If you’ve always been curious about the implications of dying intestate (that’s dying without a Will), you should attend this talk by Mr Inderjit Singh. Admission is FREE but the seats are limited. The talk organiser also told me that they will be handing out free copies of Smart Investors (worth RM10.00) to participants during the talk.

Some interesting facts on marriages in Malaysia, in case you’re not sure if the marriage you’re planning would withstand the scrutiny of our legal system.

PROHIBITED MARRIGES

One cannot marry his or her

(a) grandparent, parent, child or grandchild, sister or brother, grand aunt or grand uncle, aunt or uncle, niece or nephew, grand niece or grand nephew.

(b) grandparent or parent, child or grandchild of his or her spouse or former spouse.

(c) the former spouse of his or her grandparent or parent, child or grandchild.

(d) No person shall marry a person whom he or she has adopted or by whom he or she has been adopted.

Note: A Hindu may marry his sister’s daughter (niece) or her mother’s brother (uncle).

For more ‘rules and regulations’ visit The Malaysian Bar on Marriage…

For smoking readers, if this doesn’t cut down your cigarettes consumption or gives you a good reason to ‘really’ quit, I don’t know what other anti-puffing campaign could be more effective.

These sticks has been engineered to get you addicted and to generate as much profit from you as these tobacco companies can, on the expense of your lifespan.

Never mind. It’s not like you don’t already know.

On the side note, this year’s theme for World No Tobacco Day is ??obacco Health Warnings??/a>.

This time, the raid was jointly carried out by BNM and SSM. A reader previously notified me about Dinari Capital back in April 2009, where he was contemplating about whether should he join the program which claimed to be able to help him get back 70% of his car value through PCT CAR REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM. My only concern back then was that they are collecting a rather hefty deposit (up to RM1,200) for the programs, and whenever it comes to deposit collections, it’s always a good idea to check with the authorities first- in monetary cases, it’s the FMB and the BNM people.

The website of the company is still here: www.dinariintl.com

On 26 May 2009, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM) jointly raided AK United Sdn Bhd., Dinari Capital Sdn. Bhd, myDNA International Sdn. Bhd. and E-Eagle Sdn. Bhd pursuant to the Banking and Financial Institutions Act (BAFIA) 1989 and Companies Act (CA) 1965. These raids were simultaneously conducted at the companies’ premises in four different locations in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur.

Raids were conducted on these companies following complaints received from members of the public alleging the said companies were engaging in illegal deposit taking activities and illegal investment schemes which may be in contravention of section 25 of the BAFIA and section 366(3) of the CA respectively.

Members of the public are reminded to be cautious of illegal deposit taking and illegal investment schemes promoted through various channels such as the internet, phone calls, or seminars conducted by individuals or companies that are not licensed, approved or authorized by the relevant authorities.

Members of the public may refer to the list of licensed institutions authorized to accept deposits which is available at the Bank Negara Malaysia website (www.bnm.gov.my). The list of licensed intermediaries authorised to conduct regulated activities by Suruhanjaya Sekuriti Malaysia is available at Suruhanjaya Sekuriti Malaysia’s website (www.sc.com.my).

For further enquiries, members of the public can contact Bank Negara Malaysia and the Companies Commission of Malaysia at the following contact points:

Bank Negara Malaysia
BNMTELELINK (Customer Service Call Centre)
Tel: 1-300-88-5465
Fax: 03-21741515
Email: bnmtelelink@bnm.gov.my

BNMLINK (Customer Service Walk-In-Centre)
Block D, Bank Negara Malaysia,
Jalan Dato’ Onn, 50480, Kuala Lumpur
(Business hours: Monday-Friday, 9.00 am – 5.00 pm)

Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia
Hotline: 03-40476111/6222/6101/6202
Email: enquiry@ssm.com.my

Bank Negara Malaysia
Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia
26 May 2009

When getting a standard travel insurance policy in Malaysia for your overseas trip, you might have come across the term “24 hours Worldwide Travel Assistance”. Most people wouldn’t have the slightest idea of what it meant, let alone utilizing the benefit.

Under a typical Travel Assistance programme, you can call up the number listed in your policy and seek their assistance in planning for your trip. Below are a few standard assistance that you can obtain from an Insurer. Do note that this is only a reference, and each Insurers would have different features.

A. Emergency Assistance Services
a) Medical reference to medical service providers;
b) Advance payment or guarantee for payment of Medical Expenses;
c) Emergency Medical Evacuation;
d) Repatriation of Mortal Remains.

B. Technical Services
a) Coordination with relevant parties to recover or locate lost/stolen baggage and personal effects.
b) Coordination with relevant parties to recover, locate and replacement of travel documents.
c) Provision of reference to legal advisors.

C. Pre-Trip General Services
a) Advise on procuring travel documentation.
b) Advise on immunizations, epidemics and available preventive measures.
c) Information on local government offices and political and environmental condition Overseas.
d) Information on currency exchange rate, location of major banks and public holidays.
e) Information on weather condition.

Some of the health and medical plans offered in Malaysia also provides such services and there’s usually a hotline number listed in your policy contract.

You should try out the Travel Assist Programme when preparing for your next oversea trip.

How do you tell if a Government is serious about building its strength in the information technology and knowledge economy?

It’s not by forcing companies to setup their IT offices in no-man’s land.

Or having an unreliable internet service provider. If that’s not bad enough, we’re not allowed any alternatives. All other ISPs inadvertently links back to the last mile infrastructure- Telekom Malaysia Berhad.

I just heard from a Singapore friend that their government is giving a one-year domain fee waiver for every new .sg account registered. In Malaysia, not only we don’t get it free, we are even charged double the rate of a normal .com domain.

See the difference? I can’t help but suspect that our policymakers are all infected with the ‘migrant mentality’.

Simple waivers like these will benefit directly the entire population netizens who are venturing into their first online business ventures. I am afraid this will be very difficult to pull off in Malaysia, simply because anything that benefits the people directly will take ages to implement. If the proposal is to setup a RM500 million server hosting for technopreneurs, which will benefit a ‘group of people with vested interest’ (read: cronies), I am sure proposals of such nature will get the green light faster than you can say Numa Numa. Not being skeptical here, but there are so many real-life scenarios which I am sure you can also relate to.

Whatever issue at hand is secondary. The first question will always be “What’s in it for me?”