It further added that “The support from commodity prices has dissipated and the drag from the depressed global demand is beginning to show,” DBS said in a report from Singapore. “Given the dire global economic conditions, consumers and businesses have cut back on their expenditure and that will surely weigh on the growth outlook for Malaysia’s export-oriented sectors and on a broader basis, the whole economy.”

Malaysia’s manufacturing sector will contract by 1.9 percent in 2009, from estimated growth of 3.4 percent last year, DBS said. Gross domestic product will “soften” to 3.3 percent, from 5.5 percent, the report said

Now, let us look into what really happening in Malaysia at present :

No of Container in and out at Ports in Malaysia :

I heard Feeder Vessel service from Penang Port to Malaysia’s main port, Port Klang had been reduced by half.

Also heard from forwarders and hauliers that number of Export and Import Declarations Form had reduced tremendously. Hauliers whom used to ferry about 30-40 container perday now only able to get maximum 15 containers per day.

While , a short call to Singapore Shipping agent indicates that Vessel’s berth much longer there as they found it difficult to fill up spaces available. The situation may soon be seen in Malaysia.

Labour Supply

This morning went to meet up another friend whom managing manpower outsource agency for a mutinational in Shah Alam, Malaysia.  According to him the company had reduced production hours from dual working shift to single shift. While, the warehouse fully loaded with finished goods a rare phenomena for extensively managed factories.

During a meeting recently Multinational Company’s MD says that we need to hold to similar situation for minimum of next 6 months because gauge next step of direction. It could be close shop entirely.

Let’s Look at Small and Medium Industries

This sector always been ignored by Government when making policies. As they only cater small group of people but their economic value equivalent to Large Sectors.

Visited another friend running an Engineering Workshop  for last 20 years. Shocked to see him and 6 others Technicians cleaning their workshop. He says first time in my 20 years experience we don’t have any order. All the while good or bad we have at least one pending  work.  My customers big multinational got instruction from parent company no more issuance of Purchase Order. I’m worried how to cover overhead at end of month.

After hearing his views I then called another friend in Printing Industry . He asked where are you . After giving the location, he asked myself to wait at a Mama Stall ( Indian Muslim Restaurant).  While chatting with myself the restaurant owner asked about my business. Explained to him the struggle I’m through.  Brother, here worst too , my business down by 50% . Now everywhere people starting food stalls to survive from economic downturn.  Instead of drinking Mil0 ( a Chocolate Drink) they asking Tea O . Just behind my shop a new restaurant opened last week selling Roti Canai at RM0.50 sen per piece. How to survive brother?

About 15 minutes later my printer friend arrived .  His attire shows he came straight from Temple as today is Vaikunda Ekadasi ( opening of Heaven’s Gateway). Asked him what message you got it from temple.  He explained that the priest advised him a month ago that movement of planets not very much favourable . Business will surely suffered up to June/July 2009 while change of leadership may happen but to weaker hand. Lord Rama Loss his Kingdom and Lived in Jungle when planets movements was similar as current time. The only solution is pray harder and seek Almighty Blessing.  Humm.. Interesting to hear .

Sam, I need a favour from you. Need RM 20K very urgent by this afternoon.  I’m stuck with RM500,000 stock in warehouse. Another shipment already out but no payment yet. Offered 40% discount to my loyal customers asking them to take the stock but none of them shown any interest yet. Need to pay my staff salaries as it’s their hard earned money. Last evening couple of them begged at me for salary as no food to cook at home. Please help me Sam.

This month Ok, next month how ask Sam. I have no choice but to transfer some of my foreign workers out . Some , willing to take two month off.

But, I cann’t give so much  RM10k manageable.  Ok for you.  No Choice I will manage temporarily.

You know , yesterday my biggest client called me. He start shouting over the phone that my prices 100% expensive the others. No choice, immediately I cancelled another appointment rush to his factory.  He took out a quotation from a new supplier to proof his claim.  My blood pressure shoot straight to my brain nervous. Oh! my god, I’m death .

Those big giant printers whom serving electronic industries and never bother about small clients now walking into our path ready. They also offering credit terms and immediate delivery. Any volume doesn’t matter. It’s only way for the big guys with multi million ringgit investment need business to survive and roll on their cash. I lost one of this customer new contract, cann’t compete. Their price lower then my paper cost. Luckily I have my own magazine to survive time being. Maybe in one or two month I might scrap out my machines and just concentrate into marketing of magazine.

This is what really happening in Malaysia today eventhough our political Leaders  claiming that our economy still doing well referring to with outdated statistics.

Post from: The New Politickler

While the cheerleaders testified to the superior moral fiber of their team, the Palestinian civilian death toll mounted. Israeli missiles tore at least fifteen Palestinian police cadets to shreds at a graduation ceremony, blew twelve worshipers to pieces (including six children) while they left evening prayers at a mosque, flattened the elite American International School, killed five sisters while they slept in their beds, and liquidated 9 women and children in order to kill a single Hamas leader. So far, Israeli forces have killed at least 500 Gazans and wounded some two thousand, including hundreds of children. Yesterday, the IDF blanketed parts of Gaza with white phosphorus, a chemical weapon Saddam Hussein once deployed against Kurdish rebels.

“It was Israel at its best,” Yossi Klein Halevi declared in the New Republic.

By New Year’s Day, Israel’s cheering squad had turned the opinion pages of major American newspapers into their own personal romper room. Of all the editorial contributions published by the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times since the Israel’s war on Gaza began, to my knowledge only one offered a skeptical view of the assault. But that editorial, by Israeli novelist David Grossman, contained not a single word about the Palestinian casualties of IDF attacks. Even while calling for a cease fire, Grossman promised, “We can always start shooting again.”

Israeli public relations agents fanned out to broadcast studios from the US to Europe, fulfilling an aggressive strategy conceived after the country’s catastrophic 2006 attack on Lebanon. An analysis by Israel’s foreign ministry of eight hours of coverage across international broadcast media concluded that Israeli representatives received a whopping 58 minutes of airtime compared to only 19 minutes for Palestinians. “Quite a few outlets are very favorable to Israel, namely by showing [its] suffering. I am sure it is a result of the new co-ordination,” said Major Avital Leibovich, an IDF spokesperson who has become a fixture on cable news in the past weeks.

But while Israel’s PR machine cranked its Mighty Wurlitzer to full blast, drowning out all opposing voices with its droning sound, a surprisingly substantial portion of the American public decided to dance to its own tune. According to a December 31 Rasmussen poll (so far the only measure of US opinion on the Gaza assault), while Americans remained overwhelmingly supportive of Israel, they were split almost evenly on the question of whether Israel should attack Gaza — 44% in favor of the assault and 41% against it. The internals are even more remarkable.

While Republicans supported the assault on Gaza by a large margin, a predictable finding, only 31% of Democrats did. Members of the Democratic base thus stood in sharp contrast to most of their elected representatives (freshman Rep. Donna Edwards is a notable exception), who backed the latest Israeli assault in lockstep, and seem to support Israel no matter what it does. The rift between the progressive base and the party played out on Barack Obama’s Change.gov site, which was deluged in recent days with demands for a statement condemning Israel’s assault on Gaza.

So what accounts for the surprising trend in American opinion on Gaza? The proliferation of progressive online media and social networking sites could be a factor, but I have another theory: The same pundits who are cheerleading Israel’s assault on Gaza once sold the occupation of Iraq to America, and with a nearly identical set of arguments. In their voices and those of the grim Israeli PR agents carted out for cable news, many Americans hear echoes of the Bush administration’s most fantastical lies. When they see images of Gazans under withering bombardment, they flash back to Fallujah and the assorted horrors of Iraq. When they look at Israel, they see themselves during the darkest days of the Bush era.

Now, an increasing share of Americans know what Israel is doing to Gaza. And they reject it, even when Israel is “at its best.”

Original Source: Alternet

Post from: The New Politickler

Petronas Got Warming from Ethiopia’s Ogaden rebels  on Tuesday they would not tolerate oil exploration in their remote eastern region, saying it would link the company to war crimes by the Ethiopian military.

Reuters further reported that  Malaysian state-owned company is one of more than a dozen international explorers hunting for oil and gas deposits in different parts of the huge Horn of Africa country. The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) rebels said that everyone should know that Ogaden was a war zone and the government had no right to sign contracts there.

“We urge Petronas to exercise corporate responsibility and steer clear of Ogaden so long as our people are victims of genocide and their rights to determine their own future are violently denied,” the guerrillas said in a statement. “To do anything less would be to act as an accomplice to a regime engaged in yet another African genocide.” The separatist ONLF has long objected to foreign energy companies prospecting in its region, which borders Somalia.

In April 2007, its fighters killed 74 people in a raid on an Ogaden oil exploration field run by a subsidiary of Sinopec ,China’s biggest refiner and petrochemicals producer.

Below Press Statement extracted from ONLF website:

NEW STORIES AND PRESS RELEASES

O.N.L.F Statement: Exploitation Of Ogaden Oil & Gas Wealth
6 January 2009

The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) has stated on multiple occasions that we will not allow the exploitation of the Oil & Gas wealth of our country as long as our people are denied their legitimate rights to self-determination. In that context, the ONLF affirms that if reports that Petronas will resume oil exploration activities in Ogaden are true, this will not be tolerated.

When our people reclaim their rights to self-determination, all legitimate ventures aimed at exploiting the Oil & Gas wealth of our country will be entertained. However, until such time, all companies interested in engaging in such activities should be on notice that the Ogaden is a war zone and that the Ethiopian regime does not have effective control of Ogaden, nor does it have the legitimacy to enter into contracts on behalf of our people.

Petronas and similar companies should consider the damage to their reputation if they effectively enter into a contract with a regime engaged in war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ogaden. These companies would be better served by seeking to play a role in resolving the long standing conflict between the Somali people of Ogaden and successive Ethiopian regimes so that they can pursue their economic interests in an environment where they are welcomed by the people.

We urge Petronas to exercise corporate responsibility and steer clear of Ogaden so long as our people are victims of genocide and their rights to determine their own future are violently denied. To do anything less would be to act as an accomplice to a regime engaged in yet another African genocide.

Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF)

Post from: The New Politickler

The decision, coming soon after the Japanese car maker announced plans to close 11 of its 12 factories in Japan for three days later this month, is expected to increase the pressure on other makers to follow suit.

Toyota’s president, Katsuaki Watanabe, said the firm, which is to lay off 3,000 temporary workers over the next three months, hoped to avoid redundancies among full-time employees.

“We don’t know how much further the global economy will slide,” he told reporters. “Car demand is falling, from leading countries to emerging markets.”

Toyota is heading for its first operating loss in more than 70 years, largely due to plummeting demand in the US.

The firm is bracing itself for an operating loss through to the end of March of ¥150bn (£1.1bn), compared with a ¥2.27 trillion profit last year. Global sales are expected to total 7.5m vehicles, down 8.5% from last year.

Toyota’s sales in the US dropped 37% last month, the biggest monthly drop for more than 25 years, and by 18% in Japan.

Lower fuel prices saw sales of the Toyota’s best-selling hybrid, the Prius, fall 45% in the US.

The Japanese firm’s performance in the US was even worse than those of its struggling US rivals, with Ford’s sales dropping 32% and GM 31%.

Four Toyota car assembly plants and eight factories that make engines, transmissions and other parts will close for six days next month and another five in March, the company said, cutting production by as many as 200,000 vehicles.

“We are coping with a slump in global sales,” a Toyota spokesman said. “Demand in the world auto market is so depressed that every model is falling sharply in sales.”

Weak exports and the rising yen have forced Japan’s car makers into an unprecedented round of production stoppages. The last time Toyota closed a plant, and then only for a day, was in 1993 when sales were again battered by the yen’s gains against the dollar.

Honda, Mitsubishi and Suzuki will also close plants temporarily later this month.

While US auto sales sank 36% last month, sales of new cars in Japan fell to 3.2m last year, the lowest level in 34 years, according to the Japan Automobile Dealers’ Association.

“We didn’t expect the market would slump this much,” Takeshi Fushimi, an association director, told reporters. “Consumers are losing their appetite for everything, not just autos.”

Koichi Sugimoto, an auto analyst at Merrill Lynch, said the recent poor sales figures came as no surprise. “For the stock market to re-evaluate this sector, there are two prerequisites: the end of the negative news flow and an outlook for a return to the black in the next business year,” he said.

related : Toyota orders 11-day factory halt

Post from: The New Politickler

Mumbai - Pakistanis woke up to fighter jets circling their cities last month. There were reports of troops being hastily moved to the India-Pakistan border. Gallows humor about nuclear fry-ups over Christmas started up, even as world leaders made urgent phone calls to try to get tempers under control.

It is now a full month since Mumbai came under attack and the mood in the subcontinent has shifted somewhat. What might have resulted in a joint effort by India and Pakistan to root out terror networks has turned into mutual recrimination.

Nothing would surprise those who sponsored the Mumbai attacks more than if the governments in Delhi and Islamabad worked together to defeat terrorism.

Each country feels persecuted. Each believes the other to be a serious threat. Each nation, armed with nukes and prodded by extreme views that spew venom and vengeance, remains at risk of being forced into hard line positions, even full scale war.

The Mumbai attacks were so well planned and so coolly carried out that it felt like a military operation. As the assaults were brought under control, allegations soon emerged that the perpetrators belonged to the Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Toiba, a terrorist organisation banned in 2002 but which has continued to operate openly (such as after the 2006 Kashmir earthquake, when it mounted a large domestic relief operation under a new name, the religious charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa).

At first, Pakistan accepted that some of its citizens may have been involved in the Mumbai outrages and promised action if evidence was provided. The government even promised to send the head of its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency - long accused of supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan, as well as terrorists in Kashmir and in other parts of India — to help with the investigation. But, as if to make clear who really holds power in Pakistan, the ISI and the Pakistan army vetoed the suggestion and the Pakistan government quickly reversed its decision.

Pakistan continues to say it will act against terrorists in their midst if provided with convincing evidence, but it asserts it has yet to be given such information either by India or the US. Nevertheless, once the United Nations Security Council listed Jamaat-ud-Dawa as a terrorist organization, the Pakistani government did launch operations against some terrorist groups based in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

As pressure mounted on Pakistan, sympathy for the Mumbai victims in Pakistan turned to anger. President Asif Zardari’s government, at risk of being accused of being CIA or Indian puppets for cooperating with the investigation, changed their statements to denial and warned an edgy population to brace for war.

There is a lot of history and mutual distrust to cut through to end this cycle of mutual suspicion and blame. Pakistan accuses India of backing terrorist groups in its Balochistan province. It says India always blames Pakistan when attacks take place on its soil, forgetting that Pakistan has been an even bigger victim of terrorism and that some attacks in India have been carried out by Hindu nationalist groups. Then there are the repeated attacks on Indian Muslims, such as the notorious 2002 government-sponsored carnage in Gujarat.

India, for its part, counter-charges that many attacks within its borders emanate from Pakistan. It is beyond dispute that some in the Pakistan security establishment have sponsored attacks in Kashmir and in other parts of India. India says it does not want war, but it needs to be given reason to believe that the Pakistani government - and, more importantly, the army and ISI - will dismantle terror groups and put an end to cross-border attacks.

Until this happens, India says it has to keep its options open, not least because of strong public pressure for a military response to the violence. Fortunately, thus far the Indian government has kept its head, perhaps realizing that an attack on Pakistan will only strengthen the most nationalistic and anti-peace elements in Pakistan and weaken the Zardari government’s resolve to fight terror. (Zardari’s wife, Benazir Bhutto, was killed by terrorists on December 27, 2007.)

If either side fails to act wisely, the losers will again be ordinary people and the result may be a further diminution of human rights. In India, Muslims are at risk of arbitrary arrest and torture or are targeted by hate groups. In Pakistan, increased tensions with India are likely to lead to the recruitment of more terrorists, including children, who will be encouraged to believe that arbitrary killing serves their cause.

Unfortunately, the government in Pakistan has inherited the discredited legacy of previous military regimes in Islamabad. For instance, after 9/11, General Pervez Musharraf claimed to be acting against groups like Lashkar, but the exercise turned out to be purely cosmetic. This time, India and the international community want to ensure that temporary detentions are not used merely as a means of deflecting international pressure. Nor do they want Pakistan to use a perceived threat on its eastern border as a reason to stop assisting NATO military operations against Al Qaeda and the Taliban on the western Afghan border.

India would like some of those detained by Pakistan to be extradited for trial in India. But the two countries have no extradition treaty. More important, perhaps, no Pakistan government would survive the tide of public anger if it were to hand over its citizens to India. Already there is criticism of the rendition of Pakistan citizens made after the 9/11 attacks on America. International human rights law already prohibits handing over anyone in danger of being tortured - which, given India’s woeful record, would be the likely case.

India knows full well that the battle against terrorist groups with deep seated grievances can be long and hard. It has struggled for decades with separatists in its northeastern states. And it has failed to end the conflict with Maoist rebels operating in more than a dozen states. It also needs to deal with the many home grown groups engaged in organized violence, such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, who receive support from major Indian political parties and are tolerated by law enforcement agencies.

Both countries need to remember that the only way to end terrorism is to work together and follow methods which respect human rights. As Zardari wrote in a New York Times op-ed, “The challenge of confronting terrorists who have a vast support network is huge. Pakistan’s fledgling democracy needs help from the rest of the world.”

Nothing would surprise those who sponsored the Mumbai attacks more than if the governments in Delhi and Islamabad worked together to defeat terrorism.

Meenakshi Ganguly is Senior Researcher for South Asia with Human Rights Watch.

Post from: The New Politickler

India has signed a $2.1 billion contract with leading U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co for naval patrol aircraft as part of an overhaul of the South Asian nation’s mainly old Soviet military hardware.

India, fast becoming one of the world’s biggest arms importers, said at least eight of the P-8I anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare planes would be delivered in four years.

“The deal has been signed and the delivery of the P-8I should start in four years’ time,” defence ministry spokesman Sitanshu Kar said on Monday.

India is looking to spend $30 billion on imports over the next five years to modernise its largely Soviet-era arms and is also trying to strengthen its navy by introducing new weapons systems.

Boeing plans to make inroads into the South Asian defence market and has already submitted a bid for a contract to supply India with 126 multi-role fighter jets, potentially worth more than $10 billion.

Last July, Boeing said it would bid for defence projects in India worth up to $20 billion over the next 10 years.

India is also keen to strengthen its own aerospace industry and has asked major weapons exporting countries to transfer defence technology to India.

Defence experts said the P-8I would give India an edge over its rivals. The aircraft would carry air-to-surface missiles as well as anti-shipping missiles to tackle sea-based threats, a defence official said.

A Boeing spokesman in New Delhi said the company would release a detailed statement on the deal in two days.

Last month, India successfully tested a supersonic cruise missile from a moving ship, in what officials said was a major boost for its defence capabilities.

reuters

Post from: The New Politickler

AFP

Post from: The New Politickler

The internet, which emerged this year as a leading source for campaign news, has now surpassed all other media except television as an outlet for national and international news.

Currently, 40% say they get most of their news about national and international issues from the internet, up from just 24% in September 2007. For the first time in a Pew survey, more people say they rely mostly on the internet for news than cite newspapers (35%). Television continues to be cited most frequently as a main source for national and international news, at 70%.

For young people, however, the internet now rivals television as a main source of national and international news. Nearly six-in-ten Americans younger than 30 (59%) say they get most of their national and international news online; an identical percentage cites television. In September 2007, twice as many young people said they relied mostly on television for news than mentioned the internet (68% vs. 34%).

The percentage of people younger than 30 citing television as a main news source has declined from 68% in September 2007 to 59% currently. This mirrors a trend seen earlier this year in campaign news consumption. (See “Internet Now Major Source of Campaign News,” News Interest Index, Oct. 31, 2008.)

The survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Dec. 3-7 among 1,489 adults, finds there has been little change in the individual TV news outlets that people rely on for national and international news. Nearly a quarter of the public (23%) says they get most of their news from CNN, while 17% cite Fox News; smaller shares mention other cable and broadcast outlets.

continue read on Top Stories as People Press

Post from: The New Politickler

Press secretary Sally McDonough said in a statement said The President, Mrs. Bush, Barbara, and Jenna are deeply saddened by the passing of their cat India (”Willie”).

“India was a beloved member of the Bush family for almost two decades. She will be greatly missed,” she said.

The black American Shorthair, which lived with President George W. Bush and his wife at the White House, died Sunday.
India was named by Barbara Bush after a former Texas Ranger baseball player, Ruben Sierra, who was called “El Indio,” but the cat was called “Willie” or “Kitty” by the family.

AFP

Post from: The New Politickler

Mahathir, who during his two decades in power was a leading voice in the Muslim world, said people had to take action against the United States over its support for Israel, which is conducting a military offensive in Gaza.

“If you stop accepting US currency, the US can’t trade and can’t make any money, it will become very poor and it will have to stop the production of more and more weapons in order to kill people,” he told a press conference.

“We should not be buying all these weapons from the US, we can buy from the Russians if we must have aeroplanes and things like that,” he added.
“People must act… they won’t die if they don’t drink Coca-Cola.”

Mahathir criticised the US for blocking a UN resolution calling for an end to the action by Israel, which has launched an air and ground offensive that has left at least 510 Palestinians dead, many of them civilians.

The fiery former prime minister, who stepped down in 2003, said he did not expect a new US approach under Barack Obama, who is due to be sworn in as president on January 20.

“I don’t think there will be much change with regards to the policy of Israel. As you know, Obama went to Israel and asked for their support because a lot of voters in America are Jews,” he said.
“I can’t think of anybody being as bad as (President George W.) Bush, it is the best of the bad choices,” he said of Obama.

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Monday called on the United Nations to convene an emergency session on Israel’s offensive in Gaza, saying the UN had a “moral duty” to end the violence.

Post from: The New Politickler