EPF Records RM1.97 Billion Retirement Withdrawals In Third Quarter Of 2009

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 (Bernama) -- Some RM1.97 billion has been withdrawn under the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) Retirement Withdrawals in the third quarter of 2009 (Q3 2009), an increase from the RM1.64 billion withdrawn in the corresponding period last year.

Of the RM1.97 billion, RM1.41 billion was withdrawn as Lump Sum Age 55 Withdrawal, up 14.2 percent from that in Q3 2008, EPF said in a statement on its unaudited results today.

EPF Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Azlan Zainol said the remaining RM557.05 million was withdrawn under the Flexible Age 55 Withdrawal, up 38.05 percent from the RM403.51 million last year.

"Increasing member interest in Flexible Age 55 Withdrawals underscores their confidence in the EPF in earning dividends for their savings. The flexibility of the withdrawal provides members the benefit of managing their nest egg more effectively.

"Nonetheless, 72 percent of retirement withdrawals still consist of lump sum withdrawals. We hope to see this amount decrease over time as more members become increasingly aware that lump sum withdrawal will likely lead to income inadequacy during retirement."

Azlan said members had exercised greater prudence and care in making withdrawals for housing as showed by a more cautious behaviour due to the present economic conditions.

"With many buyers adopting a 'wait and see' attitude, approved applications for housing withdrawals in Q3 2009 dropped 20.18 percent to 86,664 compared to the 108,573 applications last year," he added.

RM50 credit card service tax should not be a ‘plastic hungry’ move

THE debate over the RM50 credit card service tax rages on even as the banking sector is urging the Government to reconsider the industry’s proposal to exclude corporate cards and impose the tax on per customer instead of per card basis.

Corporate cards are used for ease of transactions and cashflow management; executives have less forms to fill and in this context, it is a step towards improving productivity.

“If the objective of imposing the service tax is to prevent individuals from misusing credit, why are cards used by corporates also taxed? That will not only increase the cost of doing business but also send a potentially wrong message that companies can get penalised for being efficient,’’ Citibank Malaysia CEO Sanjeev Nanavati said in response to queries from StarBiz.

“This is not a small, localised issue,’’ he added. “People are going to view this as one of the implications of doing business in Malaysia.’’

Imposing service tax on per card basis is also a wrong move as spending power should not be gauged by the number of plastics held but on the total amount of credit available.

“A lot of people spend prudently and have multiple cards for the value they see in them,’’ said Sanjeev. “Taxing them on each card they hold has the effect of taking away some of the value they are receiving from these cards. Furthermore, banks impose a credit limit across multiple cards. So having more cards with the same bank does not mean you can spend more.’’

There is no serious personal debt problem in Malaysia and hence, no urgent need to clamp down on the usage of the cards. In a truly cashless society, people use cards as a matter of convenience and that could be for small amounts.

Those who had spent many hours devising ways to encourage cashless transactions must be scratching their heads at this “brilliant’’ move to tap into their success in generating the volume and usage of cards.

In the name of consolidation, the Government’s move to slap a RM50 service tax is viewed as a step backwards and too high an amount despite top officials’ assertion that it is “no big deal.’’

A RM10 or RM20 tax would be more palatable while passing on the message of prudence.

Even though the budget announcement says the tax is effective from Jan 1 next year, it may not necessarily mean that it is collected all at once.

A better time would be when the card comes up for annual review, which may be a few years from the expiry. Banks do their internal reviews annually when they decide on the card fees to be charged or waived for the following year of usage.

By stretching that period till December next year, banks may get to retain their card users a bit longer although a 20%-30% cancellation rate is expected.

With just a month towards Jan 1, there is not much time for card users to arrange for cancellations especially when they have to wait for their latest statements to make the last payments.

A decision must be announced soon on what is really going to happen.

l Senior business editor Yap Leng Kuen hears rumblings even among foreigners on the card service tax and how it appears contrary to the Government’s aim to increase private consumption. As a rule of thumb, industry consultation is always advisable for smooth and targeted implementation of any measures.

Vehicle Sales Rise 22.87 Pct In Oct

Total vehicle sales in October 2009 rose by 22.87 per cent to 46,092 units as compared with the same month last year but the year-to-date market registered a 5.07 per cent contraction.

In October last year, the total vehicle sales was 37,512 units.

The sales up to October this year was 443,711 units versus the 467,425 units sold in the first ten months of 2008, said the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) in a statement Wednesday.

Of the total October sales, 41,520 units were passenger vehicles and the remaining 4,572 commercial vehicles, the MAA highlighted.

Production in October this year also increased by 4.13 per cent to 48,191 units from 46,281 units in October 2008 while year-to-date production declined by 10.07 per cent to 404,681 units from 449,988 units last year.

Of the total vehicles produced in October this year, 43,561 units were passenger and the remaining 4,630 units, commercial vehicles.

The MAA said sales volume for this month is expected to recover further amid a continuous favourable market and consumer sentiment, as well as year-end sales campaigns.

Beauty 5

Beauty 4

Beauty 3

Beauty 2

Beauty 1

Why Parents Are Always STRESSED!!!!! 2

Why Parents Are Always STRESSED!!!!! 1

No of H1N1 vaccines ordered by Malaysia

MALAYSIA (ordered 400k doses receving nxt yr for population of 28mil)

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will receive 78,000 doses of the of the 400,000 doses of anti-H1N1 vaccine ordered from Britain for frontliners in healthcare and high-risk group end of this month, Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said Monday.
The balance vaccine would be received by January next year, he added.

He said although the spread of the disease in the country was still under control, the situation should not be taken lightly with the United States President, Barack Obama, having declared H1N1 a national emergency in the America two days ago.
Liow said Malaysia should be prepared to face the possibility of a second wave of the H1N1, expected end of this year.

"Of course the number of H1N1 patients warded in ICU is decreasing and the death caused by the pandemic is still at 77, but this is not the end, we have to be more cautious and alert to face a second wave of H1N1 which is expected at the end of this year," he told reporters after opening a seminar on "Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases" at Selayang Hospital.

He also said the spread of the virus was still active in the country and advised the public to take the necessary precautions. - Bernama

No of H1N1 vaccines ordered by Singapore

Singapore (ordered 1mil doses for population of 5mil by yr end)
H1N1 vaccine rolled out to public and private clinics in Singapore
By Claire Huang, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 03 November 2009 1833 hrs


Photos 1 of 1







SINGAPORE : Those who want to get vaccinated against the H1N1 flu virus can do so within the next few days.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) rolled out some 50,000 doses of the vaccine to all 18 polyclinics as well as 440 family doctors on Tuesday. The 440 are part of the 600 Pandemic Preparedness Clinics in Singapore.

This comes six weeks after Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan announced that the ministry managed to secure some one million doses of the vaccine.

The first batch of 250,000 doses arrived in Singapore last week, and it took a few days before the ministry received clearance from the vaccine's manufacturer to release the batch of vaccine after it was certified to have undergone proper handling standards.

DaySpring Medical Clinic in Pasir Ris was one of the first to get the vaccine on Tuesday noon, and is offering the vaccine for S$30.

"We've made a total order of 1,500 doses of the H1N1 vaccine, of which, 1,100 have had patients register an interest. Of these, 600 are for two community projects to be rolled out in the coming month and the remaining 500 will be for either companies that have indicated interest in us, or walk-in patients," said Dr Eric Chiam, medical director of DaySpring Medical Clinic.

The clinic will be calling patients who have registered to get the vaccine in the past few weeks.

In the meantime, Dr Chiam is getting his frontline staff vaccinated against the H1N1 virus. Each dose of the vaccine is expected to give the average person a year's immunity against the virus.

Health Minister Khaw said in his blog on Monday that the first batch of 200,000 doses is sufficient to meet demand.

Of these, about 110,000 doses will be taken up by general practitioners as well as clinics. Another 80,000 doses will be set aside to vaccinate the first batch of frontline staff.

The MOH said another batch of 160,000 doses of the vaccine is expected to arrive within this month.

All one million doses that the ministry ordered will be delivered by the end of the year. This is in line with the ministry's stand that there should be enough vaccines to go around for now. - CNA /ls

USER OF MALAYSIA'S NORTH-SOUTH EXPRESSWAY - beware of 3rd lane

North-south highway 3rd lanes









I am a frequent user of our North-South Expressway and I have this IMPORTANT experience to highlight and share:-

I was driving back to Penang yesterday afternoon ( 24 June 08 ) when I saw the unfortunate accident in the opposite direction involving the passenger bus that skidded and overturned at Tanjung Malim. I didn't know that the skidded bus was from hometown Penang until I watched TV3 news later in the evening and was shocked to learn that the accident took two lives..

Now, this is what I need to share:-

I am a building contractor with over twenty years of experience and I have been driving my 5 series BMW (latest generation and a dammed solid road-holding car) each time I travelled to KL. Lately, the new extended 3 lanes highway had been opened up for use and since then, I have also been using it quite often.

HOWEVER, when I used it each time it is WET, I can really 'feel' that the new road surface is extremely SLIPPERY! To share with some of you, my car comes with a built-in traction control mechanism ( skidding prevention mechanism ) and you can feel it each time it is activated. Previously, I don't come across this kind of slippery feel except when I drive over a paddle of water at certain speed.

From my observation as a building contractor, the 'wearing course' of the new road surface could be TOO FINE OR TOO SMOOTH and TOTALLY UNSUITABLE for highway use!

The wearing course ( top premix layer ) mix design for highways should be of minimum 20mm coarse aggregate mix that will give us the required bond between the surface and our tyres. Fine wearing course ( 14mm coarse aggregate size and below ) is only suitable for normal road. ( A proper test need to be carried out to determine the mix design of the wearing course ).

Since the opening of the three lanes highway, I had seen cars skidding in front me or in the opposite direction and approximately 2 weeks ago, one of my friends who is also a frequent user of our NSE, came to share with me about his slippery feeling as well as the many skidded cars he had seen lately.

I am highlighting this to TV3 and The Star with the hope that a thorough investigation could be carried out immediately to find out how or what causes the bus to skid. A proper and independent test need to be carried out urgently to determine the design mix of the wearing course. THIS CAN SAVE LIVES.




IF YOU ARE USING THE NEW LANES AND IF IT IS WET, MAKE SURE YOU DRIVE SLOWLY!!!!