Malaysia Money Matters

So after a long 5 years of intense politicking that we have never seen the like of - Parliament has finally been dissolved to make way for the Elections. The date is not finalised, many are speculating but it looks most likely to be at the end of April. Some rumours have been circulating that it may be held on 13 May to "scare people" (re: the May 13 tragedy of 1969). The outcome is very hard to predict - it is down to the wire. Personally, I am not too convinced on either side, although am more inclined towards change but I'm wary of certain elements within the opposition. Weighing the pros and cons, I think eventually it can only boil down to what are the choices available for my constituency ie who are the candidates contesting for the MP and state seats - after all, that's all one can choose. May have to split it - one side for Federal, another for State. Keep them on their toes. Can't have concentration of power all on one side - we've had that ...

As we get closer to the date (who knows when it will ever materialise .... talk about dragging it out), a new article on Malaysia Today links to a so-called campaign by Anas Zubedy  called "No Free Rides" calls for Malaysians to write a letter to their MPs articulating what you would want and then based on their responses, vote for the one who agrees to your wishes (!). Now, I'm rather conflicted about this guy - am not quite sure if he is naive, idealistic, has a hidden agenda, just doing this for attention (for his business) or all of the above. He always comes across, to me anyway, as a mix of smarmy and sincere. Not a good combination, believe me. Anyway, what he's calling for is not wrong - in an ideal world, that really should be how we decide on which politician to vote for.. but practically? Hmm.. Nonetheless, 'tis a good exercise to think through what each of us finds important. Ultimately, what we want is the best for our country, right? So to ...

2 seemingly small issues on the news about PAS in recent days: The fines issued by the PAS controlled municipal council to a Chinese-owned hair salon in Kelantan for allegedly having lady hairdressers cut men's hair Wanting to protest (via memo, yawns) and shut down the upcoming Elton John concert in Genting on account that he's gay. Now if I may quote this very old poem: For want of a nail, the shoe was lost For want of a shoe, the horse was lost For want of a horse, the rider was lost For want of a rider, the battle was lost For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost. For right or wrong, I understand that they have their principles and their right to try to enforce them but this cannot fly in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious country like ours.  Give and take, yes.  But imposing your values by force of majority, no. By these two incidences, it seems to me that PAS is not ready to rule because they always get caught up in issues like this, alway...

Using the analogy of food, the newly announced budget is like cake. Sweet, nothing but carbohydrates and fat but no nutritional value at all. In other words, hardly any substance. No macro economic reforms, no innovative measures, no tough / disciplined measures to fix problems. Nothing at all. So to call it an election budget is really the understatement of the year. Well, when you eat cake, you'll  feel happy for a while, the sugar buzz is great but after a while, you will be hungry again and your body hasn't gotten any protein or vitamins at all! This budget is like a short term sugar high. One clear example, the RM200 smartphone subsidy. Those young kids who get the subsidy are still going to fork out more just to buy the phone AND have to pay for the monthly data plan. So how is that helping them? Sigh.. expect more sexting and dumb comments on twitter, facebook et al and definitely more hook ups and booty calls when they get onto the hookup apps! Is the 200 buck...

Many people, including those in the government, think that credit cards are bad, bad, bad. So is fire, doesn't stop you from using it, does it? I would argue that if the rules are set properly (not arbitrarily as they are now), AND taking into account lessons learnt from Taiwan and South Korea on how to jump start your domestic economy but without most of the dire problems that can come with a consumption-led boom, then listen up: But first, some background. There are about 11-12 million working adults in this country. Only about 4 million actually hold credit cards. What about the rest, you ask? Based on the Bank Negara guidelines, they don't qualify due to their lower income or lack of income documentation, say hawkers etc who deal in cash and don't keep proper records. The consequence of that is that these individuals are essentially LOCKED OUT of the formal banking system, so who do they turn to when there is a need for cash - you got it, the loan sharks. Why do...