Malaysia Money Matters

Bank Negara has been pushing for greater use of electronic money. I recall back in the day that BNM was trying to get the banks to push more debit card usage and the banks did try, believe me. There are a lot of advantages to going cash-less - especially in Malaysia, because honestly, I think there is a lot (A LOT) of physical cash moving around in the underground sector of loan sharks, drugs, prostitution and all manner of legit businesses acting as a frontage. Using electronic money saves on physical cash management which is a PAIN (for banks lah), provides better monitoring and better record keeping - if you have nothing to hide, that is! So why didn't debit card usage take off, especially with BNM breathing down the necks of all the banks? A few reasons: The majority of M'sians are actually living hand-to-mouth, there's practically nothing left in their savings account the day after pay-day. It's all been taken out to pay off debts / rent and buying groce...

You know how sometimes some things seem to appear in the periphery - innovative stuff in some documentary or news shows that is kinda cool but no one really pays attention to it and then boom, it ends up altering everything! So I wonder, what are the few new or not-so-new technologies that could end up changing the world as we know it? I reckon these are - shale gas, cloud computing and 3-d printing. Shale gas: Even though I think that cellulosic ethanol is more sustainable, the current infrastructure favours shale gas production in terms of volume & immediacy. Actually, I think it is a good thing that the US can be energy-independent or at least, rely more on Canada instead of the Middle East. Same goes for Israel too. International politics is going to shift in a big way and frankly, it's about time too. Less money going into the Middle East will force them to come to terms with the real world, no more easy money - time to grow up. Cloud computing: More thin client de...

Can't help but think that the current problem rests on two basic things: 1. That Greece fudged its numbers to be eligible to enter the Eurozone 2. That the Euro members don't want to let Greece out for fear of losing face So the crux of the matter is that their membership is based on a lie and for the sake of ego, the other countries are expecting Germany to continue lending money to Greece to service its loans. It doesn't make sense to do so! Face the facts, the due diligence was not done properly and structurally, the Greek economy was not prepared for the influx of cheap money coming in on the back of strong credit ratings which are not theirs. Of course, if we are pointing fingers, then part of the blame also lies in the intellectual laziness of the analysts who conveniently combined the credit ratings and averaged them out, thus making it seem that Greece was more credit worthy than it actually was. [The reverse also happened in the Asian Financial Crisis whe...

Over the years, I've changed jobs and every time I did so, I'd have to open a new account for my salary. It hit me that I have quite a number of accounts out there!! Seeing that I have some free time this week, I decided to take half a day to run around and close up all these 'legacy' accounts. Not bad, all in, I liquidates about 500 bucks! Can you imagine? That's my problem actually, I tend to leave things unattended - mainly because too busy and procrastinating :P A few months ago, I also went through a round of decluttering by cancelling some old insurance policies and subscriptions - from the insurance alone, I got back around 1,300 and the subscriptions were costing me about 2,000 a year! Sigh.. now, the only thing left is what in the world am I going to do with all the small change accumulated into literally kilos of coins? Yikes...! 'tis a journey..

They have an optimistic view with the following stats: RM440+ billion to be spent on projects RM860+  million on the poor 5% growth year on year to 2020 Great! Err... but don't forget that there are key structural problems that are not being addressed seriously / or being addressed but not much results to show for it. Corruption From the little bribes to the traffic cop to the multi-million scandals in the news, Malaysians have become cynical to having a clean, meritocracy here even though we know this is what we need but with so much vested interest around, how can this be eradicated meaningfully? On a practical view, corruption will always be around in some form or another, lets not kid ourselves that it can be stamped out completely. All we want is for it to be reduced to a minimum and those who do indulge in it will be caught and punished. Right now, it is the whistleblowers who are victimised for "not following the proper procedure to report such activities...

So we have several government initiatives to 'transform' the economy but the question is: can project-driven development get Malaysia to where it wants be? No doubt the building boom during the Mahathir years spurred the economy, aided by petroleum revenues. But is this model still applicable now in 2012 and beyond? Let's break it down: The population & minimum wage Lets set aside the view of race and look at Malaysia in terms of socio-economic background. In this respect, then we resemble what I would term a 'tear drop' shape, not a pyramid. Why this shape? Notice the small sharp pinnacle at the top and the heavy bulge at the bottom. A pyramid presumes a more equal distribution in just a few bands. An organic shape is a more accurate description of what is going on in our country. According the government statistics, only 3% earn above RM15,000 a month while something close to 75% of workers earn below RM1,500 a month. Actually, I am not too fussed...

Am seriously considering going onto Smashwords as an indie writer and sell stories. Now, of course any new adventure of mine always has an ulterior motive, in other words: it's all about the money, it's all about the boom boom bada boom boom, baby! Although, that being said I think it has to do a lot with me wanting to express myself more creatively. I am not to keen on the whole affiliate marketing thing or writing eBooks on technical stuff, although I could but I think my heart would not be in it. Hmm.. my research (i.e. sorting by best sellers) shows that best sellers are mainly erotic romance on SW. Huhu!! All of that " her heaving bosom crested her bodice as the gallant officer carried her off the pirate ship, she could feel his generous endowment against her hip " stuff?! Just need to get off my butt and start writing it all down..

"100 birds in the South" symbolises many opportunities coming your way. Why so? Let's break it down: South = represented by the Phoenix, Queen of the Birds 100 = shorthand for 'lots'  Element of the South = fire (luck that comes from fame, being known - not necessarily being a celebrity but being known in your field of work, thus opportunities will 'fly' to you, see?) So, displaying an image of 100 birds will activate this kind of luck for you.  Ok, I'll admit, it is all quite tied up with Chinese culture but at the crux of it all, I think it is a form of neuro-linguistic programming that has developed over thousands of years so people think it's mumbo-jumbo. But it's not.  Anyway, instead of spending a lot of money [that you DO have ;) but don't want to use] on buying a display piece that might be too chinois for your current home décor - here's what I did: Found a beautiful National Geographic poster on bird migrati...

In my seemingly never ending quest to purchase another property, I thought I might as well document my thoughts here on what I've seen so far.. sort of like a reminder / diary for myself. Age IS catching up after all! OK, so went to have a look at the Type A unit in 3 Residen which is 1,389 sq ft with an asking price of RM700,000. I've been to the launch of this development a number of years back and have seen the show unit. Now, finally having a look at the completed one. The positive: The location in Melawati is not bad, in that it is next to the hills so there is some greenery that is unlikely to be torn down The large foyer is a unique feature and does set the unit back away from the common area, so there is some sense of additional private space before you enter the unit proper - although one could also say that it is a waste of space. Depends. The movable panels for your office / private entertainment area that can be closed off is a clever touch The triangula...

A few months ago, I decided to put some money aside into bullion. I've been reading up on gold and silver investments and watched the prices for a while. But given how busy I can get at work, I decided that gold trading is not for me - just don't have the time to watch the volatility and honestly, I don't have the stomach for it. Not in my DNA as it were :) Anyway, after scouting around the different options available, I went for Tomei's portal Goldsilver2u.com (err.. not very original huh? LOL but it's straight to the point!) to buy some wafers  - yeah, wish I could say BARS of gold but you know.. Got some silver too, the prices have fallen a bit but I'm not too concerned because this is a long term play. Mainly I went with Tomei because they've been around for a while, have a strong retail presence and thus, pretty stable. Not rocket science, really. So, they are now tucked away in the safety deposit box at the bank for a rainy day.

There's been a lot of hoo-ha in the media lately here - from Anwar's remark while on the dock to Jamil's so-called 'call for protest against gay marriage'. I mean, seriously? Is this even an issue in Malaysia? Firstly, as a Buddhist, this is not an issue to me. Marriage is a social convention that is part of the samsara world. It is what it is, when done well (i.e. a happy marriage), it produces stable individuals who can develop themselves. When done badly (i.e. broken or unhappy marriage), it produces unhappy people - both parents AND kids with long lasting implications. So whether marriage is good, bad, for heterosexuals only, can be for gays also and so on is a pointless debate because the debate does not focus on the actual results. Of course, on an overall basis, a stable family life produces a well-balanced society. A well-balanced society means a good environment for mental cultivation and reduced suffering. I think a stable family life be it heterosexua...

Keep one compartment in your wallet empty. This symbolises having space to allow more money to flow into your life. I've been doing for the past few years - so far so good! :) Believe it helps focus one's mind to eliminate clutter and as nature abhors a vacuum, thus this 'space' in your wallet is pulling in energy. Just something to consider, eh?

Now it seems that the General Elections may be held in March next year when the current mandate runs out. Looks like they would rather buy time and risk the Opposition accusing them of being cowards. What with the recent spate of defections in Sabah and the late DPM Ghafar Baba's son Tamrin joining PAS, the mood seems to be that some of them want to be on the 'winning team' while it is still possible. Personally, I'm a bit leery of that but ah well, lets see how it all pans out. I do think it is time for a change but what that change turns out to be in the short, medium and long run is hard to predict. I'm fairly optimistic for the long run view and possibly in the medium too. However, I predict that immediately after the result, there is going to be some upheaval. Let's say Pakatan wins: On the whole, the ground will be happy, the elites very unhappy. So the crucial players in this case are actually the police, the army and the Royal houses. Who will ...

Just realised that I didn't write anything for the whole of 2011! It was an eventful year actually. Got promoted early in the year :) Not to sound ungrateful but it was kind of expected because in terms of meeting the set goals, KPIs etc which was done - so it came in as promised. Only thing was a bit delayed because it was supposed to have been in Sept 2010 but it came in March 2011. Ah well, better late than never. So with that, the pay jump was about.. almost 40% which was kewlness. Then the big surprise was in Sept 2011 after coming back from the Korea trip, that I got a pay increase! That really came out of the blue, was probably too busy working and stuff - just doin' and doin' and doin' and the reward just came! Oiyooo... this time, was about a 20% but seriously, this actually made my pay rise by almost 100% within a year. Yes, in just one year. Like. Oh. My. Goddess. I'm not saying this to boast, I'm still pinching myself to see if this is...

"Extreme Couponing" on TLC Honestly, I dislike this show even though it does give some tips on how to save money. My reasons: In general, anything extreme is not good. These people seem to spend way too much time, energy and space to clip coupons, organise them, spend hours shopping for a huge haul, then create enormous stockpiles of goods in their homes! Err, seems like just a neater, more organised way of hoarding.... Then there is the attitude of the extreme-couponer (if there is such a noun). They revel in 'beating the store' and it seems to come off as rather mean-spirited. And I wonder at the supermarket staff who are there laughing and congratulating the EC, hello? They are making your employer lose money (temporarily, until they impose new T&Cs or raise prices, thus passing the cost onto other (normal) shoppers, of course).. that is breaking your rice bowl, you know! Goodness.. wake up. OK, some of them do donate the food they get for very che...

Ok, can't believe I've not blogged for so long! Mostly because of work and so on.. Anyway, will start again and talk more about my wealth journey - thoughts, tips etc. Onward Ho! :)