KENYATAAN AKHBAR
Bersempena dengan pengumuman Rangka Dasar Automotif Negara, Kementerian Kewangan ingin mengumumkan perubahan ke atas struktur cukai bagi kenderaan bermotor seperti berikut:
(a) Tax on Tax
Kaedah pengiraan duti eksais ke atas kenderaan Completely Built Up (CBU) ditukar berdasarkan ‘tax on tax’. Sebelum ini, duti eksais dikira berdasarkan nilai CIF kenderaan CBU tersebut. Di bawah kaedah ‘tax on tax’, duti eksais akan dikira berdasarkan nilai CIF termasuk duti import.
(b) Duti Import Ke atas Kenderaan Penumpang
i. duti import ke atas ASEAN CBU dikurangkan daripada 20% kepada 15%.
ii. duti import ke atas non-ASEAN CBU dikurangkan daripada 50% kepada 30%.
iii. duti import 0% ke atas ASEAN CKD dan 10% ke atas non-ASEAN CKD dikekalkan.
(c) Duti Eksais Ke atas Kenderaan Penumpang
i. duti eksais bagi kenderaan CKD dan CBU dari ASEAN dan non-ASEAN dikurangkan:
- Kereta penumpang: daripada 90%-250% kepada antara 80%-200%.
- 4WD: daripada 60%-170% kepada 55%- 160%.
- Motorsikal: daripada 20%-60% kepada 20%-50%.
ii. duti eksais bagi CKD dan CBU bagi MPV/van dari ASEAN dan non-ASEAN ditukar daripada 40%-170% kepada 55%-160%.
(d) Kereta Diesel
Klasifikasi dan struktur cukai bagi kereta diesel (baru) diseragamkan dengan kereta petrol.
Struktur cukai baru bagi kenderaan bermotor dilampirkan dalam Lampiran I dan II.
Umumnya, perubahan struktur cukai di atas akan mengurangkan duti ke atas kenderaan penumpang tetapi meningkatkan duti ke atas MPV/van dan 4WD.
Thursday, 23 March 2006
Malaysia National Automotive Policy
Kategori:
Automotif
Hopefully, the car price will be lowered, but unfortunately, I have no intention to change my car in these few years.
NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE POLICY
A. INTRODUCTION
Since the establishment of Proton in 1985, Malaysia has succeeded in developing integrated capabilities in the automotive industry, which include local design and styling capability, full scale manufacturing operations and extensive local participation in the supply of components. Today, Malaysia is ASEAN’s largest passenger vehicle market with more than 500,000 vehicles sold annually with 90% of that manufactured or assembled domestically.
Nevertheless, much of the country’s success in developing the domestic automotive industry has been facilitated by policies that have promoted local vehicle manufacturers and moving forward, global and domestic challenges put the sustainability of this industry at risk.
The global industry is seeing slow growth, value destruction and massive rationalisation, driving vehicle manufacturers to merge to achieve even higher levels of scale. Recognising this global environment, the National Automotive Policy (NAP) seeks to address the manifold issues and challenges and transform the domestic automotive sector to become a more viable, competitive and significant contributor to the economy.
Moving forward, Government policy and support will be focused towards automotive industry participants providing sustainable economic contribution. The key drivers for such contribution will be economic scale, industry linkage and competitive value added activities.
B. OBJECTIVES OF THE NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE POLICY
The overall objective of the NAP is generating sustainable economic value creation. This will maximise the long term contribution of the automotive sector to the national economy and at the same time ultimately benefit the Malaysian consumer. The need to create economic value entails that the industry will continue to require supportive Government policies in order to become fully competitive internationally.
The NAP therefore aims to facilitate the required transformation and optimal integration of the national industry into regional and global industry networks. The urgency of the transformation is driven by an increasingly liberalised and competitive global environment. Consequently, the Government has set out the following objectives for the national automotive sector:
* To promote a competitive and viable domestic automotive sector, in particular the national car manufacturers * To promote Malaysia as an automotive regional hub, focusing on niche areas * To promote a sustainable level of economic value added and enhance domestic capabilities * To promote a higher level of exports of vehicles as well as components and parts that are competitive in the global markets * To promote competitive and broad based Bumiputera participation in the domestic automotive sector * To safeguard the interests of consumers in terms of value for money, safety and quality of products and services
C. POLICY THRUSTS OF THE NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE POLICY
1. Provide Government support and incentives based on sustainable economic contribution The Government will continue to nurture and support the development of the domestic automotive sector via a comprehensive package of grants and incentives. Such Government support and incentives will be aimed at optimising sustainable economic contribution, namely the scale of operations, extent of industry linkages, and the development of local and Bumiputera capabilities.
A sustainable level of economic contribution must ultimately relate to the type and level of value added activities, which will be competitive for the domestic market and for export in a fully liberalised environment. Thus, it would not be consistent with this policy to seek to maintain a level of value added activities which will not be viable and sustainable in the long run.
The level of support will also be correlated to the level of economic contribution and value add. In this context, a large scale manufacturing concern with exports and high industry linkage will be favoured relative to a pure assembly operation with little value added activities. Similarly, greater emphasis will be given to sales, distribution and after sales activities compared to pure importation of vehicles.
Support for manufacturing will come principally in the form of access to the Industrial Adjustment Fund and research & development (R&D) grants. These grants and incentives will be given based on pre-agreed conditions and timely achievement of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). 2. Increase scale via rationalisation to enhance competitiveness For the industry at large, all participants across the value chain will be encouraged to focus on achieving a scale of operations that ensures their enduring competitive viability.
The Government will encourage rationalisation initiatives in the domestic automotive sector, in order to create a leaner and more sustainable industry structure. A leaner industry structure throughout the value chain will enable industry participants to achieve a sufficient level of scale to be competitive.
In this respect, the Government will promote, through grants and incentives, two national manufacturers in the high-volume car segment to ensure sufficient scale and industry linkage. To enable achievement of required scale and industry linkage, these national manufacturers must be able to rationalise their models and platforms portfolio.
The rationalisation at the vehicle manufacturers’ level will consequently enable rationalisation of the component sector that will lead to greater scale, skills and improved quality. The end result will be a smaller number of vendors, all of whom will be operating at a scale, cost and quality level that will allow them to remain competitive and be able to export. 3. Promote strategic linkages with international partners Scale and focus are necessary to achieve greater competitiveness but in themselves, they are not sufficient. In addition, global best practices and industry linkage are other important key success factors for the automotive industry. Therefore, the Government will continue to encourage industry participants to collaborate with external parties to establish strategic tie-ups. Apart from sharing scale and resources, such strategic tie-ups open up opportunities and provide access for domestic industry participants to enter the global automotive supply chain and vice versa. Moreover, such strategic tie-ups also compel domestic industry participants to adopt best practice management, processes and procedures to deliver on higher quality standards that are necessary in accessing international markets. 4. Become a regional hub focusing on niche areas and complementary activities The Government aims to position Malaysia as a regional manufacturing and assembly hub by encouraging existing participants to deepen their commitment in Malaysia. The Government will encourage existing vehicle manufacturers to rationalise the models assembled in Malaysia, scale up focused production and deepen industry linkage, in order to export competitively. It is expected that they will not primarily compete with high-volume national manufacturers in terms of pricing or target market.
The expansion of these participants and the deepening of industry linkages will also lead to greater scale and improved quality of the industry’s component vendor sector, thereby improving overall viability of the industry.
D. SPECIFIC POLICY INSTRUMENTS
1. Excise Duty Structure The excise duty structure has been streamlined resulting in an overall reduction in the effective tax rate on most motor vehicles and a reduction in the tax differential between the different categories of motor vehicles (e.g. cars, MPVs, 4WD and between the different engine capacities). It is intended that the streamlining of the tax structure will promote greater transparency in pricing. 2. Gazetted Values of Imported Cars To further promote greater transparency, the Government will gazette the values of imported cars for the purposes of duty computation. With the cooperation of the industry and the general public, it is expected that the incidence of tax underdeclaration will be significantly addressed. At the same time, the Government will step up enforcement measures against tax underdeclaration. 3. ASEAN CEPT Import Duty To promote greater integration with the ASEAN automotive industry, Malaysia will reduce the ASEAN CEPT import duty to 5% for qualifying vehicles. While this will expose the domestic industry to greater competition, it is consistent with the policy thrust for rationalisation of models and increasing scale through exports. 4. Industrial Adjustment Fund Grants from the Industrial Adjustment Fund will be made available to all companies – be they local, foreign or joint ventures – that create significant economic contribution.
These grants will be awarded based on two main criteria: scale and industry linkage subject to a sustainable level of overall capacity. Grants will be given on a model-by-model basis, subject to minimum threshold levels on both the scale and industry linkage criteria.
Specific R&D grants will also be made available, based on the viability and economic contribution of the R&D project. Further consideration will be given to companies that promote sustainable and competitive Bumiputera participation. 5. Manufacturing Licences New manufacturing licences will only be issued after over-capacity in the domestic automotive sector is resolved. In the meantime, vehicle assemblers will not be allowed to use or make available their existing excess capacity to third parties to assemble new makes or models that compete directly with those produced by national car manufacturers.
Where an increase in production capacity is required, companies in the high-volume and middle-volume segments will be encouraged to use existing excess capacity. New assembly facilities will only be allowed on a strictly case-by-case basis. 6. Approved Permits The current system of Approved Permits (APs), primarily used as a monitoring and data collection measure, will be phased out by 31 December 2010.
In the interim, APs will be made available based on economic contribution. Priority will be given to vehicle assemblers that have committed to a significant increase in production volume (with significant exports) in a particular model and require APs to import models that complete their product range for the Malaysian market. APs will be made available for a limited number of vehicles not assembled in Malaysia in order to ensure a sufficient choice of products for Malaysian consumers.
The importation of second hand cars (other than individual personal imports) will be progressively phased out culminating in a total ban in 2010, in order to stimulate demand for locally manufactured and assembled vehicles.
The Government will encourage and support companies currently awarded open APs (PEKEMA members) to transition into other related business activities e.g. sales and distribution or component manufacturers/vendors. 7. Vehicle Type Approval Vehicle Type Approval (VTA) processes and procedures will be implemented comprehensively, in order to prevent the import and sale of sub-standard vehicles. The VTA process will ensure strict compliance with roadworthiness, safety and emissions standards. The VTA process will be implemented by the Road Transport Department (RTD) and other relevant agencies.
E. CONCLUSION
As a result of the implementation of these policy measures, the Government expects to see an industry with two strong national vehicle manufacturers, complemented by a number of foreign vehicle manufacturers (potentially with local joint-venture partners) who will upscale their assembly operations and at the same time rationalise the models assembled, to drive sustainable industry linkage.
Consequently, the components sector will also become more viable – there will be fewer companies (as incumbents merge), but their volumes will be higher and more networked into the global automotive industry. Gradual liberalisation will lead to reduced scope for importers, but genuine distributors will benefit from the increased sales volumes.
The NAP aims to provide a clear and transparent direction for all industry participants to enable them to make the optimal plans and investment decisions for the future.
Going forward, any Government policies and measures introduced for the domestic automotive sector will be based on this NAP. The NAP will be a long term policy base for the domestic automotive sector subject to reviews and refinement dictated by the global automotive industry environment.
The Government believes that this NAP will be a key measure towards driving the transformation of the domestic automotive sector to one that is viable, competitive and resilient, for the benefit of industry participants, consumers and the Malaysian economy.
NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE POLICY
A. INTRODUCTION
Since the establishment of Proton in 1985, Malaysia has succeeded in developing integrated capabilities in the automotive industry, which include local design and styling capability, full scale manufacturing operations and extensive local participation in the supply of components. Today, Malaysia is ASEAN’s largest passenger vehicle market with more than 500,000 vehicles sold annually with 90% of that manufactured or assembled domestically.
Nevertheless, much of the country’s success in developing the domestic automotive industry has been facilitated by policies that have promoted local vehicle manufacturers and moving forward, global and domestic challenges put the sustainability of this industry at risk.
The global industry is seeing slow growth, value destruction and massive rationalisation, driving vehicle manufacturers to merge to achieve even higher levels of scale. Recognising this global environment, the National Automotive Policy (NAP) seeks to address the manifold issues and challenges and transform the domestic automotive sector to become a more viable, competitive and significant contributor to the economy.
Moving forward, Government policy and support will be focused towards automotive industry participants providing sustainable economic contribution. The key drivers for such contribution will be economic scale, industry linkage and competitive value added activities.
B. OBJECTIVES OF THE NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE POLICY
The overall objective of the NAP is generating sustainable economic value creation. This will maximise the long term contribution of the automotive sector to the national economy and at the same time ultimately benefit the Malaysian consumer. The need to create economic value entails that the industry will continue to require supportive Government policies in order to become fully competitive internationally.
The NAP therefore aims to facilitate the required transformation and optimal integration of the national industry into regional and global industry networks. The urgency of the transformation is driven by an increasingly liberalised and competitive global environment. Consequently, the Government has set out the following objectives for the national automotive sector:
* To promote a competitive and viable domestic automotive sector, in particular the national car manufacturers * To promote Malaysia as an automotive regional hub, focusing on niche areas * To promote a sustainable level of economic value added and enhance domestic capabilities * To promote a higher level of exports of vehicles as well as components and parts that are competitive in the global markets * To promote competitive and broad based Bumiputera participation in the domestic automotive sector * To safeguard the interests of consumers in terms of value for money, safety and quality of products and services
C. POLICY THRUSTS OF THE NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE POLICY
1. Provide Government support and incentives based on sustainable economic contribution The Government will continue to nurture and support the development of the domestic automotive sector via a comprehensive package of grants and incentives. Such Government support and incentives will be aimed at optimising sustainable economic contribution, namely the scale of operations, extent of industry linkages, and the development of local and Bumiputera capabilities.
A sustainable level of economic contribution must ultimately relate to the type and level of value added activities, which will be competitive for the domestic market and for export in a fully liberalised environment. Thus, it would not be consistent with this policy to seek to maintain a level of value added activities which will not be viable and sustainable in the long run.
The level of support will also be correlated to the level of economic contribution and value add. In this context, a large scale manufacturing concern with exports and high industry linkage will be favoured relative to a pure assembly operation with little value added activities. Similarly, greater emphasis will be given to sales, distribution and after sales activities compared to pure importation of vehicles.
Support for manufacturing will come principally in the form of access to the Industrial Adjustment Fund and research & development (R&D) grants. These grants and incentives will be given based on pre-agreed conditions and timely achievement of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). 2. Increase scale via rationalisation to enhance competitiveness For the industry at large, all participants across the value chain will be encouraged to focus on achieving a scale of operations that ensures their enduring competitive viability.
The Government will encourage rationalisation initiatives in the domestic automotive sector, in order to create a leaner and more sustainable industry structure. A leaner industry structure throughout the value chain will enable industry participants to achieve a sufficient level of scale to be competitive.
In this respect, the Government will promote, through grants and incentives, two national manufacturers in the high-volume car segment to ensure sufficient scale and industry linkage. To enable achievement of required scale and industry linkage, these national manufacturers must be able to rationalise their models and platforms portfolio.
The rationalisation at the vehicle manufacturers’ level will consequently enable rationalisation of the component sector that will lead to greater scale, skills and improved quality. The end result will be a smaller number of vendors, all of whom will be operating at a scale, cost and quality level that will allow them to remain competitive and be able to export. 3. Promote strategic linkages with international partners Scale and focus are necessary to achieve greater competitiveness but in themselves, they are not sufficient. In addition, global best practices and industry linkage are other important key success factors for the automotive industry. Therefore, the Government will continue to encourage industry participants to collaborate with external parties to establish strategic tie-ups. Apart from sharing scale and resources, such strategic tie-ups open up opportunities and provide access for domestic industry participants to enter the global automotive supply chain and vice versa. Moreover, such strategic tie-ups also compel domestic industry participants to adopt best practice management, processes and procedures to deliver on higher quality standards that are necessary in accessing international markets. 4. Become a regional hub focusing on niche areas and complementary activities The Government aims to position Malaysia as a regional manufacturing and assembly hub by encouraging existing participants to deepen their commitment in Malaysia. The Government will encourage existing vehicle manufacturers to rationalise the models assembled in Malaysia, scale up focused production and deepen industry linkage, in order to export competitively. It is expected that they will not primarily compete with high-volume national manufacturers in terms of pricing or target market.
The expansion of these participants and the deepening of industry linkages will also lead to greater scale and improved quality of the industry’s component vendor sector, thereby improving overall viability of the industry.
D. SPECIFIC POLICY INSTRUMENTS
1. Excise Duty Structure The excise duty structure has been streamlined resulting in an overall reduction in the effective tax rate on most motor vehicles and a reduction in the tax differential between the different categories of motor vehicles (e.g. cars, MPVs, 4WD and between the different engine capacities). It is intended that the streamlining of the tax structure will promote greater transparency in pricing. 2. Gazetted Values of Imported Cars To further promote greater transparency, the Government will gazette the values of imported cars for the purposes of duty computation. With the cooperation of the industry and the general public, it is expected that the incidence of tax underdeclaration will be significantly addressed. At the same time, the Government will step up enforcement measures against tax underdeclaration. 3. ASEAN CEPT Import Duty To promote greater integration with the ASEAN automotive industry, Malaysia will reduce the ASEAN CEPT import duty to 5% for qualifying vehicles. While this will expose the domestic industry to greater competition, it is consistent with the policy thrust for rationalisation of models and increasing scale through exports. 4. Industrial Adjustment Fund Grants from the Industrial Adjustment Fund will be made available to all companies – be they local, foreign or joint ventures – that create significant economic contribution.
These grants will be awarded based on two main criteria: scale and industry linkage subject to a sustainable level of overall capacity. Grants will be given on a model-by-model basis, subject to minimum threshold levels on both the scale and industry linkage criteria.
Specific R&D grants will also be made available, based on the viability and economic contribution of the R&D project. Further consideration will be given to companies that promote sustainable and competitive Bumiputera participation. 5. Manufacturing Licences New manufacturing licences will only be issued after over-capacity in the domestic automotive sector is resolved. In the meantime, vehicle assemblers will not be allowed to use or make available their existing excess capacity to third parties to assemble new makes or models that compete directly with those produced by national car manufacturers.
Where an increase in production capacity is required, companies in the high-volume and middle-volume segments will be encouraged to use existing excess capacity. New assembly facilities will only be allowed on a strictly case-by-case basis. 6. Approved Permits The current system of Approved Permits (APs), primarily used as a monitoring and data collection measure, will be phased out by 31 December 2010.
In the interim, APs will be made available based on economic contribution. Priority will be given to vehicle assemblers that have committed to a significant increase in production volume (with significant exports) in a particular model and require APs to import models that complete their product range for the Malaysian market. APs will be made available for a limited number of vehicles not assembled in Malaysia in order to ensure a sufficient choice of products for Malaysian consumers.
The importation of second hand cars (other than individual personal imports) will be progressively phased out culminating in a total ban in 2010, in order to stimulate demand for locally manufactured and assembled vehicles.
The Government will encourage and support companies currently awarded open APs (PEKEMA members) to transition into other related business activities e.g. sales and distribution or component manufacturers/vendors. 7. Vehicle Type Approval Vehicle Type Approval (VTA) processes and procedures will be implemented comprehensively, in order to prevent the import and sale of sub-standard vehicles. The VTA process will ensure strict compliance with roadworthiness, safety and emissions standards. The VTA process will be implemented by the Road Transport Department (RTD) and other relevant agencies.
E. CONCLUSION
As a result of the implementation of these policy measures, the Government expects to see an industry with two strong national vehicle manufacturers, complemented by a number of foreign vehicle manufacturers (potentially with local joint-venture partners) who will upscale their assembly operations and at the same time rationalise the models assembled, to drive sustainable industry linkage.
Consequently, the components sector will also become more viable – there will be fewer companies (as incumbents merge), but their volumes will be higher and more networked into the global automotive industry. Gradual liberalisation will lead to reduced scope for importers, but genuine distributors will benefit from the increased sales volumes.
The NAP aims to provide a clear and transparent direction for all industry participants to enable them to make the optimal plans and investment decisions for the future.
Going forward, any Government policies and measures introduced for the domestic automotive sector will be based on this NAP. The NAP will be a long term policy base for the domestic automotive sector subject to reviews and refinement dictated by the global automotive industry environment.
The Government believes that this NAP will be a key measure towards driving the transformation of the domestic automotive sector to one that is viable, competitive and resilient, for the benefit of industry participants, consumers and the Malaysian economy.
Wednesday, 22 March 2006
Management : *8 Monkeys
Kategori:
Lawak
I do not know whether this article is tru or not, but it is very interesting to read. :)
Management : *8 Monkeys(This is based on an actual experiment conducted in U.K.)
Put eight monkeys in a room. In the middle of the room is a ladder,leading to a bunch of bananas hanging from a hook on the ceiling. Each time a monkey tries to climb the ladder, all the monkeys are sprayed with ice water, which makes them miserable. Soon enough, whenever a monkey attempts to climb the ladder, all of the other monkeys, not wanting to be sprayed, set upon him and beat him up. Soon, none of the eight monkeys ever attempts to climb the ladder.
One of the original monkeys is then removed, and a new monkey is put in the room. Seeing the bananas and the ladder, he wonders why none of the other monkeys are doing obvious. But undaunted, he immediately begins to climb the ladder. All the other monkeys fall upon him and beat him silly. He has no idea why.
However, he no longer attempts to climb the ladder. A second original monkey is removed and replaced. The newcomer again attempts to climb the ladder, but all the other monkeys hammer the crap out of him. This includes the previous new monkey, who, grateful that he's not on the receiving end this time, participates in the beating because all the other monkeys are doing it. However, he has no idea why he's attacking the new monkey.
One by one, all the original monkeys are replaced. Eight new monkeys are now in the room. None of them have ever been sprayed by ice water. None of them attempt to climb the ladder. All of them will enthusiastically beat up any new monkey who tries, without having any idea why.
This is how any company's policies get Established.
Management : *8 Monkeys(This is based on an actual experiment conducted in U.K.)
Put eight monkeys in a room. In the middle of the room is a ladder,leading to a bunch of bananas hanging from a hook on the ceiling. Each time a monkey tries to climb the ladder, all the monkeys are sprayed with ice water, which makes them miserable. Soon enough, whenever a monkey attempts to climb the ladder, all of the other monkeys, not wanting to be sprayed, set upon him and beat him up. Soon, none of the eight monkeys ever attempts to climb the ladder.
One of the original monkeys is then removed, and a new monkey is put in the room. Seeing the bananas and the ladder, he wonders why none of the other monkeys are doing obvious. But undaunted, he immediately begins to climb the ladder. All the other monkeys fall upon him and beat him silly. He has no idea why.
However, he no longer attempts to climb the ladder. A second original monkey is removed and replaced. The newcomer again attempts to climb the ladder, but all the other monkeys hammer the crap out of him. This includes the previous new monkey, who, grateful that he's not on the receiving end this time, participates in the beating because all the other monkeys are doing it. However, he has no idea why he's attacking the new monkey.
One by one, all the original monkeys are replaced. Eight new monkeys are now in the room. None of them have ever been sprayed by ice water. None of them attempt to climb the ladder. All of them will enthusiastically beat up any new monkey who tries, without having any idea why.
This is how any company's policies get Established.
Tuesday, 21 March 2006
DVD Player : Pioneer Vs. Samsung
Kategori:
Duniaku,
Ulasan Berita
About my old post here http://sekoyenworld.blogspot.com/2005/11/finally-sony-has-arrived.html I mentioned to buy a new DVD player.
My choices are Pioneer 383/686 and Samsung HD850. Actually, I changed to Pioneer 585k because it has karaoke function.
Pioneer DV-585K-S
Price : RM 380
Advanced DVD player with DivX® video playback and karaoke function.
An advanced DVD player featuring karaoke, high-resolution pictures, and a wide range of compatible formats-including DivX® video
Features
108MHz/12-bit D/A converter
DivX® video playback
Video Adjust function with Sharpness/Brightness/Contrast/Gamma/Hue/Chroma Level control
PhotoViewer (JPEG playback**)
Audio Features
192kHz/24-bit D/A converter
WMA/MP3 playback
Sound Equalizer (Rock/Pop/Live/Dance/Techno/Classic/Soft)
Virtual Surround
Karaoke functions with Mic Echo and Digital Key Control
The Second Choice is Samsung HD850
Price: RM 580
Features
720p / 1080i Up-Conversion
HDMI™ Output
Multi Progressive Scan (PAL/NTSC)
192KHz / 24bit Audio DAC
DVD / CD / MP3 / WMA / JPEG Playback
Digital Audio Output (Optical / Coaxial)
I am more bias towards Pioneer because of it's karaoke function. So I bought it from an electronic shop infront of Giant Plentong, JB. Take it home.( Yeah, I forgot to test it first! Because I am so excited) At home, I am so angry when it cannot play the DVD at all. On the screen there are options to select region 1,2,3,4,5,6.. but unfortunately pressing the remote have no effect. it hung there.
I sent the one day DVD player to Pioneer service center and they solved it in 10 minutes. So I brought it home again. Want to watch Lord of the Ring, but.... after 10 minutes watching, the DVD player restart itself. Then it cannot play the movie properly but retstart itself in one or two minutes.
The next day, I went to the shop again and tell them the problem. They agree to replace it to other model because the 585 is out of stock. So I chosed the Samsung HD850 and add RM200. Test it and after I satisfied, I went home.
The story happened on last December 2005. And until now I am still using the HD850 without a single problem... but no karaoke function :(
Overall, I am very satisfied with Samsung HD850 because the built quality is 10 times better than the Pioneer, off course, the price is almost double.. It also support 720p/1080i up conversion which my new Sony HDTV also support it. So this model is so right for my TV. But the Pioneer have more functions in contolling the video and audio.
This is how I change the display setting of HD850 to use 1080i. Insert a DVD, do not play it yet. Press Video Sel (Video Select) button on the remote. Press once, will change the display to Composite(S-Video), you should select this if you are using the S-Video cable. The display will turn red if the S-Video port is not connected. Another Video Sel press on the remote will change the display to Component(I-Scan). The third time will change the TV display to HDMI/Component(P-Scan). Only in this display mode you could change the display to 468P, 720P, 768P and 1080i by pressing the HDMI Sel (HDMI Select) . I found, watching The Lord of The Ring with 1080i is a marvellous experience. The picture is so sharp, detail and live. However, your TV must support the resolution. My Sony DB29M61 HDTV have no problem with it.
Hopefully, in the next firmware upgrade, the player will be able to read WMV format file and able to have subtitle when play DIVX file. Currently, HD850 able to play DIVX (avi) file, MPG, MP3, WMA. I heard some fellas could play the subtitle in SRT format, I have try to search everywhere and could not find the correct way to do that. The manual do not cover the subject in details. It only tell the player able to read DIVX files :(
My choices are Pioneer 383/686 and Samsung HD850. Actually, I changed to Pioneer 585k because it has karaoke function.
Pioneer DV-585K-S
Price : RM 380
Advanced DVD player with DivX® video playback and karaoke function.
An advanced DVD player featuring karaoke, high-resolution pictures, and a wide range of compatible formats-including DivX® video
Features
108MHz/12-bit D/A converter
DivX® video playback
Video Adjust function with Sharpness/Brightness/Contrast/Gamma/Hue/Chroma Level control
PhotoViewer (JPEG playback**)
Audio Features
192kHz/24-bit D/A converter
WMA/MP3 playback
Sound Equalizer (Rock/Pop/Live/Dance/Techno/Classic/Soft)
Virtual Surround
Karaoke functions with Mic Echo and Digital Key Control
The Second Choice is Samsung HD850
Price: RM 580
Features
720p / 1080i Up-Conversion
HDMI™ Output
Multi Progressive Scan (PAL/NTSC)
192KHz / 24bit Audio DAC
DVD / CD / MP3 / WMA / JPEG Playback
Digital Audio Output (Optical / Coaxial)
I am more bias towards Pioneer because of it's karaoke function. So I bought it from an electronic shop infront of Giant Plentong, JB. Take it home.( Yeah, I forgot to test it first! Because I am so excited) At home, I am so angry when it cannot play the DVD at all. On the screen there are options to select region 1,2,3,4,5,6.. but unfortunately pressing the remote have no effect. it hung there.
I sent the one day DVD player to Pioneer service center and they solved it in 10 minutes. So I brought it home again. Want to watch Lord of the Ring, but.... after 10 minutes watching, the DVD player restart itself. Then it cannot play the movie properly but retstart itself in one or two minutes.
The next day, I went to the shop again and tell them the problem. They agree to replace it to other model because the 585 is out of stock. So I chosed the Samsung HD850 and add RM200. Test it and after I satisfied, I went home.
The story happened on last December 2005. And until now I am still using the HD850 without a single problem... but no karaoke function :(
Overall, I am very satisfied with Samsung HD850 because the built quality is 10 times better than the Pioneer, off course, the price is almost double.. It also support 720p/1080i up conversion which my new Sony HDTV also support it. So this model is so right for my TV. But the Pioneer have more functions in contolling the video and audio.
This is how I change the display setting of HD850 to use 1080i. Insert a DVD, do not play it yet. Press Video Sel (Video Select) button on the remote. Press once, will change the display to Composite(S-Video), you should select this if you are using the S-Video cable. The display will turn red if the S-Video port is not connected. Another Video Sel press on the remote will change the display to Component(I-Scan). The third time will change the TV display to HDMI/Component(P-Scan). Only in this display mode you could change the display to 468P, 720P, 768P and 1080i by pressing the HDMI Sel (HDMI Select) . I found, watching The Lord of The Ring with 1080i is a marvellous experience. The picture is so sharp, detail and live. However, your TV must support the resolution. My Sony DB29M61 HDTV have no problem with it.
Hopefully, in the next firmware upgrade, the player will be able to read WMV format file and able to have subtitle when play DIVX file. Currently, HD850 able to play DIVX (avi) file, MPG, MP3, WMA. I heard some fellas could play the subtitle in SRT format, I have try to search everywhere and could not find the correct way to do that. The manual do not cover the subject in details. It only tell the player able to read DIVX files :(
High Cost : Life as a Malaysian
Kategori:
Pengetahuan Am
I got this from email. So interesting....
Life as a Malaysian
The argument in this thread from day one is the cost of living in each country (especially UK and Europe) based on what you earn in the respective country and whether the standards are higher than in Malaysia.
I tried to point out that many Malaysians always convert and that is why they say the UK is expensive. In fact, the cost of living is much cheaper than in Malaysia.
In actual fact, Malaysians are being conned because for such a rich and resource rich country, the pay in Malaysia is way too low compared to the cost of living and inflation.
One good example is Singapore. Singaporeans (average) earns around S$3000 to S$4000 and nearly everything is half the price of Malaysia. E.g. Clothes, computer parts, electronics etc. But the average Malaysian still earns M$2000 plusand goods are double the price of Singapore.
This is the same as the UK. If you earn around 2000 pounds, you can liken this to the person earning RM$2000 in Malaysia. I give you some examples below. Maybe you can understand.
1) Good terrace house It is more or less the same. If you want a house in KL, it would most probably be in Puchong and not Damansara Heights. So your house would be RM$200,000. In UK, you can get a decent new house in Zone 6 (still within the tube) for 200,000 pounds.
If non London, you can get a nice house also for less than 200,000 pounds outside London. The same also applies to buying a house in Seremban, Kajang etc. You can buy a nice house for RM200,000 below.
So buying a house is the same for the local and the Malaysian.
Renting a place is the same too or maybe cheaper than in Malaysia (I am Not sure of this). A 2-bedroom flat in London is about 750 pounds (Zone 2). 500 pounds outside Zone 6 but still able to commute to London. A 2- bedroom house in Nottingham is 450 to 500 pounds. A 3-bedroom house in Belfast is about 300 pounds.
2) A car A good Wira is RM$55,000. Most Malaysians have to take 7-year loans and be in debt all the time. If you are earning RM$2000 a month, you take nearly 3 years saving the RM$2000 with not eating at all just to buy a Wira.
In UK, the average local earns about 2000 pounds. He saves 3 months, he can buy outright a good Ford Fiesta or a Vauxhall Corsa without being in debt.
If buying a second hand car, even better. A 1990 Mercedes 190E cost 500 pounds. My 1996 Mercedes E220 cost 2000 pounds. My friend just gave me his 1989 Honda Accord (Auto) for free because he said he could only get 30 pounds for it.
I used it for a few months and decided to give it of for free too. That alone speaks for itself.
Even if you are kuli or an office boy, you still can drive a Mercedes or a BM. Yes, kuli's and office boy's get paid quite well.
Average temp/office boy in London can earn about 7 to 10 pounds and hour. Overtime is 1.5 times or double. A brick-layer can earn 20 pounds an hour.The same Indon who lays bricks in Malaysia earns RM$50 for the whole day.
Before I became a doctor, I used to be an office boy and I earned near 300 pounds a week working about 70 hours a week. My makan was 30 pounds a week. My rent was 70 pounds a week for a room but I still drove a BMW back then. I bought the 10-year old BMW 3 Series car for 200 pounds. Amazing how an office boy can drive a safe and luxurious car.
3) Petrol. For a UK person earning 2000 pounds, 80 pence a litre/gallon is cheaper than RM$1.37 paid in Malaysia. If you don't convert, it is like paying 80 sen a litre in Malaysia
4) Shopping 20 pounds (which is 1% of 2000 pounds) can buy you 1 week's worth of groceries in Tesco. RM$100 (which is 10% of RM$2000) can also buy you 1 week's worth of groceries in Giant or Carrefour.
5) Utility Bills (This is what I pay in UK) 1. Virtually non-stop heating the whole day only 20 pounds a month. (Only 1% of the 2000 pounds earned) 2. Electricity, I use my electricity maximum only 20 pounds a month. (Only 1% of the 2000 pounds earned) 3. My water bill also comes to about 20 pounds a month (Only 1% of the 2000 pounds earned) 4. My Internet ? I get 2Mbps for about 25 pounds (Bulldog DSL) (Also slightly above 1% of the 2000 pounds earned) 5. Astro Equivalent (NTL cable or Sky) ? 30 pounds per month (Also slightly above 1% of the 2000 pounds earned) In Malaysia, this is what I used to pay 1. Tenaga Bill comes to RM$200 to RM300 a month with 3 air-cons. This is more than 10% of the RM$2000 earned) 2. Water (Puas) comes to RM$40 (This is about 2% of the RM$2000 earned) 3. Astro RM$100 (if you take Chinese package) (This is about 5% of the RM$2000 you earn) 4. Internet Streamyx 512K RM 88 per month (This is about 5% of RM2000 you earn)
6) Books A good book is about 10 to 15 pounds in the UK. This is less than 1% of The 2000 pounds you earn. In Malaysia, you have to spend RM$75 to RM$100 for a decent book in MPH or Kinokuniya in KLCC. This is about 5% of the RM$2000 ringgit you earn.
7) Education. I think it is about RM$20,000 per year to do a degree in Sunway Monash and> about RM$12,000 per year to send your kid to UM, UKM, USM etc. I am not sure about this.
But in UK, it is only 3000 pounds a year to send your kid to a great university. That also, the white man still makes a lot of noise because The grants were taken away. Previously, it was virtually free for the English man to send his kid to university but now, since the grant was taken away, he has to spend 3000 pounds per year to send his kid to university and less money to get drunk in the pub.
Well, if you are earning RM$2000 ringgit, sending your kid to UM to study is quite difficult. If you are earning 2000 pounds per month, you can easily send you kid to university in the UK.
Even worse for the poor non bumi's not given a place in local university. Even if they can afford, they won't get a place because of the quota system. Unfortunately, the Chinaman and the Indian who gets 5A's in STPM have to be sacrificed and not given a place to let the Malay fellow with 2E's and 3 Fail's to enter the Medical Faculty or Law Faculty.
So the non-bumi's have to save RM100,000 per year to send their kid to the UK. In the UK, at least the white man still can go into university based on results and merit and only pay 3000 pounds per year.
7) Luxuries Panasonic Plasma TV in Malaysia about RM20,000. If you are earning RM$2000 a month, memang mahal! You have to save 2 years your monthly salary to buy it. In UK, the same Panasonic ironically, Panasonic plasma is made in Japan and Japan is close to Malaysia, so the plasma should be cheaper in Malaysia) is only 2000 pounds. And this is only 10% of the 2000 pounds earned.
8) Health NHS is free. Though the service is slow, quality is still there. You still can get a top quality by-pass for free although you may have to wait many months. In Malaysia, IJN charges RM$30,000. SJMC charges RM$50,000. GH is free but as many people know, GH and UH have clown doctors. For example doctors who wear tudung and use a pen to touch the patient because scared dosa).
9. Assessments to local councils I may pay high council tax but at least my council assures my streets are clean and safe, got no holes (pot holes) on my roads, and they jump and attend to me whenever I call them. When I stayed in Malaysia, I paid my assessment and quite rent but MPSJ (I lived in Subang) told me to "podah" whenever I asked them to come and fill up the pot holes, cut the long lalang, put street lighting etc. The councils, especially MPPJ and MPSJ, were more interested in eating Nasi lemak and going for 10 teh tariks in a day during office hours and hardly did anything for their residents.
10. Income Tax My national insurance and income tax also is not wasted. When I was unemployed in 1997, the government via social security paid for my 2- bedroom flat for one whole year and I was given about 100 pounds per week for me and my wife to live on. I am happy to know that one day if I lose My job, I can still claim social security and get my apartment paid and food to eat again for free. It is a good security to know.
Jonathan, the list goes on. Here alone you can see, the sterling you earn goes a long way in the UK. So your quality of life is far better in the UK than a Malaysian in Malaysia. It is just that Malaysians are just too content with what they have. But you compare apple for apple.
The British just love to complain. They have it made but still they love To complain. Nothing is good enough for the British. The government gives the citizens so much but they still seem to want more and more."
Thank you Jeff. Regards
Dr Zain Azrai London
Life as a Malaysian
The argument in this thread from day one is the cost of living in each country (especially UK and Europe) based on what you earn in the respective country and whether the standards are higher than in Malaysia.
I tried to point out that many Malaysians always convert and that is why they say the UK is expensive. In fact, the cost of living is much cheaper than in Malaysia.
In actual fact, Malaysians are being conned because for such a rich and resource rich country, the pay in Malaysia is way too low compared to the cost of living and inflation.
One good example is Singapore. Singaporeans (average) earns around S$3000 to S$4000 and nearly everything is half the price of Malaysia. E.g. Clothes, computer parts, electronics etc. But the average Malaysian still earns M$2000 plusand goods are double the price of Singapore.
This is the same as the UK. If you earn around 2000 pounds, you can liken this to the person earning RM$2000 in Malaysia. I give you some examples below. Maybe you can understand.
1) Good terrace house It is more or less the same. If you want a house in KL, it would most probably be in Puchong and not Damansara Heights. So your house would be RM$200,000. In UK, you can get a decent new house in Zone 6 (still within the tube) for 200,000 pounds.
If non London, you can get a nice house also for less than 200,000 pounds outside London. The same also applies to buying a house in Seremban, Kajang etc. You can buy a nice house for RM200,000 below.
So buying a house is the same for the local and the Malaysian.
Renting a place is the same too or maybe cheaper than in Malaysia (I am Not sure of this). A 2-bedroom flat in London is about 750 pounds (Zone 2). 500 pounds outside Zone 6 but still able to commute to London. A 2- bedroom house in Nottingham is 450 to 500 pounds. A 3-bedroom house in Belfast is about 300 pounds.
2) A car A good Wira is RM$55,000. Most Malaysians have to take 7-year loans and be in debt all the time. If you are earning RM$2000 a month, you take nearly 3 years saving the RM$2000 with not eating at all just to buy a Wira.
In UK, the average local earns about 2000 pounds. He saves 3 months, he can buy outright a good Ford Fiesta or a Vauxhall Corsa without being in debt.
If buying a second hand car, even better. A 1990 Mercedes 190E cost 500 pounds. My 1996 Mercedes E220 cost 2000 pounds. My friend just gave me his 1989 Honda Accord (Auto) for free because he said he could only get 30 pounds for it.
I used it for a few months and decided to give it of for free too. That alone speaks for itself.
Even if you are kuli or an office boy, you still can drive a Mercedes or a BM. Yes, kuli's and office boy's get paid quite well.
Average temp/office boy in London can earn about 7 to 10 pounds and hour. Overtime is 1.5 times or double. A brick-layer can earn 20 pounds an hour.The same Indon who lays bricks in Malaysia earns RM$50 for the whole day.
Before I became a doctor, I used to be an office boy and I earned near 300 pounds a week working about 70 hours a week. My makan was 30 pounds a week. My rent was 70 pounds a week for a room but I still drove a BMW back then. I bought the 10-year old BMW 3 Series car for 200 pounds. Amazing how an office boy can drive a safe and luxurious car.
3) Petrol. For a UK person earning 2000 pounds, 80 pence a litre/gallon is cheaper than RM$1.37 paid in Malaysia. If you don't convert, it is like paying 80 sen a litre in Malaysia
4) Shopping 20 pounds (which is 1% of 2000 pounds) can buy you 1 week's worth of groceries in Tesco. RM$100 (which is 10% of RM$2000) can also buy you 1 week's worth of groceries in Giant or Carrefour.
5) Utility Bills (This is what I pay in UK) 1. Virtually non-stop heating the whole day only 20 pounds a month. (Only 1% of the 2000 pounds earned) 2. Electricity, I use my electricity maximum only 20 pounds a month. (Only 1% of the 2000 pounds earned) 3. My water bill also comes to about 20 pounds a month (Only 1% of the 2000 pounds earned) 4. My Internet ? I get 2Mbps for about 25 pounds (Bulldog DSL) (Also slightly above 1% of the 2000 pounds earned) 5. Astro Equivalent (NTL cable or Sky) ? 30 pounds per month (Also slightly above 1% of the 2000 pounds earned) In Malaysia, this is what I used to pay 1. Tenaga Bill comes to RM$200 to RM300 a month with 3 air-cons. This is more than 10% of the RM$2000 earned) 2. Water (Puas) comes to RM$40 (This is about 2% of the RM$2000 earned) 3. Astro RM$100 (if you take Chinese package) (This is about 5% of the RM$2000 you earn) 4. Internet Streamyx 512K RM 88 per month (This is about 5% of RM2000 you earn)
6) Books A good book is about 10 to 15 pounds in the UK. This is less than 1% of The 2000 pounds you earn. In Malaysia, you have to spend RM$75 to RM$100 for a decent book in MPH or Kinokuniya in KLCC. This is about 5% of the RM$2000 ringgit you earn.
7) Education. I think it is about RM$20,000 per year to do a degree in Sunway Monash and> about RM$12,000 per year to send your kid to UM, UKM, USM etc. I am not sure about this.
But in UK, it is only 3000 pounds a year to send your kid to a great university. That also, the white man still makes a lot of noise because The grants were taken away. Previously, it was virtually free for the English man to send his kid to university but now, since the grant was taken away, he has to spend 3000 pounds per year to send his kid to university and less money to get drunk in the pub.
Well, if you are earning RM$2000 ringgit, sending your kid to UM to study is quite difficult. If you are earning 2000 pounds per month, you can easily send you kid to university in the UK.
Even worse for the poor non bumi's not given a place in local university. Even if they can afford, they won't get a place because of the quota system. Unfortunately, the Chinaman and the Indian who gets 5A's in STPM have to be sacrificed and not given a place to let the Malay fellow with 2E's and 3 Fail's to enter the Medical Faculty or Law Faculty.
So the non-bumi's have to save RM100,000 per year to send their kid to the UK. In the UK, at least the white man still can go into university based on results and merit and only pay 3000 pounds per year.
7) Luxuries Panasonic Plasma TV in Malaysia about RM20,000. If you are earning RM$2000 a month, memang mahal! You have to save 2 years your monthly salary to buy it. In UK, the same Panasonic ironically, Panasonic plasma is made in Japan and Japan is close to Malaysia, so the plasma should be cheaper in Malaysia) is only 2000 pounds. And this is only 10% of the 2000 pounds earned.
8) Health NHS is free. Though the service is slow, quality is still there. You still can get a top quality by-pass for free although you may have to wait many months. In Malaysia, IJN charges RM$30,000. SJMC charges RM$50,000. GH is free but as many people know, GH and UH have clown doctors. For example doctors who wear tudung and use a pen to touch the patient because scared dosa).
9. Assessments to local councils I may pay high council tax but at least my council assures my streets are clean and safe, got no holes (pot holes) on my roads, and they jump and attend to me whenever I call them. When I stayed in Malaysia, I paid my assessment and quite rent but MPSJ (I lived in Subang) told me to "podah" whenever I asked them to come and fill up the pot holes, cut the long lalang, put street lighting etc. The councils, especially MPPJ and MPSJ, were more interested in eating Nasi lemak and going for 10 teh tariks in a day during office hours and hardly did anything for their residents.
10. Income Tax My national insurance and income tax also is not wasted. When I was unemployed in 1997, the government via social security paid for my 2- bedroom flat for one whole year and I was given about 100 pounds per week for me and my wife to live on. I am happy to know that one day if I lose My job, I can still claim social security and get my apartment paid and food to eat again for free. It is a good security to know.
Jonathan, the list goes on. Here alone you can see, the sterling you earn goes a long way in the UK. So your quality of life is far better in the UK than a Malaysian in Malaysia. It is just that Malaysians are just too content with what they have. But you compare apple for apple.
The British just love to complain. They have it made but still they love To complain. Nothing is good enough for the British. The government gives the citizens so much but they still seem to want more and more."
Thank you Jeff. Regards
Dr Zain Azrai London
Saturday, 18 March 2006
Infection by Contact Lense Solution
Kategori:
Duniaku
Oh my God!! All these while I am using ReNu contact lense solution till now. I am not aware of what is going on about the solution produce by Bausch & Lomb. Bausch & Lomb also produce other solution such as Alcon and Complete. No wonder, when several days ago I asked at several shop, they have no stock for ReNu.
It is reported that the solution is one of the cause of fungal keratitis. The signs of keratitis which I found from here http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/k/keratitis/symptoms.htm are
- Red eye
- Eye inflammation
- Watering eye
- Severe eye pain
- Blurred vision
- Yellow eye discharge
- Light sensitivity
I do not know whether I am infected or not because I got some signs such as red eye, watering eye and light sensitivity.
Oh my God!! Oh my God!!
Some links:
1. Thestar.com.my- ReNu lens solution linked to infections.
2. JeffOoi- Eyecare scare: Bausch & Lomb defiant
3. Wikipedia- Keratitis.
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