428 Bersih 3.0 + Himpunan Hijau

Johnny Ong rushed out this caicature for his readers in conjunction with Bersih 3.0. He is currently working on a cartoon book, hopefully to get it published before the 13th GE.

Gallup: America's Favorite Long-Term Investment Is Gold

Americans feel gold is the safest long-term investment out there, a Gallup survey finds. Gold beat out four other types of investments perceived as the best long-term choice out there, with 28 percent choosing it today. Real estate followed in second place, with 20 percent seeing it as the best long-term investment. Savings accounts and CDs tied with stocks/mutual funds at 19 percent. Bonds trailed at 8 percent. "Investing in gold has gained in popularity in recent years as low interest rates have made traditional savings instruments less attractive, and instability in the stock and real estate markets has undermined the mass appeal of those options," Gallup reports. "Meanwhile, the rising trajectory of the price of gold over the past several years apparently offers more of the returns and stability investors seek." Gold prices are currently trading over $1,660 an ounce, down from peaking around $1,924 an ounce in late 2011 but well above $300 an ounce from just over a decade ago. Weak gross domestic product growth figures and a sluggish jobs market are fueling talk the Federal Reserve will stimulate the economy in a way to encourage investment and hiring that weakens the dollar as a side effect. Such a policy, officially known as quantitative easing but dubbed by critics as printing money out of thin air, would send gold's price rising. Uncertainty in Europe also is likely to push gold higher, as calls for the European Central Bank to simulate the economy there grow as well. European countries have adopted austerity measures such as tax hikes and spending cuts to right their debt-ridden economies, but many feel such harsh fiscal measures aren't working on their own. "If you look at what's happening in Europe, they keep talking about austerity," says Matthew Bishop, a co-author of In Gold We Trust?, according to CNBC. "The long way out of this is we're going to get some inflation and we're going to see gold go from being a specialist investment to being something which the public as a whole starts to buy, and that's when the price will really shoot up." Author: Forrest Jones Source: Moneynews

Minimum Wage Policy Comes Into Effect

Najib unveils RM900 wage floor for peninsula, RM800 in Sabah and Sarawak.

Hii Tiong Huat At 428 Bersih 3.0 Assembly In KL

I learned that Hii Tiong Huat, a well known social activitist in Sibu, suffered eye injuries after being bashed up during 428 Bersih 3.0 rally in KL. Presently he is undergoing medical treatment there. The picture shows Hii Tiong Huat protesting against floods in Sibu on 5th February, 2009. Some Sibuians dubbed him a moron! Floods are a problem to a lesser degree now.

428 Bersih 3.0 + Himpunan Hijau

The clean and green rallies worldwide on April 28 was a huge success. The protests sent a clear message to our government to conduct the upcoming GE clean and to keep our environment green. All the dailies today gave conspicious front page and extensive inner-page coverage of the event. I salute to all those who took part in 428 rally for good cause.

428 Bersih 3.0 + Himpunan Hijau In Sibu

Sibu is not behind in Bersih 3.0 movement! The peaceful sit-down demonstration was held at Chuan Corridor this afternoon from 2:00pm to 4:00pm. Sibu police issued permit for 428 Bersih 3.00 to go ahead. The scorching sun did nothing at all to deter the crowds from gathering at Chuan Corridor for good cause. A big thumb up to them!

Ah Jib Ge In Sibu - Part 5

Ah Jib Ge is a great image builder! Our PM suffered some setbacks in his personal image in the past. To win back the loss, Ah Jib Ge embarked on image-building and projected himself to be a rakyat leader. Don't belittle having kopi-o with ordinary folks in an open market. It works wonders in bringing Ah Jib Ge close to the rakyat. It is perfectly alright for leaders to build up good image. Laders like Goh Chok Tong (Singapore's previous PM) and the late Reagan (the past president of USA)all engaged image consultants to build up their public images during their political career life. Pictures: Eric

Gold - Buy On Dips Now

Why Gold Critics are Wrong There is absolutely no indication on a long-term chart of gold that the bull market is over... It's simply pausing and consolidating into a coiled spring pattern after last year's sharp rally. How can the bull market be over when the only solution to our debt problem is buying more debt, which only further devalues fiat currencies and makes problems worse? Don't listen to the mainstream press. Gold still has room to run... So buy the dips. Buy all the gold you can. Source: Ian Cooper / 27th April, 2012

Ah Jib Ge In Sibu - Part 4

Ah Jib Ge is a whirlwind of energy! His visit to Sibu was tightly scheduled, giving reporters a good time to follow through!

Ah Jib Ge In Sibu - Part 3

Ah Jib Ge's charisma is simply irresistible! When he landed on Sibu's newly extended airport yesterday, crowds thronged to meet the PM. According to the latest survey, Ah Jib Ge's popularity has gone up to a new high. Based on this, Ah Jib Ge deemed it the right time now to go back to the rakyat to seek a bigger mandate to run the country. The 13th GE is just like an almost fully baked cake in the oven-you easily get the smell of it a quarter of a mile away. Ah Jib Ge seems to be well prepared!

Ah Jib Ge In Sibu - Part 2

Ah Jib Ge

Ah Jib Ge flew in with something big for Sibuians. Last night (April 26) at a community dinner at Kingwood Hotel, Ah Jib Ge announced that a technology university would be set up in Sibu. This was certainly not a joke, as according to Ah Jib Ge, the work on the proposed university would start as early as in June this year. This was a pre-election big wow for Sibu. Having a full-fledged university in Sibu has been the dream of all Sibuians, and Ah Jib Ge, by a stroke of his pen, made it a realisation. Last night the whole of Sibu was filled with election drumming! A big thumb up to Ah Jib Ge! Picture: See Hua Daily News

Ah Jib Ge In Sibu - Part 1

Our PM Najib (now popularly known as Ah Jib Ge)will be in Sibu for a two-day visit from 27th-28th April. Ah Jib Ge certainly comes here not just to drink kopi-o with Sibuians at Central Market for nothing. Our PM is now on pre-election warming-up exercise natiowide, druming up support for BN in the upcoming 13th GE. Ah Jib Ge shied away from Sibu twice after BN's defeat in the by-election in May 2010. During one rally at Rejang Park, Sibu in the by-election campaign, Ah Jib Ge caused a stir by quoting "You help me, I help you". Karpah Singh of DAP challenged back, saying he might bring it to court for interpretation. Although it was two years already, Sibuians still quote that "notable quote". Let us see what Ah Jib Ge has got to say after two years! Picture: www.sibuericluk.blogspot.com

DTZ To Property Investors: Tough Year For Malaysian Property Market

Cautious sentiments due to an anticipated economic slowdown have resulted in a generally subdued real estate market which is expected to face a tough year ahead, according to DTZ Research. It stated that Malaysia's investment activities experienced a slow start this year, with volumes in the first quarter falling to RM427.5 million. "However, the decline does not reflect waning investors' interest for good assets as dismal market conditions in Europe diverted attention to Malaysia and the region, leading to an increase in enquiries," said the property services company. "New real estate investment trust (REIT) listings in the pipeline are also expected to give investment activity a boost in the later part of the year." The group noted that the largest transaction recorded in the first quarter was the IGB Bhd's purchase of a 50 percent share in the holding company of Renaissance Hotel. Meanwhile, the tougher regulations on personal loans have shifted the focus of local property developers on smaller and more affordable units, said Eddy Wong, Executive Director and Head of Residential Marketing at DTZ. "The imposition of tighter lending guidelines requiring housing loans to be approved based on the net household income instead of gross income should, to some extent, cool an overheated market that has run up substantially in terms of pricing in the last two years, as well as focus developments toward the more affordable housing segment."

Bowling Competition 2012 - MAF of Sibu East District

Johnny Ong's Cartoons

If you are looking for a political cartoon blog to freshen you up, then johnnyongcartoons is the right one. Check out yourself and you will know why! johnnyongcartoons

Trip To Mukah

The committee members of Sarawak Central Region Hotels Association made a trip to Mukah 0n 11th April to meet up with the members and hoteliers there. The purpose was to have a dialogue, hoping to improve the chesion of the hoteliers.

During the dialogue, Mukah branch committee was elected as follows:

Chairman : Mr. Kho Lian Ann (Royal Inn)
Deputy Chairman : Penghulu Ting Kee Kuan (Royal Inn)
Secretary : Mr. Fraser Ting (Kingwood Hotel Mukah)
Treasurer : Mr. Joseph Yiu (King Inn)
Committee
Members : Mr. Chan Hiu Siok (Dalat Inn)
Ms Josephine Ting (Mukah Inn)
Mr. Teo Boon Pek (Wei Ming Hotel)
Mr. Ling How Kong (Mandarin Inn)
Kapitan Kang Boon Eong (Qintai Inn)

Penghulu Ting Kee Kuan hosted a lunch after the dislogue. We gave big thumbs up to Penghulu for the hospitality.

The pictures show the group photo and the newspaper clipping.

AGM of SAGA Central Region - Newspaper Clipping

The AGM of SAGA Central Region was successfully held on 9th April, 2012 at 7.00pm at Premier Hotel, Sibu.

The local dailies gave good coverage of the event. My heartfelt thanks to the reporters who were with us throughout the meeting.

The meeting planned a host of activities including speech contest, English song singing competition, English essay writing competition, pre-departure fellowship, career talk, etc for the months to come.

Property Prices On The Rise : CIMB Research

Prices of residential properties are expected to climb further by five to 10 percent this year, said a report by CIMB Research.

While appreciation could be higher than projected, the government will likely remain cautious over ‘runaway' property prices.

The report said 2012 would be another good year for house price appreciation, backed by several advantageous factors and despite the slower real GDP (gross domestic product) growth projection.

"Buying momentum continued to be strong, driven by inflationary fears," said CIMB.

On the other hand, supply growth "should remain depressed as developers have only just started to focus more on affordable homes costing not more than RM500,000 in the Klang Valley." The growth of prices in the Klang Valley will be driven by new infrastructures such as the MRT (My Rapid Transit), covered walkway projects and river rehabilitation.

Although new records will likely set this year, overall transaction values are doomed for a slowdown following two years of high growth of 30 percent on average.

"In view of credit-tightening measures by the central bank, we believe that the growth in transaction value should slow to 10 percent to 12 percent this year," it added.

CIMB also emphasised that the risks to volume and price projections have taken into account the global economic outlook as well as the performance of the local stock market.

Meanwhile, the commercial property market may be on the darker side, as oversupply will likely affect the sector in the coming years. This early, occupancy rates for both retail and office segments have begun to drop.

Source: Homeguru

Teh Tarik With Dr. Dennis Ngien

We met up with Dr. Dennis Ngien this afternoon in Bamboo House for a good chat over teh tarik.

Dr. Dennis Ngien is on a stop-over in Sibu for a few days before proceeding to China.

Gold Is Going To Rally

Christian DeHaemer has the following to say about gold:

Gold has been putting in a basing formation on lower volume for about a year now. The long-term trend is up. It has held above the $1,500-per-ounce mark all year and is now at $1,664 – putting in higher lows as it moves up.

The top, shorter-term downtrend line is about a month or two from hitting the uptrend line. This is called a pennant formation.

And when this happens the price breaks out one way or another. Like a coiled spring it launches as far as the trend went sideways. This is generally how gold moves – long consolidation patterns coupled with explosive short-term gains.

Given the amount of money printing and the accumulation of debt in the world, I would bet that the direction will be up.

Earlier this week Greg McCoach wrote a brilliant editorial projecting that gold will hit $19,525 an ounce before it is all over. You can find it below in The Cost of Debt: Debts DO Matter.

Now is the time to buy assets with real value. Gold, rare earths, and oil will all go up on inflation and the systematic destruction of all major currencies. Below you will find actionable information related to these assets.

SAGA Central Region's AGM 2012

SAGA Central Region held its AGM for the year 2011 on 9th April, 2012 at 7.30pm at Premier Hotel, Sibu.

The chairman of SAGA Central Region Temenggong Vincent Lau in his welcoming address called on the members to be supportive to the association's activities. He also hoped that the new committee would formulate new strategies to attract more Australian graduates to join the association and stay united under one umbrella.

An election was held for a new committe to run the association. Nearly all the incumbents were reelected.

A buffet dinner was served after the meeting.

Photo: Philip Hii of The Star

SAGA Central Region's AGM 2012

It is time again for SAGA Central Region members to meet and say to each other: How are you, mate?

This year's AGM for SAGA Central Region shall be on 9th April, Monday at 7.30pm at Premier Hotel, Sibu. The notice has been sent out by post or e-mail. All members are urged to be present.

A buffet dinner shall be served after the meeting.

The picture shows the news coverage for last year's AGM.

See you there!

Premier Hotel Taking Part In Earth Hour 2012

In its relentless efforts to push for environmental care, Sibu Municipal Council, as in the past years, promoted Earth Hour 2012 highprofiledly in Sibu. This was to instil the love for our environment into the minds of the public.

In his open letter to all hotels, supermarkets and shopping malls, the council chairman Datuk Tiong Thai King called on the operators to take part in the programme of Earth Hour 2012 by switching off the lights on 31st March from 8.30pm to 9.30pm.

Premier Hotel gave positive response to the call by having all the exterior lights off, leaving only with the minimum lights in the interior during the hour.

The two pictures were taken by Steve Ling, a well known photographer in Sibu. Steve never lets the history slip without snapping shots. A big thumb up to Steve!