Income tax rate 2015

Now that we are officially on GST era, the gov has kindly reduce the personal income tax by 1-3%. The rate are as below effective from 2015 onwards.

The above top rate is peanut as compare to some European countries. Not that we are complaining since we are not really sure if the gov will do anything good with the additional income. 

So, good luck. Even though it sucks...  

Update on renew passport @ PKNS Shah Alam

Just some updates.

For those who wanted to use the kiosk for renewal of passport, please make sure the passport is still valid else the machine would not read the chip and you will need to proceed to the counter.
** do not seal the envelope where you insert the photo, old passport and photocopy of IC.

All passports can only be collected 3 days after the payment. NOT 1 or 2 hours as stated in the website.

For original post, refer here http://siao1.blogspot.com/2010/04/renew-passport-at-jabatan-immigration.html 

Free money from Standard Chartered Bank (M)

Here are some free money from Standard Chartered Bank, as usual some term and conditions:

The Campaign is open to New Customers who successfully apply for any of the following credit cards (as principal cardholder) with the Bank during the Campaign Period:
• Gold or Business Gold Credit Card,
• Platinum or Business Platinum Credit Card,
• Preferred World MasterCard, or
• Priority Banking Visa Infinite Credit Card,

AND maintain their accounts with the Bank in good standing, without any breach of the terms and conditions or agreements, throughout the Campaign Period.

"New Customers" mean applicants who have not held any Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad credit card whether as principal or supplementary cardholder within the past 12 months before the applicant’s credit card under this Campaign is issued.

Giving that they offer RM300 cash back rebate for direct application online, the TnC is consider very acceptable. No real string attached. However there is no waiver for gov tax, ie RM50 so still need to pay that. Annual fees are waived for 2 years.

The best part, you can actually apply for 2 cards and get up to total RM600 rebate. It is almost free money. Until 30th April only, act fast.

The legal fees and stamp duty for purchasing of property in Malaysia.

Below is the list of The legal fees and stamp duty for purchasing of property in Malaysia. Apparently these alone can caused a hole in your pocket let alone the high hyped property price.

Legal Fees for Sale and Purchase Agreement Legal fees for drawing up the Sale and Purchase to completion of transfer depends on the property value as set out in the Sales and Purchase Agreement or the market value as determined by Valuation Department.

Purchase from individual / public action / developer etc

Value of Property (RM) Legal Fees (%) 1st RM 150,000 1.0 of property value* Next RM 850,000 0.7 of property value* Next RM 2,000,000 0.6 of property value* Next RM 2,000,000 0.5 of property value* Next RM 2,500,000 0.4 of property value* RM 7,500,000

In excess of RM 7,500,000, the fee is negotiable on the excess but not exceeding 0.4% of the excess

* subject to a minimum of RM 300

Purchase from developer with a standard S&P Agreement

Value of Property (RM) Legal Fees (%) RM 45,000 and below RM 250 Above RM 45,000 up to RM 100,000 Scale Fee less 25% Above RM 100,000 up to RM 500,000 Scale Fee less 30% Above RM 500,000 Scale Fee less 35%

Legal fees for Loan Documentation

Purchase from individual / public action / developer etc

Principal Instruments (Loan Agreements):

Loan Sum Legal Fees 1st RM 100,000 1% of loan sum Next RM 4.9 million 0.5% of loan sum Thereafter 0.25% of property value

For subsidiary Instruments (Collateral Documents):

Within section 4(3) of the Stamp Act 1949 10% of full scale for each principal instrument

Purchase from developer with a standard S&P Agreement

Loan Sum Legal Fees Below RM 30,000 RM 120 RM 30,001 - RM 100,000 1% of loan sum less 25%

All legal fees are subject to 5% service tax

Stamp Duty for S&P Agreement

Value of Property Stamp Duty 1st RM100,000 subsequent 1% RM 100,001 - RM 500,000 subsequent 2% RM 500,001 - RM 2 million 3% Above RM 2 million 4%

Stamp Duty for Loan Agreement Stamp duty for the Loan Document is RM2.50 for each RM500 or part thereof of the loan amount.

Stamp Duty for transfer of house title

Property Value Stamp Duty 1st RM100,000 1% Next RM400,000 2% Next RM 1.5 million 3% Thereafter 4%

**All legal fees are subject to 6% service tax.

Besides the official fees listed here, the purchaser will need to pay for disbursement fees range from RM1000-1500. As for disbursements, the main portion is towards assessment of adjudication fees which are calculated as follows :-

Item 32 Stamp Duty Act 1949

" On sale of any property For every RM100 or fractional part of RM100 of the amount
of the money value of the consideration or the market value
of the property, whichever is greater -

(i) RM1 on the first RM100,000;
(ii) RM2 on any amount in excess of RM100,000 but not exceeding
RM500,000;
(iii) RM3 on any amount in excess of RM500,000 but not exceeding
RM2,000,000;
(iv) RM4 on any amount in excess of RM2,000,000."

The other items for disbursements are :-

bankruptcy search
private land search
entry and withdrawal of private caveat ( property with title )
telephone, fax, postage,printing
travelling
miscellaeous

This is a sample list which is expected in a usual sub-sale transaction.

If the title is out, the charges for presentation of registration of transfer the memorandum of transfer (MOT) will also be incurred.

As for property without title, instead of the MOT, the Deed of Assignment, Deed of Receipt & Reassignment and Power of Attorney will be applied instead.

Since the vendor is expected to obtain good title and property free from encumbrances from the developer, where the property is stil non-title yet, the fees on Deed of Asssignment will be borne by the vendor also.

Worst of all, the calculation and charges for Legal Fee & Stamp Duty are fixed as they are governed by law and are not negotiable.

Confuse? Is ok, just open your cheque book and pay.

Standard 1 registration procedure for Selangor 小学一年级报名程序

The registration only open for children born in the year of 2005 and 2006 for this year.

First step:
Log into this link: http://apps.moe.gov.my/esppsel/ and do online registration. But before that make sure you know the district which the school is located before you start. To check on the district, log into this link http://www.moe.gov.my/jpnselangor/jkict/indexTS.php and key in the name of the school which you wanted to register.


The online application software has 4 pages, fill in the necessary information and click "send". If the web page is too overload, it will skip page 3 and 4, instead there will be a statement noted as: "Tiada sekolah dipilih, hubungi pejabat pelajaran daerah yang terdekat untuk maklumat lanjut." The best time to log in is after midnight.

After that, the parent still need to go to the selected school for dossiers verification. Dossiers need to bring along when confirm the registration at selected school:
Sila bawa bersama dokumen seperti di bawah semasa penghantaran borang：
－已在网上填妥完毕并打印出来的申请表格 (2 份) Cetakan Borang Permohonan Penempatan (2 salinan)
－正本孩子报生纸或领养孩童证书 Surat Beranak anak yang asal atau Sijil Anak Angkat.
－复印孩子报生纸 （ 1 张 ) Salinan sijil beranak anak ( 1 salinan)
－复印父母身份证（各1 张） Salinan kad pengenalan ibu bapa ( 1 salinan)
－电费单据或水费单据或门牌税单据 。( 最新的) Bil elektrik atau Bil air atau Bil cukai pintu. ( terkini )
－复印父母结婚/ 离婚证书（ 1 张 ) Salinan surat nikah / cerai ibu bapa ( 1 salinan)
－正本及副本租约,如果住的是租屋。 Dokumen perjanjian sewa rumah asal dan salinan fotostat jika menyewa.
－白色信封 4X9 (贴上60仙邮票), 不须写上地址 4 X 9 Sampul surat bersetem RM 0.60 . Tidak perlu tulis alamat pada sampul surat.

At the school, the teacher will chops at the back of the original birth certificate and also writes down the ID of the registration.

After the online registration, you will received a confirmation letter from Jabatan Pelajaran Selangor. The email will have the user name and ID stated, keep that for future reference.

The period for school verification varied from school to school, do check with the school for the time and period allowed.

How to apply nonimmigrant US visa for Malaysian

Now that I had got my visa, I can shared a little bit how it was done.

First of all, of course you need to have a valid passport (at least 6 months validity). Than you need to register online at this link, http://www.ustraveldocs.com/my/index.html. Please note, the official embassy website of US in Kuala Lumpur also content some information about the visa application but it is not very clear. So, to avoid any confusion just refer to this link. The website homepage will look like this. To understand the whole visa application better, just click on the Nonimmigrant Visa Information page.

In a nutshell the process go like this

Step 1 Pay the visa application fee.

Step 2 Complete the Nonimmigrant Visa Electronic Application (DS-160) form.

Note: If you pay your visa application fee in cash at a Standard Chartered Bank, then you can schedule your interview within four hours of payment. If you pay online at Bank then you can schedule as soon as 3:00pm on the first banking day following the date of payment.

Fee Payment Options

Cash at Bank

Any nonimmigrant visa applicant can pay their visa application fee in cash at any designated Standard Chartered Bank branch. You must bring your passport or a copy of your passport's bio page to the bank when you pay the visa fee. At the bank, you must write your passport number, fee payment amount and your telephone number in the U. S. visa fee collection slip available at the bank. After receiving your payment, the bank will give you a receipt.

Online Payment

If you have an account with Standard Chartered Bank you may choose to pay your visa application fee online using Standard Chartered Bank's online bill pay service.

Note: It is important that you correctly type your payment code (also called a UID) into the online payment form when you pay your fee online. The payment code is created after you create your online profile at the beginning of the online payment process. This code verifies your payment and allows you to schedule your visa interview. Please note the UID number is consists of 8 numeric number, it is NOTthe confirmation number after you filled in the DS-160 which consists of numeric number and alphabet. Should you fill the UID number wrongly, the verification process from bank and agency will take 7-10 working days.

Step 3 Schedule your appointment. You will need three pieces of information in order to schedule your interview appointment:

• Your passport number.
• Your fee payment receipt purchase date (due to banking regulations, this date may be later than the date you actually paid your fee).
• The ten (10) digit barcode number from your DS-160 confirmation page
• Your UID number

Step 4 Visit the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur on the date and time of your visa interview. You will need to bring a printed copy of your appointment letter, your DS-160 confirmation page, one recent photograph, your current and all old passports, and the original visa fee payment receipt. Applications without all of these items will not be accepted.

Step 5 Your passport and visa are returned to you by courier to the address that you gave when fill in the DS-160, 2-3 days after your interview.

The location of US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur is as below. Note the traffic in this area is normally a nightmare, go there early. The embassy is kind of secretive with no sign board or any flag to be seeing. So just watch out for the entrance along a white cement wall. There will be a guard there to guide the crowd.

You can only bring along handphone, no other electronic items are allowed. You will need to leave handphone, car keys or any paper spray at the gate. After that you will be giving a calling number. First there is a counter (no.2) to check your dossiers, than another counter (no.3) to do the fingers printing and finally the other counter (no.4 or no.5) for the interview. The whole process can take about 2-3 hours, so get ready some books to read there. If the application is successful than the official will give you a visa pick up card and asks you to wait for your visa. It should be arrived at your door steps soon.

If you really need to, can contact the agency at this number for assistant.

• Malaysia Callers - If you are in Malaysia, please call 603 2302 3988.
• International Callers - If you are calling from the United States, you can reach a customer service representative at (214) 571-1600. Hours of operation in the continental U.S. are 7pm-7am EST / 6pm-6am CST / 5pm-5am MST / 4pm-4am PST.

Some tips for travel to London and Paris

Airasia X is not bad. The seats are standard (32 inches) and if you purchase hot seat with extra legroom, it is comfortable. Alternative you may pray that the plane is not fully booked that you can lift up the armrest and make your own "bed" from 2nd rows onwards.

Some hopefully useful tips for travelling to London

Tip 1: Make full use of 2 for 1 promotion

Offering 2 people pay only FOR 1 person fees entry to over 100 top London attractions, restaurants, theatres, exhibitions and more, when you travel by train to the London! Attractions included London Eye, Madam Tussaeud's, London Zoo, Tower of London and many more. For more information visit: http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/attraction-types/2for1london.aspx

The promotion is valid for anyone who travel to London by train (for example if you arrived at Stansted Airport, purchased a Stansted Express ticket will entitle you to this promotion) or purchase travel card/ticket from railway counter. The travel card/oyster card from underground station is NOT valid. This year the promotion runs until Sept. You can saved so much on the entrance fees.

Tip 2: Underground

The underground in London is clean, fast, easy to use and safe. The front desk is very helpful. Some stations from difference lines are only 2-3 mins walking distance away, do check with front desk or officer on duty for best route to travel. For example, to visit London Eye, get down at Westminster station (circle line) and walk across the bridge to London Eye is easier and more pleasant than get down at Waterloo station (Bakerloo line).

Tip 3: Theater

A must do for London visit, absolutely gorgeous. If you willing to spend more on this item, get a dress circle ticket which give you the best view.

Tip 4: Park.... hugh park

London has so many free but well maintain park. Hyde, Kensington and Reagent Park all offer so much greens and leisure. Queen's Mary Garden will be absolutely gorgeous during summer, full of roses and flower. Kensington Garden is NICE.

Tip 5: Greenwich

The place where the world is divided into East and West, Royal Observatory. Located on a hill at the center of hugh and beautiful Greenwich Park. Brilliant. You can stand one foot in the eat and another in the west. No underground to reach there, but can be reach via Thames river cruise.

Tip 6: Abbey Road

If you want to visit the famous Abbey Road studio and the pedestrian, do note the address is No 3, Abbey Road. So make sure you are looking at the correct place. The wall is full of signatory, you won't missed that.

Tip 7: Madam late saver

Go to most of attractions afternoon after 2 pm to avoid big crowd, especially Madam Tussaeud. The slot after 5 pm is the best, you get to take more photos and with little bit more of luck, you got to pose with few celebrities status as "with invitation only", free of charge. The slot at 5.00-5.30 pm is half price, need to book earlier from the official website. We went at around 4p.m. the guy just ask us to go in anyway. So try your luck, you will never know.

Tip 8: Souvenir

The price of souvenir is more expensive when you get closer to tourist attractions area. So, if you can purchase it at the market, said Portobello market. Do so.

Paris

Tip 1: Make reservation

Purchase tickets before you go, especially Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. The tickets can be purchased online or chain store like Virgin Megastore (the Louvre) if you are not willing to queue for buying ticket AND queue again to enter. If you have ticket, just go straight in with priority. The ticket for the Louvre after 6.00p.m. on Wed is on discount.

Tip 2: Notre-dame

If you want to listen to the sound of grand organ, go on Thurs around 6 p.m. There is a service at that time, and they do welcome visitors as long as you don't disturb the service.

Tip 3: Montmartre

Get absolutely gorgeous Paris view from Montmartre in front of Sacré-Cœur Basilica, free. Visit the stairs of Rue Foyatier, fabulous. Go late at night when most tourist left and local swam in. For more information on self-guide Montmartre walk, click here http://www.paris48.com/montmartre-walk.html

Tip 4: Sourvenir

The closer you get to the tourist attractions, the cheaper it will be. Get it from the guy who selling it mobile not the shop. The drink and food on contrary, are getting more expensive when you get closer to the tourist attractions.

Tip 5: Do you speak English?

If you see some women (look like Indian Muslim) and ask you this question, do you speak English? Just shake your head. Those are professional beggar in Paris. Not fun dealing with.

Tip 6: Parisians

They are not the friendliest but generally helpful. They are more willing to help if you appear speaking anything other than English.

Tip 7: The Loft

Nice, roomy and cozy apartment close to Moulin Rouge for consideration. Might need to try send few mails before get any reply. They do not mean to be rude, but they are Parisian, so...

And finally if you want to visit Old Trafford, do not go during off season. Changes are the sponsors will be using it for their own tournament and you won't be able to visit player changing room, dugout and the tunnels. :-( which are the reason fans wanted to go anyway. So plan you trip well.

Bon voyage.