Interesting: A Low Inflation Rate ?

We certainly welcome his optimism. 'No more stimulus pacakages,we are alright,'that was the message of Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, the Second Finance Minister.

And inflation? "Wont't exceed 2%" he assuaged.

The rationale for his optimism? The effects of a great fiscal policy and monetary policy which will contain inflation between 1 and 2 pct.

So what does this imply? For one, no rate increase expected in 2010. If there need be, it will be at the end of 2010 amidst subdued inflationary pressure and weak demand conditions.

Asked if Malaysia was considering an international bond offering, he responded that the Government may be looking into it.

Malaysia last visited the offshore debt markets with a US$1.75 billion (RM6 billion) dollar bond sale in 2001.

Husni said the government was planning to divest stakes in 15-17 government-linked companies (GLC’s) across various sectors to boost competitiveness, and hoped to complete the process this year.

Last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak asked state funds to sell down stakes in government-linked companies that dominated the market, to boost the free float of a stock exchange that has lagged Asian peers.

“We want the private sector to play a bigger role and we are quite happy with the progress so far,” Husni said.

On the dollar, Datuk Seri Husni said although the Malaysian ringgit was strong, it was difficult to predict future trends.

The ringgit has appreciated 2.12 per cent against the US dollar so far this year.

A Heart Of Gratitude

It could be the same message. How you write it,though, can determine how effective the message can be communicated and understood to provoke action.


Let us read about this story of the blind boy.

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat.


A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.
Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"


The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way."
I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it."
Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have.. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively.

When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear. Keep the faith and drop the fear.

The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling…
And even more beautiful is, knowing that you are the reason behind it!!!

Genting Berhad: More Forays

Just when you think the big bang is about to start,you find Genting Bhd. has other plans as well near their newly minted integrated casino resort south of the border.

According to Lim Kok Thay, Genting will now build a theme park and hotel in Malaysia’s in the Iskandar region to ride on the expected surge in visitors to neighboring Singapore where it is set to open a US$4.4 billion ($6.1 billion) casino resort.

Singapore has said it hopes to lure 17 million visitors and triple annual tourism revenue to $30 billion by 2015 with the opening of two casino resorts, including Genting’s Resorts World Sentosa.

“We want visitors to Sentosa to come to our Malaysian resorts as well,” Chief Executive Officer Lim Kok Thay told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today at the company’s 45th anniversary celebration.

Genting, Asia’s largest publicly traded casino operator, is already working on a joint venture project to develop a Chelsea high-end shopping complex in Johor’s Iskandar special economic development zone. Its proposed theme park and hotel development would be centered around this, Lim said.

“We can make Iskandar as a hub and offer tourists a complete holiday package,” Lim said, adding that the development may attract “millions of visitors” each year.

It hopes many of these will travel on to its hill-top gambling resort in Genting Highlands, near Kuala Lumpur, which the company hopes will attract as many as 30 million visitors a year in five years’ time, Lim said.

U.S. EXPANSION

Genting Plantations Bhd., a Kuala Lumpur-listed unit of Genting, will invest 200 million ringgit to develop Chelsea premium shopping centers in Malaysia, including the one in Iskandar, in a joint venture with Indiana-based Simon Property Group Inc.

With its Singapore casino report set to open, Genting is also looking at “opportunities” to further invest in the U.S., Lim said, without being specific.

The Malaysian company said in June it’s considering a possible partnership with MGM Mirage, the U.S.-based casino company partly owned by Kirk Kerkorian. Genting paid $100 million for a 3.2% stake in MGM Mirage, which has a joint venture casino in Macau with Pansy Ho, daughter of gambling magnate Stanley Ho.

A combined $100 million of secured notes sold by MGM Mirage have also been bought by Genting and its domestic casino arm Genting Malaysia Bhd.

Genting hopes to open its Universal Studios Singapore by the end of next week, Lim said in a speech today. Its casino operation will open as soon as it obtains a gambling license from the government, he added, declining to provide a specific time frame.

GAMBLING LICENSE

Genting Singapore Plc., the company’s unit that’s building the casino resort in the city state, climbed 3.2% to $1.29 yesterday on speculation the company will obtain the gambling license before the Chinese New Year holiday next month. The stock fell 0.8% at the close of trading in Singapore today, after earlier rising as much as 2.3%.

Resorts World Sentosa began operations two weeks ago, with the opening of its Festive Hotel and Hard Rock Hotel, Lim said. Its Hotel Michael started operations on Jan. 13 and its Crockford Tower will be opened tomorrow.

Lim said the group has no immediate plan to raise more funds or sell more bonds in the near future, although it wouldn’t rule out such a possibility “if the markets are favorable.”

Genting sold 1.45 billion ringgit of 10-year bonds in November, more than an original plan to raise 900 million ringgit, after investors bid for more than the notes on offer.

So, let us see how Genting will do when Universal Studios open up next week. If the casino license is issued before the Chinese New Year, it will indeed be a bonanza for the entire Genting group!

ICT Workers: Relevant and Employable

Wondering about job prospects in the ICT sector? Well, don’t be discouraged by last year’s gloom. The ICT sector survived and forged on. And this year looks set to see more positive news for the sector, and more jobs as well.

ICT k-workers can stay relevant by having the ability to continuously learn, unlearn and relearn.

Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC)’s Supply & Demand Study, done in collaboration with research firm Frost & Sullivan last year, indicated that the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) for overall ICT jobs will be about eight to nine per cent for the next three years.

The research also indicated that the CAGR of jobs by MSC Malaysia-status companies will be more than 12 per cent until 2012.

During the downturn, companies focused on streamlining their business processes and consolidation-type of activities by leveraging on ICT. And this has created new opportunities in the ICT job market.

“There is demand for fresh and experienced ICT talent. Demand for ICT knowledge workers can be mapped to the technological platforms and changes in the business landscape within the industry,” says MDeC’s general manager, capacity development division, k-workers development department Muhammad Imran Kunalan Abdullah.

He expects demand for skills in technology clusters such as software development, networking and security, database, operating system and server, business intelligence and analytics, SAP applications, hardware design and creative multimedia to continue until 2012.

“The two key technology platforms used by software houses worldwide for developing applications are Java and .Net. ICT graduates and professionals who have core expertise in either have a competitive edge. There will also be an increasing demand for ICT professionals with skills in networking, security and creative multimedia for the next three years.

“Malaysia is still behind India and China in the AT Kearney Global Service Locations Competitiveness Index Survey 2009. This reflects continuous demand for talent within the IT-enabled services, primarily in BPO (business process outsourcing) and shared services type of operations in Malaysia,” Imran says.

Key trends

As the industry matures, there will be demand for k-workers who can multi-task, so it will not be sufficient to know just the core technology, Imran points out.

For example, in the software development cluster, the skill requirements for Java and .Net developers now encompass not just a Web or enterprise developer, but also be able to bridge the gap between the two.

“Demand for Web-oriented applications has resulted in a need for a developer to add skill sets for Web technologies to his core expertise and to adapt and make them suitable to the changing needs,” Imran says.

The ICT market outlook also points to a higher adoption of the cloud computing architecture. Google AppEngine and Microsoft Azure are some common cloud platforms which developers are expected to build and deploy their applications on. Enterprise applications such as customer relationship management and enterprise resource planning which are currently offered as software-as-a-service are expected to be hosted on the cloud.

“The shift in platform requires compliant assessment, modification and testing. This further increases the need for developers and testers for the transition to the cloud,” Imran says.

Other trends include rich Internet applications (an aftermath of Web 2.0), mobile development as a direct impact from smartphones, and embedded technologies.

“With all these interesting developments, who can challenge the career opportunities for the ICT savvy?” Imran asks.

Does ICT pay?

Based on recent ICT salary survey data that MDeC has gathered, there is no indication of any salary decline for the industry.

“ICT jobs are poised to command a better salary. However, the studies have also shown that the quantum of salary increases will be smaller this year, continuing from last year’s trend. This is expected as companies try to balance their business footing amid the current global economic condition,” Imran says.

He adds that one has to follow the trends in the ICT industry closely to stay relevant.

“The ICT k-worker can stay relevant by adopting the right attitude and ability to continuously learn, unlearn and relearn. The ICT world is very progressive and in a constant state of flux. Technologies get outdated faster and faster, so it is important for ICT professionals to keep abreast of the developments.”

What do you think?

We have two pictures of prayers to the Lord. Which one do you like better?

Fantastic Derring-do in the Grand Canyon

The following pictures were taken by Hans van de Vorst from the Netherlands at the Grand Canyon, Arizona.The identity of the photographer in the photos is unknown.

Wouldn't you be surprised,stunned, shocked and alarmed seeing this guy standing on this solitary rock in the Grand Canyon. The canyon's depth is 900 meters(3,000 feet) here.The rock on the right is the edge of the canyon which is perfectly safe.




Watching this guy in his rubber thong sandals, burdened with a camera and a tripod, you couldn't but ask these questions:

1. How did he climb that rock?
2. Why not take that sunset picture from that rock on the right, which is perfectly safe?
3. How will he get back?

After the sun sets behind the canyon's horizon, he packed his things and prepared himself for the jump. This took about 2 minutes. At that point he definitely had the full attention of the eager crowd.

This is the point of no return. After that, he jumps in his thong sandals and only having one hand free.

The adjacent rock is a bit higher than where he is and quite steep.

The photographer hopes to use his one free hand to grab on to the rock. Let us look carefully at the photographer. He is carrying a camera, a tripod and also a plastic bag all on his shoulder or in his left hand. He jumps and lands low on his flip flops as both his right hand and right foot slip away.

He manages to push his body tightly against the rock.The crowd watches in suspense and fears for the worst. We then see him waiting for a few moments to catch his breath.He then threw his stuff on top of the rock, climbs up and walks away to the relief of the watching crowd.

What a dare-devil!

The Vocabulary of Mr. Nobody

To help those who are weak in vocabulary, I have attempted to give some of my own interpretation of some of the words used in this simple nursery rhyme of a poem.

Mr. Nobody
(Author Unknown)

I know a funny little man, [‘funny’ means ‘strange, odd or ‘not usual’]
As quiet as a mouse,
Who does the mischief that is done [‘mischief’ means ‘prank, or ‘cheeky and naughty things’]
In everybody's house!
There's no one ever sees his face,
And yet we all agree
That every plate we break was cracked [‘crack’ means ‘to chip or break’]
By Mr. Nobody.

`Tis he who always tears our books, [‘tis’ means ‘It is’]
Who leaves the door ajar, [ ‘ ajar’ means ‘a door half closed’]
He pulls the buttons from our shirts,
And scatters pins afar; [ ‘scatters’ means ‘ to throw about’]
That squeaking door will always squeak, [ ‘ squeak’ means ‘to create a noise’]
For, prithee, don't you see, [ ‘prithee’ means ‘for goodness sake’]
We leave the oiling to be done
By Mr. Nobody.

The finger marked upon the door
By none of us are made;
We never leave the blind unclosed, [ ‘blind’ means ‘a window screen’]
To let the curtains fade. [‘fade’ means ‘to lose colour’]
The ink we never spill; the boots
That lying round you. See
Are not our boots-they all belong
To Mr. Nobody.