Indians Being Marginalized, Advise from A Chinese

Indian was not the only one being marginalize in Malaysia. The Chinese, Kadazan, Iban, Malanau, Orang Asli and even The Malay themselves were being marginalize by UMNO/BN. I'm a Chinese yet what I going to said is not a racist stuff yet something which how we
Chinese manage to survive.

If you think that the government is helping us, you are dead wrong. Why is our Chinese primary school is so big and some of them were even bigger then the Sekolah Kebangsaan? It was from our donation money. We work like mad to get those money. The government nor the MCA didn't even give us a penny on it. We work like mad to built those school and make them bigger because we believe that good education will bring future to our children.
We even hire good teachers from China to teach our student where as the school is paying them (donation money), NOT THE GOVERNMENT.

When our children want to further their studies, do you think UM, UPM or MARA will accept us? Hell not with their stupid quota!! So what do we do? Again we work like mad, borrow
money from bank and some even dare to borrow from Ah Long to send our children on board to further their studies. Some might asked why you want to waste those money sending your kids outstation? If you look at the recent world ranking about our local university, you will know why we Chinese send our children away. You think the Government is sincere in running those local university? Lol, the ranking and the current unemployment rate show a good example of those so call UMNO's University.

Back to basic, where do we find the money? Work from the bottom, don't complaint much, be hardworking, and keep in your mind that the government and MCA DID NOT HELP US IN SETTING UP OUR CAREER. We have to learn them ourself, we are not born to be a business man. We are just like everyone, we are NOT special. People keep complaining that we Chinese is damn rich but do we steal from you? Do we force you to buy our products? Do we force you to make business with us? No cause we do it sincerely and we earn those money with our
own hand.

So what is the moral of this story? 3 main point!

EDUCATION is damn important! Even you have no money to eat, you MUST make sure your children go to school!! Education is their future, you screw them up and your child future is gone!

UNITY! Even you see we Chinese support different parties like MCA, Gerakan or DAP, we are united under 1 topic, EDUCATION! When ever UMNO try to disturb our Primary School, we will stand unite to fight for it even tough we are from different parties! This is why they fail to touch our school even they have try for so many years!

And last one is ATTITUDE!! No money to eat? If you have money to smoke, drink 'Samsu' or even for gambling, you still dare to said you don't have money to eat?? Change your attitude first before you complain about your life. Salary too low? Go get other jobs. There are lots of jobs out there looking for people at school leaver like McDonalds, KFC, stores at shopping complex and many more. Too old for those kind of jobs? Then I really got nothing else to said since you don't have to guts to chance your destiny.

Life still MUST GO on even you have been marginalize. We Chinese have learn from it. We teach all our children that the government won't help us, work = money and education = future (good career). No work = no money and no education = no future. A simple yet powerful thoughts that keep we Chinese moving in this country.

Malaysia Takes God’s Name in Vain

If you want to know how shallow Malaysian Muslims can be, read this article.


24 December 2007
On the eve of the Christmas holidays, Malaysia's authorities mistakenly decide Allah's name isn't God's

The Malaysian authorities' refusal to renew the publication of the weekly Catholic newspaper The Herald unless it stops using the word Allah as the word for God in the Malay language is a demonstration of racism and linguistic ignorance, not religious purity.


According to Deputy Internal Security Minister Johari Baharum, "Only Muslims can use 'Allah'. It's a Muslim word, you see. It's from (the Arabic language). We cannot let other religions use it because it will confuse people," he was reported as saying. "We cannot allow this use of 'Allah' in non-Muslim publications, nobody except Muslims. The word 'Allah' is published by the Catholics. It's not right."


But what Johari revealed was his ignorance of his own professed religion, of the Arabic language in which the Koran is written, and of the history and culture of Muslims throughout most of the world. God and Allah mean the same in different languages.


Muslims, like Christians do not worship a person called Allah. They worship a single supreme being which the Arabic language denotes as Allah. The very word Allah derives from the singular nature of the monotheistic deity. In the Arab world Allah has always been used by Christians (a significant minority) and Jews (a smaller but important minority until the creation of Israel) to denote the one God which the religions share. Ditto in Farsi.


In Indonesia 100 million Muslims have no problem with their Christian brothers using Allah to denote the supreme being in Bahasa Indonesia, the Indonesian version of the Malay language. So why should a United Malays National Organisation politician unless for some reason to ramp up Malay prejudice against non-Muslims and reinforce the notion that all Malays are and always will be Muslims?


Likewise among the (Roman) Catholics, the word in Latin (lingua franca of the Roman church) for God is Deus and is used without discrimination between Christians Muslims and Jews.


The Johari version of the world displays the same kind of ignorance as found among Christian fundamentalists in the United States and elsewhere who insist on saying that Muslims worship Allah rather than the God (an English word) that the two religions share. An English Koran uses the words "In the name of God the compassionate and merciful," not "In the name of Allah the compassionate and merciful."


If Malaysian Malays are confused about the distinction between Islam and Christianity because they use the same word to describe the one God, clearly there is a lot wrong with the educational system. But if a minister is so ignorant, how can the rakyat – Malaysia's citizenry ­­- be expected to know better?


For Muslims, Jesus was a prophet of Islam. For Johari on the eve of the birthday of Jesus to make this astonishing decision is an insult to his own religion as well as to the Christian one from which Islam sprang.

Heart Attack for 30 Days - A Critical Look at Citibank’s Free Critical Illness Takaful Coverage Guard Saving Account-i

Forget about gold bars, diamonds or Mercedes Benzes, Citibank now offer a saving account that gives you not just the interest (Hibah), but an insurance protection of 36 critical illnesses (Takaful), up to RM100,000. Called Guard Saving Account-I, this saving account is based on 'wakalah' concept (bank as an agent for you ) that combines returns on savings (hibah) and insurance (takaful ) coverage. Currently most of the Islamic saving accounts in the country is based on 'wadiah' concept.

Here is how it works; as long as you keep your average monthly balance above RM2,000, you will get the 36 critical illness coverage up to RM100,000, interest rate of 0.5%, and additional rewards/gifts every 6 months.

Now let's take a closer look at each of the benefits.

36 critical illnesses coverage
First, the coverage is 'up to' RM100,000. How much one actually gets covered depends on his account average monthly balance. This is where the information is hard to come by. There is no information available from the press release, or available in the citibank website.

[This is an update from the Post: The amount of insurance coverage is based on average monthly balance (withdrawal & deposit amounts divided by the frequency of withdrawal/deposit in a month, NOT MONTH-END BALANCE). If your AMB is RM5,000k, then the get only RM5,000 coverage. The maximum coverage is capped at RM100,000]

Secondly, take note - the insurance coverage excludes pre-existing conditions! That means if you found to having any of those 36 critical illnesses before you sign up, even though you maintain the required monthly average, you would not get any money. Your claim will be rejected! This is definitely a great area of concern. Now, most of the 36 critical illnesses are chronic diseases that usually have long 'sleeping' period. Further more, unless with regular health screening, most people are rather ignorance about their health status. You could very well have one of those diseases without knowing it! Therefore in a normal circumstance, when you are buying such health insurance, you have to give a full disclosure and undergo medical check-up before to see if your are 'insurable'. But under the GSA-I, it insures you immediately without any screening, but penalizes you later. If something unfortunately really happens, you will find yourself taken for a ride. By all means, the regulators should not allow such 'unfair' practice.

But that is not all, the terror ride continues - to make any claim, you has suffer from the Critical Illness for thirty days before any claims can be paid (imagine having a heart attack for 30 days!). And if you die within 30 days of the diagnosis, nothing whatsoever shall be paid

Hibah (Interest rate)
This hibah is 0.5% based on the account balance of RM5,000 and above. This rate is neither the highest nor the lowest (see Islamic Account Saving Rate here ). On top of that, account holders would also given a so-called lifestyle gifts twice yearly, depending on the average account balance over a six-month period (see chart below)

Privacy
Here is something rather ambiguous. As a GSA-I holder, you agreed to let Citibank to disclose your particulars to third party service providers and vendors for use "in relation to and for the purposes of the account". Can't really figure out what it means, but I definitely don't feel comfortable with it!

Conclusion:
Who can benefits from GSA-I? If you are 100% sure that you currently do not suffering any of those nasty illnesses, GSA-I might be good for you - as a temporary shelter only. For a long term and better protection, go for a full insurance coverage.

If you are a regular reader in this blog, just as you've find out from CIMB's Advance Profit FD account, nothing is 'free' from bank. Banks are full of MBAs, Quantum Physicist, and rocket scientists. Always read the terms and conditions carefully. If you can't find the info you want, call and ask the bank. You will be surprise by how much 'new' things you can find.

Citibank-Shell Credit Card - It's a Scam

Shell Citibank Credit Card - A Cash Draining Card

Do you fancy of getting a credit card that offers 5% rebate on shell petrol and 1.5% rebate on other purchases?
If your answer is yes, then you are draining your money away!

The newly launched Shell Citibank credit card is not as good as its sounds - to enjoy the rebate, you must have a carry forward balance. Yes, a carry forward balance that you have to pay Citibank 18% interest per annum. But that's is not all, your so called 'rebate' is based on your current month spending. That means if you have a carry forward of RM10,000 but did not use the card at all for the current month, you get 'zero' rebate.

To be precise, this 'rebate' card is an old card - it has been around for about 2 years. But now taking advantage of the fuel cost concern, Citibank co-branded it with Shell.

This is how the rebate scheme works:

*    First, you need to have a carry forward balance. The amount of that carry forward determines the rebate rate (%) that the card holder is getting.

*    Then based on your current month spend, you will get the rebate (as shown by the rebate table above) - your rebate is not based on your total carry forward balance. Repeat: your rebate is not based on your total carry forward balance, but current month spending

In short, to get your 'rebate' you must have at least of RM2,000 outstanding balance in you card AND continue use the card. The outstanding balance is the net of previous month balance minus current month payment. If you do that, every month you will be paying RM30.00, or RM360 a year for the minimum RM2,000 outstanding balance.

Let's do some simple math here:

If you spend RM500/mth on shell petrol and your classic card has a RM2,000 outstanding balance, at 1.5%, you are getting RM7.50 as 'rebate', while at the same time, paying RM30.00 for the interest. The 'nett' profit for Citibank is RMRM22.50. Your are essentially "over paying" 4 times the price (30/7.5)

To 'break even' (so that your RM30.00 interest payment = rebate value), you need to pump RM2,000 shell petrol a month, or charge RM6,000 a month for non-shell related purchases.

The USD100.00 per barrel of crude oil won't kill you, but the Citi-Shell card will.


Sources: http://smartconsumerbanking.com/

Rebels in Philippines

Why should the Muslim in Philippines have their own state?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071217/ts_nm/philippines_rebels_dc

Look at Malaysia where the majority are Muslims and Christians live among them. Why cant the Muslims in Philippines do the same? Why must it always be that just because their Muslims, they insist on having their own land and laws.

What would happen if the Christians in Malaysia demanded the same? Would the Malaysian government relent? Of course not. And the same goes for the Philippines government - stand your ground and let these people fight till their death or have the basic common sense to realize that integrating with the public is the way forward.

Comedy: How Not To Use Powerpoint

This is an excellent comedy on how not to use powerpoint.

Stupid Driver of the Day: WKB 7311

WKB 7311

Today's stupid driver of the day award goes to a silver Kelisa WKB 7311.

The young Malay lady in tudung was simply a stupid fool. She hogs the fast lane at 70 km/h and then grudgingly moves aside to let a Wira tailgating her to go on its way before abruptly cutting back into the fast lane, right in front of me, without putting on her side signals at all. What moron drives like this?

Maybe she feels inferior driving a small car and wants to show the world that she's a capable driver and all the fast cars should respect her.

My ass.

She's a public display of how bad women are as drivers. She's worst! Pathetic lady driver. Shame on you WKB 7311.

How Do I Bid Goodbye When the Time Comes?

I am in the midst of being interviewed for a new job at a larger finance company. The only reason I am considering the move is because of better salary. I love my work. I get to travel, all expenses paid, see new people, make some friends, make some enemies occasionally.

My new job is a comfy cushion job. I will be doing something similar but I wont travel as much, if any. It's mainly coordinating the finance software used within the organization, which is quite big and close to the Berjaya Times Square.

So, if the new package is good, how does one tell one's current boss, who's quite a nice, gentle person that one wants to leave and its mainly because of the salary? After all, my current employer has treated me well for the last 8 years.

Or am I just being too loyal?

Is there job loyalty these days?

Noise...

Noise.....

Do you want to know how bad the East coast of Malaysia is under the rule of the extremist Muslim party - even Cinema;s don't exist ín the state of Kelantan.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/12/6/nation/19676817&sec=nation

The Minister blames the death of cinema to the rise of pirated DVD's when the real reason the cinema's closed was because they were not allowed to show any films where some skin was exposed, for fear of massive raping by the state's inhabitants. That is how stupid the ruling party in Kelantan is, and its no wonder why their losing out in terms of development and funding. With the upcoming election, I am keen to see if the extremist ruling part can still hold on to their throne - which I think they will, since most of the intelligent people in the state left right after PAS (the extremist Islamic ruling party) took over.

PAS has to know, sooner or later, than shielding people from the outside world will not work. People have to adapt to changes and filter out what is good and what is bad. From PAS point of view, all people are stupid and thus, PAS has to control what the state's people can see and hear.

Even stupider are the people who actually vote to keep PAS in power. All the best to them, while the rest of Malaysia moves ahead.


On another note, here's how elephant''s keep tabs on the absent family members : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7127276.stm


And yet, on another note, with floods in London ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7125057.stm) and drought in Australia, when will the world governments realize that we're just like the stupid frog in the boiling pot of water? Will we wait until the water reaches 80 degrees Celcius ( http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9828389-54.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20) before deciding to do something about our actions which are causing Mother Nature to slowly eliminate us. If Mother Nature, with the help of an asteroid, can wipe out the dinosaurs, She could do the same to us, too.

On yet another note, it's good to see women high up in the corporate ladder. http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2007/corp_120407.html

And yet, back to Microsoft. The software giant is scrambling to get Windows XP to fit onto the one-laptop-per-child computer. Microsoft, who once scoffed at this idea of having a USD100 laptop for children and the poor, seems very eager to have its own OS (Windows XP) on it. As usual, just like how it missed the Internet revolution, Microsoft dismissed the one-laptop-per-child effort until now. Playing catch-up again, Microsoft, how typical.
http://www.news.com/8301-13860_3-9829735-56.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

And now the Christians in the Philippines are afraid of the Muslims. Under the current negotiations between the government and the Muslim rebels, some land in southern Philippines will be given to the rebels to build their home. While this move is applauded by many, equally as many are worries about the unrest these people bring. http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyid=2007-12-05T055137Z_01_SP37024_RTRUKOC_0_US-PHILIPPINES-REBELS.xml