Latest news with #Guidelines2025
Free Malaysia Today
31-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Free Malaysia Today
Karyawan applies to intervene in judicial reviews of new copyright guidelines
Karyawan president Freddie Fernandez reiterated the association's full support for the Copyright (Collective Management Organisations) Guidelines 2025. PETALING JAYA : The Malaysian Artistes' Association (Karyawan) is seeking to be made a party to judicial review proceedings initiated by three collective management organisations (CMOs) challenging a new regulatory framework expected to take effect next year. In a statement, Karyawan president Freddie Fernandez said the association had instructed its lawyers to file applications to intervene in two separate judicial review actions seeking to quash the Copyright (Collective Management Organisations) Guidelines 2025. 'The guidelines stemmed from years of complaints by music authors, singers and composers who felt their voices were not being heard in the management of royalty collection and distribution. 'We have instructed our lawyers to file an intervener application on our behalf to support the government's guidelines, as they will finally give us a voice in determining how royalty-collecting bodies should be managed,' he said. Fernandez reiterated the association's full support for the guidelines, introduced by the domestic trade and cost of living ministry, which aim to establish a more equitable and transparent royalty collection system for the benefit of composers, singers and musicians. On July 1, the Kuala Lumpur High Court granted leave to two CMOs – Public Performance Malaysia Bhd (PPM) and Recording Performers Malaysia Bhd (RPM) – to commence judicial review proceedings over the guidelines. The court also fixed Aug 7 to hear the application by PPM and RPM to stay the enforcement of the guidelines pending the disposal of the lawsuit. The two CMOs named the controller of copyright, MyIPO, and the domestic trade and cost of living minister as respondents in their application. They claim the guidelines – scheduled to come into force on Jan 16, 2026 – were drawn up and issued by the respondents without proper consultation. They also alleged the guidelines contain provisions that exceeded the powers vested by law in the controller. On July 10, Music Authors Copyright Protection Bhd (MACP) was also granted leave by the High Court to commence a judicial review over the same guidelines. Justice Amarjeet Singh, who also presided over PPM and RPM's case, fixed Aug 19 to hear MACP's application to stay the enforcement of the guidelines pending the disposal of the lawsuit.
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Business Standard
23-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Irdai proposes internal ombudsman to address claims up to ₹50 lakh
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) on Wednesday proposed the establishment of an internal insurance ombudsman for insurance companies (except reinsurers) with over three years of operations, to address unresolved complaints. The ombudsman will have the authority to hear complaints for claims up to Rs 50 lakh. The insurance regulator said it has proposed to issue the IRDAI (Internal Insurance Ombudsman) Guidelines 2025 to facilitate effective and speedy grievance resolution and to further improve complaint management standards. In its press release, Irdai said: 'The draft guidelines propose the establishment of an independent and impartial review mechanism within insurers to address unresolved or escalated complaints in a fair, transparent, and time-bound manner. Applicable to all insurers (except reinsurers) with more than three years of operations, the framework mandates the appointment of an internal insurance ombudsman to address complaints involving claims up to Rs 50 lakh.' 'Insurers may also appoint more than one internal insurance ombudsman, with well-defined jurisdiction, to ensure effective coverage and responsiveness,' Irdai added. According to the draft, a person shall be qualified for the appointment of internal insurance ombudsman only if they have served for at least 20 years in the insurance industry and held a post not less than two levels below that of a board director. The person must not be currently working with, or have previously worked with, the insurer or companies in the group to which the insurer belongs. The appointment shall be for a fixed term of three years or until the age of 70, whichever is earlier. The minimum age at the time of appointment shall not be less than 55 years. The ombudsman will report administratively to the managing director or chief executive officer of the insurer and functionally to the board or the Policyholders' Protection and Grievance Redressal and Customer Management (PPGR & CM) Committee. As per the proposed norms, the internal insurance ombudsman will consider complaints that have not been responded to within 30 days of receipt, complaints that have been partly or wholly rejected, and cases in which complainants have preferred an appeal. In each case, the ombudsman must record a 'reasoned decision', which shall be binding on the insurer. Irdai further stated: 'A complainant aggrieved by the decision of the internal insurance ombudsman of an insurer may, within 30 days of the date of receipt of communication of the decision, prefer an appeal before the insurance ombudsman in accordance with the Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017.' The guidelines will come into effect within three months of the date of their issuance. All stakeholders have been asked to submit their comments and suggestions on the proposed regulations on or before August 17, 2025.
Express Tribune
07-07-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Sick units' debt reduction delayed
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has termed judicial process slow and time consuming that delays debt restructuring and further plunges industries into financial distress. In the SBP Guidelines 2025 for the revival of sick industrial units submitted to the federal government, the central bank has said that for industrial units in financial stress, debt restructuring is hindered by several critical issues. The judicial process, as the first course of action, is slow and time consuming, "further pushing industries into distress," and secondly, lending to distressed debtors largely depends on the ability of lenders to find uncollateralised assets – an uncommon and discouraged practice, it said. "Banks remain reluctant to offer new financing to struggling borrowers," the guidelines said, adding that banks face an upfront charge on new funding extended to revive non-performing/stressed units. Furthermore, public sector banks are restricted from independently writing off debt linked with principal amounts, contributing to hesitancy in balance sheet cleanup. A leading indicator of financial stress for companies is the ratio and amount of non-performing loans (NPLs). While the NPL ratio slightly improved in 2024, the amount of bad loans remained at a historic level. Between 2006 and 2015, Pakistan's NPLs showed a rising trend – both in absolute terms and as a percentage of total advances. NPLs increased from Rs177 billion in 2006 to a peak of Rs618 billion in 2012, before slightly declining and stabilising at Rs605 billion in 2014 and 2015. The NPL ratio rose from 7% in 2006 to a high of 16% in 2011, reflecting the deteriorating credit quality. Meanwhile, the Karachi Inter-bank Offered Rate (Kibor) fluctuated during the period, peaking at 14.2% in 2008 and declining to 6.8% by 2015, which indicated a shift in monetary policy. The financing for sick units will be applicable to all scheduled banks and development finance institutions (DFIs) operating in Pakistan, with special emphasis on government-owned financial institutions. The proposed SBP guidelines are projected to eliminate ambiguity by providing a formal and accountable structure. This framework allows government-owned financial institutions to conduct debt restructuring and offer principal haircuts with audit protection, thereby enabling them to support revival of sick industrial units effectively. These guidelines are consistent with the legal provisions contained in Section 296 of the Companies Ordinance 1984, Section 43 of the Companies Act 1997 and Companies Rules 1999 (for out-of-court rehabilitation forwarded by the bankers' committee) to enable the restructuring and revival of non-performing, sick or dormant industrial units through targeted loan settlements (including principal haircuts where necessary) and structured rescheduling or resumption of debt servicing based on viability. This is also aimed at establishing a formal mechanism to encourage government-owned financial institutions to participate in debt resolution and cleanup of bank balance sheets, improvement of lending ecosystem and reactivation of idle capacity in the real economy. A significant proportion of Pakistan's industrial capacity remains underutilised due to financial distress and prolonged loan defaults. While private banks have undertaken loan settlements and haircuts to clean up their balance sheets, government-owned banks have remained risk averse due to audit fears, the lack of enabling guidelines and rigid accountability structures. These guidelines are envisaged to correct the imbalance by providing clear, accountable and transparent criteria for debt settlement and revival of such accounts. To become eligible, the borrowing entity must be engaged in a registered industrial or commercial activity (eg manufacturing, agribusiness, logistics, energy and services). It must be assessed as a "sick industrial unit," which is a manufacturing concern that has defaulted on repayments of outstanding debt to banking companies and/or non-banking financial institutions for four consecutive quarters immediately prior to the date of consideration. The entity's loan accounts must be classified as NPLs for a minimum of 12 months. The unit must have remained closed, idle or operated at less than 30% of its designed capacity for at least one year. Borrowers adjudicated as fraudsters are excluded. A detailed revival and business viability plan, supported by financial projections, demand analysis and working capital requirements, must be submitted by the borrower, the SBP said.
The Star
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Malaysian musicians and artistes unhappy three main music collective bodies taking action against new govt guidelines
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian musicians and those working in the music industry were left perplexed on Sunday when it was announced that three royalty collection bodies, or Collective Management Organisations (CMO) as they are widely known, have decided to take the government to court in order to the oppose new guidelines set by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living and the Intellectual Property Organisation of Malaysia. Several rounds of meetings and discussions were held with the Intellectual Property Corporation or MyIPO, leading to the development of the guidelines and the subsequent announcement by the Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali on 17th March 2025. The three CMOs however, have taken to the courts in their attempt to obstruct the implementation of the new guidelines. In fact, the case will be coming up for mention on Tuesday (July 1) at the KL Courts in Jalan Duta. The three bodies that have taken the court action against the government namely the KPDN Minister and MyIpo are Music Authors' Copyright Protection or MACP of which the Chairman is legendary composer Datuk M. Nasir, Recording Performers Malaysia or RPM of which the Chairman is Datuk Sheila Majid and Public Performance Malaysia or PPM whose Chairman is Rosmin Hashim. In a recent joint statement to the media, MACP, PPM and RPM said the guidelines undermined their autonomy and were not aligned with existing laws. The three bodies also added that the new CMO Guidelines of 2025 could negatively impact copyright holders, having been published without their consultation. The guidelines, issued by the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO) on Jan 17, were intended to improve the governance and operations of collective management organisations. In a special press conference set by the Malaysian Artistes' Association (Karyawan) in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, many artistes, composers and musicians said they were shocked, perplexed and unhappy with the decisions of the three CMOs to undertake this legal action against the Minister and the government. Karyawan President Datuk Freddie Fernandez said "Based on ongoing complaints from music artists and users of music, as well as the result of various engagement sessions with rights holders, CMO's and music users which began in 2023, MyIPO then published the Guidelines 2025 in January this year. "The new guidelines are excellent. They address many of the issues faced by music creators in ensuring they are treated fairly when it comes to voting rights and also provides for greater transparency and accountability from the bodies," said Freddie. "So the move by the three CMOs to take this sort of court action against the government is perplexing to say the least, especially when the majority of the members of the three organizations are extremely satisfied with the guidelines and grateful to the government for listening to their grievances and addressing them in the guidelines," said Freddie. Almost all of the 50 musicians and artistes who were present at the gathering, comprising members of the three CMO's said they were also not informed of the decision of the three CMOs to take the government to court in this manner. Ad Samad, Malaysia's well-known composer/lyricist, said he was deeply shocked with the decision of the three bodies. "We (the members) from the three bodies were just not told about this decision to take the government to court. We have no idea whose decision it is but this is exactly why we need the guidelines. "To prevent the managements of the bodies from taking this sort of unilateral action against the will of the members. "These new guidelines ultimately help and support the artistes and music composers and ensure their rights are protected, besides giving them a voice in how the CMO's are run" said Ad, who with other musicians on Sunday signed a memorandum to support the new guidelines. "At the end of the day, we just want the new guidelines to be implemented as it is for the good of all music creators in the country." Another well-respected musician and composer in the country, Zaim Zaidee, said in the last two decades there had been many issues on the rights of the musicians and artists in the past and the new guidelines will address many of these issues. "The MyIPO sorted out many things for many artists and those in the music industry. This decision by the CMO's in taking the government to court does not make sense and on top of that it was done without the knowledge of the members of the CMO's. But we are here today, to ensure that everyone knows that many of us in the industry do fully support the new guidelines" said Zaim. Music director and video specialist Cheb Ali also said that the new guidelines are the right move for all those in the industry. "I'm a member of MACP as well as RPM. This move by the three CMO's has been confusing because first they said they were not involved in the set-up of the new guidelines and then they also said their input were not included properly in the guidelines. Many of the members are not really sure what they and the other two bodies are actually saying. "And now this court move. We are very concerned with the way the three bodies are taking this form of action without referring the matter first to the members to seek their views. At the recent AGM of MACP last week, all our efforts to seek clarification were ignored. Ultimately the new MyIPO guidelines are the best for the all those in the music industry. There is nothing else to it," said Cheb. Meanwhile, Freddie also added: 'We need the government and the courts to be aware that the majority of the 8,000 artistes and composers who are members of these organisations do not support this court action against these government guidelines. "We stand firmly behind the KPDN Minister and MyIpo in this matter. Once these guidelines are implemented this sort of unilateral action by the management of the CMO's will hopefully no longer be possible and we can look forward to greater accountability and transparency from all CMO's in the future."
