慧悟

成熟的人不問過去，聰明的人不問現在，豁達的人不問未來。
在人之上，要把人當人；在人之下，要把自己當人。
知道看人背後的是君子；知道背後看人的是小人。
你犯錯誤時，等別人都來了再罵你的是敵人，等別人都走了罵你的是朋友。
人只要能掌握自己，便什麼也不會失去。
變老並不等於成熟，真正的成熟在於看透。
簡單的生活之所以很不容易，是因為要活的簡單，一定不能想的太多。
人們常犯最大的錯誤，是對陌生人太客氣，而對親密的人太苛刻。
把這個壞習慣改過來，天下太平。
我們在夢裡走了許多路，醒來後發現自己還在床上。
你的醜和你的臉沒有關係。
航海者雖比觀望者要冒更大的風險，但卻有希望到達彼岸。
窮人的苦惱在於沒有選擇，富人的苦惱在於有太多選擇。
不要總覺得被輕視，先問問自己有沒有分量。
一個人的價值，不體現在與別人相同的東西上，而體現在與別人不同的東西上。
靜坐常思己過，閒談莫論人非。
發展是硬道理，但硬發展是沒道理。
人們是看你做什麼，不是聽你說什麼。
要求別人是很痛苦的，要求自己是很快樂的。
不敢生氣的是懦夫，不去生氣的才是智者。
對於人來說，問心無愧是最舒服的枕頭。
嫉妒他人，表明他人的成功，被人嫉妒，表明自己成功。
一口吃不成胖子，但胖子卻是一口一口吃來的。
喜歡花的人是會去摘花的，然而愛花的人則會去澆水。
不要自視清高：
天外有天，人上有人，淡泊明志，寧靜致遠。
當別人把你當領導時，自己不要把自己當領導；當別人不把你當領導時，自己一定要把自己當領導。
權力是一時的，金錢是身外的，身體是自己的，做人是長久的。
不要盲目承諾：
言而有信。
種下行動就會收穫習慣；種下習慣便會收穫性格；種下性格便會收穫命運。
習慣造就一個人。
不要輕易求人：
把自己當別人 — 減少痛苦、平淡狂喜，
把別人當自己 — 同情不幸、理解需要，
把別人當別人 — 尊重獨立性、不侵犯他人，
把自己當自己 — 珍惜自己、快樂生活。
能夠認識別人是一種智慧，能夠被別人認識是一種幸福，能夠自己認識自己是聖者賢人。
不要強加於人：
人本是人，不必刻意去做人；
世本是世，無須精心去處世。
人生三種境界：
看山是山，看水是水 — 人之初；
看山不是山，看水不是水 — 人到中年；
看山還是山，看水還是水 — 回歸自然。
不要取笑別人：
損害他人人格，快樂一時，傷害一生。
生命的整體是相互依存的，世界上每一樣東西都依賴其它另一樣東西。
學會感恩，
感恩大自然的福佑，
感恩父母的養育，
感恩社會的安定，
感恩食之香甜，
感恩衣之溫暖，
感恩花草魚虫，
感恩苦難逆境。
不要亂發脾氣：
一傷身體，二傷感情。
人與人在出生和去世中都是平等的，哭聲中來，哭聲中去。
退一步海闊天空，忍一事風平浪靜；
牢騷太多防腸斷，風物長宜放眼量。
不要信口開河：
言多必失，沉默是金。
傾聽是一種智慧，一種修養、一種尊重、一種心靈的溝通；
平靜是一種心態，一種成熟。
不要小看儀表：
撒播美麗，收穫幸福。
儀表是一種心情，儀表是一種力量，在自己審視美的同時，讓別人欣賞美。
心靈瑜伽 — 調適、修煉、超越。
不要封閉自己：
幫助人是一種崇高，理解人是一種豁達，原諒人是一種美德，服務人是一種快樂。
月圓是詩，月缺是花，仰首是春，俯首是秋。
不要欺負老實人：
同情弱者是一種品德、一種境界、一種和諧。
心理健康，才能身體健康。
人有一分器量，便多一分氣質；
人有一分氣質，便多一分人緣；
人有一分人緣，便多一分事業。
積善成德，修身養性。　
見陽光。只要有明天，今天就是起跑線。
恭維就像口香糖，能嚼不能咽。不要因為世界的五彩繽紛而迷茫了你選擇的目光。
不要因為旅途的風雨雷電而不願再一次揚帆起航。
不要因為世事的艱辛而忘記風雨兼程。
不要因為別人的哀歎而改變自己的航程。
不要因為別人的拒絕而懷疑自己的選擇。
不要因為安逸的現狀而放棄心中湧動的夢。
“一帆風順的時候不要得意忘形，一波三折的時候也不必灰心喪志。情況好的時候，不能沒有警覺心；壞的時候也不要喪失信心；可能條件一改變，情況就會轉變。”
“偉人所達到並保持著的高處，並不是一飛就到的，而是他們在同伴們都睡著的時候，一步步艱辛地向上攀爬的。”  
“我們不一定會因為賺很多的錢而富有，但我們可以因付出的善念而使心中富有”
 

Malaysians plagued by poor purchasing power

Malaysians plagued by poor purchasing power
By Lee Wei Lian, Yow Hong Chieh and Melissa Chi
Analysts say the undervalued ringgit distorts the country’s purchasing power for imported goods. — Reuters file pic
KUALA LUMPUR, April 19 — Malaysians who find themselves affording less than their contemporaries overseas have distorted and inefficient markets, lack of competition, low wages and a weak ringgit to thank for their poor purchasing power, which in the case of KL, is only 34 per cent that of New York.
Despite government assurances stating that inflation is under control, Malaysians are becoming increasingly restive over the cost of goods in relation to wages, especially those who are able to compare the corresponding price-to-wage ratios in developed economies.

Malaysians who have experienced working and living abroad often experience sticker shock when they come back and see prices in KL.

“Oh my God, a Tiramisu is RM15!” said Calvin Lee, a Malaysian who has lived in Sydney, Singapore and now London, referring to what cafes in KL are charging for a slice of cake as compared to about GBP5 (RM25) in London.

Aidi Zalman, a consultant who studied in the UK, told The Malaysian Insider that salaries in London could go much further than KL.

He had worked part-time as a waiter in London and noted that a single day’s wages of about GBP50-60 was already enough for him to buy a pair of branded shoes and even a low-end iPod, a concept unthinkable for local waiters.

“GBP100 can feed two apartments of students for a week,” he said. “Here you can spend RM100 and get hardly anything.”

“I hate it when politicians make stupid statements like Malaysia is cheap,” said Edward Seah, an engineer who has previously worked in Singapore and the US. “Prices might seem cheap when you convert it to US dollars yes, but then we should also convert our salaries to US dollars.”

Victor Wong, a Malaysian expat in Sydney, said that Australians get more mileage out of their money.

A report by Swiss bank UBS AG shows KL residents have to work 22 minutes to afford a loaf of bread as compared with 18 minutes in Los Angeles. — chenfurn.com picHe gave the example of clothes where he said he can get a good quality shirt for about AUD100 but would need to spend about RM200 to get similar quality in KL.
Wong pointed out that even Asian food could be more affordable for those living in Sydney than KL.

“You pay RM15 for a bowl of soup noodles in KL shopping centres but only AUD10 in Sydney shopping centres,” he said.

The 2010 Prices and Wages report by Swiss bank UBS AG show that residents in KL have only 33.8 per cent the purchasing power of those in New York, 42 per cent that of London, 33.7 per cent that of Sydney, 32.6 per cent that of Los Angeles and 31.6 per cent that of Zurich.

The same study showed that on average, KL residents have to work 22 minutes to afford a loaf of bread as compared with 18 minutes in Los Angeles, 16 minutes in Sydney, 15 minutes in Tokyo and 12 minutes in Zurich.

The figures grow much worse for imported items. To buy an iPod Nano, a KL worker would have to labour a whopping 52 hours as compared with just 9.5 hours in Los Angeles and Sydney, 12 hours in Tokyo and nine hours in Zurich.

A check on salaries and prices in selected developed country cities by The Malaysian Insider showed that despite being touted as one of the world’s least expensive cities, KL residents pay as much or even more for chicken, broadband, cars and mobile phones as a percentage of their income.

Communications, for example, is one area where Malaysians are paying notably more than residents in developed countries even after currency conversion.

A 5Mbps broadband package costs RM149 in KL while in London, a 10Mbps package would cost GBP13.50, in Melbourne a 5-8Mbps package costs AUD40 and in New York, a 7Mbps service costs USD41.95.

Those who want to buy an iPhone 4 in KL, meanwhile, would have to pay RM1990 with a basic 24-month contract while in London, residents can get an iPhone 4 for just GBP199 with a basic 24-month contract and in Singapore, it costs just SGD210 with a basic contract.

Maybank Investment Bank chief economist Suhaimi Ilias said that what is important is local perception and not official inflation figures which claimed that the inflation rate in Malaysia was only 1.7 per cent last year.

“I think on the ground, not many people feel we are cheap,” said Suhaimi. “They feel that the cost of living is high regardless of what the inflation figures are.”

He added that inefficiency and lack of competition are contributing to the higher prices in Malaysia.

“I can’t understand why a motorcycle should have to cost RM6,000-7,000 and a car like the Perodua Viva should cost over RM30,000,” he said.

RAM Holdings chief economist Dr Yeah Kim Leng said that cars are one of the sectors where the Malaysian market suffers the heaviest distortion.

Despite being touted as one of the world’s least expensive cities, KL residents pay as much or even more for basic items as a percentage of their income. — gardkarlsen.comA Honda Civic in KL costs about RM115,000, or 20 times the average monthly salary of an auditor.
In Melbourne and London by comparison, a Honda Civic costs AUD25,000 and GBP19,000 respectively, or only about three times the average salary of an auditor in those cities.

The high cost of cars is part of the reason that Malaysians have leveraged themselves to a record 76 per cent of the country’s GDP.

Bank Negara statistics show that at the end of last year, 20 per cent of Malaysian household debt was due to cars, an asset which depreciates over time.

Yeah also said that the ringgit is undervalued and distorts the country’s purchasing power for imported goods.

“We need to ensure prices are right and that there are no market distortions, no subsidies and allow market prices,” he said.

But even if the ringgit is allowed to rise, there is no guarantee that savings would be passed on to consumers. The ringgit is now hovering at RM3.02 to the US dollar but Goldman Sachs predicated yesterday the currency could hit RM2.98 to the US dollar in the next three months.

When The Malaysian Insider contacted the director of wholesale and retail at government think tank Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu), Ravidran Devagunam about the higher prices Malaysians pay for branded goods, he acknowledged that some retailers will maximise profits on luxury items not readily available in Malaysia but said that the government is “unable” to compel them to discount their prices even after the abolishment of import duties as luxury goods and apparel are not controlled items.

“However, we believe that market forces and consumer education will eventually force a price reduction of these goods over time,” he said.

The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations Secretary General Mohd Shaani Abdullah said people should question the prices that they are currently paying.

“Consumer protection will only come about when people make noise,” he told The Malaysian Insider when contacted. “Only then will politicians act.”

梦醒时分

鄭丁賢•夢醒時分
2009-12-02 20:49
 
你是否和我一樣，發覺身邊的親戚和朋友，似乎少了許多。
 以往接近過年時，各種聚餐排得滿滿的，而今年，似乎沒聲沒息。
 即使是平常日子，電話少了，與大家見面也少了。
 也許，大家各忙各的；或者，目前流行“宅生活”，儘量避免出門。
 也不盡然如此。再想一想，很多老友和親戚，已經不在了。嗟！大吉利是，他們都還好好的，只是離開了馬來西亞。
 老余去了中國大陸開工廠；王子不做工程師，移民到澳洲開小食檔；阿風離開本地大學，去香港做講師；青蛙去了台灣，開展事業第二春；還有的到了美國、英國，唔，還有去印尼的……。
 起初，以為這只是個別現象，逐漸的，旁人也有同樣發現；原來，這不是個別現象，而是社會現象；這不是少數，而是相當大的數目。
 外交部早前披露了一個數字，說明這個現象是多麼真實，多麼貼近。
 從去年3月(2008)到今年9月，已經有30萬大馬人移民他國；其中20萬人是今年1月到8月(2009)出走的數目。
 累積下來，已經有超過200萬大馬人移民，接近今天印尼外勞在大馬的人口。
 不同的是，移居他國的大馬人，多是專業人士、中產階級。
 他們有很多出走的理由，追求事業發展，為了孩子前途，尋找個人更大空間……，概括一句：對馬來西亞失望。
 50年前，大家說，馬來西亞真好，好過香港，甚至日本。
 30年前，大家說，馬來西亞還不錯，比得上韓國、台灣（不提香港和日本了）。
 20年前，大家說，馬來西亞還可以，至少超越中國、泰國（不能和台、韓比了）。
 10年前，大家說，馬來西亞再差，還不至於像越南、印尼（中國已是不同級別）。
 今日，越南和印尼的經濟成長率遙遙領先大馬，社會活力和知識發展也勝過一籌；距離愈來愈近了。
怕甚麼，還有菲律賓和柬埔寨、緬甸。
但是，一位經濟學家最近到菲律賓考察之後，認為再過20年，大馬可以取代菲律賓，出口馬籍女傭到全世界了。
半個世紀以來，馬來西亞是在大宅院裡，用封建方式，分配祖宗家業，消耗社會資源，浪費和逼走人才；不談競爭力，忽略生產力，討厭績效制。
亞洲金融風暴來襲時，大馬把門關起來，以為避過一劫，有人還自我陶醉，自以為是天才策略。
然而，其它國家面對風暴，走出風暴，進行體質改革，跨步向前，登上另一個水平；大馬卻還在原地踏步。
馬來西亞，該醒一醒了。