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00:04 The cabinet has agreed in principle to not proceed with the construction of a new international airport
00:08 on Tiuman Island, Pahang, said Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister
00:13 Nick Nasmiq Nick Ahmad. In a statement he said his ministry has taken note of concerns voiced
00:18 over the reclamation of land as part of the airport's development which will take place
00:22 in protected marine areas causing the destruction of coral reefs and loss of habitat to hundreds
00:28 of species of marine life which are the main attractions of the island. According to previous
00:32 reports the development of the new airport would encompass a 186.36 hectare area within a gazetted
00:39 marine park boundary. About 76 percent of the area or 142.7 hectares will be reclaimed from the sea.
00:47 Nick Nasmiq notes that although the intention behind constructing the new airport was to attract
00:51 more tourists, such development would undermine Tiuman Island's natural appeal leading to
00:56 unsustainable tourism. He added that the cabinet's decision to call off the proposed airport involved
01:01 public feedback through the initial exhibition process for the environmental impact assessment
01:06 report from June 21st to August 4th. It is worth noting that the project developer is Tiuman Infra,
01:13 a wholly owned subsidiary of Tiuman Hill Resort which in turn is 50 percent owned by conglomerate
01:18 Perjaya Corp. The other 50 percent is held by the Pahang royal family through AIM Vesco and the estate
01:24 of the late Sultan Ahmad Shah Sultan Abu Bakar. To recap in June 2018 B Corp founder Tan Sri
01:30 Vincent Tan announced the group's plan to build a 1.2 billion ringgit airport on Tiuman Island
01:36 which would then be managed by the government if it was approved.
01:39 Harta Lega Holdings posted a net loss of 52.47 million in the first quarter of FY 2024
01:51 versus a net profit of 88.3 million a year earlier as revenue for the period halved to 440 million
01:58 from 845.7 million ringgit. No dividend was declared for the quarter under review. In a
02:04 separate statement Harta Lega said it continued to be impacted by the challenging market environment
02:09 in its first quarter. The club maker said the weaker numbers were mainly due to lower average
02:14 selling prices and reduced sales volume compared with the previous financial year against the
02:19 backdrop of the continued oversupply situation in the glove sector and supply chain inventory
02:24 adjustment as well as higher operating costs. CEO Kwan Moon Leong said that current headwinds
02:29 are set to persist with the ongoing market imbalance, aggressive competition by regional
02:34 players and elevated operating costs impacting margins. He says that average selling prices for
02:39 rubber gloves remains very competitive amid minimal success with the incremental costs
02:44 passed through. However Kwan says that despite these challenges Harta Lega's fundamentals
02:49 remain strong. He says that Harta Lega's five-year strategic plan will help to guide the group these
02:54 current challenging times which includes the decommissioning of its Bestary Jaya facility
02:59 which is currently underway in order to consolidate its operations at Harta Lega's
03:04 next generation integrated manufacturing complex located in Sepang. Targeted to be completed in
03:09 the first quarter of next year Kwan says this is set to enhance the group's operational and
03:14 cost efficiencies boosting Harta Lega's overall competitiveness moving forward.
03:18 Datuk S. Muhammad Adelan Berhan, son-in-law of former PM Tan Sri Meridian Yassin,
03:28 said he was never arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission nor was he ever
03:32 called in by the Antigrav Agency for a meeting to assist in any investigation of any kind.
03:39 He also claimed that he had informed the MACC that he was traveling overseas. Earlier in the day the
03:45 MACC said that it would request the Royal Malaysia Police to include Muhammad Adelan and his lawyer
03:50 Mansoor Saad on Interpol's red notice list if they fail to face prosecution. MACC Chief Commissioner
03:57 Tan Sri Azambaki said Muhammad Adelan and Mansoor were required to appear before the commission for
04:02 questioning over alleged corruption and embezzlement in the registration, recruitment
04:07 and storage of foreign workers' biometric data. He says that they have also requested for their
04:12 passports to be blacklisted. In a statement issued through his lawyer Datuk Dr Baljit Singh Sidhu of
04:18 Syukur Baljit and Partners on Wednesday, Muhammad Adelan denied that he is a fugitive on the run as
04:23 stated in MACC's statement on August 7th which had asked individuals with information about the two
04:28 men to come forward. The statement went on to clarify that Muhammad Adelan was contacted by a
04:33 MACC officer to which he responded to with a letter dated June 3rd 2023 to inform the agency
04:40 that he was going overseas for business. In that letter Muhammad Adelan also mentioned that there
04:45 was witch hunting and finger pointing being orchestrated against him to his utter detriment
04:51 by the MACC. Baljit said they had not received any form of reply from the MACC to date. Muhammad
04:57 Adelan also denied any suggestion that he is not contactable and stated that he is in communication
05:03 with the investigating officer. Muhammad Adelan who is married to Muhyiddin's second child Datin
05:08 Srinabila Maidin said he is not a politician and is aghast at any attempt to use him as a tool
05:14 to obtain political mileage by anyone including the investigative apparatus. Baljit said his client
05:20 is not a soft target to get at or to exact comeuppance at any politician adding that the
05:25 timing of the press release so near to the state elections suggests that there is a political
05:29 undertone to the entire process. The statement added that Muhammad Adelan will return to Malaysia
05:34 as soon as possible to answer all questions and to assist the MACC with any investigation
05:39 so long as the elements of threats and persecution are eliminated.
05:43 Mr DIY Group Malaysia saw its second quarter net profit grow by 11.2% year on year to 150.32
05:56 million as both its revenue and gross profit margin improved. Revenue rose 4.85% to 1.1 billion
06:02 from 1.05 billion previously on positive contributions from new stores where Mr DIY
06:08 opened 43 new stores during the quarter bringing the home improvement retailers total store count
06:13 to 1,168. It declared a dividend of 0.8 cent per share totaling 75.4 million versus the 56.6
06:22 million it paid out for the second quarter of FY 2022. For its half-year report card earnings rose
06:28 18% year on year to 278.1 million while revenue improved 9.8% to 2.15 billion primarily due to
06:36 new stores which grew 17.6%. As a result total transactions rose 15.5% year on year to 79.1
06:45 million transactions. CEO Adrian Ong said in a statement that Mr DIY's steady growth during the
06:50 quarter is a strong signal that its value for money proposition is relevant and resonates with
06:55 today's value conscious shopper. He says the retailer's imperative is to continue to penetrate
07:00 wider and deeper in both market centers and smaller towns to meet the needs of the underserved
07:06 value shopper and it is also highly encouraged by the significant recovery in its profit margins
07:11 despite current operating challenges which Ong says is a convincing indicator of its resilience.
07:17 Mr DIY says that it remains on track to open at least 180 new stores across all three brands
07:22 which will bring the total store network to over 1,200 stores nationwide.
07:27 Max's net profit ticked up 2.5% year on year to 330 million for its second quarter due to higher
07:40 service revenue, discontinued prosperity tax and prudent capex investments. Revenue similarly rose
07:46 2% year on year to 2.47 billion from the 2.42 billion posted a year ago. Max's also declared a
07:53 second interim dividend of four cent per share. For the first half Max's earnings improved by 6.4%
07:59 year on year to 650 million from 611 million previously while top line increased by 3.5%
08:06 from a 4.83 billion to 5 billion ringgit. Meanwhile capex investment amounted to 166
08:13 million in the latest quarter, 75 million less than what was spent in the corresponding quarter
08:18 last year as the group said it is being prudent in network capex investments following the maturity
08:24 of its 4G network. Looking ahead Max's says it continues to deliver outstanding results in its
08:30 convergent strategy space and will strive to deliver a good track record with its mobile and
08:35 fiber converged services. Earlier in July Max's said it intends to execute the access agreement
08:41 with digital national subject to shareholders approval at its EGM on August 14th to gain access
08:47 to 5G products and services on a wholesale basis. CEO Guo Xiao Eng says the telco is on the right
08:53 track for stable growth in the competitive landscape adding that its focus will always
08:58 be on customer experience in terms of products services network and digitalization. He says that
09:04 Max's will very soon offer 5G plans with attractive value for all segments. Max's adds that it aims to
09:10 hit single digit increase in service revenue as well as for FY 2023's EBITDA and capex to book
09:16 similar levels to FY 2022 though before any potential financial impact for 5G.
