Property investments: good Infrastructure a way to huge profits and success

Buy property with good connectivity, investors advised - The road to huge profits
 

Packed room: Lee giving his talk on ‘Infrastructure goes a long way when picking the best property’ during The Star Property Fair 2013 at G Hotel, Penang. http://www.zeon.com.my/index.html

PROPERTY investors should look out for the connectivity of road infrastructure when it comes to securing ideal property, said Zeon Properties chief executive officer Leon Lee in Penang.

He said infrastructure such as transportation hubs and bridges were vital elements that ensured property prices in their surrounding areas would soar.

Citing an example, Lee said the completion of a bridge connecting Shenzhen, China, and the New Territories of Hong Kong, had seen property prices in the surrounding areas escalating by about 155% over a period of 10 years.

He singled out another example in the form of the Malaysia-Singapore second link connecting Tanjung Kupang, Johor and Tuas in Singapore.

“In 2002, the property price in New Territories of Hong Kong was about HKD$29,522 (RM12,154) per sq m.

“It shot up to HKD$75,416 (RM31,049) in 2013, which took only about 10 years.

“My logic is simple, just watch out for those infrastructure. If there is connectivity or the distance between one place and another is shortened, property prices in that area will surely shoot up,” he told the participants during his talk titled ‘Infrastructure Goes a Long Way When Picking the Best Property’ at G Hotel on Saturday.

On a local perspective, Lee said the prices of property in Batu Maung had increased significantly as the second Penang bridge is scheduled to open to traffic soon.

“In 2007, a terrace house in Batu Maung was worth about RM700,000. But now, a similar unit is priced at RM1.4mil. This is evident to my point earlier,” he said.

He added that Penangites should take notice of the recent announcement by the state government, including the 6.5km undersea tunnel project linking Gurney Drive and Bagan Ajam.

The projects also comprise a 4.6km bypass linking Air Itam to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway, 12km Tanjung Bungah-Teluk Bahang paired road and a 4.2km stretch between Gurney Drive and Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway, bypassing the city centre.

“Chances are high that property prices will boom in the surrounding areas,” Lee said.

The talk was sponsored by Hong Leong Bank.

 Penang Property Fair a huge success

Upwards: Potential buyers looking at the MRCB project during the final day of the Property Fair at Gurney Plaza in Penang.

GEORGE TOWN: The Star Property Fair 2013 concluded with Penang and Kuala Lumpur-based developers locking in some RM227.6mil from the sales of residential and commercial properties showcased in G Hotel and Gurney Plaza.

Seven of the property development companies exclusively marketed by Zeon Properties Sdn Bhd generated RM136mil in sales over the past four days from Thursday.

Masmeyer Holdings Sdn Bhd generated RM50mil in sales from some 50 units of its Marinox condominium in Tanjung Tokong.

Zeon chief executive officer Leon Lee said Singapore-based UOA Group and Magna Putih respectively sold about RM25mil and RM20mil worth of property in Kuala Lumpur and Penang.

“UOA sold about 25 units of its Scenaria@North Kiara Hills condominium project in Mont Kiara while Magna Putih sold 20 units of its Mansion One serviced suites in Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, Penang.

“Other developers such as Mayland Universal Sdn Bhd (RM15mil), Mammoth Empire Holdings Sdn Bhd (RM10mil), Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (RM15mil), and Venn Properties Sdn Bhd (RM6mil) registered RM46mil in sales,” he said.

Lee said the achievement was higher than anticipated in view of the increasing difficulty for buyers to obtain bank financing nowadays, adding that partial payments were received for the sales.

“Among the projects that attracted much attention and enquiries included Venn Signature, a gated terraced project by Venn Properties in Jalan Raja Uda, Butterworth.

“Penang investors were also attracted to the Scenaria@North Kiara Hills by UOA Group, as the units are priced competitively,” he said.

UEM Sunrise Berhad, SP Setia Bhd, Bukit Kiara Properties Sdn Bhd, TPPT Sdn Bhd, and Lone Pine Group achieved RM68.6mil in sales during the event which ended yesterday.

SP Setia sales and marketing manager Susie Loh said they secured RM18.6mil in sales despite many people not being able to make up their mind on the spot.

 

Visitors having a look at a property model at the SP Setia Berhad Group booth during the fair in Gurney Plaza

“But we are hopeful of converting a large number office reservations into sales. Many wanted to check out our project sites before signing.”

UEM sales and marketing senior manager Shamsul Bahari Aini said they managed to hit RM20mil.

“We sold about 15 units and this is one of our best results in The Star Property Fair.

“In fact, I believe we can even surpass our target as there are at least five buyers who looked really interested in our projects,” he said.

BHL Waterfront Sdn Bhd and Bandar Utama Development Sdn Bhd secured RM20mil and RM3mil in sales respectively.

The Star advertising sales and business development manager (north) Simone Liong said about 40,000 people visited the fair.

The official event partner is Zeon Properties and Hong Leong Bank is the sponsor.

By DAVID TAN and TAN SIN CHOW newsdesk@thestar.com.my/Asia News Network

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Study hard and be let down again: top scorer, no offer; low point for high achievers in Malaysia!

It’s a perennial problem – more top scorers than places at public universities for medicine, dentistry and pharmacy. The cheapest route to these degrees is fraught with uncertainties and heartache.

IT costs the government about RM70,000 a year to train a medical student at a public university. That works out to RM350,000 for a five-year course.

But a student who gains a place at one of the dozen public institutions offering medicine forks out less than RM20,000 in total tuition fees; the rest is subsidised by the Government.

Does it not then make sense for any brilliant student whose family cannot afford the RM350,000 to RM1mil for a private or foreign degree to spend two years doing Form Six and sitting for the STPM?

Everyone knows that the STPM or Malaysian Higher School Certificate is seriously tough, more difficult to excel in than the internally examined Matriculation offered mainly at matriculation colleges where 90% of the students are bumiputra.

That is why every student who slogs away and scores the maximum CGPA of 4.0 feels “cheated” of the cheapest route to a medical degree when they fail to secure a place at a public university.

This applies to other critical courses like dentistry, pharmacy and certain branches of engineering too. When even those with a CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) of 4.0 don’t make the grade for medicine, they will be “dumbed down” to take up their second and third choices of the critical courses; and in the process, raise the cut-off point for these courses.

The spillover effect will be felt by those with lower CGPA scores who had hedged their bets by applying for dentistry and pharmacy.

This translates to more applicants crying foul because they didn’t get their course of choice despite having almost perfect scores.

There is also a perceived lack of transparency in the information made available for “strategic” application on the part of STPM students.

For one, while STPM results are made public, matriculation results are not. (Last year, there were 83,000 Form Six and 26,000 matriculation students.)

As an STPM candidate, you don’t know where you stand against the others competing for the limited places. In 2004, for example, when “Medic blues” (same issue of top scorers not getting into medicine) made headlines, there were 527 STPM students with CGPA 4.0 but more than double (1,247) with the same grade via matriculation.

For STPM students who may take up to five subjects, their CGPA scores are calculated based on the best four subjects, including General Studies.

The results of students from both “streams” are merged into a master list for allocation of places in universities.

Perfect score students failing to get their preferred course – this year, some were offered nothing – is a perennial problem.

But it is more acute in a year when the STPM yields better results while the number of places remain static. A total of 442 who sat the exam last year scored 4.0 compared with 300 the year before.

Last week, Higher Education Department director-general Prof Datuk Dr Morshidi Sirat said in a statement that 41,573 of STPM, matriculation and Asasi (Centre for Foundation Studies) students were successful in gaining admission to 20 public institutions of higher learning.

According to UPU, the coordinating body for intake into public universities, on its Facebook page, there are more than 2,500 (including the 442 from STPM) applicants with a CGPA of 4.0, most of whom applied for competitive courses like medicine, dentistry and pharmacy.

But the number of places allocated for the three courses in all public universities is just 1,078 or less than half the number of perfect top scorers! Imagine the competition, what more for the 699 medical places. It’s 699, 119 and 260 respectively.

If this is an annual predicament, can’t more places be opened up at public and private institutions?

In terms of physical infrastructure, it is possible, although the intake is strictly guided by criteria set by the Malaysian Medical Council. Student-lecturer ratio must match the facilities provided.

But the problem lies in academic staffing and the limited places for clinical training at teaching hospitals.

If public universities are bursting at the seams, the same may not be the case at private universities.

If the Government subsidises a student’s tuition fees at a private university like it does in public universities, more places can definitely be made available.

What the country needs is “good financial modelling”, says Taylor’s University vice-chancellor and president Prof Datuk Dr Hassan Said.

Private institutions too would like to have top scorers enrolled in their medical courses and raise the competition among their students, making it a win-win situation.

Should supply meet demand?

That is a question the Health Ministry has to grapple with. Are there more students who want to be doctors than the country needs?

Currently, doctor-patient ratio in Malaysia is 1:800. We are expected to achieve the 1:600 ratio recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) by 2015.

With the 3,500 doctors (via public and private institutions) that the country is producing annually, the Health Ministry expects to hit doctor patient ratio of 1:400 by 2020, which will exceed WHO’s recommendation.

Doctor wannabes should bear in mind that getting a job may not be as easy in future although the country still lacks specialists.

For medicine, scoring 4.0 may be the main hurdle but it is only the first hurdle. Participation in co-curricular activities also contributes 10% to the total points for entry into public universities.

Universities today want some say on who should join their most competitive course and put candidates through aptitude tests and interviews.

While there are calls for universities to do away with the “subjective” interviews, those in the medical faculties feel strongly that this is the most effective way to gain a snapshot of a candidate. Does he really want to be a doctor or is there parental pressure?

In private institutions like Monash University Sunway campus, an applicant has to go through four “mini” interviews – 10 minutes each with four interviewers separately.

Its head of the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicines and Health Sciences Prof Datuk Dr Anuar Zaini Md Zain shares that the interviews are designed to be as objective and reliable as possible.

He says they are looking for the ability to communicate, empathise, work in a team, and have real expectations of the job.

“You need to be able to communicate and listen or you won’t be able to know your patient’s problem. In fact, the biggest complaint against doctors is that they don’t talk and can’t communicate.

“English proficiency is really important as teaching is mainly in that language, whether in clinical years or post-graduate training anywhere in the world,” says the former medical dean of Universiti Malaya.

Basically, interviews are not designed to fail an applicant but to help weed out the wrong candidates and reduce the attrition rate among medical students.

While it is costly for universities to conduct interviews for every applicant, it will be even costlier for them – and society in the long run – to train the wrong person. 

Common Sen-se By Leanne Go
> Twelve years ago, I wrote a comment on the problem of top STPM scorers not getting their course of choice and titled it “Study hard, come out on top and be let down”. Looks like little has changed. Feedback is welcome at leanne@thestar.com.m

 Top scorers appeal cases after not being offered any courses

KUALA LUMPUR: They are among the brightest students in the country and yet were deemed not good enough for local public universities.

Eight students who scored cumulative grade point average of 4.0 were not offered any courses at the public universities despite successfully submitting their forms to enter the universities.

They are among the 108 appeal cases that MCA has received from students who sat for the STPM and matriculation programme since the issue was highlighted last week. Of the total, 55 have 4.0 CGPA.

MCA education bureau chairman Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said he could not accept the Education Ministry’s excuse that technical error was among the reasons why many top scorers either failed to obtain places at public universities or did not get courses of their choice.

“They obtained 4.0 CGPA. Don’t tell me they do not know how to fill a form.

“I cannot accept this silly explanation. It is grossly unfair to the students,” he said after meeting 22 students and their families at Wisma MCA yesterday.

Dejected lot: MCA education bureau chairman Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong looking at the top scorers’ results. — AZLINA ABDULLAH / The Star

His remarks at the press conference were greeted by applause from those present.

Further substantiating his point over the issue of technical error, Dr Wee pointed out that 16 of the 22 students were called for an interview with Universiti Sains Malay­sia.

“If it was a technical error, how could USM call them for an interview?” he asked.

He said the party would seek the help of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to resolve the issue.

Najib, in a tweet, said he knew some were disappointed at not getting places in universities.

“But don’t give up. (I) will discuss at Cabinet this week how best to help these students,” he said.

MIC national youth council member G. Kalaicelvan said the MIC received many complaints of top Indian students not getting courses of their choice.

“Most want to do medicine and their STPM results meet the requirement but somehow they do not get a place in the public universities,” said Kalaicelvan.

He said many Indian students end up disappointed after the STPM results are out every year.
“It’s a never-ending problem,” he said.

- The Star/Asia News Network

Related posts:
Give top students scholarships ! 
Top Malaysian Chinese students rejected by public universities
Beware of Malaysian Chinese school leavers being  lured into dubious degree and diploma proggrams! 

Kuala Lumpur property market gains stronger Momentum

SINGAPORE, July 18 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian property market has gained stronger momentum after the May general election, which saw a turn-around in the investment market in the second quarter of the year, says DTZ Research.

In a research note titled, "Property Times Kuala Lumpur Q2 2013 - Greater Market Certainties After The Election", it said the turn around in the second quarter was driven by corporate purchases for occupational requirement despite concerns about overall oversupply in the market.

It said the overall office market was stable.

Both vacancy and rental rates remained unchanged with continued substantial supply in the pipeline.

The research house also said the anticipated oversupply sentiment did not appear to affect the market as activities remained resilient and active, supported by stable rental and capital values.

Retail sales remained buoyant with continued local and international interest for investments in the sector.

It said the high-end residential market resumed activities with several new launches during the quarter despite Bank Negara contemplating measures to curb speculation and lending.

"Now that the GE13 is over, companies are starting to proceed with major investments, which may have been temporarily held back by political uncertainties.

"We can expect stronger momentum in government-linked mega projects such as the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) where third-party investors and developers have been invited to participate, DTZ Research added.

The total value of 12 deals recorded in the second quarter amounted to RM988.6 million compared with RM490.8 million, comprising three deals in the first quarter, mostly in the office sector.

-- BERNAMA

Give top students scholarships !

 Let top scorers study in private institutions, Malaysian govt urged

PETALING JAYA: Top scorers who fail to get into popular courses in public universities should be offered places in private institutions on scholarships provided by the Government, said MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.

Dr Chua said MCA understood that there had been a high demand for popular courses such as medicine and pharmacy, and that the public universities would not be able to accept all the top scorers due to limited places.

“In such cases, the deserving students should be offered places in private universities via scholarships provided by the Government.

“Since the Government has stopped awarding scholarships to SPM graduates unless they are accepted into reputable universities, it now has the means to provide these to students who obtained a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 4.0 in their STPM examination,” he said in a statement here yesterday.

“Each deserving student must be assured of a place in university and they should not be turned away unless they do not have the required entry points,” he added.

Dr Chua was commenting on the hundreds of students - including 55 with perfect CGPA of 4.0 - who had not gained places to study medicine and other courses of their choice in public universities.

He also urged the Government to admit all top scorers with a 4.0 CGPA into public universities without further delay as they had rightly obtained the perfect cumulative grade point average.

This was in line with the country’s agenda of grooming local talent to cater to its development and vision to become a high-income nation by 2020, he pointed out.

“MCA stands firm that the Government should provide tertiary education to all students based on meritocracy. I would like to remind students with CGPA of 4.0 that they could also opt for other courses of their choice and not merely popular ones like medicine and pharmacy,” he said.

Dr Chua said that he had also conveyed this issue and the students’ grievances to the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister for further action.

Meanwhile, another 33 STPM top scorers, who met with problems in their applications to enter public universities, have also asked MCA for help after the party highlighted some 108 appeal cases on Tues-day.

Its Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said that they were the latest batch, adding that he expected more to come.

Pointing out that most of the 88 top scorers had opted to study medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and engineering, he said he would “analyse on case by case basis and see how to help them.”

To date, Dr Wee said 14 of the ca­ses did not get any offers, 12 were given courses which were way off from their choices while the rest did not get what they wanted.

He said that there was also a very small number with what he des­cribed as an “unreasonable re­­quest”, such as wanting to do medicine in Universiti Malaya despite being offered places in Universiti Kebang­saan Malaysia.

By FOONG PEK YEE and EILEEN NG
newsdesk@thestar.com.my

Related posts:
Top Malaysian Chinese students rejected by local public universities.
Malaysia must produce better school teachers  
Beware of Malaysian Chinese school leavers being  lured into dubious degree and diploma programs!

Top Malaysian Chinese students rejected by public universities

KUALA LUMPUR: Chai Yee Lin had always wanted to be a doctor since she was young.

She studied hard and was over the moon when she found out she had obtained a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average (CGPA) in her STPM examination.

The excited teenager from Puchong, Selangor, immediately applied for medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and bio-medical courses with Universiti Malaya, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Kebang­saan Malaysia and Universiti Putra Malaysia.

But her excitement turned to sadness when she was offered a course in veterinary science at Universiti Ma­­laysia Kelantan.

“Yes, I did state veterinary science as one of the secondary courses in the admission form, but I was confident that with my good results, I could get medicine or dentistry,” she said.

Chai said what hurt her most was when her friend who obtained a CGPA of 3.92 was offered dentistry in USM.

Her mother, housewife Tham Ah Yeing, said her daughter studied hard as she wanted to support the family.

“She was very sad when she found out she was offered only veterinary science. She could not accept it,” she said.

Choong Yong Sheng was one of the 4.0 scorers who was not offered any place at public universities.

“I was very happy after receiving my STPM results, and I had high hopes of gaining a place to study medicine at one of our local universities.

“I didn’t expect to be left out and given nothing,” said Choong.

The 20-year-old from Penang added that he only applied to study medicine at public universities offering the programme, and would not accept any course that was not among his options.

Matriculation student Deveshini Uthandi, 20, who scored a CGPA of 3.96 was devastated when she learnt that she did not make it to the list of successful applicants to the IPTAs.

“I had wanted to make my family proud by being the first in the family to enter a public university.

“I always wanted to be a doctor and because it is not cheap to study medicine privately, I worked very very hard to do well in my studies,’’ she said.

Related articles:

108 complaints from Chinese students over university slots

Beware of Malaysian Chinese school leavers being  lured into dubious degree and diploma proggrams!

Life is not meant to be lived alone

Aunty is not just talking about any Tom, Dick or Harry. It’s husband material she’s looking for!
  - Life is not meant to be lived alone. No matter how many friends and relatives you have, there is nothing like someone to grow old with.

MY daughter just changed jobs. I called her at the end of her first day to enquire how it went. She started telling me about how pleased she was with her new office and her immediate supervisor.

I couldn’t contain myself and interrupted her: “Okay good, but are there any nice guys around?”

That stopped her in mid-sentence and after a moment of silence, she sighed and said, “Oh Mum, give it up, will you?”

Yes, I was more concerned about my daughter’s dating prospects than her job prospects.

Why am I worried? Because she’s 25, single and not dating. As my friend intoned: “If they don’t meet the right guy in college or university, it will be very hard for them to do so later on.”

This may be true once but it is now debatable since women overwhelmingly make up the number of undergraduates in our public universities.

So London mayor Boris Johnson couldn’t be more wrong when he said Malaysian women were entering university in droves because “they have got to find men to marry”.

He made the quip upon hearing Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak say women make up 68% of the latest public university intake at the launch of the World Islamic Economic Forum.

And that is really the biggest obstacle to the dating-mating game – this changed power structure between men and women.

As I have said before, thanks to education, job opportunities and contraceptives, women have the means to shape and control their own destiny.

They are on the rise and taking over in many fields. I attended a meeting recently at a top local bank to discuss a project and in the room were representatives from the bank, the advertising agency, a TV station and my own media company – all women except for one chap who didn’t say a word throughout the meeting. I never found out who he is and what he was doing at the meeting.

That meeting wasn’t the only one I have attended that was dominated by women; it happens all the time.

Women are so high-achieving at a relatively young age – VPs or senior managers before they are 35 – that they are leaving the guys in the dust, both in the career and marriage stakes.

A dear friend who is very pretty, has a great personality and just turned 40 is a top manager in her company. She is single and, over coffee, she agreed that dating in the 21st century is complicated for this very reason.

Because she is able to more than provide for herself, she isn’t willing to settle for just any guy. And she doesn’t think it’s worth the effort.

And really, where have all the men gone? They can’t all be chefs or mobile phone salesmen and repairmen, can they?

According to a 2011 report, globally, attitudes to sex and marriage have changed under the pressures of wealth and modernisation.

In Western society, it has led to divorce and illegitimacy; in Asia “later marriage, less marriage and (to some extent) more divorce”.

The Economist goes on to say that in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong, women were marrying later (at 29-30 years old) and more and more are simply not marrying at all. In 2010, it was found that one-third of Japanese women in their 30s were single.

Not only that: 37% of all women in Taiwan aged 30-34 were single, as were 21% of 35 to 39-year-olds.

“If women are unmarried entering their 40s, they will almost certainly neither marry nor have a child,” said the report.

It went to say that the “Asian avoidance of marriage is new, and striking” because 30 years ago, just 2% of women were single in most Asian countries. Now it’s closer to 25% among women in their 30s.

Basically, Asian women are quite content to stay single because they don’t see a lot of benefits in getting hitched. They seem to take quite well to the celibate life too. At least that’s what the Economist says.

And it shows no sign of levelling off, according to Prof Gavin W. Jones of the National University of Singapore. In an April 2013 report, he says this East Asian trend in singlehood has accelerated in Japan and South Korea over the past decade, leaving the governments “nonplussed” as to how to reverse it.

In Malaysia, the situation may not be so dire but I am anxious for my daughters (my other daughter is 22 and not dating either) who, I think, are just not trying hard enough. They would rather chill at home than party or go clubbing.

I thoroughly irritate them with my attempts at match-making but I persist. After much prodding and telling them they were getting fat and unhealthy, they both joined a gym. It hasn’t helped in getting them dates though. Maybe most of the guys who love working out are not into girls.

Why do I persist? It’s not because I have no faith in my girls to take care of themselves; they are well educated and already hold decent jobs.

It’s because I believe life is not meant to be lived alone. No matter how many friends and relatives you have, there is nothing like having someone to grow old with and to be there for you no matter what.

True, marriage may not be for everyone and it doesn’t always work out. But I want my kids to have a shot at it. Like the wife of the protagonist in the movie, Shall We Dance?, says: We need a witness to our lives. There are a billion people on the planet ... I mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage ... You’re saying ‘Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness.’”

Where have all the young men gone? 

SO AUNTY , SO WHAT? BY JUNE H.L.WON

> The writer confesses she would be a much better witness to her own spouse if she didn’t spend so much time at work. Feedback to junewong@thestar.com.my or tweet #JuneHLWong

Malaysia must produce better school teachers

THE recent announcement by the Education Ministry (MOE) that trained teachers from the Teaching Training Institute (IPG) are not guaranteed postings after completion of their courses has caused some stir among Malaysians, especially among aspiring teachers and their parents.

Some welcome the move, while others have expressed some dissatisfaction.

Since the beginning, all teachers trained by the MOE were sent to schools as soon as they completed their courses.

But things are changing now and even those who complete their courses successfully would not be assured of jobs.

As the Second Education Minister, Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh has pointed out only the competent and excellent trainee teachers will be given jobs.

The MOE has also been thinking of ways to improve the quality of teachers.

The MOE said that SPM holders applying for IPGs should have at least 7As to qualify for the institutes. This is a welcome move as aspiring teachers should have academic excellence to become a teacher.

As an educationist involved in the training of teachers for more than 20 years, I support this move. But at the same time, other elements should also be given due consideration in the selection of teachers.

Topping the list is a passion for the teaching profession.

I have noticed that the current batches of teacher trainees lack this desire.

This passion was a dominant feature among teachers of yesteryears. Till today, all us who were taught by this superb brand of teachers remember them vividly for their dedication and commitment.

Do we have these kind of teachers today?

I do not deny there are some with these characteristics. But what about the rest of the teachers.

In our pursuit for academic excellence, we may sometimes overlook elements like passion, dedication, hard work and a love for the job. Academic excellence alone may not bring the desired results.

Sometimes a candidate may not have a string of As, but has the passion for teaching and children. This kind of candidate would be a better teacher, than the one with excellent academic results.

Today a lot of students apply to become teachers as this career is a more rewarding in terms of salary and promotions.

Recently, the Government rewarded teachers handsomely by giving them a payrise and promotions.

Another crucial point that needs to be addressed is the selection of teachers. Teacher selection should be done on the basis of merit and the above mentioned characteristics.

Let our teachers have good credentials, passion and dedication and let them be responsible for bringing our standard of education to a higher level of excellence. This is the aspiration and expectation of every parent.

DR S. NATHESAN Muar, Johor

The mind-set: how the rich get richer, the poor get poorer? You need more money ...

The rich may get richer while the poor may get poorer, but it doesn't have to be that way. It requires a change of mind-set.

I ONCE overheard someone lament that “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer”, which made me think if indeed that statement is true.

The rich do get richer only because they have sound financial concepts required to stay rich. They focus on their net worth, working on their appreciating rather than depreciating assets.

They know how much is required to keep their lifestyle. They don’t necessarily need to be debt-free because they know what good leveraging can do to enhance their wealth. They employ financial strategies which are contrarian to common ones - taking on investment opportunities when others would stay away and having the purpose driven portfolios.

They consciously inject capital into their portfolios rather than on an ad hoc or timing basis. They know the impact of inflation on their money and insurance coverage because they review their financial life regularly. Their financial data is maintained and accessible anytime they want.

The poor do get poorer only because they continue to adopt a poverty mind-set. They focus on their expenses too much either being overly frugal or overly spendthrift.

Frugality means overprotective of your money which prevents risk-taking while overspending means financial leakages and unnecessary bad debts.

Their financial life has no planning and they have never taken a conscious effort to straighten it out. Their finances are all lumped into a “pot” which is meant to be used for everything.

They do invest but usually due to either lack of knowledge or fear of losing their capital, the amount is too small to be financially significant. Their insurance coverage depletes as medical costs rise, unsure what and for how much they are insured for.

It really doesn’t have to be this way. There is a way to change your financial situation. The first step is to decide to be financially responsible yourself. Acquire the right financial knowledge and make that change. Find a financial buddy to help you get started.

- Financial Snacks by Joyce Chuah, CEO of Success Concepts Life Planners

So you need more money ... 

The problem always starts when you owe more than what you can earn, financial experts say.

When it comes to money, Adrienne Wong (not her real name) believes she is a reasonable spender.

An assistant communications manager, Wong, 31, earns about RM8,000 a month, but says her debts take up a sizeable chunk of her monthly income.

The two biggest items in her list, her housing and car loans, amount to about RM3,000.

“My credit card bills usually come up to another RM1,000 plus, so that’s more than half of my salary gone. With utility bills, that’s another RM600. The rest goes into savings, pocket money for my parents and a bit of shopping.

“With property and car prices as high as they are now, it’s no wonder our loan amounts are so big. But what choice do we have?” Wong asks.

Indeed, the rising rate of household debts is a pressing concern – as of March, this year, the Malaysian household debt ratio against the GDP reached an all-time high of 83%.

Last week, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) announced a three-prong approach to curb the rising trend of household debts:

> Maximum tenure of property financing is now fixed at 35 years;

> Maximum tenure of personal loans is fixed at 10 years;

> Prohibition on the offering of pre-approved personal financing products.

BNM Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz had said that Malaysia currently has the highest household debt to GDP for a developing country in the region. In comparison, Thailand’s household debt ratio stands at 30%, Indonesia at 15.8%, Hong Kong at 58%, Taiwan at 82%, Japan at 75% and Singapore at 67%.

Countries that have higher household debt to GDP are the United States at 91.7%, United Kingdom at 114%, Australia at 113%, New Zealand at 91%, and South Korea at 91%.

RAM Holdings Bhd group chief economist Dr Yeah Kim Leng says BNM’s move is a “prudent one”.

“A financial crisis can always be traced back to excessive borrowing or leveraging, and the problem is that we never know we are in a credit bubble until that bubble bursts.

“The higher this figure is, the more vulnerable the household sector will be to economic shocks, which can come in the form of an economic downturn,” he says.

The concern, he says, is when people owe more than what they can earn, which is not sustainable.

According to BNM figures, the three biggest contributors to Malaysian household debt are the housing, car and personal loans (refer to chart).

Personal loans can be used for a variety of reasons.

Teacher Siti Norsharmi Fateh Mohamad, 28, says she took a RM35,000 personal loan three years ago to fund her wedding.

“We wanted our wedding to be special, with everything done up nicely. It didn’t feel like much then, but now that we have more commitments (a daughter and a housing loan), it’s definitely an additional burden for us.

“On hindsight, we shouldn’t have taken the personal loan ... it wasn’t a necessity,” she says.

But personal loans are popular lately and there’s a reason for it.

“Banks aggressively push personal loans because it’s one of the most profitable products for them. Interest rates for personal loans can be anywhere from 3% to 12%,” says a former local bank manager who declined to be named.

Spending trends have also changed, says Dr Yeah.

“Previously, people only spend what they can afford, but practices have changed. Today, many people don’t mind spending money they don’t have.

“Taking a personal loan is not necessarily a bad thing, but it depends on why you’re doing it. Taking a personal loan for education, for example, is fine, because you’re improving your skills ... or for medical purposes to enhance one’s health. But to take a loan for conspicuous consumption, or to make speculative ‘investments’... I think that should be discouraged,” he says.

Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency (AKPK) chief executive officer Koid Swee Lian agrees.

“It is quite common now for people to take personal loans prior to a festivity because they want to buy new furniture, change their curtains, do a bit of renovation.

“Consumers must be discerning and responsible in their borrowings, just as credit providers must be responsible in their lending. Earn before you spend, not spend then earn! Use the debit card and not the credit card if you cannot pay in full each month,” she says.

Before taking a loan, Koid says consumers should ask themselves:

> Do you really need the personal loan?

> Is it for a productive purpose or can you forgo it?

> Can you afford to pay the loan instalments? If the interest rate increases, can you still pay the increased loan instalments?

> If the loan is for a productive purpose, would you generate enough income to repay the loan and leave some income for yourself?

If taking up a personal loan is absolutely necessary, Koid advises potential borrowers to do their homework and compare the different bank rates.

“Go to bankinginfo.com.my where you can make a comparison of all the rates. Don’t take a loan just because it’s offered. Also, understand what you’re signing up for. Find out whether the bank is charging you a flat rate, a reducing rate or a floating rate,” she says.

Koid gives an example of a loan with these terms – a RM10,000 loan to be paid over five years at 4% interest rate per annum.

“A flat rate of 4% for a five years may not sound like a lot, but what it actually means is that you’re essentially paying 20% interest for the five-year loan. The amount of interest you pay doesn’t change regardless of how much you’ve repaid,” she says.

“Compare this to a reducing rate. If you’ve paid RM1,000, that means the interest should only be on the remaining RM9,000.”

Those who have trouble managing their cashflow can also seek help at AKPK or call its toll-free line at 1800-88-2575.

“People who have a debt problem often feel very embarrassed, but I think they need to be realistic. You’re in that situation, you have to solve it. Come to us, we will do our best to help you,” Koid says.

BY LISA GOH  lisagoh@thestar.com.my

Play safe on the mobile, secure your devices!

All a sinister person needs to do to spy on you is to simply penetrate your smartphone or tablet.

OF late, spying has been a household word after revelations of Prism, a clandestine mass electronic surveillance programme operated by the United States National Security Agency (NSA), by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. 

But one does not need an entire state programme to spy on someone.

All that a sinister person needs to do is to penetrate their intended victim’s smartphone or tablet. Which is quite an easy thing to do, actually. One of the common methods used is spyware.

Such spyware can easily be found by searching on Google although they are usually not free.

There is a possibility that consumers might download spyware from an identified party or an unknown source accidentally. - Goh Chee Hoh

This is what happened when a husband in Singapore suspected his wife of having an affair. On the pretence that his phone was not working, he borrowed his wife’s phone to make a call but instead installed a spyware app.

The husband was then able to see the calls made (but not hear the actual conversation), messages sent and her location at that point, from a computer using a Web-based application that communicated with the app.

When the information confirmed that she was having an affair, he continued to monitor her phone for some time before posting the information online, including the messages she sent to her “lover”. He did not reveal any personal details about themselves but this is how the news became public.

However, many have questioned the authenticity of the story, with some brushing it off as a publicity stunt to sell the spyware app.

Nevertheless, it pays to be safe, as there are apps that can do such things and they are easily obtainable from the Web.


“Mobile phones are an integral part of consumers’ lives, with two thirds of adults worldwide reporting that they use a mobile device to access the Internet,” says David Hall, senior manager of regional product marketing for Norton at Symantec Corporation.

“As we use our mobile phones in new and innovative ways, we’re also putting sensitive information at risk.”

“Spyware is a type of malware (malicious software) that logs information and then forwards that information from your device,” explains Rob Forsyth, director for Asia Pacific at Sophos Ltd.

Usually, such spyware is capable of operating quietly in the background so it can easily go unnoticed by an unsuspecting device owner.

“For a regular user, it is very difficult to figure out that they’ve been infected,” says Goh Su Gim, security advisor for Asia Pacific at F-Secure (M) Sdn Bhd. “There’s no obvious signs.”

In fact, it may surprise you to know that such threats could actually come from a source that’s known to you.

“There is a possibility that consumers might download spyware from an identified party such as their spouse, friends, colleagues, business associates or from an unknown source accidentally,” says Goh Chee Hoh, managing director for South-East Asia at Trend Micro Inc.

As an example, he describes a mobile phone monitoring service which uses Nickispy, a family of viruses that attacks Android devi­ces). It is said to be capable of monitoring a mobile user’s activities and whereabouts. The Chinese website which offers this service charges subscribers fees costing US$300 to US$540 (RM900 to RM1,620).

“This spyware sends MMS to the victim’s mobile device. Once the MMS is downloaded, the cybercriminal is granted access to your line of communications,” Chee Hoh says.

This security issue is further compounded in cases where a consumer uses the same device for both work and personal purposes.

“From a personal user’s standpoint, one can experience loss of privacy whereas from a business perspective, an organisation may lose sensitive data which can lead to loss of revenue,” he explains.

Had such an act been committed in Malaysia, it would go against Section 231 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. Using an app to obtain information from another person’s phone can land the offender a RM50,000 fine or a prison term not exceeding two years if convicted.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia commission (MCMC), our multimedia industry nurturer and regulator, also said that it does not act alone when pursuing offenders.

“We look at each case individually and help other agencies like the police, for example, when upholding the law,” said Sheikh Raffie Abd Rahman, MCMC head of strategic communications.

By SUSANNA KHOO and ZAM KARIM
bytz@thestar.com.my, The Star/Asia News Network

Simple safeguards to keep your devices secure

While the mobile security and privacy threats remain very real and imminent, the steps to prevent such problems are really quite straightforward and easy to do.

Following are some practical tips, courtesy of security specialists Symantec Corporation, Sophos Ltd, Trend Micro Inc and F-Secure (M) Sdn Bhd, that you should take note of:

1. Use your device’s built-in security features 

Configure your security settings so that functions such as location sharing are disabled and passwords are not saved but need to be manually keyed in each time.

You can also make your device more secure by activating its lock function and requiring an identification action such as a fingerprint scan, keystroke pattern, numeric PIN or alphanumeric password in order to access the device.

2. Use strong passwords and secure Internet connections

Unique and strong passwords will help prevent valuable information from being stolen from your device. Using a different password for each and every app would be best but you would need to ensure that you have a good way of remembering those passwords if you choose to go this route.

Avoiding open and unsecured Internet connections such as free public WiFi will also reduce risk of online threats on your mobile device.

3. Never jailbreak or root your device 

Use your device as recommended by the manufacturer instead of modifying the version of the iOS or Android operating system that has been installed. This is usually done to install pirated games and apps for free but this makes it easier for spyware to operate on your device.

4. Be cautious when choosing and installing apps

It’s a vast universe out there in the World Wide Web and, at times, it’s hard to tell the good guys from the bad ones. It therefore pays to be extra careful when downloading apps from the Internet. If something is too good to be true, it probably is. Do background checks on developers if you need to be sure, and scrutinise an app’s ratings and reviews as well.

It’s also a better idea to download apps directly from the Google Play Store for Android devices rather than from third party websites since downloads from some of these sources may contain malware.

Do have a close look at the Terms and Conditions as well as permissions requested by an app prior to installing it, as you don’t want to unknowingly allow developers to track and collect personal data which is unnecessary for running the app.

5. Scrutinise notifications and services running on your device 

Stay alert whenever you receive any notification on your device. Some may contain malicious links or cleverly trick you into submitting personal information to cybercriminals.

Also, pay special attention to services running in the background on your device that seem unfamiliar or strange. You will have to refer to online guides on how to check, as it differs among devices.

The principle of “when in doubt, throw it out” could help save you a great deal of trouble later on.

6. Log out immediately

This is especially crucial for social media apps where the chances of your data being misused are higher. Make it a habit to log out of such apps and re-enter login information each time you use them.

7. Stay up-to-date

Take time to pick out a preferred mobile security software and install it on your device. Make sure to constantly update it, and don’t forget to check for updates for all your apps and to install any available patches for your device’s operating system as well. Set up routine scans for your device, and review the logs each time a scan is concluded.

By Susanna Khoo
bytz@thestar.com.my ,The Star/Asia News Network

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1. Upset over US cyber spying!
2. US Spy Snowden Says U.S. Hacking China Since 2009
3. US building new spy wing to focus on Asia

Let children be children

Parents have to be more cautious and keep a close eye on their kids to protect them from negative influences.

Naughty teddy: A scene from Ted. Despite featuring a cuddly teddy bear, this is not a movie you should expose your kids to.

AFTER a hectic couple of weeks full of shows, I spent last weekend celebrating friendships, both old and new. I had a massive BBQ party for friends who had helped in preparing for the shows and projects to thank them all for their support, friendship and big hearts. The party was also a farewell of sorts for a wonderful and dear old friend of mine.

Due to my busy schedule, I’ve been missing out on much needed quality time with the important people in my life. As with all parties, not everyone was able to make it, but this didn’t prevent me from having a blast. It was fantastic to see everyone enjoying themselves, chatting, drinking and eating. Of course, saying farewell to my dear friend was quite heart-wrenching, but we still managed to share many laughs. Even my children enjoyed the evening playing with their old friends and making new ones.

Aside from the usual party banter and gossip about people we knew, lots of memories were relived; we caught up with current news and just generally had fun. One topic that seemed to dominate the evening was how fast our children were growing up. This got me wondering, whose fault is it really? Is it because of the advanced technologies they are exposed to these days ... or rather the fault of parents?

I have heard horrifying stories of under-aged children – sometimes as young as 12! – who are having sex, often without protection, and their parents are OK with this behaviour. Some European friends say this is pretty common for them. In fact, research has shown that over the past 50 years, the number of teenage girls who are sexually active has quadrupled! Unfortunately, this kind of behaviour is no longer contained within the West and becoming more rampant even here in Asia. Personally, I cannot begin to understand this but it seems more people have begun to accept that it is normal for teens to be sexually active.

A while back, I was watching a documentary about traditional weddings, which highlighted arranged marriages involving children, especially among minority tribes. This documentary shared the story of four sisters who got married at the same time, the youngest of whom was only four! According to some traditions, if a boy of that age isn’t married yet, he will bring shame to his family. It’s sad to think that this practice continues to exist in this day and age.

I know for a fact that my grandparents had an arranged marriage. Grandma used to tell me how many of her friends back then were arranged to be married even before they were born. But circumstances were different then.

I guess in certain communities where marriage is seen as economic security for girls, things are different. But in societies like ours, where girls have every opportunity to create their own financial security, children are still maturing too quickly. And I feel both parents and technology have played a role.

Technology has become so accessible, allowing kids to be exposed to sites they shouldn’t be viewing. And parents are not monitoring what their children view online. I have even heard of parents watching pornographic movies in the same room as their young children! Children these days are smart and they learn fast.

They are also impressionable, and being exposed to this sort of film would make them think this behaviour is acceptable and that it’s okay for them to imitate it. Scary!

Even movies these days expose young children to unsuitable words and images. Stories that seem innocent enough for young kids are often laced with topics that are too mature for them. Take the movie Ted, which was released not too long ago. I actually contemplated taking my children to watch it because I was under the impression, from the posters that I had seen, that it was simply about a young boy and his teddy bear.

Luckily, I went online to check out the trailer and reviews. The movie was full of obscenities and actions that I definitely would not have wanted my young children to watch.

So, yes, in a way the Internet is great as it allows us to access useful information so much easier and faster. However, if not used properly, it can open Pandora’s box of elements we want to keep away from our kids. I was told by a friend that even adding filters to websites is not completely fool-proof. There seems to be no way around this one – we are living in a very advanced world where all sorts of data, including the unsavoury kind – have become very accessible. This makes the world a very scary place indeed, especially in terms of young children and teenagers.

Even TV channels, such as MTV, present girls in revealing clothes and seductive dance. Too many little girls will therefore think that dressing and behaving in that fashion is “cool”. It makes me sick when I see so many girls these days acting much more mature than they are. I also feel sorry for our children, the future leaders of our world, to have been injected with such unnecessary images in their heads from such a young age.

I’m not sure how we can help change this world to be a better place for our children. It will definitely be a tough mission, but it’s vital that we try anyway. We just have to be more cautious and keep a close eye on our kids’ daily activities to protect them from negative influences.

It’s important that we show them happy movies and stories, and preserve their childhood for as long as possible. Childhood is the most carefree and happy time they will ever have. Let’s not rob our children of this wonderful, innocent experience.

It really is difficult being parents today, but we can only try.

 Mel’s Place by MELINDA LOOI

Award-winning fashion designer Melinda Looi tries to marry consumerism and materialism with environmental consciousness, and believes her greatest creations are her children. Follow her on Facebook or write in to star2@thestar.com.my.

China's Lenovo overtakes HP as global No 1 PC maker

PALO ALTO (CBS/AP) – Lenovo beat out rival Hewlett-Packard to become the No. 1 PC maker by a narrow margin, according to both firms.

In the Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) region overall PC shipments in the region fell slightly below forecast due to China. Weak sell-in to China during April and May constrained shipments. Although June shipments in China improved, expectations for the third quarter are being lowered to reflect remaining inventory as well as economic pressures.

Worldwide shipments of personal computers fell 11 percent in the April-June period, according to data from research firms Gartner and IDC, as people continued to migrate to tablets and other mobile devices.

Gartner Inc. said Wednesday that the PC industry is now experiencing the longest decline in its history, as shipments dropped for the fifth consecutive quarter. Computer makers shipped 76 million PCs in the April-June period, down from 85 million in the same  three months of 2012, according to Gartner.

International Data Corp., which uses slightly different methodology, essentially came to the same conclusion, though it noted that the decline was slightly smaller than expected.

“With second quarter growth so close to forecast, we are still looking for some improvement in growth during the second half of the year,” said Jay Chou, senior analyst at IDC, in a statement. “Slower growth in Europe and China reflect the risks, while the improved U.S. outlook reflects potential improvement.”

Gartner’s Mikako Kitagawa said inexpensive tablets are displacing low-end computers in “mature” markets such as the United States. In emerging markets like China, meanwhile “inexpensive tablets have become the first computing device for many people, who at best are deferring the purchase of a PC. This is also accounting for the collapse of the mini notebook market,” she added.

IDC said the numbers “reflect a market that is still struggling with the transition to touch-based systems running Windows 8.”  Microsoft Corp.’s latest operating system launched in October and sales have disappointed analysts. But Kitagawa said that while “Windows 8 has been blamed by some as the reason for the PC market’s decline, we believe this is unfounded as it does not explain the sustained decline in PC shipments.”  - CBS, AP, AFP

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Son, mum in bloodshed by wife, her daughter-in-law !

Injured: Lim and her son Liew Pang @ Low Pang after they were allegedly assaulted.

KLANG: An old woman and her son ended up with head wounds so bad they needed to be stitched up. Both alleged that they were attacked by the son’s wife with a metal spatula.

And the fight was over joss paper.

It all started when Lim Kae Poy, 67, went to her 31-year-old daughter-in-law’s condominium in Bandar Baru Klang on Saturday, to collect schoolbooks belonging to her grandson.

“As soon as I entered, she accused me of stealing joss paper from the living room and threw a metal can at me but I dodged it,” she told reporters yesterday.

“She then hit me on the head with a metal spatula.”

Lim managed to get away and fled to the Bandar Baru police station to lodge a report, but the policemen took her to the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital because she was bleeding profusely. She needed five stitches on her head.

Battered duo: Liew and his mother Lim received five stitches each following the attack.

Her son, Liew Pang @ Low Pang, 37, who had earlier tried to break up the fight, was also allegedly whacked on the head by his wife.

He stayed back in the condominium when his mother fled, in order to restrain his wife.

Liew later sought treatment at a clinic. He too needed five stitches to close his head wound.

He told reporters that when he went to lodge a police report the following day at the Sungai Kapar police station, he was instead detained for four days.

The police told him his wife had reported earlier that he had beaten her up.

North Klang OCPD Asst Comm Shukor Sulong confirmed that police reports have been lodged by all three.

By TEH ENG HOCK
newsdesk@thestar.com.my/Asia News Network

Care for a study pill?

Use of ADHD drugs as study aid by students raises concerns. 

Like steroids?: Standard drugs for treating attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder are being used by some US sudents to help them stay awake as they cram for exams.

A UNIVERSITY of Kansas freshman took a break from shooting hoops with friends outside his dormitory to talk about what some students call “study pills”.

As final exams approached last semester, he took a few doses of a prescribed stimulant. “But all they did was make me feel nervous,” said the chemical engineering major. “I’m off of it now.”

He still has a vial of leftover pills he used for his attention issues in high school. And that’s why he asked that his name not appear in this article: He didn’t want to be pressed by dormmates to supply them with an illegal focus boost for upcoming finals.

The controlled stimulants that many college students seek, if only for a momentary edge, carry familiar brand names such as Adderall, Vyvanse, Focalin and Ritalin. They’re all standard drugs for treating attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, often successfully.

Their misuse, however, is thought to be on the rise at campuses in the US – creating a potentially serious health hazard and trips to the emergency room for students not diagnosed for ADHD.

The extent of the problem is anyone’s guess. Because of what experts consider a lack of reliable research, illicit dealing of ADHD drugs either is infrequent on campus or something so commonplace as to be the college crowd’s best-kept secret.

“The only people who don’t know about it are the parents,” said University of Kentucky communications professor Alan D. DeSantis. “I’m sure the majority of my students will be using at some time during finals week. It’s really built into the climate and culture of today’s college life.”

‘Study pills’

DeSantis has analysed several years’ worth of surveys of Kentucky undergraduates to conclude that at least one-third of the student body has taken ADHD medication without prescriptions. Another 8% use the drugs legally under a doctor’s supervision, he said, and half of them provide pills to other students.

The incidence of use appears to be higher among Kentucky seniors and juniors than for younger students, DeSantis added.

Assessing a variety of surveys, a 2008 study published in the Journal of American Child Adolescent Psychiatry offered a not-so-precise range of 5 to 35% of college-aged people taking attention-deficit stimulants not prescribed for them.

A University of Missouri survey found a usage rate in between.

About 12% in a sample of Mizzou students admitted to using controlled stimulants or painkillers, prescribed or illegally, said Kim Dude, director of the University of Missouri’s Wellness Resource Center. “Eighty-five percent of the students don’t use any of that.”

But she does agree with the KU freshman – don’t let on if you’ve got attention-deficit pills.

“We urge students and their parents from the start: Don’t tell anybody,” Dude said. “They’ll run into peer pressure to sell it or give it away” to other students.

This month, data-miners at Brigham Young University issued a study that tracked Twitter references to study pills.

Searching keywords such as “Adderall,” “college” and “cramming” over a six-month period, lead researcher Carl Hanson revealed, “We don’t have all the answers” on the frequency of legal use or abuse. But the study did conclude that tweets about the drug were heaviest among students in the US Northeast and South, and lightest among students in the Plains and Southwestern states (including California).

Also, the report summary stated, “Tweets about Adderall peak sharply during final exam periods.”

Said Hanson: “I’m concerned about the social norm-ing thing. If students perceive (taking stimulant medication) as normal because it’s talked about and tweeted a lot, they’ll take the risk.”

Easy to get

Katharine Beach became addicted when she was a KU student.

“It’s sad how many doctors would fill prescriptions for me,” said Beach, 26 and now clean.

Diagnosed with attention deficit disorder when she was 18, the medication at first helped her focus and stay awake to study. But after she started drinking heavily, Beach chose to give up booze and find a new fix.

“It’s called cross-addiction,” said Beach, who graduated last year with a degree in applied behavioural science.

Student health services at KU required her to jump through too many hoops before filling prescriptions. (“They’re onto students who want something quick,” she said.) So, relying upon private medical clinics in Lawrence, Kansas City and her psychiatrist in Colorado, Beach procured five times the recommended dosage of Adderall to keep her buzz.

“Everyone around me knew I didn’t drink anymore ... but (that) something else was going on,” she said. “I’m positive I would have switched to cocaine or maybe meth down the road.”

Her health insurance carrier got wise and stopped funding her prescriptions. Her parents caught on after Beach maxed out their credit card. She entered treatment and works today at a University of Colorado rehabilitation centre, helping addicts.

Dealing with the consequences

Millions of Americans have taken prescribed ADHD medication – often intermittently – without experiencing negative side effects. But an under-30 generation raised on the practice might not be aware of the dangers of taking even modest dosages without a thorough diagnosis, said psychiatrist Tahir Rahman of the MU School of Medicine.

“If you’re depressive or have bipolar disorder, taking a drug such as Adderall could be throwing gasoline on a fire,” Rahman said.

In the US, the number of emergency room visits related to abuse of ADHD drugs rose to 31,224 in 2010 – more than double the number recorded five years earlier, according to a report released in January.

Such ER visits by people aged 18 to 25 nearly quadrupled during that time, the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Association reported.

It is not known how many of those patients were college students.

“I hear students talk about it all the time,” said Kate Baxendale, a junior studying journalism at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She and another student wrote about the problem in the university newspaper after agreeing to not identify stimulant users by name.

Baxendale has never taken Adderall, she said, but others in her dorm have sold it. “At a time like this (finals week), they can sell for US$20 (RM60) a pill,” she said. The sellers ration their prescribed medication because they need some for themselves.

The university’s health services do not have medical doctors to prescribe controlled stimulants, so students taking them must get the drugs elsewhere.

Colleges around the US are tightening their procedures to limit student access to stimulant medicine.

“Some campuses have stopped prescribing stimulants outright,” said Stacy Andes of the American College Health Association. Others, including KU, require students to present copies of at least two diagnostic tests given by doctors or mental-health professionals.

The drugs easily can be obtained off campus in most college towns, said DeSantis of the University of Kentucky. A clinic or family practitioner may ask patients to fill out a questionnaire that asks if they have trouble focusing or completing assignments.

“For the most part, students (seeking medication) know how to answer those questions,” DeSantis said.

Downing Adderall to perform better on tests raises questions beyond medical ones: Is it the educational equivalent of using steroids to cheat in sports? Are students who choose not to use stimulants, or those who can’t afford them, chasing degrees at an unfair disadvantage?

Psychiatrists debate whether the drugs do much at all to help people not diagnosed with ADHD, other than to keep them awake so they can cram for tests.

Girding up for finals in a library study room at UMKC, Govinda Koirala wrinkled his nose when asked if he would ever consider a pharmaceutical boost.

“I drink coffee,” said the junior studying mechanical engineering. “And the latest I stay up studying is 11.30pm,” His secret to academic success? “Just relax. Sleep well. Do what’s good for your mind.”

Must work. Koirala is pulling a 3.91 grade-point average. – The Kansas City Star/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

By RICK MONTGOMERY The Star/Asia News Network

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Exercise can affect your DNA

Exercise doesn't only improve your appearance, it can alter your genes, cutting your risks of obesity and diabetes, a new Swedish study finds.

While inherited DNA cannot be altered, the way that genes express themselves can through exercise, diet, and lifestyle, researchers from Lund University Diabetes Center explained, noting that a workout can positively affect the way cells interact with fat stored in the body.

Lead author Charlotte Ling, associate professor, and her team looked at the DNA of 23 slightly overweight but healthy men aged around 35. The men previously didn't exercise but attended indoor cycling and aerobics classes for six months. “They were supposed to attend three sessions a week, but they went an average 1.8 times,” says associate researcher Tina Rönn.

Using technology that analyses 480,000 positions throughout the genome, they could see that epigenetic changes had taken place in 7,000 genes (an individual has 20,000 to 25,000 genes). A closer look revealed genes linked to diabetes and obesity, also connected to storing fat, had also been altered.

“We found changes in those genes too, which suggests that altered DNA methylation as a result of physical activity could be one of the mechanisms of how these genes affect the risk of disease,” said Rönn.

“This has never before been studied in fat cells. We now have a map of the DNA methylome in fat,” Lind added.

The findings, announced this week, appear online in the journal PLOS Genetics.

A separate study published this March in the journal Cell Metabolism shows that when people exercise for as little as 20 minutes, it can alter their DNA almost immediately. - AFP Relaxnews

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Groom-to-be RM36,000 poorer !

A MAN is now RM36,000 poorer after his bride-to-be conned him, reported Harian Metro. 

The 39-year-old housing contractor had never met the 25-year-old and only knew her through the Internet for six months, the report said.

The woman, whom he met via an online social networking site, claimed to be a trainee doctor who recently graduated from a local university in Penang.

She also claimed to be an orphan and was in financial difficulties. “She made various promises, including her readiness to be my wife.

“That got me concerned and I also felt sorry for her, what more after she told me that her parents had just passed away,” he told the daily.

According to the report, the woman SMSed him on the first day of their online encounter and asked for RM30 as she was short of money.

“A few days later, she said she had some family problems in the village and asked for RM1,000 which I banked in,” he added.

The amount, the report stated, grew over time from RM2,000 right up to RM20,000 purportedly to build a house in the village with promises that the money would be returned once she started working.

“I deposited the money without any suspicion.

“Overall, I deposited RM36,000 into three different accounts involving 64 transactions,” he told the tabloid.

The woman then ignored his calls and later sent him a SMS to state that everything was a lie.

“I was shocked to receive the SMS. I was conned of RM36,000,” he told the daily after lodging a police report in Alor Gajah.

The Star/Asia News Network -Other News & Views
Compiled by FLORENCE A . SAMY, NG SI HOOI and A. RAMAN

Women coax men to seek help for 'manhood problems'

MEN who seek medical help for sexual dysfunction are usually forced by their wives to make the doctor’s appointment, clinical andrologist Dr Mohd Ismail Mohd Tambi told Metro Ahad.

He was quoted as saying that the men would try to avoid consulting medical experts over “manhood problems” because of their ego and fear of embarrassment.

“More women are making the appointments on behalf of their husbands,” he said. “Even on the rare occasions that men themselves seek help, it is because their wives forced them to.”

Men who faced such problems, he said, made matters worse by opting for “short-cuts” by taking pills and other products to “boost their energy”.

These so-called medication, if taken without a doctor’s advice, could even lead to death, Dr Mohd Ismail warned.

Quoting statistics from the latest H4rd Poll by pharmaceutical company Pfizer Malaysia, he said more than 40% of Malaysian men, including those in their 20s, suffered sexual dysfunction.

“Even more shocking, the majority of them can perform for about a minute only,” he said, adding that some wives then resort to divorcing their husbands. “Others have extramarital affairs to satisfy their needs.”

The Star/Asia News Network -Other News & Views
Compiled by NG SI HOOI, P. ARUNA and and A. RAMAN