Get Your Copy Of JZ8's Debut Album.... NOW!!!

Well, its finally out, and what a beautiful album cover. In case you are wondering why am I so excited over 2V1G and JZ8 albums - well, I loved 2V1G, then I got to know the producer Leslie Loh, who happens to be another Ipoh-mali, I liked his energy and mindset, and the strive for quality. We often argue about the music business, I am trying to wean him away from over-loading on the audiophile centered vision, sigh... Anyway ... he has signed up The Solianos to do their first album, and well, I introduced the group to him. So I am involved somewhat, and I was key to making sure that The Solianos recorded the album in Malay - I believe it will be a huge treasurable recording. Anyways, back to JZ8, its a brilliant recording, a brilliant interpretation of brilliant songs. Enjoy.

You may see the albums at any CD Rama shops , either by today or latest by tomorrow.

【JZ8 曲目】

1. 永遠的微笑

2. 老情歌

3. 你快樂， 所以我快樂

4. 沙灘

5. 幸福摩天輪

6. 陰天+雨天

7. 紙飛機

8. 忘不了的你

9. 桃李爭春

10.其實你不懂我的心

11.IF

12.我和春天有個約會

JZ8 – Lydia Chew and Tay Cher Siang

1. Forever Smile

2. Old Love Song

3. Because You're Happy, I’m Happy Too

4. The Beach

5. Ferris Wheels

6. Overcast+Rainy Day

7. Paper Aeroplane

8. Unforgettable You

9. Fighting for Love

10. Actually You Don't Know How I Feel

11. If

12. I Have A Date with Spring

CD-Rama (Popular Bookstore)

Melak Plaza

Melaka Jusco Bandaraya

Melaka Jaya Jusco

Klang Valley

Cheras Leisure Mall

Subang The Summit

Sunway Pyramid Shopping Centre

AEON Bukit Tinggi Shopping Centre
Bukit Raja Shopping Centre

Selangor Ikano Power Centre

Puchong IOI Mall

Selangor One Utama Shopping Centre

Johor

Johor Bahru City Square
Johor Skudai Parade
Johor Plaza Pelangi

Johor Tebrau City

Penang
Penang Mega Mall
Penang Gurney Plaza

Penang Perangin Mall

Alor Setar

Kompleks Star Parede

Commentary by Leslie Loh, the producer of the album:

in any successful album, song selection contributes to at least 60% of the success. like 2v1g, even the harshest critics can't deny the mightiness of the songs in the album.

we put an enormous amount of time in coming out with the right songs for jz8. it is not only about the songs we (the producers) like, it is also important that lydia can sing it well and cher siang can do some cool arrangement on them.

so among the four of us - myself, chow (the producer), lydia and cher siang, we brainstormed a lot on song selection.

the following are our criteria:

1) it must appeal to a wide cross-section of audience, much wider than 2v1g
2) it must cover at least 3 decades of chinese pop music
3) it must have a few standouts that have the "wow" factor
4) it must allow for a total facelift (like faye wong's "because you're happy, i am happy too")
5) it must have at least 2 songs that are quite recent (90s onwards) to appeal to the early 30s

so, here's part-one short commentary of the songs we chose for jz8 debut....

1) forever smile [永遠的微笑】

this is an all-time-top-5-chinese-evergreens in mine and chow's books. we both love zhou xuan and zhou xuan has many many great songs, but this one stands out like a blooming rose. like what one of reviewers in the album liner note says, listening to this song reminds her of maggie cheung in wong kar wai's "in the mood for love" [花樣年華】, with her well-combed hair and tight-fitting qipao (cheong sam) sashaying down the staircase. we must say lydia's rendition is totally delectable, you could feel that she is really smiling sweetly and blissfully to her lover, totally befitting the mood of the song. cher siang's arrangement has plenty of colors and textures; it is unconventional but ultimately satisfying. credits must also go the drummer charles wong and double bassist joseph, who added plenty of tight rhythmic foundation to the music. the basslines are bouncing right away in your hifi system! you probably wouldn't know that these two are some of the best sessionists in malaysia!

to us, this is the song has the "wow" factor and it is perfect for curtain raiser.

2) because you are happy, i am happy too [你快樂所以我快樂】

cher siang chose this song because he thinks he could make it fun! and fun it definitely is! the swing arrangement totally changed the mood of the song (faye wong was cool but she wasn't happy in the song) ; a touch of genius from the maestro! we told lydia to totally let herself loose in this song... if you ears are sharp, when lydia sings "i feel the heat", she purposely sang in a way that expresses the "heat"!

we also feel lydia intentionally sounded "nonchalant" in her vocals, which magnifies the "fun" factor of this song.

we are not sure if faye wong would approve this song but we are sure she would join in the fun and start tapping her feet!

btw, do you spot the chorus of another famous chinese pop song towards the end of the proceeding? this is the cheeky part of tay cher siang!

3) unforgettable you [忘不了的你】

we chose this song because it is old! (it is reserved for old fogies like us!) and it has a captivating melody and sad, sad lyrics. the sadness is heartbreaking. it is about a woman who can't forget her ex-lover, whom she shouldn't fall for in the first place. the longing and pathos are intense in the lyrics; the addiction to love is horrendous. cher siang's piano fully captures the lost, solitude and helplessness in the song. lydia's rendition has the right amount of old-school feel, as if she is transformed into a shanghai diva of the 50s. lydia sounded damn real in the song. perhaps, what she lacks is a tight-fitting cheongsam and tony leung perhaps ;-)

we love this song to bits!

4) ferris wheels [幸福摩天輪】

lydia and myself love this song from eason chan. and maestro cher siang did the arrangement in the last minute! it was more than a touch of genius. he was only given the notice that we wanted to do this song one day before the actual recording, and what master class work he has done!

the prelude conjures up images of a bedazzled kid, upon entering a carnival, and seeing the rotating ferris wheels in total fascination. the bossa arrangement gives a new lease of life to this song; you could sway your body gently to the rhythm....

lydia did the recording of this song last so obviously she was more relaxed. most listeners choose this song as one of their faves in the album!

5) i have a date with spring [我和春天有個約會】

we are pretty adamant that for someone to do well in this song, she must have a good bassy voice like original singer alice lau ngah lai 【劉雅麗】, and lydia has it in spades too.

while it may or may not surpass alice lau's version，lydia does manage very well to create the "last-song-before-the-bar-closes" atmosphere and mood. cher siang's lonely piano is the perfect replacement for the missing instrument in the original song, the saxophone!

we feel that this is the perfect song to end the album.

http://hifi-unlimited.blogspot.com/2010/05/10qs-for-jz8-featuring-lydia-chiew-and.html

A good interview by Big E, the owner of hifi-unlimited blogspot (link above), with Lydia and Cher Siang:

Big E: Tell us a little bit about your selves? What lead the two of you to Jz8?

Tay CS: I've been very active in the local jazz scene since coming home from the (United) States two years ago. When ML approach me for this project, I was very excited to be part of it.

Lydia: I've been a back up singer for many years now. I back up some of the biggest regional stars like Jacky Cheung, Jenny Tseng(Yan Le') and Sheila Majid amongst many others. Over the years, I've had offers to branch out for a solo career how ever, until now none of the projects looked quite as interesting as Jz8, and when ML said Cher Siang was the other half, I just could not resist, not after all the good things I've heard about Cher Siang.

Big E: Cher Siang, you mentioned States, did you do your formal musical training there? Does formal training helps in the music industry?

Tay CS: Yes, I studied music at the West Virginia University. I specialised in jazz, my favourite genre. I am now teaching piano as my day job, to help pay the bills, so the formal training does help come to think of it.

Big E: Lydia, you mentioned that you backed Jacky Cheung, one of the most respect able HK artist. Tell us a little bit more?

Lydia: I worked on Jacky's latest jazz concept album called "Private Corner" if you know about that? You can hear me in four tracks on that CD and one of the more familiar track is called "Double Trouble". (Lydia did mentioned the other 3 songs that she was featured actually, but my poor command of Chinese language prevented me from listing them, with apologies)

Big E: As you know, Hifi-Unlimited is a hifi content based blog site, so I'll have to ask you this. Do you guys have some kind of hifi at home?

Lydia: I don't have a hifi system at home, but my dad does. He had a Sony CD player, AR amplifier and a pair of Infinity speakers. I remember that we'd join him as a family listening to his favourite music. That's why I can relate to ML's Chinese jazz music concept, targeted towards the audiophile market. I think audiophiles are very blessed people, because they have the time to sit back, relax and enjoy the beauty of music reproduced in the highest fidelity possible. Me? I just don't have the time, to be honest!

Tay CS: I have a beer budget Denon turn table, an integrated amplifier and speakers in my place. I am avid follower of your blog and thus, I am very aware that what I have is not really considered high end in any way.

Big E: Wow! You read Hifi-Unlimited regularly? Thanks for your support! I've hang out with musicians when I was younger and I can say that most of them don't really fuss with hifi. The fact that you have a basic set up is already a step above most musicians. Don't musicians want to hear their work in it's full glory?

Tay CS: Actually, we are enjoying the real thing day in, day out, there's really no need to settle for the next best thing, which is hifi. That's why most musicians don't bother. Don't you agree?

Big E: What's your opinion on music downloads? And as an artist, which format do you think your work is best represented?

Lydia: Any other format is o.k. except downloads! I don't like downloads because I feel it compromises the artistic value of our work. Say for example, I know many young people today like downloads for convenience and have a big collection of songs in their MP3 player or iPod. Problem is when I ask them who sings that particular track they are playing, they said they don't know! Now what good is a song without getting to know the artist? I must also remind that illegal down loads compromises the artist's income too. Without adequate income, who'd wanna be an artist, making music?

Tay CS: When I was a teenager, I used to read hifi rags, where the reviewers would write about their vinyl experiences not found on CDs, such as admiring the great art works on the gate fold covers, all the credits are printed with read able font sizes, the smell of fresh new vinyl and lastly that tender action of pulling out the LP from it's cover, placing it on the turn table, then lovingly brush away the surface dust on the LP, and lastly, cue the tone arm to the track you wanna play. As some one growing up in the CD era, I never truly understood what that was all about until some one showed it to me! And after I experienced vinyl for the first time, I started buying LPs of artist that I like, just to keep until I could afford a turn table! I think an LP immortalises an artist's work. I would someday like to see my work to be available on vinyl too, if that is possible. And no, I don't like down loads at all, because it sounds especially bad on MP3.

Big E: Pop Pop Music is releasing 2V1G on LP, due to their commercial success. I think Jz8 could do just as well, if not better! So your odds are pretty good indeed! Are you somewhat jealous of 2V1G because they are now going to be on vinyl?

Tay CS: I am very happy for the success of 2V1G. I really hope one day, Jz8 will make to LP format too! But I think that depends on the commercial success of our debut CD.(At this point, a visibly excited ML was heard shouting at least 30,000 copies!) I hope the music lovers like our effort enough to ensure our success.

Big E: Tell us a bit more about your 2 years working together? Do you guys do the "Diva" and have a cat fights every now and then, or is it smooth sailing all the way?

Lydia: We work together very well in fact. I am happy that there's always a consensus way to work out problems, if any encountered so far. There's no "Diva" what so ever to speak off.(Cher Siang nods in agreement)

Big E: Lydia, do you feel like there's a stigma for back up singers to fight against before one makes a successful transition as a solo artist?

Lydia: I think the stigma is all in the audience's perception. There are many who first started as back up singers in the industry and successfully made it big as a solo artist, Mariah Carey is one the most famous example. For me, I don't feel there's any reason why a back up artist shouldn't be successful.

Big E: Are there any plans in place now for a follow up album? Or do you have to wait and see the success of the soon to be launched debut CD before deciding?

Tay CS: I think that question is best answered by our producer, ML. However, I actually do have some materials at hand, which I've already composed and feel they are suitable for the project, if it should happen.

Lydia: I think the biggest problem is timing. Both of us have our other commitments and this debut Jz8 CD took two years to materialise. I don't know if the audience would wait another two years or longer for the next follow up CD. Well, just let fate take it's journey and see what happens. In the mean time, we hope the audience will appreciate and support our work of Jz8 for now.

My Take: Readers of this blog will know that I have been a heavy promoter for the brilliant 2V1G, followed by Gina Panizales and Roger Wang's Love's Tapestry. Love's Tapestry is selling well considering its an English album launched in Malaysia - it made strong inroads in Indonesia and Taiwan. Well, I am a fan because I know the producer Leslie Loh very well, in particular since we both are from Ipoh - even though he was from ACS, I shall not hold that against him.

I like what he is doing, its a passionate job, its a refreshing voice amidst the highly commercialised, heavily marketed artistes by huge management / music companies in Asia. Can we just do great music for once???

2V1G did extremely well, selling way above 10,000 copies for a pure Malaysian effort. I was invited by Leslie to an early listening session of JZ8 just prior to CNY, apparently the first person outside of those in the studio to have a listen - my opinion after the few songs, I told him JZ8 will sell 30,000 copies. 2V1G was all Mandarin, JZ8 has both Cantonese and Mandarin and the jazzed up treatment of some songs were absolutely delicious, plus it took a couple of the older oldies and gave that a wonderful tweak as well - the album will appeal to a much broader spectrum, one can buy it for their gfs, bfs or their parents, or their rebellious teenage kids. Its that cool!!!!!!

From the sampling player on the right, Forever Smile was one of my favourite songs from my dad's era. Rarely heard nowadays, and the soft jazz treatment brought life to this magnificent tune. The second song was just superb, very different from the lackadaisical Faye Wong's version (which was also superb btw) - that song was crying out for a jazzy treatment and it brought out the cheekiness of the lyrics.

The third song, Unforgettable You, to me is one of the saddest Chinese song ever ... The stripped down version finally brought the sadness, the desperation in unrequited love, the hollowness and lingering pain of memories, the empathy and tenderness in the song beautifully. Lovingly sung and Cher Siang's piano puts in the right mood.

Many artistes have done Eason's Mor Tin Loun. I must say, Cher Siang's piano brought to life the carnival, circus feel instead of the original more sombre feeling. Its another song crying out for a soft jazz treatment as the optimistic lyrics yearns for. Exceptional.

The last song is the famous I Have A Date With Spring ... again cut to the bones, a song that needed to reflect the wistfulness, the accepting of fate and destiny, it needed to be melancholic and reflective. It is at the same time tinged with regret, acceptance but also hope. Can you imagine all that in one song - my favourite from the album by far because it was all of the above, wonderfully executed.

Maternity Leave & Disrespectful People

One stupid letter in The Star was the most widely emailed article. Not the first one, which was a piece by a rep from ILO, but the reader's letter in response to the article. I know some of you would have thought "Gee, I hope Dali read this and will write something on it". Well I did, and I am. The content of the reply was deplorable and disrespectful in so many ways. My sensitive comments in red.



StarBiz: THE issue of maternity leave has received considerable attention lately by workers' and employers' representatives as well as the Government.

The past 60 years or so has witnessed more women of child-bearing age than ever before entering the job market worldwide as well as in our country. Maternity protection as it relates to work and family responsibilities is an essential entitlement in the context of the rights of working women.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO), the agency within the United Nations system devoted to promoting decent work, over more than 90 years of its existence, has adopted a series of international conventions regarding maternity protection.

The First Maternity Protection Convention was formulated in 1919, the year of the ILO's founding. Since then, the ILO has been a major voice on the rights of working women globally.

The most recent ILO Maternity Protection Convention (No. 183) and its accompanying Recommendation (No. 191), 2000, spell out what member states have adopted as the internationally recognised minimum standard that they should aspire to in terms of maternity leave of not less than 14 weeks, as well as non-discrimination in employment, facilities at work, and benefits and entitlements in the context of national law and practice.

Currently, of ILO's 183 member states, the vast majority of them, including several in the Asia Pacific region, provide 12 weeks or more maternity leave with more than 70 of those providing 14 weeks or more. Fewer than 30 countries mandate a maternity leave of less than 12 weeks.

Malaysia, for long an active member of the ILO and currently serving on two of the three benches of its governing body, could reinforce its commitment to workers' rights, in particular that of working women, by reviewing the status of our law and practice regarding maternity protection and consider how best these can be brought into conformity with the minimum internationally recognised standard.

RUEBEN DUDLEY,

Former United Nations/ILO regional deputy director for Asia & the Pacific.

I REFER to “Stay in step with the ILO on maternity leave” (The Star, May 21) and agree with the writer that maternity protection is an essential right of working women. (Hallo... essential right you say, and you agree, it seems what you think is a right is really just a privilege ... i.e. that the government or company are so nice to allow women to have maternity leave. Woman (if that is really you), do not confuse a right with a privilege, the former is enshrined in what we deem as our freedom and claims to be a citizen in a particular country, and that we would never be punished for exercising our freedom or claims. The latter is called a privilege as it implies only via the benevolence of our government or employers that we are accorded those privileges).

However, no reasonable woman, working or not, would argue that she should be paid while she is not working. (Hallo woman, I think you are confusing being pregnant as a leisure activity. When something is as fundamental as getting access to drinking water, do you think that is not a right? If a company does not provide access to drinking water, do you think that is fair? What about holidays? These are part of the cost of employment. Since when is maternity leave a disastrous impact on bottomline, if it is these companies should not be around. Psst, I think 99 out of every 100 woman think it is OK to get paid when on maternity leave). Paying a salary to a person that is not fulfilling his or her job description is economically disadvantageous to the employer and to the economy at large.

While the woman gets paid for not working, there is another prospective employee who may have to go hungry and homeless because he can't get a job. (Herein lies the suspicion as to why I think the writer is a male masquerading as a female, probably using her mum's IC, "he can't get a job", why does it have to be a he? "He" is probably not as good or qualified, probably thats why he DID NOT DESERVE TO GET EMPLOYED in the first place, not because he does not have a uterus!!! That argument as a "cost" and "taking away jobs from others who do not ever want to be pregnant" is as solid as quicksand).

By asking for ridiculously generous benefits, women's rights activists have bankrupted uncountable companies in the West and now they are trying to do the same here. (Pray tell, which companies, instead of making a ludricous brushstroke at half truths. You want to check out the maternity benefits at Microsoft, at GE, at Citigroup, at Nestle, at Nike, etc... A caring employer not only tries to maximise the output of their employees but knows how important it is to retain motivated employees. Loyalty and a sense of belonging does wonders to productivity and reduces enormous HR costs as they do not switch jobs so often. Its whether you view is as an "investment in your employees" or an unnecessary expense).

I wonder if the ILO and similar rights organisations only consider the rights of the workers when formulating their recommendations, or if they also look at the balance sheets of the companies.

A pregnant woman should resign, or take unpaid leave until her child is born and until he is big enough for her to return to work. Pregnant women are already unable to fulfill their duties because their condition does not usually allow them to perform as they should. The position left vacant should be filled by temporary or contract workers. (Spoken like a true small time entreprenuer who is grappling with minimal profits. You would be wonderful as a businessperson in an undeveloped country where you can put in place these laws yourself. You line of thinking not only is repulsive, its disrespectful to women in general. Pregnancy is not just a part of life, it is the very process why you exist in the first place. What you are saying is so disrespectful as if pregnancy needs to be viewed as a "cost factor").

Women should not be selfish and think they can have it all, and lawyers should consider that human rights are subservient to the performance of the economy. Every right has a price, and having no job gives you no money to pay for your rights. (Woman (if that is you), maybe you have your own plot of land for farming, but most married couples need to be both working in order to have a mortgage and a car early in their marriage. It so happens that most women need to be pregnant around 30 (i.e. early in their career) and do not have the luxury of living off a single salary. When you rob a person of their choice to be pregnant, or make their pregnancy as a hindrance, it is awful. I don't know man, maybe you were immaculately conceived cause you sounded like your were birthed from a stone ... probably in an office environment between 9-5).

A business proposition must be equitable to be successful, and by demanding that women be paid although they are not working, while others are practically starving because they can't get a job, the ILO jeopardises the interest of the mother, the child, and the future of the country.

MARISA DEMORI

Skytrax World Airlines Awards

Well, readers would have noticed that I have not commented much on stocks for the past few weeks, isn't it obvious. You cannot be always in the market. There are periods which you will save a lot of money and anguish by taking holidays or playing golf.



Skytrax awards are coveted because they are voted on by some 18 million passengers. Naturally we get seduced by all the ads but most will focus only on the luxury side of things. At the end of it all, its how well you treat the economy passengers that count.

Increasingly, it is the economy passengers who are paying the airlines' bills. Business class is shrinking, premium economy and economy are growing. But most airlines still treat economy class as the riff-raff who deserve to be uncomfortable because they're not willing to pay the big bucks up the front.

Well, this year Skytrax's popular vote – by the biggest electorate in airline awards-land – has spoken loudly about seating comfort: three of the top five airlines and five of the top 10 are the ones that give economy passengers up to three inches (7.6 centimetres) more seat row space than the sardine-can airlines (like Qantas) that insist on 31-32 inches (79-81cms) per row: the overall winner, Korea's Asiana, the Middle East's Qatar Airways (No. 3), Air New Zealand (No. 5), Thai Airways (No. 9) and Malaysia Airlines (No. 10).

Significantly, Air New Zealand (33-34-inch long-haul) zoomed past Qantas (No. 7 – 31 inches) for the first time. Just as significantly, Singapore Airlines came second in the award it has won twice on the strength of its cabin service, which a number of Travellers' Check readers reckon has gone off.

The World's Top 10 airlines in the 2010 Awards :

1. Asiana Airlines
2. Singapore Airlines
3. Qatar Airways
4. Cathay Pacific
5. Air New Zealand
6. Etihad Airways
7. Qantas Airways
8. Emirates
9. Thai Airways
10. Malaysia Airlines

Qatar Airways was named the winner of the World's Best Business Class Award at the 2010 World Airline Awards, that took place in Hamburg. WORLD'S BEST BUSINESS CLASS 1. QATAR AIRWAYS 2. SINGAPORE AIRLINES 3. ETIHAD AIRWAYS Qatar Airways was also named among the top three airlines in the world at the Skytrax World Airline Awards 2010. The honour was among several awards that the airline collected at a ceremony in Hamburg. Qatar Airways global ranking among more than 200 international airlines rose to number three in the world – up from fourth spot last year, further cementing its stature as a world leading airline. Qatar Airways took the World’s Best Business Class award in one of the most hotly contested categories. The airline’s Business Class catering was recognised separately as the best in the world.

The airline also took the title for Best Airline in the Middle East for a fifth consecutive year, emphasising Qatar Airways’ competitiveness and dominance in a region boasting several world-class airlines.

Malaysia Airlines was named the winner of the World's Best Economy Class Award at the 2010 World Airline Awards, that took place in Hamburg.

WORLD'S BEST ECONOMY CLASS
1. MALAYSIA AIRLINES
2. QATAR AIRWAYS
3. SINGAPORE AIRLINES

Malaysia Airlines won 2 awards, the "Staff Service Excellence for Asia" and "World's Best Economy Class" at the 2010 World Airline Awards in Hamburg.

Etihad Airways was named the winner of the World's Best First Class Award at the 2010 World Airline Awards, that took place in Hamburg. WORLD'S BEST FIRST CLASS 1. ETIHAD AIRWAYS 2. SINGAPORE AIRLINES 3. QANTAS AIRWAYS Etihad Airways won three awards for its First Class at the Skytrax World Airline Awards, having the World’s Best First Class, Best First Class Airline Seat and Best First Class Onboard Catering. The annual Skytrax survey takes into account all aspects of the air travel experience as well as the quality of customer service delivered by each airline’s staff. "We are exceptionally proud to have won these three awards for our new and innovative First Class product and service which is now recognised as the world’s best by the ultimate judges - air travellers,” said Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer.

Etihad unveiled its new First Class cabin suite in 2009. The cabin contains 12 individual suites, accessed by its own sliding door and includes a personal wardrobe and a mini bar. It also has a 23-inch wide-screen TV LCD screen and luxurious soft furnishings and leather upholstered by Poltrona Frau, which also provides interiors for Ferrari cars.

Etihad Airways 'Inspired Service' concept on the ground and in the air seeks to provide its First Class customers with service individually tailored to their needs. On the ground, First Class customers flying from the Abu Dhabi airport can take advantage of the concierge and limousine service as well as a dedicated premium check-in zone. Onboard, a food and beverage manager is on hand to assist customers during the long and ultra long haul flights.



AirAsia was named the winner of the World's Best Low-Cost Airline Award at the 2010 World Airline Awards, that took place in Hamburg.

BEST LOW COST AIRLINES
1. AIR ASIA
2. AIR BERLIN
3. VIRGIN BLUE

AirAsia has picked up two different Awards at the 2010 World Airline Awards in Hamburg. For the second year running, AirAsia was was named winner of the World's Best Low-Cost Airline award. AirAsia also picked up the Award for Best Low-Cost Airline Asia.

Commenting on the awards received by AirAsia, Skytrax Chairman, Mr Edward Plaisted said : "this is a fantastic achievement for AirAsia to be here collecting the award as World's Best Low-Cost Airline for the second year running. They are clearly meeting and exceeding their customer's expectations to have been named winner of this outstanding, global recognition. The awards represent a true recognition of the front-line product and service that AirAsia is delivering to it's customers, and the award slogan of 'The Passenger's Choice' underlines the fact that AirAsia are succeeding in satisfying the hardest critics - their users."

Best Finance Minister Vs Vested Interests

Mulyani had been very effective at eradicating corruption in her rle as Finance Minister. She resigned from her position to join the World Bank. Was the "prickly vested interests" getting to her? She has taken a swipe at the forces she believes made her position untenable, describing them as rapacious and "just like the New Order" of the late dictator Suharto.

Sri Mulyani Indrawati's appointment as a Washington-based managing director at the World Bank shook Indonesian politics when it was announced a fortnight ago.

Dr Indrawati, widely regarded as incorruptible and the key architect of the reform process that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono hopes will be the legacy of his leadership, had since refused to explain the reasons for her resignation as minister.

However at a forum entitled Public Policy and Ethics, attended by the cream of Indonesia's progressive and intellectual elite, the US-educated economist let fly at forces which she said were involved in politics purely for personal gain.

Although she did not mention by name businessman Aburizal Bakrie, the chairman of junior coalition partner the Golkar party and the person appointed manager of coalition business within a day of Dr Indrawati's resignation, her reference to him was too pointed to miss.

``You yourselves can see, when government officials with business backgrounds, even though they say they have put aside all their businesses, but everyone knows that their siblings, their children, who knows who else from their families, are still running the firms,'' she said.

The reference was clearly intended to be to Mr Bakrie, whose family business Bumi Resources is the giant of the Indonesian stock exchange. Mr Bakrie was also coordinating minister for the economy, and then minister for people's welfare, in the first Yudhoyono government between 2004 and 2009, before retiring from representative politics to seize control of Golkar in a party room vote last year.

Mulyani, 47, will start June 1 as one of the Washington-based bank’s three managing directors, the highest rank under Zoellick.

She will replace Juan Jose Daboub, former minister of El Salvador, who will complete his four-year term June 30, overseeing 74 nations in Latin America, the Caribbean, East Asia and the Pacific, the Middle East and North Africa, the World Bank said.

Analysts said this was a good exit for Mulyani, who with Vice President Boediono, was the target of an opposition campaign accusing them of abusing their authority during the Rp 6.7 trillion (US$716 million) bailout of Bank Century in 2008.

Finance Asia: The World Bank got its hands on an experienced and talented new team member when it poached Mulyani Indrawati, Indonesia's reformist finance minister, earlier this month. But her departure also dealt a blow to Indonesia's efforts to combat corruption.



Indrawati's resignation on May 5 came as a surprise. She started a second term just last October and her progressive approach had helped to win the confidence of foreign investors and the international community in general -- though she was not always so popular at home.

Rival politicians, led by Aburizal Bakrie, had been calling for her head ever since the $730 million bailout of Bank Century in 2008. It is not clear what role this played in Indrawati's departure, but it seems likely to have been a big part of her decision to take the job at the World Bank. She starts on June 1.

The pressure is now on for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to name a capable successor of the country's $650 billion economy. His choice will be used as a measure of the government's continued commitment to reform in the wake of Indrawati's departure. The deputy finance minister, Anggito Abimanyu, is widely regarded as the choice least likely to spook markets.



The worst result for investors would be a political appointment that would threaten to bring a halt to the ministry's market-led reform programme.

In total, 61% of our readers said that Indrawati's resignation represented a big step backwards for the country's reform programme, while 21% said it did not and 18% said that it could go either way.

Best Country To Be Unemployed In

European governments offer the highest percentage of combined unemployment pay and state benefits, while the U.S. provides the least generous compensation to dismissed workers. The percentages cited are of their normal monthly pay packets.

Norway

* Unemployment rate: 3.3%

** Unemployment benefit in first year: 72%

Benefit after 12 months: 72%

Spain

* Unemployment rate: 19%

** Unemployment benefit in first year: 69%

Benefit after 12 months: 65%

France

* Unemployment rate: 10.1%

** Unemployment benefit in first year: 67%

Benefit after 12 months: 64%

Germany

* Unemployment rate: 7.5%

** Unemployment benefit in first year: 64%

Benefit after 12 months: 48%

Canada

* Unemployment rate: 8.2%

** Unemployment benefit in first year: 52%

Benefit after 12 months: 14%

Turkey

* Unemployment rate: 14.5%

** Unemployment benefit in first year: 46%

Benefit after 12 months: 0

Japan

* Unemployment rate: 4.9%

** Unemployment benefit in first year: 45%

Benefit after 12 months: 3%

South Korea

* Unemployment rate: 4.4%

** Unemployment benefit in first year: 31%

Benefit after 12 months: 0

U.K.

* Unemployment rate: 8%

** Unemployment benefit in first year: 28%

Benefit after 12 months: 28%

U.S.

* Unemployment rate: 9.7%

** Unemployment benefit in first year: 28%

Benefit after 12 months: 0

* February 2010

** Percent of annual income

Data: Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development, U.K. Office of National Statistics, Turkey's Statistical Board

I think Spain and France are fantastic places to be unemployed, don't you think so? I have written before that Asian countries seem to have an unhealthy abhorrence towards unemployment benefits. We tend to have very few safety nets, and when an economy plunges into a deep recession, maybe at no fault to the general working public, many have no safety nets to fall on. We get ourselves into perilous situations.

What I am asking for is not a fully funded government unemployment scheme, but rather an unemployment insurance scheme, which will cost the government next to nothing if done properly. For the benefit of those who missed out, here is a repost of my article:

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Malaysia Needs Unemployment Insurance

Our government has been postponing the need for unemployment insurance for too long. We do not have sufficient safety nets underpinning our country's social and economic systems. The concern has always been the cost side. The other argument is the incentive not to work. There is a bigger danger in having unemployment insurance - companies may be more "willing" to bite the bullet to lay off workers in such an environment.

We already have too many archaic rules pervading the economic life of Malaysians. Its quite debilitating really. We have no unemployment insurance, and every 7-10 years we will have a massive recession and many might not be able to honour their commitments owing to forces greater than them.

We can take the pedestal and say they deserve it for not being able to manage their financial affairs properly, but seriously, even drug addicts and prisoners get a second chance to rebuild their lives. I am not here to justify reckless behaviour, but to ask that the laws be fairer to the normal person. When you unfairly penalises a person, it does not just affect the person alone, in Malaysia's culture, people also have to take care of their parents and extended families. Hence the social impact is substantial.

I am not an insurance guy, but I think we can come up with a semi government body to do this, or even be part of EPF to do this. EPF can do this role well as it already has the database for checks and balances.

How about all employees contribute 1.5% to this Fund and the employer puts in another matching 1.5% of salary. Only employees who have contributed more than 1 year will be able to enjoy the benefits. If you are laid off, you will get 3 months full pay and 5 months of half pay of your last salary. These will be paid like normal salaries on a monthly basis, thus covering most expenses for at least 8 months. This will be in additional to the normal notice pay and severance pay. Once you have taken the unemployment benefits, you will need to be working for at least another year before being qualified to obtain the benefits again.



Like I said I am no actuary, but all things being equal, the monthly 3% to the fund basically means 1 person is covered for every 33 employees. All things being equal again, in a downturn the Fund should be more than able to carry a 300 basis point jump in unemployment (e.g. if unemployment rate jumps from 3.5% to 6.5%, technically speaking we are better equipped to deal with it). EPF has the database and will be able to verify when a person has found new employment. In any system there will be bad hats trying to find loopholes - heavy penalties should be meted out to discourage bad behaviour by employers and employees.

During good times, the Fund will be able to accumulate surpluses, thus covering the outflows during bad times. It is not meant to be a crutch but part of a developing structure for a developing nation, that seeks to minimise social costs, where we can grow and shoulder the good and bad together. Any major shortfall will be borne by the government, which won't be necessary if the calculations are made properly. Its not a crutch really because its NOT borne by the taxpayers but by the contributors to the insurance scheme. That 8 months of pay will be very important as many are shouldering mortgages that needs to be serviced - its not like, no job then can go back to kampung and stay with parents or live off the land. Let's be realistic.

Using Quant to predict the World Cup

(click to enlarge)


You might as well applaud such a move as nothing much will get done during the World cup month. Possibly meaningless to Americans, but hey, they call the stupid baseball thing World Series and only American teams are playing???!!!




Whilst this report should be taken with a pinch of salt, we find it an interesting exercise and an ideal opportunity to lightheartedly explain Quantitative techniques and demystify the typical
Quant framework.

I am so fed up supporting England during World Cup tournaments, so I am deserting them and going for the very well balanced Spain side, as well as cheering on all the underdogs: Ghana, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, ... to name a few.

I was having lunch with an Englishman and a Brazilian yesterday (yea, business meeting in HK) and they were giving me a hard time when I said I will be supporting Spain. Geez ... I said that if asians were only "allowed" to support their actual country team, then we might as well forget about supporting any team for the World Cup. I said its lucky for them to be accidentally born in England or Brazil. I then asked them if their country teams did not make it to the World Cup for 10 or 20 years, what then, who would you support? That shut them up.

You will note that the headline of the JP Morgan report has England as the likely winner even though on team's strength analysis Brazil is tops and in betting Spain is favourite. When arguing over World Cup teams, its highly emotive and hence you have to use data only to remain impartial. Quantitative methods will use past data and then project ahead.

Their goal is indeed to highlight potential World Cup winners by applying quantitative or mathematical methodology traditionally used with balance-sheet, valuations and consensus information to data from the football world. To do so, they focused on data including:
• probabilities to win from a range of bookmakers and exchanges
• official FIFA World Rankings
• results from previous World Cup tournaments and qualifying competitions



In practice, Quants tend to use 4 types of information in their mathematical models:
1. Valuation metrics
2. Market and Analyst sentiment
3. Company fundamentals
4. Price trends

J.P. Morgan Cazenove "Normal' Quant stock-picking Model
VALUATION METRICS MARKET
- PE vs the market
- PE vs the sector
- Forecast growth
ANALYST SENTIMENT
- Recent change in analyst sentiment
- Recent change in analyst growth expectations
- Recent change in analyst recommendations
COMPANY FUNDAMENTALS
- ROE
- Company Risk
PRICE TREND
- Long term trend
- Short term trend

Source: J.P. Morgan

They then translate the above Model into a football-specific Model.
J.P. Morgan Cazenove Quant world cup-picking Model
"VALUATION" METRICS "MARKET
- "Market" Valuations
- FIFA World Ranking
& ANALYST" SENTIMENT
- Result Expectations
- Recent Team Shape
"COMPANY FUNDAMENTALS"
- Consistency in Market Sentiment
- J.P. Morgan Success Ratio Indicator
PRICE TREND
- Trend in probability to win
- Trend in FIFA's Ranking

Source: J.P. Morgan

If you can get the report, its a lot of fun. They looked at the actual FIFA world ranking and then looked at the usual probability in winning. Regressed them and somehow, some of the teams' rankings do not match up with their win probabilities. Portugal, Netherlands and Greece offer a disagreement with high FIFA World Ranking and low indicated probability to win the World Cup.

England, Argentina and Ivory Coast also offer disagreement with a low World Ranking and an indicated high probability of winning. According to the FIFA World Ranking Factor, Brazil, Spain Netherlands and Portugal are most likely to win the World Cup.



Hence based on that alone, a betting person should favour England, Argentina and Ivory Coast, ceteris paribus, and go against Portugal, Netherlands and Greece. On a side note, Greece might play luar kulit (out of their skins) owing to the homeland crisis and on the pretext that they may be booted out of EU soon (hence no more invite to Euro championships???!! ; ) )

They then look at bookmakers' odds to ascertain value against what the computer predict as their real value. They then plat charts based on the 6 month trending winning probability and a 3 month trending winning probability - a lot like 30 day MA and 60 day MA. Hey, a trend is your friend, it applies in everything.

According to the Trend in Probability to Win Factor: Slovenia, France, Ivory Coast and Greece are the most attractive options, having received the greatest increase in probability over the past 6 months.

According to the Trend in FIFA’s Ranking, Algeria, Slovenia, Serbia and Slovakia have the biggest change in World Ranking Points and should be preferred.

But of course, as wonderful the data may be, it still depends on the weightage you assign to each of the 4 factors. Herein lies the problem, JP Morgan assigned equal weightage to all 4.

The very funny part is that the last 2 pages uses the quant models to predict every match. In the quarter finals these are teams, according to the quants:

Netherlands vs Brazil (Netherlands will win)
France vs England (England will win)
Argentina vs Slovenia (Slovenia wins in an upset)
Italy vs Spain (Spain wins)



In the Semis:
England will meet and beat Holland, while Spain will edge out Slovenia.

Ta-dah, England beat the crap out of Spain in the finals. Yea, right!!!??

Applying Oneself In Life

We all should strive to be "successful" in all aspects of life. Too often we only focus on wealth and career. For our intents and purposes, lets look at wealth, career and money for now. We all have heard of the mantras and the sayings of wise people. Most are just crap being regurgitated again and again.



Here are a few better ones, I think:

"You can get everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want."

There is a positive side to the saying as well as a negative side. The positive is that we do not only look at what we want, but rather on what others want. It could be our potential clients, our colleagues, our bosses, etc. ... by being instrumental in helping other achieve their objectives, you will indirectly get the returns and benefits accruing back to you. The negative is to regard this mantra pragmatically - i.e. you will only get what you want if you do A, B, C... which may still get you what you desire but the motive on your part will be questionable. Now, many of you will think there is no difference as long as you get what you want, but to me your underlying motives are so much more important for personal enrichment. If your heart is in the right place, you will try to "help others", but even if nothing comes out of it, you are not too disturbed. If your motives are pragmatic, the end result will eat at you, and even when you achieve success - will you smirk that you were smarter than the rest? If you have the right attitude, you will feel that you have been blessed and would not think its all due to your own self. If you feel blessed with success that comes your way, you will also know that you are just a steward of monetary riches, and you will feel the need to do your part to enrich the lives of others.



"Successful people are prepared to do for a short time what others won't, so that they can do for the rest of their lives what others can't."

Herein lies the key word, some may call it execution ability. I have another word for this, its called "focus". Whenever we come across issues, roadblocks, events, targets, deadlines, delivery of performance, KPIs, etc.. many will not be able to execute well.

Our government big projects have often been labeled as brilliant in planning, projections and power point presentations, but somehow we lack the follow through to execute them within the time stated or within the budget specified. Its like we know our ABCs but we kinda skip merrily through the EFGHIJKLs ... and then wonder why we never get to Z but always end up with URSTs. The simple explanantion is that the ABCs are fun to do and thats where the big money is. The EFGHIJKLs are left to the workers who may not be incentivised to get to Z. Maybe the key is to make sure the bulk of the rewards will only be when they get to Z.

Anyway, I digress, back to focus. Sometimes we get torn in 10 different directions. We need to focus on the key issues, solve them or delegate them (with proper monitoring and empowering), revisit continually, change or modify if necessary till its done. If you look at the very successful people, they will focus intently to solve a particular issue or problem or crisis or capitalise on the opportunity. Those who do not will wonder why they are not more successful or what their secret is.


"Great minds discuss ideas, mediocre minds discuss events, small minds discuss people."

This is a very telling saying, and you can find out where a person is by what they talk about all the time. Its gossip, it mindless chatter, its idle stuff, its basically useless ... a little bit is OK but when its mostly what you put your brainpower to, we all know what comes out of it... nothing much. Picking on what topics to discuss or reflect show me how a person's mind is working. Rise above the events and issues and take a big picture view, be wary of the subsequent chain of events.

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant."

Everyday you plant seeds whether you realise that you are doing it or not. You can be planting seeds of confidence, seeds of integrity, or you could be planting seeds of discontent and discordance. You are building a resume of what you are doing be it good or bad. In addition the seeds also spread to those around you. In a way it inculcates a culture, a mindset and a sense of expectations. I have another personal saying that I hold with me:

"Bloom where you are planted."

Try no to question why you are where you are, but what you do with where you are at. Live your life well, keep an eye to be a "success" in all areas of your life, be a great son or daughter, be a great employee, be a great boss, be a great parent or grandparent, be always in touch with your spiritual side ... and take time time to enjoy life while doing all that.