KEC Medina: Wanted - Malaysian partners

source: BusinessTimes By Azlan Abu Bakar alan@nstp.com.my
KNOWLEDGE Economic City Developers Co Ltd (KECD) is in talks with Malaysian companies to rope them in as partners and long-term investors for the US$8 billion (RM26 billion) Knowledge Economic City (KEC) development in Medina, Saudi Arabia.
Its chief executive officer Tahir Mohammed Bawazir said the company has identified several interested parties and hopes to conclude some deals soon.
"We plan to leverage on the expertise of Malaysian companies from various sectors and hope more will come in as partners and investors," he told Business Times in Kuala Lumpur.

Tahir said that as the project develops, KECD will continue to seek investors, partners and sub-developers as well as establish joint ventures with strategic partners to develop and operate key component areas.
Since its launch in 2006, KECD has signed memorandums of understanding and contracts with several Malaysian companies and the government.
They include Malaysian Multimedia Development Corp, HELP University College, Multimedia University and, the latest, iTopia Sdn Bhd.
Consultancy contracts have been awarded to MSC Technology Centre.
"The project is expected to bring about 10 billion Saudi riyal (RM9 billion) a year into the region once it is completed by 2020," Tahir said.
The KEC is one of four economic cities being developed in Saudi Arabia to boost regional development by focusing on intellectual property, knowledge-based, medical, hospitality, tourism and multimedia industries.
Other economic cities being developed by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority are the King Abdullah Economic City, Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Musaed Economic City and the Jizan Economic City.
The five million sq m KEC includes a theme park, educational institutions, integrated hospitality complex (with private medical centre, nursing and medical schools, senior assisted living community), residential, commercial and retail components.
"KEC Medina aims to utilise Saudi Arabia's second competitive advantage after energy - its strategic location as a link between East and West," Tahir said.
The project is expected to create more than 20,000 jobs and accommodation for about 150,000 people.

UN Chief Says Global Food Crisis Needs Quick Response

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday that dealing with the current global food crisis is a fight the international community cannot afford to lose. The U.N. chief is attending a world food security summit at the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome. For VOA, Sabina Castelfranco reports.
The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed to the international community to move ahead collectively and with a sense of urgency to combat world hunger and promote global good security.
"This is a fight we cannot afford to lose," Mr. Ban said. "The enemy is hunger. Hunger degrades everything we have been fighting for in recent years and decades. Recent riots and protests show that hunger and the threat of hunger breed unrest and instability. We are duty bound to act, to act now, and to act as one."
Ban Ki-Moon said $15 to $20 billion is needed each year to boost food production to combat hunger. He added that most of that money would have to come from concerned countries.
The U.N. chief is attending a world food security summit in Rome hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization. Over 4,000 representatives from more than 180 countries are attending the summit.
Delegates at the summit in Rome have been divided over the role bio-fuels is playing in driving up food prices to the point of provoking riots in some countries.
"I think that there is an urgent need to establish a greater degree of international consensus and agreed policy guidelines on bio-fuel production, which take full account of food security, income and energy needs at all levels of our countries," Mr. Ban said.
Meanwhile, the head of the U.N.'s World Food Program, Josette Sheeran, said an extra $1.2 billion in donated funds will provide food for 75 million people going hungry because of soaring food prices. Sheeran, who is also attending the Rome summit, said many people in poor countries simply cannot buy the food available in markets.

Perdana Menteri humban rakyat ke arah hidup lebih terdesak

sumber: harakahdaily
KOTA BHARU, 4 Jun (Hrkh) - Terima kasih rakyat Malaysia yang memberi kuasa kepada Barisan Nasional (BN) untuk bertakhta semula pada pilihan raya umum 8 Mac lalu. Hari ini BN membalas budi baik itu dengan menaikkan harga petrol sebanyak 41 peratus. Kerajaan telah menunaikan janjinya dan terimalah pengundi BN dengan dada terbuka.
Pengerusi Perhubungan KeADIlan Kelantan, Haji Abdul Aziz Kadir berkata, kerajaan BN benar-benar sudah membalas budi rakyat Malaysia dengan kenaikan bebanan hidup yang semakin mendesak sekarang. "Inilah hadiah istimewa kepada mereka yang mengundi BN pada pilihan raya umum lalu. Kerajaan membalas pengorbanan rakyat dengan menghumbankan mereka ke kancah kehidupan yang lebih teruk.
"Tidak pernah berlaku dalam sejarah tamadun Malaysia begitu teruk pengurusan negara di bawah Perdana Menteri yang hanya diselamatkan oleh wakil-wakil rakyat dari Sabah dan Sarawak pada pilihan raya umum lalu," katanya di sini.
Petang tadi Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi mengumumkan kenaikan harga petrol sebanyak 78 sen iaitu daripada RM1.92 kepada RM2.70. Ini bermakna kenaikan sebanyak 41 peratus. Manakala harga minyak diesel pula naik kepada RM2.58, naik RM1 berbanding harga sekarang sebanyak RM1.58 seliter. Kenaikan harga bahan api itu akan berkuatkuasa mulai tengah malam ini.
Sejak awal 2004, Abdullah sudah tujuh kali menaikkan harga petroleum dan ia ternyata berjaya mencecah rekod Perdana Menteri sebelum ini. Kenaikan harga itu merupakan sebahagian langkah kerajaan untuk mengawal subsidi bagi menampung kenaikan petrol, diesel dan gas, yang dijangka berjumlah RM56 bilion tahun ini.
Abdul Aziz yang juga anggota Parlimen Ketereh berkata, kerajaan BN cuba memujuk rakyat dengan membandingkan harga minyak dengan negara-negara lain di Asia Tenggara. "Kerajaan sebenarnya cuba memperbodohkan rakyat dengan statistik seperti itu, sedangkan negara terbabit bukan pengeluar minyak seperti Malaysia. "Lagi pun kos hidup rakyat di negara berkenaan seperti Thailand jauh lebih rendah berbanding di negara ini," ujarnya. Oleh itu beliau percaya masa untuk kejatuhan Perdana Menteri yang begitu lemah sudah tiba dan rakyat perlu bergerak seiring dengan Pakatan Rakyat bagi mengembalikan semula negara ke landasan yang betul.
Sementara itu, orang ramai mulai berpusu-pusu ke stesen-stesen minyak di sekitar bandar ini sebelum kenaikan 78 sen berkuatkuasa tengah malam ini. - mj/mks.

Sea water inundates parts of Indonesia's capital, say officials

source: AfP via Yahoo! Malaysia News

JAKARTA (AFP) - - Sea water inundated parts of Indonesia's capital overnight, flooding homes in the north of the city with up to 70 centimetres (2.3 feet) of water, officials said Wednesday.
However, the waters, which poured into homes despite reinforced defences, were less severe than authorities expected, a North Jakarta public works official who identified himself as Eko told AFP.
The World Bank last week warned that the peak of an 18-year astronomical tide cycle would combine with storm surges to flood swathes of the capital, as well as shutting off the toll road to the city's international airport.
The airport road was untouched by the surging water and the early warning allowed the public works authority and residents to reinforce defences with makeshift sandbag and stone barriers, Eko said
"We had been anticipating the high tides and warned people in flood-prone areas in North Jakarta to prepare for the floods caused by the high tides," Eko said.
The peak of the flooding hit between 9.00 pm (1400 GMT) and 11.00 pm Tuesday and was 2.06 metres higher than the standard sea level at Jakarta's Fish Market measuring station, public works official Fakhrurrazi said.
Despite gloomy warnings last week, the World Bank revised its forecast on Monday, saying that a reduced storm surge would mean defences in most of the city could contain the flooding.
Jakarta, a coastal city of over 12 million which is sinking under its own weight, frequently experiences flooding from higher than average tides. Sea water floods in May closed off the road to the airport.

World Bank warns tidal flood may engulf Jakarta today

source: AP via Yahoo! Malaysia News
JAKARTA, Indonesia (5/30/08) - The World Bank has warned that an exceptionally high tide could inundate the Indonesian capital next week (6/3/08 -ed.), forcing thousands of people to flee their homes and cutting off a major highway.
The situation _ exacerbated by global warming and the fact that Jakarta is sinking up to 2 inches (6 centimeters) a year _ could mean that the flooding will exceed last November's roof-high levels in the hardest-hit areas, said Hongjoo Hahm, the bank's infrastructure expert.
"This is just the beginning," Hahm said, as he pointed to homes reaching a mile (1.5 kilometers) inland that will likely be affected next Tuesday (6/3/08 -ed.) and Wednesday (6/4/08) -ed.) by the 18-year semiannual tide cycle. "It's getting worse and worse."
The 18-year high tide cycles occur when the sun and moon are in direct alignment and making their closest approach to the Earth. Other factors, such as global warming or El Nino and La Nina, have made the sea swells even larger in recent years, Hahm said.
The government should consider building a dike to protect Jakarta Bay, he said, "but that will cost billions of U.S. dollars."
Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago nation, is one of the world's largest contributors of carbon dioxide emissions, because of the rapid pace of deforestation. But experts say the country is also at risk of becoming one of the biggest victims of climate change.
Rising sea waters especially pose a threat to coastal cities like Jakarta, which has sunk at least 7 feet (2 meters) in the last three decades because of excessive ground water extraction, said Hahm.

Restoring Peace In Complex Emergencies: Give military bigger role in disaster relief ops, says Najib

SINGAPORE: The military has to be given greater role in carrying out humanitarian assistance and disaster relief as it has the capability and experience to handle such crisis situations. "It has to be recognised that military is a critical component in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief," Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak told an international security dialogue yesterday.
Najib, who is also the defence minister, said the recent natural disasters in Myanmar and China had proven the military's important role in humanitarian relief operations. The traditional relief mechanism, which incorporated the government, business and volunteer organisations that for years had been adequate to meet the needs for relief work were found to be inefficient and ineffective when dealing with crises involving an entire nation.

Speaking at a plenary session themed "Restoring Peace In Complex Emergencies" at the 7th IISS (International Institute for Strategic Studies) Asia Security Summit - The Shangri-La Dialogue, Najib said challenges of such magnitude required for a more comprehensive and dynamic approach. He said the Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management should recognise the military role if it wanted to increase its capacity building to enable it to undertake assistance in a more effective manner.
Although there were diverging views on the military involvement, there was wider consensus among Asean countries that the armed forces indeed had a key role in the area. "This is in line with the secondary or peace time role of the military in support of the ideals of a security community,” said Najib, who is also Defence Minister, noting that the standby arrangement under the Asean Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response, which were still being finalised, would facilitate deployment of military and civilian components at short notice.
On the centre, Najib said he hoped it could provide the leadership for regional response as it would deal with multiple contributors and agencies, and coordinate its activities effectively and eliminate the risk of inappropriate use of funds and resources. The Deputy Prime Minister also emphasised on the need to share information as it was vital for bthe success of the complex emergency operations.
On restoring security in complex emergencies, Najib said he was of the view that such efforts should not be undertaken on the basis of a unilateral action and Iraq was a classic example in the case. He said it was of utmost importance to respect the sovereignty of the affected state to dispel fear of interference into the internal affairs of that particular state. “Therefore, upon restoring security, there should be graceful exit by the countries involved in the process,” Najib said.
He said peace building in a complex emergency must be based on trust and transparency and the mediator should not dictate terms and conditions in cases where there was a need for parties to negotiate settlements. “Instead, it was important to create a conducive environment for them to negotiate to ensure lasting peace,” he added.
Speaking at a media conference after the summit, Najib said the cyclone tragedy serves as an acid test for Asean’s capability in helping its members faced with a real crisis. He said it was important for Asean, as an association, to show the world it had come a long way and that in the Myanmar case it should be able to help the country.
He said Asean was willing to send more military personnel and logistics requirements such as helicopters and boats to help distribute foreign aid to the victims who remained cut off in the cyclone-stricken zones and were starving.

Shangri-La Dialogue: Stop treating Europe as junior partner, France tells Asia

SINGAPORE, June 1, 2008 (AFP) - Asia must stop treating Europe as a junior partner, French Defence Minister Herve Morin warned Sunday, in a call for both sides to step up cooperation on terrorism and other security issues.
Addressing a regional security forum, he said Southeast Asia in particular would in future hold a "major strategic stake" for Europe.
"During the 25 years to come, the centre of gravity of the world will move more and more toward Asia," Morin, whose country will take over the presidency of the European Union on July 1, told the conference in Singapore.
"We are no longer in an environment that was long ago described as 'benign neglect' by Europe about Asia by a Singaporean prime minister. Symmetrically, Asia should not consider Europe as a second-ranking partner."
Morin told the forum of defence ministers, military chiefs, diplomats and experts that Asia and Europe needed to have stronger intelligence-sharing on terrorism, notably about Al-Qaeda and its branches.
"There is never enough transparency and communication on these topics," he said, adding: "Countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is also a priority."
He called for cooperation against maritime piracy and offered France's help with averting any problems that may arise as Southeast Asia's submarine forces patrol shallow waters and narrow routes.
Morin also said governments must discuss how to better organise assets in case of another European humanitarian operation in Southeast Asia, following the cyclone in Myanmar and earthquake in southwest China.
European nations colonised much of Asia but the United States has been the pre-eminent military, political and economic power in the region since the end of World War II.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates assured the Singapore forum on Saturday that Washington's military engagement in Asia will remain strong regardless of the outcome of the upcoming US presidential elections

Human Rights:Food => END HUNGER - WALK THE WORLD 2008