Share investment: Cool, calm and collected

The original expression and meaning, "Cool, calm and collected" was used as a joke in stockbroking firms. In the old days, before CDS, share certificates need to be collected after purchase. Initially, speculators bought for a quick gain within T+3 days. If a mistake in having bought and share price came down instead, buyer is said to remain cool and calm. But by the last day, he might decide to pay for the purchase instead of the loss plus incidental charges, and collect the share certificate.

I am reminded of this when I read the headline in The Sun posted on February 17, 2016:

Tabung Haji: Shares in FGV a long term investment

"Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) has defended its decision to maintain its shares in Felda Global Ventures Berhad (FGV) despite its falling price over the years, calling it a long term investment.

"TH would like to explain that our investment in FGV's shares is a strategic long-term investment in one of our core investment sectors," it said in a statement today.

Explaining that the falling share price was due to the drastic decline in the market price of crude oil, the pilgrimage fund assured its depositors that their savings are safe with the company.

"The fall in crude oil price has caused commodity-based companies (like FGV) to be directly affected, with a negative impact on plantation counters. The drop in price is beyond our control as it is determined by the power of the existing market.

"However, we assure all our depositors not to be worried as their savings in TH is not missing as claimed by certain quarters, their savings are guaranteed," it added.

National Oversight and Whistleblowers (NOW) director Rafizi Ramli, on Tuesday, revealed that TH has lost RM933 million through its shares in FGV despite being aware of its falling prices.

He explained that TH had invested RM1.38 billion when purchasing 7.78% of FGV's shares on June 28, 2012 at RM4.54 per share, and that its current value has dropped to RM1.60 per share.

Rafizi said despite netting a sale profit of RM7.6 million, the current share value held by the pilgrimage fund only stood at RM454 million, making its accumulated losses at over RM933 million."

FGV and Felda are again in the news because of their recent separate attempts to buy 37% of Eagle High Plantations in Indonesia, at a much higher price than recent market average. After FGV gave up, it was eagerly offered by Felda, such was the keen interest which inevitably resulted in suspicions, especially when the seller is reportedly close to PM Najib. 

That EPF has sold off its remaining shares in FGV, even if after its failed bid for EHP, shows the lack of confidence in FGV's turnaround and long term viability.

Will other public bodies join EPF in dumping FGV?

"The Employees Providence Fund (EPF) divestment of its entire stake in Felda Global Ventures (FGV) has raised questions over the viability investments by other public bodies.

Two major FGV shareholders are the Retirement Fund Incorporated (KWAP) and Lembaga Tabung Haji. These institutional investors mostly invested in FGV during the initial public offering stage."

Rest of article (for subscribers of Malaysiakini): https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/367225?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Basically, EPF had realised and cut its losses in FGV, while the other funds holding on, have book losses to date. Seems like the funds were told to support FGV in its IPO, and were left to carry the baby, putting on a brave front and describing it as long term investments. Cool, calm and collected indeed. To me, it is better described as enforced long-term investment!
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Wan Saiful Wan Jan: Do we need unity?

Excerpt:

"To me the biggest hurdle to national unity is the structure of our political system. Our politics is dominated by ethnic-based political parties. Being ethnic-based, their survival is dependent on us, the voters, continuing to be divided along ethnic lines.

If voters are no longer thinking as different ethnic groups, then the ethnic-based parties will find it difficult to survive. If a Malay feels that it is ok to have a non-Malay Prime Minister, if a Chinese feels it is ok to have an ustaz as their representative, if a Hindu feels it is ok to have an atheist as their spokesperson, then it would be meaningless to remain as a Malay, Chinese or Indian party.

The same applies to the Melanaus, Bidayuhs, Dayaks, Kadazans, Seranis and so on too. Ethnic-based parties need society to remain divided along ethnic lines because otherwise they will not be able to survive.

This is why when any ethnic-based party feels weakened, they will work hard to cleave society. This is divide and rule 101. The more successful you are at dividing society, the more likely you are to rule over them.

But even though the hurdle preventing national unity is not too difficult to identify, there are two bigger questions that should be, but are rarely, asked. The questions are do we really need unity and what is unity for?

Most frequently when people in Malaysia talk about unity we talk about the different ethnic groups mixing with each other. The underlying assumption is that mixing is necessary to foster a “good” society.

I never quite understand this. Why do we really need to mix? Why can’t we just live our lives the way we want, mixing with only those whom we want, and meeting only those whom we want?"

"If all we want is peace, then isn’t it a possibility that unity is irrelevant? If peace can be achieved by people living parallel lives, remaining in groups they are comfortable with, peacefully within the group and peacefully in relation to others, should we still divide them in the quest for the illusive unity?"

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YB Dr Ong Kian Ming: Did the Education Ministry artificially boost Malaysia’s school scores?

With our past record of manipulation of things, it isn't surprising, if true.

Excerpt:

"When the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) 2015 results were released on Dec 6, officials from the Education Ministry were quoted in a news report as taking pride that Malaysia’s Pisa’s scores for Mathematics, Reading and Science had improved from 421, 398 and 420 respectively in 2012 to 446, 431 and 443 respectively in 2015.

No doubt, mnisters, deputy ministers and politicians from the BN will use the latest Pisa scores as ‘proof’ that Malaysia is on the ‘right track’ when it comes to the standard of education in the country.

What they would have conveniently left out is the fact that Malaysia does not feature anywhere in the 2015 Pisa rankings for Mathematics, Reading and Science.

The official reason stated, on Page 340 of the Pisa report for Malaysia’s non-inclusion is:

"In Malaysia, the Pisa assessment was conducted in accordance with the operational standards and guidelines of the OECD. However, the weighted response rate among the initially sample Malaysian schools (51 percent) falls well short of the standard Pisa response rate of 85 percent. Therefore, the results may not be comparable to those of other countries or to results for Malaysia from previous years."

Why was it that only 51 percent of the schools initially chosen for the Pisa test participated in the test in 2015? Was it because the Education Ministry wanted to over-represent students from better performing schools and leave out students from low performing schools?

This 51 percent participation rate raises many suspicions, since Malaysia’s participation rate was 99.3 percent and 100 percent in Pisa 2009(Page 103, 151 out of 152 schools participated) and Pisa 2012 respectively (Page 181).

It is hard to imagine any school principal not allowing his or her school to participate in the Pisa 2015 test if the Education Ministry had already chosen that school to be in the original sample.

One suspects that the Education Ministry over-sampled the high performing schools in the Pisa 2015 sample and excluded some of the lower performing schools from the sample."

Rest of article: http://m.malaysiakini.com/news/365550

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When they have it all, there's no need to prove anything.

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It's no joke... our Harith Iskander is world's funniest man 2016!

Congratulations!

Judge for yourself...


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