May 08, 2009
May 07, 2009
May 02, 2009
Thank You Mom Poem
April 08, 2009
House buyers, take note of differences in systems
We at the HBA view with interest some housing project advertisements in the newspapers recently. They prominently state 10-90 as the mode of payment and went on to say, “Pay 10% and no payment until vacant possession.”
It would appear as if the mode of payment is similar to the Build-then-sell (BTS) 10-90 that HBA has been lobbying for and for which the Government is offering incentives to developers to adopt the system.
HBA feels that it is incumbent upon us to explain to potential house buyers the differences between the advertised 10-90 and the BTS 10-90 promoted by the Government under the amended Housing Act .
The advertised 10-90 system is actually a loan package deal whereby the buyer pays 10% upon signing the Sales and Purchase Agreement and the balance is progressively paid through the buyer’s housing loans. The loan is progressively disbursed to the developer as he builds the houses.
Hence the “… no payment until vacant possession” is not wholly true because, in actual fact, the buyer’s loan is used to progressively pay the developer. However, the interest payable for the progressive payments during the construction phase is shouldered by the developer.
In the BTS 10-90 system, the buyer pays 10% upon signing the SPA and does not make any more payment until the house is completed, with all the certifications obtained. Only then does the housing loan kick in and the buyer then pays the remaining 90%.
The vital difference between the advertised 10-90 system and the BTS 10-90 is that in the advertised 10-90 system, should the developer abandon the project, the buyer is left with a partially disbursed housing loan to settle.
The primary borrower is still the buyer and it is his sole responsibility to continue with the proper conduct of his loan from the financiers.
Banks have not been known to be sympathetic to victims of abandoned projects and the loans still have to be settled, house or no house. This is the predicament presently faced by tens of thousands of naïve and innocent buyers.
We would like to categorically state that we are by no means implying that the advertised project is likely to be abandoned. This letter is only to inform potential buyers the differences between the advertised 10-90 and the BTS10-90 systems.
CHANG KIM LOONG,
Secretary General,
National House Buyers Association.
March 10, 2009
Visit to an Orchid Nursery
February 04, 2009
Lion Dance Performance
Every year, our condo's management manager will arrange a Lion Dance performance to usher in good luck and prosperity for everyone staying here.
Here is a video of the Lion Dance performed at our condo. Hope you have a fun time watching it and enjoy it as much as my son!
Warm regards,
Sany Woo
February 03, 2009
Thaipusam may draw record crowd
TheStar Online (February 03, 2009)
KUALA LUMPUR: A record-breaking 1.3 million devotees and visitors are expected to pack Batu Caves for the Thaipusam celebration this Sunday.
The figure is an increase from the one million people that attended the celebration last year. The Batu Caves temple committee has been making preparations to cater to the expected massive crowd.
Recently, it spent RM640,000 to improve basic amenities like public toilets and water supply. There will also be more than 600 stalls selling food, drinks, trinkets, clothing and souvenirs.
Security is another aspect being stressed on. More than 1,000 policemen will be stationed at the temple grounds and its surrounding area on that day.
Also for the first time, there will be a 15-minute fireworks display on the eve of Thaipusam. The fireworks would be lighted at midnight, followed by a chariot procession.
Temple committee chairman Datuk T. Nadarajah advised those coming not to wear jewellery or carry big amounts of cash, and to take public transportation to avoid congestion in the area.
In Penang, those wishing to break coconuts for Thaipusam will have to pay a higher price for the essential item.
The price of the Mawar B grade coconut, suitable for devotees to smash as an act of fulfilling vows, has increased by 50% due to poor harvest during the rainy season.
One of the main coconut wholesalers on the island M. Joel Jeyachandran said retailers would sell the coconuts between RM1.70 and RM1.80, especially during Thaipusam.
Last year, the coconut was sold for about RM1. Joel Jeyachandran, whose shop is in Datuk Keramat, said he expected the price to increase after June, as one of the four main coconut plantations would be converted into an oil-palm estate.
Hokkiens pay homage to the Jade Emperor
TheStar Online (February 03, 2009)
The Hokkien community in the Klang Valley, for example, were busy making preparations yesterday to celebrate the Jade Emperor’s birthday, which falls today, the ninth day of this lunar new year.
The sugarcane, of course, is among the food items bought as prayer offerings.
The proprietor of Teoh Seng Kuen Fruits Trading, who did not want to be identified, said her shop did not normally sell sugarcane but she brought in some in as added convenience for her regular customers.
The shop at Lebuh Gopeng, Klang, also sells items like thni kuih (sweet cakes) and ang koo (red tortoise buns).
“The most popular purchases are the fruits, as some people need at least five fruit items for their offerings, more so those who pray with vegetarian items,” she said.
“Due to the economic slowdown, I brought in just 150 stalks of sugarcane this year, compared with the more than 200 stalks last year,” she said.
Fruitful offering: A customer at Teoh Seng Kuen Fruits Trading in Klang selecting a pair of pineapples for the celebration. She added that the sugarcanes were still sold at RM8 for two stalks at her shop, although she knew of traders who had increased their prices to compensate for the smaller stock they sold this year.
Meanwhile, at the SS2 morning market in Petaling Jaya early yesterday, the Hokkiens were seen busy buying the essential items to be offered to the Jade Emperor at midnight.
“Generations ago, the Hokkiens were spared from an extermination by demons and were saved by the Jade Emperor who fought for them as they sought refuge in the sugarcane plantations,” fruits seller Khiew Yoon Chin said.
“The day the Jade Emperor defeated the demons happened to be his birthday, so the Hokkiens offered sugarcane to him to thank him for their salvation,” retiree Khor Tuan Hong chipped in.
Khor and his wife were choosing a pair of sugarcanes from a pile offered at a stall.
“The roots and the leaves must be attached to the stalks, signifying beginning and ending of all matters. We will decorate the stalks with golden paper called huang qian (literally translated as yellow money),” the 65-year-old said.
Khor from Bandar Utama in Petaling Jaya never missed the celebration and his five children would return home for the annual occasion together.
“Several friends would join us, too, to enjoy the offerings after the prayers. The sugarcanes, which also carry the connotations of tian tian mi mi (sweet and blissful), will be shared,” he said.
A rice cake seller, who only wished to be known as Lim, also cashed in to the occasion by selling sugarcanes at his stall.
“The stalks are freshly harvested and delivered to us early in the morning from Seremban,” the 53-year-old said.
Lim also offered chopped sugarcanes, which are about 30cm long each.
“The chopped ones are snapped up quicker than the long ones, as it is more convenient to carry around. People now stress more on sincerity than the symbolic ritualistic ways of worship,” he said.
For the Hokkien community, the most important time of the 15-day Chinese New Year celebration is the eighth night and ninth day, which is their liberation day.
According to the ancient tradition, hundreds of years ago, people of the Hokkien province in China were under bondage to some demonic forces and didn’t have the opportunity to celebrate the Chinese New Year for years until one year, on the eighth night of the lunar new year, when the Jade Emperor of Heaven came and liberated them.
During the cosmic battle between the Jade Emperor and the demonic forces, the Hokkien hid in the sugarcane plantations.
Following the victory over the demons and their liberation, the Hokkien people came out to celebrate the Chinese New Year for the first time in years.
They wanted to give thanks to the Jade Emperor and also honour him on his birthday on the ninth day of the lunar new year but didn’t have anything to worship with. So, they used sugarcanes as their offering to the Jade Emperor.
From that first worship ceremony, they continued with the tradition of using sugarcanes to thank the Jade Emperor on the eighth night of the lunar new year.
This tradition is closely observed by the Hokkiens of Klang, Petaling Jaya, Penang and elsewhere in Malaysia.
January 24, 2009
Peanut Butter Put on Health Alert (updated)
KUALA LUMPUR: The Government has placed all peanut butter products from the United States on Level Five alert following several salmonella-linked deaths there, said Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai.
He said a Level Five alert meant that products would be held back and stringently tested first, and only released if they are found safe for consumption.
“The importer themselves have withdrawn the particular batches of contaminated products from the shelves.
“They have identified which batches are contaminated,” he told reporters after handing out angpows to the Valley of Hope residents here Saturday.
In a statement, the Health Ministry’s Food Safety and Quality Division said that the Ministry was informed that possibly contaminated dough, which uses peanut butter and peanut paste, had been exported to Malaysia, for The Famous Amos Chip Cookie Corp (M) Sdn Bhd.
“Investigations found that the dough had been imported from Peanut Corporation of America, and was used in three sales premises in KLCC, Sungai Wang and at the KL International Airport.
“The company has recalled the dough from all three premises,” the statement said.
Liow added that the Government had “raised the alert to Level Five at all ports just to ensure that the incoming batches are free of salmonella contamination.” Asked if there were any other US products which were placed on Level Five alert, he said, “It’s a very specific product. We are focusing on one product -- peanut butter.”
US authorities on Friday said seven people had died from a nationwide outbreak of salmonella associated with tainted peanut butter and paste sourced to the PCA plant in Blakely, Georgia.
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified the bacterial strain as Salmonella Typhimurium.
The CDC said there had been 492 cases in 43 states and one Canadian province of people sickened with the strain as of Thursday, US media reports.
Patients ranged in age from one to 98 and 22% of people afflicted with the bacteria have been hospitalised.
Another 10 US firms Friday recalled products which use PCA peanut butter or paste -- bringing to roughly 360 the number of products affected -- as it emerged that the plant at the centre of the probe laid off most of its roughly 50 workers, US papers said.
The recalled products range from snack bars to crackers and pre-packaged meals and even pet food. But products containing peanuts not sourced from the PCA plant are deemed safe.
The Food and Drug Administration, which is investigating, has said it has no evidence to suggest the contamination originated with any other major manufacturing facility other than the PCA plant.