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Showing posts with label Subang Jaya. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Subang Jaya. Show all posts

Sunday 30 September 2012

Malaysia's Tax Budget 2013: politically savvy for general election? Housebuyers may struggle to pay!

Beyond the statistics of Budget 2013, it is clear that the government is well aware that the middle income group has found itself in a sandwich position.

FOR some in the Malaysian middle class, especially those in the upper income bracket, there is not much to cheer about Budget 2013.

But this is a group that is not easy to please. If they have their way, they would want to have personal taxes reduced. I would want to pay less to the taxman too, but it is also about time that we wake up to the reality of having the consumption-based goods and services taxes (GST) implemented.

It may not be politically savvy to introduce the GST prior to the general election but the fact is the current tax base is simply too narrow. Just over a million people are now paying personal income tax in a country of over 27 million people.

Through the GST, the tax net would be wider and those who spend on more pricey items would just have to pay for them. An ordinary wage-earner buying economy rice or roti canai won’t have to pay GST, for sure.

But if you buy a Louis Vuitton bag in KL, then it’s only right that you pay a hefty GST bill, and help the government raise its tax revenue. If we want to encourage tourism, we just have to follow what other countries are doing – limiting GST only to our citizens. Tourists, even if they are rich sheikhs, can apply for tax refunds at the airport.

That’s how GST works, but there is a general election ahead. The government does not want to be in a defensive mode, where it has to explain how GST works.

We are always looking to pay less while we expect the government to spend more to boost the economy, or even give away monetary goodies to spur spending.

When the government spends, it has to look for money. Currency speculator George Soros is surely not a good option.

Reducing by one percentage point for those with chargeable income between RM2,500 and RM50,000, as proposed in the Budget, plus the other tax reliefs, also mean that only 1.7 million people will now pay taxes compared with the workforce of 12 million.

Beyond the statistics, it is clear that the government is well aware that the middle income group has found itself in a sandwich position. They are the ones who feel the rising cost of living the most, and any effort to reduce their tax burden should be lauded.

It is this group that the Budget wants to target. The rich can take care of themselves and the poor has been taken care of.

The higher income group would still benefit, in some way, as regardless of how much one earns, the existing tax relief for their children’s education has been increased to RM6,000 from RM4,000 per child.

But it is the financially distressed wage earners, especially those in the lower earning bracket, who are doing their best to stretch the ringgit. After paying for their home rentals, car or motorbike loans and food expenses, there is nothing left, really. Saving itself is difficult, let alone finding the downpayment for the first home.

The affordable houses scheme would be essential to allow this group of urbanites to believe that they can own houses. The government must make it work.

Another measure that is targeted at this group is the 50% discount on KTM fares for Malaysians earning RM3,000 and below monthly. I would have preferred the government to just provide a blanket free KTM ride during peak hours in the mornings and evenings.

I am curious to see how KTM plans to carry out the registration of commuters who qualify and give them the special discount cards. If it is not effectively carried out, due to practical logistic issues, this scheme is definitely open to abuse. So the government might as well just provide free rides.

The whining upper middle class won’t be joining the queues at the crowded KTM stations, that’s for sure. It will still be the same KTM passengers who want to cut down on their financial expenses because they live in the outer city zones or even in Negri Sembilan but travel daily to Kuala Lumpur to work or to study.

The 70 new 1Malaysia Clinics will surely be welcomed as they would be a great help to the urban poor. Furthermore, 350 clinics would be upgraded and an additional 150 dialysis machines will be made available in government haemodialysis centres nationwide. All measures to improve healthcare facilities for the masses are surely welcomed.

But there is one area where the whining from the Malaysian middle class is legitimate – the crime problem.

We have repealed laws such as the Emer­gency Ordinance because the intelligentsia in urban areas demanded it. But the reality is that many of the Simpang Renggam graduates are now on the streets and the police cannot find these crooks because their hands are tied.

Budget 2013 has allocated for 496 CCTV cameras to be installed in 25 local authorities nationwide to prevent street crime in urban areas. This is like a drop in the ocean and surely insufficient.

We should have thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of these cameras put up, as in London, to keep an eye on potential criminals.

As I write this, I have just been informed that my colleague had his new car hijacked by two men while he was on his way home with his wife and son in Subang Jaya. Incidents like this point to the necessity of having more of our policemen out on patrol.

The proposal to increase the number of police personnel for patrolling and combating crime is in the right direction. The police also have to review how police reports are made so that a person making a simple report about a car accident, or a lost handbag, does not have to compete with people making reports for serious offences. We need to put our policemen on the streets, not behind desks.

Let us consider making Rela, the civil service group, and volunteer policemen take over simple tasks like crowd and traffic control. The Budget has proposed an additional 10,000 officers for the Police Volunteer Reserve force. This is not something new but it will definitely reduce the unnecessary burden on the police.

On the Beat By Wong Chun Wai



HBA: Housebuyers may struggle to pay

Among the goodies were the building of 123,000 affordable homes at a cost RM1.9bil in key locations such as Kuala Lumpur, Shah Alam, Johor Baru, Seremban and Kuantan. The houses will cost between RM100,000 and RM400,000 each.


THE National Housebuyers Asso­ciation (HBA) has warned that house-buyers may struggle to service monthly loan payments if they buy homes under the My First Home scheme.

An applicant with a household income of RM5,000 a month, or a couple with a combined income of RM10,000, will not be able to afford the monthly repayments of a RM400,000 housing loan based on a 30-year repayment period after taking into account other household expenses and mandatory tax payments, said its secretary-general Chang Kim Loong.

Chang said applicants who commit to housing loans of RM400,000 with an average interest rate of 4.75% would end up having to pay RM2,086 each month.

“Based on Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) guidelines, a single loan repayment cannot exceed one third of the applicant, or joint applicant’s gross income.

“It would also be a potential disaster for a household which cannot afford to fork out the 10% down payment from their savings to commit to a RM400,000 loan,” he said.

He said house buyers should always match the repayment period with the number of remaining years they expect to work.

Otherwise, he said, the applicants would not be able to retire, or end up committing their children to continue paying the loan.

On PR1MA, he said, the price cap of RM400,000 for homes was too high.

“PR1MA should be pricing their properties below RM300K, preferably in the range of RM150K to RM300K to cater to a wider base of the middle-income and lower-income groups,” he said.

Related post:
A promising Malaysian tax budget for 2013 this Friday?

Sunday 1 July 2012

Killer dog's owner fined and charged again

Elaine Soon Sien Ling outside the court, while her dog Beacon is at the Selangor Veterinary Services Department pound. Pic by Syarafiq Abd Samad

PETALING JAYA: THE owner of the dog which killed an elderly jogger last month escaped custodial sentence after the court heard that the victim's family had forgiven her for being negligent in the incident.

Elaine Soon Sien Ling, 28, an accountant, heaved a sigh of relief as she could have been sentenced to a maximum of six months' jail under Section 289 of the Penal Code for being negligent with her pet.

Magistrate Mohd Nazri Omran, however, imposed the maximum fine of RM2,000.

In sentencing her, Nazri said he took into account that the victim's family had forgiven her and had retracted the police report on the incident.

Soon pleaded guilty when the charge was read to her.

According to the facts of the case, the victim, Yip Sun Wah, 74 was jogging in SS19 Subang Jaya on May 8 when the dog, a cross between a miniature bull terrier and an American Staffordshire terrier, escaped from Soon's house and pounced on Yip.

The dog, which answers to the name, "Beacon", only let go of the the victim when neighbours hit it with an umbrella and a cane.

A neighbour, who identified himself as a doctor at the scene of the incident, said Yip died at the scene.

In mitigating for a light sentence, Soon, who was unrepresented, told the court that she had gotten the dog as security measure for her retired mother who was alone at home. She said that their home had been burgled before and that when she got her dog, she had taken it to the veterinarian and it was certified as healthy.

Soon added that on the morning of the incident, she had let her dog loose in the compound but locked the gate and had shut the garbage disposal gate.

She also tendered a letter from the victim's family, who stated they had forgiven her over the incident and that they had also retracted the police report.

Deputy public prosecutor, Siti Fatimah Yahya pressed for a sentence that would serve as a lesson to the public.

Soon's father and fiancee were present in court. The accused paid the fine.

Meanwhile, the fate of Beacon, lies in the decision of the court.

State Veterinary Services Department deputy director Dr Fadzilah A'ini Abd Kadir said the dog was still in their care.

"We have not received any instructions regarding the dog," she said, adding that Beacon was healthy and free of rabies.

Dr Fadzilah said said normally, in such cases, there are three options -- put the dog to sleep, send it to the police for training, or return it to the owner.

New Straits Times Friday, Jun 29, 2012

Related posts:
American Pit Bull Kills Jogger !
Pit bull Terrier, a restricted breed; Time to regulate pet shops! 
Dog attacks humans, it's the owner, not the breed!

Tuesday 29 May 2012

How to avoid dogs attack you?

Learn to be safe if a dog attacks, says trainer - If a dog is coming at you, not run or turn to fact it - M.Selvamanickaraja

KUALA LUMPUR: The public should learn how to avoid being attacked by dogs following the case of a jogger who died after being mauled by a dog.

Dog trainer M. Selvamanickaraja said the risk of injury could be reduced significantly if you knew what to do when faced with an aggressive dog.

He added that local councils should also conduct awareness programmes for dog owners so they would know how to be responsible for their pets.

“After issuing licences to owners, local councils should brief them on basic things that they should do, such as keeping a proper kennel and securing their house compound so that dogs will not be able to escape,” he said at his house here.

On May 8, a miniature bull terrier cross bit Yip Sun Wah, 74, on the neck and almost tore off his left ear as he was jogging about 1km from his house in Subang Jaya. Yip died on the spot.

Selvamanickaraja, who has been training dogs for 10 years, said banning dog breeds was not the answer as mongrels could also turn aggressive.

He said that not allowing breeds such as the German Shepherd will also deprive people from owning gifted and loyal family dogs.

On what people can do when faced with a vicious dog, Selva­manickaraja said: “When a dog wants to attack you, it thinks of you as prey. You must change the dog’s perception of you as prey.

“If a dog is coming at you, do not run or turn to face it. Remain still and turn to your side, with your hands behind your back.

“Clench your fists as you do not want to leave anything exposed for the dog to bite. By doing this, you are not giving the dog space to attack,” he said.

The dog will become confused and might change its mind about attacking.

“But in its state of confusion, it might try to bite but you must stand firm. At most, it will bite once and then leave,” Selvamanickaraja said.

He said people should only attempt to run away or confront the dog if they were absolutely sure they can escape or defend themselves.

Related posts:
American Pit Bull Kills Jogger !
Dog attacks humans, it's the owner, not the breed! 

Wednesday 9 May 2012

American Pit Bull Kills Jogger !

SUBANG JAYA: A man who just turned 74 a few days ago was killed by a american pit bull while jogging in his housing area.


Yip Sun Wah died at the scene after the dog bit him on the neck and almost tore off his left ear in the 9.50am incident in Jalan SS19/5B, about 1km from Yip's house here.

The dog ran out of its owner's house and attacked Yip for almost four minutes before returning home.
A car salesman, who only wanted to be identified as Addy, 44, said he was on his way to meet a customer when he saw Yip being attacked by the dog.


Deadly bite: A family member mourning over Yip’s body in front of a house in SS19, Subang Jaya yesterday.
 
He said he tried to hit the dog with his umbrella but it was too aggressive and only stopped attacking after Yip was motionless.

It is learnt that the owner had just got the animal about three months ago after her house was robbed.

Subang Jaya OCPD ACP Yahaya Ramli said the 25-year-old female accountant had bought the animal from a private kennel. He said she has a licence to keep the dog.

“We have released her after recording her statement,” he added.

ACP Yahaya also said the dog had escaped from the house through the rubbish compartment door which was not properly secured.

The victim's body was sent to the University Malaya Medical Centre while the dog is now with the Shah Alam Municipal Council.

ACP Yahaya said the animal would be tested to ascertain if it has any disease.

The victim's eldest son Hon Mun, 51, said he was informed of the incident by an eyewitness who called him using his father's mobile phone.

“I rushed to the scene immediately but my father was already dead,” he said, adding the victim had been jogging in the area for the past 20 years.

The case is being investigated under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code for causing death by negligence which carries a maximum two years' jail sentence or a fine or both.

Meanwhile, Subang Jaya Municipal Council director Dr Roslan Mohamed Hussin said it had started checking residential areas in the township for breeds that were said to be aggressive and dangerous.

“Seven dog breeds, namely Akita, Neapolitan Mastiff, American Bulldog, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, Japanesa Tosa and American Pit Bull are predisposed to aggressive or dangerous behaviour,” he said.

The council is also enforcing a directive from the Selangor Veterinary Department to ban these “unmanageable or possibly dangerous” breeds.

By RASHITHA A. HAMID rashitha@thestar.com.my

Pit Bull Kills 74year old Jogger in Subang Jaya
Dangerous animal: The pit buill being taken away by a man believed to be a family member of the dog owner.



Images for the american pitbull graphics