And I don't deny that.

What I'm saying is a lack of a tertiary education is a handicap, no matter how it's spun otherwise. Of course, like you said, it's not a deal stopper in most cases as it's one of a few variables, but it is still a disadvantage. But I have no issue with saying that nobody is strong in every variable.

What I have an issue with is that some folks - instead of saying they will work hard to maximise their other variables or study part time etc - they try to rationalise away that handicap by saying that some successful person like Bill Gates had the same handicap and was still successful anyway. You can only do the same IF you have all of Bill Gates' talents as well as his handicap. Most people using some celebrity as an excuse only have his handicap but not his talent.

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Added on January 16, 2012, 12:07 pmWell, be careful exactly what their inspiration is for.

My idol is Micheal Schumacher. He inspires me AND he awes me.

His driving talent, quick reflexes and supreme fitness AWES me. Like how a superhero awes a mortal who can never achieve the same result no matter how hard he tries.

His temperament, focused determination, attention to detail and constant practice & improvement however INSPIRES me. These are things that I can also do and perfect.

His handicap is his lack of sympathy for the people he competes with. That's the price he pays for his success, his talent and his traits.

So, his inspiration for me is not to be a super-rich, super-talented, top racing driver as I don't have the talent he does. Therefore I can't use him as an excuse when I display the same handicap that he does.

This post has been edited by seantang: Jan 16 2012, 01:22 PM

No, no disrespect for people with less education than they would have liked... especially those due to factors like money, parents etc.

I personally just find it really, really flippant when people in forums use celebrities like Uncle Goh, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs etc. to say that education is no biggie and the lack of it is no obstacle in their professional lives. The fact is that it is an obstacle. They should be describing what they did or are doing to overcome/bypass it - instead of basically saying "Bill Gates didn't do it, so I don't need to".

Lester, how are the rules going to change?

Congrats on the blue IC.

Not for PRs. It's not called the "Single Singapore Citizen Scheme" for nothing.

No. If you don't earn money / work / do business in Malaysia, you don't have to pay tax. If you don't have to pay tax, you don't have to register for a tax file number.

It's only when you already have a tax file number (eg. you worked in the past), then you will be asked to file tax returns even when you have zero income. Once you start, you can't stop unless you migrate and "tutup fail". But in your case, you haven't started.

You either go to LHDN and ask them to close your tax file number / account. You'll do a tax clearance (basically they will process your last tax return, final paycheck, final bonus etc. and you pay any taxes you owe) and after that, yor tax file number is closed.

Or you can simply wait for them to send you a Form B each year, write "kosong" income and then send back.

I've fairly similar setup as you.

POSB for salary.
MBB SG and MBB MY for regionlink.
I also have CIMB SG as my main SGD savings account because of their 0.8% interest on current account.
I also have SCB SG because that was my main cash savings account before CIMB. I keep the current account because they were offering their preferred banking f.o.c and their iB is the only one (that I know of) that can pay credit cards from any other bank.
For cards, I use POSB Everyday for backup and UOB One for everyday use (I like the simple, unconditional cashback as long as you spend a certain relatively low amount on anything anywhere... plus their exchange rate is okay, so I use it in Malaysia as well because I dowan to pay RM50 tax per local credit card).

This post has been edited by seantang: Jan 18 2012, 02:17 PM

I see no issue with cpf. If you work in MY, you pay epf. You work in Australia, you pay super. In the US, you pay 401K. Point is that no matter where, someone's going to force you to put aside money for your retirement.

And the irony is that you will need it when you retire. You spend your cpf/epf now, you still need to set something else aside for your old age. Left pocket right pocket. Unless you don't plan on getting old, you can never spend 100% of your after tax income.

You withdraw your cpf when you're 55, just like your epf. So why the preoccupation with not leaving anything in cpf?

Wow, you took the plunge. What was the tipping point of your decision to finally go all the way?

Most new condo launches exceed S$1MM already. Most are already significantly above $900 or 1000 psf.

Dang, you are easy to sway. That's like only a year or 2 of salary. And yours isn't even real actual money but HDB math based on selling your flat at resale flat price and buying back at first owner allotment price. Not very realistic to assume you'll get a new HDB flat at your age and the fact you just sold one for profit.

This post has been edited by seantang: Jan 20 2012, 01:57 AM

I have no problems with accepting current reality, but I have a real problem being told the reality is fair simply because it's reality? Was slavery fair because of the reality that the whites outnumbered the blacks 50 to 1?

I can't wait for the next GE to come. Might take a few days off to attend her sessions if she stands for election.



MCA Perak Exco, Ceylyn Tay - Chinese and Indians do not deserve equality because Malays are more than 60%.




This post has been edited by seantang: Jan 20 2012, 02:51 AM

My comment to you wasn't regarding why you came to SG (ie. SG vs MY). It was about why one would take up citizenship instead of continuing with PR.

As for who would hire you in Malaysia?... if you're asking for S$10K/RM25K... admittedly not as many as SG. But if you're talking about a 1:1 comparison ie. RM10K, or even RM12-13K for that matter - it's not much of an issue in KL although the number of such opportunities would be less compared to SG.

Ah Jib Kor's salary is less than 1% of his income.

It's not a loop hole. It's still balloted and the prices of new BTOs are considerably more than the $300K you mentioned, thereby turning inside out the $200K tipping point profit you mentioned when you sell your existing HDB at $500K.

Like I said, I'm talking about citizenship vs PR, not SG vs MY. The fact that I've been here since 2005 means that I believe SG offers me a greener pasture. I just still weighing those benefits of citizenship which are above remaining a PR. At this stage, due to the fact I'm not eligible for any grants, subsidies or concessions of any kind - citizenship is not very appealing to me as I will have to give up my Malaysian citizenship and make the management & continued accumulation of assets in Malaysia wayyyy to troublesome.

I'm not a spring chicken myself.

Since you earn 10K, you must be above the eligibility threshold for most of the angpows, no? Even the GST offset package or the Grow & Share package, childcare subsidies, you qualify onky for the bare minimum. Less if the missus works too. It'll hardly amount to 10K a year.

If you want to talk lobangs... Malaysia has much more than Singapore lah.

27K difference? Not much to be honest. A year's bonus or a year's stock options or less actually... hardly enough to figure much in the decision to give up citizen's right to invest in or diversify into Malaysia.

The point is that SG has one of the most favourable investment and entitlement regimes for PRs/foreigners vis-a-vis citizens, AND by definition one of the most unfavourable environments for citizens vis-a-vis foreigners. And the more income you earn, the truer it becomes. So unless you see yourself in the HDB brigade for the rest of your time in Singapore - I still don't see the financial benefits of going from PR to citizen.

This post has been edited by seantang: Jan 20 2012, 10:31 PM

I'm a salary earner like most people here and I like the salary in Sg. Especially after exchange rate conversion. That's why I come. I've also been doing this long enough to know that you plan your migration to another country with your future income and living situation in mind. Not plan based on your current circumstances which you will outgrow in due time. In this case, plan with the condo or landed property in mind. HDB is not the end of things.

I don't know. What lobangs did you have in mind? You're the one hinting about lobangs all over this thread like a super-connected MCKK datuk. What I'm saying is that whatever lobang it is, it's bigger and better in Malaysia aka cowboy and ketuanan town.

Of course *shrug*

In the overall scheme of once in a lifetime decisions, yeah. As you earn 10K+ salary, 27K is chup change, no?

I think capital appreciation doesn't discriminate between citizens and PRs.

Nope. That's part of the reason why I'm here in Sg.

Congrats! Your ample safety net is irrelevant to our discussion, but Congrats!

What's my priority? Safety, health, money... Same as everyone else. But I fail to see how a SG PR will have less safety and health than a citizen.

This post has been edited by seantang: Jan 21 2012, 01:18 AM

Happy Chinese New Year! May the Dragon bring blue skies and all good things.

Depends on which country you think you will be using that insurance. Most insurance policies specify that you have to be hospitalised/treated in a particular country.

Not if you're planning to return to Malaysia.

My insurance here in SG is my company's group insurance plus the private medical insurance program that's paid using CPF. But I don't have any medical insurance in Malaysia. So, now considering taking up something in Malaysia in case I become too old or too sick to start a new policy when(if) I decide to return home.

Good luck. I hear that there's a vacancy at the CNB (Central Narcotics Bureau). Possibly more positions will become vacant in the days ahead.