RM50 Million Donation By Koon

Proposed Rm 50 million donation to Penang State Government for building student hostels

by aaronhee | Sep 26, 2015 | Life, Nation | 0 comments

(posted on koonyewyin.com)

On 15th Sept 2015, I met the Penang State EXCO which has accepted my Rm 50 million donation under the following terms and conditions:

I wish to donate Rm 50 million for building student hostels to help students studying in Penang, especially students from poor families, in their access to tertiary education.

1. All the RM50 million and the subsequent profit from the rental and other income must be used for building hostels and other associated buildings for the use of students studying in Penang. These students can come from Penang and other states in the country or even be foreign students in keeping with Penang’s need to draw on the best talent from a globalized world.
2. All construction contracts exceeding RM10,000 must be open to competitive tenders.
3. A task force will be established to take full charge of the donation programme and the implementation of the hostels. The task force is to be composed of 7 members; 4 members to be nominated by the Penang State Government and including the Chief Minister as Chair, and 3 members to be nominated by myself or by my nominee.
4. I will be appointed as Adviser to the Task Force. The role of Adviser must be spelled out and agreeable to me. This position will be a life long one. Any change to be made to this position has to be sanctioned by me or by the executors of my estate.
5. The State Government will be responsible for the following
6. a) provision of state land for the hostels and associated facilities necessary for sports, parking, etc.
7. b) recruiting and defraying the costs of a team of professional staff to run and manage the hostels on a commercial basis.
8. The rental rate must be competitive and profitable but at the same time must not burden the student residents.
9. Koon Yew Yin and his estate reserve the right to authorize the state government to use a portion of the net income to establish a Koon Yew Yin Charitable Foundation to help poor students through loan scholarships to study in Penang.
10. To honour my donation, I wish to have a tablet prominently displayed in the hostel complex with the following words inscribed

Recipients of Koon Yew Yin scholarships and residents of Koon Yew Yin’s hostels have to promise that when they graduate and are financially solvent, they will help other poor people.

9. The entire complex of student hostels is to be named Koon Yew Yin Residential Complex. Each hostel in the complex is to be named after the fundamental rights of citizens such as Liberty, Justice, Equality, Fraternity, Freedom, Integrity, etc.

The Penang Government has allocated a piece of land with an area of 60,000 sq ft situated directly opposite USM which has a student population of 18,000 students. USM has hostel accommodation for only the 1st year students.

The land is zoned for high rise flats up to 36 storey high.

I have appointed my wife, Dr. Lim Teck Ghee and Architect Lee Thean Hock as my representatives in the management committee.

My architect has just started planning and designing for the project.

This photo was taken immediately after my meeting the Penang EXCO. From the left are Dr. Lim Teck Ghee, my wife, the Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and I.

The above photo was taken immediately after my meeting the Penang EXCO. From the left are Dr. Lim Teck Ghee, my wife, the Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and I.

Note: All my wealth is from share investment. I have written in my will that all my remaining assets will be donated for charity preferably to help poor students. I have been giving scholarships in the last 8 years and up till now, I have given about 300 scholarships. All my scholar recipients do not need to pay me back the money I spent on them but they have to promise me that when they are financially solvent, they must help other poor students.

I trust some of my scholarship recipients will continue to do charity to help poor and needy students after I die.

I believe some of my followers who have benefitted from my share investment advice, will do charity to help poor people.

We all must bear in mind that we cannot take our money along when we die. After we have given a good education to our children and discharge all our responsibilities, we must do charity to help the poor.

I know it is difficult to give away some of our hard earned money at the beginning. But gradually, we will feel happy in giving away money to help the poor to make them happy. We all must remember that our ultimate aim in life is happiness. When you see poor people happy, you will also feel happy.

I hope this announcement will encourage some readers to do some charity to make people happy. I hope this announcement will encourage some readers to do some charity to make people happy. Even a kind word can make a difference.

Moon My Cakes - The Annual Rant!!!

 Well, every year I brace myself for what will be the new fangled flavours for mooncakes. Ta-dah ... last year takes the cake (pun intended). Its Angry Birds mooncakes!  I think its a brilliant marketing strategy, its taking China/HK by the proverbial storm. Is that raining bird shit ... no, its just kids throwing their Angry Birds mooncakes in the air for effect. Now we even get Nasi Lemak ones.

This is for the benefit of new readers of this blog who have only been visiting for less than a year.

Each passing year, we get further away from tradition. Is this fusion or variety or just plain stupidity. I am talking about mooncakes. The whole thing marks of a scam.

Who doesn't know that the cost of a mooncake is minimal really compared to their exorbitant selling price. Why do you think almost every restaurant sells them? There must be a global collusion to sell these over priced things - its a Chinese mafia I tell you.

At best, the mooncake festival can be an excuse for family togetherness. The actual reasons and history for how the festival started are pretty flimsy. Its more stuffs of legends and fairytales than rooted in reality. But anyways, since the Chinese culture has no solid God/religion, where everything goes (the world is full of deities and buddhas as the saying goes), hearsay and stories evolved into things cultural, which in turn becomes tradition, and finally morphs into a marketing extravaganza.

Since it is stuff of legends and fairytales, its not rooted deeply in anything really, and is open for interpretation. It used to be just lotus paste and black sesame. Throw in the egg yolks if you want. NOW you have: lotus with dried sambal; green tea with pu'er; dragonfruit with blackcurrent; spirulina; the omochis; the ice cream ones; the durian paste; pandan sweet corn; capuccino; yam gingko nut; chocolate strawberry fondue; the various types of skin covers; oreo; chocolate walnut brownie; charcoal powder with wolfberry; Charcoal Infused Mocha Milk Tea; Snow Skin Japanese Potato with Custard; Fragrant Corn with Soft Yolk; Royal Jade Jelly; Nutty Chocolate with Yolk; Snow Skin Raspberry; Bluberry; Snow Skin Silky Vanilla Chestnut; Snow Skin Black Sesame; Green Beans with Cheese; chocolate peanut praline; blueberry blackcurrant cheese; chestnut Japanese jingsa; .... enough already... we are all losing the plot!!! Heck, I can even create an apom balik black sesame eggyolk ikan bilis flat moon cake... its all marketing baby!

Go back to the roots of the tradition. Why do we have Mooncake Festival? Its for family togetherness, its really for the kids ... I remember as kids I loved the festival, the lanterns and candles. I liked that connection, knowing that my dad and grand dad probably played with similar lanterns, similar candles and ate the same kind of mooncakes 50 or 100 years ago. That's the tradition that connects, and the kind you want to pass on to the next generation.


Above: lanterns for sale around Mid-Autumn Festival.


Not that anything about the mooncake thing is true, however, its cultural and it carries values, things we want to pass on - whether the festival is rooted in true events is not material anymore.

Hence, please you bloody marketers, do not cheapen the tradition. We want the connectivity. I will still want to buy the basic lotus paste or black sesame... and also the baked fish-shapes / pig-shaped mooncake biscuits ... because they all remind me of the past which I longed to remember and the people I do not wish to forget.


Of course, variations is a strong strategy to differentiate in a product/event that has "almost zero veracity" in truth or religious text. You don't find the Catholics changing ONE IOTA of the sacrament through the ages. Hence differentiation will continue cause no one cares, everyone is out to stand out and make money or get the latest "bling".

This year let me give you my HAZE Mooncakes, looks like smog, taste like freshly burnt tropical forest with a strong charcoal aftertaste - happy moonlike festival!!!

Regional variations in China

There are many regional variants of the mooncake. Types of traditional mooncakes include:

• Cantonese-style mooncake: Originating from Guangdong province, the Cantonese style mooncake has multiple variations. The ingredients used for the fillings are various: lotus seed paste, melon seed paste, ham, chicken, duck, roast pork, mushrooms, egg yolks, etc. More elaborate versions contain four egg yolks, representing the four phases of the moon. Recent contemporary forms (albeit non-traditional) sold in Hong Kong are even made from chocolate, ice-cream or jelly.

• Suzhou-style mooncake:: This style began more than a thousand years ago, and is known for its layers of flaky dough and generous allotment of sugar and lard. Within this regional type, there are more than a dozen variations. It is also smaller than most other regional varieties. Suzhou-style mooncakes feature both sweet and savoury types, the latter served hot and usually filled with pork mince.

• Beijing-style mooncake: This style has two variations. One is called "di qiang," which was influenced by the Suzhou-style mooncake. It has a light foamy dough as opposed to a flaky one. The other variation is called "fan mao" and has a flaky white dough. The two most popular fillings are the mountain hawthorn and wisteria blossom flavour. The Beijing-style mooncake is often meticulously decorated.

• Chaoshan (Teochew)-style mooncake: This is another flaky crust variety, but is larger in size than the Suzhou variety. It is close in diameter to the Cantonese style, but thinner in thickness. A variety of fillings are used, but the aroma of lard after roasting is emphasised.

• Ningbo-style mooncake: This style is also inspired by the Suzhou-style. It is prevalent in Zhejiang province and has a compact covering. The fillings are either seaweed or ham; it is also known for its spicy and salty flavour.

• Yunnan-style mooncake: Also known as "t'o" to the residents, its distinctive feature is the combination of various flours for the dough and includes rice flour, wheat flour, buckwheat flour, and more. Most of the variations within this style are sweet.

Making Sense Of The Syrian Refugee Crisis

The refugee crisis in Europe basically emanated from the Syrian failed revolution against Assad. Forget about that dispirit, Syria now is torn and kalam-kabut with various parties trying to gain the upper hand.

This cartoon is very FAIR and HONEST in trying to explain the issues surrounding the current crisis. There are a lot of concerns on the issue of Islamisation of European countries, crime, integration issues, etc... Watch this and don't get all riled up over nonsense pervading our multimedia.

Japan Stunned the Springboks ... Deservedly

How big was this result ... let me put in proper perspective ... if it was the football World Cup, is it like Malaysia beating Brazil ... ono because Malaysia cannot even make the World Cup finals proper. 

S


So, this is also NOT like Japan beating Brazil in the World Cup because Japan is a proper force in football and its not that shocking even if Japan beats Brazil. This is like New Zealand beating Germany in the World Cup.... cause South Africa or the Springboks had been multiple champions in their past lives, and NZ like Japan has never ever come close to football glory and rugby glory respectively.

Even that comparison is not sufficient because its harder for underdogs to usurp their higher ranked foes in rugby than say football. In football, you can get a lucky goal, a deflected free kick, a mistake ... and then defend like hell and still beat a higher ranked opponent. In rugby, its muscles and grind and pressure constantly, you get very few freebies, you need muscle and deft passes and great tackling to get yardage. Which is why Japan is over the moon with the victory, they literally played out of their skins, and when the opportunity to tie presented itself a couple of times in the dying minutes, they did not take it but went for victory instead.

Ganbatte!!!

Real Property/Construction Awards We'd Like To See

More than usual, we'd be inundated with pages and pages of self-congratulatory, own-association, "sharing of the pig among members" by property and construction industries. This project good la, that gets gold award, that bronze award ... so many awards that its amazing to find any project without an award.

However, these peripheral, syok-sendiri awards are necessary for the industry ... much like how the Academy Awards started, we are so good, why no one give us awards... never mind, we give ourselves awards hah!

The public is not interested at all because you fellas do not give out the Real Awards ... such as:

BEST PROPERTY PROJECT for maximum percentage gain from official selling price one year after launch date (ta-dah!!!)

BEST PROPERTY PROJECT for the best discount from official selling price plus freebies thrown in

BEST PROPERTY PROJECT with the most innovative financing using the minimum down payment and extended period for further payment till handover

BEST PROPERTY PROJECT that delivers within the stipulated timeframe as advertised

BEST CONSTRUCTION PROJECT with the fewest "touch ups" or "defects-construction issues" after handover

Melt In Your Mouth New York Brisket In KL

I have walked past this little kiosk a number of times but never patronised it till I read the excellent review by Vivian Chong in The Malay Mail a few days back. So I went yesterday and after the first bite into my beef brisket pocket, I kicked myself for not having this earlier.








Its just like the ones I had in New York and there the beef brisket is like a religion. Normally when you have a beef sandwich you are likely to encounter some shards of muscle here and there, a proper slow cooked beef brisket melts in your mouth.

I must say, the seasoning is just right. Not too many condiments. Its a 9/10.

He operates alone, so be prepared to wait.









Brooklyn Deli is at LG-7 (next to Boost Juice), 1 Mont Kiara Mall, 1 Jalan Kiara, Mont Kiara, KL.  Opens daily: 11.30am-10pm;

For bookings of roast beef, beef brisket or the metre-long sandwich, contact David Hoh at +6012-627 6193 

See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/eat-drink/article/bite-into-brooklyn-style-deli-delights-in-kuala-lumpur#sthash.gWz8lSMs.zl0gjN5O.dpuf

Slow Things Down

What is it about us humans that we always see the grass being greener elsewhere .. we always yearn to travel and see the world, catch the sights and sounds ... it usually takes an outsider to appreciate beauty as those inhabitants are usually too jaded to notice whats in their backyard ... watching this magnificent video would make us think Malaysia is sooo gorgeous ... maybe we all should be less jaded and 'slow things down' to smell the bloody roses.