UPDATE 10 DIS 2015
Penantian 6 jam di imigresen Terminal Haji airport Jeddah. Elok bawa bekal air dan roti... untuk yang berumur lutut tak berapa nak berdiri lama elok bawa kerusi lipat kecil atau kerusi roda.... bawa sejadah utk solat jamak di ruang menunggu, kalau ada tikar kecil bolehlah alas duduk menanti giliran.
Penantian 6 jam di imigresen Terminal Haji airport Jeddah. Elok bawa bekal air dan roti... untuk yang berumur lutut tak berapa nak berdiri lama elok bawa kerusi lipat kecil atau kerusi roda.... bawa sejadah utk solat jamak di ruang menunggu, kalau ada tikar kecil bolehlah alas duduk menanti giliran.
Daripada kaedah pernomboran menggunakan satu teknik kiraan ciptaan Dato Eddy iaitu Petak Motif Hayat, bagi negara Malaysia iaitu lahir 31 Ogos 2015 maka dari 2017 hingga 2046, negara melalui tempoh "duit keluar"... sukar untuk menyimpan kekayaan. Ini pernah berlaku kepada Malaysia dari 1997 hingga 2006 lalu... kini 2017 iaitu 2 tahun lagi.. apa persediaan anda rakyat Malaysia? Buat masa ini 2007 hingga 2016 Malaysia berada dalam situasi kewangan "9" iaitu sederhana baik tapi itupun goyah apatah lagi masuk 2017 nanti.
Senang saja nak settle hal ini, tukar tarikh kemerdekaan kepada tarikh yang lebih datangkan kekayaan tapi itu mustahil lah! Jadinya, kita kena ikhtiar guna pelbagai strategi... betulkan arah, betulkan potensi diri/ syarikat dan tentunya jangan lupa teruskan BERDOA!
2016 dan 2017 adalah satu peluang untuk kita bina straetegi kewangan bagi menghadapi 30 tahun fenomena duit keluar.. zaman dulu tak kisah sangat lah pasal duit keluar, mana ada tol mana ada LRT, skrg ini strategi kewangan lebih mencabar.. usah sekadar nak tukar pemimpin semata-mata tetapi TUKAR SISTEM NEGARA! Jika ada pihak yang berani membentangkan kaedah-kaedah baru untuk sistem kewangan negara itulah yang sepatutnya diundi!
Senang saja nak settle hal ini, tukar tarikh kemerdekaan kepada tarikh yang lebih datangkan kekayaan tapi itu mustahil lah! Jadinya, kita kena ikhtiar guna pelbagai strategi... betulkan arah, betulkan potensi diri/ syarikat dan tentunya jangan lupa teruskan BERDOA!
2016 dan 2017 adalah satu peluang untuk kita bina straetegi kewangan bagi menghadapi 30 tahun fenomena duit keluar.. zaman dulu tak kisah sangat lah pasal duit keluar, mana ada tol mana ada LRT, skrg ini strategi kewangan lebih mencabar.. usah sekadar nak tukar pemimpin semata-mata tetapi TUKAR SISTEM NEGARA! Jika ada pihak yang berani membentangkan kaedah-kaedah baru untuk sistem kewangan negara itulah yang sepatutnya diundi!
High household debt could lead to Malaysians’ financial ruin, financial planners say
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 6 ― Car spare parts businessman Ravi, 37, is in debt to the tune of hundreds of thousands of ringgit and uses up to 70 per cent of his salary to service his debts.
Even worse, Ravi, who has a two-year-old son and lives in Subang, is taking even more loans just to cover his expenses as the ringgit plunge has increased the cost of doing business by 35 per cent, while sales has dropped by 90 per cent amid a very soft economy.
“It’s super difficult... toll costs double now and GST is a pain. Grocery prices are not too bad but day care and such, all got GST. To buy kids’ stuff, all the prices have gone up,” said Ravi (not his real name) in an interview with Malay Mail Online, referring to the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
High levels of debt has plagued Malaysians in recent months and could push many to the brink of financial ruin as most of them do not have any savings to cushion against accidents, inflation and layoffs.
Malay Mail Online interviewed 10 people from various socio-economic backgrounds and found that most of them did not save. Even worse, many were already saddled with various debts in the form of credit card bills, house mortgages and car loans.
“Yes, this is not just a Malaysian problem... any person who has no savings is on the journey to financial suicide,” VKA Wealth Planners Sdn Bhd financial planner Kevin Neoh told Malay Mail Online.
Neoh added that having some money set aside for emergencies was the most crucial component of good financial planning. This is to ensure that an individual will be able to handle all financial “emergencies” without resorting to credit cards or taking on more loans.
He added, however, that simply having a healthy level of debt, which is 40 per cent of one’s income according to Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency (AKPK), does not automatically translate to a sustainable financial position.
“Take a person who earns a low income or cannot qualify for a loan, this person will have 0 per cent loan repayment to income ratio, but does it mean this person is in a much healthier position?,” he said.
He explained that the appropriate way to ensure that an individual’s finances is sustainable would be to put aside money for savings before using it for monthly expenses, and not the other way around.
Harveston Financial Advisory Sdn Bhd’s financial planner Annie Hor added that surviving with scant savings was a precarious position for anyone to be in, pushing some to even resort to borrowing from friends and family simply to purchase the next on-trend item.
“From the new iPhone, to that vacation you cannot actually afford yet, to buying that car which saddles you with hefty monthly installments… all these are pushing people to make that impulse purchase before actually calculating if they can afford it.
“If not planned properly, this generation’s problem will become a liability for the next generation,” she said in an interview with Malay Mail Online recently.
She added that she has seen many women purchase handbags beyond their means or going on extravagant vacations they can’t afford, only to then use the popular phrase “you only live once (YOLO)” to justify their behaviour.
“I know of someone who travels annually and racks up his credit card balance, and every year he owes more and more because is he only servicing the minimum amount.
“My friends in the car industry tell me that single young graduates or those who have worked for just a few years are buying RM200,000 cars by making the minimum down payment and using almost half of their salary to pay the monthly installment,” she said.
This comes amid Malaysia’s household debt amounting to 87.9 per cent of gross domestic product as of December, according to central bank figures.
This is, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Chua Hak Bin, the highest in Southeast Asia, an observation mirrored by Standard & Poor’s at the end of last year.
More seeking debt advice
The number of counselling cases AKPK has taken on in recent years has also shown a worrying upward trend, with the number of cases leaping by 20,000 from 2013 to 2014.
From 2008 to 2013, there was an average of about 35,000 counselling cases annually, but that figure rose to approximately 60,000 in 2014.
The government agency also noted in a fact sheet made available to Malay Mail Online that from January to September 2015, there have already been over 62,000 counselling cases, exceeding the previous years’ figure.
AKPK also saw a sharp increase in participants for its Debt Management Programme, which averaged at about 12,000 annually from 2008 to 2013 but later jumped to approximately 20,000 cases in 2014.
According to news portal Star Online, AKPK revealed on November 15 that over 25,000 of Malaysians under the age of 35 have been declared bankrupt in the last five years, prompting Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin to urge youths to alter their lifestyles according to the current economic climate.
For 24-year-old Tan, using half her salary to service her credit card and car payments has made it a struggle to survive, but that has only been exacerbated by the soft economy and the rising cost of living.
“After the toll hikes, I am paying 40 per cent more for tolls. I cannot afford to pay my credit card debt in full ever since the toll hikes, so I will have to cut down on other expenditure like food, beauty products and I haven’t even made any clothing purchase since then, just to pay back the credit card debt,” she said in an email interview with Malay Mail Online on November 17.
And living in Kuala Terengganu has not made it any easier for a 30-year-old doctor, who requested anonymity, as he has been struggling to cope with the rising cost of living to the point of spending his entire paycheck on monthly expenses and debt repayments.
“I have no personal savings. I can't save any money though, while maintaining a 'just decent' lifestyle. We also had to consider and re-consider buying a few home appliances that we think could make our life easier,” he said in an interview with Malay Mail Online recently, adding that he and his wife have had to even work on Saturdays just to get by.
He also said that he’s had to cut out luxuries entirely from his lifestyle and is merely spending on the necessities, despite both him and his wife being doctors and living outside the Klang Valley, with his only form of savings being his Employees Provident Fund (EPF).
“How do I feel about my household finances? Horrible, for the fact that in a household consisting of a child and two professionals, we are just barely able to afford a roof over our heads, food and decent care for our child.
“We cannot afford anything extra, and I cannot imagine if we have to lower our standards due to the rising cost of living,” he said.
News portal Star Online also reported recently that 67 per cent of active EPF contributors have not met the basic savings requirement which was, according to Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Chua Tee Yong, due to poor financial literacy in Malaysia.
The Malaysian Insider also reported in March that almost 80 per cent of workers turning 55 will not have enough funds in their EPF to live above the national poverty line which is RM830 a month.
Citing EPF chief executive officer Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan, it reported that over the next 20 years, the total EPF savings of many Malaysians will only enable them to live on RM800 a month due to low contributions.
High cost of living could lead to ‘vicious debt cycle’
Business channel CNBC also reported in April that Malaysia’s household debt to income ratio is at an alarming 146 per cent, which match figures in the US and UK but given the lower income levels here, raises questions about its sustainability.
Asian Development Bank lead economist Jayant Menon pointed out that the public will soon start to feel the impact of the depreciating ringgit which could create a “vicious debt cycle.”
“As the effects of the large ringgit depreciation begin to feed through to prices of tradeable goods and services, the cost of living will rise even higher, placing a further burden on households and likely to feed a vicious debt circle,” he said in an email interview with Malay Mail Online.
However, the lower income group should proceed cautiously as they would be more susceptible to “financial vagaries,” RAM Rating’s Co-head of Financial Institution Ratings Wong Yin Ching said.
Wong also noted that the household-debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio is likely to stay elevated due to Malaysia’s young demographic.
“This cohort is an asset-accumulating class which will continue to underpin the strong underlying demand for home and vehicle purchase,” Wong said.
Financial planner Annie Hor noted, however, that more Malaysians needed to take charge of their finances and not easily fall prey to sweet deals many credit cards and banks offer.
“More awareness needs to be given to consumers. Malaysians need to take charge of their finances and seek the advice of financial advisers on how to best manage their monies,” she said.
What more, a change in mindset is equally as important as financial prudence as cutting back on non-essential luxury goods is just as important as realising there is no need for purchasing them in the first place, financial adviser Kevin Neoh said.
“If the mentality is not adjusted to take this face-on, many will continue to live the same old lifestyle and not be aware that we are compromising our long term well being for today's quality lifestyles,” he said.
- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/high-household-debt-could-lead-to-malaysians-financial-ruin-financial-plann#sthash.oDlIZr6Y.dpuf
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 6 ― Car spare parts businessman Ravi, 37, is in debt to the tune of hundreds of thousands of ringgit and uses up to 70 per cent of his salary to service his debts.
Even worse, Ravi, who has a two-year-old son and lives in Subang, is taking even more loans just to cover his expenses as the ringgit plunge has increased the cost of doing business by 35 per cent, while sales has dropped by 90 per cent amid a very soft economy.
“It’s super difficult... toll costs double now and GST is a pain. Grocery prices are not too bad but day care and such, all got GST. To buy kids’ stuff, all the prices have gone up,” said Ravi (not his real name) in an interview with Malay Mail Online, referring to the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
High levels of debt has plagued Malaysians in recent months and could push many to the brink of financial ruin as most of them do not have any savings to cushion against accidents, inflation and layoffs.
Malay Mail Online interviewed 10 people from various socio-economic backgrounds and found that most of them did not save. Even worse, many were already saddled with various debts in the form of credit card bills, house mortgages and car loans.
“Yes, this is not just a Malaysian problem... any person who has no savings is on the journey to financial suicide,” VKA Wealth Planners Sdn Bhd financial planner Kevin Neoh told Malay Mail Online.
Neoh added that having some money set aside for emergencies was the most crucial component of good financial planning. This is to ensure that an individual will be able to handle all financial “emergencies” without resorting to credit cards or taking on more loans.
He added, however, that simply having a healthy level of debt, which is 40 per cent of one’s income according to Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency (AKPK), does not automatically translate to a sustainable financial position.
“Take a person who earns a low income or cannot qualify for a loan, this person will have 0 per cent loan repayment to income ratio, but does it mean this person is in a much healthier position?,” he said.
He explained that the appropriate way to ensure that an individual’s finances is sustainable would be to put aside money for savings before using it for monthly expenses, and not the other way around.
Harveston Financial Advisory Sdn Bhd’s financial planner Annie Hor added that surviving with scant savings was a precarious position for anyone to be in, pushing some to even resort to borrowing from friends and family simply to purchase the next on-trend item.
“From the new iPhone, to that vacation you cannot actually afford yet, to buying that car which saddles you with hefty monthly installments… all these are pushing people to make that impulse purchase before actually calculating if they can afford it.
“If not planned properly, this generation’s problem will become a liability for the next generation,” she said in an interview with Malay Mail Online recently.
She added that she has seen many women purchase handbags beyond their means or going on extravagant vacations they can’t afford, only to then use the popular phrase “you only live once (YOLO)” to justify their behaviour.
“I know of someone who travels annually and racks up his credit card balance, and every year he owes more and more because is he only servicing the minimum amount.
“My friends in the car industry tell me that single young graduates or those who have worked for just a few years are buying RM200,000 cars by making the minimum down payment and using almost half of their salary to pay the monthly installment,” she said.
This comes amid Malaysia’s household debt amounting to 87.9 per cent of gross domestic product as of December, according to central bank figures.
This is, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Chua Hak Bin, the highest in Southeast Asia, an observation mirrored by Standard & Poor’s at the end of last year.
More seeking debt advice
The number of counselling cases AKPK has taken on in recent years has also shown a worrying upward trend, with the number of cases leaping by 20,000 from 2013 to 2014.
From 2008 to 2013, there was an average of about 35,000 counselling cases annually, but that figure rose to approximately 60,000 in 2014.
The government agency also noted in a fact sheet made available to Malay Mail Online that from January to September 2015, there have already been over 62,000 counselling cases, exceeding the previous years’ figure.
AKPK also saw a sharp increase in participants for its Debt Management Programme, which averaged at about 12,000 annually from 2008 to 2013 but later jumped to approximately 20,000 cases in 2014.
According to news portal Star Online, AKPK revealed on November 15 that over 25,000 of Malaysians under the age of 35 have been declared bankrupt in the last five years, prompting Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin to urge youths to alter their lifestyles according to the current economic climate.
For 24-year-old Tan, using half her salary to service her credit card and car payments has made it a struggle to survive, but that has only been exacerbated by the soft economy and the rising cost of living.
“After the toll hikes, I am paying 40 per cent more for tolls. I cannot afford to pay my credit card debt in full ever since the toll hikes, so I will have to cut down on other expenditure like food, beauty products and I haven’t even made any clothing purchase since then, just to pay back the credit card debt,” she said in an email interview with Malay Mail Online on November 17.
And living in Kuala Terengganu has not made it any easier for a 30-year-old doctor, who requested anonymity, as he has been struggling to cope with the rising cost of living to the point of spending his entire paycheck on monthly expenses and debt repayments.
“I have no personal savings. I can't save any money though, while maintaining a 'just decent' lifestyle. We also had to consider and re-consider buying a few home appliances that we think could make our life easier,” he said in an interview with Malay Mail Online recently, adding that he and his wife have had to even work on Saturdays just to get by.
He also said that he’s had to cut out luxuries entirely from his lifestyle and is merely spending on the necessities, despite both him and his wife being doctors and living outside the Klang Valley, with his only form of savings being his Employees Provident Fund (EPF).
“How do I feel about my household finances? Horrible, for the fact that in a household consisting of a child and two professionals, we are just barely able to afford a roof over our heads, food and decent care for our child.
“We cannot afford anything extra, and I cannot imagine if we have to lower our standards due to the rising cost of living,” he said.
News portal Star Online also reported recently that 67 per cent of active EPF contributors have not met the basic savings requirement which was, according to Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Chua Tee Yong, due to poor financial literacy in Malaysia.
The Malaysian Insider also reported in March that almost 80 per cent of workers turning 55 will not have enough funds in their EPF to live above the national poverty line which is RM830 a month.
Citing EPF chief executive officer Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan, it reported that over the next 20 years, the total EPF savings of many Malaysians will only enable them to live on RM800 a month due to low contributions.
High cost of living could lead to ‘vicious debt cycle’
Business channel CNBC also reported in April that Malaysia’s household debt to income ratio is at an alarming 146 per cent, which match figures in the US and UK but given the lower income levels here, raises questions about its sustainability.
Asian Development Bank lead economist Jayant Menon pointed out that the public will soon start to feel the impact of the depreciating ringgit which could create a “vicious debt cycle.”
“As the effects of the large ringgit depreciation begin to feed through to prices of tradeable goods and services, the cost of living will rise even higher, placing a further burden on households and likely to feed a vicious debt circle,” he said in an email interview with Malay Mail Online.
However, the lower income group should proceed cautiously as they would be more susceptible to “financial vagaries,” RAM Rating’s Co-head of Financial Institution Ratings Wong Yin Ching said.
Wong also noted that the household-debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio is likely to stay elevated due to Malaysia’s young demographic.
“This cohort is an asset-accumulating class which will continue to underpin the strong underlying demand for home and vehicle purchase,” Wong said.
Financial planner Annie Hor noted, however, that more Malaysians needed to take charge of their finances and not easily fall prey to sweet deals many credit cards and banks offer.
“More awareness needs to be given to consumers. Malaysians need to take charge of their finances and seek the advice of financial advisers on how to best manage their monies,” she said.
What more, a change in mindset is equally as important as financial prudence as cutting back on non-essential luxury goods is just as important as realising there is no need for purchasing them in the first place, financial adviser Kevin Neoh said.
“If the mentality is not adjusted to take this face-on, many will continue to live the same old lifestyle and not be aware that we are compromising our long term well being for today's quality lifestyles,” he said.
- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/high-household-debt-could-lead-to-malaysians-financial-ruin-financial-plann#sthash.oDlIZr6Y.dpuf
Nombor lapan banyak ong
JOHARI YAP
MASYARAKAT Cina terkenal dengan pantang-larang mengenai nasib. Daripada Feng Shui, Yin Yang dan juga nombor; setiap satu dikaitkan dengan kepercayaan-kepercayaan tertentu. Setiap nombor mempunyai maksud tersendiri dan mereka percaya kepada kuasa nombor, sama ada memberi tuah atau malang.
Setiap bunyi dalam bahasa Cina (Mandarin) mempunyai empat maksud yang berbeza, berdasarkan intonasi atau pinyin yang berbeza. Sebagai contoh, bunyi 'ma' memberi maksud emak, pasif, kuda dan juga marah, serta sebagai tambahan kepada ayat tanya.
Perkataan 'si' pula membawa maksud nombor 4 dan juga mati tetapi masing-masing dilafazkan dengan intonasi yang berbeza. Maka, mereka percaya yang nombor 4 ini membawa nasib malang kerana ia berbunyi sama dengan perkataan yang membawa maksud mati. Selain mati, nombor 4 juga mempunyai bunyi yang sama dan dikaitkan dengan miskin ataupun susah.
Kepercayaan ini sangat kuat sehinggakan kita lihat ada bangunan yang tiada tingkat 4 kerana ia digantikan dengan tingkat 3A. Begitu juga nombor pendaftaran kereta. Ada yang sanggup berbelanja besar untuk mendapatkan nombor tertentu. Jangan terkejut jika terdapat rakan-rakan Cina anda yang sanggup berbelanja ribuan ringgit semata-mata untuk mendapatkan nombor plat kereta yang dipercayai akan membawa tuah atau ong kepada mereka.
Namun begitu, bukan semua orang Cina percaya nombor tertentu memberikan maksud malang. Sebagai contoh, Chan, tauke kedai yang menjual kamera litar tertutup di Pasir Pekan, Tumpat, membeli kereta terpakai dengan nombor 24 yang mempunyai bunyi bermaksud senang mati.
Apabila ditanya, adakah dia tidak takut senang mati kerana memiliki nombor plat tersebut dan memandu kereta itu setiap hari, beliau mengatakan lagi bagus senang mati jika sudah sampai ajal, daripada susah mati walaupun sudah di ambang maut. Ada betulnya juga.
Nombor 8 paling popular dalam kalangan masyarakat Cina kerana ia membawa maksud kaya atau makmur. Kebiasaannya, mereka akan memilih nombor 8 untuk nombor telefon, nombor rumah, tarikh atau apa-apa sahaja yang menggunakan nombor. Oleh sebab itulah kita lihat antara kombinasi nombor yang kerap mereka gunakan untuk plat kereta adalah 8 (kaya), 28 (senang kaya), 68 (akan kaya / menuju kekayaan) atau kombinasi-kombinasi lain yang membawa maksud yang sama.
Beberapa fakta menarik yang ingin saya kongsi ialah upacara pembukaan sukan Olimpik musim panas di Beijing telah diadakan pada hari Jumaat, 8 Ogos 2008, jam 8:08 malam; Syarikat Penerbangan Sichuan di Chengdu, China, yang memulakan operasi pada tahun 1988, telah membeli nombor telefon yang kesemuanya nombor 8, pada harga US$280,000; dan menara berkembar Petronas pula mempunyai 88 tingkat keseluruhannya.
Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan (JPJ) Kelantan telah menutup tender untuk nombor plat DCU pada 11 Oktober 2015. Kebiasaannya, untuk nombor plat satu digit, nombor 4 akan dimenangi oleh orang Melayu dengan bayaran yang agak rendah berbanding nombor satu digit yang lain kerana tiada saingan, terutamanya daripada kaum Cina.
Berdasarkan notis keputusan tender nombor pendaftaran siri DCU yang dipamerkan di pejabat JPJ Kelantan, nombor DCU1 dan DCU2 dimenangi oleh syarikat perniagaan salun dengan harga RM130,000 dan RM36,000. Selain dari DCU3 yang dimenangi oleh syarikat perniagaan lampu dan DCU7 oleh sebuah butik, DCU4 hingga DCU19 semuanya dimenangi oleh orang Melayu dengan harga tender dari RM4,000 – RM40,000.
Menghairankan juga apabila dalam suasana ekonomi yang agak lembap dan rakyat Malaysia mengeluh mengenai peningkatan kos hidup, masih ada yang sanggup berbelanja beribu-ribu ringgit untuk mendapatkan nombor plat kegemaran mereka.
Ini menunjukkan bahawa masyarakat Melayu juga sanggup berbelanja untuk mendapatkan nombor kegemaran masing-masing. Mereka mungkin bukan percaya nombor-nombor tersebut mempunyai ong atau sebaliknya tetapi lebih kepada nilai prestij kerana hanya orang tertentu sahaja yang mampu memiliki nombor-nombor tersebut.
Apa pun alasan atau sebabnya, sebagai orang Islam, wajarlah kita berhati-hati. Dalam pada kita memikirkan kesukaan dan dengan kemampuan yang dikurniakan, janganlah sampai membazir atau lebih teruk sekiranya berhutang untuk sebab-sebab yang tidak dituntut pun dalam agama
http://www.sinarharian.com.my/kolumnis/johari-yap/nombor-lapan-banyak-ong-1.457398
JOHARI YAP
MASYARAKAT Cina terkenal dengan pantang-larang mengenai nasib. Daripada Feng Shui, Yin Yang dan juga nombor; setiap satu dikaitkan dengan kepercayaan-kepercayaan tertentu. Setiap nombor mempunyai maksud tersendiri dan mereka percaya kepada kuasa nombor, sama ada memberi tuah atau malang.
Setiap bunyi dalam bahasa Cina (Mandarin) mempunyai empat maksud yang berbeza, berdasarkan intonasi atau pinyin yang berbeza. Sebagai contoh, bunyi 'ma' memberi maksud emak, pasif, kuda dan juga marah, serta sebagai tambahan kepada ayat tanya.
Perkataan 'si' pula membawa maksud nombor 4 dan juga mati tetapi masing-masing dilafazkan dengan intonasi yang berbeza. Maka, mereka percaya yang nombor 4 ini membawa nasib malang kerana ia berbunyi sama dengan perkataan yang membawa maksud mati. Selain mati, nombor 4 juga mempunyai bunyi yang sama dan dikaitkan dengan miskin ataupun susah.
Kepercayaan ini sangat kuat sehinggakan kita lihat ada bangunan yang tiada tingkat 4 kerana ia digantikan dengan tingkat 3A. Begitu juga nombor pendaftaran kereta. Ada yang sanggup berbelanja besar untuk mendapatkan nombor tertentu. Jangan terkejut jika terdapat rakan-rakan Cina anda yang sanggup berbelanja ribuan ringgit semata-mata untuk mendapatkan nombor plat kereta yang dipercayai akan membawa tuah atau ong kepada mereka.
Namun begitu, bukan semua orang Cina percaya nombor tertentu memberikan maksud malang. Sebagai contoh, Chan, tauke kedai yang menjual kamera litar tertutup di Pasir Pekan, Tumpat, membeli kereta terpakai dengan nombor 24 yang mempunyai bunyi bermaksud senang mati.
Apabila ditanya, adakah dia tidak takut senang mati kerana memiliki nombor plat tersebut dan memandu kereta itu setiap hari, beliau mengatakan lagi bagus senang mati jika sudah sampai ajal, daripada susah mati walaupun sudah di ambang maut. Ada betulnya juga.
Nombor 8 paling popular dalam kalangan masyarakat Cina kerana ia membawa maksud kaya atau makmur. Kebiasaannya, mereka akan memilih nombor 8 untuk nombor telefon, nombor rumah, tarikh atau apa-apa sahaja yang menggunakan nombor. Oleh sebab itulah kita lihat antara kombinasi nombor yang kerap mereka gunakan untuk plat kereta adalah 8 (kaya), 28 (senang kaya), 68 (akan kaya / menuju kekayaan) atau kombinasi-kombinasi lain yang membawa maksud yang sama.
Beberapa fakta menarik yang ingin saya kongsi ialah upacara pembukaan sukan Olimpik musim panas di Beijing telah diadakan pada hari Jumaat, 8 Ogos 2008, jam 8:08 malam; Syarikat Penerbangan Sichuan di Chengdu, China, yang memulakan operasi pada tahun 1988, telah membeli nombor telefon yang kesemuanya nombor 8, pada harga US$280,000; dan menara berkembar Petronas pula mempunyai 88 tingkat keseluruhannya.
Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan (JPJ) Kelantan telah menutup tender untuk nombor plat DCU pada 11 Oktober 2015. Kebiasaannya, untuk nombor plat satu digit, nombor 4 akan dimenangi oleh orang Melayu dengan bayaran yang agak rendah berbanding nombor satu digit yang lain kerana tiada saingan, terutamanya daripada kaum Cina.
Berdasarkan notis keputusan tender nombor pendaftaran siri DCU yang dipamerkan di pejabat JPJ Kelantan, nombor DCU1 dan DCU2 dimenangi oleh syarikat perniagaan salun dengan harga RM130,000 dan RM36,000. Selain dari DCU3 yang dimenangi oleh syarikat perniagaan lampu dan DCU7 oleh sebuah butik, DCU4 hingga DCU19 semuanya dimenangi oleh orang Melayu dengan harga tender dari RM4,000 – RM40,000.
Menghairankan juga apabila dalam suasana ekonomi yang agak lembap dan rakyat Malaysia mengeluh mengenai peningkatan kos hidup, masih ada yang sanggup berbelanja beribu-ribu ringgit untuk mendapatkan nombor plat kegemaran mereka.
Ini menunjukkan bahawa masyarakat Melayu juga sanggup berbelanja untuk mendapatkan nombor kegemaran masing-masing. Mereka mungkin bukan percaya nombor-nombor tersebut mempunyai ong atau sebaliknya tetapi lebih kepada nilai prestij kerana hanya orang tertentu sahaja yang mampu memiliki nombor-nombor tersebut.
Apa pun alasan atau sebabnya, sebagai orang Islam, wajarlah kita berhati-hati. Dalam pada kita memikirkan kesukaan dan dengan kemampuan yang dikurniakan, janganlah sampai membazir atau lebih teruk sekiranya berhutang untuk sebab-sebab yang tidak dituntut pun dalam agama
http://www.sinarharian.com.my/kolumnis/johari-yap/nombor-lapan-banyak-ong-1.457398
Train Yourself To Be More Positive In 5 Steps
http://www.malaysiandigest.com/opinion/581885-train-yourself-to-be-more-positive-in-5-steps.html
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” ~Winston Churchill
I am constantly striving to see the positive in every aspect of my life. But it’s not always easy.
My dog is currently suffering from a disease from which she will never recover. My mind is still trying to adjust to my relatively new schedule of running Positively Present full time. My wallet is thinning out as I march forward on my entrepreneurial ventures. And, as I get older, I find myself moving in different directions from some of the people I’ve spent a great deal of time with.
My life—and all of our lives—is filled with challenges that make it very difficult to be positive sometimes.
However, I know that choosing to be positive has helped me the most in terms of becoming the person I want to be. Even when things are difficult, I know that being positive—and striving to make the best of whatever situation I’m in—really does make even the most challenging situations easier to bear.
More often than not, I find myself veering toward a positive attitude. (It’s something I never would have done years ago!) I firmly believe that this is because I’ve trained myself to be positive.
It doesn’t always come naturally for me—sometimes it’s a lot of work—but I’ve taken five steps that make it so much easier for me to see the good in life.
Step One: Believe a Positive Attitude is a Choice
This step was hard to take at first. I thought that people were either positive or negative (and I was in the latter category). I used to blame my negativity on all kinds of outside forces—fate, experiences, parents, relationships—but never really stopped to think that I could choose to be positive.
Teaching myself that positivity is a choice has been one of the greatest things I’ve ever done for myself.
Now when I find myself in a bad situation, I know that it’s up to me to find the good, to be positive regardless of what’s happening around me. I no longer point fingers and place blame. I realize that everything happens how it happens, and it’s up to me to choose how I want to feel about it. I am in control of my attitude, and no one can take that away from me.
Step Two: Rid Your Life of Negativity
If you want to live a positive, joyful life, you cannot be surrounded by negative people who don’t encourage your happiness.
As a negative person, I attracted negative people. When I decided to make the change to live a more positive life, I had to rid my life of the most negative influences in it. No one is perfect—and perfection isn’t the goal when it comes to positivity—but there were people in my life who were consistently negative, who constantly brought me down, and I had to stop spending so much time with them.
This, as you can imagine, wasn’t easy. It can hurt to distance yourself from people—even when you know they aren’t good for you or your current lifestyle.
In addition to removing negative influences from my, I also had to get rid of some of my own negative behaviors, such as drug and alcohol abuse. I had to take a step back and examine which behaviors were good for me and which were not.
I learned to focus on the positive things I was doing—such as working on my blog and cultivating new, positive relationships—and let go of the negative ones. This process was not easy and, to be honest, is still ongoing, but I know this: It’s hard to live a positive life when negative people and behaviors continually pull you down.
Step Three: Look For the Positive in Life
In every person, in every situation, there is something good. Most of the time it’s not obvious. We have to look. And sometimes we have to look hard.
The old me was content to sit back and just glance around. If I saw negative, I went with that feeling. I didn’t want to look harder or think too much about the good. I found it much, much easier to sit back and just accept what I saw (which was usually the bad).
Now, when I’m faced with a difficult or challenging situation, I think to myself, “What is good about this?” No matter how terrible the situation might seem, I always can find something good if I take the time to think about it.
Everything—good and bad—is a learning experience so, at the very least, you can learn from bad experiences. However, there’s usually even more to it than that. If you really take the time to look, you will usually find something good, something genuinely positive, about every person or situation.
Step Four: Reinforce Positivity in Yourself
Once I started thinking more positively, I realized I had to reinforce these thoughts and behaviors in myself so they would stick. As with any sort of training, the more you practice, the better you get—and, yes, you can practice being positive.
The best and easiest way to do this is to be positive when it comes to who you are. Tell yourself you’re awesome. Tell yourself you look good. Tell yourself you did a great job at work or raising your kids or whatever it is you do.
Be honest with yourself, but do your best to look for the good. And, whatever you do, don’t focus on the negative. It’s okay to not like everything about yourself, but don’t focus on what you don’t like. We all have positive attributes, and it’s up to you to remind yourself of them every day.
Step Five: Share Positivity with Others
Not only do you need to be positive with yourself for this training to really take effect, but you need to be positive with others. You have to share your wealth of positivity with the world.
The best way I’ve found to do this is quite simple and basic: Be nice to other people, no matter what. Tell someone s/he looks nice today. Tell someone s/he did a great job on that presentation.
Tell your parents or children (or both!) how much you love them and how great they are. When someone is feeling down, do what you can to cheer him or her up. Send flowers. Write notes. Don’t gossip. Be kind to all living things.
All of these things sound basic enough, but for someone like me, they didn’t come easily.
I never wanted to see the good in myself and, therefore, didn’t want to see it in others either. I used to be critical and condescending. Now I strive to be encouraging and supportive.
I try not only to treat others as I would like to be treated, but I also try to consider how they would like to be treated. People appreciate positivity, and the more you share it with others, the more you are practicing it your own life.
When you start feeling like the idea of being a positive person is daunting, remind yourself that all it takes is one small step in the right direction to move yourself toward a more positive attitude.
Believe in yourself and remember the most important lesson of all: A positive outlook is a choice that you can always make.
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