The Sins of the Fathers

Najib says rules on corporate bonds, foreign ownership eased

BY JENNIFER GOMEZ

Published: 9 June 2014 | Updated: 9 June 2014 4:36 AM

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak addressing Invest Malaysia 2014 in Kuala Lumpur, today. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Afif Abd Halim, June 9, 2014.Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today announced that mandatory requirement for corporate bond credit ratings will be removed from 2017 as part of the liberalisation of the financial sector.

In his keynote address at the Invest Malaysia 2014 today, Najib also said that foreign firms can now fully own unit trust management companies, as well as allowing foreign-owned credit rating agencies in the local market from January 2017.

"This will broaden the corporate bond market, and enable investors to further diversify their portfolios," he said

In his speech, Najib spoke of efforts to improve Malaysia’s finances through the government's subsidies rationalisation programme and the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

He said that over the past year, he had worked at improving Malaysia's fiscal situation by rationalizing  blanket subsidies so that government support reaches those who need it most.

Najib said the government had also been reducing spending so that it remained within the self-imposed debt ceiling, as well as reduced the budget deficit faster than expected.

He said the GST will broaden the tax base when it comes into effect next April.

But he acknowledged that the people's understanding of economic development is shaped by many non-economic factors.

“Their day-to-day experiences, their concerns, things like traffic, crime, or pollution, are far more important to them than GNI or GDP statistics.

"So while improving the quality of growth, we must also focus on improving the quality of life, the measure of public happiness that allows people to feel pride and ownership of their nation’s success," he added.

Najib said he was committed to see Malaysia as a high-income economy.

"That means building a stable and inclusive financial system, encouraging innovation, and tackling corruption.

"To that end, we have introduced policies and reforms to ensure our growth is not just strong, but sustainable," he said. 

MY ADVICE TO FOREIGNERS - UNLESS YOU HAVE THE STOMACH FOR CORRUPTION THEN COME TO MALAYSIA.  

**********************************************************************************

Sultan has more power under Housing Board Bill

EXCLUSIVE The Johor government will table an enactment in the state assembly on Monday to set up a housing and real property board that will empower the Sultan of Johor to appoint the board members, oversee its accounts and even dissolve the board.

Although this is not the first state enactment to deal with housing in Malaysia, it is the first to provide such far-reaching powers to the ruler of a state.

The Johor Housing and Real Property Board Bill 2014 aims to form a board to promote and undertake the development of housing and real property in Johor.

Johor state executive councillor Abd Latiff Bandi, who in charge of housing and local government, confirmed with Malaysiakini that the state will table the Bill for first reading at the ongoing state assembly sitting the coming Monday.

Copies of the Bill have been distributed to all Johor assemblypersons, Abd Latiff said.

According to the Bill, the Johor Housing and Real Property Board will be chaired by the menteri besar, with the exco member responsible for the housing and local government as the deputy.

The other five members of the board are to be the state secretary, state legal adviser, state financial officer, director of the Johor Rural and Urban Planning Department and the director of state Economic Planning Unit.

Section 4 of the enactment will allow the sultan to appoint four persons, at the most, as members of the board for no more than two years and be reappointed, unless they resign or their appointments are revoked by the sultan.

The Bill also moots to give the sultan the power to:

Determine the remuneration or allowances of board members;

  Approve the appointment of a director, who can be appointed as the chief executive officer of the board;

  Scrutinise the accounts or appoint someone to do so; and

  Wind-up and dissolve the board. The Bill also states that the estimated expenses for each following year be passed by the sultan before submission for approval of allocations from the state government.

S'gor, Penang laws don't state ruler

Section 34(1) of the Johor enactment states that the board must submit its annual report to the sultan and the state authority before June 30 every year.

Section 44 states that for any Malay reserve land under the Malay Reservation Enactment 1936, "the Board shall be deemed as the Malay corporation".

Although Selangor and Penang have the similar housing board enactments, they do not state any role for the state ruler.

The Selangor Housing and Real Property Board Enactment 2001 provides that the power to appoint board member lies in the hands of federal and state governments.

The board only submits an estimate of the budget to the state authority and its audit report will be submitted to the Selangor menteri besar and the relevant federal minister.

The Penang Housing Board Enactment 2010 states that the appointment of board members is to be done by the federal and state governments.

The estimation of expenses for the following year is only submitted to the state authority for approval while the audit report is submitted to the chief minister and the finance minister.

Asked why the Bill gives executive powers to the ruler, Abd Latiff ( above, left ) explained that it was based on the Johor constitution, which he said states that "all the powers are executed in the name of the King".

'Not a big deal in Johor'

"For Johor, this is nothing very special about it," he said when contacted.

Citing the Johor Corporation as an example, Abd Latiff, who is the Endau assemblyperson, said the state investment arm was established under the Johor Corporation Enactment 1968, which has similar provisions.

However, the opposition leader in the Johor state assembly, Dr Boo Cheng Hau, rebutted Abd Latiff's statement, saying the power of the sultan is only limited to the appointment of the menteri besar and state exco members.

"Even the appointment of the exco members is done on the advice of the menteri besar," Boo told Malaysiakini .

The Skudai assemblyperson opined that the housing board Bill is "regressive and unhealthy" in giving such jurisdiction to the sultan as it challenges the spirit of the state constitution.

According to Boo ( right ), Johor Pakatan Rakyat has reached consensus that the Bill"puts too much burden" on the sultan, particularly as the ruler would need to monitor the audit report of the board.

"We are a country that adopts a constitutional monarchy system. If we hand over executive powers to the sultan, the burden will be too heavy.

"We think the state assembly should bear the responsibility of check-and-balance," he said.

Boo also said it would be conflict of interest for the menteri besar to check the accounts of the board as he is also the chairperson.

"I think that it should be the state assembly that checks on the board by forming an independent select committee," he added.

************************************************************

Former Johor Sultanah loses battle to nullify her divorce

BY V. ANBALAGAN, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

Published: 9 June 2014

The former Sultanah of Johor has lost her final battle in the Shariah Court of Appeal to set aside the validity of her divorce from the late Sultan of Johor.

A three-man bench led by judge Syed Ali Syed Abu Bakar said the Shariah High Court judge was correct in declaring that he was bound by a fatwa issued by a committee.

The other judges are Marsid @ Morsid Mahrof and Jainuddin Mt Sum.

Tuanku Zanarah's (pic) predicament started in August last year when she received a letter saying the late ruler had divorced her in January 2009.

In 1961, she married Sultan Mahmud Iskandar Ismail, who died on January 22, 2010.

A letter from the Johor Mufti Mohd Tahrir Syamsuddin to her was accompanied by three other documents, including a divorce certificate dated October 8, 2010, that stated the divorce took place on January 23, 2009.

She also received a second letter from the former Johor menteri besar Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Othman dated December 9, 2010, informing her of the Johor fatwa committee’s decision on August 6, 2010 that recognised the validity of the divorce.

The final document was from the Lower Shariah Court dated September 30, 2010 that affirmed the divorce. 

*****************************************************************************

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IF THE SULTAN OF JOHORE CAN DO THIS TO HIS STEP MOTHER WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF MB KHALED DISOBEY HIS HIGHNESS WISH.

THERE ARE ONLY TWO WAYS TO STOP THIS MADNESS AND THAT IS TO WIPE OFF THE MONARCHY BY PUTTING THEM IN A MENTAL HOME OR SEND THEM INTO EXILE TO CAYMAN ISLAND WHERE 1MBD PARKED ITS RM7.6 BILLION.

MY ADVICE TO JUDGE SYED ALI, MARSID AND JAINUDDIN RESIGN IMMEDIATELY AND JUMP INTO THE INDIAN OCEAN.  YOU HAVE DISGRACED YOUR ROBE.