Wednesday, August 29, 2018

More on Quitting the System...


Ok, this is not going to be long post. The hits on the last article was absolutely crazy ! There is a chance it might crack top 5 of my most popular blog posts of all time here.

Here's more interesting developments :

a) Ruffled some feathers in the blogosphere

A Millenial blogger reached out to me in private conversation because it seemed to her that my article was referring to her specifically. Regardless of whether I was actually referring to her ( I read many Millenial bloggers because I want to figure out how to have more Millenial engagement ! ), I felt that if there are flaws in my article, the public forums are the best place to air them and I prefer the BIGS World Facebook group because its members take personal finance more seriously. I shared with her that, privately, I will not really change my mind.

I felt that I was accused of spreading doom and gloom by this blogger. Granted, I also can't sound as if I'm from the movie Frozen and be positive and self-affirming all the time, but clearly you guys like my doom and gloom articles. So why change my style ?

It's not as if every time someone talks about private degree candidates, no one will jump in and point out that some private degree holder can become millionaires and have many local grads working for him. I think this detracts from fact finding the root cause of 33% discount in salaries which I am personally interested in because I have kids who may end up not getting a seat in a local Uni in the future.

Instead I would like to channel a scene from the latest Donnie Yen movie, Big Brother. In this movie, five secondary school kids from a worst performing class was expelled and one of them was complaining about the world being unjust because the fight involved kids from better performing classes but the kids who were expelled all came from the shittiest class in the school. Big Brother Donnie Yen basically told them that if they felt that they were treated unjustly, the proper response is  to show the world what they are made of.

Complaining about injustice rarely results in anything.

b) Malaysia is a big place.

Someone pointed out that my statistics employ nationwide statistics from Malaysia so settling down in Kulai would have a different cost of living compared to settling down in KL.

Upon further reflection, there is an additional dimension to this that is ethnic in nature.

Malaysia is different from Singapore. It may be possible that living like an ethnic Chinese may be different from living like a Bumiputra. Sadly I do not have the numbers to confirm this possibility. I am not ready to take this blog to address this sensitive issue.

c) Investing in Bursa Malaysia

Another interesting point is whether investments should be made in Bursa Malaysia instead. Like most societies, Malaysia is less kind to REIT investors than Singapore. Resident and non-resident investors pay a 10% withholding tax on all REIT dividends.

Once you get out of Singapore, F.I.R.E. becomes a lot more challenging once you factor in salaries and taxation. Our dividend taxation regime makes Singapore one of the most underrated Welfare States in the entire world.

Welfare for the owners of capital, that is.





4 comments:

  1. Hi Chris,

    I am not sure whether it's appropriate to choose Malaysia. I am of view that Thailand will be a better choice in particular remote area. I prefer nature rather than urban lifestyle.

    Ben

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  2. I think using our neighbour as a comparison has greater resonance with fellow Singaporeans as its culturally closests to us. I'm sure besides Malaysia and Thailand, there are many many other countries we can explore.

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  3. Let's not be PC. Regardless of race, language or religion works in SIN ONLY.
    Go to our neighbors.. and blend in.
    Blend in in Malaysia.. if you're Malay. If you don't know who's the pansy,you are the pansy.
    Najib open way of life is gone, and Clob 2.0 is back.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi all,

    Apart from the benefit of geo-arbitrage, it is also eye-exploring to appreciate the culture in various countries. It will broaden one's horizon on long run. Always have open-minded approach and this will make one's life more interesting whilst exploring the vast world.

    Ben

    ReplyDelete