DianaTan.net

If I were a millionaire, I will surely invest in gold bullion, which is a good hedge against inflation compared to currencies. But, alas, I am no millionaire nor million hair. Just a normal working executive working in her home office for a sports surfacing company while moonlighting in writing articles and blogging. My goal is to save up enough money for retirement later on so that I will enjoy my golden years and not woeful years in life begging for money. As an aside, it was published in the newspapers recently that beggars in Malaysia make about RM1,000 – RM10,000 per month from the generosity of the Malaysians. They collude with syndicates here who brought them in from China with the promise of a job, but instead forced to beg on the streets. And after realizing how easy it was to get money from begging, they want to continue to do so.

Yesterday, my first ever Nuffnang cheque arrive in the letter box and I promptly banked it in my account at Public Bank. The amount was for RM50.82 and after deducting RM1 for the charges, it came to RM49.82. Nevertheless it is still money from blog advertisements. I am elated that though the amount is not that much compared to other bloggers, to me, something coming in is better than nothing at all. Just click on the image above to enlarge the picture for a clearer view! Thank you, Nuffnang! Your programme certainly rocks and that is why so many bloggers are turning to Nuffnang compared to Adverlets. This is proof that Nuffnang definitely pays its fellow bloggers

My car is about 3 years now since it was bought in 1997 from Perodua. The model and make is the most popular car in Malaysia. You can check out low auto insurance rates and quotes together with the car for protection in case of accidents, so that I can claim from the insurance company. So far, so good – clean record and no accidents. But that’s also because I hardly drive the car and it is used mainly for EPF and SOCSO payments or to update records of the workers there.

The low auto insurance rates and quotes will come in handy in case of accidents to protect your finances from depleting too fast if you had to pay for the costs alone. So, this is a win-win situation to get your car insured depending on how much you want it insured for future financial protection. My car is easy to drive since it is fully automatic and I could no longer drive the manual gear where you have to change ever so often especially during snarling traffic jams where Penang is notorious for. There are just too many cars on the roads now and the government is not doing anything about it yet. Thank goodness, I work at home, so I don’t have to get stuck in such mad rush every morning.

I still find it puzzling that some blogs with broken English claiming to write good contents are getting humongous traffic and allowing them to earn monthly from Adsense. This seems to be a trade secret that not all successful bloggers are willing to share. The secret to earning a lot of money from the blogs seems to be the organic traffic from search engines and repeat readers. The reason I am blogging about it here is in the hope that some successful bloggers will share their methods to earn from Adsense and other programs so that we can learn from the more successful bloggers. Sometimes, it takes a small step to doing things different that brings in the monthly income. Most probably the more successful bloggers might read this post with smugness with their online success that the general bloggers miss out on. I hope someone will enlighten me through the comments.

Only Government Agency Awarded With Highest Rating

As an affirmation of its commitment towards service delivery excellence, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has been awarded a Five-Star rating under the Star Rating System conducted in 2009 by the Malaysian Administrative and Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU).

In a statement issued today, EPF Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Azlan Zainol said, “We are proud to be the only front-line government agency awarded with the highest rating of Five Stars. This accreditation not only recognises EPF’s sound management of its core business but also acknowledges the dedication of EPF staff to rendering the highest service quality to customers.”

The Star Rating was introduced to assess the performance of public sector agencies to ensure efficiency of service delivery and to provide recognition to agencies for good governance and service delivery excellence.

The EPF was evaluated based on three components – management, core services and customer management – and achieved a score of 91.97 per cent, giving it the maximum rating of Five Stars.

“Nevertheless, we will not rest on our laurels and if nothing else, the Five-Star rating has inspired us to work even harder to raise the level of our service quality for the benefit of all our members,” concluded Tan Sri Azlan.

About the Employees Provident Fund (EPF)
The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is Malaysia’s premier pension fund, providing basic financial security for retirement. The Fund is committed to preserving and growing the savings of its members in accordance with best practices in investment and corporate governance. It will always be guided by prudence in its investment decisions.

As a customer-focused organization, the EPF delivers efficient and reliable services for the convenience of its members and registered employers.

The EPF continues to play a catalytic role in the nation’s economic growth, consistent with its position as a leading savings institution in Malaysia.

More than 70% Increase Compared to Same Quarter Last Year

The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) today announced an investment income of RM5.55 billion for the first quarter of 2010 (Q1 2010) which was recorded on the back of the recovering global economic and financial crisis.

Helped by firmer market conditions, this performance represented a 70.30 per cent increase over the RM3.26 billion posted in the corresponding quarter in 2009.

In a statement on its unaudited results for Q1 2010 issued today EPF Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Azlan Zainol said, “Significant improvement in the year-on-year investment performance was a reflection of a more buoyant and favourable economic environment as Malaysia steers into making a full recovery from the global economic and financial crisis.”

However he cautioned, “While market conditions have improved compared to a year ago, the environment nevertheless remains volatile and we are cautious as the recovery of economies around the world is expected to take place at an uneven rate. This to a certain extent has had some impact on the overall performance of EPF’s investment returns in Q1 2010.”

Investment income in Q1 2010 was led significantly by Equities that contributed RM2.79 billion. Improved performance in Equities was mainly driven by the rise of share prices coupled with higher trade volume spurred by encouraging domestic economic growth, which led to opportunities for EPF’s equity managers to lock-in profit.

Loans and Bonds was the second largest contributor to the EPF’s investment income at RM1.55 billion. The amount however was 13.20 per cent lower than the RM1.78 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2009. This was followed by Malaysian Government Securities which contributed RM1.07 billion in investment income, a marginal drop of 3.88 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year which recorded RM1.11 billion.

Meanwhile, investment income derived from Money Market Instruments and Properties improved by 3.75 per cent and 5.04 per cent compared to the same quarter in 2009, contributing RM124.92 million and RM21.67 million respectively.

With effect from January 2010, the EPF has adopted accounting standard FRS 139 (Financial Instruments; Recognition and Measurement). As at 31 March 2010, the EPF’s total accumulated fund stood at RM402.22 billion.

Going forward, Tan Sri Azlan said, “The EPF is significantly encouraged by the Malaysian economy’s robust growth of 10.10 per cent in the first quarter of 2010. Nonetheless, the outlook remains uncertain and particularly volatile, with markets in the second quarter of 2010 substantially affected by on-going credit concerns and worries about the general health of the world economy.”

About the Employees Provident Fund (EPF)
The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is Malaysia’s premier pension fund, providing basic financial security for retirement. The Fund is committed to preserving and growing the savings of its members in accordance with best practices in investment and corporate governance. It will always be guided by prudence in its investment decisions.

As a customer-focused organization, the EPF delivers efficient and reliable services for the convenience of its members and registered employers. The EPF continues to play a catalytic role in the nation’s economic growth, consistent with its position as a leading savings institution in Malaysia.

I am thinking of investing in shares but with a full time job, I just don’t have the time to keep track of the share market movements or check out blogs and news daily on events that might affect the prices. Professional stock investors analyse the volume spread, technical analysis, fundamental analysis, Elliot Wave, etc. To have a good peace of mind, I decided to buy government bonds and investing in gold by opening a Gold Investment Account (GIA) through Public Bank. I may earn less, but at least I don’t have the headache to keep track of the stock movements every moment of my life.

My wealthy uncle in Singapore also buy gold coins and give out to us during festive occasions like Chinese New Year. Now I have a small collection of gold jewellery and a gold coin – all collected since I was small. Gold is a good hedge against inflation which is about 4% per year. And for the last 10 years, the price of gold has been increasing steadily from only RM20 a gram in 1970s to over RM120 a gram now. So for those who have invested in gold, would have made a handsome profit now.

Congratulations to all the People of Penang for voting in a better government.

While Pahang is which governed by Barisan Nasional for the past 52 years is facing bankruptcy, Penang is praised by Global Anti-Corruption watchdog Transparency International for its anti-corruption efforts.

What makes Malaysia all of a sudden to be ranked 47 out 180 countries?
Answer : The Malaysian People made the right choice by denying 2/3 majority enjoyed by Barisan Nasional all these years. It’s a well check and balance by Pakatan on Barisan that led to this 47th position.

If Malaysians wants to enjoy this, than you should know what to do in the next election!

Anyway congrats to Pakatan Led by DAP in Penang. In just 18 months CM Lim turned Penang around into a corrupt free State. Shame on BN & ex-CM Dr Koh of Gerakan.

As ex-Gerakan President Lim KY said, BN/Gerakan has lost Penang forever.

“RM 10 billion in losses from corruption per year is a huge sum and there must be greater commitment from the Federal government towards fighting corruption to ensure that 27 million Malaysians can benefit from this RM 10 billion dividend from successfully combating corruption.”

Global anti-corruption watchdog ranks Malaysia 47th least corrupt, praises Penang.

GEORGE TOWN, Sept 24 – Global corruption watchdog, Transparency International (TI), has ranked Malaysia as the 47th least corrupt nation in the world and commended the island state of Penang for its anti-corruption efforts.

Denmark, New Zealand and Sweden was listed by TI as the top three least corrupt countries as measured by the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which ranks countries in terms of the degree to which businessmen and country analysts perceive corruption to exist among public officials and politicians.

Singapore, Finland, Switzerland, Iceland, Netherlands, Australia and Canada rounded off the top least corrupt countries.

Malaysia came in 47th out of 180 countries in the index, tied with Hungary and Jordan.

The CPI is part of TI’s Global Corruption Report (GCR) 2009 released yesterday.

In its report on Malaysia, TI highlighted the Malaysian practice of the “revolving door” whereby individuals move from government to business, or business to politics, and back again, and estimated that corruption could cost Malaysia as much as RM10 billion a year.

“Significant government participation in the private sector and considerable business participation in politics means that the movement of gatekeepers to players and players to gatekeepers has a negative influence on the concept of checks and balances,” said TI.

“The complexity of the relationships between politics and the public and private sectors means that corruption may take place with impunity. Until drastic action is taken to separate the cozy relationship between government, business and politics, the anti-corruption effort will remain no more than a token gesture,” said TI.

Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng says he is “humbled” by the recognition by TI and added that he was concerned over the fact that that corruption could cost Malaysia as much as RM10 billion a year – an amount equivalent to 1 or 2 per cent of GDP as pointed out by the GCR when it cited the findings of the special government business facilitation task force Pemudah and the World Bank.

Additional report contents that were of concern to Lim was Malaysia’s per capita spending of only RM5 on anti-corruption efforts and the fact that only about 10 per cent, or just 7,223 potential corruption cases, of the total 71,558 reported between 2000 and 2006 were investigated by the Anti Corruption Agency, the precursor of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, with a conviction rate of less than one percent.

“The GCR 2009 concluded that this illustration of the Malaysian government’s inaction in the light of the serious corruption allegations, along with its seeming inability to catch the big fish instead focusing on the ‘small fry’, suggests that what anti-corruption efforts exist are mere tokens,” said Lim.

“RM 10 billion in losses from corruption per year is a huge sum and there must be greater commitment from the Federal government towards fighting corruption to ensure that 27 million Malaysians can benefit from this RM 10 billion dividend from successfully combating corruption.”

Lim also today announced that the state has managed to cut about RM36 million or 12 per cent of in operating expenditure this year due to its efforts to curb corruption.

“Transparency International’ s recognition of anti-corruption efforts by the Penang state government through CAT (Competency Accountability And Transparency) governance is backed up by savings of nearly 12 per cent of the 2008 Penang state budget of RM 36 million from operating expenditure. This RM 36 million savings has allowed the state government to carry out social programs and implement its people-oriented government,” said Lim.

TI said that the Penang state is the first Malaysian state government to implement the open tender system for government procurement and contracts.

It also recognized the state government’s directive barring administrators and state executive councilors from making any new land applications and efforts to attract professionals to serve on various boards, such as the Penang State Appeals Board.

“On behalf of the Penang state government, we feel humbled by the recognition given by a world renowned body such as Transparency International and would redouble efforts to ensure the anti-corruption reforms are institutionalized and ensure more professionals are appointed to key bodies. Fighting corruption generates savings for the people,” said Lim.

He added that the two local authorities in Penang are expected to save another RM34 million over three years from a “transparent” negotiation over the price of solid waste disposal that reduced the rates agreed to by the previous Barisan Nasional administration by a further 42.4 per cent.

Lim said that the savings would go towards the state government’s “3E” programme to “enable” the people with skills and knowledge so that they have an equal opportunity to create wealth, “empower” them with fundamental rights and basic freedoms, and “enrich” the people by sharing wealth and economic benefits.

Now it is Penang Boleh – Vote wisely for a better Malaysia.

As part of its role as the custodian of members’ retirement savings, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has taken court action against 157 employers between January to March 2010 (Q1) for defaulting on their employees’ EPF contributions.

All 157 defaulting employers were fined by the courts totaling RM172,410. The fines, which ranged from RM1,000 to RM5,400, were for offences under Section 43(2) of the EPF Act 1991, which requires all employers to remit their monthly contributions before or on the 15th day of every month or risk facing legal actions.

“While most employers are responsible and mindful of their obligations to pay their contributions in a timely manner, it is unfortunate that some employers fail to do so and default on their EPF contributions,” said Nik Affendi Jaafar, EPF General Manager for Public Relations.

“It is important for employers to understand that the EPF does not take such matters lightly and will not hesitate to take legal actions in safeguarding our members’ retirement savings.”

The highest fine of RM5,400 was slapped on Ogosin Sdn Bhd of Wilayah Persekutuan, while Pelana Tenggara Sdn Bhd and Tri Axis Automation (M) Sdn Bhd both from Pulau Pinang, Micromagna Engineering Sdn Bhd of Perak, Sediabena Sdn Bhd of Selangor as well as Chemumur Legacy Sdn Bhd of Wilayah Persekutuan were all fined RM3,000 each.

In Q1 2010, a total of 285 civil suits and 1,868 criminal cases were filed with the courts against company directors and employers that have defaulted on their EPF contributions.

The EPF has also submitted 320 names of company directors, compared to 221 in the previous quarter, to the Immigration Department to prevent them from leaving the country without first settling their contribution arrears as provided under Section 39 of the EPF Act 1991.

The courts will usually give errant employers a maximum of six instalments to settle any contribution arrears. During this period, these employers will be closely monitored by the EPF to ensure that the amounts outstanding are paid in full. Once the full amount has been received, the EPF will credit all outstanding contributions to the respective members’ accounts.

“Looking after the interest of our members is topmost on our agenda and we will use every means available to us to ensure that members’ retirement savings remain protected.

“Nonetheless we strongly urge our members to perform their part in ensuring that their contributions are in order by regularly checking their EPF statements. Should they discover anything amiss with their account, they should not hesitate to seek clarification from their respective employer or report to the EPF immediately,” said Nik Affendi.

About the Employees Provident Fund (EPF)
The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is Malaysia’s premier pension fund, providing basic financial security for retirement. The Fund is committed to preserving and growing the savings of its members in accordance with best practices in investment and corporate governance. It will always be guided by prudence in its investment decisions.

As a customer-focused organization, the EPF delivers efficient and reliable services for the convenience of its members and registered employers. The EPF continues to play a catalytic role in the nation’s economic growth, consistent with its position as a leading savings institution in Malaysia.

Today’s News Straits Times publishes the government bonds of 3 years maturity for Sukuk 1Malaysia 2010. The profits are 5% per annum, much better than putting into Fixed Deposits. Any Malaysian citizens aged 21 years and above is eligible to apply. It is based on Syariah Principals with the minimum subscription of RM1,000 to RM50,000. Issuance date is 21 June 2010 but the subscription period is from 20th May to 9th June. I am contemplating of buying this bond for higher returns compared to keeping my money in FD. So far, I have received quarterly returns from my previous bonds and they are quite safe to invest. What about you? Are you going to invest?