Wednesday, February 29, 2012

The Asia Property Market Sentiment Report 2012




This property report is good for those who are concerned with the property market in Asia, including Malaysia.

If you are an investor, the more you have to read this report.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Is North Korea Printing Fake US Dollars To Save Economy?

Could North Korea print millions upon millions of nearly undetectable fake U.S. $100 bills and get away with it? They already do, points out one counterfeiting expert. And they seem poised to do more.

The regime, recently taken over by the son of the late Kim Jong Il, has long made so-called “superdollars” for its own ends, mostly to generate cash for its otherwise broke government that it likely uses to buy foreign arms and technology.

“These ultra-counterfeits are light years beyond the weak facsimiles produced by most forgers, who use desktop printers. As an anti-counterfeiting investigator with Europol once put it: ‘Superdollars are just U.S. dollars not made by the U.S. government,’” writes author David Wolman in column published by Time magazine online. “With few exceptions, only Federal Reserve banks equipped with the fanciest detection gear can identify these fakes.”

Editor's Note: You Deserve to Know What Obama and Bernanke Are Hiding From Americans

They are so good at it because they use high-end equipment, so high-end that few other groups in the world can meet the level of quality of North Korean fake U.S. bills, Wolman writes.

“The regime apparently possesses the same kind of intaglio printing press (or presses) used by the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing. A leading theory is that in 1989, just before the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the machines made their way to North Korea from a clandestine facility in East Germany, where they were used to make fake passports and other secret documents,” Wolman writes.

They even use the same paper and procure ink from the same Swiss supplier used by the United States government.

Pyongyang could use their superdollars to flood the world with fake U.S. cash, thus devaluing the currency rapidly, but Wolman believes their aim is likely a bit more prosaic: Using the funny money to finance their own needs.

As he points out, a recent devaluation of its own currency forced upon the regime wrecked the country.

Wolman figures that North Korea has been creating up to $25 million a year in cash for its own ends, just a drop in the ocean of trillions of electronic and cash dollars in global circulation. He advocates simply ceasing to print our own $100 bills — just go electronic — thus instantly turning the global users of our larger cash bills, many of them criminals and drug dealers, into the losers.

The number of dollars in circulation matters beyond the counterfeiting issue. At least part of the reason for the run-up in the price of oil has been expectation among traders that the U.S. Federal Reserve will be forced to “print” more electronic cash to stave off another U.S. recession.

Since oil is priced in dollars, that means speculators will begin to bet on higher oil prices to compensate for the effective devaluation to come.

Oil hit $108 a barrel in early trading as the U.S. Dollar Index firmed slightly to 78.472. It has traded as low as 70 and as high as 90 in recent years.


Read more: Expert: North Korea Can Flood World With Fake U.S. Cash

Author: Greg Brown

Sunday, February 26, 2012

黄金骗局



百名老人炒黄金被骗过亿养老钱(图)
2008-12-30 14:44:44 来源: 广州日报(广州)


投资者联名声讨两公司 记者冯昕摄
昨日,天河北路光大银行大厦前聚集了上百名中老年投资者,因为该写字楼内两家黄金投资公司——“广东大块金”和“内蒙古汇鑫”下他们过亿资金后齐齐玩失踪。

20%年回报率相当诱人

在现场蔡先生表示,2007年6月他参加完一个理财讲座后,在场外接到“广东大块金投资股份有限公司”的业务员派给他的“高回报黄金投资”传单,给出的20%年回报率相当诱人。已经退休的蔡先生便拿出10万元积蓄委托“大块金”进行黄金交易。一年之后,“大块金”果然兑现了20%的回报,蔡先生觉得他们信用不错,于是没有取出本金以图更大的获利,没想到本月24日有投资者告诉他公司出了问题,连写字楼都撤空了。次日便有人报警,并随即约定29日到公司所在光大银行大厦声讨涉案公司。据悉,“中招”的大多是退休人士,总人数达千人,每人投入一万到三百万不等,被欠本金总额可能达到一个亿。

两家公司6月份资产重组

另一位被欠几万元的郑先生向记者出示了一份2008年6月16日“广东大块金投资股份有限公司”与“内蒙古汇鑫投资股份有限公司”的《联合公告》复印件,称“广东大块金”投资创办了“内蒙古汇鑫”,双方公司进行资产重组,“原广东大块金投资股份有限公司所属客户的一切协议权益,内蒙古汇鑫投资股份有限公司均履行全部的责任和义务。”“他们两个公司其实是一帮人!这摆明是资金链断裂!”郑先生愤愤不平道。随后,他和几位投资者一起到附近的汇鑫广州分公司黄金交易点讨个公道。

果然不出所料,这个交易点也是人去楼空,玻璃门上留下一张一周前的白条,说安排员工去培训了,留下总公司联系人“李扬”的电话。记者多次拨打该电话,均为忙音。 (本文来源:广州日报 作者:伍君仪)

Gold Scams Rise On High Prices And Investor Anxiety



NEW YORK -- Last year, Brian Gurl spent some time reading about the state of the U.S. economy.

He kept hearing about the gargantuan size of the federal debt and the threat of inflation on TV. Gurl is approaching retirement age, so he and his wife needed safe investments. The couple decided on gold.



"We approached several companies. But it was American Precious Metals who were the most aggressive," said Gurl, who invested about $100,000 with the company last Fall. "They just sounded very expert."



In the span of a few months, the couple lost about $60,000, Gurl said.

Last week, a Florida U.S. District Court issued a temporary injunction barring American Precious Metals from doing business, freezing its assets and putting the company in the hands of a court-appointed receiver.

The case against American Precious Metals marks the third gold-related case brought by the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission since March. The agency has also issued a fraud advisory for investors interested in precious metals.

2011, it seems, is the year of commodities and companies prepared to capitalize on investor anxiety.

The soaring prices of all sorts of commodities, uncertainty about the broader economy and the low interest rates banks are paying on savings has drawn both companies and investors to precious metals, said Brad Barber, a professor of finance at the University of California Davis.



"It's always easy to sell an investment -- real or fraudulent -- when it's earned really high returns recently,” Barber said. "People tend to think they are getting in on the ground floor, but in fact the elevator may have already gone up and may be on its way down."

Institutional and individual investors hungry to make up losses suffered during the recession, people looking for a safe investment with potentially large returns and those concerned about the economy's stability have all scrambled to join the gold profit party. Together they have created what many analysts insist is a bubble sure to burst. Gold prices -- which reached about $1,495 an ounce on Wednesday -- have hit and nearly returned to record highs this year.


Yet with public interest in gold remaining high, precious metals scams have begun to proliferate.

In March the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that in the last three years nearly 50 companies selling precious metals investments have opened in just two Florida counties.

This month, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that companies targeting Minnesota seniors persuaded gold coin investors to pay for their purchases with reverse mortgages.

Last year, Goldline, a company that advertised during the "Glenn Beck Show" -- and had the good fortune of Beck suggesting on air that gold was a good investment -- also became the subject of two state-level investigations. Beck has described the investigations as government efforts to eliminate opportunities to buy gold.

In a pair of companion cases, the CFTC and FTC have accused American Precious Metals of targeting investors -- particularly senior citizens -- across the country with a combination of high-pressure and illegal sales tactics and misleading and fraudulent claims.



"What these telemarketers said in general is ... you can't lose, you're going to make money,” said Sana Chriss, an FTC attorney working on the case. "Well that just isn't true. The value of everything can change. At one point it was real estate that was the hot and infallible area and then we had the bust there. Before that it was tech stocks.”

At American Precious Metals, the sales pitch usually began with a world event, Chriss said.



Peruvian miners were on strike, rendering the world's silver supply suddenly short of demand. Silver prices would skyrocket tomorrow, went one pitch.



The value of the U.S. dollar was sliding. But gold bar and uncirculated coins will always retain their value. In fact, gold prices are flirting with record highs and were certain to keep climbing, said another.



American Precious Metals telemarketers rounded out each story with the same high-pressure sales pitch, according to court documents. Only the utterly unwise would pass on the company's super-safe precious metals investments, the telemarketers claimed.



The approach worked well enough to bilk as much as $37 million from investors, according to court documents filed this month in U.S. District Court by the FTC. A hearing that could lead to the permanent closure of American Precious Metals is scheduled for next week.



Andrea and Harry Tanner Jr., the husband and wife owner-manager team behind American Precious Metals, did not respond to a request for comment left at their home. The company's other owner, Sammy Goldman, could not be reached for comment.

Both Goldman and Harry Tanner have been the targets of previous regulatory action.



Between 1982 and 2006, Goldman was listed as a principal or an executive at companies that were the subject of regulatory action bought by the CFTC and National Futures Association, an industry trade group and self-regulatory body, according to court documents.



In 2000, the NFA charged Tanner with making false and deceptive sales solicitations. Tanner agreed to a $5,000 fine and a requirement that he record his conversations with customers over a six month period, according to court documents. In 2006, the trade group expelled Tanner permanently and fined him $100,000. The NFA had found Tanner made misleading and deceptive sales calls to potential investors.



Just months after his NFA expulsion, Tanner set up American Precious Metals and hired several sales people who had also been disciplined for deceiving customers about investments, according to court documents. By early January 2010, American Precious Metals had nearly 400 customers who thought they owned gold, silver, platinum and palladium.

Gurl can not speak in detail about his interactions with American Precious Metals because he and his wife filed suit against the company in December. He did say they thought their money would be used to buy gold and other precious metals.



But the federal agencies that shut down American Precious Metals this month say that the company never purchased any physical quantities of any precious metal, according to court documents. Instead, the company moved investor funds between a series of accounts in the United States and the United Kingdom. American Precious Metals also allegedly converted a large portion of each customer's investment into a loan.



Customers were then charged fees, commissions and interest that totaled about 40 percent of their total investment, according to court documents. Investors were encouraged to keep contributing. If they refused, their accounts were closed. And if an investor asked to take possession of the gold or other metals, he or she was assured the goods were safely stored. Shipping, security and other costs associated with delivery would simply chip away at the customer's account balance, the company said, according to court documents.



"What that really meant is that people invested large sums of money, paid all sorts of fees and interest and got very small amounts back when the accounts were closed,” said Chriss. "One consumer put in maybe $40,000. I think she got back $100 in the end."

Source: The Internet Newspaper, 18/5/2011

Friday, February 24, 2012

2012年 美欧亚同步陷困




美欧亚同步陷困 – 前景悲观 – 经济杀伤力强
三大危机:
欧元债务
美国软弱
中国经经济泡沫
三大事件:
欧元10周年
金砖四国10年成长周期结束
美国国债危机

I was invited to give a talk on the global outlook for 2012 by MAF of
Wesley Methodist Church on 24th February (Friday) at 7.30pm.

Q & A was at the end of the talk. The fellowshippers gave good response to the session.

Questions ranging from AUD, the Gulf War, Korean economy, Sterling Pound to our Economic Transformation Programme were raised.

It was wonderful to be with MAF of Wesley Methodist Church.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Edgeworth News In Sin Chew Daily




The news of Edgeworth Properties came out in Sin Chew Daily yesterday.

It came as a shock to me!

Let us stay tuned to the event.

Edgeworth Properties

CAD on trail of Edgeworth Properties?

By Grace Leong

Just a year-and-a-half after the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) started probing Profitable Plots for allegedly not paying investors, BT understands that it is on the trail of another land-banking firm - Canada-based Edgeworth Properties Inc.

The Canadian company has obtained court protection to restructure its operations which includes closing its Asian offices - putting more than 2,000 investors in Singapore in a bind over their land investments in the province of Alberta.

Apparently, they are part of a group of 4,000 Asian investors from countries including Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand who had invested some C$70 million (S$88 million) in 12 parcels in Alberta between 2007 and 2011 but received land titles to only three of the properties.


Sources say that Singapore investors accounted for more than half of the C$70 million investment.

A Singapore investor told BT that many investors had signed sales and purchase agreements with Edgeworth and paid for the properties in cash. But instead of transferring titles to them, Edgeworth, after receiving their money, allegedly mortgaged some of the properties to mortgage firms such as Romspen Investment Canada, the investor said.

Edgeworth also allegedly used several properties as collateral for loans that it had received from other mortgage companies, such as Firm Capital Corp, Hurlburt Farms Ltd, Liberty Mortgage Services Ltd and Sterling Bridge Mortgage Corp, she said.

Sources said that Consilium Law Corp, previously acting on behalf of the Asian investors, filed complaints with both the CAD and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police last September.

When asked, a CAD spokeswoman would only say: 'It is inappropriate to comment on police investigations, if any.'

Next >>

Edgeworth Properties Singapore Pte Ltd, along with sister offices in Malaysia and the Philippines, closed after their parent sought and obtained protection in November under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act in Canada. The CCAA allows a business to restructure instead of immediately going into bankruptcy and allows creditors to recover part of what is owed to them.

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto in November also issued an order placing 16 of the company's properties into receivership. Last month, the court issued an order extending the stay of proceedings until today, which prevents any claims from being pursued against the company to give it time to come to a resolution on its assets.

But Firm Capital, which holds the first registered mortgage on one of the properties, Creekside Estates, has succeeded in getting stay provisions removed on that property and is now seeking authorisation to sell it, court documents show.

Stikeman Elliott LLP, a Canadian law firm presently representing the Asian investors, said in court documents that it 'does not appear likely' that the Asian investors of Creekside Estates will receive any proceeds from that sale.

Complicating matters, Romspen Investment, another Edgeworth creditor, is also applying to the court to lift the stay of proceedings on several other properties. These include seven parcels that the Asian investors had paid for but did not get titles to, and which were instead mortgaged to Romspen, the Singapore investor said.

Grant Thornton Ltd, the court-appointed monitor of the Edgeworth Group, last Friday asked for the court to extend the stay of proceedings to May 31.

Michael Creber, Grant Thornton senior vice-president, argued in court papers that if Romspen's request was approved without additional protections, that could frustrate 'prospective transactions . . . currently being negotiated, which appear to be sufficient to repay the majority, if not all, of the amounts' due to the mortgage companies.

It could also result in other stakeholders, including the Asian investors, 'losing the ability to voice their concerns in a single forum', he said.

But should Romspen's request be granted, it should be amended to 'address the concerns of subordinate stakeholders', he added.

In particular, he asked that all interested parties, including the Asian investors, should be entitled to assert any claims that they may have to the Romspen-mortgaged properties and their sale proceeds.

Grant Thornton also supported Edgeworth's request for court approval to increase fee allowances to lawyers representing the various stakeholders including the Asian investors to C$200,000 from C$75,000.

In a Feb 13 letter to Kenneth L Campbell, Judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Asian investors said: 'The current reality presents a grim picture to us recovering anything from the . . . parcels without issued title, but we will not go down without a fight.'

Land-banking firms such as Edgeworth typically buy rural land with the intent to rezone it into commercial or residential use, or both. These firms, in turn, invite investors to buy parcels of land.

In Edgeworth's case, the Asian investors said that they were allegedly promised net returns of 60, 80 or 100 per cent on so-called undivided property interests in Canada, depending on when the raw land obtains development approvals and when they exit their investments. This is expected to take five years or less.

'Edgeworth told me in March 2011 they wanted to buy back the land and will pay out 80 per cent returns on June 30, 2011. But in April, they claimed that they were in financial difficulty and couldn't make the payouts,' the Singapore investor said.

Many Asian investors, in their sales and purchase agreements with Edgeworth, also had to agree to not file a caveat or claim against the property, she said.

A lawyer said that that should have been a red flag to the investors. 'If you don't file a caveat against the land, then no one knows you have a claim on it.'

In the case of Profitable Plots, some 1,500 Singaporeans and 4,000 foreigners are believed to have invested in the land investment firm, which was raided by the CAD in August 2010 after some investors alleged that it owed them money. To date, the complaints involve investments of more than $30 million.

This article was first published in The Business Times.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Methodist Senior Learning Centre - Start Of The Academic Year 2012







I copied some photos of the event from Meng Lei's blog to enhance the presentation.

Photo 1 shows Martin Ho teaming up with son to drum up the event. Together they made a good partnership.

Photo 2 shows Rev. Tiong Chiew Ing, the main driver behind the centre.

Photo 3 shows a section of the audience in full attention.

Photo 4 shows a harmonica solo presentation by a student.

Photo 5 shows Mr. Wong Kah Ling, chairman of the board of Methodist Senior Learning Centre, giving his speech.

Monday, February 20, 2012

iProperty:门槛低价格合理 大马产业市场具吸引力

iProperty:门槛低价格合理 大马产业市场具吸引力 Tuesday, 21 February 2012

【吉隆坡20日讯】iProperty集团首席执行员梭恩迪基加略表示,由于马来西亚产业市场相对较低的门槛和处于健康水平的售价,所以不只国内投资者而已,就算是外国投资者,他们都会认为大马产业值得投资。


他指出,今日大马产业市场的主要关键是价格的上涨。

他补充:“价格以外,购置产业者也表达他们对房屋融资政策、利率、不良发展商以及建成素质的隐忧。”

梭恩迪基加略是在今日发布iProperty.com进行调查的“2012年亚洲产业市场信心”报告时,发表这项谈话。

iProperty.com是我国首屈一指的产业网站,它展开的网络调查共获得3千459名受访者参与。

梭恩迪基加略说,由于欧洲和美国的经济充满不确定性,消费者预计今年的高档住宅产业分领域区块将经历放缓走势,因为大部分潜在购买者将采取谨慎的心态。

他表示:“尽管如此,与区域的其他市场比较,大马的产业相对远较便宜,但在接着的10年内肯定持续升涨。”

他指出:“参与这项调查的马来西亚受访者对产业市场抱持乐观展望,但同时也谨慎避免泡沫的爆破,且相信大马经济具有很好的基础在2012年取得理想表现。”

Source: United Daily News/ 21-2-2012

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Premier Staff Recreational Club - Birthday Lunch
















Premier Staff Recreational Club (covering Premier Hotel, Premier Departme4ntal Store, King's Trioplex and Sarawak House Sdn. Bhd.) held a birthday lunch on 18th February for those staff members whose birthdays fall in January and February. Altogether more than 35 staff members turned up for the gathering, including our MD Michael Wee.

The club used to give birthday cakes on its members' birthdays. Recently the committee decided to go for a change. Instead of quietly getting a cake on birthdays, the members would be grouped together for a lunch in the month of their birthdays. The intention is to make it more interesting.

The organisers prepared a cake for all of us to sing and cut. Thereafter, the birthday buffet lunch was called to start. It was a sumptuous 5-course buffet to feast the birthday members.

It was such a joy that we could have the birthday lunch together in this manner.

Hurray!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Gold Bulls Expand as Billionaire Paulson Says Buy: Commodities

Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Gold traders are getting more bullish after billionaire hedge-fund manager John Paulson told investors it’s time to buy the metal as protection against inflation caused by government spending.

Twelve of 22 surveyed by Bloomberg expect prices to gain next week and five were neutral. Paulson & Co. is already the biggest investor in the SPDR Gold Trust, the largest exchange- traded product backed by bullion, with a stake valued at $2.9 billion, a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Feb. 14 showed. Investors have 2,389.7 metric tons in ETPs, within 0.2 percent of the record reached in December and more than all but four central banks, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Speculators in U.S. gold futures are now their most bullish since September after the Bank of England and Bank of Japan said they will buy more assets and the Federal Reserve said it was considering purchasing more bonds. Central banks are also expanding their bullion reserves, adding 439.7 tons last year, the most in almost five decades. They may buy a similar amount in 2012, the London-based World Gold Council said yesterday.

“The appalling state of fiscal finances of most industrial nations does lead to concerns about the possibility of inflation,” said Mark O’Byrne, executive director of Dublin- based GoldCore Ltd., a brokerage that sells everything from quarter-ounce British Sovereigns to 400-ounce bars. “Gold is a crucial diversification given the various risks out there.”

Bank of America

Gold rose 9.9 percent to $1,722.20 an ounce this year on the Comex in New York. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI gauge of 24 commodities gained 6.6 percent and MSCI All-Country World Index of equities climbed 9.7 percent. Treasuries lost 0.5 percent, a Bank of America Corp. index shows.

Hedge funds and other money managers boosted wagers on higher prices by 57 percent since mid-January. They raised their net-long position by 8.6 percent to 173,172 futures and options in the week ended Feb. 7, the highest level since mid-September, Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show.

Central banks are keeping interest rates at or near record lows and expanding stimulus measures to spur growth that the International Monetary Fund predicted on Jan. 24 will be 3.3 percent this year, down from a previous forecast of 4 percent. Greece is seeking more aid on top of the 110 billion euros ($145 billion) awarded in 2010 and Moody’s Investors Service cut the ratings of six European nations on Feb. 13.

‘Build a Position’

“By the time inflation becomes evident, gold will probably have moved, which implies that now is the time to build a position in gold,” New-York based Paulson said in a letter to investors obtained by Bloomberg. Armel Leslie, a spokesman for Paulson, declined to comment.

The 56-year-old manager’s SPDR Gold Trust holdings fell 15 percent in the fourth quarter as his $23 billion hedge fund company had its worst-ever year. His Advantage Plus Fund lost 51 percent in 2011, and the firm said in a third-quarter letter that financial services companies were the “primary drag.” Paulson became a billionaire in 2007 by betting against the U.S. subprime mortgage market. Gold rose 10 percent last year in New York trading, an 11th consecutive annual gain.

Europe’s deepening debt crisis may spur some investors to retreat to cash. Bullion dropped 3.4 percent in the three months through December, the first quarterly decline since 2008, as the value of global equities slumped more than $10 trillion from the May peak, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Debt Crisis

“Despite the strong start to global markets this year, the underlying sentiment is still one of fear,” said Chris Weafer, the chief strategist at Troika Dialog, an investment bank in Moscow. “Until the euro zone debt crisis is put to bed, all assets, even gold, are in the risk category.”

Investors should avoid gold because its uses are limited and it lacks the potential of farmland or companies to produce new wealth, Warren Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., wrote in an adaptation of his annual letter to shareholders that appeared on Fortune magazine’s website on Feb. 9.

Vinik Asset Management LP, Tudor Investment Corp. and SAC Capital Advisors LP sold shares in the SPDR Gold Trust in the fourth quarter, filings showed this week. George Soros, the billionaire founder of Soros Fund Management LLC, raised his stake to 85,450 shares from 48,350.

Record investment drove gold demand to 4,067.1 tons last year, the most since 1997, the World Gold Council estimates.

Nine of 24 traders and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect copper to climb next week and seven were neutral. The metal for delivery in three months, the London Metal Exchange’s benchmark contract, rose 7.4 percent to $8,161.50 a ton this year after declining 21 percent last year.

ICE Futures

Ten of 14 people surveyed expect raw-sugar prices to drop next week. The commodity is up 1.8 percent this year at 23.72 cents a pound on ICE Futures U.S. in New York.

Eleven of 21 people surveyed anticipate lower corn prices next week, while 12 of 22 said soybeans will advance. Corn fell 0.3 percent to $6.4475 a bushel this year as soybeans rose 5.7 percent to $12.77 a bushel.

“By initiating further rounds of quantitative easing, central banks should be one of the supporting factors for commodity prices,” said Daniel Briesemann, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. “The high uncertainty and growing risk aversion among market players surrounding the Greek debt saga should depress any meaningful price increases.”

--With assistance from Maria Kolesnikova, Agnieszka Troszkiewicz, Isis Almeida and Tony C. Dreibus in London, Jae Hur and Yasumasa Song in Tokyo, Glenys Sim and Luzi Ann Javier in Singapore, Helen Sun in Shanghai, Yi Tian and Saijel Kishan in New York and Jeff Wilson in Chicago. Editors: Stuart Wallace, Claudia Carpenter.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Life-long Learning At Methodist Senior Learning Centre




Some westerners are of the opinion that life begins at 50!

At Methodist Senior Learning Centre, you see active living. Join them if you wish to be more knowledgeable at the golden age!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Bill Clinton & Monica Lewinsky



Monica Lewinsky almost toppled Bill Clinton during his presidency.

She quietly froze up her soiled skirt and that almost killed the then president off.

She is now back in the limelight!

Stay tuned in to the event!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Methodist Senior Learning Centre 卫理乐龄学习中心





Methodist Senior Learning Centre was establidshed last year. In 2011, the centre completed the first year of studies with flying colours.

The idea of having a first-time ever Methodist Senior University was mooted by Rev. Su Chii Ann, president of Sarawak Chinese Annual Conference, during a Senior Fellowship's Annual Delegates Conference. Later they adopted Methodist Senior Learning Centre to be the official name.

The idea of the centre is to provide an opportunity for our senior group to go on life-long learning at their golden years.

Yesterday (15th February) the centre held a simple start-of-the-year ceremony. I was invited to be present.

Courses offered by the centre range from biblical knowledge to contemporary issues.

Our church has made another breakthrough in Sarawak in giving education to senior citizens.

Cheers!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

St. Valentine's Day 情人节 2012

On this globally celebrated occasion, may I wish all lovers a "Happy St. Valentine's Day"!

And, of course, on this day, I wish to say "To Yian with love"!

Cheers!

Monday, February 13, 2012

Fong Fei-Fei 凤飞飞



Taiwanese singer Fong Fei-Fei died on Jan 3 in Hong Kong after battling lung cancer, reports said. She was 60.

Her lawyer confirmed this at a press conference on Monday, China Times reported.



Fong's husband of 20 years, businessman Zhao Hongqi, 70, also died of lung cancer in 2009.

******************

Fong Fei-Fei was one of my favourite song stars in the old days. Her sweet vocal still echoes in my ears!

May she rest in peace!

Friday, February 10, 2012

Sibu Taxi Owners Association's Annual Dinner Cum Awards Giving














Sibu Taxi Owners Association held its Annual Dinner Cum Awards Giving on February 10 at 7.00pm at Li Hua Hotel. Premier Hotel was invited to attend.

YB Datuk Tiong Thai King was the Gueast-of-Honour of the function. Mr. Daniel Ngieng, deputy chairman of SMC, represented YB Datuk in his absence. Cr. Robert Lau came as a VIP to give grace to the evening.

In his welcoming address,Mr. Yii Ching Lung, chairman of the association, expressed appreciation to SMC for help in allocating taxi parking bays in the town. He called on the members to work closely and stay united.

Mr. Daniel Ngieng was invited to be on stage to give his keynote address. He touched on the present political realities in Malaysia. On the two-front system hotly pursued by a lot of Malaysians, he cited the example of India to elaborate his views.

The offspring of some taxi owners received awards for excelling in STPM, SPM, PMR and UPSR. It was certainly a proud moment for them.

Some taxi drivers are surprisingly talented in singing. When the time came for karaoke session, they went on stage to entertain the audience with their beautiful singing.

An evening like this would be lacking without some lucky draws. The draws gave exciting moments to the audience, making the annual dinner a lot more interesting.

Li Hua Hotel served nice foods and we all had had a good time.

Cheers!

My Views On Sibu Tourism Industry



I expressed my views on the publicity of the tourist spots in Sibu. The news item came out on Chu Yi in See Hua Daily News.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Malaysia Has Not Lost A Decade, But Has Lost Two Generations - Part 3

An article from Sin Chew Daily

鄭丁賢•夢醒時分
2009-12-02 20:49

你是否和我一樣,發覺身邊的親戚和朋友,似乎少了許多。
以往接近過年時,各種聚餐排得滿滿的,而今年,似乎沒聲沒息。
即使是平常日子,電話少了,與大家見面也少了。
也許,大家各忙各的;或者,目前流行“宅生活”,儘量避免出門。
也不盡然如此。再想一想,很多老友和親戚,已經不在了。嗟!大吉利是,他們都還好好的,只是離開了馬來西亞。
老余去了中國大陸開工廠;王子不做工程師,移民到澳洲開小食檔;阿風離開本地大學,去香港做講師;青蛙去了台灣,開展事業第二春;還有的到了美國、英國,唔,還有去印尼的……。
起初,以為這只是個別現象,逐漸的,旁人也有同樣發現;原來,這不是個別現象,而是社會現象;這不是少數,而是相當大的數目。
外交部早前披露了一個數字,說明這個現象是多麼真實,多麼貼近。
從去年3月(2008)到今年9月,已經有30萬大馬人移民他國;其中20萬人是今年1月到8月(2009)出走的數目。
累積下來,已經有超過200萬大馬人移民,接近今天印尼外勞在大馬的人口。
不同的是,移居他國的大馬人,多是專業人士、中產階級。
他們有很多出走的理由,追求事業發展,為了孩子前途,尋找個人更大空間……,概括一句:對馬來西亞失望。
50年前,大家說,馬來西亞真好,好過香港,甚至日本。
30年前,大家說,馬來西亞還不錯,比得上韓國、台灣(不提香港和日本了)。
20年前,大家說,馬來西亞還可以,至少超越中國、泰國(不能和台、韓比了)。
10年前,大家說,馬來西亞再差,還不至於像越南、印尼(中國已是不同級別)。
今日,越南和印尼的經濟成長率遙遙領先大馬,社會活力和知識發展也勝過一籌;距離愈來愈近了。
怕甚麼,還有菲律賓和柬埔寨、緬甸。
但是,一位經濟學家最近到菲律賓考察之後,認為再過20年,大馬可以取代菲律賓,出口馬籍女傭到全世界了。
半個世紀以來,馬來西亞是在大宅院裡,用封建方式,分配祖宗家業,消耗社會資源,浪費和逼走人才;不談競爭力,忽略生產力,討厭績效制。
亞洲金融風暴來襲時,大馬把門關起來,以為避過一劫,有人還自我陶醉,自以為是天才策略。
然而,其它國家面對風暴,走出風暴,進行體質改革,跨步向前,登上另一個水平;大馬卻還在原地踏步。
馬來西亞,該醒一醒了。
星洲日報�鎅迆懐[尼•作者:鄭丁賢•2009.12.02

Malaysia Has Not Lost A Decade, But Has Lost Two Generations -Part 2

Subject: THE COUNTRY HAS NOT LOST A DECADE, BUT HAS LOST TWO GENERATIONS said Dr Chen Man Hin

The signs foretell that Malaysia will be left behind during the rising of Asia
(Speech by Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP life adviser to members of the Hakka Association of Negri Sembilan in Seremban on 13th December 2009)

I am most honoured to be invited to attend the formation of the Negri Sembilan Hakka Association, which will include all the hakka clans to form a single body.
Hakkas originated from Kwang Chow and Fukkien provinces, and are comprised of several clans, Moi Kong, Fui Choo, Char Yong, Hoi Look Foong, Tai Poo, Moi Yen,
Although mandarin is the common language, there are different dialects among the chinese in Malaysia.
Dialect Population
Hokkien
1,848,211

Hakka
1,679,027

Cantonese
1,355,541

Teochew
974,573

Mandarin
958,467

Hainanese
380,781

Min Bei
373,337

Foochow
249,413

Total
7,819,350


Hakkas are known for their courage, discipline and hard working habits. As Malaysians they will continue to unite and educate their children to be useful citizens of their country, Malaysia.

MALAYSIANS OF ALL RACES ARE LOYAL AND WANT A BETTER LIFE FOR THEIR CHILDREN.

Although Malaysian Chinese have different dialects, they are all Malaysians and their loyalty is fully committed to Malaysia. Although they form a minority of 25%, their contribution to the political, economic and social development can be very meaningful and substantial.

That goes the same for all other communities, the Malays, Indians and other indigenous communities. They want justice, democracy and opportunities to gain a better way of life. The people worry about the recession, the corruption, cronyism, no rule of law and inequality, which are bringing hardship to the unemployed and the poor.
There are no signs that life is getting better. All the promises made by PM Najib about 1 Malaysia, no corruption and more opportunities are not delivered.

THE LOST DECADE. The situation is very serious, and this probably prompted the Deputy Minister of Finance to declare that the period after the Asian Crisis 1997, the country’s economy has not improved. He said that the 10 years after 1997 was a LOST DECADE! His revelation is nothing new. The DAP has been saying the same thing for many years. However the Deputy Minister of Finance’s statement was only a half truth.

THE COUNTRY HAS NOT LOST A DECADE, BUT HAS LOST TWO GENERATIONS.

Ever since the launching of the NEP in 1971, the economy has stagnated, there was mass migration of talent, shameful waste of human capital through a faulty educational system which discouraged meritocracy, and mass migration of skilled people to couintries like Australia and Singapore.

ACTUALLY THE COUNTRY HAS LOST TWO GENERATIONS BECAUSE OF THE NEP
PER CAPITA INCOME (US$)
Country 1971 1981 1991 2001 2008
KOREA REPUB
302
1,648
7,119
10,243
19,505

TAIWAN

4,859
8,077
14,426
17,040

SINGAPORE
1,061
5,645
17,750
20,865
38,172

HONG KONG
1,107
6,015
15,353
24,695
31,887

MALAYSIA
406
1,805
3,099
3,701
7,000



THE FIGURES TELL THE STORY OF HOW THE MALAYSIAN FELL FAR BEHIND THE ‘FOUR ASIAN TIGERS’. THE STAGNATION BEGAN IN 1971, THE YEAR THAT THE NEW ECONOMIC POLICY WAS LAUNCHED BY TUN RAZAK, FATHER OF PM NAJIB.

The NEP stifled economic development, because investors, both local and foreign found the NEP regulations unattractive and not business friendly... The prevalence of corruption and cronyism of the NEP made many Umno cronies rich, but the poor malays remained poor.

From 1971 to 2000, a period of 40 years, the BN government lived in their own world, and implemented policies which drove away investors, and depended on the revenue from oil and commodities to fund the restructuring of the economy and so that there would be no identification of race with economy.

WHY SOUTH KOREA, TAIWAN, HONG KONG AND SINGAPORE BECAME THE ASIAN TIGERS? BECAUSE THEY EMBRACED FREE MARKET POLICIES.

Analysts say that between 1980 and 2005. The world embraced free market policies. These caused living standards to rise sharply, educational standards rose, poverty declined and democracy improved, and life expectancy rose.

China is the leading example of the miraculous effects of free market policies. Former Premier Deng Xiao Peng is the father of the success of the economy in China because he launched off a free market policy in 1978.

PM Najib can repeat the same miracle for Malaysia. Would he choose the free market way or would he walk away and return to the old policies of the NEP, cronyism, and corruption.
The ball is now at the foot of PM Najib.
Will he do the right thing, so as Malaysia can join the rise of Asia movement?


Wow....are we so far away.

Malaysia Has Not Lost A Decade, But Has Lost Two Generations -Part 1

Subject: Fw: Sin Chew - THE COUNTRY HAS NOT LOST A DECADE, BUT HAS LOST TWO GENERATIONS said Dr Chen Man Hin

Subject: FW: Sin Chew - THE COUNTRY HAS NOT LOST A DECADE, BUT HAS LOST TWO GENERATIONS said Dr Chen Man Hin
THE COUNTRY HAS NOT LOST A DECADE, BUT HAS LOST TWO GENERATIONS said Dr Chen Man Hin


LOOK AT THE STATISTICS, THEY DONT LIE!!!!!

These countries exchange rate used to be

Hong Kong RM 1 to HK 3 But today only worth HK 2 ( Lost 33 %)
S'pore RM 1 to S$1 But today only worth S$ 43 cent ( Lost 57 %)
Taiwan RM 1 to Tawain $ 16 Today only worth Taiwan $ 9 ( 44 % )
Korea ????

And look at our per capital income !!! pitiful. This Govt has make Malaysian poor after 30 yrs of corruptions and mismanagement.!!!!!

Staff Annual Party-Part 4








After our MD Michael Wee delivered his keynote address, we cut the annual dinner cake to officially kick off the evening.

The atmosphere of the hall was heightened when the programme of the evening started rolling.

The VIPs took the opportunity to pose for a group photo.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Staff Annual Party-Part 3





Our MD Michael Wee was invited to address the staff party. His speech was the highlight of the evening.

In his usual style, he gave due recognition to the hard work of the staff members in 2011. "Your efforts drove the company to growth," he said.

Reminding the staff of the uncertainties and competitiveness ahead, Mr. Wee urged everybody to be creative and innovative in order for the company to stay competitive in the induastries.

Michael Wee has a strong point here. We really can't afford to be too business-as-usual!

The two MCs stood in full attention to MD's speech.