The ghost waves over Tebrau Teguh

The shares of Tebrau Teguh, the company linked to ghost stories from Johor lately, were suspended by Bursa Malaysia yesterday pending an important announcement.

It turns out that state-owned Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor (KPRJ) made a mandatory general offer (MGO) for Tebrau Teguh shares. KPRJ already owned 41.5% in Tebrau Teguh.

This blog had disclosed last week that Dato Lim Kam Hoo had interest to increase his equity holding in Tebrau Teguh and be a more strategic player in the state-company, KPRJ and the Johor property game.

Tebrau Teguh is believed to be the vehicle to acquire state land and flip over to another party for quick buck. How does this turn of event help or give way to Lim Kam Hoo to be a substantial shareholders in Tebrau Teguh?

Let's read The Star report today and commment as we go along:

KPRJ said to launch mandatory general offer for Tebrau Teguh

The Star
Tuesday January 31, 2012

PETALING JAYA: Tebrau Teguh Bhd, which has suspended its shares from trading, may be the next company to undergo privatisation by its major shareholder.

Sources said its major shareholder Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor (KPRJ) would be carrying out a mandatory general offer for the company.

KPRJ owns 41.15% of Tebrau Teguh.

Tebrau Teguh is a diversified property developer and construction group linked with KPRJ.

KPRJ itself is the Johor state's investment arm.

Tebrau Teguh's shares closed last Friday at 75 sen.

The volume traded last Friday was 12.8 million shares compared with 1.8 million shares the previous Friday.

The 596.39% increase in volume of shares traded could have been due to sentiments on the material announcement.

The most important point to be highlighted in this part of the report is that Tebrau Teguh is going private.

This has been the trend in corporate moves these days. It is usually to avoid the bad publicity that comes with public disclosure, thus useful to keep sensitive information under lid from the easily excitable public.

KPRJ will need to spend money to buy shares from the public till they become the majority shareholder of more than 51%.

But, they have also commitments, like building 200 schools, etc.

Will it keep all the shares it bought from the market or will they sell it to other existing shareholders? Mind you, as sendirian berhad company, the first rights of refusal will be to offer to other existing shareholders.

Now another interesting twist to the report:

A business weekly had reported over the weekend that Danga Bay Sdn Bhd (DBSB) might be acquired by Tebrau Teguh.

DBSB was the custodian of a privatisation contract awarded by the Johor state government in 2000 to develop 1,800 acres of waterfront land along Johor Bahru's Lido Beach. It is therefore the master developer of the Danga Bay waterfront project in Johor.

Should Danga Bay be acquired, Tebrau Teguh would be the biggest owner and developer of sea-fronting projects.

Both KPRJ and Credence Resources Bhd currently own DBSB with 30% and 70% stakes respectively.

Once the acquisition is complete, KPRJ will still remain the majority shareholder of Tebrau Teguh.

The second majority shareholder will be Lim Kang Hoo as he owns 70% of DBSB via Credence Resources.

Presumably, this over-the-weekend report would not have known of the impending MGO. It could be rumours leaked to prop-up interest in the shares on Monday before being suspended.

The report did not say the subsequent equity of KPRJ and Lim Kang Hoo after the property injection. It will take quite a bit of work to figure out the subsequent equity with the MGO taken into account.

Nevertheless, it shows that via property injection the shareholding structure could change. If Tebrau Teguh was to acquire a high valued property in which KPRJ's equity is minimal or nil, KPRJ's final equity in Tebrau Teguh could be reduced.

The rest of the report are merely background information on Tebrau Teguh:

It is also worth noting that Lim is also Ekovest Bhd's co-founder and chairman.

Tebrau Teguh has completed projects through one of its subsidiaries, Bayou Bay Development Sdn Bhd.

It has completed projects involving mainly medium cost apartment and townhouses which are the Oasis Apartment, and the three phases of Bayu Puteri Residences.

Its future developments are Desa Idaman Bungalow and The Oxcy service apartment.

Through its other subsidiary Tebrau Bay Constructions Sdn Bhd, Tebrau Teguh has completed several projects, namely an RM80mil project with the National Housing Department to build 1,500 unit s of government housing apartments in Johor.

The project was completed in early 2007.

Tebrau Bay Constructions is currently in the process of developing 2,700 units of low-cost apartments in the Johor Baru township.

Ignore these projeccts. It is mere formality to fill in the profile of Tebrau Teguh.

As told before here, state controlled Tebrau Teguh will eventually come under control of Lim Hang Hoo. All it takes is a single wave of hand by the ghost.

But the intention is to have the Government inject the strategically located and sufficiently sized state lands into Tebrau Teguh to flip (or for a quick sale) to others.

The likelihood is to have the land injection excercise at a time KPRJ has majority control of Tebrau Teguh. It looks justified for state land to be injected into state controlled company. But at what price?

The suspicion would be at a nomimal price. Why should state inject state land into state company at full value?

Syyy ... please no mention of those minority shareholders. Otherwise, there will be public outcry of selling land at nominal value to companies not wholly owned subsidiary of state but with the existence of other shareholders.

Then suddenly, the ghost wave his hand again and KPRJ is directed to quitely sell their shares at a price without marking the land value to market. The probable reason that can be used is KPRJ need money for it's public infrastructure program.

Since Tebrau teguh is not a public listed company, no announcement is necessary.

The land parcels can be flipped over elsewhere for a tidy profit. The ghost will make sure the public do not know. If the public got to know, it will be the politicians, civil servants and professionals that get blamed by the rakyat.

The ghost and Lim Kam Hoo make their billions.

Hungry Ghost festival come early in Johor

A close friend advised us to keep the ghost story until after the election.

The problem is the election date is everybody's guess. Some say March, some claim to be May, and some predict in second term of the school holidays. Last but not least, there are those that believed it to be next year.

The way things are moving in Johor, it maybe a wee bit too late.

In the meanwhile, the RM60 billion Pengerang Petronas Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) complex is due for commissioning by 2016, which is 4 years from now. There is not much time. The planning work is already on the way, including land acquisition.

About two weeks ago, CEO and President for Petronas, Datuk Shamsul Azhar Abbas had sent Executive Vice President of Downstream Business of Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Bin Wan Ariffin to Johor Baru.

There is likelihood that it has to do with discussion on the said project. Simply, because he brought along a member of the Board of Director of Petronas and his fellow MCOBA President, Tan Sri Megat Najmuddin. Otherwise, why the need to bring Megat Najmuddin?

After all, he was once a strong candidate for CEO of Petronas. He represents Petronas, the biggest company in Malaysia and a Government wholly owned company. There is a reason.

In our previous posting here, we've described the massive quick money scheme in flipping properties in Iskandar Malaysia and the Johor Central Business District revitalisatin plan in and out of public listed vehicles.


The Petronas Rapid project in Pengerang, will include a tripatrite gas power plant that can support a petrochemical industry there. Read Bigdogdotcom here.

The power generated by the power plant is to be sold Singapore. It will involve Malakoff, Petronas and Singapore's Keppel Group. Pengerang was chosen because of this purpose and it's deep waters can allow for very large crude carriers and ultra large crude carriers.


It complements plans for the RM5bil independent deep water petroleum terminal, which is to be the first of its kind in South-East Asia. Thus making Teluk Ramunia and Pengerang a true oil and gas hub with supporting and ancillary industries. This will generate about 20,000 jobs and develop this backwater of South Johor and southernmost tip of continental Asia.


There will be gas pipeline built from Pengerang to just short of Kota Tinggi before it turn southward towards Ulu Tiram into Tanjung Langsat and all the way to Johor Baru CBD.

Naturally, the Johor state government will be a joint-venture partner of the project and will provide the required land.

Mention state land and a project of this size, the beepers in the ghost mobile sounds it's alarm. The land for Rapid must be consolidated state land, large tract of private land, and probably even orang kampung land.

There will be the supporting and ancillary industries mushrooming along the gas pipeline. That needs land too!

The gas pipeline and the land it traversed on will be owned by Petronas but for the industries piping the energy from the gas pipeline need land to place their facility.

Could they secure the land? If they could secure, how?

Although we've just celebrated the Chinese New Year, the Hungry Ghost Festival that usually comes in the seventh lunar month came early this year, earlier than Chap Goh Meh.


Securing the land has suddenly become difficult unless one is ready to be approached by Vampires. These vampires are not the European type one see in Hollywood movies that ravages alone but of the Asian variety.

Asian vampires in Hong Kong movies comes in groups and is directed by a ruthless Ghost, in this case the Hungry Ghost. These Vampires are not so smart and idiotically move non-stop in small hops towards their victim. One of this hopping vampire is said to be one Ku Mohsin.

To get their proposal through, these companies must wet the beak of the Hungry Ghost. The problem is it does not just stop at getting percentage equity in the company or some up-front amount.

There are companies already about to commenced work in Pengerang to prepare for facilities like storage. Already it is heard that one oil and gas company, named Kaylog or something to that effect, was preyed on and paid up-front of S$10 million.

The proposer may face the prospect of having these Vampires at the instruction of Hungry Ghost or probably the Hungry Ghost himself determining the proposer's equity in their own business and have to pay for the Ghost or his proxy's equity portion.

The biggest nightmare to any businessman will be when the Ghost determine who are the business partners in their venture. The proposer with the expertise and capital may end up with as minority shareholders.

Wan Zul could have been sent to Johor Baru by Dato Shamsul to deal with these ghosts and vampires. He was asked to bring Megat Najmuddin, whose extraordinary network, personal touch and diplomacy transcend into the supernatural and come handy in "smoothening" discussion.

Perhaps, the trip has nothing to do with meeting Vampires and Hungry Ghost.

But, it does not mean these Vampires and Hungry Ghost do not exist. They have been pretty much at large for the past two years haunting and preying on the rakyat, businessmen, Government servants and politicians.

If this is the way business is run in Johor, foreign investors will get turned off by such sadistic feudel ways. There is no certainty in doing business and too much and exorbitant unstated cost. It could seriously stifle and hamper development of Johor. Such act is an economic threat to the prosperity of Johor.

If the common rakyat knows of such abuse and intimidation, there will not even be sands at the end of the rainbow. Like sands dropping in the hourglass, time may be running out on them.

* Edited 31/1 10:00 AM

Neo-liberals and neo-feudal masters threat to Johor

Rocky described the subject of Big Dog's unusually restrained revelation in his latest posting, "Serving the neo-economic masters" as the ghost of Johor. Read Rocky Bru here.

Most people have never met or seen ghost but many believe ghost exist as a powerful supernatural being. But such supernatural being can only be powerful if one is afraid and believe that beings from different mediums can exist and exert devastating powers in our environment.

Not only has the supernatural being made his writing cryptic, royalist Big Dog was suddenly writing about economic slavery. Earlier in his January 6th, posting, "Leading the laden", he touched on the subject of feudalism, neo-feudalism.

All these in the midst of our battle against those unproductive and destructive young neo-liberals creeping into Johor Corporation?

"Serving the neo-economic masters" tie in with two pieces written in this blog on Johor in January; one entitled Did KPRJ's Johar Salim opposed MACC investigation on IIB and another Meow meow for Big Cat ... still on Johor.

By the way Big Cat, having vent out our 15 years of frustration, we are alright. Rather than Khaled Nordin or Razali Ibrahim or Osman Sapian, Gani is a far better choice of MB.

The focus of Big Dog's latest posting is Dato Lim Kang Hoo and his phenomenal business plan and expansion.

It traces back to a company written before in this blog, Tebrau Teguh Berhad (TTB).

TTB is owned by Kumpulan Perasarana Rakyat Johor (KPRJ) and the current CEO is KPRJ's CEO, Dato' Johar Salim.


Iskandar Investment Berhad, Johor Waterfront, and Iskandar Coast are Khazanah entities having strategic parcels of land bing targeted to be injected into TTB. And, there are some state government-owned premium land parcels all over JB city limits also planned to be injected into TTB.

Lim Kam Hoo is the owner and Executive Chairman of Ekovest Bhd. He had used his Danga Bay projects to be injected into TTB to increase his equity holding and be a more strategic player in the state-company, KPRJ and the Johor property game.

The southern Johor 'property belt' of JB-Iskandar Malaysia stretches 'East-West' from Tanjung Langsat/Pasir Gudang in the east all the way to Tanjung Pelepas in the west province and to include Johor Baru Central Business District (CBD).

JB 'CBD revitalisation' is a program where the Johor State Government plan to consolidate all state goverment's land parcels under into a single basket.


Although it is a state project, it has alerted Lim Kang Hoo's radar. For this, he proposed Knusford Berhad to be the proposed vehicle for the exercise. Lim Kang Hoo happens to be the Executive Director of Knusford.

Knusford business is modelled to emulate the likes of Gamuda, Killinghall and Antah.

Part of the gameplan is to flip some of the land parcels consolidated under TTB, to Singaporean property developers such as Peter Lim with Knusford having temporary and intermediary presence to justify the 'fee'.

There is already a precedent project as in the TNB land in Stulang Laut, which was recently flipped to Peter Lim with Lim Kang Hoo playing the role of 'middle-man.' Read Rocky Bru's posting dated November 11th here that first break all these ghost stories.

Lim Kang Hoo had involvement with MRCB in the JB Eastern Dispersal Link which passed the doorsteps of a certain ghostly address. That gave the opportunity for the occupant to know Dato' Zaki Zahid closer.


Lim Kang Ho convinced the ghost to request the appointment of Zaki Zahid into JCorp, via Damansara Realty and Kulim. His presence will help them because part of the strategic parcels of land owned by JCorp Group is in JB CBD.

Zaki is the Tingkat 4 supremo of Tun Dol administration day that hides behind his neo-liberal ideology to justify wrecking and plundering of the national economic infrastructure build over many decades since independence.

He is one character that has neither the guilt nor remorse to obligingly help inject those JCorp lands into TTB and/or Knusford, before eventually flipping it to investors. It will mostly be Singaporeans, again.

Zaki has no qualms selling Johor asset to Singaporeans because it was him and Dato Dr Vincent Lim (now with ISIS) that actually conceived the monstrous SJER, later WPI and finally Iskandar which will see Singaporean landgrab under the name of development of South Johor.

Soon, South Johor will the killing field for the big game of corporate exercises.

Any stock punters looking for a tip can look at Tebrau Teguh and Knusford. These counters neither need to raise capital, nor invest and maintain any business, but are money churner by being intermediary PLC to flip properties to Singaporeans.

Caveat emptor. Punters beware.

Make money and run. Do not expect handsome dividends or stock bonuses or splits. The company could be making money, lots of money but it might conveniently sip out, perhaps bypassing the rules of the Bursa, Registrar of Companies and Income Tax Department, to satisfy some ghastly greed.

Many should wonder how come Lim Kang Hoo could pursue such massive and unobstructed plundering without others' complain or competitive presence?

It seems all the leads points to the sands at the end of the rainbow. Somewhere over the rainbow ...

* edited 8:40 PM

Demand the same on Air Asia

Tony Fernandez, who claims that being competitive was the driving force that made Air Asia for what it is, has just got a lesson of what real competition is all about.

It is about being professional, honest and deliverable.

For a long time, he has been lying to the public using marketing snazz of his so-called capability. To correct the public, Tony F brought Air Asia to what it is today through lies, deceit and negligence of Slumber Dol.

And, the local adverstising authority have not been doing their job to allow him to get away with his unethical RM10 gimmick cheap air fare advertising.

In actual fact, Air Asia is no more a cheap bargain and plus it's inconveneinces, it is a raw deal. In certain flights, the unstated surcharges can mean flying via Air Asia is no more as good a deal as real full service airline.

They could not even compete with MAS's new emerging budget airline, Firefly. To survive, Tony demand on MAS to close up Firefly. Competitive my foot!

In their recent deceitful acquisition of the Sydney route with the help hand of Danny Yusof from inside, Air Asia has just been taught a lesson:

Australian regulator files lawsuit against AirAsia

January 24, 2012

The no-frills carrier is accused of failing to disclose the full price of fares on its website.

SYDNEY: AirAsia was Tuesday slapped with a lawsuit by Australian regulators accusing the Asian budget carrier of failing to disclose the full price of fares on its website.

The Malaysia-based airline, which flies international services out of Australia from the Gold Coast, Melbourne and Perth, with Sydney to be added from April, was named in documents lodged at the Federal Court in Melbourne.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the country’s consumer watchdog, claims some fares sold on AirAsia’s website do not display prices inclusive of all taxes, duties, fees and other charges.

“Businesses that choose to advertise a part of the price of a particular product or service must also prominently specify a single total price,” it said in a media release.

The regulator alleged the fares relate to flights from Melbourne to cities including London, New Delhi, and Hangzhou in China, from the Gold Coast to Ho Chi Minh City and from Perth to places such as Taipei and Phuket in Thailand.

The matter is listed to be heard on March 2 with the watchdog seeking an injunction “to restrain AirAsia from engaging in misleading conduct in the future”.

It also wants a court order “that AirAsia publish corrective notices on its websites regarding the conduct”.

AirAsia could not immediately be reached for comment. - AFP

The Sydney route was taken away from MAS through lies and deceit. Immediately following the collaboration, suddenly Sydney rote was not on MAS business plan when all along t had been a profitable route for MAS. This issue was raised to Managing Director, Dato Ahmad Jauhari during the press conference.

Ahmad Jauhari was also asked by the staff in a town hall meeting of the Sydney route JV. He denied it will be Air Asia. The following week, Tony F announced the JV between Qantas, Air Asia-X and MAS.

In a matter of time, MAS will be knocked out of this profitable route.

Taking a leaf from this experience with the Australian authorities, it is high time that the Malaysian authorities start to impose and the local consumers demand the same on Air Asia.

Malaysian should not allow these conniving businessman to continue to deny them of quality service. It is time he disclose his fares and rates and not allow customers to forever queue and wait.

Alas Malaysian ... this is what you get for paying peanuts, you get monkeys like Tony F.

Thanks to Amokh and Danny, the brilliant Medussa touch pair of Binasa Fikir, now controlling investment decisions in Khazanah, our Government will be investing RM1 billion in Air Asia-X that never made money.

Happy Chinese New Year: The Year of Water Dragon

Wishing All Happy Chinese New Year.

May you find health and happiness in the year to come.


****************************

2012 is Year of the Dragon. Dragon is a legendary animal. It is the symbol of power and superior control. Since the Ming Dynasty, it has been used as the symbol for the emperors in China.

Since the Dragon is coated with mysterious color, Chinese consider that the dragon is unpredictable, untouchable and people cannot see its head and tail at the same time. Therefore, we might see something unexpected happening in 2012.

Thus thread the year more carefully. The Year of the Dragon is also the year of natural disaster.

According to Chinese Five Element Astrology Calendar, 2012 is the Year of Water Dragon. The astrological reading is that it is a critical year for humanity due to changes taking place in the people's minds.

The Pakatan Rakyat supporters may like to read it as the year UMNO or Barisan Nasional is ousted out of power. That is if they strongly believe their propaganda has permanently captured the imagination of voters, particularly the middle undecided.

What if it had backfired instead and rationality had reigned in over the excessive politicking of spins, slanders and lies?

We believe the pendulum reached it's maximum and is due to swing back. One reknown opposition inclined political player privately predicted that opposition will bomb out. They could only retain less than 80 seats, lose Selangor and Kedah, and Kelantan caught in 50:50 situation.

But we are not ready to be optimistic till the administration be more serious on committed and perception of corruption, power abuse, and inefficiencies in Government and GLCs. And, UMNO and BN has to mature by ridding itself from the politics of warlords, factionalism, petty bickering, anti-intellectualism and suppression of new leadership talents.

Some prediction say that the changes taking place in the people's mind could be more spiritual than political. There are reading that we are about to pass to a new spiritual era.

Will it mean rise in moral consciousness or reverting back to religion?

Some are predicting that the change and rise in consciousness will give rise to greater appreciation for innovation and ideas in businesses. The economic crisis is not about to be over yet but it signifies the passing of a new era. With so many cases of market failures, latest being Eurozone, business should go back to basics.

In the new era of spirituality, people may begin to realize to not rely too much on money. Having money is fine but there are more important things to consider (for example environment, our spirits, and humanity).

The year could see many new technology trends. More people will become comfortable using technology in their lifestyles. Technology will be used to enable people to become more spiritual.

One does need to believe such predictions. It is good to know to understand the psyche of the significant number of the population in order to heed for eventualities.

To excercise care is not a bad advice.

Condolence

Blogger Viswanath a/l Kaliamoorthy [see his blog V for Viswa here] passed away yesterday morning due to a hit and run accident along the Kuala Lumpur-Seremban highway.

The accident happened after the Information Chief for the Putera MIC Negeri Sembilan attended a Blog House gathering at the National Press Club. He was found at around 3:00 am and was taken to Seremban Hospital immediately. Unfortunately it was too late.

His funeral procession will begin this morning from his home at No 85 Jln ttjs 3/4 Taman Tuanku Jaafar Selatan, 71450 Sungai Gadut, N.Sembilan upon his mother's arrival return from India. His burial is schedued for 11 am.

Viswa is the youngest in the family. The intelligent young man is the bright ray of hope for the family. He will be sorely missed.

His presence at Blog House gathering is well remembered. With Yogeswaran, he stayed on till everyone left.

We at ABITW are equally shock with his sudden death and wish to express our condolence to his family and colleagues at MIC.

Muhyiddin's closing speech at the International Conference on the Global Movement of Moderates

The following is the closing address by the Tan Sri Dato Hj Muhyiddin Haji Mohd Yassin, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia entitled by “PROMOTING MODERATION, PEACE AND STABILITY FOR THE WELLBEING OF GLOBAL COMMUNITY” at the closing ceremony of the International Confferene of the Global Movement of Moderates at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

2. Allow me to briefly mention at the outset the historical context in which contemporary discourse about moderation and the moderates emerge. As we know, at the end of the cold war, many people thought that the war between communism and the West was about to be replaced by a war between the West and Muslims. The Gulf War, the Bosnian conflict, the World Trade Centre bombing and the growing influence of Islamist movements in the Middle-East, Turkey, Central Asia and across the Muslim world gave an impression that there lies an Islamic threat against the West.

3. Throughout the 1990s, Samuel P. Huntington’s seminal work, Clash of Civilizations, generated so much interest in the academia as well as in the media. It seemed that confrontations drawn along the fault lines of ideology and religion were inevitable. In particular, the prophecy of an imminent conflict between two great civilizations, namely Islam and the Christian West sent tremors across the world.

4. It was rather unfortunate that the tragic event on September 11, 2001 accentuated the images of conflict between Islam and the West. Eventually, the post 9/11 world was marked by growing Islamophobia in the West and across the world. From Osama Ben Laden to the Taliban in Afghanistan, the vision of militant Islam as a threat to the West has gripped the imaginations of Western governments and the media.

5. For more than a decade, the image of Islam as the religion of peace and moderation was hijacked by violent aggressions of militant Muslims and their network of terror. The events in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kashmir and other parts of the world where Muslim minorities are struggling for self-determination, reinforced the image of Islam as a religion that is prone to fanaticism, extremism and warfare. On the other hand, the global war on terror led by Western superpowers has pitted the West against the Muslims in a scale that has never been felt before.

6. Without us realizing it, the instability of the war inflicted regions in some parts of the Muslim world and the growing fear of terrorism fuelled by Islamophobia in the West overshadowed the voices of moderation, peace and harmony within Islam. People tend to ignore the fact that the phenomenon of extremism, fanaticism and militancy in the Muslim world is confined to only small groups of people usually alienated from the mainstream tradition of Islamic moderation.

The Concept of Moderation in Islam

7. The virtue of moderation was expounded in Islam by a key verse in the Qur’an which describes Muslims as an ummah or community justly balanced. Allah the Almighty says in the Qur’an:

وَكَذَٲلِكَ جَعَلۡنَـٰكُمۡ أُمَّةً۬ وَسَطً۬ا لِّتَڪُونُواْ شُہَدَآءَ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ ٱلرَّسُولُ عَلَيۡكُمۡ شَهِيدً۬ا‌ۗ

Which means, “Thus have We made you of an Ummah justly balanced That ye might be witnesses over the nations and the Messenger as witness over yourselves” (Surah Al-Baqarah; Verse 143).

8. From this verse, Muslim scholars define Ummatan Wasata, or ummah justly balanced, as the primary characteristics of Islamic community as willed by Allah the Almighty Himslef. In this context, classical Muslim scholars agreed that being ummah justly balanced means essentially possessing a combination of interconnected attributes of justice, goodness, avoidance of extreme laxity or extravagance and being in the middle position.

9. Apart from this, the Qur’an also emphasizes the role of Islam as the harbinger of mercy and compassion to all mankind. Allah says in the Qur’an:

وَمَآ أَرۡسَلۡنَـٰكَ إِلَّا رَحۡمَةً۬ لِّلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ

Which means, “We sent thee not, but as a mercy for all creatures.” (Surah Al-Anbiya’; Verse 107)

10. With this understanding of Islamic moderation and the message of mercy and compassion that Islam spreads to the mankind, many contemporary Muslim scholars and leaders condemned the act of terror perpetuated in the name of religion. Militant radicalism and religious extremism contradict the very essence of Islam as the religion that promotes the virtue of moderation and peaceful co-existence between peoples of different faiths, creed and color.

11. For Muslims, religious and cultural differences should not be the root cause of hatred and enmity as the Qur’an itself accords spiritual recognition to social plurality and cultural heterogeneity which is part of human nature. Allah says in the Qur’an:

يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلنَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقۡنَـٰكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ۬ وَأُنثَىٰ وَجَعَلۡنَـٰكُمۡ شُعُوبً۬ا وَقَبَآٮِٕلَ لِتَعَارَفُوٓاْ‌ۚ إِنَّ أَڪۡرَمَكُمۡ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ أَتۡقَٮٰكُمۡ‌ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ۬

Which means, “O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of male and female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other. Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things)”. (Surah al-Hujrat; Verse 13)

The Necessity of Moderation

12. Apart from religious injunctions, the political, social and economic realities that we are facing today necessitate the practice of moderation. On the economic front, Western countries are major trading partners of the Muslim world. As much as the West depends on Muslim countries for natural resources, Muslim countries rely on economic prosperity of the West as major importers of goods and services to accelerate the process of economic development at home. As we know, for decades the peace, prosperous and developed West created millions of jobs and countless economic opportunities for Muslims in their respective countries. It will be folly for Muslims to believe that economic and political destruction of the West will bring economic prosperity and political stability to the Muslim world.

13. At the same time, growing population of Muslims in the West has changed the social and cultural demography of Western society. For instance, in Europe today, a key debate is about how to integrate and assimilate new Muslim population into the European society without necessarily eroding European cultures, traditions and identity. No doubt, the success of this process of integration and assimilation will have far-reaching consequences on lasting peace and stability of European countries.

14. As Muslims are making inroads into the West, bringing together their values and social practices into the fabric of Western societies, the social and political values of the West are also increasingly being embraced by Muslims. The values of human rights, freedom and liberty, which were once associated with the West, now form part and parcel of the life of Muslims. It is not uncommon now to find Islamic groups and Muslim-based political parties together with civil society movements participate in democratic processes and clamor for democratic reform. The political transformation currently underway in Muslim countries shows that the value of democracy can sit easily with the value of moderation, justice and compassion in Islam.

15. The political, social and cultural interactions between the Muslim world and the West, which is now being reinforced by the forces of globalization, brings about new perspective on the relationship between Islam and the West. For Muslims, the classical demarcation line that separates Dar al-Islam (the realm of Islam) from Dar al-Harb (the realm of war) has now become obsolete. It is not proper for Muslims to regard the West as their enemies when the cultural and social demography of the West itself is undergoing tremendous change as a result of its rising Muslim population. Likewise, it is no longer fitting for the West to regard Islam as the new fascism which poses imminent threat to the security of its nations and the future of its civilization. The truth is, the Muslims themselves are becoming more familiar and receptive of the good values of Western civilization.

16. The future path of global peace and prosperity must be built upon mutual understanding and respect between communities which represent the world major civilizations. Be it Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Taoism and other world major civilizations, all must work for the perpetuation of peaceful co-existence between people of different religions and cultures. This necessitates a shift in our perspective from clash of civilizations to civilizational engagement. In this particular context, the practice of moderation and the rejection of extremism is the key to civilizational engagement and global peace. Only by rejecting extremism and embracing moderation will we be able to treat others with dignity, accept our differences and live with each other in peace and harmony. In today’s world, moderation is not an option, but a must.

Moderation in Other Faiths

17. We are fortunate that all major religions and civilizations advocate moderation as a way of life. Christianity and Confucianism abhor extravagance and opulence which symbolize an extreme behavior in the conduct of one’s life. Likewise, in Hinduism, the concept of middle path that calls for divine centered living without renouncing the world is considered the best means to achieve salvation. In the same vein, Buddhism advocates Middle Way between all extremes by avoiding fanaticism and laziness in the journey to nirvana.

18. If we can see the nature of religion through the prism of moderation, we will be able to identify common values shared by all religions. The values are peace, harmony and true happiness which will materialize when the followers of every religion avoid excessiveness in religious practices and in the conduct of worldly life. I believe if everybody can nurture the spirit of moderation, which implies rejection of excessiveness and extremism, there will be no harm done to human kind in the name of religion or ideology.

19. At the same time, we need to address the root cause of extremism and fanaticism which often lead to hatred and enmity between people of different religions and cultures, namely economic alienation, political exclusion and social deprivation. We need to replace economic alienation with equitable distribution of wealth; we need to end political exclusion by promoting political inclusiveness; we need to eliminate social deprivation by upholding social justice and respect for human dignity. We believe that the seeds of goodness will only bear fruit when the root cause of evil are completely annihilated.

Moderation in Malaysia

Ladies and gentlemen,

20. Moderation has been the pillar of Malaysia’s success in dealing with ethnic and religious diversity. Being part of the Malay world where great civilizations meet, Malaysia has been blessed with peace and prosperity that is built upon mutual understanding and respect among its multi-ethnic and multi-religious population. Despite being a plural society from the start, we thank the Almighty God that we have so far been successful in maintaining peace and averting conflict by promoting moderation as a national culture.

21. We promote moderation through active involvement of the government and the civil society in educating the people about the values of moderation and peace. The government working together with religious communities and the civil society have been actively promoting religious harmony as a main pillar of national unity. A Committee on Inter-Religious Harmony was formed with a view to promote common values shared by all religions as a means to encourage mutual understanding, respect and cooperation between different religious communities. I must say that our success as a nation depends on the willingness of the moderates from all religions and cultures to set aside differences and work for a common goal in perpetuating peace, harmony and prosperity for our people.

22. It is my great pleasure today in conjunction with this conference to launch an important work on Islamic moderation as it is envisioned and practiced in Malaysia and the Malay world. Professor Tan Sri Mohd. Kamal Hassan, a renowned professor of Islamic studies from the International Islamic University Malaysia, has come up with a great book entitled “Voice of Islamic Moderation From the Malay World”, which compiles evidences from the Qur’an and prophetic traditions which extol the essence of Islam as the religion of moderation. There are also numerous empirical evidences which epitomize moderation as the foundation of peace, harmony and stability in the Malay world in general and in Malaysia in particular.

23. I am glad to quote a passage in Tan Sri Mohd Kamal Hassan’s book which is of great interest to me. I quote, “The voice of Islamic moderation coming from contemporary Malaysia is a reflection of the Malaysian milieu in which Islamic thought has been nurtured in a multi-ethnic society in which Muslims, though in the majority, have lived and co-existed with non-Muslims of various ethnic and religious groups in peace and harmony … This democratic set-up has molded a national culture which makes political or religious extremism unpopular and uncalled for. The winning formula for all communities has always been one in which there is a realistic recognition of the pluralistic nature of the nation and the need to balance between the particular interest of a community and the larger interest of national stability, national security and national wellbeing, without stepping beyond the limits of freedom as provided for in the Constitution of the nation,” unquote.

24. I believe the value of moderation will continue to provide lasting peace, harmony and stability for Malaysia and for the world community. This requires the coalition of the willing among the moderates of the world to persistently promote moderation as a global value. I do hope that this international conference, the idea of which was mooted by Malaysian Prime Minister, The Honorable Dato’ Seri Mohd. Najib Tun Abdul Razak, and the actions that will follow from it will provide avenues for the moderates from all major civilizations of the world to work hand in hand in the promotion of just and lasting peace for the wellbeing of the global community.