MBI Smiling Tiger Charged

MBI Group International Sdn Bhd founder Tedy Teow has been charged in a Sessions Court here for issuing electronic money without Bank Negara Malaysia's permission, Sin Chew Daily reported.

According to the charge sheet, MBI Marketing Sdn Bhd and Mface International Sdn Bhd issued electronic money between June 3, 2012 and March 17 this year without approval under Section 25(1)(c) of Payment Systems Act 2003.

Teow, as the person in-charge of these two companies, is allegedly in violation of Section 25(1), read together with Section 58(1) of the Act. He can be punished under Section 56(1) of the Act, which carries a fine of not more than RM5mil, or a jail term not exceeding five years, or both, if convicted. Teow, 52, pleaded not guilty and bail was set at RM60,000.

Hasibuan Fashion & Holy Scam

An Indonesian fashion designer who shot to global fame with her Muslim-themed collection was sentenced to 18 years in prison for a multimillion-dollar fraud and money laundering. A court near Jakarta convicted Anniesa Hasibuan (pic), 31, and her husband of cheating customers who booked pilgrimage trips to Islam’s holiest city Mecca through a travel agency they operated. 

The pair were accused of bilking thousands of clients out of at least 848 billion rupiah (RM240mil), a steep fall from grace for Hasibuan who had become a household name in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country.

In 2016, Hasibuan’s collection was shown at New York Fashion Week where all her runway models wore hijab head scarves and Muslim-inspired designs, a first for the prestigious event.

Hasibuan and her husband Andika Surachman established Jakarta-based First Travel in 2009 to operate trips to Saudi Arabia. But it had not sent any clients to Mecca since early last year despite being paid for them, the court heard. The court fined Hasibuan 10 billion rupiah (RM2.8mil) and sentenced her spouse to 20 years in prison. He was slapped with the same fine.

Prosecutors had demanded 20-year prison terms for both.

“(The defendants) have been proven legally and convincingly guilty of committing a criminal act together,” said presiding judge Sobandi, who goes by one name.

Hasibuan’s works have also been featured at shows in London, Istanbul and Cannes, but New York Fashion Week cemented her status as a rising star in the fashion world.

She is also well-known for her lavish lifestyle, regularly posting pictures of herself and her husband travelling abroad and wearing expensive clothing.

PTPTN - U-Turn

National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) borrowers earning less than RM4,000 a month will have to continue paying their loans for now.

Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik said the Pakatan Harapan Government has to postpone its promise as the country is saddled with more debt than what was revealed by the previous administration.

"The ministry needs more time to find the best way to fulfil this promise," he told reporters after presenting offer letters to SPM school leavers to public universities and matriculation centres at his office on Thursday (May 31).

Pakatan's election manifesto included delaying PTPTN loan repayments for those earning RM4,000 and below.

In the past, borrowers were required to start paying back their loans six months after graduation.

Bitkingdom Scam - Datuk Detained

Police yesterday detained the husband of a local television drama actress to facilitate investigation into the alleged GWGFX foreign exchange (forex) and Bitcoin Bitkingdom scams with losses amounting to RM13.9 million.

A police source said the man was picked up when he came to have his statement recorded at the Anti-Money Laundering Crime Investigation Unit, IGP Secretariat at Menara 238 in Jalan Tun Razak here at about noon.

“The remand application will be made tomorrow,” he said when contacted here.

Meanwhile, the unit’s chief, Datuk Khalil Azlan Chik confirmed the arrest when contacted.

On May 14, police detained the 35-year-old owner of a movie production company with the honorific title ‘Datuk’ in connection with the same case.

ANZ Offload OnePath To Cigna

ANZ has agreed to sell its OnePath Life insurance operation for $700 million to rival insurer Cigna. The sale would need to be approved by regulators, and did not include its KiwiSaver operation.

The deal would see Cigna become the insurer behind the life, trauma and critical illness policies of 186,000 or so customers.

Policyholders unhappy with the sale can switch to rival insurers, though as people aged they sometimes develop medical conditions that can make it hard to switch insurer while maintaining the same level of cover.

ANZ chief executive David Hisco said the sale included a 20-year strategic alliance for Cigna to provide insurance for ANZ's customers and was consistent with ANZ's strategy to simplify its business.

"Under this agreement, ANZ will continue to provide life insurance to our customers but these insurance policies will now be manufactured and managed by a world-class insurance provider in Cigna," he said.

"This is consistent with how we provide motor vehicle, home, commercial and travel insurance using a range of specialist insurance partners."

OnePath Life policyholders in New Zealand would continue to receive the cover they hold under the terms of their policies. OnePath staff would be offered roles with Cigna, or other roles in the bank.​

Cigna New Zealand chief executive Gail Costa said: "This acquisition will enable us to provide broader solutions and be more agile and responsive to a larger customer base."

The sale remains subject to regulatory approval and is expected to complete later this year, or early next.

Cigna already provided insurance to BNZ customers, said Costa. Not all of the policies that would transfer to Cigna were bought by ANZ's bank customers. Onepath also sold policies through insurance advisers.

Bank insurers have been extremely profitable operations, but Onepath had declined in profitability.

Its financial statements for the year to the end of September 2017 showed a profit after tax of $32.3m. In the previous financial year its profit after tax was $103m, though that includes proceeds from the sale of its health insurance business to nib.

OnePath Life was founded in 2001 as Club Life by Naomi Ballantyne, who went on to found Partners Life, which now competes with Onepath.

ANZ bought it in 2003 in a joint venture with Dutch company ING.

The bank bought out ING in 2009, and rebranded the business to Onepath Life in 2010.

Ewwwww Dirty Restaurant At Bangsar

The management of Raj’s Banana Leaf, an Indian banana leaf restaurant in Bangsar, has apologised for the hygiene at its outlet, after staff were filmed washing plates with dirty water.

The management issued the apology hours after the video went viral today, but did not say when the incident happened. The management blamed new staff who were caught washing plates in what appeared to be the back lane of the restaurant.

The workers rinsed and washed the plates with dirty, stagnant water.

https://youtu.be/C6Px8se15XQ

Man Sentenced To Death For Killing Intruder

A businessman was sentenced to death by Malaysia’s High Court here today for murdering a man in December 2015.

The punishment was meted out by Judge Datuk Zainal Azman Ab Aziz after the accused, Mohamad Zulkifli Ismail, 53, was found guilty of murder under Section 302 of the country’ Penal Code.

Zulkifli was charged with the murder of metal scrap collector Zulkefle Abdullah, 37 on Dec 7, 2015.

Zulkifli was also sentenced to 14 years in prison for causing grievous hurt to Zulkefle’s associate Faizul Awang, 34, at the same time, day and location.

Zainal Azman in his ruling said the defence failed to prove that the accused was acting in self-defence.

The judge said the accused could have fled the area if he was attacked as the home was fenceless.

“During the incident, the accused had a mobile phone but he did not use it to call for help. If the victim fled, the accused could have called for help as the incident happened nearby the main road.

“The defence claimed there was an act of provocation but there was the distance between the accused and the victims was quite far, so the issue of provocation does not arise.

“The accused claimed he injured the victims by accident but investigations showed that the stab wounds found on the victims’ right chests were inflicted on purpose.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ahmad Fadhli Mahmud and Syazwani Zawawi prosecuted while the accused was represented by Aizzul Shariman Mat Yusoff and Ariff Azami Hussein.

Before handing down the sentence, Zainal Azman said he took into account the public’s interest, adding that the punishment should serve as a lesson to the people. He also reminded members of the public not to make the same mistake when facing similar situations.

“When faced with such a situation, contact the police and let them carry out their duty.”

Present were Mohamad Zulkifli’s family members. It was reported that Mohamad Zukifli used a parang (a type of knife) and attacked two men who had entered his home.i.

Fake Buddhist Monk

An actress-turned-lawyer who launched a crusade to expose fake monks has struck again. This time she confronted an impostor soliciting donations in London, who she cornered and forced to disrobe on the street. The man vowed to convert to Buddhism on the spot. In 2015, Mary Jean Reimer accused Sik Chi-ding, the abbess of Ting Wai Monastery in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district, of pocketing millions of Hong Kong dollars in donations, and of sham marriages with two monks for residency purposes. The nun and a monk were later arrested on suspicion of engaging in a bogus marriage.

Six ways to tell whether a monk is real or fake

1. In general, monks from real temples do not solicit money on the streets (though a Mahayana monk may solicit donations to cover the costs of his travel).

2. Anyone holding a monk’s bowl to solicit money on the streets is fake, as the bowl is only for food in Buddhism.

3. Anyone who hustles on the street selling amulets and other fortunetelling products such as paper medallions or bead bracelets is fake.

4. Buddhist rules forbid monks from engaging in geomancy, face or palm reading, or any activities related to feng shui.

5. Real monks do not act aggressively, and would happily offer blessings without asking for anything in return.

6. Genuine monks will be willing to answer questions about which temple they belong to and Buddhism in general (such as about the Five Precepts), and recite Buddhist incantations.

Prudential Technical Erroneous Deductions

Insurance company Prudential said on Saturday (May 26) that it is "doing everything possible" to prevent a repeat of the incident on Thursday that saw erroneous deductions being made from policyholders' accounts. 

On Thursday, multiple Prudential policyholders approached Channel NewsAsia and took to social media to complain about "unauthorized fund transfers" and deductions of 100 times their premium amounts being made from their bank accounts.

Prudential issued a statement that evening saying that the incident was caused by a "technical error".

All affected accounts were fully refunded within 24 hours, said Prudential Singapore CEO Wilf Blackburn in a letter to customers on Saturday. 

"While we cannot undo the anxiety and inconvenience that you must have gone through, we are doing everything possible to make sure this doesn't happen again," Mr Blackburn added.

Mr Blackburn also said that the insurer will be giving S$100 to every customer whose GIRO deduction date fell on May 24 as a "sign of appreciation" for their patience and support.

Product Syariah Potensi Besar

Potensi dan pasar asuransi syariah nasional masih sangat besar, namun belum dioptimalkan secara maksimal. Besarnya jumlah umat muslim di Indonesia menjadi hal penting sehingga PT Asuransi Jiwa Central Asia (CAR Life Insurance) meluncurkan produk syariah terbaru bernama Asuransi CAR Wakaf Sakinah.

"Dari jumlah penduduk Indonesia 220 juta, pemegang asuransi syariah masih minim. Kalau kita ambil dua atau tiga persen dari jumlah itu (umat muslim), sudah menjadi bisnis besar yang bisa dikelola. Saat ini saja nasabah CAR konvensional ada 2 juta dan kita untuk tahap awal mengambil pasar kecil dulu," ungkap Direktur Marketing CAR Life Insurance Jos Chandra Irawan kepada wartawan, Senin (07/05/2018).

Jos Chandra menjelaskan bulan suci Ramadan juga menjadi momentum guna menarik calon nasabah lebih besar karena memberi kesempatan masyarakat beribadah melalui wakaf. Sebab, sebanyak 45 persen dari total uang pertanggungan nasabah akan diwakafkan melalui lembaga profesional dan hasilnya digunakan bagi kemaslahatan umat.

"Kesadaran umat muslim untuk beribadah saat ini semakin tinggi. Terbukti, banyaknya keinginan untuk umroh sembari menunggu kesempatan berhaji. Ditambah maraknya kelompok pengajian terutama dari kelas ekonomi menengah yang tidak hanya menjadi pasar potensial, namun memberi kesempatan masyarakat untuk berwakaf," tandasnya.

Dia menjelaskan wakaf sakinah akan dijual melalui chanel distribusi agency dan Yogyakarta menjadi kota kedua untuk memperkenalkan produk ini. Hal terpenting kehadiranya menjawab kebutuhan masyarakat terhadap produk asuransi syariah yang murni.

Advisor Syariah CAR Life Insurance Syakir Sulla menjamin wakaf sakinah merupakan produk asli asuransi syariah karena memberikan jaminan wakaf. Produk ini juga bukan produk konvensional yang menghilangkan unsur riba atau ghoror sehingga mempengaruhi umat muslim untuk membelinya.

"Wakaf sakinah sudah mendapapatkan izin dan selalu dilaporkan OJK. Termasuk dewan pengawas syariah. Selama ini, masyarakat muslim menantikan produk syariah asli dan bukan tercampur dalam asuransi umum. Produk inilah jawab keraguan publik saat ini," tandasnya.