A Short Note on the Future of Economics of MY Malaysia Tanahairku

Econs...never my best subject and yet when I think of my beloved country, Malaysia, I am inspired to write this article - so that we may all be focused on the main issues that affects us in our daily life. As a commoner (one of the many Rakyat), perhaps this is all that I will do as I'm sure governing a country and to lead its people forward is no simple task...

To move forward as a nation, we need to know and determine the factors affecting our nation's health and whether anything can be done for its betterment.

To simply "put it" - we need to know just how much risk Geopolitical instability is to our nation's growth. Say what?

According to an online dictionary, Geopolitic is defined as the relationship among politics and geography, demography, and economics, especially with respect to the foreign policy of a nation.
 

A good example of a governmental policy employing geopolitics: The Nazi doctrine holding that the geographic, economic, and political needs of Germany justified its invasion and seizure of other lands (I add - people's rights inclusive).

You see, Malaysia is considered a still developing country (rated just above Third World). While our optimism for our economy is increasing, it is anticipated that future growth will come from developed markets that are less plagued by geopolitical dilemmas. 

So what's our biggest hurdle? Geopolitical instability.
 

Attacking and addressing this hurdle is made simple by looking at the common examples* of Geopolitical dilemmas,

_1. Slow growth of the GDP / Low demand for Exports;

_2. Low returns from savings and investment;

_3. An inflation rate that is higher than rate of returns from savings and investments;

_4. Sociopolitical instability from a highly combustible cocktail of politics, religion and race;

_5. Unemployment; and

_6. Exchange Rates.

* such a broad range, are we exempted and able to escape at all? Sigh!

So how do we renew and boost our optimism for our nation's future economy?

First things first, we need structural policy and regulatory reforms that are aimed at increasing consumer confidence and greater social and political stability.

By the way, rationalizing subsidies is not one of them as it will only "fuel" inflation (pun intended) - besides, the only major good I see is the elevation of the nation's credit standing for other nations to approve better terms for lending to Malaysia!

Increased foreign investment (not in terms of loans) are a great way to boost our economy and is only attainable when the rate of return on investment is enticing to the investor. 

A Contrasting Example for Investors:

Would you yourself invest in a business where the cost of operations leaves you next to nothing profits? You hire and/or pay less. Then you decide to invest in machinery as automation reduces manual labor, hence less workers to be paid. Then at the end of the day you realize you are paying for power at a premium too. Booyah and I haven"t even mentioned other business factors viz. cost of capital, property and rent, etc!

In fact any other actions that will address the above listed dilemmas in earnest will fair well but please bear in mind that not ALL action is better than NO action.

I rant, I rave and life goes on... 

Footnote:
Breaking news! Still reeling from its aftershock and again, why? Appended today September 26, 2013 - price for RON95 petrol is poised for 'another' increase in near future and this time it's supposed to also 'help' curb petrol smuggling. Way to go - we will never learn.

Curbing Inflation in Malaysia

In times of inflation, the key investment principle to remember is to protect your wealth from being depleted due to inflation. But just how do we do that when investment returns on i.e. savings & deposits are even lower than the perceived rate of inflation?

While the wealth of the government is not the wealth of the people, we shouldn't be shocked when they decide to reduce and/or remove subsidies - in other words telling the people to spend more of their (the people's) wealth on things that the government feels is right.

Facing reality, ready or not, inflation is a growing problem in Malaysia and continued subsidy rationalization will only make it worse. But wait, isn't it the government's top priority to curb inflation? I guess not!

I for one am already experiencing the aggravated effects of the recent increase of 10% in the price of petrol.  High petrol prices sets off inflationary pressures that have a dramatic effect on us (The Rakyat) making us suffer from a rise in prices for the Essentials (Food & Water, Housing and Electricity). When prices are rising and up, they stay up! Need I say more?

Elsewhere in the world, petrol prices are closely watched as they have the ability to trigger a spiral of rising prices. When that happens, what happens? INFLATION INCREASES!

While this article may not be picked anytime soon by the brains behind the latest price hike, I hope that whoever does will at least make sense of why inflation should be curbed.

Selamat Hari Malaysia yang Ke-50, My Email From Najib Razak aka admin@1malaysia.com.my

Bloggermun yang dikasihi.


Tahun ini adalah tahun yang amat bersejarah buat semua rakyat Malaysia. Pada tanggal 16 September, negara kita menyambut ulang tahun rasmi penubuhannya yang ke-50.



Pengisytiharan rasmi penubuhan Malaysia telah dibuat oleh Perdana Menteri Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj pada tarikh bersejarah ini, dalam tahun 1963, di Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur.



Pengisytiharan yang disaksikan oleh oleh Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Raja-Raja Melayu, Gabenor-Gabenor Pulau Pinang, Melaka, Sarawak dan Sabah serta 30,000 orang rakyat telah memberi sinar harapan kepada semua.



Pada ketika itu, rakyat berbilang kaum dan agama, mengimpikan kemerdekaan, kebebasan dan kemakmuran dalam sebuah negara yang berdaulat.



Satu kompromi telah dicapai bagi melindungi kepentingan Sabah dan Sarawak bersama Persekutuan Tanah Melayu dalam penubuhan Malaysia. Hak autonomi dan kedudukan kedua-dua buah negeri ini turut dinyatakan dalam Perkara 20, Suruhanjaya Cobbold.



Ingin saya tegaskan bahawa Sabah dan Sarawak tidak pernah dipinggirkan oleh Kerajaan Persekutuan dalam pentadbiran negara. Sebagai Perdana Menteri, saya sentiasa berusaha bagi memastikan pembangunan yang sama rata untuk semua negeri di Malaysia.



Sejak tahun 2010, kerajaan memperuntukkan RM2 bilion untuk melaksanakan sejumlah 79 projek pembangunan infrastruktur asas luar bandar di Sabah dan Sarawak. Pada tahun 2012 sahaja, sejumlah RM62.3 juta dari jumlah ini telah diperuntukkan kepada Koridor Tenaga Diperbaharui Sarawak (SCORE) bagi membiayai beberapa projek, termasuk merekabentuk jalan masuk dan jalan dalam ke Hab Halal Tanjung Manis, bekalan air di Samalaju dan kajian kebolehlaksanaan untuk Taman Sains di Mukah. RM207 juta juga telah diperuntukkan dalam Koridor Pembangunan Sabah bagi melaksana beberapa projek infrastruktur dan pertanian.



Usaha berterusan bagi membangunkan ekonomi Sabah dan Sarawak sentiasa menjadi keutamaan kerajaan Malaysia. Kehidupan masyarakat di kedua-dua buah negeri ini telah banyak berubah berbanding 50 tahun yang lalu, selaras dengan pembangunan global.



Walaupun dalam usia yang muda, Malaysia telah berjaya membina sebuah negara yang disegani, sama ada dari aspek politik, ekonomi dan pembangunan sosial. Pengorbanan dan usaha gigih semua pihak dalam membentuk negara, mempertahankan keamanan dan kemakmuran selama ini akan sentiasa dihargai.



Kepada semua rakyat Malaysia, marilah kita bersama-sama berganding bahu dalam membina kemakmuran ekonomi, mempertahankan kedaulatan dan memelihara keharmonian dalam Negara.



Terima kasih.



Najib Razak



Admin


Untuk melihat infografik penuh, sila klik pautan ini.


http://www.1malaysia.com.my/blog/infografik-hari-malaysia-2/

How to Send An Email That's Clear for Women

Before you send your next professional email, read over this list, and check for these 5 undermining communication habits that are so common for women. Then delete, delete, delete the ones that you find!

You’ll communicate more powerfully — and your colleagues will appreciate the clearer, more succinct writing too.

Here’s your handy checklist – below

“Before You Hit ‘Send’ Checklist” 

____1. Check for “shrinkers” – words like “just,” “actually” and “almost” (As in, “I justthink….”, “I actually disagree,” “I almost want to suggest that we…”) Delete them!

_____2. Check for any unnecessary apologies - places where you are saying sorry for no good reason, or for simply taking up space on the planet. (“Sorry to bother you but,” “Sorry if this is a silly question…)

____3. Check for any instances of “Does that make sense?” “Am I making sense?” or “Do you know what I mean?”. Replace these questions with something like, “I look forward to hearing your thoughts” or “Let me know if you have questions about this.” I know you were just trying to make sure your audience understood you, but you can find out if they have questions without implying that you’ve been incoherent.

_____4. Check for any undermining qualifiers: “I’m just thinking off the top of my head, but…”, “I’m no expert in this, but…,” or “You clearly know about this more than I do but…” Delete the qualifier and just say what you have to say.

_____5. Check for places where you are hiding your point of view behind a question. Instead of sharing your opinion, i.e. “I think this is the wrong direction for us to take” you might have written, “Does everyone feel sure about this direction?” Sure, sometimes, we use questions instead of statements for strategic reasons- to be diplomatic or nonthreatening, but more often we do it because we are afraid to take a stand or we are afraid of being seen as unlikable if we rock the boat. Use questions as replacements for more explicit statements when it’s strategic – but not as a way of hiding your ideas.

There’s your checklist!