Malaysia's Beautiful Islands

Malaysia can boast of a number of islands that are popular with tourists. Tourists come all year round to take in the beauty of the islands or to partake in a host of water activities or simply rest and relax. White sandy beaches, snorkelling and deep-sea diving are the main attractions. The more well-visited islands include the more popular ones of Penang, Langkawi and Pangkor on the west coast of Peninsula Malaysia; Tioman, Redang and Perhentian on the east coast; and Sipadan off the coast of Sabah. Pictured above is Turtle Island in Sabah.

Picture source: The Star

Need a great credit card deal?

My friend and I just got back from the bank and the travel agent's. We were at the bank because Sue wanted to get travellers cheques for her trip to London next month. We then went to the travel agent because she wanted to confirm the itinerary and hand over some documents.

It is always helpful to have extra funds when one travels. Funds can be in the form of cash as in travellers cheques or in the form of an extra credit card. These days, there are many credit cards available. The key is to be able to get the best credit card deal that gives the best terms such as 0% on purchases and a longer interest-free period. 0% on balance transfers is also helpful if one has many credit card balances to settle. I know if I want a new credit card, these are the features I would look out for.

Aapkavideo.com - largest collection of Indian videos

My colleagues, some of whom are from India, are great fans of videos. Recently. they found a new video site closed to their heart. Since then, they are constantly watching videos on Aapka Video.

Aapka Video is a video-sharing site something like the YouTube site but only features Indian videos. The site has the largest collection of Bollywood-specific videos not forgetting others like cricket, music videos, places of interest and many more. The site has the standard free upload and download and sharing features.

My colleagues not only are interested in watching videos, they also make videos and will soon be posting theirs onto Aapka Video to try and win the monthly prize of an iPod. Yes, they are giving away a free iPod for the most popular video uploaded for the month.

Immigration Dept issues I-Kad for Foreigners

Malaysia has come a long way from the colonial days under British rule through independence to currently a progressive nation of a multi-racial people. Malaysia will be celebrating her 50 years of independence come August 31.

Progress has seen improved infrastructure and facilities including education as more and more institutions of higher learning are collaborating with foreign universities to expand the education system. As Malaysia is a peaceful country, this together with the good education system has attracted many foreign students. This number has swelled to almost two million.

To ensure the country's safety for her own people as well as for visitors, Malaysia has introduced an identity card for foreigners who come here to study or work. Called I-Kad, the sophisticated card has 17 security features and the colour represents the sector the holder is in. Foreigners here to study or work will be easily “identified” under a new high-security, colour-coded card system.

In addition to the I=Kad, from June 1, foreign students could apply for their visas online when the Student E-Pass system becomes fully operational.

Under the E-Pass system, students can also check if the programmes they are interested in are accredited.

For more information, visit The Star...Immigration Dept issues I-Kad

Take a Hawaiian Holiday

Are you planning for a holiday and not sure where to go? How about Hawaii? If you like sun, the sea and the beach and a clean and fresh environment to relax in, Hawaii trips or holidays would simply be ideal.

You will be able to find any vacation accommodation of your choice through online resources such as Hawaiibeachrentals.com. Hawaii is famous for its ecotourism where nature and culture are carefully preserved supporting the well-being of the local community.

If you prefer privacy rather than staying in a hotel, you will love the many villas available. Villas are now becoming popular with holiday-makers as they offer privacy and flexibility having cooking facilities plus if you are going in a group, renting a villa can be more economical. Make Hawaii your holiday destination. You won't regret it.

PPP Direct - The Better New Kid in Town

Woot! I tell you, PPP is getting better and better! PayPerPost has just launched their PPP Direct! - an added program for you to get paid to blog.

PPP Direct basically means that advertisers can directly approach Posties to get them to write special blog posts. Posties just have to specify the minimum amount they want to be paid for these Direct opportunities and stick a widget on their blog. When an advertiser decides he'd like the Postie to write a review, he just clicks on the badge and make the Postie an offer.

Now, why should you install PPP Direct?! Let me tell you why.

- You get to keep more of the money. Programs like ReviewMe and SponsoredReviews take a bigger cut of the payout. ReviewMe takes a 50% cut while SR takes 35%. PPP Direct by contrast charges a mere 10% service fee, almost 5% goes into PayPal and Credit Card fees.

- PPP Direct ensures that both Postie and Advertiser are happy - Postie gets paid while Advertiser gets his review. For a small fee, PPP Direct makes that happen - no hassle and no worries.

- Ease of Use especially for advertisers as they can use their credit cards rather than going through PayPal as the latter can be quite inconvenient. Posties will find the widget fast and easy to use.

- Tax Reporting is made easy as PPP Direct offers are accounted for in the year-end tax statement from PPP.

- More Opps for quality bloggers in the long run - PPP Direct in addition to PPP.

On the PPP front, the Benches feature has been added. This allows advertisers to exclude bloggers from their opps for a period of time and at the same time allows Posties to remove a certain advertiser temporarily.

Yet another feature that is most welcome by Posties is the introduction of a post reservation period. Posties can now reserve an Opp and take up to six hours to complete it. Before this was introduced, Posties sometimes had to go through the frustration of being told that the Opps have all been filled after having spent time making the post.

On the ranking front, PPP has removed Technorati rankings from the system as Technorati scores are no longer relevant to the PPP system after they have changed the way they rank blogs.

PPP Direct - you'd be crazy not to have it installed!!

System to completely disable stolen handphones

Here in Malaysia, stolen phones will soon be rendered useless if a system to completely disable stolen handphones is introduced.

A national database for lost and stolen handphones will be set up and any handphone reported lost will be completely disabled. This means a stolen handphone cannot be sold to anyone to be used even with a new SIM card, according to the Chairmand of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), Datuk Dr Halim Shafie.

The alaraming increase in handphone thefts in the country prompted this move. Last yerar, some 100,000 handphones were reported lost though the actual figure could be much higher.

Read story...The Star..System to completely disable stolen handphones

Go for Venetian Blinds for that neat look

The other day, I received some pictures of a friend's new home. It is a lovely home - well furnished, bright and stylish. What caught my eye was its minimalist concept. I noticed she used venetian blinds for her windows. She said blinds give that neat look which I agree. I've always liked blinds myself.

Venetian blinds come in a range of sizes, colours and types. There are the Aluminium Venetian Blinds and the Wooden Venetian Blinds. My friend chose the wooden Venetian blinds because she likes earth tones. In fact, the color scheme of her home is towards the beige/brown combination which gives that cosy effect. Venetian blinds though simple can be enhanced to give that stunning window treatment by adding a neat pelmet top or facia. That's what my friend did. Amazing effect.

LAG ruling implemented

All liquids, aerosols and gels (LAG) confiscated from passengers at airport boarding gates will be immediately destroyed.

The move follows the implementation of the new LAG ruling requiring passengers to place containers of LAG materials, of not more than 100ml, in a transparent, resealable bag if they were going to be in the carry-on luggage.

Liquids of more than 100ml have to be checked in unless approved, or will be confiscated at the boarding gate. LAGs carried in containers larger than 100ml are not allowed, even if the container is only partially filled.

However, passengers can still buy LAG materials at airport stores after passing the boarding gates. These items will be put in a sealed tamper-evident plastic bag and allowed to be taken on board.

The Government will not enforce the new ruling involving liquids, aerosols or gels (LAGs) for domestic flights, said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy.

Source: The Star
LAG ruling implemented
LAGs ruling not for domestic flights

Airport tax at LCCT reduced

Good news for Low-Cost Carrier travellers. The airport tax at Low-Cost Carrier Terminal in Sepang will be slashed from RM9 to RM6 for domestic flights, and from RM41 to RM25 for international flights beginning June 1.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said the airport tax for international flights at LCCT in Kota Kinabalu would be reduced from RM51 to RM41. Airport tax for domestic flights would also be at RM6.

"This new rate will also be applicable for any low-cost carrier terminals the Government plans to build in future," he said after the weekly Cabinet meeting.

Source: The Star

Related story:
Cut in LCCT airport tax

Gunung Ledang off-limits to all visitors

Gunung Ledang is now off-limits to the public, at least for a while. The place is popular as a picnic and camping area where there is a nice waterfall.

The move follows separate incidents where two Singaporeans were killed by falling trees at a campsite in the popular tourist attraction.

The decision to make the mountain off-limits was made by the state executive council.
Johor Tourism and Environment committee chairman Freddie Long said visitors could still go to Puteri Waterfalls, a 20-minute walk from the Ranger's Office however, no camping and hiking activities would be allowed in the park for the time being.

The Johor National Park Corporation, Forestry Department and Geo-science Department were conducting soil tests and checking the condition of the trees.

Source: The Star

KLCI hit a record 1,367.51

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares on Bursa Malaysia surged to a new high yesterday as investors welcomed the pay increase announced by the Prime Minister for the nation's 1.6 million civil servants and pensioners as a big boost to the economy.

At the close, the benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) soared 20.34 points, or 1.5% to a record 1,367.51.

Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said yesterday the pay increase would add as much as half a percentage point to the country's economy and accelerate growth in the second half of this year.

Meanwhile, the ringgit continued to strengthen yesterday and hit 3.382 against the US dollar. The currency had risen 4.1% year-to-date.

Source: The Star

Get Pingo Prepaid Calling Cards

Just the other day, my workmates were talking about telephone rates and how their phone-bills at home have increased since they had maids living in. The only one not lamenting was Diane because she got Pingo phone cards for her maid. These are prepaid calling cards to call the philippines where her home is. Plus Diane received $5 in free calls when she first signed up.



If you are not familiar with Pingo, Pingo is a reliable prepaid calling card provider with 90% of their customers reordering because there is no hidden fee with the best competitive rates worldwide. Right now, Pingo offers up to 4 hours of free International calls just for signing up.

Father's Day is fast approaching so why not sign up now and get $10 worth of free calls. In addition, be a Pingo affiliate and earn $15 for each new customer you refer. Pingo is not only a calling card, it even makes you money!

Come to think of it, Ramesh, our IT analyst from India, would surely benefit from the India calling card rates. Let me tell him about Pingo. He'll be delighted, I'm sure.

A Royal Wedding

This has got to be the wedding of the year. The Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, and Zara Salim Davidson were married at the Istana Iskandariah in Bukit Chandan here.

The simple wedding ceremony yesterday was nonetheless steeped in Perak royal custom


Symbol of love: Raja Muda of Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah slipping a diamond wedding ring onto the finger of Zara Salim Davidson during the royal akad nikah ceremony at the Balai Istiadat, Istana Iskandariah, in Kuala Kangsar yesterday. The ceremony was officiated by the Perak Mufti Datuk Seri Harussani Zakaria.


Her wedding dress was the creation of local fashion designer, Kuala Kangsar-born Radzuan Radziwill.

Win a Date with a Celebrity

Do you like to join contests? If you do, here is one with a fun difference and you get to win an extraordinary prize, a date with a Celebrity! To be exact, the prize is a date with Mirelly Taylor, a celeb who has appeared on "Kiss Me Again" and "Serving Sara". You would also have seen here on television shows, "Las Vegas", "Punk'd" and "Numb3rs".

This fun contest will run for fourteen weeks and is unique in that it allows anyone to be part of the program. Participation is by way of video submissions. Check out the hilarious submissions on GoFish.com and top those to win that date!

Here's the submission process. First, watch the introduction to the "Seduce a Celeb" promotion where Mirelly explains how the promotion works, then watch Mirelly explain the three specific calls-to-action and then create your video for each of them. After your video is done, upload it to enter. You can submit more videos for a better chance to win.

What better way to get your creativity juices flowing than to watch more videos and I would recommend the Free videos at GoFish.com. The winner is determined by the number of votes, so don't forget to vote for your favourite videos. Right now, this is the most popular contestant. Enjoy!



I wonder who would be the next celebrity to be featured? How about a male celeb, eh?

Much ado about Blogging in Malaysia

No action against bloggers unless they break the law

Dr Lim Keng Yaik, our Energy, Communications and Water Minister is wise to say that "The authorities cannot take any action against bloggers unless they break the law." He urged the public to be selective on the information on the Internet as “good knowledge come together with bad knowledge.”

That certainily is sound advice to all bloggers.

Other related stories:
Discussion on blogging
Don't base belief solely on blogs, says Umno info chief
Zam: Classify bloggers

Win great stuff with Bid4Prizes

Have you heard that you could win cool stuff for as low as 0.01 cent? No kidding. You could with Bid4Prizes.com. On this site there are lots of prizes waiting to be won and the lowest bid wins, actually the lowest unique bid wins.

I know what I would like to win. It's that BMW 3 Series. I know I certainly don't mind having a new car, a dashing new car is a real bonus and who knows, I could win it with an unbelievably low prize too.

The way to bid is easy. You could go online or text in your bid. Hurry! Pick a product that you like and start bidding. The more you bid, the more chances that you will win.

Used Car Inspection

In the Government's effort to ensure only roadworthy vehicles are allowed on the roads to reduce road accidents, from July 1, all secondhand private vehicles will have to undergo mandatory Puspakom inspection before transfer of ownership.

The ruling came about due to the increasing trend of cars that failed Puspakom inspection. These vehicles were mainly the “cut-and-join” cars (kereta potong).

Presently, checks on commercial vehicles are required every six months and all private cars are checked if financed by banks.

Inspection will cost RM30 for each vehicle and checks will involve identifying the chassis and engine numbers as well as checking on engine and seating capacity, car model, year of manufacture, colour and even the level of tint to ensure that these tally with those stored in JPJ database.

A car found to have its chassis number tampered with or modified would be deregistered.

Puspakom has given the assurance that inspection of one car should not take more than an hour.

Source: The Star

Need A Book Publisher?

A friend who used to be in the business of training and education is compiling his knowledge and expertise into a book and is looking out for a Publishing Company. What a coincidence that I came across this leading self-publishing company, AuthorHouse.

My friend will like AuthorHouse because they let authors retain all rights and control decisions on the publishing and marketing of their book such as the number of copies and when to print them as well as being able to select the royalty schedule. And the best part is that when the book is finished, it will be available for order at more than 25000 retail outlets worldwide.

Do you have a book you want to get published? Look no further, check out AuthorHouse. They have helped authors achieve their book publishing goals with over 27,000 books in print.

Manchester United in Kuala Lumpur

Fans and supporters of Manchester United will be glad to know that they will be coming for a match in Kuala Lumpur on July 27 afterall. This visit was almost in danger of being cancelled due to opposition from the Asian Football Confederation though Sir Alex Ferguson remained hopeful for a deal to be struck to play a friendly with a Malaysian selection.

Source: The Star..They want Man Utd in KL

Related story: Abdullah wants EPL champs tour to go ahead

Looking for an ESL Teaching Job in Korea?

Are you looking for a job as an English teacher in Korea? Look no further as you have come to the right place. Restohof is where you can get a wide selection of ESL teaching positions. View their extensive list of teaching positions in Korea. You can even sign up and give each position a go-ahead or a grudge based on your experience and view.

Restohof also features a number of select sites such as Dave's ESL Cafe and Seoul Craigslist. Their comprehensive lists have jobs ranging from teaching in public schools to summer camps to teaching adults and many more really worth checking out.

Also check out the ESL Teachers Board on Restohof. This is a great resource where you can find ESL materials, ESL jobs and ESL resumes and all for free. For teachers, you can find jobs not only in Korea but in other parts of the world too. You can find teaching strategies, travel tips, short stories, and lots of useful information.

For schools, you have a choice of teacher resumes to pick the right candidate-teachers, student recruting agents, Internet tips and more.

Even students will find the ESL Teachers Board useful for locating private tutors, ESL pen-pals, travel and Internet tips and others.

Restohof, THE PLACE to visit for English teaching-related matters.

Cut-and-join vehicles

If you are looking into buying a used car, you will have to go through another procedure, that is getting it checked by Puspakom before the Road Transport Department can approve vehicle transfer. This new requirement came about in light of the recent discovery that some vehicles were put together for sale with pieces from cut-up vehicles. More from The Star

Bookeeping and Payroll services can be inexpensive

Are you starting up your own business and find that you need to improve on your bookkeeping and payroll? Of course you could outsource these functions but normally, services for these are at a pretty high price.

You may want to check out quickbooks accounting instead. Theirs are services at a most reasonably low price. Right now, they are offering a purchase of Quickbooks Online at a 20% discount. At $15.95 a month, it's really a steal. Or if you would rather have bookkeeping taken care of, the fee is only at $10.00 per month. Payroll services are at $6.00 per employee per month. By the way, the site also offers accounting tips. Check them out!

Malaysian vegetables safe for consumption

Vegetables and fruits are an important part of our diet and Malaysia grows a big part of these for local consumption. Of late, there has been some concern on pesticide usage on home-grown vegetables. The Health Ministry has announced that locally-produced vegetables are safe to eat as pesticides used on them are within the permissible level. The Ministry assured the people that random samples of vegetables are taken regularly at farms nationwide by the respective state agriculture department officers to check on pesticide content. There, that should offer some relief if you were concerned earlier.

More..The Star