EPF to loan RM5b to Prokhas

KUALA LUMPUR, July 28 — A government agency which is administrating two schemes under the first economic stimulus package is in talks with the employees’ pension fund for a RM5 billion loan, a business daily said.

The Malaysian Reserve, citing an unidentifed source today, said the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) was ready to fund the loan at an undisclosed rate to Prokhas, the government-owned special purpose vehicle.

The source added that Prokhas was also looking at other financing options including government bonds, private debt securities or a term loan that may give more competitive rates.

Malaysia announced its first stimulus package of RM60 billion in March to shore up the export-reliant economy against the global economic crisis.

Prokhas manages two schemes under the package and was allocated 5 billion ringgit each, known as Working Capital Guarantee Scheme and the Industry Restructuring Loan Scheme, which is under the Ministry of Finance.

EPF’s talks with Prokhas may draw some criticism, as loans to government agencies and corporations have in the past been called bailouts for poorly performing local companies by critics and the resurgent opposition.

In 2008, the government said it would transfer RM5 billion from the EPF to state owned fundmanager Valuecap to be invested in undervalued Malaysian stocks. — Reuters

The tweeter and the phweeter

JULY 26 – Most people by now know that a tweeter is someone who posts online or via SMS a short message containing no more than 140 characters.

Well, there’s now the “phweeter” or phoney tweeter.

Such a person pretends to be someone else – usually a recognisable name – on Twitter.com, the popular micro-blogging website.

Part-time Singapore model Celestina Tiew, who has appeared on the cover of men’s and car magazines, is a victim of a phwee-ter.

But if you did not know better, reading her Twitter posts, you might have been avidly following updates on what she did or even ate in the last few months.

For instance, on April 27, she was on a shoot for a television show. A few days later, she attended a beer festival before heading to Kuala Lumpur.

Though these are true accounts, they were not posted by her. She suspects the phweeter rehashed them from her blog entries.

“I didn’t even know what Twitter was. I asked a friend to explain the website to me, and she told me she had been ‘following’ me all this while,” the 19-year-old told The Sunday Times.

By choosing to “follow” a user on Twitter, you will receive a notification each time that user updates her profile.

Two weeks ago, Tiew registered her own bona fide account and posted a link to it. She now has 100 followers, while the fake account has

170 followers.

Regarding the phweeter, she said: “I’m not sure what I can do about it. I will probably take more action if the person starts posting false or negative things about me.”

Tiew had previously discovered fake accounts in her name on two other social networking sites – Facebook and Friendster.

She said: “There must be a reason why people are doing this. Somehow this is happening more often and it is starting to irritate me.”

Companies are being hit by phweeters too.

A Twitter account started under the username SQAirlines, for example, has close to 2,000 followers and carries a Singapore Airlines (SIA) logo.

It even posts weekly updates on fare promotions and readers are invited to send in feedback on their experiences aboard the Airbus A-380 airliner.

When contacted, a company spokesman said Singapore Airlines does not maintain a Twitter account.

“We are aware of the Twitter accounts that regularly publish information related to Singapore Airlines. We will continue to monitor these accounts closely,” he said.

The spokesman added that, where possible, SIA will “help facilitate discussion or sharing of information” but it preferred to “let these communities direct their own activities as much as possible”.

It has not verified the identity of SQAirlines’ owner and has not asked for the account to be removed.

The phweeter’s activities “do not seek to misrepresent the airline and its business operations”, but the company will closely monitor its activities, the spokesman said.

Under the terms of use published on Twitter’s website, started in 2006 by Americans Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone and Evan Williams, “parody impersonation accounts are allowed to exist”.

But the profile information on a parody account “must make it obvious that the profile is fake, or it is subject to removal”.

Last month, Twitter also introduced a “Verified Account” feature to ward off phweeters.

Users who can prove who they claim to be get to display a “verified account” blue-and-white button on their profile pages.

For most followers, however, the best advice is to take everything you read with a pinch of salt.

Ian Loon, associate director of media agency Starcom Media Worldwide, said users are smart enough to spot most fake accounts “through the consistency and quality of tweets coming from the owner”.

But he agreed that phweeters can be a menace.

He said: “They are likely to be malicious and a misrepresentation of the brand, which can lead to inconsistencies in what the brand wants to say.”

But Kristina Boey, a consultant with XM Asia Pacific, a digital marketing and technology consultancy, takes a more sanguine view.

“Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing a Twitter chat between the real account with the fake account. Especially if it’s a well- known personality or brand, it could possibly create positive buzz.”

Lawyer Bryan Tan, a director at Keystone Law Corporation, said legal liabilities could arise from phoney accounts on Twitter and Facebook.

“It could be defamatory if the person has said something affecting the reputation of the real person and this is exposed to others. Or if someone impersonates a celebrity to endorse a product – that could be fraud,” he said.

But he added that very often, the biggest hurdle to resolving such issues is tracking down the perpetrator.

“Obviously they (the phweeters) are already doing something wrong by registering the false account; they will probably try to hide their tracks subsequently,” he said. – ST

Investors dump brokers to go it alone online

NEW YORK, July 25 — The collapse of Lehman Brothers last September marked the start of a downward spiral for big investment banks. For a smaller fraternity of Internet brokerages, it has set off a dramatic spurt of growth.

Since the start of the financial crisis, US$32.2 billion (RM112 billion) has flowed into the two largest online outfits, TD Ameritrade Holding and Charles Schwab, company records show.

By contrast, investors have pulled more than US$100 billion from traditional full-service brokerages like Citigroup's Smith Barney and Bank of America-Merrill Lynch.

Of course, Americans still keep more of their wealth with established brokerages. According to research firm Gartner, 43 per cent of individual investors were with full-service brokers last year, compared with 24 per cent with online outfits.

And while figures for 2009 are not yet available, the flow of investors in the past 10 months has clearly been in the direction of the online brokerages, according to analysts both at Gartner and research consultancy Celent.

Joining the exodus is Ben Mallah, who says he lost US$3 million in a Smith Barney account in St Petersburg, Florida, as the markets crashed last year.

"I will never again trust anyone who is commission-driven to manage my portfolio," said Mallah. "If they're not making money off you, they have no use for you."

This trend, a product of both the financial crisis and the emergence of a new generation of tech-savvy, cost-conscious young investors, is positioning online outfits as increasingly important in the wealth management field.

The numbers reflect a loss of faith in professional money managers as small investors dress their wounds from the hammering they took over the last year, the Internet brokerages say.

"There has been an awakening," said Don Montanaro, chief executive of TradeKing, which reported a post-Lehman spike in new accounts of 121 per cent. Investors now realize they alone are responsible for their money, he said.

The S&P 500 fell 38 per cent in 2008 as the housing crisis turned into a broader credit crunch, bringing financial markets to a standstill and diminishing wealth across the board.

TD Ameritrade, the biggest by trades-per-day, saw a 46 per cent year-on-year jump in new accounts in the last quarter of 2008 and brought in US$7.8 billion in new assets.

Some of that is from "breakaway brokers", former Wall Street brokers who leave to form boutiques, directing their client trades through online platforms. But two-thirds of TD Ameritrade's US$240 billion under management is from its retail business serving individuals who manage their investments.

There are 16 established Internet brokerages operating in the United States, ranging from Zecco, which advertises US$4.50 per trade, to Charles Schwab, which offers a suite of options from bare bones to bespoke, including advice from in-house brokers.

Within that range, investors can choose to go it alone, access social networks where investors compare their portfolio strategies, seek paid advice, or any combination.

E*Trade, for example, owned by E Trade Financial, has grabbed the attention of younger investors with television spots featuring talking babies. It took in US$3.5 billion of new assets in the last quarter of last year.

Barriers to entry are low: trading accounts can be opened with as little as US$500, and trades executed for US$5 to US$7 each. And there is no commission.

Some investors are unwilling to pay commission in lean times. Others blame their brokers for their losses.

For Billy Scott of Prattville, Alabama, the catalyst was watching a 60 per cent return on a stock turn into a 70 per cent loss, as his Smith Barney broker told him to "hold." He ultimately lost US$10,000 in the crash.

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, now a joint venture of Morgan Stanley and Citigroup, declined to respond.

In January this year, the 37-year-old father of two took his remaining US$11,000 over to a TradeKing account.

"When the market took a hit, I thought, hey, these people don't look any brighter than me," he said.

He says that he is mostly a day-trader now, having lost faith in the "hold" method his broker espoused.

Although day trading is a risky strategy, considered more akin to gambling than investing, Scott is pleased with his 8 per cent return to date.

"If anyone is going to lose my money, I want it to be me," he said.

Analysts see the financial collapse as having accelerated a trend that has been brewing over the last decade.

Even so, online outfits themselves recognise that they are competing for a limited customer base. "There is value in full service brokerages for people who don't have the knowledge or the desire to do it themselves," says Gabriel Dalporto, Zecco's chief strategy officer. "It's not like that industry is going to go away."

But the demographics point to growth for online outfits, because their users are those who have come of age with the Internet, says David Schehr, a research director with Gartner's industry advisory services.

The 2008 Gartner survey showed 17 per cent of "pre-booomers," those 63 years old and above, using online brokerages, compared with 29 per cent of "Gen X"ers — those age 33 to 44.

"The group that most typically uses the traditional model is the one that is growing older and ageing out," Schehr says.

Younger investors want instant access and execution, and can get "more information on their iPhones than brokers could get 10 years ago," said Scottrade's chief marketing officer, Chris Moloney.

And vibrant financial social networks are forming in the forums and blogs of these online brokerages, an extra attraction for the Facebook generation.

But the crash has also embittered older, seasoned, investors. Mallah, 43, said his brokers disregarded his directions to hold only safe municipal bonds. His losses came from, among others, Lehman-connected bonds and shares in the now-bankrupt ethanol maker Verasun.

Smith Barney said it has no record of his complaint.

The father of four brought more than US$15 million to a TD Ameritrade account in January and now spends "an enormous amount of time" on his portfolio. "But it's the only way to protect my assets and my family." — Reuters

This is how we let the credit crunch happen, Ma’am ...

LONDON, July 26 – A group of eminent economists has written to the Queen explaining why no one foresaw the timing, extent and severity of the recession.

The three-page missive, which blames “a failure of the collective imagination of many bright people”, was sent after the Queen asked, during a visit to the London School of Economics, why no one had predicted the credit crunch.

Signed by LSE professor Tim Besley, a member of the Bank of England monetary policy committee, and the eminent historian of government Peter Hennessy, the letter, a copy of which has been obtained by the Observer, tells of the “psychology of denial” that gripped the financial and political world in the run-up to the crisis.

The content was discussed at a seminar at the British Academy in June that was attended by economic heavyweights including Treasury permanent secretary Nick MacPherson, Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O’Neill and Observer economics columnist William Keegan.

The letter explains that as low interest rates made borrowing cheap, the “feel-good factor” masked how out-of-kilter the world economy had become beneath the surface, with some countries, such as the United States, running up enormous debts by borrowing from others, including China and the oil-rich Middle Eastern states, that were sitting on vast piles of cash.

Despite these yawning imbalances, they say, “financial wizards” managed to convince themselves and the world’s politicians that they had found clever ways to spread risk throughout financial markets – whereas “it is difficult to recall a greater example of wishful thinking combined with hubris”.

“Everyone seemed to be doing their own job properly on its own merit. And according to standard measures of success, they were often doing it well,” they say. “The failure was to see how collectively this added up to a series of interconnected imbalances over which no single authority had jurisdiction.”

That meant when the reckoning came it was extreme, starting in summer 2007 and culminating in the near-collapse of the entire world financial system after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers last autumn.

“In summary, Your Majesty,” they conclude, “the failure to foresee the timing, extent and severity of the crisis and to head it off, while it had many causes, was principally a failure of the collective imagination of many bright people, both in this country and internationally, to understand the risks to the system as a whole.”

Besley stressed that the experts had not been in “finger-wagging mode” and had agreed that the causes of the credit crunch were extremely complex. “There was a very complicated, interconnected set of issues, rather than one particular person or one particular institution.”

Other experts at the seminar last month included Paul Tucker, deputy governor of the Bank of England, Vernon Bogdanor, the constitutional expert from Oxford University, and HSBC’s chief economist, Stephen King.

A spokesman for Buckingham Palace said the Queen has displayed a particular interest in the causes of the recession, summoning Bank of England governor Mervyn King to a private audience earlier this year to explain what he was doing to tackle it.

Official figures published on Friday revealed that Britain’s economy has now been contracting for 15 months, and the recession is deeper than any since the 1930s, outside of wartime.

Robin Jackson, chief executive and secretary of the British Academy, said: “The global recession is a huge development, and it is reasonable to ask to what extent it could have been foreseen. What’s more, we can’t say ‘never again’ if we don’t fully understand what occurred. The academy forum was an opportunity to get an exceptional range of experts, participants and commentators in one room, sifting fact from fiction and shedding light on what had gone on. We hope Her Majesty – and indeed others – will find our letter informative.”

The academy plans to hold a second seminar later in the year to ask how best to prevent another such crisis occurring. Besley denied that economics as a profession had been discredited by the scale of the crisis, but admitted that unconventional ideas – about how herd psychology and bouts of irrationality can grip financial markets, for example – had sometimes received “less play” during the boom years.

He said the academy hopes to provide a forum for airing economic differences: “What we need is a forum where people can come together on a very open basis, to provide challenges and have a debate.”

Professor Luis Garicano, to whom the Queen directed her question when she visited the LSE in November last year, said: “She seemed very interested, and she asked me: ‘How come nobody could foresee it?’ I think the main answer is that people were doing what they were paid to do, and behaved according to their incentives, but in many cases they were being paid to do the wrong things from society’s perspective.” – Guardian

Private pension go-ahead

KUALA LUMPUR: The much talked about private pension funds will kick off by the middle of next year.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, who announced this, said the new scheme would target the two million self-employed and those who were outside the current pension scheme.

He said the new pension funds could either be operated by new fund management firms to be licensed by the Securities Commission, or by existing firms.

The funds would be regulated by the Securities Commission.

“Several fund managers have already shown keen interest,” he told a press conference after delivering his keynote address at the Forum on Private Pension Industry Retirement Funds here yesterday.

Nor Mohamed said the scheme would target self-employed individuals who currently did not contribute to the Employees Provident Fund or those who wanted to contribute more than the EPF’s statutory requirements.

“We have to ensure it is well managed as it is a pension fund, a fund for individuals in their old-age,” he said.

He said the EPF had a government guarantee of 2.5% return.

“The private pension funds should be able to provide a ‘market return’ at any point of time,” Nor Mohamed said when asked on investment returns.

“The EPF has RM340bil in assets now. These private pension funds have huge potential,” he said, adding that there were currently 5.7 million active EPF members.

Nor Mohamed said the funds were part of the Government’s effort to reform the pension fund industry.

“This is crucial as Malaysia moves towards a developed and high income nation,” he said, adding that such funds would be a boost to the nation’s capital markets.

He said the SC had been tasked to prepare a report containing further details within the next six months.

“The Government at the same time will look at its own pension scheme and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), and head a committee to coordinate all aspects of the pension reform,” he said.

In a survey by the EPF, it was found that around 90% of members have less than RM100,000 in their accounts and more than 70% would have exhausted their money within three years of withdrawing the lump sum upon retirement.

“This underlying trend reflects the sole dependence of retirees on their EPF savings as a safety net and as such, the inadequacy of sustainable levels of income after retirement,” he noted.

He said Malaysia had pension coverage via EPF, the Public Sector Pension Scheme and Lembaga Tabung Angkatan.

“However, there are gaps in the existing pension framework,” he said.

SC chairman Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar said the regulator would make capital preservation and investor protection top priorities when it came to the funds.

“We are gathering input from successful private pension funds models in other countries. We will then try and adopt the best practices to start off on the right footing,” she said.

Areca Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Danny Wong said it “would take some time” to see the impact of the funds on the capital market.

“It all depends how individuals respond,” he told The Star

Naza to open maiden Tutti Frutti

Tutti Frutti, a US frozen yogurt chain, will hit local shores through the franchise route, with the opening of its first outlet by September and another four by December.

Its Malaysian master licence holder, the Naza Group of companies, will spend some RM3.5 million to open Tutti Frutti outlets across the country and provide training, corporate identity guidelines and equipment.

"We plan to open 25 outlets by the end of 2010 and to double the number by 2012," Naza Group director Nur Diana SM Nasimuddin said at the signing of the master licence agreement between the Naza Group and US-based Well Spring Inc in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Under the licence agreement, the Naza Group will hold exclusive rights to develop Tutti Frutti franchisees in Singapore, Thailand and India.

To achieve this target, Nur Diana said, the Naza Group will invest in developing the Tutti Frutti brandname in the respective markets and will invite entrepreneurs who are interested in becoming franchisees

Only rich Britons can get professional jobs

LONDON, July 21 — Only children from the richest families can enjoy careers in top professions like law and medicine because of increasingly impenetrable social barriers, a government-commissioned report said today.

The study, led by former Labour government minister Alan Milburn, said there was a “closed shop mentality” in many professions which excluded young people from low and middle income backgrounds.

“Frankly there are too many kids out there from average income families who are bright . . . and who want to go on to get a top professional carer but haven't got the right connections, haven't necessarily gone to the right school, maybe haven't had the chance to go to university, and that has all got to change,” Milburn told BBC radio.

The “Fair Access to the Professions” report said “birth not worth” had become a greater factor in deciding someone's chances in life and that professions had become increasingly socially exclusive, open to fewer people.

It found:

* 75 per cent of judges, 70 per cent of finance directors and 45 per cent of all top civil servants had been to independent schools, although just 7 per cent of the population were independently educated.

* Those who get professional jobs grow up in a family richer than seven in 10 of all families.

* A doctor of the future will grow up in a family richer than five in six of all UK families, while a journalist will grow up in family more affluent than three in four of all families.

But Milburn said a large expansion in such jobs in the near future – with up to seven million new professionals needed by 2020 – provided an opportunity for a second wave of social mobility, similar to the situation after World War Two.

The report made 88 recommendations, including opening internships to a wider pool of people, improving careers advice and making extra-curricular school activities and university degrees more widely available.

There also needed to be a campaign to raise aspirations and, although it rejected a return to academic selection of pupils, the report called for parents to be given the right to choose better schools for their children.

Milburn said efforts by Labour to improve the performance of schools since the party had been in power for the last decade had helped but more needed to be done.

“We've managed to raise the glass ceiling but in all truth we haven't broken through it,” Milburn said.

Professional bodies welcomed the report.

The Bar Council, the professional body for advocates in England and Wales, said it would “redouble” its efforts to improve access to the profession.

“The Bar has a good story to tell on gender balance and ethnic mix,” said its chairman Desmond Browne.

“At all levels, the profession has also shown its commitment to promoting access to the Bar for the talented, regardless of social background.”

The Medical Schools Council said more efforts were needed to attract people from all backgrounds into medical careers.

But doctors' body the British Medical Association said the “crippling” costs of studying medicine made the career inaccessible to poorer children. – Reuters

Philippines' richest man to expand empire in China

MANILA: Billionaire Henry Sy, whose retail empire has made him the richest man in the Philippines, may build as many as three malls a year in China to expand in the first major economy to rebound from the global recession.

"We have 34 malls in the Philippines and China is a market that's 13 times bigger" by population, said Hans Sy, president of SM Prime Holdings Inc, a unit of his father's SM Investments Corp. SM Prime, the biggest Philippine mall operator, is spending 5.5 billion pesos (100 pesos = RM7.67) this year in China.

SM Investments, whose 61 per cent share-price gain this year beats the Philippine benchmark, is increasing capital spending for 2009 by almost a third. Expanding in China, the world's most populous country, may help open opportunities for the family's other businesses, said Teresita Sy-Coson, Henry Sy's eldest child and vice-chairwoman at SM Investments.

"The malls will be an excellent outpost for the group," said Alex Pomento, Philippine strategist at Macquarie Group Ltd. "They get a gauge of China's consumer pulse and a springboard for the group's other businesses."

Tata Motors delivers first Nano

MUMBAI, July 17 — Tata Motors Ltd, India’s largest vehicles maker, delivered the Nano, the world’s cheapest car, to its first three customers today.


Chairman Ratan Tata had showcased the Nano at an auto show in New Delhi in January last year, but consumer bookings began only in April this year after the project was delayed due to land disputes at its planned site in the eastern state of West Bengal.

The plant for producing the Nano was shifted to a new site in Gujarat on the west coast, but the first batch of Nanos would come from its car plant in Pantnagar in northern India.

Tata has assured price protection for the first 100,000 customers, for whom the cars will be available for 100,000 rupees (RM7,337), excluding taxes. – Reuters

Merapoh in US$10b refinery venture

Privately-held Merapoh Resources Corp Sdn Bhd has roped in two private Chinese companies to invest US$10 billion (RM36 billion) in a refinery project that will include Chinese state oil company China National Petroleum Co (CNPC).

Hong Kong Beijing Star Ltd and Winson Investment Ltd will invest US$5 billion (RM18 billion) each to build the refinery in Yan, Kedah.

The two investors signed a memorandum of agreement with Merapoh and the Kedah state government in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Merapoh executive chairman Md Nazri Ramli said it will invite other local and foreign investors to take up stakes in the project.

Construction is scheduled to start next month.

Hong Kong Beijing Star and Winson will hold 40 per cent stake each, with Merapoh owning the rest.

"Local and international financial institutions will become investors and equity partners of the project," Md Nazri told reporters after the signing.

Work on the two-train refinery, which involves reclaiming 340ha offshore, will take five years, with commissioning expected by end-2013 or early 2014.

The refinery will be able to process 350,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd).

Merapoh has hired SK Group of Companies to build the refinery in the Sungai Limau Hydrocarbon Hub.

SK Group is South Korea's third largest industrial group. Its unit SK Energy will also operate the refinery.

To comply with government rules, 30 per cent of works, such as building tank farms and pipe-laying, will be awarded to local contractors, Md Nazri said.

"We will build a 20km pipeline going towards offshore Kedah for offloading of crude oil and loading of refined oil. The refined products will be ferried, using tankers, to consumers in East Asia, particularly China," he said.

Under the project, Merapoh will import crude oil from the Middle East, process the crude into refined products and export them to China and other Asian nations.

Merapoh has tied up with CNPC under a 20-year deal in which the Chinese oil company will buy the bulk of the plant's output and market the rest.

"Some 200,000 bpd of refined oil will be allocated specifically to CNPC for them to market in China, while the remaining 150,000 will be sold on the open market."

Saudi Aramco will supply crude oil to Merapoh under an in-principle deal.

"We expect to sign a deal in the next one or two months.

"We may also rope in suppliers from the other Middle East countries, probably Iran," Md Nazri said.

Google ad sales down

SAN FRANCISCO: Google Inc.'s Internet ad sales grew at their slowest rate ever during the spring, forcing the online search leader to tighten its belt another notch to propel its second-quarter profit above analyst estimates.

The performance - punctuated by revenue growth of just 3 percent - disappointed investors.

The company's shares fell more than 3 percent in extended trading Thursday after the results were released.

Google is the most profitable company on the Internet, thanks to its dominance of the online advertising market.

That means its lackluster revenue growth could foreshadow even more significant sluggishness among other Internet companies that rely on advertising and e-commerce.

Many of those companies will detail what happened in their second quarters in the coming weeks.

Although the U.S. recession has been making it increasingly difficult for Google to sell ads, Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said he doesn't expect the climate to become any more challenging.

"We're not at the moment looking at that downward spiral that we thought we might see six months ago," Schmidt told analysts during a Thursday conference call.

The remarks echoed comments made to reporters last week when he said the recession had already appeared to hit bottom.

The Mountain View-based company earned $1.48 billion, or $4.66 per share, during the three months ended in June.

That compared with income of $1.25 billion, or $3.92 per share, for the same period last year.

Revenue rose to $5.52 billion from $5.34 billion in last year's second quarter.

It marked Google's lowest growth rate since the company went public five years ago.

It was also the company's second consecutive quarter of single-digit revenue growth, which had never fallen below a 30 percent pace until late last year.

If not for stock compensation expenses, Google said it would have made $5.36 per share.

That topped the average estimate of $5.09 per share among analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

After subtracting ad commissions, Google's net revenue totaled $4.1 billion - about $40 million above analyst estimates.

Google relied on cost cutting and an unusually low tax rate to boost its profits amid the slowing ad sales.

For instance, the company trimmed its general and administrative expenses by 23 percent to save about $110 million and reduced its spending on capital projects by 80 percent, or $559 million.

The financial discipline resulted in the biggest quarterly reduction in Google's payroll since Larry Page and Sergey Brin started the company in a Silicon Valley garage nearly 11 years ago.

Google ended June with 19,786 employees, 378 fewer than at the end of March.

Google's second-quarter tax rate was 20 percent, well below the 25 percent range that is typical for the company.

The company's shares fell $14.50, or 3.3 percent, after finishing the regular session at $442.60, up $4.43.

The stock has surged by about 50 percent since it last traded below $300 in early March, reflecting investors' faith in Google to weather the recession better than most companies. - AP

Woman cons VIPs and artistes of RM432mil

A WOMAN who is believed to have conned hundreds of VIPs and artistes of RM432mil is now on the police most-wanted list.

Her victims include veteran rock singers Amy Search, Hattan and Awie, as well as Misha Omar and the wife of a Tan Sri who lost RM26 mil.

Police believe Rohaniza Aladib, 31, has absconded to Australia.

Her case as well as statements by several artistes who had fallen victim to her con-game was reported by Harian Metro.

Hattan and Awie admitted to having been conned by the woman who always appeared “decent”. Their loss totalled almost RM2mil.

Quoting a spokesman from the commercial crime unit in Bukit Aman, the tabloid said Rohaniza lured her victims to part with their money by promising them very high return of up to 50% of their investment within 30 days.

As in any scams, her victims would receive the high return as promised on their initial investment, thus encouraging them to “invest” more, including using money collected from friends and family members.

Hattan said he initially invested only RM50,000 but after receiving good returns, he increased his investment until it reached a total of RM1.4mil.

Awie meanwhile said he lost RM50,000 to the woman who had promised him a return of 30% within 45 days.

Country’s largest oil refinery to be in Kedah

KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 — Kedah’s economy received a major boost today with the launch of the largest oil refinery project in Malaysia.

The Merapoh oil refinery in Yan, Kedah will cost US$10 billion (RM35.7 billion) and have a refining capacity of 350,000 barrels per day, nearly twice the capacity of the country’s second largest refinery in Melaka.

The refinery will be developed by Merapoh Resources Corporation and funded by international investors.

The Merapoh refinery will refine crude oil sourced from the Middle East for export, mainly to China.

China’s state oil company China National Petroleum Company (CNPC) has agreed to take up 200,000 barrels per day for 20 years.

CNPC is also expected to take up a stake in Merapoh at some point.

Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak says that the state is expecting some RM80 billion worth of oil and gas investments in the future.

“We will continue to give assistance to Merapoh and others as we are a business-friendly government,” he said at the signing ceremony.

When completed in five years, the Merapoh refinery is expected to contribute RM200 million in annual revenues to the state government.

Touching on the subject of the trans-peninsular oil pipeline that was proposed a few years ago to connect Kedah to the east coast, Azizan said the project has been put on hold.

Commenting on the near-loss by PAS in yesterday’s Manek Urai by-election, Azizan told reporters that what was important was PAS managed to retain the state seat.

Azizan also said that relations between PAS and DAP in Kedah were back to normal, after the recent pull-out threat by DAP.

Malays are second biggest group of clients for ‘Ah Long’

KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 – The MCA Public Complaints Bureau received 65 appeals for help from Malays who had borrowed a total of more than RM2 million from loan sharks or ‘Ah Long’ since early this year.

The bureau’s head, Datuk Michael Chong said of the complainants comprised 40 and 25 women.

“A total of 341 cases were received from January until June this year and Chinese borrowers topped the list with 241 cases,” he said at a media conference at his office, here today.

He said the Malay borrowers were, generally, between the ages of 30 and 40, and were facing financial problems while some were involved in get-rich-quick schemes.

“For the other races, they borrowed for business purposes or gambling, but among the Malay borrowers, many were involved in the get-rich-quick schemes and there were some who owed the Ah Long more than RM700,000,” he said.

Chong revealed that the loan sharks were now adopting new tactic to collect debts – by sending attractive and sexy women to the borrowers’ homes or business premises.

“These women will wait at the shops or homes of the borrowers to collect debt. The women will go to the borrowers’ homes or business premises repeatedly until the debt is paid,” he said. – Bernama

PTPTN turns to CIMB for a loan to help fund more student loans

KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 — For the first time ever the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) is resorting to commercial financing to help reduce its reliance on government funding.

CIMB Group has extended a RM1.5 billion Islamic loan to PTPTN, of which repayment will be over a period of ten years. The loan is guaranteed by the government.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin said PTPTN needed RM4.2 billion to finance students this year and of which, RM3 billion would be obtained commercially while the remaining RM1.2 billion through internally generated funds.

“We don’t need to raise the other RM1.5 billion yet. If we do it now, we’ll need to pay the interest. When the need arises, then only we will raise it,” he told reporters after witnessing the agreement signing ceremony between CIMB and PTPTN here today.

PTPTN, established under the National Higher Education Act 1997, is an organisation tasked with managing and providing financing for Malaysian students who are eligible to pursue studies at local institutions of higher learning.

Khaled said it was the government’s responsibility to provide loans to eligible higher education students but they would have to be grateful for it and repay the loans so as not to deprive others of the same opportunity.

Interests on the their loans were actually paid by the government, otherwise it would be passed on to students, he said and added that the percentage of PTPTN loan repayments was on the increase as the government had put in place measures to ensure a better flow of payment.

He also said that the country was on track to achieve the 40 per cent target of having those aged between 17 and 23 receive tertiary education.

“Many countries want to learn from us in terms of our higher education, including having PTPTN to help students,” he said.

Meanwhile, PTPTN chairman Datuk Dr Mohamad Shahrum Osman said the repayment of loans in 2008 showed an increase with the organisation receiving RM1.19 billion from 659,880 loans that were supposed to pay back by May 2009.

Since its inception in 1997, he said, PTPTN had received RM5.295 billion from the government.

In 2003, it borrowed a total of RM13 billion from the Pension Trust Fund and the Employees Provident Fund to continue financing students at local higher education institutions. — Bernama

The 1-Malaysia Unit Trust For 'the poor'

THE 1Malaysia Unit Trust proposed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on Saturday should be carefully monitored to benefit more of the medium- and low-income earners.

Groups fear that the richer section of society would quickly snap up the unit trust shares, depriving others who need time to raise funds to purchase them.

They feel the government should reserve a certain number of the shares and allow a grace period for the poorer section of society to secure loans to purchase them.

Earlier this year, Permodalan Nasional Bhd had offered 3.3 billion units of Amanah Saham Malaysia and two billion units of Amanah Saham Wawasan 2020

A cap of 20,000 units per person was placed for 10 days for ASW, and three months for ASM, to enable more people to purchase them.

A racial quota was also instituted for ASM, but any units which remained after three months would be open for sale to others.

Malaysian Malay Business and Industrialists Association president Datuk Moehamad Izat Emir said it would be better if the 1Malaysia Unit Trust was reserved solely for medium- and low-income earners.

"The unit trust should be controlled very strictly to ensure the shares are disseminated to lower-income earners.

"The government should take all necessary steps to encourage this section of society, to come forward and take up the shares."

Malaysian Indian Business Association president P. Sivakumar felt the government should reserve a certain number of shares for the poorer section of the Indian community.

He said: "These people don't have the money to purchase the shares and need to look for funds.

"If a quota of shares is reserved for them, then they will have more time to secure the necessary funds."

Sivakumar said the low-income earners would lose out if they were to compete for the shares on equal terms with the economically stronger section of Malaysian society.

Pak Gad UM Nak Jadi Polis Pula

Biarpun Akta Universiti dan Kolej Universiti(AUKU) dipinda tahun lepas, tindakan polis menahan dua orang aktivis mahasiswa di dalam kampus Universiti Malaya(UM) serta mereman mereka selama dua hari atas alasan “mencerobohi kampus” memperlihatkan ruang demokrasi kampus yang lagi menguncup di bawah pentadbiran Perdana Menteri baru.

Kedua-dua mereka, Ong Jing Cheng dan Yap Heng Lung telah ditahan di Balai Polis Lembah Pantai semalam di bawah Kanun Keseksaaan 447 kononnya mencerobohi kawasan Universiti Malaya.

Kes ini adalah kes kedua pihak polis melakukan tangkapan ke atas mahasiswa dalam 100 hari pertama Najib Razak menjadi Perdana Menteri.

Kejadian ini memperlihatkan hak mahasiswa dan autonomi kampus bukan sahaja belum dikembalikan meskipun AUKU telah dipinda, sebaliknya polis dibenarkan “mencoboh” masuk ke dalam ruang autonomi kampus serta melakukan tangkapan sewenang-wenangnya. UM tidak lagi selamat!

Pegawai keselamatan UM tidak sewajarnya menghalang pergerakan kedua-dua mereka itu kerana UM seperti institusi pengajian tinggi awam yang lain, merupakan tempat awam yang diwujudkan atas dana awam dan terbuka kepada masyarakat umum, bukannya milikan swasta.

Pegawai keselamatan juga tidak patut bertindak seperti polis malah menyerahkan kedua-dua orang aktivis mahasiswa tersebut kepada pihak polis hanya sekadar kerana mereka memiliki risalah kempen “Street Safe” yang menggalakkan keselamatan persekitaran.

Persoalannya: apakah salahnya seseorang itu memasuki kawasan kampus walaupun bukan penuntut universiti tersebut? Apakah kuasa pegawai keselamatan universiti sehingga boleh melakukan tangkapan ke atas seseorang?

Kami menggesa Menteri Pengajian Tinggi Mohamed Khaled Nordin menyatakan pendirian beliau dalam isu ini memandangkan tindakan polis bercanggahan dengan konsep kuasa autonomi universiti yang pernah diwar-warkan oleh beliau sendiri semasa pindaan AUKU.

Making way for English, shorter hours for 3 subjects

(NST) PUTRAJAYA: Learning hours for Music, Physical Education and Science may be reduced by 45 minutes each to accommodate the extended hours for the English language.

Education director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom said schools would not have extra schooling hours, especially for primary school children, once the teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics in Bahasa Malaysia come into force in 2012.

The school hours for the pupils end at 12.50pm.

“We may reduce the hours of these subjects by at least one period or 45 minutes each. This is because we do not want to burden our children or make them stay back,” Alimuddin told the New Straits Times yesterday.

He also said teachers would be encouraged to use English terms in teaching art subjects.

The cabinet had decided that the medium of instruction for Science and Mathematics would revert to Bahasa Malaysia in national schools and mother-tongue languages in national-type schools from 2012.

The reversal of the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English (PPSMI) policy would be done in stages, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin last Wednesday.

He, however, added that there would be greater emphasis on learning the English language.

English literature will be reintroduced, as will subjects on grammar and composition.

Alimuddin said a policy decision had been made by the government and that it was final.

He gave an assurance that students’ proficiency in English would improve through the policy.

“If we do it rightly and stay on course, I believe we can reinforce Bahasa Malaysia and strengthen students’ proficiency in English by the end of 2012.

“Their English will be better, I am sure. We will increase the number of English teachers by about 14,000 from the 32,000-plus now.

“More language labs will be set up and we are also getting at least 1,000 English specialists from abroad.

“Even master teachers and retirees will be roped in. Given all these, our children stand a good chance of improving their command of the language in a short period of time.”

He said parents should remain committed to help the government improve the national education agenda.

“Buy more English magazines or novels for your children. Make them read more English materials.”

In line with the new policy, he said the ministry would issue a circular to encourage teachers to teach Science and Mathematics in English and Bahasa Malaysia.

He said students would have adapted themselves with Bahasa Malaysia terms used in the two subjects by 2012.

“Within these two years, we want students and teachers to be exposed to the terms (in Bahasa Malaysia) and I believe, with commitment and effectiveness, we can do this.”

€400b energy plan to harness African sun

LONDON, July 12 — The world's most ambitious green energy project is about to take shape. It is a plan for a chain of mammoth sun-powered energy plants in the deserts of North Africa to supply power to Europe's homes and factories by the end of the next decade.

In a few days' time a consortium of 20 German firms will meet in Munich to hammer out plans for funding the giant €400 billion (RM2 trillion) project, named Desertec. The scheme is being backed by Chancellor Angela Merkel's government and several German industry household names including Siemens, Deutsche Bank, and the energy companies RWE and E.ON. The Munich meeting will also involve Italian and Spanish energy concerns, as well as representatives from the Arab League and the Club of Rome think-tank.

Energy experts have calculated that Desertec could meet at least 15 per cent of Europe's needs, and be up and running by 2019. By 2050, they estimate the contribution could be between 20 and 25 per cent. Although no host countries have been named, Desertec envisages a string of solar-thermal plants across North Africa's desert. The plants would use mirrors to focus the sun's rays, which would be used to heat water to power steam turbines. The process is cheaper and more efficient than the usual form of solar power, which uses photovoltaic cells to convert the sun's rays into electricity.

The project also envisages setting up a new super grid of high-voltage transmission lines from the Mahgreb desert to Europe. Hans Müller-Steinhagen, of German Aerospace, has researched the project for the German government. He said that although the idea behind the scheme had been around for several years, investors had been deterred by the high costs of setting up the infrastructure.

Professor Müller-Steinhagen said that similar projects have been operating in the American West for years, but these had failed to gain the appropriate recognition. "Solar thermal power plants were built in California and Nevada, but people lost interest in them because fossil fuels became unbeatably cheap," he said.

Until now, projects of Desertec's scale have failed to get off the ground because of the huge problems involved in delivering electricity to consumers hundreds of miles away. The main stumbling block is that the further electricity is transported, the more is lost. However, Siemens claims that it has come up with a solution. Alfons Benziger, a spokesman for the engineering giant which has been involved in the construction of major hydro-power plants in India and China, said: "We have developed so-called high-voltage direct current energy transmission. This can transport energy over long distances without heavy losses. We use the process at the power plants in India and China."

Andree Böhling, an energy expert for Greenpeace Germany, has heaped praise on Desertec: "The initiative is one of the most intelligent answers to the world's environmental and industrial problems," he said. Munich Re, meanwhile, which insures major insurance companies across the globe, was persuaded to invest in the project after seeing a steady rise in the number of claims the company had to meet as a result of climate-change-induced damage.

Yet Germany's largest solar energy company, SolarWorld, argues that North Africa is too risky a location. "Building solar power plants in politically unstable countries opens you to the same kind of dependency as the situation with oil," said Frank Asbeck, the firm's managing director.

Other critics claim that by singling out comparatively poor North African countries as a location for a sophisticated European solar energy project amounts to a form of "solar imperialism". Lars Josefsson, the head of the Swedish energy giant Vattenfall, has also rejected the idea because of a potential risk of terrorist attacks. However Desertec supporters, including the German conservative politician Friedbert Pflüger, argue that a far greater threat is posed by the prospect of nuclear power plants being subjected to such attacks. He points out that a number of nuclear reactors are scheduled to be built in North Africa — Egypt alone plans to build five. Pflüger claims that the risk of politically motivated Russian-style energy stoppages by host countries could be avoided if the solar grid has enough supply channels.

But he warns that politics is likely to be the main stumbling block. "It's not Europe that will decide whether the desert can be used as an energy resource, but the countries of North Africa," he said last week. "So far these countries have either not been involved in the dialogue at all or only at a very limited level." — Independent

Al Qaeda frees Swiss hostage for RM15m

ALGIERS, July 13 — Al Qaeda’s North African wing was paid a €3 million (RM15 million) ransom for the release of Swiss hostage Werner Greiner, an Algerian newspaper said today.

The money was transferred a few days ago and was handed to a Tuareg meddleman in northern Niger, the Arabic language daily El Khabar added, quoting an unnamed security source.

Greiner was handed over to Malian authorities in the remote north on Saturday.

The source declined to say who had paid the ransom.

Greiner and British national Edwin Dyer were kidnapped on Jan. 22 near the Niger-Mali border. Two women with them were later freed but Dyer was killed last month after London refused to pay a ransom.

Algeria has been leading efforts to crack down on ransom payments which it says Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the group which held Greiner and Dyer, uses to finance attacks on security forces inside Algeria.

“The West is a hypocrite. It wants to fight terrorism but it pays ransoms to free its hostages. This is not the best way to combat Al Qaeda,” a senior security source told Reuters. – Reuters

A golden investment that sounds too good to be true

WHEN times are volatile and the economic cycle erratic, investors often turn to gold as a safe investment.

However, unscrupulous companies have now come up with very attractive ways to market gold in the form of coins or bars.

What makes this type of investment attractive or seem safe is not just the returns but the fact that investors are holding on to gold.

Agents for this type of investment would point out that if or should the company go belly-up, the investors would still have their gold coins or bars in hand.

According to a source familiar with such schemes, the gold that was offered to investors was usually lower in value than claimed. He said most goldsmiths would not buy this gold as the purity of the metal was in question.

He added that this was akin to Ponzi schemes as the earlier investors would have a better deal than the ones who come in later.

Starprobe was alerted to a “gold investment scheme” operated by Genneva Sdn Bhd, which was offering investors 50gm gold coins at RM6,500.

A member of the public said the company would pay investors 2.5% of the price of the gold coin and guarantee to buy back the coin at market value after a minimum holding time of one month.

“Initially investors were paid the 2.5% investment on a monthly basis but now it’s every three months because the company claimed the amount of paperwork generated was a hassle,” she said.

“I was approached by one of their agents who claimed to have sold 3kg worth of coins for RM300,000. This was ‘authenticated’ by various photocopied documents,” she added.

Additionally, the company said the coins could be authenticated by Bank Rakyat and that investors could even pawn the coins to the bank at 65% of the value of the coin.

She also said an agent of the company had sent out an SMS with the message that the company was safe in the wake of the Bank Negara investigation into Bestino Group Bhd, a company dealing in gold bars that was being probed for illegal deposit-taking and issuance of redeemable preference shares.

“A check with the central bank’s website did not reveal any information relating to the company,” she said.

A Bank Negara official however told Starprobe that Genneva was not licensed. He could not comment further as no complaint had been lodged against the company.

Bank Rakyat, when contacted, said it was not aware of the scheme.

“We’ve posted notices at all our branches and Ar-Rahnu X’Change that the bank is not involved,” said a Bank Rakyat official.

When contacted, a Genneva official questioned our reporter’s credentials. The official also considered the complaints as not legitimate because they did not come from their clients.

“You’re fishing in very deep waters,” he said before hanging up.

English and our Education System

These days there is a lot of waffle about the deteriorating standards of English among our students. This is a step backward from the complaints about the deteriorating standards in our whole education system, even if some try to link proficiency in English with educational standards. There is altogether also too much emotion about this issue. But then again what can one say? I see the mark of a great seducer in all of this and Malaysians are being seduced in a mightily big way. A great seducer can turn the emotions on and off almost at will.
In a way, trying to improve English proficiency in a rotten education system is an exercise in futility. At most it is a half solution whereby the money allocated for education is being eyed greedily by various quarters.

Some quarters want the money to be spent to educate a super smart elite claiming that if these super smart kids are ignored, it will only constitute a brain drain and /or a loss to the country. In a way they are right, but this is only half the story. A good story must also anticipate the future.

So what if these super smart kids are educated at the expense of the taxpayer and also at the expense of mediocre kids who cannot compete and fall by the wayside? The dumb kids of course have no future anyway and are fit only to be rubbish collectors.

What is to guarantee that they will remain loyal to the country that fed and raised them and will not migrate for better opportunities overseas? This question must be answered if any solution proposed is not to be a half solution.

I don’t think the mediocre students who grow up to be Malaysian adults are that stupid as not to recognize a half solution when they see it. If they see a half solution that favours a small group of elites and super smart Malaysians, will they be so stupid as to accept it wholeheartedly? They might as well stick to a rotten education system rather than risk anarchy or have the goodies cornered by a small group of super smart elites.

So if people want to offer solutions, they should offer good FULL solutions. That way the whole country can be roughly satisfied. It is not enough to try and copy a great seducer by being half a rotten seducer and proposing rotten half solutions.

I suggest that the seduction is complete if people strive to improve a small part of “something” within a rotten structure. To me this is an exercise in futility.

We need a fair and healthy 2 party political structure most of all - one that has a neutral and professional civil service, police and judiciary as well as education system.

To me anything that suggests an improvement in a small part of a wholly rotten system is an exercise in futility. What do you think? Are you willing to be seduced and accept half solutions?

Gov't gambles on our children's future

Why not give everyone a language choice - Bahasa Malaysia or English. Don`t bent on depriving others who wish to seek knowledge.

Kasim : Malaysia is well-known for its flip-flop policy in dealing with important issues. Every time a new education minister is appointed, a new education appears because he wants to make a mark in the book of records.

In 'Bolehland' anything is possible at the beginning but soon died off when there is not much fund left to back up the programme. Imagine the millions of ringgit the ministry has spent on the progamme all these years.

The ones who made the most money would be those who have dealings in computers and softwares. Next, comes the textbooks and other materials. The special subject teachers would have made a lot of money on tuition too.

But the ones who cried the loudest would be the parents because they will have to spend more money on the children to get them ready for the change. The worst scenario is that the ministry is gambling on the future of the children with its flip-flop policy.

We are moving in a vicious circle of trial and error while our neighbours are moving forward by leaps and bounds in this field. They are producing top-notch world class citizens while we are still struggling to know English. In fact, our politicians have destroyed the golden era of education in the 60s.

I cannot understand the logic behind the rural and urban schools put forward by the minister. In trying to be popular with his supporters, he ended pleasing no one! If there are people who well-bent on creating problems, there is no easy way out. The government then has to be firm on what is good for the people and reject the unpopular.

Why not give everyone a language choice - Bahasa Malaysia or English. With a choice available, it would be easy for everyone. Don`t be selfish and bent on depriving others who wish to seek knowledge.

Doraisamy Karuppiah: I am impressed by Mr Sim's article titled 'The English Dilemma'. Learning math and science in English has nothing to do with 'communication' English. It's about 'technical' English which students should master before they step into any higher institution.

For example, a student who want to further his/her education in the field of medicine or pharmaceutical, they need a strong English background. Otherwise, they are unable to read any of the technical books.

Most of the books for biology, physics, chemistry, fluid mechanics, hydraulic and any technical books are all in English. That's why the former PM has switched only maths and science to English.

Globalized Malaysian: Regarding the teaching of science and maths in English issue, I have a few suggestions:

1) Let each school PIBG (Persatuan Ibu-Bapa Guru) vote and decide which language they want to choose.

2) The government to provide some schools with BM as the medium and some schools with English as medium. Give parents the choice of sending to which school they prefer.

3) Allow more private schools to be built that are affordable and use English as a medium for teaching science and maths

Manager VS Fish Wholesaler

KUALA KRAI, July 12 — With two more days before polling the educational background of the candidates in the Manek Urai by-election is still an important issue in the campaign.

Barisan Nasional (BN) also remains consistent in its promise to build more infrastructure in this rural constituency.

Today, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin urged the voters to elect the more knowledgeable candidate, in a direct reference to BN’s Tuan Aziz Tuan Mat who was a manager at the land development body Kesedar.

PAS's candidate Fauzi Abdullah is a well-known fish wholesaler.

“If you want 'development through Islam', it has to be through knowledge,” said Muhyiddin, referring to the PAS's campaign platform.

“If you want to choose a candidate choose someone with more knowledge,” he added.

Citing a verse from the Quran, the BN election chief said that Manek Urai needs a knowledgeable representative.

BN's campaign, which belittled Fauzi's profession, resulted in protests by the state fishmongers association and last night the group organised grilled fish parties in all nine polling districts to show their support to the Kuala Krai PAS treasurer.

Muhyiddin also continued to promise to bring development to the constituency.

“I call it a new deal for Manek Urai, I'm offering something that Nik Aziz cannot do, so why don't you support Barisan Nasional,” he added.

Later at a press conference Muhyiddin claimed that he has received a high number of applications to build more mosques and bridges.

“Many came to me for assistance, the people want new mosques and bridges,” said Muhyiddin, adding that the PAS government has failed to bring development.

“We respect Tok Guru as a religious teacher, but to bring development, he can't,” he said, referring to Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

Solo Ride Ke Satun - Pak Bara - Hatyai - Sadao - Dannok

Ini adalah pengalaman pertama saya membuat ‘solo ride’ ke Thailand. Dari Kangar saya bergerak menuju ke Padang Besar dengan motor Virago 275 easy rider untuk membeli insuran Thailand. Sampai Padang Besar pada pukul 1 tgh terus beli insurance Thailand untuk 9 hari dengan kos rm 18. Lepas makan tengah hari kat Padang Besar terus saya bergerak ke Wang Kelian. Perjalanan berjalan lancer dengan cuaca yg baik, pemandangan kiri dan kanan yg agak memukau disebabkan jalan berbukit bukai dari Kaki Bukit ke Wang Kelian. Sampai kat border Wang Kelian pada pkl 2 ptg, rehat sekejap sambil ambik gambar2 di sekitar post imegresen Malaysia dgn Thailand. Kat situ saya bersembang dengan sorang awek cun orang Satun berbangsa melayu bernama Aishah yg bekerja sebagai jurujual kat gerai barang2 mainan yg terletak betul1 di depan post imegresen Malaysia. Saya tanya tempat2 menarik kat Satun dan Thailand. Dia pun dengan fasih berbahasa melayu menceritakan beberapa tempat yg harus saya lawati kat Thailand. Pukul 230 lepas cop passport kat post imegresen Malaysia dgn Thailand sy bergerak menuju ke Bandar Satun yg berjarak 40 km dari border. Saya bergerak pada kelajuan 70-80km/j . Lebih kurang 40minit sy smpai ke Bandar Satun yg lebih kurang sama besar dgn Bandar Kangar. Lepas pusing2 cari hotel yg sesuai sy pun jumpa sebuah hotel yg paling tinggi di Bandar Satun yg diberi nama Hotel Sinkiat Thani. Hotel 2 bintang 7 tingkat ini agak terkenal kat Bandar Satun untuk pelancong yang inginkan keselesaan. Bilik yg agak besar , kemas, bersih dan selesa berharga 680 baht semalam.
Lepas check in sy keluar jalan2 sekitar Bandar Satun sambil mengambil gambar2 menggunakan kamera Olympus yg baru sy beli dengan harga rm 1500. Saya Nampak banyak juga cybercafé kat sini, sejam 20 baht. Saya try cuba 20 minit kat 1 cc tu, internet laju juga, kena 10 baht utk 20 minit. Bandar Satun agak berbeza dengan bandar2 lain di Thailand seperti Sungai Golok, Dannok dan Betong. Ini adalah kerana daerah Satun yg majority penduduk beragama islam agak aman, damai dan tenteram berbeza dgn bandar2 di daerah Pattani dan Yala yg bergolak. Pusat hiburan seperti disko, baru, rumah urut dan hotel amat kurang. Ini mungkin disebabkan oleh penduduk tempatan yg masih berpegang kuat dgn ajaran agama masing2dan juga kurangnya kunjungan pelancong2 ke bandar ini. Bandar ini biasanya menjadi tempat persinggahan sementara untuk pelancong menuju ke Langkawi , Koh Tratao dan Koh Li Pe . Lepas pkl 9 mlm bandar ini terus sunyi, banyak kedai yg dah ditutup, tiada lampo neon dan music rancak disco, KTV, bar dan pub seperti di Sungai Golok, Betong, Dannok dan juga Hatyai. Pada sebelah malam saya kluar sekejap p jalan2 tgk gerai makanan dekat tepi masjid besar Satun, ada mcm2 makanan tradisi org2 satun, semua tulis siam, jadi sy tak tau pun nama apa. Pun begitu sy cuba makanan isi lala digoreng dgn telus tmbh taugeh. Mak cik yg jual tu hanya boleh cakap melayu sikit2 saja, majority penduduk Satun tidak tahu cakap melayu walaupun mereka itu sebenarnya keturunan melayu. Mengikut sejarah, daerah Satun, Songkhla, Patthalung adalah milik kerajaan Kedah Purba. Jadi pertalian persaudaraan antara orang2 melayu di Kedah, Perlis dan Satun serta Songkhla tidak dapat dinafikan. Makan dengan sos special, sedap juga, kos 35 baht. Lepas makan sy balik hotel untuk update blog, tengok tv, baca buku dan terus tidor.
Pada hari ke-2 di Satun sy bergerak ke Jeti Tammalang lepas breakfast. Jetty Tammalang terletak berdekatan sempadan Malaysia negeri Perlis dan lebih kurang 8 km dari Bandar Satun. Dari Jeti tu kalay nak ke jeti Kuala Perlis dekat sahaja lebih kurang 15 minit naik bot laju. Pelancong dari Langkawi yg nak ke Thailand biasanya melalui jeti Tammalang. Kebanyakan foreigner yg tinggal lama2 kat Langkawi akan buat ‘visa run’ kat jeti Tammalang. Jarak perjalanan dari Langkawi ke Satun menaiki feri lebih kurang 1 jam. Kemudian saya bergerak ke perkampungan nelayan menyusuri jalan tepi laut. Terdapat banyak perkampungan nelayan di sekitar Satun yg majoritinya penduduk beragama islam, berketurunan melayu tapi ramai yg tak tau cakap melayu. Sy Nampak banyak masjid di sekitar perkampungan itu yg secara amnya Nampak seperti kat Kuala Kedah dan juga Kuala Perlis dari segi rumah, bot dan juga orang2 kat situ. Selepas 2 jam ronda2 kat sekitar perkampungan di sekitar Satun , sy kembali ke hotel untuk check out.
Lepas check out pkl 11 pg waktu Thailand (pkl 12 waktu Malaysia), sy singgah kat cc berdekatan utk online sekejap . Kemudian 30minit kemudian sy bergerak menuju ke Pak Bara yg berjarak 50 km dari Satun. Singgah makan tengah hari kat pekan Chalung kat gerai makan makanan milik org melayu Satun yg blkh ckp melayu sikit2. Sy makan nasi lauk gulai ikan keli, kari ayam dan ulam2 serta air the o ais. Kat gerai sy jumpa sorang lelaki berumur 60an orang Pak Bara bernama Pak Man, dia ajak sy join makan skali dgn dia yg blh cakap melayu skt2. Kami makan smbil sembang serba sedikit pada latar belakang dia. Lepas 30 minit kat gerai tu, sy minta diri dulu utk teruskan perjalanan ke Pak Bara, sy blanja Pak Man skali semua skali 70 bhat utk kos makanan sy dgn dia. Lepas menunggan lebih 30 minit sy smpai kat Pak Baram, sebuah pelabuhan nelayan dan juga jeti utk pelancong pergi memancing kat Pulau Adang, juga utk ke Pulau2 di gugusan Koh Tratao. Pekannya agak kecil ada chalet, restoren dan juga pejabat2 agen perlancongan utk aktiviti diving, fishing trip dan sebagainya.
Pada ketika itu cuaca pun agak kelam macam nak hujan, sy pun terus bergerak menuju ke Bandar Hat Yai. Perjalanan dari Pak Bara Ke Hat Yai mengambil masa hampir 1 jam 30 minit, dipertengahan jalan hujan turun agak lebat, jadi terpaksa berhenti berlindung disebuah pekan kecil berhampiran. Lepas 30 minit hujan mulai reda dan sy meneruskan perjalanan ke Hat Yai. Sampai kat Hat Yai pada pukul 4.30 petang, ronda2 sekitar Bandar Hat Yai yang agak terkenal sebagai Bandar hiburan di selatan thai. Pada pukul 5.15 sy bergerak menuju pekan Dannok melalui Sadao . Jarak antara Bandar Hat Yai dengan Dannok lebih kuran 40 km dan masa perjalanan lebih kurang 30 minit.

Dannok merupakan pekan yg terletak di sempadan Malaysia, Dannok di sebelah Thailand dan Bukit Kayu Hitam di sebelah Malaysia. Sampai di pekan Dannok pada pkl 6 ptg terus check in kat hotel Faratel dengan kadar 53 baht semalam. Dannok 10 tahun yg lalu hanyalah pekan kecil dengan beberapa buah rumah kedai using kini bertukar wajah baru, banyak bangunan2, rumah2 kedai baru didirikan. Kebanyakan dijadikan hotel2, bar2, disco2, KTV dan pelbagai jenis pusat hiburan dewasa. Kebanyakan pelancong Malaysia dan Singapore datang berkunjung ke Dannok untuk menikmati hiburan malamnya. Terdapat juga yg datang untuk shopping pakaian, buah2 tempatan, kraftangan dan produk2 thailand. Juga kelihatan restoran2 makanan muslim milik melayu pattani, restoran nasi kandar, gerai pulut ayam dan lain2 lagi.
Lepas check in sy kluar jalan2 disekitar pekan Dannok. Kemana saja sy pergi memang akan jumpa dengan kapten (bapa ayam) yang menawarkan pelacur2 utk di booking. Mereka ambik panggil, datang naik motor ke pelancong @ orang luar yg berjalan2 disekitar kawasan tu. Kebanyakannya blh bercakap melayu dengan baik. Menurut kapten2 yg datang offer kat sy, mereka ada macam jenis perempuan cantik dari Thailand, Vietnam, Laos dan Mynmar. Umur pun ada pelbagai jenis umur, 15 tahun pun ada, 20an dan 30an. Sy tak tanya pun depa bagi tahu macam2 , pandai betol teknik ‘sales’ depa. Dia ajak saya masuk ke dalam premis untuk pilih mana yang berkenan. 1 jam rm 100, kalau ambik 1 malam rm 300, rm 250 dan rm 200 pun ada. Sy menolak dengan baik, dan terus melalui lorong2 suram sambil mengambil gambar2 untuk dimasukkan ke dalam blog. Ramai pengunjuang dari Malaysia yg kelihatan di sekitar pekan Dannok, ada orang melayu, cina dan india. Pada sebelah malam pula pekan Dannok berubah wajah menjadi lebih rancak, berwarna-warni dan penuh dgn kupu2 malam menawarkan perkhidmatan mereka. Bunyi muzik rancak KTV dan disco jelas kedengaran di sekitar tempat sy menginap. Lebih makan malam, sy jalan2 sekitar gerai pakaian dan makanan ringan, terus balik bilik tengok tv. Lebih lama ronda malam2 kat pekan Dannok lebih bahaya…. Lebih baik dok kat bilik, lebih selamat. Sesiapa yg tak kuat iman tak payah la datang ke Dannok. Pi sampai Bukit Kayu Hitam cukup la…..
Keesokan harinya sy check out pukul 9 pagi lepas breakfast roti canai & the tarik kat restoran orang Pattani dan bergerak menuju Bukit Kayu Hitam untuk pulang ke rumah. Seronok juga jalan2 ke Negara ringan tapi dok kat rumah lagi best, home sweet home. Lepas post imegresen Thailand sy singgah kat pusat membeli belah bebas cukai The Zone utk beli coklat , dan sedikit souvenier sempena datang ke Bukit Kayu Hitam…

Ringkasan Perjalanan :-
jarak : 450 km
tempoh : 3 hari 2 malam
bajet : rm 300
risiko : 7/10