KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Malaysia’s national car maker Proton Holdings (PROT.KL) is not in talks with any foreign car company to sell a controlling stake in the company, a top Proton official said on Tuesday.
“We continue to discuss with potential collaboration partners, the outcome of which as of today is too early to say. But the focus is always about technology collaboration and product collaboration,” Proton Managing Director Syed Zainal Abidin told reporters at a business forum.
The Business Times newspaper reported on Monday, citing Proton Chairman Nadzmi Mohd Salleh, that state-controlled Proton has been approached by car makers from the U.S., Japan and India and it may sell a controlling stake to a foreign company. [ID:nKLR417295]
Syed Zainal said Nadzmi was misquoted.
“We speak to many partners. As a car company today in a global industry we speak (to) people in Japan, in Europe, in America but that is discussion on products and on the ways on how we can collaborate,” Syed Zainal said.
“I think it is too early to say that we have made any decision. I think our chairman was misquoted,” he said.
State-owned Proton has seen its domestic market share fell to below 30 percent from more than 60 percent in the 1990s. In 2007, it held talks with Germany’s Volkswagen (VOWG.DE) and U.S. auto giant General Motors (GM.N) on a possible partnership, although those talks collapsed.
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 (Bernama) — Palestine appreciates Malaysia’s efforts to organise a special parliamentary session to discuss the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and condemn the Zionist regime for attacking Gaza.
The attack has so far, left about 900 people dead and injured thousands, including women and children.
Palestinian Ambassador Abdelaziz Aboughosh said Malaysia’s actions showed that the people were not alone in tackling the crisis and “we have brothers and sisters to support us.”
“We are peace lovers and want peace and justice to prevail in our country,” he told reporters after receiving the Parliamentary resolution from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at the parliament house Monday night.
The Dewan Rakyat sat for seven-and-a-half hours, starting 2.30pm today, to debate and support 10 resolutions on the crisis, which among others, condemned the Israeli attack on Palestinians in Gaza and called for an immediate cease-fire from both parties to the conflict.
The entire Dewan Rakyat, from both sides of the political divide, supported the resolutions unanimously, with 31 members taking part in the debate. The motion on the resolution was tabled by Abdullah while Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim did the winding-up.
Meanwhile, Rais, when met by reporters, said Palestine would obtain the support of the Arab nations, Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) and ASEAN.
“We, in ASEAN, would work closely so that the US and Israel can be contained to ensure peace prevails in the Middle East,” he said.
Dr Rais also did not discount the possibility of calling up the US ambassador to the country in the near future to clarify the super power’s stand on the matter.
“Even this morning, the prime minister met 12 ambassadors at the defence ministry to explain our stand on the issue. We have given them letters to be passed to their respective governments,” he said.
On the proposed OIC peace-keeping force, he said the grouping did not have powers to start such a force and the OIC needed to amend its charter to go ahead with the proposal.
“This is a proposal which should be viewed carefully and could be implemented in the future, but unlikely that it would be a reality in the near future,” said Rais.
KUALA LUMPUR: The United Nations must be told to set up a war crimes tribunal against the Israeli government for its “primitive killing” of Palestinians, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The former prime minister urged MPs set to attend a special Parliament sitting on Monday to discuss Israel’s attack in the Gaza Strip, to propose the setting up of such a tribunal at the Dewan Rakyat.
Dr Mahathir said Israel’s actions were primitive because it killed to solve problems.
“Having such a tribunal would be able to put fear in Israeli leaders,” he told reporters after receiving donations for Palestine war victims as chairman of the Kuala Lumpur Foundation To Criminalise War (KLFCW) at the Al-Bukhary Foundation Complex here yesterday.
Al-Bukhary Foundation vice-chairman Datuk Ismail Yusof contributed RM3.5mil and Lembaga Tabung Haji chairman Tan Sri Musa Asa’ari presented a mock cheque for RM100,000 to KLFCW.
KUALA LUMPUR: The home fans will be rooting for an all-Malaysian men’s singles semi-final between Lee Chong Wei and Liew Daren.
But Chong Wei is more fancied to advance than Daren in quarter-final matches against Indonesian Simon Santoso and Dane Peter Gade-Christensen respectively at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil today.
Yesterday, Chong Wei defeated Vietnamese Nguyen Tien Minh 21-9, 18-21, 21-7 in a second-round match that saw the world number one struggling to adapt to the draught in the stadium in the second game. And Daren continued a fairy tale run in his home Open, blowing away a toothless Hsueh Hsuan-yi of Taiwan 21-14, 21-12.
Although Choong Wei had to slog for the win over Tien Minh, the top seed and defending champion felt that he was playing better by the day.
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Malaysia plans to announce another economic stimulus package this year after last year’s $2 billion package, the country’s Second Finance Minister said, according to a newspaper report on Thursday.
‘The Prime Minister has given the directive to begin preparing another package,’ Nor Mohamed Yakcop said in a television interview, according to the Star newspaper.
‘We have the capacity to lend some more due to the fact that we have managed to reduce the budget deficit from 5.5 percent of GDP (gross domestic product) in 2000 to 3.2 percent in 2007,’ he said.
Malaysia’s government raised its 2009 fiscal deficit forecast in November to 4.8 percent of GDP from 3.6 percent. At that time, it also announced its first package to boost the economy, which it expects to grow 3.5 percent this year.
Private forecasts for the country’s economic growth in 2009 are more pessimistic, with UBS (nyse: UBS - news - people ) expecting no growth and CLSA forecasting a 1.2 percent contraction.
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 6 (Bernama) — The Port Klang Authority has decided, after several postponements, the implementation of the reduced free storage days for import and export containers effective Jan 1 this year. Both Northport and Westports have however decided to defer the implementation by another six months to July 1. Both ports in a joint statement here today said the decision was made after taking into consideration the current economic conditions and an appeal from several trade associations to defer the implementation, as the industry needed a bit more time to adjust to the reduction. Northport and Westports have advised all parties to be ready by July 1 as the change is expected to improve further the efficiency level of the port operators and conform with the international standard for free storage days in ports. This fact featured strongly in the Port Klang Authority’s decision to give the go-ahead for the Jan 1 implementation. — BERNAMA
PETALING JAYA: Sime Darby Bhd has called off its bid to buy a majority stake in the National Heart Institute (IJN).
The company said the decision was made after taking into consideration public sentiment and feedback on the takeover plan since the Government announced that it had deferred its decision to allow Sime Darby to begin negotiations with the Finance Ministry to take a 51% stake in IJN.
“The company wishes to announce that it will not pursue its plan to acquire an equity stake in IJN,” the company said in a statement to Bursa Malaysia.
“The company, nevertheless, will continue to look for opportunities
for expansion in the health-care
sector.”
Sime Darby first proposed to buy a 51% stake in IJN on Dec 17 after sending its offer to the Government.
On Dec 19, the Government an-nounced its decision to defer negotiations.
Malaysian Medical Association president Datuk Dr Khoo Kah Lin said the decision by the conglomerate showed that it was sensitive to the wishes of the people.
