RM3 Billion 1Malaysia Sukuk on the way...

Hmm...we have plenty of bonds and trust funds by the government. Where to get so much money to buy ??!!!

The Malaysian government will be issuing the Sukuk 1Malaysia 2010 amounting to RM3 billion on June 21 this year, a statement from the Ministry of Finance (MoF) said Monday.

The Sukuk, which will be scripless and based on Syariah principles, will have a three-year tenure and offer a return of five per cent per annum.

Malaysian citizens, 21 years and above may apply for the Sukuk 1Malaysia 2010 during the subscription period, from May 20-June 9, 2010, said MoF.

The minimum subscription amount will be RM1,000 and the maximum will be RM50,00 per subscriber.

The Sukuk has a resaleable feature whih provides the flexibility for investors to sell and purchase the sukuk before the maturity date, the MoF said.

It can be subscribed at most commercial banks, including Islamic banks, Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia Bhd, Bank Simpanan Nasional and Agrobank.

Allocation of the Sukuk will only take place after the close of the subscription period. All subscribers will be allocated with an amount less than or up to the amount subscribed, depending on the total number of subscribers and the total subscriptions received.

Successful applicants will be notified by their agent banks on the amount of Sukuk 1Malaysia 2010 allocated to them. Profit payments will be made on quarterly basis through the sukukholder's accounts with their agent bank.

Bernama

A truly commanding win for Webber in Spain

Congrats Mark, a superb drive, dominannt race and great effort!

Mark Webber put in a dominant performance to win the Spanish Grand Prix from Fernando Alonso and team-mate Sebastian Vettel as Lewis Hamilton crashed out of second place on the penultimate lap.

Webber was faultless, leading the race from start to finish without ever really looking stretched. Hamilton looked set for a certain podium until a puncture denied him with two laps to go and he went straight on at the high-speed turn three. Alonso moved up to second place as a result, his reward for a calm and measured race in front of his home fans.

Vettel rounded out the podium, after a front-right wheel problem meant he had to pit for another set of tyres and eventually back off completely under braking in the closing laps. He had been keeping pace with Webber in the early stages, but dropped to third behind Hamilton at the first set of pit stops when his team struggled to replace a wheel. On rejoining the track the pair almost came together and Vettel had to take to the turn two run-off in avoidance. He then maintained a two-second gap to Hamilton until his problems struck and he dropped back.

Michael Schumacher scored his best result of the season in fourth, after a titanic battle with Jenson Button midway through the race. A slow pit stop saw Button lose position to Schumacher and a great battle between the two ensued. The McLaren was all over the Mercedes into turn one for several laps, but Schumacher showed his experience, blocking the inside line and shepherding Button wide on every attempt. Button's tyres started to fade, and with them, the likelihood of making a move stick.

While all the action took place in front, Felipe Massa closed on the pair but never looked like making a pass on Button. His car looked difficult to drive and at one point he slid into the rear of Karun Chandhok's HRT as he came up to lap it. Massa damaged his front wing but elected not to pit and in the end comfortably held onto position to finish sixth.

Adrian Sutil and Robert Kubica had relatively straight-forward races to finish seventh and eighth, while Rubens Barrichello took advantage of others misfortunes to recover to ninth from his disappointing qualifying performance. Jaime Alguersuari picked up the final point, driving a strong race at his home grand prix despite serving a drive-through penalty for tangling with Chandhok.

Outside the top ten, Nico Rosberg struggled all afternoon to end up finishing a lap down in 13th place. At the start he was pushed onto the grass by Kubica and then dropped back through the field, pitting twice in an attempt to find a better balance on new tyres. For a significant part of the race he was stuck behind Nico Hulkenberg, as damage to the Williams' floor saw Hulkenberg going backwards in the positions all afternoon. Jarno Trulli, Timo Glock and Lucas di Grassi were the only drivers to finish behind Hulkenberg and spent most of their races trying to stay out of the way of faster cars.

Happy Mother's Day !!!

To all the moms out there. Today is a day specially reserved for you. If not for you, then all of us will not be here today. Just wanna take this opportunity to wish all mothers in this world "Happy Mother's Day" and hope you will have a happy day and many more to come...

Me and my wifey, being children; good ones :p took my mom-in-law out for lunch yesterday. It was a simple lunch, but a happy one. I had plans to take my mom out for meal as well today but somehow my house had a little noisy energetic newphew around, so it's kinda hard to dine outside. Nevertheless, I'm sure both mom and dad are happy too see their cute grandson around the house :)

Next time, I will teach my kids to love their mommy as well and be a good future generation !

Betting license for World Cup 2010 ???

Wow! Betting to be legalize? I dare not imagine...good or bad? You decide...

The government is studying the possibility of issuing football betting licences in view of the 2010 World Cup to prevent illegal betting and gaming activities from becoming rampant in the country.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussein said if the licences were not issued to the applicants, such illegal activities would persist and become out of control.

"There is some interest for us to examine otherwise there will be lots of bookies betting for the World Cup.

"So, whether this is necessarily a good thing for the government or whether we should try to regulate it so that we know how much is received from illegal betting, the government is looking into that," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby here today.

He said if the issuance of the licence were implemented, the government could regulate the betting activities, while the returns could be used for sports development purposes.

While admitting that there were several quarters who had applied for the licence, Awang Adek, however, refused to disclose the details until the government made its decision.

Earlier, the issue was raised during question time at the Dewan Negara sitting by Senator Ng Fook Heng who wanted to know whether the government was planning to issue licences for bookies for football matches and other gaming activities.

Awang Adek said the government was looking seriously at the illegal gaming activities as they could lead to illegal money lending, organised crimes, smuggling and money-laundering.

"So, the government will give serious consideration on the matter and action should be taken effectively to combat illegal bookies, that is, by allowing the football betting to be carried out legally," he added.

Bernama

Nokia, Microsoft join forces to take on RIM

Nokia ? Microsoft ? RIM ? Hmm...so familiar :p:p:p

Nokia and Microsoft unveiled yesterday the first result of their software collaboration aimed at breaking the dominance of Research in Motion (RIM)’s BlackBerry in wireless services for corporations.

Nokia and Microsoft announced the alliance in August 2009. They expect to offer Nokia phones running Microsoft’s Office programmes later this year.

Yesterday the firms unveiled Communicator Mobile software, which enables people to see their colleagues’ availability, and click to communicate with them using instant messanger, e-mail, text or phone call.

Reuters

Speakers Square launched, sign of maturing democracy

Free speech anyone? Talk all you can but just be careful not to run into the laws :p

Penang on Tuesday, May 4 launched the country's first Speakers Square, along the likes of Hyde Park in London which the state government touted as an important milestone for democracy and freedom of speech in Penang and Malaysia.

The Speakers Square, located at the Esplanade field, will be open from 6pm to 10pm on Wednesdays and Sundays but though they allow as many as four speakers at a time they will be prohibited from using loud speakers.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng who launched the square said the Speakers Square represented the platform of democracy for all Malaysians, the aspirations to enjoy the right to freedom of expression and the hopes of all Malaysians for a civil society.

Among the representatives of non-governmental organisations (NGO) present were former Bar Council president Sulaiman Abdullah and the founder of numerous NGOs in Penang, Datuk Anwar Fazal.

"The opening of this Speakers Square is a sign of the maturing of our democracy. This corner will enable the rakyat to have the opportunity to express their views and opinions freely while ensuring that their rights are being protected," Lim said.

"Speakers Square should be an avenue to allow the citizens and individuals to have gatherings and candle vigil peaceful demonstrations, press conference, various other forms of peaceful and artistic form of expression and to demonstrate their citizens rights.

"It is time for Penang to show the rest of Malaysia that the thrust of participatory democracy is alive and well in this state and it embraces the value of freedom and human rights.

"He said Penang's Pakatan Rakyat state government was based on 3Es: Empowering the people, enriching the rakyat and enabling the people.

"The Speakers Square fulfills the aspirations of empowering the people by encouraging citizens to exercise their constitutional rights under Article 10(1)(a) of the Federal Constitution of freedom of speech and expression and Article 10(1)(b) where all citizens have the right to assembly peacefully," he added.

He hoped Penangites would use the facility responsibly to demonstrate their views, exercise their rights by giving them voice to speak.

However, he cautioned them to be mindful that police could take action as police have said they would not be able to provide legal immunity from prosecution.

"I wish to urge the police to exercise judicious discretion and allow views to be freely expressed," he added.

Lim said while the Speakers Square may result in unfair criticisms, including of the state government, he said he believed everyone was mature enough to listen to differing views and allow people to express their views freely.

TheEdgeMalaysia

Happy Labour Day !!!

Happy Labour Day everyone? How was your day yesterday? Seriously, you should give a pat to yourself for being in the work force and contribute to the society and nation. I had a normal day, common exercise day and tops off with some quality time with my wifey. Just love it...