Clueless central bankers

Agendadaily published an interesting to somewhat alarming economic article. Economics isn't exactly their forte but it attracted our attention to read it in full. We found several articles of similar concern.

It is worthy to consolidate the articles in the light of the new Governor appointment for Bank Negara Malaysia. From The Star column here, it is obvious that Tan Sri Dr Zeti, the Bank Negara establishment, the influential hands behind banks and GLCs, and business media are trying to force on PM to promote Deputy Governor, Dato Mohamed Ibrahim. Another two names from within Bank Negara suggested are Deputy Governors Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus and Sukhdave Singh.

Will Najib select any of the three internal offering since BNM was linked to a coup described as the 5 Tan Sri coup to oust him?

Nevertheless, the new central bank head will join the company of other central bankers to come up with a policy to bring the world out of the global recession. From the three articles found, it seemed it is a company of clueless.

By the way, the article published by The Agendadaily was The Economist.

Was Muhyiddin conspiring against Najib?

Just unleashed my reply to commentator drMpower for making sweeping childish statement here.

One critical posting on MACC does not change years, if not decades, of support and defense of them. It is shallow to think and assume that any time a critical piece is published the past opinion has no more relevance.

It is critical but not an attack, merely pleading Tan Sri Abu Kassim to stop playing games and be honest. He said he would lodge a police report against Dato Bahari but he did not. An internal memo leaked him saying he will defend the wayward officials.

The concern is it would make him look like those Little Napolean bureaucrats swaying with the wind to keep their position and stay powerful. After all, MACC should be above everyone because they only answer to God and not concern with the worldly trappings of wealth, position and power.

drMpower is a protun and have been commenting in this blog for years. Since taking a diammetrically opposite position to Tun M, he has resort to nitpicking, name calling, and labeling. His comment have turned to personal "attack" in nature and not discussive.

Quite typical of proTun these days particularly when dumbfounded without a decent argument to counter. When not in a "maki-maki" mode, they become rhetorical.

Come clean, Abu Kassim!

MACC Commissioner, Tan Sri Abu Kassim should come clean and stop reiterating the power to prosecute lies with the Attorney General for the upteen times.

MACC: We are not challenging AG's authority

By NST ONLINE - 25 February 2016 @ 10:59 PM

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission today said it had taken note of the advice and recommendations made by the commission's Operations Review Panel on its investigation into issues related to SRC International and the RM2.6bil donation.

MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed, in a statement tonight, said he also hoped that certain quarters do not misinterpret it as the commission challenging the authority of the Attorney-General.

The advice and recommendations, he said, were made during the panel's 29th meeting yesterday.

Confused ...: Who is running MACC?

Officers or Outsiders in the various committees?

This blog have always been supporter and defenderof MACC. However off late, messages emanating from MACC is getting confusing and rather inconsistent. Thus this poser of a posting to seek for answers.

At one time, MACC said there is no issue with the RM2.6 billion as it is a donation. Then there was a change in stand to say it is incomplete so MACC is making two recommendations which is believed to involve SRC before it was thrown out back by AG the first time for insufficient evidence.

Subsequently, came the second submission to AG and they requested three charges under the Penal Code. Not mentioned is whether it is SRC or RM2.6 billion but charges under Penal Code.

What was reliably heard (sorry have to protect source's identity), one of the charges involved the RM2.6 billion which was earlier cleared and high officials had met the donor's representative in Nice, France and Saudi Arabia.

Thus this blog's suspicion that it will be another Khir Toyo like case of not involving corruption but merely conduct of a public servant. So happen the Geng Loceng have long been going to town with the no gift for public servant argument.

So we turn to this booklet given by MACC quite sometime ago.

Geng Loceng, Khairuddin's faked reports

It must be the season to cabar mencabar (making challenges). Tralalala ... lalala ...

Blogger Shahbudin put up a posting of Tun Dr Mahathir challenging Dato Najib to swear on the Quran. He said he would do it.

RPK joined the fray to challenge Tun M to swear:

“In the name of Allah, I, Mahathir Mohamad, swear that Najib Razak stole RM42 billion of 1MDB’s money and that the RM42 billion which Najib Razak stole has all disappeared into thin air.”

Najib should reply to swear as follow:

“In the name of Allah, I, Najib Razak, swear that I did not steal RM42 billion of 1MDB’s money and that the RM42 billion has not all disappeared into thin air.”

Well .... Tun M and Najib should know that all these swearing and oath is meaningless in the court of law but only appeal to the superstitous kampong folks.

It is the same manner that Dato Seri Khairuddin and Matthias Chang went around the world to take pictures in front of law office and police stations to appeal to the urbane folk and it may not have any legal significance.

Zeti does not deserve Tunship

Many months ago and in the thick of the 1MDB debacle, it is overheard that Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz was almost ready to quit her position as Governor Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

However, she was asked to stay till her contract expired.

It would worsen further the image of the political leadership. At the time, AG was changed, police raided on MACC, two MACC Directors transfered to PM Department and Tan Sri Muhyiddin and Dato Shafie Apdal removed from cabinet.

As the date of Zeti's retirement gets closer, talk is she was positioning herself for extension. Thus for her remark is no politicians should lead BNM. It was intended to shut out her nearest competitor, Dato Dr Awang Adek Hussein.

Both Zeti and Awang received their doctorate from Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and she was aware Awang was a genius; double degree in 3 years and straight for express doctoral program.

Anyway, if Awang Adek cannot make Governor, than Tan Sri Mohd Nor Yakcop does not qualify also.

Repco, Sime Bank, and Anwar Ibrahim (Part 2)

Meeting up too many people that the second part could not be written yesterday. So we continue where we left off from here.

When told by friends at the court case against Dato Ismail Zakaria (IZ) that transactions by Dato Low Thiam Hock or known as Repco Low at Sime Securities was legit, it came as no surprise that he was acquited without being called for defense in 2006.

However, Court of Appeal overturned the decision by the Session Court and High Court in March 2013.

Led by then judge Tan Sri Apandi Ali, Repco Low had to put up defense as it was deemed there is sufficient ground to "describe and sustain" the said offense to create misleading appearance with respect to the price of Repco shares on the share market.

So Apandi can call it as he see it on a PM man. Furthermore, Judge Akhtar Aziz of the Session Court can be described in politically correct word as unpredictable.

Repco, Sime Bank, and Anwar Ibrahim (Part 1)

Unless one was involved in the stock market then or had memories of the Second Board rally at around the time of the Kyoto Earthquake that shook the financial market of the world in 1995, not many could remember the delisted Repco shares.

Some were reminded when the Session Court made a judgement that found Company Chairman, Dato Low Thiam Hock guilty for stock manipulation under Section 84(1) of the Securities Industry Act 1983 (SIA). Since charged on September 18 1999, it took the court 19 years to come to a decision!

There was still not much public attention despite media coverage to his judgement and several postphoned sentencing on January 19th, January 22nd and January February 15, yesterday. Yesterday's 2-hour mitigation ended up postphoned again to  February 29th.

But when RPK revealed a court exhibit which is a letter from Tun Dr Mahathir to SC Chairman, the case begin to viral. RPK's posting was questioning Tun M for inconsistency and it was an extension of his revelation of Tan Sri Mokhzani's alleged insider trading.

Possibilities not thought of

While visiting a friend's wife at a hospital yesterday, we got diverted into talking about current affairs.

Our friend is in the transportation industry and very perceptive. He used to be in government and now in public sector after his company got corporatised and listed on the Bursa. He was in the centre of public attention recently.

He commented, "People only tahu complain, assume and tuduh. They don't really know what they are talking. Banyak suka cakap berdasarkan hanya andaian without knowing enough."

He was refering to Dato Marina Mahathir who commented without knowing head or tail about his company's recent action. We agreed. Had long realised Marina is poor on facts and details but lots of rhetorics.

We said, "At times, public forget that they could only see what they can and be made to see. Many happenings behind the scene are not known to them."

Our friend said, "To be fair, they cannot comment what they cannot see or comprehend. However, they cannot be quick to presume. There maybe other considerations and possibilities. There could be more to it."

MUSICAL INTERLUDE: The bed's too big without you

You never realise how meaningful that someone in your life till they are not by your side. And, suddenly you are faced with a gout attack ... :)

Presumed Guilty III

Rocky Bru's latest posting highlighted public's screwed up sense of consistency and integrity is to meet to their biased or rather propaganda manipulated viewpoints.

Never do they ponder that they have been made to look the other way by propaganda and rhetorics.

Have anyone thought for a second that Dato Najib or even Datin Seri Rosmah couldn't possibly lay out the so-called long-winded money flow back to Najib's personal account?

Other's can make their assumptions but as we see, it couldn't be them both. One possibility (still a possibility) can create the element of doubt in any court.

Such transactions has to be done by someone with the experience in such esoteric off-shore banking and investment schemes.

It is not by any Tom, Dick and Harry banker or stockbroker or fund manager.

Happy Chinese New Year

Presumed "Guilty" II

In early January this year, this blog published a posting, Presumed "Guilty". The latest happening see the need for a sequel. It is a long one. So read it on your free time patiently. They will be no updates for few days. 

In late November, this blog posted a posting and predicted or better still, expose the proTun plan to hit Dato Najib continuously till UMNO General Assembly that begin on December 8th. It was to pressure for a party election.

There were many events planned for the UMNO GA but it had to be shelved. UMNO had good intel and anticipate their moves. They tightened security and only the Kelab Sultan Sulaiman event, in which Tan Sri Muhyuddin gave his "opening address to UMNO wings", could be done.

The shelling was resumed after GA but it lacked any bullet. Tun M was seen to be losing the plot. As the ground went about creating troubles here and there, Tun M side went back to the drawing board. He had meetings with his so-called Advisors every other day.

Quite a few familiar names is in his advising team. Sorry can't tell.

Geng Loceng deserve hell for sabotaging Tabung Haji again

First time, it was Geng Loceng revealing document and manipulating public perception as though buying the TRX land was a wrong deal, overpriced and accuse it as bailout.

The source of the leak is suspiciously known. One member of the Board of Director leak to a family member, then to a friend, and finally to The Benchmark. However, Tabung Haji people are not out there for revenge. They are good and god fearing people.

Thanks to Allah, they heed the advise of many and did not sell the land. Geng Loceng would have gone to town and ring their bell of victory while accusing TH sold the land at a loss and blah blah blah ... clang clang clang pilgrim fund.  

Subsequently, they came back to get even by leaking Bank Negara letters without realising the content is more cautionary and had it's shortfall.

Days of cheap labour and easy job are over

Malaysia does not need to take in 1.5 million Bangla Deshi. Somebody will be profiteering from it. It was an issue we raised before. However, it is no easy task to flush out the existing illegal immigrants. Any drastic action will affect local industries.

So government gave time to employers and workers to legalise and act accordingly. Government then put in place system to keep track of immigrant workers. The existence of a system to monitor existing workers will lightened the task of addressing the other problems associated with illegal immigrants.

Today's news report is a message that government is moving forward as planned and ignoring irritant noises of business interest or attempt to sabotage, even political interest or rivalry from railroading the scheduled execution.

Government is telling businessmen to  buck-up and adjust to the new environment of higher labour cost. And, students must prepare themselves for challenges in the job market.