Woodlands move a drain on KTMB

The Woodlands train station is registering a sharp fall in passenger volume after KTM Berhad moved its operations there from Tanjung Pagar in July. 

 

 

New Straits Times, 29 October 2011

 

JOHOR BARU: The shifting of KTM Berhad's railway operations to Woodlands in July following the closure of the Tanjung Pagar railway station has taken its toll on the revenue of the rail company.

Checks showed the company has incurred an average monthly loss of RM1.8 million since July as a result of a decline of between 20 and 30 per cent of passengers using train services to the republic.

KTMB believes most of its customers are instead opting to travel to the republic by express buses, and some by planes, as the Woodlands station is not quite convenient for travellers.

There are seven train services to Singapore daily, and all services stop at the Woodlands checkpoint.
All the trains will make a brief stop at JB Sentral before moving towards Woodlands, which is about one kilometre away.

Industry sources said it is economically not viable to have two stations located too near to each other, more so when both are located near the border of two different countries using different currencies.

In the case of Woodlands, alighting passengers who turned to other modes of transport to reach their destination will have to pay for their fare in Singapore dollars.

For those who travel to the republic by express bus, the problem does not arise.

KTMB president Dr Aminuddin Adnan told the New Sunday Times that there are no plans to stop all seven trips to Woodlands despite the losses.

"It is too early to conclude the whole picture. We will wait and see before planning the next course of action.

"Our customers are basically from the middle-income bracket. We believe those who have abandoned our service are those who do not want any inconvenience throughout their journey, especially when they reach Singapore."

The Tanjong Pagar station became part of KTMB's history following the departure of the last train piloted by the Sultan of Johor at 11.03pm on June 30.

Dr Aminuddin said KTMB is trying to offset the losses by capitalising on the Johor Baru market.

It plans to introduce an additional train service from Tumpat to Johor Baru from next January.

Called the Malayan Tiger, the 14-coach service is believed to be an impetus for the tourism industry in Johor in view that more tourism products are coming up in Iskandar Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Dr Aminuddin said the stripping of the 23km railway track from Tanjong Pagar to Woodlands had been completed.

He said the track weighed a total of about 2,500 tonnes, of which about 70 per cent had been transported back to Malaysia.

The rest, which was still being placed at a temporary storage area in Kranji, will be sent back to the country by the middle of next month.

"We are now demolishing all the locomotive shades and depots and we hope to complete the work by Dec 22," he added.

It was reported that part of the track would be showcased in KTMB museums as a historical exhibit while others would be kept for future use on KTMB tracks throughout the country.

The first museum to display part of the track is the former Johor Baru railway station, which will be turned into a museum soon.

Outcome-based funding for ministries, agencies

New Straits Times, 29 October 2011

The amount of funding allocated to ministries and government agencies in the 2013 Budget will be measured by their performance next year.

Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said ministries and government agencies found to be involved in irregularities or discrepancies in the next Auditor-General's Report will receive lesser funding allocations.

He said the 2012 Budget announced on Oct 7, would be implemented based on an "outcome concept", which linked the performance of each ministry or government agency to the amount of funds allocated in the next annual budget.

"Instead of looking only at the amount of funds spent, an outcome-based budget will scrutinise the benefits, development or profit gained through each ministry or agency's expenditure.

"Any discrepancy or irregularity is bound to show up in the end performance which will directly affect the funding allocated to the ministry or agency in the next budget," he said after launching a 1Malaysia computer centre at Kampung Jelapang Jaya here yesterday.

Husni said the move was being introduced to increase accountability and curb irregularities as revealed in last year's Auditor General's Report.

He pointed out that ministries or agencies found to be involved in misuse of funds or showing disregard for financial procedures would face strict consequences under the Financial Procedure Act 1957.

He also stated that starting next January, under-performing civil servants would be axed.

"We plan to introduce a new scheme whereby slacking is not tolerated and promotions will be tied to each staff's performance record.

"This is meant to create higher credibility and integrity among staff and hopefully the overall quality of the civil service will improve."

He also revealed that a review of the Auditor-General's report in 2009 and last year would be conducted for a comparison.

"We want to see if the measures introduced so far have been effective."

Meanwhile, Husni also announced that the government had agreed to back up SME Bank's acquisition of bonds worth RM3billion to help fund the country's Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) for a period of three years from now until 2013.

He said the government was confident with the bank's new management which succeeded in reducing the non-performing loan ratio for new loans to a minimum level.

AirAsia X slams Malaysia Airports

Star, 30 October 2011

PUTRAJAYA: AirAsia X, the long-haul budget airline subsidiary of Tune Group, has fired one salvo after another at Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB).

Its chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani aired his grievances against the airport operator via Twitter yesterday.

What irked him most was the delay in the construction of the new budget terminal at the KL International Airport, KLIA 2, and the recent hike in airport fees imposed by MAHB.

“Would be interesting to sponsor (Powerman Malaysia Duathlon) if 2012 edition held at KLIA. But too bad MAHB will miss construction deadline for KLIA2.

“If the Government allowed AirAsia/Sime Darby to build new low-cost carrier terminal at Labu, it would have been ready by now, no public funds used, and lower charges,” he said, revisiting the old controversy of the Government's earlier nod for AirAsia to build their own terminal in Labu before U-turning in 2009 and ordering MAHB to build the terminal instead.

“MAHB promised the prime minister they could deliver the same.

“Now, delayed construction, public funds cost overruns, and they're hiking fees! Way to go, GLC,” he said.
MAHB had recently announced the International Passenger Service Charge (PSC) and Aircraft Landing and Parking Charges.

The PSC has been raised by 28% from RM25 to RM32 for international passengers departing from LCCT-KLIA and the Terminal 2 Kota Kinabalu.

This has been lambasted by Azran in his series of hard-hitting tweets, saying that there was no consultation in MAHB's decision.

“The critical failure of this knee-jerk policy decision to reinstate airport fee monopolistic increase, is that there is no consultation or analysis.

“We keep taking two steps forward, and get dragged two steps backward. Macam mana nak maju? (How do we progress?)” he asked.

Asked by one of his Twitter followers what he thought was the reason behind the fee increase, Azran had only one word in response: “Tamak! (Greed!)”

When contacted by The Star yesterday, MAHB declined to comment.

RM454mil Q4 loss for TNB

STAR, 29 October 2011
KUALA LUMPUR: Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) posted a net loss of RM453.9mil for the fourth quarter ended Aug 31 due to higher fuel costs, its second consecutive quarter of losses as widely expected by analysts.

The company reported a net profit of RM555.2mil in the same corresponding period a year ago. Loss per share was 8.33 sen compared with earnings per share of 10.22 sen.

Revenue, however, was 13% higher at RM9.12bil in the fourth quarter from RM8.07bil previously.
For the financial year ended Aug 31, 2011 (FY11), TNB's net profit plunged to RM499.5mil from RM3.2bil in FY10. Revenue for the year was higher at RM32.2bil versus RM30.3mil.

The utility giant's cash has also fallen due to the higher cost incurred. As at Aug 31, TNB's cash and cash equivalents stood at RM3.25bil from RM8.01bil a year ago.

In the second half, TNB reported a 31.4% increase in operating expenses mainly from independent power producer (IPP) energy payment and fuel costs due to higher consumption of oil and distillate and higher coal price and consumption. The IPP energy payment and fuel costs for the second half of FY11 increased by RM3.2bil, or 50.5%, from the first half.

It also made a foreign exchange translation loss of RM227mil for the whole of FY11, compared with a gain of RM632.6mil last year.

TNB president and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohamad Noh said the losses were mainly due to continued gas shortage resulting in an additional fuel cost of RM2.1bil from oil and distillate.

“TNB has to burn an additional 1.1 tonnes of coal amounting to RM400mil to supplement the lower gas volume,” he said at a briefing to announce its financial performance.

Che Khalib said its additional fuel cost did not factor in the extra coal it had to burn. “It we were to calculate it, the additional fuel cost would be about RM2.5bil.”

“We started FY11 with high coal prices but it was still manageable as the existing tariff structure allows TNB to partially recover the coal cost. However, in the second half of the financial year, TNB was hit by severe gas curtailment resulting in higher utilisation of distillate and oil.

“The cost of generation using these alternative fuels is five times more expensive compared to the cost of using gas,” he said.

To a question, he said TNB was currently in discussion with Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) to seek some compensation concerning its huge losses due to severe gas curtailment. However, he said no decision had been reached as talks were ongoing. “Some form of compensation is required,” said Che Khalib.

Concurrently, Che Khalib said TNB was also in discussing with its stakeholders, Petronas, the Governemnt and IPPs to resolve the shortfall in gas supply.

“We don't think the industry can go on longer (with the severe gas curtailment). We are having many discussion at the moment.

He was quoted as saying recently that, on average, TNB was getting about 900 million std cu ft per day (mmscfd), far from the usual rate of 1,250 mmscfd.

Che Khalib said it was unlikely for Petronas to fully restore its gas supply. “I think they have their own challenges as well,” he said.

He added that TNB's first quarter results may be “similar” to that of the fourth quarter and expected FY12 to be challenging. “Profitability is still too early for us.”

Separately, Che Khalib said the fuel cost pass-through mechanism had been formulated but there was no indication when it would be implemented.

He expected electricity demand to grow 4% next year. For FY11, electricity demand in the peninsula recorded a growth of 3.1%, driven by the commercial sector.

Kenneth Eswaran behind new pay-TV venture

By Jahabar Sadiq
Malaysian Insider, 28 October 2011

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 — Businessman Datuk K.K. Eswaran, who has close ties with Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s family, is behind the new cable television venture Nilamas Corporation Sdn Bhd, which is to start service as early as the first half of next year, say industry sources.
The Malaysian Insider understands that the company, which expects to spend RM2 billion to challenge satellite TV operator Astro for a share of the local market, has now been renamed Asian Broadcasting Network Sdn Bhd. The new brand will be launched next month.

“Datuk Kenneth Eswaran (picture) is behind this venture and his ties with the first family have ensured he got fast approval for the required licences,” an industry source told The Malaysian Insider, referring to the Indian businessman’s preferred name.

Those close to the venture confirmed Eswaran’s interest, pointing out that Nilamas shares two common directors with the businessman’s main corporate vehicle, Pinehill Pacific Berhad. The two are former top civil servants Tan Sri Mohamad Noor Abdul Rahim and Datuk Nik Mohd Amin Nik Abu Bakar.

“Eswaran is politically connected. It’s no surprise he got quick approvals but he now has to launch it,” another industry source said, confirming the new brand name launch is slated for next month.

Eswaran is the deputy executive chairman of Pinehill Pacific, where he is a substantial shareholder. The company has made a few name changes from its original Benta Plantations to Best World Land Bhd in 1995, a year after Eswaran came in, and then renamed Multi Vest Resources Bhd in 2000. It took its present name last January.

The businessman was elected president of the Malaysian Associated Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MAICCI) in June 2008 and was linked to Najib’s family by popular blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, who edits the Malaysia-Today news portal.

The Star daily reported last week that Nilamas had secured all the requisite licences to offer digital cable TV in the country, and will compete in the pay-TV space with Astro All Asia Networks plc (Astro) and several IPTV providers including Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM).

The set-up cost for the cable network offering is expected to be more than RM2 billion over a five-year period and Nilamas, according to sources, is looking at a 40:60 equity-debt combination to fund its venture.
Retired navy chief and former armed forces chief Admiral (Ret) Tan Sri Mohd Anwar Mohd Nor is one of the directors of the company, which has invested in a building in Puchong for its broadcasting centre.

The newspaper also said the new station plans to offer entertainment and educational programmes with an interactive focus.

Nilamas secured the requisite licences to offer subscription broadcasting in the country from the industry regulator, Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission, on August 11 and with this licence it is allowed to offer broadcasting services for a fee.

The company also has network facilities licences that will allow it to build up a network and also a network service provider licence. The licences are valid for five years.

It has begin hiring people and already has a chief executive officer, television industry veteran Sreedhar Subramaniam, who had served as chief financial officer in NTV7 and also as chief executive of The Malaysian Insider.

The Star quoted sources as saying the company now has 20 people and is looking to expand to 800 by the time of its launch.

Sources also said the company was in talks with numerous content providers but added that it might find it difficult to secure content already sold to competitors such as Astro and TM.

Astro began service in 1996 with 22 channels and took a decade to break even. It currently broadcasts some 125 pay-TV channels in four major languages including eight channels in high definition across Malaysia and Brunei to more than 2.93 million households.

Sources told The Malaysian Insider that the new venture would use fibre for its backhaul which will be leased from fibre operators such as TM, Time dotCom Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Fiberail and Fibercom.

Level playing field a long way off

Written by R B Bhattacharjee

Friday, 09 September 2011

Constituency development funding is in the spotlight again following the recent report in Sin Chew Daily that the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition is funnelling millions of ringgit in extra allocations to its Members of Parliament (MPs) in seats that it is confident of winning. The report alleged that in seats where the BN feels it has no chance of winning, the so-called “black” seats, no allocation would be given. On the other hand, seats that are seen to favour BN (“white”) can get up to RM2.5 million per constituency, DAP MP for Bukit Bendera Liew Chin Tong said in a statement. “Grey” seats, where the BN stand some chance would get RM1 million-RM2 million. Liew called on the prime minister to answer Sin Chew Daily’s allegation and make public the spending under the special category in the budget of the Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU) of the PM’s Department, which has a total budget of RM513.96 million for 2011. The DAP leader further alleged that it has been a long standing practice of the BN to exclude elected representatives from opposition parties from access to constituency development funds held in custody by the ICU. In most instances where the parliamentary constituency is held by the opposition, Liew said, the funds are handled by the local Umno division chairmen instead. The PM has been silent so far on the matter, but BN lawmakers contacted by online news site Malaysiakini said extra funds were “normal”, although they brushed aside the suggestion that allocations were increased due to word of an impending general election. If the allegations are untrue, it would be fairly simple for the PM to debunk them by releasing the information about disbursements of constituency development funds to all MPs, whether government, opposition or independent. In the absence of that disclosure, the public must rely on other sources to draw their own conclusions. In this context, it is noteworthy that last October, Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj sued the federal government for withholding funds from the Federal Budget 2010 for his constituency. In his affidavit, the lawmaker from Parti Sosialis Malaysia said he had been deprived of funding for three years of his term, while BN MPs had received funding. Jeyakumar is seeking a writ against the director-general of the ICU and others, to show cause of their authority to exercise discretion to approve and disburse funds from the Federal Consolidated Funds in the Federal Budget. Jeyakumar also wants a declaration that the Special Constituency Allocation must be provided fairly to all members of parliament in accordance with Article 8(1) of the Federal Constitution. Perhaps the strongest reaction to date to the allegations in the Sin Chew report has come from Bersih 2.0, the coalition for free and fair elections, which ignited a mass protest against electoral irregularities with a rally on July 9. In a statement, Bersih 2.0 called the alleged discrimination in parliamentary allocations a “crime against democracy”. It stressed that all Malaysians, regardless of political affiliation or socio-cultural background, should have fair access to constituency fund. “Treating constituency funds as an election tool to induce support is a shameless and corrupt act of misusing public funds, it is an insult to the celebration of Merdeka, as voters should not be effectively forced to vote for a particular party to gain access to this funding,” the statement said. More significantly, the coalition called upon the federal and all state governments — from both BN and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) — to respect democracy and stop the current practices of giving constituency development funds to only their party representatives. To date, neither BN nor PR has come forward to deny or disprove this statement. Nor have civil society groups or the public in general expressed the level of disquiet that would signal that a majority of voters are prepared to hold their elected governments to account on such fundamental principles underlying democratic choice. Although it may be hard for diehard defenders of justice to accept, the democratic process provides ample opportunities for people in power to skew the game in their favour, such as by the selective use of resources to encourage voters to return them to office. The advantages of incumbency are considerable, and can only be mitigated by the vigilant enforcement of the rules of fair play. It is in this vein perhaps that the Bersih 2.0 statement highlighted the need for legislation to prohibit and criminalise all misconduct that blurs the boundary between party and state or which abuses state resources for partisan purposes. In order for the democratic system to remain fairly functional, the concept of a level playing field has to be carefully nurtured at every stage of governance, and not just in the run up to the election. For this to happen, the role of activist groups like Bersih 2.0 in safeguarding the core principles of democracy are clearly catalytic. However, it is a long road that must be patiently travelled before the people at large become sufficiently conscientised about the importance of upholding such principles as accountability, fairness and separation of powers for them to stand up against the unfair distribution of resources. It is certain that the public will have to live with a stage-managed electoral process until they choose to defend the democratic system against the erosion of its fundamental tenets. Indeed, although the winds of change may look like they have been gaining strength from outside the government’s ranks, they may well be calmed somewhat when they meet the mountains of cash that will surely be splurged on projects for the rakyat before the next ballot.

Malaysia’s ‘Big Government’ economy a dampener

Written by Chua Sue-Ann

Edge, 12 October 2011

KUALA LUMPUR: As the government forges ahead to attract foreign investors and spur domestic private sector activity, independent think- tank Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) has reiterated warnings that the country’s “Big Government” approach could dampen investor confidence. Ideas chief executive Wan Saiful Wan Jan yesterday noted ongoing concern that the government’s pervasive presence in the economy, including via government-linked companies (GLCs), as well as government dominance in the provision of services would be detrimental to Malaysia’s economic vibrancy in the long run. Wan Saiful said the economy should ideally be driven by entrepreneurs, although in reality GLCs will likely continue to play a role in the economy in the next two to three decades. “There are two elements at play here. First, the government does not trust market forces completely, and second, they think they know best. “It is difficult to see the government [letting] go of control on the economy but its role can be progressively limited,” Wan Saiful told The Edge Financial Daily on the sidelines of the Economic Freedom Network Asia 2011 Conference yesterday. In addition, government policy and implementation must also be consistent for Malaysia to be seen as an attractive destination for investors, be it domestic or foreign players, Wan Saiful added. Indeed, the government has recognised the need to overhaul the present system with a view to making Malaysia into an advanced, high-income nation. Saiful: It is difficult to see the government letting go of control on the economy. Among other policy proposals, the National Economic Advisory Council’s (NEAC) New Economic Model (NEM) proposed a shift from the old approach of dominant state participation in selected economic sectors towards private sector-led growth. To that end, the government is looking to promote competition across and within sectors to revive private investment and market dynamism, the NEAC said. The NEM also argued for the need to re-engineer public institutions to prevent duplication of functions that can be better provided by the private sector, with public institutions being limited to the role of the facilitator. “While this approach (public investment and GLC initiatives) may have served the country well in the past, it is unlikely to provide the dynamism needed to spur the country to developed country status. That will come from new ventures, fresh products and emerging niche markets,” the NEM noted. The NEM’s policy proposals to create an ecosystem for entrepreneurship and innovation include reducing direct state participation in the economy, divesting GLCs in industries where the private sector is operating effectively and ensuring GLCs operate on a strict commercial basis free of government interference. This comes amid longstanding concerns that the size and presence of GLCs could crowd out the private sector. In a frank assessment of the present situation, the NEM noted that the government — in playing the role of business owner and regulator of industries — faces conflicts of interest which can result in GLCs gaining an unfair advantage over private firms. “This in effect discourages new private investment in market segments where GLCs are strong. Such market segments could well be the ones which could attract private investment in high value added products and services,” the NEM stated. Nevertheless, the NEM pointed out that there is still room for GLCs to partner more effectively with the private sector. These collaborations could take advantage of economies of scale, networking and ventures abroad. Earlier at the Economic Freedom Network Asia 2011 Conference yesterday, Prof Dr Jurgen Morlok of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) argued that the state’s role should be restricted to the regulation of the economy to the extent that it allows for fair competition to take place. “The state should set the rules and act as a referee, no more, no less. When the state becomes the referee and player at the same time, competition becomes unfair,” said Morlok, who chairs the FNF board of trustees. Earlier reports by the Vancouver-based Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the World, meanwhile, show that Malaysia’s ranking on the Economic Freedom Index has been slipping over the past few years. Malaysia has gone from occupying 53rd position in 2006 to 78th place in 2009, with a summary rating of 6.68 out of 10. At the top of the 2009 Economic Freedom Rankings were Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand, while countries at the bottom were Venezuela, Myanmar and Zimbabwe. The Economic Freedom of the World report, which ranks 141 nations, measures the degree to which a country’s policies and institutions are supportive of economic freedom. A comparison of Malaysia’s summary ratings for 2005 and 2008 show that Malaysia had recorded slight improvements in the regulation of credit, labour and business and, access to sound money. Malaysia’s summary ratings however declined from 2005 to 2008 in the areas of government size, legal structure and property rights and freedom to trade internationally. The Economic Freedom of the World 2011 report is scheduled to be released today.