The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) announced the establishing of the Economic Action Council (EAC), which will respond to and take action to address economic issues faced by the public, based on their feedback.
“The main objectives of the council are to stimulate economic growth, ensure fair distribution of wealth and improve the well-being of the people. The council will also focus on issues related to costs of living, labour, poverty and home ownership,” it said in a statement today.
Members of the council include Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as chairman, along with Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Ignatius Darell Leiking and the Prime Minister’s economic adviser Dr Muhammed Abdul Khalid.
Other members of the council include former International Trade and Industry Minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, Permodalan Nasional Bhd chairman Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz and Council of Eminent Persons member Prof Dr Jomo Kwame Sundaram.
A list of corporate leaders are also members of the EAC, such as Public Bank Bhd managing director Tan Sri Tay Ah Lek, Majlis Amanah Rakyat chairman Dr Hasnita Hashim and Bursa Malaysia chairman Datuk Shireen Ann Zaharah Muhiudeen.
Asean Business Advisory council chairman Tan Sri Dr Mohd Munir Abdul Majid, Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (FOMCA) chief executive officer Datuk Dr Paul Selvaraj, lawyer Bah Tony @ Amani William Hunt Abdullah and MASA institute board of trustees member Nizam Mahshar are also in the EAC. - The Edge
Council to drive economy forward
It will also look into issues related to cost of living, employment and home ownership
The Prime Minister and his key economic and finance ministers feature in a 16-strong committee that will form the Economic Action Council.
It will examine and decide on the economic and financial affairs and welfare of the people.
“The council was formed to respond and act on the feedback of the masses on the problems they face, particularly in the field of economy.
“The main aim of the council is to encourage and stimulate sustainable economic growth, equitable distribution of wealth and further enhance the well-being of the people.
“The council will also look into issues related to the cost of living, employment, poverty and home ownership,” said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office yesterday. (See graphic for list of members)
The move is timely and a positive step in the right direction, said Socio-Economic Research Centre executive director Lee Heng Guie.
He said the council was expected to draw up immediate and medium-term priorities to sustain the country’s economic growth and development.
“Among these include the measures to address cost of living as well as to ease the cost of doing business and compliance costs.
“Structural policies and reforms have to be stepped up, in particular in skilled manpower, public sector delivery and efficiency, exports capacity, develop innovative and creative industries and the digital economy,” Lee told The Star.
Echoing a similar stance, AmBank Group chief economist Anthony Dass said the council was similar to the one formed in 1998 during the Asian Financial Crisis.
“However, this time around, the council will focus on ways to address economic headwinds and how to drive the domestic economy amid the challenges,” he said.
The old NEAC (National Economic Action Council) was formed to navigate Malaysia out from the worst recession in a generation.
Dass added that the formation of the Economic Action Council was timely, considering the current challenges that had affected the macroeconomic conditions and the rakyat.
“The council’s composition is broad and well-mixed, a variety of experience and expertise and the council will have to find measures to stimulate the economy, continue economic expansion and ensure that the machineries of the government can work with the private sector to drive the economy,” he said.
The council, he added, must identify areas that could be areas of growth and also add to public revenue.
“It must also focus on the new key areas such as the digital economy and how can the government encourage the adoption of digitalisation across industries, particularly among SMEs.
“The working group under the council is also important, to ensure the success of the execution,” he said.
The main brickbat the composition of the council has drawn is the absence of younger faces.
“It is the same ministers and academics and where are the business people and entrepreneurs?” asked a political analyst.
Another source who declined to be named said younger people would have brought different perspectives to the council and offered an independent voice in the formation of ideas and policies.
He said such voices would probably be sourced from the working groups the Economic Action Council would have featured at the high-level main committee. - by jagdev singh sidhu and ganeshwaran kana
Weighing in: (Clockwise from top left) Ramon, Marina, Hassan, Anas and Marimuthu
‘There should be no compromise on integrity’
Honesty and integrity should take centre stage in the debate that is swirling over the legitimacy of certain university degrees of politicians.
Asli’s Centre for Public Policy Studies chairman Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam said good political leaders need not be graduates but some academic credentials would be an asset to them.
“What we need are politicians with keen critical thinking, dedication and sincerity to serve the rakyat,” he said yesterday.
Ramon said that politicians who had “cheated” should confess and let the people decide if they still want them to carry on serving or quit their posts.
Several politicians have come under fire after their academic qualifications were questioned by the public.
Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Marzuki Yahya found himself in hot water following the controversy over his “Cambridge University” degree.
Others included Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu, Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Osman Sapian and Perak state executive councillor Paul Yong Choo Kiong.
Several Barisan Nasional leaders too had their qualifications scrutinised in the past. Among them were former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot.
Former UiTM vice-chancellor Emeritus Prof Datuk Dr Hassan Said said in other countries, leaders would have been asked to resign or they would voluntarily quit if they were found using dubious credentials.
“Honesty and integrity values are more important to those who are dealing with public trust and responsibility.
“The nation will collapse if its leaders are not honest or have integrity,” he said.
Educationist Prof Tan Sri Dr T. Marimuthu said politicians must come clean about their academic credentials as they are serving the public.
“Otherwise, how else can you serve the people?
“If you ask someone to write your thesis for you or use dubious ways to earn your credentials, you are just being dishonest to yourself and the public,” he said.
Moderation advocate Anas Zubedy concurred, saying that there should be no compromise when it comes to leadership and integrity.
“No matter how brilliant, knowledgeable or successful you are, a lack of integrity disqualifies any and all talent for any leadership position. We must check their track record for any propensity to lie, practise double standards, or to say one thing and do the other.
“New Malaysia must not compromise on integrity,” he said.
Writer and social activist Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir said it was better to own up in not possessing a degree than to pretend to have one.
“No, it’s not a crime nor is it essential to serve in the government but it’s a matter of trust. If you can misrepresent this, what else can you misrepresent?” she asked.
G25 group of eminent Malays said it is best to be honest about one’s academic credentials so that doubts are not raised on their integrity.
“A politician who lies about his personal details to win an election or get a ministerial position will raise doubts about his integrity. He will also create a bad image for the government and the country,” it said in a statement.
Najib asked whether it was the national news agency Bernama or officers of the ministers that had misrepresented the academic credentials of Pakatan Harapan ministers.
“But what is more strange is that the false news that the ministers were graduates came from the biodata published from Bernama in its infographics and was spread when they were appointed as ministers about nine months ago.
“As far as I know, normally Bernama would request the biodata from the special aides or the press secretaries of ministers when they are appointed to be published in its reports,” he said on Facebook.
Reports by Star team: TARRANCE TAN, HEMANANTHANI SIVANANDAM, RAHIMY RAHIM, NURBAITI HAMDAN, RASHVINJEET S.BEDI and SARBAN SINGH
Malu apa, bro!
WE seem to be heading towards a dangerous edge. There is now an emerging culture of shamelessness.
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak may have been slapped with countless charges of corruption and money laundering, but his campaign, Malu apa, bossku (“Why the shame, boss?” in Bahasa Malaysia), has surprisingly attracted millions of likes on social media.
The scandal-smeared former prime minister has traded in his tailored suits, impeccable English and political elite-aristocratic crowd for the Mat Rempit and Malay working class.
As part of his makeover, he is now decked in black parka, black jeans and black sneakers.
He is even hanging out with the young Mat Rempit and posting wefies with them. He is also happily showing off a black-and-red Yamaha Y15ZR 150cc moped that is all the rage with the youths of today.
And the registration plate on his bike is 8055KU, which insinuates “BOSSKU”, and to these newfound supporters, Najib is called Boss kita! (Our Boss.)
The key phrase here is Malu apa bossku, and while many learned Malaysians are cringing over this new culture, it barely seems wrong for our embattled former PM, who is basking in it and promoting the malaise.
But a similar show is also surfacing on the other side of the political divide.
One Pakatan Harapan leader after another is having his or her dubious education credentials exposed after Deputy Foreign Minister Marzuki Yahya was questioned over his.
Johor Mentri Besar Osman Sapian’s education history has come under the spotlight with the allegation that he didn’t obtain a degree from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), as claimed.
Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin’s social science degree from the National University of Singapore (NUS), as reported when she became a minister, has also come into question. Now, she’s washed her hands of ever having had one.
DAP Assemblyman from Tronoh Paul Yong Choo Kiong claimed to have a masters in business administration from Akamai University – an alleged degree mill in Hawaii – among his academic qualifications.
None of these politicians have apologised for not correcting these errors when they were revealed, but now, they have conveniently shrugged off the news reports, claiming no knowledge of such revelations.
Worse, Marzuki passed the buck to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, saying it is now up to his boss to decide. The Johor MB chose to remain silent, hoping that the storm would blow over.
The central issue here isn’t whether an elected representative should have a tertiary education – the point here is, should we put our trust in anyone who lies to themselves?
If some of these individuals buy dubious online diplomas, they are only cheating themselves. Worse, the electorate has also fallen for this charade hook, line and sinker.
Instead of working hard, like most university students, these individuals apparently chose the easy way out. Are we expected to believe them when they talk about accountability and integrity from now on?
What’s worse is, most Pakatan leaders have chosen to look the other way or have lamely justified these dishonest transgressions.
If they were in the private sector, the sack would be a foregone conclusion, but then they are “Yang Berhormat”, despite these dishonourable acts.
Apa nak malu, YB! Aku ada SPM aje, bro!
And of course, that’s not the end. PAS leaders have found themselves in unfamiliar waters.
With their turbans and goatees, they like to appear pious and holier than thou. However, they are now seeing their names flying on social media, associated with a taste for sports cars and bikes, and not just under their names, but those of their children and spouses.
A report filed with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over allegations of PAS leaders getting RM90mil from Umno under the previous administration involved “a list of expensive cars”, properties, high-powered motorcycles and “the purchase of number plates at exorbitant prices”, it has been widely reported.
According to the report, several PAS leaders were accused of using these funds to acquire the cars and properties.
The cars include BMW, Mini Cooper, Toyota Vellfire, Range Rover, Porsche Cayman, Audi Q7, Audi A6, Toyota Camry, Toyota Fortuner, Volkswagen Passat, Mercedes Benz, and a BMW motorcycle, according to a report.
“As for the properties, this includes a bungalow in Bangi worth RM3mil,” says a report. The only item missing is camel ownership.
PAS Mursyidul Am (spiritual leader) Datuk Hashim Jasin has admitted to owning a Porsche Cayman, but said his son was the real owner, who was entitled to an Approved Permit (AP) when he served as the Arau MP between 1998 and 1999.
Every one of them has branded these accusations as part of some grand political conspiracy, pleading innocence and insisting they are virginal and pure instead.
But we are sure they will be okay, and they will continue to preach accountability and transparency, and possibly continue to look – invoking race, religion and God – to their faithful followers, who will readily give away their savings and, brave the rain and scorching sun to support them.
Malu Apa Bossku? Tatap Sokong Boss (as the Sabahans will say).
It was reported by Bernama that Marzuki pursued a Bachelor’s degree in business administration, majoring in logistics via a long-distance learning programme at the University of Cambridge.
Response: “When I was asked by the media, I clearly said that I was from Cambridge International University (CIU) in US and not the University of Cambridge in UK.”
FINANCE MINISTER LIM GUAN ENG
MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong questioned Lim's credential as a qualified professional accountant
Response: Lim's political secretary Tony Pua rebutted the allegations by producing Lim’s degree certificate from Monash University, Australia on April 11, 1984, together with a copy of his “Certificate of Membership” in the Australian Society of Accountants dated Feb 21, 1984.
DEFENCE MINISTER MOHAMAD SABU
Accused of faking a degree in culinary arts.
Response: “Some people say I have a degree in culinary arts. I never said that. Truth is, I never completed my studies at UiTM. They kicked me out.”
But Mohamad was quick to add that despite this, he was still a “good cook”.
HOUSING AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT MINISTER ZURAIDA KAMARUDDIN
A Twitter user claimed he could not find her name on the National University of Singapore’s online degree verification portal.
Response: “I have never claimed or held myself to be a graduate of NUS and I have never authorised anyone else to do so,” she said.
JOHOR MENTRI BESAR DATUK OSMAN SAPIAN
A Facebook page questioned the validity of his UPM Bachelor in Accounting obtained in 1985.
Response: He has yet to comment on the matter.
TRONOH ASSEMBLYMAN PAUL YONG CHOO KIONG
Yong was questioned over his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Akamai University, United States by MCA’s Dr Wee.
Response: Yong said he felt calm and had nothing much to comment as his certificate is real and he had a convocation 16 years ago.
“My main interest now is to do the best for my voters,” said Yong.
FORMER PRIME MINISTER DATUK SERI NAJIB TUN RAZAK
DAP highlighted a video circulating online alleging that Najib never completed his studies at UK’s Nottingham University in the 70s.
Response: “Of course my degree is legitimate.”
FORMER HUMAN RESOURCES MINISTER DATUK SERI RICHARD RIOT
Riot was questioned in 2013 over his Bachelor of Business Administration from the Chartered Insitute of Business Administration (Ireland) and a Masters in Business Administration from Preston University in the United States.
Response: “As (former) prime minister, he (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak) has used his wisdom to find out whether I am fit to be a minister, and that includes my academic qualification, by tasking me to be in charge of the human resources portfolio, which is a very a challenging ministry with 13 agencies.
“There is a difference between fake degree and qualifications from unrecognised universities. I worked very hard for it because I believe in life-long learning”, he said.
Wee presses on quizzing Lim
Wee: No evidence showing that Lim ever worked in any accounting firms.
KUALA LUMPUR: Despite threats of being sued, MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong continues to raise questions on Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng’s credentials as an accountant.
Dr Wee said that “Lim is far from even being a certified or a chartered accountant”.
The Ayer Hitam MP, while referring to documents released by Lim’s political secretary Tony Pua yesterday, pointed out that Lim’s membership into the Australian Society of Accountants on Feb 21, 1984, merely stated that he was admitted as a provisional member.
A provisional membership, Dr Wee said, was one of the steps required to enrol into programme modules and examination in order to qualify as an accountant, and to qualify for a full membership into the Australian Society of Accountants.
Therefore, a provisional membership is far from being a fully certified chartered accountant or even an accountant.
“You cannot call yourself using either designation,” said Dr Wee in a Facebook posting yesterday.
The Australian Society of Accountants is now known as CPA Australia (Certified Practicing Accountant).
Checks online showed that a full membership is only awarded to individuals if they have successfully passed the CPA examination – which also requires a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a year of supervised working experience under a CPA licence holder.
At the same time, Dr Wee, in the same Facebook posting, pointed out that Lim was quoted by news portal MalaysiaKini in a report on March 2012 as saying that he was a failed accountant and had spent less than a week in an accounting firm in Malaysia before he was sacked.
Dr Wee said there was no evidence showing that Lim ever worked in any accounting firms, or having enrolled for any necessary education requirements to qualify as a certified accountant or a chartered accountant.
“In fact, online checks with the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) does not show Lim as being a member.
“In Malaysia, you cannot misrepresent yourself as an accountant unless you are a member of MIA.
“It is a criminal offence under Section 25(e) of the Accountants Act 1967 for any individual or organisation to call himself or herself an accountant unless he or she is registered with the MIA,” said Dr Wee.
At the same time, Dr Wee said that a report by New Straits Times in June 2018 also pointed out that Lim had claimed to be a former accountant.
Meanwhile, Dr Wee also said that DAP’s website had misrepresented Lim as a certified accountant.
“Neither MCA nor myself have any interest in pursuing this matter any further as the declining economy right now is a more important issue to address.
“We leave it to DAP and the rakyat to judge if a legal offence has been committed,” said Dr Wee.
Lim’s qualification in accounting is the latest to come under scrutiny after a series of alleged false education credentials involving Pakatan Harapan leaders, including Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Marzuki Yahya, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Osman Sapian and Tronoh assemblyman Paul Yong Choo Kiong. - The Star.
Foreigners are tapping Chinese innovation to network and build businesses
International market: Foreign visitors to an expo in Nanning, the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous
region, evince interest in forestry by-products and pay for them using
WeChat Pay. [Photo by Peng Huan / for China Daily]
The consumption power of more than 1 million foreigners working or studying in China is disproportionately bigger than their tiny share (0.07 percent) of the total population - and whizzes of the country's homegrown tech ecosystem are sitting up and taking notice, as the economy transitions from export and investment-led growth to a consumption-driven model.
Manufacturers of gadgets, providers of technology-enabled services, and developers of intellectual property like innovative technologies are all vying to make life easier for the relatively small but monetarily significant foreigner community in China.
French engineer Sebastien Bernard, 37, will probably agree. He came to work and live in Beijing four months ago. The first thing he was asked to do by his friends and colleagues was to download and install WeChat, the all-in-one killer app, on his smartphone.
He complied, and his life is much the better for it, he said. As it transpired, Bernard was e-invited to join a WeChat group.
Initially, 15 foreigners chatted with each other and shared their life experiences on the e-group. Gradually, the group grew to a 200-member community of sorts that shared not just useful information like job links or party invitations but, wait for it, e-commerce discount coupons and weekend getaway packages.
Friendly advice sensitized Bernard to other treasures on WeChat. Among many other things, he learned to use the app to order food, book a taxi ride, buy movie tickets, and make digital payments for e-commerce.
Using Chinese apps, some of his friends even play online games, and borrow or lend money using e-credit channels that are redefining inclusive finance.
According to a WeChat report, by May 2017, foreigners in China sent 60 percent more WeChat messages than Chinese users on average per month. They also use WeChat audio calls 42 percent more than Chinese users.
Notably, foreigners in China are good at using different functions or features of WeChat. On average, they use emojis 45 percent more than Chinese users per day. Typically, a foreigner sends 10"red packets" - cash e-gifts - per month. Nearly 65 percent of foreigners who use WeChat use the app's digital payment tool WeChat Pay.
"Here in China, having WeChat and Alipay accounts is like being plugged into the world. The apps include almost every conceivable service that can help make modern life easy," said Bernard.
Agreed Yang Qiguang, 26, a researcher from Columbia University's Tow Center who is pursuing PhD at the Renmin University of China in Beijing.
"Chinese companies are creating a tech ecosystem that helps everyone, including foreigners, to work and live in a more convenient way."
Forming social networks using e-tools has become integral to modern life, particularly in urban areas - and China's tech ecosystem perhaps performs this function better than any other, by bundling consumption-related conveniences, he said.
"The tech ecosystem here facilitates people, including foreigners, to spend more. It is also boosting the confidence of both domestic and foreign companies operating in China. They know they now have powerful and reliable e-tools like apps to drive sales in a humongous market with more than 1 billion consumers," he said.
That's not all. Yang said China's tech ecosystem is fostering entrepreneurialism. Even foreigners living in China are beginning to use Chinese apps to start up in a variety of fields, including technology, education and entertainment. All this business activity is a long-term positive effect for the Chinese economy, he said.
Yang could well have been speaking about David Collier, 52, a Briton who has founded four startups so far, respectively in the United States, the United Kingdom and China.
Rikai Labs, his WeChat-based e-learning business in China, helps Chinese users to master the English language through proprietary automated software. Collier said every seven years, a big platform shift comes along - from web to mobile apps; from apps to messaging platforms - that creates huge opportunities.
"We chose to base our business on WeChat because it provides a great platform for a knowledge service. You have to build your business where people are spending their time, and the biggest messaging platform of all is WeChat," he said.
"Also, we can use WeChat payment for instant payment, QR codes for marketing purposes and to track user acquisition channels. Now with WeChat's mini programs, we can add interactive games and other features."
There's more. Links to Rikai Labs and related content can be shared socially online. "It provides a very compelling platform with real-time features, social distribution, marketing hooks and monetization," Collier said.
But risks abound too, he said. Platforms such as WeChat have become extremely competitive for startups. "If you don't move at high speed, riding with WeChat is like taking the maglev."
Data, however, suggest that foreigners appear to have an edge over Chinese users in exploiting the local tech ecosystem for small businesses and online social networking, which actually helps businesses directly or indirectly.
A case in point is Baopals, a startup founded by three expatriates. Call it the English Taobao, if you will. Baopals is anchored in Taobao and Tmall, the online shopping platforms owned by Alibaba Group, China's tech giant.
Foreign visitors to an expo in Nanning, the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, evince interest in forestry by-products and pay for them using WeChat Pay. [Photo by Peng Huan / for China Daily]
In July 2015, Charlie Erickson, Jay Thornhill and Tyler McNew, all US citizens in their late 20s and early 30s, developed Baopals, a website that helps translate product information on the Chinese Taobao and Tmall into English. In one stroke, the trio thus opened up the astonishing world of Chinese e-commerce, or 800 million products, to non-Chinese consumers in China.
Baopals already boasts 40,000 registered users, with 16,000 of them joining last year alone, doubling the user count in 2017. A Baopals user buys 58 items on average per year, and spends about 2,500 yuan ($368) to 3,500 yuan annually.
In addition to English, the website has Korean and Russian versions, making e-shopping simpler for foreigners in China.
The website is going from strength to strength on the back of the trio's innovations. It has introduced attractive sections like "The Cool, The Cheap& The Crazy". It accepts Alipay, WeChat Wallet and China UnionPay for payments.
Although e-commerce destinations are dime a dozen in China, most of them are in Chinese, and cater to Chinese consumers, so Baopals stands out, said Thornhill.
"Even on Amazon China, the default language is Chinese. When you switch to English, you still see lots of content in Chinese. They just haven't made the effort to serve China's expat population properly," he said.
That gap should spell business opportunities for those looking to start up, he said. "We are also changing the stereotype that Chinese goods are cheap products with low quality," he said, adding that several products including Xiaomi air purifiers and Huawei products are very popular among foreigners.
According to Thornhill, Baopals' revenue comes from service fee paid by shoppers. It charges a service fee of 5 percent of each item's price, plus a small fixed fee based on the item's price - 2 yuan for items priced below 30 yuan, and 8 yuan for items priced above 90 yuan. More than 2.3 million products had been sold by Jan 17 this year, a huge increase from the same period last year.
Given the experience in China, it is clear that homegrown technologies can succeed outside the mainland, he said. "This year is going to be a big year for Baopals, as we'll be launching our global service. Expats leaving China can continue buying things they love here, and foreigners everywhere can discover the treasures of China's online shopping."
Agreed Yang from the Tow Center. China's tech ecosystem, he said, provides foreigners on the mainland with well-rounded platforms to do business not only in China but across the world.
"It may take years for foreigners to build such infrastructure themselves. The time and energy saved during the process can be used for bolstering their own products and business."
It's not just small players such as Baopals that are drawing confidence from their success in China. Even e-payment giants such as WeChat Pay and Alipay, emboldened by their rapid adoption among foreigners in China, are confident of replicating their success worldwide.
Alipay has introduced its payment services, including departure tax refunds, at 10 major international airports in Japan, Thailand and New Zealand. Although the initial goal is to serve Chinese tourists traveling overseas, the larger plan is to roll out Chinese technologies worldwide and gain a global visibility and footprint.
So, it has struck cooperation agreements with local banks and companies in foreign markets, to provide e-payment services. For instance, its partners in Japan are Hida Credit Union and Kyoto Shinkin Bank, which helps attract Japanese users as well. Using such strategies, Alipay has accumulated more than 1 billion users in all, including 300 million outside China.
