service incurred its worst ever losses following fuel price hike, chalking up RM24.6 million in losses, almost double of the RM14.4 million losses suffered in 2007.
PPSB has eight ferries plying the Penang Channel between the Raja Tun Uda Ferry Terminal in Butterworth and Sultan Abdul Halim Ferry Terminal on the island.
-- BERNAMA
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Thumbs-up for ‘Najibnomics’
Saturday September 12, 2009
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has covered good ground since taking office on April 3 with a number of positive policies and actions.They include liberalising the New Economic Policy, ensuring greater transparency, speeding up the award of government infrastructure pro-jects and improving ties with Singa-pore to draw more foreign direct investments into Iskandar Malaysia, a development region in Johor twice the size of Singapore.
Aimed at stimulating the local economy, attracting foreign investments and foreign talent, reducing bureaucracy, tackling crime and corruption, effecting greater accountability and promoting national unity (through the 1Malaysia concept), Najib’s policies have been impressive.
CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, an independent brokerage and investment group headquartered in Hong Kong, described Najib’s positive economic and social reforms as “Najibnomics”, given his economics background.
With his background on industrial economics from the University of Nottingham, CLSA said Najib had been quick to effect various fiscal, government and structural reforms.
In its special strategy report on Malaysia, CLSA said: “Although he has until March 2013 to call for the next general election, we believe he has little choice but to work quickly as the clock is fast ticking.
“Najib not only has to implement new policies to reform the government and turn around the economy simultaneously, he has to deliver some decent results to ensure that the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition performs better than in the last general election in March 2008.”
On the economic front, CLSA said it expected the Malaysian economy to recover in 2010 while consumer sentiment was also improving.
In view of Malaysia’s high savings rate at 43.3% of the GDP which would support private consumption while the impact of weak imports from Western countries would not be too severe, it pointed to an economic recovery next year.
Malaysia’s 2009 GDP has been forecast to decline by 4 to 5% this year compared to a growth of 4.5% last year.
CLSA’s expectations are in line with that of Bank Negara Malaysia, which indicated that the country’s growth outlook for the second half of 2009 was expected to improve after the economy contracted at a slower rate of 3.9% in the second quarter of 2009 following a 6.2% contraction in the first quarter of the year.
The central bank said there were increasing signs that conditions in the global economy were stabilising as the pace of the decline in economic activity was moderating in advanced countries.
CLSA said that its recent contacts with Malaysian companies revealed that most were cautiously optimistic and were coping fairly well with the economic downturn.
“There has not been any high-profile debt default while non-performing loans in the banking system remain benign. Companies have merely been hit by shrinking revenues, thinning margins and higher receivables, while corporate governance issues have been sporadic.
“Most companies believe that the worst is over. Having said that, they do think the way forward will remain challenging as unemployment continues to creep up,” CLSA said.
The investment group also conducted a survey among 300 respondents, two-thirds of them from Kuala Lum-pur, and ascertained that Malay-sians were coping well with the downturn, with only 22% of them saying that their employment had been affected.
In terms of household income, 44% said they experienced a decline in income while 10% experienced an increase.
About 70% said they had changed their spending patterns, reducing expenditure on food, clothing as well as leisure.
Essentials like mortgages, utilities, transport, children’s education, healthcare and communications have been largely unaffected by the downturn.
CLSA said these simple surveys and feedback from companies and consumers seemed to tie in with the findings of the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research. — Bernama
Transformation of gov’t delivery system to begin, says PM
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 – The government is set to begin the transformation process in strengthening the efficiency of its delivery system, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
He said after five months of taking office in April, the first phase of the process – planning, developing and program alignment – had been completed and now it was into the implementation phase.
He said the transformation on improving its front line (counter) services would also be focused on as it provided the front line interaction with the public and thus required a service of the finest standards.
He said this was also in line with his resolute commitment to transform the quality of life of all Malaysians by significantly improving the efficiency of the government, since he took office last April.
“In ensuring the one-stop centre framework truly delivers, improvements will be made to ensure faster and more streamlined processes, more customer-oriented service, and a better system of integration between departments,” he said in his latest posting in his blog www.1malaysia.com.my.
“Through the execution of these planned changes, we can offer quantifiable results. This will make for a stronger, more effective and more accountable Government,” he added.
Najib also invited the public to continuously provide constructive feedback so that the transformation could be accomplished.
On the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and National Key Result Areas (NKRA), the prime minister said these initiatives were not mere acronyms as they offered clear measures designed to ensure that the government was continuously working to better serve the needs of all Malaysians.
“On reaching the milestone of my first 100 days, I announced stringent Key Performance Indicator (KPI) targets for the nation. They have been set for all government ministries, alongside six National Key Result Areas (NKRAs).
“Our real work will begin as we make the transformation of government services happen,” he said.
Last week, Najib appointed Datuk Seri Idris Jala to lead the newly established Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) and to oversee the many performance management changes required throughout the government.
Idris will also coordinate with the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, on issues related to Pemandu.
“These KPIs are the delivery mechanism designed to help us achieve our desired results. The outcome we aim to achieve is the same one highlighted by past administrations under Vision 2020: to transform Malaysia into a high-level income developed nation.
“This is an ambitious goal. We have long stated the aim of reaching it by 2020 as embodied in the Vision 2020 policy. People First, Performance Now is an expression that reconciles the current socio-economic position of Malaysia with this goal through effective implementation of KPIs and NKRAs, thus integrating it seamlessly as part of this journey,” he added. – Bernama
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Hypermarts told not to cut prices of subsidised items
New Straits Times, 2009/08/18
KUALA LUMPUR: Retailers have been instructed against lowering the prices of four subsidised products to protect smaller businesses.
Sugar, bread, all-purpose flour and cooking oil are not allowed to be sold below their fixed price from Aug 1, the Domestic Trade, Co-operative and Consumerism Ministry said in a recent circular.
Typically, hypermarkets and other big retailers have been holding promotions where they sell these items below the fixed price to woo more shoppers.
A copy of the circular obtained by New Straits Times stated that retailers were not allowed to advertise subsidised control items and had to stick to the price list.
The ministry's secretary-general, Datuk Mohd Zain Mohd Dom, when contacted, said the action was taken to help small retailers by creating a level playing field for them to compete with larger rivals.
He said hypermarkets were buying in bulk and were willing to sell at a loss. This had resulted in smaller retailers not being able to make money on these items.
This year, the government will spend RM1.91 billion to subsidise the four products -- much higher than last year, as sugar was included as a subsidised product this year at a cost of RM720 million to the government.
An industry executive said the move to stop anyone selling below the listed price was to suppress demand, especially since several festival celebrations were coming.
Any additional demand would involve the government having to fork out more money to subsidise the items, he said.
However, if this was the case, the directive would not work because the four items are basic goods and demand for them stays the same whether the price goes up or down, said chief economist at RAM Holdings Bhd Dr Yeah Kim Leng.
Bank Islam economist Azrul Azwar Ahmad Tajudin said the government move was puzzling.
The generosity of retailers and wholesalers in selling these controlled items below cost would go a long way to relieve the people's burden, he said.
