Malaysia oh Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, 25 Sept: Ketika Pulau Pinang diiktiraf kerana usahanya memerangi rasuah oleh Transparency International (TI), Malaysia terus merudum dalam Indeks Persepsi Rasuah apabila berada pada kedudukan ke-47 pada tahun 2008 berbanding tangga ke 43 pada tahun 2007.

Malah, kedudukan Malaysia lebih buruk dari Israel yang dilabel sebagai entiti haram pengganas dan negara yang dianggap kurang membangun seperti Botswana dan Bhutan. Israel berada pada kedudukan ke-33, Botswana ke-36 manakala Bhutan berada pada kedudukan ke-45.

Paling mendukacitakan ialah apabila indeks yang dikelaurkan oleh TI itu menunjukkan negara-negara umat Islam tidak mengamalkan ajaran Islam yang memerangi rasuah.

Negara-negara seperti Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan dan Sudan berada di tangga paling bawah. Somalia berada di kedudukan tercorot iaitu ke-180, Iraq ke-178, Afghanistan ke-176 dan Sudan ke-173.

Negara yang berada di tempat teratas ialah Denmark diikuti oleh New Zealand, Sweden dan Singapura.

Di Malaysia, negara menanggung kerugian sebesar RM10 bilion setahun akibat rasuah - iaitu jumlah yang mencukupi untuk membina lebih dari 150,000 kos rendah jika diambilkira permohonan Persatuan Pemaju Hartanah dan Perumahan Malaysia (Rehda) kepada kerajaan untuk menaikkan harga rumah kos rendah kepada RM60,000.

Dalam laporannya, TI membangkitkan amalan keluar masuk yang berterusan di antara bidang politik dan perniagaan di mana pihak tertentu bertukar-tukar tempat dari kedudukan sebagai ahli politik kepada ahli perniagaan atau dari ahli perniagaan kepada ahli politik dan terus keluar masuk di antara kedua-dua bidang itu.

Keadaan itu, menurut TI, mengakibatkan pengaruh yang negatif kepada konsep semak dan imbang.

Laporan tersebut juga menyatakan bahawa hubungan serba kompleks antara politik, sektor awam dan sektor swasta itu mungkin mengakibatkan rasuah berlaku dengan bebas tanpa sebarang hukuman.

Presiden Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M), Datuk Paul Low berkata, usaha mencegah rasuah di negara ini tidak ubah seperti melepas batuk di tangga sahaja jika tidak dilaksanakan tindakan drastik untuk memisahkan hubungan selesa antara kerajaan, perniagaan dan politik.

Low berkata, Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) pula tidak memperlihatkan hasil yang diinginkan dan orang ramai menganggap suruhanjaya itu mengamalkan penyiasatan dan pendakwaan secara berpilih-pilih.

Satu-satunya sisi yang positif dari laporan tersebut mengenai Malaysia ialah pengiktirafan yang diberikan kepada kerajaan Pulau Pinang dalam memerangi rasuah.

Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang, Lim Guan Eng menyatakan pihaknya menerima pujian itu dengan rendah hati.

Beliau juga mengumumkan bahawa Pulau Pinang berjaya mengurangkan RM36 juta atau 12 peratus perbelanjaan operasi hasil usaha memerangi rasuah itu.

Harakahdaily/-

Tentang Radang Gusi

Gusi berdarah ataupun gusi bengkak biasanya merupakan tanda terjadinya proses radang pada gusi. Radang gusi merupakan tahap awal dari penyakit gusi dan merupakan tahap yang paling mudah untuk dirawat. Kerusakan yang diakibatkannya pun dapat diperbaiki seperti kondisi semula. Apa penyebab, tanda dan gejala lain, serta bagaimana mencegahnya?

Penyebab gusi meradang adalah plak, suatu substansi lunak, lengket dan tidak berwarna yang akan selalu terbentuk pada gigi dan gusi. Plak dapat mengeras menjadi karang gigi yang memiliki pemukaan kasar sehingga mempermudah plak lain untuk menempel di permukaannya.

Apabila tidak rutin dibersihkan, plak akan menimbulkan iritasi pada gusi sehingga gusi menjadi meradang. Iritasi ini diakibatkan oleh toksin atau racun yang dihasilkan oleh plak yang sebenarnya merupakan kumpulan bakteri rongga mulut.

Radang gusi yang tidak dirawat akan mengakibatkan menyebarnya proses radang ke jaringan pendukung gigi yang lebih dalam yang istilahnya dikenal dengan nama periodontitis. Kondisi periodontitis memang dapat dirawat, namun kerusakan yang ditimbulkannya bersifat permanen.


Apa tanda dan gejala dari radang gusi?
Tanda dan gejala klasik dari radang gusi adalah gusi yang menjadi kemerahan, bengkak, konsistensinya menjadi lunak dan gusi menjadi mudah berdarah ketika menyikat gigi. Tanda lain yang mungkin dapat terjadi adalah turunnya tepi gusi sehingga sebagian permukaan akar gigi menjadi terbuka.

Beberapa orang yang mengalami radang gusi juga dapat merasakan bau mulut yang tidak sedap ataupun rasa yang tidak enak pada mulut.


Bagaimana cara mencegah radang gusi?
Cara mencegah radang gusi adalah dengan menjaga kebersihan rongga mulut. Langkah-langkah yang dapat Anda lakukan diantaranya:

• Rutin menyikat gigi dan flossing setiap hari dengan cara yang benar dan tepat.
• Makan makanan yang bernutrisi untuk menjaga kesehatan gusi dan jaringan pendukung gigi lainnya.
• Hindari kebiasaan merokok.
• Rutin membersihkan gigi (skeling untuk membersihkan karang gigi dan plak) di dokter gigi paling tidak setiap 6 bulan sekali atau sesuai rekomendasi dari dokter gigi Anda.

Langkah-langkah tadi juga sekaligus merupakan langkah perawatan yang perlu Anda lakukan untuk mengatasi kondisi radang gusi sebelum kondisi ini berkembang lebih lajut menjadi periodontitis.

http://gigisehatbadansehat.blogspot.com/2009/05/tentang-radang-gusi.html

Maxis listing a market boost

By B.K. SIDHU

Celco’s IPO will add RM30bil-RM40bil in capitalisation

PETALING JAYA: Maxis Bhd’s return to Bursa Malaysia bodes well for investors as there are more choices in terms of pure celcos. More importantly the listing will add RM30bil-RM40bil in market capitalisation to the local bourse.

It is a listing that the policy-makers want sooner than later to give the local bourse greater breadth and depth.

The celco was initially listed in 2002 as Maxis Communications Bhd (MCB). Local billionaire Ananda Krishnan took MCB private two years ago via his private holding company, Usaha Tegas Sdn Bhd. He subsequently sold 25% of MCB to state-owned Saudi Telecom. MCB had a market capitalisation of RM40bil then.

Prior to Maxis’ initial public offering (IPO), MCB, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Binariang GSM Sdn Bhd, had implemented a restructuring exercise to consolidate its telecommunications operations in Malaysia under Maxis, said the draft prospectus.

As part of its IPO, Maxis is offering 2.25 billion shares, of which 27.7% will be offered to institutional investors and the remaining to retail investors. Under the new listing, Maxis is not issuing any new shares, meaning that the proceeds will flow to the promoter.

But don’t expect the same Maxis of 2007 in this re-listing. The new Maxis will be without the Indian and Indonesian operations, which were the high growth businesses. It will be a listing purely of the local operations.

To some it may not appear as attractive given that growth in the local market is gradually slowing down in a very competitive market place where the competition will emerge from newer sources such as the MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators), WiMAX players, high speed broadband (HSBB) and even the Internet carriers.

But Maybank Investment Bank senior analyst Khair Mirza is of the view that Maxis is a big cap stock and, even if it is only the Malaysian operations, its market cap can still be in the RM30bil-RM40bil range and this adds to the overall market cap of Bursa.

“Maxis is still a market leader in Malaysia. Its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation) margins are still the best, thus it will offer the best dividends. Few can argue over these points,’’ he said.

Maxis’ EBIDTA for the first half ended June 30 stood at RM1.14bil.

The Indian operations is via Aircel, which has a subscriber base of 19.6 million, and a report said it was thought to have a valuation of between US$7bil and US$8bil.

In Malaysia, Maxis is the country’s dominant cellular player which, as at mid-June, had 11.4 million mobile (9.7 million in 2007) subscribers and controlled 40% share of the Malaysian cellular market where there were 28.5 million subscribers.

Mobile penetration levels have reached the 100.8% level and regulators expect it to reach 104.2% by year-end. In developed countries the penetration rates can be anything from 120% to 140%, so there will be growth even though gradual.

In comparison, Celcom (M) Bhd, the country’s second largest celco by subscriber base, had 9.69 million subscribers and a 34% market share as at end-June, while DiGi.Com Bhd was third with 7.2 million subscribers and a market share of 25.3%.

The rest of the market is shared by U Mobile, Tune Talk and other MVNO players.

Maxis, in its draft prospectus that was posted on the Securities Commission’s website since Sept 17, admitted that competition would only get keener in the telecoms space and it was not confined to traditional celcos and telcos.

“Other competitors that have emerged are the Internet carriers such as Google Voice, Yahoo Voice and Skype that allow users to make calls, send SMSes and offer other advanced features such as the ability to route calls to multiple handsets and access to Internet services,’’ Maxis said.

It added that the breed of MNVOs and even WiMAX players were rivals as they competed on wireless broad band.

Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) is of course a competitor that Maxis has to contend with, more so since TM will have its HSBB despite the fact that the network should be open to all players.

Maxis’ EBITDA margins may be highest but an analyst prefers Axiata Bhd (Celcom’s parent) as it not just offers exposure to Celcom but also has stakes in many celcos in the region.

Axiata is a regional stock similar to Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel).

Another analyst favours TM, given its advantageous position with HSBB. DiGi, a long-time favourite, has taken some heat due to the economic crisis but, with the economy turning around, things are looking better and it (DiGi) will not give up easily without a fight.

“Analysts and investors have their preferences. What matters is the fundamentals and the dividend policy,’’ said a market player.

Maxis said in its draft prospectus that it planned to adopt a dividend policy with a payout ratio of 75% of its consolidated profit after tax or every year starting with the financial year ending Dec 31, 2010 (FY10).

Regionally, investors are spoilt for choices from Axiata, SingTel, China Mobile, Bharti Airtel, Bakrie Telecom, and PCCW to name a few. Whether Maxis will become a regional favourite remains to be seen but it should certainly excite the market place with its listing.

Revenues for Maxis are going up every year and it was RM8.4bil in FY08 versus RM7.7bil in FY07. For the first half of FY09, Maxis reported revenue of RM4.2bil versus RM4.07bil for the previous corresponding period.

But the average revenue per user (ARPU) seems to be on the decline. Blended ARPU for FY07 was RM64 and, a year later, at RM58.60. For the first half of FY09 it was RM54.20 versus first-half FY08’s RM59.10. Churn rates have also risen from 3.3% in the first half FY08 to 4.2% in the same FY09 period.

Going forward, while its eyes are still on the mobile business, Maxis will also grow its broadband business, invest selectively in its own fixed-line footprint and leverage on the HSBB initiative. It intends to capitalise on its large customer base to push more content and offer broadband services.

It will also form key partnerships for content aggregation and delivery.

Liverpool, Arsenal reach last 16 of League Cup

LONDON (AP): David Ngog fired Liverpool into the last 16 of the League Cup in a 1-0 victory at Leeds while Arsenal beat 10-man West Bromwich Albion 2-0 inspired by Carlos Vela's second-half substitution on Tuesday.

Ngog scored the only goal in the 66th minute in front of 38,000 fans at Elland Road after a Liverpool side without the rested Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and other regular starters struggled to take control against the League One side.

Arsenal also didn't break the deadlock until the 68th minute against League Championship leader West Brom at Emirates Stadium even though the visitor was left with 10 men after the first-half dismissal of Jerome Thomas.

Playing against one of his former clubs, Thomas was sent off in the 37th minute for slapping Jack Wilshere in the face after they tangled on the ground.

"Thomas went to shake hands with Wilshere, he refused and Thomas reacted, so it was a red card," said West Brom manager Roberto Di Matteo. "But there was an exchange of words and there was a reaction. I am disappointed Wilshere did not accept his hand, but that is part of the game."

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger sent on Vela midway through the second half and it was his shot that led to the first goal. West Brom 'keeper Dean Kiely blocked it but Sanchez Watt followed up to score.

Eight minutes later Mark Randall hit the West Brom bar and Vela took advantage of a tangle between Kiely and defender Leon Barnett to walk the ball into an empty net.

"When (Vela) came on, straight away he made a difference because he's dangerous in his control, in his movement," said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. "His class gives you something special."

League One's Barnsley upset Premier League's Burnley 3-2 but Stoke hit back from two goals down at home to Blackpool to beat the Championship side 4-3. Portsmouth, last in the Premier League after six straight losses, fell behind after three minutes at Hartlepool only to win 3-1.

In meetings of topflight clubs, Sunderland ousted Birmingham 2-0 with first-half goals by Jordan Henderson and Fraizer Campbell and Bolton beat West Ham 3-1 after extra time having trailed until the 86th minute.

Kevin Davies headed the equalizer to cancel out Herita Ilunga's strike for the Hammers and then Gary Cahill and Johan Elmander scored the extra time goals.

Blackburn won 1-0 at Nottingham Forest thanks to a first-half goal by Benni McCarthy.

Relegated from the topflight last season, Newcastle saw its chances of a trophy disappear with a 2-0 loss at Peterborough.

Beatles sell 2.25 million albums in 5 days

LOS ANGELES: Nearly 40 years after breaking up, The Beatles are still breaking records for album sales.

EMI Group PLC says consumers in North America, Japan and the U.K. bought more than 2.25 million copies of the Fab Four's re-mastered albums in the first five days after their Sept. 9 release.

Most of the records were broken for most simultaneous titles in the top-selling charts by a single artist.

On Billboard magazine's pop catalog chart, for example, the band had 16 titles in the top 50, including all 14 re-mastered CDs and two box sets.

The Beatles' original U.K. studio albums were re-mastered at Abbey Road Studios in London over four years and released to coincide with the sale of "The Beatles: Rock Band" on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii. - AP

Oil prices up as US$ lowest level against euro in year

NEW YORK: Oil prices bounced back above US$71 on Tuesday as the dollar fell to its lowest level against the euro in more than a year.

Benchmark crude for October delivery rose $1.84 to settle at $71.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

With the October contract expiring Tuesday, traders focused on the November contract, which added $1.83 a barrel to settle at $71.76.

The euro hit $1.4821 Tuesday, its highest level since September 2008.

Crude is priced in dollars so it becomes cheaper when the dollar falls.

Some investors also use commodities such as oil and gold as a hedge against inflation and dollar weakness.

The weaker dollar also pushed prices higher for gasoline, heating oil, gold and other commodities.

"If the dollar continues to get pummeled like this it will be a threat to the economic recovery," PFGBest analyst Phil Flynn said, warning of higher energy and food costs.

To combat the worst recession since the 1930s, Federal Reserve policy makers have kept interest rates at a record low - near zero - and started an assortment of programs designed to encourage borrowing.

Critics have complained that the Fed appears to be printing money to pay for the government's spending binge, and that hurts the dollar.

The Fed is expected to keep interest rates low at its meeting this week.

And to avoid unleashing inflation later, policymakers are likely to consider ways to rein in programs designed to keep mortgage rates down and get banks to lend more freely.

"I don't think the Fed can be complacent as the dollar continues to get hit," Flynn said.

Demand for gasoline for the week ended Friday jumped 4.2 percent from a year ago when Hurricane Ike disrupted the supply of fuel along the Gulf of Mexico and the Southeast, according to a MasterCard SpendingPulse weekly report.

Still, consumption remains weak with high unemployment and the economy pushing down demand for gasoline to levels that go back to 2004 and 2005, said Michael McNamara, vice president of SpendingPulse.

The report is based on aggregate sales activity in the MasterCard payments network, coupled with estimates for all other payment forms, including cash and check.

Investors are also awaiting the release of the government's weekly petroleum inventory report on Wednesday.

Most analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos., think crude oil stocks declined in the week ended Friday, while supplies of gasoline and distillates used to make heating oil and diesel fuel rose.

In other Nymex trading, gasoline rose 3.02 cents to settle at $1.7816 a gallon and heating oil climbed 6.04 cents to settle at $1.8121.

Natural gas added 3.3 cents to settle at $3.576 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude rose $1.84 to settle at $70.53 on the ICE Futures exchange. - AP

U.S. Senate panel debates healthcare affordability

By John Whitesides and Donna Smith

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats pushed on Tuesday to make insurance reforms more affordable for workers and Republicans decried what they called a rush to judgment, as a key U.S. Senate panel began debate on a sweeping healthcare overhaul.

U.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, gestures as he discusses the healthcare reform bill during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, September 16, 2009. (REUTERS/Hyungwon Kang)

Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee said they feared many of the changes under Chairman Max Baucus's plan would hurt low- and middle-class families, and Baucus unveiled a revised bill to ease their concerns.

After the failure of months of negotiations, Republicans on the panel complained they were being pressured into making hasty decisions on an overhaul of the $2.5 trillion healthcare industry, President Barack Obama's top domestic priority.

"The cry of impatience has won out," said Senator Charles Grassley, the panel's senior Republican and a member of the "Gang of Six" negotiators who failed to reach an agreement. "They have put moving quickly over moving correctly."

Committee members will consider 564 potential amendments to the proposal over the next few days as the raging battle over the reforms enters a new phase in Congress.

The finance panel is the last of five congressional committees to take up a healthcare bill.

Baucus said his "common-sense" plan took the best ideas of lawmakers in both parties with the goal of attracting the 60 votes needed to overcome procedural hurdles in the 100-member Senate.

"This is our opportunity to make history," Baucus said. "The question is whether we can seize the opportunity and change things for the better."

Obama has pushed for a sweeping healthcare overhaul that would rein in costs, improve care, regulate insurers and expand coverage to many of the 46 million uninsured people living in the United States.

SLOWED BY BATTLES IN CONGRESS

The healthcare overhaul has been besieged by critics and slowed by battles in Congress. Elements of the insurance and healthcare industries have lobbied hard against parts of it.

A Wall Street Journal/NBC poll showed Obama made modest gains in public support on healthcare this month after intensifying efforts to sell the overhaul, with the public now split on his handling of the issue rather than leaning toward disapproval.

Republican Senator Orrin Hatch delayed committee consideration of amendments during a night session by asking a lengthy series of questions of staff members, drawing rebukes from Democrats and an offer from Baucus to stay all night for his questions if he would allow the meeting to proceed.

"Are we going to be really serious about understanding this bill or are we just going to roll over everybody?" Hatch said. "I do think it's outrageous we have to do this in two or three days."

The committee, which hopes to complete work on the bill this week, postponed any roll-call votes on amendments until Wednesday.

To address concerns about affordability, Baucus had incorporated amendments that would expand subsidies to help buy insurance, reduce the penalties for not purchasing insurance and raise the threshold on the tax on high-cost insurance plans for those in high-risk jobs and for retired workers aged 55 and older who are not eligible for Medicare.

He also removed a provision in his original bill placing a fee on clinical laboratories and slightly raised the annual fee paid by health insurers.

Under the plan Baucus unveiled last week, all U.S. citizens and legal residents would be required to obtain health insurance, with subsidies offered on a sliding scale to help people buy it.

The plan would create state-based exchanges where individuals and small businesses could shop for insurance. The proposal also would levy fees on healthcare companies and insurers, tax high-cost insurance plans and expand Medicaid, the healthcare system for the poor.

It does not include a government-run insurance option included in the other four bills in Congress, but substitutes a provision for a nonprofit cooperative as a way to create competition for insurers.

'WE CAN DO BETTER'

"I think we can do better," Democratic Senator Ron Wyden said. "This bill does not hold insurance companies accountable."

The White House released research on Tuesday showing insurance premiums have risen faster than inflation in every U.S. state -- by between 90 and 150 percent in the past decade, while consumer prices have risen 28 percent.

The debate in Congress has raised passions on both sides, with health insurers accusing the U.S. Medicare agency of political interference for investigating a letter Humana Inc sent enrollees about the overhaul.

The agency also sent a warning to other insurers against sending potentially misleading mailings about the reform bill to customers.

Committee Republicans said the overhaul would amount to a government intrusion in the healthcare sector and urged Democrats to slow down. "This bill is a stunning assault on liberty," Republican Senator Jon Kyl said.

Senator Olympia Snowe, another negotiator and the only panel Republican seen as a possible supporter of the measure, said she regretted what she described as a premature end to the talks but said the bill was "a solid starting point."

In a long discussion of the Baucus revisions, Republicans said before any final vote they wanted time to evaluate the completed bill and see an analysis from congressional budget experts on what it would cost.

"I need to know and I think others need to know what it is we're voting on, what's in the bill and what it costs," Republican Senator John Cornyn said.

Baucus urged Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf to provide a speedy analysis of the financial implications of the final bill.

Elmendorf said analysts in his office have been working around the clock since the weekend to determine the budgetary implications of the hundreds of amendments.

Republicans have offered 292 amendments, including proposals to eliminate the individual insurance requirement, allow purchase of insurance across state lines and eliminate the fees on healthcare industries.

(Editing by David Alexander and Sandra Maler)

Copyright © 2008 Reuters