Who Is Surayan Mohd Nasir

A single mother in Sungai Petani did not expect her intention to sell her roasted chicken rice at RM1 price to go viral on social media which led to huge crowds flooding her stall!

Surayan Mohd Nasir, 39, said she had started the business two weeks ago in front of the Pekan Bedong public field in Sungai Petani, from 10am to 5pm.

According to her, due to overwhelming demand, every day she will provide 100 kilograms of rice to cook and 100 chickens to roast to meet customers’ demand.

“My experience as a single mother had taught me to save money and to help others buy food at cheaper prices so that some of them can overcome the rising cost of living.

"Although it's worth RM1, but the quality of food and hygiene remains a priority and my concept is simple, even if it gets a little profit, as long as it is viable and blessed with continuity to support me in raising my children, I will persevere,".

Surayani said that her customers come from various backgrounds and she uses the same recipe invented by her grandfather since 1992 when he started selling nasi ayam at a nearby night market.

"In conjunction with the new year, I wanted to try something new and it took me a period of two weeks to try and attempt to start selling the roasted chicken rice this year," she said.

Failing School System

An academic has called for a study to find out why enrolment in government-sponsored vernacular schools has been dropping in recent years.

Teo Kok Seong, a professor at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, said the situation was alarming. He told FMT it indicated that parents were not comfortable with the public school system.

“The government should do a study on this matter before more parents opt out of the system,” he said.

Teo was reacting to a report in Sin Chew Daily that said the number of students in Chinese schools had dropped by 41,172 in the last five years. The report also noted a drop in enrolment in Tamil schools as well as a reduction in the number of students taking SPM, STPM and matriculation courses.

Government-sponsored Chinese and Tamil schools are primary schools known as “national-type” schools.

Deputy Education Minister Chong Sin Woon said that 525,170 students were currently enrolled in Chinese national-type schools, nearly 2,000 fewer than last year.

He said some parents preferred international schools and other private schools where English is the medium of instruction. The number of international schools in the country has grown from 66 in 2010 to 126 this year.

Teo, who is the principal fellow at UKM’s Institute of Ethnic Studies, said he feared that if parents continued to shun national schools, the younger generation might be deprived of knowledge of local history and lessons on national integration, as provided for in the Malaysian Education Blueprint.

He noted that the blueprint was produced after a series of dialogues with stakeholders, including parents.

“It is in line with what was asked by the people,” he said. “The blueprint is good. But if parents are opting out of the system, it shows they are uncomfortable and don’t trust the system.”

He said the situation called for a re-look into the effectiveness of the blueprint’s implementation.

Parents interviewed by the press in the past gave various reasons for sending their children to public schools. Many complained of overcrowded classes in national schools and cited their discomfort with what they alleged was increasing Islamisation of public schools.

Students & Parents Boycott School

As most pupils returned to meet their classmates yesterday, those in SJK (T) Ladang Jasin Lalang, Malacca, chose to boycott their classes instead and stood outside the school gates in a show of protest.

This is because their parents were dissatisfied with the federal government for not building a new school building, promised seven years ago during the Merlimau by-election.The protest, which lasted from 7.30am to 3pm, saw 41 students and their parents refusing to enter the school gates.

Mine Is Bigger & Powerful

Trump’s tweeted Tuesaday tauntig the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un over the relative strength of the two nations’ nuclear arsenals set off a torrent of concern on Twitter — and a few jokes about masculine preoccupation with size.

“North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the ‘Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times,’” Mr. Trump tweeted. “Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!”

FWD Group

Hong Kong insurance company FWD Group has made impressive inroads across Asia in just half a decade, pairing an aggressive acquisition strategy with a technology-focused approach aimed at tapping the region's young and growing middle class.

Hong Kong-based FWD has steadily expanded its market share here thanks partly to a lineup of easy-to-understand insurance products, such as savings-type plans with no termination fees, as well as its embrace of digital technologies. Television commercials featuring young, active people have helped the insurer win over younger consumers.

The company earned more premium revenue via direct sales channels such as the internet than any of its peers in the January-September period of 2017, data from the Hong Kong Insurance Authority shows.

"Not having a big legacy [such as large agency networks] enables us to invest in technology and make changes very fast," CEO Huynh Thanh Phong.

FWD is the insurance arm of Pacific Century Group, a conglomerate led by Richard Li Tzar-kai, tycoon Li Ka-shing's younger son. Richard Li, whose wealth Forbes estimates at $4.4 billion, aims to make financial services a third pillar of his business alongside telecommunications and real estate.

Pacific Century acquired the Hong Kong, Macau and Thai insurance operations of Dutch financial group ING in 2013, rebranding them as FWD. It has invested more than $3 billion in the business over the last five years. "As a private company, we can take a very long-term view in our investment," said Phong, who took the helm in 2014 after leading AIA Group's South and Southeast Asian operations.

GROWTH MARKETS FWD seeks to become a "pan-Asian" insurer, and acquisitions form a key part of its strategy toward this end. The company in 2016 bought Great Eastern Life (Vietnam) from Great Eastern Life Assurance, as well as Singapore's Shenton Insurance. It also expanded into the Philippines in 2014 and Indonesia via a joint venture in 2015.

The 10 countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations "have a combined population of around 600 million people," Phong noted.

"Young people join the workforce, accumulate wealth and enter into [the] middle class. It's very conducive" to selling life insurance, he added.

Japan joined the list in 2017 with FWD's acquisition of AIG Fuji Life Insurance -- now FWD Fuji Life Insurance -- from U.S.-based American International Group.

DBS Bank Partner Chubb

DBS Bank and Chubb announced a 15-year regional general insurance distribution partnership agreement.

With effect from 1 January 2018, DBS will distribute, on an exclusive or preferred basis, Chubb’s coverage for home, contents and selected personal accident and supplemental health insurance products as well as general insurance products for small and medium enterprises (SME). The 15-year deal is estimated to be valued at up to $350 million, and covers Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan.

The launch of the co-operation agreement in Indonesia will commence at a later date, subject to regulatory approval. With its coverage across Asia boosted following its acquisition of the ANZ retail and wealth units, a tie-in with the DBS branch network is a coup for the insurer.

Through the partnership, DBS’ six million retail, wealth and SME customers will gain access to Chubb’s suite of products, across the bank’s network of over 200 branches as well as via its digital banking platforms, the bank said in a press release.

In January 2016 DBS, Singapore's largest banking group, signed a 15-year regional distribution agreement with Manulife Financial Asia to sell life insurance in four mutually significant markets, namely Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Indonesia.

RM600 Employment Insurance

Employees who lose their jobs this year are eligible for interim benefits payment from Social Security Organisation (Socso) of up to RM600 per month under the recently passed Employment Insurance System Act 2017 (Act 800) (EIS).

Human Resource Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot said the government's temporary measure will see those eligible paid cash benefits of RM600 per month for a maximum of three months and are required to participate in the Re-Employment Placement Programme.

"Workers who lose their jobs between the period of Jan 1 to Dec 31, this year may apply for the interim benefits through Socso's Online portal http://www.perkeso.gov.my which is accessible on any online application, Urban Transformation Centre (UTC)s, or come forward to any Socso office throughout Malaysia," he said in a statement, today.

Riot also urged all employers and employees to carry out their responsibilities dutifully as the EIS is a very crucial economic policy in supporting the government's initiative to improve the quality of life and for the nation to remain competitive.

"Starting from February 2018, employers may register and make payment for contributions through Socso's Assist portal whereas the first payment of EIS benefits for workers with loss of employment shall commence in January 2019," he added.

The EIS which was passed by the Dewan Rakyat on Dec 17 is targeted to assist private sector workers who lose their jobs to get financial assistance and find new jobs.

Under the EIS scheme, the contribution from employers will be 0.2% of an employee's monthly salary and likewise from the employee.

Anyone who has lost their employment is qualified to apply for the interim benefits payments subject to the provisions of the Act.

For further information on the EIS, please contact SOCSO at 1300 22 8000 or visit SOCSO's official website at www.perkeso.gov.my/sip from time to time for the latest updates.