Is Petronas An Ungrateful Child of Malaysia?

JULY 12 — In early June Petronas hinted publicly at the World Gas Conference that it is tired of being the Malaysian government’s cash cow. It said no to fuel subsidy and last year it said it wanted to pay less dividends!

Is Petronas ungrateful? The money belongs to the rakyat anyway and hence the government.

While many have attempted to comment on the sustainability of Petronas’ payouts, this article aims to give some insights into the realities of the local oil and gas industry, and why returning all oil harvests back to Malaysians may not be to the benefit of Malaysians themselves in the longer run.

In 1974, Petronas, fully owned by the government of Malaysia, was established and given full ownership and control of our petroleum reserves. Today, it has evolved into a fully integrated oil and gas multinational corporation, ranked among Fortune 500’s largest and most profitable oil and gas corporations with a total workforce of more than 30,000.

Compensation Planning for your Employees

By F. John Reh , About.com Guide

Compensation - what you pay someone to entice them to continue to do work for your company - is a critical facet of any manager's job.

Often, unless you are the president or owner of the company, you have others helping you deal with compensation issues - like a human resources department or consultant.

Compensation includes many things beyond straight salary. It also includes benefits, perks, stock options, etc. You have to balance what these cost against what your employees perceives as their value, and that varies by employee.

You have to measure compensation levels against other employees in the company, against other employees in other companies in similar positions, and against performance.

Making Money from Hobbies

By Eugene Mahalingam

A hobby can be more than just a pleasant past-time activity. With some effort and perhaps a little bit of luck, it can make you money. One famous example is Famous Amos, the popular US-based cookie company.

While not many will strike gold with their hobbies like the founder of Famous Amos, here are some examples of individuals who have managed to turn their favourite past-times into decent money churners.

Adelyn Koh currently owns and runs the Junk Book Store, which, according to the Malaysia Book of Records, is the biggest second-hand bookstore in the country.

But the idea of selling second-hand books actually started from a hobby, or rather passion for old books, says Koh.

Adelyn Koh with one of the old books available at the store.