Malaysia Airlines says 2008 profit forecast could double

Malaysia's national carrier said its net profit for 2008 could double its previous forecasts and hit 1.0 billion ringgit (431 million dollars) despite industry problems.

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) also said, in a statement released late Wednesday, that airline profits could also hit 1.5 billion ringgit (464 million dollars) annually in five years time, under a new business plan.

It declared net profits of 610 million ringgit for the first nine months last November, the best result of its 60-year history, after a net loss of 258 million ringgit for the same period in 2006.
Last year, airline officials also said profits for 2008 were targeted at about the 500 million ringgit mark.

"MAS believes ... it can achieve an annual profit of 1.5 billion ringgit by 2012 even after factoring in the challenges in the industry such as overcapacity, air traffic liberalization and rising fuel costs," it said.

The airline said net profits for 2008 could reach as high as 1 billion ringgit under its new business transformation plan.

The Business Transformation Plan 2 (BTP 2) is an updated version of the airline's 2006 reorganisation plan which was implemented after it posted a loss of over 1.3 billion ringgit in the first nine months of 2005.

In the last two years MAS has cut loss-making routes, reduced headcounts and sold non-core assets in a bid to raise new funds and return to profitability.
MAS Managing director Idris Jala said recently operating costs would be cut by up to one billion ringgit over the next few years.

It is expected to release its 2007 results next month.

Agence France-Presse - 1/31/2008

Malaysian PM overstaying his welcome: Mahathir

Malaysia's former premier Mahathir Mohamad said Wednesday he never intended his successor Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to serve more than one term and suggested he should stand down.

Abdullah, who has had a very public falling out with the veteran leader, will contest for his second term in general elections expected to be held in March.
Mahathir previously said he made a mistake in picking Abdullah, and should have opted for influential deputy prime minister Najib Razak.

"That was my thinking, since (Abdullah) was older than Najib, he should be PM for one term and then Najib should be able to take over," he told a press conference.
"I know it takes time to implement plans and projects but I think if that is to be used as an excuse to stay in power for 18 years then that will not be very welcome."
Abdullah won a landslide victory in 2004 polls when voters were enthused by his plans to fight corruption, but since then he has been widely criticised for inaction and suffered a steep tumble in popularity.

In recent months he has faced an unprecedented wave of public protests over the rights of minority ethnic Indians, as well as electoral reform and rising food and fuel prices.
"They see a government that is retreating and they want to take advantage," Mahathir said of the street rallies which would have been unthinkable during his term in power which ended in 2003 after more than two decades.

Abdullah was Mahathir's hand-picked successor when he stepped down, but after the new leader dumped several of his pet projects he began launching accusations of economic mismanagement, nepotism and corruption.

Agence France-Presse - 1/30/2008 8:22 AM

Malaysia's Mahathir defends Suharto's legacy

Malaysia's former premier Mahathir Mohamad on Sunday defended the legacy of one-time Indonesian strongman Suharto and described him as a "great leader and an international statesman".

Mahathir, a contemporary of Suharto during their long terms in power, told the Malaysian state Bernama news agency that accounts the former Indonesian leader killed some 500,000 people after taking power in 1965 were "absolute nonsense".

Suharto died Sunday aged 86 of multiple organ failure having ruled with an iron fist for 32 years.
"I know this for a fact. I knew what happened. Indonesia was in a state of anarchy then and he has no authority. At the time of the killings, he was not even the president. He did not order the killing," Mahathir said.

Mahathir, who ruled for two decades before stepping down in 2003, said he regarded Suharto as a friend of Malaysia and a personal friend.

"We looked up to him as a great leader and as an international statesman. For me, it's quite personal. I know him and I have worked with him for a very long time," he said.
Mahathir, 82, credited Suharto for his role in the economic development of Indonesia.
"Even though Indonesia was not an ideal democracy during Suharto's time, the fact remained that he brought stability to Indonesia," he said.

"Of course, there is a price to be paid," Bernama quoted him as saying, acknowledging that some people had suffered under Suharto's administration.

Mahathir visited the former Indonesian president earlier this month as he fought for his life in hospital, but he said that the two men had not been able to speak.
"I think he did notice me," he said.

Mahathir is to attend Suharto's funeral along with Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will not attend.

Abdullah extended his condolences to Suharto's family and the Indonesian people, and paid tribute to the former leader for helping strengthen ties between the two countries.
"The relations have yielded immense benefits to both countries. We pray to Allah to bless Pak Harto's soul and to place him among the blessed," he said according to Bernama, using the veteran leader's popular nickname.

Agence France-Presse - 1/27/2008 2:02 PM

Malaysian opposition condemns mass arrests at protest

Malaysia's opposition parties on Sunday condemnned the arrest of 56 people at a demonstration against rising prices, saying it was a sign of government paranoia ahead of general elections.

Hundreds of police surrounded Kuala Lumpur's iconic Petronas Twin Towers to prevent the protest from going ahead Sunday, and hauled away demonstrators in trucks.

As they were driven off some shouted "Reformasi" or "Reform", the catchcry of dissident former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim who was sacked and jailed in 1998.

The rally -- the latest in an unprecedented series of street protests -- was aimed at highlighting public anger over rising food and fuel prices ahead of polls expected to be held in March.

"The brutal suppression of protestors... is a sign that the government is at a loss to resolve the fundamental problem of the sky-rocketing cost of living," Tian Chua, from Anwar's Keadilan party, said in a statement.

"It is an over-reaction when more than 1,000 police officers were mobilised to stop the demonstration that merely expresses the people's discontent on impending hikes in fuel prices and other essential goods and services," said Tian, who is one of those being held.

A journalist from news website Malaysiakini, one of the few independent media organisations in the country, was also caught up in the dragnet as he attempted to interview police.
"I'm definitely disturbed by this. It shows that police are not respecting the rights of journalists to do their job," said the website's editor in chief Steven Gan.

Organisers said that of the 56 people detained, 10 had been released, while police appeared to be seeking remand orders that could keep the rest in custody for up to two weeks. The Malaysiakini journalist was one of those still in police custody.

The fundamentalist Islamic opposition party PAS also had several of its senior members detained.

"It is an over-rection. They just want to get together and protest about the prices that people are facing, that's all," said PAS member Zulkifli Sulong.

"The price of food is an important issue in this coming general election. A lot of people are sufering because of price hikes. So they don't want to give a chance to let people expose their grievances about it."

Malaysia's government has been infuriated by the street rallies, which began breaking out in November, targeting issues including electoral reform and rights for the nation's ethnic Indians.

In December it detained five ethnic Indian activists under draconian internal security legislation that allows for indefinite detention without trial.

Agence France-Presse - 1/27/2008 10:17 AM

Malaysia struggles to curb addiction to foreign labour

Malaysia is attempting to curb its addiction to foreign labour, which has brought 2.3 million workers to its shores, but critics say the campaign is causing havoc at home and abroad.

The relatively prosperous Southeast Asian nation relies heavily on men and women from Indonesia, Bangladesh, India and elsewhere to clean homes, construct buildings and gather crops.

But as one of Asia's largest importers of labour, the government has become increasingly alarmed over the ramifications of having such a big foreign presence in a population of just 27 million.

Migrant workers have been accused of everything from depressing wages to causing crime waves. Plantation Industries Minister Peter Chin said recently they were "colonising" Malaysia's vast agricultural estates.

"People do tend to take the easy option because you have a large reservoir of foreign workers. They might even dump local workers in favour of foreign workers. And that's not good for us," said deputy prime minister Najib Razak.

"You're attracting industries that depend on low wages. So we are reviewing that, we are reducing the number of foreign workers," he told AFP in a recent interview.

The government has already announced a ban on foreigners working in "frontline" roles in hotels and airports, and now reportedly plans to cut the migrant workforce to 1.8 million by next year, and 1.5 million by 2015.

However, the campaign to reduce imported labour has been criticised as unplanned, disastrous for industries that depend on it, and insulting to the countries where the workers come from.
The deputy premier said Malaysia was in a "transition period" as it tried to shift from a low-wage model aimed at being competitive against regional neighbours, to a high-wage, knowledge-based economy.

Political commentators applaud the goal, but say there is no plan to carry out the transition which in any case would take a decade or more to achieve.

"Generally there has been very inconsistent migrant management in the country and now they're trying to rein in all the excesses, and that appears to be very ad hoc as well," said political economist Charles Santiago.

Santiago dismissed employers' arguments that they can't find enough Malaysians to fill their positions, saying that wages must be raised to make the jobs more attractive.

Artificially low wages threaten to cause new divisions in the multi-ethnic country -- which is already suffering from worsening race relations -- as it heads into a US-led economic slowdown, he said.

"When the economy's expanding, this does not cause a crisis between various groups in the country. But this year's going to be a very topsy turvy year and it's going to put a stress on the Malaysian family," he said.

"I think we're going to see a backlash between local Malaysians and migrant workers."
Parliamentary opposition leader Lim Kit Siang also sounded caution over the way the crackdown is being carried out, noting that past campaigns were disastrous and ineffective.

"The economy practically halts each time there is a crackdown as the country is over dependant on foreign labour. And the number of foreign workers, more often than not, increases after the crackdown," he told AFP.

Khoo Kay Peng from Malaysia's think tank the Sedar Institute said the campaign was sending the wrong message about the nation.

"What Malaysia should be telling the world is that we're an open economy, we encourage talent to come here to work -- and that at the same time we need to specify the kind of help we need."
"We must not appear to be inward-looking and introverted."

Malaysia is also smarting at accusations that foreigners are all too often abused, unpaid and treated inhumanely, and that those responsible are not punished.

Indonesia has some 1.1 million citizens working here and protests over their treatment break out frequently in Jakarta -- most recently over the case of Nirmala Bonat, a young maid who was severely burned and bashed by her employer.

The issue dominated a visit by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono this month, during which he called for justice for those who had been abused.

Bangladesh has some 300,000 citizens working here, but a ban was imposed in October after a series of cases of poor treatment including one when employers abandoned 2,000 workers at Kuala Lumpur's airport.

There was also a furore in India this month when several Malaysian officials said the cabinet had decided to impose a similar freeze, forcing the government to strenuously deny it had any such plans.

Agence France-Presse - 1/27/2008 3:27 AM

Malaysian police detain dozens of protesters

Malaysian police on Saturday detained dozens of people including a journalist at the capital's iconic Petronas Twin Towers, as they clamped down on an anti-government protest.

Up to 50 people, including many from opposition parties, were hauled away in police trucks. As they were driven off some shouted "Reformasi" or "Reform" which was the catchcry of dissident former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

The protest -- the latest in an unprecedented series of street rallies -- had been aimed at highlighting public anger over rising prices of food and fuel, ahead of elections expected to be held in March.

Police, who had warned the protest was illegal, turned out in their hundreds to disperse the gathering of about 100 people at the Twin Towers, which were barricaded and under heavy guard.

"We're not causing any problems, we're just saying that prices are going up and the poor are hurting," Socialist Party of Malaysia chairman Mohamed Nasir told AFP before he was taken away by police. "The leadership is paranoid, there's no democracy," he said.

The detained journalist was from Malaysiakini, a news website which is one of the few independent media organisations in the country and whose offices were raided by the government in 2003.

"I'm definitely disturbed by this. It shows that police are not respecting the rights of journalists to do their job," said Malaysiakini's editor in chief Steven Gan.

"They should have released him as soon as he identified himself as a journalist," he told AFP.
Police refused to say why the reporter, who had been asking an officer for information, was taken away. The government has refused to give Malaysiakini staff the press pass which journalists need to access official events.

Puzzled tourists milled on the edges of the protest, watching the riot police who stood in formation as a helicopter buzzed overhead.

"It's pretty crazy," said Jon Iliffe, a British businessman on a work trip to Malaysia. "It's a bit strange that they're not allowed to protest and say what they want."

Malaysia's government has been infuriated by the street rallies which began breaking out in November, targeting issues including electoral reform and rights for the nation's ethnic Indians.

In December it detained five ethnic Indian activists under draconian internal security legislation which allows for indefinite detention without trial.

Agence France-Presse - 1/26/2008 9:46 AM

Malaysian Indians stayed away in droves from a popular Hindu festival Wednesday, in a boycott linked to allegations of discrimination by the nation's majority Muslim Malays.

The colourful Thaipusam festival, during which devotees pierce their bodies with hooks and skewers, usually attracts more than a million people to Kuala Lumpur's Batu Caves temple, set in a spectacular limestone cavern.

But this year activists called on Hindus to celebrate elsewhere, accusing temple managers of assisting police who cracked down hard on a demonstration there last November, using tear gas and water cannons.

The crowds were thin Wednesday, numbering only in their tens of thousands, thanks to the boycott call and the prospect of more trouble.

A series of SMS text messages had called on ethnic Indians who did turn up to use their sandals to pelt political leaders including Samy Vellu, the leader of the Malaysian Indian Congress which is a member of the ruling coalition.

The veteran politician, who has sided with the government and been accused of neglecting the interests of his constituents, insisted there were at least half a million people at the complex and a million the day before.

"I have come to Thaipusam since I was 11 years old. I know the crowd. It is the same as before," he told reporters at Batu Caves.

"I don't think religious people who went to pray to Lord Murugan will listen to all the naughty fellows," he said of the SMS campaign.

"Who can threaten us? Anyone who threatens us we can find out where he is. It takes only five hours to find out where he is. They can't run away from us."

Stallholders and devotees lamented the small turnout and said ethnic Indians should work together to promote their cause.

"The crowd is normally double or triple this size. Now it's so small, so there is not so much of a great mood this time," said N. Kumaran, 41, a civil servant who has taken part in the festival for the past 14 years.

Sweet seller Joga Singh said that with the crowds so thin he and other vendors were not making any money this year.

"I think many people are afraid to come because of the SMS to boycott. Our business is suffering because of it," he told AFP.

At least 3,000 ethnic Indians gathered in the temple grounds to protest in November, and more than 8,000 people massed elsewhere the following day in unprecedented scenes that shocked the government.

In December it jailed five ethnic Indian activists under draconian internal security legislation that allows for detention without trial.

Malays, who make up 60 percent of the country's 27 million population, control the government while ethnic Chinese, who make up 26 percent of the population, dominate business.

Ethnic Indians, who make up 8.0 percent of the population, complain they run a distant third in terms of wealth, opportunities and education.

Agence France-Presse - 1/23/2008 7:08 AM

Malaysia's deputy PM says crackdown averted racial violence

Malaysia on Monday defended its crackdown on dissent, including the arrest of ethnic Indian activists and suppression of street protests, saying it had averted a serious risk of racial violence.
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak raised the spectre of the country's worst race riots, when almost 200 people were killed in clashes between ethnic Chinese and Muslim Malays in May 1969.

"If the Malays of Kampung Baru come out then we have the spectre of a serious possibility of a racial clash in this country," Najib said in an interview with AFP. The Malay enclave was one of the flashpoints of the 1969 riots.

"There were signs that they were preparing to come out so we had to tell them, 'look, don't make the situation any worse'," he said.

"The government was actually taking action to prevent anything worse from happening."

Unprecedented street protests by ethnic Indians, which police broke up with tear gas and water cannon, opened a new faultline in Malaysia's increasingly tense race relations last November.
Five leaders of Indian rights group Hindraf, who claim the community is the victim of discrimination at the hands of the majority Malays, are now being held without trial under tough internal security laws.

The five, together with at least 78 supporters in different parts of Malaysia, began a hunger strike on Monday to protest against their detention, activists said.
Najib -- who as deputy premier is expected to be Malaysia's next leader after Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi -- defended the use of the much-criticised Internal Security Act (ISA) on the Hindraf leaders.

"A great deal of people thought we should have used it earlier, but if we had used it earlier there could have been pros and cons, those who say we are not tolerant, we are autocratic, we are not democratic enough," he said.

"So by allowing things to pan out and for us not to use the ISA early, I think when we used it the vast majority of Malaysians supported it."

The Hindraf rally came two weeks after another rare demonstration organised by electoral reform campaigners, which saw 30,000 people take to the streets. They were also dispersed with tear gas and water cannon.

Emboldened by the new mood, civil society groups and non-governmental organisations have held several smaller street protests in the capital, despite not having a permit.
Police have broken up peaceful demonstrations, and Najib said there was a limit to the government's patience.

"We are responsible for peace and harmony in this country and public order," he said. "We are quite tolerant in this country, but if it comes to the point I suppose when push comes to shove, we have to be firm about it."

He declined to specify what action would be taken at that stage, saying: "We know what to do."
Najib indicated the National Front coalition government could lose ground in general elections expected to be held in March, which follow a torrid few months that have included the protests as well as food shortages and a ministerial sex scandal.

After a resounding victory in 2004, which reversed losses in 1999, commentators say the pendulum is likely to swing against the government again.

"We don't want a dip (in seats), but our benchmark has always been a two-thirds majority," Najib said.

"Even during the worst of times, say in the 1999 general elections, we still managed to attain a two-thirds majority and I don't expect this time to be worse than 1999," he said.
Najib admitted that the race-based component parties that make up the coalition were "going through some problems" and that the government had a big job to soothe the public over forthcoming fuel price hikes.

"We have to manage it. We have to manage between good governance, good macro management of the nation, as well as possible reaction from the public. As long as it's seen to be equitable I think people will accept it," he said.

The ruling United Malays National Organisation has led the National Front coalition in government for half a century.

Agence France-Presse - 1/21/2008


Malaysian activists and supporters on hunger strike

Five ethnic Indian Malaysian activists held under a tough security law and at least 78 supporters began a hunger strike on Monday to protest against their detention, activists said.

The five leaders of rights group Hindraf were jailed under the Internal Security Act (ISA) last month after holding an unprecedented mass rally to protest against alleged discrimination against Indians in Malaysia.

R.S. Thanenthiran told AFP that supporters of the five detainees were holding hunger strikes in two locations in central Selangor state and at a Hindu temple in Ipoh, capital of Perak state, in the north.

"They started today. In Ipoh we have 21 of them (fasting). I'm not sure how many in Petaling Jaya but at a Port Klang temple, about 57," Thanenthiran said.

"They are not eating although they are taking liquids," he said, adding that they are expected to fast until Sunday.

Thanenthiran said he hoped to speak to the five jailed activists on Tuesday. They are being held at the Kamunting detention centre in Perak, about 300 kilometres (190 miles) from Kuala Lumpur.

Organisers had said they planned to rouse people nationwide to take part in the hunger strike in support of the detainees. The ISA allows for indefinite detention without trial.
M. Tharumalingam, another Hindraf activist, said he intends to start a group of hunger strikers in Selangor.

"I am trying to arrange for 500 people.... Everyone is fighting for (Hindu) rights," Tharumalingam told AFP.

He said the five-year-old daughter of P. Waythamoorthy, the Hindraf chairman who is currently based in London, will Tuesday deliver a personal letter to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who ordered the detention of the five.

Ethnic Indians, who make up 8.0 percent of the country's population, complain they run a distant third in terms of wealth, opportunities and education.

Muslim Malays, who make up 60 percent, control the government while the ethnic Chinese, at 26 percent, dominate business.

Agence France-Presse - 1/21/2008

Malaysia to cut 500,000 foreign workers by 2009

The Malaysian government is planning to send home up to 500,000 foreign workers by 2009 in a bid to force employers here to hire locals, according to a report Sunday.

The move follows a denial by the government earlier this month that it had frozen the recruitment of workers from India after reports quoted officials saying a ban was in place.
There are about 2.3 million foreign workers in Malaysia, according to home ministry figures, with the vast majority mainly employed in manufacturing and agriculture as well as in domestic work.

"We have been lax with the ruling to allow employers to cut costs with cheaper foreign labour," the Home Ministry's top civil servant Raja Azahar Raja Abdul Manap told the Star daily.
"But now, they have to turn to locals and pay a reasonable salary based on supply and demand," he added.

Raja Azahar told the paper his ministry was planning to have only 1.8 million foreign workers in the country by next year with the number dropping further to 1.5 million by 2015.
He told the Star only foreign workers in the construction, manufacturing and plantation industries would be exempt from the plan.

The government will not approve work permits of unskilled foreign workers in Malaysia for five years or more, it reported, with skilled workers getting a maximum of 10 years.
New minimum requirements could also be introduced for employers of foreign domestic help, it reported.

"We are looking into the possibility that only those who earn more that 5,000 ringgit (1,534 dollars) (compared to 3,000 ringgit presently) be allowed to employ foreign maids," he said.

Agence France-Presse - 1/20/2008

Malaysia gearing up for national polls: report

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has started a new round of nationwide tours, according to reports Sunday, in the clearest indication yet that national elections are imminent.
Abdullah, who has been tight-lipped on the polling date, has had his hands full with unprecedented street protests, a slowing economy and public anger over high fuel and food prices.

However, the New Straits Times newspaper in a front page spread said members of his Barisan Nasional (BN) race-based coalition government believe the election could probably be held in March.

It cited Abdullah's tours, along with an upcoming meeting on Monday of all BN leaders and another on Tuesday with heads of his United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party, as evidence of election preparations.

"Given that the economy is on track and commodity prices are high, benefitting a large portion of the BN-supportive electorate, senior BN members feel the time is right to go to the polls," it reported, without naming the officials.

However, Abdullah's government is still coming to terms with street rallies which kicked off in November with a 30,000-strong protest calling for electoral reform, followed by a gathering of 8,000 people alleging discrimination against ethnic Indian Malaysians.

Five organisers of the rally were later detained without trial under tough internal security legislation.

Public anger is also running high over fuel price hikes and spiralling food prices, with forecasters predicting slow growth of 5.4 percent this year from 6.1 percent in 2007.

Election officials say at least 10.5 million voters will be eligible to vote in the upcoming polls.

Agence France-Presse - 1/20/2008

Malaysia's Mahathir takes stand in corruption inquiry

Malaysia's former premier Mahathir Mohamad told an inquiry into allegations of corruption in judicial appointments Thursday that he alone selected judges when he was in power.

Mahathir's one-time protege, former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, unleashed a furore last year by releasing a video clip which apparently shows a lawyer telling a judge over the phone that he would put him forward for a top job.

A royal commission into the tape has heard that the conversation took place in 2001, when Mahathir -- who stood down four years ago in favour of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi -- was still in power.

Mahathir said he discussed prospective judicial appointments with various people including business leaders, public servants and friends, but dismissed suggestion that they dictated the outcome.

"I do hear from individuals unofficially during my conversations with them at social gatherings and I take into account what they say, but the final answer is mine," he said.
"I normally don't explain to anybody. The only thing is, I listen to many people, but I make the decision on my own," he added.

The tape was recorded on December 20, 2001 and purportedly shows the lawyer discussing brokering judicial appointments and saying a memo is being sent to Mahathir recommending a judge for a top position. The lawyer has been named as V.K. Lingam.
"I do not remember receiving any memo from Lingam, but as the prime minister I may have received it from Eusoff Chin," Mahathir said, referring to a former chief justice who was also mentioned in the clip.

He also said he did not know the lawyer personally until after he stepped down, and later hired him to act in a legal case involving Anwar.

Later, Tourism Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, who in 2001 was deputy minister in charge of legal affairs, denied suggestions in the clip that he acted as a broker among the various figures manipulating judicial promotions.

"It is not true. I think the person who is talking in the video clip must be drunk," he said.
Anwar, who is also due to appear before the two-week inquiry next week, was heir apparent to Mahathir until his sacking in 1998, when sodomy and corruption charges landed him in jail for six years.

The sodomy charge was later overturned and Anwar was released from jail, but the corruption conviction still stands and he has been barred from public office until April this year.

Agence France-Presse - 1/17/2008

Malaysian transport operators want big fare hikes

Malaysian bus and taxi operators are demanding big fare hikes due to rising fuel costs, a report said Wednesday, putting pressure on the government as it heads toward elections.
The government has already signalled that gas and electricity price hikes are in the offing, and that it will have to cut fuel subsidies that are on track to cost the nation 10 billion dollars this year.
Bus operators told the New Straits Times newspaper that fares have not risen despite a 123 percent increase in diesel prices, and called for fares to be doubled to combat heavy competition and high operating costs.

Representatives of the taxi owners said they want to raise their flagfall from 2.0 ringgit (0.60 dollars) to 3.0 ringgit (0.92 dollars), and increase the per-kilometre and waiting time rates.
Malaysia's national railway is also looking to increase the price of inter-city routes by 30 percent and commuter services by 50 percent, the paper reported.
Malaysia imposed its highest-ever fuel price rises in February 2006, citing the spiralling cost of crude oil, and pledged to use the cost savings to boost the country's substandard transport system.

Following the sharp hike, political and civil groups organised rare demonstrations in the capital Kuala Lumpur to condemn the decision.
The operators' demands come as the government prepares for elections expected to be held as soon as March.

Agence France-Presse - 1/16/2008

Judicial corruption inquiry in Malaysia to start Monday: reports

A Royal Commission will begin an inquiry into alleged judicial corruption in Malaysia on Monday, with witnesses to include top politicians and judicial officers, reports said.

Former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim unleashed a furore in September when he released a video clip in which a well-connected lawyer purportedly told a top judge that he would put the man's name forward for a senior appointment.

Among those listed as possible witnesses include former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, Anwar and the now-retired judge who was implicated in the scandal, The Sunday Star newspaper said.

The commission panel consists of retired judges and rights leaders who will decide on the clip's authenticity and if there is any evidence of wrongdoing. They will hear from a total of 16 witnesses during the two-week inquiry.

On Sunday, local businessman Loh Mui Fah said his son made the video clip in late December 2001.

"I was not aware then that my son was recording (the lawyer's) conversation," he told the New Sunday Times newspaper.

Anwar was heir apparent to former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad until his sacking in 1998, when he was hit with sodomy and corruption charges that landed him in jail for six years.
The sodomy conviction was later overturned but the corruption verdict stands, barring Anwar from running for public office until April 2008.

He is adviser to Keadilan or People's Justice Party, which is formally led by his wife.

Agence France-Presse - 1/13/2008