A Plane Repossessor ?

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We don't have them in Malaysia yet because we are not affluent enough to afford planes.

In Malaysia we only have the dreaded car repossessor. Losing a plane is probably not as bad as losing a car especially in this country where public transportation is a bloody disgrace. Here, losing your car is like losing your legs. Depending where you live having no car can mean total immobility and great inconvenience. Our capital city Kuala Lumpur has one of the worst public transport system and the worst taxi drivers in the world and drivers of such bad attributes you can't imagine how they were allowed to be in such profession in the first place.

With the downturn and for those that have lost their jobs life will be tough and the car repossessors would be as busy if not busier than the plane repossessor in the following story:

Foreclosing on a Plane, Then Flying It Away

Ken Hill’s last business trip took him through eight states in January and netted him 12 planes. His current one is a 30- to 45-day trip for 27 more planes, his biggest ever.

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Ed Zurga for The New York Times

Ken Hill photographing a Piper Meridian he seized in January in Overland Park, Kan. Mr. Hill, 66, has repossessed hundreds of planes since his first in 1969.

Mr. Hill is an airplane repo man, one of the best and busiest in the business. With the economy sinking and the general aviation industry suffering, Mr. Hill is working flat out as he makes his way from one airport to another, carrying just a few basic tools — a propeller lock, a portable radio, hand-held GPS device and a fanny pack stuffed with hundreds of keys. “I’m busy, always on the move, up early in the morning, late to bed at night,” Mr. Hill said in a telephone interview from his hotel in Knoxville, Tenn., between repossessions in January. “My wife never asks me where I’m going. She just says, ‘Call me when you’re there, and tell me where you are.’ ” Read more...

The PKR Witch Hunters

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Selangor state government and its Chief Minister Khalid Ibrahim is going all out to dig up the dirt on former Menteri Besar Khir Toyo here and here and here and here.

The witch hunting has been going on since the day Khalid stepped into office as MB of Selangor.One of the highlights of the witch hunt was his overseas travel expenses amounting to RM350,000 over a period of 7 years.I wonder whether it is worth the time and money to waste human resources on such petty matters.The amount doesn't seem a lot.Than there were accusation of his wife being given a Range Rover from a state subsidiary.

As menteri besar I am sure Khir is entitled to certain benefits including the use of his official car by his spouse.As chairman of the company and if he is entitled to the Range Rover than there is no reason his spouse can't use the vehicle.

Maybe, Khalid should engage an independent external auditor to audit all the books of the state government for the past 50 years.

It's about time Khalid gets down to do serious work for the state instead of looking for past mistakes and misdeeds of the former government.He should hand over to the MACC whatever evidence he has to prove wrongdoings of former MB Khir Toyo instead of flippantly making and publicising allegations of wrongdoings that has no rhyme nor reason.

(My internet was down for 2 days.Just got it back today)

Saving Malaysia: Najib's Recipe

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It's RM30 billion, just what I figured it should be. Finally, they agree there is going to be a bad recession in the country.Full text of Najib's recipe here.

Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak announced a two-year stimulus package of RM60 billion in a mixed basket of the good, the bad and the ugly.There was no mention of where the money coming from or how the government wish to raise the funds.

I must say overall the package is well thought out and should be able to stimulate the economy but obviously much depend on how it is managed and more importantly the global economy is working in tandem with our effort.Nothing much the government can do if the world economy stays in the doldrums.

Those in government and government linked economists wish to believe that Malaysia is different from countries like Singapore and Hong Kong. In some ways that may be true but in many ways they are the same......they are export-dependent economies, making them at the mercy of the world markets.

A prolonged recession would have dire effect on the people's livelihood.Many low and middle income Malaysians do not have savings to tide them over bad times. Severe and prolonged recession would raise tension against the government and ethnic tension, fan by those desirous of pitting the people against the government, would certainly increase.Although, the government have taken the right step to take care of the economic engines first and shows greater attention to its survival, it must not forget the interest and welfare of the individual. There is nothing worst than having no money to sustain your daily existence.That's why I proposed in my earlier post to allow those who have lost their jobs to draw half of their basic salary from their savings in the EPF for a maximum of 6 months.This would give them the basic necessities to survive before they can secure another job.

The double deduction to be given to companies that employ workers retrenched by other companies can lead to abuse. Unscrupulous employers can sack their existing employees and replace with new ones to take advantage of the double deductions.Unless, the government fine-tune the terms and conditions it will have negative effect.

Too much emphasis was given on the financing of business but very little in cutting the costs of doing business.That's why I proposed incentives,rebate and reduction of taxes and duties in my earlier post.In a period of contraction of the economy the costs of doing business must come down either by market forces, by intervention or both.

Loan guarantees and easy access to the capital market would be most welcome by the business community as long as they are not designed to bail out cronies and friends making it difficult for those not well-connected to have access to the facility.

In time of uncertainty, risky and low-yield investments the issuance of government-backed saving bonds is a welcome sign.Although, it will not increase liquidity in the system it is better than the current interest rate of fixed deposit with banks.There will be major shift to these saving bonds and a mad rush to buy it for those who have spare cash.

Equitable distribution of projects and suspension of the NEP during this period of economic uncertainty should be seriously considered if the BN wish to salvage its sunken popularity.

The drop in export is going to be pretty serious.It's going into a tailspin during the 1st half of this year.The 1st quarter result would be out by next month and I wouldn't be surprised to see a decline of 25-30%. A negative growth for 2009 is not a figment of the imagination. Malaysians should be prepared for more bad news.The stimulus will need at least 3-4 months to kick start and by then we would only have about 6 months left for the year and probably half the job undone.

As usual Anwar Ibrahim is uninspired.

'The Best Job In The World' : Vote For Jackie

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They called it "The Best Job In The World" and 34,000 applied for the job throughout the globe.They have shortlisted down to 50 hopefuls.

It's great to know that a good friend's daughter, a charming and intelligent girl has been chosen as one of the 50 out of 34,000 that applied.

Jacqueline Miao or better known as Jackie to many of her friends is one of the 50 that would possibly get the job as a 'caretaker' at the Hamilton Island on the Great Barrier Reef in a tourism promotion run organised by the Queensland State Government.Jackie is the only Malaysian selected from the initial 34,000 hopefuls.Jackie studied at Hawaii Pacific University and at Brooklyn College, New York, but dropped out to start a web consultancy business to service the travel and hospitality industry.

As a Malaysian, Sabahan and a friend of the family I am very proud of Jackie to have reached this far and would urge all Malaysians and Sabahans in particular to vote for Jackie to help her achieve her dream and make Malaysia proud that we can produce equally intelligent,talented and world class professional like her.

Jackie personal website here.



Do Malaysia a favour and this intelligent, charming and affable lass, vote for Jackie.

You can vote for Jackie at 'The Best Job In The World' here