Robert Kuok - FORBES MAGAZINe

Robert Kuok - FORBES MAGAZINE 

I don't wish Malaysia as a country ill. But I would dearly love to see all their corrupt officials have their just desserts. And for a straight Malay (is there one??) plus minority groups rise up to overthrow the useless Fat and Lazy UMNO and change the Constitution completely to make it a fairer and more efficient govt and society. Now, Malays are little more than sleeping partners collecting money with their outstretched greedy hands.

 

Don't mess with the Sugar King, Jibby

The following is a translation of the 忠政快讯 commentary on how Najib stole Robert Kuok's sugar business so that greedy UMNO cronies could enjoy the profits, and how Malaysia's economy suffered as a result.

Recently, the govt offended Robert Kuok.  As a result, the Malaysian economy suffered a great blow.  And now, after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Malaysia, Najib's administration truly understands Robert Kuok's influence in China.

Crony got richer, Malaysia got poorer

UMNO cronies are loyal when there's easy money for the taking.  To keep them happy, Najib twisted Robert Kuok's arm to get the profits from his sugar empire.  As a result, UMNO cronies got richer by tens of billions of ringgit.  But it caused a national loss of more than 200 billion for Malaysia as a whole!

(Those who have insider knowledge on this are still cursing until God knows when.)

So, the Malaysian sugar king was forced to leave his own country, but ironically, he has now become the world's sugar emperor.  How?  He bought the world's largest sugar mills in Australia, investing a cool 10 billion US dollars.

So, Najib's government benefited a few UMNO families at the expense of national interests.  Very ungrateful, when it is a known fact that Robert Kuok had given a lot of help to the Malaysian Govt for several decades.  A Chinese idiomatic expression calls this 'turning a pig's intestine inside out' because on the other side is a lot of shit.

Palm oil slap in the face

In the global political gossip columns, insiders are smiling because Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Malaysia hit a snag with Najib.  How?  You see, before this visit, Najib and his cabinet had hinted several times that they hoped China would double the amount of palm oil imports from Malaysia.

China is the largest buyer of Malaysian palm oil.  But there is strong competition with Indonesia, which is trying to sell palm oil at lower prices to China and India.  Najib is very worried about this.  So during the official visit, he hoped to seal a new palm oil trading contract with China, to double the average of 10 million tonnes sold by Malaysia every month.

But Wen Jiabao said that this was impossible.  Najib was very disappointed.  He knew the Chinese market demand; even for China to import 1,000,000 tonnes per day is not a problem.  So where was the problem?

The problem was that Robert Kuok did not agree!

How was Robert Kuok able to influence China's decision?  Who owns the monopoly of China's national oil market?  The market leader is Arowana cooking oil, accounting for nearly 40% of the market.  And the Arowana cooking oil boss is, Robert Kuok!

Think about it.  If Premier Wen Jiabao had agreed to buy more Malaysian palm oil, who is going to refine it into cooking oil?  Privatised enterprises, of course!  With 40% market share, if the Arowana cooking oil company refuses the additional supply, how is the Chinese government going to utilise the extra crude palm oil?

Najib, insensible from the start, did not know that Kuok was so influential in China.  By helping UMNO cronies get rich, he jeopardized the prosperity of Malaysia and its ordinary people.

Ask what Kuok has done for his country

After losing his throne, the Sugar King left Malaysia, understandably disappointed and unhappy.  Many people still remember that, in the early days of Malaysia, we did not have aviation professionals, and the BN govt asked Kuok's father to help set up Malayan Airways.

In the 1970s, our maritime industry was also a vacuum, and Malaysian govt sent representatives to Hong Kong to request Kuok's help.  For the sake of national development, Kuok put aside the Group's business and returned to Malaysia to help establish a national shipping industry.  This later became MISC, the Malaysia International Shipping Corp.

When Malaysia repeatedly faced economy difficulties, Robert Kuok was a big help.  He even posted bail for MCA's Tan Koon Swan's CBT case.  The govt owes Robert Kuok a great deal, but it used strong-arm tactics to forcefully take over Kuok's sugar empire in Malaysia.  Truly ungrateful.

Kuok's relationship with China

When Deng Xiaoping announced China's reforms, he needed aid from generous overseas Chinese entrepreneurs.  Robert Kuok promptly joined other helping hands in the Chinese economic miracle such as Hong Kong's Henry Fok and Li Ka-shing.  Kuok was the first to respond to Deng Xiaoping in Beijing and built China's first five-star hotel (Shangri-La).

Kuok has over 30 years of friendship with China's leadership.  Najib failed to recognise this when he ate Kuok's sugar empire in Malaysia, partly to benefit the business connections of his greedy fat 'vampire' wife's family.  Imagine doing this to an international tycoon – what humiliation in return for patriotic help in the past, from his own country?

Early this year, Kuok announced plans to invest US$10 billion in Indonesia to develop refineries in the world's largest sugarcane growing areas.  The global economy was facing a downturn.  The Malaysian govt traveled the world to solicit investments.  How much was Malaysia’s foreign investment?  Kuok’s single investment in Indonesia was equivalent to US$10 billion!  Of course, when the news hit the papers, he was criticized for being 'unpatriotic', preferring to take so much money to Indonesia instead of Malaysia.  Can you smell the bullshit?

For the moment, Malaysia's palm oil trade with China will remain on agreed terms (no increase).  Indonesia has more palm oil than Malaysia – cheaper too.  Now that Kuok has invested so much money in Indonesia, its govt treats him like a god of wealth.  Certainly open to negotiations on anything.  Moreover, Indonesia has been eyeing the opportunity to take over the palm oil supply contract from Malaysia.

At least give the beggars something – frozen durian

Buying frozen durian was the consolation China gave instead of buying more Malaysian palm oil.

Business needs more than cow sense.  Who ever supplies millions of ringgit in frozen durian to a brand-new market with small durian consumption?  How much time and effort is needed to market frozen durian from Malaysia?  Thai durian does not sell well in China, let alone frozen durian from Malaysia.  If the market is proven non-receptive to frozen durian, how do we deal with return goods?  A total loss with capital.  Is this how to do business?

Kuok is not just China's top hotelier, king of cooking oil, and the world’s sugar emperor.  He is also the patent owner of the Coca-Cola soft drink brand in the Chinese market.  He is also involved in a diverse range of businesses in China, and has created millions of jobs there.  The Beijing central leadership has great respect for him as a savvy and powerful entrepreneur.  When the man speaks, the weight of his words can be far-reaching.

And yet, Robert Kuok is one of the few outstanding Malaysians who has never accepted any of the high-faluting titles which are churned out every year for 'distinguished' VIPs.  Many people address him as Tan Sri or Datuk Robert Kuok when in fact, he does not have such titles and needs none.

Life must be lived with love and humour. Love to understand and humour to endure

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The world’s shrewdest businessman – Founder of Shangri-La Mr. Kuok

As versatile as he is smart, the urbane Robert Kuok runs luxury hotels, trades commodities on a huge scale and invests brilliantly. Now he’s going to get the Chinese hooked on Coca-Cola.

The amazing Mr. Kuok – The world’s shrewdest businessman by Andrew Tanzer

 IN 1993 THE COCA-COLA CO. was ready to invade part of China in a big way, but this is tricky turf. Coke understood that China could be a gold mine or a disaster. It needed a savvy local partner.At stake was the right to bottle Coke in an area stretching across north and southwest China and inhabited by 450 million people. But pushing that quintessentially American product into the depths of China took careful handling.Let’s put this in perspective: The license to bottle Coke in the Philippines, population 70 million, recently sold for $2.6 billion. By this standard, the China deal could in time be worth $8 billion. Every capitalist in Asia coveted the deal.

Read more of this post....

http://stulanglaut.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/the-worlds-shrewdest-businessman-founder-of-shangri-la-mr-kuok/

10 Reasons Why You Should Bother To Protest By Thomas Fann

It was soon after the Bersih 3.0 protest on 28th April, 2012 that I chanced upon a posting on a social media network by someone I knew. Commenting on the huge protest and violence that followed, he said that it is not that he doesn’t support the demands of the protesters but he doesn’t believe protesting is the way to go as it doesn’t solve anything.

It is very likely that many a Malaysian echoes the same sentiments and asks the question – Why bother to protest? Can anything good come out of a protest? Some may even agree with the Prime Minister who said this is not our culture. I want to suggest ten reasons why we should bother to protest:

Reason 1 – It’s our constitutional right

Did you know that the supreme law of our land, the Federal Constitution in Article 10(1)(b), states that all citizens have the right to assemble peaceably and without arms (weapons)? Unfortunately, subsequent laws passed like the Police Act (Section 27) and its new incarnation, the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) 2012, restricts that right.

It can be argued that such restrictions are not in keeping with the intent and spirit of the Constitution which allows us to assemble peaceably. In such cases of inconsistency, we revert back to our supreme law, the Federal Constitution. As law-abiding citizens, our courage and confidence come from knowing this fact.

Reason 2 – It’s democracy in action

We are still a democracy and every citizen has a right to express their views in a peaceful manner. As you glance through the news today, you’d find people from all over the world protesting on a variety of issues ranging from unemployment to the latest government austerity measures, to the way banks are run and to an offensive film. It is not just happening in so-called “less” democratic countries but more so in countries that cherish democracy.

Democracy is not just about casting our votes at the ballot box. It is about us engaging the political process on an ongoing basis through dialogue with lawmakers and government servants, lobbying or petitioning for change in a certain policy, and even protests. Some issues need multi-pronged approach when the authorities are unresponsive.

Reason 3 – It is healthy and needful

People need a space where they could express their unhappiness and it is imperative that they be given that space. Constant suppression of people’s need to release pent-up frustrations could only lead to an explosion of anger as seen in the Arab Spring.

Protests are healthy in the way they show up the feelings of the people and are symptoms of some under-pinning problems, not the problem itself. Using the analogy of our body, protests are like fever or cough. A good physician does not only alleviate the symptoms but also treat the root cause, be it a virus or bacteria that is causing the fever or cough. Good governance means allowing room for protests and paying attention to the root cause for it.

Reason 4 – It highlights issues

Issues that affect communities are many and they are all important to those affected by them. Often times issues would not be made known to the rest of the country or the world without a protest.

This would especially be true in a country where the press and media are not free. How else would we know about problems in our electoral roll and process, about Lynas, Bukit Koman and Pengerang, if not for the series of Bersih and Himpunan Hijau protests? How many more injustices and abuses have gone unnoticed because it was not highlighted by the press and no protest was organised?

Protests draw our attention to issues that may or may not directly affect us but at least we know about them and can decide what to do about it.

Reason 5 – It can bring about changes

It would not be wrong to say that much of the course of world history is shaped by direct actions of the people. Rulers who failed to serve the interest of their subjects are ALWAYS removed, eventually. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”

Protests led by Martin Luther King Jr, Mahatma Gandhi, anti-apartheid protests worldwide, democracy movements in South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Myanmar and Middle East have brought about seismic changes in their countries.

On the local front, the Bersih protests has forced the EC to implement some changes like the use of indelible ink and promises of reforms to the other demands. While it is true that it still falls short of the true reforms we are asking for, it has forced the authority to consider the demands. If any of the demands are not fulfilled, they would have served to educate the voters of the problems and for them to question why they are unfulfilled.

Reason 6 – It unites people around issues

Issues like injustices, freedom, corruption, abuses of power, crime, land grab and the environment affect all regardless of race and religion.

As a participant in a number of protests over the past couple of years, I can tell you one of the most exhilarating experiences was the joy and privilege of marching side by side with Malaysians of all races, faith, age, and social backgrounds. It was a cleansing experience, being washed clean of years of state sponsored prejudices against our fellow citizens.

When we protest against our shared common concerns, we realize that we share a common desire for a better future. Underneath all the things that make us different, we realize that we are just fellow humans.

Reason 7 – It exposes the authority

The role of the governing authority is to facilitate peaceful protests and to maintain law and order.What all of us, the protesters and the government, should want is a peaceful assembly. Only a very small minority would want a violent and chaotic assembly.

If the stated intent and planning of the protest organiser is towards a peaceful assembly, there is no reason why the authority and the police cannot facilitate it. They just need to provide a public space large enough for the protesters, divert the traffic, deal reasonably with anyone who wants to break the peace, and allow the protest to proceed.

We have to ask ourselves why they would want to hinder, politicize, demonize and outright attack innocent protesters unless they feel that their shortcomings are being exposed?

Reason 8 – It’s a check and balance

For too long we have had a one-party political system, given that the opposition has always been weak until 2008. Now that we are moving towards a two-party system, we can take heart our democracy is maturing.

Another key component of a matured democracy is the active involvement of the citizens. Some would call this the Third Force. It is needed to hold the politicians in check, to ensure that the promises made during elections are kept. The awakening that our country experienced in 2008 was the awakening of the Rakyat and it is here to stay.

Reason 9 – It’s standing in solidarity with others

Don’t let others struggle for us but stand in solidarity with those who share our belief and are overcoming their fears to make a stand for what is right. It is all too easy to click “Like” on Facebook or even to give money but at the end of the day it is about numbers. Authorities only take notice when there are big numbers of protesters.

I joined in my first protest at Bersih 2.0 because I didn’t want to let others do the fighting (struggle) for me. I want to be there for my own family and for my country.

Reason 10 – It’s doing something

Rather than doing nothing and complaining about things, you are doing something when you protest with others who feel the same way as you do. Admittedly, protest is not the only way to go but sometimes it is the only option left when all other attempts are met with indifference or disdain.

Perhaps there are many who feel the same way as my friend that protests are a waste of time and that it is too messy. To him and others like him, I’d want to ask, “What are you doing then?” Turning up at a protest is the least we can do.

Conclusion

As a nation, we are going through the throes of growing pains and it does look messy – dirty politics, corruption, vote-buying, gangster tactics, hate speeches, expose of scandals after scandals and of course, mega protests. These are normal and will soon pass if we do not give up struggling for justice and for the preservation of our democracy.

We can gain courage from countries like South Korea and Taiwan whose people have to struggle to set their country free from military juntas not too long ago. But once freedom was achieved and democracy established, their countries flourish and today are shining examples of prosperity and peace. Yes, it was messy during transition but it was well worth it.

To the argument that it is not our culture, one only has to look at the history of our nation. UMNO who held mass protests against the Malayan Union and the road to independence was one of protest right up to 1957 and there has always been protests in the subsequent years.

Perhaps there are few men who had to struggle with this matter of protestation in the modern context of a democratic society as much as Martin Luther King, Jr. He has this to say.

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige and even his life for the welfare of others.”

Protesting is not a matter of our culture or not. It is a human need to be heard and for our views to be respected. No more excuses, pack your salt and bottle of water, our voices must be heard.

Source: THOMAS FANN blogs at www.newmalaysia.org

MB: Hudud better against crime

CHOPPING OF HANDS: Law allowing death by hanging more cruel, says Nik Aziz

By SULAIMAN JAAFAR AND RAHMAH GHAZALI | news@nst.com.my 

Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, Karpal Singh and Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi

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  KOTA BARU: DATUK Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat reiterated yesterday that the law allowing death by hanging was more cruel than hudud, which prescribed the chopping of hands for thieves.

"Hudud is also better as it creates a sense of fear against committing crime."

"Whenever people see someone without a hand, they are reminded that the person has been caught for stealing and it will deter them from committing the offence.

"However, a person who is hanged will be forgotten after being buried," said the Pas spiritual adviser, who is also Kelantan menteri besar.

Nik Aziz said DAP national chairman Karpal Singh's efforts in prolonging the debate on the Islamic state and hudud would make people understand the issue better.

He said the matter, however, must be discussed rationally and there should not be any insult or abuse.

Karpal has been very critical in responding to renewed calls by Pas for an Islamic state to be established.
Upset over Pas' insistence on pursuing its agenda, Karpal had also said the opposition pact must resolve their differences on the issue.

Meanwhile, law experts said that enforcing hudud in a multi-racial country would not be fair to both Muslims and non-Muslims.

Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi told the New Straits Times that "equality before the law" could not be served if hudud and the current law co-exist.

"A problem will occur because if a crime is committed by two different people, one is a Muslim and another a non-Muslim, two different sets of law need to be applied to them. That would not be fair."

He explained that in current situations, Muslims refer to syariah courts on family matters and non-Muslim to family courts, but not when it comes to crime.

"However, they have to remember that criminal law applies to everyone. That is why we have the Penal Code.

"If you say hudud will only be applied to Muslims, under what authority do you make that distinction?"

Shad Saleem said that since a criminal law must be applied to everyone, it was the same for hudud.

"But that would be impossible. If you applied hudud to non-Muslims, it would be a violation of constitutional rights.

He explained that amendments must be made to the Federal Constitution to pave way for hudud, as criminal law is in its hands.

This, he said, was because the Syariah Courts Criminal Jurisdiction Act 1965 permitted syariah courts to punish religious offences such as drinking of alcoholic beverages and failure to pay alimony with the maximum penalty of six strokes of the rotan (implemented in the Islamic way), RM3,000 fine or two years' jail.

"Death penalty, severing of limbs, life sentences are all outside of syariah courts' jurisdiction."

Sharing the same sentiments, former Bar Council president Ragunath Kesavan said that having two sets of
criminal justice systems were "impractical and not workable".

"If the civil court sentences a non-Muslim criminal to jail for robbery, the other Muslim criminal who committed the same crime will have his hand chopped off in a syariah court. How is that fair?" he said.

"Even a Muslim country like Pakistan does not actually practise hudud. It is not a simple system."

Practise ‘Addin’, a Malaysian way of life? PAS Vows Hudud for Malaysia!

May 13, 2012 — rightways 's Blog

The PAS leader’s statement that Islam’s status in the Federal Constitution would be changed from official religion’ to Addin’ if Pakatan Rakyat captures power is the latest example of the party pushing its Islamic agenda without consulting its coalition partners.

PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang needs a quick lesson in history and the best person to give him that is his colleague and fellow traveller in Pakatan Rakyat DAP national chairman Karpal Singh.
Abdul Hadi had told a press conference in Terengganu last week that the status of Islam in the Federal Constitution would be changed from “official religion” to a “way of life” if Pakatan Rakyat captures power in the next general election.

The unilateral statement was also justified by an attack on the Reid commission, which drafted our constitution in 1956, with Abdul Hadi claiming that there were no Muslim members among its five members, headed by Lord William Reid.

As Karpal Singh has rightly pointed, Hadi was wrong on both scores.

Political analysts and political parties, including the MCA, followed suit in severely criticising Hadi for wanting to unilaterally amend the constitution.

The matter was certainly not brought before the Pakatan Rakyat leaders’ council for discussions.
Pakatan leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who advocates a pluralistic approach to religion, was noticeably missing in the controversy because Hadi and PAS, while colleagues in Pakatan Rakyat, have an entirely different approach in that they believe Islam is the only true way to God.

On his part, Hadi has always been pushing for more recognition for Islam and its primacy as the only path to God.

“In the world today, people know of two ways to describe the faith: one is what is adopted by the West by calling it a religion, which denotes the spiritual relationship between human and God, without mentioning it as a way of life,” Hadi was quoted as saying after launching the Terengganu PAS Youth annual meeting in Kampung Kubang Lembek, Manir.

“The second option is by calling it Addin the way of life which is more apt as it includes everything, from the spiritual to all other aspects of life.

“It is not right to say Islam is a religion. The right way is to describe it as Addin, a way of life,” Hadi said.

His interpretation of Islam clashes with the country’s multi-ethnic society populated by different races practising different religions.

If an amendment is done it can seriously affect non-Muslims and their way of life which is radically different from that of Muslims.

Although all religions have similarities in moral values and concepts of human justice, their methods and practices differ greatly.

When religion is imposed as a way of life on the majority, the amendment will impact on the rest who practise different faiths and cultures.

It will create many “dos and don’ts” issues like the banning of alcohol, rules on entertainment, dressing and also the intermingling of sexes.

Such amendments will be a recipe for disaster as it can result in the various races drifting further apart and living separate lives instead of coming together into a harmonious, multi-ethnic melting pot.

Hadi also argued that the current definition of Islam as “the official religion of the Federation” did not do justice to Islam and suggested that legislation in this country be interpreted according to the tenets of Islam.
While PAS is under pressure from its Islamic clientele to speak up for Islam, it is also under pressure from its non-Muslim supporters club to desist and behave like PKR or DAP, in wanting to be better than Barisan Nasional at ruling.

Unlike them, PAS is a party that has dreams of creating an Islamic theocracy, something that is unsuitable in this multi-racial society.

This is one reason why PAS is obstinate and unyielding on implementing hudud law and speaking up on many other social issues and the current one to amend the constitution.

PAS’ increasingly “superior behaviour”, however, is a by-product of unquestioning support from the DAP.

It shows that neither the DAP nor even the PKR can control PAS any longer and its acquiesce to its demands, like the statement from Hadi that PAS will implement hudud law if elected to Putrajaya.

PAS has a tendency to declare its Islamic agenda without due consultation with its coalition partners and in doing so, it is impinging on non-Muslims’ right to freely practise their religion and rights that are guaranteed under the very constitution the party wants to change.

Originally, PAS championed an Islamic theocracy but later following pressure from PKR and especially DAP, it changed to championing a welfare state.

Now the party has come up with its “Addin” or Islam as the way of life proposal, with hudud law included.
The motive is to win the conservative Islamic vote but at the same time, try to satisfy non-Muslim voters.

Comment by BARADAN KUPPUSAMY

WHO PAID FOR ALL THESE SUPER-EXPENSIVE, ROYALTY-USE CARS IN MALAYSIA ( & RELATED LIFESTYLE SPENDINGS ) ?

WHO PAID FOR ALL THESE SUPER-EXPENSIVE, ROYALTY-USE CARS IN MALAYSIA ( & RELATED LIFESTYLE SPENDINGS ) ?

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