BI-WEEKLY BRIEF (16 – 30 JUNE 2005)
1.
There is a need for Malaysia to develop higher value-added agricultural and
services sector as the manufacturing margin becomes thinner due to the emergence of
markets like China and India, as well as Vietnam and Thailand, economist Tan Sri Noordin
Sopiee said on Wednesday. "Malaysia would not be able to sustain its growth if it does not
transform and reinvent its economy. We are putting the right measures in place.
Unfortunately, it takes a lot of time but as you can see it is happening," he said. He said this
to reporters on the sidelines of Standard Chartered priority Banking Business Circle
networking session, in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. Noordin, who is chairman of
Malaysian think-tank Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), said that if the
country did not do the right thing, its economic growth could go back to preindependence period where it grew at around 3.5 percent. "We must grow at seven percent
and to do that, we must do many things which are difficult and sometimes appear impossible
but we have to do it," he said. (30 JUNE 2005)
2.
The number of airlines using Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is
expected to increase to 50 by the end of this year, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan
Kong Choy said. He said the first half year had already seen four new airlines flying to KLIA
and Pakistan International Airlines making a comeback compared to five new airlines landing
at the airport last year. "There are now 48 airlines using KLIA and I hope to see another two
or three new ones being added in the near future," he said after welcoming passengers on
the first PIA flight to land at KLIA in four years. The four new airlines are Shenzhen Airlines
of China, Thai AirAsia, Thai Sky Airlines and Jat Airways of Serbia and Montenegro.
(29 JUNE 2005)
3.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) The Hague will hear the disputed
ownership claims of Malaysia and Singapore to Pulau Batu Puteh, a tiny rocky outcrop off
Johor, in the summer next year. Malaysian ambassador to the Netherlands Datuk Noor Farida
Arifin said the two countries had filed their second pleadings in the case. The court had set
Nov 25 this year for the third, and final, pleading, she told Malaysian journalists at
a food fair jointly organised by the Malaysian embassy and the Malaysian
Association of The Netherlands in The Hague recently. Noor Farida said the preparation of
documents was proceeding smoothly and Malaysia's international panel of advisors held a
meeting in Kuala Lumpur recently. The Pulau Batu Puteh issue arose after Singapore
questioned Malaysia’s sovereignty over the 0.2ha Island located about 15 nautical miles off
Johor, in 1980. (29 JUNE 2005)
4.
The government is keeping a close watch on the movements of world crude oil
prices as continuing increases would have serious implications on the Malaysian economy,
Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak said. "We are watching the situation and will monitor closely
the effects (of the oil price increases)," he told reporters after launching a National Fitness
Council video clip for TV screening, in Putrajaya on Tuesday. He was asked to
comment on the implications of the surging oil prices, which had hit new
records above US$60 (RM228), a barrel, on Malaysia's economy and rate of inflation.
Najib said continuing increases in oil prices would have a direct impact on prices in the
country, especially the prices of petroleum products. However, he said, the government had
not made any decision on the prices of petroleum products. (29 JUNE 2005)
5.
Malaysia's competitiveness should be looked at in a specific and broader context,
and not only focused on one indicator, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk
Seri Rafidah Aziz said in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. She said that based on specific
indicators, Malaysia is more competitive and placed 25th compared with Thailand (28th),
South Korea (29th) and China (30th). In her written reply to Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh
Timur) at the Dewan Rakyat sitting in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, she said that infrastructure
indicator puts Malaysia at number 34 while Thailand at 47. As such, the view that Malaysia
lost to Thailand in terms of competitiveness by referring to the IMD 2005 Competitiveness
Yearly Book Report was inaccurate," she said. In terms of performance, the Malaysian
economy has shown encouraging performance rising to eighth placing from 16th last year
compared with Thailand which was at number seven from nine. In terms of international
trade, Malaysia rose to sixth spot from ninth placing while Thailand maintained its 18th
position. "Overall, Malaysia’s economic performance surpassed that of France, the
Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Australia," she said. Another factor which indicated
Malaysia's good performance versus Thailand is the increase in foreign direct investment
flow (FDI); in 2004 the investment approved stood at RM28.7 billion and investors were
still maintaining and increasing the amount. (28 JUNE 2005)
6.
Given the importance of human resource as the catalyst to the nation's
economic growth, the government will give priority to human capital under the Ninth
Malaysia Plan (9MP). Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Mustapa Mohamed
said towards that objective, the education system would focus on efforts to ensure the
manpower produced by the country would meet industry needs and were able to compete in
the global market. Mustapa said for the purpose, the government would give more
emphasis on the education system and training including empowering the national schools,
reducing the gap between rural and urban schools and ensuring local universities could
produce the manpower needed by the industry. (22 JUNE 2005)
7.
, through its joint venture company, aims to raise oil output in Sudan to one million
barrels per day by 2007 up from 300,000 barrels now, president and chief executive officer of
Petronas Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican said. Petronas is involved in the upstream sector – in
exploration and production -- in Sudan's lucrative oil resources with a joint operatorship
with the Sudan National Oil Company and China National Petroleum Corporation since
1997. Mohd Hassan told a session at the IDB group meetings in Putrajaya on Tuesday that
Petronas intends to increase its presence in the African region. Among Petronas' interests
are in ongoing projects in exploration of oil reserves in Chad as well as in the construction
of 170 km of the 1,070 km pipeline from oil fields in Southern Chad to the coast of
Cameroon. (22 JUNE 2005)
8.
Demand for halal products in Asean countries is expected to reach US$46 billion
(RM175 billion) this year, with 10 percent of the demand for meat-based products, said the
Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim). Its director-general Datuk Mustafa
Abdul Rahman said the halal food business has been growing in importance among
Muslim communities around the world, offering excellent potential and a lucrative global
market. "Halal food is universal food and well accepted by both Muslims and non-Muslims.
(22 JUNE 2005)
9.
There are 1,265 Multimedia Super-Corridor Status companies, of which 70 percent
are 100 percent locally owned, while 30 percent are either foreign-owned or joint
ventures, the senior vice president of Multimedia Development Corporation, Dr Abu Talib
Bachik informed participants at a meeting, in Putrajaya on Tuesday. He said MSC
companies achieved sales exceeding RM6 billion in 2004 with a cumulative export value of
RM2 billion since 2002. Abu also said that about 350 MSC-status companies were reporting
their products to over 60 countries. (22 JUNE 2005)
10.
In an attempt to stop "Islamophobia", where Muslims suffered a negative
image in the West and western media, more inter-civilisational dialogues should be
organised to foster deeper understanding between the East and the West, Date' Seri Syed
Hamid Albar said on Monday. He said such dialogues would allow the international
community to correct the prejudice and misperception of Islam and Muslims, which are
harmful and disastrous to the promotion of global peace, stability and prosperity. Syed Hamid
was speaking at a one-day international seminar on "Islam and Politics in Europe and Asia:
Some French and Malaysian views" organised by the Asian Strategy and Leadership
Institute (Asli) and the French embassy. Syed Hamid said France, which has the largest
Muslim community in Europe, could play a major to help improve the image of Islam. "Given
the historical background and the fact that France plays host to the largest Muslim
community in Europe, how the French body politics adjusts and accommodates its Muslims
will be important to the rest of Europe. (21 JUNE 2005)
11.
The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is hopeful of coming up with its Vision 2020
regional roadmap based on Malaysia's Vision 2020 by the end of this year, said its president
Ahmed Mohamed Ali. "Hopefully, before the end of this year, we are going to work out the
2020 Vision among IDB member countries to see where the IDB is going and how it can
be relevant to growing and changing needs of member countries," Ahmed said this IDB 2020
Vision concept would initially be discussed at regional meetings with the first scheduled for
the Asian region to be held in Putrajaya this Friday. (21 JUNE 2005)
12.
A total of 600,000 out of one million foreign workers who have permits and are
registered with the Human Resource Ministry have been insured by their employers
under the Foreign Workers Compensation Scheme enforced last year. Human Resources
Minister, Datuk Dr Fong Chan Onn on Monday said that employers now could be fined a total
of RM20, 000 for each foreign worker not insured under the scheme. "Under the scheme,
each employer must pay insurance premiums between RM72 and RM86 per foreign
worker," he told reporters after opening Lex Pavemaster (M) Sdn Bhd's management
office at the Kepong Industrial Park in Kuala Lumpur. (21 JUNE 2005)
13.
The vast economic imbalance among the Organisation of the Islamic Conference
(OIC) countries may be a cause for concern but Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
said on Monday that members must seize it as a challenge and potential for self-help.
He said he would like to see the OIC, of which Malaysia is the current chairman, giving
greater focus to economic development and integration and help lift up the lot of its 22
members considered as Least Developed Nations. Abdullah said such an endeavour
was in line with Malaysia's own "prosper-thy-neighbour" policy that has worked well in
bringing prosperity to its partners. He named wealth creation through trade, investment
expansion, access to credit, improvement to education and human resource development as
ingredients towards a successful economic future of the Jeddah-based organisation. The
Prime Minister also stressed that the economic development of a nation did not only depend
on natural commodities but also human capital development. (20 JUNE 2005)
14.
Malaysia will share its views and experience in tackling the communist
terrorism in the country during the post-independence era at the International Conference
on Iraq in Brussels, Belgium, on Wednesday. Dato' Seri Syed Hamid Albar, who will leave for
Brussels on Monday, said as the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) chairman,
Malaysia had been invited to share its views and experience on how the war-ravaged Iraq
could be redeveloped in the economic, political, social and cultural fields. (20 JUNE 2005)
15.
Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Azalina Othman Said said on Sunday night the
views of the younger generation should not be ignored just because Eastern values
dictate that the young must listen to the elders. "Sometimes we think that young adults
cannot think for themselves and should always do as we tell them to," she said in the
"Debat Perdana" discussion at the Auditorium P. Ramlee in Angkasapuri. "That is why it is
important to practise open-mindedness at every level, including at home, so that we know
the wishes and needs of this target group to enable them to benefit from the programmes we
implement," she said. Azalina also stressed that society should not leave it entirely to the
government to instil noble values in youths. "Values come from individuals themselves;
basically (youths get their sense of values) from their parents," (20 JUNE 2005)
Complied and edited by:
Malaysian Students Department
Wellington