…or: Malaysia’s most gullible student.

The Star reported on 21st April 2007 that a 20-yr old Penang student lost a total of RM148,000, which was supposed to pay for her college fees because she believed an internet scam which told her that she had won RM3.3 million in 2 Internet lucky draws.

If it’s illiterate kampung folk or the elderly I can understand, but this is a member of the media and tech-savvy Generation Y (or is it now Z?)!

A woman called her last month from a telephone number registered in China telling her that she won RM120K in a Hong Kong Turf Club online draw. As can be expected in such scams, a deposit would be required - in this case it was RM46K as “insurance and processing” fees. Amazingly, she believed the caller and 10 days later transferred the amount being asked into an overseas bank account.

Sensing easy money, the same day, another guy from the syndicate called to tell that she had won an extra RM3.2 million in a “bonus draw.” Incredibly, she was sucked in further. She raised RM102K in about 3 weeks and deposited the amount to the same bank account on 18th April.

She only came to her senses when the scammers cut off all contact.
The police are understandably exasperated. They have issued several warnings through the media but such cases continue to occur.

source

According to yahoo.com on 12th April, basketball legend Michael Jordan, Neil Diamond and Steven Spielberg top a new Forbes magazine list of the 10 most costly celebrity divorce settlements.

After topping the NBA scoring tables, now it’s Michael Jordan’s turn to top the list of divorce costs. Indeed, it could very well turn out to be the most expensive celebrity divorce ever. His wife Juanita Vanoy filed for divorce last year after 18 years of marriage, and she could get half his fortune i.e. USD150 million (about half a billion ringgit Malaysia!).

Mike and Juanita in happier times (1999)

Juanita, 4 years older than Mike were introduced to him at a restaurant in 1984. Mike proposed in 1987 and married in 1989. Smart lady, they signed a post-nuptial agreement a year and a half after their wedding. Problems brewed in less than 3 years later in Jan 2002, when she filed for divorce citing the oft-used phrase: irreconcilable differences. She withdrew it a month later. But, 4 years later in 2006, citing the same thing, lawyers announced that the 2 have decided to really divorce.

Read the rest of this entry »

Dailydomainer.com reported in January that  of the 100 highest priced domains sold last year:

• 18 have been developed
• 8 redirect to a developed site
• 5 are affiliate sites
• 6 currently under development
• 9 don’t work at all
• … and 54 show PPC (pay per click) ads.

This means that a large percentage of the domain market’s high end is fueled by domainer-to-domainer sales, and/or that most “traditional” sales (to end users) go unreported.

The report goes on to list the domains. I have selected domains which cost more than half a million US dollars:

In conjunction with the upcoming Malaysian F1 GP in early April, Mandarin Oriental Hotel is offering super-rich philanthropists a way to spend their money for charity: offer its Grand Presidential Suite to the highest bidder from April 6 to 8.

Check out these details:

• Starting bid: RM260,000 for minimum 2 nights’ stay at the suite, located at the hotel’s 30th floor. That means it could very well go up much higher than this amount. It’s been said many times before, but it’s worth saying again: you’re gonna burn, in 2 nights, what most people toil for a lifetime to earn.
• a personal butler; 
• champagne breakfast in bed for 2 persons specially prepared by the hotel’s executive chef valued at RM3,630;
• limited and exclusive Formula One and Paddock Club passes for two persons valued at RM30,000!!!
• Hawaiian spa treatment for two persons at the hotel’s The Spa: tailor-made spa experience, valued at RM79,000: provided by widely celebrated Lomi Lomi star therapists Katrina Wagner and Michael Schoernig, specially flown in from Switzerland. So the rate is like: RM20,000 per hour per person??
• a chauffeur-driven limousine BMW 7 Series at guests’ disposal at any time of the day to any destination of choice within the Klang Valley, valued at RM20,000: available 24 hours a day for 3 days from the time of airport pick up. Then I might as well go on a crazy joyride of my life at 4 am.
• a specially prepared Formula One extravaganza dinner with wine pairing for two persons at Pacifica Grill & Bar, worth RM49,000. Served with an exceptional selection of fine wines specially flown in Europe. I wonder what kind of wine would push prices up that high.
• Exclusive His and Hers Chopard designer watches, valued at RM98,810, given as welcome gifts. The watches are adorned with diamonds and sapphires and set in white gold steel. I don’t want that watch - I can never wear it anyway - scared of burglars.

source

Location will be at the Waterfront, near the Marine Police HQ and will be completed in 2009.

I heard the price is something like RM2,500 per square feet. If so, a typical home living room sized area will cost a whopping RM1 million!

a source

Tags: kota kinabalu, sabah, malaysia, property

The salaries of US CEOs are spiraling out of control that even President Bush acknowledged “the anger of Americans at stories about the enormous salaries and other perks for CEOs.” And the gap between top officers’ and rank-and-file employees’ pay continues to widen.

He said the government should not decide the quantum, but it should be based on “their success at improving their companies and building value for their shareholders.” Well, to it’s the same story with sportspeople. But salaries for corporations’ employees can be better justified than those of sportsmen/women. Because how can you justify the earnings of some people who in 1 week will earn more than most people will do in their entire lifetime just by playing football?

Back to huge salaries and other perks for CEOs: Read the rest of this entry »

Jon Fine of Businessweek reports on 6th Nov 06:

With a slew of big-city newspapers on its side, Google sets out to reproduce the success of its online ad programs—offline

Google is rolling out its most ambitious print advertising initiative yet, an online marketplace that will let advertisers place bids on space in more than 50 major newspapers across the U.S.

source

After reading this article, many people could want to hop on that boat and head straight over to the US. Of course the amount would vary greatly, depending on location and possibly luck.

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbegprofit.html

The following is something which some of us have been thinking about every day. Very true indeed. However, what we do after reading it is the million dollar question.

I’ll try to do some calculations here. In Malaysia the average family income is RM3000 (Father works, mother doesnt). I understand there are a lot of families whose income don’t reach RM3000, but, to make things simple, lets take RM3000 as the figure. ok la right?

Okay, let’s start rolling with a family which has Papa, Mama, 1 daughter and 1 son. ngam ngam..

Calculation starts…

Electricity and water bil RM100 (no aircond, no home theatre, no water heater k?)

Telekom and Handphone bil RM100 (cannot make a lot of calls one you know? NO Streamyx also)

Meal for the whole happy family RM775 (3 meals on RM25/day, RM25 for 4 persons????)

Papa makan/teh tarik during working hours RM155 (RM5/day, RM5 can eat what?)

Car repayment RM400 (a proton saga aeroback, 7 years repayment)
Petrol RM300 (Living in City, Jam) Bring wife to work, bring son to school, only can afford one car running.
Insurance RM650, (kids, wife and myself).
House repayment RM750 (Low cost housing repayment for 30 years, retired still have to work to pay house!)
Tuition RM80 (got that cheap meh?? No, I don’t think so)
Older children pocket money @ school RM20 (RM1/day, eat bread??)
School fees RM30 (enough ah??)

School books and etc etc. RM100 (always got extra to pay in school)
Younger children milk powder RM50 (cannot have the DHA, BHA, PHA one, expensive)
Miscellaneous RM100 (shampoo, rice, sauce, toilet paper)

oh wait!!! I have to stop here, so… No Astro, no movie @ cinema, no DVD, no CD, no online, cannot KFC, cannot Mc Donald, cannot go Park walk during weekend(petrol expensive), no chit chat on phone with grandparents, and etc…

Let’s use a calculator to total up… WALAO EI.. Shit! RM3610 already.. EPF belum potong, income tax lagi,……..oledi — RM610… How to survive laa tuan-tuan dan puan-puan sekalian??? Our Deputy Prime Minister ask us to change lifestyle? How to change? Don’t eat? Don’t work? Don’t send children to school and study? Besides that, I believe in Malaysia population, there are millions of Rakyat Malaysia which still don’t earn RM3000/month!!!

What is this? Ini lah Malaysia Boleh.. Sorry.. it should be Malaysians Boleh, because we’re still alive and kicking!

Someone sent me an email about it, apparently a forum posting by a guy with nick reginaldho. This was in response to complaints about the 30 sen increase in petrol prices earlier this year. Dr Reginald Ho I presume?

Interesting read and sometimes thought-provoking. Your 2 cents?

The posting is here reproduced verbatim. Read the rest of this entry »