Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by -TcT-

International Math Olympiad: Tahniah anak2 🇲🇾

-TcT- — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 21:49:47 +0800

Tahniah anak2 kita termasuk Cik Leia

Thread created as someone who is afraid of this data to be shown to everyone keep delete this in his rubbish thread

Tahniah dpt masuk MIT walaupun hanya dpt honourable mention dlm international math olympiad

MYR1000 old notes still valid to use?

-TcT- — Sun, 22 Sep 2024 18:20:27 +0800

Anyone know whether these old MYR1000 notes are still valid to be used/exchanged?
Or are these fake?

Some PRC guy asked me.

MyPB SecureSign problem?

-TcT- — Fri, 06 Sep 2024 10:09:49 +0800

Guys, anyone experiencing problems when trying to transfer funds from Public Bank. '
It seems that MyPB SecureSign is having an issue. When tap on PB Secure Sign, it will say no pending transactions although a push notification has been requested.

Four PROTON Dealerships Have Closed And Counting

-TcT- — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 08:18:45 +0800

In the past few months there have been a a few large PROTON dealerships retiring from the business or maybe just the brand.

Some rumors were circulating that these PROTON dealers were a little unhappy with the slowdown in sales.

Meanwhile, a couple of new Chinese automotive brands are making their entry into Malaysia and they are looking for established showrooms to get their business up and running.

Interestingly, some employees from these showrooms have shared with us that the ‘good times’ with the Proton X70 (which was a rebadged Geely Bo Yue) and also X50 crossover (which is a rebadged Geely Bin Yue) had seen better days.

For those of you who might need a little history lesson, PROTON was bought over by Geely way back in 2017 and this move turned around this fledging automotive company and brand. Today it’s ‘X’ products are selling well and even older models like the Saga, Persona, Iriz and the very dated Exora is finding new owners.

Soon after Geely came into PROTON, there was a flurry of Malaysian business people who wanted a PROTON dealership and many of them had no prior experience in the Malaysian automotive segment.

Now, running a car dealership is not as easy as it sounds. You have sales, service and after sales and you need competent people in all areas.

Do we have enough trained after sales people right now in Malaysia? NO!

Do we have enough body and paint people in our industry right now? NO!

There are many sub-standard newly trained Malaysians coming from private automotive colleges and in our experience in meeting many of them in the last 8 to 10 years, I would not trust them to even ‘wash and dry’ my 25-year-old car.

Yes, they have ‘paper’ training but with the lack of experience and working ethics they are not ready to work on new high technology cars.

So, back to our earlier 3rd paragraph. These new PROTON dealers needed professional employees in all areas and most of them only got what came to their interview sessions. In order to be up and running FAST and selling the popular PROTON X70 SUV, they took in these in-experience staff to get their business running (experienced automotive SIFU’s are too expensive and will rarely leave established dealerships) and went on to just sell sell sell.

Even their initial showroom sales people were all ‘order takers’ (the X70 sold itself) and not well trained sales people. The years progressed and profits were filling up their bank accounts.

Soon, all the sold cars needed to be serviced. Needed repair from accident damage. Needed software upgrades. This is when issues started cropping up as in-experienced staff could not deal with the rising unhappy customers. There was still an emphasis to just sell sell sell.

As we have written many times before. Many auto dealerships give little regard to after sales and this is when customer retention drops drastically and social media positing’s surge which hurts the ‘brand’ and also the dealership.

Meanwhile, the PROTON X50 and revised X70 with BSG production is moving along and dealers are ‘pushed’ to sell and deliver units to keep the factory in Tanjung Malim moving along.

Interestingly, the compact SUV and crossover in Malaysia started heating up in 2022 with new rivals coming into the market with ‘only’ slightly higher asking prices when compared to the X70 and X50. There was the all new Honda HR-V Turbo at RM134k, Mazda CX-30 priced from RM128k, Hyundai Kona which is RM143k and the RM129k Toyota Corolla Cross which gave new car buyers options to consider.

This resulted in many PROTON sales people leaving PROTON dealerships to rival brands (most sales people are NOT permanent employees and some even work for 3 to 4 brands at a time) to keep their income healthy.

So, new business owners are left with no professional sales people, no fleet sales (good income here) and troubled after sales as they have in-experienced mechanics and service advisors.

This means ‘forced’ dealership closure like what happened recently with a large auto group who incidentally ‘hosted’ the PROTON Exora facelift media launch at their impressive building in TTDI Kajang. (pictures shared in this article are for illustration purposes ONLY)

NOTE: There are rumors of another 7 to 9 NEW dealerships that will be retiring from the brand.

Knowing this issue, it is clear that with the arrival of financially strong brands from China like Great Wall Motor, BYD and very soon Chery, you might even see some of the ‘troubled’ dealerships renovating their current premises and putting up new shiny pylons to push their income.

Will it last? Are they still ready for the automotive business? Are they just ‘digging one hole and filling the previous hole’?

Let’s wait and see and meanwhile, understand this, ‘after sales’ is more important and also more PROFITABLE than selling new cars.

https://www.dsf.my/2023/06/four-proton-deal...I-tRO4HSpJWl-XE

Mid Valley not crowded on Sunday 2/2/2020

-TcT- — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 18:09:38 +0800

Hi, just now I pass by Mid Valley. No jam at all. Are Malaysians starting to be very worried of the coronavirus?

See attached parking information at 6pm. 4k+ empty bays.

Non halal food not allowed to be consumed in UM ho

-TcT- — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 12:25:09 +0800

Saw this in one of UM's hostels. I thought what we eat are our personal affairs? And there's no non halal food sold in the canteen. It's not as though eating non halal food will make the food of others become non halal. So means the student cannot order delivery of non halal food also? Doesn't it infringe the students' constitutional rights?

777 Research - scam?

-TcT- — Thu, 05 Apr 2018 20:50:01 +0800

Was contacted by someone claiming to be from 777 Research via FB messenger. Trying to upsell their stock recommendation services. Googled and someone mentioned that it'll later progress to further scams such as them asking to trade on your behalf, so they'll ask you to bank in money etc. Anyone kena or hear before about this 777 Research?

Partly furnished or fully furnished?

-TcT- — Mon, 26 Jun 2017 23:17:29 +0800

Hi, just wanna get opinions from forumers here on this matter.
I have a condo which will VP soon, and I would like to rent it out immediately. Would it make more sense to partly or fully furnish the unit in order to rent it out quickly?
Of course, there are pros and cons of both actions. Let's hear from everyone. TQ

MACC nabs well-known Klang Tan Sri

-TcT- — Fri, 31 Mar 2017 09:58:36 +0800

MACC nabs well-known Klang Tan Sri

BY WONG CHUN WAI

JOHOR BARU: The man arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission in connection with an alleged RM2mil bribe offer to the Sultan of Johor, is a well-known Tan Sri.

The Klang-based businessman who moves in high society is accused of approaching Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar with the bribe offer to the Johor Ruler over an award recommendation to the King.

Only the Yang di-Pertuan Agong can award the prestigious titles of Tun and Tan Sri, the highest orders.

Sources said the Sultan of Johor was “offended and insulted” by the individual.

“His Royal Highness is well known for his strong stand against frivolous awards to individuals with no record of public service to the nation or state,” the source added.

The source said His Royal Highness wanted to make a point that the value of titles awarded by the royalty must be protected.

The Sultan, in a recent interview with The Star, said there were now so many people with the title of Datuk that “if you throw a stone, it will hit a Datuk, the stone will then rebound and hit another Datuk”.

The sources said the individual himself was obsessed with titles as “he calls himself Tan Sri Datuk Dr”.

The MACC has given further hints of the person by describing him “as bald headed and a Chinese”.

It is understood that the MACC will investigate accusations that the individual was a “broker” for royal titles and also probe the source of his income.

“He will have to explain where he got his money beside his businesses,” the source added.

The man was arrested when he came out of “hiding” just hours after he was given a midnight deadline to show up.

He surrendered at the MACC headquarters in Parcel D at Putrajaya around 2pm. His lawyer arrived a few hours later.

It is learnt the man was arrested a few hours into questioning. He will be remanded today.

MACC deputy chief commissioner Datuk Azam Baki confirmed that the 54-year-old man turn himself in after lunchtime.

Earlier in the day, Azam issued a warning, saying the man had until midnight to come forward, failing which his identity would be revealed.

Azam, who was at the MACC excellent service award ceremony, said Immigration authorities had been asked to bar the man from leaving the country.

Last Saturday, Sultan Ibrahim wrote on his official Facebook page that he was offered RM2mil to suggest a person’s name for a “Tan Sri” title.

On Monday, the Johor Ruler granted an audience to MACC chief Datuk Dzulkifli Ahmad.

Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017...XTYFdsKW8cbf.99

CNA documentary on Orang Asli land grab censored

-TcT- — Tue, 28 Feb 2017 20:14:05 +0800

Get Rea! (HD)
8:01 PM

Fighting For My Home
Kelantan, Malaysia is deforested by the logging industry at a startling pace and the Temiar, the biggest Orang Asli tribe, is determined to stall the destruction. GET REAL looks at the contest for the forest and why consequences could spell disaster not just for the Temiar, but for the entire state.

Supposed to be shown on Channel News Asia, HyppTV channel 411 now.
Kena censored, because someone is peeing in his pants?

[WTS] VVIP Phone number 01110006800

-TcT- — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 18:08:56 +0800

Item(s): VIP number 011-ONE THOUSAND SIX EIGHT HUNDRED

Package includes: VIP number

Price: RM1000

Warranty: -

Dealing method: COD

Location of seller: KL, PJ, Subang Jaya, Puchong

Contact method/details: Contact me @ 0195709892 (Roy)

Age of item: -

---

Item(s) conditions: -

Picture: -

Reason for sale: No longer using this number

Marrying a Vietnamese girl

-TcT- — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 22:18:39 +0800

Hi all,

I'm currently dating a Vietnamese girl. I'm just worried about our future as there are a few issues to be faced, such as:
1.) Will the marriage process be very cumbersome and time & money consuming?
2.) Will it be hard for a higher diploma holder from Vietnamese college to find a job here? Specifically, she has a higher diploma in logistics from a Vietnamese college.
3.) Will it be hard for her to get permanent residency and even eventually Malaysian citizenship?
4.) Other possible issues.

Please share your experiences and opinions.

Thank you in advance.

MAXSHIT DEBACLE

-TcT- — Sat, 09 Apr 2016 10:31:51 +0800

Sources saying there are about 10k portouts per day.
This weekend gonna be very very much worse!

Difficulty accessing TMI on Celcom network

-TcT- — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 10:27:45 +0800

Guys, I don't know whether this only happens to me or you guys also face this problem.
I always have difficulty accessing The Malaysian Insider on my phone (Celcom 4G).

However, there is no problem accessing from my laptop.

Anyone else facing this issue?

Zeva Residence, Seri Kembangan v2

-TcT- — Sun, 10 Jan 2016 23:00:49 +0800

Since the last thread was closed, I am opening a new thread.

v1 link here: https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2247265

Banglasia fund raising

-TcT- — Mon, 14 Dec 2015 18:59:49 +0800

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/141662...ovie-by-namewee

As of now:
1,426
backers

$52,610
pledged of $500,000 goal

34
days to go

1USD=RM4

-TcT- — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 17:46:36 +0800

Ringgit already breached 4 vs USD.

1997 all over again?

-TcT- — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 16:32:22 +0800

Does it feel like 1997 all over again?
On the economic front:
a.) Stock market is crashing down, no impetus at all.
b.) Property market is slowing down.
c.) People start losing their jobs, especially in O&G and certain E&E companies.

On the political front, instability is brewing.
Ringgit is now heading towards 4, now 3.97.
Najib is currently embroiled in 1MDB and donation issue and sacking of DPM and cabinet ministers.
Plus PAC comes to a halt, AG sacked, MACC officers transferred and re-transferred, meddling in investigations etc etc etc etc etc

All these are not doing us any good, isn't it? Investor confidence is shrinking
Our house is on fire!

So does it feel like 1997 all over again?

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015...-haunt-malaysia

1990s Come Back to Haunt Malaysia
3 AUG 10, 2015 6:00 PM EDT
By William Pesek
Malaysia's ongoing currency crash has many causes: a worsening global outlook, plunging commodity prices and, of course, the political scandal enveloping Prime Minister Najib Razak. But the real culprit is the year 1997.

The conventional wisdom is that Malaysia's then-leader Mahathir Mohamad saved the country from the worst ravages of the Asian financial crisis when he imposed capital controls, pegged the ringgit and waged verbal war against speculators. It's true that Malaysia avoided much of the chaos that toppled economies in Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand. But events today show why, 18 years later, Malaysia may wind up the biggest loser in the region.

Malaysia's neighbors recovered by improving transparency, strengthening their financial systems, and limiting collusion between public and private sectors. Such urgency never swept Malaysia, where the ruling coalition has held power for almost six decades.

Improvements in Malaysian corporate governance have been slow and uneven. Hopes for an end to 46 years of affirmative action -- which benefits the Malay majority while sapping productivity and repelling foreign investors -- have been for naught. Efforts to weed out corruption and ween the economy off energy exports have been tepid.

Today's economic troubles are the product of that complacency. Had the Malaysian government worked harder to strengthen economic fundamentals and win the trust of global investors, Najib's scandal might not be sending the ringgit to its lowest level in 17 years. Had officials in Putrajaya, the country's administrative capital, done more to internationalize Malaysia's business culture, foreign investors wouldn't now be rushing for the door. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index has fallen more than 11 percent from its April 21 peak, while official foreign-exchange reserves dropped below $100 billion for the first time since 2010.

As has been well reported, Najib faces questions about $700 million that allegedly moved through government agencies and state-linked companies to accounts bearing his name. (Najib denies it, while Malaysia's anti-graft commission says it was a "donation.") But foreign investors' mistrust of the Malaysian government traces back to policies pursued over the past 18 years.

Perhaps the most notorious was Mahathir's September 1998 decision to sack Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim. After months of sparring with Anwar over post-crisis reforms, Mahathir fired him and named himself finance minister, an awkward centralization of power that persists today and enabled Najib to create and oversee scandal-plagued state investment company 1Malaysia Development Bhd. And when Najib recently fired Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who was demanding answers from the prime minister, it seemed like history repeating itself. Just as in 1997 and 1998, the government is more concerned with closing ranks than retooling the economy.

Indonesia, Korea and Thailand are also having their share of troubles as China wobbles and the Federal Reserve prepares to hike interest rates. But Malaysia's accelerating capital flight is particularly worrisome.

Malaysia's central bank appears to be struggling to slow the ringgit's 18 percent plunge over the past 12 months. The currency is now the lowest since Anwar's departure in September 1998. That makes for an inauspicious economic bookend: Mahathir is now among those suggesting Malaysia peg the ringgit anew.

There's certainly less stigma attached to such policies than there once was. In 1998, the International Monetary Fund called Malaysia's peg a "retrograde step." By December 2002, the IMF was terming it a "stability anchor." And the IMF notably didn't slap Greece for imposing capital controls, the way it did Mahathir in the late 1990s.

But the mere mention of another peg suggests Malaysia's political establishment is still more concerned with the symptoms of the country's problems than the underlying causes. The ringgit isn't sliding because speculators like George Soros (who Mahathir blamed in 1997) are attacking it. Malaysian assets are suffering because the government failed to do basic economic maintenance -- in part because it avoided the worst of 1997 and 1998, in ways Bangkok, Jakarta and Seoul couldn't.

As that dawns on investors, the pressure to sell will intensify. Overseas ownership of Malaysian government and corporate debt fell 2.4 percent in July as a sense of crisis began to permeate the air.

Malaysia isn't about to collapse. With its moderate growth and the highly-respected Zeti Akhtar Aziz helming the central bank, meltdown risks are limited. But Malaysian officials are wrong to argue that the ringgit's slide doesn’t reflect underlying fundamentals. It does indeed, and that's the real problem -- one that can be traced back to 1997.

Leaked video

-TcT- — Wed, 29 Jul 2015 19:44:59 +0800

http://m.malaysiakini.com/news/306629

A leaked video clip depicting Muhyiddin Yassin talking about allegations that millions were transferred into Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's private accounts is currently making rounds. The . . .

Who got the video link?

Tahniah Ahmad Maslan on your promotion

-TcT- — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 09:20:33 +0800

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysi...fle-say-sources

Datuk Seri Najib Razak is to reshuffle his Cabinet this week, dropping five out of the 35-strong slate of ministers, including his deputy, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who has been critical of the prime minister's handling of government-owned 1Malaysia Development Bhd's RM42 billion debts, say sources.

Government sources say apart from Muhyiddin, two other Umno ministers – vice-president and Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal; and Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Hasan Malek – will be dropped in a mid-term review of Najib's Cabinet which took office in 2013 after the prime minister won his own mandate.

Umno's most popular vice-president and Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is expected to be the new deputy prime minister while Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan is set to be a full minister.

Zahid would still keep the home minister portfolio, the sources said, adding that several other senior ministers would remain to support Najib – the country's sixth prime minister.
Another two ministers expected to be dropped from the Najib administration are embattled Datuk Seri G. Palanivel, who has been stripped of his MIC presidency and membership, and Senator Datuk Seri Idris Jala, the government efficiency unit Pemandu chief executive who is in his second and last term as a senator.

"The reshuffle is on this week as the prime minister has tweaked his list for the Agong to consider," a Putrajaya source told The Malaysian Insider in capital Kuala Lumpur last night.

"The list should be presented to the Agong by Wednesday," the source added, saying consultations among senior Umno members started earlier this week.

The 68-year-old Muhyiddin was widely expected to be dropped after he renewed his criticism of government strategic investor 1MDB at the Cheras Umno division annual meeting on Sunday.

1MDB’s RM42 billion debts have been roundly criticised by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and opposition politicians who have also questioned Najib about his private account, which global business daily The Wall Street Journal said, had received US$700 million before the 2013 general election (GE13) as stated in Malaysian government investigation papers.

Najib is said to be weighing his options to sue the US business newspaper despite his government banning two business papers, The Edge Weekly and The Edge Financial Daily, and the Sarawak Report blog for their coverage of 1MDB.

Najib set up 1MDB when he took power in 2009 from former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. He has yet to reshuffle or tweak the Cabinet from 2009 and after the 2013 polls where he expanded the list of full ministers to 35.

Apart from Ahmad, another deputy minister set to be promoted as full minister is Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid, who is now the deputy in the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry.

Another source said Najib's former political aide and Kuala Selangor MP Datuk Irmohizam Ibrahim is also to be named as deputy minister as the prime minster consolidates his power three years ahead of the next elections.

It is not known if Idris, who runs the government efficiency unit, and Palanivel, will be replaced. The former is among the 10 full ministers in the Prime Minister's Department – the largest complement in Malaysia's modern history.

"Najib's loyalists will be the dominant part of the Cabinet this time," the source added, noting the prime minister was also considering members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which has been investigating the 1MDB issue.

The PAC is led by three-term Pulai MP Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed, a qualified accountant.

"This isn't a full-scale reshuffle but more of a tweak," the source added.

Najib has seen his popularity plunge despite various initiatives and winning the mandate in GE13 where his ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) won only 47% of the popular vote.

He has soldiered on with various economic measures, including tabling the 11th Malaysia Plan and introducing direct cash transfers called BR1M (1Malaysia People’s Aid) but high debts racked by 1MDB and unexplained cash flows to his purported private bank accounts have dented his popularity.

Muhyiddin had questioned the scandal surrounding the 1MDB debts and the WSJ’s reports of money in the prime minister's accounts this past weekend but was told by the Prime Minister's Office yesterday to wait for final investigation results.

At least four people have been arrested in connection with the scandal-hit 1MDB and its former unit SRC International Sdn Bhd's case although investigators say the case is complex. The government has said an interim probe has cleared 1MDB but is awaiting the full results of an audit. – July 28, 2015.