Who Is Muhammad Rizalman Ismail

The former Malaysian defence attache who returned to New Zealand to face criminal charges has this morning admitted indecently assaulting a Wellington woman. Muhammad Rizalman bin Ismail, 39, was to have faced trial in the High Court at Wellington toady, but has admitted a charge of indecently assaulting Tania Billingsley.


Why was a Malay interpreter needed for Rizalman's trial? Do our diplomats, who are sent overseas, have a poor command of English?


Why did an expert claim that Rizalman's bizarre behaviour was symptomatic of a cannabis user? Is it true that he has mental health issues? Has anyone asked Rizalman's wife if he is a cannabis user? Were the diplomatic staff not aware that he behaved oddly?

Myanmar @ New Chapter

Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi held talks with President Thein Sein today, the first of two key meetings as her election-winning party prepares to take power in a country crippled by decades of military rule. The Nobel laureate's National League for Democracy (NLD) swept a November 8 election with an absolute majority and is due to take office early next year. But crucial to a smooth debut in government would be workable ties with the military, which retains considerable power. Among Suu Kyi's first post-victory moves was to ask for reconciliation talks with reformist ex-general Thein Sein and armed forces supremo Min Aung Hlaing, whose military runs the interior, defence and border affairs ministries under a constitution drafted before the end of its half-century rule.

Racist Malaysian

The management of Alam Prima condominiums in Shah Alam, Selangor, says it is not against foreigners living in the units there, despite displaying a banner over its main entrance clearly stating that foreigners are not welcome.


Alam Prima joint-management body (JMB) committee member Norhayaty Ariffin said that foreigners are allowed to stay but only for a short period of time. “Foreigners can stay here as a guest but not for more than three months,” she said about banner at the lobby of the condominium that states: “‘Foreigner’, you are not welcome to stay here…!”


Norhayaty said that tenants should inform the management office if they are going to bring in foreign guests to live with them for long periods.

Life For IJM & Bank Rakyat

 Bank Rakyat, in collaboration with the National Heart Institute (IJN), has introduced the Personal Financing-i loan scheme to help those unable to pay for heart disease treatment.

Bank Rakyat president Datuk Mustafha Abd Razak said the venture between the two would assist heart patients and family members who need money for treatment.

This financial product was prompted by the need of many heart patients and their family members who face difficulties in raising a substantial amount of money within a short time. It has a simple application process, by which we accept the estimated medical cost issued by IJN, with no guarantor required. The payment will be channeled directly to IJN, with approval issued within 24-hours

Bank Rakyat will open a branch in IJN to assist the patients.

Medical Insurance

As the cost of living goes up every year, Malaysians are finding it a challenge to meet their expenses.

Healthcare, considered to be one of the most important need, has been on an upward trend and more consumers are seeing the need for adequate medical coverage.

In terms of expenditure, the medical inflation rate in Malaysia averages at about 12% a year.

The World Health Organisation has reported that in 2014, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) – brought on by the modern lifestyle such as obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure  – are estimated to account for 73% of total deaths.

However, with the myriad of plans in the market, one may also well be confused with the amount of information available.

Adequacy of protection

A good medical plan will provide adequate protection for all your medical expenses hence you will need to determine how much coverage you require or the maximum amount you can claim known as the lifetime limit.

For most of the medical plans available in the market, insurers only pay claims up to a limit. Once the ‘ceiling’ is hit, the coverage runs out and the medical cover terminates, leaving the customers on their own.

It is important to note that what seems sufficient today may not be sufficient for the future. For example, treatment for lung cancer which includes doctor fees, treatment costs like chemotherapy etc. cost RM40,000 10 years ago.

With medical inflation averaging 12% a year, the same treatment costs RM100,000 today and in another 10 years will have increased to RM300,000.

Value for money

Does the medical plan consider the fact that you probably would not be admitted to hospital every year? Statistics have shown that only 7 in 100 Malaysians were hospitalised in 20112.

As hospitalisation does not happen often, it makes sense to only pay for what you really need and get the best value out of your medical plan. There are some medical plans in the market which allow you to pay a lower premium if you choose to share a certain amount of the medical bills incurred with the insurance company.

With the premium you have saved, you may choose to enhance your medical coverage or reinvest it back to your insurance policy to increase your savings or investment portion.

In the event of a hospitalisation, the premium savings you have accumulated over the years would far exceed the amount you would have to pay on the medical bill. You will be getting more value from your policy as you get to enjoy more benefits and protection with added savings.

Certainty of coverage

Does the medical plan provide certainty of coverage? Many medical plans may include a clause that provides them the right to discontinue the medical coverage if they give sufficient notice.

Thus, the customer may be left without any medical protection when they are most in need of medical attention.

Look for a medical plan that has a non-cancellable clause to ensure peace of mind that your coverage will be there when you need it.

United Life At Johor

Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar of Johor today said Muslims can celebrate festivals with their friends and neighbours of other faiths as a sign of respect.

"This is what Bangsa Johor is about. It promotes closeness, tolerance and mutual respect for each other regardless of race and religion. We should celebrate this in peace and harmony," he said at a Deepavali gathering.


The Johor ruler said the event he attended should similarly be organised for other holidays such as Hari Raya, Chinese New Year and Christmas. "Such events are meaningful as it helps to improve relations between me and my people," he added.


At the event, Sultan Ibrahim warned those who spread disunity to stay away from Johor, saying the state did not welcome such people. He also reminded Indian Malaysians not to be polarised by differing political ideologies.


"The people need to think which way they want to go and what they want to achieve," he said.

Malaysian Insufficient Savings For Retirement

Younger workers need to save more to ensure that they have enough savings for retirement, ideally accumulating 12 to 14 times their last annual salary, Allianz Asset Management AG said.

This is crucial as the Malaysian retirement pension scheme does not provide an adequate retirement income, its Head of International Pensions, Brigitte Miksa said.

“Workers close to retirement age today will have exhausted their assets in the first five years of their retirement.”

“Hence – establishing a planned spending phase with annuitisation as a key element is one way to protect individuals against longevity risk (the risk of outliving your assets),” she told a press conference following a briefing on ‘Retirement Readiness in Malaysia and Reforms Needed’ today.

Citing the Allianz Retirement Income Adequacy indicator, Miksa said the retirement income provided by Malaysia’s pension scheme is one of the least adequate among 49 countries.

She said one of the most effective measures to improve adequacy is extending working lives – as it
reduces the risk of outliving accumulated assets and extending the saving process.


“The Employees Provident Fund – being one of them – but every individual needs to take their own ownership in terms of having a separate private retirement scheme account, or life or health insurance related products. The assets built up until the retirement age of 55 is insufficient as workers are living longer due to rising life expectancy.