Press Release: Duta Perintis, A Modern Haven For Families

Success of the affordable development proven through high take up rate

The definition of home has evolved in many ways as technology advances. However, several intrinsic values remain unchanged, such as the desire to experience nature and all its nourishing aspects at one’s doorsteps.

Duta Perintis by IJM Land fulfils that requirement and more, being the latest residential development in the blooming township of Alam Suria.

Affordable yet low-density, the project has received an overwhelmingly favourable response from home buyers, with a high take-up rate of 77% since its launch in Feb 2021.

This is a huge indication of IJM Land’s ability to deliver quality products that not only push the standards of comfort, but at the same time, cater for a holistic living experience.

Duta Perintis derives its name from the Malay word, “Duta” which means “ambassador” and “Perintis” meaning “pioneer.” True to the pioneering spirit and exploration, the residential development has been strategically positioned in a vibrant tropical terrain.

Cast your eyes over to the west, where the sun rises to highlight the splendour of Bukit Botak. Further away, the verdant forest looms in the horizon, promising residents and visitors alike a wealth of nature’s bounty.

Small step for housing, huge leap for affordable homes

Few people can find an escape from the harsh sounds and unforgivingly fast pace of the city centre. Imagine the serenity and peace that awaits you upon returning home from work.

Duta Perintis encapsulates a nature-loving lifestyle complete with condominium facilities, capturing one’s visual senses and appeal as well as enhancing their living standards.

Efforts have been taken to ensure every unit is facing the lush greenery of the central park or lifestyle facilities such as the swimming pool or children’s playground. Coming home to Duta Perintis is akin to engaging the relax button in your being as you recharge within nature’s gentle embrace.

Being a low-density apartment, Duta Perintis comprises 316 units covering 16 floors, with a gross domestic value of RM100mil and a total land area of 6.92 acres.

Each unit measures 850 sq ft, with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and along with two designated car park bays. At an affordable price starting from RM310,000, the size is very generous, not to forget the resort living quality and amenities that come alongside it.

With regards to the design, units have a practical layout with an efficient circulation area and cross air ventilation access. Being north-south oriented, the homes minimise heat take-up, at the same time, reducing electrical consumption.

The ideal locale to nurture your family

Facilities are plentiful at Duta Perintis, covering all your leisurely requirements. As you look out the window, there lays the crystal clear water of the swimming and wading pool.

The BBQ pit and multipurpose hall make for a good community gathering, fostering friendship and allowing meaningful interactions to take place.

The proposed kindergarten within the development will undoubtedly bring convenience to working parents and so shall the laundrette and kiosk. Then there are the children’s playground, badminton court, gymnasium and many others to enrich the lives of residents. Spend quality time with your loved ones and capture those precious moments with the facilities offered at Duta Perintis.

To ensure the quality standards are upheld, a highly dedicated property management and maintenance team has been tasked to continue delivering after-sales services before the management committee is elected.

The overall design of the development also requires scrutiny if we are to fully appreciate it. The main central spine on the ground connects basic amenities with residential blocks and the main entrance with direct visibility.

And the open and cross-ventilated design concept throughout the common area opens out to the surrounding greenery and low-rise landed residential built in the township.

Reinforcing the 24-hour security system in place to ensure peace of mind for residents and visitors alike, contributing to a laid back and idyllic neighbourhood.

Explore the wonders of Central Park with your loved ones

Just a walking distance away, an 11 acres park beckons, a prime green feature of the Alam Suria township. Conveniently, pedestrian walkways connect residents directly to the sprawling green landscape that is Central Park.

Even though the recreational elements at Duta Perintis are sufficient, the Central Park also boasts a wide array of facilities, such as the skate park, multipurpose courts, children’s play area, open-air amphitheatre, benches and gazebos, all designed to foster a health-conscious community.

To promote inclusivity, universal design has been incorporated into the park, with wheelchair ramps being installed at specific locations.

Tracks for cycling and jogging meander across the area and community gatherings can be conducted at strategic spots with insta-worthy backdrops.

Kite flying is also another hobby that residents have taken to since the afternoons are rather breezy and refreshing. Those who wish to be attuned to nature can go bird watching in this untouched environment filled with flora and fauna.

There is a forest reserve a short distance away, and it holds a plethora of joy for nature lovers. Those looking for an exhilarating sport can check out the challenging hiking trails leading up to Bukit Cherakah or Bukit Botak.

All hard work should be rewarded, and this is the truth for those who reach the peaks, as they are entitled to a majestic view over the landscape and township.

Concerning connectivity, home buyers will be thrilled to know that the township of Alam Suria has easy access to Shah Alam, Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur.

Alam Suria is also well linked to highway networks such as the North Klang Valley Highway, Federal Highway, ELITE Expressway, Guthrie Corridor Expressway and LATAR Expressway, among others.

Duta Perintis is a must-have address for nature lovers and families, being a union between functional design, the charms of nature’s bounty and holistic living conveniences.

IJM Land has also taken the initiative to offer a one-stop solution to customers. From the moment home buyers arrive at the sales offices, they are ensured utmost professionalism such as end financiers and solicitors to advise and assist them throughout the buying process.

For more information regarding Duta Perintis, visit
www.ijmland.com
 or the sales gallery at Bandar Alam Suria.

-End-

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e-Bidding in High Court of Malaya and ‘jobless’ auctioneers

I have a few auctioneer friends. They take their profession seriously. There are also many friends who buy mostly auction properties and have benefited a lot from it due to the potential for an extremely undervalued property being put up for auction. Another friend is now quite famous, as a speaker about how we can take advantage of auction properties. These auctions are normally conducted by an auctioneer and the environment is lively when the property being auctioned off happened to be an undervalued and attractive one.

Just a week ago, my good friend Stephen of MNP Auctioneers told me that e-Bidding which is being implemented for High Court of Malaya would kill 99.9 percent of all auctioneers. I do not really understand how this would affect the lives of auctioneers. Yesterday he forwarded a full length article which I think I should share with everyone. As they say, transparency is always the best. He has put forth his arguments, together with facts and figures and I think all stakeholders should read and perhaps make a stand. His full letter as below:

– START –

PRESS RELEASE: E-Bidding, An Unjustified System that Lead to the Extinction of Licensed Auctioneers and Fair Bidding

Our most honorable “Bapa Merdeka” and the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman had mentioned in his proclamation of independence, “We remember too our association (with Great Britain); justice before law, the legacy of an efficient public service and the highest standard of living in Asia”. Great Britain also left us an important legacy – a democratic, fair, open and transparent way of selling, and that is “Open Bidding” (hereinafter called as Public Auction).

Auction Sales Enactment was created by the former straits settlement government in 1929, and it is still effective as at today. Many developed countries like United States of America and England still favor public auction, billions worth of items have been sold under the hammer. Australia uses properties transactions sold by way of auction as an indicator of real estate market performance. Public Auction in the Asian countries like China, Hong Kong and Singapore are very common and highly developed; numismatic, bank foreclosure, antique and government lands were sold under the hammer of the licensed auctioneers.

The effectiveness of public auction can be seen from its higher transacted price through vibrantly visualized competitive bidding, auctioneer cheering the crowd with convincing tonality, engaging audiences, non-stopped paddle numbers raising up and down, final calls, etc. Bidders are all competed under the comfortable, fair, open and transparent platform. No favoritism, no under-table but the highest bidder win! Every positive characteristics make auction a very meaningful formula of the equal and fair civilization process.

HOWEVER, with the recent shocking announcement and directive by the High Court of Malaya, licensed auctioneer will soon be a history of the past!

In a news by Malay Mail Online dated 8th January, Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria announced that the e- bidding process will be launched to replace “manual” public auction process in the High Court of Malaya. It means to say, auction will be fully electronic and auctioneer service will be terminated. Almost 99% of the licensed auctioneers will be jobless. No more lively bidding, no more auction venue and no more exciting bidding be seen. Tun Arifin further said that with e-bidding, the bidding process will be more transparent as it will opened to more prospective bidders, and eliminate any syndicate which tends to interfere with bidding process which may lead to artificial pricing.

The High Court of Malaya may have possessed good intention, but terribly unjustified, unfair and inconsiderable planning. The implementation will cause serious impact not just to the auction industry but to all the Malaysians as well.

1) Based on the Internet Users Survey 2014 by Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), there are 33.4% non-internet user in Malaysia. With approximately RM30 millions populations, at least 10 millions Malaysians are not eligible to bid at e-bidding. Therefore it is contradicting the basic principle of law by setting inequality and discriminating rakyat with no computer literacy. It becomes “closed auction” and not publicly available anymore.

2) Section 257 and 259 of the National Land Code specified that “the sale to be by public auction”, whether e-bidding or e-auction is considered public auction has remain seriously questionable.

The sections also mentioned that the court officer shall settle summarily any question arising in the course of the proceedings. Will such right be logically take place, in the case of e-bidding? The High Court of Malaya may be planning to amend the law. But does it make sense? Public Auction has to be open and transparent. What transparency do we entitle when everything is controlled merely in the mount of computers and internet with just a finger click? I seriously suspect that e- bidding is illegal as it is confronting National Land Code.

3) The whole e-bidding system was launched without the High Court of Malaya conducting any survey nor seeking any feedback and opinion from relevant parties such as solicitors, financial institutions (plaintiff), potential auction bidders and especially auctioneers. Not even the functionality, technicality and receptiveness have ever being tested. Take Goods and Services Tax (GST) for example, it has been debated for several years since 2005’s Malaysia budget. Malaysia has intended to implement GST on January 1, 2007 but it was delayed on February 22, 2006 due to political issues and readiness issues. It was eventually implemented on 1st April 2015 and GST rate is fixed at 6%. Any public policy will need to go through years of testing period before it actually take place, it may even be set aside if it has more pros than cons to Rakyat.

4) There are many uncertainties in any electronic devices and the borderless world of internet, the supposingly-natural results of a competitive live or floor bidding may at anytime be CHANGED by the speed of internet and system issue. There is no one to be blame, as like it or not there will be many system disclaimers that potential bidders have no choice but to agree if they choose to bid.

5) By implementing e-bidding, 99% or thousands of licensed auctioneers will be jobless, not including the sources directly or indirectly related to the profession, such as employee and sub- contractor.

6) Many Malaysians are generally either skeptical or shy away from auction. Based on my experience, at least 70% people have no literacy in auction. It is a very bad idea to introduce e-bidding without general public knowing anything about auction in the first place. Potential bidder will understand more about auction by attending to a traditional live auction as an observer, but such platform will become extinction after being replaced by e-bidding.

Another end-of-the-world disaster to licensed auctioneers is the illogical directive that announced by the High Court of Malaya recently. It requires compulsory for auctioneers to submit Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) certificate with credit scoring in Bahasa Malaysia, English and Mathematic, with age limit below 60 to be eligible to practice in High Court. This directive alone already caused at least 80% Penang auctioneers becoming jobless. Those left out are the auctioneers with much higher academic qualifications than SPM and with many years of excellent track record in conducting high court auction. A licensed auctioneer who is a Justice of the Peace (JP) was also rejected due to no SPM certificate. High Court of Malaya is putting SPM ahead of many higher qualification, a truly discriminative directive while unbelievably issued by the highest judicial institution and gatekeeper of law of the country.

None of any developed country has implemented full e-bidding, as traditional live auction is still the most relevant and effective method of auctioning. It is especially necessary for real estate auction that involves easily hundreds of thousand if not millions worth of value to take place at floor or live bidding platform, to enhance confidence of bidding. Buying a mobile phone using online marketplace is totally different than purchasing a real estate property online. There is no refund after bidding successfully!

?????To increase competitiveness of auction bidding, many auction houses in the developed countries has incorporated online bidding function together with live or floor auction. Simply speaking, in one auction fair, a bidder can choose to turn up and register to bid at a live auction event. Or, he or she chooses not to appear while register to bid at the same auction event with online platform. This methodology is extremely important as it provides CHOICE, a democratic procedure of a civilized country. In Malaysia, this method was first adopted last year August in an auction of Malaysian Banknotes with Special Serial Number that held in Sasana Kijang, Bank Negara Malaysia. It is an auction system called BEST2BID – live and online auction run concurrently. I strongly recommend that this is the only solution to be adopted by the High Court of Malaya, and not fully e-bdding.

As a professional auctioneer, we emphasize that an open, fair and transparent live auction conducted by licensed auctioneer is strictly obligatory in a judicial auction. The High Court of Malaya’s Full e-bidding system should be dropped AND the discriminative directive on the submission of SPM certificate and age limit of 60 shall be cancelled immediately.

Thanks.

Stephen Soon

Managing Director, MNP Auctioneers (Central) Sdn. Bhd. Chairman, Penang Auctioneers Association

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High Court’s e-Lelong: An Alarming Insight about Raising Integrity

I used to think live auction is just a show. However, I have since watched many auctions and I can safely say that if conducted professionally and publicised well to the public, an auction helps all stakeholders to maximise the value of the asset being auctioned. In fact this should be the sole reason for a public auction. It must be publicised and all members of the public must have the same access to the auction. This is the reason why auction announcements would be made in national media. Else, everything could have just been sold to anyone at any price. It would be faster but it would definitely not be fairer. Recently, the High Court of Malaya started e-Lelong. It was supposed to raise integrity and make the auctions be as open and as transparent as possible to the public. I think it is good to also understand that just making it online does not mean that it is more open and more transparent. Let’s read the press release from Mr. Stephen Soon the chairman of the Penang Auctioneers Association about the High Court’s e-Lelong.

— start —

High Court’s e-Lelong: An Alarming Insight About Raising Integrity

“e-Lelong will raise integrity of court auction”, says the newly appointed Chief Justice, Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif as reported by TheEdgeProperty.com on 27 July. As an auctioneer for the past 13 years as well as in my capacity as the Chairman of Penang’s Auctioneer Association, allow me to ask for more clarifications professionally.

Court auction is a foreclosure procedure governed under the National Land Code 1965 which empowers high court to carry out public auction on behalf of the chargee (or lenders), mostly banks, to dispose off the defaulters’ encumbered real estate asset, assisted by its appointed licensed auctioneers. Licensed auctioneers are responsible to handle document preparation, checking and inspecting property, posting public notice, handling enquiry, customer service, sale and marketing, and so on. This profession acts as a medium between all the parties, especially the general public who needed advice and guidance to bid. During the auction day, the auction will be conducted by an auctioneer under the supervision of court officers and witness by the chargee and even the distressed borrower to uphold the primary principle of auction – open and transparent. I support fully the objective of the public auction which is to be open and transparent. As auctioneers, we are here to ensure the auction is fair to all parties.

The word Integrity is defined by
www.dictionary.com
 and
www.oxforddictionaries.com
 as adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty. The definition is broadened in its synonyms as uprightness, rectitude, honorableness, good character, principle, decency, fairness, sincerity, truthfulness, trustworthiness, etc. Obviously integrity is beyond just being honest. For the Chief Justice to equate integrity with its e-Lelong system, Tan Sri must be having a high confidence with the e-Lelong system. However is e-Lelong worthy of the word integrity?

Please allow me to point out a few facts which needs some further clarifications using actual numbers. My aim is the same as what the Chief Justice is aiming to achieve; open and transparent.

The Chief Justice (CJ) said e-Lelong will attract more bidders to bid.
 Where online bidders are concerned, it is everything about exposure. The BEST website design is NOT effective if no one knows about it. With the right marketing and promotions, it should reach more buyers. My question is, do the High Court maintains a database of potential buyers? If yes, may I know which department is keeping and growing this database? If no, how can e-Lelong says that it will attract more bidders? Are there already processes in place to achieve this? Let us be fair to all potential buyers by telling everyone about it.

In terms of online bidder readiness, especially because of the big amount involved when it comes to property purchase, let me quote the Internet Users Survey 2016 by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). It shared that among the online activities by Malaysians, only 35.3% will do e-shopping. And within this percentage, the purchase is entirely for consumer products and property is not even listed. As an online shopper myself, I am very sure the number of buyers purchasing online may increase but seriously, I am not going to start my first online purchase with a property worth a few hundred thousands of Ringgit.

I have also randomly interviewed 20 general public with this question, “Have they ever participated in an auction bidding before.” 100 percent of their reply was an emphatic No. I think we do not need to ask them about online property bidding. Obviously I could not ask more when one does not even have a basic understanding about auction. It will be hard for e-Lelong to attract a larger participation from the general public for its 100% online auctions.

The CJ said the online system will have positive impact not only on the courts but also on the public who are bidders, the financial institutions and property owners (distressed owners)
. I hope that e-Lelong can provide more substantial evidence showing this to be happening. Bidders want to bid in a non-manipulative environment, financial institutions and property owners (distressed owners) would definitely prefer to have a higher number of bidders. There is one advantage of e-Lelong. The courts are becoming better administratively since online allows everything to be completed without lots of manual paperwork. The question is whether it is fair to all the stakeholders concerned? Does it help to recover more debts for the financial institutions when there are lesser bidder participation? Does it help the bidders who is non-internet user to own a house? Does it help the distressed owners to reduce more financial burden if his property is not selling at the highest possible price?

The CJ emphasized that e-Lelong will improve the efficiency of the entire bidding system.
 Frankly speaking, I have been dealing with the court auction administrative matter for years, it is nothing new that “system down” was a frequent occurrence even with the e-filing system, e-documents or instructions wrongly sent and mixing up of e-filing document delivery. All these are always causing huge inconveniences to the stakeholders and the general public who wants to become bidders.

Auction should be open to as many bidders as possible. If we limit it to only those with online access, this is no longer a “public auction.” I believe it could be called restriction with no liberty to bid. Article 8(1) of the Federal Constitution says that all persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of law. However, the abstruse and intricate e-LELONG is strictly discriminatory by nature. May we have a system which is more open and transparent at the same time?

The CJ further said that e-Lelong increases the chance for the public to own a property without pricing manipulation
. Frankly I am trying to find a logic of this statement. According to the National Land Code 1965, court auction is managed, administered and controlled fully by the courts. And public auction is an open and transparency process that involve competitive bidding to be sold only to the highest bidder. As such how could pricing manipulation possibly arise under the court system? What would be the purpose for such manipulation since the court is only conducting the auctions as a neutral party to all stakeholders?

The CJ further said that with e-Lelong, the bidder’s identity is not disclosed to enable bidders to bid without interference.
 Under the current court auction system, bidder registration process is the sole responsibility of the court officers and auctioneers will only be revealed on the bidder’s identity upon commencement of auction. Therefore, even without e-Lelong, there is no question on bidding interference. However, technical interference may possibly happen to the e-Lelong platform with bugs, system malfunction, connection issues, slow network communications and intermittent disconnections.

The CJ claimed that the manual process involves many parties – court officers, bidders, licensed auctioneers and financial institutions. It is a complicated and time-consuming process
. Well, be it online or manual process, the stakeholders are still the same stakeholders. Involvement of all the stakeholders are the requirement under law. Can the court do away with it for its own convenience? The courts are merely executing the order for sale that was filed by the financial institutions (the plaintiffs and the key stakeholder). Thus, their rights (all parties) must be protected under the law.

Claiming manual auction is complicated and time-consuming process is not a valid argument. Since we are talking about actual real estate properties,
s
houldn’t bidding or purchasing of real estate properties require more due diligence than bidding for a consumer item? Property buying needs more time for proper consideration. Does the Court ever consider the public perception towards e-Lelong when even the normal buying of a property takes time too? Any implementation of public policy should first consider its public accessibility, in this case, it is the stakeholders’ accessibility. Bidders must be prepared, understand the whole auction process well, feel positive and comfortable to bid. The property to be auctioned deserves to be given reasonable time to be marketed to reflect its real demand during an auction. It should not only to enable the court’s process to be faster.

With e-Lelong and without auctioneers, it will be like buying a property without any inspection, searches, consultation, guidance and advice. The court officers are well versed with the court procedures but certainly not the right people to guide buyers through a pleasant auction process. With the DO-IT-YOURSELF (DIY) process for e-Lelong, the entire risk falls on the bidder. This is unlike manual bidding where everyone could see for themselves what was really happening right before their eyes. e-Lelong is however operated from behind any scrutiny and the court will certainly not be responsible for any disruption, delay, failure, mistake or loss of information that is submitted via the electronic platform. Therefore, e-Lelong will certainly bring more benefits to court but not necessarily to the bidder. As such, will open and transparency prevail in e-Lelong?

Is e-Lelong really the best replacement for manual auction of properties? Until today, two of the world’s most famous auction houses, Christies’ and Sotheby’s are still conducting auctions manually and this has continued to help them set record-breaking auctions.

These two auction giants conduct their auctions using BOTH the manual and online. Even as the bidders are bidding at live events which is the main platform, those from faraway places would have access to an online bidding platform. These two modes, happening at the same time meant it is harnessing the benefits of accessibility for all; open and transparent at the same time. Bidders, whether those present at the live events or those who were bidding online were competing against one another for the same item, at the same time!

In Malaysia, this method has been officially and effectively implemented since two years ago when Bank Negara Malaysia started the auction of Malaysian Banknotes with Special Serial Number. It is true that each method, whether manual or online has their own advantages and disadvantages. Perhaps a better way is to expand and implement the dual-bidding mode from the successful banknote auctions to cover the property auctions as well.

In conclusion, I wish to say that we agree that there must be a higher degree of integrity for all auctions, not just for property or banknotes but any asset auction which is to be fairly implemented for the public. In fact, I think everyone would agree that regardless of the mode, it is important that all the stakeholders benefit from it. It should be more open and transparent too. Raising integrity? I agree. Doing it Legally, Completely and NOT with Exclusivity.

Stephen Soon (Call / Whatsapp 016-723 1440 for further clarification)

Chairman,

On behalf of Penang Auctioneers Association

— end of press release —

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Early bird gets the worm. Late bird gets nothing, at all?

They say early bird gets the worm. Well, what about late bird(s) then? Start the day early or start the date later? Are you someone who wakes up early and is ever ready to face the world or are you someone who sleeps more and feel more refreshed when you wake up?

Late Bird Gets a Good Sleep!

We know the famous saying, ‘early bird gets the worm.’ It meant if we like to be the first to get the reward, we need to be the first to do it successfully. A good friend;
Ikhram Merican
who calls himself a Properneur and writes at this famous blog:
livingspace.com.my
posted in his instagram this quote of ‘early bird gets the worm.’  I cheekily asked, “what happened to the late bird?” He answered almost instantly, ‘late bird gets a good sleep.’  WOW… what a perspective and it got me thinking and now, writing.

Better late than never is not so correct

The ones who bought a property earlier may enjoy capital appreciation if the project is a successful one while someone who bought much later may skip the risk of that township did not flourish. In other words, buying earlier may have higher returns but also higher risks too. Buying later may enjoy a lower capital appreciation but would also a lower risk too since he is buying into a more mature neighbourhood which is now favoured by many.

Investing into an unknown stock may mean earning huge price appreciation if that stock happened to be a company which soon become a blue-chip. Buying later means one may be buying into a blue-chip with a stable dividend returns. Same company, just purchased at a different time for a different purpose. By the way, that person who bought much earlier could have sold the stock when its price reached a very attractive return.

Buying early may also mean paying more!

What’s the difference between buying that latest handphone when it’s just launched versus buying it 6 months later? Specifications wise, it’s the same. However, buying earlier meant everyone thinks of the owner as a star… for a few days. Come on, after 2 weeks, no one would bother about your new phone.  Buying 6 months later will usually meant a lower price but perhaps by then it’s a very common model already, so no one would be so mesmerised with your new phone.

By the way, I do not need to talk about the outlet stores or warehouse sale… right? Yeah, buying earlier means you get to flaunt what you bought way earlier than everyone else. Buying later? Well, still got the style lah but the price we pay would be lower because a new design may have arrived and the older design needs to be put into clearance sale to make space for new designs.

Late bird gets a good sleep.
(better than early bird gets the worm??)

Please continue to be the early bird if you believe early bird catches the worm. At the same time, if you prefer to have a good sleep instead and then later eat something else for breakfast, feel free to do so too. Variety and diversity makes the investment world such an interesting world. I will remember this phrase for a very long time if not forever thanks to my cheeky question and an equally cheeky answer.

There are no LATE birds in property investment

My parents bought their semi-detached home in Ipoh for RM85,000. They bought their first semi-detached for less than half of that in Teluk Intan. No need to guess the years… I bought my first apartment for RM123,000. Who are the early birds here?  Actually, if we start now and then stop and look back 15 years later, we were the early birds too. Trends will continue to change. Circumstances too. This is why we need to be a clever bird… Happy deciding whether early bird or late bird.

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Early Christmas joy with Sunway Property?

Sunway Property invited kopiandproperty.com as part of the media to join their “Christmas Wonderland by the Lake” this coming
Saturday, December 5th from 3pm to 8pm. It’s at their Sunway South Quay Lake.
 Unfortunately, I have a Toastmasters event at the same time and thus would have to miss this event. I would have loved to bring my family for this event. Let’s read what they would like to tell all of us about this joyous party.

Upon entering the lakeside promenade through the 12 arches of Christmas, visitors will be greeted by a giant 20-foot inflatable Santa who will be “dancing” throughout the evening. In addition, there will be appearances by characters from famous movie animations.

As part of the carnival, there will be a Dinosaurs Alive show where visitors will be able to marvel at a mighty tyrannosaurus rex, stegosaurus and don’t miss the opportunity to feed the baby t-rex and apatosaurus.

The merriment of Christmas will be further brought to life with a towering 15-foot Christmas tree, delightful Santarinas, cheerful elves, and spirited Christmas carolers who will perform the season’s favourite tunes. Aspiring Hansels and Gretels will be delighted to explore a giant 12-feet gingerbread house decorated with colourful candies.

Carnival game enthusiasts will be able to participate in a host of exciting free-to-play games at the carnival’s 10 games booths and win festive goodies. Especially for the foodies, a collection of food trucks including crowd favourites such as Laughing monkey café, Julicious, Oh My Fruit Juice (OMFJ), La Famiglia, and Babarittos, will be cooking up a storm. Visitors will be presented free food vouchers and drinks coupons, which can be collected at the entrance to the venue. There will also be a lucky draw to win exclusive Sunway sponsored prizes for participants.

In the evening, enjoy a spectacular 3D water projection show and light display on the lake with stunning fireworks to end the night.

Yes, this event is open to the public and it’s free. Happy visiting Sunway Property’s Christmas Wonderland by the Lake.

written on 3 Dec 2015

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Kelana Jaya, upcoming Rm1.8 billion GDV by Sunway

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Investments? Minimising, Maximising and Solidifying

I have two kids. My wife is a “home minister”. When we got married, she told that vacations are IMPORTANT. So, I need to manage my expenses so that we still have some funds for travel. It’s important for me to ensure my investments are not
speculative or overly risky
. I really have a lot to lose if I really do lose. Investments aside, we should stay focused on our source of investments fund; career. I am often sad when my younger friends told that life is getting harder each day but in their hands were new smartphones. Either the S or the A branded ones. They also prefer to do the exact same job role and hope for better pay every year.

My personal opinion is that we should work hard and climb the corporate ladder. Nope, I am not talking about job hopping for a few hundred ringgit extra. I am talking about solid learnings and work experience so that our career is safe even during downturns. Invest a little to complete our Master Degree. Just be that one step ahead of the majority. PHD is however not necessary currently. Do we have skill sets which are not easily replaceable? Career management is the key to
investment management.
 Without a comfortable base where we live comfortably, we would not be able to start concentrating in investments.

Oh yeah, one very important point is that if we are able to go up to the levels of top management, even if we do not invest,
we would still live comfortably.

Unless if we spend all that we earn, then it’s called back to square one. Salaries for top management? Sky is the limit, depending on the industry. When I moved to KL over 3 years ago, my wife asked about our financial position if she were to stop working. I told her we needed to do three things well. Minimise our expenditures, maximise what we have for investments and solidify my career so that we can live comfortably in a new city. I am still doing these three diligently today. Cheers.

written on 7 Oct 2016

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Planning and Investing for you and your family

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Earning higher is great. Saving it to earn even more is vital.

If you love to earn RM39 (AU$13) per hour of manual work, you are in luck. There are a lot of these jobs in Australia. According to an article in TMI, there are local agents helping Malaysians to work as farm workers in Australia. These are temporary work as fruit pickers and sorters. One such agent based in Shah Alam was quoted as saying that, “In a month, between 10 and 20 people would go to Australia to work as farm workers.” Here’s the sweet part, anyone working in such jobscan be looking at an average of between RM6,000 and RM12,000 depending on how hard one works.

I just learnt that a distant relative is in Australia now doing some manual work as well and does not wish to come home yet. She wants to earn as much as possible first. I am not sure if she is now there legally or has overstayed her visa. Another ex-colleague worked as waitress there and was telling me how excited she was because she could earn money and slim down at the same time due to the hectic working schedule. She is now back to Malaysia for personal reasons. Another close friend worked in New Zealand before for a few months and told me that life’s tough but the vacation after that was well worth it. Perhaps all three are right, earning at a place where the currency is much higher would mean much faster ‘returns on time invested.’

These “working holidays” are popular and has been around for some time but was recently in the media spotlight because of an ongoing inquiry into illegal labour on Australian farms using foreign travellers as labourers. According to the inquiry held in Victoria, there are labour companies which are openly advertising for illegal and underpaid workers at farms and factories in the Australian state. A Malaysian Aira Firdaus testified as a witness for the National Union of Workers and explained the tough conditions, the reasons why people take-up such work etc. Currently, Australia’s minimum wage is AU$21. The ‘working tourists’ are paid much lower and are also charged housing and transport to the farm and back to their accommodation.

Honestly, if we are able to earn RM10,000 per month for just 6 months, it would have enabled us to earn something which majority of Malaysians would need 2 years to earn if they are earning RM2,500 per month. The more critical part is however, are we able to really resist the temptation to spend and thus diminish the returns and secondly, how to use the earnings to create a new source of income. Perhaps downpayment for a cheap secondary apartment for rental income? RM60,000 can definitely do more than that. I have always encouraged my friends who told me about earning in countries with stronger currencies. Sometimes, this is necessary. However, do not be like the majority where the more we earn, the more we spend. In the end, we have wasted time, effort and money. Happy working, saving and enjoying.

written on 4 Mar 2016

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Earning RM10,000 a month? Begging as a job.

If we could, we should always help those in need. Well, if we earn lesser than RM10,000 per month, maybe we need to think twice when it comes to ‘helping’ beggars. They may be richer than we are. Here’s that report in
NST says.com on beggars in Johor.
Beggars in Johor Bahru are earning up to RM300 daily because of the generosity of the public. In other words, up to RM10,000 per month.

These beggars are already employing intelligence in their business. They shift their ‘place of business’ often or even operating at erratic hours. This is to prevent from being ‘rescued’ by the Social Welfare Department who would usually place them in welfare institutions for rehabilitation.The article also pointed out that begging is illegal here in Malaysia. Reasons for some of them to start begging include financial problems, unemployment, and alcohol and drug addiction.

With regards to financial problems, I think it’s important for everyone to have enough
financial awareness

and not fall into the
trap of overspending

or even participating in some pyramid schemes with the thinking that their money can be doubled within months for example. There’s also help given to those who

could still restructure their debts.

With regards to unemployment, except for those lying on bed in a hospital, everyone who is able should just get a job because this is life.

We are very fortunate that there are so many businesses that are in need of people.
Latest news on workers shortage? Here.
For alcohol and drug addiction, I think this is a huge social issue that has continued to happen. Just have to keep doing more instead of the same applying the same processes year after year. Of course we should not kid ourselves that this can be fully eradicated because it is still happening even in many more advanced nations.

Come to think of it, if the report is accurate and these beggars do earn RM10k every month, they may even be owning a few properties if this is true because their cost is low while their ‘profits’ are high. One full day of work meant no time for coffee or tea, just need to drink water and eat bread or a simple meal. In other words, they could save up most of what they earned from begging.

Come to think of it, I think it’s also because we are a generous society and I personally know of many friends who help legitimate charities in both time and money. We must keep this up and help those really in need. As for beggars, I do not personally give any. However, every time I see an uncle / aunty selling biscuits etc, I would buy it from them. I am not sure if this is better than giving to beggars though. Just a personal preference I guess. Happy earning and helping.

written on 13 March 2018

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When earnings are low, ability to buy is limited too.

Do you know that only 32 percent of the total working population here in Malaysia have tertiary education qualification? That’s a minimum of a diploma or higher. If you are reading this and has a degree, you are already within the top 20 percent of all working Malaysians. I assume half of the 32 percent has only a diploma qualification. For this 32 percent, their median wage is RM3,274 which is double the income earned by someone with a secondary qualification. This median wage puts the working adult within the M40 classification. Yes, this basically tells us that to move up, education remains a critical element and please stop saying that qualification is not important and that so and so CEO did not graduate from university.
Please refer to the infographics by TheEdgeMarkets.com

When I started working with a basic degree at the age of 21, I was given a job grade which was one level higher than my senior colleague who was already 25 years old and had just a diploma. One level higher would take him 3-5 years to reach which meant that he may reach my level when he’s 30 years old. I was lucky because my parents paid for my education. PTPTN only arrived a few years later. This is the real world we live in. By the way, there are many jobs which do not require a tertiary education, usually in the sales and service line. If we excel in those, we will earn far higher incomes than those with a degree and working in a stable office job. Yes, higher than even doctors or accountants by the way.

Note, “IF WE EXCEL”.

So, it’s a choice of either becoming excellent in the role we are in or get 100 percent higher pay with a diploma / degree versus those without.

When we look at the median wage by occupation, we have these findings: Managers earn a median wage of RM5,500. The Professionals take home a median wage of RM4,450. Technicians earn a median wage of RM2,760 and this is then followed by clerical support workers (RM2,000), operators(RM1,485), sales and services (RM1,225) and elementary occupations (RM1,100). Frankly, it is clear that if we are to move up in terms of salaries, the jobs must also move up in tandem. The question remains, are the workers skilled to take up higher paying jobs. Someone would say that there are no such jobs available which is actually a chicken and egg situation. Companies do not set up a plant and wait 2 years for people to be skilled to do what they (the factory) needs. They will set up their plants when they learn that there are at least some people who could do the job they need.
Here’s that article again for reference.

By the way, stop feeling bad. Better channel those into energy to do more. In case we want to know what’s happening in countries around the world. 44 percent of Americans could NOT afford a sudden US$400 emergency expense.
Full article here.
Australians are struggling to make ends meet. Real wages went backwards.
Full article here.
In the UK, 27 percent of Londoners are living in poverty.
Full article here.
There is little need to feel pitiful because truth is, everything has to start from ourselves. I have an auctioneer friend who worked his way up from despatch clerk until he owns the auctioneer firm where he started. At the same time, he has also completed his degree. Today, if he wants he could retire but he said, ‘there were weekends where I survived by only drinking water. That was how poor I once was but my desire to be successful was so strong everything else did not matter.’ He could retire anytime he wanted today. Happy doing something about it.

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written on 2 April 2018

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Easier home ownership – Sunway Property’s Super 5 Easy Home Ownership Scheme

Press Release:
SUNWAY PROPERTY LAUNCHES SUPER 5 EASY HOME OWNERSHIP SCHEME

Commentary: These days, developers are going all the way to help buyers buy a home. Sunway Property has their Super 5 Easy Home Ownership scheme which looks simple enough. Buyer needs just to pay RM5,000 to book a unit. As for the remaining downpayment sum, the buyer could pay for them via instalments. In fact where loans are concerned, Sunway group of companies will even guarantee a 95% financing for eligible buyers and this comes with special interest rate too! Besides that, all buyers will get a free financial health check to look at their financial credibility. This is something common overseas but Malaysians have yet to pick it up. Read on to know more.

— start of press release —

 ? Targets RM 1.3 billion sales and RM 2 billion launches for FY 2019
 ? RM 3 billion investment properties under construction in integrated townships
 and developments

Kuala Lumpur, January 24 ~ Sunway Property today, launched its Super 5* easy home
ownership scheme which will ease home ownership for buyers nationwide in a media
briefing in Sunway Velocity TWO Sales Gallery.

Managing Director of Sunway Berhad’s property division, Sarena Cheah said that the Super 5* easy home ownership scheme will help homeowners purchase homes.
“To help homeowners own their dream home, the Super 5* easy home ownership scheme allows purchasers to pay RM 5,000 to own a unit and a flexi instalment plan for the differential sum. Sunway’s group of companies will offer a 95% guaranteed financing for eligible buyers with special interest rate during this campaign period. In addition to the government’s waiver of MOT for first time house buyers, Sunway will absorb the stamp duty for the transfer of ownership for properties above RM 1 million.

The Super 5 provides a free financial health check that will help aspiring homeowners
on their financial credibility. It is a quick and easy way to assess purchaser’s financing
standing in order to own their dream home during this campaign period,” she said.
She also announced that Sunway Property will target sales of RM 1.3 billion for the
financial year of FY2019 and launch projects worth RM 2 billion this year at a media
briefing.

“We are confident that the launches will continue to do well as more than 70% of the new launches are either in integrated developments and townships where we co-invest in perpetual growth that delivers lifelong value for our community. In our integrated townships and developments, we currently have RM 3 billion investments under
construction so we can grow in tandem with our communities,” she added. Sunway Property currently has an unbilled sales of RM 2.1 billion providing future earnings visibility. Sunway Property will also continue to pursue landbanking activities suitable for transit-oriented and mixed-use developments in Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and the UK.

It’s current landbank in diversified locations stands at 3,289 acres with a total GDV of
RM56.8 billion with 54% of the landbank in Johor, 25% in Klang Valley, 6% in Penang,
1% in Singapore, and 14% in other locations.

CENTRAL REGION: LAUNCHES OF RM 630 MILLION, INVESTMENTS OF RM 1.6
BILLION UNDER CONSTRUCTION

In Klang Valley, Sunway Property will launch the second block of the first phase of
Sunway Velocity TWO which is a high-rise residential development with a GDV of RM
300 million; a high-rise residential development in Wangsa Maju, Sunway Avila with a
gross development value (GDV) of RM 230 million, and townhouses in Sunway GEOLake Residences in Sunway South Quay with a GDV of RM 100 million.

Property investments currently under construction in Klang Valley are the 240-bed
Sunway Medical Centre in Sunway Velocity; Sunway Monash University Residences,
an expansion of Sunway Medical Centre, and an expansion of the Sunway International School in in Sunway City KL worth RM1.6 billion.

SOUTHERN REGION: LAUNCHES OF RM 260 MILLION IN GDV, INVESTMENTS
OF RM 445 MILLION UNDER CONSTRUCTION

In the southern region, the developer will launch townhouses and phase three of
Sunway Citrine Lakehomes in Sunway Iskandar worth RM 100 million in GDV and
landed residential units in Sunway Lenang Heights with a GDV of RM 160 million.
Property investments currently under construction are the expansion of Sunway
International School, Big Box Retail, Big Box Office, and Big Box Hotel worth RM 445
million in total.

The 24-acre Sunway Big Box Village will be the first large format retail village in
Malaysia and Singapore. Unlike other retail centres, the Sunway Big Box Village will
be designed in an open concept, the all-new retail experience. It will encompass
500,000 sq ft (GFA) in retail space, and will be completed by the fourth quarter of 2019.
Adjacent to Big Box Village is Sunway XPark, a 32-acre unique leisure component
which will be opened in April this year. The XPark provides extreme sports such as
kayaking, Go-kart, paintball, wall climbing, ATV, and glamping amongst others.
Sunway Citrine Hub is also fast becoming the heartbeat of Sunway Iskandar.

To-date, the 71,000 sq ft (NLA) Sunway Citrine Hub is 100% tenanted with tenants
such as the first Jaya Grocer in Johor; Starbucks, Mr DIY, 7 Eleven, Awesome Brew,
Heaven’s Door Bistro, Morganfield’s, Sushi House, the first Sunway Pharmacy in
Johor, and many more.

NORTHERN REGION: LAUNCHES OF RM 130 MILLION, INVESTMENTS OF RM900 MILLION UNDER CONSTRUCTION

In Ipoh, Perak, Sunway will launch the first of its kind hotsprings serviced suites,
Sunway Onsen Suites which has a GDV of RM 130 million. Conceptualised as the first serviced suites in Asia integrating natural hot springs within the development, the serviced suites development is located within a RM 1 billion GDV integrated development spanning 31 acres, which includes the proposed Lost World Mall, Medical Centre, assisted living residences with hot springs facilities and education facilities.

In Penang, currently under construction in the northern region are the 180-bed
Seberang Jaya Medical Centre, and the Sunway Carnival expansion totaling RM 900
million in investments.

SINGAPORE : WIDENING FOOTPRINT
In Singapore, Sunway Property has widened its footprint with the purchase of two
parcels of prime land last year in Clementi (Sunway equity = 30%) and Canberra Link
(Sunway stake = 35%) totaling 13.02 acres for developments totaling an estimated RM
4.6 billion (RM SGD 1.5 billion) through its joint venture vehicle with Hoi Hup Realty.
This year, Sunway Property will launch the residential Brookvale Park, Clementi in
Singapore with an estimated GDV of RM 1 billion. Sunway Property has also acquired a new plot of 6.16 acres land in Tampines through the same joint venture vehicle for development into an executive condominium housing development (EC development) with a planned GDV of RM 2.4 billion (SGD 800 million).

 *The Super 5 package is subject to terms and conditions and variations with respective
 participating projects nationwide for a limited time only.

— end of press release —

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Sunway’s RM4billion investment into Perak. Wow.

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Easier to get loan approval, a good sign?

According to the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM), the rejection rate for housing loans has declined to 18% in 2014. In 2012, it was 25%. No mention about 2013. This meant that the perception or understanding that more loans applications were being rejected is no longer true. The reason? Well, borrowers and lenders are now adjusting better to the affordability assessment. In other words, buyers start to buy lower to follow what they can afford and sellers are also lowering what they want as the selling price.

The report does not say whether it was also because developers have lowered their selling prices or perhaps adjusted the composition of their products to more affordable ones and thus their buyers were able to afford them better. Not too long ago, REHDA asked Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to relax its regulations on banks so that they can approve loans for eligible first-time home buyers. Read here:
The cause of property prices up is Bank Negara.

According to BNM, all banks must ensure the borrowers have adequate buffers to manage any unexpected expenditures. This is so that they do not fall into financial hardships due to excessive debt burdens.

Personally, I do not see this as a bad sign. I also do not see this as lowering of lending standards. This is because thus far I have not come across any banks which lends to everyone indiscriminately. The lower rejection rate simply meant that the market has adjusted itself and the potential bubble building up has passed. There are advanced nations for which the banks have exposed themselves way too much to home loans. I think their central banks MUST ensure this is curtailed because if another crisis arises, even if from these advanced nations, it would affect the world. Buy responsibly and borrow based on own affordability.

written on 1 June 2015

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Easier to obtain loans is not the best option

PropertyGuru’s country manager, Sheldon Fernandez has asked the government to relook current regulations on financing and lending, especially for first time home buyers. This would not be the first of such a call. It quoted its own sentiment survey which showed that the difficulty in obtaining bank loan approvals is a key area of growing dissatisfaction among home buyers and the most affected would be those in the middle income households who do not qualify for low-cost schemes but also find it tough to buy from the market because of financing issues.

To be very honest, one major reason why the 2008 mortgage crisis happened in the US was also because of easy financing. Everyone who wants to borrow to buy ever higher priced homes would get their loans. Banks were trying their best to get more loans as it would give them better profits. Well, when the music stops, the mortgage crisis happened. Yes, it is true that when speculators are the ones playing in the market, this would happen. However, if the first time home buyer is trying to obtain a loan which he can ill-afford to pay in the future? I think this will also cause the non performing loans to go up.

Every bank would have their own valuations for the current homes in the market, including the new ones. That’s why many times if they feel that the house price is way beyond the usual market price, the bank would only loan lesser than the usual 90 percent. I think, this is still responsible lending. That’s why despite current slowdowns, we do not see banks stopping their lending. In fact, lending continues to grow, even if at a slower pace. Take a look at the chart showing clearly that lending is continuing thus far.

It is tough to convince the buyers to buy one level lower than what they would have loved. However, there are only two ways to go about it. The buyers need to beef up their own borrowing stats before applying or try and go for cheaper options which may require some sacrifice perhaps in terms of location and distance. The Bank Negara has also touched on this recently. Read here:
Stay safe, buy within affordability and stop bubble building

The market does not belong to only first time home buyers. The market should continue to offer stability and safety because if the market crashes, it would affect everyone and not just the first time home buyers.

The government has to shoulder more burden in building more affordable homes or find ways to push for more affordable homes from the private developers. Lowering lending standards should not be the first measure to be taken. Yes, I am taking my own advice. I moved to a lesser known and ‘faraway’ area just so that I can afford a huge condo with great facilities and priced below RM600,000 today. Thus far, doing fine. Sometimes, we just have to change our expectations and love our new expectations. Happy buying what we should afford in the first place.

written on 15 Oct 2015

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Easiest way to bring down home prices – build too many

There has been non-stop articles about this. The reason for house prices being so high is because there are insufficient number of houses being built on a yearly basis compared to the rate of urbanisation, etc, etc, etc. This may be true for some people but I seriously do not think so. The reason is simple. Let’s look at the effective and efficient government of Singapore. Are they not controlling the whole property market with their HDB planning? There were too many for 2014, thus they are reducing the 2015 supply. According to the best scenario, build more units. If prices go up, flood the market with huge numbers of units, make the prices fall and everyone gets a place to stay! It’s harder to be done than said though. Singapore’s property market has not stopped its increase in price for past many years with the exception of 2014. So, was 2014 prices decrease due to huge supply of HDB flats? Well, truth is, no. It was due to many other reasons including the main suggested one, cooling measures by the government since 2009. The reason for cooling measure is NOT to bring prices down. The reason for cooling measure is to STOP prices from going up way too fast compared to the actual fundamental, in this case demand.

Thus, I do not believe that building more homes would necessary bring the prices down. Unless the new homes being built are really what the buyers want. These are some of what the buyers want. Must be a aesthetically pleasing, right sized and nearby to public transport for the weekdays, close to many expressways for the weekends plus prices as low as possible and last but not least location, location, location. Mall must be nearby, schools must be nearby and if possible a university too. Sorry, there are many more reasons. Price? Buyers want cheaper than RM500,000 if possible. Suddenly, there are not that many which can fulfil every requirements.

I have been to many property fairs, I have yet to see such units being made available by any private developers. As for the government ones, both the federal and the state ones, it does seem that the new concepts being bandied about is indeed much better than the low cost of yesterday. The only issue? It’s a few years away from completion of the first batch. The first batch is definitely not the tens of thousands of units being promised. The first batch may be a few thousand units in total spread throughout the whole Malaysia and this meant that the market would still face price pressure, right? Since the supply remain to be low.

After explaining in such detail, do you still think building more would bring prices down? Or do you think it is best that everyone, including you and me be a bit more objective and STOP looking at ONLY certain properties and instead be more OPEN to opportunities? For those who really earn a lot, can you stop thinking that since you can still afford, you should buy ever higher? For those who do not earn that much, must you force yourself to buy that condo which will endanger you and you loved ones with the prospect of bankruptcy? For the middle income ones which everyone claim they are these days, can you accept driving an extra 15 minutes? Buying a secondary property perhaps? This increases your choices and reduces the pressure for everyone who continue BIDDING up the property prices at the areas everyone like? These are the areas where supply is lower than demand, thus prices will continue going up. Problem is, many said, ‘I don’t want’ or ‘I prefer new ones’. I rest my case.

written on 9 Nov 2014

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East Klang Valley Expressway (EKVE) approved, BUT..

Expressways MUST be built in advance in anticipation of potential jams. Approvals should best be based on decision science and not political science. Well, one latest one which has attracted lots of attention is the East Klang Valley Expressway (EKVE). EKVE has been approved by Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ). The approval comes with a few conditions in place. The project developer Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd (AZRB) must submit the latest Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) study and verified by an independent body. AZRB must also listen to the improvements suggested by the residents in the proposed construction of the new expressway.

EKVE costs RM1.55bil and the highway is designed as a closed toll system and with five toll plazas at each of the planned five interchanges. This is the final stretch of the Kuala Lumpur Outer Ring Road (KLORR) system. It has been announced that a total of 106.65ha of forest reserve would be de-gazetted for the purpose of the project. This has continued to face public outcry. Latest one said that residents in Bukit Antarabangsa are unhappy with the state government and MPAJ’s handling of their objections. Instead of relieving jams, residents are afraid that EKVE would make the usual MRR2 jam even worse.

Another report said that the proposed expressway is dangerous and would affect the water supply and air quality of Selangor residents. It will also destroy and fragmentise wildlife habitats. It said that there was no respect for transparency, democracy and participation in Local Agenda 21, to which the municipal council and state government claim to be committed.

I personally think that since this has already been approved, cancelling it would take lots of political will. There are definitely pros and cons and I think all the reasons for the approval should be shared with the public. Successfully objecting is always tough because it’s nature versus development. Most of the time, development wins. Nature means nothing happens and the state government also do not gain anything by doing nothing. However, nothing is certain because KIDEX which was said to be approved earlier has been cancelled as per the last announcement from the Menteri Besar Selangor, Azmin Ali.

written on 20 Aug 2015

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Press Release: East Malaysia’s Largest Property Expo Makes A Comeback With PH Expo Hybrid 2022

[April 13, 2022 – Kota Kinabalu, Sabah] After two years of lockdown, Property Hunter is proud to announce their comeback! Property Hunter, East Malaysia’s leading property portal, will be hosting East Malaysia’s largest property exhibition series, the PH Expo Hybrid 2022 from 22 April to 24 April 2022 at the Sabah International Convention Centre(SICC).

PH Expo will showcase over 80 new projects from across Malaysia all under one roof. The three-day expo, allows homebuyers and investors to learn more about properties and connect with participating developers and agents on-demand as well as be able to grab exclusive deals.

“We are excited to bring back East Malaysia’s largest property expo, PH Expo 2022, after two years of not being able to physically gather. Covid-19 has deeply affected the industry but we’re glad to be back bigger and stronger.”

“We have seen the Property Hunter portal experience tremendous growth in the last two years, with over 200% increase in traffic in March 2022 alone. The growth has been driven by a large and growing user base in Sabah and Sarawak,” revealed Victor Yong, Director of Property Hunter.

Major launching happening at PH Expo 2022

The Expo will also be showcasing projects from developers such as WSG Properties Sdn Bhd, Hap Seng, Alpha Land Development, Sinaland and many more. To highlight the event, Remajaya Sdn. Bhd will be launching their 70 units of residential homes at Bay Suites on 22 April 2022 at 3pm.

PH Expo 2019

Property Talks by experts and influencers

Visitors can also obtain the latest property trends, insights and hear from leading experts and influencers on investment, loan, tax, legal and home improvements. The Expo, in celebration of Property Hunter’s 10th year anniversary, will be featuring 3 successful women who made a career in the real estate industry where they’ll be sharing
their real life story. Henry Tai of Henry Realty will be giving tips on how to buy an auction property, Danny Ho’s property journey to buying his first home at 25 years old, and many more.

Bank Negara Malaysia(BNM) will be giving insights on how to check your credit report. Visitors will be able to gain free printing of their CCRIS reports. For those who need extra help, there will be free counselling services onsite.

Miichael Yeoh speaking at the PH Expo 2019

Finding solutions in planning children’s education

Kinabalu International School(KIS) will be making a special appearance at the Expo on planning your children’s education. They will also be offering 50% on fees for those who wish to register their children. The school will be giving out advice on the best academic subjects that suit your child.

Visitors will also have the chance to eat, drink and be merry. The PH Expo will be featuring a wide range of vendors to choose from such as Swasana Hijau, Majestea, Why Frozen Yoghurt, Nature Coffee and SICC Café.

Mark your calendars!

While visitors discover their dream properties, visitors who pre-register before 21 April 2022 Thursday, 12pm, will stand a chance to win a brand new Apple iPad Pro. Furthermore, Property Hunter will be giving away food vouchers worth RM5 to pre-registered visitors. You can register at
https://bit.ly/3EaxCUo

To join and experience the PH Expo Hybrid 2022, please visit:
https://www.propertyhunter.com.my/expo/

– End –

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Eastar’s Busan – Kota Kinabalu starts. Now 35 international flights

It’s definitely another good news for Kota Kinabalu (KK) as a popular destination. As usual with more tourists, there would be more tourism ringgits and with more locals having more money, some of it would be going to the property market. Reported in
NST
, South Korea’s low-cost airline Eastar jet has started its second service to Kota Kinabalu via the Busan – Kota Kinabalu route. Speaking about Busan, this is one city I told my wife that we should pay a visit. I have only been to Seoul thus far. (Plus won money in a hotel casino there. Haha)  Of course, Busan has also recently become extremely famous because of the movie, ‘Train to Busan.’ (Yes, it’s pretty gory…) My good friend took her children to watch the movie some time back and until today, none of her kids like to even talk about trains as a topic. Okay, let’s focus on KK.

According to Sabah Tourism Board general manager Gordon Yapp, with the addition of this new route, Kota Kinabalu would now have 35 direct international flights. According to Eastar Jet executive managing director Jeong Nak Min, Busan is the second largest city in South Korea and they are targeting an increase of between 3 to 4 percent more South Korean arrivals into Kota Kinabalu. For 2016, as at September 2016, Yapp said 144,596 South Koreans have visited Kota Kinabalu International Airport. (KKIA). In other words, over 16k South Koreans per month. Kota Kinabalu is also a very appropriate MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions) hub to South Koreans as it is only 4.5 hours away.

I personally think
KK is a great MICE destination
 even for local based companies, especially those from the Peninsular. It’s always very funny when I hear them visiting some beaches out of Malaysia and was impressed and yet they have never been to Sabah which actually has many awesome beaches too, if not better. Yes, even the diving sites are also fantastic too and is among the best in the world. So, time to visit yet? Can always drop me an email if you like
 someplace to visit in Sabah.
 I do goat least 3-4 times per year as it’s considered my half-hometown. 🙂  Additionally, as per MAHB’s filing with Bursa Malaysia, KKIA grew 46 percent in terms of passenger traffic from Jan – Sept 2016 when compared to same period in 2015. As at 2015, Kota Kinabalu was still the second busiest Malaysian airport. This only meant KKIA is now an even stronger number two Malaysian airport as at September 2016. Happy thinking about KK as a property investment destination.

written on 16 Dec 2016

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Career? Never straightforward, usually. Stability or potentially?

I stayed 4 years in my first job. I loved my job too and I thought I could work there forever. I only started looking out because my new Japanese GM gave me a rating of C for my performance appraisal. Quite funny because I was a top performer in the first three years and was involved in even an annual negotiation in Tokyo with a VIP customer when I was just 23 years old. Anyway, to cut the story short, I took a pay cut and joined an internet company when it was fighting the mighty newspaper. What did I do before I joined? I calculated the potential business that this new company could do. I bought the newspaper and actually counted the potential one by one!  I realised the potential was huge, plus it’s online versus offline. I joined and within 6 months, I got back my pay and by the end of the second year, I was already getting a pay that I would not be able to reach at least for a few more years had I stayed in my first company.

I left the internet company after 9 years. It was a very tough decision because I would be taking my second pay cut. From a top sales person with some supervisory experience, I would become a ‘mini-GM’ in another internet firm. Again, it was a debate between stability or potentially. I was already a top sales and the targets are often set based on average. It is not that tough to hit the sales targets… By the way, top sales people would typically earn more than even the GMs in public listed companies. I took up the offer because it would offer me a chance to manage the operations of an office and later, two offices. It gave me lots of learning. From restarting a struggling office, retraining and upskilling staffs, firing a few people and even hiring good people and eventually pushing the sales revenues to a record high meant that I was offered to relocate to the KL HQ. Yes, plus a senior manager title too. The scope is a little narrow as it will be within sales.

I was already thinking of relocating to KL but I did not take up the offer and I rejoined my second company instead. Somehow, due to my awesome performance in my first 9 years with them, they were willing to even let me choose the department to join. Again, it’s everything about the potential in an expanded organisation and even roles. This time, I stayed for 4 years plus. During these four years, I switched role 3 times. Lots of new experience, new learning and I was even managing teams across a few countries including Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Indonesia was next. I did not get to continue because I got offered another new role. This time as a COO in a 13 year old profitable group of companies. Of course size wise, by far smaller than my previous companies that I worked for. Am I really ready to be a good COO? I seriously have no idea but I know this. Between ‘stability’ versus ‘potentially,’ it has always been potentially all these years that I have worked; 19 years plus to be exact. I will work hard. Perhaps I can write another article about this 3-5 years later? Haha. Yes, I intend to stay so that I could help the CEO transform the company together. Wish me luck!

written on 5 July 2017

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Not easy to make decision, easier to do nothing?

I have forgotten how many times I asked myself, ‘is this property really worth buying?’ Milan Doshi asked his Facebook friends about the greater fear between the “The Fear of Losing Money” versus the “The Fear of Missing an Opportunity to Make Money.” Many of his friends replied and majority opted for the number two, the fear of missing an opportunity to make money. I believe majority of his friends are already a property investor. The reason is because I think majority of everyone in the world today would answer the former; the fear of losing money. This is a much easier decision to make and it’s also the same as doing nothing.

Property investment is not rosy all the time. Read here:
Property investment: It’s not always rosy.
 Most of the time, we would normally hear what we wanted to hear. For example, those who fear in investing into something so expensive would invariably surround themselves with lots of horror stories about property investment. For those who have decided to invest instead of following, they would definitely be reading and surrounding themselves with like-minded individuals. The final group of individuals may just be that group which believes earning profits is extremely easy and thus expose themselves to either sudden huge losses or wins. Read here:
Cheating you easily, when you are greedy

I have found out from many friends that the worst is always to be honest with ourselves. For the employees, it is always the company paying them too little but actually, if they are good enough why not join a company which will pay them better salaries? For the fresh graduates, it is such a shame to be seen driving a Proton and they would rather somehow scrape through every month just to drive that entry level Japanese marque. For the potential property investors, it’s a never ending search for the ‘perfect’ property. They want to know what’s the best value? Read here:
Waiting for lowest price before buying the perfect property

Think again seriously about Milan’s question. Is it ‘The Fear of Losing Money’ or “The Fear of Missing an Opportunity to Make Money.” Then, answer it honestly. I think it will affect our future. Happy deciding.

written on 25 Oct 2015

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Easy to blame but never because we are still the same

Many reports have shown that the basic salary of fresh graduates in Malaysia to be low or not high enough. Even more fresh graduates blame their employers for not paying them enough to support their lifestyle. Some say the growth has not been fast enough versus the cost of property. Well, truth is, majority of these fresh grads are not looking at buying their properties anyway. They are looking to buy goods to make them feel proud of themselves. Truth is, how many of these fresh graduates would be earning high salaries in the future? 50% of them? 40% of them? 20% of them? Well, after having worked for the past 16 plus years after my first degree, I can safely tell you that maybe up to 20% but that’s about it. Organisations are all like a pyramid. Very few would actually rise to the top. You may need 500 technicians, supervised by 50 supervisors who in turn report indirectly to 10 Engineers whom themselves report to 3 Managers who would then have a General Manager on top. Who amongst these would qualify to be earning very good salary? If you consider 5 figure monthly salary to be a respectable pay, then only the General Manager may be earning this. So, what happened to all the fresh grads who graduated and wanted high pay? Well, some said their company mistreated them, some said the pay is too low for them to survive, some said their universities never equipped them with the right skills and some would just say Malaysia’s salary is way too low, I must go overseas. Great news, Malaysian passport qualifies us to go to majority of any country we would want to go.

It’s easy to blame but it’s never because we are still the same. Imagine having graduated and started working and every day in and day out and year after year, we do almost the same thing. Never read more about the world. Never understand about investment options. Hates insurance people. Honestly, are all these factors to be blamed more than us / we / you / ourselves? Fresh grads pay are low. Please do google online and tell me any country in this world where the pay of fresh grads are very high and they are very happy. America? UK? Australia or even our neighbour Singapore? Starting low is the norm but continue to be low, now that’s a sin on our part. Did we somehow scrape enough to further our studies for a relevant Master Degree? Did we work harder than everyone else? Did we waste time watching addictive Korean dramas or did we attend free seminars to spark our mind to think bigger and wider? Once sparked, did we invest more time, effort and money to start benefitting from it?

Yes, this article is aimed at fresh graduates. When we have worked hard enough but did not get the deserved promotion, guess what, we would be appreciated in other companies because of the new skills you have learnt. If other companies did not appreciate it, then there’s no wonder why our current company also did not promote us, right? We learnt the wrong things. When we have learnt a lot and still make mistakes, it meant that soon we would start to make less mistakes and more money. Google the famous personalities you like, how many of them suddenly become successful without much work? Haha. If they did, that meant they were lucky, that’s all. Oh yeah, luck follows those who work hard. Opportunities open up to those who really look HARD. Other than that, well, we can continue to blame everything and everyone else. I think we would continue to be, well, the same for a very long time to come. Happy working and learning, to all of us.

written on 29 Nov 2014

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Eating cheaper is still possible, depends on us actually

I was home in Ipoh and as usual when my mother does not cook, we will eat out. My parents do not spend a lot. In fact
RM800 per month
 is more than enough for them. We dropped by a new restaurant specialising only with economy rice; really economic. Free chrysanthemum tea and chicken soup. There were enough seats for nearly 200 pax; plastic chairs along long banquet tables. Everyone eats together. Within the restaurant at 130pm there were only around 80 pax, with another 10 queuing to get the dishes they want. I decided not to take any meat today. Take a look at the image. So, with that huge plate, three dishes plus chrysanthemum tea and soup, how much should I pay? Well I paid RM3. I know, someone wanted to say but I can’t eat in Ipoh! I work in Kuala Lumpur lah. Okay, point taken and perhaps you are right. Then again, even in Ipoh, the usual economy rice may not be this cheap and the typical set lunches in cafes are still RM13.90 per set etc.

I was having lunch with my Thailand colleague on Thursday in KL. We went to the Maju Food Junction. I ordered a nasi goreng kampung for her which was not just delicious but the portion was enormous. Take a look at the image to understand what I meant. Yes, the portion was huge even for a guy who eats a lot like me. It’s RM5.90 within a cosy and breezy environment. (air-conditioned) The only issue that I encounter for this particular stall is that if I arrive by 1220pm, the queue would be extremely long and despite the two cooks being very efficient, I could only get my order within the next 25 minutes.  So, I estimated that on a daily basis, this particular stall should be easily selling 120-150 plates because many do order for take-away too. (Buy one and share among two colleagues). Two weeks ago, my company ordered 60 packets for a company event too.

I know some may want to say that but I want to bring my customers / good friends for a good lunch but within one of those nice cafes / restaurants. I do not want to bring them to a canteen even if the canteen is an air-conditioned and well designed one. I happened to eat at Onde-Onde (Citta Mall) on Friday afternoon. On the menu was a Set of the Day consisting of a quarter chicken, plus some bits of sambal sotong (very spicy but addictive), vegetable strips, acar, keropok plus fried rice served on a banana leaf. Yes, it includes a Iced-Tea as well plus all the waiters are dressed in uniforms. The food was delicious and all four of us (colleagues) enjoyed it thoroughly. The service was extremely fast and I could count easily 50 pax eating at the same time as me. Conservatively, I think they can serve 150 pax within the 2 hour lunch period. I hope they would continue to grow their business and open more restaurants.

Whether prices continue to rise ever faster also depends on whether we just accept and pay or we go for cheaper places instead. No one should aim at crazy profits and people who continue patronise these stalls are also crazy. Hey, saving RM5 per meal for a year is at least a few thousand ringgit! Few years doing this and we even have enough for downpayment for an affordable apartment. Crazy but true. Eat cheaper. Can do.

written on 6 Dec 2016

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eCCRIS is now available for direct registration for Malaysian individuals

Briefly, this is eCCRIS.

“eCCRIS, a secure online platform for the public to access their own Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS) report, anywhere at their convenience. This service is provided for free. The CCRIS report shows the financing and repayment history of a borrower with participating financial institutions over the past 12 months. It does not provide an assessment of a borrower’s credit standing. It is therefore a factual report and is not a blacklist.”
Source here.

eCCRIS is now available for direct registration for Malaysian individuals.

Full message from
Bank Negara Malaysia. Source here.

Bank Negara Malaysia wishes to announce that effective 18 February 2022, Malaysian individual new users may now directly register for eCCRIS at
eccris.bnm.gov.my
, without the need to walk into a BNM or Agensi Kaunseling dan Pengurusan Kredit (AKPK) office.

To register for eCCRIS, individuals need to only follow the steps attached. This includes for new users to make a RM1 online transfer to a designated BNM account via internet banking, with the RM1 automatically refunded within two working days upon registration. This step allows for the identities of individuals to be confirmed digitally, taking away the need for physical verification.

Deputy Governor Marzunisham Omar said, “These enhancements make it more convenient and safer for individual users to register for eCCRIS and have access to their CCRIS reports, all from the comfort of their homes.”

For companies and non-Malaysian individuals, new user registrations can continue to be performed through eLINK at telelink.bnm.gov.my.

Please visit
bnm.gov.my/ccris
 for further information on CCRIS and eCCRIS. The public may also reach BNMTELELINK at 1-300-88-5465 or 603-2174 1717 (overseas) or via our newly introduced Live Chat function at
bnm.gov.my/livechat
.

— end of message from
Bank Negara Malaysia. Source here.

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533.93 acre, near Setia Alam, GDV of RM8.58 bil

Eco World
 will be developing a new development called Eco Ardence with a joint venture partner, Cascara Sdn Bhd. It is within a plot of land near Bandar Setia Alam. Size of the land is 533.93 acre and there are 10 phases which will be developed over the next eight years. Total gross development value (GDV) is RM8.58 billion. Besides Bandar Setia Alam, the other major ongoing projects near the land are Bandar Bukit Raja and Setia Eco Park. Its partner, Cascara Sdn Bhd is a private company owned by Bustari and his brother Ahmadi Yusoff. Bustari is a low-profile businessman from Sarawak who controls Petra Energy Bhd, an oil and gas company.

Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said, “Based on the initial plans that the development team has come up with, I am confident that Eco Ardence will be very well-received by our followers in the Klang Valley and will set new benchmarks for the group in our continual quest of ‘Creating Tomorrow and Beyond.” The construction of Eco Ardence would start in the first quarter of 2017. With this new development,
Eco World’s cumulative GDV
 of all its Malaysian projects is close to RM80bil. It’s important to note that this development would have a good mix of luxurious and affordable landed homes for upgraders and there will also be innovative apartments and well-conceptualised integrated commercial units which suit the lifestyle needs of younger homeowners.

If we are working in Kuala Lumpur city centre, Bandar Setia Alam is 35-40 minutes of drive away and the distance is around 39km. (As per google map). I think this is one reason why I have many colleagues who are staying in Shah Alam or
Klang and travelling to and fro daily.
 In fact I just got to know that two more of my colleagues are moving to Semenyih once they get the keys to their units. Yes, it’s built by Eco World too. No prices have been revealed yet but I have just registered so that I would also get the news once its announced. Happy waiting.

written on 10 June 2016

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Eco Marina Penang no more, for now.

I was as excited as many Penangites when we learnt of
Eco World’s huge development in Batu Kawan.

Well, this has been cancelled. According to reports from many media, Eco World Development Group Bhd and Penang Development Corp (PDC) have agreed to rescind the letter of award (LOA) for the proposed RM10 billion
Eco Marina mixed development project
. This is because after a detailed planning process, Eco World found out that the land space needed for the golf course is much bigger than previously estimated. Thus, this has affected the viability of the overall project.

Obviously, building a golf course versus residential units, the former meant costs while the latter meant profits. In this case, there are less land for residential units. Eco Marina’s GDV was reported to be RM10 billion and would have taken 10 years to complete. The project’s first phase is expected to include a mixed development of residential and commercial properties. A golf course and club house were supposed to have followed in the subsequent phase. As per the Letter of Acceptance (LOA) in April 2015, Eco World was to buy 121.6 hectares of 99-year leasehold land in Bandar Cassia, Batu Kawan, for RM790.93 million to develop residential and commercial properties. It would also lease the 60.70 hectares for a 30-year period (with an option to renew for another 30 years) for RM65.34 million to develop a golf course with a minimum of 18 holes.

This does not end yet. Eco World president and chief executive officer Datuk Chang Khim Wah in a statement said, “While we accept the unavoidable circumstances which have necessitated the rescission of the LoA, we remain interested in Penang as a value market for Eco World.” Of course, Eco World is not the only developer in mainland Penang or nearby Batu Kawan. There is also another development over a period of ten years. This is still happening currently and I could see some progress overtime I drive into Penang using the second bridge.
2018 IKEA Batu Kawan,RM8 billion development, 10 years to complete

Let’s see if another major developer would step in? Perhaps in the upcoming new tender by PDC, we can see more than just one developer participate? That would drive up the value,definitely. Give to the one with the most benefits to Penang. Happy believing in Batu Kawan.

written on 10 June 2016

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Eco World and its RM8.7 bill Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC)

Eco World Development Bhd’s President and chief executive officer Datuk Chang Khim Wah said that the company has achieved RM3.016bil sales for the financial year ended Oct 31, 2015. This figure was contributed by four projects in the Klang Valley worth RM1.579bil, six projects in Iskandar Malaysia (RM1.213bil) and two projects in Penang ( RM224mil). With this, it has surpassed its sales target of RM3 billion for the financial year 2015 (FY15). Moving forward, Eco World would now be focussing on its RM8.7bil Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC) project in terms of sales in financial year 2016 (FY16).

In brief, BBCC is a joint development Eco World, UDA Holdings Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF). It is a development on the former Pudu jail site consisting of a mixed residential and commercial development comprising a retail mall, an entertainment block, strata offices, office tower, two hotels, and serviced residences and apartments. According to an earlier report, the sales would start end of 2015 but I think this has been delayed slightly to Q1 2016 and construction would start in mid 2016 with full completion expected in the next 8 – 10 years. Some details from an earlier article here:
Eco World: Still confident of 2015 target and BBCC update

In its latest financial year, FY15, Eco World achieved a revenue of RM1.712 bill and a gross profit of RM411.9mil. This gives it a gross margin of 24%. Interested with new developments which are big enough to spark main-catalyst? Well, this may be it. BBCC’s site is really in the middle of the city centre and with the right connections should be another Bukit Bintang. Yes, perhaps this may cause the competition to heat up between the current Bukit Bintang and the new Bukit Bintang but if I am a shopper, more options is always better! Let’s drop by and take a look when they launch yeah. Happy investing.

written on 10 Dec 2015

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Eco World: Still confident of 2015 target and BBCC update

It’s not good news when developers say that they are revising their targets downwards. There are quite a number actually. However, one of them, Eco World said that it is confident to hit its sales target of RM3 billion this year. This is because of the number of township projects it has currently. In fact it has a broad spectrum of products. Yes, it has London projects too. Read here:
London housing shortage, Eco World adds 2,773 units

So, do we feel a bit more confident since one of the biggest developer in Malaysia is positive and upbeat? As usual, first time buyers may be very jittery currently but many repeat buyers continues to be on the lookout for ‘gems’ to buy. Read here:
Repeat buyers will still buy, yes very true

This was not just the only good news. Eco World also said that it will also be starting the construction of the RM8.7 billion Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC) project by the first quarter of 2016. It is in progress of obtaining the development approval from the Kuala Lumpur City Hall. Pre-marketing would start by year-end. I think there are still many investors whom Eco World is targeting and that is why BBCC is still on track and is not being delayed. While no estimated prices per sq ft has been announced but if we were to refer to recent land transactions, we can see that plots of lands in Bukit Bintang and KLCC remains extremely popular.

BBCC is on the site of the former Pudu jail and it is approved for a mixed residential and commercial development comprising a retail mall, an entertainment block, strata offices, office tower, two hotels, and serviced residences and apartments. The total development period is expected to be up to 10 years. When this is completed, I think it’s best to take the MRT instead of driving in. Let’s all drop by the sales gallery once its completed and understand more. Happy buying.

written on 20 Aug 2015

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Penang: Eco World’s Eco Meadow show units are open

This coming weekend, I have been invited to “A Clean Car is a Happy Car” event by Eco World for its project Eco Meadows. I think for developers, it’s  always good to try something new when we are engaging our potential customers. Remember there was one many months back by one developer where buyers who paid deposit on the day would get a free hot air balloon ride? There were also many based on the theme of the day, for example Christmas Day or even the upcoming Chinese New Year. The latest one is Eco Meadows by Eco World.

For this one, I think it is suitable for Penangites who believe mainland Penang is an area of potential opportunity. Actually, with the second bridge, it’s really no longer that far and jams have yet to happen with the second bridge. Interested? Read on.

Do refer to the image for details. It starts this Sunday 24th Jan until 28th February 2015. Do note that car wash is applicable only for weekends. Would anyone drive there just to get a car wash? The probability is there but I think what developers should aim for every campaign is that feel-good feeling. For this one, it’s easy to see why. Car is a man’s best friend, for many men. Thus, viewing a potential home with the family coupled with a car wash is definitely a potent combination.

Yes, I will be dropping by as there are some events lined up for the media too. If you happen to be a kopiandproperty.com reader, see you there yeah. Oh yeah, here’s no need to mention kopiandproperty.com as there are no extra discounts. 🙂  I would personally get nothing more than just a car wash too. Happy visiting Eco World’s Eco Meadow show units this weekend.

written on 20 Jan 2016

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