Ahh...looks familiar!!! I wonder if i've ever seen this before?
A full 5 Seater MINI?
At least the doors close with a solid thud.
McPherson struts in front.
Similar arrangement to the regular Cooper, although slightly reworked to accommodate the rear axle.
At RM 250K this countryman is considered a premium SUV and it sits in a category of black label SUV's such as the Volkswagen Tiguan, Nissan Murano, Lexus RX and etc.
At 5.68 inches of ground clearance this is not exactly a vehicle where you would want to take it offroad. It definitely has sufficient clearance to deal with speed bumps or roadside kerbs. I was also told that the ALL4 Model has a slightly higher ground clearance, but this particular unit here is the 2WD version.
Engine wise, it's got a 1.6 litre turbo unit which is identical to the cooper S, and it pumps out 180 Bhp of power. Sufficient, but not powerful, and it loses out to the VW Tiguan's 2.0 TSI unit which produces 200Bhp.
I've yet to see any countryman's on our roads, even the MINI Clubman are so rare on Malaysian roads, so i could foresee that this countryman could be another flop for BMW. Anyway if i had that much money to spend, I wouldn't put it on the countryman, i'll either get the VW Tiguan or the Cooper S JCW.
I've recently purchased a karrimor panther 65 rucksack for my oncoming trip to the europe. This bag is considered as mid size, considering most people would go for the 100L pack for month long holidays.
This pack feels very durable and tough, and the outer fabric feels so rufty-tufty. Great bang for the buck.
I'll be going on a month long holiday soon, and hopes this karrimor wont fail on me.
The article below was qouted from DAP chairman Lim Kit Siang's blog.
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Malaysia’s Slowing Performance
by Greg Lopez
Asia Sentinel
25 August 2011
There are strong institutional reasons for the lagging performance against its regional neighbors
In the 70 years since World War II ended, East Asian economies, including Malaysia, appear to have largely got performance right. Malaysia was also one of 13 countries identified by the Commission on Growth and Development in its 2008 Growth Report to have recorded average growth of more than 7 percent per year for 25 years or more. Malaysia achieved this spectacular performance from 1967 to 1997.
However, since the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 and1998, Malaysia’s economic performance when compared to previous decades has been lackluster and most macroeconomic indicators are trending downwards. This was confirmed by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak himself in the publication on March 30, 2010 of the New Economic Model – Part 1. This was a very brave move but a necessary one by the premier as he acknowledged publicly the failures of Malaysia’s current economic model in order to demonstrate urgency for reforms.
The New Economic Model identifies domestic factors such as weak investor confidence, capability constraints (weak human capital, entrepreneurial base and innovative capacity) , productivity ceilings and institutional degradation and external factors such as a sluggish global economy caused by the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 and the rise of neighbors in the region in contributing to the declining growth trajectory.
If we were to revisit the determinants of growth and agree that proper institutions form the overall structure that determines long-term sustainable growth, then the logical response is to reform Malaysia’s institutional set-up, as it must be the deepest determinant of what is hindering economic growth.
This view is further strengthened as Malaysia’s other deep determinants, geography and trade, are favorable. The country has abundant natural resources, is shielded from natural hazards and is well-located strategically both geopolitically and economically. Malaysia has also benefitted tremendously from being an open economy, especially in the merchandise sector.
The New Economic Model also reports that regional challenges from China, India and Vietnam, etc. are a cause for Malaysia’s declining economic performance. What has changed about these countries? They have all undertaken institutional reforms: China since 1978, India since 1992 and Vietnam since 1986. They are reaping the benefits while Malaysia has stalled in its institutional reforms since the 1990s, regressed in some ways and is suffering from the consequences.
The above points stress the importance of institutional reforms in Malaysia, something that Najib has ironically neglected in his signature policies – 1Malaysia, Government Transformation Programme and Economic Transformation Programme.
According to the Growth Commission report, “…fast sustained growth is not a miracle; it is attainable for developing countries with the ‘right mix of ingredients.’ Countries need leaders who are committed to achieving growth and who can take advantage of opportunities from the global economy. They also need to know about the levels of incentives and public investments that are necessary for private investment to take off and ensure the long-term diversification of the economy and its integration in the global economy…”
Michael Spence, the Chairman of the Growth Commission, elaborated on his extensive experience working with developing countries on growth issues in his latest book by emphasizing two important characteristics for developing countries to ensure long term sustainable growth – the role of political leadership and democratic norms. He suggests four characteristics for governments that are necessary requirements to underpin long term growth:
1.The government takes economic performance and growth seriously.
2.The governing group has values that cause it to try to act in the interest of the vast majority of the people (as opposed to themselves or some subgroup, however defined)
3.The government is competent and effective and selects a viable sustained-growth strategy that includes openness to the global economy, high levels of investment, and a strong future orientation.
4.Economic freedom is present and is supported by the legal system and regulatory policy
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I'm surprised to see that even Najib is aware that our economy is going downward, jeez, it took a long time for him to figure it out though!!!
Malaysia's economy had been spiraling downwards ever since BODOWI took over. I remembered he once did something really useful by imposing a minimum salary of RM600, but after much pressure from the private sector he kept the issue aside and let it chill.
Ever since Najib took over, nothing much changed.....erm, apart from the 1 Malaysia slogan.
Fresh graduates with overseas degrees starts with a low salary of RM2k+, and it was the same few years ago, see how stagnant it is?. Half of it will go to the condominium, because you could barely afford a landed house, and the other half onto a car. This means all that's left is peanuts, and you'll be forced to eat Roti kosong RM1,Nasi lemak RM1, and teh tarik RM1.20 , of which will kill you faster than your loan tenure, than the government says we have to excersice more often because malaysian are obese...F**k it
What i'm stressing here is that, our spending power had been suppressed because we pay heftily on cars which is considered a must in Malaysia, why? Ask BODOWI lo. LRT line was announced since he stepped into office, but now in 2011, haven't build yet!!!.
Cars in Malaysia is so expensive that we some of us literally spend 10 years in repayments, on top of the 35 years repayment that we spend for the condo, that's a heavy burden for a light monthly paycheque. Guess right now it will be more economical to eat mamak/malay food rather than chinese/indian food...no wonder those Pendatang overtaken the Malays
Racism is not something extraordinary and rare, its a plagued that happens in all countries irregardless of poor or rich. Everybody hates racist, it's a disease that divides humans, believes, and it is dangerous.
I've been a victim of rasicm all my life, and i've learned to tolerate it and not give a shit about it. I've also learned to trust only to myself, and to work hard to achieve something on myself. Nobody's going to feed me if i failed and nobody's going to be there when you need a help. This wise and short quotes had been repeated by my parents over and over again since i was a little kid, and it still proves to be true till today. What i'm trying to stress here is that Malaysian chinese had to rely on themselves to survive, and we were typically cast out to the sea by our beloved motherland, and we had to swim to survive or drown.
The Malaysian Chinese are proud of their country, and notice how we called ourselves "Malaysian first, Chinese second"?, you recalled that? our Deputy prime minister used to argued on that!!!. My granpa used to fought for his country, and willing to die for his country and I myself would do the same in that situation, but....see what's happening today?. We are called "PENDATANG" which means immigrant in Malay.
Sometimes i wondered, my granparents was born in Malaysia, i was born in Malaysia, My Identity card was registered in Malaysia,I can speak proper Malay,I paid taxes, and still, i am called a pendatang?, while Mamaks are not?. Was it because of my religion or skin colour?...... Go ask those dumb Malaysian politicians!!!!!.
I am born and bred in Malaysia for 26 years, and my grandparents used to tell me stories of the 3 main races in Malaysia, which is Malay,Chinese and Indians. Now "1 Malaysia concept" had made the pool more diverse by introducing Indonesian Malaysian, Bangla Malaysian, Myanmar Malaysian and etc.
To make matters worse, Malaysian Chinese in West Malaysia are "NOT BUMIPUTRAS", while Malaysian Chinese in East Malaysia "ARE BUMIPUTRAS" (bumiputra means the son of the soil in Malay). I had an uncle in Lahad datu,Sabah in east Malaysia, he is a Chinese, he is registered as a Bumiputra and it is stated in his identity card, he enjoys the benefit of having discount when buying a house, he can join into UMNO party which in west Malaysia is reserved only to Malays......... I AM NOT!!!!!. Why?
Malaysian Chinese Population Declines to 25%
In a census just beyond 2000, I heard that there were approximately 32% ethnic Chinese in Malaysia. This, at the time was alarming enough as we were closer to 40% in the earlier days. Today, it is reported at as of 2005, there are only 25% and the number continues to reduce.
Why is this? I think everyone knows the answer why. Non Malays in Malaysia are being systematically marginalised to make way for fellow Malays who need not get things like scholarships by merit. It is practically presented to them on a silver platter, regardless if they are deserving or not.
Most Chinese and Indians who can afford to send their children overseas would definitely NOT encourage them to work and settle down in Malaysia. Put yourself in their shoes, ask yourself, Why would you want your children to suffer the same fate as you?. Perhaps you might argue that "the pastures are always greener on the other side"?, but nope, not me. I was a Second class citizen back in my own country, and now in U.K, i'm still a second class citizen, so does it makes any difference?
While the Chinese and the Indians are being sidelined in Malaysia, politicians are busy arguing whether they should call themselves "Malaysian Malays" or "Malay Malaysian"?.
While the Chinese and the Indians are being sidelined in Malaysia, Datuk ibrahim ali is now busy writing a speech on how to criticize and bombard the christian community in Malaysia.
While the Chinese and the Indians are being sidelined in Malaysia, MP's are arguing whether we the Chinese and Indians should be chased out of Malaysia......Go see for youself on youtube link below.
Even our neighbours, Singapore is laughing at us, so as a conclusion i would like to thank the government for casting us out, it had made the Malaysian Chinese stronger, because we are not living on welfare, and we are forced to work harder and smarter than others.
Every country is laughing at Malaysia, and here the ministers are fighting over "Ketuanan Melayu". If i'm a Malay, i should be very embarassed. Think about it, if you let the "Malayu Islam" as said by Ibrahim Ali, to run the economy, do you think it will flourish?. The Malays are blessed to have the Chinese and Indians in this country, and Don't call us Pendatang, Malays are immigrants as well, its just that the government had altered the history books that you've read......We are the same, we are equal, and most importantly, WE ARE MALAYSIANS.
