Monday, February 24, 2014

The Meaning Of Zero Rated

I’m still snowed under with work commitments, so the blog will be on temporary hiatus until I can get a handle on my new job responsibilities.

Nevertheless, I can’t resist commenting on this (excerpt, emphasis added):

Putrajaya confusing Malaysians about GST, says NGO

Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah’s recent explanation of the goods and services tax (GST) is illogical and only confuses the Malaysians, a civil society group said.

The Oppressed People's Network (Jerit) refuted Husni’s remarks that those earning RM2,000 a month would only pay RM15.06 of tax because of the GST.

“The finance minister appears to try to confuse the people with his statement,” Jerit Coordinator E. Parames said in a statement yesterday....

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

4Q2013 Construction and Distributive Trade

The prevailing narrative I see in the media these days – both mainstream and online – is that the economy is in trouble, and we’re doomed unless the government does something (alternatively: we’re doomed unless we change the government).

I don’t know; the numbers are painting an entirely different picture. The angst is partly a function of price increases, which have squeezed wallets across the country. It’s also I suppose a function of which sector you’re working in and whether labour is sharing in the money coming in.

December 2013 Industrial Production

Yesterday’s IPI report confirms the acceleration in economic growth at the end of last year (log annual and monthly changes; seasonally adjusted):

01_ipi_gr

02_ipi_grc

Monday, February 10, 2014

December 2013 External Trade

Things are seriously picking up (log annual and monthly changes; seasonally adjusted):

01_exim

In log terms, seasonally adjusted exports are up 13.9%, while imports rose 13.5%. The monthly growth figures aren’t quite so positive, but the fact that December would be the sixth straight month of expansion says something.

Friday, February 7, 2014

Aiming For High Wages

There are going to be some scheduling and other changes to my blog posts from now on, as I’m inordinately busy and won’t have as much time to post as I used to. Things will be slow for the next few weeks/months until I get a handle on new responsibilities.

In the meantime, via IMoney.my is some info on the highest paying jobs in Malaysia at different levels of the economy. Hint: doing medicine pays off, but you might be surprised at what really pays at the senior level.