The choice of Penang People

After failing for 3 consecutive attempts, Mansor Othman has managed to secure his seat as Penanti State Assemblyman at the cost of Mohammad Fairus Khairu­ddin.

With months of waiting and speculating, Penangites now find their new Deputy Chief Minister from a 3 times rejected candidate of PKR. A choice specially recommended by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and condone by the Chief Minister.

With the transparency and accountability recommended by Lim Guan Eng, we could only hope that Mansor Othman can have the credibility to convince the ever high-demand penangites.

How dissapoint we are that upon swear in as the new Deputy Chief Minister I, his 1st announcement on the appointment of council chairman had resulted to 9 PKR councillors threatening to resign. But Penangites makes their choice.

With the announcement of Lim Guan Eng to give RM10,000.00 to the whistleblower, his hope to eredicate corruption again astound me for his creativity with monetary rewards. I did not expect Penang government to have a lot of funds during economy crisis, but the Penang Chief Minister shows how strong the financial capability of the state. At least, he dare to make such commitment and I hope that he can be answerable to the State Assembly on how such an amount being used (or allocated), otherwise, this defeat his commitment on transparency.

This is the choice of the majority voters of Penang and I hope that the choice is a wise one, although I do not see how prudent is the state being governed.

(Republished in www.gerakan4u.com)

People's Representatives Should Not Be Bar To The August Hall

Every 5 years (or less), the people of Malaysia has the right to vote in accordance with the democracy system to choose the people's representative into the people's assembly.

It is in the august hall that the people's Government are formed and answerable to the people's representatives.

To suspend or bar the people's representatives to enter the people's assembly is a mockery of the democratic system and the people's rights to be represented and be heard.

In this term alone, we saw many people's representatives being barred, suspended, order to leave or chase out from the parliament and state assembly. Incidents such Datuk Siringan Gubat (for saying "ngam..."), Gobind Singh Deo (for calling "murderer"), Zambry and his Perak State Exco (for taking office of Perak State Government or after the committee inquiry), Sivakumar (for refusing to vacate his speaker's seat (literally) and the latest being Datuk Seri Dr. Mohd Khir Toyo (for failing to attend the Balkis inquiry).

The 12th term of the Malaysia Parliament shows that the people have elected the people's representatives who formed the "Circus" parliament. (ref: "Live TV Coverage Brings Parliament 'Circus' To The Bedroom" http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=380369).

The Perak State Assembly can't be better with the frog from BN leaped to PR and the frogs from PR jumped to BN which caused the suspension orders against Zambry and his men together with the Speaker been dragged out from the hall.

Other points aside, no elected representatives should be forbidden to enter the hall of people's representatives for any reason which would make their status as people's representatives pointless and yes, this also applies to the situation of Datuk Seri Dr. Mohd Khir Toyo (Even though the public may perceived that there maybe sweet vengeance for the 30 months suspension imposed against the imposer of his suspension).

To prevent the role of a people's representative to do his work is like calling the people of his constituency idiots for choosing a defunct and unperformable leader (although he may gain publicity and another term in office by being victim of circumstances). What is more dissapointing is that the outcome of suspension shows no productive outcome, ie, the forum less another member, the people lack another voice to be heard, the media lacks another news creator in the hall and the law is pass without another legislator.

The exercise of power to suspend is a draconian one and should not be exercise as a mode of convenience. Only in a drastic and unpreventable circumstances, should such power be exercise and even if exercise, it should be exercise with care and self restrain. We cannot be expecting the seat of a constituency be vacant/suspend by another person of another constituency(with due respect, eventhough by the Speaker).

One cannot agree with the suspension of any people's representative for a period more than the discussion which he had resulted delay, mockery or difficulty).

A disclosure of interest, I am a resident of Puchong constituency.

Tan Chun Ming

Flags of Bukit Gantang

The battle drums roar as the dusk of nomination ended with 3 candidates representing the established, the avenger and the opportunity seeker.

The land of durian orchard is now fill with the flame of spirits and streams of flags, but who would the voters of Bukit Gantang elect?

As the dawn unveiled, the battle among Ismail Saffian, Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin and Kamarul Ramizu Idris begin. So what say you, the beloved residents of Bukit Gantang? Are you ready to be the decision maker?

Let's face it. As a voter in Bukit Gantang, what other choice do one have besides Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin? Who is Ismail Saffian to you and me? Whose reputation should we entrusted in? No doubt, the journey of the people does not begin here but the trust to the government may end here and thus bury the peace and harmony our forefathers fight so hard to maintain.

To the people of Bukit Gantang, this is not a war of representation, it never is, Malaysia is facing a crucial time in the global crisis. Maybe Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin is a good Menteri Besar but in national level, his role as an opposition cannot be a beam to lay on in support of our beloved nation during this point of time. This is not a time of showing approve or disapprove of Perak state government, this is a time to choose a leader in the august hall of parliament. A hall of national representatives to govern a country in crisis.

The dawn of a new era requires the construction of a new dream and yes, we need another point of view but not during the time of confident crisis where the breaK of our fragile trust towards the government shall lead us to nowhere but chaos and doom. Yes, and here we stand, between the devil and the deep blue sea, are we ready to jump?

This country cannot split and at a time when Malaysia is in dire straits, I urge the voters to support a nation of one and united.

The flags in Bukit Gantang are aplenty now, but many will fall as there will only be 1 victor amongst the 3. The people needs sustainable growth and progress, let us not stop now because of hate and dissatisfactions. Feelings we have, but Malaysia needs a larger mandate for its survival and let us not stop here, this country needs your support.

The consequences, the fate of the nation and survival of our future, the citizen of Bukit Gantang, make up your decision, are you ready?

(Post During Bukit Gantang By-Election 2009)

Minggu Perpaduan Malaysia

Hari ini (24.05.2009), Yang Amat Berhormat Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Perdana Menteri Malaysia bersama dengan Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon telah bersama-sama melancarkan "Minggu Perpaduan Tahun 2009" pada pukul 10 pagi di IOI Mall, Puchong Selangor.

Tidak dinafikan, walaupun setelah 46 tahun Malaysia ditubuhkan, perhubungan etnik di Malaysia masih berasaskan semangat daerah, kaum, agama dan kebudayaan asal usul masing-masing.

Saya berpendapat tidak salah untuk setiap kaum mengekalkan identiti kaum masing-masing di Malaysia. Walaubagaimanapun, apa yang menyedihkan adalah, kebanyakkan rakyat Malaysia masih hidup di zon keselesaan masing-masing dan tidak berusaha untuk berinteraksi dengan kaum lain di Malaysia.

Adalah amat merbahaya seandainya dengan perkembangan penduduk di Malaysia ini, kaum masing-masing semakin terikat dengan zon selesa masing-masing yang mana kaum Melayu hanya hidup antara Melayu, Kaum Tiong Hua hanya berinteraksi sesama masyarakat Tiong Hua dan Kaum India hanya bermasyarakat di kalangan rakyat India sahaja.

Seperti yang ditunjukkan dalam wayang "TaleNtime" yang diarahkan Yasmin Ahmad, sekiranya rakyat Malaysia kekal mencuriga terhadap kaum lain di Malaysia, kita akan senantiasa dikurung dalam komuniti kita yang menyebabkan satu beban psikologi yang tidak memanfaatkan mana-mana pihak.

Adalah pendapat saya, terdapat sebahagian pihak rakyat Malaysia yang cuba untuk memecahkan sempadan perkauman dan menghidupkan satu identiti kebangsaan Malaysia, tetapi kebanyakan rakyat Malaysia yang masih enggan untuk melepaskan kebanggaan kaum dan agama. Contohnya pegangan terhadap keutuhan agama Islam dan status Bumiputra oleh kaum Melayu, kebanggaan terhadap kebudayaan 5000 tahun dan pencapaian kaum oleh kaum Tiong Hua dan kepentingan kepada perikatan agaama dan status keluarga oleh kaum India.

Pegangan identiti kaum merupakan satu norma antarabangsa dan untuk mencapai perpaduan, kita tidak perlu mengadakan polisi asimilasi seperti di negara lain seperti Thailand dan Indonesia untuk mencapai perpaduan kebangsaan. Sekiranya rakyat Malaysia bekerjasama, mempunyai matlamat yang sama, menghadapi rintangan yang sama dan menghargai pencapaian bersama, kita telah bersatu dan perpaduan bukan sekadar satu slogan.

失落大马国羽的困境。期待韩国国羽的崛起。

5月16日晚上7时正，我坐在电视机面前，观看直播的2009年苏迪曼杯羽毛球混合团体赛的其中一部半决赛，大马队与中国队的比赛，大马队与赛前预期的以3：0负于更强大的中国队。这是第11届的苏迪曼杯，也是大马国羽队首次踏入半决赛，完成了赛前大马羽毛球总会设下的半决赛目标。

大马国羽队负于整体实力更完整和强大的中国队，比赛结果的胜负是在各方预料之中。大马队在混双和女双的项目与中国队实力悬殊，大马队的得分来源便落在男单，男双及女单项目。在男单与男双项目，两队实力相当，取胜对方的把握各占五成。然后大马队再期待女单黄妙珠能够扮演黑马角色，爆冷擒下她从未较量过的中国新近女单选手王涵仪。

我对比赛结果不敢到沮丧和意外，只是对大马国羽球员在场上的表现感到无比的失望。

李宗伟与林丹实力相当，但是俩人的差异明显体现在心理素质方面。林丹在球场上比赛时，能够时刻保持高度的专注力和集中力，而且对比赛的求胜欲望数当今羽坛之最。反观李宗伟在自己频频犯下几个失误的球点时，便失去专注力和集中力，信心也开始崩溃，这些迹象都实实在在的体现在其毫无遮掩的，垂头丧气的脸部表情，导致他无法发挥他实际的技术水平，最终再次栽在林丹拍下。比赛仍未结束，凡是都还有一线反击赶上的取胜希望。但是李宗伟似乎仍未深得领悟以上的道理。比赛仍在半途进行中，比分只落后数分，却明显斗志力不继，信心动摇，到底还是精神力量不足。

古建杰/陈文宏和中国队的蔡赟/付海峰的比赛，双方比赛高潮迭起，紧张刺激，扣人心弦。本来马来西亚的钻石组合，在拿下第一局后，应可以再拿下第二局，取下胜利。但是俩人在第二局时，明显轻敌，比赛仍未结束，心情却开始放松，集中力不足，导致失去第二局，将比赛带入第三局，而后微分输掉比赛。

比赛结束后，我非常感概，也若有所思。我心里苦思心中一直以来的迷惑，对大马国羽球员实力具备，却频频在大赛中失利而不解。我是羽毛球运动的爱好者，一直有注意大马羽毛球运动的发展，也常坐在电视机前观看现场直播大马国羽球员的比赛。

我不是感概大马国羽球员在这次2009年苏迪曼杯比赛输掉了比赛，而是对大马国羽球员比赛时散漫的态度，薄弱的斗志和泛泛的体育竞赛精神，尤其感到非常失望。

我认为大马国羽球员迫切需要在心理和精神层面进行深度的和严格的锻炼和审视。大马国羽球员在每次比赛时必须表现出顽强的斗志力、意志力、抗压性；认真看待每一场比赛，时刻保持高度的专注力和集中力，还要拥有强烈的追求胜利的欲望。

说实在的话，大马国羽球员在纪律性，凝聚力，团队精神的表现，不如中印韩丹。大马国羽球员需要学习尊重国家、群众、对手和自己。在参加任何国际比赛时，国羽球员要时刻谨记他们是代表国家而比赛，他们在场内和场外的行为举止，都将体现国家民族的价值观和精神观。现场群众和电视机观众也是比赛的组成部分，所以球员应该认真比赛，把自身的实力水平都淋漓尽致的发挥出来，让群众见识高水平的，赏心悦目的比赛。各国球员在其运动员生涯中，能够彼此有机会成为竞争对手，切磋球艺，属难能可贵；更何况实力相当的对手可遇不可求，球员的体能和精神状态也难以时刻维持高峰，所以球员更应该把握机会， 要“英雄惺惺相惜”的态度认真看待每场比赛。运动员的生涯是短暂的，所以球员应该尽最大的努力，认真去比赛以创造好成绩，为自己于羽坛上留下光辉灿烂的岁月，让自己于观众的记忆里留下深刻的，刻骨铭心的印象和赞赏，在自身国家运动员生涯中不留下任何遗憾。

要栽培出色的、优秀的羽毛球运动员，需要国家各造多方面的配合和努力，包括政府资金的投入，大马国家羽球总会的英明领导，教练团队的素质训练和规划，球员本身高度的自律性和对教练团队的绝对的服从性；以便形成一体化的、统一化的集体意志，作为球员在球场上源源不绝的比赛动力。

我对韩国国羽球员所体现的崇高的国家和民族精神，和高度的纪律性，尤其心生敬佩。在平时训练时，球员都非常认真，绝对服从教练的指导。而且，球员非常谦虚，对教练尤其非常恭敬。在比赛时，球员都会认真看待每一场比赛，即使比分落后，也不轻言放弃，尝试顶住压力，作力挽狂澜努力一番，即使输了比赛，也虽败犹荣。在球场外，韩国球员都保持着一贯的集体行动，集体活动，给人感觉非常有纪律和组织性。这是大马国羽球员应该多多向他人学习的地方。

韩国球员李龙大的出现，不止为韩国国羽体育带来新的希望和新的动力，也为世界羽坛注入新的竞争格局和新的气象。被誉为羽坛一代双打和混双奇才朴柱奉的衣钵继承者，李龙大的加入无疑能够提升韩国国羽团队的整体实力，在世界羽坛比赛中，再次崛起形成另一股不可忽视的势力。自从李弦一挂牌退役后，韩国男单球员出现真空的迹象。希望现为韩国国羽队男单总教练的李矛能够于这五年之内为韩国栽培出色的男单球员，以提升韩国国羽的整体实力，让世界羽坛形成多元性的竞争格局。

Memimpin Melalui Teladan

Leadership By Example or "Memimpin Melalui Teladan" was long taught since our younger years in primary school.

Our leaders have always managed to show extraordinary examples on how to become a "leader", a "politician", a successful "businessman" and most important of all, what "say one thing, but do another thing means".

It is more often than not that whenever you drive in the highway, you will see that the speed limit is 110km/j (110 kilometers per hour). However, you can always see the police escorting the politicians and diplomats driving more than 110km per hour. Not something unusual. When we are speeding, we are summoned, but when they did, the have police to escort.

But why do they speed in the first place if not because they failed to manage their time properly (ie late in their next function), abuse of power (any other reason for not following the speed limit passed by the parliament in which they are a member themselves?) and because this is the norms.

Something need to be done, if they intend to lead, they should set their own example by abiding to the laws. Otherwise, they should face the consequences and pay the summons like all the rest of us. But I don't remember any of them going to pay the summons themselves although they themselves (or their drivers) were caught speeding.

Forum (6) Part I - A Trip To China 中国之旅 (Update 2)

二零零八年九月十九日至九月二十七日，一连八天，小弟到中国的五个城市去旅游，包括上海，南京，福州，厦门和深圳。这是小弟首次的中国之旅，心里兴奋莫名，也非常紧张。对中国的印象和了解，平时只是透过报章，电视新闻台，抑或是相关网站的图片和报导而得之一二。俗话说：读万卷书不如行万里路。在中国旅游的那几天，小弟着实对中国今日的现代化发展所取得的成就是震撼的，印象深刻的。小弟对那里的一切人，事，物是新鲜的，在大马这里见所未见，闻所未闻。顿时，举起随身带来的数码相机，拼命的将眼前很多新鲜的景观和事物拍了起来。相关图片如下：


上海篇


这辆本田轿车的车后左上角的“广州本田”字样，主要传达的讯息是此辆本田轿车是在中国广州生产的。


上海市工人文化宫的外部建筑设计。


上海城市规划展示馆（1）


上海城市规划展示馆（2）：外部建筑设计。


上海城市规划展示馆（3）:上海城市的重要建筑物地标模型。


上海城市规划展示馆（4）：上海浦东和浦西现今的城市发展和规划模型缩影。


录像 （1） ：在上海城市规划展示馆内的其中一个角落，坐落着这个上海城市模型缩影，展示目前浦东和浦西现代化的与未来先进的城市发展及规划蓝图。小弟着实非常震撼及深刻的感受到上海人的创造力与无穷的活力。


录像 （2） ：延续录像（1）在上海城市规划展示馆内。


上海城市街道一隅的傍晚景观。


上海城市街道一隅的夜晚景观。此街道宽敞干净，人山人海。这里有许多各式各样的商店和小食馆，有许多年轻人于此溜达逛街，小弟第一次感受到上海城市的活力和热闹。


录像 （3） ：上海城市其中一条街道，夜晚繁忙的情景。


录像 (4) : 延续录像 （3）上海城市街道，夜晚繁忙情景。


上海朋友的公寓（1）这是客厅。猜猜看这间公寓目前的市值是多少?


上海朋友的公寓（2）前面就是主人房。右手边是一间中房（A)。左手边依序是一间冲凉房和一间中房(B)。


上海朋友的公寓（3）这就是中房(B)。


上海朋友的公寓（4）这就是主人房。


上海朋友的公寓（5）这就是主人房内的冲凉房。


上海朋友的公寓（6）这就是中房(A)。根据上海的这位朋友说，这间三房一厅的公寓，2000年的市值是40万人民币左右，2004年飙至大概150万人民币，2008年更是上涨至280万人民币。上海房地产价格的上涨幅度和速度，着实令上海普通上班族望屋兴叹，梦寐难求矣。


上海朋友的公寓外貌


上海公寓外貌


上海其中一条老街的旧商店


上海其中一条老街的旧商店


上海环球金融中心的观光厅。这是继东方明珠263米的主观光层，到金茂大厦88层341米的观光厅后，上海浦东小陆家嘴地区另一个登高观光景点 - 最高达474米100层的上海环球金融中心观光厅，是上海登高观光高度的新突破的纪录。欲详细了解上海环球金融中心，请参考此网站 http://swfc-shanghai.com/


在高439米的上海环球金融中心97层观光天桥上，俯瞰上海壮丽的风景。当天上海的空气素质非常差，所以上空朦胧一片的。

在环球金融中心97层观光天桥上面，俯瞰上海的风景。


图片中间的建筑物便是上海环球金融中心，以屋顶高度492米（101楼）为当今世界第一高楼，超过了目前屋顶高度世界第一的台北101大楼（480米）。


动车篇

黑人总统，奥巴马!

美国黑人总统，终于脱颖而出；
今后肩负重任，承载民众使命；
前路困难重重，未来改革艰苦；
内有金融危机，外有战争烂摊；
重塑美国形象，实是迫在眉睫；
稳住美国经济，乃是首要任务；
奥巴马当总统，世人引颈期盼；
呼吁全球群众，为其胜选欢呼!

America's First Black Elected President! What this tells us?

In the just concluded US presidential election result, the American people had made a great breakthrough. They had chosen an African American, “with a funny name” Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. With the promise to bring change to America, the 46-years-old Democratic Senator of Illinois won big with a landslide victory by winning electoral votes of 338 over McCain 163.

Before 4th November 2008, we can only see the African American President through the Hollywood's movies. But now it is real happening before our sight.

What this scenario tells us? The American people had once again been creating another great history in the world. They possess the wisdom, determination and capacities to constantly producing miraculous and remarkable greatness.

In the science and technology, the American had invented the internet which is initially being used for military purpose. Yet they had shared this technology out to the world and help to mould the different way people were being connected and promote a novel way of communication.

In the business world, there were Microsoft, Google, Dell, Amazon, Citibank etc whose successful brand names had implanted depth into our minds and integrated breadth into our daily life. They were all originated from the America.

And of course, the American people were smart and creative enough to popularize the securitized mortgage debts which were the major elements causing the current meltdown of the global financial markets and banking system.

Democracy, freedom, innovation and risk were those values connected to the American people. That is why they are able to create constant impacts to the world.

Utusan Melayu, the history?

Sejak kebelakangan ini, surat khabar Melayu tempatan -- Utusan Melayu telah terlibat dengan pelbagai isu politik yang melebihi fungsinya sebagai media massa untuk menyampaikan maklumat.

Kini, Ahli Parlimen Seputeh, Cik Teresa Kok telah memfailkan satu guaman fitnah terhadap Utusan Melayu dan seorang pengarang iaitu Mohd Zaini Hassan menuntut untuk RM30 juta sebagai gantirugi yang dikatakan menyebabkan beliau ditangkap dan dipenjarakan sebanyak 7 hari di bawah Akta Sekuriti Dalaman ("ISA").

Menurut laporan,beliau menuntut RM30 juta untuk satu artikel yang bergelaran "Azan, Jawi, Jais, UiTM dan ba-alif-ba-ya" yang diterbitkan oleh Utusan Malaysia pada 10 September 2008 yang dikatakan sebagai dengan niat jahat untuk menfitnah beliau.

Utusan Malaysia atau sebelumnya Utusan Melayu yang ditulis dalam jawi mula diterbitkan di Kuala Lumpur pada sekitar 29 Mei 1939 setelah ibu pejabatnya dipindah dari Singapura ke Malaysia.

Sebagai sebuah surat khabar kebangsaan Melayu, Utusan Melayu telah menjadi medan untuk menuntut kemerdekaan dan mengalakan idealisme bahasa dan sastera Melayu.

Dalam sejarah Malaysia, adalah dipercayai bahawa hanya wujud sekali sahaja demontrasi dan mogok yang melibatkan wartawan Melayu dan pekerja mereka iaitu pada sekitar tahun 1961.

Tindakan mogok ini yang mengambil masa lebih kurang 100 hari bermula pada tahun 1961 apabila para pekerja Utusan Melayu mogok demi mempertahankan kebebasan media dan berita.

Pada masa itu, Utusan Melayu yang kerap mengkritik Perdana Menteri pada masa itu, Tunku Abdul Rahman telah mendapati bahawa Ketua Editor dan CEO surat khabar tersebut yang bakal dilantik merupakan ahli UMNO.

Tokoh terkenal dan wartawan seperti Said Zahari, Usman Awang, Abu Zaki Fadzil, Awamilarsarkam dan lain-lain lagi telah dikatakan terlibat dalam tindakan mogok ini demi mempertahankan kebebasan media.

Antara sebab-sebab lain yang dikatakan menyebabkan tindakan mogok ini adalah polisi yang dikenakan terhadap wartawan dan pekerja Utusan Melayu di mana mereka dipercayai bahawa polisi tahun 1959 yang bakal dikuatkuasakan oleh ahli UMNO terlibat bakal menjejaskan kemerdekaan wartawan dalam menjalankan tugas mereka.

Untuk mempertahankan kebebasan media dan surat khabar mereka, adalah dikatakan bahawa Said Zahari telah memimpin wartawan-wartawan dan pekerja-pekerja kilang penerbitan membantah perlantikan ahli UMNO yang berkenaan dan meminta agar orang yang tidak mempunyai latar belakang politik dilantik sebagai Ketua Editor dan CEO.

Adalah tuntutan mereka agar pihak pengurusan menyelesaikan masalah berkenaan sebelum 21 Julai 1961 atau mereka akan mogok.

Pada 21 Julai 1961, mereka telah memulakan mogok yang bertahan sebanyak 93 hari dan berakhir pada 21 Oktober tahun yang sama.

Semasa mogok, mereka mendirikan khemah di luar pejabat Utusan dan menjaga di situ. Pada mulanya, mereka yang menyertai mogok cuba menghalang pekerja yang berniat bekerja untuk memasuki pejabat, walaubagaimanpun, mereka kemudiannya berhenti tindakan sedemikian.

Setelah lebih kurang satu bulan, Said Zahari telah dihalau ke negeri Singapura di mana beliau kemudiannya dikatakan telah ditahan sebagai banduan politik di situ.

Ada yang kata bahawa beliau telah diarahkan balik ke Singapura semasa dalam perjalanan balik ke Kuala Lumpur setelah melawat pekerja Utusan di Singapura yang menyertai morok yang berkenaan.

Setelah kehilangan ketua mereka, campurtangan daripada pihak polis juga menyebabkan pengikut-pengikut yang terdiri daripada pekerja dan wartawan berpecah belah. Atas dasar pihak pengurusan yang bersedia untuk menerima mereka yang mogok dan membayar gaji mereka telah menyebabkan mereka yang mogok berpecah pandangan dan apabila khemah-khemah mereka dirosakkan, pihak jawatankuasa mogok terpaksa menghentikan tindakan mereka.

Adalah dikatakan bahawa pihak politik masih menguasai surat khabar ini sehingga hari ini.

Rujukan: terbitan Strategic Info Research Developmen - Kuasa Rakyat- tradisi yang tidak berhenti
- laman web yang berkenaan di bawah carian "Utusan Melayu" atau "Utusan Malaysia".

Is Malaysia located in another planet? Are we talking about planet earth?

Under the backdrop of the current global financial crisis which is originated from the US and spread to the Europe and now starting to affect the other parts of the world including Asia.A simple analysis of Malaysia 2009 economic outlook from the perspective of an ordinary working man.

As we all know that Malaysia’s major revenue sources are from the export of the crude oil and crude palm oil, specifically the crude oil export contributed nearly 40% to 46% to the nation’s revenue.

The US is still the leading export market of Malaysia, followed by European Union, South East Asia and the fourth is Japan.Overall manufacturing products accounted for 75 percent of Malaysia's total exports followed by crude oil and other minerals at 14 percent and agricultural products at 9.5 percent, as at 31 December 2007. While the exports of electrical and electronic goods accounted for 44 percent of total exports, with the US is the biggest consumption market.

For the last two weeks, the stock markets worldwide had been experiencing the severe bottomless spiral southwards. Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur Composite Index , year to date, had been tumbling more than 30% since the early of the year 2008.

What the above statistics tell us?

As at 11 October 2008, the global crude oil price was tumbling to below USD 80.00 per barrel as compare to its record high of above USD 140.00 per barrel, while the crude palm oil price was recording below RM 2000.00 per tonnes for December 2008 order as compare to its record high of above RM 4000.00 per tonnes. This means that the country is going to experience the budget deficit if the government is not intending to review its already presented 2009 National Budget. We must be questioning where would be the funding sources for the mega projects such as the Iskandar Malaysia (formerly known as Iskandar Development Region or IDR) and the other Economic Corridor Region?The Iskandar Malaysia and the other Economic Corridor Regions had been hailed as the major engine of the Malaysian economic growth in the future.

The consumers' confidence level in US and the Europe had been dipped into the decades low following the subsequent collapse of their banking and financial institution. This will have huge impacts onto our export. With the external demand reducing, the manufacturing companies will abandon their existing expansion plan and tightening their budget. While the fear of massive manpower laid-off in the manufacturing sectors will soon dominate the Malaysian market. Then the possible rising of the unemployment rate will certainly pose a significant impact to the social instability which had been ailed by the political instability since Malaysian historical 308 political Tsunami.

The severe bearish market had dampened the households’ confidence level and their spending sentiment. They will finally tightening their belts and cut back on consumption. Hence, the slow growth of the domestic consumption.

With the internal and external negative development, we might tend to ask where the country’s economy is heading to?

The globalization seeds had long been taken root in this world for decades. This means, nowadays, the economies of the countries across the continents, in breadth and depth, are interconnected and interdependent.

Yet lately, we still heard our country’s leaders unanimously expressed confidence that Malaysia’s economy is still resilient given the current global financial crisis. They boasted that the country have a stronger economic fundamentals, sufficient foreign reserves and sound financial and banking system.

Hullo, Is Malaysia located in another planet of the universe? Not in planet earth?

Equality, Justice, Issues and Policies

Today, in Sin Chew Daily (13 October 2008, Monday) headline, is the statements by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on the topic that UMNO needs to make changes and that there should be review of the economic policies and distributions of the wealth in the Country.

It was stated that UMNO must make the changes on the distribution of the country's wealth, review the issues that were perceived to be injustice (to certain quarter in the society) including education, language, religion, judiciary, execution of law and so on.

In life, we recognize that all of us are different, whether it is in physical forms such as the colour of the skins, the height and weight of our bodies, or in our spiritual forms such as the way we think, the religion we believe in and the culture that we practise.

In a society or even a country, we are also different through the systems we practise, the laws that we uphold and the language that we used.

All of us are different, there is no doubt about it.

We are different in all ways, that is the fact and the easiest way to proof is the different fingerprint that we all have and the different genes that we carried.

According to the Biblical story, men in the city of Babel, was a city that united humanity, where all spoke a single language and share the same goal. It was said that they wanted to build their city with the tallest building that would have top of the tower in the heavens. This Tower of Babel was dedicated to the glory of men. God saw what people have done and gave each a different language to confuse them and scattered the people throughout the earth.(Refer Genesis 11:1-9 ).

We are different and yet we all seek for equality. In the famous Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, it was stated that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

No doubt, there will never be equality amongst gender on the basis of physical strenghts and hormon difference. No doubt there will never be equality to chances as each one has his/her own destiny and there is no equality in democracy politics where the one with the majority voters will have control over the government especially when a candidate come from the majority ethnic group in that society.

In short, the dominant (in numbers) will always prevails. However, we cannot say that it is wrong as logic will draw to the same conclusion. The minority should adapt to the needs of the majority. It would be against the norm if ten person needs to learn the language or styles in living of one in order to communicate (the question of why many should submit to one arise). As such, the dominant in resources, knowledge, weapons, technology and wealth will always take precedent over the rest.

It was with this principle that our laws were made. The dominant should have the biggest shares first before the minority can be given the rest. Even the Darwin theory doesn't put equality as a part of nature. It was always about balance and not equality. For example, Arthur needs to eat 2 pizza per meal while Bob needs to eat 1 pizza per meal, to give 1 1/2 pizza in equal will be a waste in resources for Bob and suppression of needs to Arthur. There will never be equality.

To overcome the principle of the dominant comes first, the human civilizations adopt the principles of justice and equality. It was with these principles that all needs of the society be controlled and the basic needs of all be provided but not until the suppression leads to revolutions or war.

The idealogy of having a just and equal society is necessary to maintain stability and sustainable progress. However, it is always easier said than done. For the dominant UMNO to give up its rights when it is still gigantic cannot bring anything except chaos. The only option available is to increase the size of the cake and reduce the ratio of growth of the dominant and to bring up the minority. Only changes at the right timing will we have the dominant remaining relevant but would not be ignorant to the needs of the minority.

Only at the right timing will our society progress on merits and all these depends on policies that the government is willing to take and make. All said and done, it will require a lot of political wisdom should Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin intends to ensure a sustainable and progressive Malaysia. However, if he manage to do so, there will be no distance between him and the premiership.

Forum (5) - Press Release

马来西亚青年运动（青运）总会属下之社会与青年研究组与网络部落客 —“大国论坛”首次联办的第五次社会论坛圆满结束。

论坛主持人陈俊铭律师感谢所有参与者的踊跃出席及感谢当晚的主讲人 --- 陈政豪律师与李健杰先生的知识分享。

青运与大国论坛所举办的社会论坛首要目标是鼓励社会人士进行知识与经验分享并藉此平台引导社会青年关心时事与国势发展。

陈政豪律师在主讲“马来西亚家庭法”时强调，夫妻双方同意离婚与单方面申请离婚的其中一项差异是双方同意离婚的法律程序是不需要把婚姻破裂的原因公诸于世。

李健杰先生在讲解 “ 投资信托 --- 真相、迷思与策略时强调运用公积金（EPF）的好处” 。他解释利用公积金去投资信托基金是利用一笔额外资金去投资而投资的服务费最高仅是3%,远比市场的 5-6%服务费低。此外，运用公积金去投资的数额若在当事人被宣布破产时也会回归公积金局管辖而不会被接管。只要公积金第一户口在30岁时（依照公积金条例） 超过RM23,000.00 ， 40岁时超过 RM49,000 及50岁时超过 RM95,000均可提出所超出的数额去投资。

秉持着分享知识与透明社会的概念，青运总会属下之社会与青年研究组与大国论坛将于每个月举办不同课题的社会论坛并进行交流。主办单位将于10月18日（星期六）晚上8时于雪兰莪蒲种进行第六次社会论坛。罗玉忠先生将主讲“在中国的生意机会 --- 我的经验” 与傅瑞丝小姐将主讲“在印尼的生意机会 --- 我的经验”。大众受邀出席，入场免费。研讨内容将以华语为主并在有必要时使用其他语言为辅。

欲知详情请联络：俊铭 012-356 9168 或游览www.magnificentnationforum.blogspot.com

Forum (5) Part II - Investment In Trust Fund-- The Truth, The Myths and The Strategies

1. What is Unit Trust?

A: A Unit Trust fund is a professionally managed investment fund, which collects the resources from individual investors or corporate investors with similar investment objectives. With the large sum of capital, fund managers can invest the money into stock market, bonds, money market, property or others according to the investment objectives of the fund.

2. Why we invest in Unit Trust? What is the benefit?

A: Unit Trust is one of the investment tools that we can use to achieve our financial goals. The benefit of unit trust includes:
• Low risk as it invests in many different sectors or asset allocations (diversification)
• Managed by professional fund manager
• More liquid than share
• Chance to invest in bond market or foreign stock market, where normal individual investors cannot invest into.
• Advantage of compounding

3. Is there any disadvantage for Unit Trust?
A: Yes, there is disadvantage for Unit Trust as well. Diversification may reduce the returns, as some of the share may perform well, and some of the share may perform poor. Fund Managers have limitation on investment strategies, as they need to follow the investment strategies stated on the prospectus.

4. What is the difference between Unit Trust and Mutual Fund?
A: Theoretically, there is difference between unit trust and mutual fund. There is only unit trust available in Malaysia.

5. Where we can buy Unit Trust?
A: We can buy unit trust at their fund houses respectively. Example, buying Public Mutual fund at Public Mutual office. Another way is, buying through agents or banks.

6. Any requirement or minimum amount to invest in Unit Trust?
A: The minimum initial investment amount is stated in the prospectus. Different funds have different minimum initial investment amount. Normally, the minimum initial investment is RM1000.

7. Is there a variety of Unit Trust in the market?
A: Yes. There are many types of unit trust available in the market now.
Equity Fund:
Higher risk, mainly invest in stock market.
Bond Fund:
Lower risk, mainly invest in bond market.
Income Fund:
Lowest risk, mainly invest in fixed income securities, such as Fixed Deposits.
Dividend Fund:
Moderate risk, mainly invest in high dividend yield stock.
Index Fund:
Invest in all the Composite Index contributing stocks.
Balanced Fund:
Moderate risk, invest in both stock market and bond market.
Besides the type of funds, there are also varieties of region where the fund will invest in. Currently, there are funds investing in Asia region, Europe region, global, Far East region, ASEAN countries and so forth.

8. What is NAV?
A: NAV (Net Asset Value) is the real value of the fund. All the transactions of the fund are based on the NAV.

Example:
If the NAV of the fund is RM0.25:
You buy 10000 units, the total investment is RM0.25x10000=RM2500
You sell 10000 units, the total money you get is RM0.25x10000=RM2500

9. Is there any charge and fee applied?
A: Yes, normally we need to pay service charge, annual management fee and annual trustee fee. The rate of charge and fee is different among different fund. Normally, equity funds charge 5-7% service charge, 1.5% annual management fee and 0.7% annual trustee fee. Bond and income funds charge 0-0.25% service charge, 1.5% annual management fee and 0.7% annual trustee fee.

10. How to choose a fund to invest?
A: Examine the risk level that you can take. Different types of funds have different level of risk. If you are risk taker, you can invest in high risk funds, such as equity funds. After deciding which type of funds to invest, look at the past performance of the fund and the fund houses. Although the past performance cannot guarantee the future performance, we can know the ability of that particular fund manager.

11. What if I do not have much of money? Can I invest as well?

A: Normally, the minimum initial investment amount is minimal, which is RM1000. There are still unit trusts having minimum initial investment RM500.

12. What is the interest rate of Unit Trust?
A: Unit Trust is not a saving tool. Unit Trust is an investment. Hence, there is no fixed interest for Unit Trust. You can get return from Unit Trust when the price increases or dividend distribution.

13. Do I need to top up my investment every month?
A: No, it is not necessary you need to top up your investment every month. Effective 25 June 2007, EPF funds are no longer allowed to be withdrawn to invest in oversea funds.

14. Is the return of Unit Trust guaranteed?
A: No, there is no guaranteed return for unit trust.

15. If the stock market is going down, should I sell all my Unit Trust?
A: Not necessary. As unit trust has diversification in different regions or different sectors, even the stock market is going down, it does not mean all the stocks price will go down and not all the region will face this downtrend.

16. How long should I hold the Unit Trust?
A: Normally, investors are advised to hold the unit trust for 3 to 5 years or longer. Hold the unit trust longer to enjoy the compounded return.

17. What is distribution and unit split?
A: Distribution is similar to dividend. Its purpose is to give back return to investors. Distribution is given in cash or investors can choose to reinvest the distribution. Unit Split is to make the fund size bigger and price lower.
Eg: Unit Split 1:25, if you have 1000 units, you will get 40 units extra after the split.

18. Should we only buy the fund with high historical distribution?
A: No. Distribution is not indicating the performance of the fund. The real value of the investment is still same. After distribution, the fund price will drop as the distribution is from the NAV of the fund.

Eg: Fund with RM0.50 NAV declares distribution of 5 cents. If you have 1000 units, you will get RM50 from the distribution. After the distribution, the NAV will decrease 5 cents, become RM0.45 per unit. So, the value of the 1000 units you are holding is RM450 instead of RM500.

19. How can we know that how much we have earned or lost?
A: From the statement, you can know how many units you have. Multiply the number of units with the NAV of the fund, you can get how much is your fund worth now. Example, you invest RM1000, and the worth of your fund now is RM1200, you earn RM200 or 20% of it. If you are not sure the number of units you have, you can refer to your agent.

20. Can we sell the Unit Trust anytime we want?
A: Yes, you can sell your unit anytime. Get your agent to help on this.

21. What is switching?
A: Switching is one of the strategies in Unit Trust investment. As there is service charge for every investment, switching is used to save the service charge. Normally, switching applies a minimal switching fee, but you do not need to pay the service charge.
Example, you are holding equity fund and have earned money, you foresee the market is unstable and going down, you can switch your equity fund to bond fund to lock your profit. Bond fund is more stable and will not be affected much by share market movement. Once you feel that the share market is stable and going up, you can switch back your bond fund to equity fund. This process includes two times of switching, so the charge is only two times of switching fee. You can save the 0.25% service charge (when switch from equity fund to bond fund), and 5-7% service charge (when switch from bond fund to equity fund).

22. How is the mechanism of switching?
A: Switching is similar to repurchase and buy without paying service charge. The mechanism is as such, for example, you have 4000 unit of an equity fund, you want to switch it into bond fund. These 4000 units will be converted into value by multiplying the NAV. The value is divided with the NAV of the bond fund to get the total unit of bond fund you get. Eg: 4000 units of RM0.25, the value is RM1000. If the bond fund’s NAV is RM0.50. You will get 2000 units of bond fund.

23. Do I need to pay tax for the profit I gain from Unit Trust investment?

A: No, the profit you gain from the capital appreciation is not taxable. However, distribution
is taxable.

选择基金时，价钱重要吗？是不是低价表示比较便宜划算？

信托基金的价钱并不应该被视为遴选基金的重要因素。基金的价钱并不像股票。一个股票如果价钱比净资产低或本益比低，股价可以说是便宜。但是基金并不能这样评估的。

例子1：
有2个新的基金，一个NAV是RM0.25，一个NAV是RM0.50。是否表示RM0.25的基金比较便宜，比较划算？
当然不是，真正来说，这2个基金都一样，不会一个比另一个便宜，或比另一个贵。想象一下，如果你投资RM1000（舍去服务费不算），一个你能得到4000单位，另一个你得到2000单位。一旦这2个基金都涨了10%，那RM0.25的就变成RM0.275，那RM0.50的就变成RM0.55。
现在来算真正你赚了多少，RM0.25的，你的4000单位乘以RM0.275，你能得到RM1100。RM0.50的，你的2000单位乘以RM0.55，你能得到RM1100。
那不是一样吗？

例子2：
当一个基金的价钱来到RM1.00时，是不是表示该基金已经很贵了，不值得买？
其实也不然。因为基金就是投资在股市的。一个基金能否继续上涨，并不是看基金的价钱，而是看股市的走势。一个低价的基金，如果股市上涨不多，这基金也不会上涨很多的。所以，并不能说RM1.00的基金就是很贵。如果股市还有潜质上涨，那基金就肯定能继续上涨了。

例子3：
一个RM0.30和一个RM1.00的基金，是不是RM0.30比较有潜质上涨呢？
当然也不是。有没有潜质上涨，并不是看基金的价钱，而是看基金的投资策略。如果美国股市疲弱，而亚洲股市强劲，那投资美国的基金就肯定不能上涨很多了。
有很多人以为比较低价的基金，上涨空间比较大，其实也不然。投资回酬是以百分比来衡量的。不应该用钱来衡量。如果2个基金的投资策略一模一样，RM0.30的基金赚了RM0.10，那RM1.00有可能也是赚RM0.10吗？当然不会，因为你投RM0.30就能赚到RM0.10，如果你投RM1.00，当然赚的也比较多。以这个例子，RM0.30的基金赚RM0.10，等于有33%回酬。那RM1.00的基金，应该是赚了RM0.33，也是33%回酬。所以，上涨空间并不能用价钱来衡量。

结论：
我个人觉得基金的价钱并不应该成为我们选基金的考量之一。选基金时，重要的是，清楚自己本身能承担的风险程度，然后选一个适当的基金。除了风险，还要考虑基金的投资策略是否适合你的口味。还有，记得一点，衡量投资回酬一定要以百分比，不能单单看表面的价钱。了解基金的投资策略并考量该基金的投资市场是否有潜质，这样的做法比较妥当。

至于便宜或贵，也得看股市了。如果股市普遍很贵，本益比很高，那RM0.10的基金也是贵的。如果股市普遍很便宜，本益比很低，那RM1.00的基金也不贵。



什么是distribution？Distribution重要吗？
投资股票，其中一个收入来源就是股息，dividend。在信托基金世界里，我们叫这作distribution，而不是dividend。Distribution 就是基金经理把一部分赚到的钱，分发回馈投资者。Distribution是以现金的方式分发的。投资者在投资基金时，会选择再投资这distribution还是把distribution拿出。那distribution重要吗？当然distribution是起着一定的作用的。对投资者而言，distribution的意义不是很大。为什么？比如，一个基金NAV是RM1.00，分distribution 10cent per unit。你持有1000个单位，那你就能得到RM100。那基金在分了distribution后，NAV就会相应的降低，从RM1.00跌到RM0.90。现在算投资者真正持有的单位价值，1000xRM0.90=RM900，然后加上distribution RM100, 一共RM1000。价值还是一样。这里值得一提的是，再投资时，我们是不用付服务费的。Distribution 有一部分是需要抽税的，但是如果你的个人所得税没有公司税般高，你能在填 BE Form 时，claim回你多付的税款。那distribution到底有什么用处呢？其实，它可以降低基金的价钱，看起来比较便宜，比较能吸引更多新的投资者。Distribution对基金公司很有用，但是对投资者并没有什么意义。所以，个人觉得我们在选择基金时，不用看基金过去的distribution纪录。只需要看基金的性质和投资策略是否适合自己。也可以参考过去的回酬表现。




Annual Return 的计算法和复利的奥妙

在这里解释一下如何计算年回酬（annualized return）。
任何投资都有总回酬（total return）和年回酬（annualized return）。总回酬很简单计算也容易了解。只是用回酬除以投资成本的百分比就是了。

例子1：
投资者投资RM1000在某基金，5年后他的基金价值RM2000，赚了RM1000的回酬。总回酬率是100%。
方程式：
% Return = Total Return/Total Investment
总回酬率 = RM1000/RM1000 = 100%

这例子的投资者赚了100%，听起来好像很多，赚了一倍，但是大家没有考虑到他用了5年时间。那他真正一年是赚多少？这个就必须算年回酬率了（annualized return）。

例子2：
就以例子1的情况，现在我们看看这投资者的基金每年的平均年回酬是多少。
方程式：
%Annual Return={(total return % +1)^(1/year of investment)}-1
年回酬率 = {(100%+1)^(1/5)}-1 = (2^0.2)-1 = 0.1487 = 14.87%

我们可以算到平均年回酬率是14.87%。
如果我们不这样计算，只是用100%/5，那我们会得到20%。其实真正的年回酬是14.87%。

从另一个角度来看就是，RM1000投资在每年有14.87%回酬的基金长达5年，我们的RM1000就变成RM2000了，赚了一倍。

这就是复利的奥妙。别小看7.2%年回酬，以为这投资在10年后才赚到72%。其实不然，如果投资RM1000在每年7.2%回酬的基金，在10年后，其实这投资是赚一倍的，既是赚了RM1000。如果你要验证，可以利用上面的方程式算算，顺便可以练习一下。这里也引用klse.8k前辈的开番理论。投资RM10,000在每年有26%回酬的投资，30年后竟然变成RM10,000,000。

说了复利的奥妙，当然也要说通货膨胀率。通膨每天都在发生，如果通膨率每年4%，那你现在的RM1000在5年后变成多少？
方程式：
Future Value = Present Value x (1-inflation rate)^(number of year)
5年后的价值 = RM1000 x (1-0.04)^5 = RM815.37

现在可以看见分别吧。把RM1000用来投资，只要年回酬率比通膨率高，那我们的钱就不会变少了。如果把RM1000收在家里，那5年后就变成RM815.37。

Invest Early or Invest Late?

Assuming that the annual return of the investment is 8%:
Mr. A invests RM1200 every year for 10 years, but Mr. B wants to enjoy life first, so he plans to invest RM1200 every year for 20 years on 11th year onwards. In the 30th year, Mr. A has around 40% more than Mr. B, although Mr. A just invests for 10 years while Mr. B invests for 20 years.

Conclusion:

Time is very valuable and it cannot be bought using money. Time is a very important aspect for the investment to grow. The compounding effect is significant. Invest earlier definitely generate more money for you compared to investing later.

Regular Saving in Unit Trust Fund
Regular saving is same as DCA (Dollar Cost Averaging). This method is to force investors to save money into the funds and let the money grow, and also to average the fund price, so that investors will not buy the fund at the peak.
Let see how much we can get if we invest regularly:
Assume initial investment is RM1000.
Average annual return = 8%

Most of the financial planners will assume unit trust fund can give 8% of average annual return. Assume that you invest RM1000 and top up RM300 every month for 15 years, you can get RM104,000 after 15 years.

Even if you cannot take too high risk, and opt to a combination of moderate and low risk funds,
an average annual return of 6% is reasonable.

Assume that you invest RM1000 and top up RM300 every month for 15 years, you can get RM88,000 after 15 years.

Why Use EPF to Invest in Unit Trust?
Since February 2008, EPF (Employee Provident Fund) has modified their policy and allow more
people to withdraw from their EPF account 1 to invest in unit trust funds.

Advantages of using EPF to invest in unit trust:
1. Lower Service Charge

EPF has set the service charge for EPF investment maximum 3%. Normally equity funds impose 5-6% service charge.

2. Longer Investment Time

We only can withdraw the money from EPF account 1 when we are 55 year old. Since we cannot withdraw the money for the said period, we can put the money into the unit trust fund for long term, like 15 years or 20 years. With the longer time of the investment, the risk is lower.

3. Higher Return

Since year 2001/2002, EPF gives lower interest, which is around 4-5%. Even in the year 2006/2007, with the big bull market, EPF also just announce 5.8% interest in year 2007. For equity funds, the average annual return is always around 8-10% if we invest for more than 10 years.

4. Average Buying Price

We are only allowed to withdraw the money to invest every 3 months. So, we will invest into the funds every 3 months for long term. This definitely will average our buying price, so that we will not buy the funds at peak price.

Disadvantages of using EPF to invest in unit trust:

5. Only pure local funds are allowed
EPF only allows EPF investors to withdraw from EPF to invest in pure local funds. Funds which invest in oversea are not allowed. This may limit the profit of the investment if oversea markets are doing well and the investment is not diversified in terms of region.

The content of this post belong solely to Mr. Lee Keng Ket and published with the consent of Mr. Lee Keng Ket.

Prepared by: Mr. Lee Keng Ket

(Should you have any query or requires further details, kindly contact him at: http://leekk8.blogspot.com/.)

Q&A Session:

Q: What is the minimum amount allowed to be withdrawn from EPF at the age of 30, 40 and 50 years old?

A: (After taking into consideration of the minimum amount in the 1st account of EPF according to age and minimum amount allowed to be withdrawn of RM1,000.00 (refer http://www.kwsp.gov.my/ for "simpanan asas") ) At the age of 30, the amount should be more than RM23,000.00, at the age of 40 should be RM49,000.00 and at the age of 50 should be not less than RM95,000.00. But it is advisable to dispose of all the shares between the age of 50-55 as the market of the Trust Fund when you are at the age of 55 years old may not be a good price to sell.

Forum (5) -Family Law [On 28.09.2008 (Part I)]

(A) Relevant Statute

1. Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 (“The Act”)
2. Divorce and Matrimonial Proceedings Rule 1980 (“The Rules”)

- The Act applies to :
i) All persons in Malaysia*; or
ii) All person domiciled in Malaysia but are resident outside Malaysia

-EXCLUDING
i) Muslims; or
ii) Any native of Sabah & Sarawak; or
iii) Any aborigine of West Malaysia whose marriage is governed by the native customary law or aboriginal custom unless he elects to marry under the Act.

(*please take note that a person who is a citizen of Malaysia shall be deemed, until the contrary is proved to be domiciled in Malaysia.)

(B) Validity on Marriage

Prior to 1.03.1982, those marriages which have not been registered would be recognized under the Law provided if the parties to the marriage able to show the evidence that they had undergone the customary marriage. i.e- wedding invitation cards, photographs etc.

After the 1.03.1982, all the marriage must be registered under the Act and must be monogamous.


(C) Restriction on marriage

(i) Either party is under age of 18
§ If female is above age of 16 but below 18 – license must be obtained from the Chief Minister

(ii) A person who is below 21
§ Must obtain the consent in writing from his/her father or if his/her father is dead or he/s she is illegitimate child- consent must be obtain from his/her mother.
§ If he/she is an adopted child- must obtain from his/her adopted father. If his adopted father is dead, then obtain from his/her mother.
§ Where consent is unreasonably refused or impracticable – may seek consent from the court by way of file in application under s.12 of the Act.

(iii) Both parties are same gender – female & female or male & male

(iv) Either one party is still married – bigamy is an offence under s.494 of penal code

(v) Prohibited relationship – no incest allowed
(* Exception- under Hindu customary law- a Hindu may marry his sister’s daughter (niece) or her mother’s brother (uncle) which is permitted under the Act.)

(D) Divorce
x Jurisdiction of the Court:

(i) Marriage must has been registered; or
(ii) Deem to be registered under this Act; or
(iii) Foreign law which provides for monogamous marriages, and
(iv) Both spouses live in Malaysia or consider Malaysia to be their home.

x Restriction

§ Before expiry of 2 years from the date of marriage- petition cannot be presented to the court.
§ may obtain leave from the court if the marriage is still hasn’t reached 2 years time- the applicant must show the exceptional circumstances or hardship suffered

x Types of Divorce

1. Mutual Divorce

§ The marriage must stand for at least 2 years except for exceptional or hardship cases
§ No need to go through the Marriage Tribunal (conciliatory body), therefore, certificate of Tribunal is not required.
§ must state the reason for divorce but need not state the cause of the breakdown
§ Both parties have consented to the term of the divorce i.e- division of the matrimonial property, custody of the children.
§ Faster than a Single Petition

2. Contested Divorce

§ The marriage must stand for at least 2 years except for exceptional or hardship cases
§ Reconciliation proceeding must be go through before present the petition for divorce, which mean the Certificate of Tribunal is required. ( it takes about 6 months )
§ Must state the reason for break up and specify the cause which shows the marriage has completely broken down and has to prove at least one of the following:-

a) 2 years separation;
b) 2 years desertion ( left for continuous period at least 2 years);
c) Adultery;
* The act permits the alleged adulterer or adulteress (if any) as co-respondent.
* There may be a prayer that the co-respondent be condemned in damages in respect of the alleged adultery
d) Unreasonable to be with the marriage ( cannot expected to live with him/her)

(E) Other grounds for divorce

(a) Presumption of Death

§ If the other party to the marriage has been continuously disappeared for at least 7 years and the petitioner has no reason to believe that party has been living within that time.

(b) Conversion to Islam

§ Such conversion does not cause a marriage dissolved automatically but it provides a ground for the other party who has not converted to petition for divorce.
* take note that the party who has not converted only may petition for divorce 3 months later from the date of conversion
* the petition may be made before the expiration of the 2 years of the marriage

(c) If husband is not living in Malaysia or does not consider Malaysia to be his home
- wife petitioner still may present the petition for divorce if :-
(i) her husband left her or was deported from Malaysia, and he considered Malaysia to be his home before the desertion or deportation; or
(ii) she has lived in Malaysia for 2 years preceding the presentation of the petition.

(F) RIGHTS of the affected parties

(a) Custody of the child :

§ May apply at any time, even no divorce or judicial separation case.
§ Rebuttable presumption – the biological mother will have the custody of the child who are 7 years old and below.
§ Court will take into consideration of the welfare of each child of the marriage, wishes of the parents and whether the child can express independent opinion.
§ All the cases of custody or maintenance of the child the court must have regard to the advice of the welfare office.
§ The order for custody may include the matters relating to the child’s residence, education and religion, temporary guardianship to someone other than the legal guardian and the right to access to the children for parent or relatives not granted custody.
§ The custody of the children shall expire on the attainment of 18 years old, or where the child is under physical or mental disability on the ceasing of such disability, whichever is later.

(*the definition of the “children” is fall under the purview as below:-
i. children of both parties who is under age of 18 years old; or
ii. the children of one party to the marriage accepted by the other party; or
iii. an illegitimate child; or
iv. child legally adopted by either of the parties to the marriage.)


(b) Maintenance ( to wife or/and to child ) :

To Wife and to Children

§ Assessment of maintenance is based on primarily on the living lifestyles that they are used to, the financial affordability of the husband, the needs of the wife, number of children, ages of the spouses, how long the marriage has lasted, who is more at fault for the breakdown of the marriage, contribution made during the marriage.
§ If the husband has another woman, the court might give less maintenance to the wife because the husband has another family to take care of.
§ Maintenance to wife shall cease if the recipient dead, or re-marries or lives in adultery with another person.
§ The maintenance to the children shall expire on the attainment of 18 years old, or until completion of the first degree.

§ Arrears of maintenance for wife as well as children are recoverable for a maximum period of 3 years.
§ Arrears are recoverable if they accrued before a receiving order was made against the defaulter and shall be provable in his bankruptcy.
§ Arrears are recoverable as a debt due from the defaulter’s estate if they accrued before the defaulter’s death.


(c) Division of Matrimonial Property

§ Includes house, car, shares, cash in the bank and any other properties bought after the marriage.
§ The division of the property is usually 2/3 to the husband and 1/3 to the wife where there is no monetary contribution by the wife.
§ If the wife had made monetary contributions to the purchase of an asset, then the division is according to the contribution made.
§ If monetary cannot be ascertained, the an equal division of the assets will be decided by the court.

(d) Injunction

· Injunction to prevent the other parent from removing the child form Malaysia or for the right to remove the child out of Malaysia.
· Reversal of or injuction to prevent a sale transaction or transfer of assets which is intended t reduce the maintenance payments.
· Injuction to prevent the other party to the marriage from disturbing or bothering during or after the court case related to the marriage.


(G) Procedure for divorce

(A) Mutual Divorce

(1) Get a lawyer to file joint petition which state :
- details of marriage and children, if any
- previous court cases relating to marriage
- maintenance
- custody of the children
- right to access of their children
- division of the matrimonial assets

(2) Both parties must appear in court unless dispensation has been given by the court

(3) This process can be taken for 1year to 2 years.

(B) Contested Divorce

(1) Meeting by both spouses with the Marriage Tribunal
- the Tribunal will try to reconcile both of the spouses.
- the reconciliation process will be taken about 6 months.
- if the Tribunal fails to reconcile both of the spouses, a Certificate of Tribunal will be issued.

Exemption:-
a) The other spouse cannot be found (deserted); or
b) The other spouse refuses to attend the meeting; or
c) The other spouse has been imprisoned for 5 years or more; or
d) The other spouse is suffering from an incurable mental illness; or
e) The other spouse resides abroad and it is unlikely to come back to Malaysia within the next 6 months; or
f) Court is satisfied that the meetings are not practical.


(2) Get a lawyer to file petition which state:
- details of marriage and children, if any
- previous court cases relating to marriage
- proof of complete breakdown of marriage
- maintenance
- custody of the children
- right to access of their children
- division of the matrimonial assets


(3) The petitioner must appear in court but the other spouse (respondent) can choose not to appear


(4) This process can be taken more than 2 years subject to the complication of the case.


(C) Where DECREE to divorce has granted

x Once the court is satisfied that there should be a divorce, Decree Nisi shall be granted
x Decree Nisi will be made absolute after a stipulated period ( usually is 3 months )
x During the stipulated period, other spouse can be allowed to show why the marriage should not be dissolved (which mean if they are intend to get together)
x As long as the Decree Nisi has yet to be made absolute, the spouses may get together and thereafter apply for the Decree to be cancelled
x They also cannot re-marry to anyone within the stipulated period
x After the stipulated period expired, the court will make the Decree absolute
x once the Decree Nisi is made absolute – both parties can be re-marry

(H) OTHER RELIEFS

(a) Judicial Separation
§ This can be opted if one party does not want to divorce but refuse to live together
§ Do not require to attend the reconciliation meeting
§ Grounds are exactly the same as per the grounds for single divorce petition
§ This may be apply within 2 years of the marriage
§ The applicant may pray for maintenance and custody of the children
§ The parties cannot be re-marry
§ Can still petition for divorce


(b) Annulment of marriage (cancellation of the marriage)
§ Application can be made when the marriage is void or voidable

(bi) VOID marriage

(i) Either one party is still married with someone (former marriage was then in force) at the time of the marriage; or
(ii) a male person marries under 18 years old or a female who is above 16 years old but under 18 years marries without obtain license from Chief Minister; or
(iii) Both parties are under prohibited relationship; or
(iv) Both parties are not respectively male and female (same gender).


(bii) VOIDABLE marriage

(i) The marriage has not been consummated owing to the incapacity of either party to consummate it; or
(ii) The marriage has not been consummated owing to the willful refusal of the respondent to consummate it; or
(iii) Either party to the marriage did not validly consent to it - duress, mistake, unsoundness of mind;or
(iv) At the time of the marriage, either party, though capable of giving a valid consent, was a mentally disordered person within the meaning of the Mental Disorders Ordinance 1952 of such a kind or to such an extent as to be unfit for marriage; or
(v) At the time of the marriage, the respondent was suffering from venereal disease in a communicable form;
(vi) At the time of the marriage the respondent was pregnant by some person other than the petitioner.

(I) ADDITIONAL

Marriage outside Malaysia

Marriage outside Malaysia other than one solemnized in Malaysian Embassy is recognized as long as the following requirements are fulfilled:-
I. Legally married in that country; and
II. Each spouse would have been qualified to be married under his/her home country law; and
III. Either party is a citizen of Malaysia or considers Malaysia to be his/her home and both are qualified under Malaysian law to be married.

Presented By: Mr. Barry Tan Cheng Ho

No deadline no numbers?

Today, on 24 September 2008-- after the hearing of DSAI's sodomy charge in Court, the star online (ref: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp%20file=/2008/9/24/nation/20080924143912&sec=nation), DSAI was quoted as saying

“It is not an issue of deadlines anymore. Who could have anticipated that the Prime Minister would refuse to hold an emergency Parliament session when we already have the numbers?” he told reporters at the Jalan Duta court complex on Wednesday after the hearing of his sodomy case.

After half a year of declaration, the 916 declaration of takeover of government by DSAI has now come to an end. The plot- which DSAI claimed had more than 31 members of parliament defecting from BN government can be considered as one of the longest political saga in the history of Malaysia. Finally, the matter is coming to an end and BN government (previously known as "Pakatan") after reigning for 51 years, will continue to reign at least until the end of this term.

What say you?

Is this a good time to invest?

The year 2008 is certainly not good for the market.

Beginning of the year 2008, we have inflations, global fuel hike, the spreading of the "Sub-Prime" effect and the sudden increase of prices for all raw materials.

During the second quarter of the year, we have the "Political Tsunami" which hit the market at the heart and destroyed the confident of foreign investors in regards to Malaysia's political stability. Then, we have the disasters including earthquake, hurricane and cyclone etc all over the world which destroyed assets and reduce the liquidity of the market. We also saw the increase of petrol price of RM0.78 from the original RM1.92 to RM2.70 and most of the government's mega projects were put on hold.

During the 3rd quarter of the year, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim makes his way back to Parliament and the rumours of whether the Barisan National Government will be replaced by the Pakatan Rakyat had put all the foreign investors on hold.

Now, we are at the 4th and final quarter of the year, is this a good time to invest?

If we analyze from the market, the petrol price hike seems to come to an end where the price dropped from the historical high of more than USD 140 per barrel to the current less than USD 100 per barrel. The drop seem to mark the end the mother of all inflations (petrol and transportation costs). We also see that the much publicised September 16 change government political strategy came to an end as nothing materialized. The festival seasons are coming and people seems to be more incline to spend.

We also see that share markets are going down to a point which doesn't reflect the true performance and potential of most of the public listed companies.

If we look at real estate, most of the projects are still on-going and there is still no sign of any abandoning of projects in the market unlike the 1997 crisis.

However, if we look at the political scenario, the dominant UMNO party will be holding their election end of this year and whether there will be political changes therein will affect the country tremendously.

We also have to look at the judicial system which remains unchange after the infamous "Lingam video clips" that may affect the confident on the legal system of Malaysia. This may not be good to encourage public confident to throw their money in the market especially the minority share holders.

We must also be aware that the unnecessary arrests made under ISA do have negative effect on people dumping money into the market.

Whereas in America, the "Sub-Prime" effect is still expanding. The forth biggest investment bank in America, the Lechman Brothers is currently in the midst of applying to the Bankruptcy Court in respect of its financial crisis whereas AIG, the well known international insurance companies are currently facing deep financial problems.

Until the end of this year, there are still a lot of risks which at the moment seems to be quite apparent but in the long run, this may be the drop that all investors are looking for -- before the market starts to bounce up again. This may be the golden opportunity that we are looking for.

Investment in the market involved risks, but if we have the extra cash that we can spare on assets that we can hold for a long period of time, this may be a good time to invest before your cash starts to devalue.

Press Freedom- is our government promoting it or otherwise?

In the dramatic incidents happened on 12.09.2008, 3 individuals unrelated with each other were arrested under the draconian law- Internal Security Act 1960 (better known as "ISA").

Raja Petra Kamaruddin, the editor of Malaysia Today (online news web) and well known "deep throat" in the Malaysia political arena was arrested in his house in Sungai Buloh, Selangor at approximately 1:50pm.

Tan Hoon Cheng, the reporter of Sin Chew Daily News (a famous local newspaper in Malaysia) was arrested at her house in Bukit Mertajam at approximately 8.40pm on 12.09.2008.

Teresa Kok, the Selangor Senior Executive Councillor, State Assemblyman of Kinrara, Selangor and Member of Parliament of Seputeh (Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur) was arrested at 11:20pm during her journey home from a function.

These arrests were made after three local newspapers (namely Sin Chew Daily, The Sun and Suara Keadilan) were issued with show cause letter by the Home Ministry on why their publishing license should not be suspended/revoked.

All the 3 individuals were arrested under section 73(1) of the ISA which reads as follows:

"73. Power to detain suspected persons.

(1) Any police officer may without warrant arrest and detain pending enquiries any person in respect of whom he has reason to believe -

(a) that there are grounds which would justify his detention under section 8; and

(b) that he has acted or is about to act or is likely to act in any manner prejudicial to the security of Malaysia or any part thereof or to the maintenance of essential services therein or to the economic life thereof.

(2) Any police officer may without warrant arrest and detain pending enquiries any person, who upon being questioned by the officer fails to satisfy the officer as to his identity or as to the purposes for which he is in the place where he is found, and who the officer suspects has acted or is about to act in any manner prejudicial to the security of Malaysia or any part thereof or to the maintenance of essential services therein or to the economic life thereof.

(3) Any person arrested under this section may be detained for a period not exceeding sixty days without an order of detention having been made in respect of him under section 8:
Provided that -

(a) he shall not be detained for more than twenty-four hours except with the authority of a police officer of or above the rank of Inspector;

(b) he shall not be detained for more than forty-eight hours except with the authority of a police officer of or above the rank of Assistant Superintendent; and

(c) he shall not be detained for more than thirty days unless a police officer of or above the rank of Deputy Superintendent has reported the circumstances of the arrest and detention to the Inspector General or to a police officer designated by the Inspector General in that behalf, who shall forthwith report the same to the Minister.

(4) -(5)(Repealed).

(6) The powers conferred upon a police officer by subsections (1) and (2) may be exercised by any member of the security forces, any person performing the duties of guard or watchman in a protected place and by any other person generally authorized in that behalf by a Chief Police Officer.

(7) Any person detained under the powers conferred by this section shall be deemed to be in lawful custody, and may be detained in any prison, or in any police station, or in any other similar place authorized generally or specially by the Minister."

Raja Petra Kamaruddin (or better known by referring as "RPK") was arrested for suspected posting of seditious statements in his post regarding religion and in particular Islam.

Ms. Tan was arrested for reporting the statements of UMNO (the dominant political party in Malaysia") Bukit Bendera division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail's statements and caused racial sentiments in the country.

Teresa Kok was arrested for allegedly involved in a dispute pertaining to a petiton to one Mosque in her constituency (which she denied involvement).

With Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim ("DSAI") announcement of political power swifting on 16 September 2008, these untimely arrests under ISA had caused stir in the now instable community and to which the public are shocked by rational of such actions taken.

On 13.09.2008, after almost 16 hours in arrest, Ms. Tan was released and the Home Minister had in a press conference said that she was arrested for ensuring her safety and to assist on certain investigation.

Leaving other issues aside, the arrest of Ms. Tan had raised public outcry on why the person suspected to make racial remarks was not arrested but instead it was the reporter reporting the statements which was arrrested.

The arrest of Ms. Tan really doesn't look good on the government or help our country in any way. The press freedom is currently under tremendous pressure and the public is not at all happy to it.

The thing is, what political wisdom would be exercised by the Government to help restore the image of Government which had said that they would be more democratic and allow criticism prior to this incident.

Press Freedom, is our government doing enough? Is our government promoting it or otherwise?