The Debt We Took and for Them to Settle.

1. I had a chat with my brother last weekend during our family luncheon. He pointed up the fact that we are currently jeopardizing our posterity’s sustainability to live, in the name of development, economic improvement and quality of life.

2. We have to admit the fact that we, the Malaysian is currently borrowing lots of money for our nation’s sake. The culture of taking debt for our current consumption is a norm and applied by the lowest income to our leaders, the people who run the country. I am not talking about bonds, sukuks or any commercial notes issued by the Government to fund the nation’s budget, but also how we use the debt at our nucleus level of family, such as credit cards, housing loans, personal loans and so on

3. Nevertheless, some of our generation defended the notion that, such debt need to me made for our economy to grow, improve the quality of life and subsequently prepare for our posterity in terms of assets and financial capacity for them to benefit later.

4. Based on the latest economic metrics, our nation’s debt is still below the ceiling point of 55% of GDP. But not many know that the figures just involve direct debts and not include the contingent liability, government guaranteed loans & bonds and future commitment from various concessionaires through Private Financing Initiatives (PFI)

5. I personally agree with the PFI’s concept. I had an experience working as PFI Consultant before, though it is short, but I learned quite a good deal of it. It is one of the way our Government to save lots of money and the savings could be used for other means such as Education, Healthcare and Security. For example, the PFI project for infrastructure, we have to acknowledge that the Government is not in a business of building, constructing infrastructure per se, it is better the Government to hand it over to experts in construction industry to do it and the Government pay them in staggered basis over the next 20-30 years. Again, I reiterated, it is a good mechanism, it will lower high CAPEX cost and put the Government in a better position to manage their cash.

6. However, in our country, despite talking about the commitment for our children’s children, we are busy criticizing on the select few who benefited from the PFI contracts. We are busy fighting, shouting, demonstrating on how this “politically-related” group reap millions or billions on Ringgit Malaysia. We are busy proving the lack of transparency and accountability in the due process for the PFI contracts.

7. I am not saying it is NOT IMPORTANT. I do believe in high accountability and stringent process for any Government’s procurements and contracts. Such tragedy will distort the market and made the wealthy richer and richer.

8. I am in this post, feel it is better we put our thoughts on the responsibility of as a parent. I urge we as parent, a caretaker of current government, a generation that run the nation, put the RESPONSIBILTY issue back at the main debate table.

9. ARE WE A RESPONSIBLE PARENTS? ARE WE HAPPY TO PASS DOWN THE DEBT THAT WE CREATED TO OUR CHILDREN’S CHILDEN? ARE WE SATISFIED WHEN WE WATCH OUR POSTERITY TO BEAR THE BURDEN THAT WE TOOK SO WE CAN LIVE BETTER AND THEY WILL PAY FOR IT?

10. Friends, family and learned Malaysian citizens. I just want to highlight the fundamental responsibility or Amanah, given by God to us, that is we must take care our children and give them better than we have.

11. I am a avid observer of US and UK politics. There, regardless whether you are Republicans or Democrat, Labor or Conservative, Socialist or Liberal, any candidates for any offices, be it the President, Senator or the Congressman, they will speak about the Posterity’s Financial Dilemma. Watch any stomp speeches, debates, they will said that they and the party will not made the children’s children bear all the burden.

12. I hope, in this coming Budget 2015, the Government will put serious efforts in their Fiscal Consolidation exercise. I hope the Government will put their utmost attention in reducing the federal deficit and work diligently with Bank Negara Malaysia and industry to trim down both National Debt and Household Debt. I believe in our PTD’s in Ministry of Finance to come out with great plans and I pray our politician regardless parties will put their differences aside and start act together and become a responsible guardian and caretaker of this great nation.

13. Please, just put the issue of being a responsible parent back in the national debate agenda. I don’t want to be called a ruthless and irresponsible parents, surely I don’t want to see my children’s children suffer a financial difficulty and by God not, the financial calamity in the future.

Regards

Azwan O

Parlimen Belia Malaysia & Praktikal Idealis Malaysia.

1. Setakat hari ini, jumlah calon-calon Parlimen Belia Malaysia bagi negeri Selangor adalah 66 orang. 66 insan telah meletakkan diri mereka di hadapan dengan menawarkan diri untuk menjadi suara belia-belia negeri Selangor. Syabas saya ucapkan pada rakan-rakan saya, sesungguhnya anda adalah juara di hati saya.

2. Rakan-rakan Praktikal Idealis (PI) juga sedang sibuk, ramai telah mengikuti PI secara dekat. Alhamdulillah mesej perjuangan kami mula diterima ramai. Ramai yang bertanyakan apakah itu PI. Apakah ianya bersifat partisan? Adakah ianya membawa idea-idea populis dan sensitif? Saya sempat berbual dengan Pengasas gerakan PI, saudara MK Farhan. Beliau senyum dan menasihatkan saya supaya menerima perkembangan ini sebagai satu perkara yang baik. Ia adalah tanda kebangkitan anak muda yang menginginkan sesuatu yang segar.

3. Saya masih ingat perjumpaan/mesyuarat pertama PI di Perpustakaan Negara Malayia (PNM). Segalanya bermula di sana. PNM adalah lambang ilmu dan pencerahan harus berlandaskan ilmu. Jika difikirkan, segalanya diaturkan oleh Yang Maha ESA dengan begitu istimewa sekali. Dari hanya 6 orang anak muda, kini PI berkembang menjadi satu label perjuangan yang dekat dengan hati anak-anak muda.

4. Sejak sekian lama, pihak Kerajaan telah melaksanakan pelbagai inisiatif mengiktiraf dan mendengar suara belia. Bermula dengan Persatuan Belia Komuniti, Daerah, Majlis Belia Negeri-Negeri, Majlis Belia Malaysia, Majlis Perundingan Belia Malaysia dan berbagai-bagai lagi. Kini di bawah pimpinan Menteri generasi baru, Saudara Khairy Jamaluddin (KJ), KBS melaksanakan transformasi dan memperkenalkan Parlimen Belia Malaysia, sebagai pelengkap inisiatif-inisiatif sebelum ini.

5. Program ini hasil cetusan idea dan debat Makmal Transformasi Belia yang diselia oleh KBS. Dengan menggunakan kajian-kajian kes dari luar negara seperti United Kingdom, Australia, dan India, serta perancangan rapi dan sesi-sesi konsultasi dengan stakeholders belia, Parlimen Belia Malaysia adalah inisiatif yang segar, dimana YB Menteri KBS sendiri memberi jaminan yang ianya tidak akan dipengaruhi oleh agenda parti-parti politik di Malaysia.

6. Jujurnya, siapapun akan meragui komitmen yang dijanjikan oleh YB KJ, maklumlah ianya program kerajaan, akan tetapi saya berpendapat adalah satu kerugian besar jika belia tidak memanfaatkan ruang yang ada ini. Seharusnya belia harus mencuba dan jadikan Parlimen Belia Malaysia ini, medan menyuarakan, mendedahkan, menegakkan hasrat sebenar belia-belia di Malaysia. Kita, belia adalah perwaris kepimpinan negara, pelindung khazanah negara untuk generasi anak-anak kita, pemegang amanah pembangunan negara, maka haruslah kita menggunakan sebaik mungkin.

7. Berbekalkan kesedaran akan peluang ini, Praktikal Idealis Malaysia diasaskan sebagai satu gerakan berteraskan ilmu dan pencerahan. PI bukan parti politik, ia adalah platform yang diasaskan untuk mengumpulkan belia-belia yang mengejar Pencerahan.

8. PI menginginkan satu model politik baru yang berasaskan nilai serta menghormati semangat Perlembagaan Malaysia dan Rukun Negara. PI melihat ia akan menjadi kuasa ketiga yang menyatukan belia-belia yang kini terpisah jauh disebabkan persaingan tidak sihat kuasa-kuasa politik negara. PI adalah medan yang meraikan perbezaan pendapat, menggalakan perdebatan, memartabatkan ilmu pengetahuan dan menegakkan fitrah belia.

9. Atas sebab ini, saya menerima pelawaan saudara Pengasas. Saya adalah seorang non-partisan. Saya tidak mendaftar mana-mana parti politik. Saya mempunyai nilai peribadi yang saya pegang. Saya percaya ilmu pengetahuan dan bantuan Yang Maha ESA, saya boleh membuat keputusan yang bijaksana. Saya suka berkawan, saya mempunyai ramai sahabat dari parti-parti politik di Malaysia. Saya percayakan PERLEMBAGAAN MALAYSIA dan kita harus MEMELIHARA, MELINDUNGI dan MEMPERTAHANKANnya

10. Untuk rakan-rakan belia, bangun dah berpartispasi lah. Antara perkara pokok untuk kita diiktiraf sebagai negara maju dan berpendapatan tinggi, adalah penglibatan belia di dalam membuat dasar dan keputusan kerajaan. Marilah bersama-sama.

Why I Decided on Joining (Hopefully) 'Parlimen Belia/ Praktikal Idealis'

As-salamualaikum and Good Day,

1. In the past few days, I received a considerable amount of enquiry regarding my candidacy for Parlimen Belia Malaysia. Some wishes to know who am I and others wanted to know why I finally decided to be the front man in politics. Most of them asked on what are my central idea for the Youth and my so called “manifesto”.

2. I am very grateful for the questions and I hope I could answer all and gave all of you some sort of confidence in me and my candidacy.

3. My previous post describes very leisurely about who I am. It describes my academic credentials and professional experience. It serves as basis that I am a normal citizen of Malaysia and I am just one of you, I have a normal job, a family and friends. I enjoy movies, reading and a good time of Teh Tarik with your bestfriends.

4. Referring to the questions, I decided to run for this election because I feel now I have all the capacity and capability to contribute back to the society, in particular youth. As you all probably know now, the Youth now are facing issues like rising cost of living, employment, housing and recognition.

5. Previously, I wanted to help, but I don’t have the sufficient knowledge and expertise. I don’t want myself to be put in the state of emotional and ignorance when I fight certain issues. I believe in the power of knowledge and how it can enlighten one’s vision, so that we are well informed and made wise decision. I feel, in order to win in our struggle, one must understand the “game” and how the “people” operates.

6. Therefore, in the last 5 years, I enrolled in MBA program and equipped myself to become a good Management Accountant with CIMA. Furthermore, I listed myself in both public and private sector, in order me to better understand the dynamics of these two very different entities. I’ve also a part-time management lecturer in Rawang, a career that made me close to Youth, specifically the student.

7. Now, I feel myself in a better position, on a better plane to contribute. I registered myself as voters for Parlimen Belia at the earlier stage. Armed with specific knowledge and experience, I vow to educate, train and enlighten our Youth. I would like to leverage on my capacity & capability, to help them to understand the issues. I hope I could provide them with an insight of what is on the table for them. Be it the Government or the Opposition ideas, I hope I could enlighten the Youth in making informed decision that might affecting their life. With that insight, together we scrutinize and seek a better position for the Youth from the authorities

8. As a candidate for Selangor, I understand the Youth situation in the richest state in Malaysia. With great cities like Kuala Lumpur, Shah Alam, Putrajaya, Ampang and Subang Jaya, issues like cost of livings, housing, employment and the rest, are monumental to the Youth. I have several ideas on how we could do this together. I will share in details during the course of this campaign. I hope this post answer your doubt, or at least cast a little or a spark of confidence in me. 

A MAN JUST LIKE YOU, A FRIEND FOR YOU

Myself :)

I try my best to summarize *ehem* interesting details about myself, thus the infographic :)

Feel free to email me at azwan.omar84@gmail.com , I'll be happy to get to know new folks to exchange ideas & discuss any current issues.

Have a nice day!

Malaysia : Youth & bankruptcy

     1.      Last night, I decided to invite my personal Think Tank to discuss and come out with viable solutions for the issue of bankruptcy. It is a known fact to all Malaysia, regardless age, income and social groups, that we have an alarming rate of bankruptcy among Malaysian in particular the Youth.

      2.      Yes, I forgot to share your with you that I have a group of talents for this campaign. They are my closest friends, confidants and advisers. They hail from many sectors and industries, such as Oil & Gas, Financial Institutions, Power and Utilities, Human Resource Practitioner, Airline & Aviation, Government & Public Policy, Telecommunication, Automotive and even Student Leader.

     3.      Our discussion last night, aimed to find out the root cause of this problem. According to the survey conducted by The Consumer Research and Resource Centre (CCRC) on the financial behavior of 1000 Malaysians aged 18-35 living in urban area, they found out that 50% of young Malaysians are in “serious debt” (debt payments amount 30% or more of their Gross Income). They study also shows that they pay and average of RM 932 on housing loans, RM 619 on car loans, RM 199 on study loans and RM 391 on insurance payments. In total, they pay over RM 2,100 per month.

      4.      65% of them earn less than RM 3,000 per month and the usage of credit cards every month is on average of RM 702. In addition to the data, my Think Tank highlighted that the Nielsen’s global survey found that less than 50% of Malaysian settle their credit card bills in full every month. The finding also shows that compared to other Asian nations, Taiwan at 89% and Japan at 87%, we the Malaysian have the habit of prolonging the debt payment and seems like less care of the interest charges.

      5.      One of my friends, highlighted that the Malaysia’s preference to long term loan is high compared to our neighbors like Indonesia. In Indonesia, standard car loans period is 5 years, whereas we settle at 9 years.

      6.      Despite all the data provided, we also must acknowledge that we are very much different than our ASEAN peers. We have to look at our Income growth per capita and also the state’s economic conditions. Is our economy robust and growing so that jobs could be created and price of goods & services manageable?

      7.      We don’t want to ponder into the area of macroeconomic too much. I believe most will find lots of headache if we put lots of stock in discussing the macroeconomic, with all the terms and tools. Therefore let us go for the PRACTICALITY of the issue. Shall we?

     8.      In the heated discussion, we conclude that one must be discipline when it comes to personal finance. It is a logical and accepted way of thinking that we spend only what are needed by ourselves and family. I understand the dilemma of the Youth such as Peer Pressure, Family Expectations and a Lust for Luxury. Once I faced the dilemma heads on. The pressure to provide the best for our family risen exponentially when we decided to get married and obviously the expectation of in-laws also needs to be counted.

       9.      I think, it is the time we focus on educating and exposing our Youth on personal finance. I know, Youth especially the Bumiputera, have low appreciation of finance knowledge. I met many friends of mine, who thinks taking debt, be it personal or credit card, is a norm and notion like “Gali Lubang Besar (Baru), Tutup Lubang Lama” is like a mantra. They don’t know what is compound interest and good payback scheme and in the end will be sucked deep into debt like a quicksand.

  

     10.   We must advocate INVESTING and SAVINGS as a norm among the Youth in Malaysia. We must expose to our Youth the benefits they can enjoy if they put more attention in savings. In our local financial system scene, we have many investment opportunities and instruments. Most of the investment banks and firms already rolled out Syariah-Compliant products. Not to mention, our nation’s traditional investment tools like Tabung Haji and ASB. However, try your best not to use Debt to finance your ASB. When you look at it, even PNB announced for 8-9% return, you probably ended up with just a little above the inflation rates of 3.5% return. So invest and save wisely.

      11.   I saw from the weekly newspaper, The Edge Malaysia, an advertisement of 2014, The Edge Kuala Lumpur rat race, a charity awareness corporate run, where you will see CEOs of top corporate Malaysian firms and their staffs, run to promote healthy lifestyle and raise funds the The Edge Education Foundation, aimed to promote financial literacy and improve the command of English among Malaysian. Hopefully capital raised will be properly distributed to the target groups.

  

 12.   As for the Youth or Malaysian, who are actually in bankruptcy status or having financial problems, please make use of the Agensi Kaunseling dan Pengurusan Kredit (AKPK)( http://www.akpk.org.my/)  to the max. Do not be shy or ashamed of your situation. Debt is good to increase value of your life, however, uncontrolled debt taking, bad discipline in managing it, it will slowly ruin your life and your family. We can’t run away from debt, honestly. But we can prudently manage it and slowly change our lifestyle into a responsible one. 

INVEST and SAVE. 

BE DISCIPLINE in YOUR PERSONAL FINANCE

http://www.akpk.org.my/learning/articles-and-tips/id/1344/infographic-bankruptcy-in-malaysia--a-reality-check

Street Smart vs Book Smart

As-salam and Good Evening,

Today, at the GAAM gathering, i met with Pok Cik, a long time friend from my A-Level period. He managed to further his study in Germany, whereas i was here, "furthering" my study at UNITEN. I really dont want to talk about why such thing happened. I believe most of my readers are learned and able to deduce why.

Well, our conversation ranges lots of thing. From mh17 to MAS and slowly move towards Proton dilemma. Then, we touched on success in life, particularly on whether paper credentials really help an entrepreneur. While me myself do believe that those credentials help the person, one cannot denies the ingenuity of a natural born business person.

He believes that, what ever it is the papers show you, the most important substance is the "daring" spirit with huge common business sense. He proved to me that many billionaires and including him, are successful in business regardless the magnitude of the return. I do agree with him. Take a look at the list of top 10 billionaires in the world, most of them are street smart. These street smart rely on guts and observation. Taking into their experience with people and stakeholders, pointing straight at their target, and never look back.

However, one cannot discredit the book smart. They are trained with the most updated tools and skills that very useful in the business. Tools and skills they received in business schools or any training center will add the value and able to compete with the street smart. Plus, they are trained in pitching and negotiating, together with compelling writing technique to woo the financier. These book smart leverage on careful study and thorough research in making their business decision.

Well, i want to add up another group. I think, we should have more of this. A hybrid of street smart and book smart. A combination, a synchronization and a unique mixed that has the tools and skills of book smart with spirit and ingenuity of street smart. Surely such mixture will create wonders. Imagine the decision making process will be amplified at large and the guts of taking risk will be moderated by comprehensive analyzed data.

Therefore, i believe, we cant discount any of these two groups and together steered them towards becoming the third group. The street smart has to gain the paper credentials, at least to raise their level of trust. It will help them in wooing the stringent financier. The book smart must have the spirit of risk taking. Have a bit of guts and trained the guts to adapt with the bid data provided. It shall be a wonder.

I guess, the Government realized this matter. With the establishment of MaGIC and various agencies to help nurture young entrepreneurs and SMEs, we hope the hybrid will benefits us, the Rakyat with high income job, low unemployment, high innovation. Take a look at the Koreans, Kia and Hyundai. I read it in Harvard Business Review (HBR), the Koreans have the eastern work ethics, complemented with guts of the western. The hybrids are proven.

Regards

Azwan