Philo-Souffi !

Lifting The Veil of Dignity ?

zaurus — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:57:27 +0000

Yesterday came the news that France might impose a total ban on Burqa, or full-face veil on the ground that such practices hurts the dignity of women.

Of all the French intellectuals and their remarkable artistic ingenuity, this is the pretext they chose to put forward?

It might not be a common sight culturally in Malaysia, or even in France or Greater Europe, but it could be that of tourists from the Gulf States. So we must ask where the statistics and studies that support such proposition are.

I appreciate the sense of security that rooted much in our society. It would be terrifying to be in a petrol station or a bank where some bikers walks in with their helmet on. Or a Burqa. If it’s a public space, then it’s somewhat reasonable if they want to have a certain instruction.

Or this could be purely seasonal perhaps due to the volcanic eruptions and it’s actually recommended for health reasons.

Whatever it is, these women whom wearing burqa deserves equal respect. To some extent, they must have worn it voluntarily and by doing this, they practices exemplary self-restraint.

We all should. Not wearing burqa but self-restraint.

France has always been a secular state and I admire that. Sometimes their actions are misunderstood as prejudice. They always active in finding a common ground, underlining focus towards a ‘French identity’, and they ensure very much of total equality or liberty. That’s why in France, you wouldn’t find a public swimming pool allows women-only sessions, because this serves only minority.

So, Mr. Sarkozy, what’s next on the agenda, ban on veil by Nuns ?

If there’s still any dignity left in you, how about addressing prostitution ?

Further Reading :
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/foreign-prostitutes-flood-into-france-648202.html

Barking at Parking Operators

zaurus — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 04:05:21 +0000

I love cars. So what if i send my car for Car Wash or a Parking Jockey and later found out that the car has been surrenderred to unknown persons, or worse, just lost it ?

It’s a tough call and in today’s living, nothing is impossible. That’s why receipts is very important in such instances whereby we can actually proved the center’s negligence instead of us. Without one, it’s a tall order.

Chances for this to happen is quite remote.

But lately i found that parking operators that issue receipts by hands, doesn’t provide a proper ‘receipt’ – it’s nothing more than a piece of paper or a blank receipt with no details or prove or payment whatsoever.

I parked at 3 different places – LRT Sungai Besi, Parking Lot opposite Zouk, and Parking at Wisma Cosway. All gave the same blank piece of sheet (pun intended).

Not just this put consumers on the edge of fault should a loss incur, they are running a business that is essentially fraud in practice. IF you can’t issue proper receipts, how could you conduct your auditing and thus declaring how much profit would you make.

That’s daylight robbery.

Utmost Good Faith

zaurus — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 22:04:43 +0000

Watching movies is much more than entertainment; at times if gives you reflection of life itself or to mature through someone’s experiences. Movies accelerate the learning curves.

I saw this movie ‘Ghost Town’ the other day and this particular scene touches on uberrimae fidei, or in English, of the utmost good faith. This doctrine essentially requires each party to disclose all material facts or information, whether requested or not, that would influence one’s decisions to enter the contract – insurance or others.

At times, the information that they requested seems nonsense and not related to the service under request; as shown by Ricky Gervais here on the early part of the clip.

Excellent movie, and excellent concept too. How about we take a step further with this uberrimae fidei, extending this concept to product advertisement ?

Unlawful Takeover

zaurus — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 05:34:20 +0000

The market is quite healthy lately with news of acquistions and mergers and takeovers and even lawsuits becomes more frequent.

Some of the hottest news are the takeover bid for EONCAP by HL Financial Group and and at KNM by its Managing Director.

The former was successful but the later was not so fortunate. KNM bought over Borsig or FBM of Germany for rm7.9B in 2006 and as the acquisition are that of strategic importance, the company has requested for tax exemption from the Government.

What’s interesting is that the tax exempt given has a clause that prevented such takeovers. Smart move huh ?

This ain’t new.

It’s a common practice by corporate leaders to have ‘posion pill’ in their company in the event of takeovers, or simply to prevented one.

A decade ago Celcom is facing hardship after taking over TRI, which resulted them to owing debt to an overseas partner of more than rm300 million (if i recall correctly).

So, before you undertake such crucial manuevers, conduct due diligence. Even on your partner.

Further reading :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_pill
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/leesw-2/Article/index_html

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/10/13/business/2248465&sec=business

Saving is Tax-ing in Singapore

zaurus — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 02:55:48 +0000

Suddenly remember a conversation that I had with a friend whom working in Singapore. He told me that the Government in Singapore impose Savings Tax for accounts in foreign banks, but not if you place your savings in the local banks.

Smart move though rather cheeky. It makes perfect sense as to prevent foreign institutions to hold the monetary liquidity in the market.

Though this might carry enough stick for working-class, there have been aggressive efforts in luring cash-rich individuals to Singapore.

Will try to find more details on this online and update here.
Further Reading :
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06037/651083.stm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_banks_in_Singapore
http://www.accountlaw-tax.com.sg/Website_tlc/ws-taxation%20of%20employment%20income.htm

Tax-Free is Stress-Free

zaurus — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 07:59:18 +0000

Trading in Equity is perhaps the most logical engagement for a living. My logic dictates that if I am working for money, why not participate in the capital market itself?

And there’s more advantage to that. In Malaysia, capital gain on equity is not taxable and the dividend that you received is already being taxed. This means that you’ll keep all the hard-earned profit that you make.

With online trading now possible, what keeping you back?

Further Reading :

http://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-Global/Local%20Assets/Documents/Tax/Intl%20Tax%20and%20Business%20Guides/2010/dtt_tax_highlight_2010_Malaysia.pdf

Insuring Feasibility ?

zaurus — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 17:55:12 +0000

Well, the Government move to study further on the Third Party claim does have a sound footing. I once wondered how would the insurers came out with the premium for old cars ? and how could they affort to borne such risks ?

Malaysia allows cars to be insured comprehensively up to 15 years years of age, and beyond that, it’s all Third Party. And you ought to ask that if i am asked to pay about rm150 of insurance per annum, how does the company makes up the excess in the event of an accident or a damage claim ?

A minor car paint works cost at least rm500 and while insurance claim hardly being made upon scratches, it must have been those severe cases where payment is paid out to.

No wonder the insurers are sighing out in despair. Good thing the Government is being sensitive on the issue.

And good thing too for the Singaporean as they banned cars more than 10 years of age. Perhaps beyond that age it doesn’t make any financial sense to insure them !

Further Reading :
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100420172455/Article/

Accidental Lessons (Part 2)

zaurus — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 23:16:16 +0000

So, what if i am a victim of an accident ? I have to bear the inconvenience of commuting to places by other means and probably taking up public transport. What if i rented a car, if so, can i file my inconvenience as part of the claim ?

If that’s the case, does it matter even if i am the one causing the accident, cause both party will have inconvenience ?

I found out that if such inconvenience is a material menace to our work or wellbeing, if we can prove such instances like a doctor on emergency duty calls or taking care of a person whom requires close medical attention, then yes, we can file for a claim.

But if we rent a car out of discomfort, then it’s not possible to claim for those costs, as we only insure the vehicle, and not insuring our discomfort.

To those who feel that they need an insurance that covers car rental in those cases of accidents, good news is there are many choices in the market, and as it carries more risks, it comes with a higher premium.

This is usually pursued after by those of higher income bracket.

So, if we speak out our concerns, we can always find a solution to that. Yet most of the time, we just take it at face value and not asking more.

Accidental Lessons

zaurus — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 09:51:13 +0000

Of all the coverage in Business Law, i’ll touch more on Insurance and Tax issues as I find it close to heart than others. It’s an important undertaking by us annually and the eerie part is that we often got in without fully understand its capacity and consequences of our choices.

For instance, I decided to grow up a lil’ bit starting 1st of January this year and assume ‘guardian’-ship over my vehicle and that comes with perquisites such as renewing insurance, road tax and it’s occasional health-check. Yeah, I enjoyed all that, isn’t a burden at all.
Far I know the lessons coming too soon.

My car got slightly horny on the 10th of January and decided to kiss another car, and the kissing goes quite passionately. And all of these happen a week after I renewed my insurance and road tax, God’s great.

I got myself a police report and a traffic summon within the next 3 hours and shortly thereafter my car is being towed to the workshop.

Note : if your vehicle is badly damaged but still drivable to the nearest police station or other places, do not attempt to do it. The insurance company might not take responsibility as there might be further damages due to your action.
And it’s important to note to that the towing service is covered by the policy.

My accident took place near Batu Caves, so I negotiated with my insurer to tow it to a workshop nearby my place ie. in Kajang.
When all the dust settles, it all comes to paperwork and more paperwork. And here is where I learn even more.

I signed up for a comprehensive plan but only insure 50% of my car value ie. rm10,000. After few days, the adjustor comes by and he determined that the total amount for fixing the car would be at rm2,000. I thought since I insure up to rm10,000 , so all is well, right ?

Not quite.

When I decided to insure 50% of the car value, I also insure 50% of it’s damages or risks, so here, I still need to pay additional rm1,000 for the fix. Why the agent didn’t tell me of the consequences?

I would have insured the full value.

And I will for the coming years. It’s worth every penny.

Climate Change IS a lawful defense

zaurus — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:28:46 +0000

We always see in the papers that companies and individuals are pushing for profitability under the disguise of saving mother earth.

Certain budget airlines for instances imposes baggage fee under assumptions that more baggages will requires more fuel for the flight. Where’s the statistics ?

On the contrary, a group of Greenpeace protesters was arrested, trial and acquitted after they legally argued that they were trying to prevent climate change.

Astonishing, isn’t it ?

So, applying the Doctrine of Stare Decisis, this punchline is a lawful defense in Malaysia.