Open a Maybank account in Sg and use Maybank2u.sg to transfer money to your Maybank account in My.

GE in SG or MY? And prepared for what?

The guy who got scammed deserved it.

Why would one be so foolish as to wire cash to someone you've never met, to pay a deposit for a flat that you've never seen, purportedly to the owner that never showed any proof that he actually owns the flat?

Not much different from those foolish people who got cheated by the Nigerian email diamond or inheritance scams or people buying magic stones from bomohs.

Depends on where he works and what's the job scope.

Assuming his 3 years of post qualification experience is of good quality, possible jobs would be senior or asst mgr in accounting firms, exec or senior exec in large MNCs or asst mgr in small MNCs/local listed or even controller, mgr in small companies (where he'd probably be the only or one of a handful qualified accountants amongst a bunch of accounting clerks).

One thing though... is he a graduate?

Should be okay, the jobs above would be around $4K. Having said that, some of these jobs would have lots of candidates. Without a quality 3 years experience and a bachelor's degree, it might be hard to get shortlisted for interviews.

This post has been edited by seantang: Mar 3 2011, 11:56 PM

I mean whether he has a degree. ACCA is a professional qualification... not unlike a commercial driving licence, not a tertiary education.

ACCA alone... not always. Singapore is very particular on graduates. The civil service and many corporates even formally distinguish between the university and degree class at a policy level. Not all will deem a professional accounting qualification as a proxy for a tertiary degree. The US MNC I'm in and others that I have contact with, will group accounting qualification holders (without degree) into the technical salary scale, rather than the graduate salary scale.

You don't notice that in Malaysia, somehow the accounting profession idolises ACCA - even thinking that it replaces a university education; whereas in Singapore, HK etc... ACCA is a certification rather than education, and just one of the many available.

This post has been edited by seantang: Mar 4 2011, 02:03 PM

Perhaps you are mistaking loneliness, the fact you're away from family and friends, and the reality of having to adapt to a new work & personal environment - as representing the "life here".

It's something every foreign immigrant has to deal with.

Need some help from you guys. Our CEO and CFO are coming to SG and I need to take them on a "city excursion" to fill 3 hours after lunch, before taking them back to the hotel to prepare for dinner.

Do you guys have any suggestions? Something with local flavour but preferably air conditioned, can drive to doorstep ie. not too much walking. It's mid afternoon after all and they will be somewhat jet-lagged.

Tentatively, my thinking is:

- Lunch at MBS
- Casino walkthru
- 1 Activity (current candidates include Artscience museum at Marina Bay, Flyer, River Cruise, Duck Tour... but the latter 2 no aircond!)... looking for more options from you guys.
- Singapore Sling at Long Bar, Raffles Hotel
- If time permits, drivethru Chinatown and Little India on the way back to hotel.

Appreciate any suggestions you have. If there's a superb idea that I can actually use, dinner's on me. Thanks very much.

The SG mgt team wants to give them a city tour. The theme is really to highlight SG as a good location for the company.

What's available at Dempsey Hill? Mostly restaurants there I think. I've only been to the Barracks for dinner. Food's not the focus as they'll be coming out from a pretty good lunch at MBS.

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Added on March 5, 2011, 3:15 pmAiyo... Zoo, Night Safari and Bird Park... cannot lah. How to take C-class execs to see animals wor? Dinner's been planned already with other Asian taikos who're flying in.

Try again lah I just need one 'sure win' activity to clinch the agenda. Then my performance appraisal for 2011 kowtim.


This post has been edited by seantang: Mar 5 2011, 03:15 PM

I actually like the Duck Tour. The amphibious route will make an impression. Only downside is there's no aircond. If that day is hot,.. I don't want to be responsible for giving the two top guys an unwanted sauna. That's a CLM if there ever was one (Career Limiting Move).

No problem so long as Malaysia maintains the treaty with Singapore (if it's not evergreen). Having said that, your mileage may vary when dealing with individual policemen or JPJ officers who are looking for an excuse to give you some headache.

I do see various websites stating that foreign driving licences are only valid for 3 months in Malaysia. This includes the website for the British High Commission in KL. However I couldn't find anything stating that this time limit on UK licences also applies to SG licences, nor find any time limits on any foreign licences in the actual law. Akta 333 only states that licences from treaty countries are recognised as if they are local licences issued by JPJ under the act.


The only complication I can think of on the SG side is if you give up your PR or work permit (or is forced to do so). They may revoke your Singapore driving licence or issue a time-limited one.

This post has been edited by seantang: Mar 5 2011, 09:55 PM

The act is not JPJ's but an act of parliament. Just like how the Police act gives powers to the police force but won't list down the names of the individual policemen. You can find the treaty countries listed on JPJ's website where their driving licences can be auto converted to Malaysian driving licence.

For foreigners, their passports. They are supposed to carry it with them at all times. And certainly not allowed to drive without it.

If you're a Malaysian using a foreign licence, now.., isn't that a convenient excuse for the police or JPJ to detain you until they can determine how long you've been back in the country?

This post has been edited by seantang: Mar 6 2011, 12:56 AM

Yeah, they are having lunch at a restaurant on the sky garden. That might actually take the flyer out of the running as well.

I'd suggest you stay in Sg and use the time you'd save on travelling to think and then execute a plan on improving your prospects for a bigger job or a promotion. One solid upgrade and you'd more than earn back the difference in living costs.

I suggest the food court next to the MRT stn. Try to have 2 vege and 1 meat for lunch and maybe add a soup or dessert during dinner.

This post has been edited by seantang: Mar 7 2011, 10:25 PM

Will probably go after lunch on Thursday. That should be the least people.

Technically, I can't either. But hey, what my boss doesn't know, won't hurt me.

My peers... well, we cooperate. You scratch my back, I scratch yours.

My subordinates... they know better than to piss off the boss.

Pretty much. Come in late, long lunches, leave early... fairly standard... although we're careful to be available when we're needed. The commercial guys are worse. They will routinely disappear after lunch to go play golf. But then again, we don't complain either if we have to stay back late to meet a deadline or buta-buta donate 2 weekends to the company when we travel to US or Europe etc.

This post has been edited by seantang: Mar 8 2011, 10:32 PM

Are you transferring from the MY firm to the SG firm? Or are you resigning and then reapplying to the same firm in SG?

If you're transferring, then by all means - process, notify, due for promotion... whatever. You're basically just changing location.

But if you're resigning and reapplying, then stay long enough to actually get promoted before you move. Showing that you have a promotion is always good! Saying that you're due means nothing.

Btw... I'm not sure this is a 'promotion'. If you're moving from junior (or associate) to senior, that's a promotion.

Assuming your salary is S$2500, and you spend $700 on a room and $1000 on expenses, you'd still have $800 savings left over. No CPF if you don't become a PR. If the firm pays an equalisation allowance in lieu of CPF, then you get a few hundred more. Unless your lifestyle changes in SG vs MY, the rule of thumb is that you will ALWAYS save more working in SG vs MY in ringgit/SGD converted to ringgit terms.

Don't be too bothered about this. 5 months experience is basically no experience at all. As an employer, the only upside they'll see in your 5 months experience is that they don't have to babysit you in terms of how shitty the public accounting profession is.