Malaysia + China = Economy boost?

By: Liz Hasseld

Malaysia is welcomed by Chinese investors in an attempt to increase trade between the two countries. Both countries seemed excited when this statement was made at the World Chinese Economic Forum. This trade would help China and Malaysia stay afloat from the global financial crisis. The forum was attended by some 300 participants including China, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, the United States and China's Hong Kong and Taiwan. Malaysia and China are hoping to collaborate and target The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). This would allow them to venture their business in other regions of the world including the Middle East and Africa.

Malaysia getting more corrupt!

By Gina Fazio

The Anti-graft watchdog organization Transparency International recently issued its yearly report on the corruption of nations around the world. Malaysia ranked 56 out of 180 (180 being the most corrupt) with a Corruption Perception Rating of 4.5 out of 10 with 10 being the absolute least corrupt.

This is a severe drop from last year's rating of 47 and a CPI of 5.1. This is the worst score Malaysia has ever received. DAP Parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang said that this all time low rating might be related to the mysterious death of political aide to the DAP Teoh Beng Hock on July 16 who was blown up with C-4.

Malaysia's low puts it on the same level as Namibia, Samoa, Slovakia, and Latvia.

Nearby Indonesia ranked 111th on the TI with a pitiful CPI of 2.8. However, Indonesia has been on the rise going from less than 2.0, to 2.6 in 2006 and now 2.8. This might be because of the improving administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Alternatively, Malaysia's neighbor Singapore was in first place with a CPI of 9.0.

It is unclear is PM Najib Razak will make any statement on this all time low for a nation just recently praised by the United States for it's shining economic example in South East Asia.

Indonesia and Malaysia Form Joint Labor Task Force

According to The Jakarta Post Malaysia and Indonesia have agreed to form a joint task force to deal with increasing migrant workers working in Malaysia from Indonesia. The task force will deal largely with border patrol and dealing with migrant workers in dispute with their employers. Both countries stressed the importance of the matter. This follows recent controversy involving Indonesian migrant workers being abused by Malaysian employers. Malaysia promised due process in these cases. Malaysia has harsh penalties for illegal workers, and Indonesia recently enacted a ban on laborers working in Malaysia. Both nations have agreed to advise workers to keep their passports instead of giving them to employers to avoid abuse. Indonesia has indicated it would lift the worker ban if conditions were met.

By Jacob Simkins

Foreign Investors picking Malaysia

By Gina Fazio

Malaysia continues to be the hub for foreign investors who recently visited Malaysia to affirm further economic connections between the states and development of more and better factories. The article was not specific about which foreign investors had come to Malaysia other than that Coca-cola wishes to open a high-tech bottling plant in the country. Exxon Mobile a long time investor in Malaysia has also shown interest in opening gas plants in several locations around Malaysia. Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir asserted that these sorts of deals are not at all minor: "The investment they intend to make is not small. It can run into billions of ringgit." With this kind of large economic interest in Malaysia, it seems that President Obama's praise for the country rings true as a model for development in South East Asia.

Malaysia -->FTA-->USA

Considering the U.S. is one of Malaysia's largest foreign investors, it's not surprising the island state plans on resurrecting a free trade agreement with the economic giant and other Asian countries, according to PM Najib Razak.

The agreement has been postponed for three years mainly due to disagreements arising between China and the U.S. As a result, the U.S. has looked into a Trans-Pacific agreement between Chile, Brunei, New Zealand, and Singapore.

In reference to other outstanding agreements Razak states,
"Our view is that any new initiatives should harmonise with existing regional architectures."

The PM recently also met with APEC, comprised of countries representing about half of the world economy. This group will participate in WTO's ongoing Doha Round, keeping to modern liberal values . Hopefully with the meeting will result in something other than a stalemate, as has previously occurred due to India.

Forebodingly, the WB forecasted the world economy will contrast by 2.9%--worst since the Great Depression.

It may be difficult for Razak to raise that FTA from its resting place.


by: Calaya

Obama Happy for Malaysia's Support

by Bri Roozen

Today Obama expressed his gratitude towards Malaysia in maintaining peace and security in the southeast asian region. Malaysia has played a large role in squelching local terrorist organizations and has recently been contributing largely to human rights in the area. As the US is expressing more and more interest communicating with Muslim nations, Obama is hoping that Malaysia will be willing to aid in communication efforts. Although talks between the two nations covered many varied topics from human trafficking to free trade (haha?), positive relations between Malaysia and the US continue to grow.

Man Looks for Lost Cousin in Malaysia

Angela Hager

Sunil Kumar, a 39 year old man from India, has been looking for his cousin Prakash Atteprambil for the past 15 years. Sunil says his cousin was trafficked into Malaysia after being set up by an agent from India.

According to those who returned from Malaysia, Prakash and his companions had their passports taken away and were then told to find jobs. Prakash subsequently went mad and vanished.

Sunil has been attempting to use the media as a way of finding his cousin, but all attempts at this juncture, no information or leads have been gathered.

It is a strange world when a member of someone's family can simply vanish, but the true distressing point of this story is when their passports were taken away. Is this a normal occurance? How many other people have vanished into Malaysia?

United States' President Supports ASEAN

Obama has decided to meet with the leaders of the ASEAN leaders at the APEC Summit. Prime Minister of Malaysia has shown his appreciation to Obama and his support of this region of the world. Obama has prided himself in potentially becoming the first US President to meet with all the leaders of ASEAN. In other news, Malaysia has decided to postpone the signing of the FTA agreement, due to the president of Chile postponing her visit to Malaysia to finish the document. Malaysia is also awaiting the representative from Australia. Talks are still happening between the two states. Australia is also pushing for Malaysia to make efforts to change their human smuggling issues between Malaysia and Australia.

Malaysia and the World Cup

Patrick Maloney

Malaysia defeated China 3-0 in the final group play qualifying slot for the world cup yesterday and will play New Zealand for a slot in the world cup finals today. Sad for China, they only needed a tie to advance to the final with New Zealand.

Malaysia, in group play has beat China 3-0, Scotland 3-2, tied Austria 2-2, and lost to none other than New Zealand 2-4. Malaysia will have to perform better than their previous game against New Zealand if they hope to advance to the 2010 World Cup, seeing how not only did they loose, but New Zealand is the group Champion, followed by Malaysia in 2nd place.

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=455178

"Racial stir" stopped by the Malaysian government

Malaysian government has warned Indian newspaper The Tamil Nesan, one of the largest newspapers that caters tot he Indian population. the government will not allow this newspaper to print on the issue of shootings of 5 ethnic Indian criminals because that would create racial tensions. The acused were suspected of robberies and were told that they shot at police first. The Indian population which makes up 10% of the 28 million people are the poorest citizens of their country, and have fought many battles to gain equal rights and eliminate the discrimination that has been held against.

Hina Latif

Malaysian NGO's asked to play larger role in International Community

by Jeff Gimm

At the International Humanitarian Conference this week, the call was put out to unleash the"huge untapped potential" of Malaysian NGO's. United Nations assistant secretary-general of peacebuilding support Judy Cheng-Hopkins said that "In remote places where the UN could not enter, she said NGOs could provide the humanitarian aid, adding that NGOs could keep working on the ground to carry on projects funded by donors.

"The international humanitarian community is facing new threats generated by the combined effects of global mega-trends. The world in which we operate, is changing fast and the demands on our organisations are only increasing"

A statement by Mercy Malaysia and the International Council of Voluntary Agencies commented on the fact that NGO's have made great strides in delivering professional humanitarian aid.

Malaysia: a top ten destination

Lonely Planet just ranked Malaysia as one of the top ten destinations in the world for 2010.

In the capital of Kuala Lumpur Air Asia X makes it cheap and easy to reach Malaysia from anywhere in the world. The twin buildings are a top tourist site in Malaysia. Lonely Planet explained that Malaysia was chosen because of the immense diversity. With the Malay, Indian, and Chinese cultural influences, the country is appealing to all types of tourists. Not to mention the geographical diversity within the country. Other destinations in the top ten include: El Salvador, Germany, Greece, Morocco, Nepal, New Zealand, Portugal, Suriname and the USA.

By: Liz Hasseld

Malaysia Lowers Expectation of Growth

According to Bloomberg.com, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced today that after the current recession, Malaysia hopes to achieve 6 percent economic growth per year. This is less than the 9 percent needed to achieve the 2020 goal of becoming a developed state. Najib stated that he was being realistic, and that 9 percent was too difficult to achieve in these economic times. Despite this expectation of lower growth, Malaysia seems to be recovering quicker than the government anticipated according to the Prime Minister, who cited better than anticipated third quarter growth. However, the recession is not over for Malaysia, with exports down 24.2 percent since last September. After recovery happens in the West, Najib expects that manufacturing demands will rise, leading to recovery in Malaysia. Najib plans to reveal a new economic model by the end of the year, which will emphasize communications and technology.

Jacob Simkins

Indonesia sites importance of Malaysia in regional politics

by Jeff Gimm

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia recently stated that the first country he will visit after his reelection will again be Malaysia. In a recent interview, Indonesian Foreign Minister, Dr R.M Marty M. Natalegawa said that "The common stock factor forms an asset which is not present in Indonesia's bilateral relations with any other country. This always gives the Indonesia-Malaysia relations a special quality,"
This would seem to be good news amidst apparently rising tensions between the two countries.

Flash Floods kill 2; 5,000 evacuated

The next monsoon season has hit Malaysia. It lasts from November to February, and hits northern Malaysia especially hard.

The heavy rains often lead to widespread flooding in town and villages in the north.

A 9 year old girl fell into an overflowing river and drowned while playing with her friends. Another man also drowned as he swam in a river.

Approximately 5,000 people over three states have been evacuated from their homes and are staying in schools and community centers.

And the Oscar goes to . . .

Malaysia, several times over.

The country took home seven--by far the most-- Asian awards at the World Travel Awards 2009’s regional finals gala ceremony this past Saturday. Tonight, the final winners will be announced; who will have the best travel brand in the world?

The competition often dubbed the "'Oscars' of the global travel and tourism industry" varies in award areas from airlines and resorts to marketing and design. Malaysia won Asia’s Leading Casino Resort, Asia’s Leading Marketing Campaign, Asia’s Leading Airline, Asia’s Leading Family Resort, Asia’s Leading City Hotel, Asia’s Leading Design Hotel and numerous individual-country awards.

These Awards are the highest and most prized in all of the tourist industry. They are determined by tourism professionals from over 160 countries. Way to go, Malaysia!

Chief operating officer Datuk Lee Choong Yan on Malaysia's performance:
"I am confident these awards will help Malaysia enhance its reputation in the tourism industry and attract more visitors to our resort and the country."

While the country is certainly beautiful and has amply spacial supply for recreational tourism (not to mention medical, etc.) Malaysia may need to create as stable and reliable environment outside as those provided within these protective oases in order to ensure continuing growth.

Up for debate is whether tourists finding themselves in a boat with Bourdain a day's journey up-river is a possible option . . .


by: Calaya

Turkey, Malaysia, and the OIC

Patrick

Turkey and Malaysia have joined forces to regulate the global halal market. This is something that can help the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) to get a portion of this growing market.

Halal comprises 17% of the global food market, meaning it amount to millions of dollars every year in trade... 10 countries from the OIC have already come together in Bangladesh to ratify the new treaty being pushed by Malaysia and Turkey.

This is significant because it enhances Malaysia's tie to the OIC and strengthens the country economically. Trade between Malaysia and the OIC rose over 26% last year, exports rose 28%, and imports 24%. Malaysia is becoming globalized and it is doing it with the help of the OIC.

http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news_lite.php?id=453470

Malaysia and Turkey Agree to Develop Uniform Halal Standards

According to Bernama.com, Malaysia and Turkey have agreed to develop global uniform standards for Halal. This could allow the Organization of Islamic Conference to take part in the growing market of halal, which has been dominated by non-Islamic countries, and this move has been supported by some influential countries, such as Saudia Arabia. The Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister cited the H1N1 virus as a reason for the increase in questions and demand for Halal products. Today, 17% of the world's food products are halal, and this is expected to increase in coming years. Halal includes food, cosmetics, logistics, Islamic banking, and financial services.

Jacob Simkins

Divorcing if There is a Change in Party!

The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) has put each of its members under a verbal oath when they come into the party. It is quoted by member Khalid Samad that, "It is a verbal oath. Under the oath, a candidate promises not to sell out the party or hop to another party. If the candidate does it, he will have to divorce his wife." The oath is a must for state and national legislators of this party. Switching parties has become a more frequent event since last years election. When parties lost support in some states, they would bribe people to switch parties. Sharizat Jalil brought a good point when she wondered what happened to the men if their wives were apolitical. Does that mean that the party legislator must convince her, or divorce her? In a weak attempt to justify the oath, legislator Khalid said, "Politics is not a game. It is a serious commitment. We cannot break the people's trust. We put our wives on the line. It is to demonstrate that we do not betray the voters." In sum, does this mean that politics and political face/gain is more important than the wives and families of these legislators?

Lights, camara, action..for Islamic fashion designers

Many people judge very harshly the attire Muslim women chose to wear, yes according to Islam a woman should cover herself so that she does not attract unwanted attention, however though various designers women are still able to express their fashion styles. A Malaysian designer, Tom Abang Saufi, says that the Islamic wear differs from designer to designer and country to country, she also believes that "Islamic wear can be a thing of beauty rather than something that is prohibitive".

The Islamic fashion festival is part of the Malaysians international fashion every year, the designers of Islamic clothing display their creative designs and have become the fashion capital of Islamic fashion, since the middle east is so critical on Islamic clothing. Top European designers such as Christian Dior has attempted to make fashionable abaya, floor length black overcoat. Some designers have gone as far as making swimsuits for Muslim women. Why can't they just create an all woman's swimming pool???

Hina Latif

Trouble in Paradise

by Bri Roozen

This week in Malaysia, a prince who was suing his Indonesian wife on grounds of defamation successfully won his case. The story goes that 31-year-old Prince Tengku Fakhry Ismail Petra's 16 year old wife managed to escape him and his family while on vacation in Singapore. According to the girl's report, she was sexually and physically abused - graphic allegations of sexual slavery and torture abounded. She escaped her husband back to Indonesia, but the lawsuit brought against her for defamation of character managed to follow her. She's expected to pay about $30 million USD in penance, and the prince has called her to return and fulfill her wifely duties as ordained by the Shariahcourt system in Malaysia. If she refuses his demands, he will then file for divorce. This case beautifully illustrates the rights or lack thereof of the modern Malaysian woman.

Indonesian Woman Jailed in Malaysia for Poisoning

Angela Hager

22 year old Indonesian maid Nurhayati Ahmad pleaded guilty to charges of poisoning her employer. Ahmad put weed killer in the 77 year old woman's coffee.  The woman's daughter called the police after examining the coffee. Two bottles of poison were later found in the house.

Ahmad's lawyer says the maid could no longer stand being told off.  And Ahmad is not alone. Nearly 300,000 Indonesians work as domestic workers in Malaysia and reports of abuse abound. 

Indonesia stated in June that no more maids will be sent to Malaysia until these problems are addressed.  

10,000 Bibles Seized in Malaysia

By Gina Fazio

10,000 Bibles were confiscated recently by customs coming into Malaysia from Indonesia. The Bibles contain the word "Allah" to refer to God which is a banned translation in Malaysia. The Muslim majority in the government made this law to appease other Muslims living in Malaysia. The Bibles are written in a common language between the two countries where "Allah" is the closest translation to God.

Chursh officials say the word "Allah" has been used for centuries in Malaysia and Indonesia to refer to God and only recently has there been a problem. However the government maintains that "Allah" is an Islamic word, not a word that can be generally used as a part of the Malay or Indonesian language.

The Roman Catholic Church is challenging the ban in Malaysia in court.

Another 5,100 Bibles were confiscated last March and have still not been released.

Malaysia satisfied with Iran's explanation on nuclear energy use

By: Liz Hasseld

Malaysia has expressed their satisfaction with Iran's explanation on its use of nuclear energy. The Malaysian Foreign Affairs Minister Anifah Aman, on Monday, commented on the subject at the joint press conference after the D8 Council of Ministers met. The D8 Session's agenda was to discuss economic development, Anifah commented that "it was the U.N. responsibility to take care of Iran's nuclear crisis."He further explained Iran's nuclear situation was a global matter rather than a D8 one. Malaysia has signed the Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), and the Foreign Affairs Minister made clear he wants Uranium to be used peacefully.

Palm Oil Production Cuts

Jenica Alsip

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/11/3/business/5028008&sec=business

Indonesia and Malaysia produce 80 % of the palm oil used around the world. Of the 1.3 million tonnes that Malaysia produces per year 500,000 tonnes will be cut back temporarily in hopes of educating smaller farmers on how to preserve the environment and adopt sustainable farming practices.

Indians Gain Citizenship

On Saturday, October 31, 2009, Malaysia's Home Ministry granted citizenship to 2,220 Indians. There were originally 3,335 citizens whom applied for citizenship. Prime Minister, Najib Razak, of Malaysia came forth to announce that these Indians had been "loyal" to the country, and that they have waited long enough for citizenship. Razak continued on by praising the Indians hard work to earn a living, which in turn has helped develop Malaysia. In addition to these applicants granted citizenship, Razak is pushing the Home Ministry to survey outstanding applications from more of the Indian community. There are statistics quoted that the Malaysian Government has made efforts towards, "... resolving 80 per cent of the 93,360 delayed birth registration cases, 32,927 Malaysian citizenship applications and 16,812 entry permit applications before 2010."

Body Odor, Bad Sex, Unattractive Pajamas leads to High Divorce Rate

By Soch Mel

The Malaysian Government is currently finding ways to improve couple’s sexual relations in the Malaysian state of Terengganu. Some strategies that are being proposed include the idea of inviting ‘cosmetic firms to introduce exotic and sensuous fragrances which can arouse sexual ardour.’ These programs are intended to help females, but there are programs for male to help improve their attractiveness. Such government initiative are approved by people such as the State Religious and information committee deputy chairman Muhammad Rami Nuh; he firmly believes government sponsored sexual arousal programs for couples will bring about a lower divorce rate.

Currently, Nuh states that about 3 out of ten marriages end in divorce. He also says that the most common age group that gets a divorce is the 25 to 30 years old group. And they seek separation because of the reasons stated in the title.

Nuh also suggests bathing together; he stated that he knew this one old couple who bathes together even though they are grandparents, and they have a very blissful marriage.