Monday, 23 February 2015

KUIZ ASEAN KHAS BELIA 2015

Assalamualaikum dan salam 1Malaysia,


Jabatan Penerangan dengan kerjasama Majlis Belia Malaysia akan menganjurkan program Kuiz ASEAN khas untuk Belia 2015. Pendaftaran akan dibuka mulai 1 -21 Mac 2015 secara atas talian di www.penerangan.gov.my. 

Syarat-syarat penyertaan:



1.   Warganegara Malaysia.



2.   Penyertaan dibuka kepada semua BELIA yang berumur 18 hingga 30 tahun.  



3.   Tiada had maksimum jumlah penyertaan bagi setiap negeri. 



4.   Pendaftaran mesti dibuat secara atas talian di Laman Web Jabatan Penerangan Malaysia iaitu www.penerangan.gov.my bermula pada 1 Mac 2015 - 21 Mac 2015.



5. Peserta wajib mempunyai emel sendiri.Link untuk menjawab soalan akan diberikan melalui emel yang berjaya didaftarkan.



6.   Semua peserta bertanding atas nama individu.



7. Peserta adalah digalakkan menjawab soalan menggunakan PC atau laptop.  Penggunaan telefon pintar adalah dibenarkan.  Walaubagaimanapun, semasa menjawab soalan peserta dinasihatkan supaya tidak menjawab panggilan kerana ia akan menyebabkan talian terputus dan peserta perlu menjawab semula soalan bermula dari nombor 1. Penganjur TIDAK bertanggungjawab jika perkara ini berlaku.



8.  Peserta wajib mematuhi peraturan-peraturan pertandingan yang ditetapkan oleh urus setia dari semasa ke semasa.



9. Kakitangan Jabatan Penerangan Malaysia adalah tidak dibenarkan menyertai pertandingan ini.            



10. Keputusan panel Juri adalah MUKTAMAD.



KONSEP PERTANDINGAN

Kaedah Pertandingan:

1.1       Peringkat Saringan (seluruh negara)



i.              Kuiz ASEAN secara atas talian

ii.            30 soalan aneka pilihan, 10 soalan betul/salah, 1 slogan (tidak melebihi 25 patah perkataan), masa diberi 30 minit untuk menjawab semua soalan. Soalan disediakan di dalam Bahasa Malaysia.

iii.           Peserta boleh akses soalan melalui URL yang akan diberi melalui emel.

iv.           30 Peserta dengan markah tertinggi dan slogan terbaik akan mara ke peringkat separuh akhir.


2             Peringkat Separuh Akhir

i.              Tiga Puluh (30) peserta terbaik peringkat saringan akan bertanding di peringkat separuh akhir berkonsepkan TED Talks (Pengucapan awam)

ii.            Tajuk akan diberi lebih awal, masa menyampaikan pidato sekitar 10 minit. Sesi Ted Talks dijalankan dalam Bahasa Malaysia.

iii.           Pertandingan akan diadakan di Putrajaya (cadangan).

iv.           10 Peserta dengan markah tertinggi akan mara ke peringkat akhir.
 

3     Peringkat Akhir

i.              Sepuluh (10) peserta terbaik peringkat separuh akhir akan bertanding di peringkat  akhir berkonsepkan TED Talks (pengucapan awam)

ii.            Tajuk akan diberi lebih awal, masa menyampaikan pidato sekitar 10 - 15 minit. Sesi Ted Talks dijalankan dalam Bahasa Malaysia.

iii.           Pertandingan akhir akan diadakan di Putrajaya (cadangan).

Thursday, 12 February 2015

Malaysia’s ASEAN chairmanship priorities all in order

Author: Daniel Wu, Pacific Forum CSIS
ASEAN needs a ready and capable steward in 2015 and Malaysia looks to be in the right place at the right time. Malaysia has made clear that realising the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by the end of the year will be its main goal for its 2015 chairmanship of ASEAN. In this regard, a recent essay by Malaysia’s Minister of International Trade and Industry Mustapa Mohamed provides subtle but significant indicators of the government’s leadership objectives and the approach to accomplish this. While the essay by no means represents a definitive official policy statement, it provides an encouraging affirmation of the growing need to address non-tariff measures (NTMs) and to galvanise the concept of an ASEAN identity.
 Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad presents a souvenir to visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo as Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak looks on at the head office of automaker Proton Holdings Bhd. in Shah Alam outside Kuala Lumpur on 6 February 2015. (Photo: AAP)
First, Minister Mustapa makes clear that Malaysia will not avoid the crucial and politically sensitive task of addressing protectionist measures imposed by other ASEAN members. If successful here, Malaysia’s effort could help set expectations for a new standard of behaviour. This would help mitigate and nullify the most significant challenge that stands in ASEAN’s way to realising a region characterised by ‘free movement of goods, services, investment, skilled labour, and freer flow of capital’.
Protectionism in ASEAN — such as local content requirements, mandatory product standards and import restrictions — is rampant, and this is most remarkable for the trade in goods. Binding tariff elimination commitments under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) has resulted in duty-free treatment for more than 90 percent of tariff lines. ASEAN members generally have little recourse to shield unprepared or nascent local manufacturing industries from exposure towards the AEC.
Consequently, the number of NTMs imposed has grown even though they contravene the goals of the AEC and distort intra-regional trade. Despite commitments under the ATIGA to identify and eliminate NTMs, little to no progress has been made. Malaysia’s plans to prioritise this issue can help set the tone and momentum for ASEAN to conduct a serious and honest examination on NTMs.
Second, as Minister Mustapa rightly highlights, misinformation means there is persistent scepticism — especially from industry — about the tangible benefits (and costs) of liberalisation measures under the AEC. Consequently, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has stated that under Malaysia’s leadership, ‘the people must understand what actually ASEAN is and what ASEAN is doing’.
There has already been an effort to address the information gap. In November 2014, ASEAN foreign ministers launched the ASEAN Communication Master Plan (ACMP) to provide a framework for communicating the character, structure and overall vision of ASEAN to its stakeholders. While the publication sets a useful baseline, Malaysia’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) could help upgrade this effort. It could push for precise and actionable information to all of ASEAN, particularly concerning market access opportunities and preferential treatment from the AEC. Leading by example, MITI’s ‘Promoting Trade’ webpage is arguably one of the most updated and comprehensive sources of public information on trade agreements available today.
Malaysia will also seek to lead ASEAN in overcoming the rising backlash of nationalism against liberalisation under the AEC. The AEC has a public relations problem that has arisen not from the nature of free trade but from the way ASEAN member states have packaged it. Citizens feel disenfranchised and overlooked by the AEC.
Governments need to apply narrative that registers with the public and leads to a sense of ownership. In the near term, ASEAN will need to carefully assess and methodically build popular support for the next phase of the ASEAN integration process. Success will be essential for the ASEAN members to build support for greater economic integration under AEC 2025, which envisions an emphasis on a green economy, greater connectivity and common positions on global issues.
Finally, referring to the institution’s longstanding consensus-based and non-confrontational working style, Minister Mustapa stresses that the ASEAN processes will continue in the ‘ASEAN way’. This principle, which effectively grants veto power to each ASEAN member state, has met numerous criticisms. But it has helped ASEAN pursue regional liberalisation and integration, while ensuring that less-developed economies have an equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from them.
It is worth noting that Article 21(2) of the ASEAN Charter allows a sub-group of ASEAN member states to move forward on a regional effort if there is consensus to do so. While applications have been limited, the risk of creating a fragmented two-track, two-speed system remains. Certain ASEAN member states have continually lagged behind and have no capacity to participate in or debate different approaches. Malaysia’s back-to-basics approach through the ‘ASEAN way’ may reflect the interest in ensuring all ASEAN members are fully on board for future major regional integration efforts. More importantly, they will have the roadmap and resources to do so at the outset.
It would be unrealistic to expect Malaysia to overcome several years’ worth of delays and disagreements over non-compliance in the AEC implementation process. But MITI’s clear perspective on the leadership ASEAN needs provides a basis for optimism that ASEAN can focus its will and resources to implement the ‘last mile’ integration measures the region needs in 2015.
Daniel Wu is an international trade analyst based in Bangkok and a Non-Resident WSD-Handa fellow with Pacific Forum CSIS. All views expressed here are his own. 

source: http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2015/02/12/malaysias-asean-chairmanship-priorities-all-in-order/ 

Tuesday, 10 February 2015

Malaysia, Indonesia to pursue single time zone for ASEAN

Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/malaysia-indonesia-to/1641214.html

The plan to bring all of ASEAN under one common time zone instead of three has been supported in a joint news conference with the leaders of Malaysia and Indonesia.


KUALA LUMPUR: The leaders of Indonesia and Malaysia have agreed to pursue a single time zone for countries in the ASEAN region.
Speaking to reporters in Kuala Lumpur, Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said the idea would "enhance the spirit of ASEAN solidarity".
There are currently three different time zones spanning ASEAN – a 90-minute time difference between Myanmar in the west and Singapore and Malaysia in the east.
Indonesia is divided over the three time zones despite previous plans to implement a single zone for the country.
Singapore Foreign Minister K Shanmugam has previously indicated support for the idea, which was also discussed at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat in Kota Kinabalu on Jan 28.
Supporters say a single time zone would make regional banking more efficient, with coordinated opening times for banks and stock markets.

Wednesday, 21 January 2015

Malaysia to establish Asean Community by end of the year



PUTRAJAYA, Jan 21 — Malaysia as the chairman of Asean 2015 is set to create the Asean Community by December 31 this year, said Asean-Malaysia National Secretariat (AMNS) deputy director-general, Mohd Zamruni Khalid.

He said establishing the ........
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/malaysia-to-establish-asean-community-by-end-of-the-year#sthash.Q0EC4cgY