Moving ahead: (From left) HRDF board director
J. Rasamy Manikkam, GOC chairman Tan Sri Rebecca Sta Maria, Kulasegaran,
HRDF board director Datuk Quah Thain Khan and HRDF chief executive
Elanjelian Venugopal at the townhall meeting.
Petty cash in the millions
Millions were pouring into the HRDF. And for some
high-ranking personnel, their exorbitant salaries and bonuses weren’t
enough. Greed got the better of them and they treated the fund as their
personal bank, helping themselves to some RM100mil, maybe more!!
KUALA LUMPUR: High-ranking staff of the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) misappropriated about RM100mil or about a third of the RM300mil in the fund.
While certain management staff members were overpaid with high salaries and bonuses, some training providers and a number of HRDF management personnel misused the fund in the name of training to purchase commercial properties.
Large sums of money were diverted without the authorisation of the HRDF board and there was collusion between managerial staff and external parties to award contracts.
Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran revealed these wrongdoings at a townhall meeting with representatives of employer associations and HRDF-registered employers yesterday.
He said that some members of the HRDF board of directors also did not declare their vested interests to the board.
“There have been wrongdoings, such as abuse of duties, criminal breach of trust and exceeding procedure without reporting to the board.
“(They were) running (the HRDF) as though it was their own company,” he said.
Kulasegaran, who initiated a five-member independent Gover-nance Oversight Committee (GOC) to review and probe the allegations, said that there were elements of fraud in the misuse of the fund in the name of training.
The HRDF is an agency under the Human Resources Ministry that manages a fund for human resource training and development that were contributed by employers.
Regarding the alleged misappropriation of the fund, Kulasegaran said that the HRDF board was only informed after the money was spent.
“Out of RM300mil, nearly RM100mil has been spent,” he said, adding that some department officers, in other instances, also exceeded their authority and approved projects beyond their authorised limit.
When asked, Kulasegaran said that some staff allegedly involved in the wrongdoings are still holding positions in the agency, while some had left.
“After the Pakatan Harapan government took over, three directors have since resigned.
“If they have done anything wrong, action will be taken against them. We will let the process take place. It is not fair at this juncture to make allegations,” he said, adding that two police reports have been lodged based on the GOC report.
Not denying that more former and current HRDF staff are expected to be called up for questioning, Kulasegaran said that parties at fault would be pursued through civil and criminal proceedings.
“After this, I hope the HRDF management will make the agency transparent and accountable to the public,” he said.
Meanwhile, a source that has left the HRDF organisation told The Star that in the week before the townhall, three senior figures within the organisation were subject to domestic inquiries and released from the company.
Another three senior members were on contract and when their contracts expired recently they were not renewed.
A key figure implicated in the scandal resigned soon after GE14.
“Some senior figures have survived, but there is a definite clean-up exercise under way,” said the source.
In some cases, those due to leave found themselves locked out of their offices and escorted off the premises by security when they arrived for work.
The sources said finance personnel and those in special projects who released funds without going through the proper channels, and those who invested money without any accountability are believed to be among those implicated.
“A lack of accountability on the 30% given by companies to the HRDF led to certain figures treating it like a personal piggy bank,” said the source.
He said the culprits are now looking at making deals by providing evidence against the leadership in return for an easy way out.”
“The rot runs deep, and the money runs into billions,” he said. “That’s why there was no choice but to stop the 30% policy and fix the system before restarting it.”
The source said that a key figure implicated in the wrongdoings used tactics such as poor appraisals and internal audits to try to force out those who spoke out against dubious practices.
Some of the questionable property transactions may have involved property in Bangsar South, said the source. - The Star by allison lai and martin vengadesan
The new AI anchors, launched by Xinhua and
Beijing-based search engine operator Sogou during the World Internet
Conference in Wuzhen, can deliver the news with “the same effect” as
human anchors because the machine learning programme is able to
synthesise realistic-looking speech, lip movements and facial
expressions, according to a Xinhua news report on Wednesday.
“AI anchors have officially become members of
the Xinhua News Agency reporting team. They will work with other anchors
to bring you authoritative, timely and accurate news information in
both Chinese and English,” Xinhua said.
The AI anchors are now available throughout
Xinhua’s internet and mobile platforms such as its official Chinese and
English apps, WeChat public account, and online TV webpage.
https://youtu.be/GAfiATTQufk
The world's first artificial intelligence (AI) news anchor made "his" debut at the ongoing fifth World Internet Conference in east China's Zhejiang Province.
The news anchor, based on the latest AI technology, has a male image with a voice, facial expressions and actions of a real person. "He" learns from live broadcasting videos by himself and can read texts as naturally as a professional news anchor.
The AI news anchor was jointly developed by Xinhua News Agency, the official state-run media outlet of China, and Chinese search engine company Sogou.com.
According to Xinhua, "he" has become a member of its reporting team and can work 24 hours a day on its official website and various social media platforms, reducing news production costs and improving efficiency.
Celebrity anchors are regarded as important
assets at major news networks in the US. The highest paid news anchor,
CNN’s Anderson Cooper, is reportedly paid US$100 million a year, while
Diane Sawyer at ABC and Sean Hannity at Fox News earn US$80 million
each. Celebrity anchors in China are generally paid a lot less because
they work for state-run TV stations but they often earn extra money from
product endorsements and book sales.
But AI anchors may one day challenge the human
variety because of their ability to work 24 hours a day provided human
editors keep inputting text into the system.
Xinhua said the achievement was a “breakthrough in the field of global
AI synthesis”, pioneering the synthesis of real-time audio and video
with AI-created anchors in the news field. Search engine Sogou, which
also does research and development in AI, is providing the underlying
technology for the project.
The AI technology has a “endless prospects”
because it will greatly improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of
producing daily TV news reports, Xinhua said, adding that it could also
quickly generate breaking news reports to improve the timeliness and
quality of such reports. - South China Morning Post
China's AI race via @SCMPgraphics http://bit.ly/2NdeiK4 #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Dataviz #infographic
Goldman Sachs Group has acknowledged that it may receive “significant penalties” resulting from its deals with 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
It also recognised that it had weaknesses in its compliance controls, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.
In its third-quarter earnings filing to regulators, the investment management firm made citations about the indictment against its former employees for bribery and money laundering involving 1MDB, WSJ said.
Although it had acknowledged that it could face “significant penalties resulting from 1MDB”, Goldman Sachs said it was also cooperating with investigators, the report on Monday said.
According to WSJ, Goldman Sachs wrote in the filing that the indictment alleged the firm’s “system of internal accounting controls could be easily circumvented and that the firm’s business culture, particularly in South-East Asia, at times prioritised consummation of deals ahead of the proper operation of its compliance functions”.
The filing also mentioned that former Goldman Sachs bankers Tim Leissner and Roger Ng had “circumvented the firm’s internal accounting controls in part by intentionally deceiving control personnel and internal committees”.
Goldman Sachs is said to have received nearly RM2.5bil (US$600mil) in fees from the 1MDB deal.
Previously, the Financial Times reported that Goldman Sachs had helped 1MDB sell about RM27bil (US$6.5bil) of bonds between 2012 and 2013, two years before the authorities raided 1MDB’s offices to investigate allegations of massive fraud.
In a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, Goldman Sachs estimated that possible losses related to litigation proceedings could run as high as US$1.8bil (RM7.49bil) above its total reserves for such matters.
Previously, Goldman Sachs estimated litigation losses to be in excess of US$1.5bil (RM6.24 bil).
The Financial Times also reported that almost 30 people from Goldman Sachs had reviewed 1MDB deal’s approval process.
Meanwhile, in a 2016 indictment, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) alleged that most of the money raised with Goldman Sachs’ help was siphoned off by Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low.
The fugitive businessman together with bankers Ng and Leissner were indicted by the DoJ on Thursday for conspiring to launder money and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in relation to 1MDB.
Leissner pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder money and to violating anti-bribery laws. He has been ordered to forfeit US$43.7mil (RM182.27mil) as a result of his crimes.
The criminal charges relating to 1MDB are the first by DoJ.
In 2016, the DOJ reportedly recovered over US$1bil (RM4.17bil being the current conversion rate) that was allegedly stolen, and sought the forfeiture of property, including a Bombardier private jet, Manhattan penthouse, Beverly Hills mansion and paintings by Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet.
Low is currently wanted in Malaysia and Singapore and other countries over investigations into 1MDB.
In a separate report by the Associated Press, PKR incoming president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that Low would be given a fair trial.
Anwar said he was “quite pleased” with developments in the case so far and that investigations in the United States, Malaysia and Singapore and other places were “progressing very well”.
The report also said Anwar had hinted that more former officials could be tried on corruption charges.
Malaysia has applied for a Red Notice to seek assistance from countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, India, Myanmar, China and Hong Kong via Interpol, and Taiwan via diplomatic channels to arrest Low. - The Star
Related posts:
Goldman Sachs CEO: I feel horrible ex-bankers broke law in 1MDB case
https://youtu.be/L0XbbbqTHYw
SINGAPORE (Reuters): Goldman Sachs chief executive officer David Solomon said on Wednesday he felt "horrible" that two former employees "blatantly broke the law" in their dealings with 1Malaysia Development Berhad.
US prosecutors filed criminal charges against the two former Goldman bankers and a Malaysian financier linked to the alleged theft of billions of dollars from the fund.
An investigation into where 1MDB's money went became the largest carried out by the Department of Justice under its anti-kleptocracy programme, and the scandal was a major reason why Malaysian voters rejected Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, their prime minister for nearly a decade, in the May 9 general election.
"It is obviously very distressing to see two former Goldman Sachs employees went so blatantly around our policies and so blatantly broke the law," Solomon said in an interview with Bloomberg TV in Singapore.
"I feel horrible about the fact that people who worked at Goldman Sachs, and it doesn't matter whether it's a partner or it's an entry level employee, would go around our policies and break the law," Solomon said.
US prosecutors announced last week that Tim Leissner, former partner for Goldman Sachs in Asia, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and agreed to forfeit US$43.7mil (RM181.8mil).
Roger Ng, the other charged former Goldman banker, was arrested in Malaysia and is expected to be extradited.
Reuters was not immediately able to contact Ng's lawyer on Wednesday. His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment after US prosecutors unveiled the charges last Thursday.
Goldman has also placed its former co-head of Asia investment banking, Andrea Vella, on leave over his role in the firm's involvement with the case, pending a review of allegations, according to a person familiar with the decision.
The Wall Street bank said in a securities filing on Friday that it may also face penalties from dealings with 1MDB.
Asked if he could provide assurances that neither he, former CEO Lloyd Blankfein or any of the senior management team suspected illegality or compliance breaches in dealings with 1MDB, Solomon said:
"We take compliance and control in our firm extremely seriously, we always have...We are going to continue to cooperate with the authorities and there's a process in place and that process will proceed." According to prosecutors, the investment bank generated about US$600mil (RM2.49bil) in fees for its work with 1MDB, which included three bond offerings in 2012 and 2013 that raised US$6.5bil (RM23.29bil). Leissner, Ng and others received large bonuses in connection with that revenue.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng told Reuters in June that the government will be looking at the possibility of seeking claims from Goldman Sachs.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Malaysia will look into why Goldman was paid around US$600mil in fees, an amount that critics say exceeds normal levels.
Goldman has maintained that the outsized fees related to the additional risks it took on after it bought the un-rated bonds while it sought investors and, in the case of the 2013 deal which raised US$2.7bil (RM11.24bil), 1MDB wanted the funds in a hurry for a planned investment.
The new Malaysian government has barred Najib and his wife from leaving the country, and the former premier faces multiple charges of corruption, money laundering and abuse of power, though he has consistently denied any wrongdoing related to 1MDB.
In another interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday, Malaysia's prime minister-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim said it would be
"inexcusable" if Goldman Sachs was complicit in the scandal. – Reuters
American investment bank Goldman Sachs
should return the US$588mil (RM2.4bil) in it was paid for 1MDB-related
matters, says Lim Guan Eng.
The Finance Minister said the fees were for raising bonds totalling
US$6.5 billion (RM23.29 billion) for the Malaysian state investment firm
back in 2012 and 2013.
"They must pay us back this money, not only the US$588mil but much
more than that," he said during a briefing on Budget 2019 at Hotel
Equatorial Penang on Wednesday (Nov 7).
He said there were consequential losses due to the fees paid as it had cost Malaysia big losses.
This was in respond to Goldman Sachs chief executive officer David
Solomon, who admitted that their employees had broken the law over 1MDB
matters.
Read more at
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/11/08/guan-eng-goldman-sachs-should-return-rm2_4bil-fees/#wqMtc2F6O1jC35UJ.99
The first ever China International Import Expo (CIIE) kicks off in Shanghai today. President Xi Jinping attends the opening ceremony and delivers a keynote speech at the ceremony.
The China International Import Expo (CIIE), the world's first import-themed national expo, kicks off on Monday. More than 3,000 enterprises from some 130 countries and regions will exhibit their products, taking this as a premier opportunity to enter or expand their presence on the Chinese market.
But there are still fault-finding reports about the event. Some say sarcastically that no state leader or government head from the G7 will attend the expo. Some even link the CIIE with the China-US trade war in spite of the fact that China announced the CIIE in May 2017 at the Belt and Road Initiative on International Cooperation, before the trade war hadn't started.
Why do these media always want to dig out some political ends from the CIIE, which is in any way a good thing for global trade as well as the exports of Western countries?
CIIE is being held to serve enterprises and exporters worldwide, not Western leaders. Japan ranks first in terms of the number of participating companies, followed by South Korea, the US, Australia, Germany and Italy. This fully demonstrates how much passion companies from developed countries hold toward the expo and heralds the expo's success.
If more countries and regions with a trade surplus can host import expos, that will promote global trade balance. Those with a trade deficit should not blame others, but encourage their enterprises to grasp every opportunity to promote their products. Sometimes the problem lies in information asymmetry and an import expo can provide a platform for suppliers and buyers to communicate at a low cost.
China has long had a trade surplus and too much of it is not helpful for the country. More imports of high-quality products can help Chinese to upgrade their consumption and advance the production. The inherent drive for hosting CIIE is to translate part of China's foreign exchange reserve into social progress.
China started very early by holding trade fairs in Guangzhou and later became a leading exporter in the world. Now we are holding the import expo in the hope of promoting our imports.
Tangled in a trade war with the US, China could have shut US companies out of the expo as a way of pressuring, but it has acted the other way around. By contrast, the US now thinks everything about the Chinese economy is wrong and whatever China does is a trick. The two countries differ in their visions.
We believe that the CIIE, if held regularly, will help China enhance the quality of its imports and balance its imports and exports. China doesn't need to care what the outside world thinks of the expo, nor should it intentionally enhance the volume of transactions as a proof of kindness.
As long as the Chinese market grows larger, CIIE will attract more attention and will be remembered in world trade history as a positive event.
Countries, businesses look forward to CIIE
As the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) nears, officials and entrepreneurs around the world aim to seize the opportunity to explore the Chinese market, voicing greater confidence in China's further opening up.
"We understand the CIIE as ... showcasing China's greater openness to importers. These are all moves in the right direction," World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said. "We support what China is doing to expand imports and address global trade imbalances."
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite told Xinhua that "the expo is a 'win-win' event for both, China and the world, as it provides new opportunities for cooperation, helps companies across the globe enter the Chinese market and paves the way for China to satisfy its growing demand for high-quality products."
Pakistan is confronted with current account deficit and the CIIE "is a great opportunity for Pakistan to have a pavilion where we will be exhibiting our exports," Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said.
Khan hailed China's reform and opening up policy which provides Chinese industries a better environment to compete in international trade. "China has set a good example," he said.
Madagascar will showcase products such as vanilla, cocoa beans, coffee beans and minerals at the CIIE. China offers a great opportunity for everyone, and everyone must know how to seize this opportunity, Minister of Tourism Jean Brunelle Razafintsiandraofa told Xinhua.
"Australia thinks it (the CIIE) is a great celebration of ... the economic contribution that China makes to the region and the world. That is why we're delighted that some 180 Australian businesses and brands are participating," said Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham.
"We are in global markets, we are all together and we want to cooperate," Israeli Scientific Minister Ofir Akunis said, adding that it is a "very good idea" and the "right way" that China hosts the CIIE where people from all over the world will meet meet on cooperation in the future.
"I think (the CIIE) is a great opportunity to show the players in the global economic environment the opening of China to world trade, and it is also a contribution to the growth of the global market," Marco Tronchetti Provera, CEO of Italian-Chinese tyre maker Pirelli, told Xinhua.
The CIIE, a significant move by the Chinese government to further open the Chinese market, has attracted about 2,800 exhibitors from over 130 countries and regions. Economic and trade exchanges are bringing more benefits to all sides.
"We are going to Shanghai to represent more than 89 of our members who are able to export a range of products (to China)," Sandile Ndlovu, Executive Director of the South African Aerospace, Maritime and Defence Export Council, said. "China could be one of our biggest customers as there is so much potential for trade with China."
Marathon Ginseng, a U.S. Wisconsin-based ginseng grower, will have a stall at the CIIE. It registered for the expo the first time it heard of the fair.
"It is a big event in China," Jiang Mingtao, founder of Marathon Ginseng, told Xinhua. "We hope to enhance the reputation of ginseng produced in the state of Wisconsin ... and let more Chinese consumers know our products - Global Times
JUST 11 weeks into his election victory, Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Imran Khan has already had to accomplish a task that seriously tests his diplomatic skills.
More than that, it is a task that would tax his diplomatic creativity. And that is in addition to the dire economic challenges he already faces at home.
Confronted with multiple needs and demands, it has taken some time for the new Government to form a Cabinet. Pakistan’s economy has taken some beating. Imran’s opposition party won the August election on a tide of change, against an incumbent party in government whose leaders had been charged with corruption.
Worse, the novice Prime Minister also has to contend with unfavourable terms that the previous government had agreed to with China in its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects.
Imran is in Beijing this weekend to try to negotiate those terms.
He is a self-confessed fan of Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Even so, he could not possibly have planned to follow in Dr Mahathir’s footsteps so closely. Imran’s toughest task is to present his case in China so persuasively as to avoid a cynical sense of déjà vu among China’s leaders. But what can this new Prime Minister say that has not already been said by his much more experienced Malaysian counterpart, to any greater effect?
One theme Imran’s delegation may be pursuing is explaining to Beijing the plight currently facing Pakistan: in its dire economic straits, Islamabad has to choose between negotiating terms with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or renegotiating terms with China.
Neither option is ideal by any means. Going with the IMF may even be a worse debt trap than China has ever been accused of fostering. The fact that Imran is in Beijing shows that the lesser evil may be to renegotiate the BRI terms, such as reducing the costs to Pakistan by a couple of billion US dollars.
If Pakistan opts to go with China, it would prove that any conceivable terms with the IMF would be more onerous and risky. Both the new Finance Ministry and Imran’s task force are leaning that way.
Alternatively the BRI projects could be deferred, but would China agree? Much of that remains to be seen, or heard, in the following days. For now, it is important to remember that such situations are prone to misinterpretation and misrepresentation – including of the deliberate kind.
Predictably, the largely Western international media have already portrayed Pakistan as “saying no” to the China-led BRI.
But why would Pakistan ever do that? The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as a vital segment – indeed, the flagship – of the BRI is of far greater value and importance to Pakistan than to China.
Whatever strategic or symbolic significance the US$62 bil (RM258bil) CPEC may have or be said to have for China, it is dwarfed by the immediate and tangible benefits for Pakistan’s development.
It is situated fully and squarely in Pakistan, not China, covering much of Pakistani territory and set to boost such sectors as energy, telecommunications, tourism, trade and transportation. Pakistan’s Railways Ministry calls CPEC the “backbone” of the country.
Its strategic value to China is access to the Arabian Sea at the corridor’s south-western corner in the port of Gwadar. It is access that China does not need now, and may or may not need sometime in the future. China is comfortable investing heavily in Pakistan’s development because the two countries have a special relationship in South Asia. Western observers who still consider Pakistan a Western ally need to have their perspective of Asia updated. Casting Islamabad as a US ally is merely harking back to the 1950s era of the US-led South-East Asia Treaty Organisation (Seato) in the early phase of the Cold War.
Times have moved on, as have China and Pakistan. Their leaders have repeatedly declared their respective countries “all-weather friends” – perhaps even allies.
To India, China and Pakistan have no common border, their link being only Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The territory is bitterly disputed with India following the 1963 China-Pakistan boundary agreement.
Controversy with India flared again two days ago when a bus service was launched linking Lahore with Kashghar in Xinjiang, with the route running through contested PoK.
The term “debt trap” in reference to allegedly risky China-led projects was not coined by China, Pakistan or even Sri Lanka. It was coined by an Indian economist.
If any doubt still lingers over the China-Pakistan relationship, BRI cooperation continues between them and may even expand. Both countries are now seeking to extend CPEC into Afghanistan.
On a stellar scale, China helped Pakistan launch two satellites this year. By 2020, Pakistan hopes to send its first astronaut into space under China’s space programme.
India’s problem with the BRI is essentially its passage through territory disputed with Pakistan. That has now been conflated with what is said to be “Pakistan’s problem” with the BRI.
Western pundits in particular tend to draw such hasty and hazy conclusions since they accord with preconceived US notions of a rising China threat. Such misperceptions are not only wrong but misleading.
Asian countries have a different perspective because a rising China as Asia’s main economy also means a rising Asia. It is the proverbial rising tide that lifts all boats in this region of the continent.
Even the classic anecdotal “debt trap,” Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port, was never quite the disaster its detractors claimed it to be. That controversy was built up principally between Sri Lanka’s contending political parties and their different positions on China at the time.
Now that Mahinda Rajapaksa – prime mover of the Hambantota project and defeated in the 2015 presidential race – has returned as Prime Minister nine days ago, punditry should be buzzing.
The point, however, is to arrive at reasoned analysis away from wild speculation. China is a rational player whatever the objective may be, so that a rational approach can only help understanding.
For its part, China should also empathise with its BRI partners in the conditions they find themselves in. Financially strapped and economically challenged, nations that wish to work with the BRI are constrained by factors beyond their control.
First, these countries may have new governments that have inherited a broken economy from their predecessors. Much urgent repair work first needs to be done. Second, BRI projects are largely about massive infrastructure, usually the most expensive public projects to be undertaken by any government. Third, much of the BRI runs through developing countries and regions that may not have the largest financial resources even at the best of times.
How will Pakistan’s appeal to China for revised terms hold out? Prime Minister Imran Khan should be able to win some concessions.
After all, China has helped other Asian countries before in times of need, even at some expense to itself. When the 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis struck, China postponed its scheduled currency revaluation to absorb some of the cost so that the afflicted countries do not go under from excessive loan repayments. Such a generous gesture from Beijing would not be out of character, whether the beneficiary is Pakistan or Malaysia.
After all, each boasts a special relationship with Beijing.
The
Pakatan Harapan government yesterday tabled its maiden budget that
sought to restore Malaysia’s status as an “Asian Tiger” with a clean and
transparent government that cares for the rakyat. (EPA/FANDY AZLAN)
KUALA LUMPUR: THE Pakatan Harapan government yesterday tabled its maiden budget that sought to restore Malaysia’s status as an “Asian Tiger” with a clean and transparent government that cares for the rakyat.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, in tabling the 2019 Budget in Parliament, said: “As long as we are clean, people-centric and focused on carrying out institutional reforms, we can restore Malaysia back to fiscal health in three years.
“Let our love for our country unite us, our challenges make us stronger and our confidence awaken Malaysia as an Asian Tiger all over again.”
Themed “A Resurgent Malaysia, A Dynamic Economy, A Prosperous Society”, the RM314.5 billion budget for next year has three areas of focus with 12 key strategies.
One focus area — to ensure the socio-economic well-being of Malaysians — will be the key performance indicator of the government’s success.
“We will seek to meet this objective by ensuring welfare and quality of life, improving employment and employability, enhancing wealth and social welfare protection, raising real disposal income and education for a better future,” he said.
In a speech that lasted more than two hours, interrupted by intermittent heckling from opposition lawmakers, Lim announced a slew of measures to address the people’s key concerns, from cost of living to housing, healthcare, education and transport.
Cash grants for the low-income Bottom 40 (B40) group will continue, single vehicle/motorbike owners with engine capacity of 1500cc and below will get targeted fuel subsidy, and the minimum wage will be raised to RM1,100 from Jan 1.
A National Health Protection Fund, with free coverage on four critical illnesses of up to RM8,000 and a hospitalisation benefit of RM50 a day, was also introduced for the B40 group.
For the affordable home programmes, Lim announced an allocation of RM1.5 billion while Bank Negara Malaysia will set up a RM1 billion fund to help those earning below RM2,300 a month to own houses costing below RM150,000.
The government will also allow the private sector to engage in new crowdfunding schemes for first-time housebuyers.
The Education Ministry received the lion’s share of the budget, with an allocation of RM60.2 billion, including RM2.9 billion assistance for the poor and RM652 million to upgrade and repair schools.
An amount of RM3.8 billion has been set aside for government scholarships.
All intra-city toll rate hikes will be frozen next year, said Lim, and public transport users, meanwhile, can buy RM100 monthly passes for unlimited trips on RapidKL rail or bus services beginning January.
A RM50 monthly pass is also available for those who use RapidKL buses only.
Civil servants and pensioners were not left out — staff up to Grade 54 will receive a one-off special payment of RM500; while government pensioners will get RM250.
The budget deficit for this year is likely to be 3.7 per cent, while gross domestic product (GDP) growth is forecast at 4.8 per cent and 4.9 per cent next year.
To ensure strong and dynamic economic growth, another focus area is to promote an entrepreneurial state that leverages innovation and creativity, while embracing the new digital economy.
The government aims to provide at least 30Mbps broadband connectivity outside urban centres within five years, while funds have been allocated to encourage investments in green technology and transition into Industry 4.0.
Corporate tax rate will be reduced to 17 per cent from 18 per cent for SMEs with paid capital below RM2.5 million, and businesses with annual taxable income below RM500,000.
Meanwhile, after inheriting “a worrying state of financial affairs which was in dire straits” with debts amounting to RM1.065 trillion from the previous administration, the third area of focus is to implement institutional reforms that promote transparent fiscal discipline.
“We intend to table a new Government Procurement Act next year to govern procurement processes to ensure transparency and competition, while punishing abuse of power, negligence and corruption,” Lim said.
He said open tenders will not only achieve more value-for-money for taxpayers, it will also nurture an efficient and competitive private sector.
To ensure that Malaysia has a clean government, the budget also saw the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission receiving an increased allocation of RM286.8 million.
Lim said the allocation, which is an 18.5 per cent increase from this year’s, will see MACC employing up to 100 more staff next year as the government revs up its anti-graft campaign.
Putrajaya expects to collect a revenue of RM261.8 billion next year, including a RM30 billion dividend from Petronas.
To raise its revenue, the government will leverage its assets and review taxation policies.
This includes reducing its stake in non-strategic companies, expanding the Service Tax to cover online services, and raising licence fees and taxes in the gaming sector.- By Nst Team
Key highlights of 2019 Budget
The following are the highlights of the 2019 Budget, which was tabled by
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng in Parliament on Friday. (Bernama photo)
The budget carries the theme of "Credible Malaysia, Dynamic Economy,
Prosperous Rakyat" and will focus on three main thrusts with 12 key
strategies to recapture Malaysia's 'Economic Tiger' status.
The three main thrusts are:
*Institutional reforms
*People's wellbeing
*Promotion of entrepreneurial culture
. The 12 strategies are:
*Strengthening fiscal management
*Restructuring and rationalising government debt
*Increase government revenue
*Ensuring welfare and quality life
*Increasing job opportunities and marketability
*Improving quality of healthcare services and social welfare protection
*Increasing disposable income
*Education for a better future
*Initiating new economic power
*Grabbing opportunity to face global challenge
*Redefining government’s role in business
*Ensuring economic fairness and sustainable economic growth
