Failed state? More like a failed statement.

There was an article in Bloomberg on Malaysia recently.
It’s an opinion piece. Here’s that article.
Enjoy reading it and feeling “Oh No…” whatever you feeling is, please feel free to take appropriate actions yeah. By the way, this is also the view of someone who’s definitely more qualified to talk about ‘failed state’
 Article Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.

By the way, some signs of a failed state to me seems more like the following few examples.

#1 – Refusal of the top country leadership to acknowledge the seriousness of Covid-19 and refusing to wear masks and dismissing all of it as nothing more than just a flu and ACTUALLY got infected and had to be rushed into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Of course, the country is fortunate because after the top leader recovered, suddenly, everything moves towards the correct path.

#2 – Country top leader’s refusal to acknowledge DEFEAT despite already being DEFEATED (soundly some more) and the election machineries are all supposed to be the fairest and most democratic in the world. (never mind that one vote is not actually equal to one vote…) Continue to refuse giving the right message and contributing to the over 600,000 deaths as at today and until today, still refuse to acknowledge that he was wrong. Hmm…

#3 – Country’s top leader’s management of the Covid-19 situation. Set vaccination targets, failed to keep them, set another one, failed to keep them and then this continued until no targets are needed anymore. As at latest stage, the vaccinations are slow and less than half that of what Malaysia is doing. In fact, before end July, Malaysia will surpass them in vaccinations per population.

#4 – Country’s top leader conspiring with many other country’s top leaders to attach some UNVERIFIED branding to some weaker countries, labelling them as problematic or with Weapons of Mass Destruction (in the end found absolutely nothing!) and yet NO system in those countries were able to check and balance those views. They just accept whatever the leader say. That to me really are signs of a failed state.

Anyway, I could go on with even more examples but I just want you (yes that opinion writer in Bloomberg) to understand that if there are signs to a failed state, it’s usually starting with the top leaders of the country and all the outcomes which as come of it.

A failed state does NOT have the capacity to continue the effort to secure vaccines and push ahead from the bottom 25% of vaccinations per population in the world to over 300,000 vaccinations per day in July and this is not even the final target. The final target is to be even higher! No vaccines how to jab yeah… (earlier few months)

A failed state does NOT have the capacity to have Moratoriums almost immediately when needed and another Moratorium again when it’s needed again. By the way, a moratorium can ONLY be done if the banks are strong; the financial system is intact and strong and with sufficient reserves. NOT even many developed nations could do this. Let’s not talk about soon to be failed state or some failed state ranked at the bottom.

Happy understanding and I wish to reiterate that I am not staying in a failed state. Stop equating what you think politically (which can be a failure) with Malaysia (which is a total of all good Malaysians and not just the political scene).

The politicians are bad, good, stupid and crazy, they are still the same. The reason is because majority of Malaysians kept voting based on party.  When the party put up a fool, because he has the party FLAG, you voted the person. Then, when the person wins, you hope this FOOL will suddenly become your capable representative? Hello?

Imagine if all of us vote ONLY the capable people, all the parties would be forced to change and appoint capable people instead and not just fools who does not know much and kept following what the party says?!  Anyway, this is not likely to happen. Every time I share this, people from BOTH sides have hundreds and thousands of reasons why their party is better than the opposing side. Whatever…

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FAKE coupon site. Please be aware.

Someone told me about the below site and it has coupons for sale and even showing kopiandproperty.com logo.  Please refer below: The below site is unknown and we are not related in anyway at all.  kopiandproperty.com has NOTHING to sell and does not even have any payment app for you to make payment.  Thank you for your understanding.

Please continue to alert us if you come across some other fake sites so that we could warn everyone else.  Thank you for your kind assistance and thank you for reading kopiandproperty.com

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Not verified, do not forward. It shows your XXXXXXXXXX

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Fake news, again. That super huge hotel booking news.

Yesterday, many people were forwarding the news about the over 1,000 units of bookings for Langkawi hotels. Fortunately, I did not forward / share because I was a little skeptical that people could suddenly make their holiday decisions in an hour? Haha. Anyway, I was right with my hunch. Today, many news outlets have reported that such a news was a fake one and it has quoted many stakeholders in Langkawi tourism who confirmed that the news was indeed a fake one.  Everyone would love for it to be true, of course, but it’s fake.

Article in malaymail.com
  Yesterday’s report on Langkawi hotels booking came from the Langkawi Tourism Association (LTA) CEO, Zainudin Kadir and the story went viral on social media.  The Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) has dismissed such claims. MAH shared a statement in
Facebook
 and MAH said that Langkawi Tourism Association (LTA) claims to represent tourism stakeholders of the popular island but little is known of its membership and source of data reported. It claims that LTA doesn’t have a functioning
website
 and its Facebook page is also inactive.

The MAH urge the media, tourism agencies and industry stakeholders to contact the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) to reconfirm news with the best intentions to spread the encouraging trend.  To recap,
interstate travel
 is allowed from 10th of June 2020 during the RMCO. However, this excludes areas that are placed under Enhanced movement control order. Happy referring to the news
Article in malaymail.com

Well, it may be true in the near future. Just not yesterday. We just need to get one such tourism fair soonest possible with all the best and attractive offer packages.  I wonder when will we have such an online cuti-cuti Malaysia fair. Until then, we should occasionally verify the news as well as to do some thinking as well.  As for the ones looking at stocks to buy, we could also look at AIRASIA stocks and MAS stocks too. I have none of both but maybe worth reading a bit more. Happy deciding.

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Fake news? I must write about it too, right? Property market ones.

I hate it when people reply me, ‘no harm in sending first, who knows it may be true?’ as soon as I tell them that the news they have just forwarded has been proven to be fake THREE years ago. There’s this article in
TheStar by a writer called Dzof Azmi.
 I have to say that the situations he faced sounded familiar to me too. However, perhaps I should focus on what fake news in the property market yeah. Nope, I do not think these people who spread such fake news would be arrested but perhaps it’s very good to make our own homework before believing whatever we hear, read and see these days.

In the property market, there are many of these fake news too. Usually spread by blind supporters. One is something that a good friend always tell me. She likes this particular developer so much that everything about them is positive. I am like, huh? Even when the developer who sold to her at a premium gave her ‘cow grass’ instead of lawn grass, she said but this is what many of my friends get too from their developers. (HELLO… they did not pay a premium…. ) Yes, even after this experience, she continues to sing praises for this particular developer. Actually this is spreading fake news too because the premium is seriously not worth it! If it is just for the concept, then let’s get real. When the developer has a super huge piece of land, everyone of them could plan better. Else, nothing much to plan or do lah.

Another kind of fake news would be the ‘never ending’ last few units. Frankly, if there are just a few last units left or even selling extremely fast etc, there is really no need to keep advertising everywhere lah. Perhaps it’s best that developers really do more homework before starting to sell at a very high price per sq ft and then give huge rebates. Or for some developers to spend SLOWLY in one media first, sell some. Then advertise via the next media and sell some more and then use another media and sell a few more. It’s best to immediately do a super huge launch by using all the different media available and really keep track of what works and what not. Else, after 9 months to 1 year, ‘fake news’ would have to start because it gets much harder to tell people that they have sold less than half despite having launched over 1 year.

Actually there are many more of these fake news in the market lah. For example, pay nothing to get huge profits when you buy a certain project for example. If there are such deals, just selling to the developers staffs, families and friends would be enough lah. It will never reach anyone of us. There was also my ex-classmate who told me that ‘there are so many units in the market and that there’s no need to rush.’ At the time, I told him that the price he was looking for is not realistic and if he had found ONE unit with such a low price, he has better quickly buy it. To cut the story short, this was his actual reply after 3 weeks, ‘All the other listings were all fake. The unit I wanted was sold in the evening after I viewed by someone else.’  So, my ex-classmate was also spreading FAKE NEWS about so many units in the market…  Happy identifying some of these in the near future.

written on 1 April 2018

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Falling oil price and actions of Warren Buffett

Should we still buy shares today? One latest prediction for oil price is that it may reach as low as US$10 per barrel. It is still falling. The stock markets have been falling and the S&P 500 is at its lowest point since 2004! Yes, this is already lower than even the mortgage crisis in 2008. What does this mean, really? Well to one man, Warren Buffet it means opportunity. He is increasing his stake in oil refiner Philips 66. He is doing this at a time when crude oil prices are at a 12-year low. Currently, Berkshire Hathaway Inc already owns 12.3 percent or 65.68 million shares worth US$5.21 billion. Note that US$5.21 billion is a huge amount whichever way we look at it.

Crude oil prices have been falling since June 2014 as there is a huge supply amidst a anaemic economic growth in the world. Even the mighty China is struggling to grow faster. The US economy has showed some positive signs though and the Federal Reserve decided to up the rate by 0.25 percent last year. Some analysts are predicting more upward adjustments in 2016. I think everyone would have noted that the year of 2016 started with a BIG fall in China’s stock market. Ringgit has of course fallen lower from its short recovery towards the end of 2015. Oil prices ended up at US$29.42 per barrel at the close of market for this week.

This summary basically tells us that whether markets go up or down, opportunities open up for some who has done some homework. Of course, this ‘bet’ against the tide may backfire but it is definitely a calculated risk. I just spoke to a good friend about two stocks in particular which has not moved downwards despite such a bad run for BURSA. Well, perhaps I should start to view more stocks instead of just that few selected ones. I have also started to put more time and effort into viewing homes, both in Klang Valley and this weekend, in Ipoh. Whether I buy or not is another decision but the correct decision now is to assess all the potential opportunities. Remember, U.M.N.O.  Uncertainty Means New Opportunities. Happy thinking, believing and doing.

written on 16 Jan 2016

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Great for family. Dinosaur Kingdom in Rawang / Sungai Buloh

Who’s it for?
 This one is aimed at families, especially those with young kids. Let’s just say this is worth many hours of non-stop fun for them and of course the parents too. There’s no famous cartoon characters but if you love dinosaurs, then this one is worth visiting. I think this is as real as it gets and as close up as it gets too. No, it’s definitely not free, not at this scale in terms of performance. Ticket price is RM30 for adult with Malaysian IC and RM20 for kids above 80cm. Usually, 3 years old or higher will be higher than 80cm. The adult ticket comes with 2 tokens and the children ticket comes with 1 token. These tokens are to be used for the rides and games inside the park.

Where is it?
 The advertisement says Dinosaur Kingdom is in Sungai Buloh. However, it’s just a few hundred metres away from Gamuda Gardens sales gallery which in in Rawang. The most important point is this: It’s a fun-filled entertainment park filled with many dinosaurs, big, small and even moving ones. There are lots of other dinosaurs all around the kingdom for us to take photos with. All the dustbins are also dinosaurs too!

Is it comfortable?
The Inflatable Dinosaur Island is not hot but perhaps a little warm. The Educational Hub is cooling enough and the LIVE show is okay too. It rained a bit today, perhaps that helped. The rest of all the other areas are covered but it’s under the sun yeah. You are not allowed to bring food and drinks in but there are plenty of choices inside. Come on, this is usual yeah for all entertainment parks.

What time to go in?
 It opens at 12 noon and the first LIVE show starts at 1pm. Do arrive earlier because the queue today took me 20 minutes before I could enter with an Unlimited Pass. Yes, you can go out and go back in within the same day. This LIVE show is NOT to be missed. Do the rest later, just go in and watch the show first. After that, can go for the Educational HUB which is right beside the entrance. One small part of it is as per below video. Suffice to say, many kids were shouting and yeah, a few timid ones were crying when the velociraptor came in and scared the xxxx out of many. There are also many rides but these would require additional tokens.

Happy visiting yeah.
As for tickets, you can buy them here too
 besides buying them directly at the park. Happy enjoying the Dinosaur Kingdom yeah.

written on 10 Sept 2018

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Family Fun. Picnic @ ASEAN Sculpture Garden.

If you are a family with young kids and staying in Kuala Lumpur / Selangor just like me and just needed a place to chill out during the weekends, this may be the one. It’s also NOT crowded which is super important at this point in time. This is the ASEAN Sculpture Garden. Show you a photo as a start. It’s shady and the grass is also even enough. If you can see a Decathlon blue color big bag, that’s where my carpet is. Comfortably under the shade of that three.

My two kids loved running around the grass field. They also cycled a bit. By the way, if they fall down on the grass, it will be okay versus a concrete floor. We had picnic under the shady trees too. So, yes, this is definitely a good spot if you love to just bring some food, some hot water to brew a fresh cup of coffee and well, just relax and let the kids run a bit.

Google map showing where it is. This park is just right across the road from the Perdana Botanical Garden. As soon as you turn in from the main road, it’s on your left yeah.

There are also seats under the shade if you prefer not to be on the grass. I would say pretty comfortable even for groups and I did not try out the FREE WIFI.

Toilet is also clean and very airy too. 20 sen per entry which I am super willing to pay as long as it is very well maintained.

Lots of nice landscaping and even I think it would be great after 5pm too.

If you notice, the water in the stream is clear too. So, this is a good sign that it’s not polluted and well maintained.

Bring your own hot water, brew your own coffee with a plunger pot. Add in some soya milk and enjoy it while your kids are running all around you. Buy some nice chips. I recommend Calbee. It’s definitely possible to bring along some cakes which has been sliced in advance and the picnic is complete.

Okay, enough Family Fun for this week. Till the next one then. In the mean time, enjoy a happy time with your family yeah.

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Family-style SIZE vs small size due to price

According to an online article, the Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM) said that today any family-style housing schemes are no longer feasible. Developers or social housing providers should start moving into smaller units to make it more affordable. This is because the current market is already too high-priced. PAM President Ar Chan Seong said that the private developers have started to move towards these one-bedroom units and studio apartments and thus the government affordable housing schemes must also move towards the same direction. He further elaborated and explained that due to the high cost of living today as well as the very high property price, the millennials could only afford smaller units so that its more affordable to them.

There were no mention of what was termed affordable but for me, affordable meant property prices below RM500,000 for KL and below RM350,000 for Selangor. Of course, these two prices is pretty hard to come by for the millennials or the younger Gen-Yers. The reason I say so is because today, majority of these millennials or even the younger Gen-Yers LOVE to stay where more action is. Example, huge regional malls, nearer to where all their friends love to stay as well as near to their office / working place. Any area further away than 10 kilometres is considered far and please do not even try to convince them of places further away than 20 kilometres. Fortunately, what PAM said may be true because if they want the affordable prices mentioned, perhaps a smaller unit would give them this chance. Do note that these small units, even though the number of units are high, the price per sf is also very high, typically RM800 psf or higher.

However, is the situation really so dire that people who are single or the millennials should now think of buying ever smaller units and for the developers to build much smaller units so that they can build more units and be able to sell them? The singles could not afford bigger units and thus developers should not build the bigger units? Sometimes I really do not understand why must everyone push the singles to buy smaller units. Is it true that these smaller units would allow them to sell higher next time and thus they can use the profits to buy a bigger unit? Well, some of these 500sf units are already RM500,000 or higher, today. If I am single, I am certainly not going to pay ever more higher for such a small unit. So, who would the owners of these small units be selling to in the future? I wish them all the best.

written on 10 Apr 2015

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Someone asked me this question. Should we buy a project when someone famous said that the project is a good buy or the famous person bought into the project as well? My answer is to ask this. Are you buying for own-stay or to rent it out or to sell it in the future? If the answer is own-stay and you REALLY like the design, the location, the amenities nearby etc, then you should buy a unit. The famous person’s endorsement will be a plus point.

If you intend to rent it out or even sell it in the future, ask ourselves this first. Is the price at a compatible level versus all similar projects nearby? If it is compatible, then it should be a buy since the endorsement from the famous personality will be an added advantage. However, if the price is higher than all other nearby properties, then think again if your next buyer will also love the endorsement from this famous personality.

If your answer is yes, then you should also be prepared to hold, just in case. If the answer is no, then of course it is not a good buy no matter how famous the personality is.  Oh yeah, in case that famous personality is also staying there and you would love to bump into the person daily, then by all means please buy. Else, you could only see the person on the screen…  Just need to remember that there is no guarantee that the person will stay there forever or even hold on to the property forever.

If the famous personality tells the reasons why he was endorsing the project and all the reasons make perfect sense to you, then this is another really good reason to buy. If the reasons do not make any sense to you, it is no-go. No matter how many years you have loved this personality. This is not buying a concert ticket of a few hundred ringgit yeah. Want to check the transactions of units nearby before making a decision? Here’s one way:
 brickz.my

Happy believing in yourself, first and not others. One man’s meat is another’s poison. The same property may not be suitable for all buyers yeah. Earlier article here:
Same car, same property? Different results for different people
 Fame carries an advantage. It does not carry any guarantees. A good project will still be a good project. Happy deciding after evaluating and everything will just be fine. You may have lots of wefie opportunities with your famous neighbour yeah.

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Fancy a Porsche? Wear one, customised for you.

A good friend loves Porsche. I think he could afford something more expensive but he’s driving a Mazda CX-5 currently. By the way, he’s a successful real estate negotiator and I think his customers would appreciate his directness and that extra consultancy about property investments too.
Want to know him? Click here.
Recently, he was saying if he couldget something, anything related to Porsche for his birthday this year. Say a T-shirt? Well, he may just have that something special as a choice. A customised one too.

Article in themalaysianreserve.com
 Something special is coming up whether one owns a Porsche car or not. Porsche Design has a new Custom-Built Timepiece programme. It uses the same production principles in manufacturing of Porsche AG sportscar and it offers customers to own a custom-built wristwatch and just choosing the configurations alone may take a very long time. It says that there are 1.5 million configurations to decide on.

Rolf Bergmann, MD of Porsche Design Timepieces AG, said in a statement, “Titanium and black-coated titanium cases are what Porsche Design timepieces have become known for. This originated with the designer of the Porsche 911, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, and we will never change anything about it.” Please do read on about how special the wristwatch would be.
Article in themalaysianreserve.com

There are no affiliate links here to get that watch yeah.
You will have to go directly to them. (Porsche-Design site here)
 I give you 2 more reasons why a wristwatch is a great choice to have yeah.

#1 – Show off to anyone, anytime. Everyone you meet, somehow make them ask about that watch on your wrist. Then, tell them about the history of Porsche, about the materials which the watch is made of, about the 1.5 million configurations and how long it took you. Hey, after that perhaps Porsche would have another keen supporter too.

#2 – The price looks okay for a luxury watch which matches the car you drive. Think of the typical luxury branded watches, those with one shop selling just one brand? Yes, the starting price of this watch is pretty close. 🙂

Just one request, if you have gotten one, please do take a photo and drop a comment yeah. That would be such a wow. I wonder if that friend will be getting one and wear it for a while until he gets his Porsche sports car.

Head image source: porsche-design.com

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It does not need to be retail or property, ok. Why not prawns?

When people think of business and they think of prawns, they may think of restaurants or retail shop for seafood.  Not many would think of prawn farming. I do not yet own or operate any prawn rearing farms. However, I have read a bit more and would like to share some additional information about it.  No one knows, maybe a few readers of kopiandproperty.com readers will tell me 2 years later that they have started exporting their black tiger prawns?

Recently, I received 2kg of XXL-sized black tiger prawns from a good friend. I have tried two different ways to cook it and will be trying another style this weekend. Read here to know more as well as how did I cook and enjoy it. Two words to describe the prawn meat; succulent and sweet. Someone said this about XXL tiger prawn meat; it’s poor man’s lobster. I have eaten lobsters a couple of time, I think they are right. My XXL black tiger prawns came from Manjung, Perak.  This is not the only place where these ‘luxury’ prawns are farmed.

Article in thestar.com.my
  Some salient points from the article on black tiger prawns.   Prawn production in Johor state increased from nearly 6000 tonnes in 2018 to nearly 6400 tonnes in 2019.  The prawns are exported to South Korea, France and Monaco. The mentioned company has been operating since 2010 and has been exporting aquaculture products to Australia, China, Japan and some in Europe too.

High standards are needed to export tiger prawns to Australia. Thus product quality has to pass DOF standard requirements. The laboratory test was carried out by a certified lab accredited by the Department of Standards Malaysia. The company has also received recognition from the Health Ministry’s Food Safety and Quality Division for products that are free from prohibited antibiotics and are safe to consume. Do read the full article here:
Article in thestar.com.my

When we do something which the world is demanding for, then our market becomes super big.  In this case, seafood which is an enjoyment (we are not talking about chicken okay…), many in the world will pay top money for it.  In fact, when we look at the countries we are exporting to based on the article, it’s almost surreal yeah.  South Korea, France, Monaco and Australia?

Malaysian prawn farmers exporting to South Korea which is itself a seafood exporting country!  In 2016, South Korea exported 456,700 tonnes of seafood worth US$1.6 billion (RM6.94 billion) to the world.  France is meanwhile one of the cuisine capitals of the world. Monaco meanwhile has nearly a third of its population being millionaires…  Tiger prawn to them is probably daily staple.  For us, XXL-sized tiger prawns are usually reserved for special occasions. I certainly do not consume it even on a weekly basis. By the way, if you are interested, this industry is called Aquaculture or Aqua Farming.  Happy exploring.

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written on 23 Jan 2019

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Sold for faster development of Senai Airport City

First of all, anyone with a huge piece of land thinking of an even bigger development should not think of doing it alone. It may be better to get more partners which can each offer different expertise, financial resources and thus creating diversity. Senai Airport City Sdn Bhd (SACSB) which is the master developer of Senai Airport City is selling three parcels of land totalling 188.7 acres to IPark Development Sdn B hd for RM370 million. SACSB owns total of 2,718 acres there. This would allow it to pare down its debt at the group level as well as ensuring a faster development for Senai Airport City.

(Image source:
http://www.senairpark.com
) Thus far, Senai Airport city has local as well as international investors from Singapore, the United States, Japan and South Korea. According to MMC managing director Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohamad, more international investors have also expressed their interest. Under this agreement, Senai Airport City will build the associated and basic infrastructure such as the sewerage drainage and utility services. This proposal will give MMC a gain of RM153.5 million.SACSB is the master developer for the integrated industrial development in Senai Airport City.

Senai Airport City was also the site for data centres. In fact there are already three in progress or in planning today. The company, Puncak Semangat has  started building its data centre in Senai in December last year. It is going to be built on 233 sq m of land costing RM30 million. The second phase of the Synergycloud Data Centre will be built on a 5.3ha site in Senai Airport City. These data centres would be positioned to attract firms in Singapore and southern Johor keen to lower their IT costs. When ready, this project will be the largest data and cloud computing centre in southern Malaysia. Besides these two, a second data-centre hub will be built in Sedenak, Johor. This will be by ‘international investors,’ according to Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled, the MB of Johor.

I think this Senai Airport City should be on the right track. There are actually some residential projects within Senai too. perhaps I should drop by again in the near future.

written on 12 Aug 2015

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It’s faster for me when I drive to work, nowadays.

A good friend who’s the co-founder of a very famous startup here in Malaysia was asking his friends if they feel that the jams within the Klang Valley has become better ever since the launch of the MRT Sungai Buloh – Kajang. Very few said it’s the same while most were sharing that they felt that the jams have lessened. I replied too that it has gotten better for me as well. I travel from Sungai Buloh toll to city centre every day. These days, even when I leave my home at 730am, it’s almost certain that I will arrive in office before 830am.  It used to 840 or 845am. So, yes it has saved me some time. My good friend said that he also felt that the traffic has gotten better. Just a few days ago, I woke up late and was worried that I would be late for a workshop that I was supposed to conduct. I left my home only close to 8am. I arrived in office at 845am! A little unthinkable because at 8am, it’s already jammed everywhere. Yet, the Duta toll exchange was smooth!

In an article in NST,
it seems that someone or some teams must have done some homework and found out that the traffic congestion within the Klang Valley has improved by 22 percent! This improvement came after the launch of the MRT on 17th July. In fact, when earlier numbers showed that the MRT ridership was over
100,000 per day, it has now risen to 200,000 per day!
 Assuming only 25% of these people used to drive alone, that’s 50,000 cars off the roads into the city! Okay, if you ask if I am also worried what will happen when the fares go back to full price from 1st September, I would prefer to be more positive. I still think it makes sense for most people who do not need to use their cars for customer visitation to just take the MRT or LRT. In fact, with the current encouragement, more people would be willing to try and this meant that more people may just grow to like it, especially the monetary and more time part. (Can even read a book, hopefully. Instead of just using Facebook which is already a plus).

Today, I was at MidValley mall. The traffic into the car park has NOT changed a bit. Haha. It’s still jammed like usual and I think perhaps the significance of reducing traffic jams could only be seen on working days? After all, how many parents would want to take MRT with their kids or even carrying many grocery bags or even strollers up the public transport? It’s perfectly okay since on a weekend, we should just take it slow after such a tiring 5-day work week right. By the way, once I settle down into my new job, I will see what’s the possibility for me to take the public transport to work. (Yes, I will start a new job on 1st August 2017. Please congratulate me. Haha.)  Do take the MRT because I think once we take it, we can see if there are stations which are not yet congested. Those are the areas we can think about investing in or buying a home for own stay. Think about it, seriously. You have a long time to do so as you are not driving. Cheers.

written on 30 July 2017

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Fastest shrinking population of the world is in Asia? Increasing retirement age…

Could the fastest shrinking population happen in Asia?  Well, if we look at the larger ones, Asia has China, India and Indonesia. China has 1.44 billion population, India has 1.38 billion and Indonesia has 274 million. These three countries alone account for 3.1 billion population out of the world’s 7.8 billion population. This is 40% of the world’s population. Just these three countries alone.
Please refer to information source here.
 So, we do have a super huge population here in Asia. However would we also have the fastest shrinking population as well?

Article in sciencedaily.com
 The study as published in the article was a study on the world population and partly funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It was conducted by researchers at the University of Washington, Seattle, USA.

It says that based on its study, many of the fastest-shrinking populations will be in Asia as well as central and eastern Europe. It expected populations to halve in 23 countries and territories including the following:

Japan (from around 128 million people in 2017 to 60 million in 2100)

Thailand (71 to 35 million)

Spain (46 to 23 million)

Italy (61 to 31 million)

Portugal (11 to 5 million)

South Korea (53 to 27 million).

An additional 34 countries are expected to have population declines of 25 to 50%, including China (1.4 billion in 2017 to 732 million in 2100.  Please do read the study in the article. It’s a comprehensive one. Click here to read:
Article in sciencedaily.com

Photo by Skitterphoto on
Pexels.com

Who are these nations?

We could see that the three ASIAN countries mentioned, Japan, Thailand and South Korea are already super-aged nations or very close to become super-aged nation. Japan’s population of 65 years or older has reached 22% of the country. Thailand is at around 20% and South Korea is now at 15.5%. So, it’s quite true that ASIA does have countries with the fastest shrinking population of the world is in Asia.

What is ageing, aged and super-aged nation?

Coming back to the definition of an ageing nation which will definitely become one candidate for fastest shrinking populations in the future. Briefly, ageing nation is when 7% of total population in the country are 65 years old or higher. Aged nation would be nations with 15% of its population being 65 years old or higher. Any country with 20% or higher of its population aged 65 or higher will be known as super-aged nation.
To read a little more about it, click here.

Median age fo these ASIAN nations

Median age for Japan, Thailand and South Korea is 47, 39 and 41 respectively. Briefly, median age for Malaysia is 29 and we are moving towards becoming an ageing nation by 2030. What an ageing population will bring would be threats to the nation. There will be fewer working population, fewer people paying taxes and yet more people in need of healthcare, more people in need of financial assistance as their retirement funds may not be enough and this will become a social issue in the future.

Retirement age is being extended all around the world

This is already happening in many advanced nations. Some are already extending the retirement age and even 65 may just be common rather than uncommon in the near future. By 2028, UK’s retirement age will be 67.  Yes, 67!!  By 2022, Singapore’s retirement age is 63 and if employee wants to work, they will be allowed to work until 68!  For Germany retirement age is 65 by 2022 and by 2029 it will become 67 years. For Australia, retirement age is between 66 / 67, depending on your year of birth.  For Japan, it is 63 years old. Please understand all these HAVE HAPPENED and it will definitely happen in all other ageing, aged and super aged nations too.

Perhaps this title of fastest shrinking populations may not yet happen in Malaysia. However, it is a matter of time and this is why we need to be serious about it. The great thing is that we do have early warning because we are still a developing nation. The bad thing is that many would just choose to ignore and do nothing about it. Well, it’s a choice. Until then, happy working and hopefully investing too.

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FASTrack Iskandar

Iskandar Malaysia needs to transform into a new metropolis as part of the
3 critical success factor
. What I mean by a new metropolis is a place where people not only work but play as well. It needs to have a “lifestyle” element to it. FASTrack Iskandar is one of major development that is set to complete in 2016. Designed by world renowned track designer Hermann Tilke, it features a 4.4km Grade 1 track, a 1.2km karting track, and another off-road track for sports utility vehicles.

Have you ever came across a luxury car… stuck in a traffic jam? Sometimes I would come across some high powered car like a Ferrari driving side by side me in a traffic jam. I would think to myself, “Well, not much good your high powered car is doing you since we are driving at the SAME PACE.” Maybe it’s just me.

Of course there are still the Malaysian expressways where you could speed. I know of many foreigners that obey the speed limit while they are in their home country. But once they arrive in Malaysia… it’s where they “let loose” and race down the expressways. How do they avoid getting a speeding ticket? If you need to ask, then you are most probably not a Malaysian or Singaporean.

Once FASTrack Iskandar is completed, car owners now have an avenue to test drive their cars and go for their adrenaline rush. Think of FASTrack Iskandar as “a playground for the rich” and for motorsports enthusiast. Its proximity to Singapore has also attracted keen interest from across the Causeway.

Channel News Asia reported that the motor sports community in Singapore is gearing up for the new attraction. The dream of Singapore Motor Sports Association to have a motor sports hub in Changi was dashed last year. Now, it believes it has found an alternative venue to hold its races in FASTrack Iskandar, which is just a 10-minute drive from the Second Link.

Tan Teng Lip, president of Singapore Motor Sports Association, said: “It (FASTrack Iskandar) is a full-fledged motor racing track, so we can have national events both for cars, motorcycles and go-karts. Even if we do not have all our events there, we can have part of the rounds of the championships there using the circuit.”

Roland Chong, principal of Kartmaster Drakar Racing Team, said: “Once there is a permanent and more easily accessible track — an international standard track — I think the growth will be much more stable, and I think we will see more drivers, more karters.”

FASTrack Iskandar will also bring considerable cost savings to Singaporeans as oppose to using the Sepang International Circuit which represents a 342km drive up north. Matthew Ng, an amateur racer, said: “For us to prepare our cars to go all the way up to Sepang, that will incur us about, say, S$300 to and fro, inclusive of petrol, inclusive of toll fees. And we are not talking about the car set-up cost, the cost to run the tyres all the way up and all the way down. So there will be a lot of cost savings, that’s for sure.”

FASTrack Iskandar is part of a larger development named Motorsports City located in Gerbang Nusajaya. Motorsports City will consist of commercial and residential developments, showrooms, continental and Asian spare parts hub, garages as well as entertainment outlets. It is able to accommodate corporate events, conferences and motoring exhibitions. There are speculations that one of the proposed stops for the High Speed Rail (HSR) connecting Kuala Lumpur to Singapore is at Gerbang Nusajaya. Interesting development indeed for Nusajaya, Iskandar Malaysia.

David Chong is a Property Infopreneur & founder of
InsideIskandar.my
. He helps property investors in understanding Iskandar Malaysia.

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Fathers with daughters, would this happen?

Sometime in the year 2030. In a high-rise unit somewhere in Melaka. A daughter was bringing home her boyfriend for the first time to meet her parents. Specifically, the one who greeted both the daughter and her boyfriend was the father. The father was wearing his smart-spectacle which was powered by a tiny Intel chip. (It has processing power of a small supercomputer) He is able to search online by just entering the search box via his thoughts. The conversation follows:

Daughter: Pa, this is Charlie. He is my boyfriend who’s also my colleague.

Pa: Charlie, you are working in Company ABCDEF as a marketing manager. How’s your job thus far?

Charlie: Uncle, it’s pretty okay.

Pa: Pretty okay? The issue with ABCDEF is that this company has been suffering losses for the past 5 years and the staffs have not been receiving any bonuses and increments for the past 4 years. A marketing manager in ABCDEF is also 30 percent underpaid compared to a similar position elsewhere. Of course, there’s a potential for career growth but you have been in this same role for the past 6 years.

Charlie: I am also looking for a new job but at the same time, I am saving money to buy a property and that’s why I am renting currently.

Pa: Your credit score is pretty low though. May I know when would you be paying off your credit card balance? You have been paying the minimum amount for 12 months. Based on your current credit score, it is going to be hard for you to get your home loan approved. The rejection rate is at 84 percent currently for people with this credit score.

Charlie: Uncle, noted on your concerns. However I wanted to tell you that I love your daughter and I think love conquers all.

Pa: Based on the latest survey conducted on couples with low credit scores, the chances of a divorce happening is 38 percent within the first 24 months and within 5 years, it is as high as 65 percent. However, I am okay with this relationship.

Charlie: Oh, I got your approval? I am so happy!

Pa: Nope. Based on the available information, your father owns a majority stake in a public listed company and you are his only son. Legally, anyway. (SMILE)

Haha… Fathers, will you check out your future son-in-law? Okay, this is definitely an exaggeration but it’s not too far fetched because we put so many things online these days. From Facebook to Twitter to LinkedIn and anything social, the world can learn about us within minutes. (With a powerful APP, it may even take just seconds to produce a detailed report about us!)

By the way, with the way the young people are spending their salaries today, I think the chances of a similar conversation like the above is definitely there. Many are carrying huge debts because their
 financial awareness is low.

Or they refuse to think about it… Just remember, your future father-in-law may just check you out first.

written on 10 June 2017

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Fear of price increase, thus buy quickly?

Many fresh graduates would think of Klang Valley as their career starting point. Well, this meant that they will need to buy a property in the KL or Selangor. Are the property prices in KL becoming too expensive that all of them are being forced to buy as soon as they could? Recently as reported in many media, Khazanah Research Institute director of research Dr Suraya Ismail said, “Young people used to rent for 10 years before deciding to buy a home. However, graduates today rush to buy their first homes, for fear of rapid price escalation. They think that if they do not buy today, they will never be able to afford a house.” She was speaking as part of a panel in a forum entitled, ‘Homeless Graduates: Reality or Myth?’

Tell me, if you are a fresh graduate today, do you feel the same? Well, based on my own understanding of the fresh graduates of today, this is not true. The better ones would work smart and hard and rise up the ranks pretty fast and within 5 years would already be comfortable enough to buy their first home. Typically however, many would be working just enough, trying to bargain for better pay by switching jobs for a little extra, buying the latest Samsung or iPhone to show off during cafe sessions and keep complaining that house prices are becoming too high. Thus, they did not buy and did not really bother to save. Well, that’s what the property transactions are showing anyway. The total numbers are still way too low versus the total demand that is available if all these fresh graduates are buying.

Dr. Suraya said that many of these fresh graduates are under a lot of stress because they do not have the confidence they can earn an income and fall into the middle income bracket.  She also said that the level of profit for the developers show also go down and they should be achieving supernormal profits.

There are some truths to this when we compare the the more advanced nations with Malaysia. As for whether this is doable or not, I think we will leave this to the market to decide. Truth is, if the slowdown continues, the developers would also be facing lots of pressure and not just these fresh graduates trying to buy their first home. However, when the times are good, it is easy to understand why the property prices would be increasing every time a new project is launched. The queues even start many days before and in Penang many years ago, those who queue on behalf of the buyers were paid RM1,000 according to many market murmurs.

Look around us, benchmark ourselves with our peers. Are we still with the lead pack or have we started to fall behind? What are they doing that made them so successful? Perhaps it’s just the learning part which we are not doing well. No matter how well we do or how senior we are in any organisation, without investment, it is very risky. Any MNC choosing to leave will leave and losing such a high pay meant its tough to look for a similar paying job. Have we invested enough to ensure we have something to fall back upon? That’s the fear everyone should have. It should not be the fear of owning the first property. It’s the fear of owning just one property until the day we retire. Malaysia is a growing nation and we would be for many more years to come. Look at the babies of today for clue…. Happy deciding.

written on 21 Nov 2015

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Fear of price increase and the push to buy (someday, not today)

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Source:
https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2017/01/2017-demographia-housing-affordability-survey/

What do we do when we know that our savings will never catch up with the property prices which are already highest in the world today? Sorry, the honour of having the highest property price versus household income does not belong to Malaysia. We are far from even the top 10. Here’s an image one not too long ago. Hong Kong already has the highest property prices in the world versus household income. 18.1 here means that the house price would require a working adult 18 years of his salary in full in order to buy a house. Example calculation, RM10,000 x 12 (months) x 18 = RM2.16 million. Any Malaysians here earning RM10k who could actually afford to buy a RM2.16 million. The answer is highly unlikely. For Hong Kongers, they are not that lucky even if Hong Kong is already considered an advanced city state. This is the actual situation many of the younger professionals face today.

Here’s one latest article from
South China Morning Post: Hong Kong’s millennials join the red-hot property party snap up 50 pct of units launched over weekend.
 The developer is Sun Hung Kai (second largest Hong Kong developer by market capitalisation). The property name is Wings at Sea (what a name) Location is Tseung Kwan O. According to Sammy Po Siu-ming, chief executive of Midland Realty’s residential division half of the buyers were millennials and they would need help from their parents either for part of the downpayment or even help to partially pay for their mortgages. According to Demographia, the median property price in Hong Kong has now reached 19.4 times the median annual household income more than twice the number in London; around 8.5 times. According to the Rating and Valuation department, a flat smaller than 430 sq ft on Hong Kong island will cost an average of HK$16,103 (RM8,173) per sq ft while the price tag for one in Kowloon is about HK$13,763 (RM7,000) per sq ft. In other words, a 430 sq ft flat in Kowloon would have cost HK$6 million. (RM3.05 million). On an average basis, Hong Kong workers earn HK$31,201 (RM15,837) per month.
Here’s that info in PayScale.com
  For
reference, this is the SCMP article again.

I shared this with a dynamic real estate agency the other day when they invited me to share about the property market with around 100 pax of their agents. Parents with children today, do you seriously believe your kids will be able to buy a property by themselves when they grow up and start working 10-15 years later? Their answers showed that as parents, they are ready to help their children. In fact, there’s no need to help them in the future. It’s best to start that step today. There is no way that the property prices in Greater KL will ever reach Hong Kong’s levels. It’s important to note though that even KLCC’s average price per sq ft is not even 20 percent of Hong Kong’s Kowloon yet. Even if it grows by 3 percent for the next 10 years, a RM400,000 property will still be around RM550,000 by then. Salary may not have grown that much unless one is the top 20 performers in the working world today. Happy anticipating.

written on 1 June 2018

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Fearing the worst for Malaysian banks?

I just wrote this article not too long ago:
Important signs for the market; Banks’ results
 Banks are extremely important because they allow to see way in advance if the market is in trouble. Here’s a THREAT to Malaysian banks.
Article in TheStar here.
 Moody’s Investors Service has announced that property loans are the greatest threat for Malaysian banks. This is despite Bank Negara Malaysia’s latest stress test finding in September which showed that the Malaysian financial sector would remain resilient under severe macroeconomic and financial status.

Moody’s report has also questioned the relevance of Housing and Local Government Ministry’s plan to ease home financing requirements. According to Starbiz, property experts have warned that loosening the lending requirements may backfire.  Moody’s said that for Malaysia, the residential segment accounts for over 30% of the domestic banking industry’s gross loans. Malaysia is not alone. Moody’s also named Australia, New Zealand and South Korea as the top countries in the Asia-Pacific region where property loans pose the greatest threat for domestic banks.

The report also highlighted Malaysia’s residential property prices over the last eight years. In terms of price growth, Malaysia’s ranked fourth, just below Hong Kong, India and the Philippines. Fortunately for us, the property prices have been cooling down in the first 6 months of this year. According to Moody’s vice-president and senior credit officer Eugene Tarzimanov, the banks’ creditworthiness will likely stay broadly stable next year due to the still-healthy economic fundamentals and good credit buffers. VERY IMPORTANT:  The ratings agency remained positive that the banks in the region would have sufficient buffers against growing risks.
Article in TheStar here.

Okay, actually the title and the article does not really match one another. After reading the whole article, I am glad that I am still right; Malaysian banks are certainly not in trouble and their current results show that. By the way, we must understand what Moody’s are saying and apply it back to ourselves too. Remember, it’s extremely important to have sufficient buffer (savings) just in case we suffer from any sudden shock (losing our job) etc. If you need a home, find one and buy. If you do not need a home, evaluate a good one and buy as investment. If you have NO money left every month, DO NOT buy any property even if somehow you qualify for some schemes…

written on 7 Dec 2018

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Fed will raise rates soon because ‘waiting is dangerous’

As per reported in CNBC, do read it
here
. Briefly, this was what was reported.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the increase in rates could be “appropriate relatively soon.” (In English, it means that it should be quite soon) 😛

She said if rates were not raised soon, in future, Fed may have to move too quickly. (This meant that Fed favours a gradual increase which meant that they actually do look to the future before deciding)

The rates should also be raised to that it does not encourage excessive risk-taking and ultimately undermine financial stability. (Low rates are said to encourage speculative activities because there’s nothing to be gained by doing nothing!)

As per market’s anticipation, 91 percent expects the rates to be raised in December 2016.  (Please raise it, time to end the expectations and just do it)

Why are they raising it? Yellen shared that the U.S economy is going to wards maximum employment and Price stability. GDP picked up and inflation is running faster too. Business investment remains soft while consumer spending is growing moderately.  (Note,
Employment and Inflation
 are two indicators of a good and growing economy. Reminder my dear Malaysians)

Yellen also said the low oil prices is one reason for the low levels of business investment. She expects the full employment to be even better. (Yes, I have written about
low oil prices before which is NOT necessary a good thing.
  Yes, the U.S unemployment rate is definitely higher than Malaysia today)

So in conclusion, we should expect Fed making that decision within the next one month. In fact looking at all those numbers published, the decision should be very easy too.
Please do it.

So, you can sort of guess where the US$ will be going till then. Yes, probably UP. No rewards for guessing the ringgit’s movement, despite a positive Q3 GDP growth versus so many other economies of the world. I hope Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) will be stricter to ensure the trading of currencies are really for trade and not for something else. Happy understanding.

written on 17 Nov 2016

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Two days more, Fed ‘should’ raise rates

There are non-stop articles about the biggest day this year. It has affected most emerging market currencies. Federal Reserve ‘should’ raise rates this coming Wednesday. This would be the second time in 10 years that it will be raising rates. Yes, only the second time since the U.S economy did not do so well previously. However, how it is doing WELL this year. Well, versus the whole world anyway. Else, how can its currency be rising against most of everyone else especially ringgit? You can read full article about it by
economist.com here.
 Rates is said to be up by 0.5 – 0.75%. Yes, only up 0.5% to 0.75% but the US$ has already appreciated way past that against most emerging market currencies. Let’s repeat the three reasons why the rates must be raised.

12 months ago, the U.S unemployment rate was 5 percent. It has since improved to 4.6 percent. This is already the LOWEST ever since 2007. (Before the U.S mortgage crisis) It seems that it should improve further because companies both small and large are saying that it’s facing difficulties in hiring. There’s even a stats on how fast it takes to fill a vacancy. From 23 days previously, it is now 28 days. (As per Torsten Slok of Deutsche Bank)

Wage (Salary) is up, that’s why. During good times for the economy, both of these should be going up. In the U.S, the hourly wages are up 2.5 percent versus a year ago. (Higher than their inflation rate). However, as per another stats from researchers at the San Francisco Fed, this has actually risen 3.9 percent when stats from retirements of baby-bloomers with fat salaries are excluded.  (It’s bad if due to age, these people are earning higher instead because of their knowledge and experience)

Inflation is not yet back to Fed’s 2 percent target. However, it is now at 1.7 percent higher than a year ago. However, this may be rising. Congress will most probably cut taxes next year.Oil prices are rising too and Mr. Trump may also be imposing import tariffs. This may affect growth but will still be pushing up prices where there are fewer options. As it is, a
stronger dollar does not mean the economy benefits,
 especially where the trade deficits are concerned because demand would be lower too.

Yes, all these are events which is by far bigger than anything that the fundamentals for many emerging economies can beat. If ringgit does not move much till then, perhaps it can then start to move upwards. (My personal hope). I needed to change some SGD for my trip soon. Haha. Do keep reading and understanding that Ringgit could not have been the top 2 best current just in the beginning months of 2016 and suddenly be the worst just after the
 election of a new American president.

Oh yeah, just a few months ago, Mr. Trump predicted a
huge recession for the U.S

  Cheers.

written on 12 Dec 2016

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Home Sweet Home is the one that makes us feel at home

House or Home? Which one made me feel at home?

This is the story of how I started my room and property renting and later property investing journey.

Do we have a house or do we have a home? A luxurious property in a big city can still be a lonely place. A small property in a small town (e.g, Teluk Intan) can still be a happy place. Yes, that was the home I grew up in and it was the happiest years where I could ride my BMX bike around the neighbourhood every morning and late afternoon.

I was very happy with that property and has told  my parents if they ever wanted to sell that property, their only buyer is me. Of course, it will need a big makeover but I am willing to pour attention to it, especially for this home which I grew up with so many sweet memories.

The below was an article I wrote for Property Insight magazine (I have just updated it today) and I think it’s very applicable today. Much more so when we are locked at home.

Where is my preferred area?

A cheeky good friend asked me this question the other day. He says that since I have my own preferred area, surely I will be biased when I write articles on certain areas. I replied, ‘It’s not just the areas that I would be biased. I would also be biased when it comes to landed versus high-rise. Moving on, I also have my favourite developers and this list changes over time which meant that I keep changing my own opinions!’

By the way, even the areas that I like may change when I get to know about it more closely. One thing which will never change is this. The best house in the world is the one that makes us feel at home. I still remember the final time that I visited my first apartment of 730 sq ft in Relau, Penang.

First property was magical, really

Both my wife and I were sad even though by then, we were already staying in a much bigger sized condo of 1,258 sq ft; an upgrade of 500 sq ft over our first apartment. My wife told me that she still remembered that day when we got the keys and opened the doors to our very first property in our life. Me too. I still remember I walked directly to the balcony to enjoy the view of the pool. Haha.

That smaller apartment (730 sq ft) made us (my wife and I) feel at home for more than 4 years. It gave us a home we could call our own for the very first time in our lives. It gave my sister and her brother a place to stay when they first moved to Penang for study and work respectively.

I still remember when I first moved to Penang in 1998. I was renting a room in Georgetown and it was a small room which was ‘built’ with some space in the living hall. So yes, I could hear everything that was spoken right outside my room. That room did not give me any feeling of a home.

After a few months, I moved to a semi-detached double-storey home nearby the Penang prison. That house is worth easily RM2.5 million today as it could easily park 5 cars and my car was one of them. My room was huge, at least 350 sq ft but it did not give me the feeling of a home because the owner and the family seldom speak to me.

It was a house which I just arrive home, park my car, go to my room and the next day, leave my room, drive my car out and go to work. I stayed there for awhile, until my current wife (yes, I only have one wife then and now) moved to Penang and we rented a small apartment together.

Rented place cannot be a home sweet home for me

This rented apartment was not my first choice because the swimming pool was on the ground floor and everyone driving into the apartment could see me in my swimming trunk or my wife in her swimwear. However, it was the one we could afford (the rental) and it’s near enough to our place of work.

No matter how much we try to make the place comfortable, we could never call it a home sweet home, yet. It was not ours. This changed a year later when we found a place which we could
 afford to buy and we started the renovations.
We also filled it up with furnitures and electrical goods of our choice. Yes, till today, my favourite remains to be Sharp / Panasonic.

We also proudly showed it to our parents when they dropped by. We also did house-warming for over 50 of our friends.

Yes, small place can also accommodate many

We even replied happily, ‘You can always stay with us if you don’t mind,’ when my wife’s brother asked if we have a place to stay and my sister continued her studies in Penang. Personally, I think the best house does not really concern the area, the type and even the developer. It’s the one that makes us feel the most at home.

Usually, that’s the one that we put a lot of effort in as well as own. Yes, I will still be biased. Haha. Always make the best with what we have instead of trying to buy somewhere we could not really afford or have to overstretch ourselves too much.

After this first property, chances are we will have enough to upgrade to a better one few years later. Without that first one, chances are the owner whom we are renting from would be buying another property in a few years’ time.  Happy making yourself at home.

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Originally written for Property Insight May 2018 edition and revised 9th Aug 2021.

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Feeling trapped with smaller units?

Some time ago, a colleague complained to me. He said, ‘The units being offered these days are all below 1,000 sq ft. If I buy, what happens when I have 1 or 2 kids, would it not be too small?’ I laughed and replied, ‘Not really. In Penang, families have been staying in 700 sq ft apartments for years. It included me as well, for 4 years before I saved enough for a bigger place.’ In fact, today most of the affordable units are 850 sq ft or higher which meant that it’s already bigger than the apartment I used to stay previously. Yes, those four years were all happy years and my wife told me that she will miss the home after we agreed to sell it many years ago. I told her that we are both working professionals, without selling there’s little potential of more buying. She understood. We bought it for RM123k and sold it for RM215k. Not awesome but not too bad since we also rented it out for 4 years after we have moved out.

So, what happens if you really want only a bigger unit? I think waiting until the affordable units become bigger would not be possible. What about secondary units? What about finding one? Image for some choices attached. Over 1,200 sq ft and RM500,000 or lower. Yeah, some are older, some are farther and some are in areas without a mall. Haha. Tell me however, what choices do we have if we want below RM500,000 and above 1,200 sq ft today? For those still thinking about newly launched ones, it will not be easy. Think about older secondary units lah… Else, think much further away. More choices in the Klang Valley? Image beside. There are many more potential ones. Just search based on size first and then limit it based on what you can afford. Remember,
Stay safe, buy within affordability and stop bubble building

Readers of kopiandproperty.com, anyone with knowledge about bigger and better units, please do share. I think we gain more by sharing. I always tell my friends that there’s no one who can claim to know every area. That’s just a big lie. Everyone tend to specialise so that they become an expert in a certain area. In Penang where I stayed for 15 years, buying a certain area meant getting stereotyped as ‘poorer’ since the popular areas could be 30-40 percent higher. I am quite happy with this stereotype though since it’s also how I get to pay less and stay in a bigger home. Just remember, the choice is really within us. Just need to think a little deeper so that we can accept the choice.
Renting an expensive unit
 is really not the best option. Happy searching.

written on 18 Dec 2016

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It’s a renter’s market, that’s why best to buy

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Fengshui tips? My learnings from Master Sandy Paw

I arrived early for my
talk for iProperty Home & Investment Fair in MidValley

and the speaker before me was
Master Sandy Paw. (click to go to her FB page).
 She told the crowd she had over 30 slides but was able to share just a few due to time limitations. She must respect the next speaker. 🙂  (Yes, I was the next speaker.)  Anyway, these are a few things she shared which I think is very applicable to the property investment decisions we make. Personally, I regard Fengshui as logical decisions and not so much of the ‘magic’ etc. It does not need to apply to everyone yeah but can be used as a good reference. Oh yeah, forgotten to mention that her talk was in Mandarin, so below would be a translation.

External environment WINS internal environment.
 What she meant to say is that when we buy a property, it’s important to ensure that the area that we buy into is comfortable for us. This is because when the environment outside is not comfortable, no matter how we renovate our home (internally), it will not be able to surpass the bad ‘chi’ from the outside. Thus, the first thing we must take note of would be the whole development and not just buy the home after looking at the show house. (Actually, we can use Google to help us too. Just ask for the actual land site and then use that to view the surrounding. Best would be to drive to that area and really driving around).

Buying nearby hospitals is a no-no.
Some buyers may prefer to stay near hospitals so that should anything happen, they are able to go to the hospital easily. She said when one has this thought when one bought the unit, then it’s highly likely that the hospital would be a place the buyer would frequent a lot in the future. Besides the hospital is not considered a happy place for many. In other words, the ‘sha chi’ (bad fengshui) will be the dominant force here.
(I think it makes sense logically as well because do we really want the sound of ambulance every now and then and occasionally in the middle of the night? Besides, as long as the hospital is not too far away, the convenience would still be there. Let’s be healthy and not visit the hospital too often!)

Buying nearby police stations is a no-no.
 Some buyers believe that if they stay close to a police station, then they will be safer. Master said that police stations would also give out sha chi (bad fengshui). (This is very logical because who wants even though policemen are good people but every time people go to the police station it must be because they were criminals who were caught or people were there to report some unfortunate cases. There has also been cases where prisoners escaped from the police lockup too which will be unfortunate for some when their kids were playing outside the house for example.)

There are many more examples she shared and I think most of the ideas are logical instead of magical.
Master Sandy Paw has many Facebook LIVE events.

Click the link to get acquainted to her. In the mean time, happy investing.

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written on 23 July 2018

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Metal rat year is the year to build up our cash pile and reduce our debts.

What are your thoughts for 2020? What’s your own vision 2020? Work two jobs to save money faster? Negotiate for the very best price and buy another property? For new real estate agents, build the team and start making good commissions? I have lots of wishes this year. One of it is for kopiandproperty.com to reach a new high for number of visits per month. Plus more
 fb.com/kopiandproperty
 followers yeah. (click and follow please). 🙂

Oh yeah, my Chinese zodiac is snake. I am not so sure about all the other zodiacs but for mine, it has always been good. The reason is because regardless of what the year brings for me, I just have to try and make the best of it. If the prediction from any Feng Shui master is that it will be a bad year to change jobs BUT your boss is really driving you crazy, do you change job or not?

However if the advice is to cut debts, build cash and make more friends, what would you do? I will follow the advice. It’s not just valid from the Feng Shui perspective, it’s valid. Now let’s listen to a famous Fengshui master, Datuk Joey Yap.

Article in edgeprop.my
    Mastery Academy of Chinese Metaphysics founder Datuk Joey Yap shared that from Feng Shui astrology perspective 2020 will be a sluggish year. He advice? Reserve your cash (6 months if possible to face potential unemployment), reduce debt (or only GOOD DEBTS like HOUSING LOANS) and build your social network for future employment opportunities. The year of the Metal Rat year will begin on 4 February 2020.

Yap said, “Many people anticipate the recession will come, I am not so sure when but from the [Feng Shui astrology] chart, it could be in end-2020 or early 2021 as the Metal element gets weaker in 3Q2020.”  However he says that one should not be discouraged. “Be courageous to take the right move and embrace the challenges in the right way to give one more options to solve their problems.”
Please do read the full article in edgeprop.my here for more of his Feng Shui related advice.

By the way, there is no doubt that the property market is still in a slow motion mode. However, when occasional opportunities pop up, do not miss it and one will regret it later when the market moves faster again. This may just be the time for everyone to read more and know more because buying a property is not like buying vegetables in the market. My friend just finished his Master Degree. Another friend will be finishing her REA certification course soon. Have you started yours? It can be any new qualification. Happy pursuing something worthwhile for 2020.

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Fengshui to ‘enhance’ our year of Fire Monkey?

I was seated beside a Fengshui master in a recent dinner in Penang. My close friend who invited me for his agency’s annual dinner introduced him (Fengshui master) to all of us on the same table and told us that this Fengshui master friend of his is very ‘accurate.’ I believe my close friend consults him and since my close friend’s business is doing well, I think the Fengshui master is good. Soon, a few conversations started and Mr. V on the same table asked him about his (Mr. V) future. The master said explained that briefly, Mr. V can read about some of the Chinese zodiac predictions. To supplement this, Mr. V should download an app which will tell him more. This app he said was designed by another prominent master and Mr. V can actually key in his birth details to understand more. Mr.V can then double check with the Fengshui master for an even more in-depth and a lengthy consultation.

The Fengshui master explained that sometimes, when one is having lots of lucky stars shining on that one particular year, that’s when everything happens according to what was planned and unexpected good things just keep happening. I think good Fengshui masters have certain knowledge and expertise which would help a lot of people. While I did not listen further beyond that evening, I think Mr. V would most probably be consulting the Fengshui master further.

If you believe some Fengshui tips for Year of the Fire Monkey is essential, you can also drop by an upcoming event in The Marin @ Ferringhi office in Batu Ferringhi. The talk is by another Fengshui master whom I have never listened before. It’s a few days away, on 21 Feb 2016 (Sunday). Time is from 10:30am to 2pm. I received this invitation from another close friend. I think I may drop by. Free knowledge, tips and refreshment, why not. More details as per attached. If needed, you can call them too. Tel: 04-881 1888  Wishing everyone a year of red hot wealth for 2016 ahead. Remember, spend less but invest more.

written on 15 Feb 2016

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Ferry between Johor and Singapore, think HK and Macau?

In my next trip to Hong Kong which is in September, I intend to travel to Macau via the ferry. Lots of nice places to visit there plus the food too. I think it’s really convenient and a great way to travel. My kids can also experience something new. The ferry is usually pretty full and I think it helps both sides in generating economic activities. I fly into Macau, I get to visit Hong Kong as well and vice-versa. So, how about the same thing happening here? Iskandar – Singapore, to be specific.

Reported in Straits Times (SG). Exciting news for Iskandar’s property market? Well judging from Facebook sharing, I think the interest is next to none. Nevertheless I think it’s a good suggestion. In fact any new connectivity between Johor and Singapore is always a good news. Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Mohamed Khaled Nordin has suggested that a ferry service be set up as another alternative mode of transportation for commuters travelling to and from Singapore. This should help to
ease the traffic congestion
 at the Causeway and the Second Link which is currently a big issue for road users and commuters who travels between Malaysia and Singapore via Johor Baru.

Other details shared included the fact that the ferry terminal would offer services from Kong Kong in Pasir Gudang to Singapore’s Changi Ferry Terminal. Currently, the Changi Ferry Terminal offers ferry services to Tanjung Belungkor in Desaru in Johor and Batam, Indonesia. He said, “The proposed ferry terminal, which includes water taxi services, would enable those staying in the east of Johor Baru like those in Pasir Gudang and working in Singapore to
cut down on travel time
.”

First of all, this is only a proposal stage. Secondly, there are no further details which meant that it will be many more years before it can commence, even if this is a go-ahead. Thirdly, please do not buy Iskandar properties because of this news. There are many other better reasons for sure. I think in conclusion, the best bet remains that
Rail Transit Service
 which is said to be potentially operational by 2020. That should be a game changer. HSR is 10 years away as well. It may help tremendously but for now, there are still lots of potential investments everywhere in Malaysia. Happy hoping.

written on 26 July 2016

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skandar and Chinese companies, another RM2 billion coming

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So few cars on the road! Market is awesome!

I have been to Jakarta on numerous occasions, both for work and for vacation. Yes, I do think getting a property in Jakarta is an attractive proposition. Well, if only it’s friendlier to foreigners buying a property there.
Here are some of the restrictions.
The reason why I think so is simple. Did you know that the working day population and the night population in Jakarta differs by 4 million? In other words, every morning, 4 million people travel from smaller towns outside Jakarta into Jakarta to work and leaves Jakarta after work everyday. The reason? It’s too expensive to stay in Jakarta. Second reason? It’s hard to get
a loan to buy a property. Here’s a short article.
Third reason? The number of properties being built (supply) is far smaller than the quantity needed. (demand).
Here’s one concise article to understand more.
In brief, the demand is going to be by far stronger than supply for many more years to come. Since houses could not become cheaper most of the time due to land, material and labour costs, buying earlier is better than buying later.

Coming back to Malaysia. I have been working in Kuala Lumpur for the past 5 years, after working in Penang for close to 15 years. Every year, I see the same situation during major holidays.
Today is 14th February. (2 days before Chinese New Year)

Yes, it’s Valentine’s Day but it’s also one day before the usual reunion meal for the Chinese before the New Year on the 16th February 2018. Due to the long holiday, many has left the city to go home, their real home since Kuala Lumpur is only their ‘working’ home. This morning, I was able to leave my home at 745am, sent my kids to the nursery, have breakfast with my wife and still arrive in office before 9am! Usually, I could only do one thing. Leave home at 745 and go straight to office and well, arrive at around 9am. 😛  Guys, Greater KL would continue to grow because of continuous migration of new working population. These people need a roof over their head. Some would build a family and they would need a bigger home. The cycle continues.

Greater KL is of course much smaller than Greater Jakarta, or also known as Jabodetabek. As per wiki, this word is a combination of
Ja
karta +
Bo
gor +
Ta
ngerang +
Bek
asi cities (Kota) and Regencies (Kabupaten).
Here’s a better reference.
However, both shares the same direction. Ever more demand because both are capital cities. When we look at major developments, especially infrastructure wise, it often starts with the capital first. Even when we ask fresh graduates in Malaysia about their working location of choice after they have graduated from an institution in Malaysia, many would answer Kuala Lumpur. I would answer Ipoh or Penang but well, I was not able to start a job in Ipoh due to the limited number of career type of jobs and in Penang, due to my specialisation, Kuala Lumpur would be a better place to continue the corporate career climb. I am very happy when I see lesser cars on the road during holidays because it meant higher demand for properties. Cheers.

written on 14 Feb 2018

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Very few Singaporean investors want Iskandar.

According to a survey from iProperty, only 8 percent of those surveyed said they are interested to buy Iskandar properties. Main reason they are not interested? The recent policy changes. Market has cooled since 2014 because of Real Property Gains Tax as well as the fact that foreigners can only buy property worth RM1 million and above.  The respondents to the survey said that they would buy again only when the policy changes to favour foreign buyers. It then quoted the median price of a 5-room public flat in Ang Mo Kio as being just SGD365,000 and that’s the reason why some Singaporeans would still find Iskandar attractively priced.

First, only 8 percent is interested. If you ask me, I would say this is a great news indeed. It meant that the crazy price increases for the past few years have now gone sane. People are really much more objective and not simply buy because of expectations that the prices would go up ever higher tomorrow. Secondly, this would also meant that the policies implemented has really worked. I would be worried if whatever cooling policies implemented were ineffective or just laughed at by FOREIGNERS buying Iskandar. Of course, the only issue now being how fast can the market then recover since it’s now really oversupply versus the interest level from these foreigners? I quote a Christmas song, ‘Let it slow, let it slow, let it slow.’

Second was the comparison of a public FLAT versus a condo price in Iskandar. I have been to Singapore many times and have stayed in the HDB flats many times. I find these flats to be clean and well maintained. All the lifts are also working and the people staying there do seem good people. I have also been buying a few condos in Malaysia and until today I am also still staying in a condo. Now, the difference of a condo? I have a gym, two saunas, badminton court, tennis court, huge swimming pool, children’s playground, jogging track and even two car park spaces. Seriously, please note these differences and thus, if the said Singaporean family really wants a slightly better environment, it is easy to see why some Singaporean families have made Iskandar their new secondary home.

Third, these respondents said that the policy should be changed to favour the foreigners. I think majority Malaysians should be a little wary of such wants from foreigners? To me, whatever policies implemented should put Malaysians first. No point in doing nothing or encouraging foreign buying to the point that Iskandar’s cost of living become one of the highest in the world like our neighbour. Yes, I agree, when you earn S$ and pays for your food in Singapore, it’s cheaper than if you earn RM and pays for your food in RM BUT have you ever wondered why Singapore is still ranked highest if not highest in the world? The reason is because of property prices. Consider yourself paying S$3 per meal x 3 days x 365 days and it will only be S$3,285. Eat the same for 20 years and this would still only be S$60k plus. Now, tell me, what’s the price of a typical 1,200sf condo in Singapore today? Thanks for answering.  So, always note that property prices MUST be the first to be controlled and policies must help to control it.

I welcome the 8 percent who said they would consider Iskandar. Depending on how big is this group, I think it should be good enough. As a long term investor I prefer an orderly increase and not the sudden increases today which was reasons why so many governments in the world have started cooling measures. Yes, even our neighbour Singapore. Happy investing or waiting.

written on 18 Apr 2015

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Fewer launches, better deals or the other way around?

Are there fewer property launches in 2016 thus far? I personally do not think so. Maybe because I have been receiving Facebook postings, SMSes and even WhatsApp on a continuous basis. Only few years ago, I did not receive so many of such notifications. Okay, perhaps it’s because they are repeats? Well,  according to the National Property Information Centre (NAPIC) 2015 Property Market Report the number of new launches in 2015 fell by nearly 20 percent. In 2014, it was 88,997 units and in 2015, it was only 70,273 units. Total transactions were skewed towards units which are RM500,000 or lower, at about 80 percent. Now we know why newer launches these days are mostly below RM500,000. Even PR1MA has a ceiling limit of RM400,000.

More numbers as per NAPIC as follows:

Johor’s new launches dropped 42.8 percent to just 9,428 units.

Penang’s new launches, dropped 47.5 percent to just 2,348 units

Sales is only at 41.4 percent which meant there are lots of unsold units after the official launchings. This is lower than the 45.4 percent in 2014.

27.7 percent of all new launches are condominiums and apartments. (Yes, lots of new condos are launched but is there other choice with land prices now sky-high? Oversupply? Read here:
Too many condos, don’t buy condo

Napic: Malaysian House Price Index (MHPI) is up 5.8 percent on annual basis, as at the fourth quarter of 2015. MHPI is at 227.5 points from its base year; 2000.

On quarterly basis, the index points contracted by 0.8% for Q4 versus Q3 of 2015.

Napic: Rental rates in Kuala Lumpur generally showed an upward trend. This is especially for prominent schemes as well as those located in the light rail transit and mass rapid transit routes.

There has been recent reports about the number of launches being held back by developers. Some chose to go back to the drawing board. A friend recently commented that, ‘even developers are thinking should I launch or should I not launch.’ Of course, there were also many reports or even comments from industry players that H2 2016 may see a rebound or a recovery of confidence. Based on the current reports, I think this is likely to be tough even if Ringgit happened to be recovering. The reason is simple, every time there’s any negative news, it’s forwarded by many. Yet, when there are some positive developments, it’s not forwarded or dismissed totally. Dear Malaysians, especially those in the property industry, what we do will affect what everyone believes. Happy deciding.

written on 21 Apr 2016

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Fewer Singaporeans visiting Malaysia because of ….

Iskandar property and Singaporean investors would always be hotly debated. Whether or not their government encouraged these overseas investments are also unclear. What’s clear would be the fact that last year, the total number of Singaporean tourists visiting Malaysia from Singapore has declined! It’s not huge but it is strange why has it declined. Actually numbers were 12,930,754 in 2015 versus 13,932,967 in 2014. This represents a drop of 7 percent and the numbers came from the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board which released it to The Straits Times. The numbers were actually expected to rise because
Ringgit was the worst performing currency
 last year.

Some reasons put forward by travel experts including the fact that therearemany other destinations where Singaporean dollar has also risen against. Alicia Seah, Dynasty Travel’s director of public relations and communications, said travellers might be facing “fatigue” from visiting Malaysia too frequently. Haha. She said there were also fewer inquiries from Singapore schools about visiting Malaysia. They prefer China and Australia instead. (I think these would cost more but then again perhaps Singaporeans are also richer) Rupiah also dropped a lot and this made Banding and Surabaya much more attractive. They are also near enough.

Associate Professor Ang Swee Hoon from the National University of Singapore’s business school said “Singaporeans, who probably have travelled to Malaysia before, would want to take the opportunity of a stronger Sing dollar to visit countries farther away so that their money can be stretched further.” I think I do agree with his assessment because I just bought flight tickets to Hong Kong. I also prefer to visit a country further away because Singapore is just too near. Besides accommodation in Hong Kong is cheaper due to choices and AirBnB. I could also go to Singapore anytime I want as it is just an hour flight away and there are flights every hour from Kuala Lumpur.

The last reason is crime rates. To be frank, compared to Singapore, most cities would have higher crime rates. I used to travel alone to JB nearly every week for 6 months. Nothing has happened to me. Perhaps I am just lucky then. Anyway, the nearly 13 million Singaporeans who visited Malaysia last year ha shown that Malaysia is safe enough. Oh yeah, many have invested in Malaysia and I think it is a very good property investment destination for Singaporeans and even the expats and PRs too. Hopefully they do it at a time when there’s a slowdown and their currency is strong. Welcome, Singaporeans.

written on 23 May 2016

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