Category: Economics

Categories
Economics Environment Poetry

[723] Of haiku on ocean and maybe, on Proton too

In bid to win $20 worth of Greenpeace merchandizes. Haiku on ocean! In Malay though:

Di ufuk sana,
biru laut memikat,
mengejar mimpi.

Roughly means, still in 5-7-5 format!

On the horizon,
the blue ocean calling us,
us, chasing a dream.

Anyway, there is a very high possibility that I will travel go to Terengganu next week and lend a hand to a conservation project . Well, a project cum holidays. I’m pretty much excited because it’s been more than ten years since I last bathe in the South China Sea. And sitting by the South China Sea, I will be vomiting more lame haikus for all to suffer!

The only thing I might about travelling to Terengganu is that, there is no rail service. And I don’t wanna drive either. So, looks like bus for me. Seven hours in a bus won’t be too kind to my ass.

While in the bus, penning a haiku or two for Proton might be something to distract me from boredom. Why Proton on all the sudden? Well, instaed of Volkswagen, Proton has a new ally; Mitsubishi. Again.

Mitsubishi Motors to form new tie-up with Malaysia’s Proton

38 minutes ago

TOKYO (AFP) – Struggling Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors will form a new tie-up with Proton that would help the embattled Malaysian carmaker develop new models, a newspaper reports.

The tie-up will include a technology transfer, mutual supply of auto parts, including engines, and allow Proton to create new models, the Asahi Shimbun reported, quoting unnamed company sources.

It has only been about about two years since since Proton and Mitsubishi last decided to part ways.

Proton and Mitsubishi should just marry each other. Enough with the flirting already. Hell, let’s do one haiku for Proton now.

Hail Mitsubishi!
A setting red giant star,
trying to save us.

Categories
Economics Humor

[716] Of 2006 World Economic Forum main discussion

With the World Economic Forum going on , let’s all be honest to ourselves and call a spade a spade. In reality, the world economy works like this:

Americans do the research and create something new.

Australians praise American ingenuity.

Southeast Asians accuse Australians of sucking up and then look at Japan for help.

Japanese innovate and make something better.

Germans introduce an efficient plan to produce it.

Chinese make it at almost no cost.

Arabs supply the fuel and some verbal abuses.

Israelis complain about the abuses.

French and Brits talk about it, end up arguing with each other and then do nothing.

Europeans undertake extended holidays even when they’re supposed to work.

Everybody else goes to work and then discovers that they need to call customer service.

Indians fill all call centers and take care of customer service.

Latin Americans refuse to believe what’s going on and party instead.

Africans don’t know what’s going on and get fucked.

At the World Economic Forum, the people there are trying to find out how the Africans are getting fucked.

Categories
Economics Environment

[711] Of Lim Keng Yaik says you must lower your fee or we’ll give you market power?

I might have heard the news wrongly and I’m neither a Malaysian telcos industry expert nor a not-so-casual observer. Nevertheless, while I was lying on my stomach and effortlessly switching channels, I came across a news report over TV3 about broadband infrastructures owners charging users exorbitant fee (access fee maybe?). These users, I presume, in context anyway, are broadband internet service providers,

The relevant minister, Lim Keng Yaik, through the clip, was almost angry and visibly frustrated at the owners. These owners, judging from excerpt of Keng Yaik’s speech, sound like monopolies. So, it’s safe to assume they act as monopolies too. Monopoly leads to inefficient pricing which in turn leads to inefficient outcome and, in this case, prevents greater broadband penetration in Malaysia. Current Malaysian broadband penetration rate is low and the government wants to change that. As Lim Keng Yaik’s ministry is responsible for telecommunication sectors in Malaysia, I understand his frustration.

I felt a sort of empathy for him until I heard – think I heard, rather – he said, if the owners refuse to cooperate with the government in lowering the fee, the government will stop issuing more broadband licenses. Now, I’m not sure what kind of license he was talking about. But it seems, through context again, he was referring to the permits for laying down broadband infrastuctures like fiber optics and stuff. If what I heard is true, then this is bad economics .

The problem is monopoly and a monopoly charges higher price for its good compared to a competitive firm. If the government stop issuing the licenses, wouldn’t that would actually reward the monopolies instead of punishing them?

I mean, halting the license issuance would effectively guarantee the existing infrastructures owners of market power.

If license doesn’t refer to the owners but instead refers to ISPs however, then maybe the punishing plan might work. Stoppage of the license issuance to ISPs would deprive owners of broadband infrastructure of revenue. But then, that wouldn’t help broadband penetration in Malaysia at all.

And if what he said actually meant stopping issuing licenses to existing owners, then that might make better sense. In fact, I think, this is the case.

Right now, I hope I heard it all wrong. I can’t find anything off the internet yet. So, I can’t confirm what Lim Keng Yaik said or meant but I’m sure a report will pop up somewhere within the next 24 hours. I’ll do a postscript entry here once the report is out. Stay tuned.

p/s – wow. 3,000 tonnes at all three sites. Sounds like Malaysia needs to bring down the cost of safely dumping waste legally fast.

Categories
ASEAN Economics Liberty

[706] Of Cambodian dictatorship and ASEAN

Malaysia and several other ASEAN members have been criticizing Myanmar for the latter’s lack of meaningful democratic progress. To the southeast beyond Thailand, lies Cambodia with a dictator is in the making. Despite Cambodia’s alarming progress towards dictatorship, ASEAN leaders are yet to say a word about it.

For the past few days, Cambodian government have been arresting Cambodians critical of the government on the ground of defamation. The arrest has sparked condemnation from several organization, including Amnesty International. AI in its press release accuses the Cambodian government of manipulating Cambodian courts. The New York Times in one of its articles says that this is not an isolated incident. Opposition leaders and others have been arrested by the government. This makes these arrests as a part of a larger erosion of freedom in Cambodia:

Cambodian Leader Cracks Down in Bid to Solidify Power
By SETH MYDANS
Published: January 9, 2006

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, Jan. 8 – The harshest political crackdown in years is under way here in what some analysts are calling the final stage in Prime Minister Hun Sen’s drive to consolidate unchallenged power.

Over the past year, he has choked off the last effective political opposition while continuing to marginalize the monarchy, manipulate the courts and intimidate labor unions and other civic groups. In December, the leader of the only significant opposition party, Sam Rainsy, who had already fled the country, was sentenced in absentia to 18 months in prison for criminal defamation.

Now, with a series of arrests and lawsuits on defamation and related charges, Mr. Hun Sen is for the first time directly attacking the human rights groups that, by default, serve as a de facto democratic opposition…

ASEAN has a unique role to apply pressure against Cambodia. The 10-member confederation could admonish the Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and perhaps, put a check on current Cambodian political atmosphere. But it is not doing so and I think I know why they are silent on the matter.

ASEAN takes pride of its non-interference policy but it makes an exception for Myanmar thanks to US and EU initiative. Unlike Myanmar, the European Union and United States are not pushing ASEAN to deal with Cambodia accordingly. With no outside push, ASEAN seems happy to stay away from making a comment on its members. Well, I think it’s just wrong and ASEAN needs to make a statement on Cambodia.

The reason for such need is simple – it’s the ASEAN Charter which guarantees human rights. Though the Charter has yet to be drafted, this is a chance for ASEAN to prove to the world and more importantly, to its own citizens that the charter will not be just another piece of paper. If ASEAN fails to speak up against Cambodia, it will be harder to deal with such case in the future even when the Charter is in place.

Then, of course, besides the lack of outside pressure, another reason why ASEAN is not doing anything about the issue is because its more prosperous members, particularly Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, are not quite saints when it comes to human rights.

p/s – Volkswagen ends partnership with Proton. So, Proton is going to keep Lotus after all.

Categories
Economics Environment Politics & government Sports

[702] Of statism and Malaysia Airlines

Yesterday, Malaysia Airlines’ (MAS) new managing director, Idris Jala announced that MAS will move out of its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur in effort to cut cost. This might signal an eventual sale of the building. Today, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister made known that the government won’t interfere with MAS operation. This is good news.

Several weeks ago, when Idris Jala brought up the possibility of selling MAS HQ building in Kuala Lumpur, politicians, some senators from the Dewan Negara and other old dogs were up in arms, harping at Idris Jala for even considering the matter. After all, MAS is Malaysia’s national air carrier, much like how Proton is Malaysian national car manufacturer. It’s national pride and the sale of MAS building could dent that pride. Hence, their reaction is comprehensible. Their opposition however is irrational.

Pride rarely has a place in business, especially when it gets tough. More often than not, a person, an entity or whatever has to swallow its pride and get on with it. What’s better or the best option won’t necessarily feed one’s ego. MAS is facing this dilemma and Idris Jala realizes this. He deserves respect for simply being able to perceive the scenario and look beyond pride. The politicians that disagree with Idris Jala deserve a kick for putting too much emphasize on pride.

The government should mostly do what it does best and that is governing. Government intervention on MAS is unneeded and unwanted. Malaysian government should learn something from Singapore Airlines – the firm, despite being linked to the government, must be free to work out its own strategy.

Pride won’t save MAS and neither will politicians that oppose the sale. These politicians are a bunch of statists. Do we really expect these statists to know more about MAS than the managing director himself?

No. Unless, if the politicians themselves have proper background in business. But that’s rarely the case, isn’t it?

p/s – the price of internalizing pollution – over USD 3 billion.

China will invest 26.6 billion yuan (US$3.28 billion; EUR2.69 billion) over the next five years to clean up the Songhua River, a key source of drinking water for tens of millions of people that was polluted in November by a toxic spill that reached into Russia, reports said Sunday.

That amount doesn’t even reflect full cost accounting. Imagine what the figure would look like with full cost accounting. Already, a third spill is in progress.

BEIJING (AFP) – A third major toxic spill in China in as many months has threatened water supplies to millions of residents of two central cities, officials and state media have said.

A clean-up accident allowed industrial chemical cadmium, which can cause neurological disorders and cancer, to flood out of a smelting works and into the Xiangjiang River in Hunan province on January 4, Xinhua news agency said Sunday.

If things go as they are going at the moment, the PRC might just overtake the US as an environmental devil.

pp/s – and Michigan goes unranked for the second time in six months. Bravo Carr!