An utterly unrepentant Japan opening up past wounds derail peace diplomacy

Whatever declarations Japanese leaders may make about the aims of their visits to the Yasukuni Shrine being only to honour their war dead, the acid test is whether victims of their past aggression believe them.

THE recent visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the Yasukuni Shrine has provoked a very negative reaction in China and South Korea.

While less strident, other countries like the United States and Singapore also did not approve of the visit. The former expressed disappointment while the latter stated that it regretted the visit.

At the heart of the disapproval is the belief that such a visit indicates that Japan has not come to terms with its past of aggression in Asia. Many compare this unfavourably with Germany where it is very unlikely, if not inconceivable, that the highest German political leader will ever make a public visit to a shrine of Adolf Hitler or of any top Nazi leader.

How valid is this comparison?

It is first necessary to state that the issue is somewhat more complicated than a clear-cut case of an utterly unrepentant Japan and a completely contrite Germany. The Japanese public are deeply pacifist. While it is true that they have caused tremendous destruction in Asia, they themselves have been profoundly scarred by the atomic devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Moreover, there are many Japanese, parti­cularly those in the teachers’ unions, progressive intellectuals – especially from the older generation – and others, who are unequivocal in their condemnation of their country’s record in the Second World War.

Germany, for its part, did experience some neo-Nazi manifestations, especially in the eastern part of Germany just after reunification. And there was the controversy over the visit of President Reagan to a cemetery in Pitburgh in 1985 where some of Hitler’s Waffen SS were buried.

Helmut Kohl, then Chancellor, despite protests from many Jewish personalities, insisted that Reagan together with Kohl himself, not cave in to the protests. The Germans argued that many German cemeteries have buried SS officers. Moreover, many of these SS men were innocent young men forced to join the SS at a young age.

Such aside, it is nevertheless clear that in the main, the Germans have come to terms with their recent history. They have clearly acknowledged they did wrong under Hitler and have vowed not to resurrect the Third Reich.

They have, in addition to giving substantial reparations to their victims, made many convincing gestures of contrition, one of the most dramatic being that of the then Chancellor, Willi Brandt, going down on one knee in a monument in Poland in 1970 honouring the victims of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising during the Nazi era.

The Japanese on their part are much more ambivalent. Their apologies have been hedged about by many qualifications, and often when made by one leader refuted by statements and actions of other leaders.
And, more dramatically, some of their highes­t political leaders have visited, and intend to continue visiting, the Yasukuni Shrine where many class one war criminals have been enshrined.

Whatever the declarations the Japanese may make about the aims of their visits to Yasukuni being only to honour their war dead, the acid test is whether their war victims believe them. In this, the Chinese and Koreans do not. On the other hand, the victims of the Germans do.

The most dramatic recent example is the plea by the Polish foreign minister in 2011 to the Germans to take leadership of a federal Europe!

One can hardly expect a Chinese or Korean leader to ask for Japanese leadership in Asian affairs!

There are three reasons why both differ in their approach to their recent history. One consists of what they actually, or believe they actually, did.

Amidst the horrors of war the Germans unleashed, they went on an extermination of Jews and other groups which could not be justified by the exigencies of war or by any other wrongs that others may have been inflicted on the Germans. Such an extermination was a clear-cut case of genocide.

Many Japanese, on their part, argued that they committed no such genocide in Asia, and what atrocities Japanese soldiers committed were not a result of policy but of the stress of war. Moreover, in their colonial conquests, they were only following the examples of the Western colonial powers. In some places like South-East Asia, they helped their liberation movements.

While there is some degree of truth in the Japanese argument, some heinous crimes such as the human experimentation by their notorious Japanese Unit 731 and the testing of bacteriological warfare in parts of China cannot easily be justified as due to the strains of war.

While the Western comparison over colonial conquests may seem valid, it cuts no ice with those countries colonised, like Korea and China.

In fairness, some Japanese scholars acknowledge that whatever the Western example, they were wrong in colonising these two countries. Hopefully, such acknowledgement can be one basis for reconciliation between Japan and their Northeast Asian neighbours.

The second reason, somewhat related to the first, is the lack of a regional grouping the Japanese could identify with or be a member of. Germany had a regional organisation, the European community, they could, if not subordinate themselves to its regional aims, use as the focus of their attempt not to repeat their past.

In the words of one of the greatest 20th century German intellectuals, Thomas Mann, Germany should strive for a European Germany, not a German Europe. Asia is too diverse, culturally and economically, and still filled with bitter war memories, for Japan to identify with.

Third, the de-Nazification campaign in Germany was quite thorough. Few Germans, if any, with Nazi connections were allowed to occupy significant governmental and private posts in post-war Germany.

Japan was different. While in the initial stages, the Americans, who basically dominated Allied policy (there was more non-American input in running post-war Germany), intended to purge Japan of those involved in Japanese aggression in Asia, they subsequently relented by allowing many to assume positions of influence in a post-war Japan. (Abe’s maternal grandfather Nobusuke Kishi who was Prime Minister in the 1950s was one of them.)

The US needed an anti-communist, strong Japan against communism in Asia, especially China. It is thus difficult for post-war Japanese governments consisting of many who committed aggression in Asia and who could have influenced their successors to acknowledge they did wrong.

It would now seem that those inclined to the denial that Japan committed aggression are gaining momentum in Japan. It would be a sad day for Japan and for Asia that a Japan which had made a lot of headway in its peace diplomacy after the war would have that peaceful image destroyed by becoming clearly unrepentant about its past.

- Contributed by Lee Poh Ping, a Senior Research Fellow, Institute of China Studies at Universiti Malaya.

Related:

Dialogue 07/25/2013 Shinzo Abe revisits Southeast Asia CCTV News ...

english.cntv.cn - 500 × 372 - Search by image

Dr. Lee Poh Ping, Senior Research Fellow, Inst. of China Studies, University of Malaya

Dialogue 07/25/2013 Shinzo Abe revisits Southeast Asia CCTV News - CNTV English

Related posts:

1.  Japan PM Abe's visits to Yasukuni glorifying Japan's war criminals, stires new tension in Asia!.

2. Yasukuni glorifies Japan's inglorious past

3. Defeated Japan ought to honor terms dictated by Caro Declaration in post-war Order.

4.Japan Prime Minister Abe’s Yasukuni visit deals blow to Japanese-US ties.
5.China slams Japan PM Abe's speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos implication: the   Nazis Hitler's DNA of the East?
6.An utterly unrepentant Japan opening up past wounds derail peace diplomacy

China slams Japan PM Abe's speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos implication: the Nazis Hitler's DNA of the East?

China: Abe´s Britain-Germany comparison inappropriate CCTV News - CNTV English

Full video: Chinese FM Wang Yi addresses World Economic Forum CCTV News - CNTV English

China Thursday refuted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's recent appeal for more transparency in China's military budget, stating that it is Japan that should increase transparency and explain its own military buildup.

"China's defense policy is transparent and has been published in its white papers and on other occasions," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang on Thursday told a regular press briefing in response to Abe's speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, a day earlier.

"We must ... restrain military expansion in Asia, which could otherwise go unchecked," Abe told the annual meeting of global business and political leaders, following his government's custom of not naming China in such references.

In response, Qin urged Japan to explain to Asia and the international community the real purpose of amending its pacifist constitution, which has been in existence since 1947. The Abe government has been trying to revise it so as to greenlight the expansion of Japan's military forces.

In December, Abe's cabinet approved a critical defense policy package comprising new defense program guidelines, a five-year defense buildup plan and the national security strategy. Japan vowed to seek more "proactive" roles for its military forces abroad and to set new guidelines on arms exports, signaling a major shift from its previous restrictive stance.

"Abe tends to depict China as a threat at whatever occasion he attends. His purpose is to worsen Sino-Japan relations and damage China's image in the international community, as well as tear apart economic development in the Asia-Pacific region," Lü Yaodong, a research fellow of Japanese politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

During the Davos speech, Abe also called for dispute resolution through "dialogue and the rule of law, and not through force and coercion."

Qin said that Japan cannot on one hand refuse to admit mistakes and continue to denigrate China, and on the other hand indulge in empty rhetoric to advocate dialogue, as it is the Japanese leader that is shutting the door to dialogue.

Liu Jiangyong, a vice director of the Institute of Modern International Relations at Tsinghua University, said it is inappropriate for Abe to cast blame for political issues at an economic forum.

"Abe is trying to distract people's attention by claiming it is others' fault," Liu told the Global Times.

Abe also defended his visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, saying that the shrine honors the dead of World War I and the 1868 Meiji war, not just war criminals or others who died in World War II.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is currently attending the international conference on Syria in Montreux, Switzerland, described Abe's argument as futile, which only serves to expose Abe's erroneous perception of history.

Even today, the Yasukuni Shrine still represents the notion that the aggression of Japan in World War II was "just," the Pacific War Japan launched was "self-defense" and the trial at the Far East International Military Tribunal was "illegitimate," as well as honoring 14 Class-A war criminals, Wang noted.

South Korea Thursday also said that it is a complete contradiction to talk about forging friendly ties while continuing visits to the shrine.

Liu said Abe is unlikely to change his stance even though he sensed the pressure and isolation from the international community.

"His explanation reveals that he doesn't think he's wrong and he would do it again," Liu said.

Tensions between China and Japan have been rising since Tokyo announced in September 2012 the "nationalization" of the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea.

Chinese air force planes have been regularly patrolling the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), which covers the Diaoyu Islands, air force spokesman Shen Jinke said Thursday.

On a recent patrol, multiple Chinese aircraft were sent to "monitor, identify, track and warn" multiple foreign military planes that had entered the ADIZ, established two months ago, Shen added.

By Zhang Yiwei Global Times

China, Japan open German front in diplomatic war

BEIJING (Jan 25, 2014): One hundred years after the outbreak of World War I, China and Japan are ripping selected pages from Germany's history -- including the Nazi period -- as they seek to demonise each other in their modern-day diplomatic battles.

Beijing's state-controlled media have compared Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Adolf Hitler, using shrill rhetoric that analysts say exploits Tokyo's mixed messages about its past aggression in China and elsewhere.

At the same time, they urge him to emulate Germany's post-war contrition for the evils of Nazism.

Abe, for his part, has raised the spectre of 1914, saying at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland that relations between Japan and China resemble those of Britain and Germany as they stumbled towards war.

Tokyo and Beijing are locked in an increasingly acrimonious row over small, uninhabited islands in the East China Sea that Japan controls but China regards as its territory, with their militaries warily eyeing each other.

Commentators have likened China, a rising power, to Germany in the early 20th century and portrayed the islands as Sarajevo, site of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand that triggered the Great War.

In Davos, Abe pointed out that war broke out in 1914 despite strong economic relations between Germany and Britain.

"I think we are in a similar situation. We don't want an inadvertent conflict arising between these two countries," he told reporters.

China's foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang roundly rejected the simile Thursday.

"Actually in history China was already a major country in the Tang and Song dynasties (from the seventh to the 13th centuries), so there is no so-called 'China is becoming a major country'," he said.

"There is no need to make an issue of the Britain-Germany relationship."

Hitler's DNA

Chinese officials have lashed out at Abe since his December 26 visit to the hugely controversial Yasukuni shrine, which honours 2.5 million Japanese war dead including 14 senior war criminals described by Qin as "the Nazis of the East".

The shrine is seen in China and South Korea as a symbol of Japan's 20th century military and colonial aggression which saw the country occupy a large swathe of East Asia, often to brutal effect on civilians and prisoners of war.

In what analysts see as crude propaganda, the overseas edition of the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily headlined an article "Hitler's DNA in Abe", illustrated with a mock-up of Japan's leader gazing up at the Fuhrer.

The Global Times tabloid, in its English edition, this week carried a cartoon of Japan's national flag with the sun symbol in the centre dripping blood and a swastika imposed.

"You could say it's propaganda," Torsten Weber, an expert in modern East Asian history at the German Institute for Japanese Studies in Tokyo, told AFP.

"It is a way to distort history and it's also a way to distract attention from more pressing problems that, for example, China faces."

Chinese media have also tried to compare Abe unfavourably with how Germany faced up to Nazi atrocities.

The official Xinhua news agency urged him to follow the example of West German chancellor Willy Brandt, who fell to his knees at a monument to victims of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising -- a brutally crushed 1943 revolt by Jews in the Polish capital facing deportation to the Nazi death camps.

- AFP

Related posts:

1.  Japan PM Abe's visits to Yasukuni glorifying Japan's war criminals, stires new tension in Asia!.

2. Yasukuni glorifies Japan's inglorious past

3. Defeated Japan ought to honor terms dictated by Caro Declaration in post-war Order.

4.Japan Prime Minister Abe’s Yasukuni visit deals blow to Japanese-US ties.
5.China slams Japan PM Abe's speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos implication: the   Nazis Hitler's DNA of the East?
6.An utterly unrepentant Japan opening up past wounds derail peace diplomacy

Emotional intelligence for business success

Emotional Intelligence is the ability to relate and empathize with emotions in others.  While traditional attitudes in business have preferred to closet most emotions except a prescribed few business-related qualities like drive, ambition, and single-mindedness, 21^st century attitudes assert that emotional intelligence in business isn’t just important, it may be essential for success.

21^st Century Work Ethics
Collaboration is one of the major tenets of business in the 21^st century.  Saying it’s important, however, doesn’t help businesses achieve it in practice.  One reason collaboration is so important is because business is becoming increasingly global.  Offices spread across nations are learning to work together as a result of new partnerships and relationships with new companies.  The gel that helps support collaboration in this century isn’t single-mindedness or even an aggressive business drive.  Instead, it’s things like emotional intelligence that increasingly allow people to work together—and work together well.

Management and Emotional Intelligence
When management is not emotionally intelligent, business owners see high turnover rates.  Workers, whether new to the business or veterans, simply work better when they are with emotionally intelligent people. A lack of understanding leads to conflict and, in some cases, weekly or even daily conflict.  A manager that can’t relate to others isn’t likely to have the emotional tools required to build and manage teams.  People without emotional intelligence may be quite intelligent otherwise and almost certainly are when they land supervisory positions; however, becoming a boss does not mean they have the right skills to be a leader in this 21^st century business climate.

Why Do Managers Need to be Emotionally Intelligent?
One of the main reasons to have a team of emotionally intelligent managers is because then business is likely to be better.  According to Computer Weekly, “The world’s most effective leaders are alike in one crucial way: they all have a high degree of what has come to be known as emotional intelligence quotient or ‘EQ’ for short.” The article goes on to explain, “Psychologist David McClelland did some thorough leadership research that found that executives with higher EQ outperformed their annual revenue targets by 15-20%, and that 87% of the executives rated highly on EQ came in the top 33% of performance-related bonuses.”

Some Traits of Emotionally Intelligent Managers
When considering promoting someone to management, look for applicants who boast rewarding relationships with other people, cope well with pressure, and lead by example.  The Harvard Business Review asserts that emotional intelligence is “firm, but not rigid,” implying that some people may get better at it if it becomes a priority.  On the other hand, when you make it a point to hire and promote employees with emotional intelligence, you’re more likely to achieve both the work climate and success you want for your 21^st century business.

What do you think? On the flip side, what are some traits you’ve encountered of emotionally
idioticunintelligent managers?

Contributed by
Shafat Qazi, Founder and CEO of BQE Software, is an engineer-turned-entrepreneur who created the most awarded time billing software ever, BillQuick, while still in college. He set out to make time tracking, billing and project management easier for engineers as well as all service professionals, and continues to perfect BQE Software products hands-on today.

 Why Entrepreneurs Should Care About Emotional Intelligence

 

When asked what the most important qualities for entrepreneurs are, you may come up with a list that’s completely different from that of the next person.  

Successful entrepreneurs have a whole list of traits that serve them well in their endeavors. Commonly cited qualities might include determination, passion, confidence, and optimism – all distinctive traits of entrepreneurs and instrumental in achieving small business success.

But there’s one quality that you might not have thought to add to your list: emotional intelligence.
It’s the single quality that plays a defining role in the success of most entrepreneurs.

What is Emotional Intelligence (EQ)?
Emotional intelligence, otherwise known as EQ, is defined as the ability to perceive and understand the emotions of both oneself and others.

With this knowledge, individuals are able to navigate social networks, make informed decisions, and react to behavior accordingly. This quality is divided into two major categories –  personal and social competence, – each which have their own core skills.

Personal competence is comprised of self-awareness and self-management skills, which centers more on the individual’s ability to perceive his or her own emotions.

On the other hand, social competence, which is made up of social awareness and relationship management skills, determines the entrepreneur’s ability to understand and react to the moods and behaviors of others. Both are equally important for entrepreneurs and can play a major role in whether the individual succeeds or not.

Why is Emotional Intelligence Important?
Emotional intelligence provides entrepreneurs with a set of social and personal skills that can help them in any situation or environment.

The following are just a few of the skills that are enhanced by emotional intelligence:

Decision Making:
One of the major components of emotional intelligence is self-awareness, which enables individuals with the ability to accurately perceive their emotions as it happens. They are able to keep stray emotions in check, preventing them from affecting any decisions or choices. As a result, emotionally intelligent individuals are able to look at the big picture without swayed by the details.

Customer Satisfaction:
Small businesses are nothing without happy, satisfied customers. Luckily, EQ provides entrepreneurs with the ability to deliver customer satisfaction. Emotional intelligence allows the individual to be more empathetic.

They have the ability to perceive and understand the emotions of others. They are able to help customers with their buying decisions and keep them engaged, providing a more comprehensive, satisfying experience.

Leadership:
Entrepreneurs are often responsible for leading the direction of their endeavor and clearly communicating goals to their teams. Therefore, they must be able to form a good rapport with their employees, inspiring and motivating wherever possible. Emotional intelligence provides entrepreneurs with the enhanced ability to manage interactions and form meaningful relationships. In addition, individuals with high levels of emotional intelligence tend to be more self-confident and adaptable – vital traits for any entrepreneur.

Conflict Resolution:
Whether there is a dispute with a customer or a disagreement between team members, entrepreneurs are bound to run into conflicts. However, emotional intelligence provides the individual with conflict resolution skills. Entrepreneurs with this quality are able to gauge the emotions of both parties and provide a resolution that will connect with both. With this ability, they are able to quickly placate the threat to efficiency and productivity.

 Conntributed by Sara Fletcher
Today’s Guest Poston Start Your Own Small Bizwas provided by Sara Fletcher. Sara  is interested in emotional intelligence in leadership and understanding how it affects her life. She loves to explore psychology, business, and sports in relation to her test of emotional intelligence.

S P Setia's head honcho Liew resigns, looking forward to mentoring in Eco World

Ten months after S P Setia Bhd unveiled its succession plan, head honcho Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin has announced his intention to resign as president and chief executive officer.

Also quitting the company is chief financial officer Datuk Teow Leong Seng.

Liew’s departure was expected by industry observers but Teow’s resignation came as a surprise as he was named deputy chairman in the property player’s succession plan earlier, analysts told StarBiz.

Liew would leave the property giant on April 30 while Teow would stay on until July 31.

Liew and Teow would continue to be involved in the Battersea Power Station project in London until September 2015 given the prominence of the international project.

Liew would also remain managing director for Qinzhou Development (M) Consortium Sdn Bhd, a Sino-foreign joint venture company to develop the China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park in the republic until the same period.

Sources said the property magnate would eventually emerge in Eco World Development Group Bhd after his stint in S P Setia.

It is also speculated that present chief operating officer Datuk Voon Tin Yow, who was appointed the company’s acting president and chief executive officer, might also resign later.

In a statement, S P Setia said Voon’s appointment would be effective from May 1, 2014 until April 30, 2015.

Voon would be supported by executive vice-president Datuk Khor Chap Jen who would be appointed acting deputy president during the same period, it said.

Non-independent non-executive director Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye has also resigned yesterday to focus on his new role as the deputy chairman of the National Unity Consultative Council.

S P Setia chairman Tun Zaki Tun Azmi said: “Whilst the board and I are greatly saddened by the departure of Liew, Teow and Lee, we are confident that the group will continue to be in steady hands under Voon and Khor.”

Observers expected its biggest owner Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) to take more proactive measures in managing its talents as well as setting the company’s direction going forward.

It was earlier reported that Datuk Jamaludin Osman of I&P Group Sdn Bhd – PNB’s property arm – was among the candidates tipped to take over Liew’s stewardship. There were also talks of a possible asset injection by PNB into S P Setia.

Liew said: “Given the solid footing which the company is on, I believe the time has arrived for me to step down after 18 years as CEO.

“With my children all growing up and starting out on their own career paths, I am looking forward to spending more time with them, mentoring and guiding them.”

Liew’s eldest son, Tian Xiong, is a major shareholder and director in Eco World, another property firm set up by former S P Setia top brass.

S P Setia fell five sen to close at RM2.88 while Eco World was up one sen to RM4.15.

Analysts said the market has priced in Liew’s retirement from S P Setia and they expected the company’s operation to remain intact for the time being.

Bloomberg data showed that its forward price-to-earnings (P/E) was 13.4 times compared to 16.06 times currently. Its average P/E ranged from 17 times to 20 times from financial year ended Oct 31, 2011 (FY11) to FY13.

Liew is instrumental in growing S P Setia from a RM200mil entity in 1998 into a multi-billion ringgit international property company.

With him at the helm, S P Setia achieved sales of RM8.24bil in FY13, almost double from what it registered in FY12.

The group has 4,782 acres of undeveloped land bank worth RM102bil while its unbilled sales stood at RM9.6bil as at FY13.

- Contributed by Ng Bei Shan The StarBiz/ANN

Who’s who in Eco World

Fresh from graduating as a Bachelor of Commerce from Melbourne University late last year, Liew Tian Xiong, 22, is not short of persuasive skills that a sales person possesses as he introduces EcoSky to StarBizWeek when we visited Eco World Development Sdn Bhd’s sales gallery.

In fact, one of the key performance indicators he has to meet, is to sell off 30 units of its KL project, EcoSky, which will then determine whether he gets his bonus.

Besides sales and marketing, he is also involved in project planning, land acquisition and liaising with land consultants.

Asked on people who influenced him, the affable young man says: “I have probably learnt from my father throughout my whole life. He taught me to keep my head down and listen to people, and to keep asking questions.”

He says he has learnt from both CEO Datuk Chang Khim Wah and COO Datuk S. Rajoo and what he is going through, is essentially a fast track management training programme.

Chang says: “There is a lot of things (for him) to learn. He’s doing groundwork like sales and marketing, planning and reading legal documents although he is holding the director’s card.”

“Tan Sri Liew (Kee Sin) told me that I can scold him (Xiong). I was scolded by Tan Sri Liew back then, so it’s pay back time now,” Chang jokes.

However the relationship among the management team when StarBizWeek met up with them is warm and fervent.

Chang quips: “We even play futsal with him (Xiong)… ”

The experienced management personnel like Chang and Rajoo had known each other for about two decades, but Xiong, at his tender age, seems to be gelling well with them.

Xiong’s younger brother, Tian Rong, 20, is also with the company as a contract staff. He is pursuing an economics degree from University London College and is having a stint in the company.

The man who helms Eco World, Datuk Chang Khim Wah, 50, joined S P Setia in 1994 and had been there for about 20 years. Prior to that, he was a consultant engineer in Australia. He was one of the members instrumental in setting up S P Setia’s Johor Baru division and went on to set up an office in Singapore and Jakarta.

He concedes that the team has S P Setia’s DNA in terms of team effort and competitiveness. His relationship with Liew was depicted as an understanding that required little words.

“We don’t speak long sentences (but) we understand each other,” he shares.

Chang’s counterpart, Rajoo, 50, assumes the position of COO in Eco World. He spent his first seven years in S P Setia in the Klang Valley helping the development of Bukit Indah Ampang and Pusat Bandar Puchong

and subsequently in some of the township developments in Johor where he then worked closely with Chang.

After that, he was overseeing S P Setia’s projects in the northern region for seven years and had carried out 13 projects with a gross development of more than RM2bil in the Pearl of the Orient.

Heah Kok Boon, 46, the chief financial officer of Eco World, is a chartered accountant who has over two decades of experience in the field of corporate finance, corporate fund raising, investments, merger and acquisition as well as other finance-related areas.

He was with S P Setia’s corporate affairs department for six years prior to his current role.

When introducing the major shareholders behind Eco World, Chang says Leong and Rashid are the two major shareholders.

“These two names are more than enough (for Eco World’s credibility),” Chang says, joking that Xiong has no shares in the property outfit.

One of its major shareholders and directors, businessman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Manaf, 65, was trained as a legal practitioner from Middle Temple London.

He was chairman for the board of S P Setia Bhd from March 12, 1997 until Oct 25, 2012.

Another director, who is a corporate figure, is Datuk Eddy Leong Kok Wah, 58. He holds a master of business administration from University of Hull, United Kingdom, and is also a member of Institute of Bankers (UK). He has an extensive career in the banking industry and is currently an executive director of Salcon Bhd and also sits on the board of a few other companies. He was in S P Setia’s remuneration committee from Sept 21, 2005-Feb 28, 2013.


Related posts:
1. Succession issue: give children a message,not money
2. Robert Kuok is still top among 40 richest Malaysians

Stupid fellow ! Dr Ling, former Malaysian Transport Minister slams Attorney-General

 

UTAR Council Chairman Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik speaking to the media regarding UTAR Initiatives and Developments at the Sg Long Campus, Kajang on Tuesday.

KAJANG: There was nothing wrong in the land purchase for the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project, said former transport minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik.

“The Cabinet was correct in deciding on that. It’s only the A-G (attorney-general who) thinks it’s a wrong decision. Stupid fellow,” he said at a press conference here yesterday to announce Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman’s (Utar) latest initiatives and developments.

Dr Ling also said the land was sold to PKFZ at RM21 psf. He added that the land is now valued between RM70 to RM80psf, saying that it was already a profit.

Dr Ling and another former transport minister Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy was charged for cheating the Government over the PKFZ project. Both were later acquitted.

Dr Ling was acquitted on Oct 25 last year on three charges of cheating the Government over the PKFZ land deal. The trial began in August 2011.

Justice Ahmadi Asnawi, in delivering the judgment last year, held that the defence had managed to raise reasonable doubt into the prosecution’s case over the main and two alternative charges against Dr Ling.

Justice Ahmadi added that there was no evidence on who initiated the PKFZ project involving the procurement of the land.

The court found that Dr Ling’s evidence was corroborated by the testimony of former prime minister and then-finance minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Justice Ahmadi added that it was apparent Dr Ling merely signed off documents presented to him by his officers and later made the presentation to the Cabinet.

He said that when the Cabinet decided to approve the purchase of the land by Port Klang Authority (PKA) from Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB), the Cabinet knew that the value of RM25psf did not include the total amount of interest payable and that interest of 7.5% would be payable over and above RM25psf.

Besides that, Justice Ahmadi said that the purchase of the land was not decided over a single Cabinet meeting but rather it was deliberated periodically between March 1999 and Nov 6, 2002.

Utar plans training hospital 

KAJANG: Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Utar) plans to open a specialist training hospital in Perak that will be named the Sultan Azlan Shah Hospital.

Utar council chairman Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik (pic) said the specialist training hospital would be located near the university’s Kampar campus, though he stopped short of mentioning any time frame for construction.

“The hospital will offer treatment using traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as well as Western or conventional medicine,” he told reporters yesterday to announce the university’s latest initiatives and developments.

Dr Ling said the hospital, which would serve the public, would be used to train medical students.

According to the Utar website, the university has been accepting students for its Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme since May 2010, while it was also the first institution approved to offer a bilingual TCM degree programme in Malaysia from May 2011.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Dr Ling said the land for the hospital had been donated to Utar by Perak ruler, Sultan Azlan Shah.

Utar president Prof Datuk Dr Chuah Hean Teik said the university would help to build and operate the hospital.

Separately, MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai announced that Dr Ling would helm the newly set up MCA Higher Education Institutions Coordination Committee.

The committee is tasked with streamlining the courses offered by the four educational initiatives of MCA: Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TARUC), Tunku Abdul Rahman University (Utar), Kojadi Institute and the Institute Of Childhood Education Studies and Community Education.

Liow noted that they were “overlapping” courses offered by TARUC and Utar, especially after the former was upgraded from a college to university college last year.

Asked on why Dr Ling was picked for the post, Liow said: “He is a veteran who has shown his commitment and contribution to the development of the two institutions.

“Now we want to further develop the MCA higher learning section, and we need a lot of effort to synchronise and synergise to ensure that we can perform better in this area,” he added.

Sources:

The Star/Asia News Network