Obama kata tak buli, tetapi boleh dipercayai tak? – Dr M

KUCHING – Bekas Perdana Menteri, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad bimbang Malaysia akan mengalami kerugian jika mengambil keputusan menandatangani Perjanjian Perkongsian Trans-Pasifik (TPPA).
Menurutnya, adalah lebih baik kerajaan tidak menyertai TPPA memandangkan hanya sedikit manfaat diperoleh jika negara menandatangani perjanjian tersebut.
“Kita (Malaysia) memang suka berbaik dengan semua negara dan Amerika Syarikat (AS) adalah rakan perdagangan yang besar bagi kita dan hubungan baik memang menguntungkan kedua-dua pihak.
“Saya fikir TPPA itu lebih baik tidak ada. Tapi tidak tahu kerajaan hendak tandatangan atau tidak…tidak ada guna,” katanya.
Beliau ditemui pemberita selepas menyampaikan ucaptama dalam Majlis Perasmian Kongres Kesatuan Antarabangsa Arkitek Landskap (ILFA) Asia Pasifik 2014 di sebuah hotel di sini hari ini.
Terdahulu, Dr. Mahathir menerima Anugerah Kecemerlangan daripada Institut Arkitek Landskap Malaysia (ILAM) dan ILFA Asia Pasifik yang disampaikan oleh Presiden ILAM, Mohd Fadrillah Mohd Taib sebagai menghargai sumbangannya dalam pembangunan industri landskap di negara ini.
Timbalan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Razali Ibrahim semalam berkata, kerajaan tidak akan menandatangani TPPA hanya kerana lawatan Presiden AS, Barack Obama ke negara ini.
Menurut Razali, kedatangan Obama tidak ada kena mengena dengan TPPA dan dibuktikan dalam jadual lawatannya selama tiga hari di negara ini.
Ditanya lanjut mengapa beliau tidak bersetuju kerajaan menyertai TTPA, Dr. Mahathir menjelaskan, perjanjian itu merugikan kerana negara hanya mendapat sedikit tambahan pasaran perniagaan.
“Kita mungkin dapat sikit tambahan pasaran tetapi banyak perkara dalaman untuk menjaga rakyat Malaysia, kita terpaksa buka (pasaran perniagaan) bagi mereka (negara Barat) masuk.
“Mereka (negara Barat) kaya dan mempunyai teknologi tinggi menyebabkan mereka boleh mengatasi kita punya dasar untuk membantu rakyat Malaysia,” ujarnya.
Sebagai contoh, kata beliau, jika negara mahu mengeksport eksport kelapa sawit, kerajaan perlu membuat tapisan sendiri terlebih dahulu.
Bagaimanapun, jelasnya, jika sudah ada perjanjian tersebut, pihak negara barat juga akan mempunyai hak untuk membuat tapisan sekali gus menyebabkan Malaysia tidak lagi mempunyai nilai tambahan dalam perniagaan.
Mengenai kenyataan Obama bahawa negaranya bukan pembuli dalam TPPA, Mahathir dalam nada sinis berkata, tunggu dan lihat sahaja apa bakal berlaku nanti.
“Obama kata tak buli…tak apalah, baguslah…tetapi boleh dipercayai tak?
“Kita tengoklah. Jangan dia paksa kita…kita ada kepentingan kita dalam negara kita, kita negara berbilang kaum, kita kena jaga hubungan baik antara kaum. Jadi kalau dia (AS) hendak masuk, paksa itu, paksa ini susahlah,” katanya, lapor Utusan.

Selangor belanja lebih RM6 juta tapi 10 banglo jarang dipakai

KUALA LUMPUR: Kerajaan Selangor membelanjakan sebanyak lebih RM6 juta untuk 10 unit rumah kerajaan yang jarang digunakan, dedah Laporan Ketua Audit Negara 2013.

Laporan itu juga mendapati unit rumah kerajaan itu pernah disewa pada sekitar tahun 2010 hingga Jun 2013 tetapi kadar sewa itu jauh lebih rendah berbanding belanja kerja penyelenggaraan dan kos utilitinya yang berjumlah RM6.24 juta.

Laporan tersebut mencacatkan meskipun rumah-rumah tersebut dan dewannya telah digunakan untuk majlis rasmi kerajaan serta program yang dilaksanakan oleh jawatankuasa tetap Dewan Undangan Negeri Selangor, namun sewanya telah dikecualikan. Anggaran sewa itu berjumlah RM150,000.

"Bagi tempoh berkenaan, Kerajaan Negeri telah menanggung sebahagian perbelanjaan kerja penyenggaraan dan kos utiliti berjumlah RM5.89 juta. Selain itu, semakan Audit juga mendapati sehingga 30 Ogos 2013, tanah tapak Rumah Kerajaan masih di bawah hak milik PKNS walaupun bangunan Rumah Kerajaan telah diserahkan oleh PKNS kepada Kerajaan Negeri pada 30 April 2005.

"PKNS masih menanggung cukai tanah bagi tapak rumah kerajaan berjumlah RM8,027 setahun," kata laporan tersebut.

Kediaman di Seksyen 7 Shah Alam itu dibina semasa Barisan Nasional menerajui kerajaan negeri Selangor dengan Datuk Seri Dr. Khir Toyo sebagai Menteri Besar. Sebelum pililihan raya 2008, Pakatan Rakyat mengkritik kewujudan kuarters berkenaan dan ada di kalangan pemimpinnya yang melaungkan mahu menjualnya jika menang pilihan raya negeri.

Selepas pilihan raya 2008 itu dan selepas jadi kerajaan negeri, Pakatan Rakyat bagaimanapun tidak menjual kuarters berkenaan.
Dalam laporannya, pihak Audit mendapati antara tempoh bulan Jun 2008 hingga Januari 2010, rumah kerajaan dan dewan tidak disewakan kerana tiada permintaan, tetapi antara bulan Februari 2010 hingga Jun 2013, rumah Kerajaan dan dewan telah disewakan di mana bayaran sewa yang diterima berjumlah RM0.17 juta.

Berdasarkan laporan, bagi tempoh April 2008 hingga Ogos 2013 (65 bulan), sebanyak 9 daripada 10 unit rumah kerajaan tidak diduduki dan hanya unit A3 telah diduduki oleh Penasihat Undang-undang Negeri sehingga bulan November 2011.

Berikutan itu, pihak Audit berpendapat kerajaan negeri Selangor tidak memperoleh nilai terhadap perbelanjaan yang dikeluarkan (value for money) kerana kediaman yang disediakan tidak dimanfaatkan sepenuhnya, serta mereka perlu menanggung kos penyelenggaraan yang tinggi.


Read more at: http://www.astroawani.com/news/show/selangor-belanja-lebih-rm6-juta-tapi-10-banglo-jarang-dipakai-33546?cp

How much does Zuckerberg make a minute?

IMAGINE if you made so much money every single minute of your day you could afford to take a yearly salary of $1.
That’s Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s reality. He reaped a $US3.3 billion ($A3.58 billion) gain last year by exercising stock options in the social networking company that he founded in his Harvard dorm room.
To most of us, $US3.3 billion is an abstract number devoid of all meaning beyond “that’s a frackload of money”, so let’s put it into perspective in smaller numbers we can all comprehend.
It equates to $US275 million a month, $US63.4 million a week and $US9.04 million a day.
Not small enough?
Mr Zuckerberg pockets $US6,278 a minute.
So when he takes a whiz, he makes $US12,556, or $US18,834 if he’s an obsessive hand washer.
In the time it takes for him to go down to the cafe and grab a coffee, he nets $US43,946, and he’s probably a lot less excited than you when he reaches the ‘free coffee’ milestone on his punch card.
Chowing down a sandwich for lunch is worth $US62,785.
Assuming he’s one of those people who only survives on four hours of sleep, when he wakes up in the morning, he’s $US1.5 million richer. Every day. Nice.
Facebook spelled out the windfall in regulatory documents filed on Monday. It marks the second straight year that Zuckerberg has realised a huge gain from stock options. In 2012, he made $US2.3 billion off his stock options, as reported in news.com.au.
The documents show Zuckerberg had no stock options remaining after exercising 60 million of them last year at a price of six cents per share. He then sold 41.35 million shares for $US55.05 apiece in December primarily to cover his taxes.
The 29-year-old Zuckerberg still owns 426.3 million Facebook shares currently worth $US25.7 billion.
Facebook paid Zuckerberg a $US1 salary last year.

Sedia berdepan satu lagi krisis kewangan -Tun M

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia perlu bersedia untuk berdepan dengan satu lagi krisis kewangan dunia yang dijangka berlaku berikutan kenaikan harga dan kurang kuasa membeli.

Bekas Perdana Menteri Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed berkata negara perlu merangka strategi berdasarkan pengalaman lalu dan mencari punca krisis.

"Dengan krisis kewangan semasa dan yang lepas, kita perlu meneliti dan seterusnya mencari idea-idea mengenai cara bagi menyediakan diri kita untuk mengatasinya," kata beliau pada sidang akhbar selepas sesi meja bulat antarabangsa Yayasan Kepimpinan Perdana, mengenai 'Bertahan Dalam Krisis Kewangan Global Akan Datang', di sini, hari ini.

Beliau berkata peringkat pertama akan melibatkan memahami mekanisme dan apabila dicapai, krisis berkenaan boleh diuruskan.

"Saya bekas doktor dan pendekatan kita perlu seperti seorang doktor," kata beliau.

Sesi meja bulat itu membincangkan cara-cara untuk mengatasi krisis kewangan dan hasilnya akan dikemukakan kepada kerajaan.

Sesi itu dianjurkan Yayasan Kepimpinan Perdana dan ditaja oleh YTL Corp Bhd, Malaysia Airlines, Bina Puri, Westports, AmBank, UEM dan Bank Rakyat.

Pesertanya termasuk Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri Senator Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar, Pengarah Urusan Khazanah Nasional Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar, Timbalan Pengerusi Khazanah Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Pengerusi AmBank Tan Sri
Azman Hashim, Pengarah Urusan YTL Tan Sri Francis Yeoh Sock Ping, Pengerusi Bank Rakyat Tan Sri Sabbaruddin Chik, Pengerusi/Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Kumpulan Symphony Life Tan Sri Azman Yahya dan Pengerusi ISIS Tan Sri Jawhar Hassan.

Sementara itu, Tun Mahathir berkata beliau sedih dengan insiden kehilangan pesawat Malaysia Airlines MH370, sejak 8 Mac lepas.

"Anehnya ia tidak boleh dikesan melalui satelit dengan 20 negara membantu dalam usaha mencari dan menyelamat," kata beliau. - Bernama

Highland Towers land to be sold through tender exercise by AmBank, says report

Highland Towers, where an apartment building collapsed, killing 48 people in 1993, will now be sold through a tender exercise by AmBank (M) Bhd, reported The Star today, quoting a source.
The daily quoted an unnamed officer from the bank as saying that those interested to submit their bids can purchase the information memorandum for RM200 a copy before December 17 to know about details of the sale as well as the land.
A notice on the sale in an English daily stated that the property comprised of 50 freehold bungalow lots surrounding the site of Highland Towers.
The announcement comes days before the 20th anniversary of the Highland Towers tragedy on December 11.
In the incident which shocked the nation, one of the three apartment blocks came crashing down, sparking the biggest rescue operation the country had seen then.
The collapse forced the evacuation of residents from the other two blocks, which together formed what was once an affluent neighbourhood tucked in a serene setting, just a stone's throw away from the city centre.
Efforts by former residents to be compensated failed when in 2006, 73 Highland Towers's residents lost their suit against the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) for liability.
The residents had sued 10 parties for between RM31 million and RM35 million. The units have been vacant since the incident.
Despite the area's dark chapter, a property firm told The Star that the tender exercise would attract "a fair bit of interest from developers" as land in the city was scarce.
“There would certainly be interest in the land, and the property’s fair value would be subject to a willing buyer-willing seller basis,” said Henry Butcher Malaysia director Lim Eng Chong, as quoted by the daily.
The bank official said the property was meant for sale en bloc. - December 3, 2013.

Electricity to cost more from Jan 1, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 2): Tenaga Nasional Bhd announced that it will increase electricity tariff in Peninsular Malaysia, up 4.99 sen per kWh, effective Jan 1 next year. The increase is 14.89% higher from the current average of 33.54 sen per kWh to 38.53 sen/kWh.
In a statement to Bursa Malaysia, the utilities company said among the key characteristics of the new tariff structure is: for domestic consumers the rate for monthly consumption of up to 200 kWh (Lifeline Band) is maintained at a subsidised rate of 21.8 sen per kWh.
“For consumers using 300 kWh per month and below, the rate is maintained at 33.4 sen per kWh,” said TNB.
“Hence, no tariff increase to 70.7% of the household consumers that is 4.6 million consumers.”
The electricity rebate by the government for domestic consumers will be maintained, TNB said, but eligible on a monthly bill of RM20 or lower.
As for commercial consumers, they will experience an average increase of 16.85%, which ranges from 1.2% to about 18%.
Industrial consumers on the other hand will experience an average increase of 16.85%, which ranges from 0.9% to about 17%.
TNB said among the reasons for revising electricity tariff was due to the adjustment of domestic gas price to RM15.20 per MMBtu from RM13.70 MMBtu.
It said the tariff hike is also attributed to the price of imported liquefied natural gas fixed at RM41.68 per MMBtu.
In another separate statement, TNB said the trading of its shares will resume with effect from 9 am tomorrow (Dec 3, 2013). It suspended the trading of its share from 2.30 pm today.

Harga bawang merah India dijangka naik minggu depan

SIBU: Harga bawang merah import dari India dijangka mengalami kenaikan minggu depan sekali gus meletakkan Kementerian Perdagangan Dalam Negeri, Koperasi dan Kepenggunaan (KPDNKK) dalam keadaan bersiap siaga.
Pengarah PPDNKK Negeri Wan Ahmad Uzir Wan Sulaiman berkata, pihaknya menerima maklum balas daripada beberapa pemborong utama bahawa kenaikan harga mungkin berlaku ekoran krisis bekalan bawang merah dari negara tersebut.
“Berdasarkan laporan, harga bawang sebakul tujuh kilogram mungkin mencecah RM30 bagi yang segar berbanding RM26 sebelum ini.
“Harga bawang merah ditentukan oleh kuasa permintaan dan keperluan bekalan di pasaran semasa.
“Jika ada kenaikan, ia tidak dapat dielakkan. Misalnya, negara pengeluar utama bawang iaitu India yang dilanda musim hujan mengalami banjir sekali gus menjejaskan hampir keseluruhan bekalan tanaman itu,” ujarnya pada Majlis Penutupan Program Kesedaran Pengguna di sini, semalam.
Beliau bagaimanapun memberi jaminan jika ada kenaikan, ia adalah minimum dalam lingkungan beberapa ringgit dan pihaknya bersedia awal bagi memastikan kenaikan tidak membebankan pengguna.
Katanya, biarpun bekalan bawang merah boleh diperolei dari negara lain, bekalan dari India kekal dengan permintaan yang tinggi.
“Keadaan sama pernah dialami pada tahun 2010 apabila India dilanda banjir teruk yang mengakibatkan harga bawang merah mencecah RM20 sekilogram,” jelasnya.
--borneopost

Which Cities Americans Are Moving to – and Escaping From

For much of the nation’s history, Americans moved around mostly to find decent work. But these days, people may be more inclined to move in search of low taxes, cheap housing and like-minded citizens they’re comfortable being around. Such shifts in internal migration patterns could transform the U.S. economy and the political establishment in sweeping and unforeseen ways.

Related: Inside Luxury Tiny Homes: Millennials, Retirees Bucking Mortgages and McMansions
That’s the contention in Shaping Our Nation, the latest book from political historian Michael Barone of the American Enterprise Institute and the Washington Examiner, who also-co-authors the biennial Almanac of American Politics. In Shaping Our Nation, Barone explains a new way Americans define an enduring urge: “to pursue dreams and escape nightmares.” Today's nightmare cities, Barone says, are mostly familiar ones: Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, and other former factory towns that no longer have enough jobs to support a shrinking population. The new dream cities tend to be ones in which low taxes and low housing costs are fostering population growth and prosperity: Houston, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Nashville, Atlanta and several “mini Atlantas” including Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham and Jacksonville.

Barone detects another pivotral trend, as he explains in the video above: the movement of Americans to “culturally congenial” places where they feel they fit in. This has a lot to do with a kind of self-segregation that's occuring along a blue-red political fault line. Older, conservative Americans, for instance, are migrating to “well-churched” cities in Texas, where the population has grown 53% since 1990—twice the national rate. “Texas has been a huge growth magnet over the last 20 years,” Barone says, “and not because it has pleasant weather.”

Related: How the Job Market is Killing Housing

Liberals, meanwhile, seem to be increasingly inclined to head for their own cultural redoubts. "You'll see liberal professionals go to the San Francisco Bay Area," Barone points out. "They wouldn't leave for the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex if you tripled their salary."

Barone's survey of U.S. migration patterns in Shaping Our Nation goes all the way back to colonial days. Connecting the dots across generations provides a richer view of trends today than pundits scanning the latest poll ratings or batch of economic figures are likely to get.
From 1970 to 2010, for instance, there was a “mass internal migration” of Americans from northern industrial cities to newer, more welcoming Sun Belt locales. This north-to-south migration is typically attributed to shifting job trends (and better weather), but Barone points out that two of the states to gain the most population during that time—Texas and Florida—also lured people because there is no state income tax.

Related: Good News For Millennials: A Big Company Might Actually Hire You
California, meanwhile, enjoyed a huge influx of people from 1930 until 1990, but has since begun to lose people and businesses fleeing high taxes, regulatory overkill and everyday hassles such as congestion. Many of those people have moved to lower-tax mountain states such as Utah, Colorado and Idaho, while most of the newcomers to California during the last two decades have been Latino immigrants.
Cities and states that gain population always enjoy greater political power, of course, as their representation in Washington increases. And economic momentum can be self-perpetuating, since more companies are likely to relocate to a particular region once other businesses have gotten the ball rolling. So there may continue to be a national power shift that favors the south and the mountain states, at the expense of the trendy right and left coasts and unionized cities of the upper Midwest.
Related: Why Millennials Will Never Be Happy
Some of the high-tax, high-cost cities can fight back, of course, by lowering taxes and doing more to create a business-friendly environment that lures employers. They may even develop an advantage as their economies stagnate and wage rates fall, lowering labor costs for companies that might resettle there. Still, many nightmare cities remain saddled with pension costs for former employees and other liabilities that aren’t easy to escape. No wonder people move.

China to loosen one-child policy, end labor camps

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will ease its family planning policies and abolish a controversial labor camp system, according to a key document issued after a ruling Communist Party meeting, the official Xinhua news agency said on Friday.

Couples will be allowed to have two children if one of the parents is an only child, as part of an adjustment of the birth policy to promote "long-term balanced development of the population in China", it said.

Previously, a couple could only generally have a second child if both parents were only children.

The reform package will also see China abolish the labor camp system, which it calls re-education through labor, and reduce the number of crimes subject to the death penalty "step by step", Xinhua added.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard, Li Hui and Michael Martina; Editing by Nick Macfie and Raju Gopalakrishnan)