- 2 years ago
In today’s edition of Evening 5 — Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad says that the government decided to not proceed with the new international airport on Tioman Island. Meanwhile, it continues to be difficult going for glovemaker Hartalega.
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00:00 [Music]
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.
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