It said that it is the most comprehensive web for the Malaysian info.

Well, if you have time, you take a tour on it.

http://www.mycen.com.my

I could own a house because I cannot get the bank loan of more than 100,000. I went for the low cost but denied of it because i am too rich.

But, if you beat a round at the low cost housing estate, you can see tons of houses are sold for the rich. They have the connection with the polictical parties, they got it and resold it or rented out to the poor man.

Now, the housing government should form a squad to invegislate the house owner finaicial position. If they are found to use the relationship with the local government or the political party, the authority should confiscate the house and relocate it to the needed.

Too much of corruption in the housing department.

The Star Online > Nation

Monday July 3, 2006

Government-built houses can’t be sold for 10 years

GENTING HIGHLANDS: Houseowners under the People’s Housing Project (PPR) cannot sell their units in the first 10 years of their purchase, said Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting. 

“They (the owners) are relocated residents from squatter areas and the prices of these houses are much lower than market value,” he said. 

He said the Government would ensure that only those who met its criteria would be allowed to buy the units, and that all records would be kept by the local councils. 

He was speaking to reporters yesterday after Pahang MCA’s annual general meeting here. 

Ong said the Government would build the houses first using its own funds. When the buyers pay for the houses, the money would be put into a revolving fund to build PPR houses in other localities. 

He said that local councils would be tasked with selecting potential owners for these houses. 

“Once completed, the houses will be handed over to the local councils or the state government. We will not have any say on who gets the houses.”  

PPR is a Federal Government project to provide affordable housing to the lower income group as well as to eradicate squatter areas in the country. 

It was earlier reported that the offer price of RM35,000 per unit was low as the actual cost was twice the selling price.  

 Well, Yasmin is a person that will not bend for the prressures. I did not watch the Sepet and her other films. However, her new year advertisemnts on TV are always my favourite.

Ok, those short sighted people always associating thing with them as their own possesion, I would like to suggest to Yasmin that if she can,she can dub her movies in English dialogue. Thus, will not encouter much from those 'extremists' too.

Many people will have these common problem. if one thing is in your culture and speak the same language, then, that is yours but not all others.

I like P Ramlee's work. He combined many elements in it. He did not speak the pronuciation of :" Pergi mane? Saye ade due bahase."

So.,it is up to the Yasmin to decide for her new film.Again this is another matter into the product whether it is Malaysia product or not .

Is the Malaysia education system failed to get these people to understand the word;

RESPONSIBLITY

GRATEFUL

Repayment of Mara loans up 30pc

27 Jun 2006

PETALING JAYA: Repayment of Mara business and study loans increased by 30 per cent this year, but debtors still owe RM500 million.

According to Entrepreneur Development and Co-operative Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, about 100,000 people owed Mara money, up from 144,000 last year.

Ministry director-general Datuk Zamani Mohd Noor said Mara had collected RM50 million up to March compared with RM29 million last year, adding that Mara’s target was to collect RM200 million a year to clear all debts by 2010.

At the end of last year, more than 80,000 were in arrears in their repayments to Mara, of whom 50,000 were in default. The names of defaulters were published on the Ministry of Education website five months ago.

Non-payment of Mara loans has been a chronic problem, despite what Zamani described as "more than generous" repayment terms, but it was only this year that Mara took action.

A "shame" list was published in newspapers, defaulters’ credit was blacklisted, and their children were denied admission to Mara institutions of higher learning.

Khaled was opening a seminar for Mara district officers, accompanied by Zamani. Khaled said Mara was planning to train 150,000 entrepreneurs during the Ninth Malaysia Plan period, encouraging them to venture into businesses higher up the value chain, such as retail. He told district officers they must be aware of government projects in their districts and notify the ministry of problems or delays.

I wonder the babies by design turn out to be:

a:the boy become a gay or pondan

b: the girl become lesbian

what the parents will say ?

It should be nature.

Editorial: Babies by design

28 Jun 2006

KUDOS to the Health Ministry for a swift and sure policy statement on the thorny question of "designer babies": The answer is NO.

Medical techniques to identify the genetic characteristics of human embryos shall not be used to select embryos for gender or any other physical or genetic trait. These procedures are meant to diagnose genetic disorders in embryos prior to implantation in the womb, and even so are controversial. Ostensibly a precaution for couples with a family history of genetic disorders, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is touted, not to put too fine a point on it, as a preferable alternative to abortion in the event of imperfect zygotes.

There is less selfish potential in PGD-selecting a healthy sibling for a genetically afflicted child. With disorders such as thalassaemia, a PGD child’s cord blood or bone marrow could double the chances of a healthy life for an ailing sibling; seen by many as a less ethically-challenged benefit of the technique.

Since the birth of the first PGD-selected child in London in 1989, however, more than 1,000 children have been brought to life through this process — perhaps 50 here in Malaysia. (Discretion is part of this game; some reports estimate a worldwide total of PGD-selected births exceeding 5,000 so far.) Opponents of the technique — a majority in most societies surveyed — note that this is at best one-fourth the number of embryos utilised in producing every single successful birth.

No legislation covers PGD in the United States, which like most other jurisdictions, including Bri- tain’s and ours, leans on ethical guidelines from medical authorities. These generally accept the value of PGD in anticipating genetic illness and resolving infertility, but uniformly decry any eugenic abuse of the technique in selecting children based on parental preferences. Whichever way this goes — desperation for a boy or a girl, an athlete or genius, round eyes or wavy hair — it is odious.

The case brought to light, recently, of a PGD boy born in December 2004 in Johor to the unbounded delight of his parents and (hopefully) three elder sisters, has jarred the establishment into restating the ethical guidelines spelled out by the Malaysian Medical Council, by which all healthcare providers were expected to abide. If parental insistence and the profit motive conspire to elbow this moral code aside, the law will now step up to specify in less uncertain terms the separation of powers human and divine.

There are 5 million foreign workers in Malaysia. Is this the sign that we have zero unemployment ?

But, we still have many unemployed as you can read this.

Higher growth is cold comfort to the jobless

29 Jun 2006
ZAINAL AZNAM YUSOF

The excess supply of Bumiputera labour and lack of jobs must be addressed and overcome if Bumiputera unemployment, and overall unemployment, is to be reduced.

ONE of the five key thrusts of the Ninth Malaysia Plan 2006-2010 is to raise the capacity for knowledge and innovation and nurture a "first class mentality". Part of the thrust is to enhance the development of human capital and educational reforms are necessary if headway is to be made on this front.

Before human capital can be enhanced jobs must be created for the growing population and labour force.

A sizeable number of the unemployed who have entered the labour force are those with tertiary level education and this is worrisome, attesting to the fact that there are all sorts of persistent structural problems in the labour market. Also, the Bumiputera account for a large proportion of the unemployed. Clearly, with rising income the economy is creating fewer employment opportunities; jobs will be difficult to come by and they are not shared out equitably.

Over the next five years between 2006-2010, it is expected that employment will grow at a rate of 1.9 per cent per annum, much less than the 3.3 per cent per annum that was recorded over the 2001-2005 period. This is a sizeable reduction in employment growth. Even so, there will still be full employment in a statistical sense, with an unemployment rate of 3.5 per cent of the labour force.

The ability of the economy to generate jobs appears to be slackening: Over the 2001-2005 period with growth in Gross Domestic Product of 4.5 per cent, employment grew at a rate of 3.3 per cent, generating some 1.6 million new jobs, but with an anticipated growth of six per cent per annum for the 2006-2010 period, only 1.1 million new jobs will be created.

What is implied is that more jobs were created when the economy grew at a slower pace than when the economy is expected to be growing at a higher rate. And full employment can be attained at a lower growth rate in employment. Is this plausible?

Underlying these employment targets are the assumptions on the growth of population, labour force and, crucially, on productivity improvements. It is assumed that technological improvements and the adoption of new technologies will raise productivity growth and when these happen less labour will be required for production and, therefore, there will be fewer job opportunities.

Labour’s contribution to GDP growth over the 2001-2005 period was about a third and the target is to reduce it to almost 30 per cent over the 2006-2010 period. Total factor productivity’s (TFP) contribution to GDP growth is expected to be raised to 35.8 per cent from 29 per cent, an ambitious increase.

The key issue is that employment growth will not be as bright as in the past and there is the spectre of high unemployment. Reports show that a sizeable number of the unemployed are those with tertiary level education and this is a worrisome development on the unemployment front.

It is uncertain as to precisely how many of the 396,000 who were unemployed in 2005 have tertiary education. And the Ninth Plan has indicated that about 431,000 will be unemployed by 2010. The economy will be turning into more of a service economy and the bulk of the jobs will come from the services sector: Services’ share (excluding construction) of total employment is expected to increase from 51 per cent in 2005 to 52 per cent in 2010.

An additional worrying issue is the fact that there is still a very sizeable imbalance in ethnic unemployment, and the persistence of this unemployment imbalance will make it difficult to close the income disparity gap between the Bumiputera and non-Bumiputera. The greater the number of Bumiputera who are unemployed, the greater the wastage of Bumiputera human capital and investment in their education.

It is a well-known fact that the level of Bumiputera unemployment has historically been much higher than the non-Bumiputera, underlying the fact that they find it more difficult to find jobs. There has never been a time, or period, when the Bumiputera is at full employment and so they always account for the bulk of the unemployed in the economy. On the other hand the Chinese and Indians have always been at full employment, or even over full-employment, as their unemployment levels are below 3.5 per cent.

In 1995, for example, the Bumiputera unemployment rate was at 4.6 per cent and remained at the same level in 2000 while the Chinese unemployment rate was only 1.5 per cent in 1995 and 1.6 per cent in 2000. The Indian unemployment rate was 2.6 per cent in 1995 and 2.7 per cent in 2000. On average, therefore, the Bumiputera unemployment rate was 2.8 times the unemployment rate of the non-Bumiputera. What are the reasons for the sizeable Bumiputera unemployment and its excess over non-Bumiputera unemployment?

Supply and demand factors lie at the heart of the problem. On the supply side Bumiputera fertility levels and population growth are still much higher compared with the non-Bumiputera. The growth of the Bumiputera labour force, therefore, is higher than the non-Bumiputera. Overall, Bumiputera enrolment in the science and technical fields is lower than the non-Bumiputera.

On the demand side structural changes in the economy, and the use of new technology, mean that industries now require more highly-skilled and knowledge workers. Bumiputera labour depends far more on wage employment and less on self-employment compared with the non-Bumiputera. Communication and specific language skills, especially in the use of the English language, are assets and graduates who lack these will be put at the bottom of the queue, or will not be employed.

Overt or non-overt discrimination can play a role in the hiring of ethnic groups and if non-Bumiputera employers have a taste for discrimination then fewer or no Bumiputera will be employed in their enterprises. Or they may be hired but are crowded into less desirable oocupations so that they tend to leave such enterprises and join the army of the unemployed.

The excess in the supply of Bumiputera labour and a lack of demand can put downward pressure on the level of wages in occupations and industries where they are crowded in and over-represented. Employers may and can offer lower wages for these occupations where the supply of Bumiputera labour exceed their demand, and there could be stronger competition for these jobs among Bumiputera labour.

If these constraints to overall and Bumiputera unemployment are not overcome, we can expect the problem to persist. The demand and supply sides must be addressed and overcome if Bumiputera unemployment, and overall unemployment, is to be reduced. The long term target ought to be for full employment of the Bumiputera.

It’s part and parcel of the job

The Star Online > Nation

Wednesday June 28, 2006

Tell children how much you earn, parents urged

JOHOR BARU: Parents should tell their children their salaries so that they can help their parents by not overspending, Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk S. Veerasingam said. 

He said children needed to know what their parents earned so that they could gauge the family spending power and know the monthly budget. 

“Many parents do not do this. So, their children tend to overspend their parents' money,” he said when launching Puspanita's Smart Spending Seminar here yesterday. 

Veerasingam said it was also crucial for people to start to save early and that working people should begin with at least 10% of their salaries to ensure that their future and that of their children were taken care of.  

On the recent sugar shortage, Veerasingam said it had helped consumers reduce their sugar intake. 

“We actually take a lot of sugar in a day. It is advisable to cut down on sugar,” he said. 

On another matter, Verasingam said that between Feb 28 and June 25, the ministry had conducted checks on 324,881 premises and found 541 operators flouting the law. 

Of these, 492 failed to display price on the items sold, 20 did not follow controlled item prices, and 29 displayed contradicting prices. 

The ministry also sealed RM256,089 worth of goods and issued compounds totalling RM59,950.  

The Star Online > Nation

Wednesday June 28, 2006

Durian chart to help rookie buyers choose

By ONG YEE TING

PENANG: Charts on movies, books and song albums are commonly found. 

But a chart on durians? 

Durian King Tan Eow Chong, 45, has created one based on the fruits’ popularity at his stall in Relau. 

Placed in front of his Cap Kaki stall is the “durian chart” – a four-tier wooden rack stacked with durians arranged according to their popularity. 

“This arrangement helps rookie durian customers to make their choice,” he said, adding that prices ranged from RM3 to RM20 per kg. 

CHART TOPPERS: Tan arranging durians on the urian chart? a four-tier wooden rack at the Cap Kaki durian stall in Relau on Monday

In the top tier are the three champions of the year, Lan Ciau Yuan, Raja Kunyit and Kulit Hijau No 15. 

Tuhan Kasi, last year’s favourite, has dropped to the second tier, along with the once popular Ang Jin, Kapili, Lipan-bala, Udang Merah, and Labu Air.  

Foreign tourists, including Tan's loyal “fans” from Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea, have been thronging the stall every day since the durian season started. 

Ken Tan, 30, from Air Itam, said he had placed an early booking for Raja Kunyit durians, about 10 days ago. 

“This durian is very popular and is often in short supply,” he said, adding that he and his family have been patronising Cap Kaki durian stall for many years because of the cleanliness and good service. 

“They have a variety of the best durians and they even provide customers with free drinking water,” he said.  

A first-timer from the Czech Republic, Jaromir Pelcak, said he was impressed with the “restaurant-like” durian stall. 

“This is interesting. I like the creative way they display their fruits and I have fun eating here,” he said. 

Tan's son, Chee Wei, 23, said he planned to display photographs of durians that had been prised open on the “chart” next year.