Do you know that 424,653 persons have been blacklisted mainly for defaulting in tax payments, not paying educational loans and also for being declared bankrupts.

Those blacklisted include high profile individuals carrying titles of Tan Sri, Datuk Seri and Datuk.

• The Insolvency Department has the bulk of those blacklisted, with 196,473 persons (46%) declared bankrupt;

• The blacklist comes from 13 government agencies, which also includes the Inland Revenue Board and the Immigration Department;

• The youngest person blacklisted is just 25.

This means that a ton of sago starch is sold for an average price of about RM $ 150-160? Is this correct?

I was told that our Sago starch is sold mainly to Ajinomoto in West Malaysia for the making of food seasoning (MSG) and sago flour used as a replacement for Tapioca flour. A check on the price of Tapioca flour FOB Bangkok revealed that its FOB price is US $ 620 per mt or roughly RM $ 2000 per mt . So why is Sarawak selling its Sago starch 12 times cheaper than the Thai Tapioca flour ? .

I am not sure if Borneo Post has quoted the good Professor and has added another zero to our export. I am incline to believe that the export quantity could be 5000-6000 mt and this means we are selling the sago flour for RM $ 1500-1600 per mt which is still cheaper than Tapoica but it is closer to the gap .

On the other hand , Borneo Post could have correctly quoted UNIMAS and it could be true that Sarawak’s sago flour is being exported at RM $150-160 per mt. If this is the price, the first action that the Sarawak Government should take is to take a good look at the market and ask itself why we are selling our sago flour at such a low price.

Borneo Post continues ” According to CoESAR director, Prof Dr Kopli Bujang, sago palm is one of the major contributors to the state’s economy.” Is it ? Not when it is only worth US$ 10 million . It is not even a healthy industry at all .

The Borneo Post dated Aug 6 continues as follows :

August 6, 2010, Friday

KOTA SAMARAHAN: Housing and Urban Development Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg is optimistic that sago can be a significant export commodity for the state.

“I believe that the income from export of sago can be increased through value added products, and in view of this the government welcomes inputs to assist in research and development (R&D) of the commodity,” he said yesterday.

Speaking when launching Centre of Excellence for Research in Sago Palm (CoESAR) at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) campus, here, Abang Johari noted that Sago had long been an important commodity to the state.

He stressed that sago industry can be developed to the level of oil palm, through concerted efforts by the government, intellec-tuals and researchers.

The minister was glad to note the commitment of Unimas, which had undertaken R&D on sago since 1993, adding that such effort by the university would complement the development of Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE).

According to him, the state was committed in developing a sustainable sago industry as can be seen with the large scale planting of the commodity in Mukah since ten years ago.

He congratulated Unimas which had won accolades both at national and international levels.

Meanwhile, Unimas vice chancellor Prof Dr Khairuddin Abd Hamid said the state exported around 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes of sago annually with income of US$10 million.

The Federal Government has already set the price of sugar. Now it is the time to have a closer look at the price of wheat.

Listening to the radio, I heard that the international price of wheat has gone up by 24 % .

There appeared to be a world shortage of wheat as a result of drought , Russia and some of the countries around the Black Sea has placed a banned on wheat export . Russia used to supply 20% of the world market and now this is gone . Canada another major exporter of wheat will also see a reduction in the export of wheat.

It is left to US and Australia as the major wheat suppliers.

Malaysia buys the bulk of its wheat from Australia. If Australia responds to this increase and as it surely would, we can expect the price of wheat and its products to increase. It is learned that we can expect at least a 15 % increase of export price from Australia.

This means, price of bread and cakes will increase. Fortunately the price increase, if it sets in, will be seen in 2 to 3 months time or at least after Hari Raya Puasa.

With increase cost, demand for bread and cakes is expected to drop. Hope ever, demand for sugar and eggs, the main ingredients for cakes will drop and so will their prices.

Let us wait and see.

This is how my Korean friend desribed what happened when he bought a few computer parts from the Internet . He was in Seoul and so was the shop .

He bought the items sometime at 5 pm online . He paid for it through his credit card . He was told the item would be delivered to him the next afternoon .

The next day at 10 am , the courier picked up the items from the supplier . My friend knew it when he logged into his account with the supplier –the information was already updated and possibly immediately . By 3 pm , the goods was delivered to his address . He signed for it in the little black box. The moment he signed it , the information was flashed to the supplier’s website and my friend ‘s account was automatically updated . All done in 2 seconds .

In fact , 5 minutes after he had signed for the items he checked with his accounts with the supplier and he realised all the transaction was updated .

He told me that delivery caused him about 2% of the invoice value , and he did not mind it because it saved him much time and transport cost of picking them up himself .

I suppose for our on line shopping to be successful , the transaction must be cheap , efficient and fast .

Something for us to think about .

We have our broadband which is good enough for on line shopping . Unfortunately the cost of courier is still expensive .

But our Post Laju and Bus transport are unfortunately far from cheap .

Perhaps some one can come up with a efficient and a low cost system for distribution of goods ?

The last time I blogged , I was writing on the extract of Gambir . I quoted an information from a website ( oop , I cannot mention its name ) and acknowledged the source of information . That was it . Immediately after i clicked on the ” published ” button , I was informed that my blog could have infringed on the TOS and the blog was deactivated .

Many of my friends contacted me and asked me what is happening ?

What did I do ?

I checked the Forum and there were a few incidents in the past which sought advice . I wrote to the support @wordpress.com and was told that the problem is a link or the mention of the name of a certain website .

I tried a couple of times to delete the offensive word from within . But to no avail and the blog remained deactivated .

I then wrote to support again and told them that the link has been deleted . Two minutes latter , the blog was activated .

The moral of the story ?

Be prepared for your blog to be deactivated because of the presence of the name of certain website . Dont worry write to support to explain . Support is efficient and I get their reply within minutes ( assuming that it is their working days I suppose ) .

Here am I again and you are welcome here anytime .

Having said that the plants are collected from the Rain Forest , they are now being cultivated.  In Sarawak there is a small scale commercial planting of TongKat Ali but not of  Gambir.

If you are looking for local souvenirs and artefacts try the shops in Main bazaar,  outside the shops  this photo may be a familiar sight.

Copied from http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/p/m/376948/

They are selling Gambir extract. I have a feeling the gambir extract are imported from Indonesia .

Apart from the main bazaar, these salesmen can also be found in India Street and the water front.

Here is some more information on the ‘Gambia extract “copied from a website ‘malaysiamade.com “.

Gambir Sarawak (extract liquid)

Description:

Original gambir sarawak traditionally used by natives in sarawak to prolong and help penis erections.
Beside that it is also being used for:
1. Gum and tooth ache
2. Bitten by insects
3. Before piercing
4. Minor cut
5. Prolong penis erection
Although  mainly used by men, there have been reports that women that uses them, loves the burning sensation on their clitoris/labia and have achieved multiple orgasms due to the tingling sensation and the prolong performance by their lover. Note: The affect might differ with each individual. There has not been any report of side affect or allergy due to gambit as it is made from natural organic material. If unsure, do try on a small skin surface beforehand.
Product Details:
Function: see detail

Type: Herbal Extract
Product & Shipping Terms:

Disclaim : This is tongue in cheek article .  I do not  promote  gambir’s  extract . Use it at your own risk .

I have received an email from a friend with a short note that too much soft drink like Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola will erode the enamel of your teeth and thereby exposing them to decay.

The operative word is too much and how much is too much ?

I have a friend who drinks coca cola from morning to night. No water, no tea or coffee. He was fat all right. I was told he had diabetes. Don’t know if this is due to his diet. What I do know is that without his favourite drink he suffers from withdrawal syndrome and becomes jittery the whole day . He was addicted to the drinks .

Have a look at this video on the effect Coca Cola (and I suppose Pepsi Cola too) will have on your teeth. Please bear in mind that as far as I am concern this is not a bible truth , see it for yourselves.

Be it an applicant for a Government Scholarship or a Contract, he will not say no.  After all as far as he is concern, granting favours does not cause him to spend any money and moreover it is political beneficial for him.

If a contractor who had tendered for a Government contract comes to him for this support, he would jot down on their letter words of similar effects: “di sokong “.

“ Di sokong’ in the Malaysian  means  “ supported “ . To the Civil Servants who is deciding on  the Contract it means , “ must be supported “ and this is how contracts are sometime awarded not on merits but on the recommendation of the Politician . It is better  for the Civil Servant to favour the Minister than to make him unhappy .

The Star on July 26 wrote “Civil servants must report to their superiors in writing if they are asked “favours” by politicians and the well-connected in the awarding of government contracts. “

Hopefully this is one way , we can reduce the incidents of corruption in the country ,

This directive covers  the Federal Civil Service . The State Civil Service of Sarwak and Sabah be asked to comply with the same directives too . Some members of the State Civil Service are not angels , you know .

For us small business operators if we want our tenders to be based on mertits ,  we must set an example to say never to corrupt practise.

The Star continues below:

July 26 2010

SARBAN SINGH
newsdesk@thestar.com.my

The directive covers recommendations of sila timbangkan (please consider), disokong dengan kuat (strongly recommended) and saya tiada halangan (no objections) made in all forms – written, spoken, email, telephone call or SMS – for contracts, permits, licences, citizenship and scholarship awards.

Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Sidek Hassan, who made this clear in a recent circular, stressed that all decisions must be based on merit.

“Recommendations made by politicians or influential people should not in any way influence the decisions of the Government. We have come up with a comprehensive set of rules to check this because civil servants are often caught in a bind with requests or recommendations from politicians and influential people,” he stated in the circular.

Sidek said any recommendation received in writing must be attached to the application file.

“If the favour is sought verbally, then the details of this communication, such as time and date, must be written and attached with the particular application,” he said, adding that once this was done, the civil servant concerned must report it in writing to his superior for further instructions.

If the civil servant is unable to do so for any particular reason, then he or she should report the matter to the government agency concerned.

“If the favour sought or recommendation made is related to a government contract, the matter should be reported to the Finance Ministry.

“If it is regarding permits or licences, then it should be referred to the relevant agencies,” he said, adding that if the favour sought was connected to a corruption or abuse of power case, the civil servant must report to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

Cuepacs president Omar Osman said the directive was timely to prevent the abuse of power.

“Although most decisions are made based on provisions of the law, it is better to have such a rule so that there will be more transparency,” he said.

Omar said on the other hand, there were also civil servants who were active in politics and had easy access to politicians and could easily seek favours and recommendations from them.

“There are cases where civil servants had themselves obtained recommendations from ministers or Members of Parliament for scholarships and places in university for their children.

“Some even ask recommendations to get promotions. When this happens, it becomes a disadvantage to those who are not well connected,” he added.

How had the business been doing for the 1st half and what do I expect for the 2nd half ?

What I would do for the next few days is to review my business plans . I will compare my performances with my projected targets .

I will make sure if there is a slip somewhere , I must catch up in the 2nd half otherwise I would not meet my targets at the end of the year .

More of this later.

Having a good product is one thing . There is a need to let the customers knows about it . This is the function of advertising . Advertising can be very expensive and is beyond the means of small business . However Eugene in his article gave a few cost effective  tips on ways to advertise one’s products .

His tips are not difficult to do and can be done by the small business themslves .

He suggested the following :

1. Word of Mouth

2. Create flyers .

3. Create a website

4. Create viral video–as in Youtube .

5. Cross promote with another products

6. Write a newsletter .

More details here :

By EUGENE MAHALINGAM
eugenicz@thestar.com.my

WHEN you have a marketable product that you think has the x-factor that can appeal to consumers, the next big step is to be able to tell them about it – in other words, advertise. However, traditional advertising can be costly. The good news is, one does not need to allocate a huge budget just to get the point across.

There are many ways to keep advertising costs down. All it takes is a little creativity and some perseverance. Here are some less expensive advertising methods that can help you hit your monthly sales targets:

Word of mouth

It’s free and it’s effective. A 2005 survey conducted by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and The Listening Co discovered that word of mouth was a great marketing tool to boost sales growth.

The survey compared the results of a telephone survey on a random sample of 1,256 adult consumers in Britain against the 2003 and 2004 sales data from banks, mobile phone networks, supermarkets or car manufacturers.

The survey revealed that companies enjoying higher levels of word-of-mouth advocacy such as HSBC, Asda, Honda and O2, grew faster than their competitors from the period of 2003 to 2004, versus companies suffering from low levels of word-of-mouth advocacy such as Lloyds-TSB, Sainsbury’s and Fiat during the same period.

Start with the people closest to you, namely family, friends and work colleagues, and let them do the rest! Know a local blabbermouth that can’t keep a secret? That’s your marketing campaign right there!

A flier advertising non-bank loans is left on the windshield of a car in central Athens. – AP

Create flyers

Creating your own flyers to advertise your business is a simple and inexpensive way to generate buzz about your product or company.

“Keep whatever information you need to convey simple and to the point. The fewer words the better,” says Ryan Choo, an executive consultant for a Klang Valley-based marketing agency.

“Of course, pictures tell a thousand words. So printing a picture of your product is always a good idea. And don’t forget to leave your contact details should people need to get in touch with you.”

And if you’re willing to spend a little bit more money, try offering incentives or special discounts to people who bring in your flyer.

“This not only encourages people to try your product, but it also gives you an informal way to track how many people are responding to your flyer,” says Choo.

Where to place and distribute your flyers is the key, and this is where you can really get creative – gates of homes or offices, telephone poles, trees, walls, near sidewalks and bus stands are just some examples.

Advertise online

Not only is this method cheap, you’ll be able to reach potential customers from all over the world. Millions of potential customers could be surfing the Web looking for the very product that you are offering.

One way to reach them is to create a website to tell them what you have.

“Creating a website is not expensive. If your competitor has an online presence and you don’t, then he or she will have a huge advantage over you,” says Selina Looi, a marketing manager from a Petaling Jaya-based creative design firm.

Unlike a flyer, you can afford to bombard your potential consumers (or viewers) with as much information as possible about the product.

“You want to make a positive, lasting impression and having a poorly built website with insufficient information will only deter people,” says Looi.

Another great way to advertise online is to create a viral video of your company or product.

“It doesn’t cost you anything to post your commercial on a video-sharing website like YouTube and you can promote it via your own website so that customers all over the world can view your advert online.

“Who knows? If your advert is a hit, it becomes the next big viral video. Before you know it, you may even get an e-mail order from a customer from Timbuktu,” adds Looi, who says adverts that often contain humorous content are very popular with viewers.

Cross promote with another businesses

Everyday, you read of companies partnering some conglomerate and using each other to co-promote their brands or products.

They do it because it’s a great way to reach new customers and reduce their advertising cost.

Clearly, this marketing tool doesn’t just apply to the big boys. Partnering with someone else is a good way to cut down your advertising cost and also helps expand your customer base.

Write a newsletter

This does not only help you reach out to potential customers, it also helps you stay in touch with existing ones.

“A newsletter shouldn’t necessarily be used as a marketing tool to promote your products. Instead, use it to keep customers abreast of what you’ve been up to and what you plan to do in the near future,” says APY Advertising Sdn Bhd marketing director James Rajah.

“It’s a great way to touch base with customers and remind them about your company.”