Why Do SMEs Need Financial Statements?

Businesses are always reminded to keep proper financial statements for tax purposes. Financial statements do not only refer to the bank statements you receive every month, it should also comprise of daily cash flow and other areas such as your company’s balance sheet.

In truth, these financial documents are far more important than just annual tax apportionment. With that thought in mind, here are some major reasons why you should start keeping a closer tab on your business’s financial statements:

It Helps to Identify the Areas Where You Need to Improve Your Business

Having monthly, quarterly, and yearly financial statements will help you to keep track of your business’s progress and make better decisions on how best to invest your company’s money.

According to
Forbes
, having financial statements will not only help you use your money effectively, it will also allow you to forecast your business’s growth.

With proper forecasting at your disposal, different strategies can be adopted in order to improve how you manage your business and sail towards better horizons. Also, it gives you a greater chance at avoiding losses as you can predict the ups and downs of the market trends.

It Helps to Beef Up Your Shareholder’s Report

When you have partners and shareholders to please, financial statements are important for transparency. The last thing you would want is your partners pointing the fingers at one another with accusations of embezzlement.

Proper financial statements allow for all stakeholders to clearly see their profit shares and how the capital is being used for the business on a daily, monthly, and even yearly basis.

It Helps to Increase Your Business Loan Approval Chances

If you’re looking to raise your capital or get financing for your business, the bank and the venture capitalists are going to want to know your numbers. Just watch the popular television series Shark Tank, regardless of the amazing products and services offered, every single pitch that was made revolved around numbers.

When you inspire confidence among the financial institutions and prospective investors with solid facts and figures, they are more inclined to approve your business loan – or invest in your business. If you go to them without proper financial statements and present only vague figures, it will automatically hurt your chances of getting any form of financing.

When you have proper financial statements and documentation, it will open doors to various business and Small Medium Enterprise (SME) loans, such as
RHB BizPower SME Business Loan by RHB Bank
.

It Helps to Ease Your Exit Strategy

When you have built your company to a certain point and choose to exit your business for a bigger profit, the best way to put a valuation on your business is by having solid financial statements to back your claims.

If you do not know how much your business is really valued, there is a chance that you may lose out on
a lot of money
 if you sell it off at a far lower price! Sure, it may be exciting to see a large sum written on a cheque, but what if your company is actually valued at twice the offered selling price?

In cases like these, the only way to be sure is to have detailed financial statements and carefully kept records so you’ll always know what your business is worth at any given time.

Did you find this article helpful? Don’t forget to go on
RHB’s SME Knowledge Center
 for more tips and insights on how to manage and boost your business better!

This article was brought to you in collaboration with RHB SME Banking.

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Boost Labels BoostUP Revamp "More Rewarding" While Devaluing Its Points By 84% Overnight

Local e-wallet Boost has revamped its BoostUP rewards programme, renaming its rewards points and membership tiers, but more importantly introducing a stunning 84% devaluation of its rewards points – without providing users a chance to use up their current points balance beforehand.

What’s New?

Let’s get the straightforward parts out of the way. Boost has revamped its BoostUP rewards programme in in two ways: first, it has reduced the membership tiers from five to three, with each tier getting a fancy name – Red Recruit, Silver Sergeant, and Gold General. Secondly, Boost Coins are now known as Boost Stars with a vastly poorer redemption rate (we’ll get to that later).

As before, each membership tier carries its own benefits – the higher the tier, the better the benefits. The big change here is that Boost has removed the random points multiplier for each membership tier, opting for a more straightforward 1x, 2x, and 3x points multiplier for the Red Recruit, Silver Sergeant, and Gold General tiers respectively. This is somewhat positive, because you can now easily determine your effective returns before spending with Boost.

Similarly, Boost has also removed the transaction amount requirement to progress through the membership tiers, instead relying only on the monthly amount spent. Red Recruit is the lowest tier and has no spend amount to maintain its membership, while you need to spend RM1,200 to unlock Silver Sergeant, and RM4,500 to unlock Gold General. Once unlocked, you maintain that membership for one quarter – but you’ll need to spend the same amount to maintain your “rank” for the next quarter. For now, Boost has stated that there will be no level assessments until further notice due to restricted movements.

For each tier, there’s a new Online Banking Bonus that rewards you with extra Boost Stars for every RM1 spent when you top up your wallet via online banking. The bonus increases the higher the tier: 1x for Red Recruit, 2x for Silver Sergeant, and 3x for Gold General – effectively doubling the Boost Stars you earn if you only fund your Boost wallet via online banking. Note that bonus Stars earned this way will only be credited in the following month.

Lastly, Pay With Stars returns, and is only exclusive to the Gold General tier. As before, this feature allows you to offset up to 10% of prepaid top up payments within the Boost app using Boost Stars. The redemption rate for this feature is set at 1000 Boost Stars for RM1.

Oh, and one last thing – to celebrate the revamp, Boost has given every user free Boost Stars to the tune of 4x of their existing Boost Coins.

The Bad News – A Massive 84% Devaluation In Redemption Rates

In some ways, we could see it coming. First came the
restriction on credit card top ups
. Then in recent months Boost began offering campaigns with huge
30x points multipliers
 under the Shop Malaysia Online initiative. And today without notice, the mega devaluation happened. By our calculations, the devaluation is as big as 84%.

Let’s break it down. Before the revamp, Boost has a standard redemption rate of 800 Boost Coins = RM5, which values 1 Boost Coin at 0.625 sen. With Boost Stars, the standard redemption rate now appears to be 1000 Boost Stars = RM1, valuing 1 Boost Star at just 0.1 sen – a massive 84% devaluation.

Even the “celebratory” 4x bonus Stars isn’t enough to compensate Boost users for the devaluation to their existing Coins. If a Boost user had 800 Boost Coins yesterday (which would be worth RM5), he will now have 3200 Boost Stars today worth RM3.20 – removing 36% in value literally overnight.

If it’s any consolation, the shift from a random points multiplier to a fixed one can be seen as positive. As any Level 4 or Level 5 Boostie will tell you, the chances of getting 4x or 8x Bonus Coins have always been extremely low, with 1x to 2x being more common.

That said, even at the highest Gold General tier, users can expect effective return rates of just 0.3%.

A Revamp That Should Have Been Handled Better

It must be said that Boost handled this BoostUP revamp extremely poorly.

Boost hinted at a revamp
just three days before launch
,
and
labelled it as “a more rewarding” rewards programme. Thus, Boost not only
didn’t inform users about an impending devaluation
 in redemption rates, it also
devalued users’ existing rewards points overnight
 while
misinforming them of a “more rewarding rewards programme”
. The positive messaging subsequently denied the small window of opportunity (i.e. one weekend) for users to use their Coins balance before the devaluation.

And that “celebratory” 4x bonus Stars? That merely reduced the devaluation of users’ existing points from 84% to “just” 36%. Boost already
tried to put a positive spin to what was a negative update
 previously; this move undermines the intelligence of its users yet again.

E-wallets are not bound to the same practices that banks do with credit cards, where any change must be given 21 days’ notice to cardholders. This needs to change – if not to protect users’ rights, governing bodies should at least hold e-wallet companies to the same standards as banks.

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Pang Tun Yau

Pang Tun Yau

A seasoned tech journalist who now focuses on his other passion, Pang is a firm believer in old-school DCA and optimised spending.

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    NG CC

    1 year ago

Nice summary! I am quite surprised by this “more rewarding” initiative by Boost, disappointment is the right word to describe my feeling now.

1

Reply

    Anonymous

    1 year ago

Good write-up.  Boost is going to hurt themselve as it keep devalue the customers benefits.

1

Reply

    CKL

    1 year ago

WHAT A GOOD ARTICLES THAT BOOST IS  GIVEN SUCH A POOR INFORMATION TO CONFUSE USER.

0

Reply

    Anonymous

    1 year ago

This proves that I made a right decision to stop using Boost since September. The Boost Coins/Stars reward system is a big failure.

1

Reply

    CHONG VUI HOK

    1 year ago

I guess I was not the only Boostie misled by the pre-launch message of a more rewarding programme. Had I known, I would have used up all my coins beforehand. Disappointed would be putting it mildly. Hope Boost will be censured or penalised by the relevant authorities for misleading advertisement at the very least or fraud to be more appropriate. As for me, I will be bidding Boost ‘adios’ until they improve their reward programme.

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    Zen

    1 year ago

It is time to move to other e wallet. Very dissapointment with boost

0

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    Alex

    1 year ago

Boostup for existing coins with 4X, also Boostup of coins required for redemption with 5x

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World Bank: "Strong Purchases" In Properties & Cars, Lower Credit Card Spending Among Malaysians

(Image: Malay Mail/Ahmad Zamzahuri)

The World Bank has reported that household loans in Malaysia expanded faster in the first quarter of the year, due to strong purchases of residential properties and passenger cars – although growth in credit card loans showed a decline.

“Outstanding household loan growth increased to 6% in Q1 2021 (Q4 2021: 5.4%), mainly driven by loans for the purchase of residential properties and passenger cars,” said the World Bank in the June edition of its Malaysia Economic Monitor. This was driven in part by the tax exemption measures announced by the government in its economic stimulus packages.

However, growth in credit card loans declined, suggesting a drop in overall spending activity during the pandemic, the international institution said.

(Image: Reuters)

The report highlighted that Malaysia’s domestic financial sector was well equipped to weather the second movement control order that lasted close to a month, with the banks maintaining adequate capital and liquidity positions during the first quarter.

“Liquid assets held by the banking system remained adequate to support financial activity, with a coverage ratio of 145% in Q1 2021 (Q4 2020: 14%), well above the minimum statutory requirement of 100%,” the World Bank said. “Furthermore, banks continued to maintain an adequate capital buffer, with the tier 1 capital ratio standing at 14.9% at the end of March 2021.”

The banking sector’s overall return on equity stood at 8.5% against 9.2 % in Q4 2020, with return on assets estimated to stand at 1% – just a 0.1 percentage point lower than the previous October-December period. Overall loan impairment ratio in March was stable at 1.6% in the same month despite higher impairments from households amid continued pressure on household income.

(Source:
Malay Mail
)

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Learn the Secret Language of Food Packaging to Save on Groceries

Saving money isn’t just about spending less, but it’s also about getting more from what we already have. Like we’ve covered before,
food waste is something all of us can be a lot better with
. Aside from squeezing the most out of our leftovers, there’s also one other way we may have been wasting our food. That would be through throwing away perfectly good food while they’re still in their packaging.

How can we be making that mistake? The expiration date is printed right on them! Ah, but are those really expiration dates? While our Ministry of Health advises that we consume all goods well before any of the dates printed on any packaging, our research has revealed (and many international health and food organizations agree) that there are slight differences in what the dates on food packaging actually mean.

Identifying these differences and applying them when shopping and using food can help us optimize our grocery budget while being smarter with our money.

Best Before

May also be worded as “Better Before”, the dates this label refer to the quality of the item inside, not safety. Typically you see these printed on a wide range of frozen, dried, tinned, and other foods. When the dates are passed, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you might get sick, but the item might start to lose flavour, colour, or texture.

If you’re on the fence on consuming foods that are no longer at their best, what you can do is cook them thoroughly in high heat. High temperatures kill off most harmful bacteria like salmonella and E. Coli. So when you’re buying a food item you intend to cook anyway, you don’t have to spend cash to renew your stock if the items have only passed their “Best Before” date.

Use By

You will see “Use By” dates on food that goes off quickly, such as meat products, ready-prepared salads, and pre-packaged sushi. As it properly implies, you should not use an item past its “Use By” date even if it looks and smells fine as this can put your health at risk. Types of food that have a “Use By” date usually also include usage instructions like “eat within three days of opening” or “consume within a week”. Failure to comply with these recommendations can put you at risk of food poisoning.

To optimize your grocery budget, remember to only buy food with this label if you know you’ll be using them soon. Alternatively, you can freeze the food to extend their shelf life beyond the date, but remember to follow any freezing instruction on the packaging if there are any.

Sell By / Display Until

These two essentially mean the same thing and are meant for the retailer and not the consumer. Retailers are meant to take these items off the shelves by the date on the packaging and stop selling them. Normally, this is either because the item will no longer look attractive or begin to smell.
It has little to do with the food being bad for consumption, however
. Sellers may instead sell it as animal feed or repurpose it as ingredients for prepared food at a different part of the store.

So if you notice these labels on the food you have at home, remember that they don’t point to a date where the food will be harmful. You can use them normally, without having to throw anything out.

Those are the three main variants of food labeling that relates to spoilage. They often appear in conjunction or in different combinations, so take some time to figure out which date the food truly becomes unusable at all.

Important Things to Keep in Mind

All the dates printed on the packaging of course only apply if you closely follow the storage instructions included alongside. Don’t expect your dried squid to still be tasty if you’ve been leaving it unopened out in the rain, for example. The storage instructions affect the quality of the contents quite a lot, so it’s best to pay attention to them.

Speaking of storage, freezing any food item extends its shelf life past their printed dates, but remember to use them within 24 hours of thawing. Thawed foods rapidly deteriorate and are particularly vulnerable to bacteria.

Some products even have a date of packaging. This should have no effect on your purchasing decisions, unless a recent food recall is announced. A product recall will mention which production batch to avoid by date.

One last thing to remember is that your health is more important than saving some cash. While it does help to know which types of food can be used for a while longer than the packaging says, if you have a sensitive stomach, are serving food to babies, small children, the elderly, or people who are already unwell, err on the side of caution and stick close to the dates on the boxes.

Armed with this information, we hope you can now waste a lot less food and be a much better shopper at the same time. For a handy guide to how long different types of foods can last, check out this handy website
StillTasty
. Do you have any other money-saving tips for grocery shopping? Do let us know in the comments section down below!

*References: Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia, The National Health Service UK, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Japanese Consumer Affairs Agency

Images via reddit user
hayleybc
 and
Love Food, Hate Waste
.

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Bursa Malaysia Launches Interactive Fund Information Platform For Investors

Bursa Malaysia has launched a new one-stop interactive platform called the Bursa Fund Platform that seeks to empower its investors with the ability to find comprehensive information on their preferred unit trusts and wholesale funds conveniently. This, in turn, will enable them to make better informed investment decisions.

Established upon a “one platform, one location, one click” proposition, the new platform enables you to easily find details on participating funds, such as their daily fund prices, performance, ratings, fees and charges, as well as trustee information and documentations. Additionally, you can compare funds to see how they perform against each other, as well as create watchlists to track and monitor funds that are of interest to you. You can also communicate directly with participating fund managers through the platform if you want to start investing or request for personalised services.

The platform – which is already live – currently features both shariah and conventional funds with equity, fixed income, and ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) mandates. Meanwhile, participating fund managers include:

Kenanga Investors Berhad

Opus Asset Management Sdn Bhd

RHB Asset Management Sdn Bhd

RHB Islamic Asset Management Berhad

UOB Asset Management (Malaysia) Berhad

AMFunds Management Berhad

AMIslamic Funds Management Sdn Bhd

Chief executive officer of Bursa Malaysia, Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift said that the launch of the Bursa Fund Platform is in line with the exchange’s aspiration to make more investment options available to the public. “This fund platform will complement the current investment marketplace, as many investors have investments in both listed and unlisted markets,” he added.

Datuk Muhamad Umar also said that he believes the Bursa Fund Platform will serve as a solution to the industry’s current information inefficiencies. “Additionally, having more participation in this space will contribute to a more liquid and vibrant capital market,” he further remarked.

The new
Bursa Fund Platform
 is accessible to all investors for free. You do not need to create an account to use it, but do note that if you wish to create a watchlist of funds, you are required to log in to your Bursa Marketplace account.

(Source:
Bursa Malaysia
)

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Alex Cheong Pui Yin

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Previously covered recruitment-related stories and had a short stint as a copywriter for the property industry. She subsequently developed an interest in investment and robo-advisors.

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How You Can Benefit From unifi Business And Transform Digitally

(Image: MBG Fruit Shop)

Over the years, companies have adopted digital solutions but it wasn’t only after the Covid-19 pandemic that they had to expedite the process. It’s crucial for businesses to exploit new technologies to increase productivity, become cost-effective, improve customer experience, and more, otherwise, they might be left out of such benefits. However, technologies are constantly advancing at high speed and medium businesses with a bigger number of employees may not be able to pivot as fast and easily as micro enterprises that can adapt their business model swiftly.

With this, medium businesses might need support and guidance so they can start their digital transformation on the right foot. unifi Business offers A to Z services from providing expert consultancy to value-added solutions at affordable prices to businesses. Many have known unifi Business as a leading internet service provider, but it also offers myriad products and services exclusively to its business clients.

Read on to find out local enterprise MBG Fruit Shop’s digital journey with unifi Business.

Continuous Support Throughout

Whether it’s a brick-and-mortar or online shop, any downtime caused by technical issues and other disruptions could cost you the opportunity to connect with your customers, increase productivity, and sales. To ensure that you’re properly equipped, unifi Business gives users access to expert guidance throughout your digital journey.

MBG Fruit Shop’s Adnan Lee is glad that he could reach out to unifi Business’s consultants who are readily available to assist him when he encounters problems in his digital journey.

Adnan Lee of MBG Fruit Shop

Connect With A Wider Audience

In the new normal, more of us are spending time online for our daily activities from getting our favourite ‘roti canai’ to even getting health checkups and it seems like this trend is here to stay. According to Bain & Co, Southeast Asia’s Internet sectors continue to see strong growth and
are on track to cross $300 billion by 2025
.

Naturally, businesses will want to take advantage of the digital boom and strive in the new normal. As an essential business during the Movement Control Order (MCO), MBG Fruit Shop could still operate in compliance with standard operating procedures. “MBG Fruit Shop’s online sales have increased tremendously during the period thanks to the digital engagement activities we ran to reach out to a wider target audience,” said Adnan.

There are myriad digital services available on unifi Business’s website that can help you boost your business online including email marketing, social media, and search engine marketing. You can also increase awareness by getting listed on cari@unifi and connect with potential customers in your shop’s location for free.

(Image: MBG Fruit Shop)

Boosting Productivity With Technologies

Having a stable and reliable Internet connectivity is important as it allows Adnan to focus on managing his business. Currently, MBG Fruit Shop has 34 outlets operating in Malaysia with more than 300 employees serving more than 4 million customers per year.

“MBG Fruit Shop also relies on business retail transaction tools such as Point Of Sales (POS) systems, accounting, and human resources softwares available on unifi Business’ platform to automate some operations, drive productivity, and reduce costs,” explained Adnan, who is serving as the Managing Director for MBG Fruit Shop.

(Image: MBG Fruit Shop)

Businesses of all sizes, across all sectors, are increasingly equipping their staff with digital tools. Today, over half of employees in medium businesses have access to Internet and digital tools that significantly improve businesses. Digitalisation reduces transaction costs by  providing quicker access to information and smoothening communication among staff, suppliers, and networks. It facilitates access to resources, including finance (eg. peer-to-peer lending), training, and recruitment channels that include government services, which are  increasingly being made available online.

***

Around the world, the pandemic has kickstarted the adoption of new technologies in various industries. It’s getting more common to see cafes, convenience stores, and more put up signs to indicate that they accept QR Code payments, offer delivery services, and more.

It’s important for businesses today to learn the benefits of such technologies and explore more to gain an edge over competitors.

As mentioned earlier, medium businesses may find it more challenging to switch their business strategies and work procedures as they need to closely observe overhead costs with a larger work force. In addition, adopting technological solutions is probably not a one-off move but a continuous effort in a digital era. If you’re looking for ways to transform your business from traditional to digital, check out unifi Business’ special offers and deals today.

Find out more
here
.

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How to Make Money from Pokémon Go!

If you’ve been on the internet at all in the past week, you would be familiar with the new mobile game craze currently sweeping the United States and recently launched in Malaysia: Pokémon Go. A version of the popular critter-catching game Pokémon made exclusively for smartphones, it uses augmented reality technology to simulate catching monsters in real life.

With the rising popularity of Pokémon Go, and its maddening, some say controversial release in Malaysia, we thought it would be good to prepare you guys for all the ways you can make money through this game, even if you’re not a Pokemaniac.

Pokéwalking

In Pokémon Go, players need to walk around in the real world and look for Pokémon to catch through their phone’s camera. This works well if you live in an area that’s pedestrian-friendly and you have the time and physical capability to walk around with your phone out. But what if you don’t?

You can help Pokémon Go players who still want to catch Pokémon but can’t (or won’t) leave the house by offering to drive them around. You can charge an hourly amount for the service of driving people around Pokémon-rich areas and helping them get out of the house without them having to walk around. If this sounds ridiculous to some of you, you can tell that to
those who are already successfully doing this for side income
.

Egg-Hatching

Another feature of Pokémon Go is that players can obtain Eggs which they can hatch into Pokémon. However, these Eggs will only hatch after the players has walked a certain distance. Since the players are walking around to catch Pokémon anyway, this feature ties in quite well to the rest of the game. But what if players don’t want to walk so much?

That’s right, you can offer the service of walking their Eggs for them. Much like walking a person’s dog, you simply take the person’s Pokémon Go-equipped device and walk around with the app open in order to hasten the hatching of their Eggs for them. Before you sneeze at this idea,
yes, people are already doing this one, too!

Pokéstops

Pokémon Go also designates real-life buildings and landmarks as in-game locations that offer bonuses and items for players. One such location for Pokémon Go is the Pokestop. These places give players experience points and access to certain in-game items. Landmarks such as shops, police stations, and libraries are often made into Pokestops.

If your place of business is made into a Pokestop or is near one, you can purchase an in-game item called a “Lure Module” and use it to attract more Pokémon to come to your area. This in turn, attracts more players to the Pokestop which invites more traffic into your place of business. Neat!

Pokémon Gyms

Pokémon Gyms are another in-game location that can be assigned to real-life landmarks. These Gyms are places where teams of Pokémon Go players can battle opposing teams’ Pokémon to “claim” that Gym under their team. Kind of like being the Mayor of a coffee shop in foursquare.

If your place of business is made into (or is close to) a Gym, you can put out free phone charging stations or display useful information about which team controls the Gym at the moment to motivate players to battle. You can also make some of your wares team-specific to encourage team spirit and invite conversations about the game.

As it turns out, there are many ways people can take advantage of Pokémon Go and make some money off of it. Now that you’re aware of them, you can go out and boost your income and catch some rare Pokémon at the same time!

Have anything to add to this article? Do share your thoughts and comments with us in the comments section down below!

Photo credits: reddit user
lsxgto
 and
Bidvine

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Ahmad Mudhakkir

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Dual-Function Water Purifier And Ice Maker That Quenches Your Thirst With Optimal Hygiene

In a tropical country like Malaysia, iced cold drinks can always lift one’s spirit after a long day. Malaysians are also spoiled with an abundance of cafes and restaurants serving Malaysian staple drinks perfect for hangout sessions after a long day at work or during the weekend.

However, the reality today amidst the pandemic – hopping into any air-conditioned cafes to get our favourite drinks is not as convenient as it used to be due to Covid-19 preventive measures. And with hygiene on top of our mind during the pandemic, making sure the cleanliness of what we consume is also important.

But that does not mean that we need to deprive ourselves of our favourite drinks. Get creative instead and learn how to DIY even at home. And while you are at that, why not take a look at Coway LUCY PLUS, a dual-function water purifier and ice maker that will help you quench your thirst with optimal hygiene conveniently. This includes ensuring the hygiene quality of ice which we rarely pay attention to. Through Coway LUCY PLUS, Coway emphasises the hygiene of ice in pursuit of ICY Perfection.

Keeping You Hydrated With The Highest Hygiene Standard

The cleanliness of ice is often overlooked, with the quality of water always being the priority in drinks preparation. Even in a glass of purified water, the quality and hygiene of the drinks can be compromised when unclean ice is mixed in. For instance, in manual ice-making, ice hygiene can be compromised when the ice trays are stored in the freezer together with raw ingredients such as meat which might introduce invisible germs to the ice trays.

In Coway LUCY PLUS’ pursue of ICY perfection, every detail matters. Its ice storage is built in a separate compartment that can prevent any contamination to the ice. Not only that, LUCY PLUS is also designed to allow you to extract the ice without bare hand contact. Whenever you need some ice to go with your drinks, just push the lever with your glass and the ice will smoothly flow into your glass with zero contamination.

Besides that, Coway LUCY PLUS is designed with a unique 6-step purification system. All its filters are certified by Water Quality Association (WQA). At 0.0001-micron pore size, these filters work to remove impurities, contaminants, and odours, while also preventing the growth of microorganisms inside the water tanks. This keeps the water clean and pure for the whole family to consume.

Convenience With Just A Push – For Any Drinks At Any Time

Coway LUCY PLUS is a dual-function water purifier that dispenses clean purified water and is also equipped with an ice maker. What’s special with Coway LUCY PLUS is that it does not take extra effort to make ice, in comparison to manually filling up ice trays commonly available in the refrigerator’s freezer section.

Coway LUCY PLUS also comes with multiple temperature controls, capable of dispensing water of different temperatures to suit the preparation of your drinks. From iced beverages to cold, hot, and ambient temperatures, it’s easy for you to get creative and make your favourite beverages.

This also means that at any time of the day, you can enjoy your favourite drinks made with purified water and ice with just a single push, without the waiting time.

Thoughtful Design For You And Your Family

Available in oatmeal beige colour, the Coway LUCY PLUS is slim and elegant in design. A compliment for those looking to furnish their home with a modern or contemporary aesthetic in mind.

But more than just a pretty design, Coway LUCY PLUS also has some features designed with you in mind. Its Soft Lighting for Dispenser Hole illuminates the dispenser hole to help guide you in dispensing water or ice when it is dark at night. Also equipped with a Child Safety Lock, it helps to keep your children’s wandering hands safe from accidentally dispensing hot water when you are not looking.

Enjoy The Pure Goodness of Coway LUCY PLUS, Affordably

Now that we are spending more time at home, Coway LUCY PLUS could be your perfect companion at home. Not only does it provide you with one of life’s essentials that is water – but it does so while ensuring optimal hygiene.

Besides that, when you choose to DIY your favourite beverages with Coway LUCY PLUS purified water and ice, you get to save even more. In addition to that, Coway LUCY PLUS operates on a smart power-saving system that will help you save money on electricity over the long term. Its operating motors and heater are programmed to automatically decrease at night when not in use to reduce power consumption.

Available for rent at
RM190/month (exclusive of registration fees)
, or outright purchase at RM8,000, Coway LUCY PLUS could be a worthwhile investment to add to your home. Furthermore, for a limited time only,
Coway is now offering a rental promotion of RM200 with registration fees waived* or a free Neoflam cookware set for outright purchase
, while stocks last*.

*Terms & conditions apply.
*Promotion period: 25 June 2021 – 22 September 2021

***

Coway LUCY PLUS is a dual-function water purifier and an ice maker that can benefit your whole family. Besides offering you clean water and ice made of purified water, it also gives you and your family members peace of mind with its high standard of hygiene and convenience.

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    Norlela binti Kadir

    2 years ago

Nice colour, design, good looking, perfect

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PEMERKASA+: Wage Subsidy Programme Extended For Another Month

The government has agreed to extend the Wage Subsidy Programme for an additional month for all economy sectors that are affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the full lockdown (FMCO). This was announced as part of the latest PEMERKASA+ stimulus package.

This extension will continue from the
Wage Subsidy Programme 3.0
 under PERKESO, allowing employers to apply for a wage subsidy of RM600 for employees with a salary of less than RM4,000. The number of eligible employees allowed for this programme is limited to 500 employees per company.

According to Muhyiddin, this extension of the programme will cost the government RM1.5 billion in total, and is expected to benefit more than 200,000 employers with 2.5 million employees.

The
Wage Subsidy Programme
 was first introduced via the
Prihatin economic stimulus package
 last year, and has since been extended several times with some updates to its implementation. The programme was intended to help companies keep from laying off employees during this difficult period of time.

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Previously covered recruitment-related stories and had a short stint as a copywriter for the property industry. She subsequently developed an interest in investment and robo-advisors.

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Maybank Launches Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Amex Platinum Credit Card

Maybank has partnered with Singapore Airlines to launch a new co-branded credit card called the Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer American Express (Amex) Platinum. Unlike the usual Maybank credit cards that earn TreatsPoints, cardholders earn KrisFlyer (KF) Miles directly for virtually every Ringgit spent with this card – as well as some perks that will delight frequent flyers now that global borders are reopening.

It’s worth noting that this is the first vertical design credit card from Maybank, offering a distinct look compared to other cards offered by the bank. More importantly, cardholders will be able to earn KF Miles at the following rates, depending on the types of transactions that they perform:

Types of transaction
Earning rate
Local spend
1 KF Mile for every RM2.50 spent
Overseas spend
1 KF Mile for every RM2.00 spent
Online spend
1 KF Mile for every RM2.00 spent
Online purchases from Singapore Air, Silk Air, Scoot*, and KrisShop Online
*For flights originating from Malaysia only
1 KF Mile for every RM1.00 spent

As a welcome bonus, you’ll also receive a 7,000 KF Miles when you spend on your Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Amex Platinum card for the first time (awarded one time only).

Aside from being able to earn KF Miles – which you can then use to redeem flights and other rewards – you’ll also be able to enjoy various other travel and lifestyle perks. For instance, you can fast track your way to the KrisFlyer Elite Gold membership by spending a minimum of RM35,000 annually on Singapore Airlines. This particular membership will grant you access to the KrisFlyer Gold Lounge across the world, and entitle you to extra travel benefits like priority check-in and additional check-in baggage allowance. Normally, you’ll need to earn 50,000 Elite Miles within a year to earn the status, which is equivalent to redeeming 250,000 KF Miles or flying with Singapore Airlines and partner airlines.

You’ll also get to enjoy 5x complimentary access to various Plaza Premium Lounges per year via the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Amex Platinum card, as well as obtain the Silversmith Elite status with hotel specialists Mr & Mrs Smith. Other benefits include 20% savings on Meet & Greet services (Fastrack VIP), exclusive car rental services with Hertz or Avis, dining deals at Marriott Bonvoy Malaysia and Shangri-La KL restaurants (notably, at a similar rate to the flagship Maybank 2 Premier cards), complimentary green fees at golf courses around the world, and more.

Additionally, the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Amex Platinum card comes with travel protection coverage of up to RM750,000, on top of extra coverage for missed connections, luggage delay, as well as loss of luggage. As usual, this perk is only applicable when you pay for your flights using this card.

The Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Amex Platinum card has a RM300 annual fee that’s waived for the first year. For subsequent years, there is no automatic fee waiver upon reaching a certain spending threshold – you’ll need to contact the bank to request for an annual fee waiver, and will be at the bank’s discretion. The minimum annual income of RM60,000 is retained from the previous Gold model, which will be
a lower-tier card following some revisions effective today
.

Speaking of which, Maybank is inviting cardholders of the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Amex Gold card to upgrade to this new Platinum card for free – so if you foresee spending frequently with any of the eligible airlines now that Malaysia’s borders are set to reopen, this may be a good deal to take up.

Meanwhile, other customers who apply for the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Amex Platinum card by 31 May 2022 can tap into an offer of RM300 cashback if they are among the first 200 customers to spend a minimum of RM300 within 45 days of card approval. There is also a separate ‘Time to Travel’ campaign for new and existing cardmembers, ongoing from now until 31 July 2022, where five customers will have the opportunity to win a total of 1 million KrisFlyer miles. You’ll need to spend a cumulative amount of at least RM20,000 to qualify for the prizes.

(Source:
Maybank
)

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Economists Expect BNM To Increase OPR As Early As This Month

(Image: Malay Mail/Ahmad Zamzahuri)

Several economists have predicted that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) will soon raise the country’s overnight policy rate (OPR) in light of the improved economic conditions and inflationary pressures.

This came as the US Federal Reserve recently announced its biggest interest rate increase in over 20 years. The benchmark interest rate was increased by 0.5 percentage points to a target rate range of between 0.75% and 1%. The rate was previously increased by 0.25 percentage points in March, which marked the first increase since December 2018.

Julia Goh (Image: Entrepriseitnews)

UOB Global Economics and Markets Research senior economist Julia Goh expects BNM to increase the OPR by 25 basis points to 2% on 11 May. She also predicted a further increase by another 25 basis points in the third quarter of 2022, bringing the OPR to 2.25% by the end of the year.

According to Julia, an increase in the OPR is imminent given the growth trajectory of the Malaysian economy and upward pressure on prices. “With real gross domestic product (GDP) growth outlook of 5.3% to 6.3% (versus potential output growth of 3% to 4% in 2022), the negative output gap is expected to narrow further. This serves as a signal for potential rate hikes,” she added.

Dr Yeah Kim Leng (Image: The Malaysian Reserve)

Meanwhile, Sunway University Business School economics professor Dr Yeah Kim Leng expects the central bank to increase the OPR in the early part of the second half of this year, following the improving economic growth and rising inflationary pressures. He further stated that the decision to increase the OPR will be driven by the need to balance growth and inflation, and minimise financial stability risks.

“It is well known that high household indebtedness may be destabilising to the economy in the event of an interest rate shock. However, a well-telegraphed and gradual rise will not be too disruptive but conversely, it would be beneficial in reducing any build-up of inflation and debt risks,” Dr Yeah further commented.

Wellian Wiranto (Image: The Star)

Similarly, OCBC economist Wellian Wiranto expects BNM to increase the OPR by 25 basis points as early as July. He also commented that in spite of the rising Fed funds rates, the direct effect on Malaysia is relatively mild. This, he said, is due to Malaysia’s current account surplus status, which makes it less susceptible to the changing global yields and investor sentiment.

Additionally, Wellian also said that Malaysia’s inflation has remained broadly under control. He noted that while prices for some items are on the rise, the continued subsidies on fuel will contain the increase in prices. “The effects of ringgit depreciation on imported inflation will be there too, but BNM is unlikely to react with rate hikes purely on this basis alone,” he added.

Denise Cheok (Image: APEC)

Moody’s Analytics assistant director Denise Cheok also predicts an increase in the OPR by 25 basis points in the third quarter of 2022. “Inflation in Malaysia remains relatively moderate compared to the rest of the region, and the central bank will likely prioritise the economy’s return to pre-pandemic levels over capital outflows and currency depreciation,” she said.

She also highlighted that Malaysia has recorded one of the highest household debt-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratios in the region even before the Covid-19 pandemic. She said that a low interest rate will keep debt service from becoming a systemic issue that eats up consumer spending.

The
current OPR
 of 1.75% is the lowest on record following four consecutive cuts in 2020.

(Source:
The Edge Markets
)

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Confirmed: Special Lifestyle Tax Relief Is Stackable For Smartphone, Personal Computer, & Tablet Purchases

Since the start of the tax filing season for Year of Assessment 2021 (YA 2021), one of the most frequent questions we’ve been getting is regarding the special lifestyle tax relief for the purchase of a personal computer, smartphone, or tablet. Specifically, if the item purchased is more than RM2,500, can you claim the excess balance under the regular lifestyle tax relief?

In short, yes.

To confirm this, we referred to the
Explanatory Notes for YA 2021
 tax filing provided by the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) for resident individuals who do not carry business. It is a comprehensive guide on the available tax reliefs and is updated before the start of the tax filing season of each assessment year. Since this comes straight from the source, its contents is as authoritative and reliable as it gets.

Under the special lifestyle tax relief, the IRB states that an individual can claim for the purchase of a personal computer, smartphone, or tablet for the use of self, spouse, or child as well as not for the purpose of own business, up to RM2,500 in tax relief. This relief was
introduced in mid-2020
, before being
extended to YA 2021
, and most recently it was confirmed that it will
also be available in YA 2022
.

What’s important to note is in the example provided by the IRB, and how the two lifestyle tax reliefs are treated:

*****

Mr Lim bought a smartphone for RM2,000 on 1 March 2021. He also bought a laptop for his son’s use for RM4,000 on 15 July 2021.
Tax Treatment
: Purchase of a laptop on 15 July 2021 is allowed for claim under
F9b
 limited to RM2,500. While another RM500 from the purchase of the laptop and the expense of buying a smartphone of RM2,000 (1 March 2021) can be claimed under
F8(ii)
 limited to RM2,500.

*****

(Note: In the Explanatory Notes, Relief F9b refers to the special lifestyle relief for YA 2020 – YA 2022, while Relief F8(ii) refers to the regular lifestyle tax relief that is claimable every year)

From the example, it is confirmed that in the event the purchased item is more than the limit of the special tax relief, individuals can claim the remaining balance on the regular lifestyle tax relief. In Mr Lim’s case above, he could only claim RM5,000 even though the total purchases for both devices is RM6,000, as the combined limits of both lifestyle tax reliefs is RM5,000 (RM2,500 + RM2,500).

On a related note, it is also important to remember that the regular lifestyle tax relief covers other areas as well, including the purchase or subscription of books/journals/magazines/newspapers/other similar publications, the purchase of sports equipment (as defined under the Sports Development Act 1997) as well as the payment of gym memberships, and the payment of monthly internet subscription. What this means is that you may
already
be able to claim a significant portion of the RM2,500 limit from these other purchases.

Finally, there is another bit of good news: for the special lifestyle tax relief, there are no restrictions in terms of the number of times you can claim for it in consecutive years. In other words, you can purchase a personal computer, smartphone, or tablet in 2020, 2021, and 2022 and be able to claim up to RM2,500 under the special lifestyle tax relief in each year of assessment. (Of course, you shouldn’t purchase them just for the sake of the tax relief – especially if you don’t need it!)

In the past, before the lifestyle tax relief was introduced, an individual can only claim for the purchase of a personal computer once every three years. But for this special lifestyle tax relief (which of course also covers the purchase of smartphones and tablets), there is no wording that limits how often you can claim it. The IRB always makes it clear when there is one – for example, for the tax deduction on the purchase of breastfeeding equipment for own use for a child aged 2 and below, the Explanatory Notes explicitly states that “(t)his deduction is only allowed ONCE in every two (2) years of assessment”.

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Pang Tun Yau

Pang Tun Yau

A seasoned tech journalist who now focuses on his other passion, Pang is a firm believer in old-school DCA and optimised spending.

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    choong

    1 year ago

Thanks for the information. May I ask if dental implants, and Emergency admission for heart problems are tax deductible?

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    Anonymous

    1 year ago

Hi if I buy 2 laptops in year 2022, can I claim for both or just one? Thanks

0

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    boo_mandy2

    11 months ago

If i buy handphone from singapore, is this acceptable under lifestyle tax relief?

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    Adlin

    1 month ago

Does this apply for income tax filing with business? (Form E-B)

Point reference especially for claim of laptops and smartphones for instance.

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    Pang Tun Yau

    1 month ago

    Reply to

        Adlin

No, this only applies to individual tax returns.

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    min

    26 days ago

1. What if the device (a monitor) was purchased in Singapore?

2. What if the device is used but a receipt can be produced (Carousell)?

Thanks.

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Top 10 Richest Malaysians of 2017

Admit it, with the change in Ringgit’s strength in the global currency, you’ve probably asked yourself (and your friends) about who the richest Malaysians are now.

Are the top ten richest Malaysians this year still the same people from 2016? Well, you’re about to find out!

1. Robert Kuok

Photo courtesy Forbes.com

If you’re one of the 80’s or 90’s kids, the name Robert Kuok should be familiar to you. He’s known as the ‘Sugar King’ as he once controlled over 10% of the global sugar production. The 94-year old business mogul is the richest man in Malaysia, with multinational companies such as Perlis Plantation Berhad (PBB), Kuok Group, as well as a stake in Wilmar International –world’s largest listed palm oil company.

He also founded the luxury five-star hotels and resorts chain, the Shangri-La Group. Also, did you know that he owns the famous cinema chain – Golden Screen Cinemas Sdn Bhd (GSC)?

Known As
: The Sugar King

Source of Wealth
: Palm oil plantations, resorts and hotels, entertainment, and real estate

Estimated Net Worth
: RM48.4 Billion

2. Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan

Photo courtesy of The Star

This banking tycoon is the man behind Hong Leong Bank Berhad, one of the top banks in Malaysia. His business portfolio includes financial services (banking) as well as real estate through GuocoLand (Malaysia) Berhad.

Known As
: Founder of Hong Leong Bank Bhd

Source of Wealth
: Banking and real estate

Estimated Net Worth
: RM28.9 Billion

3. Ananda Krishnan

Photo courtesy of Luxatic

If you’re wondering who owns Maxis- the telco giant in Malaysia, here is your answer. Ananda Krishnan also owns Astro Malaysia Holdings, as well as a flagship oil and gas company, Bumi Armada.

This low-profile billionaire keeps to himself and seldom appears in public, but is well-known for his philanthropy activities.

He was the second richest man in Malaysia back in 2016, but lost his spot due to the falling shares of his two largest companies; Maxis and Bumi Armada.

Known As
: The Telco King

Source of Wealth
: Telecommunications pay TV, and oils and gas

Estimated Net Worth
: RM27.6 Billion

4. Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow

Photo courtesy of The Star

Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow is now the fourth richest Malaysian, having founded Public Bank Bhd. But did you know that prior to being one of the top five billionaires in Malaysia, he was once a bank manager in Malayan Banking (now known as Maybank) back in the 60s?

Here is a living proof that everyone can achieve success in life, as long as you’re willing to work hard (and smart) for it!

Known As
: Founder of Public Bank Bhd

Source of Wealth
: Banking

Estimated Net Worth
: RM20.2 Billion

5. Tan Sri Dato’ Lee Shin Cheng

Photo courtesy of The Star

Another inspiring success story, Tan Sri Dato’ Lee Shin Cheng started his journey to his billions from quite literally nothing. Born in a rubber plantation, he dropped out of school at the age of eleven to help support his family by selling ice cream on a bicycle.

Now, Tan Sri Dato’ Lee Shin Cheng owns IOI Group, world’s leading company in oleochemicals as well as one of the biggest palm oil plantations in Malaysia. The company is also a prominent real estate developer both locally and internationally.

The eccentric billionaire is also renowned as the ‘tree talker’; he believes that each of the trees in his plantations is unique and have their own characteristics.

Known As
: The Tree Talker

Source of Wealth
: Palm oil plantations and real estate

Estimated Net Worth
: RM19.9 Billion

6. Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Lim Kok Thay

Photo courtesy Forbes.com

The second son of the late Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Lim Goh Tong has expanded the Genting Group to a now world-renowned multi-billion company, with assets and branches in Singapore, Philippines, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, as well as on-going projects in the United States.

The Group’s newest flagship branch, Resorts World Las Vegas, is expected to open its doors to the public in 2019.

Known As
: Chairman of the Genting Group Bhd

Source of Wealth
: Hotels and resorts, entertainment, and palm oil plantations

Estimated Net Worth
: RM18.9 Billion

7. Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Yeoh Tiong Lay

Photo courtesy of The Malay Mail Online

Sadly, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Yeoh Tiong Lay passed away recently, on 18th October 2017. He was known as a brilliant businessman as well as a philanthropist and brought his company – YTL Corporation – to an international success with business interests in Asia, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

Known As
: Founder of the YTL empire

Source of Wealth
: Property development, utilities, technology, and hotels

Estimated Net Worth
: RM9 Billion (as of October 2017)

8. Tan Sri Lau Cho Kun

Photo courtesy of Iluminasi

The 82-year old tycoon from Sabah owns Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd, which is renowned as the distributor for Mercedes-Benz in Malaysia. The billion-dollar company also has footprints in the palm oil industry, as well as in real estate development.

Known As
: Hap Seng Head

Source of Wealth
: Palm oil plantations, property development and automotive

Estimated Net Worth
: RM8.82 Billion

9. Tan Sri Datuk Tiong Hiew King

Photo courtesy of Forbes.com

The Malaysian timber baron is the founder of Rimbunan Hijau Group, one of the prominent timber companies in the world with forestry concessions in over 16 countries – including Papua New Guinea and Russia.

The 82-year old billionaire also has business interests in property, palm oil plantations, oil and gas, as well as both print and digital media. In 2009, a controversy was sparked around the timber baron as he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, a decision that was heavily criticized by the environmentalists around the world. You can
read more about the updates and latest scoops on his knighthood here
.

Known As
: The Timber Baron

Source of Wealth
: Timber, property, palm oil plantations, media, and oil and gas

Estimated Net Worth
: RM8.5 billion

10. Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar AlBukhary

Photo courtesy of UtaraNews

Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary is known as the richest Bumiputra in Malaysia now, but he is yet another billionaire who had a humble beginning before making his fortune. He started out as a rice trader in the 90s, but now owns the multi-billion-dollar construction company, MMC Corp.

Also known as an avid philanthropist, he founded Albukhary International University which offers full scholarships to the needy students. He also founded the Albukhary Foundation, an international non-profit charity organisation that helps improve the social development among the underprivileged.

Known As
: Wealthiest Malay in Malaysia

Source of Wealth
: Engineering, Energy Construction

Estimated Net Worth
: RM7.7 billion

So, there you go, did you find this article helpful? If you’re curious to know who are the richest women in Malaysia, read our article on
Meet Malaysia’s Self-Made Female Millionaires
 and find out for yourself!

It’s truly inspiring how some of the richest people in the world started with literally nil to their name. But, with proper financial planning, persistence, and self-discipline, you can be a billionaire too!

Start by choosing the right savings and investment plan, such as a fixed deposit account. If you’re not sure which is the best one for you, compare and choose the best
fixed deposit account for you on our comprehensive list of the latest fixed deposit accounts in Malaysia
 now!

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Price Of Sugar Drops Ten Sen As Government Considers Soda Tax

Effective 1 September 2018, the ceiling price for granulated sugar will be reduced by 10 sen per kg. The new prices will be RM2.85 and RM2.95 per kg for coarse granulated sugar and fine granulated sugar respectively.

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said that the price drop was due to the global reduction in the price of raw sugar, as well as the rising cost of living.

“This is also taking into consideration the rise in the cost of living in Malaysia, which is caused by the rise in costs of goods,” he added. “Hopefully, this reduction will spark a multiplying effect that will reduce the price of food and drinks in the market.”

Saifuddin emphasised that lower sugar prices should not be seen as an encouragement by the government to increase sugar intake. According to Saifuddin, over 3.6 million Malaysians aged 18 and above were found to be diabetic in 2016, and the number will keep rising if measures are not taken to control sugar consumption.

One of these measures may be the government’s future plan to introduce a soda tax to encourage healthy living and reduce sugar consumption. However, Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy chief executive officer Azrul Mohd Khalib said that reducing sugar prices while introducing a soda tax would send a contradictory message to the public.

According to Azrul, a soda tax would merely encourage consumers to switch other sugar-sweetened beverages such as
teh tarik
and
kopi susu.
Azrul said that that the sugar price should not have been lowered as Malaysia already enjoys cheap sugar.

Meanwhile, National Diabetes Institute board member Prof Datuk Dr Anuar Zaini Md Zain said that price control on sugar has had little impact on the nation’s diabetes statistics. In his opinion, a better way to stop the public from consuming unhealthy products was to tax all food and beverages with a high sugar content.

(Source:
The Star
)

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Scholarship Programmes In Malaysia: What You Need To Know

Tertiary level education is often expensive, but many corporations – both private and government – have a large variety of scholarship programmes that reward outstanding students. While there are several well-known ones, there are actually plenty more programmes that go under the radar. Here’s a brief guide on the education scholarships available in Malaysia.

While there aren’t specific “types” of undergraduate scholarships, there are different criteria for which these scholarships are awarded. Almost all are based on academic excellence, while others have prerequisites on top of their excellent grades. For example, some bodies or associations require the recipient or parents to be members before they are taken into consideration.

What is covered by a scholarship?

All scholarships provide enough to cover tuition fees, and usually accommodation at university hostels. There may also be some excess per semester as allowance that the students can use in their everyday lives. There are also partial scholarships which cover only tuition fees.

Most scholarship programmes explicitly mention the total amount that will be awarded to the recipients. The scholarship documents would also specify if there are any additional coverage in the programme, such as flight ticket allowance for overseas universities, or computer/laptop allowance. Some programmes may even have allowances for academic books.

Scholarship application process

The application process for scholarships in Malaysia is fairly straight forward. You’d need to submit an application with copies of your academic results, as well as any outstanding achievements that may swing the votes in your favour. For extra-curricular scholarships, you may even need to provide additional documents such as letters from governing bodies. From then, you wait for a response.

Given the sheer amount of students applying for scholarships, only shortlisted candidates would get a reply. From there, the process may differ slightly between programmes. All would require at least one interview level, as well as some form of exam (essays etc). Fingers crossed, you’re one of the few who are selected.

Things to note

Most scholarships may come with some form of bond with the provider when you graduate, requiring you to work at the company/body for a certain number of years. There are some which come without any form of bond, but these are few and far in between.

Most importantly, you must maintain your academic results – some providers remove you from the programme if you do not hit a specific cumulative grade point average (CGPA) even for a semester. Therefore, it is imperative that scholarship students maintain their focus throughout their degree programme.

Types of scholarships in Malaysia

As mentioned earlier, here’s a short list of scholarships available in Malaysia, based on specific criteria.

Academic Achievement Scholarships

Some of the most lucrative scholarship programmes are also naturally the most competitive. They are usually awarded to the crème de la crème of outstanding students, and are usually very lucrative. Because of this, these scholarships are a huge financial incentive to ensure they continue to maintain their high standards.

Examples:
JPA Scholarship, Khazanah Global Scholarship, Astro Scholarship Award, Maybank Scholarship Programme, Petronas Education Sponsorship Programme.

What is covered:
Tuition fees, accommodation, monthly allowance, (sometimes) laptops and academic books.

There are other types of academic scholarships that award less per student, but the programmes themselves include many students per academic year. Most universities or colleges offer this type of scholarship, and depending on the institution, the scholarship package may be partial or full. Others may offer tiered scholarships, depending on the students’ academic results.

Scholarship coverage

100%

75%

50%

25%

15%

Requirement

9As and above

8As

7As

6As

5As

Examples:
The MCKL Merit Scholarships, Monash High Achiever Awards.

What is covered:
 Tuition fees only.

Extra-curricular Scholarships

This scholarship is specially designed to reward those who are outstanding in areas outside of the classroom. Students who are awarded this scholarship have demonstrated their achievements in areas like sports, music, or even the arts. Like the normal academic scholarship, this type of scholarship is offered by government agencies, arts/sports associations, and some universities.

Examples:
Ministry of Higher Education Sports Scholarship, ABRSM International Scholarship, Yamaha Music Scholarship, UCSI University Trust Sports Bursary, Taylor’s University Talent Scholarship.

What is covered:
 Tuition fees, equipment, and monthly allowance.

Needs-Based Scholarship

This scholarship serves as a financial aid for the underprivileged (low income, handicapped/ differently abled, rural areas, etc) to have a chance to succeed through education. This scholarship is usually given by the government, NGOs, universities, or the charity arm of a company or group.

Examples:
Ministry of Higher Education Financial Aid For OKU, UCSI University Trust Financial Aid, HELP-MIC Scholarship, Yayasan Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng Scholarship Award, Kuok Foundation Berhad Scholarship.

What is covered:
Tuition Fees, sometimes accommodation and monthly allowance (varies according to scholarship provider).

Institution-Based Scholarship

This type of scholarship differs from the rest as it is open solely to a group of people. Eligibility may require the applicant to be an alumnus from a school, an association, or in some cases, be part of a family clan. Like the other scholarship types, the institution-based scholarship may be a partial or full scholarship.

Examples:
MCKL Scholarship for specific schools, Monash Bursaries for Indonesian Students, Steadfast Association’s Steadfast Scholarship, Yayasan Sime Darby Employees and Employers’ Children Education Programme.

What is covered:
Tuition fees only.

Final notes

When applying for a scholarship, always have a look at the programme’s terms and conditions. Some scholarships include a long-term employment bond, while others do not even have such a clause. Note that employment bonds may not necessarily be a bad thing – it could mean confirmed employment upon graduation, which is not something to be taken lightly.

In addition, because of the sheer number of applicants, it makes perfect logic to apply for as many scholarship programmes as you can. Applying for a scholarship programme does not mean you will get it, so be sure to spread your net far and wide, and go for as many shortlisted interviews as possible. These interviews are great practice for the future, too!

Finally, never forget that scholarship holders are expected to hold themselves to a certain level. Scholarship providers may revoke their awards to students who are involved in disciplinary cases, so do keep that in mind.

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2018 Malaysian Calendar – The Ultimate Guide to Creating Financial and Holiday Plans

Every year represents a new beginning to achieve new goals, explore different avenues, and a general sense of change. The thing is, it takes a little bit of planning in order to end the year with a bang. You will need to focus on more than just the 2018 Malaysian public holidays. This time around, you should be looking into the full 2018 calendar to anticipate expenses, and not just the public holidays you would like to exploit.

Many people make holiday plans, weight loss aspirations, financial targets and other goal-oriented achievements without considering the different points in the calendar year that leave them broke and eventually derails their entire plan.

Start by taking baby steps and start planning the coming weeks, months, quarters and eventually, the year-end objective with the help of the quarterly indicators below. You may note that we included Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day too but no worries, we have placed this here so that you know what to look out for in the year ahead as well.

JANUARY

Su

Mo

Tu

We

Th

Fr

Sa

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1

2

3

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5

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FEBRUARY

Su

Mo

Tu

We

Th

Fr

Sa

—

—

—

—

1

2

3

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18

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22

23

24

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28

—

—

—

MARCH

Su

Mo

Tu

We

Th

Fr

Sa

—

—

—

—

1

2

3

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5

6

7

8

9

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17

18

19

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22

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25

26

27

28

29

30

31

February

Valentine’s Day (14 February)

With a relatively easy-going start to the year, the first financial hump to lookout for is the romantic, Valentine’s Day. With the hyper-inflated prices of gifts and dining options, try purchasing your gifts online, or way before Valentine’s season. Even better, you can start buying some of the gifts now (provided that it’s non-perishable) and save it up for next year. Fret not, we will give you a few hacks along the way to keep you on solid ground.

Chinese New Year (16 & 17 February)

For those who are celebrating Chinese New Year, there isn’t much of a financial breather between Valentine’s day and Chinese New Year. Let’s hope some of you have the luxury of recuperating a little cost with Ang Pows. If not, you are going to be dishing out a little more, to your unmarried friends and family members. Despite the high expenses, this is a time to take advantage of the festive sale prices. Look out for bargains on clothes, grocery items, and possibly even gifts.

APRIL

Su

Mo

Tu

We

Th

Fr

Sa

1

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—

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—

—

<a href=”
https://ringgitplus.com/en/credit-card/?utm_source=ringgitplus&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=my-rpint-crcd-gen&utm_content=blogcta_crcd_bestcreditcardinmalaysia_ringgitplus_mid”title=”Compare
 credit card”>

MAY

Su

Mo

Tu

We

Th

Fr

Sa

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

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16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

—

—

—

—

—

JUNE

Su

Mo

Tu

We

Th

Fr

Sa

—

—

—

—

—

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

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11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

April

Tax Returns Filing without Business Income (30 April)

Throughout March and April, it is a relatively open field to save up until the end of April. For those who do not have a business income to file, the deadline to submit one’s taxes is at the end of April.

If you have your taxes deducted every month, then you will be safe from any further deductions. In fact, you could even look forward to certain rebates that RinggitPlus will highlight, closer into the tax season.

May

Mother’s Day (13 May)

Among the more important dates of the Malaysian 2018 calendar, is the day to show your mother how much you appreciate her. Although it shouldn’t be narrowed down to one day a year, you may still want to loosen the purse strings and do a little something for the person who gave birth to you.

Awal Ramadhan (15 May)

Awal Ramadhan is the beginning point of the fasting month. While it is not a national public holiday in Malaysia, the fasting month is a time frame to consider traveling. Traditionally, this period is a low season for air travel, and opens up lots of opportunities for cheap airfares.

Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. You should avoid traveling toward Indonesia as those working overseas would be rushing back home for Hari Raya, causing a massive price hike. You should also avoid flying domestically during the final week before Hari Raya, when prices are at its peak.

June

Hari Aidilifitri (15 & 16 June)

To our Muslim brothers and sisters, this is a joyous occasion that also drains the bank account. Duit raya, kuih raya, attire, travel expenses, and all the miscellaneous expenses can may be the wrong time to plan any quarterly commitments.

Father’s Day (17 June)

To top it all off, father’s day will be on the third day of Hari Raya. What a perfect way to keep the celebrations going, by giving the man of the family an additional honour. Even those who aren’t celebrating Hari Raya should be looking to make Father’s day a memorable one with a little gift or something meaningful.

Tax Returns Filing for Individuals with Business Income (30 June)

If you are accruing a business income, the end of June is when you are going to have to pay the piper. Especially with Raya and Father’s day expenses that could be piling on to your monthly expense, you are going to need to make additional adjustments to the months prior to ensure you aren’t impacted too heavily. Should you need some short-term cash flow, you could always consider a personal loan or payday loan. At this point in time, you should be able to see how one’s finances can dip dramatically during certain quarters through the 2018 calendar year.

JULY

Su

Mo

Tu

We

Th

Fr

Sa

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

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31

—

—

—

—

AUGUST

Su

Mo

Tu

We

Th

Fr

Sa

—

—

—

1

2

3

4

5

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7

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22

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31

—

SEPTEMBER

Su

Mo

Tu

We

Th

Fr

Sa

—

—

—

—

—

—

1

2

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30

—

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—

—

—

August

Merdeka Day (31 August)

During this quarter, we will enjoy the privilege of two long weekends. Merdeka Day falls on a Friday, giving even the states with the shifted weekend, the Sunday off. Since it is only a three day long weekend, travel to the shorter destination and save the further destinations for the longer upcoming holidays.

September

Yang Dipertuan Agong’s Birthday (9 September)

Awal Muharram (11 September)

The public holiday on the 9th, falls on a Sunday, making the 10th an automatic public holiday for states that do not have the shifted Friday and Saturday weekend. Combining the Awal Muharram public holiday on the 11th, those on a conventional weekend will be looking at a nice long break from Saturday to Tuesday. An ideal time to travel to destinations that are a little costlier and further out, given the general low financial commitment season.

OCTOBER

Su

Mo

Tu

We

Th

Fr

Sa

—

1

2

3

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NOVEMBER

Su

Mo

Tu

We

Th

Fr

Sa

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—

—

—

1

2

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5

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22

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30

—

DECEMBER

Su

Mo

Tu

We

Th

Fr

Sa

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31

—

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—

—

October

Budget Announcement

Typically, the budget announcement for the following year happens at the end of October. This is when you should be looking out attentively for rebates or benefits that could assist you in the following year.

If you were intending to purchase a house, the new policies, rebates or schemes for the following year could help you make strategic decisions at the point of purchase.

NOVEMBER

Deepavali (6 November)

Deepavali, the festival of lights comes around just before the year end school holidays. Typically a high spending season for those celebrating and entering the year end peak season. On the other hand, it is a great opportunity for those who are not celebrating to travel before the year end peak season kicks off.

DECEMBER

Christmas (25 December)

Overlapping with the travel peak season, beginning of the school term and Christmas itself can be costly. But if you planned out the 2018 calendar well, and have had the discipline to manage your finances, the triple threat will be just another season to sail through.

Last financial tips and Tools for Thought

Last but not least, highlight areas such as insurance renewal, annual check-ups, car service, birthdays and other events that will cost you money during the 2018 calendar year. By doing so, you can look out for time segments that are overly expensive to your personal finances and plan your goals around them.

It would also be a smart idea to have a credit card that allows you to monitor your monthly budgets and gives you some great cashback or travel rewards when you need to stretch your ringgit. Check out our credit card
 comparison tool
 and strategise your financials for 2018.

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Gavin Pereira

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CIMB Reiterates Commitment To Abide By BNM’s Directive In Resolving Processing Error

(Image: The Star)

CIMB Bank has reiterated its commitment to abide by Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) directive in ensuring that its customers are given fair treatment with regard to the recent processing error incident.

In its latest statement, CIMB specified that it will adhere to BNM’s Policy Document on Fair Treatment of Financial Consumers in resolving the matter. “CIMB has been engaging and continues to work closely with affected customers to ensure a fair and managed resolution. This includes providing clear evidence and documentation of the double credits in their bank statements and formulating flexible repayment schemes based on the individual circumstances,” it further said.

This statement came in response to BNM’s call last week for CIMB to ensure that its
customers are given “reasonable options”
 in returning excess funds that had been deposited into their accounts due to this error. At the same time, BNM also said that it will take supervisory actions against CIMB if it finds any breaches on legal or regulatory requirements.

For context, numerous CIMB accountholders had unexpectedly received notifications at the end of January 2022, stating that the bank has earmarked money in their accounts for debit due to erroneous duplicate credits. CIMB eventually clarified that this was
due to a processing error
, which caused some transfers to be accidentally processed twice, leading to affected customers receiving double the amount that was originally transferred to them. The bank also shared that the excess money transferred was drawn from the bank’s own funds, and as such, has placed a hold on the duplicate amount that was processed to recover the mistaken payments made.

CIMB also noted that this error is specifically related to a
third-party financial remittance service
, involving a limited number of customers that undertook international to local transfers only.

Affected CIMB customers who wish to reach out to CIMB can do so via a dedicated hotline at 03-2295 6188, or CIMB’s call centre at 03-6204 7788.

(Source:
New Straits Times
)

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Alex Cheong Pui Yin

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Previously covered recruitment-related stories and had a short stint as a copywriter for the property industry. She subsequently developed an interest in investment and robo-advisors.

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Shopee, Maybank Offer Up To RM116,000 Worth Of Prizes, Including 10 Grand Prizes

Shopee has partnered with Maybank to run a Top Up With M2U & Win campaign, which has up to RM116,000 worth of prizes up for grabs – in the form of 10 grand prizes, as well as consolation prizes of 1,000 Shopee Coins. To participate, you’ll need to top up your ShopeePay e-wallet with a minimum amount using your Maybank2u account.

Specifically, you’re required to link your Maybank2u account to your ShopeePay account as a payment method, and then perform a minimum reload of RM30. Winners will then be randomly selected by Shopee, with the following prizes on offer:

Prizes
Details
Number of winners
Grand prize 1
Dyson V11 Absolute + Vacuum Cleaner
1
Grand prize 2
KitchenAid Stand Mixer
1
Grand prize 3
Samsung Smart TV 50”
1
Grand prize 4
Razer Iskur X Ergonomic Chair
1
Grand prize 5
Oppo Watch 46mm
1
Grand prize 6
Fitbit Versa 3 Smartwatch
1
Grand prize 7
Logitech Wireless Gaming Mouse
1
Grand prize 8
Khind 3L Air Fryer
1
Grand prize 9
Herschel Backpack
1
Grand prize 10
Getha Natural Latex Pillow
1
Consolation prizes
1,000 Shopee Coins
10,000

Note that users will only receive consolation prizes of 1,000 Shopee Coins if they do not win any of the grand prizes listed above. If you are a grand prize winner, you will be informed via push notification on your Shopee app, as well as through email within 15 days after the end of the campaign.

Following that, you’ll also be contacted to collect your prizes within 90 days from the announcement of the winners. Should there be any delays or changes in the collection schedule, you’ll be alerted via push notification and email as well.

Shopee’s Top Up With M2U & Win campaign is already ongoing, and is set to run all the way until 6 June 2022, so don’t miss out!

(Source:
Shopee
)

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Visa: Malaysian Visa Cardholders Now Prefer Contactless Payments

Visa has revealed that more than 50% of its face-to-face transactions are now made up of contactless payments, indicating a shift in the preferred payment method among Malaysians. Citing this as a new milestone in the country, the payment service provider also said that the increased adoption of digital payments is driven mainly by usage in F&B, quick service restaurants, department stores, and pharmacies.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has fuelled the adoption of digital payments in Malaysia, especially contactless payments and e-commerce. In the past couple of years, we have seen strong growth in contactless payments due to the expansion of contactless acceptance across the country. Consumer behaviours are also changing with a growing preference for digital purchases,” said the country manager of Visa Malaysia, Ng Kong Boon.

Ng’s observation is backed by data from Visa, which showed that the overall e-commerce expenses have experienced a double-digit year-on-year growth as of June 2020. In fact, online transactions that fell under the categories of food and groceries saw a triple-digit year-on-year increase. Retail goods grew significantly as well, clocking in close to a three-fold growth in comparison to last year.

On top of that, Visa also noted that one out of five active Visa cardholders who were not e-commerce customers last year made their first online purchase during the first half of 2020. 30% of the expenses by these cardholders are made up of essential services – such as food, groceries, pharmaceutical and health products, as well as utilities. This is followed by retail shopping at department stores and retail outlets. Meanwhile, purchases for business categories and professional services contributed to 19% of the online spend by cardholders who are new to e-commerce.

Ng further expressed that with this shift towards an increasingly digital lifestyle, there are growing opportunities for online businesses. Consequently, small businesses and merchants should focus on enabling digital payments acceptance and establishing a digital presence amidst the current environment.

“By adopting digital payments, merchants can cater to their consumers’ needs whilst growing their digital footprint, locally and cross-border. With initiatives such as the government’s
‘Buy Malaysian Products’
 and the
‘Where You Shop Matters’
 campaign by Visa, business owners can leverage on these platforms and resources to expand their online presence and reach their target markets,” Ng said, adding that this will support the nation’s digital transformation plans and Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) cashless agenda.

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Alex Cheong Pui Yin

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Previously covered recruitment-related stories and had a short stint as a copywriter for the property industry. She subsequently developed an interest in investment and robo-advisors.

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TransferWise Rebrands To Wise, Expands Services To Foreign Workers In Malaysia

Popular cross-border money transfer service TransferWise has undergone a global rebrand and is now known as Wise.

“We’ve evolved to fix more than just money transfer, but the core experience of using Wise will remain faster, cheaper, and more convenient than anything else,” said Kristo Käärmann, CEO and co-founder of Wise. In offering “more than money transfers”, Käärmann highlighted the new Wise international account with a multi-currency debit card – although this offering is not yet available in Malaysia.

Following the rebrand, customers will still be able to access their accounts on the new website using the same details as before. The new
wise.com
 website is already live and the final switchover for all customers to the Wise brand will take place in March 2021.

Closer to home, Wise Malaysia has announced that its money transfer services are now available to foreign workers. “We are also thrilled to expand the availability of international money transfer services to foreign workers, who can also benefit from a low-cost, secure, and completely online option for their remittance needs,” said Lim Paik Wan, the newly appointed Malaysia country manager of Wise.

The company first entered the Malaysian market in 2019, highlighting its low, transparent fee structure for global remittance services as up to four times cheaper than the banks.
Wise
 is now looking to bolster its presence in Malaysia and enter a period of growth and expansion in the country.

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    KAH MUN CHAU

    2 years ago

I notice that singapore area are offered by Transferwise a debit card would able to use it online or offline with the money deposit to the currency balance, would like to know is transferwise planned to offer the same to Malaysia?

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    Mohd Naufal Ashaari

    2 years ago

I am waiting for Wise to open for Malaysian to receive money via Wise instead only sending money at the present. When is it actually ?

This is good alternatives compared to Payoneer especially for online seller.

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    Amin

    11 months ago

Is this account shariah compliance?

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How to Decide Between a Debit Card and Credit Card

Here’s a simple question – How

do you pay for your daily expenses? For most of us, cash is always the first

choice. However, it’s hard now to imagine a time when

those non-cash options weren’t available.

Credit

cards have been around since the early 1950s
 , and debit cards appearing later

in the mid-1970s. They are two different things but they have some

overlapping functions – you can make payments anywhere and are generally accepted worldwide. You may be using a credit card or debit card or both, but do you know

what sets them apart?

Debit cards and credit cards in a nutshell

A debit card is linked to either a

current

or savings account . The amount deposited will be deducted automatically after

every payment. To use it, make sure you have enough money in your account to

avoid an overdraft or risk a rejected payment. Other than that, debit

cards also act like ATM cards, allowing you to instantly withdraw cash. In

contrast, a credit card is not linked to any of your bank account but you are

allowed to spend and use the credit card to make a purchase. In other words, it

can be said that you are borrowing the bank’s money to pay for goods and

services. However, a credit card is limited to a certain amount of spending and

there will be an interest and fees charges if used excessively.

Debit Card

No interest payments

If you are using a debit card, you are spending money in your current or savings account and money will

be deducted straight from it. Unlike credit cards, there’s no line of credit,

so you will not bear any debt. Because of this, no interest is charged. Debit

cards also come with a unique PIN number, known only by you and the bank. Sometimes

you will be asked to enter your PIN number when you make a payment, especially

when making online payments.

Ideal

for spending control

Debit cards can help you

budget. As your debit card is linked to your bank account, then you can only

make a purchase based on your account balance, stopping you from overspending. Uncontrolled spending will ultimately lead to many unpaid bills and a bad credit rating, making

it harder to apply for bank loans.

Fast

approval

You

can apply for a bank account during your 1-hour lunch break, no problem – unless

everyone else has the same idea that is! All you have to do is walk into your preferred

bank branch and apply. All you need to bring along is your identification card and an initial minimum deposit. For example, Maybank has a

low

minimum deposit of RM20 for its basic savings account.

Credit Card

Interest payments

Credit cards are not linked

to your bank accounts. It is issued by the bank, giving the cardholder the option

to borrow funds and allow you make purchases or get a

cash

advance
 , much like a personal loan. You will be charged an interest on your

purchases if the bill is not paid in full by the payment due date. Make sure

the bill is paid on time so you will not be charged a high interest. Usually in

Malaysia, the interest rate for credit card is around 15% to 18%, while some banks start you off at a lower interest rate of 8.88%.

Lifestyle perks

One

of main reasons why people apply for credit cards is for the additional

benefits, such as cashback, reward points, and exclusive discounts. Some

credit cards are catered to avid travelers, providing them with comprehensive

insurance plans and travel coverage. Some cards are geared to those who lead an

active lifestyle, with promotions for concert tickets and free access to

exclusive events.

Compulsory Credit Check

General

rule of thumb

 –
If you are interested to apply for a credit card, you should

have a steady income of at least RM24,000 a year, and have no outstanding unpaid debt

that could affect your credit assessment. Databases such as the

CCRIS will contain payment information

about your loans including your personal loans, home loans, personal loans, car

loans, and credit cards.

The outcome of your credit

assessment will determine the type of credit card you are eligible for and your

available credit limit. You may also request for a supplementary card, but who

you are able to give it to will depend on the terms and conditions set out by

the banks.

Which one should you choose?

Both credit and debit cards

are convenient ways to access and spend your money anytime, anywhere. If you think

you can spend wisely, and able to pay debt on time, using a credit card can be a good way to leverage on your current income with its added privileges.

Otherwise, if you have difficulty managing your expenses, a simple debit card is

more suitable. Last but not least, do shop around

for the

best card deals
 on our website.

Photo courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net

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About THE AUTHOR

Chester John

Chester John

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    Anonymous

    4 months ago

Thank you

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