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Thu, Feb 23, 2012

Making Sens

Making Sens

EPF: A more sacred cow than NFC

Posted on 13 February 2012 - 04:49am

Tan Siok Choo

PROPOSING the Employees Provident Fund lend RM1.5 billion for housing loans was politically inept and a public relations fiasco. Despite Herculean damage control efforts, several questions remain unanswered.

Indonesia’s economy re-rated

Posted on 30 January 2012 - 04:50am

Tan Siok Choo

AFTER 14 years, Indonesia regained in mid-December 2011 the investment grade rating it lost during the Asian Financial Crisis.

Last month, Fitch raised its assessment of Indonesia’s long-term foreign and local currency debt from BB+ to BBB-, a move the rating agency said was prompted by the country’s resilient economic growth, low government debt and prudent policies.

Unwise to liberalise foreign labour sector

Posted on 16 January 2012 - 04:47am

Tan Siok Choo

IN an unprecedented move towards the close of last year, the cabinet decided to allow foreign workers to be employed in 10 new sectors and 11 sub-sectors in the services industry for two years. Despite its short-term nature, this decision is troubling for several reasons.

First, will employers use this period to restructure their operations to enable greater use of Malaysians?

Important lessons in history

Posted on 2 January 2012 - 04:48am

Tan Siok Choo

WHEN I was a schoolgirl, the only subject my father wanted me to excel in was history. Unfortunately, it wasn't my best subject. Undaunted, my father seized every opportunity to underscore the importance of studying history.

In April 1968, my parents brought my younger sister and me for our first visit to India.

Cookie-cutter approach unrealistic

Posted on 12 December 2011 - 04:45am

Tan Siok Choo

WHAT do the late Steve Jobs, Sir Richard Branson, Ratan Tata and the late Tan Sri Loh Boon Siew have in common?

Kodak: A cautionary tale

Posted on 28 November 2011 - 04:47am

Tan Siok Choo

INVESTORS fear Eastman Kodak, an American company synonymous with photography, is now flirting with bankruptcy. To ensure its survival for the next 12 months, the 131-year-old company must raise badly-needed cash.

Earlier this month, Kodak announced a US$222 million (RM716.2 million) loss for the third quarter – double analysts’ expectations and its ninth quarterly loss.

PPSMI – personally memorable

Posted on 13 November 2011 - 07:50pm
Last updated on 13 November 2011 - 07:56pm

Tan Siok Choo

AS AN employee, and later a visiting fellow of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia, I was privileged to work under the then chairman and chief executive officer, the late Tan Sri Dr Noordin Sopiee, a man whose intellectual capability, people-handling skills and facility with the English language were unsurpassed.

All these qualities were amply dem

An all too predictable report

Posted on 31 October 2011 - 04:48am

Tan Siok Choo

IN TERMS of content, the report by the auditor-general (AG) is as predictable as the traffic jams that ensue on major roads in Kuala Lumpur after a thunderstorm.

Nurturing a Malaysian Jobs

Posted on 17 October 2011 - 04:45am

Tan Siok Choo

IN HIS Budget 2012 speech, Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak designated next year as National Innovation Movement Year and allocated RM100 million for several strategic initiatives.

This announcement raises one underlying issue – does Malaysia offer a nurturing environment for innovators?

Immediate action, not more policy statements

Posted on 2 October 2011 - 07:48pm
Last updated on 2 October 2011 - 08:10pm

by Tan Siok Choo

MOST Malaysians will judge a budget by its impact on their wallets. Growing fear the US could slide into yet another recession suggests a second benchmark for assessing the budget that will be presented in Parliament on Friday, Oct 7.

Despite strong external headwinds, will Budget 2012 inspire confidence that Malaysian leader’s commitment to economic reform remains strong?