Economic News

[winners]

Even City Square Mall & Komtar JBCC with easy access, I can see plenty of vacant shop space.

Oh no, City Square Mall cannot fail because Temasek has shares in this mall.

 

[snowbird]

Oh no, City Square Mall cannot fail because Temasek has shares in this mall.

City Square is in a prime and a very ideal location in JB.
And if this mall also fail to make it, then the rest will probably be in worse fate.
However, many shops within City Square had opened and closed within a short period of time just because they are unable to get enough business.
Big crowd don't equal big business, many are just passing through or there to meet and window shop.

 

[rotikok]

Hence in JB, it is a peculiar situation as far as spending power is concerned.
With things getting more and more expensive in JB, one group will find the situation still tolerable and still able to dine out now and then.
As for the other group, the situation is just get tougher and tougher.

Ya lor, situation is kinda same. Hongkie working in HK are bother by deteriorating living condition while local johorean working in jb are bother by ever increasing living expense. Actually My gov still subsidizing a lot of basic living necessities, situation might not be as bad if they cook on their own.


http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/ene...-aramco-may-sign-new-deal-on-refinery-project
See, still got hope right, actually from the moment the investment cancel news coming out from singapore media, i already feel suspicious about the accuracy, malaysia no news how come singapore got news first de....but if they are quoting fake news from unknown source, they are actually not much better than CNN.

 

[snowbird]

Ya lor, situation is kinda same. Hongkie working in HK are bother by deteriorating living condition while local johorean working in jb are bother by ever increasing living expense. Actually My gov still subsidizing a lot of basic living necessities, situation might not be as bad if they cook on their own.


http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/ene...-aramco-may-sign-new-deal-on-refinery-project
See, still got hope right, actually from the moment the investment cancel news coming out from singapore media, i already feel suspicious about the accuracy, malaysia no news how come singapore got news first de....but if they are quoting fake news from unknown source, they are actually not much better than CNN.

Cost of living Index 2107 for Singapore is ranked at 10 out of 121 countries. https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings_by_country.jsp
Cost of living Index 2017 for Malaysia is ranked at 84 out of 121 countries.
So the guy from JB working in SG, drawing his salary in S$, can afford to live like a king in his own country.

As you can read from the report, it say : "Aramco had decided to suspend its partnership with Petronas in the refining and petrochemical complex in the southeast of the country, according to sources last month."
Reuters didn't offer any contradiction to that report.
So now, if Aramco decides to continue with the partnership after cancelling it earlier, it will definitely be on their terms and conditions.
So, don't be too happy, for all you know, someone maybe trying to sell away yet another national company, just like what they are doing to Proton Saga.

 

[rotikok]

Cost of living Index 2107 for Singapore is ranked at 10 out of 121 countries. https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings_by_country.jsp
Cost of living Index 2017 for Malaysia is ranked at 84 out of 121 countries.
So the guy from JB working in SG, drawing his salary in S$, can afford to live like a king in his own country.
Ya la, standard of living wise, johorean working in johor will be like singaporean working in singapore
As you can read from the report, it say : "Aramco had decided to suspend its partnership with Petronas in the refining and petrochemical complex in the southeast of the country, according to sources last month."
Reuters didn't offer any contradiction to that report.
So now, if Aramco decides to continue with the partnership after cancelling it earlier, it will definitely be on their terms and conditions.
So, don't be too happy, for all you know, someone maybe trying to sell away yet another national company, just like what they are doing to Proton Saga.

Errr... actually the origin of the news coming from singapore media citing from reliable informants, after that western media starting to quote that news from singapore media including Reuters. Had Aramco suspended, or suspended after that continue with new T&C? Neither aramco nor petronas verify, authority from aramco only said "everything still in initial stage" after the news came out. So the report was indeed misleading to make people think that Reuter even knew any first hand information to begin with. So "according to sources last month" is actually havent verified hearsay and may likely be Singapore CNN style fake news. Im being careful about it bcoz I remember clearly malaysia newspaper purposely said it is a news coming from singapore, so malaysia did report, but warn us it is likely fake news from singapore.

 

[snowbird]

Errr... actually the origin of the news coming from singapore media citing from reliable informants, after that western media starting to quote that news from singapore media including Reuters. Had Aramco suspended, or suspended after that continue with new T&C? Neither aramco nor petronas verify, authority from aramco only said "everything still in initial stage" after the news came out. So the report was indeed misleading to make people think that Reuter even knew any first hand information to begin with. So "according to sources last month" is actually havent verified hearsay and may likely be Singapore CNN style fake news. Im being careful about it bcoz I remember clearly malaysia newspaper purposely said it is a news coming from singapore, so malaysia did report, but warn us it is likely fake news from singapore.

Sorry to disappoint you, that earlier news about Aramco's withdrawal from investing in MY was real and not a fake report, no smoke without fire.
Malaysian Second Finance Minister Johari Abdul Ghani actually confirmed it.
He was quoted saying " The possibility of having Aramco as a partner to share the project was only an option. Since Petronas could not agree to some of the terms, the two parties decided to stop the negotiations and move on.”
He also said : "Aramco and Petronas could “always revisit the negotiations” if they could come to an agreement at a later stage".

So apparently, they had renegotiated again on the joint venture on NEW TERMS & CONDITIONS - as usual, who needs who more, who will have the upper hand in the negotiation.

So, chances are Petronas is being offered to the Saudis on a silver platter.

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/ca.../arab-investors-fleeing-prove-it-says-johari/


Another news on Petronas.
They are now offering to sell off yet another potion of its assets to raise money.
Reuters reported on Monday that Malaysian state-owned oil and gas firm Petronas aimed to sell a large minority stake in its prized upstream local gas project for up to US$1 billion (RM4.45 billion).

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/ca...ailands-ptt-eyes-petronas-offshore-gas-stake/

 

[FHBH12]

Saudi state oil company takes significant stake in Malaysia refinery
Euronews
27/02/2017

Saudi Arabia’s state oil company Saudi Aramco is to invest $7 billion (6.6 billion euros) in an oil refinery and petrochemical project in southern Malaysia.

The deal was signed during a visit by King Salman Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak said it is the single largest investment in the project which is led by the state-run oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd, more commonly known as Petronas.

The Saudi king is on a tour of Asia courting investors for the upcoming sale of a 5 percent stake in Aramco next year.

The Malaysian development – with a total cost of $27 billion (25.5 billion euros) – is expected to begin operations early in 2019.

The investment is a big boost for Malaysia’s economy which has been hit by weak oil prices and seems to be a major change of heart by Saudi Aramco, which in January was reportedly planning to drop out of the project.

The Malaysian project

Officially know as the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project, it will contain a 300,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery and a petrochemical complex with a production capacity of 7.7 million metric tonnes.

The complex will be alongside an existing oil storage site at Pengerang in Malaysia’s southern state of Johor.

Aramco will also supply at least 50 percent of the crude that will be processed at RAPID, with an option to increase the supply, an industry source familiar with the matter told the Reuters news agency.

The Aramco funding will help move RAPID to fruition and the desire of Saudi and Malaysian leaders to maintain close links between the countries likely helped cement a deal, said Subramanya Bettadapura, an oil and gas analyst with consultants Frost & Sullivan based in Kuala Lumpur.

“This investment confirmation would help bring the RAPID project to the commissioning stage,” said Subramanya. “It’s the goodwill of the Saudi king himself to invest and to maintain good ties with Malaysia, boost bilateral ties.”

King Salman’s tour

During a month long tour King Salman also plans to visit Indonesia, Brunei, Japan, China, the Maldives and Jordan “to meet with the leaders of those countries to discuss bilateral relations and regional and international issues of common concern,” a royal court statement carried on Saudi Arabia’s state media SPA reported.

Government sources with knowledge of the visit told Reuters that he travelled with a 600-strong delegation to Malaysia.

His entourage has completely booked out three luxury hotels in the capital Kuala Lumpur for the four-day visit.

After Malaysia, the king is expected to travel to Jakarta and Bali in Indonesia from March 1-9 with an even larger entourage of 1,500 people, followed by a trip to Japan from March 12 to 14, officials in those countries said.

Corruption scandal

Relations between Saudi Arabia and Malaysia have been in the spotlight over the last two years after Saudi Arabia was dragged into a multi-billion dollar corruption scandal at Malaysian state investment fund 1MDB, founded by Prime Minister Najib.

Najib has denied any wrongdoing in the money-laundering case which is now being investigated by several countries including the US, Switzerland and Singapore.

A Malaysian government inquiry found that nearly $700 million transferred to the prime minister’s bank account in 2013 was a donation from the Saudi royal family and most of it was returned.

http://www.euronews.com/2017/02/27/...-takes-significant-stake-in-malaysia-refinery

 

[FHBH12]

To put into perspective, USD 7 billion is more than 1/4 of the total investments at Jurong Island.

https://www.edb.gov.sg/content/edb/en/industries/industries/chemicals.html

 

[RedsYNWA]

City Square is in a prime and a very ideal location in JB.
And if this mall also fail to make it, then the rest will probably be in worse fate.
However, many shops within City Square had opened and closed within a short period of time just because they are unable to get enough business.
Big crowd don't equal big business, many are just passing through or there to meet and window shop.

Many shops open and close in Ion too, does that mean Ion cant make it too? It's all about having a strong brand, strong product. Out goes the weak, in comes the strong.

Btw City Square easily ranks among the top 5 malls in Malaysia (including KL malls) for retail & F&B.

 

[RedsYNWA]

To put into perspective, USD 7 billion is more than 1/4 of the total investments at Jurong Island.

https://www.edb.gov.sg/content/edb/en/industries/industries/chemicals.html

Big investments yes, but you cant please the opposition locals. They will say Najib is selling the country to China and Saudi Arabia for peanuts.

 

[FHBH12]

Malaysia, Saudi Arabia firms sign $3 billion worth of deals
PUBLISHED FEB 28, 2017, 12:04 PM SGT

KUALA LUMPUR (BERNAMA) - Malaysia and Saudi Arabia companies on Tuesday (Feb 28) signed seven memorandums of understanding (MOUs) in various areas, including construction, halal cooperation, aerospace and haj services, with an estimated total value of about RM9.74 billion (S$3 billion).

Minister of International Trade and Industry Mustapa Mohamed said the signing of the MOUs signalled growing interests from both countries to leverage on mutual strengths in achieving business goals.

These MOUs would complement the government-to-government pacts that were signed with the Saudi State Minister Dr Ibrahim Abdulaziz Al-Assaf on Monday, he said.

“As Saudi Arabia is moving away from its reliance on oil revenue, we would like to encourage Saudi investors to explore the business potentials in new growth areas particularly advanced technology products,” he said.

Mustapa said this in his welcome speech at the Malaysia-Saudi Arabia Business Forum held in conjunction with the State Visit of King Salman Abdul Aziz Al Saud.

He invited Saudi multinational corporations (MNCs) to follow in the footsteps of other MNCs to take advantage of Malaysia’s Principal Hub scheme.

This would enable the kingdom’s MNCs to use Malaysia as a base to boost their key strategic value-adding functions towards becoming more cost-efficient, he said.

The one-day forum is jointly held by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Malaysia External Trade Development Corp and Malaysian Investment Development Authority.

The forum aims to promote and highlight business and investment opportunities in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia as well as provide a platform to discuss and exchange views on issues related to trade and investments and ways to enhance bilateral economic ties.

http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysia-saudi-arabia-firms-sign-28-billion-worth-of-deals

 

[rotikok]

Big investments yes, but you cant please the opposition locals. They will say Najib is selling the country to China and Saudi Arabia for peanuts.

Ironically, nowadays DAP very pro malay, they only aim for the power and already changed to only please the malay. China, no; saudi, they keep quiet bcoz they dont want to offend their malay supporters. See the latest bicycle accident, DAP want to help the malay to sue the chinese driver while MCA is standing on the female driver side, what a shame.

 

[rotikok]

Sorry to disappoint you, that earlier news about Aramco's withdrawal from investing in MY was real and not a fake report, no smoke without fire.
Malaysian Second Finance Minister Johari Abdul Ghani actually confirmed it.

Actually if you patience abit, you wont get a big slap on face lol. So now the withdrawal news still real and not a fake report? This time is really smoke without fire, agree?

Malaysia minister... i always have problem with them, a number of them have competency issue and always come out with amazing suggestion that will surprise everyone. Im not sure johari said those thing under what context, maybe he made an assumption of if the deal didnt go through, then it should b T&C cant agree on, perhaps he didnt even involve in the agreement discussion and make blind guess based on reuter....opps sorry is singapore strait time cnn style fake report. And you were proud of sg first hand fake news and trying to ridicule malaysia news media trying to hide such fake news....well malaysia only report as it is, hearsay we didnt give much attention.

Now aramco officially denied such news, and such news arise when they are in the midst of drafting an agreement.
KUALA LUMPUR: Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) never had any plan to withdraw from the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project in Johor, said its president and chief executive officer Amin H. Nasser today.

In denying previous news reports that the company had given up on the US$27 billion (RM119.8 billion) downstream oil and gas project in Pengerang, Amin said Saudi Aramco entered negotiations with Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) with the intention to stay and build a strong partnership.

“We started negotiations three years ago and we saw it (Rapid) as a very significant project.

“From the beginning, we knew that the negotiations would end with the signing of a partnership (with Petronas).

“During the discussions, there were no plans to pull out or break out from the agreement,” Amin told a press conference after signing a Share Purchase Agreement with Petronas today.

He said Saudi Aramco had full teams working with Petronas to iron out the details of the partnership.

“When news first broke out (that Saudi Aramco had withdrawn), we didn’t want to elaborate because we were preparing the agreement. It was only a matter of time before we celebrate (our partnership).

“Today, we are celebrating this partnership,” he said.

Present were Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan, Saudi Arabia’s Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Khalid A. Falih and Petronas president and group CEO Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin.

Meanwhile, Abdul Rahman also denied the claim, saying there was never a decision by Saudi Aramco to withdraw from the negotiations.

“That’s why when news articles came out, both Saudi Aramco and Petronas did not confirm the authenticity of the reports.

“The RM31 billion investment (by Saudi Aramco) is a signal of the foreign investors’ confidence in the economy despite huge economic challenges,” he said.
http://www.nst.com.my/news/2017/02/216159/aramco-denies-rapid-pullout-rumour-says-it-here-stay

Now 7B USD own 50% and provide up to 70% of raw oil for rapid project. The whole project arent they cost 27 B usd? Are petronas and aramco planning to jointly take bank loan for another half ~14B of the total cost?

 

[rotikok]

Malaysia, Saudi Arabia firms sign $3 billion worth of deals
PUBLISHED FEB 28, 2017, 12:04 PM SGT

I knew from the very beginning saudi king come will bring in big gift. Told you all esp snowbird weeks ago. How can i be so correct while snowbird so wrong about saudi? Bcoz what i see is based on human common sense, what ppl going to do nxt if they are in dire situation. It is a very important aspect when come to investment thinking and i learned the hardway when speculating the market. Years ago i was predicting bad consequece for US, i was correct for only a short while bfore central bank came in and changed the whole consequence.

So rather than looking at the past, we need to look forward what they are going to do next? Mr snowy bird only expect saudi will sit there and died and do nothing when the oil price remain lousy. As he expect, saudi come to take back the money from najib and so pok until no money to invest liao, just come here to kai kai (walk around). Well, i do expect more thing to be happen in saudi both economically and culturally.

 

[snowbird]

I knew from the very beginning saudi king come will bring in big gift. Told you all esp snowbird weeks ago. How can i be so correct while snowbird so wrong about saudi? Bcoz what i see is based on human common sense, what ppl going to do nxt if they are in dire situation. It is a very important aspect when come to investment thinking and i learned the hardway when speculating the market. Years ago i was predicting bad consequece for US, i was correct for only a short while bfore central bank came in and changed the whole consequence.

So rather than looking at the past, we need to look forward what they are going to do next? Mr snowy bird only expect saudi will sit there and died and do nothing when the oil price remain lousy. As he expect, saudi come to take back the money from najib and so pok until no money to invest liao, just come here to kai kai (walk around). Well, i do expect more thing to be happen in saudi both economically and culturally.

Congratulations to the Saudi for being so successful in the fire sales that they need only to pay a mere US$7 billion for 50% of the stake of RAPID when it is supposedly worth US$27 billions.
Obviously they wanted the deal very much, it was MY who walked away because of the unfavorable terms as mentioned by the Finance Minister II, hence MY walked away from the negotiation.
Aramco will be listed very soon for hundreds of billions USD and is expected to be the biggest IPO in history, the Saudi king is doing his rounds marketing it.
His visit to China and Japan, which are both non Muslim country, is mainly for business and their commitment ($$$$$) to Aramco.

When RAPID was first announced, crude oil was about US$150+.
Halfway through the project, crude oil fell to below US$50, causing Petronas to cut expenditure and expenses drastically in the last 2 years.
Without an investing partner, the project's progress may be stalled or delayed by years.
Same for Saudis, if not for the low crude oil price, they will never borrow by selling bonds last year and will never offer Aramco for IPO.
For just US$7 billions, the Saudi will put RAPID into their Aramco portfolio to make it more impressive.
Actually it is the Saudi King who is taking back with him a big gift, Chinese saying 拾到宝！

As I've said earlier, who with the bargaining power and who needs the money more will determine the outcome of the deal, just like any fire sales.
Najib also came back from China last year with US$34 billions worth of deals, but what are those deals actually and whether they benefit the country or certain people, it is yet to be seen.
One example is the questionable East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), a RM55 billion rail project connecting a new port in Kelantan to Port Klang where no feasibility study had ever been done.
China's interest free loans for the project is still a loan to be repaid by the rakyat ultimately.

And please don't forget Abu Dhabi's IPIC is still seeking US$6.5 billion from 1MDB, thru the London Court of International Arbitration.
1MDB is now already bankrupted and under the receivership of the Minister of Finance, so it is now a govt. debt.
MY has to raise that money fast, very fast............sell Proton Saga, sell Edra Global Energy, sell RAPID, sell Bandar KL, sell more land...........wonder whats next.

 

[winners]

Congratulations to the Saudi for being so successful in the fire sales that they need only to pay a mere US$7 billion for 50% of the stake of RAPID when it is supposedly worth US$27 billions.

I also smell a rat here. The Saudis were never that generous.

 

[snowbird]

I also smell a rat here. The Saudis were never that generous.

Haha, all the Saudi King need to say is : "We did not donate that US$700 millions into the PM's personal bank account !!!"
So you see, who has the upper hand here.
Now, Malaysia is even obliged to send in more and more troops to Saudi Arabia "for training" mentioned by the Malaysian Defense Minister.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nati...laysia-army-not-being-sent-to-fight-in-yemen/


But according to the Arab News, they reported :

As an extension of military cooperation between the two countries, Malaysian troops have participated in the Saudi-led coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen, as well as in the “North Thunder” joint military exercises.
Malaysia is also a member of the Saudi-led Islamic military alliance against terrorism, and joined in condemning the Houthis’ targeting of Makkah with a missile.

Obviously, someone is not telling the truth here.

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1060461/saudi-arabia

 

[snowbird]

Very quietly and without any prior news announcement, the price of sugar, a controlled commodity, raised on 01 March, from RM2.84 to RM2.95 or up by about 4%
As expected.
Earlier, it was cooking oil, also a controlled commodity, and now sugar.
Watch it closely, very soon, it'll be flour.
So, expect to pay more for your kopi and teh and everything else very soon.

Didn't I say that they need to raise money fast, very fast?

http://www.themalaymailonline.com/m...p-11-sen-but-govt-says-price-still-controlled

 

[rotikok]

Congratulations to the Saudi for being so successful in the fire sales that they need only to pay a mere US$7 billion for 50% of the stake of RAPID when it is supposedly worth US$27 billions.
Obviously they wanted the deal very much, it was MY who walked away because of the unfavorable terms as mentioned by the Finance Minister II, hence MY walked away from the negotiation.

When RAPID was first announced, crude oil was about US$150+.
Halfway through the project, crude oil fell to below US$50, causing Petronas to cut expenditure and expenses drastically in the last 2 years.
Without an investing partner, the project's progress may be stalled or delayed by years.
Same for Saudis, if not for the low crude oil price, they will never borrow by selling bonds last year and will never offer Aramco for IPO.
For just US$7 billions, the Saudi will put RAPID into their Aramco portfolio to make it more impressive.
Actually it is the Saudi King who is taking back with him a big gift, Chinese saying 拾到宝！

As I've said earlier, who with the bargaining power and who needs the money more will determine the outcome of the deal, just like any fire sales.
Najib also came back from China last year with US$34 billions worth of deals, but what are those deals actually and whether they benefit the country or certain people, it is yet to be seen.
One example is the questionable East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), a RM55 billion rail project connecting a new port in Kelantan to Port Klang where no feasibility study had ever been done.
China's interest free loans for the project is still a loan to be repaid by the rakyat ultimately.

And please don't forget Abu Dhabi's IPIC is still seeking US$6.5 billion from 1MDB, thru the London Court of International Arbitration.
1MDB is now already bankrupted and under the receivership of the Minister of Finance, so it is now a govt. debt.
MY has to raise that money fast, very fast............sell Proton Saga, sell Edra Global Energy, sell RAPID, sell Bandar KL, sell more land...........wonder whats next.

I also smell a rat here. The Saudis were never that generous.

Can total cost 27B and contribute 7B and get 50% equity fair? Can ah... why not? Then petronas also put 7B and get 50% equity and remaining finance from bank. But wait, i gave the wrong facts.

Checked, "Launched in May 2012, PIC is part of the larger Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex (PIPC) proposed by the Johor state government. Total investment for the PIPC project is approximately MYR97bn ($27bn), of which the RAPID project costs MYR57bn ($16bn) and the associated facilities require MYR40bn ($11bn)."
http://www.hydrocarbons-technology.com/projects/petronas-rapid-project-malaysia/

Sorry to disappoint you after you had written such a long aramco 拾到宝 reply. But i really like your way to shoot when ever and where ever you can about this issue....and how come you do not take bank loan into consideration? Cannot understand basic accounting? If you firmly believe it is a fair deal and firmly believe that (before you did) petronas would not enter into unfair agreement and capable of bringing it up on its own. Oh... they never say the project will stall, so where do you see it?? or just make up your story? Then the equity arrangement should logically be fair right. Now just in case you shoot again aramco put 7usd B while the whole rapid cost is 16 B usd, petronas still rugi.... the only logical way to make the deal fair is to take bank loan for the last 2 B USD. Maybe you dont know how investment work and in your own world, and like to think any bank loan means no money... it increase both party ROE.... in case you dont know what is ROE, aiyah.... google until you understand la.
But the bank loan for the rapid project seem like much smaller than i would expect...previosuly i thought it was 14B usd equity and 13 B USD loan.

By the way, interest free loan for ECRL, no matter how i see it, the only losing party will be the China. Have you taken inflation into consideration? What is RM 55B means after 20 years, further more malaysia hold the ringgit printing machine right? Just in case you cant understand simple logic, give you a simple example. 30 years ago north south highway cost RM5.9 B to complete, let say in 1987, 5.9B, bank loan 30 yaers to repay...but hey, 1987 5.9B is hell lot of money, malaysia gov where got so much money to squander, this will be your worry back in year 1987. By the time 2017, do you still think RM 5.9B difficult to repay? IF you want to build north south highway in 2017, do u think the whole project will only cost a mere RM 5.9B?? So simply, inflation will help us repay part of the loan. The mistake you made is to assume money value is constant regardless of time...it is not.

Haha, all the Saudi King need to say is : "We did not donate that US$700 millions into the PM's personal bank account !!!"
So you see, who has the upper hand here.
Now, Malaysia is even obliged to send in more and more troops to Saudi Arabia "for training" mentioned by the Malaysian Defense Minister.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nati...laysia-army-not-being-sent-to-fight-in-yemen/


But according to the Arab News, they reported :

As an extension of military cooperation between the two countries, Malaysian troops have participated in the Saudi-led coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen, as well as in the “North Thunder” joint military exercises.
Malaysia is also a member of the Saudi-led Islamic military alliance against terrorism, and joined in condemning the Houthis’ targeting of Makkah with a missile.

Obviously, someone is not telling the truth here.

Actually i dont find arab news conflict with hishammuddin statement leh.... participate in a coalition can be many type like stand at back polishing tanks also consider alliance, as long as not a fight ie carry a gun to fight in a war should be ok. Few years back ady mention, malaysia help for evacuation.
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/m...s-in-riyadh-to-assist-evacuation-not-to-fight

Whether they do more than what they supposedly should be doing, we dont really know either...maybe if got fatality coming from malaysia side, only then we can get to know the true nature of the assistance. Whether it is forced to do so because of USD 700M? I dont think it is likely so, remember Houthi was Shia based military group, maybe abang adik malaysia indonesia more than willing to help....of coz because malaysia do not officially want to drag into such issue, they may secretly helping too. Do not underestimate sunni brotherhood among themselves, really no need to use 700m to force la... what is 700m mean to saudi? Perhaps just few days of expense and they ady forget liao.

Very quietly and without any prior news announcement, the price of sugar, a controlled commodity, raised on 01 March, from RM2.84 to RM2.95 or up by about 4%
As expected.
Earlier, it was cooking oil, also a controlled commodity, and now sugar.
Watch it closely, very soon, it'll be flour.
So, expect to pay more for your kopi and teh and everything else very soon.

Didn't I say that they need to raise money fast, very fast?

http://www.themalaymailonline.com/m...p-11-sen-but-govt-says-price-still-controlled

Still a controlled but no longer a subsidized item. What is the price in singapore? Anyway, sugar is actually the real culprit for obesity, worse than fats in food, control your sugar intake. Rmb last time sg healthy campaign put "less sugar" after less oil and less salt, now they already put less sugar rank 1 on top of other less.

 

[rotikok]

http://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/c...-gives-the-sense-that-this-powerful-arab-kin/
"King Salman’s visit gives the sense that this powerful Arab kingdom is committed to helping Datuk Seri Najib’s govt succeed.

FIVE kisses. That was the number of times that King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak kissed each other on the cheek as they said goodbye.

The first two kisses came when the Prime Minister greeted the Saudi Arabia King as he stepped out of his limousine on the tarmac of KLIA.

Then the two men embraced and kissed three more times at the foot of the royal jumbo jet that is emblazoned with the words, “God bless you”.

The minister who had been counting the kisses also heard the King tell Najib how pleased he was with the visit as he clasped both his hands over that of the Prime Minister."

This time help me to act as snowbird to interpret this news: Oh shit, see, Saudi king is using 700M forcing his way to kiss najib...yuack. The king is saying, if you dont let me kiss you, my dear ah jib, i will expose your 700M scandal.

Poor Najib, because of 700M kena kiss..haii.....