Monday, July 4, 2016

Why I gave RM50m for Penang hostels

Why I gave RM50m for Penang hostels
October 2, 2015

By Koon Yew Yin

After the publication of my RM 50 million donation to the Penang State Government for building student hostels, many people including journalists and BMF Radio have asked me a lot of questions. They are curious because they have not come across something like this before.

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Here are my answers:

I was born on the 6th Jan 1933. My father started a coffin shop at No. 8 Jalan Ipoh, KL about 100 years ago. When father retired about 30 years ago, my eldest brother inherited the coffin shop. As he got older, he found difficulty to compete with the modern undertakers and was forced to close the old shop about 2 years ago and my younger brother continued the coffin business with a smaller shop in Kepong, KL.

As I have 11 siblings, I always needed some things since I was a boy. I remember always feeling hungry when I was young. One can imagine how 12 children rushed for food during meal time.

This is why I want to help the poor. Besides my RM 50 million donation to the Penang Government to build student hostels, I have to date, given about 300 scholarships to help students from poorer backgrounds to complete their tertiary education.

As a young boy in 1957 I attended St John’s Institution, KL where I completed a 4 years Civil Engineering Diploma in Technical College (now known as UTM) under a PWD [now known as JKR) scholarship. I subsequently qualified as a Chartered Civil Engineer by self-study in 1962.

In 1967, together with 3 partners, I founded Mudajaya Construction Sdn. Bhd. and Gamuda Sdn. Bhd. In early 1980, IGB Construction Sdn. Bhd., Jurutama Construction Sdn. Bhd. and Mudajaya Construction Sdn. Bhd. grouped together and listed as a public company under the name of IJM Corporation Bhd.

In 1975 I sold Gamuda Sdn Bhd to Dato Lin Yun Ling and his partners.

In 1983 I had a serious heart angina. At the time heart by-pass operations could only be done in Mayo Clinic or Harley Street London and the casualty rate was frighteningly high. Before my heart surgery in London, I passed all my assets to my wife and children.

After my heart operation, I retired from being an executive director in Mudajaya / IJM Corporation Bhd and I started to learn how to make money from the stock market. In 1983-4 the Hong Kong stock market crashed because China wanted to take back Hong Kong. Almost all the Hong Kong investors were afraid of the arrival of the Communists and they sold their holdings as quickly as possible.

One of the most important investment lessons I learned was to be a contrarian investor, buy when everybody is afraid to buy and sell when everybody wants to buy. I started with only RM 200,000 cash and within a few years, I bought 46% of Kaiser Stock and Shares Ltd., a stockbroking company in Hong Kong.

After having read several investment books by famous gurus such as Benjamin Graham, Warren Buffet, Peter Lynch, etc. together with my 32 years of experience, I wish to share my knowledge with people who are interested in investment. I believe in teaching people to make money. It is like teaching people how to fish instead of giving them some fish.

Q: Why do you write regularly on national issues?

A: In 1970 when the new economic policy was introduced, the GDP per capita of Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea were the same as ours. They became developed nations despite the fact they did not have natural resources like us. They did not even have timber to build houses. Over 40 years later, we are still not a developed nation due to bad management and corruption of the BN Government. I will continue to write to point out all the bad things of the Government until voters can vote the BN Government out of Putrajaya.

In 2009, I published a book called ‘Malaysia: Road Map for achieving vision 2020′ to show how Malaysia can become the developed nation it deserves to be. Unfortunately, we have not achieved a developed nation status due to the bad management and corruption of the BN Government. It is most unlikely we can achieve Vision 2020.

I have given all my children the best education that money can buy and I think they can find a good living without my money. As such, I want to help poor students complete their tertiary education. I personally believe that with a good education, they can earn enough to help their own families and other poor people. As I pointed out earlier, I have already given out over 300 scholarships to really poor students to complete their tertiary education. All my scholarship recipients are not required to pay me back the money I have spent on them. Instead, all they have to do is to promise me that they must not forget that I helped them when they were poor and they will have to help other poor people when they have money to spare. I sincerely believe some of them will continue to do charity after I die and if they practice the same system or philosophy I do, there will be more and more people contributing to charity.

Q: What are other charities or projects have you supported in a big way in the past?

A: About 10 years ago I paid for the construction of a large extension to the Salvation Army building in Ipoh. I also donated RM 350,000 towards the renovation of Ipoh Wesley Private School.

Q: Is it true that UTAR snubbed a RM30 million donation you wanted to give them back in 2009, also for hostels and why did you choose Penang as the state to undertake this and not any other state? Is there a particular reason?

A: 6 years ago, I offered to donate RM 30 million to UTAR for building student hostels under the same terms and conditions as I offered to Penang. However, the MCA leaders; who controlled UTAR owned all the land outside the university campus rejected my offer because they did not want me to jeopardise their lucrative property development business. They are greedy and just want to take advantage of the poor students.

As a result of the bad publicity, MCA lost almost all their seats in the last general election.

Subsequently, I invested all the RM 30 million in the stock market and I managed to make some profit. I chose to donate to Penang because the record shows that DAP is managing Penang very well and I wanted to support DAP.

Q: How long is the construction process expected to take place, and how many students are you aiming to help with this donation?

A: The Chief Minister has assigned the 3 top officials to assist my architect in designing and planning for the project. They are, Jagdeep Singh Deo, who is in charge of the State Town and Country Planing, YB Lim Hock Seng who is in charge of public utilities and Yew Tung Seang, Director of Building. The project is going ahead in top gear.

Our initial design can accommodate about 2,200 students. In fact, the Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said that the Government is willing to give additional funds if my RM 50 million was insufficient.

Preference will be given to poor students irrespective of race and religion, bearing in mind that about 80% of the 18,000 USM students are Malays. Currently USM can only provide accommodation for 1st year students.

Everyone is trying to make money every day. Unfortunately, many people do not know how to use their money wisely. They must realise that our ultimate aim in life is happiness. They will find great happiness if they can create happiness. If they give away some of their money to help poor people who will be happy, they will also be happy.

I have written in my will that after I die, all my remaining assets will be donated to help poor people to make them happy.

In conclusion, I wish to point out that it is not necessary to study overseas to achieve success in life and that we cannot take our money along with us when we die. I hope this article will inspire some readers to follow my footsteps in doing charity. You can tell your friends to read this inspiring story of an undertaker’s son.

Koon Yew Yin is a retired chartered civil engineer and one of the founders of IJM Corporation Bhd and Gamuda Bhd.

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2015/10/02/why-i-gave-rm50m-for-penang-hostels/

Friday, March 18, 2011

Bank Negara sets new rules for credit cards

Published: Friday March 18, 2011 MYT 12:41:00 PM
Updated: Friday March 18, 2011 MYT 2:33:40 PM
Bank Negara sets new rules for credit cards

Minimum annual income requirement raised to RM24,000

KUALA LUMPUR: The minimum annual income requirement for credit card eligibility has been raised to RM24,000 from RM18,000, effective immediately, in a move to keep household debt at manageable levels, Bank Negara announced Friday.

For cardholders earning RM36,000 per annum and less, they can only hold credit cards from a maximum of two issuers.

The maximum credit limit for those earning less than RM36,000 has also been capped to double the monthly income of the cardholder.

The central bank said while credit card debt remained at a manageable level, these measures were being taken to promote sound financial and debt management.

"It's a pre-emptive move to ensure that the prudent level of household debt remains at that level moving forward," Bank Negara's deputy governor Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus told reporters.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

How to shop for free?

Kathy Spencer of Massachusetts, shares cost cutting tips on how to shop for free. She feeds her family of six on $4 dollars a month.

"How to shop for free."

What if you could reduce household and grocery expenses by over half and save anywhere from $10,000 to over $20,000 a year? What if I were to tell you that it is possible to strategize a grocery shopping experience and ultimately pay nothing for some groceries? Would you believe me? Would you ask, “What’s the catch?” If so, you’re not alone.

What's the secret? With the "How To Shop For Free Method", the Master Savings Shopper spends at most a few hours a week on strategic planning to find excellent discounts and to optimize coupon usage with on sale items.

ABC News recently covered a "Master Savings" story of a Massachusetts mother who spends an average of $4 a week on groceries for a family of six. Kathy Spencer took the ABC crew on a series of shopping trips that allowed her to purchase more than $200 worth of groceries for a penny (be sure to watch the youtube video above). There are multiple coupon strategies and the above video demonstrates the value of learning “How To Shop For Free.” In addition, please download our toolbars to access the amazing "Free Samples and Free Stuff" Resources section.

"There are multiple strategies to “Great Key Savings” and our goal is to research companies and hardly known money saving methods to help you save for the more memorable moments in life. We provide custom toolbars and reveal multiple money saving secrets that provide excellent opportunities to save money."

“How do companies make a profit from giving away free products, free services, and coupons?” In New York Times bestseller “Free – How Today’s Smartest Businesses Profit By Giving Something for Nothing”, Chris Anderson reveals how businesses successfully incorporate and profit from “freemium” a combination of free and paid strategies, now emerging as a most powerful business model. In "Free", Chris Anderson explores this radical idea for the new global economy and demonstrates how it can be harnessed for the benefit of consumers and businesses alike. In the twenty-first century, Free is more than just a promotional gimmick: It’s a business strategy that is essential to a company’s successful future.

The Great Benefit of Freemium

"Money saving coupons are for everyone, some consumers feel that most grocery coupons mainly apply to unhealthy snack food items and in general may throw out savings circulars. This is untrue as there are many coupons offered by name brand companies, which apply to organic groceries and earth friendly products."

Internet coupons do allow companies the opportunity to attract new customers, offer new products, build new brands, closeout older merchandise, and build stronger relationships with customers. The most successful coupon programs offer specific benefits that all customers seek; excellent value, assistance in making informed decisions, and improved ease of shopping.

Some coupon websites at first glance may appear to carry similar coupons but these sites openly offer major and local companies the opportunity to submit their coupons to their ongoing coupon database. It is always best to visit several coupon sites and download multiple coupons to optimize your savings. Our free toolbars offer you the opportunity to instantly visit several free coupon sites at once to download coupons for maximum savings.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Malaysian bloggers earn up to RM 1 million annually

Monday January 24, 2011
M’sian bloggers earn up to RM1mil annually
Other news & views
Compiled by Izatun Shari

BLOGGERS and blog operators these days are able to chalk up revenues of up to RM1mil annually, according to Berita Harian’s front-page report.

According to the daily, bloggers, who post their personal accounts are now exploiting their blogs for business transactions or advertisement placements, earning an average monthly income of RM70,000.

The daily highlighted blogger Mira Abu Bakar, whose highest monthly income revenue through advertising revenue was RM12,000 in 2008.

Mira, who has been operating her blog Redmummy.com since 2005, earns an average monthly revenue of RM2,000.

She admitted that she had to declare her side income with the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) as she was unaware about it until she received an audit.

An IRB spokesman said online businesses including via Facebook were bound by the Income Tax Act 1967 and their income were taxable just like fixed income.

Nuffnang (M) Sdn Bhd manager Nicholas Chay said hat revenue of a blog depended on the number of viewers and visitors at a certain period.

He said popular blogs could earn huge profits because advertisements or product reviews posted.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

奇門股市預測--12月13日至12月17日

奇門股市預測--12月13日至12月17日

本週策略

本欄採用中國古代帝王絕學“奇門遁甲”測股市,教你如何在特定的時間與空間--攝取環境磁場能源,提升你在投資市場的回酬率。

上週的預測又再次證明奇門絕學的好處。

週一斷開盤見天柱主易出問題。開市即下滑,全天走勢不理想,因為有驚門,這一天微升0.76。
週二回歷元旦,公共假期。
週三斷這一天的市會好,果然上升8.32。
週四斷這一天的市應該理想,富時綜指升11.23。
週五斷這一天上午的市會好,下午不好,當天下14.01。

好像越來越神了,我與奇門開始有感應了。

本週股市又怎麼看呢?

本週一,12月13日,農曆十一月初八,丁酉日,陰四局,用761盤,開盤見丙加丙,叫月奇悖師,主文書逼迫,破耗遺失。開門乘朱雀,主市場有一些口舌是非之事,開門臨天心,主前景看好。全天走勢見酉宮,酉宮見丁加丁,叫奇入太陰,主喜事從心,萬事如意,驚門伏吟,主疾病,憂慮,驚恐,驚加丁,主詞訟牽連。
酉宮見九地,意味市場下滑,天柱下跌或誘多,看來這一天的市不理想,除了開市之外。

本週二,12月14日,農曆十一月初九,戊戌日,陰四局,用773盤,開盤見丙加庚,叫熒入白,主門戶破敗,開門乘太陰,主有計劃有發展潛力,開門臨天心,主前景看好。
全天走勢見乾宮,乾宮見甲加丙,叫龍返首,為事所謀,大吉大利。開加生,主見貴人,謀望所求遂意,開加戊,財名俱得,開加丙,貴人印緩,生門意味著市會上漲,注意了結,生門乘值符,說明行情上漲,生門臨天任,上漲緩慢,這一天的市會好。

本週三,12月15日,農曆十一月初十日,己亥日,陰七局,用905盤,開盤見辛加辛,叫伏吟天庭,開門乘六合主企業重組,開門臨天輔,注重市場形象,市場開市不太理想。
全天走勢見乾宮,乾宮臨空亡,這一天的市不好。

本週四,12月16日,農曆十一月十一日,庚子日,陰七局,用917盤,開盤見戊加丙,叫龍返首,為事所謀,大吉大利,開門乘螣蛇,主合同債務等糾紛纏身,開門臨天柱主併購重組,市場反彈,全天走勢見坎宮,坎宮天地盤壬加丁,叫干合蛇刑,貴人匆匆,男吉女凶,休加杜,主破財,失物難尋。朱雀,口舌是非,天沖主大幅振蕩。這一天的市好轉。

本週五,12月17日,農曆十一月十二日,辛丑日,陰七局,用929盤,開盤見丙加乙,叫日月并行。主公謀私為皆為吉。開盤見螣蛇及天英,主市場難測,也主風風火火,行情火熱。

全天走勢見艮宮,艮宮剛好與開盤一樣,這一天行情應該好,中午的走勢可能不理想。

奇門遁甲盤可參考龍一大師主編的《奇門遁甲致富秘笈》,可預測股市、號碼及買股及作交易最佳時機,讀者可查詢http://scsyijingfengshui.blogspot.com

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Balance Transfer and other rates

Balance Transfer

Financing Tenure, Profit Rate, (flat per anum)
2-5 years 8.50%
6-7 years 11.99%

Base on Credit Card Limit
15000 x 0.37 = 5550
= 5550 x 5
= RM27,750.00

Monthly Payment
= RM27,750 x 8.5%
= RM2358.75 x 5 =RM11,793.75
= 39,543.75 /60
= RM 659.06

Highest Card Limit Range Avg Multiplier
Below RM 11,999 0.52
RM 12,000 - RM 16,499 0.37
RM 16,500 - RM 29,999 0.33
RM 30000 & Above 0.32

Corporate Community Select

Financing Tenure, Profit Rate, (flat per anum)
2-5 years 7.50%
6-7 years 11.99%
minimum salary RM 2000

Exp :-
25,000 x 7.5%
= 1875 (profit p.anum)
= 9375 (profit for 5 years)
= 25,000 + 9375
= 34,375 /60
= RM 572.91 (Monthly Payment)

Customer Disbursement
25,000 - 250 (Gov Tax)
= 24,750 -0.5% (Delivery Charges)
= 24,625.25 - 118.75(Insurans - Age(31years)
= RM 24,506.50

Personal Financing Product (Mass Market/ Private Sector)

Financing Tenure, Profit Rate, (flat per anum)
2-5 years 9.99%
6-7 years 11.99%

Balance Transfer

Financing Tenure,Profit Rate, (flat per anum)
2-5 years 8.50%
6-7 years 11.99%

Corporate Community Select

Financing Tenure,Profit Rate, (flat per anum)
2-5 years 7.50%
6-7 years 11.99%