Tuesday, May 27, 2008
When Security Guards become Mechanics.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
IMF: Oil, food prices may further dampen growth
THE International Monetary Fund said it is sticking to world economic forecasts for now, but cautioned that much higher global prices for oil and food could dampen growth.
'Despite increasing oil prices, the broad contours of the fund's assessment of the global outlook remain unchanged at this stage,' IMF spokesman David Hawley told reporters on Thursday.
'Significantly higher oil and commodity prices could have a dampening effect on growth if prices remain at elevated levels,' he added.
His comments came as crude oil rose to a record above US$135 (S$184) a barrel on Thursday and Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) oil ministers said they could do nothing to lower oil prices, calling the market 'crazy'. By the end of the day United States crude settled down US$2.36 to US$130.81.
Turning to global credit markets, Mr Hawley said the ability of banks to raise capital was 'reassuring' although a protracted adjustment in financial sector balance sheets is still likely.
The Washington-based IMF has twice cut its growth forecast for the world economy this year - in January and again in April. In its last outlook in April, it warned the United States was headed for recession this year and put world growth at 3.7 per cent in 2008.
That was down from a forecast in October of growth of 4.8 per cent and a forecast in January of 4.1 per cent, as it tried to account for the world's fast-spreading credit turmoil.
Mr Hawley said the IMF would update its forecast again in July. Meanwhile, a team of IMF economists was currently in Europe assessing the euro-area economy and 'and they will be concluding their work in the next few days', he said.
Authorities in the United States and Europe accused the IMF in April of being overly pessimistic in its April outlook.
First-quarter gross domestic product growth released on Thursday for the 15 countries using the euro topped expectations in an initial estimate by the European Union's statistics office at 0.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 2.2 per cent annually.
Mr Jean-Claude Juncker, the chairman of euro zone finance ministers, said he did not believe the worst of the financial market crisis was over and Europe will continue to be affected by the problems, which sprang from sloppy lending practices in the US housing market.
A spokesperson for the European Commission, however, acknowledged that high oil prices could reduce euro-zone economic growth below the 1.7 per cent forecast by the Commission for this year.
On Wednesday, the US Federal Reserve slashed its US economic growth forecast for 2008 to between 0.3 per cent and 1.2 per cent, down from a prior forecast of 1.3 per cent to 2 per cent three months ago. The IMF believes US economic growth will skid from a subpar 2.2. per cent in 2007 to 0.5 per cent this year and 0.6 per cent next year.
Malaysia up 4 spots to 19th in Competitiveness Ranking
Source: The Star Online
Date: 24/05/2008
Malaysia’s moving up the competitiveness rankings is the result of improvements in hard data rather than perception surveys.
Malaysia has moved up four spots to 19th place with a score of 73.2 points out of 100 in the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2008 published by International Institute for Management Development (IMD) based in Switzerland.
Last year, Malaysia was ranked 23rd with 74.1 points.
At a seminar on “Updates on Malaysia’s Competitiveness 2008” yesterday, Malaysia Productivity Corp (MPC) director general Datuk Nik Zainiah Nik Abd Rahman said: “The overall improved performance on Malaysia was attributed largely to the improvement in the rankings for statistical (or hard) data, where 46 out of 127 of the statistical data recorded improvements in ranking.”
However, she added that the MPC was also concerned with perception data, given that in today’s environment “perception was reality.”
The IMD ranking on perception data for Malaysia found that 43 out of 118 of recorded data showed an improvement. Perception data has a lower weightage in IMD’s yearbook rankings.
Going forward, MPC’s focus was on improving government efficiency in providing services to the public “especially to the private sector,” Nik Zainiah said.
MPC director Chan Kum Siew told the seminar said that in percentage terms Malaysia recorded a 35% improvement in statistical data rankings and also 35% improvement in perception data.“
Business efficiency showed the majority of improvement in rankings in the perception data,” she added.
Chan identified several challenges facing Malaysia, including achieving a customer-centric, innovative and proactive public service; nurturing innovative and resilient small and medium enterprises, and leveraging on public-private partnership to move the economy up the value chain.
Malaysia, she added, also needed to raise the innovative and creative capacity of human capital and enhance the scientific and technological infrastructure to meet the needs of a competitive economy
Robert Kuok Continues To Top Malaysia's Rich List
Malaysian tycoon Tan Sri Robert Kuok continues to maintain his lead position as Malaysia's richest man in the latest Forbes Asia's rich list.
According to Forbes Asia, Kuok, 84, who has many businesses, including Hong Kong property and media interests, and most notably palm oil giant Wilmar, increased his net worth from US$2.4 billion last year to hit US$10 billion.
The latest ranking list also saw Berjaya Corp's Tan Sri Vincent Tan joining the billionaires' club, Forbes Asia said in a news release here.
There are 10 billionaires in the list this year, one more than last year.
Tan, who rose from 14th to ninth position, has a net worth of US$1.3 billion, up nearly US$1 billion from last year. Forbes Asia said Tans company, Berjaya Corporation, had bucked the trend with its stock price up nearly three-fold over the past 12 months.
Tan reigns over a vast US$4 billion -- combined sales -- network of enterprises spanning industries such as gaming, media, telecom, consumer products and retail as well as real estate.
Still in second place is Ananda Krishnan who heads telecom company Maxis. But his wealth dipped to US$7.2 billion, which is US$200 million less than last year.
The third richest in the list is IOI Corporation's group executive chairman Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng who was ranked fourth last year but as the oil palm plantation giant soared in value, his wealth rose from US$1.6 billion to US$5.5 billion, Forbes Asia said.
The highest new entry is Puan Sri Lee Kim Hua, widow of renowned gaming tycoon Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong who was ranked third last year but died in October. She and her family are worth US$3.4 billion and ranked fifth, even as son Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, who runs Genting, is listed on his own with US$345 million, putting him in 15th place.
Lee is one of three women on the list alongside Selangor Properties' chairman Puan Sri Chong Chook Yew, ranked 24th (US$245 million), and daughter of the Sultan of Perak, Raja Datuk Seri Eleena Raja Azlan Shah, ranked 35th (US$150 million).
Among the newcomers is Datuk Nazir Razak, group chief executive of CIMB Group and the youngest son of second Prime Minister, the late Tun Abdul Razak Hussein. Nazir managed to scrape into the 40th position as the last richest Malaysian in Forbes Asia's top 40 with a net worth of US$100 million. The collective wealth of the top 40 is US$46 billion, up US$3 billion from last year.
While 16 people managed to add to their wealth, 18 saw their net worth slipped, with seven of them losing at least a quarter of their worth.
Tan Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, the richest Malay tycoon and a billionaire, dropped one position from seventh to eighth after his net worth was reduced by US$200 million to US$1.8 billion.
The Malaysia Rich List appears in the June 2nd issue of Forbes Asia.
The top 10 richest in Malaysia are:
1) Robert Kuok, US$10 billion.
2) Ananda Krishnan, US$7.2 billion.
3) Lee Shin Cheng, US$5.5 billion.
4) Teh Hong Piow, US$3.5 billion.
5) Lee Kim Hua & family, US$3.4 billion.
6) Quek Leng Chan, US$2.4 billion.
7) Yeoh Tiong Lay & family, US$2.1 billion.
8) Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, US$1.8 billion.
9) Vincent Tan, US$1.3 billion.
10) Tiong Hiew King, US$1.1 billion.
Golden Triangle and Mont’Kiara still hot spots
Property map “guru” Ho Chin Soon said some condominiums in the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) development had breached RM2,000psf while the price of condominiums in the affluent Mont'Kiara neighbourhood were also rising.
Ho, who is the managing director of Ho Chin Soon Research Sdn Bhd, said the spill over effects from these “hot spots” was apparent but only in certain locations.The Klang Valley, he noted, would remain the No 1 growth region in Malaysia for many years.
“Malaysia is an excellent country in Asia to invest in because of excellent infrastructure, solid legislation protecting land rights and liberal policies for foreign investors,” he said in his talk at the Malaysia International Property Showcase yesterday.
“We need to fine tune our economic policies to compete with the rest of the world in the light of globalisation. In order to compete we have to change. The recent 12th general election has started the ball rolling.
“People voted for change. They want greater transparency. There should no more be negotiated deals or land alienation but tenders and public sale of land,” he added.
Ho said there had been a lot of foreign interest in Malaysian property, especially last year when investors from South Korea and the Middle East bought office and condominiums en bloc.
He also advised investors to do their “home work” carefully and buy from reputable developers, as there were signs of the market softening.
“We have to take what developers tell us with a pinch of salt. Rental yields are going to come down,” he said in response to a question on the many vacant units in Mont'Kiara.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
一個人生活&兩個人生活
星期日,一覺睡到下午2 點還不願起床,我在旁邊叫喚他。
「起床了好不好?我們出去走走,去吃東西。」N遍之後,他仍在睡。
我下樓去,走到公園時,打了他手機,我想,這下,他不得不起床了吧?
響了好幾聲,他終於接了電話,只是他告訴我的是:「妳讓我過我自己想過的生活好不好?」
突然間,我不知該如何回應,倖倖然掛上電話後,一個人坐在公園裡,有點茫然有點不知所措,那麼我自己的生活又是什麼呢?
一個人的時候過自己的生活,兩個人的時候也各自過生活?
肚子餓了是唯一明確的方向,我漫步到肯德雞,點了餐,端了餐盤往樓上走,三三兩兩的人群,小孩的吵鬧聲在我耳邊沸騰著,我沒有感覺到煩燥,反而覺得這種人氣很好,我安靜的吃我的炸雞看我的報紙,四週喧嚷的小孩聲壓過了我心裡悲傷的低鳴聲,近日來,就情緒上來說,我並不太快樂,我需要注入一些快樂的聲音在我的心房。
一個小時後,我離開肯德基並外帶了一份餐,在往回家路上走著時,我重新思考著過自己生活的事情,我可以當作我是一個人生活,一個吃飽一個人散步一個人回家去嗎??
我不會,也不行,我可以一個人吃飯、一個人散步,可是我不會忘了要買一份食物給在家裡的家人,一個人的生活裡其實包含了兩個人。
婚姻裡,有一個很難的部份就是,你不明白什麼時候該一個人,什麼時候又該兩個人?
女人會自然而然的照料跟妳一起生活的人,也許妳照顧不了他的心情,可是妳會顧及他的溫飽。
想著想著,就走到了家門口,我站在門口,有鑰匙卻沒有開門,我按了門鈴,他開了門....
「先生,請問你有沒有叫肯德基外帶全家餐?」我站在門口對他說。
他對我笑而不答。「沒有嗎?我送錯了啊??」我笑。
他把東西接過手,牽著我的手進了家門。
晚上,他居然帶我去逛了夜市耶,這是一件非常難得的事,因為他超討厭逛夜市,而且,他很有耐心陪我一條一條的逛著,臉上沒有一絲不耐煩。
我想,他明白這是 ------我一個人生活時愛做的事,二個人生活時也希望可以做的事。
如果相遇,你會感到相知,那麼,有一種習慣 ─叫做陪伴。
如果陪伴,你會感到珍惜,那麼,有一種甜蜜 ─叫做存在。
如果存在,你會感到壓力,那麼,有一種善良 ─叫做離開。
如果離開,你會感到輕鬆,那麼,有一種勇敢 ─ 叫做放棄。
忙的時候,想要休息; 渡假的時候,想到未來。
窮的時候,渴望富有; 生活安逸了,怕幸福不能長久。
決定的時候,擔心結果不如預期;
看明白了,後悔當初沒有下定決心
不屬於自己的,常常心存慾望;
握在手裡了,又懷念未擁有前的輕鬆
「生命若不是現在,那是何時?」
珍惜現在的友誼,珍惜你所愛的人. 因為,很可能在下一秒鐘這些都將不復存,不要只留下自己為沒有珍惜過嘆息,為沒有珍惜過而生自己的氣.因為那為時已晚....
Friday, May 16, 2008
WHY Employees Leave Organizations ?
Friday, May 09, 2008
George Carlin on Aging

'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key :
You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.
'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life ! You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!
But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk ! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?
You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.
But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!
So, You BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.
You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!
You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'
Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!' May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!
HOW TO STAY YOUNG
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them , at every opportunity.
Water VS Coke
#1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. (Likely applies to half the world population)
#2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is mistaken for hunger.
#3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as 3%.
#4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University ofWashington study.
#5. Lack of water, the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.
#6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses ofwater a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.
#7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a ! printed page.
#8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%., and one is 50% less likely to developbladder cancer. Are you drinking the amount of wateryou should drink every day?
COKE
1. In many states the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the trunk to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.
2. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of Coke and it will be gone in two days.
3. To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and let the "real thing" sit for one hour,then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous China .
4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of ReynoldsWrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.
5. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubbleaway the corrosion.
6. To loosen a rusted bolt: Apply a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.
7. To bake a moist ham: Empty a can of Coca-Cola into the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminum foil, and bake.Thirty minutes before ham is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mixwith the Coke for a sumptuous brown gravy.
8. To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of Coke into the load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and runthrough a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your windshield.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION:
1. The active ingredient in Coke is Phosphoric Acid. It will dissolve a nail in about four days. Phosphoric acid also leaches calcium from bones and is a majorcontributor to the rising increase of osteoporosis.
2. To carry Coca-Cola syrup (the concentrate!) the commercial trucks must use a hazardous Material place cards reserved for highly corrosive materials.
3. The distributors of Coke have been using it to clean engines of the trucks for about 20 years!
Now the question is, would you like a glass of water? or Coke?
Thursday, May 08, 2008
PKNS offers over 1,000 units at rock-bottom prices
The Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) has announced that the Jualan Hartanah Mampu Milik PKNS 2008 (PKNS Affordable Properties Sale 2008) will take place from this Friday to May 18.
A total of 1,173 residential units, 53 bungalows, 25 shoplots and 206 industrial land lots are on offer at bargain prices. On top of the discounted prices, buyers will also get incentives for each property bought. A 10% discount will be given to buyers of factory buildings in Rawang and Air Manis, Sabak Bernam.
All other buyers will be given free air-conditioners, LCD television sets and electrical appliance vouchers, depending on the price of the properties.
According to PKNS deputy general manger (administration and development) Md Nasir Md Arshad, the sale is intended to give the public an opportunity to own their dream homes at an affordable price.
“PKNS properties are always priced at 7% to 10% less than other properties on the market,” Nasir said.
This time around, the sale will encompass properties in Shah Alam, Kota Damansara, Antara Gapi, Kota Puteri, Bernam Jaya, Bandar Baru Bangi, Kuala Selangor and Bandar Sultan Suleiman in Port Klang.
Almost all these projects have been completed.
“PKNS is also offering a payment facility where buyers only need to pay a RM500 down payment before commencing on a loan scheme being offered to qualified buyers,” Nasir said.
“The facility is a confidence boost for buyers of PKNS properties.
“The buyers can also pick strategic locations, including the upmarket hot spots like the new eight-storey apartment block in Section 10 at Kota Damansara, which is priced from RM180,000 onwards,” he said.
The new apartment block is equipped with a swimming pool, a badminton court and sports area.
It is strategically located in the vicinity of Petaling Jaya and is linked to highways, including the Damansara-Puchong Highway and MRR 2.
In Shah Alam, PKNS is offering 167 apartments at RM145,000 each in Section 24, a strategically located residential area with many nearby facilities like schools, clinics, 24-hour restaurants, car workshops and the Giant, Mydin and Ole Ole supermarkets.
“The lowest priced apartment is RM59,000 for the five-storey apartment in Bandar Sultan Suleiman,” Nasir said.
He said PKNS decided to hold another special sale this year as the response to the previous one was overwhelming with buyers snapping up all the properties because of the competitive prices, strategic locations and other attractive facilities.
“We have started using the tagline ‘Living with PKNS’ that is representative of the buyers’ confidence in our properties.
“It represents 150,000 PKNS property owners who have bought and continue to grow with our new properties,” Nasir said.
The properties sale will be held at the PKNS Complex in Shah Alam as well as at all PKNS sales gallery in the state.

