R.I.P. Bourdain

Almost everyone was devastated when hearing the news of his suicide. I will not pretend to know him well. His death is all the more sudden considering that he has possibly the best job on earth. I mean, please describe your ultimate job ... go to places globally, visit tourist sites, eating the best food there is, making snarky comments, meeting passionate and brilliant cooks, voicing your opinions as if the world cares about them, be free to perform your vices on camera (be it alcohol or ciggies) and getting paid well.

Why we feel so connected to Bourdain. He is us, he makes it so easy to live vicariously through him when we watch his shows. We are him when he is traveling, eating, enjoying life, passing commentary on life and its gentler purposes, reflecting on harsher realities together, ruminating on unanswerable questions which we all ponder ...

One thing the media has not focused on was the cause for his demons, much like for Robin Williams, was their previous liberal use of coke and heroin. Even if you managed to rid yourself of those addictions later in life, there will be instances where they can still haunt you later in life.

 Bourdain made the world smaller, made the world a more friendly place, made us look at how similar we all are. He made us look at our own humanity.

During what would be his final interview with PEOPLE, celebrity chef and gifted wordsmith Anthony Bourdain described himself as “happy” and spoke about his young daughter, whose birth motivated him to readjust his approach to life.

“There have been times, honestly, in my life that I figured, ‘I’ve had a good run — why not just do this stupid thing, this selfish thing… jump off a cliff into water of indeterminate depth,'” he said, recalling something he said he’d once done for his Travel Channel show.

Songs We Sung Before With Desperation, But Now With Hope and Joy

You cannot possibly get the lyrics to totally be in sync with what Malaysia just went through. There are enough parts in these songs for us to sing with gusto.

Business Lessons In China, HK, Taiwan Based On The Zhang Zhiyi's Experience

Boy, I am so happy to be able to talk about Zhang Zhiyi in my blog on Asian business. Can you imagine that? Many years ago, Zhang had a wonderful 12 months thanks to Memoirs of A Geisha, but suffered enormous criticism over her role, which involved being involved with a Japanese man... in a movie role. 

I am not even going to go into how low-brow and uneducated an opinion it is to be offended by that MOVIE ROLE. You'd think things would die down..., NO... Zhang appeared magnificently in the  Oscars that year (presenting the Oscar to Crash), and even presented and she spoke surprisingly well in English. 

Was that good enough for the media? Apparently not. The media in China, HK and Taiwan have plenty to say about Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi and most of it is downright vicious. 

Hollywood was enthralled with Zhang's beauty in Memoirs Of A Geisha, but it was her turn in House of Flying Daggers that captivated my attention. After her role as a presenter in the Oscars, this was what the HK papers had to say, and her gown was magnificent by the way. 'Zhang Ziyi's Armani evening gown made her look so flat-chested it was scary' HK's Sing Tao Daily said in a headline. 

She has said previously the venom has to do with Hong Kongers' deeply entrenched bias against mainland Chinese, who are viewed as bumpkins and gold diggers. 'They think, 'How can you be an international movie star? You are only from China.' For them, China is like the countryside,' Zhang said in an interview with The Sunday Times of London in 2004.
Such evidence is found in a 2004 article in HK's Next magazine, a popular weekly known for its hard-charging paparazzi. It printed a photo allegedly showing Zhang squatting down to check out the bottom shelf in a store. A caption read: 'Miss Zhang displays the special trait of our motherland's compatriots: spreading her legs wide and squatting down.' People can often be seen squatting in China in crowded places - such as railroad stations - where the ground is too dirty for sitting and there is limited public seating. 

Zhang's rapid rise and ongoing success may also have bred envy. Many Hong Kong publications made sure their knives were extra-sharp for the Oscars, where she presented the award for best editing. A headline in Apple Daily ripped into her English: 'She still can't change her English with a Beijing country accent. She didn't pronounce the 'r' in the winning movie Crash properly.' 

This one really irked me, when do you find an average HK person speaking English well?? So what if she's got a Beijing accent, she's from Beijing isn't she? Nobody faults Antonio Banderas for speaking English with a Spanish accent!!! Or Gerard Depardieu for speaking English with the clipped French accent?? Does Apple Daily's editor even understand what is good English and what is accent? I mean, seriously, Zhang's intonation and pronunciation are so much better than Jackie Chan - do we see any HK papers savaging Jackie's English??

Sing Tao Daily said she read her cue card with 'quivering lips' and her pronunciation of Crash sounded more like that for the toothpaste Crest. The Ming Pao Daily noted that she forgot to hug or shake hands with the award winner, though it conceded that her English was improving. Hong Kong writers also savaged her Giorgio Armani outfit, a black beaded bustier with a crystal-encrusted grey skirt. 'Lacking in youthful vigor,' read a photo caption in the Oriental Daily News. Apple Daily hissed: 'Zhang Ziyi two decades behind the times.' 
While HK press were savage and venomous, Taiwan's press was another story. 'Zhang Ziyi's English rolls off her tongue,' said Taiwan's Liberty Times. Another Taiwanese newspaper, the Min Sheng Daily, said 'Zhang Ziyi's English is no longer poor'. 

In China, there is still a strong undercurrent that they cannot accept that she has to "sleep" with a Japanese man, even though it was in a movie. Playing a Japanese woman already stirred open some wounds which have not healed properly for many years. China found it hard to "celebrate" with Zhang's newfound international stardom but have toned down the viciousness of late.

Suffice to say, Zhiyi found all these nonsense trivial and even went and had a long-term relationship with a white American (as if to spite all of them). I admire Zhiyi for being able to rise above the crassness and live her own life well.


Business Lessons

1) Though most HKers would not like to admit it, deep down there is a feeling of resentment against how fast some of the Chinese from mainland have gotten rich. HKers feel that they have progressed much faster economically and up the developed country curve, and to make less money than them is an insult. This mentality prevails even when certain HK companies go to the mainland to expand - beware and be aware.

2) HKers not only begrudge the rich ones from mainland but also abhors how crudely they spend their money in HK especially - no class as they say. But most HKers also know they needed cash from China to fund the downtrodden economy in HK for the past few years. HKers can't wait for the good times to roll again so that they can pass crass remarks and shoo the mainlanders back to where they belong. 

3) When doing business in China, you are either with them or against them. If you have a fallout with the Chinese, well its not going to be a "agree to disagree" mantra. You cannot afford to have a fallout as some entrepreneurs have found out the hard way. Many would want to hedge their fortunes by parking funds elsewhere whenever possible. There is an undercurrent of uncertainty that you could find yourself on the wrong side of the turning tide of political sentiments too swiftly in China. 

4) Taiwan politicians will fight like mad with politicians in China in the media, but business-wise, China has been quite open in welcoming Taiwanese investors. Much of the open war of words is to appease the masses of both sides for championing nationalistic interests. But business has been going to and fro, especially from Taiwan to China in a big way for a very long time. 

Thus, you will usually find that anything China says will find the Taiwanese going the opposite way, mainly to spite the other party. You don't like Zhang Zhiyi, I think she is adorable. 

Hence when doing business with either Taiwan and China, you do not go extolling the virtues of Taiwan to China or China to Taiwan. Just do the business, even though they may actually agree with you opinions about the other country, its best not to say them out loud.

As the above are generalisations, they are bound to be exceptions. Generalisations applied harshly on everything will lead to prejudice and unjust discrimination. Generalisations are just tools for use to learn a bit more about something, not a divining rod.

Singapore My Friend

Singapore, you are our sibling. By proximity, by the number of Malaysians working there, by the number of brain drain cases, and many of us have relatives living in each other's country. We thought that maybe you would be happy for us now that we have changed government, but there are things said and done that maybe you wanted a weak Malaysia to deal with. That you may continue to siphon the brains and resources.

The Straits Times interview: Just come out and be clean.

https://www.malaymail.com/s/1637629/the-edge-keeps-up-war-with-singapore-paper-over-justo-interview?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan today (June 1) openly threatened Malaysia vowing to make Malaysia pay for expenses in addition to the contracted compensation clause of US$125 million:

“Should Malaysia cancel the project, Singapore will study the implications and exercise its rights – including any right to compensation for expenses – in accordance with the terms of a bilateral agreement signed in 2016.”

https://thecoverage.my/news/singapore-transport-minister-will-make-malaysia-pay-remove-hsr-openly-threatened-malaysia/

Wh can't you be happy for us? I am reminded that most of the pronouncements and reforms undertaken by the new government ARE EXACTLY the things many Singaporeans are craving for Singapore. Are you afraid that the new lease of people power and democracy in Malaysia will cause more Singaporeans to "demand for the same"?

Pragmatism is fine. But above pragmatism are fairness, justice and human rights. Why be so vigilant with the HSR cancellation? Singapore would immediately win a lot of goodwill just by scraping any penalty on that case. Its such a small amount but it pays strong long term dividends for both countries. Its an acknowledgment that the contract was undertaken by questionable motives by the previous government. Its not like we want to cancel HSR to spite Singapore. Just roll with it. Its a small price to Singapore.

This Used To Be My Playground - Not

The new dawn, new era, new government with changes aplenty afoot ... made me reflect on a story/joke which I heard a long time ago. I posted this back in 2006... now going through it again, it has new inferences.  Before we could only lament about the system.

~~~~

Once upon a time, in my dream, I  visited my uncle in the Isle of Putrajaya, it was a nice place, hot and humid, occasional flash floods, plenty of natural resources... in fact very much like Malaysia. He took me around the island state and we had a wonderful time, but by the second day I was feeling ill, probably from gorging myself with all kinds of delicacies. My uncle said, no problem, and took me straight to Hospital PJ, apparently a heavily subsidised government hospital. 

At the check in counter, my uncle chatted intimately with the Head Matron for a few minutes. He came back and said, we should be able to get in and out quick. He told me there were three types of physicians I could see, all cost the same - traditional medicine department, western medicine department or mental retardation department. There were 3 queues, one to each of the respective departments, the longest being for western medicine, I think there were about 50 people. The traditional medicine line was shorter with just 20 people, about the same for those suspicious looking types lining for mental treatment.

Naturally, I ruled out the third option, and told my uncle that I preferred traditional medicine as the line was shorter. My uncle whispered to the Head Matron and she held my hand leading me to go pass the queue to traditional medicine. 

I was shocked and embarrassed at the same time. I mean, to jump the queue of 20 people in front of me, they must be waiting for at least 2 hours before they get to see the doctor. Plus I was fearing that someone in the queue might jump out and curse at my queue jumping for no apparent reason - I mean, I wasn't the sickest one there by a mile, and I am certainly not even near my retirement age, and I am certainly not physically handicapped in any way (that I know of). But the people in the queue were quiet, some even nodded to me as I passed them. 

The doctor treated me patiently and thoroughly, and as I walked back out past the line of people, some even smiled and waved goodbye. My shock and embarrassment have turned into a power trip, I remember thinking "Hey, this is cool, I jumped queue and no one even showed me ugly faces... man, my uncle must know some important people here". It felt good. It felt so good that I turned to my uncle and said, "Well, since I am here, you think I could also visit the western medicine doctor?" Half hoping not to offend my uncle, but he said it was "No problem". We did the same thing again, only this time, the queue was much longer, but the same response I got. I was feeling quite full of myself, it felt like walking on air, exaggerated self-importance is a wonderful feeling I say. Heck, initially I felt sorry for those in the queue, but that kinda evaporated by now.

Coming out of the western physician's office, an outrageous thought crossed my mind, why don't I visit the mental physician too, just for the fun of it. I told my uncle that, and he whispered to the Head Matron, and off we went, passing each weird looking person in the queue to the mental department. I looked at each of them as I walked past them, some stared blankly towards the ceiling, another just buried his face in his hands, then there was one with his mouth wide open making squawking noises every 3 seconds. I was almost at the door of the physician when a lady in the queue stepped out, stared me down, stopping me in my tracks. She was quite pretty too, but there was something weird about her. She was circling her left nipple with her index finger (non-stop). There was an uncomfortable silence, I couldn't stop staring and I didn't know where to look .... then she blurted out "Hey, who do you think you are.... don't you need to line up like everyone else ... or are you mentally retarded?" ... and then she gave out this bone chilling laughter that I will never forget. The end.

So, who are you - are you in the queue keeping quiet, why are we in line in the first place, are you the gatekeeper like the matron, are you like my uncle, who actually runs the hospital ... and who is the mental one in the parable?

Ideas For Harapan Fund

When I heard the formation of Harapan Fund, I thought it must be a joke. It would take a lot from Malaysians to even get to RM1bn, and we are talking of RM1,000bn here. After mulling for a while, I think its a splendid idea:

a) we need to stop any other fake funds from duping the public for the same cause

b) no matter how little each of us contribute, we need to feel we have the same vision and hope to "right" the government finances

c) if we say, my one contribution will not matter... thats the same as saying my one vote won't matter ... it is our every "one vote" that carried democracy and brought about a change in government in spite of outrageous gerrymandering and other obstacles stacked against us

d) we are reminded of the great outpouring of support by the South Koreans during their financial crisis... they netted over US$2bn... its not the sum, its the solidarity


There was a cunning snippet suggesting that each TanSri contribute RM10m, and each Datuk RM1m each.  I would go further and suggest that all official billionaires in Malaysia contribute RM100m.


We can make this a joyful task. Some F&B outlet has started already. Do a promotion... if you eat at XYZ, the outlet will contribute RM1 for each patron to the fund. Malindo has started a similar scheme for 3 months, RM1 for every passenger.

Marathons and half marathons should be sponsored for the Harapan Fund cause. When we have dinners/reunions/birthdays, do a special round of fund raising for Harapan Fund.

I am thinking of roping a few to shave our heads bald. If each person can get 100 sponsors RM10-100, its a fun way to raise funds.

Let's all try and make this a merry, muhibbah event.

Should We Buy "Tainted" Counters

There's basically no better way to describe these counters. Tainted might be least offensive word. To all investors, again many will go back to the crudest, simplest form of decision making - anchor and adjust. We anchor on what we know, and adjust for new information.

Hence something that was 3.60 before the election and now stands at 1.60 looks mighty tempting. But we also know the new paradigm will also means that to get back to the 3.60 is almost inconceivable.

Glory to the risk takers. These counters will have a lot of volatility, downs and rebounds. Rumours and newsflow will be flying like fake news in a thunderstorm of hope and lies. Day traders and prop traders will love these counters, hence beware of getting caught by them.


What Might Happen To Them

- These counters while tainted, are not like BN appointees whom you can just fire. If they are found to be in cohorts with previous government in doing "illegal activities" such as: collusion, bid rigging, over pricing, rebates, unjustified commissions, bribery, circumventing laws or approval processes, cosy monopolies, highly preferential awardment of contracts, etc. Hence construction firms, if hit, will be gravely affected owing to the large sized contracts and.or dependence on certain personalities/unit. The trouble with construction firms is that there is little in ways of differentiation. Most can do most type of construction. Unless you have specific expertise (deep tunneling etc..).. the more you will be at the mercy of the new paradigm.

- There are some counters that have a decent business model going. Even if they were tainted, the business might still be good. To that end, there will be no need to reinvent the wheel, but if the owners are not deemed as "suitable owners" going forward, one sense that these counters may be "persuaded" to sell to a GLC. However, let's not kid ourselves, the price won't be fair or high.


Conclusion

I will stay away from tainted counters till there is a firm hint of change in ownership. Otherwise if you must, treat them as quick punts... and be good at trading.

Spongebobs, Parasites & Leeches

Senior Corporate / Investment Pros / Company Owners ..

I Hate

Its funny how many times investment pros get asked to do a deal on a contingent basis - i.e. only get paid if the deal gets done. I wonder what would our parents think when we tell them that we work on a contingency basis, after they have spent their life time savings sending us to college. What is this mentality, this contingent mentality - it happens way too often in Asia, not so much in First world countries. Our brains do not matter, effort does not matter, only success?? 

Why the aversion from commitment fee, engagement fee, out of pocket expenses?? You go and try to get some US investment bankers on a contingency deal - they'd laugh at you. Are some people not worth a salary? When you take advantage of people like the situations cited above, you are a parasite and a leech - you suck people dry, you will not share till you've got your share, you will be rich though but not many will cherish your time on earth.

Another prime example of sponging off people are usually the very senior corporate people, they will "pick your brains" for ideas, insights, opinions, analysis of situations, corporate deals, business developments, industry turning points, etc.. Somehow, these people think it is absolutely OK to engage others to suck their ideas, sponge on their brain power and take credit for them. I know of so many hedge/ fund managers who will listen to your picks, buys them, make tons, and never bother to return the favour via stock orders or a call. Many senior investment pros and senior management people feel it is part of their "ability" to cultivate these various pots of honey to suck them dry occasionally to help them protect their position. Its like high school all over during the exams, and the brats are still looking over to copy your work (and doing so much better than you).

Don't get me wrong, it is OK to exchange ideas among friends (genuine friends). It is also important to let the other person know what your motives are upfront. It is also important to have the graciousness to acknowledge your sources, and where possible, to repay them back in kind or even materially. How many of us do that? It is exactly similar to those people who will ask a doctor at a social setting about how to treat their medical condition - so what has changed that makes it OK not having to pay for professional advice, just because we are at Starbucks??

Too many investment pros and senior corporate management people regard a conversation or a Q&A session with another professional as just a conversation - while a lawyer can charge tons per hour for the same service. Don't be a parasite or a leech, it is a pure reflection on your character, unless you are the manipulative sort of character (who would do very well in the corporate world anyway)... give proper due and recognition to professional comments, analysis, opinions... (unless they are voluntary in the form of blogs like mine). Always be upfront, "I need to hear you views on... if you don't mind ... but stop me if I am overstepping the line..." .... "Thanks, I appreciate your time, is there anyway I could repay you ..." .... "Hey, I made xxx for taking your advice, I hope you will accept this US$200,000 check from me" .....

If you are a corporate parasite or an investment leech, and see nothing wrong with it cause it helps you get to where you are - cheers, and go lick your own balls cause you can (no backbone). Riches, fame and power will never compensate for lack of character, integrity and fair mindedness.

Clair de Lune

If ever there was a song or a piece of music that deserves its own special posting, it has to be Clair de Lune. You cannot even call it a song as that seems to be belittling the music. Yes, it has to be called that masterpiece composition by Claude Debussy.

If you ever needed to find solace, calmness and one with the world, just listen to Clair de Lune, possibly my favourite piece of music ever, and I am sure many of you feel the same.

If ever I were to get lost on an island for years, and I can only have one piece of music... this would be it.

Listening to Clair de Lune kind of makes me feel that all people of the earth are so alike. I don't think anyone on earth do not feel the same when they listen to this song ~ any race, any nationality, any political affiliation, any religious group, everyone ~ we all feel the same kind of wonderment and will be moved by it. Coincidence or the humanity of it all.

Translated, its called Moonlight, named after Paul Verlaine's poem of the same name. For such a wonderful piece of music, I tried to locate the movies which have used the piece of music. To my horror and to Debussy as well, many do not do justice by parading the music alongside so-so movies with even blander plots.

Topping the list of horrors has to be using Claire de Lune in Twilight, of course. There are many movies including Ocean's Eleven & Ocean's Thirteen, Seven Years in Tibet, Atonement, Man On Fire, The Darjeeling Limited, Ficció, El próximo oriente, The First Day of My Life, The Right Stuff, Antonieta, Casino Royale, Gran Turismo 4, The Game, Mùi du du xanh - L'odeur de la papaye verte (aka The Scent of Green Papaya), Tôkyô Sonata, Valley of Abraham,Bloodsport 3 (OMG), Castaway, Dog Soldiers, ... I must have missed some somewhere.

Movies that feature the music appropriately: Tokyo Sonata, Castaway and The Right Stuff. But the best movie has to be Frankie & Johnny, starring Al Pacino and the wonderful Michelle Pfieffer. The movie was way under-rated, the story enchanting and the acting was amazing. The song was waaayyyy appropriate. In fact, I thought the entire plot and movie was made so that they could feature the song towards the last 15 minutes of the movie.



Anthony Tobin 2007, piano solo.

The tough task here is selecting which of the four versions you like best. They are all wonderful. I think for this piece, less is more, I love David's version best.



David Oistrakh plays beautifully, recorded in Paris, 1962, with Frida Bauer on piano.


John Williams & Julian Bream


Julian Lloyd Webber with his cello and full orchestral accompaniment.

Malaysia's Debt - Deconstructed

Nobody is spooking anyone by revealing the level of debt the country is facing. Before we can properly address the debt, we have to be honest and come clean. No point pussyfooting here. Some said that that jolted the markets. While the stock market is an important aspect for a open trading country like Malaysia, volatility in the market cannot be minimised at the expense of the greater good. I believe most Malaysians would not mind suffering over the short term as long as the good of the country is being prioritised.


There are rules in placed where federal government’s debt-to-GDP ratio should be lower than the 55% self-imposed debt limit. If the previous government deliberately misled or went over that limit, as it appears to be so, there should be "censures" and a deliberation on possible legal consequences for the mismanagement and misinformation.

(not trying to trivialise the matter, but have a look at our current standing among the rest of the world, while I balked at 80% of GDP figure, it is nowhere near critical or unmanageable)

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng put the ratio at 80.3% of GDP, or about RM1.09 trillion in debt as at end-2017. There are just too much off balance sheet items. Not all of the debt is bad. The majority based on viable and economically beneficial projects. Nonetheless, you don't want to be servicing RM70b a year in interest year in year out (assuming an estimate of 6%p.a.).

One, must reduce the overall commitments. 

$Hypothetically - Plugging leakages, eliminating wastage, better revenue collection ~ RM30b.

$Renegotiation or cancellation of certain big projects ~ RM100bn

$Reclaiming Stolen Funds/Assets - Again, the figures could be fluid ~ RM20bn.

Listing of Petronas - This is a brilliant idea. Last year's profit was RM45bn. Using 20x = RM900bn market cap. Government sells 25% = RM225bn. Although I am against selling vital resources, but we can get local funds to take up 7%, and let retailers to take up another 3%. The company pays decent dividends. When our country's balance sheet is better, we may even consider buying back and taking Petronas private later on. ~ RM225bn

$ indicates plausible figures, that may vary substantially, one way or another; nonetheless, these are all "positive" newsflow to come in the months ahead. The new government is right to get all the bad news out first. Then only we know what we are dealing with. So far, the figures are not good but in my view, much more manageable, and trust me when I say it could have been a lot worse.

 (the key is to look at the colour representing each country)

There are plenty of ways to raise funds, some of the less popular ones include a temporary tax on palm oil and log exports. Reintroduction of SST. 

Basically, a country has just 3 ways to raise funds: Taxation, Borrowing and Printing of money. Without going into details, none of the 3 can be considered as options as things stand now.

EPF/KWAP - The best "net cash flow" entity in the country are EPF, KWAP and the like. EPF alone has about RM800bn in investible funds and that figure has a net growth in contributions alone of around RM15bn a year. If you factor in the compounded growth rate from returns, it should be a RM1 trillion vehicle in 2-3 years.

As things stand, EPF already has a problem finding sufficient investible local currency assets. There are a lot of companies under Ministry of Finance.

To date, MOF (Inc.) holds direct majority shareholding in 66 companies as below:

MOF (Inc.) Majority Shareholding Companies
#	Company
	MAJORITY
1.	1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB)
2.	Amanah Raya Berhad (ARB)
3.	Astronautic Technology (M) Sdn Bhd (ATSB)
4.	Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Berhad
5.	Bank Pertanian Malaysia (Agrobank)
6.	Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd
7.	Cyberview Sdn Bhd
8.	Export-Import Bank of Malaysia Berhad (EXIM Bank)
9.	FELCRA Berhad
10.	Halal Industry Development Corporation Sdn Bhd (HDC)
11.	IJN Holdings Sdn Bhd
12.	Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd (IWK)
13.	Inno Bio Ventures Sdn Bhd (IBV)
14.	Institut Terjemahan dan Buku Malaysia Bhd (ITBM)
15.	Jambatan Kedua Sdn Bhd (JKSB)
16.	JKP Sdn Bhd
17.	Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB)
18.	Khazanah Nasional Berhad
19.	Kumpulan Modal Perdana Sdn Bhd (KMP)
20.	Malaysia Debt Ventures Berhad (MDV)
21.	Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation Sdn Bhd (MDeC)
22.	Malaysia Kuwaiti Investment Corporation Sdn Bhd (MKIC)
23.	Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd
24.	Malaysian Bioeconomy Development Corporation Sdn Bhd
25.	Malaysian Venture Capital Management Bhd (MAVCAP)
26.	Mass Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd (MRT)
27.	MIMOS Berhad
28.	MyCreative Ventures Sdn. Bhd.
29.	MyHSR Corporation Sdn Bhd
30.	Pembinaan BLT Sdn Bhd (PBLT)
31.	Pengurusan Aset Air Berhad (PAAB)
32.	Perbadanan Nasional Berhad (PNS)
33.	Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS)
34.	Prasarana Malaysia Berhad
35.	Prokhas Sdn Bhd
36.	Rangkaian Hotel Seri Malaysia Sdn Bhd
37.	Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd
38.	Sepang International Circuit Sdn Bhd (SIC)
39.	SIRIM Berhad
40.	Small Medium Enterprise Development Bank Malaysia Berhad (SME Bank)
41.	SRC International Sdn Bhd
42.	Suria Strategic Energy Resources Sdn Bhd
43.	Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd (SPNB)
44.	Technology Park Malaysia Corporation Sdn Bhd (TPM)
45.	UDA Holdings Bhd
	MAJORITI – SPECIAL PURPOSE VEHICLE (SPV)
46.	1Malaysia Sukuk Global Berhad
47.	AES Solutions Sdn Bhd
48.	Aset Tanah Nasional Bhd
49.	Assets Global Network Sdn Bhd
50.	DanaInfra Nasional Berhad
51.	East Coast Rail Link Sdn Bhd
52.	GovCo Holdings Berhad
53.	K.L. International Airport Bhd (KLIAB)
54.	Malaysia Development Holding Sdn Bhd
55.	Malaysian Sovereign Sukuk Sdn Bhd
56.	Pembinaan PFI Sdn Bhd
57.	Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Berhad
58.	Perwaja Terengganu Sdn Bhd
59.	Piramid Pertama Sdn Bhd
60.	Pyrotechnical Managers Holding Sdn Bhd
61.	SDE Solutions Sdn Bhd
62.	Syarikat Jaminan Kredit Perumahan Berhad
63.	Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan Berhad
64.	Syarikat Tanah & Harta Sdn Bhd
65.	Turus Pesawat Sdn Bhd
66.	Wakala Global Sukuk Berhad

  Subsidiaries owned by MOF (Inc.) companies such as Khazanah and PETRONAS are also considered MOF (Inc.) companies through indirect ownership.

A study should be made of the companies to see which are generating decent returns, that are steady and predictable. Looking at the list, MOF will probably have to restructure some of the companies to come up with a vehicle or two that are investible by EPF and the like. 

Sell those assets to EPF/KWAP/PNB. It kills two birds with one stone. We will raise funds to pay down debts, while our local pension/savings funds get an asset that gives a decent return back to Malaysians.

Legalising Sports Betting - This will be seen as an unpopular vote but it is the right time to bring this up in the new era of transparency and social pragmatism. You can choose to ignore it but a substantive portion of the grey/hidden economy involves illegal betting. We have legalised gaming with Genting, 4D, lotto and horse racing. The country has taken up archaice and greedy taxation laws to those legal units - thereby bringing about the rise of illegal gaming outfits. 

If you tax the revenue at 30%, the remaining pool will have a lot less to offer the winners. Its this gap that gives the illegals a huge edge. They can offer 10%-20% discount on your bets and still come out ahead.

A revamp of betting rules, taxation on revenues, and bringing to legality sports betting is needed. Currently the service tax from legalised gaming runs between RM3-6bn a year. While it is hard to estimate the illegal markets, suffice to say it is at least double or triple the legal size. Hence we could be talking an additional revenue of RM6-15bn a year. It is definitely worth studying further. Like it or not, the gambling is already happening, the country might as well benefit from it.

Conclusion: It is not a debilitating task to whittle down our debt figure. The 80% figure while monstrous, is nowhere what many other countries are already facing, and for most of them the outlook is much bleaker. Bad news first, flow of good news will come later.

Recharging The Economy: Paying down debt is one thing. Cutting spending does not help. Does it means that the government will be curtailing investment into the economy? Short answer is NO. Here are just a few suggestions and there could be hundreds of ways to do this.

a. Luring long term foreign investment in specific industries, in specific locales.(Hint: eco-tourism).

b. Improve the velocity of money by energising the small caps market with a RM4bn fund (please read previous post).

c. Increase re-participation of insolvent members of country by adopting a better insolvency laws platform, such as the ones in Singapore/HK where bankruptcy is canceled after 4-5 years (please read previous post).

d. Encourage start ups from the region to locate their HQ in Malaysia via incentives, ease in visa requirements, support from local start up funds, etc.