Wednesday, December 30, 2009
RM60j naik taraf Pasar Payang
Penolong Pengarah (Usahawan dan Industri Kecil dan Sederhana) Unit Perancang Ekonomi Negeri (Upen) Terengganu, Zuwislan Awang berkata, kos untuk menaik taraf Pasar Payang dianggarkan kira-kira RM60 juta.
“Projek ini mungkin akan dilaksanakan dalam Rancangan Malaysia Kesepuluh (RMK-10) nanti.
“Dalam perancangan kita juga, Pasar Payang selepas ini hanya akan menjual produk kraf, manakala pasar basah akan dialihkan,” katanya.
Beliau berkata demikian ketika membentangkan kertas kerja bertajuk ‘Ranca�ngan Pembangunan negeri Terengganu dari 2009 hingga 2013’ pada Seminar Perancangan dan Pelaksanaan Wilayah Ekonomi Pantai Timur (Ecer) dan Unit Perancangan Ekonomi Negeri (Upen) Negeri Terengganu di Dewan Konvensyen Yayasan Pembangunan Usahawan (YPU) Terengganu, di sini, semalam.
Menurutnya, rancangan menaik taraf Pasar Payang adalah salah satu projek pembangunan di bawah Portfolio Pelancongan, Kebudayaan, Kesenian dan Warisan negeri.
Sementara itu, katanya, di bawah Rancangan Pembangunan Negeri juga, Kerajaan Negeri kini dalam proses memasang kamera litar tertutup (CCTV) di seluruh bandar negeri ini yang boleh membantu menyelesaikan masalah jenayah selain mewujudkan bandar selamat.
”Bagi mengatasi masalah banjir terutama di Taman Desa Pusu 3 pula, Kerajaan Negeri akan mewujudkan satu sistem perparitan yang lebih terancang dan sistematik,” katanya.
Dalam pada itu, Zuwislan berkata, Kerajaan Negeri sekarang sedang membangunkan Bandar Baru Kijal yang dijangka siap pada 2012, manakala bagi projek Bandar Baru Bukit Besar pula, kini Kerajaan Negeri sedang membina kemudahan infrastruktur di kawasan itu.
Selain itu, katanya, di bawah Portfolio Pembangunan Infrastruktur dan Kemudahan Awam pula, Kerajaan Negeri merancang mewujudkan rangkaian perhubungan bandar dan luar bandar yang lebih efisien bagi mengatasi masalah kesesakan lalu lintas disebabkan kawasan bandar raya negeri ini yang mempunyai terlalu banyak lampu isyarat.
“Bagi mengatasi isu kesesakan lalu lintas ini, kita merancang mewujudkan persimpangan berlingkar di bandar raya Kuala Terengganu dari Jalan Batu Burok ke Jalan Kamaruddin ke persimpangan Cabang Tiga-Kuala Berang,” katanya.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Terengganu approves 28 housing projects for the poor
KUALA TERENGGANU: The Terengganu government approved 28 housing projects for the hardcore poor between April last year and last month, with an allocation of RM492.8mil, Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said told the state assembly.
He said 15 of the projects were under implementation while the 13 others were in the design state. Altogether, they involve 9,811 housing units.
“The state government decided to use the direct negotiation method in offering the projects to speed up the process because the tender method, as experienced in seven projects thus far, took up to almost one year,” he said when replying to a question from Datuk Din Adam (Bukit Besi-BN).
Datuk Rosol Wahid (Ajil-BN), in a supplementary question, asked the state government to explain the criteria used to select contractors for the projects to avert a delay as had happened in his constituency, involving the construction of 317 houses at RPR Batu 22 Ajil at a cost of more than RM36mil.
Ahmad said the contractors were appointed based on several factors, including the background of the company, financial position and experience.
He said it was usual for the contractors to show they were the best when vying for the projects but after they were awarded the job, they would come up with all kinds of excuses including blaming the (rainy) weather for being unable to complete the work.
He also said that the government paid the contractors based on the progress of work in order to avert delays to a project, adding that contractors who failed to complete any project were blacklisted.
Meanwhile, State Health, Unity and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Dr Abd Rahman Mohtar told the assembly that 187 cases of cholera, including one death, were reported in Terengganu between Nov 10 and Dec 9.
Replying to a question from Alias Razak (PAS-Bukit Tunggal), he said the state health department adopted strict measures to control the spread of the disease, including closing restaurants, keropok lekor (fish crackers) outlets and ice factories.
He said the department suspected that the source of the cholera virus was some foreign crew of fishing boats which docked at the Chendering port. — Bernama
Thursday, December 24, 2009
RM60j naik taraf Pasar Payang
Penolong Pengarah (Usahawan dan Industri Kecil dan Sederhana) Unit Perancang Ekonomi Negeri (Upen) Terengganu, Zuwislan Awang berkata, kos untuk menaik taraf Pasar Payang dianggarkan kira-kira RM60 juta.
“Projek ini mungkin akan dilaksanakan dalam Rancangan Malaysia Kesepuluh (RMK-10) nanti.
“Dalam perancangan kita juga, Pasar Payang selepas ini hanya akan menjual produk kraf, manakala pasar basah akan dialihkan,” katanya.
Beliau berkata demikian ketika membentangkan kertas kerja bertajuk ‘Ranca�ngan Pembangunan negeri Terengganu dari 2009 hingga 2013’ pada Seminar Perancangan dan Pelaksanaan Wilayah Ekonomi Pantai Timur (Ecer) dan Unit Perancangan Ekonomi Negeri (Upen) Negeri Terengganu di Dewan Konvensyen Yayasan Pembangunan Usahawan (YPU) Terengganu, di sini, semalam.
Menurutnya, rancangan menaik taraf Pasar Payang adalah salah satu projek pembangunan di bawah Portfolio Pelancongan, Kebudayaan, Kesenian dan Warisan negeri.
Sementara itu, katanya, di bawah Rancangan Pembangunan Negeri juga, Kerajaan Negeri kini dalam proses memasang kamera litar tertutup (CCTV) di seluruh bandar negeri ini yang boleh membantu menyelesaikan masalah jenayah selain mewujudkan bandar selamat.
”Bagi mengatasi masalah banjir terutama di Taman Desa Pusu 3 pula, Kerajaan Negeri akan mewujudkan satu sistem perparitan yang lebih terancang dan sistematik,” katanya.
Dalam pada itu, Zuwislan berkata, Kerajaan Negeri sekarang sedang membangunkan Bandar Baru Kijal yang dijangka siap pada 2012, manakala bagi projek Bandar Baru Bukit Besar pula, kini Kerajaan Negeri sedang membina kemudahan infrastruktur di kawasan itu.
Selain itu, katanya, di bawah Portfolio Pembangunan Infrastruktur dan Kemudahan Awam pula, Kerajaan Negeri merancang mewujudkan rangkaian perhubungan bandar dan luar bandar yang lebih efisien bagi mengatasi masalah kesesakan lalu lintas disebabkan kawasan bandar raya negeri ini yang mempunyai terlalu banyak lampu isyarat.
“Bagi mengatasi isu kesesakan lalu lintas ini, kita merancang mewujudkan persimpangan berlingkar di bandar raya Kuala Terengganu dari Jalan Batu Burok ke Jalan Kamaruddin ke persimpangan Cabang Tiga-Kuala Berang,” katanya. i.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Four workers injured in collapse
KUALA BERANG: Four workers were injured when the almost completed glass roof of the new bus and taxi terminal here collapsed.
The RM4.2mil Kuala Berang Express Bus and Taxi Terminal is the fourth public building in Terengganu to suffer from structural problems in the past six months.
In the incident which occurred at 3.15pm yesterday, the 150m-long roof — also called a skylight reflector and made up of hundreds of glass panes — came tumbling down in a loud crash when the steel structure holding it up gave way.
Fifteen workers were installing the glass panes at the main entrance of the terminal during the collapse.
Kuala Berang is a major transport hub in the interior of Terengganu and is the main hop-off point for those visiting Tasik Kenyir.
The four who were injured yesterday — a Malaysian supervisor and three Bangladeshis — were cut by pieces of glass when the panes smashed into pieces.
Two of them were working on top of the roof while the other two were standing below.
They were rushed to the Hulu Terengganu Hospital where they received out-patient treatment.
Site supervisor Zahir Hariri, when met at his office close to the construction site, said he heard a thunderous noise while he was attending to some work.
“I dashed out only to discover the glass roof had crumbled. The injured workers were lying on the ground,” he said.
He said work on the 27.4m-wide roof started last week and was almost nearing completion.
He said only wiring work was being done at the terminal before its scheduled opening in February.
“Preliminary checks revealed that the incident could have occurred due to shoddy workmanship,” he added.
Construction of the terminal began in March last year.
The project is under the jurisdiction of the Hulu Terengganu District Council.
Council president Mohd Nor Ibrahim declined to comment.
In June, the roof of the RM300mil Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium collapsed. The stadium was only a year old.
A month later, the Public Works Department closed the RM18mil Batu Burok Aquatic Complex after declaring it unsafe.
Following the two incidents, the PWD was sent to check the Sultan Mahmud Airport, which was also just a year old at the time, and discovered that the roof was leaking.
Drainage system study to alleviate Terengganu floods
KUALA TERENGGANU, Dec 22 (Bernama) -- The Terengganu government is to undertake a comprehensive study of the drainage system in the state as one of several measures to alleviate floods in the state, Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said told the state legislative assembly today.
He said the state government would improve the drainage system in areas prone to floods.
The Public Works Department would raise the level of flood-prone roads and build more concrete drains to channel off excess water easily, he added when replying to a question from Rosli Othman (BN-Kemasik).
Replying to a supplementary question, from Muhammad Ramli Nuh (BN-Tepoh), Ahmad said the state government had allocated RM21 million for the Public Works Department (JKR) to repair state roads damaged by the recent floods.
He said the JKR would also repair damaged federal roads with a RM35 million allocation provided by the federal government.
"Other roads will be repaired by the district councils, which had been allocated RM20 million for the purpose," he said.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Sengkuap kaca runtuh
pengarang@utusan.com.my
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HULU TERENGGANU 21 Dis. - Tiga pekerja Bangladesh dan seorang pekerja tempatan cedera apabila sengkuap kaca pada bumbung terminal pengangkutan awam bernilai RM4.2 juta yang sedang dalam pembinaan di Kuala Berang di sini runtuh hari ini.
Kejadian berlaku kira-kira pukul 3 petang semalam ketika mangsa sedang melakukan kerja-kerja memasang plat kaca itu untuk sengkuap bumbung bahagian hadapan bangunan itu.
Pembinaan bumbung tersebut bermula sejak seminggu lalu.
Penyelia projek, Zahir Hariri berkata, dia terdengar bunyi yang kuat ketika berada di pejabat sementaranya yang terletak berhampiran terminal tersebut.
Menurutnya, dia terkejut apabila keluar dari pejabatnya dan mendapati kaca sengkuap sepanjang 27.4 meter itu runtuh.
''Kejadian itu menyebabkan dua pekerja warga Bangladesh yang berada di atas bumbung dan dua lagi iaitu seorang warga Bangladesh dan seorang rakyat tempatan yang berada di bawah cedera,'' katanya ketika ditemui di tempat kejadian di sini hari ini.
Beliau menambah, kesemua mangsa yang mengalami cedera ringan di bahagian kaki, dahi dan tangan akibat terkena serpihan kaca itu kemudiannya dihantar ke Hospital Hulu Terengganu dan dirawat sebagai pesakit luar.
Sementara itu, salah seorang pekerja yang enggan dikenali memberitahu, kesemua kira-kira 15 pekerja yang berada di kawasan pembinaan terkejut dengan kejadian itu yang berlaku secara tiba-tiba tanpa sebarang petanda.
''Saya tidak mendengar sebarang bunyi benda retak sebelum runtuhan berlaku,'' katanya yang enggan mengulas lanjut mengenai kejadian itu.
Dalam pada itu, Yang Dipertua Majlis Daerah Hulu Terengganu, Mohd. Nor Ibrahim ketika dihubungi enggan mengulas mengenai kejadian itu.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Sun shining on the poor
KUALA TERENGGANU: The Terengganu Government is looking at extending statewide solar-powered electricity supply to homes of the hardcore poor.
Seven hardcore poor families in Gong Mak Son, Besut are the first to get the free and environment-friendly power supply. The families living in houses built under the Government’s Poverty Eradication Programme had been relying on aging diesel generators.
The solar power project was initiated by Jerteh assemblyman Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh, with the equipment manufactured and installed by Terengganu-based SolarTIF Sdn Bhd.
State Industrial, Commerce and Environment Committee chairman Toh Chin Yaw said the state hoped to gradually convert the source of electricity in rural villages to the green energy.
“It’s not only environmentally friendly, it saves cost too,” he told StarMetro here on Monday.
He said SolarTIF was able to manufacture the equipment at its plant in Chendering and the hardcore poor would not need to worry about paying the monthly electricity bills once the solar system was installed at their houses.
“The company has the technology and the state government will have to work closely with them to lay out the plans,” said Toh.
He said the system would phase out the dependency on diesel-powered generators which were uneconomical and noisy.
“It is not prudent for the state to continue using these generators, hence solar power is an alternative to be looked into,” he added.
According to Idris, the Government spent RM100,000 to install the solar-thermal gadgets at the seven homes thus enabling the families to enjoy free and undisrupted electricity supply.
He explained that the system used a photovoltaic (PV) module capable of generating 1,980W of energy through 18 absorber tubes.
“The system is based on a linked collection of photovoltaic modules, which are in turn made of multiple interconnected solar cells.
“The cells convert solar energy into direct electricity current. An inverter is used to convert that into alternating current which can be channeled into existing infrastructure,” he said.
Idris added that the system was equipped with a battery back-up circuit.
He visited Gong Mak Son recently and switched on the light in one of the houses to symbolise the launch of the power suppply project for the poor in Besut.
The event was witnessed by Besut MP Datuk Dr Abdullah Md Zin and SolarTIF chief executive officer Shamsul Ezan Zairi.
Idris said the system was capable of generating supply for the next 25 years.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Contractor of a hilltop development project defies warning
State Industrial, Commerce and Environment committee chairman Toh Chin Yaw said the state through its relevant agencies had written to the contractor to identify, evaluate and mitigate the effects of earthworks on hillslopes at the site.
“There is not much done by the contractor to prevent mudslides during the rainy season.
Recurring problem: A worker clearing mud after a landslide at the site in Kuala Terengganu recently.
“The contractor seems to defy warnings from the State Environment Department to ensure gradients are covered adequately with sheets to prevent landslips,” he said.
Toh said that checks showed the contractor has been lackadaisical in managing terrain stability to prevent negative social and environmental impacts.
Since the end of last year, he said that residents on the ground below the project were devastated by mudslides which covered their homes each time there was a heavy downpour.
The state faced the brunt of the people’s anger when their homes were hit by the mudslides, especially local leaders who were given an earful, he said.
Toh said the contractor was appointed by the Federal Govern-ment to develop a hilltop park with a panoramic view as a tourist attraction.
Precautions not taken: View of earthworks on the project.
The contractor failed to take precautionary measures although several homes and a surau had been covered in mud four times, he said.
Toh said the state was concerned over a high-rise apartment on the lower ground as a landslide could spell disaster for the dwellers.
He said the state and the city council would continue to press the contractor to implement safety procedures to prevent soil erosion.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Plant in Kemaman to provide jobs to 1,000 locals
KUALA TERENGGANU: Perwaja Steel Sdn Bhd’s plan to operate fully from Telok Kalong industrial zone, Kemaman is expected to provide jobs to some 1,000 locals.
Terengganu Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said said the company had applied for a 125ha site from the state government to relocate its Gurun plant to Telok Kalong.
“It costs RM40mil annually to transport steel products from Gurun to its Telok Kalong complex in Kemaman,” he told reporters after chairing the state exco meeting here.
On another note, Ahmad said the Terengganu government would build 769 houses and repair 985 houses for the poor this year.
It would be done with the co-operation of Terengganu Tengah Development Authority (Ketengah) and the Rubber Industry Smallholders’ Development Authority (Risda).
He said the state government had allocated RM16mil to repair the roofs of houses belonging to the poor.
The housing programme for the poor would cost the three agencies an estimated RM56.4mil. — Bernama
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Fed Gov to oversee state projects above RM50m
2009/07/21
All State Government projects costing RM50 million and above will be overseen by the federal government with immediate effect.
This is to prevent building flaws such as those affecting several sports facilities in Kuala Terengganu recently.
Earlier this month, the Works Ministry closed the Aquatic Centre in Batu Burok due to building flaws. In June it closed the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Gong Badak after its roof collapsed.
Public Works Department (PWD) director-general Datuk Seri Dr Judin Abdul Karim said although problems had cropped up in the building stage of the Aquatic Centre, causing the project to be delayed by about five months, the federal PWD was not notified.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Part Of Oil Royalty To Be Used For Kuala Terengganu's Development
Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said said when the money had been received, the initial step taken would be to acquire land in the Layang and Tanjung areas up to the Astaka Supermarket.
"The land acquisition will cost hundreds of millions of ringgit due to the steep price of land in the areas as they are in the city centre," he told reporters at an event with the people in Kampung Alor Limbat, here, Sunday.
Ahmad said the state government would further develop Kuala Terengganu with more commercial areas where 50 per cent of the shoplots would be sold and the rest rented out to bumiputera traders.
He said Kuala Terengganu would also have more of other facilities as it was rapidly developing like other cities and major towns in the country.
On the state government's aid programme to help students with sight problem, Ahmad said so far 20 students had follow-up treatment at the Tun Hussein Eye Hospital in Petaling Jaya.
He said there were also those who required eye surgery by specialists overseas.
On another development, Ahmad said he was confident that Barisan Nasional could wrest back the Bukit Payung state seat and Marang parliamentary seat in the next general election.
He said this was based on the people's positive response to the programmes organised by the state government and the hard work put in by the Umno machinery itself.
The two seats were won by PAS in the last general election in 2008.
-- BERNAMA
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Probe On Collapse Of Stadium's Roof Almost Completed
MACC Director (Intelligence Division) Datuk Mohd Jamidan Abdullah said so far, more than 90 per cent of the investigations, pertaining to elements of corruption, power abuse and misappropriation, had been carried out.
"We will complete the investigation papers as soon as possible," he said after closing the Seminar on Integrity in the Management of the Environment - Local Authorities for the northern zone, here Tuesday.
In the incident on June 2, almost 60 per cent of the roof structure of the stadium, which cost RM270 million and was opened by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin on May 10, last year, collapsed.
Commenting further, Mohd Jamidan said the investigation involved everyone and would be comprehensive.
"We needed some time to finalise the investigation. Sometimes, the witnesses are abroad and so on," he said.
In another development, he said the SPRM's intelligence branch for the Eastern Zone would be created this year to check corruption in a more effective manner.
-- BERNAMA
Friday, July 10, 2009
Aquatic complex declared unsafe
KUALA TERENGGANU: The Works Ministry has ordered the Batu Burok Aquatic Complex to be closed to the public immediately until it is declared safe, said Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor.
“We are concerned about the myriad defects. The facility will be temporarily closed until it is declared safe to be utilised,” he said.
He had a first-hand look at the problems at the complex here yesterday.
He was accompanied by Public Works Department director-general Datuk Seri Judin Abdul Karim.
Shaziman said there were visible leaks which could have caused the steel structure to corrode, although the venue was only opened last year.
The Aquatic complex under the purview of the Kuala Terengganu City Council was constructed at a cost of RM18mil and was used for the Malaysia Games last year.
On the probe on the collapse of the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium roof in early June, Shaziman said a preliminary report would be released in 10 days.
Shaziman said the PWD would also mobilise its engineers and architects to conduct periodical safety checks on all mega projects.
He said the checks would focus on the type of materials used and whether work was being carried out as scheduled.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Completion of highway delayed
The contractor cited the increasing price of raw materials.
The project was originally slated for completion in 2011, but it has now been postponed until May 2012.
"The Public Works Department will now re-tender the project to other contractors," he said after chairing the weekly executive council meeting here. NST
Saturday, May 23, 2009
All About TIA/ SWF
When the Abu Dhabi government announced late in November that it was buying 4.9% of Citigroup for $7.5 billion, the general reaction was relief that the firm was finding a way out of the subprime mortgage mess.
The same response followed the early December news that UBS was selling a 10.8% share to the government of Singapore and an unnamed Middle Eastern investor for $11.5 billion, for much the same reason.
But is foreign ownership — or, more precisely, foreign government ownership — really a good thing? Many experts think this mushrooming trend bears watching, especially for any sign that these funds are evolving from pure investment vehicles into tools for exerting political pressure on the "target" countries. "I think pressure is a legitimate worry, but I’m not sure we have seen signs of that yet," says Wharton finance professor Franklin Allen.
There is nothing intrinsically wrong with foreign ownership, suggests Wharton finance professor Richard Marston, but ownership by foreign governments could be different from ownership by foreign businesses. "Clearly, there are industries where we would be concerned about certain countries having an ownership interest," he says, citing airlines and military contractors. "You do worry that these are governments, and you worry about their motivation."
Governments, through investment pools known as sovereign wealth funds, have put tens of billions of dollars into Western financial firms this year, from Bear Stearns and Barclays to HSBC Holdings and Blackstone Group, investing at bargain prices amid the subprime crisis. Two Middle Eastern government funds now even own a third of the London Stock Exchange.
None of this investment has drawn the kind of outrage that greeted a 2006 plan for a government-owned business in the United Arab Emirates to buy a firm that ran a number of U.S. ports. Much of that involved unease with a Middle Eastern country having a role controlling potential entry points for terrorists. "A lot of this becomes emotional when you’re talking about the Chinese and Arabs as opposed to the French," Marston says.
Concerns over Secrecy
Still, some politicians and economists are concerned about the growing power of sovereign wealth funds, most of which are based in the Middle East and Asia. The International Monetary Fund estimates that sovereign funds control as much as $3 trillion in assets, up from $500 million in 1990, and it expects them to grow to $10 trillion by 2012.
While cross-border investments are nothing new, the sovereign funds raise special questions because the investment decisions are controlled by governments rather than individuals or corporations. And, unlike central banks, which tend to invest reserves in assets like U.S. Treasury bonds, the sovereign funds often invest in corporations. This year, the largest target country for such investment has been the United States.
The 20 largest sovereign wealth funds, each worth more than $10 billion, are estimated to control more than $2 trillion in assets, overshadowing the $1.5 trillion thought to be managed by hedge funds, which have been subject to calls for greater regulation because of their market clout. Like hedge funds, most sovereign funds are secretive. There is no comprehensive list of what they own, nor any mandatory reporting of their investment policies.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, established in 1976, is the largest sovereign fund, with assets estimated at $500 billion to $875 billion, according to a widely cited analysis last August by Edwin M. Truman, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, D.C. Next is the $100 billion to $330 billion controlled by the Government of Singapore Investment Corp., founded in 1981. Singapore also runs $108 billion Temasek Holdings, started in 1974. Early in December, Temasek said it would provide $1 billion to a private-equity fund set up by Goldman Sachs Group of the U.S. to invest in China.
Norway has $308 billion in its Government Pension Fund. Kuwait’s two funds total $213 billion. Russia has a $122 billion fund, and China a $66 billion fund. Other big funds are run by Qatar, Algeria, Australia, Brunei, Korea, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Venezuela, Canada, Iran and New Zealand.
Though the funds are typically found in countries with big trade surpluses, there is one in the U.S: the state-run Alaska Permanent Fund, founded in 1976 to reinvest oil profits.
The oldest major fund, Kuwait’s General Reserve Fund, has been around since 1960. But the funds are getting more attention now because of their mushrooming size, thanks to soaring oil prices. Truman says the funds could grow even bigger if the countries that run them were to divert more of their foreign exchange reserves into them. China, for example, has $66 billion in its sovereign fund, but more than $1.2 trillion in reserves, mostly invested in U.S. Treasury bonds. According to Allen, China might want to put more money into its sovereign fund for fear that more Treasury purchases would destabilize the Treasury market. "If they put it all into Treasury bonds, they are going to start having price effects," he says.
Reinvesting Oil Profits, for Now
Most of the sovereign funds that are soaring in size have rising oil prices to thank. In fact, it’s no coincidence that the biggest funds belong to oil-producing states, which are using the funds to reinvest oil profits so there will be new sources of income when the oil is gone, Marston notes, adding that Norway’s fund, considered the poster child of well-run funds, was established to reinvest North Sea oil profits. "They basically said, ’Well, we want to put some wealth aside rather than distribute it immediately, so we will have an annuity for the Norwegian people to make up for the fact that the oil is running out."
Countries that build up foreign-exchange reserves typically invest them in liquid assets like U.S. Treasuries. But once reserves are big enough to cover any short-term needs like currency intervention, countries feel they can afford to tie money up on long-term investments that offer better returns, says Wharton finance professor Richard J. Herring. "If you have your liquidity needs taken care of, then you start thinking about making longer-term investments. It’s a very natural thing."
Since sovereign funds have traditionally taken a long-term approach to investing, they have had a stabilizing influence on world financial markets, Herring says. But because the top 20 sovereign funds are so large, they do put a lot of concentrated economic power under the control of a small number of people, often in autocratic countries. The smaller sum controlled by hedge funds is divided among thousands of players.
Writing in the Financial Times last July, former Treasury Secretary and Harvard president Lawrence Summers noted that government shareholders may not always have the same interests as ordinary shareholders. "The logic of the capitalist system depends on shareholders causing companies to act so as to maximize the value of their shares," he wrote. "It is far from obvious that this will over time be the only motivation of governments as shareholders. They may want to see their national companies compete effectively, or to extract technology or to achieve influence."
Governments of target, or "host," countries could find themselves in awkward situations, he said. "What about the day when a country joins some ’coalition of the willing’ and asks the U.S. president to support a tax break for a company in which it has invested? Or when a decision has to be made to bail out a company, much of whose debt is held by an ally’s central bank?"
So far, there have not been any serious cases of this power being used for political or other non-investment purposes. One of the few examples is relatively mild: In June 2006, the Norwegian fund sold its more than $400 million in Wal-Mart holdings, criticizing the way the company treated its workers.
Still, the temptation to use financial clout to further non-financial goals is ever-present, Herring says, recalling that many American universities and pension funds divested themselves in the 1980s of companies doing business in South Africa. "You had many large players reallocating their portfolios for other than economic reasons. That’s simply the nature of things when government [of a fund] is in part political."
An Inside Look at Western Companies
According to Herring, the sovereign funds’ investments in financial-services firms may be motivated not just by hopes of good investment returns, but by the desire to learn how those Western companies operate. In addition to the recent deals, China earlier this year paid $3 billion for a 9.3% share in Blackstone Group, the New York-based private-equity firm. "My guess is that these [investments] are substantially different than the kind of passive portfolio investment you see out of Norway."
Even so, he adds, that’s no cause for alarm, as the U.S. government can step in if it sees a real problem. "The rules can change if we should become enormously concerned that, say, the agricultural-refining business is of strategic importance." U.S. law welcomes foreign investment so long as it poses no security risk.
For many observers, the biggest concern today is not the potential for political shenanigans but uncertainty about how sovereign funds might affect the financial markets. In an article this fall in Finance & Development, a quarterly publication of the International Monetary Fund, IMF research director Simon Johnson noted that: "Unfortunately, there’s a lot we don’t know about sovereign funds. Very few of them publish information about their assets, liabilities or investment strategies."
If the funds emphasize a buy-and-hold strategy, as is widely thought, they help stabilize markets, he said. At the same time, he cited some anecdotal evidence of sovereign funds investing in other funds, such as hedge funds, that multiply their impact through borrowing. Leveraging can destabilize markets when bets go wrong.
The global value of traded securities is about $165 trillion, so $3 trillion in sovereign funds is not yet a major concern, he wrote. But if the figure rises to $10 trillion, and if many funds do employ leverage, the funds will bear watching, he added.
The Peterson Institute’s Truman advocates "a quantum increase in transparency and accountability" for sovereign funds. At a minimum, he says, the funds should publish annual reports detailing investment strategies and holdings. This fall, the U.S. Treasury Department called on the IMF and World Bank to develop a "best practices" guideline for sovereign funds.
Allen, Herring and Marston agree that greater transparency would be good. But Herring notes that such requirements would not be easy to impose: "It’s hard to see how you get compliance with so-called ’voluntary’ guidelines when the people who are making the investment decisions are really not involved in putting together the guidelines."
Govt agrees to body to handle oil royalty
The Star Sunday December 14, 2008
KUALA TERENGGANU: The Government has agreed to the setting up the Terengganu Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund which will manage oil royalty payments to the state.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the Cabinet had on Wednesday given the nod to the setting up of the authority with a starting fund of RM10bil.
“The Cabinet will continue to discuss the technical aspects of the setting up the fund at the next meeting,” he said after handing a cheque for RM408.6mil as part of the oil royalty to Terengganu Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said here yesterday.
In good hands: Najib handing over the cheque for part of the oil royalty to Ahmad Said in Kuala Terengganu Saturday. — Bernama
The amount is the remainder that the state was supposed to get for the 2007-2008 period. The TIA was proposed by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin as a way to channel part of the oil royalty into a sovereign wealth fund which would be operated by a team of professionals and supervised by foreign bankers and investors.
Tunku Mizan will be the chairman of the TIA board of advisers while the Mentri Besar will be also represented on the board.
Najib said the TIA would utilise oil royalty to invest in Terengganu and other parts of Malaysia.
The authority would also have the mandate to invest globally in bonds to ensure the state’s financial sustainability on a long-term basis.
He said revenue earned by the TIA would be able to complement the state’s income when oil and gas resources were exhausted.
Najib said he was confident that development in Terengganu would take off with the payment of oil royalty directly to the state.
“I hope that the state will utilise the royalty money wisely and make far-sighted development plans,” he said.
Asked whether the Government would now reduce its allocation to Terengganu, Najib said any allocation would be based on the requirement by the state.
“We have to evaluate certain criteria based on the development and per capita income before deciding on quantum of allocations from the Federal Government to the state,” he said.
Earlier in his speech, Najib said the royalty money would be transferred to the state’s treasury via electronic transfer.
“We (The Federal Government) will pay all dues of the oil royalty promptly through the transfer and I anticipate that the state government will not face any obstacles in initiating development projects.”
Kerajaan Setuju Cadangan Penubuhan TIA Oleh Terengganu, Kata Najib
KUALA TERENGGANU, 13 Dis (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak berkata kerajaan secara prinsipnya bersetuju dengan cadangan kerajaan negeri Terengganu menubuhkan Lembaga Pelaburan Terengganu (TIA) dengan dana permulaan bernilai RM10 bilion.
Timbalan Perdana Menteri berkata persetujuan itu dicapai pada mesyuarat Kabinet semalam, yang menggambarkan kerjasama erat kerajaan pusat dan kerajaan negeri Terengganu bagi menjamin masa depan rakyat negeri berkenaan.
"Pada prinsipnya, cadangan ini telah pun diluluskan oleh jemaah menteri pada mesyuarat semalam," katanya kepada pemberita selepas majlis penyerahan bayaran royalti minyak separuh kedua 2008 di Stadium Negeri di sini hari ini.
Pada majlis itu, Najib yang juga Menteri Kewangan menyerahkan cek bayaran royalti minyak berjumlah RM408.6 juta kepada Menteri Besar Terengganu Datuk Ahmad Said.
Turut hadir, Menteri Perdagangan Antarabangsa dan Industri Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Menteri Pelajaran Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, Menteri Kemajuan Luar Bandar dan Wilayah Tan Sri Muhammad Muhd Taib, Menteri Penerangan Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek dan Ketua Wanita Umno Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz.
Najib berkata penubuhan TIA yang diilhamkan oleh Yang di- Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, adalah bagi menjana pertumbuhan ekonomi mampan serta menjamin pembangunan negeri secara berterusan.
"Perincian (cadangan penubuhan TIA) serta beberapa aspek serta struktur pentadbiran dan perjalanan TIA akan kita bincang bila kertas sebenarnya dibawa dalam mesyuarat jemaah menteri," katanya.
TIA akan beroperasi sebagai satu "dana kekayaan" bagi Terengganu bertujuan mengurus pelaburan negeri bagi menghasilkan pulangan jangka panjang daripada segi ekonomi kepada rakyat negeri itu dan Malaysia amnya.
Mengulas lanjut, Najib berkata dana RM10 bilion itu akan diperoleh daripada pasaran bon daripada royalti minyak dengan kerajaan negeri Terengganu akan membuat pelaburan yang sebahagian besar dilakukan di luar negeri itu.
Beliau berkata langkah kerajaan negeri Terengganu itu adalah bagi menjamin kelangsungan pendapatan negeri itu pada masa depan kerana minyak sebagai sumber hasilnya mempunyai jangka hayat tertentu.
"Seandainya minyak pupus (habis), Terengganu dengan langkah ini akan dapat punca pendapatan tambahan," katanya.
Ketika berucap, Najib berkata jemaah menteri berpendapat royalti minyak itu perlu diserahkan sepenuhnya kepada kerajaan negeri Terengganu dalam menguruskan serta melaksanakan pelbagai program pembangunan di negeri berkenaan.
"Saya harap wang royalti minyak ini digunakan secara baik untuk melaksanakan pembangunan dan pembaharuan. Kita mahu rakyat Terengganu miskin dan kemiskinan tegar dihapuskan. Kita mahu kerancakan ekonomi di Terengganu berterusan," katanya.
Ditanya sama ada kerajaan pusat akan mengurangkan peruntukan untuk pembangunan setelah wang royalti minyak dikembalikan semula kepada Terengganu, Najib berkata perkara itu akan bergantung kepada beberapa kriteria.
Timbalan Perdana Menteri berkata kerajaan pusat akan melihat kepada kemajuan, pendapatan perkapita dan sebagainya di negeri itu, sebelum menentukan peruntukan bagi tujuan tersebut.
Beliau berkata jumlah pembayaran royalti sebanyak RM408.6 juta itu dibuat setelah kerajaan pusat menolak segala peruntukan kepada kerajaan negeri Terengganu untuk projek pembangunan di negeri berkenaan, sebelum ini.
"Ini untuk akaun 2007/2008. Kita tutup semuanya apa yang kita hutang kepada kerajaan negeri (Terengganu), ia dianggap sudah selesai. (Jumlah) ini juga daripada surat yang saya terima daripada Menteri Besar," katanya.-- BERNAMA
Terengganu: It may not be all that bad for Najib
Abdul Ghani Hamat
The Edge 19 April, 2009
THE leadership crisis in Umno Terengganu has surfaced at the wrong time for new party president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Or has it?
Think again. With reform on his mind and PAS party polls around the corner, the timing of the “crisis” cannot be all that bad for Najib.
In fact, it could be just what the doctor ordered.
First, it gives Najib an early, perfect excuse to ring the changes in the Umno Terengganu leadership without much resistance.
Dousing the festering feud that contributed to Barisan Nasional’s (BN) inability to defend the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary seat is important. But having a progressive, pragmatic leader at the head of the state is more important.
Also, the sooner Najib straightens out the issues besotting Umno in the state, the more time he will have to rebuild public support for the party. Terengganu, an overwhelming Malay-majority state, is crucial to Umno. It cannot afford to see the state go the way of Kelantan and Kedah.
Second, PAS at its upcoming convention in June could be forced to show both its hands with respect to its ties with other Pakatan Rakyat (PR) components. This could influence political developments in Terengganu, the home state of PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and several other party bigwigs, in view of their differences with the so-called Erdogans.
The ambiguity and fuzziness characterising PAS’ position in PR due largely to these differences clearly is unsustainable. More so when Umno’s problems are no longer stealing the limelight.
At some point, PAS must come clean about its PR ties, and the time for that has arrived. People want to know if PR as an alliance is going anywhere, and if PAS’ liaison with PR is “real” or just a silly infatuation.
PAS has shared a platform with PKR and DAP on so many occasions, including in campaigning ahead of the KT by-election. Naturally, people would want to see PAS take the relationship forward.
Its nemesis Umno has swallowed the bitter pill and moved on, and so PAS must show that it is ready to move on, too. Without PAS’ full commitment to the alliance, the scope of what PR can achieve would be severely curtailed. Clearly, unless PAS leaders think and act as one, the PR structure will remain flimsy, and the country can forget about a two-coalition political system.
Alas, at the moment it’s difficult to envisage the party’s traditionalist faction, which predominates in Terengganu, sharing a dinner table with alliance partner DAP, for instance.
So what hope is there for the parties to take the relationship a step further if they can’t be expected to sink and swim together.
No doubt Najib will be looking closely at how the tussle for dominance within PAS will play out at the party’s convention in Shah Alam, as the outcome may have a significant influence on how Umno goes about growing its fortunes in Terengganu.
But whilst the timing of the “crisis” in Terengganu could be advantageous to Najib, can he be sure that the right person is picked to lead the state? He has given the two factions in Umno Terengganu one month to sort things out themselves.
Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said may emerge stronger from this episode, but when the one-month grace is up, Najib may have his man ready to take charge of the state nonetheless.
Whomever he picks to lead Terengganu, Najib must understand that the state needs a chief executive more than an administrator. It needs a person who can look after its “sovereign wealth” properly and not squander it on cheap handouts and construction projects of dubious benefits.
The person must think about the state’s welfare for the long term. He must know how to create employment and raise the standard of living of a rural population and ensure a revenue stream for the state after oil runs out.
The state is rich in resources no doubt, but over the years, its people have been stood up by their leaders, including during PAS rule.
If Terengganu Investment Authority ever gets off the ground, perhaps Najib should think long and hard about keeping these politicians away from the establishment.
He may not get any objections from PAS Terengganu on this, given that its leaders are not averse to working with Umno for the sake of Malay unity. It’s a stance that has riled the Erdogans. The PAS convention in Shah Alam may just rekindle interest in the unity idea if the party is pushed to show both its hands.
So there, the “crisis” in Terengganu opens up plenty of options for Najib. It is not surprising, therefore, to find those who believe this whole episode has been cleverly stage-managed
Oil-rich Terengganu is planning to establish a multibillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund
Source: 21-APR-2009 Intellasia | Straits Times
Apr 21, 2009 - 7:00:00 AM
Oil-rich Terengganu is planning to establish a multibillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund, but it is causing unease among businesspeople and government officials as Malaysia's economic crisis deepens.
The chief bugbear is that the planned RM10 billion (S$4.1 billion) fund, which is to be managed by the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA), will be created using borrowed money and not existing capital held by the Terengganu state, said bankers and government officials.
'To turn in a profit, the fund must ensure a return higher than the cost of its borrowing, and there will be the pressure to go into risky investments to get better returns,' said a chief executive of a state-controlled bank, who asked not to be named.
A senior TIA official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Straits Times that governance issues and rules that will determine how the fund will invest its money are being hammered out ahead of the planned end of the year launch.
'It (the fund) is still being cooked and we want to model (it) along the lines of Mudabala,' he said, referring to Abu Dhabi's highly reputable sovereign wealth fund.
Detractors of the proposed fund point out that the Mudabala investment model was not established on borrowed money.
The TIA is proposing to raise RM5 billion through a bond issue that will be guaranteed against future earnings the state will receive in royalties from national oil corporation Petronas for oil and gas extracted from Terengganu territory.
Another RM5 billion will be raised through a separate bond issue that will be guaranteed by the federal government.
'We are in the final stages of finalising the government guarantee and we are deciding on how to draw down on the facility,' said the TIA official.
Many analysts worry that the federal government's green light for TIA and its backing for the fund through financial guarantees could prompt other oil-producing states such as Sabah and Sarawak to demand funds of their own.
'With all the spending that the government has to undertake to stimulate the economy, funds like TIA's and others will only stretch the government's finances further,' said Jason Chong of UOB-OSK Asset Management in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysian State Plans 11 Billion-Ringgit Wealth Fund
By Netty Ismail
May 18 (Bloomberg) -- The Malaysian state of Terengganu is starting a sovereign wealth fund of 11 billion ringgit ($3 billion), of which 5 billion ringgit will be raised from capital markets this week.
The Terengganu Investment Authority, the first sovereign wealth fund set up by a Malaysian state, said it will manage the long-term oil revenue of the state, located on the east coast of peninsular Malaysia.
The country’s King Mizan Zainal Abidin, who is also the Terengganu sultan, proposed the fund to ensure sustainable income for the state should its oil and gas reserves run out, the fund said in an e-mailed statement today. The state is one of Malaysia’s biggest oil and gas producers.
The fund seeks to “generate long-term sustainable and recurring returns” and to promote Terengganu’s economic development, Chief Executive Officer Shahrol Halmi said in the statement.
The Terengganu Investment Authority, which was set up on Feb. 27, will team up with “well-known sovereign wealth funds” to invest in tourism, energy and agriculture projects, he said.
The fund plans to invest in “high-impact, strategic projects in Terengganu, other parts of Malaysia, and in regional and international projects that have positive spillover benefits to Terengganu,” said Shahrol, a Stanford University graduate who worked for more than 15 years at consulting firm Accenture Ltd., according to the statement.
It will seek funds from domestic and foreign capital markets, and the 5 billion ringgit it plans to raise this week will come with a Malaysian government guarantee, the fund said. The remaining 6 billion ringgit will come from future oil royalties.
Companies including Exxon Mobil Corp. produce crude oil from projects offshore Terengganu. The state is also home to Petroliam Nasional Bhd.’s Kertih refining and petrochemical complex.
Oil-rich Terengganu is planning to establish a multibillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund
Source: 21-APR-2009 Intellasia | Straits Times
Apr 21, 2009 - 7:00:00 AM
Oil-rich Terengganu is planning to establish a multibillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund, but it is causing unease among businesspeople and government officials as Malaysia's economic crisis deepens.
The chief bugbear is that the planned RM10 billion (S$4.1 billion) fund, which is to be managed by the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA), will be created using borrowed money and not existing capital held by the Terengganu state, said bankers and government officials.
'To turn in a profit, the fund must ensure a return higher than the cost of its borrowing, and there will be the pressure to go into risky investments to get better returns,' said a chief executive of a state-controlled bank, who asked not to be named.
A senior TIA official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Straits Times that governance issues and rules that will determine how the fund will invest its money are being hammered out ahead of the planned end of the year launch.
'It (the fund) is still being cooked and we want to model (it) along the lines of Mudabala,' he said, referring to Abu Dhabi's highly reputable sovereign wealth fund.
Detractors of the proposed fund point out that the Mudabala investment model was not established on borrowed money.
The TIA is proposing to raise RM5 billion through a bond issue that will be guaranteed against future earnings the state will receive in royalties from national oil corporation Petronas for oil and gas extracted from Terengganu territory.
Another RM5 billion will be raised through a separate bond issue that will be guaranteed by the federal government.
'We are in the final stages of finalising the government guarantee and we are deciding on how to draw down on the facility,' said the TIA official.
Many analysts worry that the federal government's green light for TIA and its backing for the fund through financial guarantees could prompt other oil-producing states such as Sabah and Sarawak to demand funds of their own.
'With all the spending that the government has to undertake to stimulate the economy, funds like TIA's and others will only stretch the government's finances further,' said Jason Chong of UOB-OSK Asset Management in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysian State Plans 11 Billion-Ringgit Wealth Fund
By Netty Ismail
May 18 (Bloomberg) -- The Malaysian state of Terengganu is starting a sovereign wealth fund of 11 billion ringgit ($3 billion), of which 5 billion ringgit will be raised from capital markets this week.
The Terengganu Investment Authority, the first sovereign wealth fund set up by a Malaysian state, said it will manage the long-term oil revenue of the state, located on the east coast of peninsular Malaysia.
The country’s King Mizan Zainal Abidin, who is also the Terengganu sultan, proposed the fund to ensure sustainable income for the state should its oil and gas reserves run out, the fund said in an e-mailed statement today. The state is one of Malaysia’s biggest oil and gas producers.
The fund seeks to “generate long-term sustainable and recurring returns” and to promote Terengganu’s economic development, Chief Executive Officer Shahrol Halmi said in the statement.
The Terengganu Investment Authority, which was set up on Feb. 27, will team up with “well-known sovereign wealth funds” to invest in tourism, energy and agriculture projects, he said.
The fund plans to invest in “high-impact, strategic projects in Terengganu, other parts of Malaysia, and in regional and international projects that have positive spillover benefits to Terengganu,” said Shahrol, a Stanford University graduate who worked for more than 15 years at consulting firm Accenture Ltd., according to the statement.
It will seek funds from domestic and foreign capital markets, and the 5 billion ringgit it plans to raise this week will come with a Malaysian government guarantee, the fund said. The remaining 6 billion ringgit will come from future oil royalties.
Companies including Exxon Mobil Corp. produce crude oil from projects offshore Terengganu. The state is also home to Petroliam Nasional Bhd.’s Kertih refining and petrochemical complex.
Mubadala to invest US$1.8b in Malaysian property project, says paper
KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 — Mubadala Development Co, the investment arm of the Abu Dhabi government, will invest about US$1.8 billion (RM6.3 billion) in a property development project in Malaysia, a local newspaper reported today.
The project involves the construction of hotels and villas on a 1,200-hectare site in Terengganu, the Edge Weekly reported, citing Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, CEO of the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA).
Mubadala will invest the amount over seven years while TIA will buy the land from the state government and inject it into the joint venture, said Shahrol.
TIA has been set up and labelled as
The Malaysian fund this week said it is to sell RM5 billion of bonds guaranteed by the federal government.
Shahrol said the fund aims to raise another RM6 billion later this year by forward selling the oil royalty to be received by the oil-producing state over the next few years.
Mubadala, which manages over US$10 billion in assets, is also developing a US$600 million city in a planned economic zone in Johor. — Reuters
State fund to focus on tourism, oil and gas
SHAHROL Azral Ibrahim Halmi, 39, was initially sceptical when he first heard about Terengganu Investment Authority Bhd (TIA).
He wondered, not unlike many others, if the scheme was just another way for a select few to experiment and benefit from the state’s oil money at the expense of the state and its people.
So, two months ago, when the executive partner at Accenture Malaysia was approached and offered the job of TIA CEO, he thought the decision would be easy, given his misgivings.
But he had a change of heart after an audience with the Sultan of Terengganu Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, who is also the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.“I consider myself an idealistic person wanting to improve things for the country. The turning point came when I saw Tuanku’s passion and what he wanted to achieve with TIA,’’ he tells StarBizWeek in an interview.
“I keep telling people this is a unique opportunity to make a difference in the country.’’
While Shahrol may be convinced, he now shares the heavy load of convincing sceptics, of which there are many, about TIA’s mandate to bring socio-economic development to the state and its people and its ability to invest prudently to generate recurring income, while upholding the strictest form of transparency and corporate governance.
TIA will have an initial fund size of RM11bil, of which RM5bil will be raised via a government-backed 30-year Islamic medium-term note – the first 30-year paper ever issued in the country – and RM6bil via a derivative programme that essentially sells forward the state’s oil royalties for immediate payment today.
When you view that against the fact that TIA, as it stands now, has a paid-up capital of RM1mil and a few staff at its initial stages, it would be hard to believe that it can pull it off.
Shahrol points out that TIA will raise its paid-up capital to RM200mil very soon and RM1bil in due course. The agency has also embarked on an aggressive recruitment to hire up to 100 employees within the next year.
Funding structure
TIA executive director of business development, Casey Tan, says the money being raised by selling forward the oil royalties is net of what the state would use for its developmental budget.
“It will not stretch the government’s finances. Funds for TIA will be raised from domestic and international investors,” he said.
He is eager to point out that the funds raised from the assignment to TIA of some of the future oil royalties currently due to the state is “not borrowed money”, as they are essentially “sales proceeds from the sale of receivables”.
He explains that TIA has monetised the royalties in a way that will allow it to enjoy the upside if oil prices rise while limiting the downside losses if oil prices fall.
“If the oil prices fall below the floor, the investor who bought our derivatives will have to absorb the losses. If it goes higher than specified, then TIA and the investor will be able to share in the upside,” he says.
As for the other part of the financing which involves the issue of RM5bil debt papers, the book-building process closes on Monday at 5pm. The lead manager and underwriter for the medium-term notes is AmInvestment Bank while Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan are advisors for the financing structure related to the future oil royalties.
So far, the signs are encouraging. Shahrol says the take up rate for the bonds have exceeded RM8bil in value and the yield on the 30-year bonds is 5.75%, which an analyst says is quite good considering the fact that it’s a long-term paper. So far, some 55% of the subscribers involve foreigners.
Tang also explains that the Government guarantee was needed for the bonds to lower its cost of borrowing.
“The Federal Government does not come up with the cash. But it allows TIA to rely on its credit rating to raise the funding from public markets at a lower cost of capital,” he says, adding that this way, it subjects TIA to the “discipline of managing the funds prudently and professionally to ensure that the investment returns exceed the ongoing costs of the financing.”
Shahrol adds that the Government guarantee enables TIA to raise the money, as it is a new fund without a track record, and also helps lower the cost of financing.
He points out that the interests of the Federal Government and TIA are fully aligned as Minister of Finance Inc (MOF Inc) will be issued with a special share that entitles it to certain special approval rights as well as 10% of TIA’s annual after-tax profit.
“MOF Inc will enjoy profits derived from TIA’s entire capital base, although the Government guarantee covers RM5bil. And the profit share will remain in force even after the Government guarantee has expired, so long as MOF Inc continues to hold the special share,” he says.
But why the rush to raise money now? “Given the current volatile market conditions, timing is of essence. We want to capitalise on opportunities as they arise ... whether it means taking advantage of fund-raising windows in the market or pursuing quality investment opportunities at attractive valuations,” says Shahrol.
Given that the fund is borrowing to invest, some observers have said that it should be referred to as a hedge fund instead of sovereign wealth fund. Tang replies: “We don’t borrow to do a portfolio allocation. We are putting the money into productive projects which have to be viable and have an economic agenda that creates jobs and foreign direct investment.”
He says TIA’s hurdle rate for investments is 8% and it has a internal rate of return target of between 15% and 20%, which some have described as rather ambitious, especially amidst the current environment.
“It’s a little on the high side ... unless the fund is also involved in the market trading, although that would mean it is exposing itself to the vagaries of the financial markets,” says an observer.
The mandate
The idea for TIA was mooted by Tuanku Mizan, who had visited Abu Dhabi and was keen to set up an agency akin to Mubadala, that country’s strategic investment arm.
“We are modelling ourselves after Mubadala and are differentiating ourselves against Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Temasek or GIC because the idea is more towards catalysing economic growth in certain regions,’’ says Shahrol.
Although Terengganu has a large portion of the country’s hydrocarbon reserves, it remains one of the poorest states.
Nonetheless, its GDP is over 75% dependent on oil and gas and the plan is to lower that portion. That can be achieved by growing other sectors of the state’s economy, and that is what TIA aims to do.
“We want to catalyse economic growth in the different sectors and make their contributions to GDP bigger and also drive sustainable growth when oil and gas runs out,’’ says Shahrol.
“The target is for the state to be self sufficient in 2020,” says Tang.
Tang says that by the matching FDI concept, the RM11bil TIA raised would actually be worth RM22bil in investment, which changes the scope and type of investments TIA will handle. The matching investment from Mubadala and other foreign investors is expected to start rolling in from July onwards.
He points out that TIA needs to have a sufficiently large capital base to make significant high-impact investments, capitalise on economies of scale and minimise concentration risk while taking on large scale long-term projects.
The investment proposition
“We have the projects and they have been planned for over a year. We are in execution mode and our partners are all ready,’’ he says.
The plan, says Shahrol, is to “create the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production company” in the region and for this purpose, TIA is in final stages of negotiation with Mubadala, which is keen to expand its energy assets in the region via Pearl Energy. TIA expects to invest some US$1bil while Mubadala, if all turns out as planned, will invest some US$1.2bil in the venture, he adds.
The other plan involves boosting tourism, already one of Terengganu’s main strengths, by developing several islands off the coast into world-class resorts through partnerships with several foreign parties.
To get better yields, he says, TIA will not just focus on the hotel business but is “taking a masterplan approach to build a resort with private villas and other amenities as well as retirement homes”. Towards this end, TIA will invest some US$1.8bil while it expects the sum to be similarly matched by a foreign investor for the project.
“It will be a tourism play. The land will be acquired from the state and sold at a higher price to the master developer. There could also be opportunities later to package it into a real estate investment trust (REIT) to get the desired returns,” says Tang.
But observers say such a massive tourism play may also be fraught with difficulties. The year-end monsoon has traditionally curtailed large-scale tourism projects in the East Coast and there are a number of holiday spots in the region, such as Bali and Phuket, that offer competition.
Also, connectivity to Terengganu needs to be improved. - The Star Online
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Malaysia's first state-established RM11b sovereign wealth fund identifies projects
PETALING JAYA: The country’s first state-established sovereign wealth fund, Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA), with an initial fund of RM11bil, has identified several high-impact investment projects in the tourism, energy and agriculture sectors in the state and around the country.
This week, TIA will raise RM5bil, which sources say will involve the issuance of Islamic medium-term notes on the back of a Federal Government guarantee, while a further RM6bil will be “raised through the assignment to TIA of some of the future oil royalties due to the state,” it said in a statement. TIA’s current paid-up capital of RM1mil will be raised to RM200mil soon and in due course increased to RM1bil.
TIA chief executive officer and former executive partner at Accenture, Shahrol Halmi, said the fund had identified several strategic partners and would team up with well-known sovereign wealth funds for these projects, which include regional and international projects that have “positive spillover benefits” to the state.
“The key objectives of TIA’s investment strategy are to generate long-term sustainable and recurring returns and to ensure the development of long-term sustainable economic and social programmes for the state,” he said.
The Mentri Besar of Terengganu (MB Inc) owns 100% of the ordinary shares of TIA with the Ministry of Finance (Inc) and TIA Foundation (it will be set up by early June to fund and implement social benefit programmes in the state and the country) owning one preference share each. The preference share entitles the holder to certain approval rights (including rights to appoint nominees to the board) as well as a 10% share of TIA’s annual after-tax profits.
TIA’s board of directors will receive investment advice from an economic advisory panel which includes Employees Provident Fund CEO Datuk Azlan Zainol and Felda Holdings Bhd group managing director Datuk Mohd Bakke Salleh.
TIA was set up on Feb 27 after receiving the nod from the Cabinet and state executive council to manage the long-term oil royalty of the state, an idea mooted by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin after a visit to Abu Dhabi in February last year.
“His majesty wanted to ensure sustainable income for the state long after oil and gas reserves run out,” said the statement.
The initial directors of TIA are Tengku Datuk Rahimah Sultan Mahmud, who has extensive professional experience in several industries namely energy with Esso Malaysia, group managing director and CEO of Lembaga Tabung Haji Datuk Ismee Ismail and Shahrol. More directors – local and international – will be appointed shortly to the board.
The statement also said TIA would incorporate a triple-tier check and balance system comprising the board of directors (representatives from the three stakeholders who cannot hold positions in the Government or occupy any political positions), a board of advisers (to include “international eminent persons”) and a senior management team which will have a “mix of experienced, prominent local and international individuals”.
Tuanku Mizan will be the first chairman of the board of advisers, which will include the Prime Minister (or Finance Minister as the alternate appointee to the Prime Minister), and the Mentri Besar of Terengganu. Khaldoon Al-Mubarak, chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Affairs Authority and CEO of Mubadala, will also serve on the board.
The statement said that in order not to confuse the economic mission with the social mission, it was considered necessary for TIA Foundation to have its own dedicated board of trustees, management team, operating budget and processes. “An example of a potential social development initiative that has been identified is microfinance. TIA Foundation plans to provide small loan facilities to micro-entrepreneurs, fishermen, and farmers in Terengganu, to fund working capital or capital expenditure to help them break out of the poverty trap,” it said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the Federal Government would gain 10% from the net profit of TIA. He said this while responding to a question on the rationale of the Government’s guarantee for the TIA’s RM5bil fund.
65 peratus penduduk Pantai Teluk dikategori miskin tegar
PANTAI TELOK - Pemimpin di sini berharap supaya pihak berkenaan memberi tumpuan yang lebih dalam mengatasi masalah kemiskinan di kawasan ini, berikutan hampir 65 peratus penduduk termasuk dalam kategori miskin tegar.
Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Kemajuan dan Keselamatan Kampung (JKKK) Pantai Telok, Busu Yaakub berkata, pihak berkenaan diharap dapat mengkaji kembali permohonan bantuan yang dikemukakan dan telah mendapat sokongan daripada JKKK kerana calon yang hendak dibantu itu layak mendapat pertimbangan.
“Kebanyakan calon yang kami kemukakan kepada pihak berkenaan layak menerima bantuan dalam pelbagai bentuk kerana kami sendiri telah menyelidik latar belakang calon tersebut.
“Lagi pun, calon ini adalah anak jati daripada kampung ini, jadi kami sendiri tahu bagaimana kehidupan sebenar mereka di sini,” katanya.
Busu berharap pihak berkenaan membuat penilaian kembali permohonan tersebut dan turun padang melihat sendiri kedaifan penduduk terlibat.
“Majoriti penduduk di sini miskin kerana mereka hanya bergantung dengan hasil laut sahaja,” katanya kepada Sinar Harian.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Dungun to be turned into seafood hub
Thursday May 7, 2009
Dungun to be turned into seafood hub
KUALA TERENGGANU: The Terengganu government will develop Dungun as a seafood hub for tourism and commercial purposes in the East Coast Economic Region.
Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said said the district was selected because it was the state’s major fishing area.
“We want to make Dungun a centre for tourism and seafood based commercial products like crackers,” he told reporters after opening the Terengganu State Development Office here.
He said the state would streamline cracker production because the supply of fish-based food items was never enough to meet demands.
“Presently, we cannot even export crackers and can only meet local demand,“ he said. In view of this, the state will set up a factory in Dungun to process and pack quality crackers.
Ahmad said 1,000 fishermen from 100 villagers along the coast would benefit from various economic activities beginning this month. — Bernama
An open mind spells success for villagers
2009/05/08
KUALA TERENGGANU: For 15 Kampung Pela villagers here, the key to success was a healthy mindset.
And to think that the farmers, most of whom are in their 40s, initially ventured into the fertigation project just to supplement their income.
Most of them were in the oil palm industry.
Fertigation is the application of fertilisers, soil amendments, or other water soluble products through an irrigation system.
They also provide the fruits for Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad and AirAsia to be served to its passengers.
Their 10ha site produced RM600,000 worth of rock melons or Cucumis melo last year and they expect to produce close to RM1 million worth of fruits within the next three months, making them the most successful participants out of 229 throughout Terengganu.
Bazli Yahya, 45, manager of Pela Agrotek Management and Services, the company set up by the villagers to run the farm, said the recipe for their fairy tale was keeping an open mind, coupled with good management.
"We seized the opportunity offered to us. While most under the hardcore poverty line take for granted some of the aid and unlike farmers who are techno-phobic, we worked really hard and embraced modern farming."
Aviation industry to encourage tourism
2009/05/09
KUALA TERENGGANU: The tourism industry here is waiting for the aviation industry to take off in hopes it will boost tourism prospects in years to come, Menteri Besar Datuk Ahamd Said said Wednesday.
"We need pilots, technicians and engineers to cater to what we have planned for the state and also for the nation's tourism industry in general.
"For example we need pilots, including helicopter pilots, to fly tourists to islands as well as manpower to service the international direct flights coming into Terengganu.
"The aviation industry also plays an important role in the creation of skilled manpower. Based on a report by the International Air Transport Association, as many as 32 million people are involved in this industry," he said after witnessing the MoU signing at Wisma Darul Iman.
The state government was represented by state Education, Higher Education, Science and Technology and Human Resources committee chairman Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman, while MAS and APFT was represented by its executive director Tengku Azmil Zahruddin and chairman Datuk Faruk Othman respectively.
Under the agreement, APFT will train the cadet pilots sponsored by the state government via the Yayasan Terengganu. MAS will then take over to enable the pilots to obtain their licences to fly the B737 fleet. Successful candidates will be considered for a job after completing the training.
The training of 20 pilots, 10 aircraft engineers and 20 junior technicians is scheduled to begin in July this year. Pilots will be trained for 18 months, while the engineers and technicians will undergo five and two years of training respectively.
Ahmad said the response had been encouraging with 150 students signing up.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
ECER opens new office in Kuala Terengganu
KUALA TERENGGANU: East Coast Economic Region (ECER) in Terengganu hopes to boost progress at its projects with its new state office in Jalan Sultan Zainal Abidin here.
ECER Development Council (ECERDC) chief executive Datuk Jebasingam Issace John said he hoped the ECER’s economic growth would be accelerated in line with the objectives in its master plan.
“The Terengganu office opening reaffirms ECERDC’s commitment towards facilitating smooth implementation of the projects. It will fuel the projects, coordinate potential and current investors and provide information on the projects,” he said here recently.
Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, 44 projects were identified for implementation in Terengganu under the ECER.
Of these, 31 are exclusive to the state, while the remaining 13 were cross-border projects involving neighbouring states, he said.
Some 21 projects commenced last year while 11 will begin by the middle of this year, 10 before year-end and another two by 2010.
Under the ECER masterplan, Terengganu is positioned as a tourism gateway and hub for the region’s centres of excellence.
The state’s primary focus is on the petrochemical, oil and gas-based industries; goat breeding and mutton clustering; vegetable farming; herbal parks and industry-based crops focusing on kenaf cultivation.
The total investment generated for Terengganu from 2005 is estimated at RM10.8bil.
Friday May 1, 2009 The Star
Felda Tenang jadi medan buruan - Anjing hutan ancam peneroka, bunuh ratusan ternakan
BESUT - Para peneroka di Felda Tenang dekat sini tidak dapat tidur lena sejak 2007 bukan disebabkan turun naiknya harga komoditi kelapa sawit tetapi ancaman dari hutan yang bersempadan dengan ladang mereka.
Apabila menjelang waktu malam, gerombolan anjing hutan mula bergerak memasuki ladang itu dengan sasarannya ialah ternakan lembu milik peneroka.
Peneroka ada sebab untuk bimbang memandangkan pada 2007 sahaja, sebanyak 100 ekor lembu mereka telah dibaham oleh anjing hutan, diikuti dengan 80 ekor tahun lalu manakala dalam tempoh empat bulan tahun ini, ternakan yang dilaporkan mati diserang ialah 50 ekor.
Tidak cukup dengan itu, ada laporan kononnya haiwan tersebut keluar berkeliaran waktu siang untuk mengejar peneroka yang masuk ke dalam ladang untuk memungut buah kelapa sawit.
Setakat ini tidak diketahui jumlah anjing hutan di kawasan tersebut tetapi ada penduduk yakin ia mencecah 100 ekor dengan kumpulan itu memburu pada waktu malam sehingga subuh.
Seorang peneroka, Zakaria Mat Noor, 43, mendakwa kerugian kira-kira RM8,000 selepas 15 ekor lembu peliharaannya dibaham anjing hutan sejak awal tahun ini.
Berdasarkan pemerhatiannya, haiwan itu menyerang lembu secara berkumpulan dengan begitu ganas sehingga badan ternakan itu 'koyak-rabak' dimamah.
"Selepas menyerang lembu, anjing-anjing itu akan memakannya.
"Biasanya kami hanya sedar ada serangan bila terjumpa bangkai lembu di ladang kelapa sawit," katanya di sini semalam.
Menurutnya, masalah itu telah dimaklumkan kepada Jabatan Perlindungan Hidupan Liar dan Taman Negara (Perhilitan) namun sehingga kini tiada langkah susulan diambil.
Friday, May 1, 2009
ECER opens new office in Kuala Terengganu
ECER opens new office in Kuala Terengganu
KUALA TERENGGANU: East Coast Economic Region (ECER) in Terengganu hopes to boost progress at its projects with its new state office in Jalan Sultan Zainal Abidin here.
ECER Development Council (ECERDC) chief executive Datuk Jebasingam Issace John said he hoped the ECER’s economic growth would be accelerated in line with the objectives in its master plan.
“The Terengganu office opening reaffirms ECERDC’s commitment towards facilitating smooth implementation of the projects. It will fuel the projects, coordinate potential and current investors and provide information on the projects,” he said here recently.
Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, 44 projects were identified for implementation in Terengganu under the ECER.
Of these, 31 are exclusive to the state, while the remaining 13 were cross-border projects involving neighbouring states, he said.
Some 21 projects commenced last year while 11 will begin by the middle of this year, 10 before year-end and another two by 2010.
Under the ECER masterplan, Terengganu is positioned as a tourism gateway and hub for the region’s centres of excellence.
The state’s primary focus is on the petrochemical, oil and gas-based industries; goat breeding and mutton clustering; vegetable farming; herbal parks and industry-based crops focusing on kenaf cultivation.
The total investment generated for Terengganu from 2005 is estimated at RM10.8bil.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Terengganu plans direct flights to woo more Singaporeans
Wednesday April 15, 2009
Terengganu plans direct flights to woo more Singaporeans
KUALA TERENGGANU: The state government is confident about starting direct flights between here and Singapore.
State Tourism, Culture, Art and Heritage Committee chairman Datuk Zaabar Mohd Adib said talks between the Transport Ministry and its Singapore counterpart had been positive.
“It will certainly be a boom for our tourism industry as Singapore tourists are the most treasured group,” he told The Star.
He added that by having the route, Singaporeans would not be burdened by making transit stops in Kuala Lumpur.
Zaabar said low-cost carrier FireFly was interested to service the route and the state government anticipated that Singapore operators would also start flights.
“Singaporeans make up the bulk of tourists to Terengganu and direct flights could increase their numbers three-fold,” he said.
“Singapore is our traditional market and we are now intensifying our promotion to woo more people to make Terengganu their favourite holiday destination.”
Zaabar said Terengganu Fest would be promoted in Singapore in the next few months and the new Terengganu Zoo in Kemaman, dubbed the largest recreational concept zoo in the country, would form part of the package.
He said facilities at islands off Terengganu would be enhanced to attract Singaporeans.
Terengganu Customs aims to rake in RM1.18b
Friday April 17, 2009
Terengganu Customs aims to rake in RM1.18b
KUALA TERENGGANU: Despite the faltering economy, Terengganu Customs has targeted the collection of RM1.18bil in taxes this year, said Customs deputy director-general (enforcement) Datuk Md Hassim Pardi.
He said the target was equal to last year’s revenue, of which 90% came from taxes on petroleum.
“It is a tall order for Terengganu Customs to achieve the target,” he said after witnessing a handing-over-of-duties ceremony here recently.
Datuk Aziz Yacub replaced Datuk Hassan Ibrahim as Terengganu Customs director.
Hassan was promoted to Customs Corporate Planning Division director. — Bernama
Terengganu to focus on tourism
Saturday April 18, 2009
Terengganu to focus on tourism
By SIMON KHOO and R.S.N. MURALI
KUALA TERENGGANU: The state government plans to make tourism its main revenue earner instead of just depending on royalties from petroleum and gas, Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said said.
Ahmad (BN-Kijal) said plans were in the pipeline to increase more tourist products to attract more visitors, citing the recent opening of a mini zoo in Kemaman and beautification of Tasik Kenyir as examples.
“We want to make the tourism sector our backbone and top revenue earner in the years to come.
“This is because unlike commodities like petroleum and gas, it would not deplete in supply.
“The recent flunctuation of global oil price also create uncertainties,” he said in his winding up speech at the last day sitting of the state assembly here on Wedneday.
All the missing 10 Barisan Nasional backbenchers were present after they stayed away on Tuesday, citing safety reasons when three of them received threatening SMses.
Ahmad said so far, the state had received RM650mil in royalties and was still awaiting the remaining balance and another RM2.6bil in other forms of payments from the Federal Government.
He said this year, the state government would allocate RM50mil to promote island hopping activities and develop new islands such as Pulau Burung, Pulau Orkid, Pulau Herba and Pulau Buah-Buahan.
“We will also build an elephant sanctuary over an area of 40,000 acres to house between 120 and 150 wild elephants.
“An elephant training centre will also be set up to complement this tourist attraction product,” he said, adding that with the establishment of the sanctuary, the problem of wild elephants destroying crops of villagers would be minimised.
On the mini zoo, Ahmad said he was impressed that 10,000 people visited the zoo on the opening day while 3,000 tickets were sold on the second day.
He also expressed the state government’s appreciation to former premier Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for his contributions to the country.
“I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our sixth Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for taking over the helm,” he said.
The sitting adjourned sine die after the nomination of Dungun Wanita Umno chief Zainun Abu Bakar as a senator, proposed by Datuk Zaabar Mohd Adib (BN - Rantau Abang) and supported by Rosli Othman (BN - Kemasik).
Massive tree felling in Pulau Redang
Tuesday April 21, 2009
Massive tree felling in Pulau Redang
KUALA TERENGGANU: The Terengganu government has started a probe on the indiscriminate felling of trees at a project site on Pulau Redang.
State Industrial, Commerce and Environment Committee chairman Toh Chin Yaw, who discovered the felling, said a stop-work order would be issued to prevent further environmental damage.
“The state will issue the stop-work order pending a report from the Department of Environment,” he said.
Toh, who visited the island on Thursday, expressed disappointment over the massive felling of the trees.
“This is surely an irresponsible act. The question is whether one of the contractors of the project was involved,” he said when contacted here yesterday.
Toh said that DOE enforcement officers had visited the site to check the situation.
RM234m Govt funds for Terengganu telecom projects
Friday April 24, 2009
RM234m Govt funds for Terengganu telecom projects
KUALA TERENGGANU: The Federal Government has allocated RM234.3mil to implement various telecommunication infrastructure projects in Terengganu over the three years from last year.
State Public Amenities and Infrastructure Committee chairman Yahaya Khatib Mohamad said the funds were for the construction of new towers, setting up 48 community broadband centres, upgrading 21 rural libraries into community broadband libraries and providing the disabled access to basic telecommunications.
“We expect all the projects to be completed by 2010,” he told reporters after launching the Civil Works Preparation Guideline for telecommunication infrastructure in new development areas here recently.
Also present was Malaysian Communica-tions and Multimedia Commission eastern regional office manager Mohd Shafie Harun.
Yahaya said the biggest project was the construction of 98 new towers costing RM137.4mil.
He said, besides Federal Government initiatives, the state was doing its part in supporting the national broadband plan.
This included the T@WAN project, a wireless broadband service in Terengganu, and a government proposal to provide fibre optic cables at all district offices statewide, said Yahya. — Bernama
Timur: Pemandu bot penambang sukar cari pengganti
Oleh Hamid Salleh
bhnews@bharian.com.my
Generasi muda tak minat warisi kerja dianggap tak glamour
KUALA TERENGGANU: Perkhidmatan bot penambang dari Seberang Takir ke jeti Pasar Kedai Payang, menjadi nadi perhubungan utama penduduk sekitar untuk berulang alik ke Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu sejak sekian lama.
Bagaimanapun, perkhidmatan yang berkembang menjadi satu tarikan pelancongan, mungkin berkubur jika tidak ada usaha menarik generasi muda untuk mengambil alih tugas sebagai pemandu bot.
Ini kerana kebanyakan pemandu bot penambang sekarang rata-ratanya berusia antara 40 hingga 60 tahun. Mereka mungkin tidak mempunyai kudrat untuk meneruskan kerjaya dalam masa 20 tahun lagi kerana faktor usia. Berikutan golongan muda kurang minat menjadi pemandu bot dibimbangi perkhidmatan itu pada masa depan akan hanya tinggal kenangan saja.
Pada masa kini hanya terdapat 25 buah bot penambang beroperasi di Sungai Terengganu setiap hari membawa penumpang untuk ke bandar ini, walaupun perkhidmatan itu masih mendapat sambutan menggalakkan penduduk dan pelancong yang mahu merasai sendiri kehidupan penduduk bandar raya warisan pesisir air itu.
Pengerusi Persatuan Bot Penambang Seberang Takir, Ali Muhammad, 59, dari Kampung Baru, Seberang Takir mengakui memang sukar untuk mencari pengganti dikalangan golongan muda menjadi pemandu bot penambang dewasa ini kerana tarikan pekerjaan lain yang dilihat lebih 'glamour'.
"Jika 30 tahun lalu terdapat lebih 100 buah bot penambang beroperasi di Seberang Takir tetapi kini jumlahnya tinggal 25 buah saja kerana ramai pemilik bot terpaksa menjualnya disebabkan tidak ada pemandu baru untuk mengambil alih tugas itu," katanya ketika ditemui, baru-baru ini.
Berikutan kurang minat pemandu generasi muda, Ali berkata, pemilik bot akhirnya menjual bot mereka kepada pengusaha chalet yang beroperasi di Tasik Kenyir dan Pulau Redang.
Beliau mengakui berlaku kemerosotan bilangan penumpang berbanding sebelum wujud Jambatan Sultan Mahmud merentangi Sungai Terengganu, juga menjadi antara faktor generasi muda beralih mencari pekerjaan lain. Sebelum itu, jumlah penumpang yang menggunakan khidmat bot penambang memang sangat ramai kerana jarak untuk ke Pasar Besar Kedai Payang cuma mengambil masa lima minit saja.
"Tetapi selepas tahun 2000, bilangan penumpang merosot sedikit kerana orang ramai yang memilik kenderaan sendiri menggunakan jambatan itu untuk ke bandar," katanya.
Walaupun demikian, Ali berkata, purata penumpang menggunakan khidmat bot penambang masih sekitar antara 200 hingga 300 sehari dan jumlah itu bertambah jika cuti sekolah.
Katanya, bayaran untuk satu perjalanan yang dikenakan hanya RM1 setiap seorang penumpang dan seorang pemandu bot boleh meraih pendapatan bersih antara RM30 hingga RM40 sehari.
Ali berkata, dia sudah menjalankan kerja memandu bot penambang sejak 40 tahun lalu ketika berusia 19 tahun dengan membeli sebuah bot bernilai RM500 ketika itu.
"Pada masa itu harga bot memang murah dan jika ada wang sebanyak RM3,000 sudah mampu mengendalikannya tetapi sekarang harganya terlalu mahal kerana harga kulit bot saja mencecah RM50,000 tidak termasuk harga enjinnya," katanya.
Pemandu bot, Ghazali Abdullah, 48, dari Kampung Seberang Takir turut mengakui memang susah untuk mencari pengganti di kalangan golongan muda kerana mereka tidak berminat dengan kerja sebagai pemandu bot.
Katanya, dia yang sudah menjadi pemandu bot sejak 20 tahun akan meneruskan kerjaya itu selagi ada penumpang menggunakan bot penambang.