By KINIBIZ
After a long wait, the findings of the investigation into the illegal immigrants issue in Sabah is revealed this week. But in a confusing twist, what started out as a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) inexplicably ended as a Commission of Enquiry.
The confusion aside, the investigation found that the notorious Project IC “more likely than not” did exist, but did not name any guilty party. Blame for the abnormal surge in illegal immigrants in Sabah was placed on corrupt officials instead.
To be fair, the Commission argued that finding the guilty was not part of its terms of reference when the effort was mooted in 2012. Never mind the vagueness of the terms of reference in the first place.
But after such an extensive investigation, wouldn’t the identities of the guilty naturally emerge? Corrupt officials aside, where did the buck stop?
In the end, the only real suggestion following the Commission’s report is that a permanent secretariat be set-up to deal with the issue. What a let-down.
Left unexplained is the long delay between the time the findings were compiled and when they were made public this week. After the report was prepared in end-2013, it was presented to the King on May 21 yet it took another six months before the report was made public. Why?
So many questions when the Commission set out to look into the matter and more questions after they finished. As always the man on the street — in this case Sabahans especially — ends up with the short end of the stick.
Anyway, if the disbelief and confusion from the RCI findings caused you to miss our best stories, comments and analyses this week, fret not. Here’s a sampling for you to catch up on:
Pick 1 — Revisiting 2014. In this week’s issue series we look at the year just past and examine what had been happening throughout 2014. We pick the best and worst deals as well as close contenders for both. We also look at who and what had been grabbing headlines. Finally we name our pick for company of the year and list the big names you should watch out for in 2015. Read all about it here.
Pick 2 — New CEO for Malaysia Airlines unveiled. After a global search spanning months for a new man to lead the restructuring of ailing five-star carrier Malaysia Airlines, state investment fund Khazanah Nasional has named Aer Lingus chief, Christoph Mueller, as the man to fill the hotseat. Read more here.
Pick 3 — Luxury Starbucks spin-off coming to Malaysia. Described as the “McDonalds of coffee” by some, Starbucks International is eyeing coffee aficionados with a new upmarket coffee chain set to have only 100 stores worldwide. And that figure includes one to two in Malaysia. Read more here.
Pick 4 — City of London thwarts icapital.biz director re-appointment. After a public back-and-forth concerning the re-appointment of a director past 70 years of age, icapital.biz’s largest shareholder City of London Investment Co Ltd has triumphed in blocking the re-election of Tunku Abdul Aziz. Read about it here. For past articles on the issue, go here and here.
Pick 5 — Petronas should cut its losses in Canada. After spending RM16 billion to buy Progress Energy Resources which owns oil and gas reserves in Canada, Petronas is set for another RM120 billion in investment over 30 years to capitalise on these reserves. But now Petronas is saying it may delay the investment by up to 15 years if some outstanding issues go unresolved. Shouldn’t Petronas cut its losses now instead? Read what our resident cat thinks about it here.
Pick 6 — At 1MDB, charity should begin at home. Controversial state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) spent some RM382 million on corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, said deputy finance minister Ahmad Maslan. But our resident cat thinks that the fund should get into the black first before being so charitable. Read further here.
Pick 7 — When a prospectus should become a doorstop. These days prospectuses put forward by companies seeking to list on Bursa Malaysia look more like over-sized medical textbooks instead. Who would want to (indeed, be able to) peruse through 800 pages filled with endless words? Our resident cat thinks things should be simplified for the average investor who has better things to do than read such tomes cover to cover. Read on here.
Pick 8 — Petronas should increase dividends, not reduce it. Last week Petronas chief Shamsul Azhar Abbas warned that if global oil prices remain between US$70-US75 per barrel next year, the state-owned oil corporate would have to reduce dividends and other payments by as much as 37%. Never mind the fact that the government has final say on the matter, is Petronas exceeding its brief here? Read further here.
If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook here and Twitter here for more as we bring you the latest news from the business scene.
Not a subscriber yet? Just 82 sen a day will make you one – click here. For that amount you’ll get these great reads and more while keeping us independent too.
– by Khairie Hisyam Aliman, Assistant News Editor
You must be logged in to post a comment.