Credit crisis has triggered a 'negative feedback loop' in the global economy

According to International Monetary Fund (IMF) Sub-prime credit crisis has triggered a 'negative feedback loop' in the global economy that poses risks for growth.

Global financial markets continue to be fragile and indicators of systemic risks remain elevated.
Credit quality across many loan classes has begun to deteriorate with declining house prices and slowing economic growth.

Banks are under 'renewed stress' to raise additional capital amid a sharp plunge in banking stocks, which has 'increased the likelihood of a negative interaction between banking system adjustment and the real economy.

The IMF estimated banks and financial institutions have written off in excess of 400 billion dollars in soured mortgage-related investments.

The 185-nation institution said that due to the slump in the asset-backed securities and ongoing loan delinquencies, it had 'little reason' to change its April 3 estimate of of 945 billion dollars for the 'total mark-to-market losses' in the financial crisis.

With sharply rising loan delinquencies and foreclosures and a continuing fall in home prices, a bottom for the housing market is not yet visible! More bad news to come.....?

EX-World Bank, IMF Chiefs ask Malaysia to drop allegation against Anwar

Former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, ex-World Bank chief James Wolfensohn, and Michel Camdessus, the former head of the International Monetary Fund expressed their deep concern on sodomy charges against Anwar Ibrahim.

They said in a joint statement that the charges were brought 'in spite of the fact that similar unsubstantiated charges filed 10 years ago against him were overturned by the Supreme Court.'

Thus, they hoped that 'the government of Malaysia will ... demonstrate, by dropping the charges... an exemplary sense of respect for the rights of the individual which are so important to the international standing of Malaysia.'

The three reiterated their 'full confidence in Anwar's moral integrity.' Anwar spent a night in custody last week after being arrested over accusations that he sodomised a 23-year-old male aide. He was released on bail.

Will Malaysia consider this joint statement as another attempt by foreigners to interfere in its internal affair?

Selangor to use Toyota Camry as its official cars?

The Selangor Government may choose the Toyota Camry as the official cars for its state executive councillors.

This is because the price of the car was reasonable and maintenance cost is not high (definitely cheaper than the Mercedes).

This is something for Trengganu State Government to think about. Maybe they should sell all their Mercedes and switch to cost efficient Japanese cars too!

Buying a fleet of luxury Mercedes cars to save cost?

Terengganu state government bought 14 of the luxury cars for RM3.43mil (i.e. at RM245k each) to replace the Proton Perdana V6 Executive cars that had been purchased in 2004.

They bought the German cars, as “it is more reliable for long-term use and to reduce the maintenance cost”.

The argument doesn’t make sense. Mercedes-Benz E200 Kompressor is a luxury car and you will pay a premium price for the maintenance.

If the state government thinks Proton cars are lousy and not reliable, they should consider Japanese cars instead (i.e. Toyota Camry and Honda Accord).

Both Toyota Camry 2.0 and Honda Accord 2.0 cost less than RM160k. They are very reliable and certainly cost less to maintain than Mercedes cars.

Is United States Interfering in Malaysia’s Internal Affair?

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Malaysia to be transparent and follow the rule of law in dealing with the sodomy accusation against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. She also rejects claim that Anwar case is an internal affair.

Is this an interference? Looking at how Anwar was treated in 1998, Ms. Rice just hope that BN Government would not abuse its power again.

Anwar Ibrahim should contest in by-election ASAP

Anwar Ibrahim should contest in a by-election ASAP. He should do so before his opponents taking next step to nail him down e.g. fabricating DNA evidence and etc.

The hearing of the election petition for Kulim-Bandar Baharu parliamentary seat has been postponed twice to Aug 19. Is this a deliberate attempt to delay it so that Anwar won’t get to return to parliament so soon?
Most likely Parti Keadilan will lose the case in this election petition anyway. (You know how impartial is our Justice system – correct, correct, correct.) YB Zulkifli Noordin should resign now to force a by-election before it is too late for Anwar.

Inflation hits 7.7% in June 2008!

Inflation in Malaysia hits 7.7% in June 08, the highest in 26 years.

The figure came as a surprise as economists had predicted June inflation of 6.6 percent. The main culprit is the 41% rise in fuel price.

The inflation would probably remain high in July due to the increase in the electricity tariff.

Syabas Pak Lah! (Well done Pak Lah!)

Nepotism in MCA?

Ka Ting will support Tee Keat for #1 post in return for Tee Keat's support for his brother Ka Chuan to be #2?

The two old Chuas (namely Soi Lek and Jui Meng) are observing the situation closely. They may enter the race and trash Tee Keat's sweet dream.

The pact for Tee Keat to be No.1 and Ka Chuan No. 2 could be detrimental for Tee Keat as the MCA members may not like it. After the March 8 tsunami, MCA members should be more mature now and they may deny the nepotism practice in the party.

What is Ka Chuan’s credential to qualify him for the #2 post? What has he done for the Chinese society and the nation? Is it just because he is Ka Ting brother?

Petrol subsidy, What subsidy?

My friend, MT Ong shared with me his view on petrol subsidy. Attached herewith his writeup on the petrol subsidy:

I am surprised that so far no one has made a comprehensive study about the false impression that we Malaysians have been subsidized for our petrol. In fact we have been paying more than our fair share for our petrol. How is this? We need to look at the big picture of petrol prices, the price of cars, toll charges, per capita income and the cost and efficiency of public transportation. I am glad that our Minister of Information made a comparison of petrol prices in Malaysia and some Scandinavian countries. Let me make a simple comparison between Malaysia and Australia based on rough estimates.

1. Per capita income of Australia (USD35,990.00) is more than 6 times that of Malaysia (USD5,490.00) in 2006. (Source: World Bank)

2. Starting pay of a graduate in Malaysia RM2,500.00 per month and in Australia AUD4,000.00 (RM12,000.00) per month.

3. Price of one liter of petrol in Malaysia RM2.70 and in Australia AUD1.75 (RM5.25). The price differential is RM2.55 a liter.

Assume we buy a similar new car in both countries, a 1.8L Honda Civic Auto cost RM110,000.00 in Malaysia and AUD24,000.00 (RM72,000.00) in Australia. That is a difference of RM38,000.00. If we divide the price differential of the car with the cost of petrol, 38,000/2.55=14,900 liters of petrol. This means that an owner of a Honda Civic will upon consuming the first 14,900 liters of petrol is actually not getting a single cent of subsidy from the government.

The cost of a new Honda Civic in Malaysia is equivalent to 44 months salary of a fresh graduate. In Australia it is 6 months salary of a fresh graduate. It is a known fact that according to our previous Minister of MITI she openly admitted that the duty on cars in Malaysia is imposed not to protect Proton alone, but that the government is now dependent on car duty as an important source of government revenue.

I had recently returned from a driving holiday in Australia. We drove approximately 8,000 km from Melbourne to Perth and return, and guess what? I did not have to pay a single cent in terms of TOLL!!!!!!!! The road condition is in no way inferior to that of our Malaysian roads.

If we look at the big picture it looks as if we Malaysians have been taken to the cleaners by the Malaysian government all these years without realizing it. We have been conned by the Malaysian government into believing that the government has been so kind to us by subsidizing our petrol. It is especially sad if we compare car prices with the developed countries in addition to the income level. It is time that the present Minister of MITI take a good look at the national car policy and correct the wrongs after all these years. The man who is responsible for this atrocious Malaysian car project is no longer in power, so fear not, Mr. Minister and do the right thing for the citizens of this country.

MT Ong

Malaysian government should investigate on Proton’s boo-boo sale of MV Agusta!

Malaysian government should investigate on Proton’s boo-boo sale of MV Agusta!

Former PM Mahathir Mohamad has called for an investigation into the reasons behind national car maker Proton's 2006 sale of an Italian motorcycle maker MV Agusta for RM5, while it was sold two years later for close to RM800 million.
This is another mismanagement under Pak Lah’s Administration!

We will vote you out of office!

Road blocks again this morning? Millions of Klang Valley residents suffered as the police blocked the road for no obvious reason. Does it means that we don’t have to go to work to earn a living (since Petronas has so much profit?) and our children do not need to go to school?

We urge the BN/ UMNO led government not to block the road whenever they like and take laws in their own hands.

We will vote you out of office in the next general election!

Anwar wouldn’t have made 2pm deadline?

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Farid Wan Salleh said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would not have been able to turn up for his scheduled appointment at the city police headquarters on time. He said Anwar was supposed to have gone straight to the police headquarters here after his interview at the Anti Corruption Agency in Putrajaya.

“Instead, he was on his way home. He couldn’t possibly have made it on time.

Asked why the police had not waited until 2pm before making the arrest, Wan Farid said: “What's the difference between 20 or 50 minutes?”

Is there a difference between 20 or 50 minutes? Off course there is, right?

Police detained Anwar Ibrahim

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was arrested by the police just outside his home in Bukit Segambut, Kuala Lumpur, at 12.55pm.

Has Malaysia became a police state? That's the end of democracy in Malaysia! Malaysians will rise up to protect our democracy. If the authority has brain, they should release Anwar asap…..