Thursday, March 13, 2008
Saturday, March 8, 2008
A new day dawns on the Malaysian political landscape
Polling in the 12th Malaysian Elections were over yesterday and counting of the votes was slow and laborious. Mainstream media like RTM1, RTM2, TV3, NTV7, online news portal like NST and the Star were highlighting mainly barisan national wins. By 1am (before I called it a day), PAS had already strengthened their grip in the state of Kelantan.
But the best news was the fall of Penang to the DAP/PKR/PAS loose coalition. It looks like Lim Guan Eng would get to be Chief Minister of Penang. Contrast this with earlier announcements by outgoing Chief Minsiter Koh Tsu Koon, who was talking about announcing the new CM for Penang a couple of days after the election results. In any event Koh Tsu Koon and the 3 potential CMs were defeated in their seats.
Kedah has also fallen into the hands of the PKR/S coalition.
This morning, more good news - Perak and Selangor had also fallen into the opposition coalition. It looks like PAS would form the state governments of Kelantan and Kedah. DAP would form the state governments of Penang and Perak and PKR, the Selangor state government. In most other states, BN's representation has been reduced.
Samy Vellu lost Sungei Siput (damn - he deserved that. Long overdue!!). Sharizat lost to Anwar's daughter and the Minister of Misinformation also lost his seat. Can't understand how someone who cannot communicate on live TV could have been Minister of Information. I would like to see what the previous (and possible current) Chief Minister of Malacca has to say now about the need for Chinese and Indian votes!
But BN still retains the federal government albeit without the 2/3 majority which had allowed them to roughshod constitutional changes in the past 50 years.
Dare we hope that the Judiciary will become independent as is expected, with any and all changes and appointments made by the judiciary and not the executive. Islam Hadhari can also go fly the wau for all I care. The past 4 years of Islam hadhari had worsen the religious rights of the non Muslims.
With this nightmare (for BN), maybe UMNO will kick out the sleepy head and his SIL this coming August .
Crossing my fingers.
But the best news was the fall of Penang to the DAP/PKR/PAS loose coalition. It looks like Lim Guan Eng would get to be Chief Minister of Penang. Contrast this with earlier announcements by outgoing Chief Minsiter Koh Tsu Koon, who was talking about announcing the new CM for Penang a couple of days after the election results. In any event Koh Tsu Koon and the 3 potential CMs were defeated in their seats.
Kedah has also fallen into the hands of the PKR/S coalition.
This morning, more good news - Perak and Selangor had also fallen into the opposition coalition. It looks like PAS would form the state governments of Kelantan and Kedah. DAP would form the state governments of Penang and Perak and PKR, the Selangor state government. In most other states, BN's representation has been reduced.
Samy Vellu lost Sungei Siput (damn - he deserved that. Long overdue!!). Sharizat lost to Anwar's daughter and the Minister of Misinformation also lost his seat. Can't understand how someone who cannot communicate on live TV could have been Minister of Information. I would like to see what the previous (and possible current) Chief Minister of Malacca has to say now about the need for Chinese and Indian votes!
But BN still retains the federal government albeit without the 2/3 majority which had allowed them to roughshod constitutional changes in the past 50 years.
Dare we hope that the Judiciary will become independent as is expected, with any and all changes and appointments made by the judiciary and not the executive. Islam Hadhari can also go fly the wau for all I care. The past 4 years of Islam hadhari had worsen the religious rights of the non Muslims.
With this nightmare (for BN), maybe UMNO will kick out the sleepy head and his SIL this coming August .
Crossing my fingers.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Another new house ready!!
As I approach half a century of existence this year, I am preparing for my next half century. Retirement age in Malaysia is officially 55 at this time. The company I work for has set the retirement age at 60. So I still have at least a decade to go before I will be forced to retire.
Since a decade ago, I have been planning my retirement. I have been using part of my provident fund (EPF) to invest in mutual funds. Returns has been better than EPF. I withdrew about 200K and manage to return 300K back into my EPF account with another 150K still invested. This was over a period of 10 years with investments made every 3 to 4 months as is allowable by the provisions of EPF rules. I always tell my other investors that long term investments should be done with long term funds. I am probably my own best customer as I am also a Unit Trust Agent/ Consultant. Others who invest through me provides me good pocket money.
In addition, I have also been buying properties in order to get a regular stream of income from rentals. I am currently staying in a double story corner link with a garden (total land area of 3300 sq ft). Still owe the bank on this one - but this is the property against which all my other real estate investments has been made. An apartment in nearby Taman Connaught is rented out to students studying in UCSI. Another apartment in Malacca is on a 3 + 2 year lease to a holiday resort.
And today, the keys to my fourth property was handed over. Certificate of Fitness has been issued and theoretically, the house is almost habitable. I just need to add security grills, lighting and fans. And I will put it on the rental market. This is another landed property located in Denai Alam within the Bukit Jelutong township that was developed by Guthrie (now Sime Darby). With a land area of 1400 sq ft, it is large enough for a small family with 2 to 3 kids.
When I compare this with the first landed property that I purchased when I was 21 years old, what a difference in terms of workmanship, finishing and planning. The first house I purchased was 18 ft by 70 ft (land area), a double storey link house, low ceiling (you can actually touch the fan when you stretch out your arm!!) and cost me RM43.5K (about US$18K at that time). Today's house cost me about US97K, is 20 ft by 70 ft double storey link. Allowing for inflation and the depreciation of the Malaysian Ringgit, the cost is still reasonable.
But what impressed me was that the developer put in most of the things that new owners would want to add when they get the keys to the new house. Well.... not the actual stuff, but the preparations for adding those stuff. They had
- the wiring installed for an autogate so that owners do not need to hack the floors if they want to install this. (autogate is still not common in Malaysia)
- 3 phase wirings so that if you want to install airconds in every room and the living and dining rooms, there is sufficient power for all that and more. My current house that I am staying in has only single phase and if i wanted to air conditioned the whole house (4 bedrooms, living room and dining, I would need to switch to 3 phase wiring).
- Junction box for the phone lines. This may seem like a simple thing to do, but most developers do NOT put this in. The phone lines have also been wired to the living rooms in both upstairs and downstairs.
- water heater points in both the upstairs bathroom.
just to name a few.
Workmanship was above average - only one broken tile was noted in the defects report. I will need to wait for water to be connected to test the flooring for water levelling , leaks and so on. A visit shall also be made after a heavy downpour to check if there are any roof/ ceiling leakages.
Other than that I am almost tempted to relocate there - except that it would be very far from my current social circle.
Anyone need to rent a house???
Since a decade ago, I have been planning my retirement. I have been using part of my provident fund (EPF) to invest in mutual funds. Returns has been better than EPF. I withdrew about 200K and manage to return 300K back into my EPF account with another 150K still invested. This was over a period of 10 years with investments made every 3 to 4 months as is allowable by the provisions of EPF rules. I always tell my other investors that long term investments should be done with long term funds. I am probably my own best customer as I am also a Unit Trust Agent/ Consultant. Others who invest through me provides me good pocket money.
In addition, I have also been buying properties in order to get a regular stream of income from rentals. I am currently staying in a double story corner link with a garden (total land area of 3300 sq ft). Still owe the bank on this one - but this is the property against which all my other real estate investments has been made. An apartment in nearby Taman Connaught is rented out to students studying in UCSI. Another apartment in Malacca is on a 3 + 2 year lease to a holiday resort.
And today, the keys to my fourth property was handed over. Certificate of Fitness has been issued and theoretically, the house is almost habitable. I just need to add security grills, lighting and fans. And I will put it on the rental market. This is another landed property located in Denai Alam within the Bukit Jelutong township that was developed by Guthrie (now Sime Darby). With a land area of 1400 sq ft, it is large enough for a small family with 2 to 3 kids.
When I compare this with the first landed property that I purchased when I was 21 years old, what a difference in terms of workmanship, finishing and planning. The first house I purchased was 18 ft by 70 ft (land area), a double storey link house, low ceiling (you can actually touch the fan when you stretch out your arm!!) and cost me RM43.5K (about US$18K at that time). Today's house cost me about US97K, is 20 ft by 70 ft double storey link. Allowing for inflation and the depreciation of the Malaysian Ringgit, the cost is still reasonable.
But what impressed me was that the developer put in most of the things that new owners would want to add when they get the keys to the new house. Well.... not the actual stuff, but the preparations for adding those stuff. They had
- the wiring installed for an autogate so that owners do not need to hack the floors if they want to install this. (autogate is still not common in Malaysia)
- 3 phase wirings so that if you want to install airconds in every room and the living and dining rooms, there is sufficient power for all that and more. My current house that I am staying in has only single phase and if i wanted to air conditioned the whole house (4 bedrooms, living room and dining, I would need to switch to 3 phase wiring).
- Junction box for the phone lines. This may seem like a simple thing to do, but most developers do NOT put this in. The phone lines have also been wired to the living rooms in both upstairs and downstairs.
- water heater points in both the upstairs bathroom.
just to name a few.
Workmanship was above average - only one broken tile was noted in the defects report. I will need to wait for water to be connected to test the flooring for water levelling , leaks and so on. A visit shall also be made after a heavy downpour to check if there are any roof/ ceiling leakages.
Other than that I am almost tempted to relocate there - except that it would be very far from my current social circle.
Anyone need to rent a house???
Sunday, March 2, 2008
India visit Feb2008
This update is in addition to the previous writeup on Gurgaon.
With double digit growth, much of India's infrastructures and economy is undergoing changes. 10 years ago, I was in Noida and saw a narrow 4 storey general provision shop which we would have called a mini-market in Malaysia. This shop had the billboard stating - HYPERMARKET!!.
Around the same time in Bangalore, there was a local superstore called Kemp. It was about half the size of our Globe Silk Store housed in 2 levels.
Today, many shopping malls are coming up around Gurgaon. 
Ambience Mall, which is located just after the toll gate from Delhi to Gurgaon boasts of 1km of shopping per floor!!
Ambience Mall, which is located just after the toll gate from Delhi to Gurgaon boasts of 1km of shopping per floor!!Chinese restaurant (of the Hakka variety) are sprouting up like mushrooms everywhere. But truth be told, their menu is more Thai than Chinese. I think Indians are still not able to differentiate between Thai and Chinese. . Chinese styled outlets are the rage at the moment. Here is one of an outlet I saw all over Delhi -
Yo! China
Yo! ChinaDelhi airport even has a McD outlet. On the menu..... 
Veggie burger WITH cheese!! (prices in Indian Rupees)
Veggie burger WITH cheese!! (prices in Indian Rupees)20 years ago, I saw full page ads of guys looking for horoscope compatible partners and likewise with the gals. Hardly see that anymore in the papers these days.
Delhi airport seems to be undergoing a long renovation. It was in a similar state one year ago. While waiting for my plane to take off, I had to amuse myself looking at the only bright spot in the departure lounge - the aquarium. 
They even have a starfish with colors of the pootu!! 
Nemo was having fun crawling amongst the anemone. 
There is one anemone which made me think it has halitosis (bad breath lah). 
Compare that with a regular anemone.
They even have a starfish with colors of the pootu!! Nemo was having fun crawling amongst the anemone. There is one anemone which made me think it has halitosis (bad breath lah). Compare that with a regular anemone.I'll be back in a month's time!!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Gurgaon - site of the new Global Support Desk operations
Finally........ concrete steps are being taken to initiate the team for the new Global Support Desk which I have to start up from scratch. After posting the vacancies for 3 weeks, we have enough candidates to warrant a face to face interview in Gurgaon, India.
Arrived on 24th Feb night - to utter chaos in the Indira Gandhi International airport. At the immigration checkpoint, people were stacked up on the stairways leading to the immigration desks. Took me a little over an hour to get past the immigration checks and get my bags.
Monday started with a meeting with HR to clarify the parameters for my interviews and agreements on uncertainties like
- would I consider lowering the levels of freshers from ICB to ICA (yes I would)
- Specifying operational shift times beyond the regular shift times practiced currently
- can an ICB intermediate career level be a people manager (unusual but YES), etc..
All the activities were carried out in the Gurgaon, IRIS site. 
Looks like they have some unusual part-timers!! :)
Looks like they have some unusual part-timers!! :)In previous hiring situations, I worked alone and only got HR involved after I had interviewed and made up my mind for hiring. This time around, the Gurgaon HR assigned 3 people to work with me to get the hiring and interviews completed. WOW!! 
Both the Rashmitas took turns to accompany me during the 3 days of interviewing 15 people. They were certainly helpful to clarify the local perspectives, policies and practices with the candidates. At the end of the long 3 days, I settled on 6 of the candidates to be hired. I am still unable to get a suitable candidate for the crucial team leader role. We shall reword the scope and role of the team leader and reopen the posting.
Both the Rashmitas took turns to accompany me during the 3 days of interviewing 15 people. They were certainly helpful to clarify the local perspectives, policies and practices with the candidates. At the end of the long 3 days, I settled on 6 of the candidates to be hired. I am still unable to get a suitable candidate for the crucial team leader role. We shall reword the scope and role of the team leader and reopen the posting.Cristina Knebl was kind enough to loan one of her project managers to help me through with setting up the team and operation from scratch!!. Since I was remote in Malaysia, he was certainly a much needed ally for all things local.
Param has been absolutely helpful. I had the plan all in my mind and in discussing with Param my plans, he was able to help place my thoughts on paper - repositioned as a project.
I also took the opportunity to meet up with people with whom I had dealt with.
Pranavi Singh - I thought she was a guy until I met up with her face to face!!
Param has been absolutely helpful. I had the plan all in my mind and in discussing with Param my plans, he was able to help place my thoughts on paper - repositioned as a project.I also took the opportunity to meet up with people with whom I had dealt with.
Pranavi Singh - I thought she was a guy until I met up with her face to face!! Hridya!! I am seeing a lot of "modern" Singhs in the India of today.
In fact the India today is seeing a lot of changes. Compared to as recent as 1 year ago, there are a lot more "luxurious" cars on the roads in New Delhi. I saw many Toyota Innovas on the roads and half as many Toyota Camrys. I was told that the Innovas are used to ferry workers to work, especially in Gurgaon where many BPOs operate. The BPOs are essentially call centers setup by corporations in USA and Europe. That was where a majority of my candidates came from.
Slums which were common all over India are much less now. I remember that about a decade ago, when I was staying in the Hyatt Regency (same as during this visit), I could look out of the hotel windows and look upon a nearby park with many cardboard tents where the poor and destitute lived. 
Today, I still see those slums but they are a lot less.
Today, I still see those slums but they are a lot less.I'll be back in a month to welcome the pilot batch of 6 support agents.
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