Budget for you, spending for them

Warning: Rather long and boring entry ahead.

Some call it an exciting budget… some call it a ‘poor’ budget… some even call it the people’s budget… most call it an election budget. No matter how we call it, what does the budget means to you and me? How exactly does it impact a regular Malaysian?

I do not claim to be an expert but I think these are a few budget proposals which a regular Malaysian like you and me should know about…

For those who have purchased property before, you will know that there is a tax in the form of ‘stamp duty’ which needs to be paid. Yes, it’s a tax which the buyer needs to pay. For a property worth RM250,000, you will probably needs to pay stamp duty of about RM4,000 (this is an estimate only). The budget proposed that a 50% reduction of stamp duty for property worth not more than RM250,000 so our pocket can save about RM2,000 we purchase a property worth not more than RM250,000. Not a bad move.

Better if you are transferring properties between husband and wife. Stamp duty will be fully exempted from such transactions. Whether there will be any restrictions on the value of property transferred, yet to be known.
Next, the widely discussed abolishment of school fees and free text books for all. It seems that many claimed that the savings from this proposal is too minimal to be felt and is widely regarded as an election proposal. Indeed, this proposal will not benefit urban folks much but it does means a lot to the non-urban population. Vote winning formula? Perhaps… but then again, shouldn’t schools be totally free to begin with?

The proposal which was supposed to make us all feel very good is that EPF contributors will be allowed to withdraw balances from Account 2 to pay monthly housing instalments. Sounds like a good idea. But if you were to think properly… the government is basically allowing us… to use our own money… to pay for our own house. And we are supposed to feel thankful about it? You tell me…

For those of us who have children, there may be good news for you. Scholarships offered by the government via JPA will be increased from 5,000 to 10,000 with significant increase in allowances given to overseas students. There are a couple of JPA sponsored students who read AZAIG, but there were also a lot of AZAIG readers who failed to get a JPA scholarship recently (you know who you are). Will this really benefits your children and mine? I shall leave that to you.

I read in a blog saying that one does not need to worry about fees anymore because one of the budget proposal was a tax relief for education fees to all post-graduate studies of up to RM3,000. To put things into a better perspective… you will probably only be able to actually get a tax benefit if you earn a monthly income of perhaps… RM5,000. Even that… your savings from this relief is probably about… RM400. Again, this is an estimate. So… do you really don’t need to worry about your fees? Okay… better than nothing right?

On top of that, there is also a tax relief for purchases of sports equipment of up to RM300. The tax savings for that, assuming you are earning RM3,000 a month, will probably be about RM24. If you earn lower… then the savings will be lower lor…

One very peculiar proposals stood up amongst the rest… beginning 2008, public listed companies will be required to disclose their employment composition race and gender, as well as programmes undertaken to develop domestic and Bumiputera vendors. I wonder why.

Those were the few things which I think you should know. There was a single-tier tax system being proposed but it will be too technical to discuss here. Also, I said that there will be reduction of individual tax rate but it didn’t happen. Instead, there was a reduction of corporate tax rate which I am sure it will not affect anyone of us here. If the reduction of corporate tax benefits you, I am sure you don’t be reading blogs. As expected, GST was not announced.

The other parts of the budget are mostly about how the government is going to spend our their money.

On a related note, the mainstream newspaper gave a very brief picture about how the government ministries spend their money. Apparently, our government is a generous one, always paying premium… extra premium for stuff. To be really honest with you, I am really surprise the mainstream actually reported this.

Pictures courtesy of TheStar.

Among some of them which deserves to be highlighted was RM5,741 for a car jack worth RM50. I think I want to sell car jacks to the government. Maybe I should sell books too cause the government also purchased technical book sets worth RM417 for a whooping RM10,700. And not just 1 set… 10 sets bought! Makes us wonder how much the government will spend to buy those text books for students, don’t you think?

Parole?... Oh no...

I usually don’t blog on Friday night but reading about the news of the imminent parole system warrants a break of tradition…
If there is a piece of news to be included in the Guinness Book of Records, this has gotta be it. Parole system for… Ma-lay-sia? You gotta be kidding me. Don’t get me wrong, I have got nothing against the parole system, it’s just that I refuse to believe it can be effectively implemented in a country which can’t even patch up our ceilings of the parliament and court properly.

“… prisoners released under the system will be required to report to a parole centre daily or weekly…”

Allow me to make a prophecy on this…

3 years down the road…
“Bus crashed into ravine, driver appears to be a parole inmate”

3 years and 2 days down the road…
“Driver of bus tragedy has not reported to parole centre for 1 year”

3 years and 3 days down the road…
“Nationwide hunt for drivers who are non-reporting parole inmates”

3 years and 6 days down the road…
“Business as usual for Malaysians”

Very funny isn’t it? Did you laugh?

“Reduce maintenance cost” they said… I wonder how much money will be spent to “set up courses to help them assimilate into society”… I wonder if they will purchase high tech gadgets to track all these parole inmates. And of course… there is a question of who is going to… I need not say further.

There are many things this nation would like to embark on, and many a times, they are things which are too big for our plate. We can build mega-structures and they fail… it’s fine, just money wasted. We can launch a Free Zone and it fails to take off… it’s fine, just money wasted. We can send a hero to space to play ‘batu seremban’… it’s fine, just money wasted. But to release criminals on parole in a country where enforcement level is (I do not need to say further)… we are treading on dangerous grounds… very dangerous grounds. This is something too big for our plate.

Complaining without giving any suggestion is futile. So, if I may suggest… this parole system is only eligible to those who were convicted with civil offence, not for those convicted with criminal offence such as rapists and robbers, don’t you think? But then again, even if they take this suggestion, we might just have headlines with the same flavour 3 years down the road… I am sure you can make up what it is.

P/S: Don’t worry, no matter what, I am sure the food still taste as good here.

Of budget and 2 awards

Warning: This is not a Friday Frolics entry.

For those of you who are not aware, our PM will be announcing the National Budget 2008 tomorrow at about 4pm. Does it sound extraterrestrial to you? Well, it is something that you probably do not know because you think you don’t need to know but in actual fact, you need to know at least a little because it affects you… you know?

You know those high prices you pay for booze and ciggies? It’s all because of sales tax imposed on such products. And you know what? The National Budget is the time when an increase will be announced or otherwise. Increase in sales tax for booze and ciggies is an annual affair but with the erection election anticipated… who knows? You might just be able to drown your sorrow with booze or smoke your life away without having to pay more.

Speaking about the speculated imminent election, it is also anticipated that there will be a lot of goodies for you and I, which can effectively translate to dollar and cents. One of the goodies that I can think of is reduction of individual income tax. Doesn’t concern you because you don’t pay tax? Well… how about… further reduction in driving licence fees or maybe reduction in passport renewal. Of course, there will be the usual… “improvement in civil service” and maybe some announcement of more mega projects.

Back to reduction of individual income tax which you think it will not affect you as you may not be in the tax paying bracket… well, how about staying in that non-tax paying bracket for a longer period of time? Now… doesn’t that sound attractive?

But hold your horse… the reason why individual tax rate may be reduced, besides trying to win votes… is that GST may be implemented soon. I have talked about GST before here. For those who didn’t read it or choose not to read it… basically, it is a tax imposed on almost every product. You know how you are paying a 5% tax when you eat in McD or KFC… imagine paying tax when you buy things ranging from gadgets to clothes to condoms. Sucks eh? But don’t worry… many experts do not think GST will be implemented until after the “E”.

Of course, we can also expect things like “there-will-not-be-any-petrol-price-increase-for-the-time-being”… but what will entails tomorrow? Let us wait and see if what I said will materialise. More importantly, the National Budget is something that affects us all, directly or indirectly. If we claim to be Malaysians, we should at least know a little about it.

Last but not least, many thanks to hcfoo for giving me the ‘Nice Matters Award’. It’s good to know that I am considered as one who care about others and I am a positive influence. It’s indeed very heart warming to receive it. Appreciate it.

Also (I know, this is beginning to feel about some self gratification but…what the heck)… a big thank you to cibol for awarding me the ‘Thoughtful Blogger Award’. Consider that cibol only award me and choose not to award ‘the other bloggers’… really made me feel as though I am getting an oscar! I am honoured and truly appreciate such award.

Have a brilliant weekend ahead!

You might need a new reason

When Malaysians state that food is one of the main reasons for not leaving this country, it makes me wonder what kinda food you are talking about. I said ‘you’ cos I ain’t staying simply becos I like the food.

Anyway, if you’re referring to “bak kut teh”, “char siew”, “siew yuk” and even “char kuey teow”, you might need to think again. Did you read about the news from TheStar below?

Check out the 2nd last paragraph, the FRU and the police were involved in… culling of pigs? Makes me ponder for a while but it only hit me until I hop-on to What A Lulu’s blog who happened to have the other side of the story regarding culling of pigs. Those pictures in Lulu’s blog revealed why the FRU and police were involved. Please note her source of information is MalaysiaKini a.k.a. “a source of lies” so maybe we should believe TheStar instead… don’t you agree?

Coming back to our point of discussion and with reference from the article from TheStar a.k.a. the-source-of-information-we-should-trust-because-the-govt-said-so… they will reduce the population of pigs from 148,000 to 48,000 by September 21. I dunno about you but that’s a lot of pork going to waste. Imagine how many “char siew” and “siew yuk” you and I could feast on!
Jokes aside… let’s be honest with ourselves… it is no secret that pork is not welcomed in this country. I remember during the J.E. outbreak many years ago, there was a call by a certain group asking for complete ban of pork. It wasn’t sanctioned then. However, slowly but surely… I believe pork is slowly being phased out at every opportunity. With this country claiming to be an Islamic State and all… I will not be surprise if pork is completely phased out in the future.

So what kinda food that are keeping you here? “bak kut teh”, “char siew”, “siew yuk”, “char kuey teow” or roti canai, chapatti, tandoori? Oh… by the way… a lot of food taste yummylicious because there is lard in it. You know what lard is? It’s pig’s fat… so without pig pigs… a lot of food might taste… very different.

One thing for sure, with so many pigs being culled, the price of pork will definitely increase so… be prepared to pay through your ass to eat pork. But then again… eat while there’s still pork… you’ll never know…

So… 10 years down the road… will ‘food’ still be the reason to stay behind? You might need a new reason…

Updated: Check out bensiu’s experience working as an hotelier abroad in relation to the definition of “Malaysian food”.

The reason evolution

40 years ago…
“This is the place to be. We are going to make it big. There are plenty of opportunities. The rest are not as smart as us and will all end up working for us. We can all be big bosses.”

20 years ago…
“Yeah, the businesses we built have been “taken over” directly or indirectly but we still have the brains and with hard work, we will be able to make it big again. No need to move away, this is the place to be.”

10 years ago…
“I can't do business because I am not connected, but it’s still ok. I just need to study well, get a degree and you get a decent job. Get myself a proton and a small condo and I will still be able to put food on the table.”

Present…
“I like the food and my friends are all here.”

10 years down the road…
“I like the food.”

20 years down the road…
“I must like the food.”

Grass thoughts

Much has been said about moving to greener grass and that things might not be as rosy as it seems. Two things I would like to correct… it is not greener grass… it’s just grass, for there isn’t any here.

Secondly, I never said things are all rosy over on grassy lands. You will certainly have to struggle to survive. But rest assured, you will be on level playing field and no favours will be given. Even if there is some bias treatment… you’re a migrant after all. It’s much easier to stomach compared to being born in a land that blatantly treats you otherwise. I need to say further…

Anyway… amidst the struggle and the near-regrets feeling of moving overseas, I have observed one trend nonetheless. Please correct me if I am wrong but… all those who have migrated… they complain… they struggle… they wish they didn’t make that bold move… but… but… do they make an effort to return? Or do they choose to bite the bullet and soldier on, knowing that it is still better to struggle there, than to live comfortably here? Of course, living comfortably is defined differently.

So, is migrating really that tough and scary and many people actually regret doing it? Or… is it just our natural human tendency to complain about almost anything. I have thought about this… and I have asked around… Yes, I have heard a few who thought they made a mistake. However, most if not all of them decide to live with that mistake, than to make a return ‘home’. Perhaps they realise that making a trip home will really be … a mistake…

Think about it.

And I leave you with another video from the infamous composer…

I have also put up the video of the terrorist-wannabe in my previous entry since many said they are lazy to go youtube to view it. You can now view the video in my previous entry.

P/S: Have you all voted at the poll yet? I am closing it this week.

A new look, a new hope

First and foremost, a very big thank you to Criz who was kind enough to make a new banner for me free of charge. Unfortunately for him, he found out that I was quite a pain in the ass… it’s done free and I have the guts to ask for modification here and there. Thanks Criz for putting up to all my shit… haha!

Anyway… this is probably the last time I will be talking this country’s affairs. I have given up hope… entirely. And since I see no colour of hope last Friday, I reckon I am not the only one. Tingtitlei said that the colour of hope is not exactly a movement for a change, but rather a sign that we actually give a shit. He is absolutely right… and it’s very obvious that we all don’t give a shit.

Moving on… I find it really incredible that the blogs over the last few days have all been rather “patriotic”. I think one out of 3 blogs which I read over the last few days have got heavy dose of ‘merdeka’ in it. Ironically though, the meaning of ‘merdeka’ according to these blogs paint a very different picture as compared to our comics mainstream newspaper.

While some of us are PhD holders in Afraidology, my spirits are lifted, albeit only a little, by the willingness of some bloggers to voice out their true feelings about our recent celebration. One entry I would like to particularly point out is a brilliant entry written by an 18-year-old girl about what exactly is ‘merdeka celebration’ to her. Check out her level of awareness, absolutely incredible. Such entry puts a lot of us to shame, particularly those PhD holders in Afraidology. Can't blame them though, most such PhD holders have gone through the module called I-now-have-a-family.

By the way, have you all seen the video done by these terrorists-wannabe? Go have a peep...

So… why new hope for me then? Well… I now look at the new horizon with great hope. A new horizon that sets upon a land filled with grass… away from the stench of mud, for I know this land will remain muddy for a long time to come. I have always wanted to stay and cultivate the land, but it seems that the mud is getting softer and softer for us to even stand on it… how then are we to live? I will do all that I can to ensure that quest for grassy pastures will only breed success! That’s my new hope.

Once again… thanks Criz for a brand new look for AZAIG. What do you all think?

Have a blue-less Monday… try…

P/S: A big thank you to Kenny Mah as well… for the previous banner is his work of art.