Malaysian FSI and GM

Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Datuk Sri Najib announced the new liberalization policy of Malaysian Financial Policy recently. Many licenses to open new banks will be given to foreigners. But the most interesting part is foreigners can now own up to 70% in Insurance and Takaful companies (Islamic Insurance). This open door policy is most welcome especially during this period of uncertainty.

As for GM the decision to close more dealerships and lay off more workers is expected. But I am truly eager to know the outcome of the said merger between Chrysler and Fiat. I guess what Lee Iococa did for Chrysler then is not RELEVANT now. Somehow I forgot the contents of Lee Iococa's book which I read in 1988.

Each day passed and I am hoping for better news such as now my asthma has faded quite substantially. Today I managed to plant one banana trunk at my farm.I have not done so since December 2008.

I AM DEBT FREE

With God's grace I paid off my Perodua Kancil hire purchase loan recently. Legally I have no debts with any financial institutions

BUT

My blood pressure is still high. I was warded again at Hospital Tuanku Ampuan Najihah Kuala Pilah on April 9th 2009 but only for one day. I felt something on my chest that Thursday morning thus I decided to drive alone to the hospital only to be advised to stay in bed for rest.

I need to do the Holter test on June 17th 2009 and this time I will not miss it.

EXORA - First Proton MPV

Proton launched its first MPV model recently. Immediately after its launching I went to Proton showroom to feel the first Malaysian Made MPV.

My comments :
1) the interior looks spacious.
2) the accessories are up to the world standard - Lcd, gps etc
3) In car entertainment needs more polishing. I don't think a black color cd player is noticeable.
4) The price of RM69,999 is very competitive

Thumbs up to The MD of Proton Datuk Syed Zainal and his team.

New Prime Minister of Malaysia

Datuk Sri Mohd Najib Tun Razak was appointed the new Prime Minister of Malaysia on April 3, 2009. Najib is the first son of the second Prime Minister of Malaysia the late Tun Abdul Razak.

Just like his father Datuk Najib is facing tough challenges especially as the world economy is getting more gloomy. In 1970 the Malaysian political scene was in a bad shape. Tun Razak ruled Malaysia professionally because he is a lawyer. But Najib with his vast political experience and more importantly his economics background would certainly be an asset to him to rule Malaysia well just like his late father.

Fate of GM and Chrysler

The decision of President Obama to reject the turnaround plans for both GM and Chrysler must be looked at seriously. I have the same opinion with President Obama regarding GM's future plans i.e. GM has not provided an attractive avenue for its own survival. There is no obvious profitable plan which GM has put forward. Thus my opinion is even with the extra 6o days, GM is still in its way to Chapter 11.

But I am really surprise with President Obama strong stance on Chrysler entering into a partnership with Fiat. I thought the plan was to merge GM and Chrysler but I guess Washington has its own option plan. I have never driven a Fiat BUT I have been in a Fiat i.e. Fiat 124 and Fiat Tempra (Malaysian version)

I look forward to the developments in the coming weeks.

Merger of Canadian Oil Companies

I was reading The Economist.com when all of the sudden I remember that the province of Alberta Canada has the second biggest oil reserve after Saudi Arabia. I feel so awkward because I used to remember this fact on my finger tips when I studied at University of Saskatchewan.

The merger of Suncor Energy and Petro-Canada must be looked at positively. Saving $300 million of operating expenditure is a big sum of money. But more importantly by merging both companies would avert unnecessary rivalry. Although the oil reserve is plenty, one day it will deplete and eventually run dry.

Oil and Energy companies must take the necessary steps to find other source of energy. Malaysian oil Company Petronas has been developing alternative energy because oil reserve in Malaysia would run dry by 2013.

But I am still puzzle as to where I had misplaced my Petro-Canada card!

Devastated

Dear Valentine,
I am listening to Karen Carpenter singing Yesterday Once More,
Over and over again , yet I knew I have to write this in public....
Come March 30th 2009, it will be 3 months since my father passed away. I feel so lost sometimes wondering whether I did any wrong doing on that Tuesday morning 30th December 2008. I did asked my father whether he wanted to see the doctor in the morning but he refused. I knew I should have forced him to do so.

If I have enough cash now, I would have booked the airline ticket to Saskatoon right away. I need a break from this great loss. While on the flight from Vancouver to Saskatoon I should see the beautiful scenery of Banff and Jasper.

But in reality I still need to save more money for that flight to Saskatoon. My emotion is still not stable, my heart pounding fast most of the time but I don't care. I was supposed to undergo a stress test and echo last week but I didn't go to the hospital because I knew I would fail the stress test. I am still unstable emotionally.

One day I will go Saskatoon and Outlook again.

Finally - The Fed Is Going Somewhere

The decision of the Federal Reserve to buy back long term treasury bond and mortgage back securities is long overdue. In fact The Fed should have done so during the 3rd quarter 2008 (before the collapse of Lehman etc).

Put it this way. As an undergraduate I follow by the book. When recession is closed to deflation then the appropriate way to revitalize the economy is to push for inflation. However the threat of hyperinflation could not be ruled out.

I would assume that the Federal Reserve would exercise the buying back strategy in order to improve its Balance Sheet. I predict it won't be long before other central banks follow suit.

Opec's decision to cut oil production has pushed crude oil prices to go higher than USD 50. I think the price between USD 50 to 60 per barrel is acceptable for the oil producing nations and buyers, considering the current economic outlook.

Glass Steagall Act

I was still in darkness when Glass Steagall Act 1933 was repealed in 1998 i.e. my life was still upside down. I was just starting my banana farm then. I was broke like hell. I had to walk 5km to the Kuala Pilah town just to mail a job application letter. Many times I had to drink a tap water to avoid thirst because when I was in town I just had enough sen to cover my bus fare home.

In 2002 With God's grace my mother got some money inherited from my late grandfather thus I bought my Perodua Kancil i.e. the cheapest new car in Malaysia then BUT the people of Kuala Pilah reacted as if they wanted to cut my hand. WHY? Is it that wrong for me to have my own car? IDIOT ! Moreover is it that wrong for me to marry a foreigner?

Coming back to Glass Steagall Act. Honestly even if it is NOT repealed I doubt that the current US credit crunch (which is a global crisis now) could be averted. The reason being Americans are used to non monetary instruments (Credit Cards etc) rather than paying cash.

Obviously many items were overlooked when Glass Steagall Act was repealed even though on paper Riegle-Neil IBBEA 1994 and GLBA of 1999 looked promising. Maybe its time for President Obama to look into this matter again.