Emporium Blog

As always I was having my meal alone again, at some food court in some shopping complex. I was not in my best of mood. It is more like a state of mood I am in most of the time.

There is this lady who came near my table asking for permission to take some empty chairs over to her table.

Lady, pointing to the empty chair: Ada orang ke? (”Is there someone?” *in Bahasa Malaysia)

Me: Lei kong mat chat? (”What are you talking about?” *in rude Cantonese)

In Malaysia, most Malays cannot understand the Chinese language. However, most other races can understand and speak fluent Bahasa Malaysia. The Malays are often very reluctant to speak in other languages than theirs. Even if they speak in the English Language, they will have accent, with their own flow and generous fare of lah’s. I am not in the mood to make her understand, not this time.

The lady was taken back slightly and looks quite surprise at my response. Somehow she summed up her courage to ask again.

Lady, pointing to the empty chair: Ada orang ke? (this time much louder)

Me: Ni Mah Ter. Ni suo seh meh? (Some vulgarities and “What are you talking about?” *in Mandarin)

She scoffs and walks off.

Moral of the story? There is none actually, just fed up.

Paypal now allows or so it seems, for Malaysians to withdraw their funds via credit-card management system. Namely the Visa and MasterCard machinery.

This system is often put into place when negotiations with the banking or financial body in certain country failed to make any progress. It is a last ditch effort made to enable users to transfer funds without being subjected to the rules and regulations set by the regulatory body. In Malaysia, that body is called Bank Negara.

If you log on to your paypal account, click on “Withdraw”, you will now see two options. The “Transfer funds to your card” is a newly added feature. It costs 5.00USD per transaction with a limit of 500.00USD.

Initial attempts to withdraw funds this way have not been successful. I am using credit cards issued by the local banks. I made a quick call to their customer service asking for clarifications. Their credit card officer revealed that all local banks have barred this kind of fund movement also used by online sports betting bookies.

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Faith freedom has been trampled on. Article 11 of the Federal Constitution states that every person has the right to profess and practice his religion is not respected or adhered to. Rukunegara that I have almost religiously recite since my schooling time is no more relevant. I have been betrayed.

The Five Principles of Nationhood or Rukunegara was formulated after the racial riots of May 13, 1969, in an attempt to base the national philosophy on unity and progressiveness (as a whole), whereby concepts which are universal and acceptable to all Malaysian citizens, regardless of ethnic origin or religious affiliation, were adopted as the ideology of the country.

The principles enshrined in the Rukunegara were officially introduced on Aug 31, 1970, in the hopes that it would strengthen national unity in Malaysia’s multicultural society. The declaration of the five principles has been formulated as follows:

Our nation, Malaysia is dedicated to:

• Achieving a greater unity for all her peoples;
• Maintaining a democratic way of life;
• Creating a just society in which the wealth of the nation shall be equitably distributed;
• Ensuring a liberal approach to her rich and diverse cultural traditions; and
• Building a progressive society which shall be orientated to modern science and technology.

We, her peoples, pledge our united efforts to attain these ends guided by these principles:

1. Kepercayaan kepada Tuhan Allah (Belief in God Allah)
2. Kesetiaan kepada Raja dan Negara (Loyalty to King and Country)
3. Keluhuran Perlembagaan (Supremacy of the Constitution)
4. Kedaulatan Undang-undang (Rule of Law)
5. Kesopanan dan Kesusilaan (Mutual Respect and Morality)

Lina Joy appeal was a historic one with legal and social repercussions yet to be seen with the decision going against her. The findings made by the courts is inconsistent at best.

Lina Joy is a Malay convert from Islam to Christianity. Born Azlina Jailani in 1963 or 1964 to Muslim parents, she converted at age 26. In 1998, she was baptised, and applied to have her conversion legally recognised by the Malaysian courts. Though her change of name was recognised in 1999 and so noted on her identity card, her change of religion was not (since it is without the Mahkamah Syariah confirmation document); for this reason, she filed suit with the High Court in 1999, by passing Syariah Court (Islamic court), and then with the Federal Court in 2006. Joy hopes to live openly as a Christian; she was forced to go into hiding by the publicity surrounding her case.

In a majority verdict delivered on the May 30, 2007, the Federal Court rejected her appeal. Her appeal was dismissed 2-1 by Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim and Datuk Alauddin Mohd Sheriff; the dissenting Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Datuk Richard Malanjum wrote that “Hence, in my view this is tantamount to unequal treatment under the law. In other words it is discriminatory and unconstitutional and should therefore be struck down. For this reason alone, the relief sought for by the appellant should be granted, namely for a declaration that she is entitled to have an identity card in which the word ‘Islam’ does not appear.”

Legal recognition would have allowed her to have the change of religion noted on her national identity card; it will also remove the barrier to her marrying her Christian fiance (marriage between Muslims and non-Muslims is forbidden under Malaysian law; typically, the non-Muslim partner is required to convert to Islam). At the moment, Syariah Court alone have the power to deal of Islamic issues, including conversion of religion to and from Islam, which is not something unknown. According to Muslim Lawyers Association spokesman Pawanchek Merican, “..In Negeri Sembilan, the syariah court allow 16 people to renounce Islam ….”.

It had been hoped that Joy’s case would ultimately determine whether Malaysian Muslims can circumvent Syariah Court, and it had become a rallying cause for interfaith, women’s rights, and civil rights groups in Malaysia. According to a senior official in the National Registration Department, for the NRD to change the religion on her identity card would mean that the department would be officially declaring her an apostate, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Syariah Court. The jurisdiction of the Syariah Court over converts from Islam to other religions has been hotly debated by the Malaysian public in the past few years, with this and other court cases involving converts closely followed by the media. Joy is not the first person to apply for recognition of conversion from Islam; another woman named only as “Maria” by the BBC is also pursuing a similar case. Furthermore, in 2006, Malaysian courts granted recognition for the 1936 conversion from Islam to Buddhism of Nyonya Tahir; however, Tahir was deceased by that time.

Malaysian Paypal users cannot accept any payments since 10th May 2007. Paypal requires entering a U.S. Bank Account in order to accept payments. Many suspect and thought that it is a change of policy for Malaysia. It turned out to be a false alarm. It is a technical glitch afterall and they finally rectify it after fifteen long days. Everything is back to normal now.

When you have payment and clicked to accept it, you are brought to the familiar page where you have a choice of Accept Payment But Don’t Add a Bank Account Now. Click Submit and the next screen appears.

Malaysian Paypal users are not discriminated after all. However, this episode has proven that many Malaysians find it hard to go the right way during time of crisis. Some has gone to the extend of entering a fake U.S. Bank account number in order to accept payment during the period of technical glitch.

It is this group of people that gives Malaysia a bad name in the eye of the world. Shame on you!

Paypal users in Malaysia have been subjected to unfair policies since 10th May 2007. There has been no news on whether this policy will be permanently imposed on us.

However, there are a few ways to have a proper functional Paypal account. VMI Bank Account is one of them. It is discussed and proper instructions can be found at hongkiat.com, a fellow blogger who are kind enough to share the knowledge. However, there are a lot of fees that are imposed on the VMI Bank Account that makes it not quite worthwhile for small timers.

The other more desirable way, in my opinion at least is the E*Trade Checking Account.

Account Features

• Free, unlimited online bill payments
• Free ATM/Visa® Debit card
• Unlimited Debit card and check transactions
• Free initial checkbook order
• Online images of cleared checks, deposited checks, and deposit slips
• FDIC insurance to at least $100,000

Account Minimums

• $100 minimum initial deposit required
• No account minimums are required to maintain this account

Costs and Fees

• No monthly account fees

The E*Trade Checking Account can be applied through mail. Application forms can be printed online. The whole process is simple and takes less than one week if proper documentation is submitted. A photocopy of your Passport and MyKad is the only requirement needed for identification. Activation is standard procedure as normal for use in Paypal.

I believe there are other ways but E*Trade Checking Account is the best so far. If you have differing opinions, please share. There have been many ebooks written on this subject since and payments are often required for the information. Heaven forbids if anyone were to copy and turn this into an ebook and charges for it.

I hope this article will not be misused by crooks that Paypal wanted to rid by implementing the said policies, else more drastic actions are in store for us.

Happy Paypalling!

There has been an unofficial change of policy for Paypal users in Malaysia since 10th May 2007. Users in Malaysia who tries to receive funds are directed to a page where they are asked to enter a U.S. Bank Account. Those who cannot comply will have their funds stuck and eventually returned to the sender.

There’s no confirmation so far from Paypal. Enquiries and emails are simply brushed off with standard replies citing technical glitches. This shows that Paypal does not give a fuck to Malaysian users.

Paypal states that users in Malaysia can Send. Receive. Withdraw to a U.S. Bank Account. But now we can only Send. Withdraw to a U.S. Bank Account.

I am sad to acknowledge that Paypal actually did the right thing. Many Malaysian sell things on eBay, get payment through Paypal but did not send the goods after receiving payment. The crooks then transfer the money out and closed the Paypal account. We are being penalised because of them. Don’t forget Malaysia is still on the list of high fraud risk country.

Being a Malaysian, we are miserable long enough to have our own ways. There are hope yet, in the form of VMI Bank Account and E*Trade Checking Account.