DianaTan.net

I lost my voice again when it was about to recover. I could hardly speak for the last 2 years and it all boils down to psychological problems. I had to suck in air to speak out in a weird voice instead of breathing in air. And it was about to recover and I was able to talk in a sore throat voice and breathe in normally when this happened again. It is very frustrating when others could hardly hear me speak and I had to repeat myself a few times. I don’t know how long this condition will continue but I certainly hope to recover soon and speak normally again. Otherwise, I could hardly communicate with people and do business with clients.

Finally after almost 3 months, KWSP declared 4.5% dividend for its contributors. The Employees’ Providend Fund (EPF) or Kewangan Simpanan Pekerja (KWSP) declared a dividend of 5.7% in 2007. It is still better than Fixed Deposits rates which are now a meagre 2.5% for 3 months or 12 months. So it is still better to keep your savings in EPF and contribute more if you can afford. Last month, I have signed a form from KWSP to contribute 50% of my income to EPF for more returns since I have spare cash to keep. This is part of my retirement plan to have sufficient savings in my golden years to tide me through the years. In a while, I will be going down to KL for business and will be back 1 or 2 days later.

Singapore’s CPF or Central Providend Fund and Malaysia’s EPF, Employee’s Providend Fund or KWSP in Malay for Kewangan Simpanan Pekerja are both a world of difference. I have both accounts in CPF and KWSP which I can log on online for both to check my dividend and amount accumulated over the years. I have worked about 6 years in Singapore and also another 6 years in Malaysia and my income is deducted monthly a certain percentage for contribution to my golden years’ savings for old age. When I check my Singapore’s CPF online, I see that the Singapore Government has credited 3.5% of dividend for last year 2008 in January 2009. However, when I log in to my KWSP account and even though now is the month of March, my dividend for 2008 has not been credited yet. The system says (Dividen Belum Diisytiharkan)

Is the Malaysian Government too poor or simply cannot care less attitude when it comes to employees money? We are ordinary citizens who have to work hard for our money and savings and the Malaysian goverment could not be bothered to contribute dividend for our KWSP. What a world of difference between the really concerned Singapore government and the lackadaisical Malaysian government who just could not be bothered at all.

Above are some of the bouquets of flowers for the opening or launching of Royal Hotel in Penang recently. The owner is Dosh Lim, a Singaporean who bought over Dorsett Hotel in Larut Road. These bouquets of flowers are huge and look attractive.

There are some heartwarming movies that I like to watch repeatedly, nevermind if I already know the moves. Once such movie is Alvin and the Chipmunks which was premiered last year. Their high pitched voices in unison are music to my ears and to anyone else’s for that matter. This 3D animation is a flick not to be missed and you can get a movie CD to watch on the telly. I am quite selective in my choice of movies that I watch – horror, violence, thriller are no-nos to me. The graphics are attractive and they blend in well with real human actors. It has been more than a month already since I went to the cinemas. Reason being too busy and the recent movies featured in the press do not impress me.

I have stayed for 12 years in Singapore since my JC days. I still recall taking 3 different buses every day to commute to my junior college in Bukit Batok and another 3 buses back. Imagine the hectic I went through during those tumultuous years. Plus the fact that I had to find my own food, do my own laundry at the tender age of 18, still a teenager. I had to study hard and it seems the syllabus there is much more compared to other countries. Working life also has its pressures. At the end of 2000, I was quite stressed out and finally came back to recuperate in Penang. Singapore is a good place to earn money but not to stay there for long. Most of the yuppies there power dress from top to bottom but hardly have money in the wallets. They wear branded clothes to join the Joneses and spend a lot of money. At the end of the month, their bank accounts are almost used up and live from paycheck to paycheck. If you can take the heat, then by all means work there in the Lion City but you will be competing with the best brains from China, India, Malaysia, etc.