KLManagement

EIGHT months after a trove of e-mails from climate researchers appeared on the internet, yet another inquiry into “climategate” reported its findings on July 7th. Two days earlier the Dutch environmental-assessment agency announced the results of a report it had been asked to produce on possible errors in the most recent review by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Neither report does anything to weaken the case for acting to limit carbon emissions.

Greenhouse gases still warm planets, carbon dioxide is still a greenhouse gas and the amount of it in the Earth’s atmosphere is still shooting up. The temperature rose over the 20th century in a way that follows from these basic truths. Other mechanisms at play in the climate complicate the issue, but none of them offers a remotely satisfactory alternative explanation for the temperature rise. It is impossible to say with certainty how bad the 21st century’s heating will be, but there is a large chance of it getting hot enough to do harm, and a far from trivial chance of things turning catastrophic. This makes moving away from fossil fuels a global priority.

Yet the science of climate change has seemed to be derailed by climategate and the discovery of some errors in IPCC reports, even the gravest of which come far short of undermining its conclusions. Part of the explanation is no doubt a noxious campaign against the credibility of environmental science in general, and climate science in particular; the internet has allowed the doubt thus manufactured to go viral. But the problem also stems from the failings of climate scientists themselves, and the institutions they work in.

Related items

• The controversies in climate science: Science behind closed doorsJul 8th 2010

They have too often mistaken real doubts for scurrilous attacks, and relied on mutual reinforcement rather than open debate, on authority rather than argument. The IPCC, chaired by Rajendra Pachauri, should by its procedures and example do much to help with this. Unfortunately, it has allowed itself to become part of the problem. That the panel’s mistakes and questionable judgments almost all make the picture more gloomy, not less, reinforces a widespread worry that some of the authors are policy advocates as well as scholars (see article). Being linked to Al Gore through a Nobel peace prize has not helped.

Though transparent in some ways, the IPCC is woefully opaque in others. Depending as it does on expert judgment, the bona fides of its authors—the next batch, all 831 of them, was named in June—is crucially important. Yet their selection from national lists of nominees goes on entirely behind closed doors. This has led to a perception that points of view that do not hew to some sort of party line are being excluded.

A post-Pachauri panel

A better set-up could help. At present, the IPCC lacks a full-time chair (Dr Pachauri continues to run a large energy-research institute in India). It does not have the resources needed to support its volunteer authors. It lacks clear standards for judging conflicts of interest and an independent ombudsman.

The governments which run the IPCC will meet in South Korea in October. They should use the opportunity to begin a full reappraisal of what they and their citizens want from the panel in terms of timeliness, transparency and trust, and how to get it; if this means pausing the current assessment round, then so be it. They should give the panel new staff, resources and rules. And they should look at a range of candidates for a new position as the full-time chair. Dr Pachauri has been a staunch defender of the panel as it is rather than an advocate for reform that would improve it. He is not the man to carry out the changes it badly needs.

ACT 28
KOOTU FUNDS (PROHIBITION) ACT 1971

---

Section 4. Registration of a business which promotes kootu funds prohibited in the States of West Malaysia.

(1) There shall not be registered under the Registration of Businesses Act 1956 [Act 197] of the States of West Malaysia (hereinafter in this section referred to as “the Act”) any business which promotes or is designed to promote kootu funds.

(2) No person shall obtain registration under the Act of any business which promotes or is designed to promote kootu funds.

(3) No person who carries on a business which is registered under the Act shall carry on the business of promoting kootu funds.

(4) Any associate of a business which, on the date of coming into force of this Act, is registered under the Act and which promotes or is designed to promote kootu funds shall forthwith cease to do such business and shall forthwith inform the Registrar that the business promotes or is designed to promote kootu funds and thereupon the Registrar shall forthwith revoke the certificate of registration of such business.

(5) The Registrar shall forthwith revoke the certificate of registration of a business if he is satisfied from the particulars of the business submitted under section 5 (1) of the Act that the business promotes or is designed to promote kootu funds, and inform, in writing, a person responsible that such certificate has been revoked and the reason therefor.

(6) Any associate of a business aggrieved by any decision made by the Registrar under subsection (5) may, within thirty days from the date on which the decision was communicated under subsection (5) to a person responsible, appeal therefrom to the Minister whose decision shall be final; while such appeal is pending it shall not operate as a stay of the revocation of the certificate of registration of the business unless the Minister directs otherwise.

(7) Any person who contravenes the provisions of subsection (2) or (3) and any associate of a business who fails to comply with the provisions of subsection (4) shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding five thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both.

(8) Nothing in this section shall prejudice or be deemed to prejudice any civil claim that any person, including a participant in a kootu fund, may have against any associate of a business of which the certificate of registration is revoked under the provisions of this section or who ceases to do business by reason of the provisions of this section.

(9) No person shall be entitled to any refund of fees as a result of the revocation of any certificate of registration of a business under this section.

(10) For the purposes of this section-

(a) a Registrar or an inspector may exercise all the powers conferred upon them respectively under the Act in as full and ample a manner as if this section formed a part of the Act; and

(b) the provisions of section 2 of the Act shall apply as if this section formed a part of the Act.

---

Copyright © 2006 PNMB-LawNet. All rights reserved.

Total Number of Companies and Businesses Registered   Local Companies Foreign Companies Total Number of Companies Total Number of Businesses Up to 31 December 2007 795,353 4,232 799,585 3,506,539   2008           Q1 10,557 8 10,565 61,556   Q2            Q3            Q4          

GRAND TOTAL

805,910 4,240 810,150 3,568,095

Revision Will Enable More Companies to Apply to CDRC for Assistance

Corporate Debt Restructuring Committee (CDRC) has revised the Eligibility Criteria for companies to be admitted into CDRC for assistance to restructure their debt obligations. The Eligibility Criteria have been revised to allow more companies to apply to CDRC for assistance.

The revised Eligibility Criteria in comparison to the existing Criteria is as follows:

Existing Eligibility Criteria

Revised Eligibility Criteria

Companies that have/are: Aggregate indebtedness of RM100 million or more At least 3 financial creditors Not in receivership or liquidation Expected to be viable as a going concern post-restructuring

Companies that have/are:- Aggregate indebtedness of RM30 million or more; At least 2 financial creditors; Not in Receivership or Liquidation, except for those where Receivers have been appointed only over certain specified assets and the Directors remain in control over the companies’ overall operations; Experiencing difficulties in servicing their debt obligations but may not have already defaulted, provided they meet criteria (i) & (ii). OR Any company listed on Main Market or ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia that has already been classified as a PN17 or GN3 company respectively; Companies are expected to be viable as a going concern post-restructuring in all cases.

Dato’ Sri Abdul Hamidy Hafiz, Chairman of CDRC said, “The revision will allow CDRC’s mediation platform accessible to more companies and expand CDRC’s scope beyond just the bigger companies. The revised criteria also provides eligibility to any company listed on Bursa Malaysia that has been classified as a PN17 (Main Market) or GN3 (ACE Market) irrespective of the amount of debt outstanding.”

“We are very encouraged by the fact that many banks now take upon themselves to restructure the loans on their own, using CDRC’s loan restructuring principles and guidelines. In addition, the banking system continues to be robust with non-performing loans ratio declining to 1.8% in December 2009 compared to 2.2% a year ago,” added Dato’ Sri Abdul Hamidy.

CDRC was established in July 2009 as a pre-emptive measure against any large increase in non-performing loans in the banking system. It provides a platform for corporate borrowers and their creditors to work out feasible debt resolutions without having to resort to costly and lengthy legal proceedings. This initiative has been put in place to ensure that all avenues are made available to assist viable corporations to restructure their debt obligations. All applications to CDRC are done on a voluntary basis. CDRC’s role is to mediate between the companies and their lenders in arriving at a viable debt restructuring arrangement.

For more information, please contact: Puan Nor Aizurawati Aminudin Tel : 603 2299 2191 Fax : 603 2299 2100 Email : enquiries@cdrc.my Web: www.cdrc.my

Detailed Disclosure of International Reserves as at end-December 2009

In accordance with the IMF SDDS format, the detailed breakdown of international reserves provides forward-looking information on the size, composition and usability of reserves and other foreign currency assets, as well as the expected and potential future inflows and outflows of foreign exchange of the Federal Government and Bank Negara Malaysia over the next 12-month period.

The detailed breakdown of international reserves based on the SDDS format is shown in Tables I, II, III and IV. As shown in Table I, official reserve assets amounted to USD96,677.7 million, while other foreign currency assets amounted to USD963.8 million as at end-December 2009. As shown in Table II, for the next 12 months, the predetermined short-term outflow of foreign currency loans would amount to USD395 million arising from scheduled repayments of external borrowings by the Government. In line with the practice adopted since April 2006, the data excludes projected foreign currency inflows arising from interest income and the drawdown of project loans amounting to USD3,248 million in the next 12 months. There were net long forward positions of USD650 million equivalent as at end-December 2009. As shown in Table III, the only contingent short-term net drains on foreign currency assets are Government guarantees of foreign debt due within one year, amounting to USD264 million. There are no foreign currency loans with embedded options, no undrawn, unconditional credit lines provided by or to other central banks, international organisations, banks and other financial institutions. Bank Negara Malaysia also does not engage in options in foreign currencies vis-a-vis ringgit.

As at end-December 2009, 81.6% of reserves were in currencies in SDR basket while the balance (18.4%) were in non-SDR currencies.

Overall, the above detailed breakdown of international reserves under the IMF SDDS format indicates that as at end-December 2009, Malaysia’s reserves remain usable and unencumbered.

Table I: Official reserves assets and other foreign currency assets
Table II: Predetermined short-term net drains on foreign currency assets
Table III: Contingent short-term net drains on foreign currency assets
Table IV: Memo Items

Bank Negara Malaysia
29 January 2010