You are being snooped on, Malaysia views US-NSA spying seriously!

Asia being snooped on, too 

Spying by foreign intelligence agencies is also prevalent in Malaysia and other regional countries via the Internet or spying equipment located in embassies.

SO last week it was the turn of Asians to learn that their region was also the subject of foreign spying.

This was no surprise. If American intelligence is spying on Americans, on Latin Americans, and on Europeans (including its top political leader, Angela Merkel of Germany), it is a foregone conclusion that Asia would not be left out.

There is no revelation yet that Asian prime ministers and presidents have had their personal mobile phones and e-mails tapped.

But it is also a foregone conclusion that these things are happening. Be prepared, therefore, to read in the coming weeks about famous Asian leaders, opposition stalwarts, journalists and celebrities being the subjects of snooping.

Nevertheless, the news that American and Australian embassies are being used to snoop on Asian countries justifiably caused outrage in our region. The Australian surveillance is reportedly in cooperation with the United States.

Malaysia is one of the places where Australian intelligence operates to spy, according to reports in the Der Spiegel and Sydney Morning Herald. They revealed that the spying takes place from the Australian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur.

Other Asian countries where the intelligence collection is conducted is the Australian embassies in China, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Timor Leste and Papua New Guinea.

The news reports also revealed that the US embassies have also been conducting surveillance activities in many Asian countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar.

Malaysia last Friday registered its protests in official notes handed to the Australian High Commissioner and the US Deputy Chief of Mission who were summoned to Wisma Putra. The notes warned that surveillance of close friends could severely damage relations.

Indonesia warned the United States and Australia that the continuation of surveillance facilities inside their embassies threatened to derail years of trust built up between countries.

China also responded to the report that the American embassy in Beijing and consulates in Shanghai and Chengdu operated special spying facilities.

Its Foreign Ministry has demanded an explanation from the United States, saying that “foreign entities must not in any form engage in activities that are incompatible with their status and that are harmful to China’s national security and interest”.

Also last Friday, Brazil and Germany introduced a draft resolution to a United Nations General Assembly committee calling for an end to excessive surveillance.

The press reports on spying in Asian countries are based on information leaked by Edward Snowden, a former contractor with the US National Security Agency.

Newspapers and magazines had previously revealed that the personal phones of the German chancellor and the Brazilian president had been tapped. Both leaders have registered protests directly to US President Barack Obama.

Last week also saw revelations by the Washington Post that the US and British intelligence agencies had found a way of intercepting communications from Google as well as Yahoo as the data were being passed between their data centres.

“We are outraged at the lengths to which the government seems to have gone,” said Google’s chief legal officer.

The Internet giant companies have found that their encryptment system protecting e-mail and other information flowing through its data centres is not secure after all.

The technology companies are worried that their millions of customers will no longer trust that their privacy will be protected.

How will this affect the use of browsing, e-mail, Facebook and other facets of the Internet technology?

US companies and entities currently dominate the global Internet business. Much of the world’s flow of data go through Internet companies based in the United States.

The US administration had projected itself as an honest host of the Internet centres, respecting the rights and privacy of the world’s Internet and e-mail users, and a champion of Internet freedom.

That image has been shattered by the series of revelations emerging from Snowden’s leaked files. The opposite image has replaced it, of a government that has used high technology to gather billions of bits of data on practically all Internet users.

If counter-terrorism was the official reason, this now seems to be only a pretext for also spying on any important person, including one’s closest allies.

Now that they have lost confidence that the United States or other countries will respect privacy of the politicians, companies and citizens of their countries, some governments are now planning to limit the reach of American-based Internet companies.

The Financial Times reported that Brazil is planning regulations that would force technology companies to retain information on the Internet about its citizens and institutions within Brazil itself.

It also said that European officials are discussing the need to have stronger cloud computing capabilities in Europe to protect their citizens’ privacy.

Brazil is also planning to bring up in various UN agencies and fora the need for a global framework to respect and protect privacy on the Internet.

Contributed by Global Trends Martiin Khor
The views expressed are entirely the writer’s own.

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Malaysia views spying seriously

KLUANG: Spying activities on Malaysia by its allies is a serious matter, says Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

This is because it can cause relations between Malaysia and these countries, long established based on trust and sincerity, to be tense.

“I believe if this (spying) is not fully explained, our long-established good relations can be adversely affected. Therefore, we need a full explanation on the extent of the spying activities and for what purpose.

“Tensions can be avoided if the allies involved uphold the trust and sincerity in their relations with Malaysia,” he said.

Hishammuddin said this to reporters after attending a Deepavali open house hosted by Johor Unity and Human Resources Committee chairman R.Vidyanathan here yesterday.

The spying issue arose following media reports on the claim made by intelligence informant Edward Snowden that the United States had 90 electronic surveillance facilities throughout the world, including at its embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

In light of this, Hishammuddin wanted a detailed explanation on the matter as such activities could threaten Malaysia’s security and its other interests.

The US ambassador to Malaysia, Joseph Y. Yun, was reported to have explained on the spying claim to Wisma Putra.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said Yun had stated that all surveillance activities by the United States throughout the world were specifically for security, to detect threats of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.

On his trip to China last month, Hishammuddin said it was aimed at enhancing cooperation in the area of defence, especially through joint exercises, exchange programmes involving navy and other military officers, establishing cooperation between the defence industries of both countries, and efforts to combat terrorism and transnational crime.

Meanwhile in Yan, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said they would arrest any foreign diplomat found to be involved in spying activities.

“We will not hesitate because spying is a threat to the country’s sovereignty. In the 1980s, we have arrested foreign diplomats involved in spying activities.

“We will do the same again if there is proof of such activities,” he told newsmen after a briefing on the Sungai Limau by-election at the Yan police headquarters yesterday.

- The Star/Asia News Network Monday Nov 4, 2013

New tax rate on property to keep away flippers

 

Profiteering nipped: Flip-happy property ‘investors’ – or rather, speculators – are not laughing now with the new stringent government measures to rein in excessive speculation.

Property prices have been spiralling and Budget 2014 introduced tough measures to cool prices down.

AHYAT Ishak was in the midst of selling off a property when Budget 2014 was tabled which saw hikes in the Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT).

It was higher and tighter than he expected. “Because of this announcement, I would have to make several different decisions. I bought that house less than three years ago.

“Previously, I would have been taxed 10% as RPGT, but with the recent announcement, I would need to fork out 30% of my profits for the RPGT.

“So right now, I am thinking that I should not sell it,” says the 30-something Ahyat, who has been investing in properties for the past 10 years and also runs workshops for wannabe property investors.

“If you have been strategic about investment, you would have known that the RPGT can go up anytime and you would have taken that into account in your investment plan. The worst strategy is when you have only one strategy,” he stresses.

Change of strategy: Property investor Ahyat is having second thoughts about selling a property he bought less than three years ago because of the higher RPGT. >

So he is not worried about hanging on a bit longer to the property that he had originally wanted to sell, because one of the rules he goes by is to make sure what he buys is an “investment-great asset”.

For him, this means two things – that the property is “tenant-able” and that it has good potential for capital appreciation.

As a player, he also makes sure he has the holding power to hang on to a property and service the loan.

“But it’s seen as uncool and yucky to talk to young investors about tenant-ability and capital appreciation. ‘Buying for rent’ is so old school to them. I’ve had people calling me a ‘sissy investor’ .

“Everyone was talking about ‘I buy, I get the keys, I flip’. How can that be sustainable?

“When I advocate responsible and sustainable investment, it is like a joke,” he says.

But those flip-happy property “investors” – or rather, speculators – are not laughing now with the new stringent government measures to rein in excessive speculation.

Other than the higher RPGT, the government is also prohibiting the developers interest-bearing scheme (DIBS), making developers spell out details of the house price and all the so-called “freebies” included, as well as making it a regulation that foreigners are only allowed to purchase properties that cost RM1mil and above.

Viewing the budget announcement as “very positive”, marketing and strategic consultant for developers Dr Daniele Gambero thinks this is what the market has been looking for.

“It is necessary to curb completely the investment of investors or speculators who are using property as if it is a forex or stock exchange market (where there is massive buying and selling in a short period).

“Property is not an asset for the short term. It is for the medium or long term, otherwise it becomes unhealthy and the market blows up,” he warns.

Gambero, who has been in the business for 15 years in Malaysia, says the kind of packaging housing developers have been offering over the past five years has been “ridiculous”.

“They are offering renovation packages, ‘free’ trips to, say, China and some even had a lucky draw for a Mercedez Benz.

“It’s ridiculous because these are actually not free. It is factored into the pricing and this is what has been pushing house prices up by a good 20%,” he says, stressing that developers are not angels and are merely responding to what the market is asking for.

He also takes to task the buyers for their “short-sightedness” in following their “emotions” instead of using practical and logical consideration when they buy property.

“If the value of the house is RM400,000 and these ‘free, free, not-so-free’ things bring the house price up to RM500,000, do they calculate how much this extra RM100,000 will cost them at the end of the loan tenure?

“At the end of the 35-year period, they might end up having paid RM180,000 extra in loan for these ‘free-free, not-so-free’ things the developer has thrown in to sweeten the deal. Don’t look at how much you are paying today but how much it will cost you in 20 to 30 years’ time,” he advises.

Besides, Gambero’s personal feeling is that most of the renovation offers built into the house price in fact ends up going down the drain, because about 40% to 50% of buyers end up having to renovate again because they want something that suits their personal taste.

One other thing that people should really sit up and take notice of is that with developers having to come clean with all the pricing, how will this impact on the amount of loan they can get to buy a property.

Both Ahyat and Gambero talk about the repercussions from banks.

“How is the banking industry going to react to this?

“When it is stripped bare and developers have to be transparent with details of the pricing, such as club membership, aircon, renovation and so on, the banks are going to be looking at that RM600,000 house and saying ‘Hey, this property’s value is actually RM500,000’ and that extra RM100,000 is just ‘fluff and whip cream’.

“Valuers from banks would give ‘zero’ value to those elaborate plaster ceilings, aircon and chandeliers. In the world of valuers, it is a big sin adding on all these add-ons.

“You can’t give loans on something that is inflated. You give loans based on the fundamental value,” says Ahyat, warning that the repercussions could be massive.

Concurring, Gambero says, the purchaser is at a “double losing end”.

“Say you bought the property for RM600,000 and a few years down the line you want to sell it for RM800,000, and find someone willing to pay that price.

“But when that person goes to the bank to ask for financing, the bank will look at the sales and purchase agreement and get their valuer to do a valuation and the valuer will give a value for the bricks but ‘not the plus, plus free-not-so-free’ package added in by the developer.

“And that real value of the house might only be RM700,000, so the bank will slash the margin of financing. So you might not be able to sell the house at RM800,000,” he says.

But will these new measures bring down the price of property?

Adrian Un, the founder and CEO of a property education arm, says the Budget announcement brought in the first wave and caught new young investors, aged 25 to 35, who came into the market with minimum downpayment, by shock.

The second wave, he believes, will come in when the details of the actual guidelines are spelt out.

“What has been announced is very general and the tip of the iceberg. Investors want to know in detail ‘if I do this or that, do I get a waiver’,” he says.

He thinks seasoned players will wait for a while and that after the Chinese New Year, when the news sinks in, they will continue to buy.

Un notes that developers with new launches planned will have to launch “no matter what” and they will now strategise on how to innovate and find new ways to entice people to buy.

“When they do away with the DIBS (a scheme where the developer bears the interest during the construction period and buyer pays nothing because that interest had already been factored into the price of the house), people might now be asking if it is worthwhile to buy the property.

“Developers might find a way to reimburse the buyer on the interest in a different way. For example, they may ask the customer to pay it first and then give a rebate or reimbursement every quarterly,” he says.

Un says it’s hard for house prices to come down.

“The cost of raw material has gone up, developers are going to have to pay GST from April 2015 (on supplies and material), the cost of labour has gone up, inflation is going to creep up with the introduction of GST and land cost is not getting any cheaper.”

Coming back to Ahyat, he says he doesn’t disagree that the property market is overvalued and that DIBS, among other things, had helped fuel speculation.

And he wonders too if other fiscal policies might be in the offing, like a hike in interest rates.

“We are in a low-interest environment right now and cheap credit fuels speculation.

“If there is a rise in interest rate, some say it would signal the bursting of the bubble because more people would die standing as their holding power would reduce significantly. And people can’t get loans or buy too if interest rates are too high.

“My question is, can Malaysia afford to let the development and construction industry contract and cool down? This is a very scary question to ask,” Ahyat notes.

Contributed by Shahanaaz Habib The Star

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Malaysia's Goods and Services Tax (GST) a boon to IT firms

Malaysia's new consumption tax is a boon to IT companies that stand to win infrastructure contracts and fees – provided they can convince people to switch to electronic payments in a country where 91% of transactions are in cash.

The 6% goods and services tax (GST) that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak announced in his budget speech last Friday is aimed at narrowing a budget gap that is expected to hit 4% of gross domestic product this year.

Cash payments are harder for tax collectors to track, so the government is encouraging e-payments as a way to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

For companies such as Censof Holdings Bhd and GHL Systems Bhd that specialise in creating electronic payment and software systems, the initial benefit will likely come well before the tax is implemented in April 2015.

These companies, along with privately held Brilliance Information Sdn Bhd and Revenue Harvest Sdn Bhd, are seen as front-runners for government contracts to build the necessary infrastructure, because Malaysia has a procurement policy that favours local companies.

That potential has caught investors' attention. Censof's shares are up 64% in the year to date while GHL's have jumped more than 160%, both out stripping the broader market's 7.7% gain.

"To impose GST, you need to capture sales accurately and it needs to be done electronically. You need payment infrastructure in place," said Raj Lorenz, group CEO at GHL, Malaysia's largest e-payment firm by market share.

"The business is very bright but there are a lot of people using cash, so they (the government) have to make them all use e-payment. In the end, the only guys who can get away with it are those in the night markets," he said.

Censof executive director Ameer Shaik Mydin concurs, adding that all his company's systems are GST-ready and waiting to be implemented on clients' sites.

"We've done it in Singapore and Australia. It definitely has to be electronic. If not, I have to say it'll not work," he said.

Accounting for GST is especially tricky in a cash economy. Businesses might understate sales to lower the tax bill. But for cash-only companies, making the switch will be costly.

"Big boys can afford it but what about eateries and sundry shops? Do you expect them to pay for such machines and issue receipts (on GST)?" said Kuala Lumpur-based business consultant John Yong.

"If they don't buy and issue receipts, then the 6% GST is not going to be remitted to the government. Some industries are just not ready for GST," he added. – Reuters/theSun

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