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Teen Dies After Refusing To Let Go of iPad

May 23

“Never in my life would I imagine that buying my kid an iPad for his birthday would end up getting him run over,” the father said.

Now, I heard that iPad has become a yardstick for children to measure if “parents love them”. Wow was the expression astonishment that pop up in my mind when I heard this. The iPad is really get the influence in our kids world. In future, maybe there’s a kasta between kids who have iPad and kids who don’t. And it would be like earth-and-sky gap.

Things have been getting serious when the news broke, saying that a teenager was ran over by two criminals after he refused to let go of his iPad. Why the kid had chosen iPad over his life when something dangerous like this happened. Can I conclude that the iPad is more valuable than RM1499?

Kids. They don’t know they can die. They don’t know they’re vulnerable. They picture their life like Lego: Star Wars game (I mention this game because my kids love playing this on Wii). They thought themselves like Anakin Skywalker character, where you can jumps off the edge, facing death as they disappeared, off the screen and reappear again a few seconds later with a blinking form factor, full of health as he continued the journey.

Marcos Arenas’ death startled me with a serious thinking about educating my kids. This is how they must react when they are facing a dangerous moment: always choose life above all.

Friends, family remember teen killed over iPad via Fox5Vegas

Update: Two men have been arrested in the killing of a teenage boy over an iPad in Las Vegas

Accidentally Trapped Inside A Car: A Solution.

May 20

I’m still feeling sympathy with the unfortunate children being trapped inside a car. If it’s happened to my son or daughter, I simply lost my sanity to continue to be functional as a normal father, a husband, and may be even a responsible adult. May be get drunk every day, still couldn’t accept the fact my children gone in a bad tragedy.

Most of parent may be still remember or at least, have a glimpse of tradegic memory of a child that was accidentally locked in a school van. The weather in Malaysia is so hot: it’s like seven inches from the mid-day sun. You stand outside just for 5 minutes and you will be feeling nausea and headache. Eventually, the child died with severe major organs malfunctioned due to the overheated effect. Some expert claimed that the atmosphere inside the van itself had turned to — what we know infamously — a greenhouse effect.

Surprisingly, average death for being accidentally trapped in a car in USA, since 1998 is 38 children.

38 children,
38 endless tears,
38 nightmares,
every year,
for the last 15 years.

I felt sorry for them. And the thought of that statistics has been terrorizing my sleep for several days now.

It’s grateful to hear that students of John Hopkins University have come up with new invention to resolve this problem. With the idea of using Kinect sensor of X360, I hope this preventable death, like what Eileen McDonald said, will decrease or will not happen at all after this.

Here’s the idea of the well-derived technology:

The device uses an infrared camera and projector to sense the movements of a game player and incorporates these motions into what is happening on the video screen. The students thought the same technology could sense even the most subtle movements of a baby sleeping in a rear car seat.

Remembering the tragedy that had happened somewhere in Kuala Kubu Bharu, Selangor, I hope the government will implement mandatory policy to apply the sensor on every permitted school transportation to avoid any further.

Link : [ Video game device could help save children trapped in overheated cars | HUB ]

Should I be worried about the iPad addiction?

May 03

Widad laid on her back and relax like she got insurmountable amount of money from somewhere, the bottle glued in her mouth while watching an iPad in one beautiful evening — it’s a mesmerizing moment and I admired the coolness of this shot above. But the news I’ve read startled me a little. Because my youngest one can’t hold off the iPad, even when she’s taking a poop. Should I be worried?

Young technology addicts experienced the same withdrawal symptoms as alcoholics or heroin addicts, when the devices were taken away.

Is it really that bad? I mean, heroin addicts? Maybe the doctor was a little bit exaggerated or may be he’s on weed he couldn’t think straight.

Christopher Peruzzi says that this situation cycles from the sixties, back when we — human — had the new technology then. We called it TV. He said, “Really? When you overstimulate someone with a highly addictive activity it can be habit forming? I wonder if they thought the same thing during the sixties and beyond when they left kids in front of televisions as an electronic babysitter. Sure, now they care.”

But I know and it’s a principle of life: Letting yourself doing a little too much over something might harm you. Too much watching TV, too much exercising, or too much in everything, and you might vomit rainbow.

[ Toddlers becoming so addicted to iPads they require therapy | The Telegraph ]

Thailand to draw out second phase One Tablet Per Child Project

May 03

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,” Nelson Mandela used to say. That’s superb and one of my neighbor nations has taken it deeply into their heart. I think I’m going to cry, though I didn’t know him but his words are awesome and arising.

To continue using technology as a leverage to make advance in youngster’s education, Thailand sets an electronic auction to make One Tablet Per Child project a reality. Guys, it’s worth 4.61 billion Thailand bath. It’s about RM 500 million if it’s round up.

Big Chinese players like Huawei, Haier, and ZTE have joined the bidding. And I’m wondering why our Malaysian government don’t take initiative like this?

[ 12 firms keen to join One Tablet bid | BangkokPost ]

Forbidden teacher-student relationship, bricked by iPhone tracking app

Apr 04

His dad is a tech savvy person. Well, the dad might have been sniffing something funny around his own son. He installed a tracking app on his son iPhone and found that his son was having an affair with the teacher.

Dickson was arrested March 20 and is expected to be charged with an improper relationship between an educator and a student and online solicitation of a minor. He was free Monday after posting $15,000 bail. Dickson could not be reached for comment.

-Domingo Ramirez Junior, Star Telegram

According to the articles, they were having a meet up in a church when the police came up with the warrant.

Beware, geek dads like us will dominate your world. Code up, kids. you may get scripted!

[Link: Affidavits describe Colleyville teacher's relationship with student]

Acid Rain due to Nuclear Leakage in Fukumi, Japan?

Mar 15

“A nuclear power plant in Fukumi, Japan exploded at 430am. If it rains tomorrow or later, don’t go outside. If you are outside, be sure that you have rain protectors. It’s acid rain. Don’t let it touch you. You may burn you skin, lose your hair or have cancer. Please paa, stay safe and remind everyone you know “

Have you received this kind of sms/email/massage about acid rain due to nuclear leakage in Japan?? I did received sms and emails. Don’t be overreact or over speculate the situation. Read reliable news like ChannelNewsAsia before come to the conclusion. This is also applicable to Malaysia as our location is next to Singapore.

Overrated or over speculation may cause people to panic, people tend to distresses. Sharing is good thing, but sharing uncertain news may cause things goes wrong.

Note : at 1st, I am the one who overreacted when received this sms/email and asked Mr Hubby to bring along his umbrella everyday to office. But it’s doesn’t make sense to him to do so, and he ask me to read this.. Yea, Yayang, Malaysia jauh from Japan, hujan acid tue singgah Korea or China jer.

The government use inflation as a lame excuse not to raise minimum wage

May 06

It’s time for government to define the new minimum wage as the consumer products are getting to soar, especially rice.

Inflation should not be used as the reason to deny workers a minimum wage of RM900 as the people are suffering, given their low purchasing power, said Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) president Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud.

The price has doubles these days compared to 20 years back. A kueh price at RM 0.20 in 1988, is RM 0.40 in 2008.

“Our concern is not whether the pay increases or decreases but the purchasing power. A person who earned RM800 some 20 years ago and a person who earns RM1,600 now has the same purchasing power,” he added. He said they were not just seeking a RM900 minimum wage across the board but also a RM300 living allowance for all workers and an amendment to the Industrial Relations Act, which he claims was unfair to workers.

What will happen if the wage increment approved? Will the inflation rise?

Link via the star

Technorati Tags: news, malaysia news, money

2008 Malaysian Economy News and Articles

Apr 17

Editor’s Note: This post is updated regularly
This post consists a collection of 2008 Malaysia economy news that have been separated accordingly by month. I regularly collect the news that focus on consumer items, inflation, the malaysian growth, and news that I think relevant. Resources that I usually visit are Utusan Malaysia online, The Star, Business Times, and News Straits Time. I decided to update this post regularly and put it on the sidebar.

2008 Malaysia Economy News
+January
Malaysia 2008 economy outlook.
20 companies to watch in Malaysia, Part 2
2008 CPI seen rising at minimum pace of 2.5pc. Full story
Fuel subsidy unsustainable
Inflation is top issues
Malaysia inflation rate stabilises in Jan
Rising price on productivity
STANDARD CHARTERED FORECAST ON INFLATION
Teh tarik and the inflation

+February
2008 richest man in malaysia, Read full story
Aiming for top 10 on World Bank list
Coping with higher cost of living
Funds in Malaysia post average 3.99% loss
Future shocks in the financial world
Malaysia to revise electricity tariffsMalaysians ate 964 tonnes of chicken in 2006
petronas CEO is 52nd
Pizza Hut, KFC may raise prices this year
Why he government shouldn't has to increase electricity tariff

+March
4 Malaysians in Forbes Asia
12 mega projects in IDR to kick off this year
Economy can weather downturn
Invest Malaysia - enlightening, albeit subduedis the worst over?, part 2, part 3.
Local banks unlikely to tighten credit
Malaysia to maintain fuel subsidies. Read Full Story
Malaysia to remain resilient
Nazir_Merger between CIMB and Maybank not on the table
No signs of delay in mega projects
REPORT_gdp growth at 5.8% by 2050

+April
Capital market will continue to expand
East Asia faces slower growth_world bank
No plans to increase price of local rice
water riddle, part 2, part 3.
Weakened Umno puts projects in jeopardy

If you have any link to economy news and articles that you would like contribute
on this page, please do not hesitate to put it in comment box or you could email
me: filtuse@yahoo.com.

Bank Negara projects 5-6pc growth this year

Apr 02

Bank Negara assumed 5-6% growth for the Malaysian economy despite US economy slowdown is severe. According to the statistic, Bank Negara expect the economy will follow the last year trend of 6.3%

”the Malaysian economy performed well amid similar global uncertainties last year. It remains resilient this year, supported by steady growth in income, firm labour market conditions, diversified exports, high commodity prices and a conducive financing environment.”

Malaysia government will be responded to the inflation’s forecast of 2.5%-3% in order to achieve greater efficiency. There will be adjustment in subsidies, although it should be done gradually, I think it is not appropriate to reduce the subsidies. There should be no reduction in subsidied!! The lower income group will be affected and get frustrated. They will not agree with the price increase in any consumer goods, the government should be aware of this matter seriously as they can’t survive without the government subsisdies.

””We have the capacity and the capability, with these measures at our disposal, to implement and support a steady growth path for our economy,” Zeti said, adding that the packages will be announced only when the need arises.”

What the government expectations in the growth of economy divided by sector.

Construction sector: 5.5%
agriculture: 3.4%;
Mining and quarrying: 6%;
Manufacturing: 1.8%.

Other government expectation;

FDI(foreign direct investment will continue its prosperity.
Islamic Bond Market or Sukuk will growth excitingly.

As at 2nd April 2008, the ringgit is RM3.19 to US$1.

Read the full story here.

Malaysia To Maintain Fuel Subsidy

Mar 18

This stunning news was really giving me a little shock for the first time. It’s not that I’m not happy to know that the government will not granted any increase on petrol price, but the statement that government made was really ignited my rage.

All these years, we have been told that Petronas and the government couldn’t give subsidies on petrol anymore because of the high price. It is said that they would gain losses if continue to contribute subsidies.

”Malaysia plans to maintain state subsidies despite record crude oil prices,
the country’s premier said on Friday, less than a week after leading his party
to the worst election disaster in its history.”

According this news, the petrol subsidies actually were influent by the politic environment, not by Petronas’ rising operation cost over 40 billion ringgit. The poor result of election recently paid them good lesson about ‘not to play fire with us (Malaysian people) or trying to manipulate us with your excuse, excuse, and excuses.

Read the full news: Malaysia to maintain fuel subsidies

Ringgit Paths to Heaven : 27 Feb 2008

Feb 27

These are the interesting links I found when I put keyword ‘recession’ in search engine:

++20 Recession-Proof ideas are the strategy on how to survive during recession.

++Diesel is hitting new records daily, and oil settled at a record high of $100.88 a barrel on Tuesday. Gas prices soar as dollar plummets.

++Recession proof you, recession proof your work, recession proof your family – 9 ways to recession-proof your life.

++freemoneyfinance.com showed his opinions on how to invest during recession.

++US President George W. Bush denied Tuesday that the US economy was in recession or would go into one despite a spate of downcast reports and gloomy indicators.

++Recession Bound? Fewer People Clicking on Google.

++The economic disaster that is military Keynesianism, Why the US has really gone broke

This post offers great and interesting links that converse about money, finance, and economy.

Funds in Malaysia post average 3.99% loss

Feb 26

Asian Investor – 19 Feb 2008

Lipper research shows equity funds have lost steam, leading last month’s worst performers. Mutual funds registered for sale in Malaysia posted an average loss of 3.99% in January, according to data from Lipper.

Equity funds, which were last year’s top performers, led the decline with an average loss of 6.47%. Funds that invest in Greater China and the Asia-Pacific region suffered the steepest losses.

Islamic sub-sector funds were down 2.83% on average, but managed to outperform the broader market. Money market funds held steady.

“Malaysia is increasingly being touted for its defensive qualities, but a slowing global economy and rising inflationary pressures remain risks,” says Singapore-based Kenneth Koh, head of research for Asia ex-Japan at Lipper, referring to sentiment for the local market.

The Malaysian bourse started the first trading month of 2008 on a rosy note, gaining nearly 5% at one stage to touch an all-time high of 1,524.69 points. A deteriorating US growth outlook and heavy selling pressure amid sliding global bourses eventually saw the benchmark KL Composite Index giving up all its gains and falling sharply to a low of 1,340.29 points last month. Bargain hunting and a technical rebound at the end of the month enabled the KL Composite Index to close the month with a relatively smaller decline of 3.58% at 1,393.25 points, outperforming most of the other markets in the region.

Average performance of fund groups registered for sale in Malaysia in January, by asset types:

Equity Funds -6.47%
Mixed-Asset Funds -3.70%
Guaranteed Funds -1.71%
Protected Funds -1.38%
Bond Funds -0.17%
Money Market Funds +0.21%

Top 5 fund sectors in terms of performance in January, with their average gain/loss:

Equity Sector Gold and Precious Metals +5.04%
Bond Global +0.83%
Money Market Malaysian ringgit +0.21%
Commodities +0.18%
Bond Malaysian ringgit -0.06%

Bottom 5 fund sectors in terms of performance in January, with their average loss:

Equity Greater China -16.44%
Equity Asia-Pacific -12.74%
Equity Sector Real Estate -10.56%
Equity Global -10.50%
Equity Asia-Pacific
Ex-Japan -10.26%

2008 Malaysia Consumer Price Index is rising at 2.5 %

Feb 20

According to Business Times, CPI or Consumer Price Index rose at 2.5%.

Consumer Price Index is an indicator of the rate of inflation in the economy because it measures changes in the cost of maintaining a particular standard of living.

Here are other important points I would like to indicate:

Food price – cooking oil, chicken, and sugar, will remain high and will get higher. High Demand with Short Supply pushes price to go up. Smuggle activity will increase.
Transport cost soars up since toll rate will escalate from 7.7% to 50% on six highways.
The rising inflationary pressure in 2008 would soften Bank Negara Malaysia’s bias towards monetary easing unless the economic growth trend falters.
Government could fight inflation by adopting a tighter policy stance although this risks dragging economic growth down further.

Further reading, 2008 CPI seen rising at minimum pace of 2.5pc

Why the government shouldn’t has to increase electricity tariff.

Feb 10

Responding to the article about tariff revision proposed by TNB (Tenaga Nasional Berhad), I think it is time for the government of Malaysia and TNB reconsider about that revise.

“MALAYSIA will have to revise electricity tariffs again as part of a plan to reduce costly energy subsidies, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said today”

The people already suffered the rise of the local items and groceries.
The prices of the usual goods have escalated for the past months. When the government announce oil subsidy reduction soon, all other prices will be up instantly. Why TNB wants to add up some pain in the wound?

The government should help Malaysian to ease the painful cost of living.
The government should think about the people first, rather than keep busy doing privatisation of government entities. The government should set up strategies upon battling with the cost of living.

The government and TNB should lower the electricity tariff to prevent mounting price of other items.
There’s relativity between the electricity tariffs and consumer goods prices. We had experienced last year how the tariff pushed the other items such as chicken, sugar, and cooking oil so high.

TNB should offer more subsidies to boost up economy growth, not to make money out of people’s pocket.
I believe that this year people tend not to spending as much as before, they rather saving because of the fear of not be able to cope with higher cost of living. My suggestion is TNB should give up profit and help to mount up the people spending confidence.

Read full article here > Malaysia to revise electricity tariffs: Najib

Tenaga Nasional Berhad is the one and only general power electric company in Malaysia. Visit official website.

Britney Spears and The US Economy

Feb 04

Britney Spears according to the article I’ve read, has helped US economy indirectly especially in entertainment and media industries. From her personal life stories to her selling albums, it seems that money streams in and it benefits the people, the media, and the company.

“In the days after the Britney Spears soap opera rode a police-escorted gurney to its apex, celeb-mag sales spiked, traffic jammed gossip Web sites, tabloid TV ratings rose and paparazzi photo prices surged.”

Here’s some notable point that people gained profit out of Britney Spears’ fame and popularity in 2007.

Britney Spears helped about 1% increase to $2.39 billion overall newsstand sales for magazine; Star, Us Weekly, and In Touch Weekly.
Jive Records grabs RM 400 million profits from album since 1999 – 83 millions copies so far.
Elizabeth Arden has made $100 million for fragrances product in the name of Spears.
Tours promoters and concert venues received $150 million.
Britney Spears brought in $75 million the media, sales increased 33%.
Publisher Tom Morrisy said Spears drives newsstand sales and helped the magazine’s ad revenue more than double to $51 million in 2007.
US Weekly Magazine has put Britney Spears more than 60% of its cover throughout the year.
People Magazine posted Britney Spears photo on its cover 10 times in 15 months.
Exclusive shot of Britney Spears can be sold up to RM10 000. Even Angelia’s only gets half of the price according to X17′s Navarre.
Last year, Britney Spears name in search engines escalated 60% and ‘Pieces of Me’ lyric search has gain top ranking.
Britney Spears is popular with the superstar singer of Baby One More Time. Read the profile of Britney Spears.

For Further Readings,
Breaking down the Britney bucks on E!Online.
Telegraph.co.uk: Britney Spears’ worth $120m to economy.
Britney Spears economy boom on Time Online.

Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican in Top 100

Feb 04

Ethisphere’s 100 most influential people in business has ranked Tan Sri Marican in 52nd place.

According to Ethisphere, Mohd Hassan sits on the boards of a few socially-minded groups, including the Commonwealth Business Council and the World Economic Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI).

Ethisphere said Mohd Hassan is one of three business people on PACI’s board, and the only board member from the Far East, who help move the anti-corruption debate from only western corporations and proactively engage those from the Far East as well.

He has shown excellent leadership in oil industry and PETRONAS is 20 times better than before.

Further readings
Petronas CEO is 52nd on Business Times Online.
Petronas on Wiki.

101 Dumbest Moments in Business

Jan 13

Ah, what a dumb year it was! Fortune chose the absolutely dumbest of the dumb that the gods of fate and humor delivered into our laps – and yours – this past year.

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