Economy Grinding To A Halt - Petronas Jalan Bangsar Tutup, McDonald's
(Lower Ground Flr) MidValley Tutup.
First here is more "tutup kedai", "tutup kilang" and "tutup pintu" news from around
Malaysia. I did not create this news ok. I am merely "re-reporting" what has already
been reported. Jangan marah saya tau.
companies shut down because of (GST), says 2nd Finance Minister Johari Abdul
Malay Chamber of Commerce M'yia told Malaysian Insight on Oct 20 GST
caused many Malay businesses to close shop.
Customs collected RM41.2b GST last year – higher than RM39b target set.
So at last the Minister himself agrees that the GST has caused companies to shut down.
I have been saying this since BEFORE the GST was implemented.
I have been saying this for over THREE YEARS now.
You implement the GST, you kill the economy.
Here is more "tutup pintu" news :
Govt: 40 foreign companies moved overseas in past 4 years
MITI Minister Mustapa Mohamed told Dewan Rakyat
40 foreign companies closed, moved to other countries since 2013.
written reply to question from Fong Kui Lun (DAP-Bukit Bintang)
drop in sales, demand, weak market environment among factors
Again I did not say this either. It is Dato Mustapha Mohamed the Minister of the MITI
who said this. 40 foreign companies have moved out of Malaysia in the past four years.
Now here are some comments on the GST by my friend Dato Akbar Ali, the former
Senator from Melaka and the former Head of the UPEN Melaka (Economic Planning Unit,
Melaka). Dato Akbar Ali is trained in Statistics and Mathematics.
ECONOMIC TSUNAMI!!!
Private consumption is our major economic driver
contributing >60% to our GDP.
It's reflected in the retail sales.
It's now under stress.
Recently it was reported that 6 Giant outlets were closing down.
A few Aeon outlets have also closed down but were not publicised.
Same with Parkson & NSK.
Main reason: poor sales.
Some were blaming on the GST.
Many hyper stores also recorded lower sales.
Overall, most hyper stores recorded lower sales.
So imagine if prices increased by say 5%.
Negative sales are 10%
So if one hyper store chain does RM3b sales per year, hence sales are down by RM300m
Not counting yet, lower margins trying to keep turnover from dropping further.
Very stressful indeed.
So imagine if one adds up the sales of Giant RM5b + Tesco RM5b + NSK /
Econsave RM2b + Aeon RM3b = RM15b !
They would have lost sales of at least RM1.5b !!
IT'S AN ECONOMIC TSUNAMI!
Our economy/GDP will definitely be impacted.
Higher unemployment, lower income and increased poverty will be the contagious outcome.
Wallahu'alam.
Dato Akbar Ali
7 Sept 2017.
My comments :
Terima kasih Dato Akbar Ali.
There were TWO McDonald's outlets in Mid Valley Megamall. I just found out yesterday that
one of them (at the LG level) has closed down about a month ago. That is news for me.
I have never known a McDonald's outlet to shut down anywhere, even in Malaysia.
Then the Petronas station at Jalan Bangsar (just before the Jalan Riong junction) has also
shut down about a month back. I believe petrol stations are already having a tough time surviving.
Many petrol stations have indeed shut down.
Have you read the following news : in Balik Pulau, Penang roadside vendors are now
selling petrol in plastic bottles.
sundry traders reselling fuel in bottles
ready market for it given distance to nearest petrol station
roadside trader offering bottled petrol at slightly higher price
1.5L plastic bottles of petrol in small lorry
sells bottled petrol as convenience to townsfolk
nearest petrol station many kilometres away
bottled petrol makes life easier for people of Teluk Kumbar
Read more at The Star
No petrol stations in Balik Pulau !!
I think they have either shut down or relocated. Because people have less money to drive
cars and motorcycles, there is not enough business anymore to sustain petrol stations in these
largely Malay areas.
So these roadside vendors are now selling petrol in bottles.
Petrol stations and hypermarts are closing down in the predominantly Malay / bumiputra
areas of the country. Giant at Shah Alam Town Center is closing down.
Petronas (whose clientele are mostly Malays) has shut down in Jalan Bangsar (close to
Kg Kerinchi and Pantai Dalam).
These are Malay areas. This never happened BEFORE the GST.
Post GST, business is just shutting down.
A former President of the Malay Chamber of Commerce told me that they did a survey
which showed that the "compounded" effect of the GST is actually about 21% !!
This means people are now paying 21% more for their goods and services than from
before the GST.
This means that if you were a minimum wage earner (RM1000 a month, lets ignore EPF,
SOCSO etc) and you have to spend all your income then your real purchasing power is only
RM790. RM210 of your salary has gone to pay for Birkin handbags, superyachts and
pornographic movies.
At least 20% of your purchasing power has been sucked away to pay GST induced price
increments.
This is especially true for monthly wage earners ie people who have only one source of
income - their monthly salaries.
The majority of working Malays and bumiputras fall under this category.
The vast majority of Malays and bumiputras are not even salaried workers.
They fall under the informal sector category (kerja kampong, niaga warong, niaga kecil etc) .
They are even worse off.
What does this mean? This means at the end of every week, end of every month or end
of every year there are 20% more unsold stocks in the petrol stations, supermarts and
other businesses. Business has shrunk.
Or (after three years of the GST) the petrol stations, hypermarts, businesses etc will stock up
20% less inventory on their shelves than before the GST.
Their sales would have shrunk. That is why you read all those news headlines above.
Business is dying.
2017 is coming to an end. It has been a very, very difficult year for all businesses, including mine.
In 2017 many businesses have been running on whatever reserves or free cash they had.
All that is finished for many honest businesses.
2018 is going to be the year of "tutup kedai". Just mark my words. If the kleptocracy is
not kicked out, there will be a tsunami of business closures in 2018.
We do not have any more spare cash or reserves to help keep our heads above the water.
Plus the gomen is harrassing us. The Customs guys are harassing us about GST, the
Income Tax guys are harassing us about our records going back years, the 'Competition Act'
guys are harassing us about how we do business, the gomen is just making the lives of
businessmen more and more difficult.
So 2018 is going to be the year of "Tutup Kedai".
Congratulations. Tahniah.
Bila bisnes tutup, tak ada pekerjaan, budak Melayu menganggur dulu.
Tak ada lagi kutipan GST, tak ada lagi bayaran cukai. Kerajaan tak ada duit.
So what will happen?
Melayu miskin dulu.
Syed Akbar Ali
On Nov 16, 2017 9:48 PM, rtopekan6801@gmail.com wrote:
*******************************************************************************************************
HARAPAN BAHARU 20 MEI 2018
THE UNFOLDING COUP IN ARABIABy Simon TemplarHave you seen the ending of the 1972 movie, "The Godfather"? It brilliantly showed the
bloody scenes of the "takeover" of the Mafia by Michael Corleone (Al Pacino).One by one, all the bosses of the rival families are killed and removed until all opposition
is gone and the Corleone family's control over Mafia is complete.Something very similar is happening right now in Saudi Arabia as I am writing these lines.
In just less than two days, 49 influential Saudis have been arrested which include
1 members of the Royal family.Among them is Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal who happens to be the richest Saudi prince
and businessmen and also one of the top 50 richest and most influential businessmen
in the world.As if that was not intriguing enough, a helicopter carrying several Saudi officials, including
Prince Mansour bin Muqrin Al Saud, has crashed in the kingdom's southwest near the
border with Yemen.Prince Mansour was the son of the former crown prince of Saudi Arabia and was a very
influential man in the Kingdom.According to many, if things were normal, he would have been the future king of Saudi Arabia.What's going on? For that we have to go back in time, to see how the ascension to
the Saudi throne has been working in the past.The first King of Saudi Arabia was Abdulaziz ibn Al Saud. He conquered his ancestral
region of Nejd (central Saudi Arabia) and Hejaz (Western Coast of Saudi Arabia that
includes the two holy cities) and became the king of this newly created kingdom called
Saudi Arabia.After him one by one his sons became kings. This was a unique system in which the sons
of the first king took turns one after another.Everyone knew who will be the king and who will be the crown prince. It was a very
stable system but only in a short term.Because although the first king had a long line of sons, it had to end someday. It was
inevitable that one day when all the sons of the first king will die or grow extremely old,
then the question will arise that in whose family-line the kingship will be transferred?As more time passed, more uncertainty and rivalry grew among the princes and family-lines
of various former kings of Saudi Arabia.The current official estimate of the members of the Royal house of Saud is around
15000 princelings, among them many debauche, deviant, cruel and abnormal.In 2015, when the present King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud came to power, he was
the 25th son of
the first king and already 79 years old.Like his older brothers before him, he appointed his younger brother Muqrin bin Abdulaziz
as the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. It was understood that after Salman, Prince Muqrin will
be king.And it was becoming increasingly likely that after Muqrin, no son of the first king will be
around or fit enough to rule the Kingdom. Hence the throne will most probably pass to
Muqrin's family and his son, Prince Mansour (now dead in a mysterious helicopter
crash)
will become the next king.Everyone could see that possibility but suddenly something strange happened.
Just spending four months as the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Muqrin was removed by
King Salman on the pretext of the Crown Prince's ill health whereas The King himself is ill and
senile!The King appointed his own mercurial young son Prince Muhammad bin Salman as the
crown prince of Saudi Arabia.The writing on the wall was now clear that the transfer of kingship among the sons of
the first king officially ended and the kingship will subsequently be transferred in the
family-line of King Salman downwards.But here is the problem. It was an unnatural transfer. The natural transfer was supposed to
happen in Crown Prince Muqrin's family-line, if he was allowed to rule.There was this extremely uncomfortable, pregnant silence in the royal family but tensions
were simmering under this ominous calm, in the wake of this unconventional power transfer.Domestically, Prince Muhammad immediately started consolidating power by taking control
of one institution after another.There is hardly anything today in Saudi Arabia that can be done without his approval.
His orders are that everything big or small will go through him.But among Royalty, history teaches us that the silence of the royal family or control of national
institutions is never enough to consolidate power in modern day Saudi Arabia.Prince Muhammad also needed the approval and backing of America. Something that every
Saudi King needs, specially after the Gulf crisis of 1991.And for that purpose Prince Muhammad needed Yousef Al Otaiba , the current
United Arab Emirates ambassador to the United States and a charismatic and shrewd
businessman from a very
influential family of UAE.Yousef Al Otaiba is like one of those people about whom you do not hear or know very much,
but they are the real power brokers in Washington and other important capitals of the world
and whose influence extends far beyond their apparent job specifications.This alliance between Prince Muhammad and Yousef became very instrumental in
sponsoring Prince Muhammad in the halls of Washington. Yousef Al Otaiba not only
got important connections for Prince Muhammad but was also the key man behind
the May 2017 US$350 billion arms deal between US and Saudi Arabia signed by
President Trump.It was a plain and simple deal based on crystal clear interests. President Trump
needed Saudi money for creating jobs, under the banner of which he fought his election campaign and also to show progress after repeated domestic failures.Prince Muhammad on the other hand wanted to show the Royal family that now he has the needed approval of Washington for his ascension to the throne will backing.This new friendship with powerful people in Washington gave the exact kind of dangerous
confidence to Prince Muhammad, the consequences of which we subsequently saw in the Middle East.The ruthless bombing campaign in Yemen, the standoff with Qatar and the ever-increasing
belligerence towards Iran are some of the apparent consequences of Prince Muhammad's newly
found alliances.But the influence of Yousef Al Otaiba on Prince Muhammad went a little beyond that. The
recent relaxation of laws like allowing Saudi women more freedoms etc are a manifestation
of that welcome influence to modernize a hypocritical and archaic society.Yousef not only convinced Prince Muhammad to pass these laws, he also peddled these
changes in Washington to show that how much "moderate" Prince Muhammad will be as
the King of Saudi Arabia.But soon the backlash came. While Prince Muhammad was busy showing his "progressive"
side to the west, the influential sidelined members of Saudi Royal family and many hardline
clerics of the powerful Wahabi establishment were getting restless and vocal about
Prince Muhammad's legitimacy as the next king and his methods of ruling the Kingdom.Washington was monitoring all these developments and gave Prince Muhammad a go-ahead
signal through a recent visit to Riyadh by Jared Kushner, who is the son in law of and
Senior Advisor to the President Trump.Resultantly the political purge started with these high profile arrests in the name of
crackdown against corruption, alongside a dead man in a "mysterious" helicopter
crash who could've been the next king.And for now it seems that the Mafia style takeover of the Saudi throne is underway
by a young, ruthless godfather who seeks to dominate the landscape of Middle East
for a long time to come.Modernisation, privatisation and elimination of the power of the clergy are on the agenda.
Instead of doddering old semi senile octogenarians ruling over a rigid narrow repressive
ultraconservative society, an energetic young man has been chosen to revamp and
reshape Arabia , giving it a place among the modern countries of the world.Pakistan too needs to wake up, its sycophantic policy of verring to the right, pandering
to wahabi ideology for handouts of dollars has driven it to the lip of the abyss and certain
destruction.Now that its masters are abandoning antiquated and abnormal policies to be in sync with
the world, so should this nuclear armed impoverished nation of 220 million which lost its secular
soul at the alter of jihad fuelled by petro dollars.The world has been watching silently as the capital has been held hostage by a few dozen
radical islamic fundamentalists. Great unease at this sight of the nuclear armed Government
being helpless in the face of a rag tag band of mullahs is felt in the west and a decision has
Change is inevitable, Pakistanis can choose, they can initiate it themselves and start the
process of normalisation, else it shall be imposed from abroad. For too long has the eorld
tolerated the basket case of South Asia...the clock has run out! Bewarned!The Author is a geo- strategist based in Brussels
*******************************************************************************************************
HARAPAN BAHARU 20 MEI 2018
Loving Penang and Malaysia
I have been asked when I will be bidding farewell to Penang when I assume my new post as Malaysian Finance Minister in Putrajaya. I will not be doing so, simply because I will not be leaving Penang. How can you leave Penang when Penang will always be my home and my family’s sanctuary?
I have said that you can take me out of Penang but you cannot take Penang out of me. The obvious reason is that we are all proud to be Penangites, Saya anak negeri Penang, “Wah si Penang lang”. We are proud at what Penang has been able to achieve since Penangites took the courageous step to vote for change and replace the BN state government with Pakatan in the heady days of the first political tsunami of 8 March 2008.
Many international analysts reporting my appointment as Finance Minister by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, described me as little-known internationally, but widely acknowledged as successfully turning around Penang into a vibrant industrial and tourist destination. Some even cheekily reported that Tun appointed a person he had had jailed twice as Finance Minister!
There is no doubt that Penang was in a state of decline when we first took over in 2008. Penang was run down, dirty, sleepy, even seedy and like a ghost town in some parts of town. Nothing was exciting then in Penang, the state finances needed repair with state government debts then more than 100% of our annual budget.
The whole Pakatan state government team set out to transform Penang both literally and figuratively by cleaning up the state and our finances. We fixed our target to be the most livable city in Malaysia that is clean, green, safe and healthy. We wanted Penang to be the best financially managed state in the country.
By and large Penang succeeded. From being the dirtiest state in the country, we are now one of the cleanest cities not only in Malaysia but also in ASEAN. We are also the most livable city with dedicated bicycle lanes across the state encompassing spiral bridges, tunnels and flyovers that is the envy of the nation. Also a green state with the highest recycling rate of 38% and the only state in Malaysia, not to cut down a single square inch of our permanent forest reserves.
Adopting CAT administraton of competency, accountability and transparency, Penang is now acknowledged by the Auditor-General’s Report as the best financially managed state with annual budget surpluses every year since 2008. Over the last 10 years, Penang’s asset reserves have been doubled to RM1.83 billion.
Most remarkable of all is the success in paring down our state debts by 90% to RM65 million. Open competitive tenders has allowed the state government to save up to 45% of our expenditures, attracting praise from Transparency International, a first for any government in Malaysia.
It is this sterling financial performance that has convinced CIMB Bhd to grant Penang Development Corporation(PDC), owned fully by the state government, a RM1.5 billion loan just before the 14th general elections, the largest in Penang’s history and the largest given to any state government in Malaysia!
These financial successes have allowed Penang to work towards an entrepreneurial and welfare state through the 4P partnership of the Public sector, Private sector, People and Professionals. Investments have gone up by 90% and tourism more that doubled until the Penang International Airport is way over capacity. Building infrastructure is accompanied by building up human talent, especially investments in STEM education and Industry 4.0 in the digital economy.
There is also a rejuvenation in arts, culture and heritage allowing Penang to make its mark as a cultural city filled with foreign resident artists and world-class international events such as the Penang International Food Festival, George Town Literary Festival and the George Town Festival. As a world-class heritage city, Penang has also attracted the involvement of Aga Khan Trust for Culture to enhance our UNESCO World Heritage City status.
These successes have injected self-confidence and optimism in Penang and amongst Penangites. That Penang can be a platform where you can enjoy equal opportunities to succeed and with honest hard work, make your dreams and your children’s dreams come true.
Principally because of this, the state government has been confidently telling our children, “Grow up quickly, Penang is waiting for you!”.
Can these hopes be sustained? Yes we can. The final critical success factor in any state or organisation is succession planning. The Penang state government has earlier worked out an orderly succession to allow Sdr Chow Kon Yeow to succeed me. Chow has worked closely with me during these last 10 years and shared many of our joys and frustrations and he knows what it takes to continue and take Penang’s successes to the next level.
I have been frequently asked whether or not I not have some regrets leaving the safe abode of Penang for the uncertain terrors of Putrajaya, especially for such a heavy Ministry like the Finance Ministry? Of course I do. But we can not be forever stuck in our comfort zones. We need to venture out especially when it comes to contributing to change our nation for the better.
The state of the nation’s finances needs urgent repair, much more than Penang needed in 2008, before our financial health can be fully restored. Yes, I may not have as much experience as the previous Finance Minister. But we believe we can do better because we do not have experience in corrupt practices and stealing RM2.6 billion into our personal bank accounts. Initially we may be finding our way in the dark but with the people’s support we can dance in the light. With honest hard work, Malaysia can still be salvaged.
We love our home because we love our country. We love Penang because we love Malaysia. We must unite our people regardless of race, religion or background around good values and a central narrative that binds us all together – a Malaysia that is prosperous, fair, free, just, democratic, honest, respects human dignity, upholds rule of law and belongs not to only the few but to all of us.
From this day onwards, let us not be divided by asking not who we are, but what we are, where the content of our character counts. We are all Malaysians!
Let us strive mightily together for our country that can hold its head up high and take our rightful place amongst great nations with honour and respect. We are proud to be Malaysians!
And to proudly tell our children, “Grow up quickly, Malaysia awaits you!”.
LIM GUAN ENG
On Wed, May 16, 2018, 22:33 Ravichandran Topekan <rtopekan6801@gmail.com> wrote:
Council of Elders. Who are they? Why were they chosen? Here is your answer:-Apabila dapat tahu senarai 5 orang individu yang dilantik oleh Tun Mahathir untuk menganggotai ‘Council of Elders’, saya cari sedikit info latarbelakang dan tugas yang akan mereka pikul selepas ini.a) Tan Sri Dato' Sri Dr. Ungku Zeti Akhtar binti Ungku Abdul Aziz - (bekas Gabenor Bank Negara Malaysia ke-7)- berperanan dalam mengatur Debt Restructuring.b) Tun Abdul Daim bin Zainuddin - (bekas Menteri Kewangan Malaysia dari tahun 1984 hingga 1991)- berperanan untuk Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).c) Tan Sri Dato Sri Mohd Hassan Marican - (bekas Presiden dan CEO Petronas)- berperanan menstabilkan harga petrol.d) Robert Kuok - (Orang terkaya di Malaysia, no-40 terkaya di dunia.)- memainkan peranan untuk menurunkan harga barang & hubungan dengan negara China.e) Profesor Jomo Kwame Sundaram (Malaysian Prominent Economist)- berperanan untuk merangka new economy model negara Malaysia.Meletakkan orang yang betul-betul pakar dan profesional dalam bidang kewangan. Diberikan peranan sebagai ‘think-tank’ untuk mengatasi masalah ekonomi yang melanda.Paling penting, semuanya orang Malaysia.
