Published April 8, 2009

Najib set to announce Cabinet line-up today

He's likely to retain finance portfolio, cut down number of Umno ministers

By S JAYASANKARAN
IN KUALA LUMPUR

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PRIME Minister Najib Razak will probably announce the composition of his Cabinet today and unveil a line-up that is likely to continue the tradition of a technocrat in the position of Second Finance Minister.

Mr Najib: Likely to pick CIMB Bank chairman as Second Finance Minister

According to sources familiar with the matter, the Prime Minister is likely to retain the powerful finance portfolio but could replace incumbent Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamad Yakcop with Mohamad Nor Yusof, the current chairman of CIMB Bank and a member of the board of Khazanah Nasional, the investment arm of the federal government.

If it pans out, Mr Mohamad Nor's appointment is unlikely to raise any eyebrows as he is regarded as an able banker - he was chief executive of the Bank of Commerce in the 1990s - and regulator - he also served as chairman of the Securities Commission.

The sources also said that the Cabinet was likely to be truncated at the expense of members of the dominant United Malays National Organisation (Umno) over which Mr Najib presides. In fairness, however, former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was the first to expand the Cabinet in moves that largely benefited Umno.

The casualty list is likely to be a long one and could include Mr Nor Mohamad, Tourism Minister Azalina Othman, Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar and Regional Development Minister Mohammad Mohammad Taib. Others facing the cut, said the sources, could include Works Minister Mohamad Zin Mohamad, Minister without Portfolio Amirsham Aziz and Information Minister Shabery Chik.

The sources said that at least two deputy ministers stood to be promoted. They include Deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadziah and Deputy Entrepreneur Development Minister Saifudin Abdullah. Both men were elected to Umno's 25-man Supreme Council two weeks ago.

Malaysian newspapers have also speculated that two former ministers could return to the fold. The two named are Jamaluddin Jarjis, a former second finance minister, and former tourism minister Tunku Adnan Mansur. But the sources said both were unlikely to make the cut.

A lot of attention will be focussed on whether Khairy Jamaluddin, the son- in-law of Mr Abdullah, will make it into government. Mr Khairy is a vice- president of Umno as he was elected as head of Umno Youth but he is disliked by former premier Mahathir Mohamad and his appointment could incur Dr Mahathir's wrath.

It could explain why there is now a school of thought that says Mr Najib might not appoint any of Umno's three wing heads - Youth, Wanita and Puteri, respectively.

This would rule out the return of Sharizat Jalil, who defeated former international trade minister Rafidah Aziz in the Wanita contest, to the Cabinet.

Published April 8, 2009

M'sia, 3 other countries off tax-haven blacklist

They've agreed to rules on financial openness: OECD

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(PARIS) Four nations will no longer be blacklisted as uncooperative tax havens after they bowed to pressure from world leaders and agreed to new rules on financial openness, an international organisation said yesterday.

Angel Gurria, head of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), said in a press conference that the Philippines, Uruguay, Costa Rica and Malaysia have been moved off the black list after they agreed to cooperate with international authorities.

'These four jurisdictions have now made a full commitment to exchange information according to the OECD standard,' he said. 'This is very important progress.'

Group of 20 (G-20) leaders meeting in London last week pledged to crack down on tax havens, reflecting the mounting concern that banking secrecy in tax havens has helped to worsen the economic crisis by disguising the true value of some global assets.

Anti-poverty activists say countries with banking secrecy provide corrupt officials with safe havens to stash illicit funds, often depriving poor nations of needed resources.

The OECD has divided countries into three categories: those who comply with rules on sharing tax information, those who say they will but have yet to act, and nations which have not yet agreed to change banking secrecy practices.

The four countries on the blacklist - the Philippines, Uruguay, Costa Rica and Malaysia - will now join countries such as Switzerland and Liechtenstein on a 'grey list' of countries that still have to implement their commitment to accept new information-exchange standards.

Potential sanctions for transgressors include extra audits of those who use tax havens and curbs on tax deductions claimed by businesses using the territories.

More than 30 offshore tax havens, from Britain's Channel Islands to the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean, are under increasing pressure to provide more information to international authorities to prevent people from evading taxes or hiding income by shifting money to such places. -- AP

Published April 8, 2009

M1 may name a new CEO soon

It has looked for foreign candidates, lined up potential ones from within

By WINSTON CHAI
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MOBILEONE has cast its net both locally and abroad in the search for a new chief executive and it is close to unveiling the replacement for former helmsman Neil Montefiore.

Mr Teo: The senior executive director and group finance director of Keppel Corp led M1's shareholders' meeting as chairman for the first time yesterday

'The search committee should complete its work fairly soon,' said M1 chairman Teo Soon Hoe at the opening of M1's shareholders' meeting yesterday.

Mr Teo, senior executive director and group finance director of Keppel Corp, led the meeting as M1 chairman for the first time, taking the place of his predecessor Lim Chee Onn.

'We keep a record of available people in this field (telecommunications),' said M1 director Thio Su Mien, the person spearheading the group's hunt for a new CEO.

With the help of headhunters, M1 has been looking for candidates from abroad, as well as lining up potential replacements from within, she added.

Ms Thio was responding to queries from some shareholders about the group's succession planning policy.

The questions were prompted by the back-to-back resignations of M1's former CEO and its former chairman earlier this year.

Mr Montefiore left in February after 12 years of service, resulting in the appointment of chief financial officer Karen Kooi as the interim chief.

Mr Lim, who has served on the M1 board since 1999, stepped down a month later.

Mr Montefiore had resigned for 'personal reasons', said Mr Teo.

He added that Mr Lim, on the other hand, had resigned as the CEO of Keppel Corp early this year but stayed on as chairman in a non-executive role.

The person 'chairing' Keppel associates such as M1 needs to be executives of the company, he explained.