Beijing is home to the world's most billionaires, edging New York City out

 

Night view of Central Business District with the new CCTV Tower, right, and other skyscrapers and high-rise office buildings in Beijing. Beijing is home to the world's most billionaires, pushing New York City out of the top slot. [Photo/IC]

Story Highlights:

--Beijing is home to 100 billionaires

--Wang Jianlin of Dalian Wanda is the richest Chinese

--China overtakes the US with the most billionaires

Beijing is home to the world's most billionaires, pushing New York City out of the top slot it had held for years, according to a Shanghai-based research and media outlet that keeps track of the world's wealthiest.

Despite a slowing economy, the Chinese capital added 32 billionaires, bringing its total to 100 and New York added four, giving it 95 billionaires, according to the Hurun Global Rich List 2016.

Moscow came in third with 66, and Hong Kong and Shanghai came in fourth and fifth with 64 and 50, respectively, Hurun said in its ranking of US dollar billionaires as of Jan 15.

Wang Jianlin of Dalian Wanda, one of China's top real estate developers, was the wealthiest Beijing resident with a net worth of $26 billion.

New York's top billionaires were businessman David Koch and Michael Bloomberg, the city's former mayor and media company owner. His wealth increased $16 billion to $37 billion, according to Hurun. Another city resident whose wealth increased is Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump. He added $5 billion to go to $6.5 billion.

While China has passed the US with the most billionaires, the Hurun report noted that none of the richest billionaires are from China. Eight of the world's 11 wealthiest, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates, the world's wealthiest with $80 billion, Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett, Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg are from the US.

And the combined net worth of US billionaires is still nearly double that of Chinese billionaires, for a total of $2.4 trillion, just a little less than the GDP of France, according to the report.

Rupert Hoogewerf, the founder of Hurun, said initial public offerings are behind the rapid expansion of Chinese wealth.

In October, China overtook the US for the first time as the country with the most billionaires within its borders. About 568 billionaires now live in China and 535 in the US.

Hoogewerf said the number of billionaires for the rest of the world was held back by a slowdown in the global economy, the strengthening of the US dollar and the drop in oil prices. - China Daily/Asia News Network


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English not only language of science and mathematics

The Malaysian Education Ministry should review the way English is taught and find ways and means to improve it, rather than rehashing the failed PPSMI in the guise of the DLP

SINCE my name was mentioned in the letter “A common medium” (The Star, Feb 18) by Datin Noor Azimah on the Dual Language Programme (DLP), I would like to respond to some of the issues raised by her on why we should continue the DLP.

First of all, I beg to differ with Noor Azimah’s notion that English is the only language of science. All her arguments about the dominance of English in scientific communications merely show that English has become the de facto communication language of science but not the only language in which established science could be taught and new science could be discovered.

Major scientific discoveries of the 20th century such as the Relativity Theory of Einstein that has enhanced our understanding of the huge expanse of space in the universe and the Quantum Theory of Heisenberg and Bohr that let us understand properties of the very tiny nanoscale structures and of atoms, were discovered in German, the language of the discoverers and not in English.

Both theories underlie almost all subsequent scientific discoveries including the very recent discovery of gravitational waves by LIGO that vindicated Einstein’s Relativity.

According to the Princeton historian of science, Prof Michael Godin in his new book, Scientific Babel, English became the dominant language of scientific communication only recently, in the last 60 years, at the expense of the previous triumvirate of scientific communication languages, English, French and German.

The Anglicization of scientific communication started much earlier by the boycott of German scientists by Western European and American scientists who published in French and English in between the World Wars. German science was further decimated by the defeat in the Second World War and many German scientists were brought over to work for America and to use English in their work.

The dominance of the United Kingdom and American publishers in scientific publications after the War squeezed out French as a scientific communication language and literally forced the English language down the throat of the scientific community, who otherwise would have continued to publish in either German, French or English as was the practice before the War. As a world-ranked scientist at the top of my own field as attested by Thomson Reuters’ World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds 2016, and as a professor in chemical engineering for 36 years at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), I have taught many generations of Malaysian chemical engineers in Bahasa Melayu and have supervised successfully many MSc and PhD students, who used Bahasa Melayu in the practice of world class science in UKM’s labs and in the reporting of the scientific results in their thesis.

External examiners from other universities in Malaysia were amazed and surprised but enthusiastic that world class science could be done and reported in Bahasa Melayu very well. The students then rewrote their research results in English for publication in world renowned journals.

Hence, English does not contribute anything to the science but merely as translations or rewrites of it. Since the MSc and PhD students are among the brightest of the lot, they have no problem in communicating their scientific results in Bahasa Melayu or English at international conferences with confidence because their scientific works are world class.

Renowned scientists look for the science not the language in their presentations and papers because scientific talent is rare and far between whereas the language of communication can be easily learned on the job.

Their scientific education in Bahasa Melayu at UKM did not prevent many of my students from going on to become successful professional engineers in industry and excellent lecturers and world class scientists with many of them becoming professors and world leaders in their fields of research.

One of them in particular, Prof Dr Siti Kartom Kamarudin, a true blue alumnus of UKM who graduated from UKM with BEng, MSc and PhD all in Bahasa Melayu, is also sharing the same accolade with me as one of the World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds 2016.

The Malaysian PhD candidate at Glasgow University from the International Islamic University Malaysia, Hafizah Noor Isa who was involved in the seminal detection of gravitational waves recently, was taught science in Bahasa Melayu in primary and secondary school. Her Bahasa Melayu background does not impair her ability to do world class science at all.

I am sure this is also true for many science and mathematics teachers and professors all over the country, who have taught tens of thousands of students, science and mathematics in Bahasa Melayu before PPSMI, and whose students have become very successful in their chosen fields.

The fact that we have produced so many successful professors, engineers, medical doctors and scientists varying in age from 25 to 55 years old, who were taught science and mathematics in Bahasa Melayu before the PPSMI speaks volumes for itself. The logic that if only one is taught science and mathematics in English then one would be more successful in later life is a fallacy.

If this were to be true, then no Japanese, Korean and now Chinese technopreneurs would have succeeded as they apparently had with world-class brands without learning science and mathematics in English in their schools and universities.

Learning English through science and mathematics, I am sure every educator worth his salt agrees, is not the most appropriate way of learning a language. There is no evidence whatsoever that English proficiency is increased if English is used to teach science and mathematics.

On the other hand, there is abundant evidence to the contrary. The disastrous PISA and TIMMS results of 2012 where Malaysian students were behind other non-English speaking countries clearly demonstrated the failure of PPSMI because the Malaysian students who took the test were taught science and mathematics in English under the PPSMI (See more on related posts below).

Vietnamese students who were weaker in English fared a lot better than Malaysian students who were better in English. Why do we want to resurrect a programme that has clearly failed spectacularly? If the objective is to be proficient in English, then the right way to achieve it is to strengthen the teaching of the language by having better ways of teaching it in schools.

The Education Ministry should review the way English is taught and find ways and means to improve it, rather than rehashing the failed PPSMI in the guise of the DLP.

I think many people like Noor Azimah who wrote passionately about the DLP issue neglect to tell us or probably do not know the kind of science and mathematics learnt by our children in schools all over the world. Science and mathematics taught in schools are established scientific and mathematical knowledge that have been accepted by consensus of most scientists and mathematicians at that point of history. It should not be confused with new cutting-edge science and technology that a scientist and a professor like me has to deal with every day in my scientific work.

Established science and mathematics change very slowly because new scientific discoveries that would become established knowledge is rare and far between.

On the other hand, cutting-edge science changes rapidly as new theories are being postulated to explain newly discovered phenomena, which are accepted or discarded after undergoing rigorous scrutiny by the scientific community. There is no need for our children in schools to learn cutting-edge science because understanding it requires the scientific knowledge of a professor.

Not many people know that established science and mathematics have already been translated into Bahasa Melayu in numerous textbooks for primary and secondary schools as well as for universities published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) and the premier universities, Universiti Malaya, UKM, Universiti Sains Malaysia,Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and Universiti Putra Malaysia over the past 40 years.

All scientific terms in all fields are already available at the Persuratan Melayu web page of the DBP. Our children can easily gain scientific knowledge by reading them.

Even fewer know that the discovery of new cutting-edge science and mathematics in Bahasa Melayu is growing at the international level over the last few years with the indexing of bi-lingual Bahasa Melayu-English scientific journals such as Sains Malaysiana by major international scientific journal indexing services such as the ISI and SCOPUS! Now scientists from all over the world can access cutting-edge scientific knowledge in Bahasa Melayu.

The whole idea of learning science and mathematics in the mother tongue is not only simply about language patriotism as has been alleged by Noor Azimah elsewhere. The central issue lies deeper than mere patriotism. It is more about being able to create new scientific knowledge from a deeper understanding of science and mathematics, which can only be achieved by learning it in the mother tongue.

I am sure we are all familiar with the history of how both the great Islamic and the European civilisations first translated and then independently created scientific and mathematical knowledge of their own in their own languages.

No country in the world that is ahead in science and technology ever teaches its children science and technology in a foreign language.

By PROF DATUK IR DR WAN RAMLI WAN DAUD President

Former Founder Director & Principal Research Fellow Fuel Cell Institute, UKM

Prof of Chemical Engineering, UKM

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Malaysia's Vision 2020: Falling apart with alarming speed; Dr M is creator and destroyer, said Musa

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Deputy Prime Minister Tun Musa Hitam said Malaysia’s Vision 2020 objective was “falling apart” with “alarming speed”, and he blames Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for it.

In his keynote speech at an event to mark the sixth anniversary of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas), Musa said this was because the former premier did not train leaders but instead chose to retain and train followers instead.

“It is ironic that Dr Mahathir’s vision is now certain to fail because of Dr Mahathir himself.

“Brilliant as he was, he forgot that in order to succeed he needed to train leaders at all levels, but most importantly, political leaders.

“But his personal leadership record shows that he did away with all potential leaders, and retained and trained followers,” Musa said in his speech.

He said in the last few years, the behaviour of certain people in government and politics seemed to be based on struggles which prioritised personal survival.

“By now, we should just be about ready to cross the line of definition from ‘developing’ to ‘developed’.

“Unfortunately, though, it seems to me that the 2020 dream is falling apart with alarming speed,” he said.

Musa was Dr Mahathir’s deputy from 1981 to 1986, when he resigned due to differences with the then Prime Minister.

He then joined forces with Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah who mounted a challenge to Dr Mahathir’s position as Umno president in 1987. Dr Mahathir retained his position with a narrow majority of 43 votes at the Umno election.

Ideas chief executive Wan Saiful Wan Jan, in his speech said that the institute’s mission has been the same throughout its six years.

“It is to improve the level of understanding and acceptance of public policy based on the principles of rule of law, limited government, free markets and individual liberty”.

Ideas was set up on Feb 8 to coincide with the birth date of Tunku Abdul Rahman, who died on Dec 6, 1990 at the age of 87.

Musa Hitam: Dr M is creator and destroyer of Vision 2020  

PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was both the creator and destroyer of Vision 2020, according to Tun Musa Hitam (pic).

Musa, who was the deputy prime minister from 1981 to 1986, said his ex-boss had undone the dream when he chose to remove potential leaders and train followers instead.

"Those followers ended up taking over the leadership of the country after he left office," he added.

"It is ironic that Dr Mahathir's vision is now certain to fail because of Dr Mahathir himself.

"Brilliant as he was, he forgot that in order to succeed, he needed to train leaders at all levels, but most importantly, political leaders.

"His personal leadership record shows that he did away with all potential leaders and retained and trained followers! It is mostly these trained followers that had taken over the leadership of the country," Musa said on Saturday.

He was speaking at a special function commemorating the 113th birthday of the nation's first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, organised by the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas).

Musa said Malaysia was in its current state because of the failure of leadership, adding that the followers Dr Mahathir had groomed in his 22-year tenure were not coordinated in administering the country.

"These trained followers are dedicated and loyal to whoever sits at the very top. They need to be, in order to survive.

"It seems to me that the 2020 dream is falling apart bit by bit but with alarming speed. The way it is, I am now certain that we will not reach our goal of Vision 2020," he said.

Vision 2020 was introduced by Dr Mahathir in 1991, ten years into his tenure as prime minister, as an objective for Malaysia to attain fully-developed nation status by 2020.

The goal has remained a key objective of his successors, including present Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Dr Mahathir, a fierce critic of Najib, however, claimed last year that the current administration would not succeed in achieving Vision 2020.

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Najib_wawasan2020


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'The Last Survivors' recalls Japanese occupation of Malaysia during WWII, Part 1

Japanese Occupation survivors recount their tales to the new generation

 

Most of Southeast Asia was occupied during most of World War II by the Japanese. The Japanese captured Southeast Asia very quickly but had not planned very well for occupying it. In many ways the Japanese ruled through violence and repression rather than reasonable and humane governing. Southeast Asians that might have welcomed them as liberators were quickly turned off by Japanese brutality

TRAILER: The Last Survivors R.AGE

PETALING JAYA: It has been 70 years since Japan’s surrender after its occupation of Malaya during World War II, and with each passing year, more stories are being lost due to death and old age. 

R.AGE, an online video documentary team, is hoping to change that with the launch of The Last Survivors (rage.com.my/lastsurvivors), an online video campaign to document the stories of Malaysia’s WWII survivors.

The first video will be released later today, the 70th anniversary of the final signing ceremony in Kuala Lumpur confirming Japan’s surrender.

The video shows Omar Senik, 85, revisiting Pantai Sabak, Kelantan where he witnessed the start of WWII in Asia when the Japanese landed in Malaya – an hour before the bombing of Pearl Harbour.

Another WWII survivor featured in the series is Etheline Lee, who was 13 when the Japanese arrived in Kuantan.

Lee recalled how she was forced to watch the execution of locals accused by the Japanese of being “traitors”.

“They made them walk into this jungle and stand near a big hole they had dug, and shot them one by one so their bodies would drop into the hole,” said Lee.

According to her, the bodies were buried at the beach now known as Teluk Cempedak. Some were buried right beneath the beach’s popular fast-food outlets.

“It’s important to document stories like these,” said Chen Yih Wen, one of the R.AGE producers working on the series. “They really are the last survivors, and it isn’t enough to read about what they went through, you have to see it with your own eyes because these are places we walk by every day.” 

The Last Survivors campaign also hopes to encourage young people to document WWII stories from their own communities, especially through the memories of survivors.

To participate, record a video interview with a WWII survivor, and e-mail it to alltherage@thestar.com.my.

The campaign website features an interactive map which will show the exact locations of all the survivors’ stories, so that anyone can visit them and add to the narrative.

To add a story, photo or video to the map, go to rage.com.my/lastsurvivors or e-mail alltherage@thestar.com.my.

> Know any World War II survivors with interesting stories to share of the war in Malaya? E-mail the R.AGE team at alltherage@thestar.com.my .http://rage.com.my/lastsurvivors/ 

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Philippines violated agreements and laws by filing arbitration over South China Sea

China: Rejection of the Philippines' arbitration 'in line with law'

 Foreign Minister Wang Yi says China's rejection of arbitration filed by the Philippines over terroritorial claims, is in line with the law. His remarks came after talks with his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop in Beijing on Wednesday, as Australia called for a resolution to the South China Sea disputes through peaceful means, including arbitration.

"China is actually following international law by not accepting arbitration regarding sovereign and maritime entitlements. Because after joining the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 2006, China issued a declaration according to the rights given to China by Article 298 of the UNCLOS. We issued a government statement excluding China from being subjected to the compulsory settlement measures. The Chinese government will continue to stand by the declaration." said Wang Yi.

China in 2006 declared it would not accept arbitration of disputes concerning territorial sovereignty and maritime rights, in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Wang said.

"Chinese government will certainly stick to this position," Wang said, adding that more than 30 countries, including Australia, have also made similar "exclusive" declarations.

He gave a list of reasons why the Philippines' arbitration attempt is invalid and unacceptable, including unilateral moves without consulting China, which goes against international norms, as well as the common sense argument that arbitration applications are usually lodged only when all other means are depleted.

China and the Philippines have several agreements that disputes should be solved through dialogue and consultation.

The Philippines has also signed the fourth article of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), which states that disputes should be solved by those countries directly related, through negotiation and consultation.

Wang said that the Philippines' arbitration attempt violated previous agreements and raised suspicion of its complicated international background or even hidden political motives.

The minister listed reasons why the Philippines' arbitration attempt, first made in 2014 to a UN tribunal, is invalid and unacceptable. He said it was a unilateral move by the Philippines, which goes against international norms on arbitration, and that they have not yet exhausted other means to reach a resolution. Wang Yi also said any deployment of defense facilities on China's own territory would be legitimate.

Wang further said the Philippines not only violated a number of agreements by filing arbitration without China's consent ... but also did not follow the Declaration on the Code of Conduct on the South China Sea. According to him, any arbitration should only be filed after all possible solutions are tried and failed.

"The Philippines betrayed our trust and went against justice to file for arbitration. That made us wonder whether they are making these decisions following complicated international circumstances.   They may even have political purposes that they don't want to share," he said.

This was in response to western reports that an advanced surface-to-air missile system was deployed to one of the disputed islands in the South China Sea.





"I hope that media everywhere will turn their attention to the lighthouses that we have built on some of the islands in the South China Sea. They are in operation now and they have been very useful in ensuring the safety of passing ships in those waters. The meteorological forecast facilities and other facilities will provide assistance and rescue and emergency response to the fishing boats in those waters. Because I think all of those are actions China, as the biggest state in the South China Sea, has undertaken to provide more public goods and services to the international community and play a positive role there. " said Wang, " As for the limited and necessary self-defence facilities that China has built on the islands and reefs stationed by Chinese personnel, this is consistent with the self-preservation and self-protection that China is entitled to under international law. So there should be no question about that."



The Chinese Foreign Minister also stressed that demilitarization benefits all, but it can not be applied to only one country, or with double or even multiple standards. He said demilitarization in the South China Sea needs joint efforts from countries both in and outside the region. The Chinese Foreign Minister said China noticed that during the just concluded meetings between the US and ASEAN, the two pledged to achieve demilitarization in the region. He said China hopes they can keep their word. Xinhua


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