Published September 15, 2008
Police allow Anwar to stage rally
Event at Selangor stadium set to draw 30,000 supporters
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(KUALA LUMPUR) Malaysian police have allowed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to hold a rally this week protesting against a government crackdown widely seen as a move to derail his plans to take power, his party said yesterday.
Mr Anwar: Tension is high after the govt extended the crackdown on the former deputy prime minister
The rally today, expected to draw 30,000 supporters to a stadium in the opposition-held state of Selangor in central Malaysia, will be on the eve of Mr Anwar's bid to lure 30 MPs from the ruling party to join his opposition bloc and form government.
'The rally should be not an issue for the police because we are not taking to the streets. It is a peaceful expression of the injustices suffered by Malaysians,' said Tian Chua, the information chief of Anwar's People's Justice Party.
On Friday, authorities arrested an opposition member of parliament, a well known blogger, and a journalist under the Southeast Asian nation's draconian Internal Security Act (ISA), which permits the indefinite detention of people without trial.
Police said the three had made comments that inflamed racial and religious hatred. The journalist was released on Saturday after the government said she had been taken into custody for her own protection.
The detentions were seen as an attempt to spoil Mr Anwar's bid to seize power from a coalition that has ruled the country of 27 million for 51 years since independence from the British.
Earlier last week, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's government sent 50 of its MPs on a study trip to Taiwan.
It has denied there were any political motives behind the arrests and the study trips ahead of Anwar's bid to wrest power from the government.
Mr Anwar, 61, was jailed in the late 1990s on charges of sodomy and corruption. A former deputy prime minister, he is facing new sodomy charges which he describes as trumped up.
Political tensions are bubbling after the government extended its crackdown by issuing warning letters to three newspapers.
A leading Chinese daily, for which the released journalist worked, was warned for reporting comments made by a junior official from the ruling party who referred to the country's ethnic Chinese as 'immigrants' and 'squatters'.
The remarks sparked outrage in the Chinese community, which makes up about a quarter of the population.
The opposition fear a repeat of a 1987 crackdown in which almost 120 people were imprisoned under the ISA after then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad blamed the media for playing up racial issues. -- Reuters
Tuesday, 16 September 2008
Published September 15, 2008
MALAYSIA INSIGHT
Detentions: predicted, and for 'own safety'
One saw it coming, but what is one to make of two others?
By S JAYASANKARAN
KL CORRESPONDENT
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THE events of the past few days in Kuala Lumpur are enough to beggar belief - even among Malaysians.
On Friday, the police arrested three people under the Internal Security Act (ISA), a law introduced in the colonial era that, in theory, permits indefinite detention without trial. The first was Raja Petra Kamaruddin, the enfant terrible of Malaysian cyberspace whose postings on his website have riled up more National Front politicians than any opposition party could ever hope to do.
Raja Petra already faces a slew of legal suits that will probably take him years to defend. And his site was blocked by the government last month. He knew that the ISA came, as it were, with the territory. Two weeks ago, he had almost blithely predicted that his ISA arrest would happen.
But what are we to make of the two other arrests, those of Sin Chew Jit Poh reporter Tan Hoon Cheng and opposition lawmaker Teresa Kok?
Ms Tan was arrested for a 140-word report she filed on remarks made by a Penang politician from the dominant United Malays National Organisation (Umno) during a campaign for a by-election in Permatang Pauh in Penang state. She quoted Ahmad Ismail, an Umno division leader, challenging the antecedents of Malaysia's Chinese community in remarks that later riled up the Chinese component parties in the Front.
Mr Ahmad at first said the remarks had been taken out of context but later compounded his error by lashing out and describing the community in comments that can only be described as reckless. For those statements, he was suspended from Umno for three years and stripped of all party posts.
In its first statement, the Home Ministry said that Ms Tan was arrested for 'playing up sensitive issues'. But what she did report was Mr Ahmad's remarks. In short, she was detained for doing her job. If that is not shooting the messenger, we don't know what is.
After widespread protest - including a storm among the Front and even some Umno lawmakers - Ms Tan was released less than 24 hours after she had been detained. From perceived national security threat, she went to, in Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar's words, being detained 'for her own safety'. In other words, she had been under protective custody for all of 18 hours!
In Ms Kok's case, she is accused of stirring up religious sentiments as she allegedly questioned the volume of the loudspeakers of a mosque in Puchong. The accusations came from Khir Toyo, the former Umno chief minister of Selangor, and were highlighted in Utusan Malaysia, a Malay daily that is owned by the political party.
In January or thereabouts, 189 residents living near a mosque there sent an appeal to the mosque committee and the Umno state assemblyman for the area about the loudspeakers. A copy of the letter was sent to Ms Kok in March after she won the state seat in the general election.
The group has said that Ms Kok did not instigate them and the petition was their own initiative. Now the mosque committee has clarified that Ms Kok was not involved in the petition and had never set foot in the mosque, as was alleged by Mr Khir.
A few days before Ms Kok was arrested, a state legislator from Parti Islam SeMalaysia lodged a police report against Mr Khir for misrepresenting the issue. It will be interesting to see the outcome of that particular investigation.
MALAYSIA INSIGHT
Detentions: predicted, and for 'own safety'
One saw it coming, but what is one to make of two others?
By S JAYASANKARAN
KL CORRESPONDENT
Email this article
Print article
Feedback
THE events of the past few days in Kuala Lumpur are enough to beggar belief - even among Malaysians.
On Friday, the police arrested three people under the Internal Security Act (ISA), a law introduced in the colonial era that, in theory, permits indefinite detention without trial. The first was Raja Petra Kamaruddin, the enfant terrible of Malaysian cyberspace whose postings on his website have riled up more National Front politicians than any opposition party could ever hope to do.
Raja Petra already faces a slew of legal suits that will probably take him years to defend. And his site was blocked by the government last month. He knew that the ISA came, as it were, with the territory. Two weeks ago, he had almost blithely predicted that his ISA arrest would happen.
But what are we to make of the two other arrests, those of Sin Chew Jit Poh reporter Tan Hoon Cheng and opposition lawmaker Teresa Kok?
Ms Tan was arrested for a 140-word report she filed on remarks made by a Penang politician from the dominant United Malays National Organisation (Umno) during a campaign for a by-election in Permatang Pauh in Penang state. She quoted Ahmad Ismail, an Umno division leader, challenging the antecedents of Malaysia's Chinese community in remarks that later riled up the Chinese component parties in the Front.
Mr Ahmad at first said the remarks had been taken out of context but later compounded his error by lashing out and describing the community in comments that can only be described as reckless. For those statements, he was suspended from Umno for three years and stripped of all party posts.
In its first statement, the Home Ministry said that Ms Tan was arrested for 'playing up sensitive issues'. But what she did report was Mr Ahmad's remarks. In short, she was detained for doing her job. If that is not shooting the messenger, we don't know what is.
After widespread protest - including a storm among the Front and even some Umno lawmakers - Ms Tan was released less than 24 hours after she had been detained. From perceived national security threat, she went to, in Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar's words, being detained 'for her own safety'. In other words, she had been under protective custody for all of 18 hours!
In Ms Kok's case, she is accused of stirring up religious sentiments as she allegedly questioned the volume of the loudspeakers of a mosque in Puchong. The accusations came from Khir Toyo, the former Umno chief minister of Selangor, and were highlighted in Utusan Malaysia, a Malay daily that is owned by the political party.
In January or thereabouts, 189 residents living near a mosque there sent an appeal to the mosque committee and the Umno state assemblyman for the area about the loudspeakers. A copy of the letter was sent to Ms Kok in March after she won the state seat in the general election.
The group has said that Ms Kok did not instigate them and the petition was their own initiative. Now the mosque committee has clarified that Ms Kok was not involved in the petition and had never set foot in the mosque, as was alleged by Mr Khir.
A few days before Ms Kok was arrested, a state legislator from Parti Islam SeMalaysia lodged a police report against Mr Khir for misrepresenting the issue. It will be interesting to see the outcome of that particular investigation.
Published September 15, 2008
No easy money in Asian casinos
Profit margin in Macau is just 10%, while in S'pore it's estimated to be nearly 40%
By ARTHUR SIM
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GIVEN the favourable tax regime here, Singapore's casinos in the upcoming integrated resorts look set to have higher profit margins, at least compared to Macau.
While the profit margin takes into account various operational costs, including junket commissions, the tax on gaming revenue is a big factor, and in Macau operators pay 35 per cent of gross gaming revenue in taxes.
In Singapore, the gaming tax rate will be 12 per cent (plus GST) for VIP play and 23 per cent (plus GST) for non-VIP play.
At the 13th Annual Asian Casinos Executive Summit 2008, which included industry players from Caesars Entertainment and Genting International, it also emerged that the profit margin for gaming operations in Macau work out to be about 10 per cent. In Singapore, it is estimated to be closer to 40 per cent.
Of course, taxes only matter to the extent that there is revenue to be taxed.
'Generally, gaming tax needs to be below 20 per cent if the operators are also expected to provide amenities like entertainment, retail and F&B, and still remain feasible.'
- Robert Stocker,
president of the International Master of Gaming Law (US)
Speaking at the summit, Robert Stocker, president of the International Master of Gaming Law (US), said that generally, gaming tax needs to be below 20 per cent if the operators are also expected to provide amenities like entertainment, retail and F&B, and still remain feasible.
In a Citi gaming report, Anil Daswani said that Macau gaming revenues have plateaued and forecast a 20 per cent drop for September, down from HK$9.2 billion (S$1.7 billion) in August.
While visa restrictions from China were cited as one reason for this, cut-throat junket commissions and easy credit lines are creating what Mr Daswani calls an environment of 'irrational competition'.
In this environment, he also noted that some Macau developers including eSun have failed to secure funding for projects.
CapitaLand has a 20 per cent stake in the eSun project, Macao Studio City. A spokesman said: 'Currently, the progress of the Macao Studio City project is dependent on when the site will be re-gazetted and its use extended to allow for additional hotel rooms and other entertainment activities. The pace of securing project financing will also correspond with this approval. At the same time, the current environment has also become more challenging due to the global credit crunch.'
With the Chinese government expected to curb casino development in Macau, other countries are ramping up efforts to attract investors.
Singapore may be ahead of the game here but even in small gaming jurisdictions like Cambodia, where there are already 28 casino hotels, the government is looking to build bigger and better facilities.
Also speaking at the casino summit, Secretary of State for the Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance, Chea Peng Chheang, said it was now hoping to build 'destination casinos'.
Casinos are only open to foreigners in Cambodia but the market is not heavily regulated. This is largely because, apart from Naga Corp's casino in Phnom Penh, casinos are located in border towns like Cam-Thai and Cam-Viet to stimulate the economies there.
Casinos are also imminent in Japan but this is more because the Japanese have a yen for gambling. Pachinko and Pachislo machines there generate more than US$10 billion in revenue every year.
Japan has just moved one step closer to legalising casinos.
Toru Mihara, adviser to the Casino Study Group of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party, said that one of the main stumbling blocks - the lack of bipartisan support - had been recently resolved with a bipartisan group formed to study gaming issues.
He also revealed that 16 congressmen had travelled to Macau and Singapore recently for this purpose. 'We are now discussing not when casinos will be allowed, but how,' he said.
Political will could make all the difference. In India, for instance, where slot machines were legalised only in Goa in 1993, Sunder Advani, chairman and managing director of Advani Hotels and Resorts, says it is very unlikely that the government there would allow resort-style casinos anytime soon. 'There is too much resistance from anti-gambling bodies.'
For now, Mr Advani owns the only 'full-fledged' casino in India and that is located on a ship off the Goa coast. Five more off-shore licences are still pending.
Some investors are still gung-ho on the industry, though.
Canada's Asian Coast Development (ACD), which counts US-based Harbinger Capital as a partner, has already got US$1.5 billion funding to build a 2,300-room casino resort in Vietnam's Bang Ria-Vung Tau Province called the Ho Tram Strip.
The casino will have 90 gaming tables and 2,000 slot machines and the resort will have a golf course designed by Greg Norman.
Vietnam already has two casinos but entry is restricted to foreigners. ACD chief executive David Subotic is, however, optimistic that this will change. ACD's revenue model includes local gamers.
ACD is also eyeing other Asian markets. He said: 'Ho Tram Strip is a showpiece for Japan and Taiwan, to show the governments there that our model is the most successful.'
Mr Subotic concedes that competition will be intense, and if credit markets remain persistently bearish, funding will be challenging.
But he added: 'If you build something of substance in this region, we believe people will be attracted.'
No easy money in Asian casinos
Profit margin in Macau is just 10%, while in S'pore it's estimated to be nearly 40%
By ARTHUR SIM
Email this article
Print article
Feedback
GIVEN the favourable tax regime here, Singapore's casinos in the upcoming integrated resorts look set to have higher profit margins, at least compared to Macau.
While the profit margin takes into account various operational costs, including junket commissions, the tax on gaming revenue is a big factor, and in Macau operators pay 35 per cent of gross gaming revenue in taxes.
In Singapore, the gaming tax rate will be 12 per cent (plus GST) for VIP play and 23 per cent (plus GST) for non-VIP play.
At the 13th Annual Asian Casinos Executive Summit 2008, which included industry players from Caesars Entertainment and Genting International, it also emerged that the profit margin for gaming operations in Macau work out to be about 10 per cent. In Singapore, it is estimated to be closer to 40 per cent.
Of course, taxes only matter to the extent that there is revenue to be taxed.
'Generally, gaming tax needs to be below 20 per cent if the operators are also expected to provide amenities like entertainment, retail and F&B, and still remain feasible.'
- Robert Stocker,
president of the International Master of Gaming Law (US)
Speaking at the summit, Robert Stocker, president of the International Master of Gaming Law (US), said that generally, gaming tax needs to be below 20 per cent if the operators are also expected to provide amenities like entertainment, retail and F&B, and still remain feasible.
In a Citi gaming report, Anil Daswani said that Macau gaming revenues have plateaued and forecast a 20 per cent drop for September, down from HK$9.2 billion (S$1.7 billion) in August.
While visa restrictions from China were cited as one reason for this, cut-throat junket commissions and easy credit lines are creating what Mr Daswani calls an environment of 'irrational competition'.
In this environment, he also noted that some Macau developers including eSun have failed to secure funding for projects.
CapitaLand has a 20 per cent stake in the eSun project, Macao Studio City. A spokesman said: 'Currently, the progress of the Macao Studio City project is dependent on when the site will be re-gazetted and its use extended to allow for additional hotel rooms and other entertainment activities. The pace of securing project financing will also correspond with this approval. At the same time, the current environment has also become more challenging due to the global credit crunch.'
With the Chinese government expected to curb casino development in Macau, other countries are ramping up efforts to attract investors.
Singapore may be ahead of the game here but even in small gaming jurisdictions like Cambodia, where there are already 28 casino hotels, the government is looking to build bigger and better facilities.
Also speaking at the casino summit, Secretary of State for the Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance, Chea Peng Chheang, said it was now hoping to build 'destination casinos'.
Casinos are only open to foreigners in Cambodia but the market is not heavily regulated. This is largely because, apart from Naga Corp's casino in Phnom Penh, casinos are located in border towns like Cam-Thai and Cam-Viet to stimulate the economies there.
Casinos are also imminent in Japan but this is more because the Japanese have a yen for gambling. Pachinko and Pachislo machines there generate more than US$10 billion in revenue every year.
Japan has just moved one step closer to legalising casinos.
Toru Mihara, adviser to the Casino Study Group of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party, said that one of the main stumbling blocks - the lack of bipartisan support - had been recently resolved with a bipartisan group formed to study gaming issues.
He also revealed that 16 congressmen had travelled to Macau and Singapore recently for this purpose. 'We are now discussing not when casinos will be allowed, but how,' he said.
Political will could make all the difference. In India, for instance, where slot machines were legalised only in Goa in 1993, Sunder Advani, chairman and managing director of Advani Hotels and Resorts, says it is very unlikely that the government there would allow resort-style casinos anytime soon. 'There is too much resistance from anti-gambling bodies.'
For now, Mr Advani owns the only 'full-fledged' casino in India and that is located on a ship off the Goa coast. Five more off-shore licences are still pending.
Some investors are still gung-ho on the industry, though.
Canada's Asian Coast Development (ACD), which counts US-based Harbinger Capital as a partner, has already got US$1.5 billion funding to build a 2,300-room casino resort in Vietnam's Bang Ria-Vung Tau Province called the Ho Tram Strip.
The casino will have 90 gaming tables and 2,000 slot machines and the resort will have a golf course designed by Greg Norman.
Vietnam already has two casinos but entry is restricted to foreigners. ACD chief executive David Subotic is, however, optimistic that this will change. ACD's revenue model includes local gamers.
ACD is also eyeing other Asian markets. He said: 'Ho Tram Strip is a showpiece for Japan and Taiwan, to show the governments there that our model is the most successful.'
Mr Subotic concedes that competition will be intense, and if credit markets remain persistently bearish, funding will be challenging.
But he added: 'If you build something of substance in this region, we believe people will be attracted.'
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