My Anthem

Monday, September 24, 2012

Desi in the news -- an issue ressurected, and I don't "enjoy" it!


Monday September 24, 2012

Veteran newsman accuses Malaysiakini of being insincere

By SIRA HABIBU
sira@thestar.com.my


PETALING JAYA: Veteran journalist Y.L. Chong has challenged Malaysiakini to reveal its annual financial report.
He said that while the portal operators claim to promote transparency, accountability and media independence, they neither announced the value of shares nor declared dividends.
He was responding to comments by Malaysiakini CEO Premesh Chandran that co-founders and staff of the news portal owned 70% of the shares.
Chong quit Malaysiakini 11 years ago following the top manage-ment's refusal to publicly declare its links to currency speculator George Soros.
The issue surfaced again recently following reports that Malaysiakini and Suaram were among several anti-establishment organisations that allegedly received foreign funding.
The two main contributors are the American-based National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and Soros-linked Open Society Institute (OSI), which had been financing groups supporting its interests and objectives around the world.
Chong questioned if Malaysiakini revealed its annual financial statements to its staff.
“When I was serving as news editor, I was verbally told during top management meetings that I am also a shareholder.
“But I never received in black-and-white how much shares I owned.
“And until today, Malaysiakini has never revealed the value of its shares,'' he said.
Chong said as the news editor, he was privy to information raised at Malaysiakini's meetings.
“I learned that Malaysiakini had then received 10% downpayment of RM188,000 from MDLF (Media Development Loan Fund) for a 10% interest in Malaysiakini,'' he said.
“I want Premesh to declare how much is the 70% shares owned by Malaysiakini co-founders and staff worth now,'' he said.
In an immediate reaction, Premesh said Mkini Dotcom Sdn Bhd owned Malaysiakini and the company files its annual returns yearly with CCM (Companies Commission of Malaysia).
“This includes all details of shareholders. The par value of the shares is RM1,'' he said, adding that all staff who owned shares had been issued share certificates.
However, he said, they had not issued any dividends to shareholders.


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I was led to a post by mole.com, and the blogger at "Freedom Come, Freedom Go"has raised several questions (which are also at the back of my mind) -- so here's Cut&Pastry via LINK here: http://ffrreeddiiee.blogspot.com/2012/09/malaysiakini-for-what-its-worth.html:~~~


MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2012


Malaysiakini For What It's Worth

More intriguing reports on Malaysiakini when "Veteran newsman accuses Malaysiakini of being insincere"

Selected excerpts from the report,
"Veteran journalist Y.L. Chong has challenged Malaysia­kini to reveal its annual financial report.

He said that while the portal operators claim to promote transparency, accountability and media independence, they neither announced the value of shares nor declared dividends.

Chong questioned if Malaysiakini revealed its annual financial statements to its staff.

“When I was serving as news editor, I was verbally told during top management meetings that I am also a shareholder"
Response from Malaysiakini CEO Premesh Chan­dran,
"Premesh said Mkini Dotcom Sdn Bhd owned Malaysiakini and the company files its annual returns yearly with CCM (Companies Commission of Mala­ysia).

“This includes all details of shareholders. The par value of the shares is RM1,’’ he said, adding that all staff who owned shares had been issued share certificates.

However, he said, they had not issued any dividends to shareholders."
Is veteran journalist, Y L Chong a shareholder of Malaysiakini? Premesh has stated that all staff who owned shares had been issued share certificates. But, if Chong had received the share certificate he would not have made the remark. Premesh did not, however, refute Chong's claim that he was informed by the top management that he was a shareholder. A case of lost in intranslation or post perhaps.

Y L Chong had challenged Malaysiakini to reveal it's annual financial report. Even though it is unclear whether Chong is a shareholder of Malaysiakini or not, we can arrive at some assumptions. If Chong is not a shareholder, Malaysiakini is not obliged to furnish Chong with the financial reports. If Chong is a Malaysiakini shareholder, Premesh has not refuted Chong's claim, and did not receive any annual reports, Malaysiakini may be guilty of two offences. See Section 143 and Section 170 of the Companies Act.

Notwithstanding the above, Premesh did not respond to Chong's challenge to reveal it's annual financial reports.

It is not unusual for private limited companies in Malaysia not to declare dividends when the directors are substantial owners of shares in the company. These directors are able to receive large remuneration, salaries and other benefits, legally within the confines of what is permitted by law, more than what a cash dividend may provide.

However, when a business is incorporated under a company limited by liability, shareholders become partners of the company by their investment and expect a return of their investment, usually by way of cash dividends. Media Development Loan Fund (MDLF) being a substantial shareholder with a 29.1% stake is not getting any returns on it's investments. So, holding on to the stake can mean that MDLF is confident of future returns or receiving benefits as above. That is, if MDLF is represented in mkini dotcom sdn bhd board of directors.

Also, dividends are declared when companies profit and subject to it's cash reserves.

Malaysiakini is a web portal owned and administered by mkini dotcom sdn bhd, a business entity.

It is definitely NOT an NGO.

Premesh said that Malaysiakini is happy to work with international foundations on interesting projects to promote press freedom. Premesh said this in an admission of grants received which created some controversy. Grants, for various projects promoting press freedom and NOT funds to finance the company, mkini dotcom sdn bhd.

To clear all doubts as to it's tranparency, credibility, impartiality and of hidden agendas, Premesh should rise to Chong's challenge to furnish a detailed financial account of the company.

Failing to do so will only serve to confirm various allegations levelled at Malaysiakini, like those of Y L Chong, for what it's worth.


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And from the star.com.my the previous day in its follow-up -- they called me, NO, I did not call THe Star though I had worked for some five productive years there. mainly at the Business Section then headed by PY CHIN, who was a fearless journalist BUT lacked PR skills, so he was played out (IMHO) of the GEIC post by a preety recent entree, half-Malaysia, half Aussie, but that's for another story to tell another die!:( -- YL, Desi, knottyaSsusual

(PAtience can while I search for yesterday's news which is today's his/herSTORY:)



Saturday September 22, 2012

Soros link kept under wraps

By SIRA HABIBU
sira@thestar.com.my


PETALING JAYA: Veteran journalist Y.L. Chong quit from Malaysiakini as its news editor more than a decade ago when the news portal management refused to admit that they were getting funds from currency speculator George Soros.
“I told Malaysiakini 11 years ago to come clean, and not hide such information from our subscribers and readers.
“I decided to throw in my resignation as I could not toe the line and keep the Soros link under wraps,” he said in an interview.
Chong stressed that he was not against accepting foreign funds but must come clean after accepting the money.
“But I believe in ethical journalism, especially as Malaysiakini had flagged itself as promoting transparency and openness,” he said.
Chong had also first revealed all this in his blog called ww.desiderata2000.blogspot.com a few years ago, was commenting on reports that Malaysiakini and Suaram were among anti-establishment organisations that allegedly received foreign funding.
The two main contributors are the American-based National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the George Soros-linked Open Society Institute (OSI), which have been financing groups supporting its interests and objectives around the world.
“I was then news editor, and hence privy to information raised at Malaysiakini's meetings, and I had learned that indeed Malaysiakini had received an initial 10% down payment of RM188,000 for a 10% interest in Malaysiakini,” he added.
Chong said he quit after confronting the two Malaysiakini's top guns - Steven Gan and Premesh Chandran - and the two refused to publicly admit to receiving funds through Media Development Loan Fund (MDLF) run by the Open Society Institute (OSI), a well-known international unit linked to Soros.
“In fact Gan said it would be the death of Malaysiakini if they admitted to receiving funding from Soros,'' he said.
Chong also expressed disappointment against the news portal management which had stated that he had quit over his salary.
“They twisted the facts to cover the real reason why I submitted my resignation,'' he said.
Rocky's Bru Blog noted that Chong, the veteran journo and consummate truth-seeker, blew the cover of Malaysiakini and established its link with Soros “way back then”, and last year reminded the public about the matter again.
Chong said he had brought up the matter more than a decade ago following factual errors in the Far Eastern Economic Review magazine report pertaining to foreign funding from Soros.
It was reported that in 1999, Malaysiakini started with a grant of US$100,000 (RM385,000.00) from the South-East Asia Press Alliance and a further deal to “develop open source software application” for RM188,000 with a division of MDLF. Mkini Dot Com allegedly received another RM1.3mil from MDLF in 2002 in exchange for about 30% equity.

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