Must change lifestyle

Change! Change! Change! Wow, this is going to be my third topic on changes in less then 2 weeks! Even my sis did article on this called "The "New" Hannover Re". Isn't it bizarre(said with the effect of x-files)!

Ok, enough with that! Lets get serious. The topic of my discussion today is of course "change" and has some links with my previous topic "Cutback! ". Couple of days ago, i came across this article written by Mohsin Abdullah on (Must Change Lifestyle). The article is simply superb! He actually penned down what been bugging on every Malaysian 's mind. Ok not all, most Malaysians. The best part of the whole article is the naive remarks from the daughter as quoted below:

“But dad, that’s what’s we been doing all this while. Mum goes to the market and buy the cheapest goods possible. We eat low-grade rice. We don’t watch TV or play computer much. Our house don’t have air con. We don’t use electricity much. We seldom eat out and it’s been years since we go for holidays. We have never been overseas. And we drive a Kancil. Isn’t that small enough already? So what’s there to change?" she asked.

Government has urge the rakyat to save and spend less. But isn’t that what we have been practising for the past 11 years ever since the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis breakdown. Even though the fact and figure show improvement in our financial state but the facts is, we are merely surviving. Ask the middle class rakyat, they tell the story behind their sufferings and survival.

Let say, hypothetically, an educated middle class man earns about RM3,500 per month. His income will be roughly spend as stated below:

RM750 for rental or housing loan
RM500 of car
RM500 for toll/petrol,
RM400 for insurance and other payment
RM300 for phone, electricity, water and astro bill
RM300 for study loan
RM300 to eat

RM 200 credit card
RM250 groceries

The question now is, how will he survive when he get married to homemaker and has 3 kids? Something to ponder right? This is how some fellow Malaysian been surviving.

Firstly, despite having less money, the government has urged the rakyat to spend to improve our economy. Hence, started with the mega sales 3 times a year urging people to spend more. Nevertheless, the motion seems silly when there isn’t any money left to spend? Even if we choose to shop, the only items on sale are merely t-shirt, jeans (and its not even branded) and funny looking flat sandals from Thailand/China. Unless, the government changes the current policy of allowing the civil servant to wear jeans, T and sandals on Friday, I don’t see a point of buying one when either you get free or buy while you go for holiday!

Secondly, many claims that people today are spending lavishly on food. But are we? Those days, we can easily buy roti chanai and tea in less then RM1.00 or small packet of peanuts for RM0.50 or water for RM0.10/free. Nevertheless, today one full set Indian meal with drinks can easily goes up to RM15 per head. And above that, all items that are given as courtesy such as peanuts and papadum and water being charged. Hence, the rakyat today have opt for something yummier and cheaper like western food such as McD’s and Pizza hut which will cost lesser. For example, 6 set of large pizza, 4 set of cola and side dishes cost about RM150 at domino's or rice dhall and 2 lousy vege and chicken curry for RM150 for 10 people! So which one will you prefer?

Of course some of you might suggest to stay in the house and eat. But my friend, cooking at home is not cheap as all Malaysian made products are expensive. The prices of chicken, mutton fruits and even vegetables has raised up though they are produced locally. It seems the vege's and fruits that come from Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and china are a lot cheaper then what produced locally. Not only that, all locally manufactured food are expensive and low in quality. Many of the products today taste awful because they are not genuine. The skimmed milk taste like oil, butter taste like nothing, the flour (when made to kuih) taste and feel like bubble gum, the rice are fat, sticky and tasteless, the oil are reused oil, the bread smells more of yeast and above all even the Maggie sucks despite the whole lots of MSG in it. May be, even the MSG is not genuine today and need be flavored up. Sigh! Above that, the essential imported food such as onion, various dhals, nuts and spices are also highly priced. So with the increase in electricity and gas, the only other option we have is to go back to basic, "rice, ketchup and ulam/ hot chilies".

As for leisure, many Malaysian despite having less money in their pockets, opt to go for holiday and spend quality time with family. With our friend Dato’ Tony (CEO of Air Asia) and his cheap flight, now everyone can fly abroad. But it doesn’t mean that flying abroad indicates that cost of living has improved. It simply means we Malaysian has finally learn to survive and make smart decision. Most of the time the flight booked are cheaper then the fuel and toll when travel by road. Many times lodging, food and tour abroad are cheaper compare to Malaysia. Many believes that to spend RM1,000-RM2,000 going to Sabah, Sarawak, Langkawi etc, they opt to go to Thailand or Indonesia to shop, where things are way cheaper then Malaysia!

So to say that we are not affected by the economically down turn is not true. We are merely surviving. The most effected of all are the middle incomers especially the lower middle income which have just enough money, but are exposed to the materialistic world and have little to spend. The poor wouldn’t realize and the rich wouldn’t mind with price hike, but the middle incomers will suffer.

So what happens when what we earn is not enough specially with the price hike? The educated family man of RM3,500 pay will soon have 3 to 4 set of credit card to spend on groceries and eating out, don’t pay 2-3 months rent, cut on the insurances, frequently go for open house or party for free food and at times open nasi lemak stall at housing area. And when even that fails, need be afraid as we have our mighty big brother “ALONG” to loan us money.

So how to stop this nonsense? Its all depend on the decision makers. The first intelligent step would be by cutting away road taxes, tolls and all subsidies crap. Why impose on subsidy when others are getting benefit out of it. Almost half of residents in Malaysia are foreigner. So the only way to stop this is to have ration card as impose in India. It’s a redeemable paper coupons where every family will be issued a set number of each kind of stamp based on the size of the family, ages of children and income to get essential items such as “ rice, wheat, sugar, edible oils and other non food products such as kerosene, coal, standard cloth at below market prices to consumers. Or even practice fuel ration cards imposed in Germany.

So mean while waiting for that to happen, this is what can be done:

comics taken from: http://www.cartoonstock.com/

note:

Along- illegal money lender

Rakyat: the civilian

Ulam: type of Malay salad

kuih: various type of Malaysian desert

nasi lemak: coconut rice with peanuts, cucumber and spicy gravy eaten mainly for breakfast

roti canai: Indian pancake/paratha

180 Degree Change

Beginning of this year, I vowed to change. Of course this resolution of mine emerged late, as I the all mighty shuba don’t believe in resolution or vision or mission or many other things.

But things happen along the way and I start picking up my missing pieces and I realized the time has come for me to change. Not 360 degrees but 180 was sufficient enough. And of course I didn’t discover this all by myself but with a little help form an incredible book called “The Secret-Law of Attraction”.

So to begin with changes, one needs a resolution. I created not one but many. But today, I am not going to talk about it or reveal what’s cooking in my tinny little brain, but just to share a small portion of my discovery.

But warning: “This will not and may not be applicable to all but me, myself and I”

Me, I am morning person. I believe in waking up and feeling happy on top of the world, forgetting my past and enjoying every moment till the sun rise up above my head an melt the invisible shield to bring me back to reality. Sigh!

Hence, when someone or something spoils my mood early in the morning, I get mad and annoyed and irritated. And just like the Gestalt Law, one thing will continiously lead to another and it will finally lead towards a bad day!

But I was wrong. There are no such things as bad day unless we decided to feel so. But of course I didn’t discover it till I read “The Secret-Law of Attraction”! After going into deep analization (imagine a book that can be read in 1 day took me almost 2 week to finish), I discovered what the author said was indeed true. We are in control of our destiny or life. What happens is derived of what we think and what we ask for. Just as the saying goes:

“Your wish is my command!”

Hence I tried it on looking at things that could lead to chain relation for a bad day and discovered this pattern or similar to this:

Ma wakes us up late and I quickly rush to bathe.

Soon to discover I forgotten to blow my dry my hair, which deliberately lead to bad hair day.

While I am trying to mend my hair, I soon realize my stomach is bloated and I don’t look nice in any of my clothes.

Above all, the clothes that fit are not ironed. So chuck my self in baju kurung and bun my hair..

Just I will rush my self out, there will always be some one or sometimes even me say something really wrong which will lead to bad conversation or arguments.

So by the time I leave the house or while in car, I am upset and mad or angry. Just then I will realize my petrol thank will be in E.

So I have to rush to pour petrol and will continue my journey. Because I am late, there will be more cars on the road, more idiot driving, more of me complaining. Soon I will discover that all traffic light that I pass by that day would red. More delay of course!

Just when I realize nothing worst could happen, as I get in to my room, I will definitely discover my phone missing! Ops, what else, I left it at home.

Then things will go wrong in my office, everyone will try to call me and get upset for not answering and finally when I go back home, there wont be anything nice to eat or much. So all in all it’s a bad day.

Then I discovered that things happen coherently due to our silly mistakes. So I changed them. This is how:

i. If I am late, I don’t bathe (Its not like I sleep in the bush to be that dirty);

ii. If I forget to blow dry my hair, I will put a bun (that why I am enjoying my long hair for this long);

iii. To avoid bloated stomach I try to avoid peanuts or dhall or nowadays trying prune juice;

iv. When I see my petrol in E, I make sure I can drive up till putrajaya or pour the night before;

v. To avoid bad clothes day, I will always keep a side clothes that are one size large or simply wear baju kurung;

vi. To avoid last minutes ironing, I make sure all clothes are ironed upfront or simply buy blouses that don’t require ironing;

vii. Finally to avoid bad conversation or arguments, I have opt to keep quite, forget what ever being voice out or shouted at and “forgive, forget and smile and sometimes response back calmly”.

After doing all this I realized that, by the time my car stops at putrajaya and I walk up to my room and calm down, the days goes smoothly.

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unless, I asked for trouble. But of course this doesn’t happen all the time. Disasters do strike at times and many times during PMS. I guess when I decide to change my self, my hormone changed too. Now days I get more cranky during PMS. So the will to be patient vary off and many times i I lose control. But with the new me, I am sure I can figure out the way to curb that problem.

Cutback!

We Malaysian are so fond of cutback. It started sometimes last years with the shortages of sugar. Subsequently, the Government urged the nation to cutback on sugar consumption for health purpose.

Months later, there were shortages of cooking oil and the Government once again urged the nation to cutback on oil consumption for health purpose.

Just two months ago, there were shortages of rice and government once again urged the nation to cutback on rice consumption for the same reason said above.

Today, the cutback syndrome has spread on other items as well. Ever since the prices of petrol hiked up, there has been tremendous suggestion by the government to cutback on unnecessary expenditure.

First were 10% cut down on Cabinet Ministers and state governments allowances including restriction on holiday trips, excursion as well as limitation on escorts; followed by the cut down on courses and excursion (both internal and broad) for government staff and today, I received a memo from my division admin imposing on reduction on wastages on paper by (i) changing font; (ii) printing double sided and (iii) using recycled paper when printing drafts.

Hmmm. It’s rather witty that policies such as "Go Green Planet" or "Recycle" or even "Paperless Government" has failed the government to foresee on the paper wastages before, but mere petrol hike has changed everything.

Even though all these savings are good for the nation, I don’t see how a 10% cutback on administrative cost such as allowances could help government reduce wastages when there are overlooking on the wastages occurring due to increase in civil servant’s employment, maintaining the National Services program, focusing on corridors project and etc. It doesn’t balance up at all.

With all this cutbacks made in the name of savings, the only thing we government servant are not looking forward is 10% pay cut! Dr. M have imposed in the past, I wouldn’t be surprise if Pak Lah follows his guidance.