Con·trar·i·an Jo·h·or

[ikani]

Hi guys,

I have learned a great deal just by reading this forum. A big Thank You.

I have just moved to Johor and am new to this forum. Hope to learn more and hopefully in time share ...

I have currently just moved to the northern part of Johor. Things are slightly cheaper here than in JB itself. To be a true Con·trar·i·an Jo·h·or, I have given up all links to sg. I even have a baby boy but totally not registered with sg. People around me have been telling me that I should have registered him to sg and enjoy some baby bonuses and tax rebates, thereby enjoy the great education that sg has to offer.

I stronger believe that the sg education is poisonous to the young mind. It doesn't teach what is morally good. It doesn't teach how to survive as a normal human being. It doesn't teach how to live among people. It simply doesn't teach what is life.

I am against drinking shit water. Too many of my relations by blood have gotten very serious illnesses due to poor living conditions.

I am against human engineering. A true life should be allowed to live freely (hopefully). My generation has already been done in, I just hope for the next generation to be better.

One might detect bitterness in my writing. But, it is not true. I have long past the bitter stage and am now trying to enjoy life to the fullest.

I don't wish to offend any sentiments here but to share a different but possible path.

in metta ...

 

[ikani]

A Generations Game

Thank You, Moderators for accepting my post.

I shall do my best to contribute.

A Generations Game

It is never easy for me to restart and throw away everything I know and treasured dear.

I have worked in many white countries. I even sent my kids to these countries hoping that they too have a choice. But, in the end, each of these experiments failed. White countries are never friendly towards yellows or browns. They might outwardly be friendly, but when it comes to promotions, I was never considered. Even the semi-whites (yellows that have been to these countries long time ago) were extremely hostile towards me. Why? You asked. Because I was considered fresh meat. They got extremely angry when they realized I couldn't be sponged. They mostly couldn't make great money other than basic minimum pay from their semi-white food store employers. They were mainly screwed badly by their earlier semi-whites. So, their only way is to try to skin freshly landed immigrants for food.

In a way, one can conclude that for every dragon that crosses the big river, one invariably ended up as a worm on the other side. Why? Again you might ask. Because when we land, we have no contacts, no resources, no family to rely on in times of difficulties, which happens immediately after landing. Every one would be extremely protective about their turf and one simply cannot try to win any thing, like good jobs or good trades.

If one were to talk to any Johorians, one would confirm that each and every one of their forefathers were once-upon-a-time rubber tappers, who rises at 3 a.m. and tapped till 8 a.m.. This is the price paid to the generations game.
[to be continued]

 

[ikani]

A Generations Game (con't)

After 3-4 generations, most of these Johorians now owned freehold lands, established food stores, shophouses and kopitiams. Their livelihoods were never better. The minimalist cars they drive are the toyotas and hondas.

There is truly no shame in restarting if one concludes that the previous place they landed was deemed a mistake. By all means, restart and take that humble pie and work from the bottom once again.

Now, I don't have to climb stairs to my house. 50 m away is a guardian and 7-11. Banks everywhere. Eateries (although not all are nice, some are not bad) everywhere. Super malls 5 minutes away. A car each for every member of the family. Free parking lots for 10 cars. 200 monkeys stealing my food. 10,000 trees supplying oxygen to me every morning. No more shit water. Friendly neighbours who feed my dogs every day. Free python biles. Mozzies everywhere but I managed to defeat them all.

This is not a showing-off post. But, I am a person who is totally contented with my humble new life and a new sound beginning.

I believe in each and every one of us here in this forum to have the same if not superior powers than me to achieve much higher objectives.

IF we can cooperate in a foreign land, then I am sure we would be a force to reckoned with.

in metta ...

 

[ikani]

A New Restaurant Tale

3 months ago, nearer to the north of Johor, a restaurant with the same name as the pet shop next door was opened for business. For more than a year now (I have just moved here), I have been buying all kinds of dog food and cages from the pet shop. The pet shop owner was friendly and the prices were equally reasonable.

Then suddenly, next door to it, a restaurant of high quality renovation was opened. Since that day till now, the restaurant was packed. I couldn’t even dine there till much later. The menu was unique and the service excellent.

For a simple dinner for 5, I paid RM400, meaning rm80 per pax. That price can easily match any top-flight restaurant in Johor, yet this restaurant, better ranked as a zi-char store, was mob-crowded till this day.

The tale goes like this (I can only conjected, no one would have told me the absolute truth anyway):

The pet shop was run by 2 owners. For the better of the last 35-40 years, they have humbly slogged for their family of two boys. In time, they managed to buy their shop unit and the unit next to it for rental income, maybe for the price of 10-thousand-ish.

Being a hobbyist shop in a developing economy, where food on the table is more important than keeping an ornamental fish alive, making a living by selling hobbies, cannot be easy. But, the shop managed to pass through the sands of time.
[to be continued ...]

 

[ikani]

A New Restaurant Tale (con't)

Being a hobbyist shop in a developing economy, where food on table is more important than keeping an ornamental fish alive, making a living by selling hobbies, cannot be easy. But, the shop managed to pass through the sands of time.

Now with valuation of rm1m each, the 2 sons must have asked dad for a break. They must have visited TW/HK/China & come across this amazing food idea & they wanted to try it in Johor. Everything is available. The tables (just pap), chairs (just pap), cooking furniture (just pap), dinning sets (just pap), the concept (just lift it off the Chinese), manpower (self-helped), place (existing locality located at the most busy boulevard of town) & the money (mom and pop’s financing) are all success factors. Entrepreneurship cannot be made simpler. (Maximum respect is due lah.) Who knows they might finally succeed & drop the apron strings altogether. The idea only cost rm200k. It's only a small cut of the shophouses’ valuation, all banks would finance this venture easy. On top of that, the sons would be helping to pay for the loan repayments.

Bingo … They got the money, they got the concept, they got the market to say yes. Just these 3 months, I would have expected them to have recovered at least 50% of their initial investment.

This is again the generations game at play …

(This is only a conjecture, the actual circumstances might be different, but largely, the conjecture should be quite sound. I meant no offence to whosoever, if I have, please send me a pm and I will change or take down the post.)

It is obvious that the mom and pop had paid for the rubber tapper's role, by blood, sweat and tears. It is therefore time for the next generation to shine through. I guess this is the stage I am in right now, the rubber tapper's role.

If I am the current gf of 1 of the ahsiakias, I will be laughing all the way to the bank.

in metta … (477 words, if I may humbly ask if I could get a higher quota for each essay, TQ.)

 

[ikani]

A Developer’s Curse

Once upon a time, I bought a condo unit for rm200k near the centre of KL. 10 years later, I only managed to sell it for rm100k. I lost in exchange rate. I lost in actual value. I lost in investment opportunity (time factor). During that time, the swimming pool dried up with no water and the maintenance dropped from minimal to below zero. The management committee collects rates but not a single ringgit was dispensed to upkeep the condo. A 5-star condo has dropped to minus-2-star.

Originally, I might get a couple of tenants renting at bare minimum, after the fifth year, not a single tenant appears. In short, I have gotten hit by the developer’s curse.

A KL friend of mine, who owns at least 10 very large properties, also fell into the same trap. He bought 2 different condo units, 500k each. After 10 years, he still couldn’t sell them off for a profit even though the property market has improved by more than double. He cursed the condos every single day and said that he could easily leave the landed properties alone and let them rot, but yet still can sell them off at a great profit, nevertheless not his condo units. He has since converted them into chicken shops for his own private pleasure.

A Developer’s Curse

If one were to check the developer’s price, it is always at least 50% higher than the existing market. Since the area for sale is also tinier than the existing ones, the increased quantum is normally not felt as much. At the same time, with new tiles, new air-con and new kitchen cabinets, the developer can easily fool one’s eyes.

Since most buyers are normally cash poor (maximum loan from banks) (no pun intended), one would not contemplate the extreme option, i.e., buy an existing dilapidated one and use the 50% to renovate it into a palatial home. The end result is one of a great space and own-designed living. But, how many buyers can do that?
[to be continued]

 

[ikani]

A Developer’s Curse (con't)

In the end, buyers, being disorientated by sg’s high-rise units, continue to buy high-rise condo units, without realising that Malaysia is a big country and land price is not going to move much. Maintenance would not be as tight because they have plenty of choice to move around.

Many buyers will reject my idea and claimed that a condo unit or a g&g landed is safer. I cannot deny the interpretation. But, instead of shelling out millions just to be safe, why can’t one do the following:

1. Install an auto-gate. Open it to move the car in and close it before disembarking from the vehicle. Robbing always comes during returning to house, but not so much for going out. Our backs are always blind but great for the robbers.
2. Keep some big dogs. Before I kept dogs, my compound was broken into, not once but many times. My shoes, chillers, bricks, ladders, gas cylinders, cabinets, machines, tools and what-have-you were stolen whenever I leave the house. After I kept the dogs, not a single thing went missing. On top of that, some of my smaller dogs are great ratters and monkeys chasers too. Cost-wise, I didn’t even bother to feed them, the dogs find their own food. I only feed them once a while on treats. My cost for these 24/7 live-in guards is zero. Malaysia Boleh! If you want to save further, keep only a few female dogs. The male dogs always roam the street for free fucks at night and not guard the house.
3. Keep good contact with neighbours. Get their numbers and display them prominently near the phones. Once detect anything suspicious, just give them a call or vice versa.
4. Install tall stainless steel gates and fences. You don’t want them to easily climb right in.
5. Install auto-flood led lights. Based on motion detection, these lights will flood the area once motion is detected and shine for at least 5 mins. The dogs will complement your flood lights.
6. When travelling, keep some lights on and off during the nights and inform your trust-worthy neighbours about your absence.

[to be continued]

 

[ikani]

A Developer’s Curse (con't)

• Always keep one car in the porch. In Malaysia, cars are cheap and therefore, it is possible to own 2 or more cars per person. One can get a working car 12-15 yo for rm6k. road tax is only rm300 per year. For older cars, insurance is cheap, rm500-800? Just leave a car behind.
• Keep some weapons in the house.

Even in the States, house break-ins are just as common as in Malaysia. So please don’t define Malaysia as a bad place.

Back to the developer’s curse, if one were to scan the Malaysian websites for great second-hand properties, one would come to a conclusion that for a million bucks a pop, one can own a palace in Malaysia. So why settle to pay the developer’s curse and not venture out to see what the market is providing.

Renovation is just a joke. With a palatial place, one can take one’s time to renovate. Visit Ayer Hitam, one can get rm1500 toilet bowl for rm600. Visit Pontian, one can get rm1000 doors for rm300. Visit low-cost housing estate, one can get rm300 per day contract worker for rm100 per day. Visit Ipoh, one can get rm60 psf granite for rm10 psf. Just take one’s time to do the work of thousands. (878 words)

in metta …

 

[Frodo]

Hi guys,

I have learned a great deal just by reading this forum. A big Thank You.

I have just moved to Johor and am new to this forum. Hope to learn more and hopefully in time share ...

I have currently just moved to the northern part of Johor. Things are slightly cheaper here than in JB itself. To be a true Con·trar·i·an Jo·h·or, I have given up all links to sg. I even have a baby boy but totally not registered with sg. People around me have been telling me that I should have registered him to sg and enjoy some baby bonuses and tax rebates, thereby enjoy the great education that sg has to offer.

I stronger believe that the sg education is poisonous to the young mind. It doesn't teach what is morally good. It doesn't teach how to survive as a normal human being. It doesn't teach how to live among people. It simply doesn't teach what is life.

I am against drinking shit water. Too many of my relations by blood have gotten very serious illnesses due to poor living conditions.

I am against human engineering. A true life should be allowed to live freely (hopefully). My generation has already been done in, I just hope for the next generation to be better.

One might detect bitterness in my writing. But, it is not true. I have long past the bitter stage and am now trying to enjoy life to the fullest.

I don't wish to offend any sentiments here but to share a different but possible path.

in metta ...

Thanks for sharing with us your new found joy of life in Johor. So you are staying in Kluang or Kulai area? Mind sharing where you are living? All the best and have a blessed Christmas!

 

[ikani]

Thanks for sharing with us your new found joy of life in Johor. So you are staying in Kluang or Kulai area? Mind sharing where you are living? All the best and have a blessed Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you and all.

Yes. I stay around Kulai area.

in metta ...

 

[sgcount]

Re: A Developer’s Curse (con't)

In the end, buyers, being disorientated by sg’s high-rise units, continue to buy high-rise condo units, without realising that Malaysia is a big country and land price is not going to move much. Maintenance would not be as tight because they have plenty of choice to move around.

Thanks for sharing your honest views here on living in Johor.

With respect to your views as quoted above, what is your opinion of buying high-rise condo units in Johor, around Bukit Indah and Medini areas?

Have a great day!

 

[ikani]

Re: A Developer’s Curse

... what is your opinion of buying high-rise condo units in Johor, around Bukit Indah and Medini areas?

I must first apologise for not being clear. There is a limit on me in writing my essays (2000 chars), so in the end, the essay has to be truncated into 3 parts. Interestingly, only parts 2 and 3 were approved by the Moderator(s) for publishing, but not part 1.

In part 1, I fully explained what my definition of a developer’s curse is and how it arises.

Your question was substantially answered in my part 1.

For your convenience, I shall repeat a little of the argument here (as I am limited very much by the 2000 chars):

“Nobody makes any money from investing in a condo unit. Each condo unit comes with great cost of continuous maintenance and one simply cannot leave it alone to rot. The management disallows it. If so allowed, the value of the condo unit shall drop substantially to negative value. Strata title means owner of the air which implies worthlessness.”

But, lots of people in sg felt that they profited from “enbloc” sale and declared great vision. This is because the developer looked at the low heights of the old apartments, implying some residual land value still to be extracted, and offered to take them to much higher floors. If you have noticed, none of the 20-storey high HDB 5-rooms were ever “enbloc”ed, only the shorter 3- and 4-roomers. Why so?

In Malaysia, it is a lot different. None of the roads leading to big residential areas were ever widened. Perpetual jams everywhere. So it is not good to look at the dense condo developments without first look at the final traffic conditions.

The current most happening place is no longer Bukit Indah, it has moved to Mount Austin. There, big spenders are everywhere. Huge g&g bungalows, semi-ds and clusters are the order-of-the-day. I see the way they eat Japanese food, I must say I am humbled totally. A bowl of plain noodles costed me rm17 (not yet adding the nuts, tissue, service and gst) only provided me with a portion equivalent to a s$4 bowl in a sg hawker centre.

Yet, my friend who owned a Mount Austin condo unit which she bought at below rm500k, cannot find tenants or sale even near that price. She has already been at it for a good 3 years, empty and paying good money from her wages from sg to service the loan.

In the humble opinion of a rubber tapper (me), a wise investment must have qualities like preservation of investment capital and certainty in income return. Lack these, the investment is no longer wise.

in metta ...

 

[ikani]

Re: A Developer’s Curse (con't)

A Developer’s Curse
Part 1
Once upon a time, I bought a condo unit for rm200k near the centre of KL. 10 years later, I only managed to sell it for rm100k. I lost in exchange rate. I lost in actual value. I lost in investment opportunity (time factor). During that time, the swimming pool dried up with no water and the maintenance dropped from minimal to below zero. The management committee collects rates but not a single ringgit was dispensed to upkeep the condo. A 5-star condo has dropped to minus-2-star.

Originally, I might get a couple of tenants renting at bare minimum, after the fifth year, not a single tenant appears. In short, I have gotten hit by the developer’s curse.

A KL friend of mine, who owns at least 10 very large properties, also fell into the same trap. He bought 2 different KL condo units, 500k each. After 10 years, he still couldn’t sell them off for a profit even though the property market has improved by more than double. He cursed the condos every single day and said that he could easily leave the landed properties alone and let them rot, but yet still can sell them off at a great profit, nevertheless not his condo units. He has since converted them into chicken shops for his own private pleasure.

A Developer’s Curse

If one were to check the developer’s price, it is always at least 50% higher than the existing market. Since the area for sale is also tinier than the existing ones, the increased quantum is normally not felt as much. At the same time, with new tiles, new air-con and new kitchen cabinets, the developer can easily fool one’s eyes.

Since most buyers are normally cash poor (maximum loan from banks) (no pun intended), one would not contemplate the extreme option, i.e., buy an existing dilapidated one and use the 50% to renovate it into a palatial home. The end result is one of a great space and own-designed living. But, how many buyers can do that?

In the end, buyers, being disorientated by sg’s high-rise units, continue to buy high-rise condo units, without realising that Malaysia is a big country and land price is not going to move much. Maintenance would not be as tight because they have plenty of choice to move around.

I have repeated Part 1 here. I hope the Moderator(s) approves this banned Part 1.

I have not much idea about Bukit Indah and Medini Iskandar areas, most of these developments are priced way-beyond me. So I didn't think about them.

If we try to emulate Warren Buffet here, notice he doesn't go for fanciful, loud and shiny technology firms, except of late, he only goes for companies that are time-tested. Applying the same principle to real estate, quieter older dilapidated properties are larger in land size, much better located, great amenities such as buses, trains and roads, post office, govt bodies and eateries, and most importantly super rentable. Just look at Taman Universiti, that's a gold mine for property owners, each 3-room landed property was further extended and subdivided into 7-8 rooms, each commanding about rm350-500 per room. Every real estate agent knows it and each has properties in that taman.

In Taman Universiti, each 3-room landed (1000sf) costs at least rm120k (cheapest), the same thing elsewhere only worth rm30-50k. Even with doubling of cost, there are always takers, because each buyer knows they can get rental income of at least rm30k per year.

That's why real estate agents don't like me, the rubber tapper.

in metta ...

 

[freedom]

Re: A Developer’s Curse (con't)

I have repeated Part 1 here. I hope the Moderator(s) approves this banned Part 1.

I have not much idea about Bukit Indah and Medini Iskandar areas, most of these developments are priced way-beyond me. So I didn't think about them.

If we try to emulate Warren Buffet here, notice he doesn't go for fanciful, loud and shiny technology firms, except of late, he only goes for companies that are time-tested. Applying the same principle to real estate, quieter older dilapidated properties are larger in land size, much better located, great amenities such as buses, trains and roads, post office, govt bodies and eateries, and most importantly super rentable. Just look at Taman Universiti, that's a gold mine for property owners, each 3-room landed property was further extended and subdivided into 7-8 rooms, each commanding about rm350-500 per room. Every real estate agent knows it and each has properties in that taman.

In Taman Universiti, each 3-room landed (1000sf) costs at least rm120k (cheapest), the same thing elsewhere only worth rm30-50k. Even with doubling of cost, there are always takers, because each buyer knows they can get rental income of at least rm30k per year.

That's why real estate agents don't like me, the rubber tapper.

in metta ...

Hi, I own a semi detached house in Austin Heights, Mount Austin very near Sunway College. Do you think I can rent out to the students there like in Taman Universiti?

 

[ikani]

Re: A Developer’s Curse (con't)

Hi, I own a semi detached house in Austin Heights, Mount Austin very near Sunway College. Do you think I can rent out to the students there like in Taman Universiti?

It is an honour to be able to answer your question. I will try my best. But, first, let me congratulate you and celebrate with you on your fine purchase. Your location is currently the talk of the town. I hope it is a freehold property. If it is, then you should be the happiest person.

Second, I would like to state that I am only a humble rubber tapper, I am not an investor like you or a real estate agent who is professionally qualified to give advice. I did not buy enough properties in Malaysia to qualify as an in-the-know. What I can offer is only my humble but honest opinion in this rough road to success.

If one were to visit university towns like Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Vancouver or Toronto, you would realize that those owners of properties near their universities are having times of their life. Their rentals are at least double or quadruple that of their other town folks. On top of that, their rentals are on-time and seldom have problems in collection. Each of these university towns took at least 100-900 years to develop, so please don’t be surprised by your early non-success.

Swing back to reality, in the north, if you look at Subang Jaya, it is an amazing success story. The 45 yo Taylor's College, then later the Taylor's University, churn out tons of lawyers and doctors. With that, millions of private colleges and universities joined in and sprang up from nowhere to stay in Subang Jaya. Their property prices are now super high, rentals are never an issue there.

Nearer to Johor, Taman Universiti is a university town near Johor Bahru City in Malaysia. It is located between Skudai and Pulai. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) is a 5-minute drive away from Taman Universiti, hence the name of the town. The town is dominated by civil servants (lecturers, office workers) and students from UTM. The university alone has 30,000 students who mostly live on campus but visit the town for their shopping.

But, some smarter students rented the surroundings for stay. It is a success story after 20 years of gestation and it is a real university town.

Once again, back to the Sunway College Johor Bahru, Mount Austin. Sunway College JB started in 2004, offering only courses in the accounting discipline. By 2006, the growing student population saw Sunway College JB moves to a purpose-built new campus of its own and arrive in style at the forefront of private institutions in the southern region of Malaysia, offering only 10-odd courses, basically in accounting.

The new campus at Taman Mount Austin has grown to be a realisation of the vision to ensure that students who pass out of Sunway emerge as front runners in their individual fields. The aim of Sunway College JB is to ensure that they meet the aspirations of today’s generation while looking to meet the nation’s needs in the future.

In my assessment, Sunway College JB is only 10 years old, a private enterprise, limited courses, not much connectivity to external universities and most importantly, a very tiny student population. The chance of developing into a successful real university town in the near future is not very high.

But, no investment can be decided by plain talking. If you must try, then maybe I would like to suggest a way. First, you have to designate a room for the purpose (zero start-up cost). Second, forget about the English-speaking or internet-savvy population, there is none in Johor. You may want to visit the 报纸街 in Pelangi, they have tons of newspapers and magazines reps there. You can do your own survey. Go to the one that sells 南洋商报+中国日报 and not 星州日报 to place an advertisement for these students. The 南洋商报+中国日报 rep claims that the distribution of 南洋商报+中国日报 is comparable to that of 星州日报, the advertisement rate is rm30++ per 4 cm-column classified ads rate per day. If one were to advertise for 3 days out of 14 days, 4 more days are given free, totalling rm90++ or rm13++ per ad. Compared to 星州日报’s rate of rm50++ per day for 5 days, an additional 1 day is given free, totalling rm250++ or rm42++ per ad. No way, the effect of 星州日报 is going to outperform 南洋商报+中国日报. Hence, for an experiment that costs no more than rm90++ for 7 ad days within 14 days. One would know if there are takers. I wish you well.

Lastly, in investment, there is no such thing as certainty. Every investment carries risk and every investment carries reward. The risk-reward appetite is very much individual. The good news is of cause Malaysia Boleh!, i.e., if one has a good idea, one can always realize it. Look around you in every corner in the residential area, there is always a "converted" car wash, bridal boutique, kindergarten, eatery, fashion house or grocery store to satisfy your entrepreneurial urge.

in metta …

Footnote: Thank You, Moderator(s) for increasing my char count.

 

[sgcount]

Re: A Developer’s Curse (con't)

Hi ikani,

Thanks for your very informative and frank discussion. It's probably the best post in this forum!

I'm very surprised to read that after 10 years, your KL condo was losing money. Or that your friend after 3 years still cannot find tenants.

I'm not very familiar with Malaysian properties. But I would think after so long, surely the prices of properties will go up, whether due to "developer's curse" or not? Apparently, this seems not to be the case for the ones you mentioned.

 

[ikani]

A Poor Man’s Meal

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to one and all …

Sorry for not being able to write up as I was busy making ends meet. Must make hay while there is still festival.

Preamble

It is not that I have travelled that far to become a guru in this topic. But, the sad news is that everywhere I go, I am always considered fresh meat to locals. Be it the semi-whites (yellows that have been to these adopting countries long time ago) or the local locals. They love to sponge and feed off the just freshly landed immigrants.

When I was in white country, the whites tried very hard to sponge me off. The semi-whites were no better. They charged me double the market rental rate and claimed that it is for my own good that they are protecting me in the meantime.

When I was in MY, the same thing happened. The local shops claimed that they have the best wares and the best prices. In the end, the prices were shit at best. They also love to sponge newly landed immigrants blind. Most food stores were hopeless.

This essay is to break their rice bowls.

Chicken

The best chickens are the live kampong chickens. If you go to the market to buy, it will cost you rm25-26 per kg. Sometimes the chicken is at least 2 kg in weight, don’t buy it. The meat is tough and it takes more than 2 hours just to cook the meat. When eating, I got to chew until I died. Try instead, the chickens that are weighing around 1.5 kg. But, this is a good life to have, eating kampong chickens.

Next best is the cross-meat-kampong chickens (光颈). These are fat chickens that are allowed to roam freely. They are about rm14 per kg. I always buy this type of chicken; it is a good breed to eat. Not so tough and quite juicy. Please buy from the wet-market and don’t buy from shophouses.

The not-so-good one is the common chickens from EconSave (can still buy). Please don’t buy from the “other” vendors in the wet-market, most of their chickens are not fresh.

Anyway, chicken is the most economical meat around.

The best eggs surprising are not kampong chicken eggs or any AAA eggs. The best eggs are the AA eggs. They are very fast moving and liked by most customers. So please don’t buy the more expensive kampong chicken or AAA eggs. They are much slower moving and by the time you finished eating, at least 5-8 per 30 eggs are rotten, i.e., they are not fresh and therefore not healthy. Please buy from the wet-market and not anywhere else.

Pork

When I first landed, I went to very-established pork vendors (shophouse-type, at least 30-40 yo), they told me their pork is the best and they are the cheapest in town. I believe them and I bought a couple of times from them at rm26-27 per kg. @#@#%$^%& … Little did I realise that I was conned big time. I later go to less established vendors; they were selling to me at rm23 per kg for their best parts and gave a further 10% discount or so.

Even the minced meat, the earlier vendors tried to con me by giving me very fatty portion and inclusive of the skin. I now insist that my minced meat is to be chosen by me first, without skin attached, before sending to the grinder.

With better rapport, I got free liver and occasional meat parts. Again buy from very wet market.

Fish

Unfortunate for me, EconSave’s fish are always not so fresh, otherwise the fish selling in EconSave are damn cheap. Occasionally though, EconSave does have great fish on sale. So choose wisely.

Fish selling, unfortunately too, is dominated by the Chinese. So one can only choose among the least expensive sellers.

For red groupers, they are priced around rm75-85 per kg. The meat is almost the same as normal black groupers. I prefer to buy black groupers rm35-38 per kg to save on cash. Nowadays, I always buy huge fish (at least 3-5 kg) and chop them to small piece and eat slowly. The large fish skin is always a delicacy to savour. 青衣 and Napoleon or Maori wrasse (Soo Mei) are totally over-rated. Don’t buy them, very hard to cook and eat nice. 龙旦 is nice too. The value of the fish lies in the large amount of collagen found in its skin, head and fins.

Snappers are priced the same as groupers. So, please don’t waste your time buying them. The meat is just bland.

Interestingly, they have halibut, a very nice fish. It reminds me of western world living.

The other nice fish is the gold pomfret. The white and the black ones are not nice.

If one needs to deep fry, please visit EconSave and get cheaper fishes. The above-captioned fishes are meant only for simple steaming to get the super taste.

Beef

Beef is non-existent. So this is a good opportunity for entrepreneurs to bring good cuts from the white countries.

EconSave

This is the best place to buy everyday’s groceries. I can’t find a cheaper place. Places like what mart that mart, damn con jobs. The best part is no one ever in MY told me that this is the best place for groceries. If one feel atas, then go to Tesco. Giant is over-priced. Go to Aeon Jusco for your die-hard branded range. But, mostly purchases are fuck-up in taste.

Mr DIY

Every single hardware joint in MY is a con job. I ever taught a very rich guy in KL to shop in Mr DIY. He was surprised that the quality in Mr DIY is so good. As long as one doesn’t overuse the tools, the quality is believable. This shop saves me a tone of hard cash. Easily saved in the thousands.

If one needed more things, 高福 is a good place to go.

Internet Purchases

Lazada is a good place to shop. Quite safe. 7 days return and no questions asked. I have bought multiple handsets from there. Save easily in the hundreds, if not thousands. Phones like Redmi Note 4 (rm699) are damn solid buy. It works even in thunder-storms, but not Huawei p9 (rm2200) or something like that doesn’t even work. It is a joke.

Enough read for the day …

in metta …

 

[ikani]

Re: A Developer’s Curse (con't)

Thanks for your very informative and frank discussion. It's probably the best post in this forum!

A Big Thank You for the great compliment. I have always believed that as long as we share honestly and sincerely, there is no such thing as a poor post. But, not many people out there are willing to be frank as they too were faced with everlasting crooks. I don’t blame them, as we ourselves are their greatest enemy. Even at this point, there would be many peeps reading this post doubting my intent in using honesty to reveal the facts, thinking that I too have used honesty as my weapon of choice. Honesty indeed is a very powerful weapon, it kills swiftly.

As said before, I have decided to choose a different path.

Let it be …

We will always be doubted and suspected against our intentions. I guess I would just live my life as I deemed fit. Nothing more and nothing less.

I'm very surprised to read that after 10 years, your KL condo was losing money. Or that your friend after 3 years still cannot find tenants.

Many people were reluctant to share their failures. They always like to gloat about their successes. I too was once upon a time like that. But, failures followed me like a pestilence that refuses to leave. There are even more examples I didn’t highlight. The space here would never be enough. Like the press, they only report super successes, but never their failures. They felt that failures are shameful and highlighting their inadequacy. But, we are mere hunters. Not all the time we hunt are we successful, many times in fact we return with zero or low catch. There is nothing to be ashamed of. How often can we claim we hunted a mammoth? It is just our own ego that we couldn’t let go.

Ever since I let go of my ego and started telling honest stories, success does follow me more often. Of course, I am happy with that result.

The only ones that have made great fortunes were the landed property owners. Just talk to each and every one of them, if they are willing to tell you the truth, you would realize that they make fortunes sufficient to let their next generations have real fun. In fact, this part alone would have caused you and all to think carefully and try for that price, PERMANENT RESIDENCY. This is a very sensitive topic, one that I don’t wish to disclose more, as I fear the closure of the gate.

I'm not very familiar with Malaysian properties. But I would think after so long, surely the prices of properties will go up, whether due to "developer's curse" or not? Apparently, this seems not to be the case for the ones you mentioned.

I am not trying to be funny here. If one knows that there is a developer’s curse, why continue to play in that house whose odds are against you all the time. That’s the reason why I don’t visit that casino, because it charges me even before I set foot in that house. The result must be one of failure, rather than one of success. So if one could avoid the curse totally, then do so as the awaiting fortune is great.

Do you know that if you were to buy a cheap but dilapidated landed property now and put in some simple renovation, you can sell it for 3-4 times the current sale price? Interesting you said, but we need to learn to hunt first.

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year to you and family and everyone here. Have a great year ahead with good fortune and great health. For those who need to screw more, by all means do so, as we are always limited by our man-made laws, as placed there by someone who doesn’t want us to screw more, as they themselves were limited by their own bigger halves. lol …

Sad huh? …

in metta …

 

[ikani]

Where is Home?

It’s a profound but important question. I have been running around like a blue house fly looking for a place to permanently reside. The place I left was a bad place, full of poison. Some people might want to say that I have to mind-fuck myself deeply in order to claim that my place of birth is indeed poisonous. The same thing happens to those who decide to stay behind, they too have to mind-fuck themselves crazy to claim that the place they remained is indeed heaven on earth. Who am I to say that I am right and they are wrong or vice versa.

昔者庄周梦为蝴蝶，栩栩然蝴蝶也，自喻适志与，不知周也。俄然觉，则戚戚然周也。不知周之梦为蝴蝶与，蝴蝶之梦为周与？周与蝴蝶则必有分矣。此之谓物化。

Once upon a time, I, Chuang Chou, dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was Chou. Soon I awaked, and there I was, veritably myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man. Between a man and a butterfly there is necessarily a distinction. The transition is called the transformation of material things.

Truly, there is no right or wrong. It is just a state of that person’s mind. Different person is in his/her different stage of the generations game. If one is in an advanced stage of the generations game, like some old man who married into a 豪门, he later became very rich and powerful, due to his wife’s connection and influence. He has no need to migrate; he has no need to “kow-tow” to any man; he has no need to fan for his family as his wife has richly provided him. He was the 上门女婿. Luckily for him, he didn’t need to change his surname. He just needs to do what he thought he needs to do, to win in his generations game.

I am but only in my initial stage of my generations game. I cannot complain when my investments went wrong; I cannot complain when I was a dirt collector in a foreign country; I cannot complain when people laughed at me for being stupid in my judgement of cunning people whom I called “friends”, I cannot complain when I couldn’t land myself any respectable job in a foreign land; and I cannot complain when gals around me “disappeared” into thin air.

Who am I then? What makes me tick? Where’s home?

I have always asked my father, since I felt so miserable here in my place of birth, why can’t we all go back to China, our true homeland. My father was quiet as he couldn’t answer me. He never went back ever once himself. To him, all his relatives were blood-suckers. He couldn’t distinguish who are with him and who thought about him if he was ever in need. He only remembered every single letter he received were blatant requests for money to build this and to buy that. He was sick in his stomach. I do understand why.

Because of that, I tried to go further west to be further away from China. There I was bullied to no ends too. It’s a pure waste of my life serving the whites. I was never and can never be accepted as one of them.

Only then, at this late stage, do I realise that home is where one can die in peace. No stress from money, health and pride issues. I don’t think I can die in peace in the place that I was born.

Can I die in Johor in peace? Yes, I can. Will my future generations be happy? Yes. I think so. They still have not explored the northern Malaysia, the eastern part of West Malaysia or East Malaysia. There is still sufficient wriggle room left. How about Thailand and other northern countries? Well, I shall leave it to my next generations to explore. The job in my generations game is to make sure that all the properties remained freehold and can be handed down to them without being fucked by the government “agents”.

A peace of mind is therefore my answer to the inner sanctuary that I called home.

in metta …

 

[Frodo]

Re: Where is Home?

Thanks Ikani for your informative postings and personal sharing! Thumbs up!