Malaysia Money Matters

I'm going to rant a bit. Ever notice how some people, despite a nominal RM1 parking charge Will Still Park Outside and BLOCK TRAFFIC? Yessss.... so I've come to label them as "cheap asses". Cheap. Ass. Of course their justification would be, "Oh you know, anywhere you can save a dollar, why not?" etc etc. I agree. One should save where one can. But if you become a NUISANCE in your so-called quest to save money, then you are a Cheap Ass. Here is my definition of being economical: Saving money through proper planning and creativity. Let's break it down: Proper planning = planning your trip to the mall to get whatever it is you need, knowing what's on sale, buying things you need (NEED, people. Not 'want'). Cheap asses don't plan. They just do whatever they want like go crazy, snatching stuff at sales, thinking they're saving money on parking by parking on the street, flood F&B outlets with their damn Groupon vouch

Phew, 2012 is over - what a tumultuous year it has been; as predicted for a Water Dragon year with yang water in the heavenly stem on a yang earth element earthly branch - a clash of elements that is like a big wave on land. So let's all look forward to 2013 which is still going to be tough times (yin fire yin water clash) but nowhere near as extreme as 2012. Astrologers are predicting that while it is not going to easy times, there are still opportunities for wealth. Given the elements ruling the year, wealth comes from intelligence - meaning you'll have to use your brain to get ahead, it's not the kind of year where you can do simple things like buy any stocks or shares and boom, you're making money on the market.  So you have to do your homework and I feel the growth areas are in intellectual / technological advances. I believe high tech, publishing, software, innovative products and services - even things like improvements in processes for better effici

So the US Congress is still debating on what to do about their so-called Fiscal Cliff and of course, the media is making a big drama about it. Hmm, so they are going to be "hit" by higher taxes and decreased spending - that was AGREED to happen years ago and this is the medicine that was prescribed to Asia when we were hit by the crisis of 1997. So what's good for the goose is not good for the gander? May sound callous but maybe they should allow this 'falling off' to happen, make the necessary changes to get out of their debt. Maybe the US dollar needs to be devalued (although I do understand their frustration at China for deliberately keeping the yuan low) - same goes for the Euro. It could be too high. Perhaps globally, there should be smaller differentiation between currency values and real wages for a better world for everyone. Let's all sing: This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, Age of Aquarius!  hehe

Just my thoughts on the issue - a couple of friends asked me about it, seeing that I'm in banking and all but at the time, I didn't know much about it - only what I read in the papers when the whole thing blew up. So being the usual KPC (kay poh chi, although I'm not a 'chi', tqvm); thought I'd do a bit of digging and while most people these days are very sceptical about what the government does (including yours truly), I must say that the raid by BNM and the police has its merits. Assessing the situation by fundamental principles of the set-up, operations and sales pitch by Genneva; there is a real disconnect. To break it down simply: It is not set up as a bank, it cannot accept deposits. It is set up like a retailer: "you buy gold from me" but it starts getting muddier because; They promise you physical gold but then persuade you, for practical reasons of the safety of your gold, to accept a promise on paper that you can get your gold at any

Ibrahim Ali of Perkasa - that bastion of brown supremacy - has proclaimed that Islam restricts Malays from succeeding in business while the Chinese (due to our implied godlessness, snort) are merrily making moolah (I love alliterations in case you haven't noticed) from all the non-halal businesses. Well, that statement is so stupid that it's not worth refuting BUT it did prompt me to think about this: what if we were to compare a similar business, which can be run by either a Malay or Chinese or whomever and see how it goes. So have you noticed that tau foo fa (silky bean curd in syrup, a chinese dessert [apparently I DO get readers from Sweden, Russia and so on.. so have to make it clear, right?]) has become a staple at the Ramadhan bazaar for many years now? Sold by Malays. I hate to break it to you but it tastes really bad. It's a simple enough dessert, right? Just soft bean curd in syrup. Not much variation apart of adding ginger to the syrup, OR using brown pal