Express way toll rate increase - suspension at a heavy price

On Nov. 28, the Cabinet decided to suspend an upward toll revision for 2008.

According to concession term, a revision of rates was due for the ensuing year.

The toll revision had been much talked about in the market for a simple reason that a hike of rates would aggravate a worsening inflation. The tense speculation drew the attention to the Cabinet when they met to deliberate on it.

The much-hailed decision was a double-edged sword for BN - it instantly killed off a sticky election issue and it worked towards taming an otherwise furious inflation.

But our government has a heavy price to pay - it has got to fork out a hefty 300 million to compensate the concessionaires for violating the term. In other words, the burden of the express way users has now been shifted to all Malaysians.

Our Cabinet's decision is very thought-provoking for us: Was it election-motived or market-based?

A whopping compensation calls for a relook at the efficiency of our funds allocation. Have we used them in rightly deserving areas?

Wish you a good day!

Outlook for 2008 by Malaysian Institute of Economic Research

Malaysian Institute of Economic Research is a think-tank on economic matters relevant to our nation. It is non-profit and independent, devoted entirely to economic research for the good of both the government and the private sector. As such, MIER's views are much less biased, thus making them more reliable.

On Nov. 27, MIER's Executive Director Dr. Mohd. Arif unveiled the economic outlook for next year.

Describing 2008 as a slow-down year, Dr. Mohd. Arif cautioned Malaysia of the likely onslaught of external shock from USA.

The cost-driven inflation is going to add a lot more pressure on our livelihood. "But don't count on BNM to adjust upwardly our rate," Dr. Mohd. Arif ruled out the possibility of a monetary tightening move.

However, hold on to Ringgit as its value is likely to rise by another 10% against the greenback. "The appreciating Ringgit provides a counterbalance to the rising inflation," Dr. Mohd. Arif told the nation.

MIER has been looked up to by a lot of decision makers for objective views.

I have been following MIER closely for its outlook on our nation.

Christmas celebrations in Premier Hotel

Christmas melodies and decorations easily arouse sentimental love for the season. As such, in the world of business, great importance is attached to this festivity to capitalise on the commercial values.

When our hotel (http://www.premierh.com.my/ ) put on Christmas songs in the background music and put up decorations to usher in the occasion, the whole ambience was instantly livened up.

Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ Jesus who brings salvation to the world. But, it has been overly commercialised, to the extent that the true essence of it has been overshadowed.

When I was in Melbourne as a student, the grandeur of the festivity lightings and decorations there fascinated me. But the high degree of commercialisation also worried me. Is Christmas just another commercially high season for them?

Let's all give a good thought to it.

The pictures show Christmas tree (laced up with ribbon and decorated with lightings), reindeer and snow-man.

Enthralling live performances by The Frozen Fire Band

They hail from the Philippines and they have the musical talents to enthral you!

Indhi, Nica, Chelsea and Mickey are artistes by profession. They all have only one mission in mind - that is to give you their very hot stage shows to make your night absolutely entertaining!

Filipinos seem to have all the gene in music. They love it and they make it their profession in worldwide market.

Come and let your hair down. Bamboo House (www.premierh.com.my) is the place to unwind yourself as you drink your night away with the hot, hot music by The Frozen Fire Band.




In full costume, they made excellent poses for shots.

MAF of Xin Fu Yuan Methodist Church

Visitation is to disseminate our year-long planning and work to the fellowshippers.

On Nov. 23, MAF of Sibu East District bridged out to MAF of Xin Fu Yuan Methodist Church by calling on them.

Our sharing was warmly received, with the fellowshippers appreciating better our work.

The gathering of the evening was a sharing by Rev. Sia Bik Sing who touched on Christ Jesus being raised from the dead. Rev. Sia quoted Matthew 28: 1-20, saying , " His resurrection gives us hope. It is like glory at the end of a gloomy tunnel ." We were all much enlightened spiritually by the message.

On the whole, it was a great time having fellowship with them.

The picture shows Rev. Sia Bik Sing sharing on Lord's resurrection.

Inflation creeps in by stealth

When my family dined out this morning at kopitiam before going to church, we soon noticed upon arrival that the new pricing has been effected.

My instant reaction was: What a premature move! Isn't it supposed to take off on Dec. 1? Goodness, the unsuspecting folks have been caught on again!

We all feel it - the inflation has been creeping in by stealth to flatten our purses!

Come to think of it, at times it may be true that if you can't beat it, you have to learn to adapt to it, like what Bill Gates says in his golden quotes.

In this fast-changing era, we all need intelligence to keep up and face up to challenging circumstances.

Service upgrading on Streamyx Service

I have been experiencing frustrating interruption in Streamyx service and, out of bitterness, I called up Telekom to check on the condition.

My query was met with a swift reply: We are currently upgrading Streamyx service. You may call Streamyx Centre in KL at 1300889515 for further details.

Our Streamyx Service has plenty of room for improvement. To propel our country to a greater height economically as well as in international recognition, this is one of the aspects that our government have to address to seriously with no further delay. I hope the present upgrading is a positive step towards raising the standard of service of Streamyx.

My blogging has almost been crippled by the service upgrading.

Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim - charismatic as ever

The flamboyant Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim is in Sibu to deliver his striking speech to a gathering of PKR's supporters.

Since he came back from confinement, Anwar has been on high profile, taking the nation by surprise occasionally with his explosive expose.

It seems Anwar's charisma has not gone into diminution. In short, he is as popular as ever.

I remember Dato' Seri flew in like whirlwind in the height of kosaki attack in Sibu slightly more than 10 years back.

As DPM then, he almost quaked Sibu, making most dignitaries on the move to be in picture with him.

After 10 years, he came here as PKR's advisor (Parti Keadilan Rakyat), still causing a stir, albeit in a smaller scale.

Dato' Seri left me with numerous vivid memories, one of which relates to his jump into the ring in 1997 in a match with the heavyweight George Soros. He came out bruised after 3 days, not to my surprise at all.

Anyway, Anwar has provided an excellent racial balance in Malaysia's political opposition. I deem the trend as healthy.

I wish Dato' Seri all the best!

America in 2008

Today, our hotel (www.premierh.com.my ) started putting on Christmas melodies in the background music to catch on with the creeping festive season.

The tenderly loving music is so very soothing. As I indulged in it, a stark reminder flashed across my mind - that the year is soon drawing to a close! Goodness, time just slips away like that!

As I wallowed in a moment of nostalgia, it suddenly occurred to me that it is time again for me to put my stroke of pen down to write an outlook in 2008 for The Methodist Message.

2008 looks set to be turbulent. I was much struck by the cover of the latest issue of The Economist which gives a very telling picture of the likely scenario ahead of us.

The cover looks deceivingly like a poster of JAWS, a blockbuster by Steven Spielberg in 1975. It gives a perfect reflection of what would be the likely scenario next year.

If JAWS has thrilled you and made you yell out, be prepared for the same excitement in 2008!

You have got to fork out more in December

Sibuians are gonna to get it next month - kopi-o, teh chi, teh-o, kampua, char mi, char kueh teow and char mihoon are all set to go up in pricing.

It would be a pinch on flesh for ordinary folks.

Sibu Coffee Merchants Chamber Association yesterday decided to up all with effect from Dec. 1 to transfer the rising costs to poor consumers.

The uptrend is inevitable, but the new pricing is a sure hit on the lower income group.

But, my friends, the above is seemingly only a prelude to a much harder nip in 2008.

The declining greenback, spiralling oil prices, rocketing commodities and surging gold prices - they all point to a mounting inflationary pressure building up worldwide.

Worse still for us, our government is poised to reduce, albeit gradually, oil subsidy to shift away the financial burden. Its fuller effect would be felt next year.

Ahead of us is going to be a tougher time.

The picture is by courtesy of United Daily -kopitiam is brewing a hike in pricing.

We reached out to them - Selangau Methodist Preaching Point - Part 3 (Final)

It was a satisfying dinner that gave contentment to all.

The next programme took us to Selangau Methodist Preaching Point for a fellowship gathering.

As we gathered together unto Lord, we truly experienced all the warmth in the heart. The cordial smiles and handshakes drew us closer in the love of our Lord.

Quoting Ephesians 1:1-16, Rev. Kong Chong Lin shared with us on living up to calling by God.

"As christians, you have to try to live out your lives following Christ Jesus. Be humble always and gentle, and patient too. Be forbearing with one another and charitable," Rev. Kong called on the fellowshippers.

Peter Goh chipped in with an amusing quiz, sending the floor to explosive laughters occasionally.

Selangau left with us memories to be cherished - the good foods stimulated our appetite; the fellowship warmed up our hearts; Rev. Kong's spiritual message taught us to be humble in Christ. It was a great time with superb fun for our fellowshippers.

See you there next year!

Our DS Rev. Kong - living up to calling by God .

Our token of appreciation .
A group photo - the fellowship warmed up our hearts.

We reached out to them - Selangau Methodist Preaching Point - Part 2

Selangau is about halfway between Sibu and Mukah. It has long become a stop-over point for land travellers passing by.

This inland town is widely renowned for wildlife meat, deliciously prepared to tickle the tastebuds of food connoisseurs.

Heavily spiced venison, succulent wild boar meat with herbs, turtle meat in creamy sauce, etc, just to name a few, are the specialties to whet the appetite of food lovers from far and near.

Laying out on the tables, freshly cooked from the wok and steaming with aroma were the appetizing wildlife dishes, cangkuk manis ( or in Foochow, la kian cai ) fried with eggs and soup with mixed ingredients - all looked so stimulating that we all gave a big " wow " !

Rev. Kong Chon Lin led us in a thanksgiving prayer before we settled down to a delectable meal.

Prepared to our full satisfaction - we all gave thumbs up to the appetizing dishes.

Fully engrossed in the delicacies - it was certainly a hearty meal.
In the worship hall of Selangau Methodist Preaching Point - we were gathering together unto Lord!

We reached out to them - Selangau Methodist Preaching Point - Part 1

Visitation is to reach out with little regard to distance of travelling.

MAF of Sibu East District set out to Selangau on a visitation to MAF of Selangau Methodist Preaching Point this afternoon, in a group comprising of 40 in total including DS Rev. Kong Chon Lin and Rev. Lau Hui Tat.

We went by a chartered coach, departing Logos Methodist Church at about 5:20pm.

Selangau lies approximately 49.50 miles away from Sibu, a distance that took us 80 minutes to reach.

The journey, long (by the standard of Sibu) but fun-filled, eventually took us to the destination.

Wow! At Hua Kee Seafood & Cafe, Ting Lieng Kie had all the mouth-watering foods waiting for us, the aroma of which took me straight to the eatery and sent my appetite stimulated.

Ready to set out - visitation is to reach out with little regard to distance of travelling.

Hua Kee Seafood & Cafe - the aroma took me straight there.
We gathered together for the appetizing foods first before moving on to the next programme.

Allen's first pay

Yesterday, Allen received his first ever hard-earned pay for Oct. 29-31 he worked at Premier Departmental Store.

"Dad, you see, I got it today! It is really great!" Allen couldn't wait to tell me when I fetched him after closing.

He bought some take-away french fries from McDonald's, apparently with his own earnings, to reward himself.

Allen's vacation job drew my memories back to my Monash days when I was on summer vacation in Australia.

After a tough fight at the university's notice board, I cried out with joy to be offered a process-line job in a cushion-making factory.

The work was tough and laborious in an oven-like factory with summer temperature in Melbourne running high to over 40 Celsius. It was killing and I was perspiring all over, making me almost baked after the day!

When I received my first weekly pay, I gripped it tight with mixed feelings.

For the very first time, I realised that there was no easy money in this world.

I hope Allen would come to the same realization after his vacation job! I would deem it his greatest achievement for the vacation if he does!

The Frozen Fire Band

They eventually arrived gasping after a tiring journey by air. The Frozen Fire Band, our incoming residential band, is to be here with us for the next three months performing live in Bamboo House.

Indhi, Nica, Chelsea, Egai and Mickey are young and vibrant-looking. Talented musically, without doublt, as what they are renowned for, the artistes are set to mesmerize the local music lovers .

See you there!

The picture shows ( L to R ) : Indhi, Nica, Chelsea, Egai and Mickey.

www.premierh.com.my

Back to home-cooked meals

After nineteen days of going on packed meals, we are now back to much-desired home-cooked foods by Yian It's really great!

Yian's fractured fibula is recovering speedier than we had expected. Although still painful when massaged or turned, she is much less restrained in movements now. Yian is able to move about quite freely and assume light household chores, including simple cooking.

Praise God for the strength given to us as we faced up to the test.

Granddaughter of 3rd White Rajah stops over in Sibu

Dayang Muda Celia Margaret Brooke, the granddaughter of Betram Brooke, stopped over in Sibu and took a three-hour break at Premier Hotel whilst in transit from Kapit to Kuching yesterday afternoon.

I had the honour to be granted a 30-minute light moment of chatting with Dayanf Muda and Melisa North, the Lady in Waiting over a cup of coffee in Cafe Palmelia.

Betram Brooke was the brother of Sir Charles Vyner Brooke, the 3rd White Rajah of Sarawak. According to Dayang Muda Celia, the Third Rajahship was actually shared on a six-monthly turn between Sir Charles Vyner Brooke and Betram Brooke, with the former on the home affairs in Sarawak and the latter on foreign diplomacy.

During my school days, I missed out on this crucial historical fact. To this, I expressed regret to Dayang Muda Celia.

Describing her trip here from Oct. 30 to Nov. 19 as sentimental, Dayang Muda Celia told me this is her second visit to Sarawak at the invitation of Datuk Amar Leonard Linggi Tun Jugah. The first time she set foot here was about three years ago.

"I love it and I plan to come back for a longer tour," she beamed as she related to me.

Before Dayang Muda Celia departed for airport, I invited her for a group photo, to which she obliged with a wonderful smile.

The picture shows Dayang Muda Celia Margaret Brooke (left) and Melisa North, the Lady in Waiting (right).

The picture shows Dayang Muda Celia with Renang, a staff member of Premier Hotel, before setting off to airport.

Our visitation to the old folks' home - Part 3 (Final)

On Sept. 9,Rev. Tie King Tai delivered a very inspiring sermon in Masland Methodist Church on our role as christians in social care. The message touched me deeply and it echoed in my ears for a long time.

Quoting Matthew 25:31-46, Rev. Tie called on the congregation to live out Christ Jesus in our daily life by being socially caring.

"Anything you do for one of your brothers, however humble, you do it for Christ Jesus," Rev. Tie made it explicitly clear.

When I was at Rumah Seri Kenangan Sibu, the above message flew back and it instantly became my inspiration.

The above picture shows a sick old lady being confined to bed - we let our caring hands reach out to all.

She hands out a gift to the needy - let's all be more socially caring!
Anything you do for one of your brothers, however humble, you do it for Christ Jesus.
Just a token - thank you, Lay Preacher Wong Kang Hua, for serving together with us.
A section of the beautifully landscaped garden.

Our visitation to the old folks' home - Part 2

When I was as a student in Australia at Monash University, the OCF fellowshippers organised bi-annual visits to the old folks' home as a show of our love to the needy groups.

The material had not made the old folks any happier. Spiritually they were lacking and lonely. They looked forward to having fellowship with us !

We sang to them the inspiring hymns, shared with them our love in Christ Jesus, spent time talking to them and provided them with our listening ears. They loved it and joined us in praising Lord.

Departing the place always turned out to be the most difficult to bear for the fellowshippers.

On one occasion, I witnessed one old lady holding one sister's hand in tight grip with tears streaming down, telling her to come again to sing to her.

This scene was most memorable and touching. It still stays deep and vivid in my memory.

The picture shows the entrance to Rumah Seri Kenangan Sibu - the old folks need more than just material comfort.

Sia Yiik Ming and Peter Goh leading the sing-along - the lonely group needs hymns of love.
Lay Preacher Wong Kang Hua sharing on eternal happiness and peace - the spiritual foods are equally important.
We sang to inspire them.
They were engrossed in the words of God and songs of love!

Our visitation to the old folks' home - Part 1

Visitation is to extend our caring hands to the poor and needy!

MAF of Sibu East District set out to Rumah Seri Kenangan Sibu at 22KM, Jalan Oya this afternoon for a social care visit to show our compassion to the old folks.

Through this, we also hoped to bring to them the eternal peace and happiness in Christ Jesus.

We kicked off at 2:30 pm with a sing-along led by Sia Yiik Ming with Peter God as guitarist. The melodies were soothing and touching, making me feel much moved. Yiik Ming intermingled his lead with Foochow and BM, thus bringing it a lot closer to the audience.

After that, I gave a welcoming address, which was then followed by a sharing by Lay Preacher Wong Kang Hua.

LP Wong excited the group with a biblical message on eternal peace and happiness. "It is only through Jesus Christ that you feel peaceful and happy eternally," she reached out to the old folks in a clear tone.

The meaningful gathering concluded with a closing prayer by LP Wong who is blessed with fluency in Mandarin, BM and Bahasa Iban. The audience benefited to the full in her intermingled use of Foochow and Bahasa Iban throughout the session.

We brought along some gifts which we hoped to share with the needy to show our love.

In the course of distribution, I was much touched by their radiant faces. I hope the love of God will continue to shine on them, making them sing with joy daily to our Lord!

Kuching Talk - it talks about Sarawak

Sarawak seems to be all out on the catch-up with tourism.

Our State Government has taken a lead with the private sector following through, which altogether make the tourism industry a lot more exciting, talked-about and happenings-filled.

Besides Happenings which is set to feature the central region in Q1 of 2008, Kuching Talk, another innovative tourism publication, also targets to bring Sibu to the forefront in the same period. Wow! Sibu seems to be hilarious in the start-off of 2008.

With highly prominent publicity to take on Sibu, the region is set to be focused for maximum attention.

Yesterday, the major players in Sibu tourism industry met up with Ivy Pan and Christina Mamora in Datuk Tiong Thai King's office in SMC for a short briefing session on the proposed coverage and advertisement support.

Kuching Talk has an excellent layout design and impressive contents, all are well intended to take Sarawak by leaps and bounds in tourism developments.

The concept of Kuching Talk is very noble. It deserves our support which is much needed. Sibu is very fortunate to have Ivy Pan and her team coming in to feature for effective publicity. Let's give them a big hand.

www.kuchingtalk.com

Khairy Jamaluddin - an UMNO young leader to watch out

A flamboyant Khairy Jamaluddin, Vice-chairman of UMNO Youth Wing, stole all the limelight during the UMNO General Assembly.

Dubbed as a promising upcoming politician with astounding charisma, Khairy took the General Assembly as a platform for personal shining.

Firstly, he happily let the political writter S.H. Alattas to sell his face through a book titled "Khairy Jamaluddin Perdana Menteri?". Selling like hot cakes among the delegates, the book, priced at RM50, made Khairy the most talked- about young leader during the GA. Wow! Khairy has all the wits to walk tall and make great strides to project himself as a potential leader.

Secondly, Khairy also capitalised on the oil subsidy by calling on the government to favour the poor. This instantly touched the hearts of the masses and won him a vote of popularity. He is truly an opportunist, but, again, it is perfectly alright to be so in politics!

Khairy Jamaluddin is indeed a figure in UMNO to watch out!

Inflationary pressure continues to build up

Ordinary folks are the hardest hit groups!

These days, they are literally ground down by the surging food prices. But, the worst is yet to come.

In the pipeline of increase are the gas and petrol. Once shot up, it is set to trigger another round of upward adjustments.

Tighten your belts and prepare for harder days ahead.

Petrol - it is going to be more expensive!

In the height of last year's hullabaloo over the hike in petrol prices, the government came out with a booklet, seeking to explain its stand and the rationale for the upward adjustment.

One point that particularly caught my attention was on Malaysia as an exporter of oil.

According to our national data,Malaysia would, in the absence of new major discoveries of oil reserves, encounter a dramatic change in our oil exporting position by 2011 - from the present net exporting to the then importing.

The data, reliable to a tolerable extent, implies that by 2011, all Malaysians would have to adapt to a situation whereby our oil production would be insufficient to meet own needs.

This tellingly sends a signal across the whole nation that our government would find it burdensome to continue the present subsidization programme.

Judging from the deficit budget situation we are presently in and the volatility in international oil prices, it is more likely for our government to gradually cut subsidy to lessen its financial burden, with objective to eventually go without by 2011.

This may sound horrid, but we got to learn to face up to it!

Against the above backdrop, it is hardly a surprise for our PM to caution the whole nation that our good days with subsidised petrol may be completely over by 2011.

The message is explicitly clear - our cheap petrol era is slowly going into history.

Let's all wake up to the reality - be prepared for much more expensive petrol in future!

The Mantras In Real Estate Investment

All the while until Nov. 5, I had been instilled with the belief that the mantras in real estate investments were location, location and location. But, the latest issue of The Edge in its extensive coverage on The Edge Investment Forum On Real Estate 2007, changed my perceptions.

Ho Chin Soon Research Sdn. Bhd.'s director Ho Chin Soon in his "Where are the property hot spots?" said, "The new real estate mantras are location, timing and branding. What is the use of right location (hot spot), if the timing is wrong?"

The new mantras are logical and relevant, especially in KL.

It's property party time in KL

Let's go cha-cha........yes, you are exactly right, it is property party time in KL. If you wish to have all the fun of it and grab at the great times, you just have to join in and cha-cha away to the tune.

The party is definitely still on. According to the latest issue of The Edge, the hot, hot music sends party-goers to boogie.

The issue is very engrossing. It covers extensively on The Edge Investment Forum on Real Estate 2007. It definitely provides a good read for investors who wish to seek diversification..

The forum was held on Oct. 27 in KL, focusing on the growing demand, wealth creation through investment in real estate and property hot spots in KL.

Much as I liked to fly over to take part, I couldn't make it due to tight personal commitments.

But, The Edge's coverage, comprehensive and interesting, is more than informative to bring readers to the forefront.

If you missed the tango in the earlier part of the party, then don't let cha-cha slip!

Sibu Creative Corridor - Sibu's latest addition

A brainchild of The United Chinese Associations, Sibu, Creative Corridor ( or in Bahasa Malaysia, Koridor Chuan) added a new feature to Sibu with the idea to spur Sibuians on creativity to face up to challenges in the new era.

Another successful down-to-earth project under smart partnership of UCA and SMC, Creative Corridor provides a venue for creative use with innovative products for venture-minded groups.

Crack your mind and make creative use of the corridor, otherwise it may sustain only in name.

Visitation - a fellowship of love and care

Visitation is a fellowship of brotherly love and care.

We went on a visitation to MAF of Shiung En Church this evening to have a fellowship with them.

This is part of our programme to keep in warm touch with all the adult fellowships in the Sibu East District, through which we hope to knit up a better tie.

It was Sisters' Evening for MAF of Shiung En Church this evening. The highlight was a sharing by Pastor Catherina Liu Hie Ching on Philippians 2:1-8. The pastor encouraged all the fellowshippers to give bearing towards one another out of our lives in Christ Jesus.

After gathering, we had a light break during which there was lots of sharing on wonderful services in God's family. It was all sweetness in recollecting the past attachments to junior fellowships.

The memorable visitation ended with a group photo taken in the gathering hall.

The photo shows - Seating : Yii Yong Ling ( 3rd from left), Pastor Catherina Liu Hie Ching (centre). Standing: Kiu Soon Siong (2nd from left), Tony Hii (3rd from left), Ling Wang Kong (4th from left).

Inflation - it is painfully serious!

I was at my favourite kopitiam lazing away for a while over a cup of tehsi, taking it as a luxurious break.

Tehsi was as usual - hot and tasted creamy, much to my liking. It instantly took the bore away and rejuvenated the day!

The tokei kicked off with a fuss over the escalating food prices, saying it literally suffocated the folks. Later, the nearby mobile shop tokei joined in with a raised voice, blaming our government for not putting the volatile food prices within control.

The flared-up kopitiam talk did not take me by surprise at all. The spiralling prices have actually pressurised ordinary folks into suffering the so-called inflation-syndrome. They simply can't take it anymore - they are at the verge of bursting out.

The pinching prices have now made it a hot, hot chat in the town. It even stole away the limelight of our nation's first astronaut blasting off to space.

But ironically, our official CPI seems to suggest that the inflation is not painfully serious at all. "At 2% plus, our inflation is not of concern at all," the cheerleaders keep telling us.

Do you think so?

Contentment

I came across in one blog and found it very thought-provoking.

"Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want; it is the realization of how much you already have."

If we are able to gear our mentality along this line, then we would be thankful day in, day out!

So, whether it is a sumptuous meal in a plush restaurant, or just a simple economy lunch in a kopitiam, you would be contented and give thanks to God!