08 January 2015

Mat Bluur bikin ribut lagi...

Ahmad Maslan: Bos baru 1MDB beragama Islam...

Pelantikan Arul Kanda Kandasamy sebagai presiden baru dan pengarah eksekutif kumpulan syarikat milik kerajaan - 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) -  menjadi perbualan panas di dunia korporat dan di kalangan media.

Sejak berita pelantikannya menerajui syarikat itu diumumkan, Arul kanda telah digambarkan sebagai seorang pakar dalam menyelamatkan perniagaan yang bermasalah.

Latar belakang pendidikannya yang mengagumkan dan kedudukan sebelumnya dalam pasaran kewangan London dan Abu Dhabi, turut menceritakan tentang kehebatan pengalaman dan kemampuannya.

Malah pembangkang pun mengakui pelantikan Arul berdasarkan kepada merit, dengan orang seperti Naib Presiden PKR Rafizi Ramli - pengkritik utama pengurusan 1MDB - menggambarkan Arul sebagai seorang yang pintar dan meyakinkan

Tetapi di tengah-tengah persekitaran itu, terdapat satu perkembangan menarik yang dilihat penting bagi Umno.

Apabila nama Arul Kanda disebut dan gambarnya disiarkan, terdapat cakap-cakap bahawa syarikat yang diilhamkan oleh Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak itu, kini diletakkan di tangan seorang bukan Melayu untuk dipulihkan.

Arul menggantikan ketua pegawai eksekutif Melayu, iaitu Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman, yang telah meletak jawatan.

Mungkin kebimbangan ini dapat menjelaskan kapsyen yang mengiringi gambar Timbalan Menteri Kewangan, Datuk Ahmad Maslan dan Arul Kanda di akaun Twitter ketua penerangan Umno itu.

Dalam kapsyennya  Ahmad Maslan menulis bahawa beliau telah bertemu Arul di pejabatnya petang ini.

Beliau mendedahkan bahawa bos baru 1MDB itu berusia 38, berasal dari Kuala Lumpur dan mengakhiri kapsyen itu dengan perkataan "beragama Islam".


Kapsyen itu menarik perhatian tentang keperluan untuk menyebut agama Arul. Namun posting ini mungkin lebih mengenai politik daripada perniagaan.- mk

Deputy minister meets 1MDB's 'Muslim' boss...

Arul Kanda Kandasamy's appointment as the new president and group executive director of the government-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) has generated a buzz in the media and corporate circles.

Since news of him helming the ailing firm was announced, Arul has been portrayed as a master in the craft of reversing the fortunes of businesses in the red.

His impressive educational background and previous illustrious positions in the financial markets of London and Abu Dhabi also spoke volumes of his abilities.

Even the opposition conceded that his appointment was based on merit, with the likes of PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli, a fierce critic of 1MDB's management, describing him as an intelligent person and persuasive communicator

But amid the fanfare, there was another buzz, one that was less audible and visible but nevertheless important as far as Umno is concerned.

When the name Arul Kanda was mentioned and his photograph emerged, there were murmurs of how the brainchild of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had been placed in the arms of a non-Malay for rehabilitation.

And to make matters worse, the banker was replacing a Malay chief executive officer in the form of Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman, who has since stepped down.


Perhaps these concerns would explain the caption which accompanied a photograph of Deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan and Arul Kanda which was posted on the former's Twitter account.

In the caption, Ahmad Maslan, who is also Umno information chief, wrote that he met Arul at his office this afternoon.



He revealed that 1MDB's boss is 38, hails from Kuala Lumpur and then ended the caption with the words "beragama Islam" (he is a Muslim).

The caption raised eyebrows as to the need to mention Arul’s religion, which has little to do with the task ahead with regard to 1MDB.

Then again, the posting was perhaps more about politics than business. - mk



Penemuan Ekor Pesawat AirAsia

Story kat SINI dan SINI

Usaha Selangor tuntut kembali pampasan RM2.6j sia-sia...

Seramai lapan bekas pegawai mantan Menteri Besar Selangor Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim yang menerima pampasan dengan jumlah keseluruhan RM2.6 juta sebelum ini pasti tertekan untuk memulangkan kembali wang tersebut kerana pasti ada di kalangan mereka yang telah membelanjakannya.

Khalid menerima kritikan yang amat hebat selepas membuat pembayaran itu November lalu memandangkan beliau dikenali sebagai seorang yang terlampau cermat dalam urusan kewangan. 

Maka, sukar untuk menerima pampasan berjumlah RM700,000 yang diberikan kepada salah seorang bekas pegawai tersebut. 

Seorang bekas pegawai yang tidak ingin dikenali berkata, kerajaan negeri sepatutnya meminta wang itu lebih awal dan bukannya mengambil masa sehingga tiga bulan, kerana mungkin ada yang sudah membelanjakan atau pun melabur sebahagian daripada jumlah itu. 

“Saya rasa kebanyakannya mungkin telah gunakan wang itu. Mereka patut minta lebih awal, bukannya tunggu sehingga tiga bulan,” katanya ketika dihubungi Semut Harian.

Kesemua 8 bekas pegawai Khalid itu menerima surat tuntutan semula daripada Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI) berhubung pemulangan pampasan itu hari ini.

Bekas Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif MBI Faekah Husin dilaporkan berkata, beliau akan melihat dulu kandungan surat itu sebelum membuat apa-apa kenyataan. Beliau turut menafikan sebarang kesalahan dalam pembayaran pelepasan bernilai RM2.6 juta kepadanya dan bekas pegawai lain itu.

Faekah dilaporkan menerima pampasan berjumlah RM581,400 dan tambahan RM114,000 sebagai ganti kepada notis tiga bulan yang sepatutnya diberikan. 

Setiausaha Politik Khalid pula menerima pampasan RM358,000 dan tambahan RM55,000 juga sebagai ganti kepada notis tiga bulan. 

Ini menyebabkan Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali mengaku adanya kesalahan dalam pemberian pampasan kepada pegawai-pegawai tersebut. Minggu lalu, Azmin mendesak pegawai-pegawai itu memulangkan sepenuhnya wang yang diterima. 

Ini barangkali kontroversi terakhir yang membabitkan Khalid selepas berundur daripada jawatan Menteri Besar November lalu. 

Krisis bekalan air, isu lebuh raya Kidex dan kontroversi “kalimah Allah” yang melibatkan rampasan kitab Bible milik Bible Society Malaysia (BSM) adalah sebahagian daripada cabaran yang dihadapinya sepanjang 2013 dan 2014. Pada 2012, kontroversi Talam Corporation Bhd juga mendatangkan masalah kepadanya.

Walaubagaimanapun, Khalid di hari-hari terakhirnya sebagai MB mendakwa tidak tahu-menahu tentang bayaran besar yang diterima lapan pegawainya itu.- Cecilia Jeyanthi Victor,theantdaily


Recovery of Selangor's RM2.6m payout as good as gone...

Eight ex-aides of former Selangor menteri besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim who received golden handshake deals totalling RM2.6 million would be hard-pressed to return the sum as some of them would have spent their money by now. 

Khalid came under heavy fire for making the payout last November as he had always been known to be overly prudent in his financial dealings. 

Thus, a payout of RM700,000 to one of his aides is beyond one’s comprehension. 

When contacted by Theantdaily, a former aide who wished to remain anonymous, said that the state government should have asked for the money back earlier and not waited three months later, claiming that some might have spent or invested some of the money. 

“I think most of them would have probably used the money. They should have asked us earlier, instead of waiting for three months to ask for the money back,” he said. 

Khalid’s ex-aides received a letter of demand from Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI) for the return of the money today.

Khalid’s former MBI CEO Faekah Husin was reported in the local media to have said that she would examine the contents of the letter before making any statement. She also denied any wrongdoing in the RM2.6 million severance payments paid to her and the others.

It was reported previously that Faekah had received RM581,400 in compensation and RM114,000 as a replacement for a three-month notice. 

Meanwhile, Khalid’s political secretary received RM358,000 in compensation and RM55,000 as a replacement for a three-month notice due to his resignation. 

This led to the current Menteri Besar Azmin Ali admitting there were wrongdoings in the payouts to Khalid’s aides. Last week, Azmin urged all those who benefitted from the payout to return the money in full.

This is probably the last controversy Khalid has seen himself embroiled in after he stepped down as MB last September. 

The water crisis in Selangor, the Kidex Highway and the “Allah” controversy involving the seizure of Bibles from the Bible Society Malaysia (BSM) have been some of his major struggles in 2013 and 2014. In 2012 the Talam land controversy caused him much headache as well. 

Khalid in his last days as MB, had claimed he had no idea that his aides were paid a huge payout.- Cecilia Jeyanthi Victor,theantdaily

Story kat SINI dan SINI





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