Malacca's loss is Ipoh's gain. And that's fine by me

Define international.

If you mean airports that have flights arriving from and departing to destinations outside Malaysia, then almost all the state capital airports are international. For eg, Ipoh has Merpati Air flying in from Medan, Indonesia. Since last month, Firefly flying in from Singapore. The ironic thing is that Ipoh has ZERO domestic flights. In that regard, Ipoh is actually a purely international airport.

You can see if Roomsdb is any good. I just know it exists, never tried it before.

http://singapore.roomsdb.net/index.php

How long did you shower originally?

This post has been edited by seantang: Aug 18 2009, 09:20 PM

You'll get these utility issues even if you're not living with a landlord. When I was sharing a house last time, it was very difficult to agree how to split the electricity bill... especially if you have one fella who simply cannot sleep every night without aircond lah, must take long shower using water heater lah etc.

So we settled on each person taking turns paying the entire electricity bill each month... and cannot argue. Must pay. So if you go rambo with the aircond when it's my turn to pay, rest assured that I'll switch the aircond on even when I go to work the next month when you pay. This way, it's like a nuclear standoff. The threat of mutual destruction keeps everybody reasonable.

Luckily water in Malaysia is damn cheap.

This post has been edited by seantang: Aug 18 2009, 10:58 PM

You have to stand very close to the causeway.

It's the same reason why girls need to have to so many pairs of shoes or bags or whatever useless accessory they like to accumulate. It's just the way we're wired. Personally, I think it's perfectly normal.

And many sexually active couples do feedback that their sex lives have improved markedly with the use of pornography.

At the end of the day, if it's not hurting anybody... why do you oppose it? I see this kind of opposition as no different from opposition of homosexuality or gambling.

I wonder how you'd feel if the tables were turned and your bf demanded that you stop wasting money on bags and whatnot, and throw away all the ones that you already have.

My tap takes around 5 seconds to fill my 1.5L boiler. One minute, that means 18L. 25 minutes = 450L of water. Let's say 500L for easy calculation. 1m3 or 1000L costs S$2.03 at the higher domestic tariff. That means each shower you take... errr, took... costs a buck.

S$30 a month for showers. Double that if you shower twice a day. Plus S$2 a night for aircond, the utility bill for just one of you is easily S$100 per month.

This post has been edited by seantang: Aug 19 2009, 08:53 PM

If you feel the effort and inconvenience is worth a couple hundred ringgit, then go for it.

Me... I hate luggage. I would rather pay extra.

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Added on August 20, 2009, 8:38 amThat sounds much more reasonable

I have seen some people who actually do brush their teeth while the tap is running. I also don't know why.


This post has been edited by seantang: Aug 20 2009, 08:38 AM

I think the Sg bar's website will enlighten you much more than any of us can.

Technically no. But practically, yes.

Your PR/IC is permanent. Hence the term Permanent Resident.

But the catch is that you must remain resident in Singapore to keep your status permanent. If you go outside Singapore, you need a Re-Entry Permit (REP).

So, what you renew every 5 years is your REP. It's the 'visa' that a PR holds so that he can leave Singapore and still return as a PR. Once your REP expires, your PR is considered terminated if you're outside Singapore. So, if you do return to Sg, you are no longer a PR.

Technically, if you never leave Singapore, you will never need a valid REP and never at risk of losing your PR due to an expired REP while overseas... and therefore remaining a PR forever.

You need to be a resident of Singapore (ie. staying in Singapore) or be able to show an intention to return permanently to Singapore (eg. work in Malaysia on assignment only, not permanent staff, eg. your work status in Malaysia is as a Singapore employee expatriated to Malaysia by your company or on project basis or work overseas on local terms but without permanent residence (eg. many of my PR colleagues in Singapore are working in Shanghai on local terms but without Chinese permanent residence, and still get to renew their REPs) etc).

If you, as a Malaysian citizen, have a normal job in Malaysia, it's unlikely that you'll be considered to have any intention to return permanently to Singapore. Anybody can see that you've simply gone home and want to keep your Sg PR as insurance.

I don't know. It's always a case-by-case basis. It really depends on whether you can convince the ICA that you want to stay permanently in Singapore.

IMHO, if your normal job in Malaysia pays a lot more than your directorship in Singapore, then I'd say no. But on the other hand, if you have a lot of property investments in Singapore, own a biz there, your kids are schooling there, you're married to a Singaporean etc... then you have a good argument even though you have a normal job in Malaysia.

Malaysia not in recession? Anyway, it's true that Singapore has a fluid economy. When the world is growing, opportunities will outstrip Malaysia. When the world is in recession, Singapore is affected earlier and deeper. But it depends on how you think the world economy will be from now on. If you think it has bottomed, then Singapore will benefit from the recovery earlier and greater than Malaysia.

I think your view is particular to the bank workers union. I've never joined a union in my life and am careful to ensure that my career progresses based on the growth of my skills and experience, and not on the wiles and fancies of a union.

I truly believe that if you have the skills that a company wants/needs, the company will make sure you're happy working for them. If you have skills that the company doesn't need, then no union can save you.

I'm actually amazed at how often Malaysians think that their night lives are so great compared to Singapore.

I mean what do you do in KL that's so wonderful, yet cheap?

Anything you can find in KL, I guarantee you can find in Singapore.

The only thing that KL/PJ (& Ipoh for me) is better in terms of quality of nightlife is I had a car in Malaysia, but no car in Singapore. Without wheels, it's much more difficult to be spontaneous and adventurous in terms of finding food, finding something to do with your bf/gf and your friends.

Right you are.

I give you this philosophy... "Two hunters encounter a tiger. One says: "there's no point running because the tiger is faster than either of us." The other says: "To survive, I only have to be faster than you."

If you're not a competitive or aggressive person by nature, you'd probably less happy in Sg than those who are.

This post has been edited by seantang: Aug 26 2009, 12:01 PM

If you just want to earn fast money, why do you want to become a PR?

Allowances are taxable. Only allowances that reimburse the employee for out-of-pocket expenses are not taxable. So for example, petrol, ERP and car maintenance allowances (in effect claims) are not taxable but car purchase allowances (in lieu of company car) or car loan interest subsidies are taxable.

Tax always needs to be paid on employee income (expense to employer) at least once, either by the employer or the employee. If the employer claims it as a tax deduction, the employee pays it. If the employer doesn't claim it as a deduction, then it is tax free to the employee. So, the best way for an employee to avoid paying tax is to simply get the employer to pay it.

When I relocated to Singapore, I received a lump sump relocation allowance from my company. I negotiated tax protection for the entire package ie. the company pays the tax on that allowance by not claiming the allowance as a tax deductible expense. Without the tax protection, I would have had to pay the tax on the allowance at the maximum tax rate. That would have decreased the net value of that allowance by 20%.

This post has been edited by seantang: Aug 28 2009, 11:03 AM

Yes, it would be great... but maybe not.

If you need "money fast" like you said, and that $900/mth (max) is going to be a problem, then don't be a PR. You can't have your cake and eat it as well.

For me, I treat my CPF as a long term FD which matures at 55. I have to contribute 900/mth to this FD, but my employer also contributes 650/mth. Therefore, I invest 900/mth so that I get an additional 650/mth. It's a whopping 72% upfront return on investment. Easy money.

S$4500 is the maximum salary on which CPF is payable. That means that if you earn 10,000 salary, only the first 4,500 is eligible for CPF. The remaining 5,500 is not.

So, monthly CPF employee contribution is 20% of salary or 900 (20% of 4500), which ever is lower.

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Added on August 29, 2009, 6:28 pmThe Price & Earnings 2009 survey by UBS is quite interesting to read.

This is a good measure of the earning power by city, I reckon:

Having said that, I'm quite surprised by Sydney though. I don't think wages are so high in Sydney, even exceeding London and Tokyo. I reckon there must be an error.

Singapore and KL look right, with Singapore wages being ~2X. Singapore's bit too much below HK though, and I didn't think Taipei wages would be so high.

This post has been edited by seantang: Aug 29 2009, 06:40 PM

Where did you get your statistics from?

From Singstat, 8-20K is the range of household income from the top 40% of households in Singapore. Your definition of "average" ignores the income level of the bottom 60% of households. More accurately, Singaporean households earn 7,750 on average. Additionally, a household means at least one, but frequently 2 working adults.



Here's a more applicable for individuals, although it was done in 2000. Only 5.2% of total salaried workers draw >8K per month.



1 in 4 people are millionaires? A bit too high, don't you think?


This post has been edited by seantang: Aug 30 2009, 12:17 PM

Firstly, I personally believe in the saying below:

"A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government." - Edward Abbey (1927-1989).

You can of course take offence to the form or manner that his defence took and rebut accordingly, that is your right. But to say that he is not entitled to speak about Malaysia or not entitled to his membership of this 'Malaysian forum' (indirectly you imply citizenship of Malaysia, I presume) - because what he said insulted ('humiliated') you or your country - is utterly ridiculous.

Insult (or what is insulting) is infinitely variable. You found dv3hetal's post insulting, I found it honest. What makes your definition of what constitutes an insult more relevant than mine? Who empowered you to decide when Malaysia's 'maruah' needs to be defended, instead of me?

That is exactly the argument that govt, the racists and the religious extremists take whenever they are criticised or accused. It is nothing more than a method of clamping down opposing voices without needing to arrive at a valid argument. Arguing for equal rights for equal taxation is somehow kurang ajar. Arguing for the freedom to practice your religion is somehow menghina another religion or the sultans. Arguing for equal opportunity in education and business is somehow tidak menghormati kontrak sosial. Arguing that corruption needs to be eradicated is somehow tidak mencintai bangsa dan negara.

As for 'contribution'... big word. What does it mean? Must I contribute something before I am entitled to speak? If I don't contribute, am I not allowed to speak even if the subject affects me and my loved ones? If only the people who 'contribute' get to speak or decide on what goes on, then isn't voting a contribution? Don't voters get to speak on issues they vote on?

How do you define contribution? Money? Govt service? For you and me, it's probably the taxes we pay. For the 10 years I worked in Malaysia, I paid over RM50,000 in taxes. How much tax did you pay? On the other hand, how much govt money have you taken? I didn't go to a local uni, didn't get a govt loan, had to pay extra 15% for my house to subsidise the bumi discount... have you contributed as much as I have?

In no uncertain terms, YES. I mean that the BN/UMNO govt is no good for Malaysia. In fact, it's pretty damn bad for us.

If you want to know how bad... read 3 things each day:

1. Utusan Malaysia (owned by UMNO),
2. New Straits Times (owned by UMNO), and
3. Malaysiatoday.net (owned by someone UMNO really hates).

The first 2 show you how the govt is trying to keep the Malays and non-Malays at each other throats. The 2 newspapers show clearly how the govt speaks with a forked tongue. One poison-laden tip for each community.

The 3rd shows you what's the real situation on the ground and what wind is whistling which tree branch.

If you can read that and still say the govt's doing a good job... all I can say is... if you're a non-Malay, go buy a new house and pay the bumi discount. If you're a Malay, go buy something from a Chinese small businessman. Either way, you'll get cheated because of your skin, thanks to our beloved govt.

Exactly!

So if I think BN/UMNO's idea of running the country is wrong... am I unpatriotic to criticise them? Am I unpatriotic if I vote to change the govt?