Demographia: Malaysia’s residential housing market ‘severely unaffordable’

What this finding tells us is that there are more people who can't afford a home than those who can.

On one hand, many Malaysians, specifically those in urban areas and developed states, are facing great difficulty owning a home because they could not afford it. On the other, we have state and federal government who thinks that 400k is considered affordable. 10 years ago, 400k was considered expensive when the average prices were 180k to 250k. So, unless the average income have doubled since then, 400k is still not affordable to many. That is assuming that we take into account the price relative to the size.

To expect prices to fall to the level of a decade ago is unrealistic.

But that does not mean that the government cannot do more to alleviate the financial burden of the people.

For a start, they could make cars cheaper. With the reduced amount of car loans, the people will be able to afford higher loans for homes. Since they would probably be living further away from the city centre due to cheaper home prices, their transportation cost should be low for it to be practical.

Times have changed. Almost every household requires at least one car for work and leisure. The ridiculous car prices in Malaysia simply does not make sense. The government is impoverishing the people by taxing them on a depreciating asset instead of enriching them through home ownership. If the government wants to make up the loss of revenue from excise duties from cars, they can tax luxury cars more, or even raise the RPGT for properties priced above a certain amount, say, 500k.

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Demographia: Malaysia’s residential housing market ‘severely unaffordable’

Saturday, 25 October 2014

WHEN middle income professionals are unable to afford their own home based on a single income and have to team up with either a spouse or another person to qualify for a mortgage loan, then it is a sign that the unaffordability of our housing market has become critical.

A finding by US-based urban development researcher Demographia reveals Malaysia’s residential housing market is “severely unaffordable”, even more out of reach than residents in Singapore, Japan and the United States.

Demographia’s finding, cited by Singapore’s Straits Times in a report on Oct 14, rates housing as severely unffordable if the median of house price to annual income is 5.1 times.

Malaysia clocked in at 5.5 times, showing many Malaysians continue to be locked out of the housing market, compared with Singapore’s 5.1 times, while the United States’ and Japan’s housing markets were found to be “moderately unaffordable”.

Public interest group, National House Buyers Association (HBA) honorary secretary-general Chang Kim Loong says Demographia’s report supports HBA’s own finding that house prices, especially in the urban and sub-urban areas, have risen beyond the reach of many average Malaysians.

“For the past few years, HBA has sounded the alarm on the risk of a “homeless generation” made up of a growing number of young Malaysians especially the lower and middle income groups who are unable to afford their own home. When this homeless group grows in number, it can give rise to many other social problems,” he warns.

Chang says when even middle income professionals are unable to afford their own home based on a single income, the situation has become critical.

He says unless one is willing to be tied down by a long-term or back-breaking mortgage or mortgages, the high residential prices have rendered buying a house an increasingly uphill task, if not an impossible feat for the many lower income and average Malaysians.

“The skyrocketed prices have driven house buyers to take back breaking mortgages and many needed to combine their income in order to qualify for a mortgage, thus leaving them with very little or no savings after paying the monthly instalments and other basic necessities.

“This will place families at risk as they could fall into a deficit situation if any sudden emergencies happen to either of the borrowers,” Chang says.

He points out the possibility that in the event these borrowers cannot afford to pay their instalments and the banks are forced to auction off their properties, “there is a risk of a property bubble bursting, just like what happened during the sub-prime financial crisis in the US.”

“The borrowers and their dependents will also be faced with financial and emotional crisis that befalls their foreclosed property. Foreclosures can devastate a family’s economic and social standing, leaving them poorer instead,” Chang laments.

Chang says just six years ago it was still possible for a single middle level manager earning RM5,000 a month to buy a new double-storey link house in Kajang for less than RM250,000, and for a single executive earning RM3,000 a month to buy a new condominium in the Old Klang Road area for about RM200,000.

“Today, a new house in Kajang are in excess of RM700,000 but a middle level manager is just earning RM6,000 or thereabout a month. Recent launches of condominiums around Old Klang Road area are in excess of RM600,000, while the average salaries of executives are still around RM3,500 a month,” he laments.

He believes the maximum price that households with an monthly income of RM10,000 should purchase is only RM360,000 (RM120,000 x 3x).

“HBA has always stressed that affordable housing should be priced around RM150,000 to RM300,000, and not more then RM400,000 even for prime locations. Given that annual household income uses the assumption of two working spouses, there is a critical need for properties priced at RM150,000 to cater to single families and adults.

“We urge the government to further lower the threshold of affordable house price to between RM150,000 and RM300,000, and not more than RM400,00 even for prime locations,” Chang adds.

Chang says these houses, with minimum built-up of 800 sq ft and three bedrooms, need not come with fanciful finishing, but have just the bare necessities for a family’s comfort.

Stemming the greed

Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) president Siva Shanker concurs that the unaffordability housing issue has become critical over the past three to four years due to the sharp upswing in house prices.

“It was driven by the low entry costs with schemes such as no need for downpayment, developer interest bearing schemes and free stamp duty and legal fees, Although the Government has introduced various cooling measures and more responsible bank lending guidelines which has brought down the number of housing transactions, prices or value of houses still remain high.

“The fact that salaries have not kept up with the upswing in property prices have further worsened the unaffordability situation,” Siva explains.

HBA’s Chang points out the risks posed by “Investors’ Clubs” or “Millionaires Clubs” which are basically syndicated speculators incorporated by some ingenious individuals.

“They work in cahoot with developers, valuers and banks. Speculative buyers may be caught by the latest round of cooling measures. How the situation will pan out will depend on the holding capability of these speculators of which most of them may not have. Come hand-over time when it is time for these “investors” to flip their purchases, there may be a shortage of buyers for these properties, most of which were transacted at inflated and not real market value prices,” he warns.

Siva opines that the imposition of real property gains tax (RPGT) to tax gains from property transactions should be counted from the date of completion of the property and not from the signing of the sale and purchase agreement as what is being practised now.

This is given that it takes three years for high-rise residences to be delivered to buyers upon the signing of the sale and purchase agreement, and two years for landed property. Chang says the severity of the housing crisis for many Malaysians today calls for a workable housing delivery model to be put into action urgently before the problem spills over and cause more social problems in the country.

Housing the people has to be made the top thrust of the government and all possible measures need to be put to work fast and bottlenecks must be promptly addressed.

He says much more can be done to ensure a sustainable and orderly housing market for the people, stressing that holistic and concerted efforts need to be adopted.

“However, very often policies adopted are more for political expediency rather than for the betterment of the people.

“We need a single umbrella to monitor, regulate and police the performance of the various agencies that are entrusted with the role to ensure affordable housing index are met and properly distributed to the deserving ones. They must build the right quantity of the right property, at the right location, for the right populace, and at the right price.

“There must be full transparency on the location, number of units, registration and balloting process to ensure fairness to all eligible buyers,” Chang stresses.

A single database will enable individuals to learn about the availability of the affordable housing in their communities or in the communities they planned to move to, and understand financing options avail to them.

Siva also calls for a central planning and delivery agency to plan and coordinate all the affordable housing needs of the people.

“The whole process should be totally transparent with a master registry to record all the database of applicants and successful candidates. There should also be a moratorium period of up to 10 years to ensure that the successful candidates offered these affordable housing will not be able to dispose these homes for quick profit.

“The federal and state governments should provide the land and other forms of incentives to encourage private developers to lend their support for these affordable housing schemes,” Siva says.

Chang agrees that giving incentives to developers that build affordable housing will motivate them to throw in their support to build more of such housing units, adding that building up the infrastructure connectivity to the still relatively undeveloped areas will make these places more accessible and improve demand for property in those places.

“HBA has proposed to the government to take the lead by unlocking more of its vast land banks to build affordable housing for the people.

“The reason why developers are not chipping in to build more affordable housing units is because of the so-called profit maximisation by industry players. It is either high-rise multiple hundred units or high-end luxury units. Very often it is a combination of both - luxurious high-end units.I have not heard of developers building single-storey terrace houses that were so prevalent in the past. Developers are refusing to build such price and low margin items and will rather focus on higher margin items. With land being a scarce resource, developers will maximise the value of their land banks.

“If the land comes from the federal and state governments, private developers will be more willing to throw in their support to develop affordable housing for those in need,” Chang concludes.

http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2014/10/25/A-house-too-far-Demographia-Malaysias-residential-housing-market-severely-unaffordable/?style=biz

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Report shows Malaysian homes more unaffordable than in Singapore, Japan and the US

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 — Malaysia has a “severely unaffordable” residential homes market, with housing even more out of reach for its residents than in Singapore, Japan and the United States, according to US-based urban development researcher Demographia.

Demographia’s report was cited today in a report in Singapore’s Straits Times newspaper to highlight how many Malaysians continue to be locked out of the residential housing market despite the federal government’s attempt at helping first-time house buyers.

According to the ST report, Demographia rates housing as severely unaffordable if it is 5.1 times median annual income. Malaysia clocks in at 5.5x, higher than Singapore’s 5.1x, while housing in the United States and Japan is “moderately unaffordable”.

- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/report-shows-malaysian-homes-more-unaffordable-than-in-singapore-japan-and#sthash.kgmX5N0H.dpuf

MH-17: The Untold Story

It's refreshing to find something that is based on logic and reality in these insane times.

For many Malaysians, I doubt they realise that someone hijacked their plane, a foreign military shot down another, and a group of armed foreigners even invaded one of their state in recent times. In some countries, it would have been viewed as acts of war.

Instead, it seems like many Malaysians are convinced that Chinese Schools are the bigger threat, which they insist are run by extremist immigrant teachers and headmasters, producing extremists immigrant students produced by extremist immigrant parents who work as coolies and prostitutes... :)

sometimes, don't you just love the logic of some of these people?

well, after more than half a century that these schools have been in existence, I wonder how many planes did these Chinese-schooled extremist students managed to take down? or how many states  they've managed to invade with their formidable Chinese-speaking army?

Seriously though.... RT managed to produce an interesting documentary. It's a worthwhile watch.

Welcome back to reality....

Imagine there is no NEP

The NEP brought good as well as bad. But all in all, given the circumstances, it was not a complete success, nor was it a complete failure either. The question is whether the NEP is sustainable in it's current form. Any affirmative action requires substantial resources from the government, country and society.

Again, the fundamental enabler rests on the economy and the wealth of the country. In Malaysia, the government can give preferential treatment to the Malays in education, business, jobs, housing, etc. To do that, the government will need to increase taxes, cut subsidies, and of course use the income from resources such as oil. Whether we'd like to admit it or not, these come at the expense of Non-Malays and the country's resources. The reality is, we have managed to come this far because of oil revenue. But as the population increases, logically, so will the amount needed to run the country.

We are already seeing the symptoms in the form of limited places in universities, inadequate schools, hospitals, bad maintenance of public amenities and infrastructure like roads, parks, water, fuel, etc.

Malaysians will need to somehow come to terms with reality. When the people are fighting to get their hands on their share of the pie, conflicts are unavoidable. But humans by nature are prone to be selfish and greedy. Politicians want to grab as much power as possible. Businesses want as much profit as possible. Employees want as much salary as possible.

Regardless of the policies or solutions, somebody has to carry it out. It's those who are responsible for implementing them that matters. Do we have the right people for the job? Does society itself possess the right mentality and values?

NEP would still have happen one way or another.

Any suggestions for an alternative form or modification to the existing NEP is akin to abolishing it. The alternative must be in place first before attempting to modify or change the existing NEP itself.

NEP or not, it will be up to the beneficiaries, which are the Malays themselves. Whether the Non-Malays can live with this will depend on themselves. Even if the government abolishes NEP tomorrow, do the non-Malays naively expect things to be completely different without the cooperation and acceptance from the Malay community?

Just as the non-Malay's contribution to the economy have benefited and helped uplift the country and the Malays, the non-Malays too will benefit from the progression and development of the Malays. Malaysian society is actually more inter-connected than many care to admit. Like a house of cards, when one falls, the rest will follow.

Today, the Malays make up a big segment of the educated, professionals, middle-class and entrepreneurs. Just like everyone else, they too want the country to progress and move forward. But without trust, it will not happen.

As long as each community knows which lines should not be crossed, trust can be nurtured, and good things will happen. And with a needs-based social safety net in place, distrust and insecurities will be eliminated. However, at the individual level, we can always choose to forge ahead instead of waiting.

At the end of the day, it's has always been hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.

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Imagine there is no NEP

Wong Chin Huat

Published: 23 October 2014

For many members of ethnic minorities, if there is no New Economic Policy (NEP), then all the people will be living in peace.

The reality is more complicated than this. Doing the NEP may just do away state partiality, but not socio-economic inequality. And we need an alternative to do away both.

What’s wrong with the NEP?

Many people like to argue that the design of the NEP was good, only its implementation was bad. I respectfully disagree.

For me, the intention of many – but definitely not all – to have and support the NEP was good, but its design and its implementation were flawed.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions, if you like.

So, what’s wrong with the NEP? The NEP was flawed in three ways.

Flaw 1: statist assumption

First, like all statist projects, the NEP was based on the assumption the state was benevolent and selfless, and had no mechanism to check the “agency problem” of its executors.

The very core idea of the NEP, which was firmly planted in 1946 and lives on after its technical conclusion in 1990, was that state partiality can check the excess of socio-economic inequality. Unfortunately, even in pragmatic sense, two wrongs don’t make a right.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak just claimed that Bumiputeras only effectively controlled 10% of corporate share.

And according to Dr Muhammed Abdul Khalid in a 2002 article titled “Anti-poverty plans are colour-blind”, the poverty rate for the Bumiputera was 5.3% as compared with that of only 0.6% for the Chinese.

Even when comparing the bottom 10% of each ethnic group, the Malays’ average household income was only about 70% of that of the Chinese.

The simple question to ask: how can the powerful NEP state fail to help the Malays, both in building a competent and self-reliant capitalist class and lifting the Malays out of poverty after 45 years?

Has the state done all it can? Or does it fail because it has not extracted more from the minorities or hold them back enough? Or is the failure caused by some sabotages by the evil Jews and the evil Americans?

The more convincing answer to me is misplaced incentives.

First, economically, the uncompetitive nature of Umno’s electoral one-party state allows the ethnic champions and guardians to steal what they are supposed to protect. If you can only count on me to advance your interests, what don’t I take a cut?

Second, politically and most detrimentally, the economic independence of Malays will gradually eliminate the political dependence of Umno.

Think of it this way: if ghosts are forever gone, ghost-busters will be out of job.

Similarly, if a cat is kept fundamentally to catch mice, then the cat must be able to catch enough mice to impress the masters. However, if the cat eliminates the mice population, it will be the victim of its own success. As its usefulness end, all its mistakes and nuisances may become intolerable.

Flaw 2: mono-ethnic support

The second flaw of the NEP is that it has no real cross-ethnic support. In the aftermath of May 13, the non-Bumiputeras basically swallowed the NEP down the throat as the price to restore peace and avoid more ethnic violence.

Even when the economy is good, the minorities support for the NEP and its successor policies is at best lukewarm and half-hearted. Unable to overthrow the policy, the minorities skirt around it with schemes like Ali Baba partnership.

Those who feel strongly alienated respond with brain drain, capital flight or supporting the opposition. Some even privately discriminate against or belittle the ethnic majority as an everyday form of resistance.

This frustrates both the state and the Malays, which respond with more discriminative policies against the minorities. Malaysians are like crabs in a basket – trying hard to pull each other down from climbing out of it.

It’s unfair to blame the NEP’s mono-ethnic support base solely or mainly on the state or the ethnic majority. It’s our collective karma, going all the way back to our failure to build a really inclusive notion of nationhood after decolonisation.

But the harsh reality remains: an economic problem cannot be resolved with authoritarian political means.

Flaw 3: violence as the guarantor

The third flaw of the NEP has got everything to do with its origin: the May 13, 1969 riot. It was installed with violence and any attempt to remove it even through democratic means is responded with threat of violence.

With Bumiputeras constituting a majority in some three quarters of parliamentary constituencies, there is no way the NEP can be removed without substantial support of the ethnic majority.

Yet, defenders of the NEP like Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad object vehemently to the proposed repeal of the Sedition Act which, in practice, shelves the NEP from public debate and its replacement by other laws.

When violence is used as the ultimate backer of a policy in the “or else” way, not only its flaws and weaknesses – as the two flaws of NEP discussed above – cannot be addressed, society gets addicted to violence as a means to curb dissent and suppress difference.

Any surprise that now to “protect” the Muslims from dogs, a man’s life is threatened?

Alternative to NEP – non-statist, non-ethnic, non-violent

The NEP policy paradigm is flawed but it would be wrong to think that Malaysia without the NEP and all its flaws would be a bed of roses.

American President Theodore Roosevelt said it aptly: “this country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.”

It’s true for any country in the world, more so for multicultural societies, where socio-economic inequality often correlates with some cultural divides, hence capable of turning class tension into communal conflicts.

It’s time that Malaysians to think of an alternative to the NEP. To not repeat the latter’s flaws, the new policy paradigm must have at least these three characteristics.

First, it should be non-statist by large, building the incentives into market and society to eradicate poverty and restructure society.

A rigidly stratified society, whether between or within ethnic groups, means restricted social upwards mobility for individuals trapped at the bottom. It’s not just injustice but also losses to society and economy when talents cannot be tapped optimally.

However, for a society to stay harmonious and economy to stay stable, it requires also solidarity for the least endowed to have a decent life.

Dog-eats-dog competition is not only inhumane but may eventually tear apart the social fabric in a multicultural setting.

This leads to the second point, the agenda must be national, and not communal. Socio-economic empowerment should be seen as a right and part of what the Malaysian citizenship entails, rather than a privilege based on group membership.

This will deprive any political entrepreneurs from holding any community at ransom for the empowerment that is rightly theirs.

This means a fundamental paradigm shift from “entitlement” – who our ancestors were and when they came here – to “empowerment” – where we are and where we want to go to actualise our life.

For this to work, we will need a national consensus that covers also the aspect of cultural identity. We will need to confront honestly the 1946 question, seek a real consensus and make peace.

Third, the new policy paradigm must be based on reason, the opposite of violence. This would allow all its flaws and weaknesses to be scrutinised and corrected.

Is this new paradigm possible? Allow me to paraphrase John Lennon:

“You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the country will live as one.”

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/opinion/wong-chin-huat/article/imagine-there-is-no-nep#sthash.MYjHKRQZ.dpuf

Many Malaysians Can't Afford To Retire

Unlike nonsensical and unproductive issues raised by some politicians, this is something which will have a direct bearing on our lives. Retirement. It's not something many think about when they are young, and even those not so young in their mid-lives. Unless one has substantial wealth, one will probably have to work well into their old age.

Many youngsters start out in life full of optimism of striking it rich and retire young. Not many succeed. The question is, how many are prepared to work (as in earning a living) until they die? Not many. In our modern materialistic society most will try their best to accumulate as much wealth as they can because they want to retain their current lifestyles in their retirement age. Again many will fail.

A few prerequisites to be able to retire:

• must be debt-free
• must have a home to stay without paying
• 2/3 of current salary per month for expenses
• or minimum RM1000 to RM2000 per month for basic living expenses
• must have substantial savings for medical expenses or emergencies
• preferable without dependants.

From the time a person starts out in life, he will have 30 years to plan. Looks like plenty of time, but it's really not. In the 30 years, he will need to deal with inflation, rising cost of living and expenses, marriage, kids, education, cars, house, insurance, etc. Many in their 40s, 50s or 60s today realise that they could not afford to retire. Many of the young generation today will find themselves in the same situation in the future.

Rather than hoping, it will be wiser to prepare ourselves mentally & physically to continue working into our old age. If you managed to retire early and comfortably, then great. If not, well, at least you're prepared.

Personally, I feel it is perfectly fine to continue working as long as health permits. Given a choice, I'd choose good health anyday! 

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KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 ― Malaysia may be headed for a retirement crisis as tens of thousands of Malaysians depart the workforce for their golden years with less savings than is needed to keep them out of poverty.

According to recent figures from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), the approximately 70,000 active 54-year-old contributors have an average savings of just under RM167,000 last year. The recommended minimum savings level is RM196,800.

The situation is made more alarming by the revelation that 69 per cent of all EPF contributors of the same age have less than RM50,000 in their accounts, as made known by the fund’s chief executive, Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan, last month.

But even RM167,000 is scant consolation. As the average Malaysian expected to live until 75, retiring at 60 with that amount would mean surviving on just RM700 a month for the rest of their days.

With that amount, retirees would technically slip below the RM830 per month threshold that is indicative of poverty conditions in peninsular Malaysia, based on the Statistics Department’s poverty line income (PLI) for 2012.

According to Harveston Wealth Management financial adviser Annie Hor, a nest egg of RM167,000 could be made to last, but only if the retiree is completely free of debt and need not pay for accommodation.

“Otherwise you would be suffering a bit because if you just want a simple life, with three meals a day, maybe just get from point A to point B, petrol, you would need at least RM1,000 to 2,000 per month because, not forgetting when you are older, medical bills are expensive,” she told Malay Mail Online recently.

She added that her 60-year-old mother needs at least RM2,000 to get by in the city, even with her simple lifestyle.....

- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/retirement-crisis-brewing-as-epf-savings-suggest-pensioner-poverty#sthash.cddlvIMN.dpuf

Pendatang = Chinese

The flavour of the month of October seems to be the term "pendatang" or immigrant. Of course, in Malaysia, it is usually used to refer to non-Malays, specifically the Chinese. I don't know why they reserve this term for the Chinese because many others including many Malays arrived here only a few of generations ago. Does that mean the Chinese have just fallen from 2nd class to immigrant class? or is this a promotion instead? hehehe.

This time round, it's this guy's turn: Chinese still act like ‘pendatang’...

Zainuddin Maidin

We can quote history, argue, and debate till the cows come home as to who came first, and who did what, but the conclusion will always be the same unless you are specific. Firstly, we need to agree on the cut off date as to the point in time our first ancestors arrive in this land. Secondly, we need to be precise in the use of the term itself.

Actually, he is telling the Chinese to assimilate and become a Malay... like him.

Zainuddin Maidin says:

1. “Why do they get so angry when they are called ‘pendatang’ when they themselves have preferred self isolation?” 

- Perhaps it's the same reason why some Indian Muslims get angry when they are called "mamak" and insists that they are categorised as Malays & Bumiputeras. And why are some Malays also get so defendsive when they are also called "pendatang" when they are clearly not? Some people are just sensitive beings.

Do the Chinese Malaysians today isolate themselves? It is nearly impossible to do that because the country is run by Malays. No matter how hard they try, the Chinese will still have to interact with Malays, beginning from the time they are born when their parents have to register their birth certificate with the Malay officer on duty. Or did he mean that the Chinese should live amongst the Malays. Perhaps in Kampung Baru? hehehe. Of course everyone knows the reason why that is not possible. So, who is isolating who again? Perhaps he was referring to their ancestors who rarely interacted with the locals....

2. refusal to learn Bahasa Malaysia

- Actually he is not entirely incorrect on this one. There are indeed some Chinese who absolutely hates Bahasa Melayu. But for the others, they could not possibly escape from learning Bahasa Melayu when it is taught not only in National Schools but also Vernacular Schools? Many may have a poor command of the language, but they are certainly not Bahasa Melayu illiterate. Well, unless he was referring to their ancestors, many of whom were indeed BM illiterate....

It is indeed advisable for the Chinese to really make an effort to improve their Bahasa Melayu. It is the national language after all. Having a good command of BM is not only an essential and beneficial skill, it also allows you to interact better with the Malays. Just as you would interact differently between say, a Japanese, or a Korean, or an Englishman, language plays a big role in building bridges. Don't let pride become a barrier.

3. Chinese in Malaysia still do not have a Malaysian identity

- This is a tricky one, because the last time I checked, nobody has come up an official definition on this Malaysian Identity. I would certainly like to know what this Malaysian Identity that he speaks of looks like. Or perhaps he was referring to Malay identity? Well, technically, the Chinese would need to become Muslims first. Unless, again, he was referring to their ancestors who really did came here with their Chinese customs...

4. Who is building walls and insisting on preserving their ‘pendatang’ identity

- Again, what does a "pendatang" identity look like? or does he mean Chinese identity. Why insist on referring Chinese identity to immigrant identity? Do those who come from other countries also share this Chinese identity?

Anyway, it's kinda hard to give up Chinese New Year and other festivals, mooncakes, ang pows, religious rituals, religion, etc. Firecrackers are an exception though because it looks like the Malays and Indians have taken over the monopoly of setting them off in the middle of the night. hahahah...

Anyway, "Pendatang" simply means immigrant. Technically, most Malaysians are not immigrants because they are born here. Some of their ancestors were more recent immigrants, some came earlier. So, he should have used the term "keturunan pendatang" which means "descendants of immigrants". That way, although some Chinese still won't like it, but at least they have no reason to deny it either. And those Chinese whose ancestors were here before his ancestors would not feel offended.

We do not need to be ashamed about our history. We must remember that it is not easy for a person to leave their place of birth, their home, to start a new life in a foreign land. In unfamiliar surroundings, sometimes even hostile, they had to work hard and sacrificed a lot for their descendants and their new home.

Perhaps everyone should just stop insulting each other's ancestors.
 

As we walk, all of our ancestors walk with us...

Crime: Choo Gaik Yap Kidnap, Rape & Murder - Accused to face full trial

It took eight years for a full trial to be called. It certainly didn't help that the accused managed to escape the authorities and went into hiding in Australia for a few years. A country can have the best laws, but it's always the enforcement that matters.

Previous post:
http://year1malaysia.blogspot.com/2013/06/crime-choo-gaik-yap-kidnap-rape-murder.html

2015 UPDATE: http://year1malaysia.blogspot.com/2015/08/crime-choo-gaik-yap-kidnap-rape-murder.html

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Car salesman told to enter defence in rape and murder of UUM grad 

PUTRAJAYA: The man accused of the death of Chee Gaik Yap, who was found raped and murdered in Alor Setar eight years ago, will now face a full trial before the High Court there.

The Court of Appeal panel led by Justice Linton Albert unanimously set aside car salesman Shahril Jaafar's acquittal and discharge, and ordered he enter defence.

"We order that he (Shahril) also be placed in remand forthwith," said Justice Linton on Monday.

Chee Gaik Yap's father, Chee Ah Sau told reporters after the case that he was relieved his daughter's case would now be heard in full.

The three-man panel, which included Justices Mohtarudin Baki and Abdul Rahman Sebli set Oct 19 for mention of the case before the Alor Setar High Court.

Gaik Yap's father Chee Ah Sau, who attended the proceedings, told reporters he was relieved that the case would finally be heard in full.

On June 25, the Alor Setar High Court acquitted and discharged Shahril of murdering Chee after finding that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case.

Shahril, 33, had been charged with the murder that took place between 5.30pm on Jan 14, 2006, and 3.05am on Jan 15, 2006, near the Cinta Sayang Club in Taman Ria Jaya, Sungai Petani.

Gaik Yap, a marketing executive and Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) graduate, was believed to have been tailed by her assailant while jogging in the neighbourhood of Taman Ria Jaya in Sungai Petani.

She was kidnapped, raped and killed before her body was dumped at the housing estate.

- http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/10/13/Court-Car-salesman-told-to-enter-defence-in-rape-and-murder-case/

Anti-Chinese Schools, again...

Looks like the "Close down Chinese Schools" season has arrived... again. I wonder how long do they plan to continue this 'tradition'.

Excerpt from recent aticle from NST:

Utara Umno deputy division chief Mohamad Azli Mohemed Saad said the assembly should also discuss whether the vernacular school system should be continued.

“Many are of the opinion that Chinese vernacular schools have been exploited by opposition parties to incite hatred towards other races, and spread racial and anti-government sentiments.

“We should debate on whether Chinese vernacular schools should be abolished, or to increase the intake of Malay and Indian students, and teachers to 60 per cent (in such schools).”

Isn't it funny that those who hate Chinese schools are more passionate about vernacular education than those who actually attend these schools? Granted the former's passion is in closing these schools. Nevertheless, one can't help but to wonder, do they have too much time on their hands? I would think that there are more pressing issues that should be given attention... like the economy or wealth inequality, perhaps?

Anyway, if we look closely, we will find that it's all about politics. It's all part of the standard textbook stuff played out by our politicians on a regular basis.

The 'defenders' will talk...

Probe Umno man for sedition over call to scrap Chinese schools, says MCA

MCA religious harmony bureau chair Datuk Ti Lian Ker said Petaling Jaya Utara Umno deputy division chief Mohamad Azli Mohemed Saad’s proposal went against the Federal Constitution and contradicted Barisan Nasional’s policy in allowing Malaysians to study in their mother tongue.

“Not only has Mohamad Azli challenged the rights of all Malaysians to study their mother-tongue language, but he has also questioned the legitimate rights of the Chinese community to education, and his careless call is liable to create racial tension,” Ti said in a statement today.
- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/probe-umno-man-for-sedition-over-call-to-scrap-chinese-schools-says-mca#sthash.BqhEHAmp.dpuf

The so-called 'experts' will talk.... alot......

No, it’s not sedition. The constitutionality of vernacular schools is indeed in question — Faidhur Rahman Abdul Hadi 

.... At a glance these two provisos would appear to protect the existence of Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools.

However, a closer scrutiny of the said provisos to Article 152 would reveal otherwise, and this could be gleaned from the decision of the Federal Court in Merdeka University v Government of Malaysia.

In this case, Dong Zong had requested the Federal Government for an incorporation order issued pursuant to Section 6 of the University and University Colleges Act 1971 for the establishment of a university, namely the Merdeka University, using Mandarin Chinese as the medium of instruction. This was rejected by the Government at the time as being against the national education policy.

Subsequently, Dong Zong sued the Government at the High Court and was dismissed. This was appealed at the Federal Court and Their Lordships Lord President Suffian Chief Judge of Malaya Raja Azlan Shah J, Federal Court Justices Salleh Abas and Abdul Hamid held, by a majority (with Justice Seah disagreeing) that if an order for the incorporation of the university were to be made, it would be, notwithstanding its privately owned nature, a public authority as it would be exercising powers under the University and University Colleges Act 1971 as the legal basis for the functioning of the university.

And as the university would be a public authority, use of the Chinese language as the medium of instruction would be for an official purpose and thus, prohibited by Article 152(6) of the Federal Constitution......

..... But do the aforementioned provisos to Article 152(1) protect the right to receive instruction in a language other than the Malay language?

To this, His Lordship Suffian LP postulated that the word “using” in proviso (a) to Article 152 does not include “teaching in” any language apart from the national language.

.... In other words, no person shall be prohibited or prevented from teaching or learning Chinese or Tamil or, for that matter, any language which is not the national language in any school as a language subject, but such protection does not extend to the teaching or learning in a school where the teaching or learning is in any other language...

- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/what-you-think/article/no-its-not-sedition.-the-constitutionality-of-vernacular-schools-is-indeed#sthash.u2yNzzTh.dpuf

 So, it is not uncontitutional to abolish Chinese Schools. In fact, Mandarin or any other language cannot be used as a medium of instruction except Bahasa Melayu.

What about English then? Shouldn't private colleges & universities like Sunway, Taylors, KDU, etc use Bahasa Melayu too?

The conclusion is, there is no point really to debate or talk about issues like this. The education policy supports abolishing Chinese schools in it's current form. They've already done it with the English-medium mission schools in the past.

Like it or not, all schools in every country are places of indoctrination. But Chinese Schools in Malaysia have been portrayed as indoctrination camps producing terribly racist and radical citizens who hate BN and Malays. According to their logic, once Chinese schools are abolished, corruption will disappear and the races will start loving each other, the country will prosper, everyone will be wealthy, cost of living and crime rate will go down, and there will be ever lasting peace, unity and happiness in Malaysia...

This is really getting old... If they think abolishing Chinese schools is such an urgent and major issue that is detrimental to the nation, the cabinet should act immediately. Just do it. Enough of talking.

Petrol, diesel prices up by 20sen from 2 October 2014

The cheaper variant of petrol, RON95, will increase from RM2.10 to RM2.30 per litre while diesel will cost RM2.20 per litre. The difference between RON95 & RON97 (RM2.75) is only RM0.45. Perhaps it is more worthwhile to use RON97 instead.

Anyway, it is futile to worry about the impact on prices of goods because the prices of almost everything have been increasing on a regular basis. Expect it to continue in the coming years.

With GST around the corner, it will definitely increase the cost of doing business. Any form of tax is bad for businesses, bad for consumers, but good for the government. Expect price increases.

There's also talk of water & electricity tariff hikes. So, prices increase.

Minimum wage, which has pushed up wages across all levels, have also contributed to the increase of prices.  Unfortunately, the rate of decline of purchasing power is much higher. Since businesses need to pay more for salaries, prices increase.

It would be prudent to keep an eye on the economy, both domestic as well as worldwide. Don't get distracted by petty issues and lose your focus on the economy. It's always the economy.

Below is an interesting video on economic inequality. It's an important issue in every society, which can even make or break governments & countries. It's something they talk about but often lack the willpower to solve. Usually, it takes a revolution to change things as history has shown. Often, politicians and the ruling class would rather distract the people with other issues.

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PETALING JAYA: The price of RON95 petrol and diesel fuel will go up by 20 sen effective midnight.

The new price of RON95 petrol will be RM2.30 per litre while diesel will cost RM2.20 per litre.
The Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry said the Government had decided to reduce the current fuel subsidy by 20 sen in keeping with its subsidy rationalisation plan.

“This move is in line with the subsidy rationalisation plan by the Government to ensure that the country’s finances remain strong,” the Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

It said the Government also aimed to curb the smuggling of fuel and also to ensure that the current subsidy is not misused.

“The Government will continue to implement the subsidy rationalisation in stages so as to not burden the lower income group.

“We understand that fuel price increases will affect the economy and the people. Therefore, we will continue to provide incentives to the lower income group to alleviate their burden,” said the Ministry.

The current unsubsidised market price for RON95 is RM2.58 per litre while diesel is RM2.52 per litre.

Petrol and diesel prices were last increased, also by a 20 sen margin, on Sept 2 last year.

- http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/10/01/Petrol-Price-increase-20-sen/