Latest news with #138
Borneo Post
22-05-2025
- Business
- Borneo Post
Sarawak State Assembly approves two Supplementary Supply Bills
Tabled by Uggah, the Bills were the Supplementary Supply (2024) Bill involving an allocation of RM153,769,197 and the Supplementary Supply (2025) Bill for RM237,660,520. – Photo by Roystein Emmor KUCHING (May 22): The Sarawak State Legislative Assembly has unanimously passed two Supplementary Supply Bills involving a total of RM391,429,717 for additional expenditure that was not covered in previous allocations. The Bills, tabled by Deputy Premier and Second State Minister for Finance and New Economy Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, were the Supplementary Supply (2024) Bill involving an allocation of RM153,769,197 and the Supplementary Supply (2025) Bill for RM237,660,520. According to Uggah, the Supplementary Supply (2024) is to meet the cost of various services incurred by various Ministries and Departments for which funds were not provided for or insufficiently provided for in the 2024 estimates. Meanwhile, he said the Supplementary Supply (2025) seeks additional expenditure, among others, a total sum of RM100,000,000 required by the Department of the Premier of Sarawak to cater for rental of air-chartered services due to increased activities. 'A total sum of RM72,264,000 is required by the Sarawak Ministry of Education, Innovation and Talent Development to cater for a special Pocket Money Initiative at RM1,200 per Sarawakian student pursuing a diploma or bachelor's degree in higher education institutions throughout Malaysia. 'A total sum of RM62,271,138 is required by the following Ministries and Departments to cover payment for special monthly allowance, Bantuan Insentif Sara Hidup, to all Sarawak civil servants effective January 2025,' he added. – Bernama douglas uggah embas DUN Supplementary Supply Bills
TimesLIVE
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Shareholders demand VW reforms its ‘highly problematic' governance
Volkswagen's shareholders renewed their criticism of the carmaker's corporate governance on Friday, demanding greater board independence and expressing growing concern over the dominance of the German company's controlling families. At the carmaker's virtual annual general meeting, several major investors took aim at CEO Oliver Blume's dual role as head of Volkswagen and Porsche AG, a contentious issue since Porsche's listing as a separate company in September 2022. "Mr Blume, again we make the urgent appeal: give up one of your board positions," said Ingo Speich of Deka Investment, stating conflicts of interest across the carmaker's governance structure were "highly problematic" and causing "grave damage to reputation and enormous financial losses.." Volkswagen's share price has dropped by nearly 25% in the past year from €140.40 (R2,842) to €105.6 (R2,138), underperforming the European autos index and Germany's DAX, according to LSEG data. The carmaker, which warned last month it would likely hit the bottom end of its annual profit margin forecast, is battling challenges in all its key markets, from steep tariffs in the US to fierce competition in China and high costs in Europe. 'Blatant deficiencies' The Porsche and Piech families effectively control Volkswagen through their holding firm Porsche SE, which holds most of the voting rights in the Wolfsburg-based carmaker. Wolfgang Porsche, who leads the supervisory boards of Porsche SE and sportscar maker Porsche AG, has previously dismissed the idea that poor governance is to blame for the carmaker's languishing share price, instead blaming weak performance and high costs. However, four investors argued that a lack of expertise on the board in key competencies such as electrification and digitalisation were holding back the carmaker. "The impression is becoming stronger that power, rather than the market, dominates at VW," said Hendrik Schmidt from asset manager DWS. Blume and supervisory board chair Hans Dieter Poetsch defended the CEO's dual role on Friday, saying it benefited cost-cutting efforts underway at the two companies. "It was clear from the beginning that [my dual role] was not intended to last forever," Blume said. "The dual role is a recipe for success." Investors are not so sure.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Fearing flight hazards, bill would end some habitat protections at Maine airports
A grasshopper sparrow. (Photo by Karen Parker/Florida Fish and Wildlife) A grasshopper sparrow has made itself a home at the Eastern Slope Regional Airport in Fryeburg. While the presence of that particular bird is precious given its status as an endangered species in Maine it's also become somewhat of a nuisance for the airport. Maine Sen. Rick Bennett (R-Oxford) said he considers himself a champion of the environment, but the situation with that sparrow has prompted him to propose certain wildlife regulations be rolled back because of the risk animals can pose to pilots and passengers at airports. The environmental community, on the other hand, worries the change would set a dangerous precedent for eroding conservation and environmental protection standards elsewhere in the state. Bennett's bill, LD 138, seeks to exempt airports from certain habitat protections for animals on Maine's endangered and threatened species list. During a hearing Monday, he spoke of the safety risks birds and other wildlife can pose at airports, specifically mentioning the federal database that tracks all wildlife strikes to aircraft. It lists more than 1,000 strikes reported in Maine since 1990. 'While we have a duty to protect threatened and endangered species, we also owe it to the people flying throughout Maine to ensure their flights are as safe as possible,' Bennett told the Legislature's Environment and Natural Resources Committee during a public hearing on the bill. Airports, the municipalities that run them and the federal agencies that regulate them work to reduce safety hazards, said Rep. Ann Fredericks (R-Sanford), who co-sponsored the bill. However, Fredericks argued state laws work against this by encouraging habitat conservation at airports. Airports occupy about 8,000 of the more than 22 million acres that make up Maine, Fredericks said in her testimony before the committee, calling the proposal a 'small exemption for human safety.' There are currently 57 threatened or endangered species in Maine, according to the list kept by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Bennett's bill is specifically intended to protect aviation, he said, so the committee should narrow the language if necessary to ensure the exemption doesn't extend to entities other than airports. Nate Webb, who serves as wildlife division director for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, said while the agency appreciates the intent of the bill, it would set a concerning precedent of exempting certain developments from conservation laws. Webb said the department has reviewed about 100 permit applications for airports since 2012 and has never recommended that the developments not proceed due to wildlife concerns. Rather, he said the department has recommended steps to avoid or minimize impacts to threatened species. Concern over a slippery slope of exemptions was echoed by environmental organizations including the Maine Audubon and Natural Resources Council of Maine, which testified in opposition because of the bill's potential to erode conservation standards amid documented biodiversity loss. Bangor International Airport Director Jose Saavedra spoke in support of the bill, saying he is concerned about the safety of the more than 740,000 passengers and crew members who rely on the airport each year. According to the federal database, there were seven aircraft-wildlife collisions reported at the Bangor airport last year. Saavedra said the airport supports the goals of the Maine Endangered Species Act but they are not the 'appropriate environment to foster endangered species habitats, as doing so creates unnecessary risks for passengers, pilots and crews.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
