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
Environment Politics & government

[710] Of two more illegal toxic waste dump sites

Two more illegal toxic waste dump sites have been discovered . Well, not discovered per se but was announched instance by a person that helped moved the waste around. Found it out through TV3 and good old Bernama carries an article about it. While Bernama doesn’t name the location of the other two sites, TV3 reveals that the two others are located in Yong Peng, Segamat which is also in Johor.

Earlier this month – still an ongoing controversy – drums of illegally dumped aluminum dross were discovered in Labis. And while the article states that a total of 300 tonnes of aluminum dross were dumped, TV3 insists a couple days ago that the quantity is far greater. The Department of Environment will have a lot of answering to do for the next few days. This revelation proves that Department of Environment is ineffective.

So, Johor – a state with crooks running around freely on one big land designated as a huge toxic waste dump site. What’s next?

Ah, Selangor. The states where nature reserves are gazetted for anything but nature conservation.

p/s – Article 153 of the Malaysian Constitution is Wikipedia’s current Today’s Featured Article. It’s mostly fellow Malaysian Wikipedian Johnleemk‘s work. As with any featured article, this article is suffering above average act of vandalism. One vandal wrote “Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia grants the peoples of this world to declare that Wikipedia is Communism.”

Heh.

Another vandal is a little bit too naughty. Do not click on the naughty link if you are easily disturbed. How disturbing the link is? Well, let’s say that Parents For The Online Safety of Children would be extremely worked up if they saw that.

pp/s – one thing for sure, there won’t be too much fun for far-leftists in Singapore this September.

p3/s – almost bullshit. Why don’t they sue Jeremy Clarkson too…

Yahoo! has AP’s version of the report. It’s on the front page too.

Categories
Environment

[709] Of logging in Hulu Langat, Khir Toyo and Fungsi Mewah Sdn Bhd

I’ve been following news on Hulu Langat logging with great interest for the past few days. Locals there allege that logging activity is occuring within the boundary of a nature reserve. State government however insists otherwise and goes as far as saying that the trees fell there are on private property.

One reason for my interest is Selangor’s ugly reputation in environmental care . I still remember what happened to a nature reserve in near Shah Alam with the state government’s consent. This case in Hulu Langat might strike an awful resemblance with that of the reserve near Shah Alam.

The question that needs an answering right now is obviously the status of the area. Who is right – the locals or the state government?

If it is the locals, the state government would be hard pressed to find a scapegoat or two all over again. In the case of the reserve near Shah Alam, if I recall correctly, the developers were charged of several offences but the government officials that approved the development essentially got away. If the logging in Hulu Langat occured within the boundary of another reserve, like what had occured at the reserve near Shah Alam, then, who approved it?

If it is the state government is right, then there is no case at all and the loggers should be allowed to continue their work.

But if the logging activity is done within the reserve, when the approval was given out?

A Google search reveals that an approval for logging activity in Hulu Langat was given on April 2001 to a firm named Fungsi Mewah Sdn Bhd. I however am not sure if the 2001 approval is related to the area in question currently but according to Bernama, the reserve itself was declared as a “Heritage Park” on August 27, 2005.

Through TV3, we know that the loggers are Fungsi Mewah Sdn Bhd – the same company that received the logging permit in 2001. This connection might suggest that the alleged logging within the reserve was approved in 2001. If all assumptions stand, it’s odd how nobody within the government remember about the concession when they declared the area as a reserve. A sign of incompetency perhaps?

Of interest, Google seach reveals that Fungsi Mewah has several interesting connections with Selangor Chief Minister Khir Toyo.

Whatever the answer is, the state government has ordered a stop to the loggers. But according to TV3, the loggers are ignoring the order. Bernama confirms this. Fungsi Mewah alleged connections with Khir Toyo might have contributed to the firm’s audacity to ignore the Chief Minister’s order.

But then, if the logging is done on private property as the Chief Minister has mentioned, why issue stop order in the first place? Odd, isn’t it?

Categories
Humor Sports

[708] Of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar

Ajax’s first league game for 2006 is currently on. It’s Ajax versus NEC and it should be an easy fight unless something bad happens. Despite facing a weak opponent, this game is important because this is Klaas-Jan Huntelaar’s first game for Ajax. Huntelaar is currently the Eredivisie’s top scoer. This game will see how Huntelaar fit in Ajax’s system.

Ajax, despite its ability to play beautiful game, severely lack fire power. Many strikers have come and gone but most of them fail to fit into Ajax’s system. The last reliable striker Ajax had was Ibrahimovic, now at Juventus. In fact, Ibrahimovic says Juventus may be bigger than Ajax, but the pressure on a striker is much heavier in Amsterdam.

There’s high hope that Huntelaar won’t disappoint as how Sonck was and how Charisteas, the Greek hero during Euro 2004 is. This is especially so when Steven Pienaar, Hatem Trabelsi and Nigel de Jong are leaving Ajax at the end of the season. Apart from that, this season has somewhat been a borderline disaster for Ajax. Currently sixth and a game in hand, if Huntelaar performs and Ajax ride on its recovery momentum, things might brighten a bit.

With a little bit of lucky, Ajax might even claw back into the top three. And since Huntelaar is eligible for Ajax’s Champions League campaign, if he is as good as a lot of Ajacied are hoping he is, a semifinal for Ajax might not be too much to ask.

p/s – well, something bad is happening. Score ties at one all, 20 minutes into the second half and Huntelaar has yet to shine.

pp/s – What. The. F-… (via)

Categories
Environment Personal Politics & government Sports

[707] Of all hail to the devils slayer

A post dedicated to Manchester City. All hail to the devils slayer.

This must be one of those better weeks. Just several days ago, the “devils held“.

p/s – half of total 300 tonnes of toxic waste has been removed. But there are some indications that part of the waste might have reached Muar River. Muar River is a major river and the town of Muar is a major town by the river. How major? Wikipedia says the town itself has more than 200,000 people. That’s larger than the pretentious city of Shah Alam. Is this our little China? Perhaps? Not as serious, true but still…

According to Bernama:

27,000 Sea Perch Die, Breeder Loses RM250,000

MUAR, Jan 13 (Bernama) — A company rearing sea perch fish in cages in Sungai Muar here Friday lost RM250,000 following the sudden death of 27,000 fish weighing between 500 gram to 3kg each…

… “Probably the change in the water quality as a result of the flood at Hulu Sungai Muar and toxic waste pollution from a factory nearby could have caused the death of the fish,” said the Jailani who had been breeding sea perch for the last 15 years…

This makes me wonder, how many legit dumpsite does Malaysia have and how many recorded illegal dumping are there in 2005?

pp/s – TMnet is truly impossible.

ppp/s – Did I mention that Manchester City beat Manchester United 3 to 1?

p4/s – Did I mention that Cristiano Ronaldo’s middle name is red?

p5/s – Did I mention that… bah. Read all about it at Soccernet.

p6/s – RealClimate explains the drought in the Brazilian Amazon. I get the statistics part but I can’t pretend that I fully comprehend the atmospeheric/climatology jargons though without further reading.

p7/s – holy shit. Jill Carroll is from Ann Arbor! Jill Carroll is a freelance journalist that reported for the Christian Science Monitor in Iraq before she was kidnapped. She’s still missing but I hope she’s alright.