Short trip to KL

Aloha people!

Here I am to update about my life :)

On last Wed (22nd), I rested at home for the whole day. It was not a productive day as I didn't do much on anything on that day. But but, dinner served was slightly better than usual :D All these days, I have been cooking nonsense to be frank, even my dad could not bear my "cooking arts" anymore. He said this in a sarcastic way, "Whenever the clock hits 6pm, you'll just open the fridge, and cook whatever it is there. And you never plan what to prepare, what to put and etc." I was kinda angry with him saying this, but it is so true that I can't argue back. So, ta-da, at least something edible, different for the night :)

After that, here comes my second KL trip in the holidays! Before this, I have followed my friends back to her Endau house. It is followed by the trip to KL. And a brand new environmental project, TechCycle Tech4ALL is waiting ahead! ;)

On 24th (Fri), there was a high school workshop at SMK Subang Jaya. Before this, I stayed in Zhou Yee's house. So eventually, she followed us to the workshop, together with the EPs. All the morning session students attended the workshop, around 250 students. Good job for both EPs who had conducted the workshop successfully! To be very honest, it is really a challenge to speak in front of 250 people, and also to attract their attention. Now, I really salute teachers, who can settle so many students at once, with rules and discipline. 

After workshop, all of us were given some token of appreciation. The counselor, Puan Lee also treated us a lovely lunch. A well-spent day indeed. Last but not least, I really gonna thank Zhou Yee for coming with us! Hope that she had an eye-opening experience. ^^

Delicious food at their canteen =)

Camwhore session at Zhou Yee's place :D

Last Saturday, it was Y2B Malaysia 2014. 

It is also the first day of MyLDS for senior track. I am kinda disappointed with this arrangement as they only prepared two-days activities for senior track. I have never been to MyLDS, which is a national conference that lasts 6 days 5 nights. Being a senior in AIESEC, I am not allowed to join junior track which is almost one week long. An opportunity to participant in such a big national conference is gone :( However, in this two short days, I did learn a lot of things :))

There are 10 companies involved in this Y2B. They are Ernst and Young, TalentCorp, MSC Malaysia, Microsoft Malaysia, Shell, Accenture, Says, Genovasi, MyTeksi and GE imagination at work. The theme is "Building the Bridge: Decoding Gen-Y". Apparently, it is all about Gen Y nowadays. A few representatives from those sponsors gave speech and it was followed by an external forum. They discussed a few areas regarding Gen Y. It is so true that even we Gen Y, also cannot handle ourselves the same generation, not to mention baby boomers and Gen X.

After that, it was workshop session. 
I was assigned to Ernst and Young entrepreneur and innovation workshop.
In the first part of the workshop, they have invited Mr. Nelson, who is awarded as "Entrepreneur Of The Year 2013" by EY in Malaysia. 
If you dont know who he is, take a look at the picture below in which business he has founded :)

Mr. Nelson has founded this corn business 27 years ago in PJ. 

Now, his business has expanded to overseas, exporting corn to more than 16 countries in the world.

His talk is rewarding in the sense that we have learnt a lot from him.

He believes in 5 Ps- Place, Product, Price, Promotion and People.

The key of success in his business is the quality, quality of corn.

For him, experience is utmost important and this is what makes him a successful entrepreneur.

He has been working since young, accumulating a lot of working experience in different working industry.

"You will never truly master the whole business until you experience it," he said.

This is where you learn new skills, train yourself up.

Networking is vital too.

Mr.Nelson advised us talk more and make as many friends as you can!

Of course, be sincere and honest all the time, with smiley face :D

To get help and learn new things, go ahead and ask! 

Never be afraid to be thick-face and paiseh.

People wouldn't know what you need until you tell them.

Besides,

focus on 1 business at once.

Go out and work in that relevant industry, and learn from other people.

After you have some hands on experience, 

only you venture your own business.

Do the things you love.

Start small and be patient and perseverant.

Always have a contingency plan, to grow stably even during recession.

When you partner with your friends to do business,

never forget to write everything in black and white.

In this world, nothing is permanent.

After gaining insights from this respectable entrepreneur, 

we proceeded to the next session, workshop.

All of us were divided into 10 groups of 10.

Yup, so there were 100 students in each workshop.

I joined group 10, in which there were 2 people whom I know with some other new people there.

We were given a case study to be solved and presented in half an hour. 

So, we had to write out our plans and present everything in 5 min at the end of the session.

It was fun and interesting!

I have met some people from Sunway and USM.

They were so friendly and funny, and very soon, all of us blended in well. =)

Our question was that, "our organization is an IT hardware company. We have to come out with an environment activity which will increase the revenue or make a saving, with no fund allocated."

Meaning that, we have no capital to do this activity besides making money for the business.

The situation is very similar to the project that I am doing now, 

TechCycle Tech4ALL.

In this project, 

we are supposed to create awareness and collect e-waste for underprivileged children. 

This suits this question perfectly,

so we went along with this idea.

However,

we realized that it does not make sense if we want to do some charity work while making money out of that.

Why would people donate e-waste to help us make money?

So with quick wit,

we turned the solution around!

It makes sense if we partner with NGOs who can help us to collect e-waste and benefit from this.

And since we are an IT company, we can refurbish on our own. :D

With this,  we save $$ too.

And we go on with this, 

bla bla bla bla.

But guess what?

With such an impromptu plan,

we are the winner group! :D

And the prize is

TA-DA

H&M card which has RM50 in it.

Each and everyone in the group got this.

The happiness was beyond my description

Because I have not bought any single cloth for the one whole year,since last year CNY until now!

Perhaps for girls,

it is indeed an achievement if we can curb our shopaholic personality!

I did not buy any shopping items like cloth, shoes, make-up etc,

for last whole year. 

Until recently, 

only I bought 2 pairs of shoes for this coming nwe year as some of my old shoes had come to the end of their lifespan.

THAT'S WHY I WAS REALLY EXCITED WHEN I GOT THE SHOPPING CARD :D

But besides this,

I really learnt a thing or two out of this Y2B.

Unpredictable.

Hello everyone, here I am to update about life. :)

These few days have been very busy. One of my aunts just passed away last Saturday. Immediately, she was sent to Nirvana Memorial Center. Without hesitation, almost all relatives took leave, coming down all the way to JB to send her off for the last time. Everything was settled very fast in the sense she passed away on this Sat's morning, open for condolence on Sunday, then was cremated on Monday.

Nowadays funeral ceremony was so much easier. The center will basically cover everything for you, and all you need to do is pay and be present. My aunt has already purchased her memorial tablet last year, which is a memorial package for herself and also her son. This is why everything could be so simple and efficient.

The timing of sister coming back from Taiwan was really just nice, Sunday's night. Only mummy and I drove to Singapore to pick her up this time round. Daddy stayed in Malaysia to handle all the funeral things. And this Sunday happened to be my another aunt's birthday! She is the closest relative to us, where I will never be afraid to talk anything with her. Her birthday is so easy to remember that, you wont forget once she tell you. 19/1, and you inverse it, 911. So after staying at home whole day to clean the house, we rushed out to buy her a Cappuccino cake in JB and went to Singapore.

Luckily there was no jam and we had a sweet dinner with my uncle's whole family :) Perhaps it is because all of my cousins have grown up, they start to be more mature and caring about the surrounding issues. After picking up my sista, all of us talked discussed like never before. It has been so long, since we last gathered and really sat down to talk. Talk about life. about politics, everything. My aunt was very surprised and said that I was really sweet & thoughtful ;) And we ended the gathering with chocolate and pineapple tarts bought from Taiwan given to my aunt. Hope she really had a blast :))

And after coming back to Malaysia, we still rushed to the memorial center, so that sista got to give her last condolence to my aunt. Some relatives also came to our house to stay for one or two days. Therefore, that night I ended up sleeping on the floor, with a map and sofa cushions being my one-night-bed at nearly 2am.

Throughout these days, I talked to a lot of people. Realization really really dawned on me that, life is this fragile, isn't it? I didnt even get to visit my aunt for the very last time although I am in JB. Everyone didnt expect this fast, and we always say, "Next time bah". Well, so there is no more next time. This is also part of reason no matter what, I must always come back to home. No matter how many times I need to travel up and down, I must always come back. Plus the days that I get to see my parents, is not often.

Sometimes, I do worry about my dad. He never wants to do medical check-up for so many years. Smoke, drink, work. Rest very little, portion of food that he eats is getting lesser and lesser. But, he is as stubborn as a stone. We cant force him to change unless he himself wants it.

About my sister, she is finally back from Taiwan! All we do when 2 of us are together is quarrel and argue. Laugh out loud! But no choices, sometimes we really hate each other! And the current issue between us is who does the household. Who cooks and who cleans. Kinda lame I know, but ya, that is us, haha. :')

And for today Tuesday, I had an interview with Vietnam. Hopefully the answer would be a positive one as this interview took both parties like more than 1 and a half hour, which is really long (longer than me Skyping with my overseas' friends, zzz). This period, I kinda get a lot of rejections, from different people. But well, success and fruits only come after tons of sweat and failures, isn't it. I must always be humble. Humble, HUMBLE! Down to Earth! I am not really polite towards my sista O_O

Last but not least, I really want to be the King of the Music (Jay Chou said this before). Why did I give up in the first place? Isn't it music wonderful? Just really afriad, one day. One day, my fingers, can't fly anymore. And I, would be none other than nobody. Someone, that is less than her own name.

The first post

     First of all, happy 2014 to everyone! On the very special day, I am here to say that I will be officially using this blog to blog! And today marks the day where I start blogging :)

    So without further adieu,let me introduce myself a bit. I am Jasreel, or you can call me You Jin as it is easier to remember and sound better ;) I am from Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Currently studying in Accounting and Finance in Taylor's University. I  am a May baby, and have only one elder sister.

   I am an ordinary girl, who grows up in a warm family :) Sometimes you may find me weird (or you can use the word extraordinary if you want to :D) as I don't do what normally youngsters like to do. I am a quiet person I guess? But I am very friendly, where you can talk to me anytime you want ^^ On top of that, you might find me interesting or funny if you start to understand how I swim in my own ways (Hahaha XP).

   The reason why I start blogging now is to record moments of my life! I did blog last time, when I was in primary and secondary school. But I guess I stopped after PMR? Without writing it down, we tend to forget what we have done and never realize that, "Hey, you have actually come this far!". And it is so true that our memories always fail us when we need it the most, right?? XD I want to record down every single thing that made up my life, everything that I appreciate in life. And not to forget, I gonna write my life-changing exchange experience here, to share with everyone. Hope that it gives me positive energy when I feel demotivated 

   Besides, I also want to keep on writing. To be honest, my English is very  bad and I have stopped reading since don't know when, but pardon me for my language if it is too horrible. :/ I still remember vividly that my English tutor once told us that, keep on reading and never stop writing! It is undeniable that I only write when I have to, like for assignments, work, exams etc. So, I want to find back the joy of writing, telling stories etc. And hopefully, I get to express myself better? And perhaps speed up my thinking and writing speed. Since I have created this blog for assignment purpose (as the previous post), why not utilize it and continue? :)

  So all in all, I hope I will update this blog at least once a week. Stay tuned for more ;)

  Last but not least, here's my selfie :)

Economics

Demand is a schedule or a curve that shows the various amounts of a product that consumers are willing and able to purchase at each of series of possible prices during a specified period of time (McConnell, Brue and Flynn, 2009). Law of demand states that other things remaining the same, the higher the price of a good, the smaller the quantity demanded and vice versa (Sloman, Wride and Garratt, 2012). Figure 1, shows a negative relationship between demand and quantity demanded. There are two reasons causing this curve shape and law of demand. They are substitution effect and income effect (McConnell, Brue and Flynn, 2009).

Figure 1

       

           

Price Elasticity of demand is the measurement of how responsive the quantity demanded of the good is to a change in its price while others remain the same (Sloman, Wride and Garratt, 2012). It is calculated by dividing percentage change in quantity demanded over percentage change in price. If the price elasticity of demand is more than 1, the good has an elastic demand. If the price elasticity of demand is less than 1, the good has a inelastic demand. So, a good with unit elastic demand has a price elasticity of exactly 1.

Elasticity of demand depends on nature of products, in terms of necessities or luxuries. Petrol is a necessity where everyone needs it to carry out daily life. Generally, it has an inelastic demand as everyone needs petrol to live. In Malaysia, price elasticity of petrol is inelastic as quantity demanded is not closely affected by the price of petrol. The price is fixed by government.

                                                                          

                                                                           

                               

Figure 2

            In Malaysia, there is a price ceiling regulation that makes it illegal to charge a price higher than a specified level. It only has effect if the rent ceiling is set below the equilibrium petrol price (RM3.18). The price of petrol is capped at RM 1.90 regardless of the price fluctuation in global market. According to the law of supply, the higher the price of a good, the greater is the quantity supplied while other things remaining the same (Sloman, Wride and Garratt, 2012). So, when the price is below the equilibrium price, the supply would decrease and a shortage would occur.

           

Figure 3

To overcome this shortage problem, government  intervenes by giving fuel subsidy. Subsidy is a payment to a producer from the government, usually in the form of cash or tax reduction (Miller, 2008). Gas stations are not allowed to sell petrol at any price higher. So to fill up the price to market price, government subsidize the rest of the remaining cost, subsiding RM1.28 per litre for RON 95. This shifts the supply curve right, from Sdomestic to Sdomestic+ subsidy, increasing supply from Q1 to Q3, solving shortage. In  Malaysia, subsidy is given to an extent that there is no shortage for petrol as an oil producing country.

Oil Subsidies by the Government Jun 2012
	PETROL RON95
	RM / litre
Real price	3.18
Controlled price	1.90
Government subsidies	1.28

Figure 3

[Source: Asia One, 2012 ]

Even under controlled pricing, a competition still forms between firms. It is an oligopoly market. Number of firms are a few but all in big scale (Tucker, 2008). The freedom of entry is restricted as it is difficult to set up a big oil station company in Malaysia. Product- petrol is a homogenous product, but the firms differentiate themselves from one another through their services and branding. For customers, it is the same for where they pump their petrol. So, their choices which reflects demand depends much on their taste and preference. It depends much on the service of the firm. Sales of their preferred gas station would likely have a higher market share. In Malaysia, there are a few dominant players like Shell, Petronas, Caltex and others (Malaysia Central) .

 (Source from : James Keyser/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image, 2011)

Figure 4

In most of the states in the United States, there is no price regulation. The petrol price varies with market price. Figure 4 shows different gas station selling petrol at different prices. They are in a perfect competition market. The number of firms in this market is big and there is no barrier to entry. The product-petrol is homogenous. Both buyers and sellers have equal access to information, so firms are price taker because the equilibrium price is determined between the market supply and market demand (Miller, 2008). The price elasticity of demand is higher and more elastic than in Malaysia as customers are more price sensitive. When one station has a lower price, the sales of other gas station would likely drop and vice versa.

Although they are in a perfect competition market, there is small deviation on petrol price for each firm. There are other factors affecting the difference of price at different gas stations. Each gas station's branding carries different price effects. It differentiates one' price from another. Premium brands such as Exxon, Shell, Mobil and others would usually have a higher petrol price compared to unknown gas station. Most of the petrol stations have two different services, self serve and full serve. Full serve charges more with the service of cleaning vehicle's windscreen and checking vehicle's engine oil levels and radiator water (Cletheroe, 2006).

Location of the gas station decides the petrol price. Gas stations which are located in cities or high way would normally charge petrol at a higher price due to slightly more inelastic demand in these areas. For island like Hawaii has the highest prices as it includes all the transportation expense from mainland to there.

(Source from : AAA, 2013) Figure 5

In Malaysia, the demand for petrol is inelastic as the price is lower than market price due to the implementation of price ceiling and subsidy. There are a few advantages of the implementation of price ceiling and subsidy. People get to enjoy the petrol price which is below the market price. It improves social welfare (Elis, 2010). It also prevents formation of cartel, price discrimination and controls the percentage of revenue firms generated relative to sales.

However, there are a few disadvantage of use of price ceiling and subsidy. Because of the huge amount spent in subsidy, government would exert more taxes or expenses on other goods or aspect to ensure the money flow (Widodo, 2012). This might be another hidden burden for people. Government would have an inefficient of budget. Time frame for this subsidy would be infinite. Government can take off subsidy without prior notice.

Furthermore, when government implements price ceiling, the oil industry would be less competitive. The market would never reach an efficient level as marginal benefit exceeds the marginal cost when price is controlled (Taylor, B, 2006). A deadweight loss would occur. This mechanism causes fuel industry in Malaysia not becoming a potential industry for investment as there cannot be a change in price. Free trading is restricted and this is not a good sign for economic growth as a stiff competition is needed to develop and grow the economy of the country. A price ceiling also causes the smuggle of petrol in Malaysia. Smuggling is to export or import without paying lawful customs duties (The Free Dictionary, 2013). This can be reflected through news of petrol smuggling into neighbouring countries (The Star, 2012).

In the US, the demand for petrol is slightly more elastic as price changes all the time. Price of petrol varies the market price. Time elapsed since price changes is one of the determinants of elasticity of demand. When there is more time for consumers to adjust to a price change, the more elastic is the demand of the good (Sloman, Wride and Garratt, 2012). To gain more benefits while the petrol price is low, some may even buy petrol for storage. Demand of petrol is affected by expected future price. When the price of the good is expected to rise in the future, current demand for the good will increase, shifting the demand curve to the right (Sloman, Wride and Garratt, 2012).

They implies free trading where no price control is imposed. Free trade improves the production efficiency. The resources are allocated more efficiently and this increases productivity and total output of goods and services (Edge). It makes the market competitive, higher efficiency in production, and innovation (Taylor, 2006) .

Sources from: The World Bank, 2013
Figure 6

To offset the negative effects bought by price ceiling, it is recommended that Malaysia impose fuel subsidy removal. The low price is meant to benefit the lower-income earners and lighten their burden. So, instead of subsidizing the whole market, government can choose to give subsidy or incentives only to the lower-income groups. This can solve social problems besides minimizing effects. It also brings environmental benefit as public would be more thrifty in using petrol (EPA).

For the US which is a free-trading market, the government can also give petrol incentive to firms when petrol price reaches its highest point, beyond market's expectation. This move get to take good care of people' welfare and give firms a push to boom the economy.

In conclusion, although both countries' petrol prices are relatively low in global market, the price elasticity of petrol demand in the USA is higher and more elastic than in Malaysia. In Malaysia, people are more encouraged to pump petrol than in the USA due to the lower fixed price. But, both countries oil industry are good as there is a consistent supply of petrol and no big inflation in petrol price, unlike in other countries. People in both countries generally gain more benefits in term of petrol  than most of the countries.

Referencing List

AAA (2013) U.S. Gas Prices Stable, Except in Stormy Midwest. [photograph] In: Restyling News. [online]. Available from: http://restylingmag.com/news/us-gas-prices-stable-except-in-stormy-midwest [Accessed; 27th May 2013].

Asia One (2012) RON95 petrol subsidy to continue. [online]. Available from: http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Malaysia/Story/A1Story20120610-351614.html [Accessed on 30th May 2013].

Cletheroe, J (2006) Driving In The USA And Canada - Petrol Stations (Gas Stations) [online]. Available from: http://www.johncletheroe.org/usa_can/driving/petrol.htm [Accessed on 5th June 2013].

Edge, k. Free trade and protection: advantages and disadvantages of free trade. [online]. Available from: http://hsc.csu.edu.au/economics/global_economy/tut7/Tutorial7.html [ Accessed on 4th June 2013].

Elis, J. (2010) The Effects of Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform: A Review of Modelling

and Empirical Studies.  Global Subsidies Initiatives papers March 2010.

Geneva: GSI and IISD.

EPA. Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions. [online]. Available from: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/sources/transportation.html [Accessed on 4th June 2013].

Gillikin, J. Pros & Cons of Free Trade [online]. Available from: http://www.ehow.com/about_4777659_pros-cons-free-trade.html [Accessed on 5th June 2013].

Investopedia (2013) Economics Basics: Supply and Demand. [Photograph] In: Investopedia. [online] Available from :http://www.investopedia.com/university/economics/economics3.asp [Accessed on 28th May 2013].

James Keyser/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image (2011) Oil shock could put brakes on US recovery. [photograph] In: The Guardian. [online]. Available from :http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/feb/23/oil-shock-will-hit-us [Accessed on 30th May 2013].

Malaysia Central. The Leading Malaysia-Centric Info Portal & The Most Comprehensive Malaysian Search Directory [online]. Available from:http://www.mycen.com.my/malaysia/petrol.html [Accessed on 3rd June 2013].

McConnell,C, Brue,S and Flynn,S (2009) Economics : principles, problems, and policies .18th edn.. Boston. : McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Miller, R (2008) Economics Today The Micro View. Boston: Pearson.

Sloman, J., Wride, A., Garratt, D. (2012) Economics. 8th ed. Essex: Pearson Education

Limited.

Taylor, B (2006) Price Ceiling. [online]. Available from: http://economics.fundamentalfinance.com/price-ceiling.php [Accessed on 5th June 2013].

The Free Dictionary (2013) [online]. Available from: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/smuggling [Accessed on 5th June 2013].

The Star (2012) Fuel smugglers foiled in Johor. [online]. 30 December. Available from: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/12/30/nation/12518092&sec=nation [ Accessed on 5th June 2013].

The World Bank (2013) Pump price for gasoline (US$ per liter). [online]. Available from: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EP.PMP.SGAS.CD?page=1 [ Accessed on 30th May 2013].

Tucker, I (2008) Economics for Today's World. Cengage Learning.

Widodo, T, Sahadewo, G, Setiastuti,S, Chaerriyah,M (2012) Impact of Fuel Subsidy Removal on Government Spending [online] Available: http://www.eria.org/Chapter%208-Impact%20of%20Fuel%20Subsidy%20Removal%20on%20Government%20Spending.pdf [Accessed on 5th June 2013].