
Malaysia's ‘water bank' visits Star Media Group
AN 11-member delegation from Pengurusan Aset Air Bhd (PAAB) paid a courtesy visit to Star Media Group (SMG) with the objective of strengthening ties.
PAAB chief executive officer Zulkiflee Omar said the company funds the building, upgrading and repairing of water assets nationwide.
'That's why we refer to ourselves as the country's water bank,' he said.
'We are wholly owned by the Minister of Finance Inc and our mandate from the government is to provide the most economic and sustainable funding to water operators across the country.'
Zulkiflee noted that among the major projects PAAB is involved in is phase two of the Langat 2 water treatment plant project.
PAAB is also finalising two key projects in Kelantan, including a water treatment plant (WTP) in Bukit Chupak, Gua Musang.
Zulkiflee said two WTPs were also underway in Penang, worth over RM1bil.
'We want the public to know what we are doing and hope SMG can help share our journey with the people,' he said.
At SMG headquarters in Petaling Jaya, Zulkiflee and his team also toured the studios of Malay radio station Suria FM and Chinese radio station 988 FM before adjourning for light refreshments.
SMG group chief executive officer Chan Seng Fatt said they would explore how both entities could work together more closely.
Also present were SMG chief operating officer Lydia Wang and chief content officer Datin Paduka Esther Ng. ― By ALISA IDRIS

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Penang open to adjusting land reclamation project near Karpal Singh Drive
GEORGE TOWN: Penang may consider scaling down its portion of a proposed land reclamation project off Karpal Singh Drive if necessary, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow says. Chow said the RM1bil project is still subject to approval from the Environment Department (DOE) through the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process. "We have a deadline to submit the EIA report by February 2026. "Until then, we can resubmit the report. "In the event we do not get it, we can still appeal and submit improvements," he told reporters after an event in Batu Kawan on Wednesday (July 3). Chow was responding to questions regarding a recent meeting with the environmental advocacy group Protect Karpal Singh Drive Action Committee. Chow said the state government would consider their concerns and remained open to discussions. "Matters can still be considered and negotiated. "If the project secures EIA approval, emphasis will be placed on the method of construction to address their concerns," he said. Chow added that Penang local government, town and country planning committee chairman H'ng Mooi Lye has since held discussions with PLB Engineering and the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) to better understand the details of the proposal. "For now, we are still waiting for the EIA decision. "There may be a need to revisit and renegotiate certain aspects of the project, especially since some land and components are allocated to the state. "Some of these involve profit-sharing arrangements, and we might have to give up part of our portion,' he added, noting that only the initial contract has been signed at this stage. In 2020, PDC signed a deal with PLB Engineering to rehabilitate and develop the Jelutong landfill, including reclaiming land off Karpal Singh Drive. The proposed project involving almost 65ha of land would involve 38.3ha of land reclamation off Karpal Singh Drive and the rehabilitation of the adjacent 36.4ha Jelutong landfill that has been operating since the 1990s. Post-rehabilitation, the area will transition into a mixed-development zone, with 20–30% of the reclaimed land allocated to the state. The RM1bil project, a collaboration between PDC and PLB Engineering Bhd, is awaiting Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approval from DoE. The project would strictly avoid encroaching on the ecologically sensitive Middle Bank marine sanctuary, Chow assured. Activists have since called for rigorous oversight to ensure compliance with conservation commitments, given the sanctuary's irreplaceable role in Penang's marine heritage. Spanning approximately 10sqkm (3,861 acres or 1,562.49ha) in the South Channel between Penang Island and the mainland, the Middle Bank sanctuary is a linchpin of marine biodiversity in the Straits of Malacca. It hosts the region's only extensive seagrass bed, a critical ecosystem that supports over 429 documented species of flora and fauna. Among these are seven species of seagrass, which form underwater meadows vital for carbon sequestration, coastal protection, and nurturing juvenile marine life.


New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
AOS settles with US over unauthorised shipments to China's Huawei
WASHINGTON: Alpha and Omega Semiconductor (AOS) has agreed to pay US$4.25 million to settle with the US Department of Commerce for shipping items to China's Huawei Technologies in violation of export regulations, according to a department order posted on Wednesday. The order said AOS engaged in prohibited conduct by forwarding 1,650 power controllers, smart power stages and related accessories to Huawei without authorisation in 2019, the year Huawei was added to a restricted US trade list. Although the items were foreign-designed and produced, they were subject to US export control regulations because AOS exported them from the United States. Suppliers to companies on the restricted trade list — known as the Entity List — are required to obtain licences. "This resolution does not impact AOS's ongoing business operations and brings to an end the US government's five-year-plus investigation," the company said. "AOS is pleased to bring this matter to a close with only limited administrative export control charges." US authorities have been investigating AOS's transactions with Huawei since 2019, the company said in a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing earlier this year. In January 2024, the Justice Department closed its investigation without pressing charges. However, a civil investigation by the Commerce Department remained ongoing. On April 16, 2025, AOS said it received a letter from the Commerce Department alleging violations of export control regulations, and the company met with officials to discuss a possible resolution. AOS, headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, operates in both the United States and Asia, and owns a wafer fabrication facility in Hillsboro, Oregon. In 2020, the US expanded its restrictions on Huawei, widening its authority to halt shipments of foreign-produced items destined for the Chinese tech giant.


New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
US-Vietnam trade deal sows new China uncertainty
HANOI: Vietnam's trade deal with the United States averts the most punishing of Donald Trump's "reciprocal" levies, but analysts warned it could provoke a fresh standoff between Washington and Beijing. The Southeast Asian nation has the third-biggest trade surplus with the United States of any country after China and Mexico, and was targeted with one of the highest rates in the US president's "Liberation Day" tariff blitz on April 2. The deal announced Wednesday is the first full pact Trump has sealed with an Asian nation, and analysts say it may give a glimpse of the template Washington will use with other countries still scrambling for accords. The 46 per cent rate due to take effect next week has been averted, with Vietnam set to face a minimum 20 per cent tariff in return for opening its market to US products including cars. But a 40 per cent tariff will hit goods passing through the country to circumvent steeper trade barriers — a practice called "transshipping". Washington has accused Hanoi of relabelling Chinese goods to skirt its tariffs, but raw materials from the world's number two economy are the lifeblood of Vietnam's manufacturing industries. "From a global perspective, perhaps the most interesting point is that this deal again seems in large part to be about China," said Capital Economics. It said the terms on transshipment "will be seen as a provocation in Beijing, particularly if similar conditions are included in any other deals agreed over coming days". Shares in clothing companies and sports equipment manufacturers — which have a large footprint in Vietnam — rose on news of the deal in New York. But they later declined sharply as details were released. "This is a much better outcome than a flat 46 per cent tariff, but I wouldn't celebrate just yet," said Hanoi-based Dan Martin of Asian business advisory firm Dezan Shira & Associates. "Everything now depends on how the US decides to interpret and enforce the idea of transshipment," he added. "If the US takes a broader view and starts questioning products that use foreign parts, even when value is genuinely added in Vietnam, it could end up affecting a lot of companies that are playing by the rules." Vietnam's government said in a statement late on Wednesday that under the deal the country had promised "preferential market access for US goods, including large-engine cars". But the statement gave scant detail about the transshipment arrangements in the deal, which Trump announced on his Truth Social platform. Bloomberg Economics forecast Vietnam could lose a quarter of its exports to the United States in the medium term, endangering more than two per cent of its gross domestic product as a result of the agreement. Uncertainty over how transshipping will be "defined or enforced" is likely to have diplomatic repercussions, said Bloomberg Economics expert Rana Sajedi. "The looming question now is how China will respond," she said. "Beijing has made clear that it would respond to deals that came at the expense of Chinese interests." "The decision to agree to a higher tariff on goods deemed to be 'transshipped' through Vietnam may fall in that category," added Sajedi.