IGP proposes better deal for cops?? YAU MOU GAU...CHOR!!

KUALA LUMPUR: The police want 20% more in basic salary than any government servants so that more and better-qualified people will be keen to join the force, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said.

He said a new and better scheme of service was needed as the force was undergoing a massive restructuring exercise.

“This must be done if we want to reduce corruption and also to reach out and provide better delivery to the public.

“The restructuring exercise will also see the deployment of additional manpower and logistic support to highly populated and crime-prone districts in the country,” he told The Star in a special interview in conjunction with the 200th year celebration of the police force today.

He added that he had submitted the proposal to the Public Service Department.

The current salary of a police constable is RM690 while the starting pay for an officer with the rank of inspector is RM1,100.

Musa said the other major aspect of the restructuring, aimed at developing a competent and committed force with integrity, involved the intake of recruits, especially for the post of Inspectors and for the rank-and-file.

He said that, previously, diploma holders could apply for the post of Inspectors. Now, they would only be taken in as Sergeants.

Previously, degree holders could join as cadet Assistant Superintendents (ASP) but since the abolishment of the cadet ASP rank, degree holders would now only be eligible to apply for the post of Inspectors.

Musa said the force needed young sergeants who could keep up with the times and would get opportunities to be assistant investigation officers before moving up the ranks.

“We have also decided to do away with interview-based promotions and will replace it with performance-based promotions.

“The force needs people who can lead, people who know the job, people who have the experience and who are academically qualified. There is no point in promoting someone who is just academically qualified but has no experience and no leadership qualities,” he said.

Musa also said the Cabinet had approved the recruitment of 60,000 personnel and the intake exercise was in progress.

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Forex admin rules to be eased further from April

BANK Negara has announced further liberalisation to foreign exchange administration rules to take effect from April 1 in line with the country's strategic objectives and supported by progress achieved from previous liberalisation.

To provide greater flexibility to licensed onshore banks to undertake foreign currency business:

# Abolish net open position limit of licensed onshore banks previously capped at 20% of banks' capital base.

# Abolish limit on licensed onshore banks for foreign currency accounts maintained by residents.

# Allow investment banks in Malaysia to undertake foreign currency business subject to a comprehensive supervisory review on the capacity and capability of the investment banks.

To widen investor base for ringgit assets and financial products:

# Allow non-resident stockbroking companies and custodian banks to obtain ringgit overdraft facility from licensed banks by removing the previous overdraft limit of RM200mil and expanding the facility utilisation to include ringgit instruments settled through the Real Time Electronic Transfer of Funds and Securities System and Bursa Malaysia.

# Abolish the limit of the number of residential or commercial property loans obtained by non-residents.

# Allow licensed onshore banks to appoint their banking groups' overseas branches to settle any ringgit assets of their non-resident clients.

# Allow non-resident corporations to utilise proceeds from initial public offerings on the main board of Bursa Malaysia, abroad.

# Remove the restriction on Labuan offshore banks to transact in ringgit financial products for non-resident clients.

To reduce the cost of doing business, enhance business efficiency and promote Malaysia as a centre of origination:

# Increase the limit of foreign currency borrowing that can be obtained by resident corporations from licensed onshore banks and non-residents and through onshore foreign currency bonds issuance to a total of RM100mil.

# Allow residents to hedge foreign currency loan repayment up to the full amount.

# Increase the limit for resident individuals with domestic ringgit borrowing to invest in foreign currency assets up to RM1mil per calendar year.

# Increase the limit for resident corporations with domestic ringgit borrowing to invest in foreign currency assets up to RM50mil per calendar year.

# Allow resident corporations to utilise proceeds arising from listing of shares through IPO on the main board of Bursa Malaysia for offshore investments.

# Increase the limit for resident institutional investors to invest in foreign currency assets – unit trust companies: up to 50% of net asset value (NAV) attributable to residents; fund management companies: up to 50% of funds of resident clients with domestic credit facilities and insurance; and takaful operators: up to 50% of NAV of investment-linked funds marketed.

# Allow resident corporations to lend in foreign currency, the proceeds from listing of shares on foreign stock exchanges to other resident companies in the same group.

# Abolish restrictions on payments in foreign currency between residents for settlement of foreign currency financial products offered onshore.

# Allow resident individuals to open and maintain joint foreign currency accounts for any purpose.

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Affordable Internet service with WiMax

PETALING JAYA: Two of the four winners of the WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) licence, which was announced yesterday, are all set to roll out high-speed wireless Internet services at affordable prices.

The four winners are REDTone-CNX Broadband Sdn Bhd, Packet One Networks (M) Sdn Bhd (formerly known as MIB Comm Sdn Bhd), Asiaspace Dotcom Sdn Bhd and Bizsurf (M) Sdn Bhd (a unit of YTL-e Solutions Bhd).

REDTone International Bhd group managing director Wei Chuan Beng told StarBiz that the 2.3GHz WiMax spectrum for Sabah and Sarawak would complement the group’s nationwide Internet rollout plan.

“We are very happy and thankful to MCMC (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission) and the Government for entrusting us with the 2.3GHz,” he said, adding that REDTone would be announcing its nationwide Internet rollout plan with its partner in the next two weeks.

Wei said the RM300mil in capital expenditure (capex) for WiMax would be funded via equity and bond issues.

“Our plan is very comprehensive. High-speed mobile Internet will have a major impact on businesses and individuals in terms of communication and their way of life.

“Imagine individuals having the leisure of watching their favourite RTM programmes on their mobile phones while they are overseas,” he added.

Meanwhile, Puan Chan Cheong, chief executive officer of Green Packet Bhd, which owns Packet One, said winning the licence would put the company on an “equal playing field” with the big telecommunication players.

“We are happy and excited as the WiMax licence complements our existing wireless broadband services. We have the funds in place already,” he said.

He said services were expected to be rolled out before year-end and consumers could expect “higher speed of Internet services at better quality and prices,” adding that its WiMax broadband products would be targeted at enterprises.

There are many possibilities with WiMax, such as using Skype – a free voice over Internet Protocol (VoiP) solution – on mobile phones, which helps to reduce cost. “Of course, we will only see that in two years’ time.” Green Packet is currently installing in the Klang Valley its SONmetro infrastructure that can deploy broadband services using fourth-generation (4G) technology and long-range WiFi coverage.

The other two recipients, Bizsurf and Asiaspace, were unavailable for comment. YTL e-Solutions, which owns 50% of Bizsurf, is expected to release a statement today.

YTL e-Solutions provides incubation services, including developing and incubating technology companies and Internet content.

Asiaspace, a telecommunications and broadcast infrastructure company, was awarded the right to build 50 cellular base stations in 2003.

Man claims he and son scored 24 1As each in SPM exam?? YAU MOU GAU...CHOR!!!

IPOH: It was a first of a different kind for Perak when education officers were alerted to a report of a father and son who claimed to have obtained 24 1As each in the SPM examinations.

The 53-year-old man called up the Tamil Nesan office here and claimed he and his 13-year-old son sat for the exams at a well-known school here. He claimed that both had scored full marks in all 24 subjects.

State Education director Datuk Mohammed Zakaria Mohd Noor said his officers began investigations after S. B. Bala, the newspaper's Ipoh bureau chief, asked the department to verify the results.

“This is the first time we have come across such a case of people falsifying result slips. It is also possibly the first such case in the country,” he told reporters yesterday after announcing the performance of Perak students in the 2006 SPM examinations.

Zakaria said the department’s initial investigation showed that the result slips were faked.

“The format of the result slips is more or less the same as the original slips, except that the font is different and certain subjects are wrongly spelt,” he said.

He added that it was impossible for anyone to sit for 24 subjects.

“There are 108 subjects for SPM students to choose from. The maximum number of examinations that a candidate can take is 21,” he said.

Zakaria also thanked the media for correctly seeking to verify the results before publishing the case.

EPF seeks strategic partners for RHB Capital?? YAU MOU GAU....CHOR!!!

THE Employees Provident Fund (EPF) plans to sell up to 35 per cent of RHB Capital Bhd to strategic partners as soon as this year after its last-minute sweetened deal won a takeover battle for the country's fourth largest banking group.

The pension fund has offered RM2.25 billion cash to buy Utama Banking Group's 32.8 per cent stake in Rashid Hussain Bhd (RHB), boosting its stake to 61.8 per cent. The deal is due to be wrapped up in four months.

The EPF beat an offer from EON Capital Bhd, a smaller banking group, and another one from a group led by Kuwait Finance House.

It will make an offer to buy the remaining shares in RHB and the rest of shares in RHB Cap. RHB holds 65 per cent of RHB Cap, which in turn owns 70 per cent of RHB Bank Bhd.

Then, EPF will cut its stake in RHB Cap to about 40 per cent and it will delist RHB, chief executive officer Datuk Azlan Zainol told a media conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The fund also plans to buy Khazanah Nasional Bhd's 30 per cent stake in RHB Bank, worth about RM3.2 billion, in cash. The price is still subject to negotiations.

EPF hopes to bring in two to three strategic partners in two years to help improve RHB Cap. Azlan said a few groups have expressed interest to buy key stakes in the banking group, but he would not name them.

He said KFH could be a potential partner, although both parties have not started talking.

"We have not talked to KFH. Maybe they are keen to take a stake, we don't know. But I believe they are only interested in the Islamic assets, but at the moment no (they are not involved)," Azlan said.

"Hopefully we can invest together (with KFH) ... we don't discount that possibility," he added.

He also said EPF has no intention to turn RHB into an Islamic bank, but will instead grow the group's Islamic banking business.

It will also let professional managers run the daily operation of RHB bank, promising minimal interference from the owner.

Azlan said RHB Group will not buy another lender in the near term.

"No. We believe in consolidation. In the next two to three years we want to let things settle down. But if there are opportunities two years from now, we will like to consider overseas assets," he said. RHB Group has branches in Singapore, Thailand and Brunei, he added.

EPF is spending RM10 billion as initial investment outlay for RHB Group. The fund expects the investment to give it a return on equity of some 5 to 6 per cent at the immediate stage and even higher returns in the future.

"This is a long-term and anchor investment for EPF. It is our mandate to invest in companies that we believe can deliver good returns and has potential to grow. We see this in RHB," Azlan said. He said EPF may later sell some of its shareholdings in other banks.

The deal still needs Bank Negara Malaysia and Ministry of Finance's special approval as banking law does not allow any single company or institution to hold more than 20 per cent of a bank.