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Celebrating Malaysia Day

Celebrating Malaysia Day

COMMENT
By SUHAINI AZNAM

Recently, leaders of various parties on both sides of the political divide on the peninsula have again suggested that more emphasis be given to Malaysia Day, so that the people of Sabah and Sarawak, too, will feel a sense of nationhood.

IN a sampan, being rowed upriver, the little girl admires the tiger head tattoo on her father’s calf. Her mother tells her it is a symbol of strength and courage.

“Ah, so that is why you married Apai (father),” said little girl wagging her finger.

The family goes to a bank in a small town where they deposit some money and the mother teaches the daughter “that money is not everything.”

Flash forward and the little girl is a grown woman.

She is returning home late from work and her mother is worried. Over the mobile phone, the daughter assures her mother that “the person” she is with is Malaysian. In fact, he reminds her a lot of Apai.

The mother asks if the person is rich and the daughter answers: “Mother, didn’t you always tell me that money isn’t everything?”

In the background behind her head, the name of a local bank is prominently displayed, with the lit logo of the tiger’s head.

It is a charming advertisement, unfortunately aired so briefly that many may have missed it. But it’s real charm lay not in the concept alone but that the conversation was conducted totally in Iban with English subtitles.

At last, the Ibans are coming of age, at least on national television. Starting with that ethnic group, perhaps other linguistic groups, too, would be drawn into the mainstream.

This was in the run-up to Malaysia Day. Compared with the effusive, elaborate, perhaps slightly over-the-top frenzy accorded to the Merdeka celebrations of Aug 31 all across the peninsula, the live telecast of the launching of the year-long Malaysia Merdeka celebrations in Kuching on Sept 10 was relatively low-key.

Resentment has been percolating in Sabah and Sarawak over the marking of Sept 16, as seen by some of their local press articles.

It was not so much that they wanted to observe Sept 16 instead of Aug 31 but that both should be celebrated equally, perhaps with a national holiday to mark the significance of the anniversary of the formation of Malaysia.

This year, their main objection apparently was the slogan “50 years of nationhood.”

“How can it be 50 years of nationhood when Malaysia was not even formed yet at that time?” said deputy chairman of Suhakam Tan Sri Simon Sipaon from Sabah at a youth workshop entitled National Integration - Challenges Ahead in the run-up to Aug. 31.

It was a sentiment echoed repeatedly later over tea by other participants from Sabah and Sarawak.

When founding father Tunku Abdul Rahman negotiated the formation of Malaysia, he characteristically gave his word that the ethnic groups would be treated fairly. He trusted the people from Sabah and Sarawak and they in turn trusted him.

Sabah leaders such as Tun Datu Mustapha Datu Harun and Tun Fuad (Donald) Stephens, as well as Sarawak’s Temenggong Jugah anak Barieng, were not just his contemporaries. They were his friends.

“Thus, a lot of things were not written in black and white,” recalled Datuk Amar James Wong, former president of the now defunct Sarawak National Party and the only remaining survivor of those involved in the Malaysia Agreement talks.

The importance of Sept 16 to the people of Sabah and Sarawak was raised in September last year when Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim urged Sabah leaders to bring up their request to make the day a national holiday to Cabinet.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had said then, as he reiterated this month, that even though Sept 16 was a very important day, Aug 31 would remain the country’s apex celebration.

Recently, leaders of various parties on both sides of the political divide on the peninsula have again suggested that more emphasis be given to Malaysia Day, so that the people of these two states, too, will feel a sense of nationhood.

But feelings of marginalisation run deeper than the resentment that is felt when manifestations of their culture are used merely as a tourist attraction.

The feelings arise from the perception that state rights embodied in the 20-point agreement have been slowly whittled down over the decades. They also see federal leaders treating Sabah and Sarawak as just another state in Malaysia.

Today’s Sarawak and Sabah leaders insist they are not. The two states became independent within Malaysia but formed the new nation as equal partners of then Malaya. They were not absorbed into Malaya to become an expanded Malaysia.

In Keningau, the indigenous Murut and Dusun, who had initially resisted the idea, have put up an “oath stone” to commemorate the state’s decision to form Malaysia. And each year, the local people renew that pledge, hoping that the federal government will reassure them by upholding its part.

Nostalgia is precious. It is warm and comforting, like a family album of beloved heroes and never-again achievements. It has its place in the hearts of all Malaysians because the indignities of colonial rule were felt by all the people on both sides of the South China Sea. The fight against that “common enemy” was a shared struggle, whatever the date.

For a nation, turning 50 is not just a burst of fireworks. It marks the first thoughtful strides towards the future, with purpose and direction.

As a reflection of that maturity, how gracious a mark of solidarity it would then be if six years hence, when Malaysia turns 50, its citizens were to celebrate Sept 16 as THE National Day, while Aug 31 forever remains as Merdeka, our day of freedom.

For our brothers and sisters in Sabah and Sarawak, it would be the single, most significant sign of integration.

http://users.bigpond.net.au/hermanzone/p15.htm#Ho%20w_To_Boot_Linux_from_GRUBs_CLi

grub> root (hd *press tab

sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst

20 points to be fullfilled for Sabah & Sarawak forming the federation of Malaysia

The 20 points safeguards

1.Religion
While there was no objection to Islam being the national religion of Malaysia there should be no State religion in North Borneo, and the provisions relating to Islam in the present Constitution of Malaya should not apply to North Borneo

2.Language
a. Malay should be the national language of the Federation
b. English should continue to be used for a period of 10 years after Malaysia Day
c. English should be an official language of North Borneo for all purposes, State or Federal, without limitation of time.

3. Constitution
Whilst accepting that the present Constitution of the Federation of Malaya should form the basis of the Constitution of Malaysia, the Constitution of Malaysia should be a completely new document drafted and agreed in the light of a free association of states and should not be a series of amendments to a Constitution drafted and agreed by different states in totally different circumstances. A new Constitution for North Borneo (Sabah) was of course essential.

4. Head of Federation
The Head of State in North Borneo should not be eligible for election as Head of the Federation

5. Name of Federation
“Malaysia” but not “Melayu Raya”

6. Immigration
Control over immigration into any part of Malaysia from outside should rest with the Central Government but entry into North Borneo should also require the approval of the State Government. The Federal Government should not be able to veto the entry of persons into North Borneo for State Government purposes except on strictly security grounds. North Borneo should have unfettered control over the movements of persons other than those in Federal Government employ from other parts of Malaysia into North Borneo.

7. Right of Secession
There should be no right to secede from the Federation

8. Borneanisation Borneanisation of the public service should proceed as quickly as possible.

9. British Officers
Every effort should be made to encourage British Officers to remain in the public service until their places can be taken by suitably qualified people from North Borneo

10. Citizenship
The recommendation in paragraph 148(k) of the Report of the Cobbold Commission should govern the citizenship rights in the Federation of North Borneo subject to the following amendments:
a) sub-paragraph (i) should not contain the proviso as to five years residence
b) in order to tie up with our law, sub-paragraph (ii)(a) should read “7 out of 10 years” instead of “8 out of 10 years”
c) sub-paragraph (iii) should not contain any restriction tied to the citizenship of parents – a person born in North Borneo after Malaysia must be federal citizen.

11. Tariffs and Finance
North Borneo should retain control of its own finance, development and tariff, and should have the right to work up its own taxation and to raise loans on its own credit.

12. Special position of indigenous races
In principle, the indigenous races of North Borneo should enjoy special rights analogous to those enjoyed by Malays in Malaya, but the present Malays’ formula in this regard is not necessarily applicable in North Borneo

13. State Government
a) the Prime Minister should be elected by unofficial members of Legislative Council
b) There should be a proper Ministerial system in North Borneo

14. Transitional period
This should be seven years and during such period legislative power must be left with the State of North Borneo by the Constitution and not be merely delegated to the State Government by the Federal Government

15. Education
The existing educational system of North Borneo should be maintained and for this reason it should be under state control

16. Constitutional Safeguards
No amendment modification or withdrawal of any special safeguard granted to North Borneo should be made by the Central Government without the positive concurrence of the Government of the State of North Borneo

The power of amending the Constitution of the State of North Borneo should belong exclusively to the people in the state. (Note: The United Party, The Democratic Party and the Pasok Momogun Party considered that a three-fourth majority would be required in order to effect any amendment to the Federal and State Constitutions whereas the UNKO and USNO considered a two-thirds majority would be sufficient)

17. Representation in Federal Parliament
This should take account not only of the population of North Borneo but also of its seize and potentialities and in any case should not be less than that of Singapore

18. Name of Head of State
Yang di-Pertua Negara

19. Name of State
Sabah

20. Land, Forests, Local Government, etc.
The provisions in the Constitution of the Federation in respect of the powers of the National Land Council should not apply in North Borneo. Likewise, the National Council for Local Government should not apply in North Borneo.

===============================================

I will edit some of this text later on and will add some comments as well. I am still studying the history of the 20-point safeguards. I will give you the differences between Sarawak's and Sabah's requirements as well. In fact Sarawak only had 18 points...
===============================================

Sarawak presented a paper as well to the IGC (Inter-Governmental Committee) containing 18 points. The Sarawak 18 points were similar to the Sabah 20 points, but were on a couple of importantly different.

1. Language
The Sarawak paper contained no request corresponding to that of the USNO party’s request that Malay should be an Official Language together with English

2. Head of State
Sarawak requested that the Head of State be chosen from any of the indigenous ethnic groups in Sarawak, but the method of choice would be discussed further. The Sabah paper did not mention this which now strange. The Sabah paper only stipulated that the name of Sabah’s Head of State be the Yang di-Pertua Negara

3. Immigration
The Sabah paper asked explicitly asked that Sabah should have unfettered control over the movement of persons, other than those in Federal Government employ, from other parts of Malaysia into Sabah. This requirement was not included in the Sarawak paper, which explicitly refers only to immigration control seemed better thought through.

4. Borneanisation
The Sarawak paper was explicit in its reservation that federal posts in Sarawak should be filled by Sarawak-born citizens.

5. Citizenship
Both Sabah and Sarawak requested that the period of residence for registration as a citizen of Malaysia during the first eight years after Malaysia be reduced from eight years out of twelve to seven years out of ten. The Sabah paper added two further points, namely the deletion of the requirement of five years’ residence immediately before Malaysia for a citizen of the United Kingdom and colonies, born or naturalized, to become a citizen of Malaysia, and deletion of the requirement that after the formation of Malaysia persons in both Sabah and Sarawak should only be citizens by operation of law if one of their parents was a citizen or a permanent resident.

6. Finance
The Sabah paper asked for control of its own finances, development and tariff. The Sarawak paper only asked for three assurances; a development fund, a formula ensuring adequate revenue to the State and gradual increase of taxation to Malayan levels.

7. Representation in the Federal Parliament
The Sarawak paper accepted that the term of the 13th schedule of the Constitution of Malaya should govern the assessment of representation in the Federal Parliament. The Sabah paper, however, avoided any reference to the provisions of the Malayan constitution and asked explicitly that the size and potentiality of Sabah should be taken into account and that in any case Sabah’s representation should not be less than Singapore’s. The Sarawak paper added the requirement for adequate ministerial representation at both the higher and lower levels to provide for Sarawak’s interests in the Federal Government

8. State Government
The Sarawak paper requested a Chief Minister and a membership system. The Sabah paper asked for a Prime Minister and a proper ministerial system

9. Transitional Period
The Sarawak paper asked that this should be from three to five years and during this period federal powers should be delegated to Sarawak as a State by agreement. The Sabah paper asked for a seven year transitional period, and that during such period legislative power should be left with the State by the constitution and not merely delegated by the Federal Government

10. Education
The Sarawak paper asked that provision should be made to safeguard the Sarawak National Education Policy for the future. The Sabah paper asked that the existing educational system of Sabah should be maintained, and for this reason it should be under State control.

How to remove Windows Live Mail Desktop advertisement

This mod works for build 8.0.1223

Go download reshacker
Browse to the windows live desktop mail directory
Look for the file named mailres2.dll, make a backup copy
Open with mailres2.dll with reshacker
Navigate to 4000 then 3000
Go to line 422 make changes for
Element ID=Atom(MWAdPaneHost) Layout=FillLayout() LayoutPos=None Width=168

to:
Element ID=Atom(MWAdPaneHost) Layout=FillLayout() LayoutPos=None Width=0
then compile, and you are done

Dual Citizenships

The differences between Canadian PR and citizenship are pretty small. A PR benefits from all the social programs including medical care but is not able to vote or apply for a passport. To maintain PR you simply have to spend 50% of your time in a 5 year period in Canada so it is entirely possible and legal to maintain your Canadian PR for life while retaining your Malaysian citizenship.

Getting caught with dual citizenships is pretty easy.

1) You must renew your passport in Malaysia. If you renew your Malaysian passport while abroad Malaysia will require you to show proof of you status in that country. They won't be concerned if you show your Canadian PR card but if you are a citizen you will have to show something that proves you are allowed to stay in Canada and your dual citizenship will be realized.

2) You must always enter Malaysia with your Malaysian passport. To be truly safe, you should probably never enter Malaysia while possessing another countries Passport. But this poses some challenges to your return to that country unless you leave your foreign passport at some other country before you enter Malaysia.

3) As a Malaysian, you must show Malaysian authorities that you have appropriate visa/travel documents to enter Canada before they let you get on a plane directly to Canada. Canada will not give you a visitor visa because you have PR, so you must flash your passport card to the airline who may have instructions to report these people. Solution, never depart directly from Malaysia to Canada but instead travel to another intermediate country first that a Malaysian doesn't need a Visa for.

Of course, Malaysia has lots of ways to detect those who are absent from Malaysia (e.g. those who don't file tax returns) and they could at any time ask you to prove your status in the country you claim to be staying. If you are a Canadian citizen you will be caught, if you are a Canadian PR you will not be violating the law.

Operating cyber cafes

its very important to scout for a good location first b4 & know the area well b4 attempt to open there. Its pretty usual that u wil need to pay some kopi to some revelant govt body so they wont come n kacau u la if u plan to open 24 hrs or getting the license. Some areas u even have to pay monthly 'protection fees'.

Currently there are 4 major companies that is holding the game license :

Sendi Mutiara - is the most expensive one as they are the one who hold the rights to Blizzard Games (ie warcraft3/dota)
about 2.8-3k per month for 40pc

EA (gamers.com.my) - Electronics Arts
about 800-1k per month for 40pc

New Era - they pretty much covered all the other games
about 450-600 per month for 40 pc

Eclub - counterstrike
about 400 per month for 40 pc

After u pay the monthly license fee to any of this companies, u can install whatever games they have. No need pay anything else liao, if stil pay then better dun open cc. zzzz

Hardware recommendations :
I think it really depends on ur budget la, 3 years ago the pc with some minimal upgrade like ram & graphic card can last until now. But now if do some homework on the upcoming games that is goin to be launch u will need some serious gaming hardware, unless u think dota is still goin to be hot for the next 3 years. One friend of mine, he open cc almost monthly basis but he's using lower range pc, the reason for him is he want to have ROI faster and for me i opened my cafe because im a gamer & its my dream so i invested in really considerably high spec pc for cafe use. Currently my cafe has 48 pc of this spec :

2.66dual core intel
1gig 667 ram
160gig hd
7600 GS & GT graphic cards
19inch LG LCD monitor
Microsoft mouse & keyboard
Altec Lansing speakers

the cost per avg pc cost me was about 3.2k(with window xp pro license) 3 months+ ago. If the area u are interested in opening a cafe, check what type of games they wanna play first & what type of race over there. For example, the malay ppl usually like to play CS games, war-type game and the chinese likes dota. There are many factors u have to think first b4 u open, i planned the whole thing for almost 6 months, took about 4months to scout for location and the other 2 doing homework on games/hardwares.

Just a summary, if u plan to open a cafe make sure its goin to be 40pc n above otherwise just forget bout it. If its a low cost one, a budget around 130k-160k maybe can liao and a high cost could be anywhere above 200k+..(for a 40+ pc cafe)

This is how i would calculate :
wages - $3.50(minimal rate) x 19hrs x 30days = 1995k
game license(for 30 pc) - 3k ? (nt sure hw many license this cafe taking)
utilities bill - 3k (electric, internet, water)
rental - anywher from 1k-5k (lets say 3.5k for a prime area)

so total would be around RM11495, and if profit is 500 per day then monthly gross profit would be rm15000 - rm 11495 = 3505. I havent even include the little problems that could happen and need $$ to fix on monthly basis. Thats why i asked if the boss got pay game license or not, otherwise investing around 120k and getting 3.5k back per month is way way not enough. Reason no1 is, by the 3rd year the pc is definately out dated n need replacement where to find the capital for it? (unless he's a rich man frm other business, well thats another issue)

Is it a good time to invest on house now?

If you want to invest money, here are some very useful tips.

#1 Learn Microsoft Excel
#2 Learn financial maths
#3 Create a spreadsheet to see how your investment will pay off

If you take short-cuts, then may as well 'invest' yr money in Genting.

Don't be so obsessed about just the price of the property. That's doing the math the wrong way around.

If you're investing in an apartment...
eg. Loan is 100k
30yr term.
Let's say monthly payments should be about rm 680.
Maintenance fees? About rm60 for a decent place.
Sinking fund? About rm12.
Property tax?

So, every month, this apartment will 'cost' you rm760.

Now, how much can you rent it out?

Chances are, such places you can only rent out 600-700 per mth.

To get better returns, you'll usually have to pay much more for the property. Places with good rental returns, of course the property will be worth more. Makes sense, right?


But there are other things to think about...
The rm680 you pay the bank, is not 'all gone'.
In the first month of the loan, rm 600, is to pay for interest. Then rm80, is building equity.
If you don't understand this bit.... Please read more about how mortgages work. Find out what is equity.

But basically, that rm80, goes into your piggy bank.
Mth 0 : you owe bank 100k
Mth 1 : after you pay 600 interest, you pay an extra 80, now you owe bank 99,920 only.
Mth 2 : you pay another 680. 600 for interest. 80 to pay off loan. Now you owe bank 99,840 only.
.
.
.

You build up equity faster and faster as you pay off the loan.

So you can put this into your calculations also.

Then, will the value of the property may increase over time. This is capital appreciation. You may make money from this at a future date when you sell it.

But what if the value drops?
Or what if nobody rents it for a few mths.
What are the risks of these things happening?

And the pain from collecting rental? Is it worth the effort?
Or you rented the house to a ***BIG*** Indian guy, and when he delays paying the rent, you also a bit scared to push him too much. Then one day he moves out quietly and disappears. Your security deposit only ngam ngam cover the rental he owes you. But the toilet in the house is broken, and there are dirty footprints on the wall. You won't be able to rent it out again until you fix and paint. Also, cos of the sudden disappearance, you also have to rush to find a new tenant.

So that's one month rental, and the cost of repairs you lost.


A lot of things to consider la.
But if thinking is too difficult for you, then keep the money in your pocket.
Remember that you can't make money from nothing. If you want good results, you have to put in good effort.

Some general rules of property:
You make money when you BUY. Not when you sell.
If you get good value (location, rental potential, property value etc) for cheap, you've already made money.

And interview your tenants. Becareful also, that the sweet girl you are interviewing may also have a BIG scary boyfriend... But it's quite easy to find good tenants if your location is a family friendly area, or has lots of college students etc.


Also take note of bank lelongs.
Interest rate rising last few years, more and more people can't pay and property repossessed by bank.
This is a sign that RE bubble is having problems... But if you believe otherwise, this is a good way to look for bargains.

Nowadays, you mostly see Rawang properties there... But sometimes, some good places in PJ do show up also. You'll have to speak to RE agents and learn procedures etc. And a bit of risk also, cos you can't view the property. The bank already locked it up.

iproperty.com.my may show some auction properties.
Some bank websites will show. Like AmBank and Maybank I know.
Newspapers will also give auction announcements.

Last time when I was buying apartment in Kelana Jaya.
Apt worth 180k+ that time, lelong start at 143k. Husband wife divorce case, so nobody paying bank, and bank reposessed.
Such a great opportunity, but when I went 2 other people there fighting with me. Sold for 170k. Now, can be worth 200k.

I didn't want to fight too much, cos I want a place to live in. And the maintnance there is rm200 a mth. And if I can't find housemates, the cost is very high. And I'm picky about housemates. Only rent to friends, not strangers. So, I forego that deal, and bought some place else cheaper.


*taken from LYN.net