"Don't Mess With The Sugar King, Jibby."

Found this article from a facebooker's post. And since it's about Robert Kuok - the wealthiest man in Malaysia and Southeast Asia, this would surely be an interesting read.


The following is a translation of the 忠政快讯 commentary on how Najib stole Robert Kuok's sugar business so that greedy UMNO cronies could enjoy the profits, and how Malaysia's economy suffered as a result.

Recently, the govt offended Robert Kuok. As a result, the Malaysian economy suffered a great blow. And now, after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Malaysia, Najib's administration truly understands Robert Kuok's influence in China.
Crony got richer, Malaysia got poorer

UMNO cronies are loyal when there's easy money for the taking. To keep them happy, Najib twisted Robert Kuok's arm to get the profits from his sugar empire. As a result, UMNO cronies got richer by tens of billions of ringgit. But it caused a national loss of more than 200 billion for Malaysia as a whole!

(Those who have insider knowledge on this are still cursing until God knows when.)

So, the Malaysian sugar king was forced to leave his own country, but ironically, he has now become the world's sugar emperor. How? He bought the world's largest sugar mills in Australia, investing a cool 10 billion US dollars.

So, Najib's government benefited a few UMNO families at the expense of national interests. Very ungrateful, when it is a known fact that Robert Kuok had given a lot of help to the Malaysian Govt for several decades. A Chinese idiomatic expression calls this 'turning a pig's intestine inside out' because on the other side is a lot of shit.
Palm oil slap in the face

In the global political gossip columns, insiders are smiling because Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Malaysia hit a snag with Najib. How? You see, before this visit, Najib and his cabinet had hinted several times that they hoped China would double the amount of palm oil imports from Malaysia.

China is the largest buyer of Malaysian palm oil. But there is strong competition with Indonesia, which is trying to sell palm oil at lower prices to China and India. Najib is very worried about this. So during the official visit, he hoped to seal a new palm oil trading contract with China, to double the average of 10 million tonnes sold by Malaysia every month.

But Wen Jiabao said that this was impossible. Najib was very disappointed. He knew the Chinese market demand; even for China to import 1,000,000 tonnes per day is not a problem. So where was the problem?

The problem was that Robert Kuok did not agree!

How was Robert Kuok able to influence China's decision? Who owns the monopoly of China's national oil market? The market leader is Arowana cooking oil, accounting for nearly 40% of the market. And the Arowana cooking oil boss is, Robert Kuok!

Think about it. If Premier Wen Jiabao had agreed to buy more Malaysian palm oil, who is going to refine it into cooking oil? Privatised enterprises, of course! With 40% market share, if the Arowana cooking oil company refuses the additional supply, how is the Chinese government going to utilise the extra crude palm oil?

Najib, insensible from the start, did not know that Kuok was so influential in China. By helping UMNO cronies get rich, he jeopardized the prosperity of Malaysia and its ordinary people.
Ask what Kuok has done for his country

After losing his throne, the Sugar King left Malaysia, understandably disappointed and unhappy. Many people still remember that, in the early days of Malaysia, we did not have aviation professionals, and the BN govt asked Kuok's father to help set up Malayan Airways.

In the 1970s, our maritime industry was also a vacuum, and Malaysian govt sent representatives to Hong Kong to request Kuok's help. For the sake of national development, Kuok put aside the Group's business and returned to Malaysia to help establish a national shipping industry. This later became MISC, the Malaysia International Shipping Corp.

When Malaysia repeatedly faced economy difficulties, Robert Kuok was a big help. He even posted bail for MCA's Tan Koon Swan's CBT case. The govt owes Robert Kuok a great deal, but it used strong-arm tactics to forcefully take over Kuok's sugar empire in Malaysia. Truly ungrateful.
Kuok's relationship with China

When Deng Xiaoping announced China's reforms, he needed aid from generous overseas Chinese entrepreneurs. Robert Kuok promptly joined other helping hands in the Chinese economic miracle such as Hong Kong's Henry Fok and Li Ka-shing. Kuok was the first to respond to Deng Xiaoping in Beijing and built China's first five-star hotel (Shangri-La).

Kuok has over 30 years of friendship with China's leadership. Najib failed to recognise this when he ate Kuok's sugar empire in Malaysia, partly to benefit the business connections of his greedy fat 'vampire' wife's family. Imagine doing this to an international tycoon – what humiliation in return for patriotic help in the past, from his own country?

Early this year, Kuok announced plans to invest US$10 billion in Indonesia to develop refineries in the world's largest sugarcane growing areas. The global economy was facing a downturn. The Malaysian govt traveled the world to solicit investments. How much was Malaysia’s foreign investment? Kuok’s single investment in Indonesia was equivalent to US$10 billion! Of course, when the news hit the papers, he was criticized for being 'unpatriotic', preferring to take so much money to Indonesia instead of Malaysia. Can you smell the bullshit?

For the moment, Malaysia's palm oil trade with China will remain on agreed terms (no increase). Indonesia has more palm oil than Malaysia – cheaper too. Now that Kuok has invested so much money in Indonesia, its govt treats him like a god of wealth. Certainly open to negotiations on anything. Moreover, Indonesia has been eyeing the opportunity to take over the palm oil supply contract from Malaysia.

At least give the beggars something – frozen durian

Buying frozen durian was the consolation China gave instead of buying more Malaysian palm oil.

Business needs more than cow sense. Who ever supplies millions of ringgit in frozen durian to a brand-new market with small durian consumption? How much time and effort is needed to market frozen durian from Malaysia? Thai durian does not sell well in China, let alone frozen durian from Malaysia. If the market is proven non-receptive to frozen durian, how do we deal with return goods? A total loss with capital. Is this how to do business?

Kuok is not just China's top hotelier, king of cooking oil, and the world’s sugar emperor. He is also the patent owner of the Coca-Cola soft drink brand in the Chinese market. He is also involved in a diverse range of businesses in China, and has created millions of jobs there. The Beijing central leadership has great respect for him as a savvy and powerful entrepreneur. When the man speaks, the weight of his words can be far-reaching.

And yet, Robert Kuok is one of the few outstanding Malaysians who has never accepted any of the high-faluting titles which are churned out every year for 'distinguished' VIPs. Many people address him as Tan Sri or Datuk Robert Kuok when in fact, he does not have such titles and needs none.

How To Pass Paper P4?

Love The Paper P4
The best motivation is one that comes from within. You gotta be passionante about the subject, be curious. Curiousity gives birth to geniuses.

Practise, practise, practise!
Get yourself familiar with past year questions. Exam day should not be the first time you attempt questions or else you would face shock. And haven't you heard practice makes perfect?

Read Relevant Articles in ACCA Website.
Keep self informed with the technical articles by examiners. It is always said that articles are hints from the examiner. 

Know You Examiner : Shisher Malde
Your examiner for Dec 2012 is Shisher Malde. Dig your examiner. Knowing his background may give you an added advantage. You may be able to know what's his favourite topics and his style of questioning. 

Do You Homework.
It is impossible for lecturers to practise the whole questions in class. So do your homework when it's given. Only refer to answers after you have tried attempting them yourself. Auditing the answer will defeat the purpose of learning.

Question-based Approach
Start your studies with a question based approach. Instead of reading the whole textbook then only practise questions. Work backward. This will save a lot of your time. As once you've seen the question, you will know what is expected from you when studying. UK country does adopt this in their ACCA colleges.

Update Yourself With Current Issues.
P4 is a practical paper and is about real business and finance that is happening around the world. Be aware of current issues. Read newspapers, business articles from Financial Times, The Economist,   Bloomberg, The Edge, etc. If you feel that it's too dry and hard, start by chunks, ie reading the headlines only. At least these will gice you a rough idea. And from there grow your interest to know more. This is very useful and you will find easier to relate to what is being taught in class. Also by knowing  a little something, you can have something to discuss with your lecturer.

Luck/God's Undeserved Favor
It's up to you to believe it or not. If you have passed with a 50 marks before, you would know why you need this. 

Approaches To Studying Towards ACCA Qualifications

I believe as a student, we have a part to play if we want to excel. One cannot just expect to be spoonfed by lecturers and waits for magic to happen ie. be an ACCA Worldprize winner. Lecturers are there only to guide you. You gotta do you parts as well. As the saying goes it takes two to tango.

As ACCA students who are pursuing a professional qualification, we are expected to be different from normal college students. We are pursuing a higher level studies. So think maturely. Our approches to studying should be as those of a working adult. Professional traits such as competency, skillfulness, independence, time-management, reliability should be in us. At least if we don't have them all, we should train ourselves towards professionalism. 

My approaches to learning is summarized in three stages: 

 

Before: 

Prepare before class starts. Scheme through past year papers or questions so that your brain is in an inquisitive mode. Have some background knowledge. If you do not prepare, you will feel blur in class and can't really relate when the lectures start. 

During:

Pay full attention. Engage with the lecturers. Ask questions. Get involved. Make full use of them. Be an active student not a passive one. Clarify to confirm your understanding. There should be interaction and communication, that how to learn. After each class you should bring home extra knowledge with you.

After: 

Revise after class, do homework, practise questions, read relevant articles. Summarize your understanding in a notes(if you want to practise your writing) or blog it (this saves paper) so that you can browse through what it wrote. That way knowledges are retained. If ever you have the chance, apply it in your life.

Anyway, in all you do, have passion and thirst for knowledge. That way you wont feel tired studying. Think of all the unfortunate ones who actually yearn to go to college but don't have the means to do it. That way you wont ever take your studies for granted. Have big dreams. Be ambitious. Know that knowledge is power. It will take you somewhere one day. Don't waste a single second of your college life. Embrace your education.

I wish you all the best in your undertakings.