Saturday 21 January 2012

Here is the Dragon, the best to come?

The Dragon is here and the best is yet to come

BRICKS AND MORTAR By TEH LIP KIM

COME midnight tomorrow, as we usher in the Year of the Dragon, most of us will not help but stop to wonder what the next 12 “moons” of the lunar calendar have in store for us.

The Dragon the fifth and incidentally the only mythical animal of the 12 animal signs in the Chinese zodiac is a symbol of power and good fortune.

Those born under this sign are considered to be dynamic, flamboyant, colourful and vibrant. People born under the sign of the Dragon include historical figures Joan of Arc and Martin Luther King Jr, author Pearl S. Buck and artiste John Lennon.

This year is the year of the Water Dragon and astrologers believe will be a year of many opportunities for growth and expansion.

But astrology aside, what exactly can we expect in the year ahead for the property sector? If one is to listen to the rumblings on the ground, it sounds like it's a mixed bag up ahead.

Built quality: A worker inspects a dragon lantern decoration made from recycled materials and energy-saving LED lights at a temple in Jenjarom, Selangor. The Chinese year of the Dragon ushers mixed feelings about the property sector but with the right design concept like this environment-conscious dragon lantern, homebuyers will still make that commitment. -AFP

For many in the business from those who are building and selling or just analysing its investment climate there still is room for growth in the Malaysian property market, at least in the next few years.

Initiatives by the government, such as the proposed high-speed rail link from Kuala Lumpur to Johor Baru and the MRT project, are expected to give the property sector a boost.

Areas that currently are not nearly as easily accessible will soon be easily reached by rail or MRT, and this will certainly be a boost for the value of property in these areas.

Take a look at the route for the first phase of the MRT between Sungai Buluh and Kajang and you will see that major residential centres will soon be linked by rail to popular commercial and entertainment centres.

Of course the finer details such as where all the stations will eventually be located are still being worked out.

On the other hand, some players in the property market are painting a rather gloomier picture, citing conditions in Europe and the United States as reasons for caution. The European debt crisis does not seem any closer to resolution and, some analysts fear, export driven economies such as China, Brazil and Malaysia, are not likely to come off the turmoil unscathed.

Across the Atlantic, the US economy is, as some economists there put it, “still messed-up”. In Japan, hit by the mega earthquake and tsunami of 2011, the economy is still experiencing long-term problems that are considered even worse than that in the United States.

Back home, some players in the property market are expecting a more moderate growth in 2012. In some areas, there may even be a price correction, going by what these people are saying.

According to them, commercial properties as well as high-end residential units are likely to be most susceptible to a market downturn. These are the first to be hit when confidence in the market ebbs.

Nevertheless, there is a bright spot of sorts in the midst of this gloomy outlook. A bubble is unlikely in the Malaysian property market.

So what do we think? Do we see a boom or bust, or something in between? Predicting what will come is a game of chance. Who really knows what the future holds for us anyway?

On the other hand, we can always analyse our own experience in the preceding 12 months to find hope in the corresponding period ahead.

As we have seen, Malaysian property prices are still among the lowest in the Southeast Asian region. As I wrote in this column sometime last year, Kuala Lumpur is only the sixth most expensive city in this region to invest in property, behind Singapore, Phnom Penh, Bangkok, Jakarta and Manila.

That means there still is room for upward price movement. Of course other factors will come into play. As most property investors will tell you, location is a prime consideration.

Areas that are well served by public transportation facilities will certainly be preferred over those that are not and, logically, will command higher demand and thus fetch higher prices.

Entry price is, of course, another factor. Take a look around you and you will see that many new launches, even in the Klang Valley, have remained unsold. These mostly luxury homes have unfortunately been priced way above most investors' affordability.

At RM3mil to RM4mil a unit, even for landed property, landing a buyer is a tall order.

Of course this does not mean that million-ringgit homes are no longer in demand. Our experience shows that anything priced between RM1mil and RM1.75mil, and in the right location can still find buyers.

At that price, such properties still meet the needs of those who purchase with the intention to occupy as well as those who hope to see their property appreciate in value. At the same time, the repayment amount is still within the means of a fair number of Malaysians, especially those in their 30s or 40s and who are already fairly established in their careers.

For instance if a couple were to purchase a home at RM1.75mil, they are likely to be able to get a loan of up to 80% of the cost of the property or about RM1.4mil.

At an interest rate of 4.35% (BLR-2.25%) for a repayment period of 20 years, their monthly repayment amounts to RM8,744 a sum that a fair number of working couples can afford.

The right designs and concepts also add to the value of such properties. Many property purchasers today do not have the time and some not even the inclination to fuss over how to spruce up an apartment before moving in.

To meet their needs, developers also provide many fixtures and appliances so one can move in with just clothes and perhaps a new bed.

Overall, I think there still is room for growth in the Malaysian property sector. There will certainly be many more new launches whatever the doomsayers say. At the right price, in the right location and with the right design concept, homebuyers will still make that commitment.

Our economy is expected to grow about 5% or more and unemployment is at a low 3%. The outlook remains positive, as reflected in the stock market.

So if you are still looking to invest in property, the Year of the Dragon may be as good as any year to make that commitment. Remember, it is supposed to be a year when there will be many opportunities for growth and expansion.

Teh Lip Kim is the MD of SDB Properties Sdn Bhd, a lifestyle property company. Bouquets and brickbats are welcomed. Send by email to md@sdb.com.my

Friday 20 January 2012

Dragon year roars !

May this Water Dragon roar?

WHY NOT? By WONG SAI WAN

Much is pinned on 2012, and as we enter the Year of the Dragon, let it also turn out to be a watershed.

THE dragon is both feared and revered not only by the Chinese but also by almost every ancient civilisation. Fables tell of the wisdom and beauty, as well as the evil and tyranny, of the majestic mythical beast.

The Europeans – whether the Anglo-Saxons of middle Europe or the Vikings of the North – have their favourite tales of the dragon.

The English-educated among us will remember the fable of St George, who rescued a fair maiden from being sacrificed to a mean and ferocious fire-breathing beast.

The Vikings believed that the dragons fought with their gods, and very often won such battles. The ancient Scandinavians hero-worshipped these creatures, and even named and designed famed war boats after them.

The ancient Greeks and Egyptians shared the Vikings’ belief that the dragons fought constantly with the gods, and their battles were responsible for earthquakes, floods and all sorts of disasters that we blame today on nature.

Festive colours: Workers decorating a dragon-shaped sculpture in preparation for a dragon dance for the upcoming Chinese New Year in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, China. — Reuters

Basically, in the ancient west, dragons were always portrayed as baddies, if not evil itself. Even these days, Hollywood movies would, more often than not, portray the mythical flying and fire-breathing beast as a destructive force.

However, in the east, the dragons were the good guys – often seen as divine beings or blessings from the gods. Regardless of the myth being of Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Bhutanese or Korean origin (all these cultures share the same lunar calendar), the dragon is always a symbol of wisdom, wealth and power.

To the ancient Chinese, not all dragons are created equal because, historically, the winged serpent was the symbol of the Emperor of China. In the Zhou Dynasty, the five-clawed dragon symbolised the Son of Heaven (Emperor), the four-clawed the nobles and the three-clawed the ministers.

This changed in the later Qin Dynasty. The five-clawed dragon became exclusive to the Emperor. Everyone else was free to use the various other claw combinations.

Chinese dragon stamp draws fire for 'scaring' the world

{China hasn't issued a stamp with this ferocious a dragon since 1878 (Photo Xinhua)} >>

On Monday, January 23^rd-2012 the new moon in Aquarius heralds in the Chinese New Year. The year of the Water Dragon begins and the year of the Metal Rabbit ends.

Even in Malaysia, we have our own dragon legends, with the one supposedly in Tasik Chini being the most famous. The Chini Naga fought off the Sri Kemboja Naga, forcing it to flee north to where Cambodia is today.

Many people living in Tasik Chini still talk about the monster that lives in the lake which at one stage was drying up due to logging at its tributary rivers. However, the lake is now flourishing again and is a popular local tourist spot, especially for anglers.

The animal sign for this lunar year is the dragon whose element is water. The last Year of the Water Dragon was between Jan 27, 1952 and Feb 13, 1953.

Yes, just like 12 years ago when the dragon last visited us, there will be a rush “to make dragon babies” because people born under this sign are deemed to be very lucky in life.

Among famous dragon personalities are actors Christopher Reeves, Patrick Swayze, David Hasselhoff and Liam Neeson, and author Amy Tan.

In Malaysia, among those born 60 years ago – and thus also water dragons – are PKR president Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, tycoon and Berjaya boss Tan Sri Vincent Tan, and Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah.

A water dragon may sound harmless enough but that depends on which astrologer, feng shui master or seer one speaks to.

Some see it as the most thinking of all dragons because the person born under this sign is serene, calm and unhurried – just like water. He or she is also very persuasive and can wear down anyone with charm and diplomacy.

However, other readers of the stars call the water dragon the tsunami dragon because water is the only element that can destroy the other four elements – wood, fire, metal and earth.

They expect those born this year to be able to sweep away all those standing in their way, just like a tsunami.

Personally, I hope that the 2012 dragon will bring about definite decisions to the many questions that have been thrown up in the past few years.

For one thing, I hope that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak will call a general election soon and that Malaysians respond by making a firm decision on what they want.

Another thing that needs thorough cleaning is the world’s economy. There has been so much uncertainty in the world’s economy because there doesn’t seem to be an end to financial crashes – first in the United States, then in Europe.

Ratings by rating houses are supposed to indicate for sure what the value of various financial instruments is. Instead, these rating houses’ downgrading of various European Union states’ credit ratings as well as the rescue package has only caused further uncertainty.

Rating houses, just like hedge funds, need to be fried by the dragon.

Hopefully, the Dragon Year will bring about a total collapse of the world’s economic system so that we can replace it with one that actually works. It’s time to wipe the slate clean.

It is time for the water dragon to roar and show its colours.

Executive editor Wong Sai Wan wishes everyone Gong Xi Fa Cai, and may the dragon year be a blessed one.

You addicted to Facebook ?

Image representing Facebook as depicted in Cru...

Hooked on Facebook

By P. ARUNA aruna@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: If you prefer to interact on Facebook rather than have a normal conversation, you could be suffering from a psychological disorder, an expert warned.

Gleneagles Hospital Kuala Lumpur neuro-psychologist Dr Nivashinie Mohan said that Facebook Addiction Disorder (FAD) continues to go undetected because most addicts do not realise or want to admit that they have a problem.

With Malaysians spending more hours and having the most number of friends on Facebook, many had become addicted to it, she said.

“A lot of people do not see it as a real problem because they don't think it is as harmful as addiction to tobacco or drugs.

“But it is a problem that needs to be treated like any other addiction that prevents you from going on with your daily activities,” she said, adding that the disorder could cause anxiety and depression.

The disorder term FAD was coined by American psychologists to describe the addiction to Facebook.

Dr Nivashinie said that Facebook addicts had difficulty carrying on a normal conversation with people as they preferred to “poke”, “like” or comment on what their friends posted on the website.

She said the addicts felt the need to be connected to their Facebook friends all the time.

“They fear that they may miss out on something important if they don't constantly check the website,” she added.

On average, Dr Nivashinie said people spent about an hour each day on the website.

“But if you are cancelling plans with friends and family so you can spend the time on Facebook, it is a clear sign that you are addicted,” she said.

She added that addicts usually lost interest in school or were not productive at work because they were constantly on the website.

Stressing that the problem could be very serious, she said: “Sometimes these addicts don't even enjoy logging on to Facebook. They just feel they have to.

“Some people even break into cold sweat at the thought of not going on Facebook for a day or two. And they feel depressed when nobody communicates with them or responds to something they posted on the website.”

To overcome the disorder, she said addicts must first acknowledge that they have a problem.

“It may not be possible for them to quit Facebook immediately or completely,” Dr Nivashinie said. “They can begin by reducing and limiting the hours they spend on the website daily.”

Disconnected from real life

By WONG PEK MEI pekmei@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: Social networking can be addictive and stunt personal interaction, say experts.

People frequent websites like Facebook due to easy access via mobile devices, but “such convenience is distracting people from having real social interaction with another human being”, said psychologist and counsellor Adnan Omar.

“For example, a couple missed an opportunity to have true interaction with each other by going out for dinner, only to be surfing the Net or checking e-mail on their mobile devices,” he told The Star recently.

It was reported on Jan 10 that a nationwide study showed that Malaysian mobile web users on average spend 20% of their time on social media like Facebook and Twitter, 18% on music or videos, 17% on playing games, 14% on searches for general information and 13% on e-mail.

Clueless condition: Many Malaysians may not be aware that they have Facebook Addiction Disorder.

Adnan was concerned that society might lose its ability to connect with the people within.
“We may know people in Russia but we do not know our own neighbours although they are just one wall away,” he said.

“If you're spending more than 25 hours per week social networking for other than work or academic reasons, you're addicted to it. It does not help that the Internet is readily available and you don't have to turn it off.”

Adnan said addicts had the urge to check their phone constantly and felt “empty deep inside” if they did not do so.

“When people post their pictures and updates, they are waiting for compliments to make them feel fulfilled. The other reason is that they need to kill time and would feel useless or uncomfortable if they do not do anything.

“Technology creates activities but not necessarily productivity although it makes us feel that way,” Adnan said.

Psychologist Dr Goh Chee Leong said the phone has become an important companion for “in between” times like when a person is waiting for someone.

The dean of HELP University College's Behavioural Sciences Faculty said people who often network generally have an active social life although “there are extreme cases”.

Facebook takes over mind and body

PETALING JAYA: Facebook addict Lim said her life now revolves around the social networking website.

Lim, who is in her 50s, admitted to a psychologist that she no longer had normal conversations with her family as most of her free time was spent in front of the computer.

She said she was addicted to Facebook games “Farmville” and “Baking Life” and would plan her daily activities around the website.

Lim said she would start her virtual “crop planting” or “baking” in the morning before work to make sure that it was completed in time for her to resume the game during lunch break.

“I have not had a good night's sleep in a long time as I can't log off until the wee hours of the morning,” she said.

Another addict, who wanted to be known only as Satish, said he logged on to Facebook every half hour.
“If I can't go on Facebook for some reason, I feel uneasy and can't concentrate on my work,” said the 30-year-old engineer.

His addiction became worse after he bought a smartphone.

Bosses face problem with workers wasting time on FB

PETALING JAYA: Employers are increasingly faced with the problem of employees wasting their time on Facebook and other social networking websites during office hours.

“Many companies have blocked their employees from accessing Facebook in the office, but this measure is not always effective as many of them can still access the website on their smartphones,” said Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Shamsuddin Bardan.

Although most employers wanted to stop employees from chatting or playing games online, he noted that companies in fields such as entertainment and media needed to access the social websites to keep up with the latest trends and news.

How the problem of time-wasting on websites was handled depended on “the nature of business” of the companies concerned, said Shamsuddin.

He added that young people might not be interested in working for companies which were too strict and did not allow them to log on to Facebook.

MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Michael Chong said that Facebook users were “inviting trouble” if they constantly updated their status with information on their whereabouts and what they were doing.

“There are young girls who even update their status to say that they are going to take a bath,” he said.

He added that 14 female Facebook users had reported to the department that they were cheated and blackmailed last year.

Thursday 19 January 2012

World Bank warning of another global recession; Mier: Worse to come!

Image via Wikipedia

(Shanghai Daily)

THE World Bank is warning developing countries to prepare for the "real" risk that an escalation in the eurozone debt crisis could tip the world into a slump on a par with the global downturn in 2008/09.

In a report sharply cutting its world economic growth expectations, the World Bank said Europe was probably already in recession. If the debt crisis deepened, global economic forecasts would be significantly lower.

"The sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone appears to be contained," Justin Lin, chief economist for the World Bank, said in Beijing yesterday. "However, the risk of a global freezing-up of the markets as well as a global crisis similar to what happened in September 2008 is real."

The World Bank predicted world economic growth of 2.5 percent in 2012 and 3.1 percent in 2013, well below the 3.6 percent growth for each year projected in June.

"We think it is now important to think through not only slower growth but sharp deteriorations, as a prudent measure," said Hans Timmer, the bank's director of development prospects.

The report said if the eurozone debt crisis escalates, global growth would be about 4 percentage points lower. It forecast that high-income economies would expand just 1.4 percent in 2012 as the eurozone shrinks 0.3 percent, sharp revisions from growth forecasts last June of 2.7 percent and 1.8 percent respectively.

It cut its forecast for growth in developing economies to 5.4 percent for 2012 from its previous forecast of 6.2 percent.

It saw a slight pick up in growth in developing economies in 2013 to 6 percent. But the report said threats to growth were rising.

It cited failure so far to resolve high debts and deficits in Japan and the United States and slow growth in other high-income countries.

On top of that, political tensions in the Middle East and North Africa could disrupt oil supplies and add another blow to global prospects.

China's growth - forecast in the report at 8.4 percent - could help bolster imports and gives it "big fiscal space" to respond to changing conditions, Lin said.

But the World Bank report added: "No country and no region will escape the consequences of a serious downturn."

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Mier: Worse to come

By LEONG HUNG YEE hungyee@thestar.com.my

Eurozone crisis, slower China growth likely to hurt economy

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) expects gross domestic product (GDP) for 2011 to be 4.9% but to decelerate to 3.7% in 2012.

MIER executive director Dr Za-kariah Abdul Rashid said this year would not be as bad as 2008 or 2009 but might not be as good as 2011, pulled down by the eurozone crisis as well as slower growth in China's economy.

He said if the eurozone crisis turned worse, the country's economy might be affected and the GDP could reach the 2008/2009 level.

“There's some avenue if the Government wants to spur the economy by spending on development. It will depend on the private sector whether our economy turns out to be strong this year,” Zakariah said at a briefing to present Malaysia's economic outlook.

Zakariah: ‘The private sector has done a lot for the economy.’

“However, the private sector has done a lot for the economy. We can't expect much more from the private sector.”

He said MIER had previously forecast 2011 GDP growth to be 4.6% but revised it upwards after looking at the latest numbers and the crisis in the eurozone.

“Growth in the last quarter of 2011 is expected to be much lower on account of external developments. The latest monthly economic indicators are already suggesting that,” MIER said in a report.

It added that economic growth would likely get “bumpier” in the months ahead.

Meanwhile, Zakariah said that there was “room for 25 to 50 basis-point downward revision” in the overnight policy rate (OPR). However, he said the revision would depend on the situation and had to be done vigilantly.

Based on MIER's Business Conditions Index (BCI), the business sentiment had worsened from the second quarter of last year. The BCI fell to 96.6 in the fourth quarter of 2011, the first time it had dipped below the 100 threshold since the fourth quarter of 2010.

“It usually shows a contraction mode when the index sinks below 100. The BCI had been dropping since the second quarter of 2011,” Zakariah said.

Sales, local and foreign orders, as well as capacity utilisation were significantly lower in the fourth quarter of 2011, with companies expecting to scale back production over the next three months as inventory builds up.

Concurrently, consumer sentiment also fell to a two-year low of 106.3 on the Consumer Sentiments Index as household incomes lost momentum, and finances and job became a growing concern.

Zakariah said the index pointed out that consumers were also holding on to purchasing big tickets items as spending plans took a backseat.

Separately, Zakariah said it would be better for the Government to call for general elections early as uncertainty over the nation's political future would hurt the economy.

He said private investors were currently holding back investments on concerns that government policies could change due to the political climate here.

“If you ask me as an economist, I would rather see the problem solved once and for all. The earlier they settle the political matters, the better, we can focus on the economy.

“Right now everything is still hanging. People are postponing because of the elections. So if they settle it once and for all and immediately, it would be better,” Zakariah said.

Ethics – an asset to justice

Competitiveness and corruption. Presented at t...

Image via Wikipedia

Getting judges to publicly declare their assets is a significant step towards improving the integrity of our judiciary and changing the perception of the bench.

DARE to declare! That seems to be the slogan of the moment, in the wake of the move by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and his state executive council to declare their assets publicly last week.

Based on the list of properties, investments and cars along with the loans taken, Penang is being run by a motley crew of wealthy and not-so-rich politicians.

Lim owns two shop lots in Malacca, worth RM435,000 and RM530,000 respectively and has taken RM650,000 in loans to pay for them.

He has RM298,785 in fixed deposits, with more than RM53,000 in earned interests besides investments in Amanah Mutual Bhd and Public Mutual Fund.

But there were no clues about the assets of the spouses and relatives, though. When asked about this, the CM was reported to have replied that the pledge was only for the assets of its leaders to be disclosed.

In the case of Selangor, the declaration of assets by the Mentri Besar and exco members in 2009 was basically in the form of their current earnings in salaries and allowances.

They decided not to include assets owned before the exco members held office, on the grounds of not being able to assure security for them or their family members.

Excos disclosed their assets privately to the MB’s office. The information, however, can be released for legitimate reasons, subject to conditions set and approved by the Special Select Committee on Competence, Accountability and Transparency or Selcat.

For political parties, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) holds the record for being the first to deliver the promise of declaring the assets of its elected and appointed representatives.

Since 2008, it has made public statutory declarations about what they own.

PSM’s sole MP, Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj – who unseated MIC supremo Datuk S. Samy Vellu in Sungei Siput – has been quoted as saying: “Once you become an assemblyman or MP, you must reveal the assets of yourself, your wife and your immediate family every year.”

An increasing number of countries have adopted similar ethics and even have anti-corruption laws requiring public officials to declare their assets and income, in addition to that of their spouses and dependant children.

In the US, for instance, the main law governing this is the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.

Based on last year’s declaration, President Barack Obama has assets worth at least US$4mil (RM12.48mil).

The amount includes book royalties, retirement funds, US Treasury bills and notes and other holdings.

In Malaysia, would all elected representatives from both sides of the political divide agree to be subject to such scrutiny?

As it is, many of our YBs are seen to be extremely well-heeled. They always claim to champion the cause of the rakyat but live in mansions worth millions and lead luxurious lifestyles.

Of course, they can always declare that they were already rich before being elected or appointed.

So, instead of waiting until they are elected, why not make it mandatory for all nominated candidates for Parliament and state seats to disclose their wealth and means of income and those of their immediate family?

Perhaps one way to ensure this is through compulsion – by an Act of Parliament.

One wonders if there would still be many people clamouring to be elected representatives or appointed representatives under such rules.

But we are at least making progress when it comes to the judiciary.

Chief Justice Tan Sri Arifin Zakaria has made a laudable move towards getting judges to declare their assets.

It is indeed a significant step towards improving transparency and integrity of our judiciary and changing the current public perception of the bench.

“I’m sure all of you have nothing to fear, so we have to work together with the MACC on this matter,” the CJ said at the judges’ conference last week.

The MACC has since set up a task force to identify the process under the civil service for the implementation.

The CJ has also told judges to maintain the independence of the judiciary and not to put up with any interference, including from their spouses, when making their decisions.

According to Transparency International’s Bribe Payers Index of 2008, the judiciary was perceived by surveyed business executives to be one of the most corrupt institutions in the country.

Business executives surveyed by the World Economic Forum Global competitiveness Report 2010-2011 identified the judicial system as being under enough influence of members of government, certain individuals and companies to constitute a competitive disadvantage.

They also found the efficiency of the legal framework for private companies to settle disputes and challenge government actions and/or regulations as another disadvantage.

The CJ’s move to boost the integrity of the judiciary is noteworthy in view of such negative perceptions.

The country cannot afford to have a judiciary perceived to be ethically compromised. It would be a millstone around the neck of any anti-corruption strategy.

As such, it needs the full support and cooperation of the people, members of the Bar, the Attorney-General’s Chambers and more so from the political leaders.

> Associate Editor M. Veera Pandiyan likes to share these wise words of Gandhi: “There is a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience. It supercedes all other courts.”

Wednesday 18 January 2012

Too many holidays in Malaysia?

Are workers getting too many holidays?

Question Time By P. GUNASEGARAM

Instead of griping about days off, employers should focus on improving productivity – and benefits.

Click on graphic for larger view.

ASK any person who employs other people and they will say their workers get too many days off and public holidays. Ask the workers and their answers will be exactly the opposite.

That was the scenario played out recently when employers and their associations clamoured for less public holidays while workers and their representatives demurred strongly.

Objectively, it is simply too much to expect public holidays to be reduced, especially when many private sector employers are remiss when it comes to giving workers decent pay and benefits, including leave. A few examples will illustrate this well.

Take the five-day working week. The Government has adopted this for some years now but there are many firms in Malaysia, particularly those which are Malaysian-owned, which do not practise this.

This is despite the fact that it is easy to make up the hours for a Saturday half day by working just half an hour to 45 minutes more on the other working days.

Why many private firms continue to do this when they can so easily make up for the hours lost is a mystery and just shows plain unwillingness to grant workers better benefits even when it costs the company nothing.

The number of public holidays in Malaysia is about 18, not counting state holidays which may account for one or two more. But those who don’t work a five-day week work 26 days more in a year.

The Government should just mandate a five-day week for everyone like it is done in many other countries.

Next, guess who is opposing vehemently a current proposal to raise the retirement age to 60 and which may be legislated this year if all goes well. Yes, private sector employers.

The life expectancy over the last half century has increased by over 20 years to 75 but the retirement age still stays at 55.

Many countries already have a retirement age of 65 and some don’t even have a retirement age and here we are baulking because of employer opposition.

Why is the private sector behaving like that? It wants to get rid of staff and get new ones at lower pay or retain the old ones on yearly contracts and with reduced benefits, saving costs.

The broader interest will be served by increasing the retirement age so that the useful lives of all citizens can be extended, they are better able to take care of their needs in older age and their accumulated knowledge and expertise used.

If we look at the way employers treat foreign workers, it is appalling to say the least.

The construction industry, for instance, is almost entirely dependent on foreign workers. Often they are paid a daily rate and they get no pay when there is no work. Is that any way to treat a worker?

Imagine how much the wages for local labour is depressed because of the cheap availability of foreign labour, often illegal.

For a long time, even local plantation workers never got a monthly salary, only being paid when they went out to work. They were forced to take lower salaries when prices of rubber and palm oil dipped but had little benefit when prices rose. They remained abjectly poor despite the manyfold increase in commodity prices over the years.

If you ever wondered why our currency is weak – and therefore we pay high prices for all manner of products with imported content – look again at export manufacturers and how they lobby strongly to keep their costs down, including asking the Government to keep the currency at “competitive levels” and encourage cheap imported labour.

It seems like the rest of us have to keep on subsidising the exporters through a weak currency and lower wages so that they can make money.

The question is why can’t the employers raise productivity so that everyone can contribute and earn more and thereby do their bit towards becoming a high-income nation and making all our lives, instead of a few, better.

If management thinks 10 days of annual leave is too much for workers, ask how much top management gets – the norm is 30 days, but of course they will argue that they work all the time. Anyway, don’t some workers too?

Any which way you look at it, Malaysian employers are mollycoddled. They want wages to be low, the currency to be weak, employees to take less leave, imported cheap labour to be plentiful, the retirement age to be low and workers to work long hours.

But they do very little to be more productive – spend a bit more in terms of training and equipment to produce more with less and in less time.

Germany is moving to a four-and-a-half-day week, France has a seven-hour work day, Australians value their leisure as do many others. How come they are all so much more productive than Malaysia?

And, finally, the most ironic part. Many workers actually employ people – yes, maids.

And what do a good proportion of them think when it comes to their own servants. No leave! They will get into mischief if they get out of the house. And so one strata of society exploits the next and the next the ones below and it goes all the way down to the lowest economic strata.

No wonder there’s such a scramble to get to the top and do all the exploiting!

If only everybody thought of others as themselves and focused on giving decent wages for good work done and not making enormous profits at somebody else’s expense, we all can have a good life together.

Ever wonder why developed countries are developed and everyone who wants to work has a place under the sun and moral values – in its true sense – are much higher in these places?

> P. Gunasegaram enjoys his holiday as much as the next person and wishes there were more of them even if he knows there is a limit to it.

Employers to feel the brunt with workers taking long festive breaks

By P. ARUNA and ISABELLE LAI newsdesk@thestar.com.my Jan 5, 2012

PETALING JAYA: The year-end holiday season may be over worldwide but not in Malaysia where the festive mood continues as a second wave of public holidays looms.

Employers are bracing for a hit in productivity as huge numbers of workers are expected to take long breaks in January and February.

Malaysians enjoy over 50 national, school and state holidays a year and ranks in the top 10 countries with the most public holidays. This is apart from the minimum of 14 days of annual leave a worker is entitled to.

Worse for employers this year, various state and national holidays come on the heels of Chinese New Year, which falls on Jan 23.

These include Federal Territory Day (Feb 1), Prophet Muhammad's birthday (Feb 5) and Thaipusam (Feb 7).

Also, it is a common practice among Malaysian workers to take their annual leave, before and after a festival, to enjoy an even longer break.

Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers small and medium industries committee chairman Tan Sri Soong Siew Hoong said the many public holidays affect the ability to remain competitive in business and “make employers cry”.

“I think there are too many paid public holidays for the private sector. And yet various sectors still want to lobby for more holidays,” he said.

Soong also expressed his unhappiness that public holidays were brought forward to weekdays if they fell on weekends, deeming this unnecessary.

He suggested that religious holidays be declared a personal choice so employees could celebrate on their own while colleagues of other faiths work as usual.

Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Shamsuddin Bardan said productivity would be affected during the holiday period with working days in between.

He said companies would not be able to operate at optimum levels as many workers would be taking leave.

“The alternative is for them to declare a shutdown through the whole period as the overhead costs will be very high. If they can't stop work, then they have to absorb the impact,” he added.

Shamsuddin said the Special Task Force to Facilitate Business had suggested that MEF and the Malaysian Trades Union Congress come up with a formula for employers to “buy back” annual leave days, adding that discussions were ongoing.

Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia economic research committee chairman Kerk Loong Sing said the large number of public holidays would “naturally result” in higher production costs.

“Of course, too many holidays are bad. It will affect productivity, especially for industries which cannot afford to stop production. Employers also need to pay higher wages during public holidays,” he said.

However, MTUC vice-president Mohd Roszali Majid strongly disagreed that the number of public holidays be trimmed down as “employees deserve their holidays”.

“It doesn't affect productivity because they can work on public holidays if they want to. Employers can also convert their unused annual leave to cash and increase their income,” he said.

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MPC: Don't misuse public holidays to take long breaks

Tuesday 17 January 2012

Diversity Vital For Innovation!

Why Is Diversity Vital For Innovation?

Steve Denning, Contributor

The recent Stoos gathering identified diversity as one of the pillars of the organization of the future. Why?

It’s an appropriate question to ask on the holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr. at a time when the country has come a long way towards becoming color blind and realizing his dream that his “four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

At the same time, the Stoos gathering recognized that it’s also good to celebrate difference. Why? In his wonderful book, The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies, (Princeton, 2007) Scott Page shows in detail and with considerable intellectual rigor when diversity does lead to better outcomes and how and why, as well as when it doesn’t.
His short answer is that in some circumstances diversity doesn’t lead to better outcomes:

“… if a loved one requires open-heart surgery, we do not want a collection of butchers, bakers and candlestick makers carving open the chest cavity. We’d much prefer a trained heart surgeon, and for good reason.”

But in other circumstances, particularly complex problems, such as constructing a welfare policy, cracking a secret code or evaluating post-heart attack treatment, diversity not only merits equal standing with ability.

Diversity Trumps Ability?

Page goes beyond the conventional wisdom that other things being equal, diversity trumps like-mindedness. Page makes the startling claim that diversity often trumps ability. In some situations, a group of ordinary people who are diverse can defeat a group of like-minded experts. Page backs up his claim with detailed arguments and evidence.

The prediction markets also show the power of diversity in their ability to make better predictions about the outcome of presidential elections than the experts.

When are two heads better than one? When do too many cooks spoil the broth? Clearly all great restaurants have many cooks. So having lots of cooks won’t spoil the broth, if they are all following the same recipes. The chaos comes if they start to follow different recipes at the same time. In fact, having lots of cooks is essential to running a great restaurant. And when it comes to solving a difficult problem, like coming up with a better way to make coq au vin, having cooks with different points of view will usually help.

Unpacking the idea of diversity

One of the useful things Page does in The Difference is to unpack the notion of diversity. He focuses on cognitive differences between people, not identity differences like race, gender, ethnicity or religion. He suggests that cognitive diversity has four dimensions: perspectives, interpretations, heuristics, predictive models.

Diverse perspectives: people have different ways of representing situations and problems; they who see or envision the set of possibilities confronting them differently.
Diverse interpretations: people put things into different categories and classifications. To some people, I might be someone who worked at the World Bank. To others, I might be an leadership storyteller. To others, I might be an author about radical management. All are true. They are different interpretations of the world.
Diverse heuristics: People have different ways of generating solutions to problems. Some people like to talk through their thinking about problems; others prefer to write out his solutions first and then talk
Diverse predictive models: Some people analyze the situation. Others may look for the story)

This enables Page to explore exactly how these kinds of diversity might help to solve difficult problems or make better predictions.

Why is diversity vital for innovation?

A second thing about the book is the simile that he uses in comparing the solving of problems with climbing rugged landscapes. If our object is to climb as high as possible, our chances of accomplishing that depend on which mountain we decide to climb. If we climb a local hill, we might consider yourselves doing well, because we have never seen the Rockies, let alone Mount Everest. While we’re climbing up one mountain, often we can’t really see how high it is, or how it compares with other neighboring mountains, until we’ve already climbed it. Climbing the highest mountain may entail descending the mountain we are on, and moving to a completely different mountain range.

The image of what it’s like to solve a difficult problem is illuminating in showing how and why having people with different perspectives might enable a group of diverse people to do better than a group of like-minded experts who think they know they are on climbing the highest mountain.

Cognitive vs identity diversity

A third virtue of the book is his summary of the evidence as to whether diversity leads to benefits, including comparisons of cognitive diversity and identity diversity. Cognitive diversity doesn’t improve performance when it comes to routine tasks, like flipping burgers. But when we are dealing with complex tasks like engineering problems, or tasks requiring creativity and innovation, or managerial issues, cognitive diversity is a key explanatory variable in levels of performance.

By comparison, the impact of identity diversity is mixed. One part of this is due to the fact that routine tasks are better done by individuals. A second part of it is due to the fact that identity diversity doesn’t necessarily lead to cognitive diversity. The whole idea of medical training, for instance, is to get medical students thinking alike, i.e. like doctors. It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that doctors who are diverse in identity terms are cognitively alike, and hence may do no better than doctors who are not diverse in identity terms. A third part is due to the fact that getting the benefits of diversity depends people being able to work together. We would expect that some people who are diverse in identity terms find it difficult to work together effectively.

Diversity offers “super-additivity”

The fourth good quality of the book is when Page goes on the offensive and addresses the question of: so what? Given what we have learned, what should we do differently? Page points out that diversity offers not merely the advantage of a diverse stock portfolio where different stocks do better in different conditions, adding up to an overall average that does reasonably in all conditions.

Diversity in teams offers what he calls super-additivity. When a collection of people work together, and one person makes an improvement, the others can often improve on this new solution even further: improvements build on improvements. Diverse perspectives and iverse hueruistics apply sequentially: one gets applied after the other and in combination. As a result, one plus one often exceeds two.

What does this imply? Page has several suggestions that bear on the issue of creating high-performance teams:

Bring in outsiders with different, relevant perspectives. But be careful! Outsiders don’t stay outsiders for long. If outsiders become insiders, they will cease to think differently. And be careful of brining in “highly paid consultants in fancy suits to add credibility to decisions that directors have already made—‘Look, McKinsey agrees with me!’” And the diversity must be relevant to the task at hand: you don’t ask villagers from Papua New Guinea to advise on the implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley.
Encourage inter-disciplinary efforts: When faced with difficult problems, requiring innovation and creativity, the advantages of having cognitively diverse people working on them are overwhelming.
Diverse preferences can be beneficial: If we agree on the goal then disagreements about different ways to reach the goal can be helpful in expanding the array of solutions. But diversity in terms of fundamental preferences can also help. Although solving problems of fundamental differences will often require compromise, diversity in terms of fundamental differences may lead to improvements: Gwen and Tess may disagree on goals, but if Gwen and Tess are cognitively diverse, Gwen may find a solution that Tess improves on, which they both like better.
Diversity needs to be a factor in recruiting: If the work is mainly done by individuals or is routine, cognitive diversity is unlikely to lead to improved performance, although it might be pursued for other reasons. But where people have to work together on difficult problems, cognitive diversity should be very important in hiring. Page praises Google [GOOG] for trying to hire people with diverse interests and skills while also requiring that the recruits have basics skills in fields relevant to Google, i.e. computer science and mathematics.

Recruiters should assess the cognitive aspects of diversity: Identity diversity correlates to a certain degree with cognitive diversity. Since it is easier to assess identity diversity, that may be a first rough approximation of cognitive diversity. But it is also possible to test for cognitive diversity directly, and Page encourages firms to do so.

Overall, this is a terrific book—one of the best management books I’ve read. It takes a complex subject, moves beyond metaphor and mysticism and politics and places the claims of diversity’s benefits on a solid intellectual foundation. Using precise definitions, rigorous analysis and clear conclusions, Page tells you everything you need to know about this subject. His book is well-written and has many interesting apercus and examples, although, given the effort to be rigorously, it’s not always an easy read. Yet it’s a book that tries hard to make us think clearly and what more can we ask than that?

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Monday 16 January 2012

7 Ways to Avoid a Poor First Impression in Business

Martin Zwilling, Contributor

I provide pragmatic advice and services to entrepreneurs and startups.

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Illustration By Paul Gilligan from Getty Images >>

Entrepreneurs are all about firsts, and the most important is you making a great first impression – on investors, customers, new team members, and strategic partners. Poor first impressions can be avoided, but I’m amazed at the number of unnecessary mistakes I see at those critical first introductions, presentations, and meetings.

The key message here is “preparation.” People who think they can always “wing it,” bluff their way past tough questions, or expect the other party to bridge all the gaps, sadly often find that what they think is a win, is actually a loss which can never be regained.

We’ve all met people that we instantly like because of a great first impression, and want to do business with. Here are some common sense things that they do and you can do to maximize the first impression that you impart in any business environment or discussion:

Dress appropriately from the perspective of the person you are trying to impress. This one is so obvious that I hesitate to mention it, except for the fact that I see it ignored so often. Maybe you love wearing Hawaiian shirts to work, but when you visit a traditional banker to close on a loan, it will be worth your time to put on a solid shirt and jacket.
Always research the person online before a first meeting. In today’s world of LinkedIn and Facebook, there is no excuse for not recognizing a person as you meet them for the first time, and knowing their accomplishments, if not their interests and academic background.
Google the organization and the role they represent. It’s polite to ask a professional you just met about their company affiliation, but it’s much smarter to ask them about a current issue, making it clear that you already know a good bit about their company, and their role in that company.
Find a common business link or friend to warm up the connection. The best introduction to a new customer, or potential angel investor, is a warm introduction from a common friend, rather than a cold call. In my opinion, this approach will double or triple your probability for success, no matter what the transaction.
Be prepared to concisely state your key objective. Before the other party has to ask, you should look for an opportunity to net out what you are here to accomplish, and even have a couple of questions in mind that you would like to get answered. Think of it as not forgetting to ask for the order.
Know a lot, but don’t flaunt it. Some people do all the right legwork, but then kill themselves by appearing arrogant or obsequious in the way that they can’t stop talking about everything that they know. When you meet someone new who is important, your first words after “Hello” should be a question rather than a long personal dissertation.
Be positive, courteous, on time, and attentive. We have all met people who, when asked “How are you?” provide a long litany of their latest woes, or a diatribe on current political issues. Obviously, being late to your own meeting, or appearing distracted or uninterested, will also leave a bad first impression. Smile and relax.

All of the common first impression mistakes are avoidable, and elements of the right approach are easily learned. Most entrepreneurs have spent months, and hours of hard work, preparing the necessary business plans, executive presentations, and financial models to impress investors. Just apply the same diligence in preparing yourself for all those “first” opportunities.

That image of you that you first present usually lasts longer and has more impact that any document you can prepare. In the book “You Are the Message,” media executive Roger Ailes wrote that your first impression will be solidified in the first seven seconds. Use them wisely.

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Innovation can start from home

BUSINESS UNUSUAL By Dr KAMAL JIT SINGH

‘Rinnovating’ your home to be greener and cheaper to maintain can sometimes be just a matter of choice of colour or materials, and the result is an improved quality of life.

INNOVATION, contrary to popular belief, is not exclusive to scientists, inventors and tech companies. It isn’t an alien concept that will overwhelm the average Joe or some complicated formula that becomes a magic potion for big problems.

More often than not, innovation is simplifying complicated things, whether it’s a product or a process. Innovative products or processes may result in new wealth being created, increased productivity and efficiency and so on.

The bottom line is, innovation is something we all can do by challenging conventions, asking the right questions and thinking outside the box. And the result is an improved quality of life.

And what better place to start living innovatively than right at home?

In the context of our homes, innovation can be applied to improve not only the livability and comfort of the house, but also security, safety, and health levels, environmental impact and maintenance costs, in addition to prolonging the lifespan of the structure and its contents.

When we talk about a home being comfortable and livable, the most immediate requirement that comes to mind will be space maximisation and optimisation.

With home-owning costs skyrocketing, most of us have had to pay more for less space, especially in urban areas like the Klang Valley.

With things only getting tougher for the next generation, the first innovative ideas involve picking fixtures, furniture and accessories that are not only functional and aesthetically pleasing, but also don’t take up too much space, are multi-taskable, expandable or collapsible.

Reorganise your storage areas and utilise unused space (wall mounted shelves are a good example).

There are many innovative products out there that can make your dwelling a 21st century home, but understandably, getting them will probably set you back quite a bit.

Innovating your home doesn’t have to cost a bomb. In fact, innovatively renovating (“rinnovating”, perhaps?) your home to be greener, cheaper to maintain can be DIY (do-it-yourself), and sometimes it’s a matter of choice of colour or materials that make the difference.

Allow more natural lighting into the house by either having more windows or picking lighter coloured curtains, furniture and paint. Put up mirrors to reflect lights around the house — they also help to give the illusion of space.

Use energy-saving bulbs and low-energy appliances, solar-powered outdoor appliances and heaters, in addition to collecting rainwater for general washing purposes.

Check the pipes and cables, ensuring they are maintained to prevent leakages. These choices not only save you money, but help save the environment, too.

Encourage occupants to live better or adopt better and healthier lifestyles, like separating recyclable wastes, recycling old products and used packages, repurposing them and extending their lifespan.

Stick reminders to inculcate the habit in everyone in the household to switch off appliances and lights when not in use. Encourage the family to exercise by placing things that naturally go together in different rooms or on different floors.

If you absolutely must get a video game console for your children, go for wii, which requires gamers to move more muscles in their bodies than just their fingers to enjoy the games.

Better yet, get your kids sports gear or bicycles and devise an innovative way to chase them out of their rooms and play outside every evening!

Plant certain herbs like citronella, horsemint or marigold that repel mosquitoes. That way, you avoid using harmful chemical-based insecticides and save, too, in addition to having a lovely garden.

Needless to say, there are millions of ways to innovate your home and the household, according to your taste, budget and needs. The point is for you to be constantly excited about truly improving your home.

After all, who says smart buildings are only the modern skyscrapers?

> Datuk Dr Kamal Jit Singh is the CEO of Agensi Inovasi Malaysia (AIM). It is the vanguard of innovation in Malaysia. Established by the Government through an Act of Parliament, AIM will be the driving force behind Malaysia’s push towards establishing an innovation economy.

Related post:

A house built on smart ideas with earning power

Sunday 15 January 2012

The quest for inner growth

WORKABLE TIPS By PAUL KAM

The desire to learn and bring about improvements within, is what makes a young job-seeker employable.

THE QUEST for self- improvement is a quality that needs to be nurtured long before one embarks on a task. Every other day I receive resumès in my e-mail asking for a chance at an interesting career. After opening the mail, I usually scroll down to look for anything, that makes me want to read further and usually it would be the section on hobbies and other activities.

I must admit that I am particularly drawn to those who have excelled in sports and activities that are not work related. Besides this, conferences, meets or expeditions be it a scout jamboree or leadership training programme will help the resumè stand out too.

During one team-building programme I conducted for young executives of a company, I had an interesting conversation with a participant who talked about his college days and how he and his friends used the great outdoors to their benefit while living on a tight budget.

“We would go camping, trekking and fishing during college break. We wanted to go to Sabah but had no money, so we took up part time work in a fabric shop and even set up a roadside stall selling fruits we bought from the wholesale market!

Up in the air: The group unable to contain their joy and excitement as they wave their hands.

“Finally, we raised enough money to get to Sepilok, Sabah. We also managed to climb Gunung Kinabalu,” he said adding that he and his friends would try to make a yearly trip just to be together.

When I left, I was thinking of how I could fit him into my company. Although he did not have the relevant experience, I was willing to train him as a trainee facilitator because I was encouraged by his attitude.

A quick assessment told me he was creative (from the way he went about raising the money for his trip) and curious in his quest to seek information. He also had self-motivation (the limited funds did not deter him from being adventurous) and was a team player (he made a collective effort in raising funds and wanted to keep in touch with his friends).

There is one quality that is immediately obvious from a resumè that includes a list of extra-curricular activities and that is the writer’s quest for knowledge and self improvement. There are also some things that will never change with time, regardless of which day and age we are in, and that is the desire for growth.

If we dwell further into this topic we will also find that it is not about the conferences or the number of training programmes that one has attended. In fact, it is about the attitude towards learning. The desire to question and the keeness to know about whatever that’s happening around him. It is about wanting to be better. Despite the rapid changes in the training milieu, employers still want and need the same thing — an individual who takes it upon himself to grow and does it with a great attitude.

My corporate contemporaries have complained about sales employees who would not go any further to reach out to a bigger market because they cannot speak a different dialect or language as a reason for not venturing out. My contemporaries are disturbed that their employees are not taking the initiative to learn a language or dialect on their own and instead expect their employers to formally hire speicalists to teach languages.

Employees cannot demand to get training as training is not a right. An employee is expected to constantly improve himself and keep up with trends in the market place because being paid a salary would mean they are expected to add value to the company.

On my first job, that was exactly what I was told. Being young and fresh, I was naive to think that I would be given the opportunity to learn and be an asset to the company.

How shocked I was when my boss took me into his room and told me that he was cutting my pay because I was learning too much at the firm! “If I pay you to learn then you are gaining more than me, so I should not pay you so much.”

He highlighted the reality that organisations pay for talent. The more talented you are and add value to the business, the more you will be paid. You are not paid to learn in the company. You are paid to apply what you have learnt. So, before one can apply his knowledge he must first acquire it even before he sends out his resumès.

This takes the discussion back to extra-curricular activities while in school and colleges.

To make these activities work for you during the interviews, always relate it to how it can help you perform better. For instance, tell them you were a King Scout in school and that has taught you to lead and keep a group of people with different personalities together. Talk about the challenges that you have learnt from all your activities that were not course-related and how you have learnt to network with others.

Also remember not to overdo the focus on extra-curricular activities. This may lead the employer to think that you will be distracted and that you will not put the job as priority.

Extra-curricular activities are meant to help you at the interview, so chart it carefully for a winning number.
Paul Kam is a lawyer by training. He has worked with private and public sector leaders and has designed and led several transformation, alignment and strategic change initiatives. With his understanding of market conditions in various industries, he is passionate about shifting and aligning mindsets and behaviours of leaders and employees. He is a member of the Malaysian Institute of Management and is also a certified team profiler and a life and wealth coach.

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