EPF - 8% deduction from employee

Phew!!
Almost 3 months without any updates in my blog.
Left home early this morning to buy breakfast for wife and end up reaching office quite early =)

Alrightee, let's get down with something that has been circulating in our mailbox nowadays (especially for those who are working). Many people send me mails that talk about the 8% EPF deduction from employee's salary. This is part of the mail content (just some calculations):

Assume monthly basic salary is RM4000.
- If your monthly EPF contribution is 11% ( RM440 ), taxable income = RM3560, income tax payable = RM77.
- If your monthly EPF contribution is 8% ( RM320 ), taxable income = RM3680, income tax payable = RM109.
Conclusion : If you choose to contribute 8%, you will end up paying more income tax.

What say you?
I'll definitely stick with 11%.

US Trip Part II - Hotel Suite 273

1) The place where I stay

2) Hotel's structure

3) The living room

4) The bedroom - there are more pillows than the lights

5) The jacuzzi in the bedroom

6) Mini bar + mini kitchen with microwave oven and fridge (hidden)

7) The bathroom and jamban (partly hidden)

US Trip Part I - Thank You!!

Most of the people know that on the 4th of July, the Americans celebrate the Independance Day but 4-July-08 was a tough day for me. I'm suppose to leave for the USA on this day for a month of business trip. Why tough? I should be happy because of the golden opportunity to fly to the States. It's tough because I'm leaving a lovely pregnant wife alone at home for a month. It's really tough.. Anyway, I really thank God for giving Su Mei strength and all that she needs in this particular one month. And I'm glad that Su Mei has been doing well even though there were times where she finds it so hard to cope. But I just wanna say "Darling, you have made it for the one month!! You rock!! Love you!!"

I also wanna thank God for good Samaritans who came to help and take care of Su Mei especially to Eileen who came and stay over for a few nights, also to Qing Ling (my daugher) who came and spend hours with Su Mei, and Kathleen who came with a purpose to study (but then not sure if she was really studying hehe...). Also a BIG thank you to Pr Sam and all the church staffs, Pragas and all the youth leaders, Angeline, Kig Ling and Caroline. I may not be able to name all and may missed some of your names whom have helped us, I apologise but really thanks for helping us.

Also wanna thank God for His strength. He has been faithful to both of us and He has been blessing us with favors from others. The one month in US has been great where God sent good people to take care of me. The people in the company where I was are really great!! Thumbs up for them and their first-class hospitality. Just imagine, I was staying in a hotel suite (read carefully, is hotel suite, not hotel room) with a jacuzzi in my bedroom, wah lau eh!! I can't ask more than that =) I'm so thankful to God for all this.

One again... THANK YOU!! (to God and all of you)

I will try recapture and write about my one month trip in Lansing, Michigan and share it with all of you... till then, God bless and take care!

3rd Q SNL Worship Team Schedule

I'm back and will be back.....

Phew... at last, I'm back to my own blog. Anyway, I'm not fully "back" yet as I'm now preparing for my US trip. Will be in Lansing, MI for a month. Anticipating lesser time to blog =)

Alright, till the next time I write again!

God bless and take care!!

UCL 2008...

Not sure if waking up early to watch the match between MU and Chelsea was the right thing to do. For MU and Chelsea's fans, of course it is... i think some of them are not at work right now... hehe. But for me, not a supporter of both teams, I'm really not sure. Anyway, after missing the past few live UCL Final matches, I thought just give it a try to wake up. Yup, I managed to. Woke up right after the first half, switch on the TV and slept through the second half =). Wasn't really sure what's happening during the extra time but I'm sure that I'm wide awake when the match went into penalty shoot-out. Since I'm not a supporter of either team, I've decided to take Chelsea there and then. It started with promising penalty challenge from both sides. When it was Ronaldo's turn, somehow, I know he's going to miss it and yesss!!! he missed it... since then, I thought and confident that Chelsea is going to lift the trophy. Until the moment when John Terry, the last shooter from Chelsea (whom can actually win the game for Chelsea if he puts the ball back of the net from the spot) slipped and shot wide, I know the trophy changed direction and moving towards to the Red Devils' camp. End of the match, MU won 6-5 on penalties.. Anelka failed to convert the 7th penalty kick for Chelsea.

Pure luck for MU!!

Left UMNO... what's next??

*Picture from Flickr - Posted by Wazari

I've been following the news on the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr Mahathir the last 2 days after he made a so called "shock" announcement to leave UMNO, pressuring for a change in UMNO's leadership. A few leaders including his son, Mokhzani have followed his footstep. What's next??

Read more about Tun Dr Mahathir by clicking Tun Dr M under the "Bloggers..." section on the right column of the page.

Malaysians are looking forward for a better Malaysia!!

Its them again!

China went on to win the Thomas Cup, third time in a row after defeating South Korea 3-1 yesterday. The earthquake back home has not stopped them to rock Istora Senayan Stadium, Indonesia. China, already bagged the Uber Cup a day before has determined to make a clean sweep again this year. China's second double players, Xie Zhongbo and Guo Zhengdong secured the winning point for the Chinese team after Bao Chunlai gave China a 2-1 lead. Earlier, Jung Jae-sung and Lee Yong-dae leveled the first point won by Lin Dan.

Thomas Cup and Uber Cup 2008 belong to the Chinese again. The rest of the represented teams have played excellently as well. All the best in the upcoming tournaments!!

Clash of the Titans!! (Updated version)

The Thomas Cup 2008 competition in Indonesia bringing us to another exciting moment when 4 giants are on course battling to lift and take home the Thomas Cup this year. Malaysia, China, Indonesia and South Korea have their very own reason wanting to win the most prestigious badminton tournament. Malaysia will take on China in the semi-finals while Indonesia will face South Korea to grab the other Finals spot. Malaysia, of course want the Thomas Cup to be back to Malaysia after more than a decade since the last time Malaysia was crowned the Champs. China, on the other hand wants the Thomas Cup to continue to live in China at least for another 2 years. As for Indonesia and South Korea, both of them are equally strong but only the stronger team will have a chance to grab the Cup.

(1) Malaysia vs. China - 2pm (Malaysian time)

(2) Indonesia vs. South Korea - 7pm (Malaysian time)

Catch live results online at http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/livescore/scoreboard.aspx?id=20003

(Thanks to tournamentsoftware.com)

Don't miss these clashes of the Titans!!

Malaysia lost!! It was a real close fight between Malaysia and China yesterday. Unfortunately, the score was settled at 2-3 for China. It was a really dissapointed semi-finals outing for the Malaysian team. They came so close to topple the defending champion but the last single won by Chen Jin. But bravo for the Malaysian contigent. You guys fought a good fight!!

Also, congrats to the Korean team which surprisingly thrash Indonesia 3-0. Many may have puzzled the Korean's game spirit in this tournament earlier when they took the risk to lose all their group matches to create an easier route to the Finals. I would say that their playing spirit was totally different when they play the Indonesian team yesterday. And now, they are in the Finals!!

Thomas Cup 2008 Finals : China vs. South Korea.

My prediction: I think the Chinese will be lucky enough to beat the Koreans 3-0 in the Finals with Lin Dan, Cai Yun - Fu Haifeng and Bao Chunlai are expected to deliver the points in the first 3 matches.

u R inViteD!!

You are invited to Groove Music Open House this coming 25th May 2008. For more info, please call Groove Music at 04-658 5866. If you are interested to learn drums in particular, you can also call or sms me at 012-416 1461.

The most awaited Youth Camp!!

Calling everyone out there... come and join us. Take action now and sign up today!!

Saturday Night Live

Daniel's Blog

Still remember my write-up on Crossworks?? I did mentioned about Daniel, the founder of the band. I've added a link to his blog. To know who's this Daniel and to know more about him, you can click on the link "Daniel Yong" under the Known Blogger section...

Surprise!!!

Yesterday was Qing Ling's BIG day... a few of us already planned to give her a surprise after a night class in church. I was chatting with her in MSN and she was a bit sad because don't get to go out to celebrate... =) I just have to play along and tell her that we can only celebrate with her in a later date since we have class.. *Bingo - she's sad-er!! muahahahaha....

6 cars were on the way to her house around 10+pm.. Pragas was working closely with Qing Shiun to find out the birthday girl's location in the house so that we can "romp" in the house easily. 9 person with a cake (with a PowerPuff Girl picture =) ) went in the house quietly and slowly climb up the stairs to her room. Qing Shiun helped us by calling her out, as she opens the door, Nicky gave a good surprise shout and Qing Ling was in real shock!! (haha.. dun have a picture to describe her reaction) As the "choir" sing the birthday song to her, she was just laughing (of course with a loud voice as usual) and sat on the floor (I think after shocked with Nicky's loud voice, her legs can't take it anymore hahaha). Anyway, we were glad that the surprise plan worked out very well! =)

To Qing Ling, Blessed birthday again.. We love you very much!! =)

The birthday girl

Making a wish:An Indian boyfriend??

Another brand new year - but still look blur!!

YouthWave 'o8 Pictures

Ztec: Part of the camp

Ztec Rockets: Their first game against Innebandy

Ztec U-18: Young and energetic team

Ztec 8cers: Turun padang

Ztec 8cers: In action against the Bullets

Ztecaholic

RG-CG Paintball Outing

I was with the Rev Gen CG members for night paintball outing last Friday. I didn't play but just be there to oversee the whole evening's event.The weather was not so good that night, it was raining heavily around 8pm and the youths were wondering if they gotta play that night. Anyway, there was a smile on their face when the rain stop half an hour later. Charlie and his friends were extremely excited and they even started to plan and strategise in my car - on the way to the "field". It is funny to listen to how they plan the game =)

Nurha, the person-in-charge and instructor fill the markers with pellets and then give some important rules, guidelines and safety rules to 16 youths before all of them run out for a "shooting riot" haha...


Nurha (mostly hidden) giving some pointers to the players.

Full concentration: The players listening to the instructions carefully since this is their first time.

Do we still look good? - Debbie (left) and Lina (Right)

All of them were having fun shooting each other without much game plan, some of them even shoot their own team members, dunno why. They played 5 games and the whole thing ended around 11pm.

YouthWave Floorball Challenge '08

The April 19th morning started with an early wait at INTI College, Penang. Everyone suppose to meet at 730am before leaving in a convoy to Balik Pulau Sports Complex for the annual YouthWave Floorball Tournament, 19th-20th April '08. Everyone was so excited about the game, all were tensed but we still have some time to joke and talk non-sense (as usual =) ). One after another arrived at the meeting point and the last to reach is none other than our beloved Termin (that's already almost 8am) lolz... anyway, as the whole Ztec convoy is complete now, we start our journey with Sherwynd leading the way.

As we edge closer to our destination, I guess all of us are still unclear what to expect in this year's tournament, but Ztec is ready to give our best for this year. 4 Ztec teams (U-18, 8cers, Rockets and Ztecaholics) arrived at around 8.30am and we quickly settle down and prepare for the games.

Ztec 8cers (myself, Nicky, Sherwynd, Joon Han and Aaron) just can't wait to get into their first game against Contacts. The first game started quite slow as both teams trying to get to know each other game's plan and strategy. As for 8cers, we know that we have to win the first 2 matches to book ourselves a place in the quarter-finals. 8cers started to show better teamwork and understanding in their first game and we managed to score our first goal through Nicky. 8cers continue to strike towards Contact's zone and we scored another 4 goals (Nicky-2, Sherwynd-1, Joon Han-1) before the referee blow the final whistle. End of the game, 5-0 to the 8cers. The team spirit was high after the first match.

The second game against the Bullets was tough anyway as the opponent quite defensive. Sherwynd, Nicky and Joon Han were trying so hard to penetrate their defence line and score but they just find it so hard. Towards the last 4 minutes, 8cers hardwork was rewarded when Joon Han take full advantage in a quite messy situation in front of Bullets' goalpost to score the only goal in the second match. Now, 8cers already won 2 matches and we're definitely in the quarter-finals.

The last group game was even tougher as we know Salibandy is the favourite to defend their YouthWave championship. Eventough 8cers has booked a place in the quarter, we vowed to face the giants with a undivided spirit and teamwork. As the game begin, Salibandy demonstrate their attacking skills through Deswynd. 8cers was having difficulty to adapt to Salibandy's fast-paced game. In the first 5 minutes, Salibandy was already 3 goals ahead. 8cers was trying hard to catch up and managed to score a goal through Aaron (or Joon Han). Time was just to short for 8cers to pull back more goals and the game went to Salibandy with 3-1 scoreline.

After nearly an hour break, Ztec 8cers went down to the court again for the only quarter-finals that featuring Ztec team as Ztec U-18 was defeated undeservely in their final group match that cost them a quarter-finals berth, Ztec Rockets and Ztecaholics were both tasting their first competitive games and have to bow down to much experienced teams in their group matches.

Ztec 8cers vs. Torch Bearers (if I got the name right, from PCC) in the quarter. The first minute was a bit shaky as both teams trying to play safe. As the last man, I saw the ball coming my way and on advantage I rushed out trying to clear the ball, unfortunately I missed it. As the ball moving slowly in front of me and with the opponent pressuring, I tried to clear the ball and it was out of my way before the opponent steal the ball and press on. The opponent finally took a difficult angle from the left side of the goalpost and score. It was 0-1 and we're determined to come back at least to tie the scoreline. 8cers had a few good chances but the opponent's defence was tightly covered. The referee blew the whistle to end the 8 minutes of the game - scoreline remained 0-1 to the opponent.

It was a big blow to myself as I was in that position to take the blame. Partly speechless after the game, can't believe that I made such mistake. Anyway, it was a good fight as we manage to push ourselves into the last 8. For all the Ztec teams, you guys did well... even though some of us are quite dissapointed, but there are still rooms for us to buckle up before the next Penang League and YouthWave.

For more Ztec's results and write-up on YouthWave, please visit http://www.ztecfloorball.blogspot.com/

3..2..1.. Ztec!!

Crossworks sets to rock again

Very soon... all the talks on reviving Crossworks will be realized!! With a team which has almost 60% new faces now, the band is all-ready and pumped to make their way to the stage again. While Benard taking over and function as the leader of the band, Crossworks has recruited a young and talented lead guitarist from PCC, Yuen Thern who can't wait anymore to rock the stage =) We also have 2 dedicated musicians from the Borneo, Riksen (lead guitarist) and Fernando (bassist). And of course, without Florence, the fantastic, fabulous, crazy, insane keyboardist, the band is not complete. Just worried that she plays too much of jazz-y music.... haha. In vocalist section, Joe Ang and Su Mei, both are strong in singing "parts" will be supporting Benard, who is also the lead singer and acoustic guitarist.

And.... my gratitude to all these wonderful people, dedicated and talented musicians and singers, with their kind and compassionate hearts, I thank them for considering me and I'm equally humbled and touched when they agreed to give me a try and take me in as the drummer of the band... hahaha ;-)

Alright, talk about Crossworks, I would like to give all the credits to Mr Daniel Yong who's also the founder of the band. With his tireless effort, he actually started the band with a team consist of musicians and singers from churches all over the Penang Island. Crossworks then started to develope and travel around to do worship workshops, hold evangelistic concerts as well as doing concerts by invitation. And today, Daniel's leadership and guidance has played a major role in reviving Crossworks. Uncle Daniel, we will continue to carry on with the vision that you've set for Crossworks!! .... the legacy continues!!

*Bonus fact :

Something that I have to tell you about Crossworks is the band itself has produced a superstar who has gained the popularity in the entertainment circle now. Hannah Tan - yes, Hannah Tan that you often see in TV, magazines and newspaper adverts was one of the Crossworks' members =)

2nd Q SNL Worship Schedule

YouthWave Triple Challenge

All of us in Ztec 8cers Floorball Club are equally excited about the upcoming YouthWave Triple Challenge, from 19th-20th April 2008. This year, Ztec 8cers is sending 4 teams for the 4-on-4 Floorball Challenge. And guess what?!? We're sending 1 girl's team this year... Wow!!! And our coach has given the group a name - Ztecaholic. They have just gone through about a month's training and they are all fired up to face the giants. All the best girls!!

To Ztec U-18, Ztec 8cers and Ztec Rockets, Play Hard and Play Smart!!

3..2..1.. Ztec!!

Launching PD...

Finally, I have sometime to really BLOG!! Phew... Lolz... By the way, PD simply means Passionate Drummer... but of course it will not be a 100% drums talk kinda blog =)