A Evening Walk in Setia Mall

Dimmed Lighting by Green energy

As we happened to be in Setia Alam, we visited the Setia Mall.

This mall is a green mall powered by solar energy.

After all, it had begun to rain and we need shelter and some good dinner.

Pulling in the crowd

There was some good shopping at the mall especially with the newly opened H&M and its competition Uniqlo.

Drawing in the younger set

Interesting, the crowd was not too bad for a Saturday night and they seems to have purchasing power too.

Still packing them in

Walked around at the food outlets and finally settled for Manhattan Fish Market.

We ordered a Seafood special pasta, a dory in Mediterranean style with rice and a platter of their fried dory with fries.

Seafood

The pasta was great but the other dish were so-so.

Cost us RM 63.00. Not too bad.

Went to Starbucks for a Java chip and a black coffee before leaving for home.

One of those rare days when we got back to PJ at 11 pm.

Johore-PR's Fervent Wish-wash?

Jewel in the Crown of BN

PR has been gunning for this jewel in the crown.

Johore has 3 million population where 60% are Malays. There are 21 state constituencies and 74 Felda stations.

They did not do well in the last GE.

A Balancing Act in 13th GE?

While the urban states saw keen fight between the DAP  and the MCA-Gerakan front, semi-urban constituencies were tough nuts for both the Keadilan and PAS contenders.

For these areas, the more important aspects are:

• Did the PR made inroads by reducing the majority votes of the UMNO candidates during the last GE?

• How many areas which were rural has become suburban since the last GE?

• How many youths are there in these hot marginal seats won by UMNO? 

These three aspects will be the key indicators whether PR can take away UMNO seats particularly in the Felda stations.

Mission Partial Impossible?

PR's prayer.

Get 35% of the current UMNO voters to swing over especially youths. Old Felda pioneers may still stick to their loyalty mindset for UMNO though some may be persuaded by their children to shift side as they are exposed to the internet stories of woe and ignominy that is driving down UMNO and MCA. Also the ubiquitous cellular phone with its SMS  capability and the portable DVD machines and DVDs can again be used menacingly against the BN as it has been used in the last GE by varsity students who encamped on the FELDA stations and traditional kampungs .

The PR is very confident of winning urban seats as MCA and Gerakan are already on the way to their political mortuary not because of the strength of DAP but because of the implosions and would-be sabotages that will be taking place against their candidates as the polls gets near.

PAS seems to be exceptionally positive about  having a good fight in 50%-50 % areas of Malay-non-Malay characteristics or even in 60%-40% of similar type constituencies. They, however, see FELDA and FELCRA areas are quite insurmountable because of the old guards or guardians of UMNO that have control over these areas. These are especially obliged to UMNO for the many goodies they have received for a long while sans the current political developments and controversies surrounding UMNO party leaders in Kuala Lumpur.

PAS is hoping that the younger generation, particularly the second and third generations in these insulated and closeted constituencies will help to overcome the "bridge too far" to help PAS and Keadilan take over these constituencies on their march to Putrajaya. Are these expectations valid?

BN diehards and Swing Voters

The average PAS commentator does not see that rosy picture. They are still pessimistic of FELDA and FELCRA stations. To them accessing these stations physically has been difficult in the past because of the stranglehold held there by UMNO loyalists.

For them strategically, it is best to place more hope on the traditional kampong voters working on their small-holdings, padilands and dusuns.

Still they are hopeful for an upset to take place in Johore in their favour this time around.

While the PR is hopeful that  70% support from the state’s Chinese community which make up over 35 per cent of Johor’s population will likely vote Opposition, it is interesting to note that UMNO itself  is not too confident of their BN partners breezing into victory in the urban constituencies.

The last count:

25 out of 26 Parliament seats went to BN.

50 out of 56 State Assembly seats went to the BN.

Can PR do magic this time around?

Where are the three witches that predicted for Macbeth and Banquo?

Can we enlist them to crystal-ball for PR?

Bad Drivers and their Bad Mentors

A Bad driver

The worse thing about a bad driver is that they don't believe they are so.

They would mentor you wherever they may be seated; beside the driver or even in the backseat hollering one command after another.

Giving them fine pointers of driving is like giving a flower to a gibbon.

Don't Want to Learn

The same goes for a newbie driver who is wont to learn.

Not only are they slow inept drivers but they just shut themselves out from good advice.

No wonder the roads are full of bad drivers these days.

They won't learn;that's why!

Equaliser,Re-equaliser and Stabiliser

Looking for God

Just a train of thoughts.

The world is unkind.

So, we seek an equaliser to ensure there is justice for us.

We seek God.

We then find peace.

Satanic reversal?

Once that takes place, the dark forces will play the  re-equaliser  role to put us back to square one so you will suffer again. You called these adverse forces, challenges.

Ending it all for peace?

So, you pray again for a stabiliser.

So, will God triumph over Evil?

Ponder in faith.

My Failed Investments; Hopefully So Far

Poor Reading?

It is not that you have read the signals wrong.

They were generally right.

Timing was important.

Then there were the authorities who screw us up plenty. Particularly too rich valuation for IPOs.

Politics also overshadowed the potential of shares.

To date, these constitute my bad investments.

Astro

-screwed royally by the authorities who allowed cornerstone to sell on Day 1 and over-rich valuation to please the owner-seller. Loss from IPO and buying in the market.

UOA Development

Over-rich valuation. loss from IPO.

Adventa

Lost because of a fire in the factory.

Berjaya Land

Mainly because of politics as they could not develop the new Racing Complex in Sepang.

Bumi Armada

Over-rich valuation allowed by the authorities

Eita

No market support

Genting

Bad investment in the USA and fined in Singapore

JAKS

Politics mainly

KUB

Political counter turned sour.

Maybulk

Poor shipping industry

Pentamaster

My mistake

Proton

Bought too high

Rexit

Listened to too much market rumour

TH Heavy Engineering

Speculative counter which is not performing

Petron

Bought too high

KPS

Victim of politics

UNICO-DESA - Is It worth a Gambit?

Good or Bad Issue? Timing is Important

Unico-Desa Plantations is offering current shareholders a distribution in specie of 1 share of ELK-Desa  Resources Bhd (ELKD) for every one Unico-Desa shares held on 19 November 2012.

To ensure your entitlement, you have to buy this share before 13 November as it exed all on 14 November.

Also there will be an offer for sale on a pro-rata basis of ELKD. 

So if you have 1,000 units then you will get a rights of another 1000 units of ELKD.

A Commodity Going Down in Price

Let's do our maths.

The current price is RM 1.28. So you have to pay RM 1,280.00 + RM 31.00 to purchase 1,000 units from the market. This works out to RM 1,311.00.

But you get 100 units of free ELKD shares in specie out of the distribution  exercise.

I would not know how much the price of Unico-Desa will go down because of this distribution of the new ELKD shares.

But we know the value of ELKD is RM 116.00

So, a possibility will be Unico-Desa shares will readjust downwards to RM 1.16

So, in real terms, there is a compensation of 100 units of ELKD for the loss of  12 sen from the price of Unico-Desa.

No gain and no loss.

So, Unico's price will re-adjust downwards  to RM 1.17 - RM 1.18 after it goes ex.

Next you buy each unit of ELKD for RM 1.16.

You do not know whether there will be a premium  with this bad market after that bad Astro listing and the current poor oil palm commodity prices.

Fruiting or Rotting Fruits?

If I read it right,there is no premium to be got.

You may even get a better price by buying its option papers or when it goes into 'dip mode' with the deluge of  ELKD shares when it lists.

Verdict: No go!

AES-MCA gets Friendly Fire

Benefiting RM 16 from each summon!

Against the onslaught by the PR Opposition against the AES that it was a rip-off of the first order to rob motorists blind, even UMNO  members are are slowly breaking ranks to ask for the deferment and review of the Automatic Enforcement System (AES).

Rationality Reigns

Khairy Jamaluddin, the UMNO Youth leader is blatantly clear on his stand while Bung Mokhtar Radin has his reasons, citing the looming elections may pit the voters against the BN.

Right this time;Wrong Reason

To make matters worse, Mahfoz Omar of PAS has arrayed more than 100 lawyers to fight for any members of the public who refuses to pay the fines.

Today, Kong even refused to answer question on AES in Parliament, dumbfounding the Opposition MPs.

Aisay! Trapped by his own AES

Looks like MCA is slowly going into attrition mode and will implode shortly.

What will PM Najib do now?