Billionaire T Ananda Krishnan, rides high on the selling away of ketuanan Melayu Mahathir back, horse sense

For Malaysian billionaire T Ananda Krishnan, the perfect getaway from running a pan-Asia media and telecommunications empire is to be found not far from Scone, the Upper Hunter town that declares itself the Horse capital of Australia.

In a quiet valley about 10 minutes drive southeast of Scone stands Kia Ora, the thoroughbred stud Krishnan bought in 2000 so he could pursue his passion for breeding racehorses.

Krishnan, now 71, also commissioned construction of a new homestead on the 1800ha property, a remarkable single-level design so in keeping with its dramatic hillside setting that it was named 2007 custom house of the year by the Housing Industry Association of Australia.

Known in Malaysian business circles as just AK, the publicity-shy Krishnan has been linked to a foray into the emerging internet TV scene in Australia through Fetch TV.

Fetch is looking for partnership deals with all major media players in Australia.

Krishnan's first Australian connection came in the form of a Colombo Plan scholarship to Melbourne University, where he graduated in 1959 after studying political science and economy.

He did an MBA at Harvard University (1964) and set up his first company, a Kuala Lumpur consultancy named MAI Holdings.

In the late 1960s, as he ventured into oil and other resources trading, one of his first business associations was with Ken McMahon, the Australian engineer behind Mineral Securities (MinSec), a mining share trading company that collapsed in 1971.

Now, with interests in energy resources, property development, gaming, telecommunications, media and entertainment, Krishnan is regarded as one of Asia's richest men, with a fortune estimated by Forbes magazine earlier this year at US$7 billion (RM23.7 billion).

Since that estimate in March, Krishnan's net worth has been pushed higher by the Nov 19 listing on the Kuala Lumpur bourse of Malaysia's biggest mobile phone company Maxis.

by taxi2driver

He said there was a process of habeas corpuswhere the operation of law operated on the person detained under the ISA, to apply to court and prove himself free from all blame against him read more click for fully story

Attempts to control the media, to curb freedom of expression, are undemocratic and politically risky.

Attempts to control the media, to curb freedom of expression, are undemocratic and politically risky. The structure of media control as it exists now is responsible for entrenching authoritarian attitudes and stifling ethical standards in newsroom.

readmore click below

Rais SHOULD SPENT MORE TIME CHECKING THE PROVIDER SERVICES ‘Celcom Broadband: Pathetic and Horrible,Streamyx is the biggest joke MICC and MCMC are……..

Krishnan and his partners, including Saudi Telecom, hold a 70 per cent stake in Maxis worth more than US$11 billion— through the unlisted vehicle, Maxis Communications.

The financial boost from the $US$3.3bn raised in the Maxis public offering no doubt will come in handy as Krishnan pursues his business goals, including a massive expansion of his Aircel mobile phone company in India, and a possible play in Australia through Fetch TV.

Fetch TV aims to bring together a group of smaller internet service providers that would on-sell video content delivered by an internet-connected TV set-top box to broadband customers.

Its proposed service, priced at about Aus$20 (RM62)- Aus$25 (RM77.85 ), would compete with Australian pay TV companies Foxtel and Austar, and other operators offering downloadable content such as Telstra's Tbox and Seven's TiVo.

Aside from his Australian connections, Krishnan has long had an interest in India's south, where regional radio and television are booming.

His family hails originally from Sri Lanka, his grandfather having migrated from then British-ruled Ceylon to work as a public servant in Malaysia.

Krishnan was born in the Brickfields area of Kuala Lumpur in April 1938 to ethnic Tamil parents, and attended the elite Victoria Institution school.

As an international resources trader in the late 1960s and 1970s, Krishnan gradually built up an eclectic range of business holdings.for more click this Mahathir CAUGHT WITH HIS UNDERWEAR DOWN.on Ananda’s yacht

Business and Politics makes strange bedfellows but makes some men very rich Mahathir CAUGHT WITH HIS UNDERWEAR DOWN.on Ananda’s yacht

Mahathir CAUGHT WITH HIS UNDERWEAR DOWN.on Ananda’s yacht

Back in Malaysia, in 1974 he helped set up the national oil and gas company Petronas, and diversified into the gaming business and then real estate and telecommunications.

In 1984 he established Usaha Tegas, the unlisted company that ultimately would become the main holding vehicle for his business interests.

Krishnan prefers to stay well out of the limelight.

He holds no directorships or executive positions in the four major Malaysian companies he controls: Maxis, media and entertainment company Astro All Asia Networks, satellite operator Measat Global, and the diversified power, property and gaming entity Tanjong.

His profile in mainstream Malayasian business circles grew with his massive US$3 billion Kuala Lumpur City Centre development in the early 1990s.

It took him a decade to bring that concept to reality after consolidating a 39ha site that was once the Selangor Turf Club, in the centre of the city.

With the backing of then-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, he convinced Petronas to become the key tenant in the project's landmark buildings — the 88-storey Petronas Twin Towers, which at 450m, were Asia's tallest occupied buildings when completed in 1996.

how maxis train their front office staff to lie to their customer to rob their money

by taxi2driver

I write in response to the letter maxis ‘Celcom Broadband: Pathetic and Horrible’ by Mohd Nazim Ganti Shaari. I sympathise with the writer’s predicament, one that is experienced not just by Celcom customers, but by all internet users. There internet service in Malaysia is pathetic. The service providers have little or no respect for customer rights, and the quality of service embarrassing to say the least. Streamyx is the biggest joke, run by a company so arrogant because of its monopoly and sheer size. The alternatives are no better. Jaring is so small-time that it isn’t worth mentioning (their broadband is also lousy), Maxis and Celcom are horrible, Time has no availability….the list goes on and on. You can’t trust customer service or technical support, especially for IT stuff. You must do your own research before contacting the company for help, otherwise you will be taken for a ride. From Nazim’s letter, it sounds like it could be a problem with his modem. This is because he says he had the same problem in Shah Alam and now it’s still happening in KK. He said that the block next to his has great reception. Did he try the connection there? If it is still poor, I would suggest he demand Celcom replace his modem. Also, I suggest he take his laptop to a park and try the internet there. 3G internet is meant to be mobile after all Another thing I can suggest is to get a Xpax prepaid sim card or U mobile sim, or borrow from it a friend. Put it into your handphone, and see the reception quality. I can suggest several tips to improve reception. If you are certain the modem is not at fault (or if you have replaced it already) get a long USB cable, place your modem in a high place, outdoors if possible, and try to have it facing the celcom tower. It’s possible your building is obstructing the signal. 3G internet requires a very good reception. Good luck.

This is the same old pattern. Using taxpayers money to bail out losses. This must stop. Giving Kazhanah 350M RM and passingto billions of losses. This is not acceptable.khazanah should be using money to help the rakyat, instead it use money to bailing out a filthy rich crony’s lousy investment in indonesia!

if khazanah dont change it’s ways, i will not vote BN anymore!

This is entertainment industry not a critical industry to the nation. So there is no necessity to use the people’s money to bail out its loses. Why must the government wants to bail out Ananda Krishnan?

BEFORE you accuse me of losing my memory, let me say tha

Malaysian tycoon Ananda Krishnan if you to get more richer please dont steal the poor malaysian money,Raise s/o Yatim have they filled your bank acount to the maximum?

Krishnan sold out and moved on from that project, but it gave him the cash flow to fund his Measat satellites, beginning with Measat-1 in 1996 and culminating in the long-delayed launch of Measat-3 in December 2006.

The satellites give Krishnan's Astro entertainment network the ability to broadcast multiple television and radio channels to regional audiences via direct-to-home broadcasts.

Krishnan also invested US$2 billion in the late 1990s to develop satellite-based telecommunications and a digital mobile network that would eventually became Maxis Communications, the largest cellular operator in Malaysia.

Initially, British Telecom and US telecoms company MediaOne were investors in Maxis, but by 2001 Krishnan's Usaha Tegas had bought out both for a total of US$ 680 million, and had control of the company.

Maxis Communications listed on the Malaysian bourse in 2002, but Krishnan took it private in 2007 to spare minority shareholders the risk associated with overseas expansion in Indonesia, where Maxis has 44 per cent of mobile operator NTS and in India, where Maxis holds 74 per cent of Chennai-based Aircel.

That company, which has 20 million subscribers, is strongest in Tamil Nadu state but aims to be a fully fledged national operator by the end of this year.

Krishnan's other main India play is via Astro, which in August paid about Aus$20 million to lift its stake from 7 per cent to 20 per cent in the Sun FM radio network. — The Australian