I have worked in the public sector for nearly 15 years now. During this time, I have always felt a sense of pride in being able to say that I serve the public; an idealistic notion that my wife — and primary stakeholder — has thankfully always understood and supported. Because my paymaster is ult...

my Say: The time has come for GovTech

With the enactment last year of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the US fully joined the rest of the world’s advanced economies in combating climate change. The IRA authorises a major increase in spending to support renewable energy, research and development and other priorities, and if estimat...

Unconventional Economic Wisdom: Western industrial policy and international law

The New Straits Times was the daily newspaper of the family for most of the 1960s, 70s and 80s. My late father would add Mingguan Malaysia as a Sunday read. With 11 members in the household, waiting to read the newspapers was a long-drawn chore of waiting your turn. Getting to actually read it de...

my Say: Yusuf Islam, Coldplay and being judgmental

Arbitration, international or domestic, is often seen as an expeditious way to seek justice. And increasingly we see investment companies and finance houses offering funding to help people who take their disputes to arbitration. That is called third-party arbitration funding or financing.

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my Say: Third-party arbitration financing’s unholy shadow

Property overhang” is a term that is taboo in the real estate industry, where some believe that it gives the impression of a sector that is in dire straits. Simply put, a property overhang occurs when the rate of building exceeds that of take-up, culminating in a property supply-demand gap.
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The REAL deal: Give timely granular analysis on property overhang

This week marks exactly 10 years since I left my first job at Oriental Daily News and its sister publication The Busy Weekly, a Chinese financial and investment magazine which hit the streets in 2009, but sadly concluded its 14-year run with its final issue to be published on June 3.

Coffee Break: Never forget why you started

Serba Dinamik Bhd has delayed issuing its financial report for the second consecutive quarter.

Frankly Speaking: Serba delays accounts once again

The new buzzword in business nowadays is ESG — the environmental, social and governance theme. Corporate performance has now been tied to an ESG Index for supposedly responsible investing and even financial sector lending decisions. But make no mistake, it is ideology masquerading as social respo...

my Say: Malaysia must walk its own path in ESG

The month of May showed a clear trend on the performance of new listings on Bursa Malaysia.

Frankly Speaking: New listings veer towards tech

Last week, the Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC) Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said that the government was considering reviewing water tariffs.

Frankly Speaking: Grab the bull by the horns, increase water tariffs

After 26 years, United Engineers (M) Bhd’s purchase of a 32.6% block in Renong Bhd continues to intrigue, with startling new disclosures surfacing recently.

In the latest twist related to the November 1997 transaction, former Renong major shareholder and supremo, Tan Sri Halim Saad, has...

Alternative Views: UEM-Renong deal: The ball is in MoF’s court

Last month, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) opened investigation papers into an event more than two decades old. It involved the acquisition of a 32.6% stake by United Engineers (M) Bhd (UEM) in Renong Bhd for RM2.3 billion in cash in November 1997. MACC summoned a couple of well-known corporate personalities, one who was also a senior minister at about that time, to its headquarters.

Frankly Speaking: UEM-Renong: Why now, after 26 years?

In November 1997, two independent directors of United Engineers (M) Bhd resigned after the company made a shocking RM2.3 billion acquisition of a 32.6% stake in its parent company Renong Bhd. UEM was cash rich while Renong had debts of RM12 billion.

Frankly Speaking: The independence of independent directors

When assessing human progress, granularity matters. What we see the closer we get to ground truth is often quite different from the picture painted at a national or subcontinental level. In most countries, including Malaysia, paying attention to progress closer than just at the national level bec...

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