Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by papamia

Advice/Opinions - Returning to MY from AU

papamia — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 15:44:05 +0800

Hi Everyone,

I am a Malaysian who has resided in Australia for 13 years. Pretty typical, came to the land down under, studied, got the degree and am currently working in the construction industry (mechanical services) as a Senior Project Manager.

9 months ago, I was blessed with a beautiful daughter and as a result, my wife (F) has almost stopped working to care for the young one.

I have a nice enough income ($150k per annum + vehicle + toll + fuel covered) and my take home salary per month is roughly $8k per month after taxes. I find it extremely hard to save money and account for rainy days in this scenario as expenses and energy bills have gone up due to the baby, and coupled with the fact that F not working. Please note that this arrangement is not permanent as F will resume working eventually.

In addition, F has indicated that she no longer wants to stay in Australia due to a mismatch in culture. Note that she has had this thought for 5 years and the sentiment has only gotten stronger due to the arrival of our daughter.

Although F had a good job, (paying $120k per annum), F also has personal issues integrating with the local people and has language barrier issues when it comes to expressing her thoughts and emotions in English - which makes Australia an unattractive place for her to live and work in. Simply put, she does not see a viable future for herself and ultimately our family in Australia due to incompatibility of cultures, being away from family members, etc. Our relationship has been strained because I am on the opposite side of the fence (moving countries is a big change for me). Nevertheless, F wants to go back to Malaysia where she can be close to her family.

F is also starting her online business and needs to dig in $$ from her savings to fund the venture.

To focus on this and be uninterrupted, we sometimes need to put the baby in child care which cost around $150/day. Assuming 3 days a week, the expenses for this is around the $1500-1800 mark per month - which further explains my inability to save above and our savings dwindling.

After the long rant above, I am considering to move back to Malaysia for the sake of F's mental health. I also see the value of being close to our families. I shudder to think about the fact that my parents will grow older and wilt away in their twilight years without me being close to them. I also want my mom/dad and the extended family to be in my daughter's life.

We gave this a try by going back to Malaysia recently for an extended period as a trial run. We have even placed our daughter in a child care facility in Malaysia to enable us free time to venture, explore, and meet new people to get a feel of the Malaysian work culture.

I did some calculations and based on the above (F not working, supporting a baby), I will need at least MYR 12k to sustain the family with little to no savings. It is quite hard to secure a job (to my knowledge) of this pay without even having prior working experiences in Malaysian construction industry.

In summary,

1. If we leave Australia for Malaysia, securing a high net income and facing the insane work life balance in Malaysia is the challenge. Other than that, we have no problem living in Malaysia and really enjoy being back home and close to family.

2. If we stay in Australia, we will still be able to get by comfortably as F will resume working anyway in the near future. However, it lacks the the presence of our family. We do not want to wait till retirement years until we get back to Malaysia in fear of missing out on the time we can spend with our family and friends.

I wanted to hear about your thoughts on this subject as my post is unusual (normally, it's the other way around and people would want to migrate away from Malaysia to other countries).

Below is also a list of personal observations I have listed in both Malaysia and Australia - both the good and bad and is solely based on my views.

Personal Observations About Malaysia (Negative)

-Long Working Hours (9am to 9pm) - 6 days a week

-Little Work-Life Balance, employees communicate a lot on Whatsapp, especially after hours

-Low Paying Jobs are a plenty and employers seem to have this unspoken rule about suppressing the salaries no matter where you go.

-Cars are extremely expensive compared to the average income in Malaysia

-Everyone is stressed about their mortgage (due to high loan to income ratio)

-Everyone is stressed about how weak the MY is, and often compare it to SGD and AUD (however this dwells down to personal reasons - buying Starbucks, owning an Iphone etc when one doesn't have the means to afford it but still want to)

-Construction Industry is cut-throat and full of bribes on every level - especially dealing with the different government agencies for final sign-off.

-Construction Industry having cash flow problems everywhere and requires risk mitigation by dissecting and splitting the contract even further

-Inconsistent governance, paperwork and application processes with the Malaysian government is still rudimentary in certain areas. (this may have changed in recent years where everything is more online)

-Subject Matter Experts are a few (a lot of them talk a lot, but few know what they're doing).

-People/Neighbours prefer to keep to themselves or more prone to disagreements. Everyone is exhausted chasing the money and really don't have much time to be nice and socialise after work (especially the ones that have families).

-A life of slavery. You will be crushed by the brutal system by being average in Malaysia. There is a growing negative sentiment that people aren't able to retire comfortably in the twilight years.

Personal Observations About Australia (Positive)

-Good Working Hours (8am to 5pm) - 5 days a week

-Amazing Work-Life Balance, the law prevents employers to email/call/speak to employees now after hours (although not really enforced). Ultimately, you don't bite the hand that feeds you

-Good Paying Jobs are a plenty and employers are willing to spend the extra money to attract the right people.

-Cars are affordable compared to the average income in Australia.

-Construction Industry is black and white, little corruption going on.

-Subject Matter Experts are a plenty and they have sound knowledge and provide good advise (believe it's due to the job roles being very specific in the company)

-Good governance. Applications to all government agencies are very streamlined and clear about the requirements. Processes are fair. Same outcome regardless of skin colour

-Kids are more outspoken, outgoing and emotionally exposed

-It is quite easy to buy a property here (whether it's for personal or investments). Many people own two properties on loan here as they are able to afford the repayments.

-Multicultural background where people don't care where you're from as along as you do good work (especially in big cities such as Melbourne and Sydney)

Personal Observations About Malaysia (Positive)

-A lot are doing extremely well especially if they run a successful business

-The current government is enforcing laws and regulations. Bribes are less rampant now

-Income tax, capital gain tax etc have good structure to it

-Recent FDI building semiconductor plants and data centres throughout the country leading to high value jobs

-There is a progressive wage move initiated by the current government for government servants and ultimately the private sector

-There are a lot of high paying jobs, although not often advertised. High Paying Jobs are MYR 20k-50k per month requiring extremely skilled personnel

-People are easier to approach as we are from the same cultural background.

-Child care is of top notch quality (good ones command steeper pricing)

-World Class Health Care System (and very efficient).

-Malaysia is home as always

Personal Observations About Australia (Negative)

-Everyone is stressed about their mortgage - especially Sydney where it has the second highest median price for property in the whole word. Many people rent instead of owning as rent is somewhat less expensive. Renting allows you to live where you want.

-There is a real problem here whereby there are not enough properties for renters to live in (pushing rent prices up even further)

-It is extremely hard to run a business in Australia as the employees are compensated very well and have lots of benefits. There are a lot of rules and regulations which businesses need to adhere to.

-Very high tax for the average income earner (pro-rata at around 35%). Earn a dollar, give 0.35 cents back to the government. The more you earn as a wage earner, the more you get taxed and the more benefits/subsidies you miss out on. It's part of the system to make everyone somewhat equal in terms of what's left in the savings account by the end of the month

-Average health care system (slow process and too structured to ensure the health care system is not overloaded. E.g. If you suspect a problem with your eyes, you cannot opt for a specialist straightaway, you must go to a GP/clinic to get looked at, get a referral letter and wait up to 3 months for the next available appointment with the specialist)

-High child care cost (ranges from $150-200 per day). The cost of child care is subsidized based on household income. The less you earn, the more they subsidise the cost of child care.

-People/Neighbours prefer to keep to themselves. Everyone is exhausted chasing the money and really don't have much time to socialise after work (especially the ones that have families)

-Mediocrity. You can a great deal by being average here. A lot gets taken care by the Australian government but you will be working for the system with the hopes that the system takes good care of you in the retirement years.

-Ultimately, Australia is still not home and lacks the familiarity and the nostalgia a Malaysian once know

Update for /k/tards

papamia — Sun, 30 Dec 2018 21:09:01 +0800

Hi /k/tards,

Update:

1. I lost my /k/tard T-shirt issued in year 2010 when Myky44 and 99chan were still around
2. I cringed hard when looking at my old threads
3. I quit smoke liao a long time ago
4. I have an uncle's tummy and am losing hair on the sides
5. I have a long term partner liao
6. I have been working overseas ever since I quit /k/
7. Friends in university have started diverting paths and are embarking their own journey. Likewise
8. I clicked when I was searching for a boy who fell to his death in Sunway Pyramid toda
9. I felt nostalgic and decided to post.

I got scammed off 40k

papamia — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 16:39:35 +0800

VINCENT CHIN WEI SHING

Guys, as some of you may know, I've been scammed off RM40k by a friend during my studies in Perth. This will a very long post but I would like to create awareness towards this kind of scam.

I will attach two newspaper articles about this case, The Star and China Press.

Many thanks to the reporters who have worked hard to get this publish, Mr. and Mrs. Tan.

To Datuk Michael Chong, thank you for not doing anything. Me and my dad made a 6 hour trip twice to the MCA HQ and were asked to wait, very inefficient I would say.

Story is as below. This was an e-mail written to my parents but I've edited the touchy feely part out.

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Pai ka jai's facebook

http://www.facebook.com/blurberryx3

He deactivated it liao.

3rd post

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

4th post

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

5th

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

6th

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Additional pictures of him

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

My friend ask me go yumcha

papamia — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 18:50:58 +0800

They say they're not selling products, more towards a business opportunity? So they are selling a system targeting the youngster's market?

Can anybody explain this system to me? How they sell it and how it works?

I plan to go there and troll them, need to do some preparation first.

Company is HLS international.

Balisong

papamia — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 15:43:16 +0800

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

The following video was made by me, 2 days of training to cover the basics.

[youtube]xh_BZb86gHQ[/youtube]

HE MADE IT INTO THE NEWS

papamia — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 17:57:16 +0800

I had a good laugh looking at this

Minimum withdrawal from ATM machine?

papamia — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 16:28:59 +0800

Kepada padawan-padawan sekalian,

I have a RHB account which I would love to abandon. Before doing that, I still have less than RM50 in that account.

What is the minimum limit of cash that we can withdraw from the ATM machine? If it's at least RM50, I think I'll just empty it and close the damn account.

Thanks.

How to patent a business idea?

papamia — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 14:04:24 +0800

Where and how?

What are the procedures?

Vocaroo lai lai

papamia — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 03:09:59 +0800

http://vocaroo.com/

Who has nothing to do? Come record your voice and post ur voice here lol

Almost crashed my friend's car

papamia — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 21:12:56 +0800

Was driving my friend's car just now, when I turned, my arm hit the cigarette that was in my mouth, and it fell into the place where I was sitting. I panicked like mad coz it was bloody painful.

Imagine trying to calm yourself down but the pain keeps increasing exponentially. I picked the cigarette up but the lit edge was gone, I panicked again and while trying to look for it, swayed the car to the left, almost hitting the road beside but thankfully I gain control of the situation by not seating down. There was a car behind me though, if I were him I would be cursing like mad.

Went home and check, pants got one hole already. Fav pants

So what was your close encounters while driving?

Friend did a cover of

papamia — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 01:24:53 +0800

[youtube]smQiJwJGl3w[/youtube]

Any thoughts?

I think it is as awesome as the orginal

Drifting with AK-47

papamia — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 23:09:10 +0800

[youtube]OLXpGPGxyO8[/youtube]

Yolandi

papamia — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 11:47:15 +0800

[youtube]HcXNPI-IPPM&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

BABY'S ON FIREEE

Somewhat NSFW, depends on your perception lah.

/b/ does it again

papamia — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 11:11:09 +0800

'Youth died when a grenade exploded in the bathroom of his home.
Oscar Lopez Ortega, 17 years old, was found dead after an explosion was reported inside his home, police units reached the scene at 8:45 PM yesterday. The home is located in zone 2, modern neighborhood, near Carmen hill...'

-

papamia — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 09:11:11 +0800

-edit

People that wear earrings

papamia — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 00:19:33 +0800

Hey guys, I took of my earrings like a week ago for fun and forgot to put them back on. I've already worn them for a year without messing with them.

Just now I tried to put it on but i realised some of the skin has healed. WTF? After one year and it still can heal back, I'm very surprised!

Anyway I just applied some water to my earring and push it real hard, heard a pop sound lol, possibly tearing of the skin but it wasn't that painful.

So I would like to know whether infection will come and haunt my ear and give me fever and stuffs since I didn't really sterilize the earrings.

Motivational video

papamia — Sun, 20 May 2012 21:13:20 +0800

For you guys having finals soon , may the will of slinky motivate you!

[youtube]711bZ_pLusQ[/youtube]

Can you guys help me with my homework?

papamia — Sat, 19 May 2012 23:00:56 +0800

No idea how to start. Help pls, I see so many know how to solve HW questions

Boob Job?

papamia — Sun, 13 May 2012 13:21:56 +0800

[youtube]73q2dUNwh6I&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

I had a good laugh.

Shisha session with I<3JDM

papamia — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 02:44:06 +0800

Just finished shisha with I<3JDM

Very cool guy

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «