NarrativeAutumn

I used to think that Delta variant was already the last variant of Covid-19. But Omicron variant proved me wrong, although some experts said it is a different disease. Since South African medics notified the international society about the new variant in an honest and honourable manner, Omicron spread across the world very swiftly. Given its contagiousness, it still spreads no matter how hard you close borders and lock down cities. How fast it spreads is the only question here.

If we are able to sit down calmly and observe the Omicron wave, we can perhaps come to a more optimistic conclusion. Forget about those media outlets which are shouting and creating chaos everyday because they need to exaggerate stories to attract more views.

I am quite confident about Dr John Campbell’s explanation. Put it simply, Omicron infects more people but most are suffering from flu and cold because we have been vaccinated. Most people recover after taking a rest for three to five days. No hospitalisation tsunami, more people receive booster shot, and Omicron infected many more people and they suffer from mild symptoms. Hopefully UK, US and Europe can achieve herd immunity by March or April. Continue reading “It peaks and it collapses quickly: normalcy to return in 2022? 高峰過總會有下坡：2022年之生活常態化”

Daydreaming is inevitable, particularly when the pandemic still troubles the world. When I watch Simon Yam’s movies, I recall of Hong Kong news reports which covered his stories of investing in properties worldwide to earn rental income. For average Joe including me, achieving ownership of properties worldwide for rental earnings is a dream far too unreachable. We can hardly handle properties properly when we have to always travel thousands of miles to attend to management matters. In this case, the only solution is engaging a management company to handle your properties on your behalf.

Alright, put aside about making rental income from properties worldwide. If you owned properties in KL and Selangor, Penang and Johor Bahru—the three largest cities in Malaysia—for rental income, that would be a big headache in itself. Of course, some individuals in some parts of the world earn a living by utilising property ownership.

If property business became your best pastime and properties in three cities earned you rental income, you might find yourself driving and loitering in one city of your rental income source for one week for the sake of observing the market. Three weeks for three cities and the remaining week of the month would be spent in front of your computer to check how much rental you have collected, the amount to repay banks, and more importantly, your earnings for the month in your property management business. Continue reading “Globalisation dream of owning properties worldwide 春秋大夢之全球有資產”

杜汶澤這段節目精華看了又看還是覺得很過癮。先說明一下，我對大房子沒有感覺，亦不知道房子住得這麼寬敞到底有何用處，但我祇想從現實層面研究一下：實際上，在霹靂州首府怡保是有可能人人住得起六千呎大屋。

去年疫情剛剛在馬來西亞爆發，上台就任才兩週的首相慕尤丁宣佈全國封鎖，經濟活動幾乎完全停擺，房地產產業當然亦無法倖免地慘澹經營。記得那時候我在網上瀏覽就看到怡保市區附近有大房子以五百令吉的優惠價（粵語說「跳樓價」）放租，呎數多少我忘記了，反正就是一千多平方呎以上。若有人當時眼明手快以每個月五百元租下來簽兩年合同，應該是非常划算的交易。

我亦記得七、八年前在怡保看過房子，三層樓透天厝有電梯，叫價六十五萬令吉。以當時匯率來說，這個價格在台灣也就祇有五百萬台幣左右，在大台北地區想要上車置業大概是難若登天。 Continue reading “人人住得起六千呎大屋 6,000 sqf house could be affordable for all”

The new rules for Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme annouced in August 2021 were out of touch with reality. Under the new rules, foreigners must earn an offshore income of RM40,000 every month (US$9,630 / HK$74,865) and place a fixed deposit of one million ringgit with a local bank, although half of the sum can be withdrawn to purchase a local property and pay for education expenses.

Harsh regulations? More to come, mate. For you to enjoy a full or semi retirement in Malaysia, a country famous for its relaxing lifestyle, even if you can afford to meet the much higher financial criteria of MM2H, in future you will need to worry about visa extension every five years. Previously approved for ten years at each renewal, Continue reading “MM2H getting unrealistically expensive 大馬第二家園貴得離譜”