Malay Mail: Angkasa taken to court.... By Frankie D'Cruz and Nadirah H. Rodzi,

Angkasa taken to court

Posted on 11 February 2011
By Frankie D'Cruz and Nadirah H. Rodzi, The Malay Mail

KUALA LUMPUR: Crisis-ridden apex cooperative movement Angkatan Koperasi Malaysia (Angkasa) — with a membership of close to eight million — has been slammed with a suit by five cooperatives alleging criminal breach of trust, mismanagement, misappropriation and abuse of power by eight key officials.

The five cooperatives have alleged the officials of Angkasa had cost the national cooperative organisation of Malaysia, that has 7,688 cooperatives under its wings, to suffer losses running into millions of ringgit.

The suit was filed amid a claim this morning by the Adviser to the Cooperative Union of Malaysia, Thuraisingham Shun, that 75 per cent of civil servants were in debt with financial institutions over various loans.

He said the figure, suggested by a Universiti Malaya economist, was a further indicator that Angkasa was in shambles and that today’s suit was a move to revamp the body.

Shun said Angkasa’s operations should be suspended and the accounts frozen until the court has made a decision. The officials implicated are Angkasa president Prof Datuk Mohd Ali Bahrum, Datuk Fatah Abdullah (deputy president), Armi Zainuddin Mutadho Bahri, Jamal Abdullah (all vice-presidents), chief executive officer Nasir Khan Yahya, executive secretary Mohd Zamri Yaakob and chief accountant Suresh Kumar.

The plaintiffs are Koperasi Rangkaian Sahabat Dungun Bhd, Koperasi Insan Bantu Insan Kuala Lumpur Bhd, Koperasi Konsortium Kontraktor Bumiputera Bhd, Koperasi Pembangunan Melayu Raub Berhad and Koperasi Pengurusan Tanah Malaysia Bhd.

The cooperatives filed an originating summons with the Kuala Lumpur High Court (Appellate and Special Powers) this morning seeking a declaration to suspend the officials for allegedly:

● taking more than a million ringgit in allowances for attending board meetings from 2007-2009. The president was accused of taking RM155,118 in 2008.

● failing in their fiduciary responsibilities in the purchase of a land in Kelana Jaya and causing a loss of RM6.5 million in the deal with Malaysian Association of Productivity.

● approving and spending RM500,000 for a delegates’ conference, including allowances, in 2009 in violation of by-laws.

● spending RM1.27 million to buy seven Toyota Camry for their personal use just before Hari Raya last year while only RM400,000 was authorised for that purpose.

● approving and spending RM500,000 over and above the sanctioned budget of RM1.5 million in 2009 without permission.

● abusing their powers in suspending three members of the State liaison committee for three years.

● paying unauthorised allowances to officials of the Malaysian Cooperative Societies Commission, and other government officials who attended several board meetings. These payments were viewed as corruption.

● making false media statements that Angkasa had made a profit of RM2 billion for the financial year ending 30th June 2010.

Fatah and Muhtadho were also said to have failed to relinquish their positions at the ensuing annual general meeting after they were appointed to fill the vacant position of vice-president temporarily following the demise of the former president Datuk Rahim Bakar in 2009.

In the supporting affidavit, a director of Koperasi Rangkaian Sahabat Dungun, Datuk Seri Noor Zainan Zainul, said despite reports to the police, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the Malaysian Cooperative Societies Commission, no action had been taken by the defendants to resolve the issues.

The cooperatives, through their lawyers, applied to the court to suspend the entire board and requested for a court administrator to manage the affairs of Angkasa.

They also sought a forensic audit to ascertain the true financial situation in Angkasa and refer the findings to a special general meeting.

Noor Zainan led four representatives of the other cooperatives to file the affidavit through their lawyer Moghan Muthiah at 10.30am.

Shun later told reporters the five cooperatives would file a certificate of urgency for speedy hearing of the matter.

He said the affected co-operatives had sent a letter to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on Jan 31 and were hoping to meet him to address the state of cooperatives in the country.

Angkasa, registered in May 1971, is recognised by the government as the national apex body of cooperative organisations.

The Malaysian Insider (mysinchew): The unkindest cut for the poor — Thomas Lee Seng Hock

The unkindest cut for the poor — Thomas Lee Seng Hock

The Malaysian Insider, July 17, 2010

 

JULY 17 — The decision by the federal government to increase the prices of sugar, gas and petrol as the first step of its gradual subsidy rationalisation programme is sure to irk the people, especially those in the low-income group.

There will certainly be massive bitter resentment and anger among the people, especially when the Ramadan month cum Hari Raya Puasa, the month-long Hungry Ghost Festival, the Mid-Autumn or Mooncake Festival, and the Kew Ong Yah (Nine Emperor-Gods) Festival are just around the corner. Many Chinese also hold their weddings during the auspicious Mid-Autumn Festival period.

Obviously, the price-increase move will cause a domino effect on the economy, sparking a rise in prices of other goods and services, especially in the food and transportation sectors.

The move is also expected to cause some major political repercussions for the Barisan Nasional, especially with the impending Sarawak state election, which must be held before the end of the year, and a possible general election early next year.

The timing of the price increase announcement, just a few hours after Parliament adjourned its latest sitting, has also cast uncomplimentary aspersions on the Najib administration for wanting to avoid an open debate by the country’s lawmakers on such a vital issue.

The federal government has described the cuts as part of a difficult but bold decision to reduce fiscal deficit, and said that it would still have to spend RM7.8 billion on fuel and sugar subsidies this year.

According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, the subsidy rationalisation would allow the federal government to reduce its expenditure by more than RM750 million this year.

The so-called savings through the cut in subsidies will surely become a point of contention as the people are upset that they have to suffer the increasing cost of living while the government spends hundreds of millions on what they perceive as non-essential things, such as the mega building projects and the purchases of defence equipment.

There had also been massive wastage of public funds, such as the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) fiasco, which arose after the cost to develop the massive 400-hectare integrated cargo distribution hub spiralled from RM1.9 billion to RM4.6 billion.

Then there is the mega purchase of two France-made Scorpene submarines. According to figures supplied to an MP in Parliament by Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, total costs, excluding annual maintenance, works out to €1.34 billion or RM6.7 billion. This breaks down to €969 million for the two submarines, €219 million for missiles, €38 million for miscellaneous equipment and €114 million for commission paid to the middle-man company Perimekar. Maintenance fees were originally agreed at RM600 million for six years or RM100 million per year. However, this has been increased to RM270 million per year.

Sure, the people will support the government in what it has described as the “long-needed” economic reforms to help the country maintain the strong growth it had achieved to become a developed and high-income nation.

But the people also want responsibility, competency, accountability, transparency, and authenticity in the Barisan Nasional government’s stewardship of the hard-earned tax money they contribute to the nation’s coffer.

Although Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has promised that the government would adopt an approach that would not burden the people when implementing the subsidy rationalising plan, the truth is that the move will certainly result in an inflationary economic environment, with a general increase in the prices of goods and services, and the people who will be hit hard most will be the low-income families.

The government has argued that those that benefit most from the subsidised items are the businesses which used twice as much subsidised sugar than households, and owners of luxury cars who enjoy cheap fuel although they could afford unsubsidised prices.

Of course, those in the privileged class will not feel much impact from the cut in subsidies, and they will go on enjoying their upmarket lifestyle with nary a care for anything.

The poor, however, will have to tighten their already tight belts to make ends meet. As it is, many are just living from hands to mouths, with nothing left in their bank accounts before the end of the month.

It is anticipated that the ah longs will be doing roaring business, especially among the small petty traders and hawkers who will find it hard to survive in a tight market situation with their regular customers cutting their spending.

By making a general blanket withdrawal of subsidies, the government is causing much hardship to the low-income families who form the majority of the country’s population.

The so-called subsidy rationalisation to curb the wrong beneficiaries, wastage and abuse is like a machine-gun shooting at all, and those who get hit are those who couldn’t afford the bullet-proof vests.

I propose that the federal government take the following three measures to help relieve the financial difficulties of the low-income people:

• (a) Those earning less than RM50,000 a year should be exempted from paying personal income tax.
• (b) A family of three or more with an household income of less than RM30,000 should be given a cost-of-living allowance (Cola) of RM200 a month for each schooling child or disabled dependent of the family, and each non-working old folk above 60 years old. 
• (c) All those who have reached the mandatory retirement age, but are still working should be exempted from paying personal income tax. These people have been paying income taxes all their working life and they deserve a respite to enjoy their sunset years.

The move to increase the prices of sugar and fuel is surely the unkindest cut for the poor. But, if Najib and the Barisan Nasional implements the measures I proposed before the next general election, I guarantee that the Barisan Nasional will return to power with a landslide majority. — mysinchew.com

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or the publication. The Malaysian Insider does not endorse the view unless specified.

Malaysian Insider-Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad: We need ‘painful’ economic reforms, not a GST

We need ‘painful’ economic reforms, not a GST

Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad

 Malaysian Insider, MARCH 16 — The PM has finally taken heed of our critique of the GST. Or has he really? That’s how it seems for now.

But you really couldn’t tell from this move as to why he defers the second reading of the the bill on GST.

It could have been done to evade that ugly demonstration of the Pakatan’s MPs and the NGOs that would have otherwise marred the opening of the new parliamentary session by the Agung.

This writer (a member of the Anti-GST Task Force) however would like to believe that the PM has finally taken heed of all the critiques, not the least or perhaps most seriously from the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM).

The cost to both the government and businesses is monstrous. Australia paid A$4.8 bilion  (RM14.56 billion) when it implemented the GST 10 years ago.

It may cost us in total, close to RM4.5 billion with 200,000 companies or persons as ‘taxable persons’ under the new GST as opposed to the 50,000 under the old SST regime.

The BN government is now saying that they would like to listen more extensively from the people, the rakyat. Strange.

Not after all these debates in the first reading in the parliament and especially if one considers that this is second attempt at tabling this new taxation system (after 2002), which is a onerous, massive and pervasive one!

So they are now saying that they have forgotten to engage the rakyat. Didn’t they want to even seek the rakyat’s perception and take, on the GST earlier?

Only after the Pakatan’s Anti-GST Task Force took on the offensive and later on joined by the NGOs, did the BN government realise that the GST is after all not well received and perhaps vehemently opposed save by the greatest beneficiary, the tax accountants, not all though.

Pakatan reiterates our stance on the GST. We are not against the GST per se.

However, Pakatan is totally against its reckless implementation and especially not when the nation’s economy is at its critical time to undergo ‘fundamental and structural’ reforms, in what is now hyped to be the “New Economic Model” — it better be one.

Pakatan strongly proposes few prerequisites to be put in place before attempting to replace the current SST. Though the initial 4 per cent rate for the GST may look appealing and enticing enough, this sugar-coated medicine, may actually become the medicine that kills the patient.

Reiterating, the nation needs to address, the low-income trap as only 15 per cent or 1.5 million of the work force pay income tax.

Real wages of in the domestic sector, according to the World Bank, only grew by a mere 2.6 per cent between 1994 and 2007. That’s well beyond a decade of stagnation in term of real wages growth (after taking account of inflation).

The economy must be allowed to propel into a higher income economy based on productivity (keeping cost-per-unit down) in knowledge-intensive industries and activities. No two ways about it.

That’s the way forward. Growth should now be generated through private investment (both local and foreign) and not merely by pump priming of the G-factor (in the GDP) in infrastructural mega-projects by the government, exacerbating the already yawning deficit of 8 per cent (yes not 7.4 per cent as claimed) in 2009.

We need the quality foreign investment (FDI) not so much of the portfolios investment or the hot-money.

More importantly, we need to reverse the outflow of capital ie. getting our local investors to fund growth and industries hence employment locally in higher value-added activities.

Together with the real wages issue, is the urgent need to close-up the widening income disparities.

Our income, let alone equity, disparity is about one of the worst in the world, close to perhaps Papua New Guinea. It’s quite meaningless talking about improving income per capita when the income disparity is malignant.

The NEM must seek to improve both before GST is put in place.

Finally, back to the bone of contention. Why must the government ‘victimise’ the rakyat for new revenue source and stream. Is that the true meaning of Rakyat-First’s slogan of the PM? That is to be first victimised!

We have argued and proposed that the Federal Government plucks all holes of leakages and stop the hemorrhages through ‘best practice’ and good governance in procurements and the entire delivery system. The Auditor General’s report alluded a saving of RM28 billion a year if these measures are put in place.

That’s RM27 billion more than the mere additional RM1 billion the government is targeting in the first year of the GST implementation.

How about the APs that could be monetised through an open-tender system which could easily bring in a revenue stream of RM2 billion yearly, depending on how much the government wants to tender the 60-70,000 APs yearly.

Stop subsidising the non-deserving private sectors eg. IPPs etc. and stop crony practices and bailouts as in rewarding Syabas, a private company closely linked to the Federal Government, a RM320 million interest-free loan facility that is also unsecured and back-loaded.

That BN’s penchant for giving such handouts and patronising rent-seeking activities is globally recognised, hence the reason why we are in these unending economic woes.

We are in serious need of concrete but perhaps ‘painful’ reforms. If the PM insists of pacifying the rakyat through this delay tactic, he cheats no one save himself.

He does it at his peril again!

Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad is a member of the PAS central working committee and MP of Kuala Selangor.
* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.