Press Release: 8th PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) Laurel Developers, Projects With Wide Appeal

A CELEBRATION OF RESILIENT DEVELOPERS AS WELL AS DEVELOPMENTS THAT RESPOND TO THE NEEDS OF THE MALAYSIAN MARKET

·
Tropicana Corporation Berhad garners eight awards, including Best Developer and Best Developer (Central Malaysia)

·
OCR Group Berhad, Ideal Property Group, and Matrix Concepts Holdings Berhad win Best Lifestyle Developer, Best Affordable Homes Developer, and Best Township Developer, respectively

·
Ho Kong Soon, Group Managing Director of Matrix Concepts Holdings Berhad, accepts the 2021 Malaysia Real Estate Personality of the Year award

Recipients of the 8th PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Malaysia), presented by Kohler, were announced today in an innovative virtual gala presentation broadcast on
AsiaPropertyAwards.com
 and multiple digital platforms, with highlights to air on the History Channel.

The programme celebrated the achievements of the real estate sector from north to south Malaysia in 25 categories, including special honours and new titles.

For the second year in a row, the coveted Best Developer award was presented to Tropicana Corporation Berhad. The company accumulated a total of six gold statuettes and two Highly Commended citations, including the never-before-presented title of Best Developer (Central Malaysia) as well as the Best High End Landed Development award for Tropicana Aman – Freesia Residences.

Matrix Concepts Holdings Berhad was crowned Best Township Developer and received three special honours. Ho Kong Soon, the Group Managing Director of Matrix Concepts Holdings Berhad, accepted the 2021 Malaysia Real Estate Personality of the Year title, an award decided by editors of PropertyGuru Property Report Magazine. The title secures the Matrix Concepts Holdings Berhad leader’s legacy in the conceptualisation, development and stewardship of well-thought-out townships and communities across Malaysia.

Ho Kong Soon said: “I would like to dedicate the award this year to all my stakeholders as well as the Matrix team because of their dedication and their commitment to make all this possible.”

Other winners in the Developer categories were OCR Group Berhad and Ideal Property Group, hailed Best Lifestyle Developer and Best Affordable Homes Developer, respectively.

The 2021 edition of the awards included honours for developments with mass appeal. Ideal Property Group won Best Mass Market Condo/Apartment Development (Northern) for Havana Beach Residences while Mah Sing Group Berhad won Best Mass Market Condo/Apartment Development (Central) for M Luna.

Projects by companies under Sime Darby Berhad dominated the Best of Malaysia categories. Senada Residences by Sime Darby Brunsfield Resort Sdn Bhd. won the highly competitive Best Condo/Apartment Development (Malaysia) award, in addition to the Best High End Condo/Apartment Development (Central) title. Elmina Green 4 by Sime Darby Property (City of Elmina) Sdn. Bhd. won the equally coveted Best Housing/Landed Development (Malaysia) award, in addition to the Best Landed Development (Central) title.

Meanwhile, Cantara Residences by Sime Darby Property (Ara Damansara) Sdn Bhd won Best Mid End Condo/ Apartment Development (Central) while The Detached Factories by Sime Darby Property (Bukit Raja) Sdn. Bhd. won Best Industrial Development.

Other winning projects were Agile Mont Kiara by Agile Real Estate Development Sdn Bhd; AraTre’ Residences @ Ara Damansara by Puncakdana Sdn Bhd; Aurora Resort Villas by Country View Berhad; Ion Forte Green City by NCT Group of Companies; KCC City Business Park, Muar by KCC Realty; Mutiara Rini Skudai by Boustead Properties Berhad; and Terra by Putrajaya Holdings Sdn Bhd.

The 2021 edition of the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) marks the programme’s second annual virtual gala celebration, following a successful inaugural virtual gala event that engaged consumers, agents and investors across Asia Pacific in 2020.

Hari V. Krishnan, Chief Executive Officer of PropertyGuru Group, said: “Our awards programme in Malaysia is an extension of our strong market position and business performance. The eighth edition of our awards in Malaysia recognises built spaces with various degrees of opulence and affordability, giving property access to a wide array of income groups across the country. Showcasing a wealth of choices in quality real estate, the awards elevate the achievements of innovative developers across Malaysia.”

Jules Kay, Managing Director of PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards and Events, said: “The choices on offer in terms of quality real estate in Malaysia have increased significantly, making it one of the region’s most compelling real estate investment destinations. We are delighted to recognise the resilience of developers in these challenging times. The entries feature a variety of condo and housing projects that cater to the different needs and budgets of property buyers.”

The independent panel of judges that determined this year’s awardees were Prem Kumar, Awards Chairperson and Deputy Managing Director, Jones Lang Wootton; Blaine Robert, CEO and Creative Director, Blaine Robert Design; Chris Tia, Principal and Managing Partner, Tia & Noordin; Dr. Daniele Gambero, CEO and Propenomist, REI Group of Companies; Sr. Engad Ravana, Principal, ER Consult; Sr Low Han Hoe, Senior Manager, Investment & Agency, Nawawi Tie Leung Real Estate Consultants Sdn Bhd; Ar. Mustapha Kamal Zulkarnain, Founder and Principal, Arkitek Mustapha Kamal; Datuk Ar Hj Saiful Anuar Abdul Aziz, Principal, Anuar Aziz Architect, a member of Arte Axis Design Group; Tan Hui Yin, Partner, Tan Chap & Associates; and Ir. Dr. Zulhkiple A Bakar, Managing Director, Perunding ZAB Sdn Bhd.

The site inspection judges consist of Charles Tan Chia Lih, Owner, KopiandProperty.com   blog; Ir. Dr. Justin Lai, Managing Director, IPM Group; Law Lee Kiau, President, Johor Interior Designer Association; Miichael Yeoh, CEO & Founder, GM Training Academy PLT; Ng Wee Kwong, Property Invester; and Richard Oon Hock Chye, Executive Director, ShineWing TY TEOH Consulnet Tax Sdn. Bhd.

The team of HLB Ler Lum Chew – HLB Malaysia, led by John Ler, International Contact Partner, and Kelvin Chew, Managing Partner, maintained the fairness, transparency, integrity and credibility of the awards programme throughout the judging process.

The 8th PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) come ahead of the highly anticipated event series known as PropertyGuru Week in December. These include the 16th PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards Grand Final, where main winners from Malaysia will compete with country winners around Asia Pacific for various Best in Asia titles. The 2021 editions of the awards programme for Australia, China (Mainland, Hong Kong, and Macau), Greater Niseko (Japan), India, and Sri Lanka will take place in the run-up to the Grand Final.

The Grand Final will be preceded by the opening of the 2021 PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit’s virtual world, covering topics like the data landscape, accessible data, sustainable development, and data innovation.

Organised by Southeast Asia’s leading property technology company, PropertyGuru Group, the 8th PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) programme is supported by platinum sponsor Kohler; official portal partner
PropertyGuru.com.my
; official cable TV partner History Channel; official magazine PropertyGuru Property Report; official PR partner Klareco Communications; media partners KopiandProperty.com, Malaysian Business, Penang Property Talk, and The Grid Asia; official charity partner Right To Play; official ESG partner Baan Dek Foundation; supporting association Asia MarTech Society; and official supervisor HLB.

For more information, email
awards@propertyguru.com
 or visit the official website:
AsiaPropertyAwards.com
.

LIST OF WINNERS AND HIGHLY COMMENDED AWARDEES

8th PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Malaysia)

DEVELOPER AWARDS

Best Developer

WINNER: Tropicana Corporation Berhad

Best Developer (Central Malaysia)

WINNER: Tropicana Corporation Berhad

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Putrajaya Holdings Sdn Bhd

Best Township Developer

WINNER: Matrix Concepts Holdings Berhad

Best Lifestyle Developer

WINNER: OCR Group Berhad

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Binastra Land Sdn Bhd

Best Affordable Homes Developer

WINNER: Ideal Property Group

DEVELOPMENT AWARDS

Best High End Condo/Apartment Development (Central)

WINNER: Senada Residences by Sime Darby Brunsfield Resort Sdn Bhd

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Grand Ion Majestic by NCT Alliance Berhad

Best Mid End Condo/Apartment Development (Central)

WINNER: Cantara Residences by Sime Darby Property (Ara Damansara) Sdn Bhd

HIGHLY COMMENDED: AraTre’ Residences @ Ara Damansara by Puncakdana Sdn Bhd

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Aura Residence by Putrajaya Holdings Sdn Bhd

HIGHLY COMMENDED: One Cochrane Residences by Boustead Properties Berhad

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Tropicana Metropark – SouthPlace Residences by Tropicana Corporation Berhad

Best Mass Market Condo/Apartment Development (Central)

WINNER: M Luna by Mah Sing Group Berhad

Best Mass Market Condo/Apartment Development (Northern)

WINNER: Havana Beach Residences by Ideal Property Group

Best Leisure Condo/Apartment Development

WINNER: Ion Forte Green City by NCT Group of Companies

Best High End Landed Development

WINNER: Tropicana Aman – Freesia Residences by Tropicana Corporation Berhad

Best Landed Development (Central)

WINNER: Elmina Green 4 by Sime Darby Property (City of Elmina) Sdn. Bhd.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: 118 Residence @ Kinrara by Mahajaya Berhad

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Mutiara Hills by Boustead Properties Berhad

Best Mega Township Development

WINNER: Mutiara Rini Skudai by Boustead Properties Berhad

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Bandar Sri Sendayan by Matrix Concepts Holdings Berhad

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Taman Impian Emas, Johor Bahru by Gunung Impian Development Sdn Bhd

Best Mixed Use Development

WINNER: Terra by Putrajaya Holdings Sdn Bhd

Best Industrial Development

WINNER: The Detached Factories by Sime Darby Property (Bukit Raja) Sdn. Bhd.

Best Retail Development

WINNER: KCC City Business Park, Muar by KCC Realty

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Tropicana Metropark – SouthPlace Shoppes by Tropicana Corporation Berhad

DESIGN AWARDS

Best Condo/Apartment Architectural Design

WINNER: AraTre’ Residences @ Ara Damansara by Puncakdana Sdn Bhd

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Trion 2 @ KL by Binastra

Best Club House Design

WINNER: Aurora Resort Villas by Country View Berhad

Best Landscape Architectural Design

WINNER: Agile Mont Kiara by Agile Real Estate Development Sdn Bhd

BEST OF MALAYSIA AWARDS

Best Condo/Apartment Development (Malaysia)

WINNER: Senada Residences by Sime Darby Brunsfield Resort Sdn Bhd

Best Housing/Landed Development (Malaysia)

WINNER: Elmina Green 4 by Sime Darby Property (City of Elmina) Sdn. Bhd.

SPECIAL AWARDS

Special Recognition in ESG

WINNER: Matrix Concepts Holdings Berhad

WINNER: Tropicana Corporation Berhad

Special Recognition for CSR

WINNER: Matrix Concepts Holdings Berhad

WINNER: OCR Group Berhad

WINNER: Tropicana Corporation Berhad

Special Recognition in Sustainable Design

and Construction

WINNER: Binastra Land Sdn Bhd

WINNER: Ideal Property Group

WINNER: Matrix Concepts Holdings Berhad

WINNER: Putrajaya Holdings Sdn Bhd

WINNER: Tropicana Corporation Berhad

PUBLISHER’S CHOICE

Malaysia Real Estate Personality of the Year

WINNER: Ho Kong Soon, Group Managing Director, Matrix Concepts Holdings Berhad

–END–

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9 Months, Financial Crisis may happen – Arturo Bris of IMD

IMF said there’s a possibility of property bubble in Malaysia. There are truths there, especially the overpriced condos still empty after 1 year of key handover. However, everyone sits up straight when someone prominent enough tells you an exact date when the financial crisis may happen, again. For those who are overstretched by choice today, perhaps it is time to unwind some of your positions or risk losing it all if the below prediction comes true. There’s just no need to risk everything.

In a news.com.au news the following was reported. Arturo Bris, a finance professor at Swiss business School, IMD and who has taught Yale a few years said that based on his statistical analysis, the world could expect a crisis within 9 months or as early as April 2015, lasting a year.

These are his reasons:

A stock market bubble:
 “In the past year, stock markets have performed unrealistically well and at some point the situation will explode.”

Banking in China:
“A severe crisis could be driven by growing Chinese shadow banking.”

Energy crisis
: “If the US (the world’s largest producer of gas) begins exporting to the rest of the world, Russia might feel threatened, causing a geopolitical storm.”

Another real estate bubble:
 “There is a risk of a property bubble forming in countries like Brazil, China, Canada or Germany.”

Ratings and bankruptcy crisis:
 “Companies currently have too much debt and the new norm is to have a BBB rating.”

War and conflict:
 “There is increasing geopolitical tension. Events like the current crisis in Crimea could trigger a market crash, even if there is no war.”

Increasing poverty:
“Overall world poverty has increased and whenever the poor become poorer, we can expect a social conflict.”

Cash and hyperinflation:
“The surplus of cash that central banks and corporations are holding could end up damaging the economy.”

Briefly, explaining each of them.

A stock market bubble. This is also true for Malaysian stock market. The PER is now at close to 17 times. Personally, this is considered very high to me. Just be careful with the stocks you buy. There are still value but on a whole, it’s HIGH.

Banking in China. Seriously, I do not think this will happen due to China’s available options but then again I am not an expert in banking.

Energy Crisis: I have no idea about this though if we are talking about relationship, US has not been having good relationships not just with Russia but with many other nations including Germany and China.

Another real estate bubble: Brazil, China, Canada, Germany. Personal comment on China, the property prices there are more expensive in secondary cities even when compared to KLCC. Yet the per capita income is lower. Brazil’s economy meanwhile has not been doing great for a few years already.

Ratings and bankruptcy crisis: Personally, if there companies have more debts than its total business, please stay away no matter how much they say the prices will go up. Better be safe than sorry. BBB rating to me is a very bad level already.

War and Conflict. Personally, I think this is limited to certain areas / countries and is unlikely to be the major reason for any crisis. There’s really no reason for any of the super powers to make enemy of each other. Issuing strong one sided statements perhaps but taking actions?

Increasing poverty. If we take Malaysia as an example, we see online news continue to talk about people unable to make ends meet and they quote a few examples. Yet, whenever I go Starbucks, it is full of people. I have no idea who’s right.

Cash and hyperinflation. I think one main reason for inflation would be property prices going up. As for cash, I think majority of the countries have taken a lot of cooling measures. Even for Malaysia, the transactions continue to slide year on year though prices continue inching up.

There are many things you need to read and analyse before any conclusion can be made. Truth is, even when market is good, never ever bet everything you have because the next crisis, to me will come uninvited and definitely not going to be a predictable one. 9 months? No one knows if it may just be around the corner if the war in the Middle East escalates and the oil prices go crazy, causing many countries to also go crazy in the process.

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90 pct occupancy for KL Eco City Mall by Q1 2018

Malls are facing difficulties?
 I think some are really in trouble. It’s hard to come back, usually after it starts to fail. You visit a mall where 50 percent of the shops are closed, would you visit the same mall again? The toughest part is that you will tell your friends about it and they do not even give the mall a chance after that. Not all malls though. I still find it hard to find car parks in those super huge malls like 1Utama or MidValley or Sunway Mall. Well, I think malls have their
work cut out for them, the newer ones.
Be different and be something people wanted to have. I would love to drop by this next mall in Q1 2018; KLEC Mall in SP Setia’s KL Eco City.

Image Souce: KL Eco City website

SP Setia said that KLEC Mall would have 90 percent occupancy by Q1 2018. Yea, that’s a few months more but saying it to the world certainly means they have the confidence with the progress. Here’s that full article  in
The Malay Mail.

It says that it is encouraged by the fact that Jaya Grocer is taking up an entire floor of 54,0000 sq ft and there are a few more tenants on the way too. (Yes, I personally think Jaya Grocer is a good supermarket. The price may not be the lowest but the choices and the varieties are pretty good to begin with.)  SP Setia’s divisional general manager Tony Ling also shared that Jaya Grocer’s Bangsar Market is a very unique concept and its inspiration came from the Camden Market and Borough Market in London as well as the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne.  He said, “Bangsar Market will stand out from the current competition with the integration of F&B into the concept providing opportunities to enjoy a wide variety of dining options.”

KLEC sits on a 25 acres prime land and it the first integrated green luxury development anchored by prime commercial offices, high-end retail outlets, luxury service residences and residential towers. KLEC Mall offers 250,000 sq ft of retail space in a five-storey mall and will open in Q1 2018.
Full article in TheMalayMail here.
Viia Residences may be something interesting for you?
Here’s an earlier article.

It’s website here.
Anyone whose new office is in the new KLEC? Take some photos and share yeah. Happy following.

written on 25 Oct 2017

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90 percent fear future generations won’t be able to buy a home

An earlier article in businesstimes.com.sg: In the world’s most liveable cities, few can afford to buy a home.
 Seriously, we should do a similar survey like what was done by the Australian National University. From its survey, almost 90 per cent of Australians fear future generations won’t be able to buy a home. One of the reason contributing to this is because first-time home buyers were competing against investors. Investors could claim the cost of owning a property if they have a negative gearing and this is a tax deduction against other income. First time home buyers have no such negative gearing because they are buying the property for own stay and is not for renting out. Due to the rising prices, the home owner ship among young Australians have fallen to the lowest level on record. (It would be really good to have a similar comparison to the current situation in Malaysia.)

The article says that a few reasons contributed to this. They include record low interest rates
(actually, the interest rates in Malaysia is only slightly higher than Australia’s)
, lack of supply
(hopefully the affordable homes are being handed over in time and more being built. State and federal governments better just do their job and stop debating)
, a tax system that favours property investors
(I think this is not the case here. Many ‘investors’ who bought too many units are now struggling. As for the rest, it’s not easy to get loans and only those who qualify could. That’s why our Non-performing-loan numbers are not considered high currently).
 Plus the fact that home prices in Sydney has surged more than 140 percent in 15 years.
(Sorry yeah, not even Australians have such a high salary increment year after year and certainly top performers would only be the top 10 percent in all companies)
  Sydney is now even more expensive than London and New York. Currently, only 45 percent of 25 to 34 year olds own their own home. Historically,this is 16 percent lower than the 1980s.
(Again, if only Malaysia have such numbers for comparison purpose)

Actually, most of my friends above 35 owns a home. Perhaps that’s because I do not have too many friends who could stand my lecture of why owning a home is a plus and not a disadvantage. In fact, the two
friends who were asking me ‘when would prices drop’
 last year have signed their SnP just two weeks ago. Both are barely 30 years old but both are working professionals. Would they be better off than their peers? I certainly think so. One drives a family car and another drives a Saga. Would they be able to enjoy more currently? Certainly not, as soon as the mortgage payments start. Haha. The advanced markets have shown us the potential future. If we read about them but take no further actions, it’s hard to find someone to blame in the future. Yes, that Starbucks in your hand may have been better if it’s just a pack of Old Town 3in1 White Coffee instead.
 (Here’s a comparison of homeloans from 15 different banks. )
 Happy reading.

written on 1 Nov 2017

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900 sq ft, 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and just RM300,000?

How many rooms could be fitted into a 900 sq ft home? The article title says it all. 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms and priced at RM300,000. Smaller sized affordable homes could be priced even lower and the price could even start from RM120,000. This is good news for B40 households. In fact these different sizes would be suitable for B40 households who are a happy single, a loving couple or even a harmonious family of 3, 4 or 5 persons. The specs and the price were announced by The Better Malaysia Foundation (BMF).

Article in thestar.com.my
  BMF founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan said, “Affordability is a key issue as most, if not all, B40 households will not be able to purchase a home without some form of financial assistance. I understand that in the Klang Valley, for every 1,000 affordable houses launched there are something like between 10,000 and 60,000 applicants vying to purchase them. There is a severe shortage of affordable homes to meet demand.”

In collaboration with Berjaya Land Bhd, Tan shared that BMF has designed a 900 sq ft, five-bedroom, four-bathroom show apartment specifically for this initiative. He also said that these affordable homes can be realistically priced from RM120,000 to RM300,000 for an apartment with sizes starting from 450 sq ft, 600 sq ft, 750 sq ft and up to 900 sq ft in the Klang Valley.  Please
do read the full article in thestar.com.my

Affordable home does not necessary need to be owned

It’s important to have a home we could own so that we do not need to pay rental for it forever. At the same time however, we must be savvy to the fact that some households really could not afford to pay even a low monthly mortgage of a few hundred ringgit. Many times, they may want to own a unit in the future but they really need help now to ensure they could at least afford to have proper meals everyday.

This is why it’s really possible for the government to step in and provide these basic homes and rent it to these households at a nominal rental so that these households are not spending most of their income on rental. For example, singles needing a home does not actually need one whole unit to themselves. A proper room with shared hall, kitchen and even bathrooms would also suffice because if we could help them to spend nominally on rental, then they would have a better life and could even be focused on working versus going hungry every other day.

If it’s just a room, then the cost to refurbish or build them would be substantially lower too. There is really no need to force every Malaysian to own a home. Let’s help all Malaysians with their accommodation needs.

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92 percent of infected were not vaccinated

Today, let’s just run through two charts and one important statement yeah. It’s proven in all the countries with higher vaccinations than Malaysia and the good point is this, we are at the stage where the US was 2 months ago; 50% of adult populations with one dose vaccinations and by mid August, there’s a good chance we will exceed them for two dose vaccinations yeah. Of course as a Malaysian, I do hope so. Let’s do it!

First chart shows we are at 23.6% full vaccinations for adult populations yeah.

Second chart is about the total cumulative registrations for covid-19 vaccinations. This number really needs to be better and higher please. It’s only at 80% currently yeah. I am very sure we can hit 90% at least? Klang Valley is the key for the economy to restart strongly.

Third one is an important statement and really need to live with it. U.S. President said recently that it is now becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated. 99.2% of ALL Covid-19 deaths in the US for June 2021 were for patients who were not vaccinated. In Malaysia, as at 26th July, 92% of all Covid-19 infections were from unvaccinated Malaysians. What would happen when vaccinations really do hit that magical number of 100% with at least one dose? Let’s wait and see.

Article in nst.com.my
 Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said, “During diagnosis, 98.2 per cent cases were categorised as Category One and Two patients while the remaining 1.8 per cent cases ranged between Category Three and Five patients. He also said that 92 per cent of the infected individuals identified today were not vaccinated and urged more Malaysians to get themselves inoculated. Do read the full article here:
Article in nst.com.my

All the best, go get vaccinated and do best to stay home just for a while more. We can have it under control. No, the number of new infections cannot suddenly drop. It’s Delta variant now. Thanks.

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95% of all property launches sold – Singapore

We read about slowdown in transactions. We also read about oversupply of high end properties. We have read about potential property bubble. Imagine my surprise when I read a report in Propertyguru.com.sg by LTC (NS) Mohamed Ismail the CEO of P&N Holdings. It was announced that over 95% of new launching in November in Singapore was sold! Hmm… am I missing something here or is the market still very strong in Singapore despite tough cooling measures?

A few key things were mentioned, namely: ‘strategic launches for the festive seasons’, ‘Priced near the baseline of the region’, ‘right pricing, ‘price projects sensitively to attain high take-up’.

Strategic launching dates: In Penang, every year, developers join property events during Chinese New Year, trying to attract buyers who happen to be home with their families for reunion. Typically these are very effective as decisions can be made on the spot. Quite easy to spot these developers, they are always at fairs inside malls. The organisers of such fairs are very clever because even without doing much promotion, sales are almost assured!

As for pricing, it does not take a genius to know what is the typical pricing in the market. Thus if you intend to sell as fast as possible, price it as near or as low as the typical pricing in the area. First time home buyers would buy from you if they can buy a NEW property at an attractive price. Let’s face it, who loves secondary more than new if both are similarly priced? However, if the price is high and the sales is slow….. soon, no one dares to buy and developer dares not start compounding the fear even further!

While a lot of people are now focussing on buying good value in the secondary market, including me, if we were to see new properties at a very attractive launching price, chances are the first choice is still the new property because it does not come often while secondary properties would always be available.

written on 31 dec 2013

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Oh dear, 95,000 bookings cancelled due to coronavirus. How bad is this?

I was in Penang just last weekend and had the chance to catch up with my
good friend Miichael Yeoh.
He told me that he has news of many AirBnB booking cancellations due to the coronavirus. Actually, this is not the first time I heard of such cancellations. In fact this has cropped up in a couple of conversations with friends too. I think it’s not even just due to Chinese travellers not coming to Malaysia. It’s also because the locals are now more careful and may choose to delay their vacations for a while.

A Singaporean friend said that it’s much more quieter now for the malls and even the streets. Many Singaporeans are preferring to stay at home instead. As per recent update, Singapore is now under the Orange Alert. A Dorscon Orange alert means the
novel 2019-nCoV coronavirus
 is dangerous and can spread easily from human-to-human but its spread is still contained. Let’s understand that Singapore is just bring pro-active. Situation is under control as per Singapore PM’s message just days ago. Coming back to the holiday cancellations..

Article in freemalaysiatoday.com
  The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) today confirmed that 95,000 hotel bookings had been cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak and the travel ban imposed by China on its citizens. Matta President Tan Kok Liang said, “We can see in social media that many of the cancellations are from China as their government has prevented tour agencies from bringing in tourists to Malaysia.”

As per latest news, the coronavirus has claimed over 1,000 lives with over 43,000 infections worldwide, with majority of them within China. Tan shared that Matta Fair Cuti-Cuti Malaysia is targeting the locals with a target of RM30 million. he estimated that the outbreak will likely cause a drop of revenue for the Matta fair by RM20 – RM30 million.  He hopes the government will quickly come up with a stimulus package for the tourism industry. Please do read the
Article in freemalaysiatoday.com

Actually, 95,000 is indeed a huge thing.  Assuming every room is just RM100 on average, that’s already a cancellation of RM9.5 million. If there’s a multiplier effect of 4, then the economy has just lost RM38 million. Assuming each of this room houses just 2 person and they spend RM500 each for their whole trip, we have just lost 95,000 x 2 (pax) x 500 (expenses) = RM95 million. Not an easy time indeed for the tourism industry.

Actually, if we take care of our hygiene, travelling is still fine.  I was in Penang last weekend. This weekend, I need to be at the Mesyuarat Agung Persatuan Ibu-Bapa (PIBG) for my daughter’s school. Surely lots of people too. Next weekend, will be having a short break and staying in a nice hotel in Putrajaya. Will do my little but to tell people that things are under control even if we must always take good care of our hygiene. Definitely not going to be locked up in my home. Happy understanding.

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SDG955,000 for a 14-year old flat in Singapore

If you have a family, working in Singapore and simply love a certain area in Singapore, how much would you be willing to pay? Well, according to an article in PropertyGuru.com.sg, a 5-room HDB resale flat in Toa Payoh recently changed hands for $955,000. The sale even happened in the Ghost Month which is usually a quiet period for anything and everything for the Chinese. Size of the unit is 124 sqm. (+/-1335sq ft) It’s a 14-year old flat and located at Block 154 in To a Payoh between the 22nd and 24th storeys, according to HDB data.

8 years ago, in July 2007, a 5-room resale flat on the 28th storey of the same block was sold for $650,000. At that time, it was also a record. Well, the current price showed that records are meant to be broken again and again. One key reason according to Eugene Lim, Key Executive Officer at ERA Realty is that the particular unit enjoys an excellent location. It is opposite the To a Payoh Town centre, near to the Toa Payoh MRT station with an underpass directly linking the flat to it. As the unit is on a high floor, it is not blocked by other surrounding flats too, thus having unobstructed views. Fortunately, he said that the deal is more likely an exception than a norm. He does not foresee such deals to become a trend.

I personally think when the richer middle class gets richer, some of them may set some of these new records. This is not happening only in Singapore but also in some of the more popular areas in Greater KL. The super-rich ones would never consider buying a HDB flat and the super-wealthy ones in KL would never buy a RM950,000 condo of 1,000sf.  They would definitely be buying a gated and guarded landed property with club house for RM1.8 million instead. The typical middle class? Well, they would most likely stick to the much lower priced ones, perhaps giving a lower consideration weightage to the actual area and put the actual needs in terms of schools, malls etc on a higher scale instead. People may ‘smile’ at you for staying in a lesser known area but at least you have a decent-sized home and not those exceptionally small units in popular areas. Yes, I am quite proud about this fact; decent-sized home in a lesser popular area. This has been be the same philosophy for me since my first home at the age of 25. Haha. I don’t really mind people ‘smiling’ at me. Happy buying your favourite unit and enjoying it.

written on 16 Sept 2015

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4 to 1 means 97,500 new homes needed yearly. (Then why oversupply?)

In my sharing during the recent

iProperty Home and Investment Property Fair,
 I asked if everyone knows about the oversupply situation in the Malaysian property market. Many in the crowd nodded, acknowledging they know about it. Then, I asked if the oversupply will crash the market. Fewer people nodded their heads which is good. At least they are not too negative. Tell me dear kopiandproperty.com readers, do you think oversupply will crash the market? Or do you think affordability factor would crash the market instead. Do we believe that oversupply situation is happening only recently? Or recent couple of years? How about if I tell you that oversupply of units has always been happening for many, many, many years? Do take a look at the image. The total unsold residential properties was not zero in the year before. It has always been around 70,000 units for many years. What has happened then when the usual average of 72k unsold units suddenly spiked to 130,690 units?

Actually, within these few years, the affordable homes flooded the market. For example, PR1MA has completed a total of 8,500 units but has handed less than 1,000 keys to the owners. I could not find the reasons why the rest of these completed units were not yet handed over but in Kedah, nearly 70 percent of ALL unsold units are
PR1MA units. Here’s the report.
Just for Kedah alone, the total is over 2,400 units. Let’s not assume anything else but I think you get the idea. Due to the push for these affordable homes, not enough research was done and it was just build, build and build. The other reasons are also because of affordability. Many times the prices are just too high and with newer launches offering ever better deals, these ‘older’ launched properties are forgotten after a while. After 1 year, they will remain unsold and usually after 2 years, it is hard to sell….

Anyway, coming back to demand versus supply here in Malaysia. This is an earlier article in TheStar:
Yearly demand for new homes exceeds supply
.
According to CBRE|WTW managing director Foo Gee Jen, the current oversupply is due a mismatch of price, location and products. He said, “Based on the population growth rate of 1.3% of 32 million people as of 2016, the annual growth is around 390,000.” He added, “Based on the
average household of four people, we need about 97,500 units per year.”
 The main reason is this. He shared, “Bank Negara estimated average Malaysians can afford houses priced RM250,000 and below. But 78.7% of new launches in the first half of 2017 were priced beyond RM250,000.” In fact, close to50 percent were priced above RM400,000.

When more than half of the homes being built are RM400,000 or higher, then the oversupply will worsen because of a mismatch in affordability of such homes. Please take a look at the image to understand why RM400,000 is not that cheap, actually. The typical mortgage payment per month based on the usual 10 percent downpayment and a 30-year repayment period is RM1,824. Assuming this is 40% of the total salary of the buyer, the person should have a net salary of RM4,560 per month. Gross salary needed is higher. Based on the median household income as at end 2016, it is RM5,226 per month.
Here’s that article in TheStar.
 Seems okay? well, a RM400,000 home would need a usual downpayment of RM40,000.  Even with a saving of RM500 per month or RM6,000 per year, it would still take a typical Malaysian working professional a minimum of 6 years plus to save sufficient downpayment for a RM400,000 home. Let’s hope that RM400,000 price stays almost the same for a few more years for salaries to catch up. Happy saving and buying.

written on 26 Jan 2018

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9,999 units promised? Sure, build only affordable and low cost please.

If you bought a piece of land 94 hectares in Penang for RM1.38 Billion today, what would you do with it? Especially is that piece of land is within the island itself and in an area favoured by many local Penangites? Air Itam. Well, 1MDB bought it and announced earlier that it would build 9,999 units of affordable and low-cost homes there. Then, it said that besides these affordable and low-cost homes, it will also be using one part of the land for other purposes which will be able to generate significant value for its investment. One tiny problem for this plan though. Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said that he will not be allowing 1MDB to build anything than just affordable homes.

Let’s use some assumption to do some calculation and projection. Since the total number of units announced was 9,999 units, assuming 1MBD were to build half of them as affordable units at RM400,000 and another half of low cost at RM72,500, this would give it a total GDV of RM2.36 Billion. A pretty exciting number where Penang is concerned. Anything above RM1 Billion GDV is considered big in Penang. After deducting the cost of land which is RM1.38 Billion, paying compensation for the squatters plus the construction costs, I really am not sure if 1MDB can pull this off without incurring a loss. Of course, if 1MDB only builds the affordable units instead of low cost units, then it should be ok. Any other percentage on the side of low cost would mean losses. We shall wait for 1MDB’s reply on the Chief Minister’s remarks.

The reason why we should see this issue from a broader perspective is because if the whole project is cancelled, it benefits no one. Not even the state government. If however the project goes ahead but the 9,999 units promised were not built, then again, it does not benefit Penangites or even non Penangites working and contributing to Penang’s economy. The dream of many who just have to stay in island instead of mainland would also have to be dashed. It’s clear that if all the units to be built are low cost units, even before starting 1MDB would have suffered a huge loss and there is no reason why they would proceed. For this case, I think it is important that politics are set aside and everything is discussed objectively based on a win-win situation for every party involved. There’s just too little to argue about who’s right and who’s wrong and too much at stake if nothing happens from here onwards.

written on 6 Nov 2014

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9th IRERS 2018 – Emerging Trends and Evolving Diversity in Real Estate

Greetings from JPPH & INSPEN

Come & Join Us in 9th IRERS 2018

Theme:  “Emerging Trends and Evolving Diversity in Real Estate”

Date : 24 – 25 April 2018

Venue : Institut Penilaian Negara (INSPEN)

Important Highlights on IRERS 2018

? *Plenary Session 1*

1. The Increasing Significance of Asia Pacific Real Estate Investors

2. A Market Study Framework for World Class Property Development Projects

3. Intangible Behavioural Model of Uncertainty in Property Valuation

4. Making Housing Affordable

? *Plenary Session 2*

1. Disruption in the Real Estate Landscape

2. Real Estate: A Digital Transformation

3. Towards a Diverse and Sustainable Property Market in Iskandar Malaysia

4. The Impact of Transportation Infrastructure Development Towards Property Market in Jakarta

*Speakers Session 1&2*

http://www.inspen.gov.my/
inspen/v2/

?More than *_80 papers_* accepted consisting of various areas and issues such as Valuation & Pricing, Property & Facilities Management, Housing, Real Estate Development & Construction, Islamic Concept in Real Estate, Real Estate Law & Policy, ICT in Real Estate and many more.

? *Industry Session*

1. Waqf Development in Malaysia

2. The Challenges of Industrial Revolution 4.0 on Intellectual Property (IP)

3. Natural Resources Valuation for Non Commercial Purposes in Malaysia

4. Latest Amendments to the Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Property Managers Act 1981 (AM 2017)

*Speakers for Parallel & Industry Session*

http://www.inspen.gov.my/
inspen/v2/

? *Others*

Poster competition

Academia Tips

Research clinic

? *_10 CPD hours_* approved by the BOVAEP

More info & Register now at
http://www.inspen.gov.my/
inspen/v2/?lang=my&page_id=
17898

Any enquiries please contact *Dr Rohana* at
www.wasap.my/60132559791

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A new billionaire emerges after a signature

Every year, over 200,000 marriages happen in Malaysia. Theoretically, we have over 400,000 happy people every year after they committed to be with one another for as long as they live, legally. Usually it involves signing a piece of important paper. On the other hand, we also have over 50,000 divorce cases every year. Theoretically, one major reason they got divorced is because they were no longer happy as a partner to the other. Image from Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) below.

Most of the time, the man is seen as the breadwinner of the family. Thus, whether it’s a marriage or a divorce, they (men) should be responsible to ensure their partner is able to live their life without financial concerns. This may also meant giving away half of their wealth. One such case has just happened. The wife has been elevated to the status of a multi-billionaire, right after the divorce.

Image Source: dosm.gov.my

Article in stratistimes.com
  Mr Du Weimin, the chairman of Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co, transferred 161.3 million shares of the vaccine maker to his former wife, Ms Yuan Liping. With this transfer Ms. Yuan is now a multi-billionaire. The shares were held by her but she had earlier signed an agreement delegating the voting rights to her former husband.

Ms. Yuan is a Canadian citizen who resides in Shenzhen and was a director in Kangtai between May 2011 to August 2018.  She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Beijing’s University of International Business and Economics. The transferred shares were worth worth US$3.2 billion (RM13.69 billion) as of Monday’s (June 1) close. After the transfer, Mr. Du’s net worth has dropped to about US$3.1 billion (RM13.26 billion). Please read the full details here:
Article in stratistimes.com

Okay, actually she (Ms. Yuan) owned those shares as per the article. However, as it was not under her name thus she was not recognised as a multi-billionaire then. She is now recognised as one. I think it’s very clear from the article that she is a professional herself and this was also not one of those ‘family drama’ which stretches into the court. Perhaps this is also best for the company since any prolonged disputes would not be good for the company as well.

By the way, Kangtai is involved in looking for a COVID-19 vaccine as well. If they found it, these two multi-billionaires will have an even higher ranking among the multi-billionaires in the world. Do we actually know how rich are these billionaires when compared to the world? Well, according to one report by Oxfam released in January 2020, the world’s 2,153 billionaires owns as much wealth as 60% of the
world’s population. Full article for reference here.
 Well, happy reading.

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A really good real estate agent should…

I have worked with and amongst many real estate agents. Exceptional ones, good ones and not up to par ones. Actually real estate agent are supposed to be professionals in their own field. That’s the reason why they get agent fee. Many people buying for the first time would deal with a real estate agent for the very first time in their life. Many buying for the second time may call back their agent for their first home or search for a new one if the first one was awful. Many seasoned investors normally teams up with a few close agents who helps him to monitor the market for good deals. So, what makes a good agent? Personally, they should have the four criterias below.

Work with a licensed agency. No brokers please. Get serious. A good agency typically have trainings for their agents too. This allows the agents to learn how to be really good agents and the agency to reap the benefits of hiring these agents. Typically the base pay for agents are not enough to sustain them but with the right training, the agent would be able to reap the benefits of closing more deals and faster too.

Knowledgeable. I hate it when I ask the agent, ‘Is this leasehold?’ and the agent answers, ‘I don’t know’. As a buyer, I would definitely want to know more about the property that I am buying. Hello, it is SO EXPENSIVE and I have to ask more questions. Why can’t the agent answer me? They should do enough homework. It is ok to specialise in certain areas like what a lot of agents do. This way you know about the area well and are able to assist the buyers when needed.

Diligent. Beyond just hardworking, the agent should do more, meet more, view more and do everything more than others. It’s not rocket science. Practise makes perfect. If I would like to view a property, even on Saturday, why not? Remember, everything starts from somewhere and whether you sell a house or not is all about probability. The more you do, the higher the chances that’s all.

Strong network. Be friendly to all. Never look down at anyone even if they are new. Get to know bankers. Get to know prominent property gurus. Get to know anyone and everyone and make a good impression. Give them a name card, jot down their name and ask them, what kind of property they love and if they would like to know if you found such properties. Chances are they would say yes and your network grows once they start recommending you.

It’s tough life in the first year as an agent, normally. At least for first 6 months. However, when the goings get tough, the tough gets going. Suddenly, deals start to come in and soon after, it’s all just a breeze. When you close more deals, your confidence grows and you can do more with less especially with your expanded network. Think about it. Why do you want to be an agent in the first place? If the conviction is just not strong, chances are you would not be a good one.

There are definitely many more reasons but if the real estate agent has these four, success will be awaiting.

written on 15 Feb 2014

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A RM250 billion stimulus for Malaysia due to COVID-19. Details here (in English)

Yes, the second stimulus package is RM250 billion.
The first one was RM20 billion announced earlier. (article here)
 It’s called Pakej Rangsangan Ekonomi Prihatin Rakyat (PRIHATIN) Within this RM250 billion package, nearly RM128 billion will be for the welfare of the people, RM100 billion for the business including SMEs and RM2 billion to improve the resilience of the economy. These are on top of the recently announced RM20 billion stimulus package. Of the package, PM said, “
No one will be left behind
.”

RM500 million to the Ministry of Health to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Another RM1 billion will be provided to buy equipments and services to fight COVID-19 and this includes engagement of services from the private sector too.

In the first stimulus package, the government has decided to provide a special allowance of RM400 to doctors, nurses and other medical personnels who are directly involved in this COVID-19 pandemic. This will be increased to RM600 beginning 1st April 2020 until the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

At the same time, the government will also be giving an allowance of RM200 to the army, police, customs and immigration, civil defence and RELA members who are directly involved in the Movement Control Order (MCO). This allowance will begin from 1st April 2020 until the end of COVID-19 pandemic. It is estimated that a total of 169,000 additional personnels will be getting this benefit.

To reduce the financial burden to the households whose incomes were affected, the government will also be providing the National PRIHATIN Assistance under a one-off payment with an allocation of close to RM10 billion and this includes the M40 households too. They include private sector workers, FELDA settlers, farmers, fishermen, small businessmen and all the others grouped in the M40 households and below. The payment is as follow:

RM1,600 to nearly 4 million households with a monthly income of RM4,000 and below. RM1,000 will be paid in April 2010 and RM600 will be paid in May 2020.
RM1,000 for nearly 1.1 million households earning RM4,000 to RM8,000 per month and they will get RM500 in April and another RM500 in Mei.
RM800 for 3 million individuals aged 21 and above and has an income of RM2,000 and below.  RM500 will be paid in April and another RM300 in May 2020.
RM500 to 400,000 singles aged 21 and above who has a monthly salary between RM2,000 – RM4,000. RM250 will be paid in April and another RM250 will be paid in May.

Besides that, the current cash handout under the Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) will have an allocation of RM3.2 billion and this will be paid in July 2020.

Students in tertiary institutions will get a one-off RM200 and this will be paid in May 2020. This will involve a total payment of RM270 million.

For the elderly, the children in protection homes, people with special needs and OKU, bachelors and natives, the government will be working with relevant NGOs with an allocation of RM25 million for food, health products and accommodation.

Beyond the PTPTN, the deferment of payment for 6 months will also be extended to borrowers for PTPK beginning 1st April 2020 till 30th September 2020. This will assist 174,500 borrowers.

Currently,
my
Salam allows the B40 who were admitted to hospitals to apply for a loss of income allowance of RM50 per day up to a maximum of 14 days. In addition to this, this initiative will now cover B40 members who were quarantined under the patient-under-investigation (PUI) too.

The rental for those staying in PPRs would also be exempted from rental for 6 months and this will cost the government RM3 million.

In the stimulus package 1, there was an allocation of RM500 million to cover the discount of 15% for electricity bills for the tourism industry and 2% for the commercial and industrial sector, agriculture and even households in Peninsular Malaysia beginning 1st April 2020.

For the telecommunication and multimedia industry, a few special packages will be offered by the telecommunication companies. One such special package to be offered would be free internet to all customers with a total value of RM600 million from 1st April 2020 until the end of the MCO.

For the civil servants, there will also be a one-off payment to over 1.5 million for those with gred 56 and below including those under contract.  The payment will be in April 2020. nThere will also be a RM500 one-off payment to the civil servant retirees too and this will be paid in April 2020.  This will benefit 850,000 retirees.

In this critical period, an allocation of RM1 billion will be given to the Food Guarantee Fund (Dana Jaminan Makanan). This will ensure the food supply will always be sufficient and guaranteed.

A salary subsidy will also be introduced to help employers maintain their people. For this, RM600 will be provided for every worker per month for 6 months. This will be for workers earning RM4,000 and below and for employers whose revenue has dropped over 50% since 1st January 2020.  To qualify, the employers must not retrench or even to ask the employees to take unpaid level within 3 months after this programme. Employers are also not allowed to cut the salary of the workers too.  This move is expected to benefit 3.3 million employees with an allocation of RM5.9 billion.

For the e-hailing drivers who were working full-time, they will be given a one-off RM500 and this will benefit 120,000 e-hailing drivers with an allocation of RM60 million. In the first stimulus plan, a one-off payment of RM600 to the taxi drivers will be paid in April 2020.

For the workers in the cleaning service and even food provision in schools, IPTA, civil training institutions and other government agencies, the government will bear the salaries for the contractors for the period of MCO even though the workers were not working.  This will involve an allocation of RM110 million.

To assist the SME industry including micro entrepreneurs, the government and Bank Negara Malaysia will allocate an additional fund of RM4.5 billion which will cover 5 major initiatives. They include:

To add to the Special Relief Facility another RM3 billion for a total of RM5 billion. The interest will also be reduced ffrom 3.75% to 3.5%.
Increase the fund size by RM1 billion to RM6.8 billion for the
Kemudahan Semua Sektor
 to increase the payment access for SMEs.
An increase of a RM500 million fund under the Micro-Credit Scheme to make the whole fund become RM700 million. This is a scheme under Bank Simpanan National with an interest of just 2% without the need for collateral.
SMEs with less than 4 years of record could also apply for the BizMula-i and BizWanita-i for a funding of up to RM300,000.
Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan (SJPP) will provide a guarantee facility of RM5 billion as well as to increase the guarantee percentage from 70% to 80% for SMEs with difficulties in getting a loan.

The government will also assist companies with cashflow issues.  For these companies, these are the following measures:

The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) will introduce a Khidmat Rundingan Majikan beginning 15 April 2020.  This service will help a cash flow savings of up to RM10 billion. This initiative will benefit over 480,000 SMEs and affected companies and save up to 8 million jobs.
Exempting the levy to the HRDF for 6 months beginning April 2020.  This will help companies to save a cashflow of up to RM440 million.
SMEs will also get a deferment from paying the income tax instalment for three months beginning 1st April 2020.
To assist the B40 entrepreneurs and Malaysians who lost their livelihood means, a social finance programme will be introduced with the help of the Islamic Finance institutions, state Islamic councils and other partners.

The government will also be launching a guarantee scheme of RM50 billion with a guarantee of up to 80% from the total loans for working capital purpose.  This scheme will be managed by Danajamin and will be subjected to credit assessments. This scheme is for businesses affected by COVID-19 pandemic.

Another RM2 billion will be allocated for projects such as road improvements, upgrade of dilapidated schools in Sabah and Sarawak, cleaning house of worships and police stations as well as the upgrade of tourism related facilities which will benefit the contractors within the G1 – G4 class.

At the same time, the small projects with a total value of RM2 billion from the first stimulus package will start being implemented. These projects include infrastructure construction in FELDA, repairing dilapidated schools in Sabah and Sarawak as well as repair of the homes for the rakyat termiskin.

All the projects under Budget 2020 will be continued. This includes ECRL, MRT2, Pelan Gentian Optik dan Kesalinghubungan Negara.

— end of the speech —
For those who wants the full message, do click to download it here. If there are any discrepancy with the translation, please use the original copy in BM. Thanks.

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A room for parents and more, needed.

Do we wish to stay with our parents? Same house or same area or same city? For those who answered same house, it’s good to plan for this even when we buy our property. Is there a room but it’s uncomfortable for them? Do we expect then to stay in the small sized maid-room? Whether we buy a landed property or a high-rise, if we intend to let them stay comfortably, better have that in mind. For example, if it’s a landed property, is their room on the ground floor or do they have to take the staircase? The latter is definitely not suitable and unfortunately many of the rooms are usually on first floor. A small store room may be on the ground floor. I think this serves as a reminder to all developers too. If we look at Malaysia becoming an ageing nation by 2030 or 2035, it’s time that these are designed into the home that will be launched soon.

Most of the time, our parents have been staying in landed property their whole lives. We may not want to work in our hometowns due to limited opportunities but if we intend to move them to stay with us, then it’s important to give them the space they need. Assuming we bought a landed property, did we take their needs into consideration? Mothers who love to cook, is our kitchen comfortable enough? Most of the time it’s best to separate and wet and the dry kitchen. Else, our mothers may not want to cook because then they have to do lots of cleaning after cooking. Please do not buy a place with the mindset that I may not be cooking much anyway and then when our parents come for a stay, they feel uncomfortable even within the house itself. Actually, even for high-rise, some are designed with a bigger kitchen space. Those may be needed.

For fathers who love to walk a bit in the morning, do we have the space for them do so? Can he walk to a nearby restaurant for a cup of his favourite Kopi-O? What about walking around the area? Is it safe enough? Are there enough greenery? Many landed homes nowadays would come with walking paths, especially those gated & guarded ones. For the high rise, it’s always good to have more space within if it’s not suitable externally. Perhaps a decent gym would be useful too for the modern fathers. As for my father, he prefers the walking around the garden type. What about space for both the parents and the kids? For landed, sometimes there’s a second smaller living room on first floor. Many times, what the parents want to watch and what the kids want to watch may be different. Occasionally, their favourite shows and our kids’ favourite shows would clash. Can we provide such space well in advance? They can watch together most of the time but sometimes, both parties can watch their favourite shows separately.

I think this is starting to come true. Just look at the number of new parents with young kids and many times, they would welcome their parents because they trust their parents more than maids, even if they have maids. I also think most of the newer designs already incorporate all these needed features into them. Buying a property requires more than thinking about what we need today. Babies would arrive within a few years’ time. Most of us love our parents. If that’s the case, start preparing well in advance even when we are buying our first property. Changing later is usually quite expensive and pretty inconvenience too. Happy preparing before buying.

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written on 12 Feb 2017

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A Smooth Home Journey to Myra Alam

Press Release: A Smooth Home Journey to Myra Alam

Myra partners with Maybank Islamic HouzKEY to make homeownership dreams come true.

Owning a home is one of life’s most momentous occasions. The euphoria when receiving the keys to your first home comes second to knowing that through the ups and downs of life, you have the personal space to rest, relax and live life abundantly. While the process of purchasing and owning a home can be tedious, potential homeowners of Myra Alam now have the chance to make their dream home a reality through their partnership with Maybank Islamic‘s homeownership financing solution, HouzKEY.

A well-known homeownership financing plan, HouzKEY was designed to assist first and second homebuyers who are keen to move to the exciting phase of homeownership but may be facing financial limitations to own their dream home. Providing potential homeowners assistance that ensures a smoother and easier home buying process, HouzKEY offers many benefits for those on the quest to take pleasure in settling down in their dream home.

“We are proud that this exciting partnership between Myra Alam and HouzKEY has materialized that has tremendous potential to bring benefit to the homebuyers at large. With this launch, it means that first and second time home Malaysian buyers can own their dream home with 100% financing, no down payment required during construction period and lowest monthly payment with the best rates. In today’s technological age, we aim to provide simple, secure and seamless solutions to homebuyers where they may submit an online HouzKEY application on Maybank’s website. This is a good initiative, an added convenience and flexibility for homebuyers, especially in light of social distancing requirements due to the Covid-19 pandemic.” said Sally Lye, Managing Director of Maybank’s Real Estate Ventures.

“At Myra, it has always been our aim to provide homebuyers’ premium-designed homes that bring value. With HouzKEY, those interested in owning a home at Myra Alam will have the opportunity to wexperience a smoother, stress-free homeownership journey. Our partnership with Maybank Islamic through the HouzKEY scheme is a step closer towards providing homebuyers with easy and convenient ways to purchase exceptionally designed homes at Myra Alam,” said Wendy Lim, General Manager of Myra.

While the HouzKEY solution provides homeowners with affordability and flexibility in owning their dream home, Myra complements this by offering homebuyers properties built with premium quality, location, and uniqueness in mind.

On top of that, Myra is providing homeowners the benefits of both strata as well as individual title benefits. Besides keeping residents’ minds at ease living amidst a guarded community, homeowners have the ability to customize their home to suit their lifestyles, and utilize the extra space as they desire; giving homeowners the flexibility of enhancing their homes.

Besides enjoying the affordability and flexibility of HouzKEY, new homebuyers can also take advantage of the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC), which runs until 31 December 2021. A joint effort by the Housing and Local Government Ministry (KPKT) and the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (REHDA) Malaysia, it aims to lighten the financial burden of prospective homeowners given the challenges faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Malaysian homebuyers can enjoy a full stamp duty exemption on the Memorandum of Transfer (MOT) and Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) for homes that are priced between RM300,001 and RM1 million. These incentives are in addition to other discounts available for homebuyers including discounts for eligible Bumiputera homebuyers, the ability to pay a portion of their monthly payment through Account 2 of the Employee Provident Fund (EPF), and other ongoing incentives.

With the assistance of HouzKEY and the initiatives from the government, the time is right for fans of Myra Alam to take the first steps towards owning a premium, well-designed home in the township.

“We are delighted to give Myra Alam’s third phase, Type F and Type D unit homeowners the prospect of personalizing their home. Designed with the flexibility to convert the extra space into additional rooms, including a bedroom, living room, study room, or family room, we are proud to offer our buyers the opportunity to re-create their own space for both comfort and convenience, “added Lim.

Phase 3’s Type D units offer homeowners an extra built-up of 2,294 sq ft for intermediate and end lots, and 2,396 sq ft for corner lots built on land starting from 22’ x 70’, with the option of having more indoor and outdoor space. With 16 units, these homes are available for aspiring homeowners from RM 569,000. All units are equipped with 4 bedrooms that come with en-suite bathrooms, providing additional privacy for owners. Nature lovers will also be happy to note each home has its planter box, ideal for those looking to add more greenery in their surroundings.

The same planter box applies to Type F units, with a built-up measuring 2,002 sqft for intermediate and end lots and 2,104 sq ft corner lots. Each of the 49 units comes with a smaller land size starting from 20’ x 70’, with 4 bedrooms and en-suite bathrooms, as well as a functional indoor space and a bigger guest bedroom – all starting from a fair price of RM554,000.

Residents of Myra Alam are all set to live, work and play amidst lush greenery, boasting a green landscape with 2 playgrounds for all its landed residents to enjoy. Myra also aims to create a home atmosphere for a vibrant community.

Showcasing the true beauty of nature, the design elements focus on green landscapes in a peaceful setting along with easy, convenient entry points to major towns and cities in the Klang Valley.

A growing township with room for more development in the area of Puncak Alam, homeowners can expect new shop lots, schools, and hospitals surrounding the area. With easy access to LATAR & the new Dash Highway, Myra provides homeowners the opportunity to set roots in the up and coming township, own their dream home at a reasonable price, while enjoying flexible homeownership solutions offered by Maybank Islamic HouzKEY.

-End Of Press Release –

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MIEA: Need to boost the property market

The Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) which represents 25,000 real estate agents and negotiators has proposed two additional steps to the government to help the Malaysian property market. Its president Lim Boon Ping said that the agents and negotiators livelihood are affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is especially apparent during the Movement Control Order (MCO) where viewings are definitely a no-no. Agents are also mostly commission based which meant their income has now dropped to zero.

Article in kopiandproperty.com
  As such, he said MIEA was making a call to the Government to place in abeyance the collection of SST (Sales and Services Tax) for Real Estate transactions until end of the year to help sellers from having to incur additional costs. He said, “The RPGT (real property gains tax) be zeroed as in 2007 till end of the year to help boost the already soft real estate market. This would help sellers to reduce losses who will face a ‘push down price demand’ from buyers.”

In his statement, he also said that this will help create a conducive environment for greater secondary market activities and also to stimulate reinvestment in light of the economic downturn and the impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic.  Do read their full press statement here:
Article in kopiandproperty.com

As much as I think the final decision to buy / sell should not depend solely on RPGT or the SST, I do think the suggestion from MIEA will help the market. Yeah, the government will also lose some revenue but if these agents / negotiators have their commission, they will still be spending their income in the Malaysian economy too. This will bring multiplier effects which is good  for the economy as soon as we are back to work and out of MCO.

Truth is, I have many friends who told me that they do not want to sell because they will incur the RPGT of a certain %. I reminded them that the RPGT is based on the profits but I think they do not agree and understand too. So, yeah, this removal will help a few of them to make their decisions. As for the real estate agents / negotiators at home currently, do keep learning yeah. My friend Soma, the CEO of MIEA just told me about
MIEA-HOPE which are FB LIVE series with many interesting and good topics.  Go ahead, sign up and learn and come back stronger.

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A wet day in Penang. Take necessary precautions.

I was at Penang yesterday for a function and I left Penang just after lunch. When I was passing through the second bridge, I noticed wind was pretty strong and I slowed down my driving speed just to be cautious. Little did I know that it was just the start of a heavy downpour and this morning, I saw all the sharing of photos in Whatsapp. As per weather.com, the rain will be continuing in Penang for the next couple of days. Hopefully, it will not be as heavy. My condo in Tanjung Tokong was also affected and my tenant sent me photos of how the heavy rain affected the unit. My real estate negotiator friend will go over to look and get it fixed. Ithink it is important to be good to your tenants. This is not an expense which I should save. As for Penang as a whole, these are the photos shared by different Whatsapp groups, especially from friends in Penang. Please take care everyone in Penang. Take necessary precautions.

Take care Penang.

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AA8888888 can be your collection for future (banknote…)

AA8888888 is a serial number for a banknote which you may bid for. Yes, this is another form of alternative investment but be ready to store them in good condition to wait for it to appreciate in value. Yes, this is already the 5th Auction of Malaysian Banknotes with Special Serial Numbers by Bank Negara Malaysia. The event would be held on 3 September 2016 in Auditorium, Sasana Kijang, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). The auction will be conducted by the Bank’s appointed auctioneer,
MNP Auctioneers (Central) Sdn. Bhd. (MNP).

Yes, if we have some special numbered banknotes, it may be good to also bring along to the auction and get some expert opinions from the auctioneer, Mr. Stephen Soon. No one knows if that piece of RM1 that you have currently may be worth a holiday for your family. 🙂

As per BNM, the auction is to provide equal opportunity to all members of the public to obtain these coveted banknotes with special serial numbers such as AZ10000000 or AA8888888. These special serial number banknotes may command premium in the collectors’ market. The auction will also serve as one of the initiatives by BNM to promote interest and greater appreciation in numismatics amongst the general public. The types of banknotes that will be auctioned include sets of the first 10 banknotes (e.g. BM 0000001 – 0000010), solid numbers (e.g. AR 8888888), super solid numbers with repetitive prefix (e.g. BB 3333333), ten millions numbers with repetitive prefix (e.g. CC 10000000) and ladder numbers (e.g. BK1234567).

To be eligible to bid, registration for online bidding can be done at
www.best2bid.com
. Further information on the auction can be obtained at MNP’s website,
www.mnp.com.my

Actually, even if it’s just to learn what’s so awesome about banknotes, why not register and attend the event. Yes, usually the bidders would include even non-Malaysians too. Happy learning.

written on 25 Aug 2016

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79 abandoned housing developments and 17,724 houses in total. Solution needed.

My good friend bought an apartment in Penang island in the 90s. Obviously he’s slightly older than me. The project was abandoned and he was forced to continue paying for it. When I knew about it, he had already paid for the last 5 years. I do not know what has happened since then but every time we have abandoned projects, the government has to step in because otherwise, all the buyers would be left hanging.

There’s very little the buyer could do for abandoned projects

Usually, for abandoned projects the buyers have no avenues to go to because the developer may no longer be available. The banks meanwhile would only be focused on the borrowers; following up with them for mortgage payments. Thus on one hand, the buyer has no home and on the other hand, they have to keep paying. At the same time, they may still have to pay rental for the current place they stay.

We have a statement from the Minister of Housing and Local Government (KPKT).

Article in nst.com.my
  KPKT Minister Datuk Reezal Merican Naina Merican said there are 79 abandoned housing projects in Peninsular Malaysia totaling 17,724 houses as of September 30. The projects have a combined gross development value (GDV) of RM5.57 billion, before depreciation and arrangements with liquidators.

According to Reezal Merican the abandoned projects impacted 11,824 homebuyers. He said the ministry has taken steps to restore and complete abandoned projects in order to relieve the buyers’ burden, including mediation and a settlement arrangement with the buyers through the resale of the unit to a liquidator.

He shared that 15 of the country’s 79 abandoned projects are now being rehabilitated, totalling 2,830 units for 2,699 customers. Please do read here for more details:
Article in nst.com.my

Always be aware of what we buy

Is the price too low versus every other projects in the neighbourhood? We must not think that the developer is special. The cost of construction does not differ too much. Thus, the property price cannot differ too much unless of course the land which the developer has was free or very cheap. Thus, when the prices is too low, there is a chance that the developer would fail to build.

Who is the developer? For first-time home buyer, it may be safer to buy from secondary market or from very established developers. If the developer is a first-time developer, then enquire a little more. Who are the owners, what were their experience previously? If they were construction company, then ask what are the projects they completed before and do go and take a look. Just be more careful because it’s many hundreds of thousands Ringgit.

Abandoned developments will still continue to happen

Unforeseen circumstances do happen. This is why sometimes, the development may still be abandoned even after we have done lots of prior checks. However, it’s always possible to reduce this potential down to a minimum. Plus it’s super important for our KPKT to be always be on top of things. These are hard earned money of the buyer and when they lose it, imagine the financial stress they will fall into. Thanks in advance yeah KPKT.  You are an important ministry for the home buyers.

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Our ability determines what we could afford, very true indeed!

In one of the first few property books I read, Azizi Ali shared that if the reader of his book is currently earning a salary of below RM2,500 he should work harder and earn a higher salary. Else, he can forget about property investment. I read this over 15 years ago and guess what, it is still true today! I have also written a number of articles about working professionals. If we have yet to realise, let’s understand that only the top 10 percent of employees in the company would get higher increments or promotions while the remaining 90 percent gets the usual; slightly above inflation rate kind of increment. The number of managers (earning higher pay) or higher position level is also most likely be just 15-20 percent of all employees in the company. This is why only 20 percent of Malaysians are classified under the
 T20. Read here to understand more.

What happens to the rest of all working professionals? Two obvious choices; work much harder and smarter OR invest to create more wealth and not spending whatever we have. After having worked in a Japanese MNC (travelled to the Tokyo, Singapore and London offices), a Malaysian MNC (which is extremely cost conscious!), an Australian MNC (travelled to HK, SG, Indonesia, Thailand and even Philippines), I can safely tell everyone that all these percentages are quite accurate and managers are not necessarily richer than their staffs. (I have a colleague who could buy a shop-office and a semi-detached home at the same time! Her manager stays only in a terraced home. Another colleague owns two units of condos within walking distance to KLCC. Her manager has just one property currently. Nope, they did not come from rich families. They worked very hard and well, invested well.)  Let’s now read what a property expert has to say.

My
good friend Alan Poon, Founder and CEO of SuperiorWealth Group
 writes regularly under his Borak Real Estate column in
TheStar. In his recent article: Afford “ability” for properties
, he talked about a topic close to my heart. He shared what people usually think when it comes to affordability. A famous study is the one by Khazanah Institute which showed that to be affordable, a home should only be RM270,000.
(Well, perhaps this is also why the affordable homes of 800 – 900 sq ft being launched these days are usually priced as close as possible to this RM270,000 number.)

He also shared that different locations would provide different affordability level because the salary vs home prices are likely to be different too.
(Very true and yet sometimes, salaries may be low but property prices may be high! My wife comes from Sabah and she could attest to this fact since the day she started working over 20 years ago. She’s a housewife today)
  He concluded his article by saying this, “Afford-ability is a choice. It will always be your choice to ensure that you grow the ABILITY to generate income over time which in turn helps you to AFFORD to buy your desired property.”
Please read his insightful article here.

To rise up faster in the corporate world, it pays to be very good in what we do. Plus, join a good organisation yeah. There are some companies which will never be able to help us grow much. In my 20 years thus far, I am very lucky to have joined all good companies. Oh yeah, a higher degree helps even if not vital. To invest in a more calculated-risk mode, it pays to read more. In fact, property talks in many property fairs are usually free. These helps to push up the learning curve tremendously. Beyond just property talks, do we understand about all the other types of investments available? Reminder yeah, diversification is key. Putting all our money into property is likely to be extremely risky yeah. An earlier article here:
Lacking in financial awareness today? Peril awaits

Happy working and investing, at the same time please.

written on 26 June 2018

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ABM: No reason to reject your first time home loan, IF.

I do not personally believe any bank would want to reject home loan applications if the buyers qualify for it. However, as usual the buyers these days also have to bear some responsibility for having their loans rejected. This is especially if they have overspent via their credit cards even before they apply for their first mortgage. Secondly, many of these buyers are also unwilling to buy further away and everyone just want to buy a condo in an area everyone wants to buy. For everyone’s information, my first home was just an apatment of 700sq ft and it is in Relau, an area considered unpopular for ‘face.’

In an article in The Star, The Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) says first time home buyers who are eligible will continue to be able to obtain financing. In fact it reiterated one major reason why the loans may be rejected; buyers must ensure they buy based on their financial circumstances or affordability. It said, “The business of our member banks is in the main lending or extending credit. There is no intention whatsoever to make lending more difficult, particularly for first time home buyers.” It has had to defend its members because of the many fingers from different parties pointing at them as the major cause why many buyers were unable to obtain loans for their first property. ABM further pointed out that most of the time, if it’s for first-time home buyers, the banks would usually lend up to 90 percent of the property price.

Actually, besides the new launches, there are also the secondary choices. Besides these, there are also the state and federal government affordable homes schemes. Sometimes, the distance may be a little far or the area is not the most popular ones but it is best to take a longer term view when we are thinking affordability. Truth is, even for the popular areas, the properties were once affordable. Who knows, perhaps in the near future, the centre of the ‘popularity’ may shift? Just look at those huge integrated developments which the developers tout as ‘city within a city.’ Of course, we can always buy the developments NEXT to these for a more affordable tag if we think the integrated ones are way too expensive. Choose and decide objectively. Happy buying.

written on 17 Nov 2015

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Abolition of tolls in 2-3 months. (The decision lah…)

A long long time ago, our 4th Prime Minister asked a company to build the North-South expressway. Actually, no one knows if the company will be profitable when the expressway is completed and the tolls started. That was why some people say it is a waste of money and even objected to it strongly. Fortunately, it was built because connectivity enabled lots of new economic activities to happen. People from different places could also travel to other places for holidays and this helped the nation and not just confine growth to the capital city for example. Now, the rakyat is somehow waiting for the abolishment of all tolls. Someone said that to abolish it, the government will need to only pay RM20 billion. Well, that number is now said to be as high as RM400 billion. So, to abolish or not to abolish?

Works Minister Baru Bian said, the ministry had received several proposals from the highway concession companies involved and it would evaluate all proposals before making a decision. Thus, the decision on abolishing highway toll collection will be known in two to three months. His words, ““We are still negotiating to find a solution mutually beneficial to both stakeholders and the new government.  What would be decided then would be the best solution to all stakeholders. I believe it would then be implemented. I understand all stakeholders are very positive with the economic situation we are in at the moment. Because of that, they are very understanding. We hope there will be mutual understanding and there will be a mutual conclusion and agreement.” The proposals include rebates, an extension of highway concessions and giving discounts. Please read the full article in
FreeMalaysiaToday here.

Personally, I have never believed that tolls could be abolished, whether it’s before GE14 or after.  The reason is because if the government takes over a profitable entity, it must compensate the business accordingly. There are many shareholders in these expressway companies and even my EPF money is invested in them. These investments meant EPF pays me returns year after year. It’s not going to be easy to find other companies with stable returns easily. If the government were to FORCE the company to accept, then I can safely say that in future, if there are such ‘risky’ investments, the good companies will not want to be part of the deal. They come in when the risks are so high and put all their money. Yet when the business is profitable, the government will force them to sell? Hmm… Anyway, since the Works Minister said 2-3 months, so let’s wait for the decision in 2-3 months then.  Happy following.

written on 6th Oct 2018

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Home Sweet Home @ Acacia Residences Salak Perdana: Affordability, Connectivity and Modern Facilities. Starts from just RM305,100*

[Sponsored Post]  Home Sweet Home @ Acacia Residences Salak Perdana: Affordability, Connectivity and Modern Facilities. Starts from just RM305,000.

There are many great reasons to buy Acasia Residences.  As your home sweet home, you can enjoy a dip in the exquisite pool when you feel you just need a cooling break after a long day.

Buy a Home, get a car for Free as well.

Please call us to ask for more information.  Limited Units Promotion. While Stocks Last.  Buy a unit of Acacia Residences today and drive home a car. Do look at the brochure for more details. Please ask us for more details. Acacia Residences Gallery contact:  Wong 012 – 257 9431  /  012 – 327 3688.

5 Super Reasons to buy Acacia Residences for investment.

#1 – Ready Population Catchment

Invest in a property which is readily built in a high population area.

#2 – Close Proximity To KLIA (and… the world)

Have the convenience of reaching the KLIA airport quickly. Salak Perdana is less than 20km away from KLIA.

#3 – Close Proximity To ERL Station

Ease travel with public transport. The Salak Tinggi ERL station is less than 15km away.

#4 – Dedicated ELITE Highway Interchange

Salak Perdana is connected to a dedicated ELITE Highway Interchange.

#5 – Surrounded By Over 10 Educational Institutes

There are many established educational institutions such as Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Xiamen University, Inti University College, Nilai International University and more.

More Information as below:

Please do refer to our brochures for more information. Please drop by our sales gallery to understand more. Our sales team will be happy to serve you. Acacia Residences Gallery contact:
Wong 012 – 257 9431
 / 012 – 327 3688.

 Please take care and call us for an appointment to know our project better. Only buy a property if you understand all the property details. Our sales team will be happy to serve you. Acacia Residences Gallery contact:
Wong 012 – 257 9431
 / 012 – 327 3688.   Thank you.

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Accessibility? I think it is ‘acceptability’

I was having lunch with a few younger colleagues. Younger means they are 30 plus, married and has one kid. Or at least married. Haha. If I say young colleagues, then those are in their 20s. I have lots of those actually since millennials are now the majority.
Gen-Xs are slowly retiring….

 Anyway, one of them asked me whether she should get a second property since her household is pretty stable now in terms of income. My answer is, ‘Of course.’ She laughed because she expected me to answer that too. She stays in Nilai and works in KL city centre. Currently, She parks her car at the Salak Tinggi ERL station and takes it to KL Sental before changing from KL Sentral to Dang Wangi. She then said that when Greater Kuala Lumpur has better accessibility, then she could buy a bit further than those usual few hotspots nearer to the city centre.

I told her that I disagree with the term ‘better accessibility’ when it comes to Greater Kuala Lumpur. The reason I say so is
because
 there are hardly any neighbourhood with a sizeable population within Greater Kuala Lumpur which is NOT connected to any public transportation like the bus, KTM, LRT and even the
MRT Line 1 which will be fully functional in a few days’ time.
As for whether it is convenient enough or even       on-time enough, it is debatable but if compared to leaving the home in our car at 730am and be stuck in jams of up to 1.5 hours or more, I think the public transportation option is acceptable. In fact for most of those hotspots, no drivers would leave home after 7 am because they would be stuck in an endless jam. So, if the real issue is not accessibility, then what is it that is stopping everyone from buying and staying in less popular areas? I told her it is a term I call Acceptability.

When we still have a choice, when those more
 popular areas still have some choices
which are still affordable enough, it will remain the main choice. This is despite the fact that we could easily note a huge price difference between nearby areas. There are areas where RM700 per sq ft for high-rise is considered ‘attractive’ while there are areas where it’s still below RM550 per sq ft for high-rise and they are still shunned upon. Of course, there are a lot of reasons being provided but truth is, we will just have to wait until these
popular spots become way too expensive
for the majority before they would consider other areas. Oh yeah, it will take some time because developers for these popular areas will build smaller units to ensure the price remain affordable. Just look at the more advanced markets for clues. Ever smaller units are being built so that the entry price to own a unit remains similar as the years before. By the way, even in Singapore, the MTR or the bus stops are not right in front of the HDB flats at all times. Most of the time, some walking is needed. Sometimes it is under the hot sun, sometimes it is under heavy rain. There are definitely still areas where more walking is needed even to go to the nearest bus stop. The question is, are we now more open to walking 900 metres (12 minutes) to take the public transport? Do we have the ‘acceptability’ mindset yet?  Happy deciding.

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written on 12 July 2017

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Act your wage. Earn this much, do this much. Oh…

What is Act Your Wage?

Act Your Wage says that we should just do as much as what we are paid for.  If we are paid to write articles, do not also agree to do some work under the marketing team in the company. Never volunteer for additional work because we are not paid for it. If we are hired to be a finance executive, do not go and join other departments in some recreation projects which will inevitably take away our time from the official work which we were hired for. Is Act Your Wage a correct way to think about work? Read more first. My comments later.

Article in thestar.com.my
   Act your wage simple means this: Do only and strictly what you are paid to do. No more. This is the principle behind the “Act Your Wage” trend that has been all the rage on TikTok in recent weeks.

“For example, if we have a junior employee, and she’s making US$40,000 (RM189,772) a year, it would probably not make sense to have so much work on her plate that she’s working 12 hours a day on a very high-profile project.

“Look at your job description, what you got hired for. What [are] the requirements of your job? Do that! And if you don’t want to get promoted, or you want to start looking for other jobs, and you’re stressed out at work, don’t do more than is at that level, that bare minimum, because that is what’s required in the job description,” says Maddie Machado, a professional coach who posts videos about the world of work on the social network. Read the full article here:
Article in thestar.com.my

We are not paid more, first. We are paid more, later.

I started working when I was 21 years old, after I completed my first degree. Actually, it was 2 months before my 21st birthday,. I starte dmy first job in July 1998. In fact, I got a job within one month eventhough it was not an easy time to get work then. In my first job, I was a Sales Executive in a Japanese MNC (number 1 in the world for its industry). When I was here, I volunteered to do a lot of things. I was super enthusiastic to help everytime my Japanese GM needed any help. For example, organising annual dinners.

Perhaps I was foolish for doing more than what I should? Haha. I have no idea but within my 4 years in the company, I receive above average increments for the first 3 years. I was also promoted TWO times. From all these extra things I did, I learnt many new things, I have many colleagues who do their very best to help me when needed. It was also because of all these that I was hired by another company almost immediately when I was looking out. Frankly, if I were to Act My Wage, I would not have all these promotions over the years.

What if my company does not pay me enough? It depends on the value of our work.

Stop doing things which will jeopardise our career. The truth is, if the company does not appreciate our work and we think we deserve more, than look for another job. If we could NOT find any other role which could pay us more, the problem lies with us and it’s best that we make ourselves more valuable and not following Act Your Wage blindly and continue to get the same level of pay for the same level of work. When there are others who could do our work for less, we may not even have a Act Your Wage role to do. Cheers.

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