My Ruizu X02 MP3 player with 8GB internal storage

I have bought a Ruizu X02 MP3 player for my kid who is studying in a boarding school. It is a budget MP3 player which cost around RM50.

This Ruizu X02 MP3 player is very lightweight, compact at the size of just 3.9cm x 9.0cm x 0.7cm, and surprisingly feature rich. Its only shortfall is not supporting Bluetooth audio. Anyhow, Bluetooth is supported in higher ranked models of Ruizu MP3 player, such as the X06 which cost about 50% more expensive than the X02.

It doesn't come together with a earphone. well, you can easily get a decent earphone that come with your handphone, or to purchase one from the market.

Its default firmware is not so user friendly, because for certain function, you need to press its left and right button to navigate up and down on the screen. There is a new firmware version available for download in Ruizu official website. After the firmware update, its UX screen navigation is much better now. You can click here to learn about how to perform the firmware update to Ruizu MP3 player.

This MP3 player has an internal storage of 8GB. It also supports using SD card as external storage, but I found that after plugged-in the SD card, there will be additional steps to access and play the music and files, making it less convenient. In the end, I find it much better without the SD card. After all, 8GB of storage is large enough to store in a lot of songs and files.

One of the unique selling points (USP) of this Ruizu X02 MP3 player is its built-in battery's run time, which is able to play music for as long as 80 hours for a full charge cycle.

Another USP is that it supports as many as 25 languages, not only able to display the menu text in different language, but also able to correctly display filename, tag info, lyrics, and text in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Italian, French, and characters of other languages.

Among its functions are:

1. Music player

Its music player is able to play MP3, APE, AAC, OGG, M4A, WMA, WAV and FLAC.

It has a decent software equalizer, and able to play music with satisfactory quality when paired with a good stereo earphone, or a music speaker connected with AUX cable to it.

It supports display of song lyrics with LRC file, and also display of song album image when the music is playing.

2. Audio recorder

It has a built-in mic for audio recording. Supported audio recording file formats are MP3, WAV and ACT.

The effective sound recording distance is less than 8 meters.

3. FM radio

It makes use of the connected earphone wire or AUX cable as antenna for its FM radio. It is able to memorize up to 30 favourite stations, which is quite a lot. It is also able to perform FM radio recording.

4. Photo viewer

It is able to display JPG, JPEG and BMP files on its 1.8" TFT screen. Do not expect much, as the screen resolution is low.

5. Video player

It can also play video in AMV format of resolution 128x160. You can convert Music Video (MV) into this AMV format, and it will be able to play the MV.

6. E-book

It can display content of TXT files, and allow you to put a bookmark onto the reading file. Text files with Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc. are supported.

7. Games

Its default firmware does not come with games, but after updated its firmware to latest version, there are 3 small games found in it, namely Snake, Sokoban and Tetris.

8. Other functions

Other functions include clock (as screen saver), calendar, stopwatch and alarm.

It would be nice if it could include a simple calculator as well, but that is lacking.


All in all, this is a feature rich MP3 player with very affordable price. A nice gadget for students in the situation that use of handphone is very restricted within the school compound, but MP3 player is allowed, particularly in the library area.

Reliable online shop to buy disposable 3-ply non-woven face masks and disposable plastic gloves

It is a crucial practice to maintain good hygiene during current critical time against the COVID-19 corona virus.

To prevent infection, it is essential to wear a 3-ply non-woven face mask whenever we go outdoor, or whenever there is any sick family member in the house.

As the global demand for face masks is very high at this moment, there are not much stocks available in the market. Worse still, there exists quite a lot of scam face mask sellers in the Internet trying to cheat the buyers.

As such, it is very important to know where can you buy face masks online of:

• with reasonable price
• of reliable quality
• from trustworthy seller
• that promised to deliver to you within a short period of time

One of the online shop that fulfil all of the above requirements is the online JDX Presto Concept Store in PrestoMall.

JDX Presto Concept Store is a renown O2O store with a 50,000 square-feet physical shop located in Quill City Mall. PrestoMall, formerly known as 11Street, is one of the larger and popular online marketplace in Malaysia.

The URL to buy disposable 3-ply non-woven face masks from them is:
https://www.prestomall.com/productdetail/3ply-disposable-face-mask-50pcs-3-69407527

 

 



According to a research done by University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), the COVID-19 virus can stay active for more than 3 days on certain surfaces including plastic and stainless steel.

If you touch on the following (but not limited to) objects, you might carry the bacteria and virus on their surface to your hand, which might include the COVID-19 virus as well:

• Petrol pump
• Lift buttons
• ATM machine buttons
• Door access keypad buttons
• Door handle
• Bus / train handle bar or handle strap
• Shopping trolley cart handle
• Fingerprint scanner
• ... and many more

Then, the bacteria and virus would spread out from your hand to all the other surfaces that you touch on, and might also enter into your own body if you touched your eye, nose, mouth, body wound, etc.

Therefore, it is highly advisable to wear a disposable plastic glove before you touch on any of such objects, especially in public places, and immediately throw away the glove into dustbin after use.

You can buy the disposable plastic gloves from Shopee. According to my own experience, the plastic gloves arrived at my doorstep within 24 hour of purchase.

The URL that I bought my disposable plastic gloves is:
https://shopee.com.my/product/12837901/986704474

The same shop also sell alcohol-free hand sanitizer spray as well.

Take care. If you find this article useful, please bookmark and share its link to your friends.

Boost x Prudential free special COVID-19 life insurance coverage

Boost e-wallet has just launched a "Boost Cares for you" campaign to provide free special COVID-19 life insurance coverage by Prudential, made available to Boost Premium e-wallet users who enrolled for it in their app.

This free COVID-19 insurance coverage is eligible to Boost users who are:

• having Premium e-wallet with verified personal details.
• aged between 18 to 55.
• limited to the first 200,000 enrolments only.

The coverage will start from the date of successful enrolment until 30 April 2020. The coverage is funded by Boost and free for members who successfully signed up for this campaign.

To sign up, open Boost app, then tap on the Boost (second) icon on the top menu, tap on More, scroll down the page to Insurance section, and select COVID-19 with the Prudential logo. Then, accept the terms & conditions and submit for processing.

The coverage of this special COVID-19 life insurance include:

• RM1,000 payout to your family upon death (all death reasons are covered, except suicide)
• RM5,000 coverage upon diagnosis of COVID-19

You will be entitled to this coverage despite having an existing medical condition.

For existing Prudential insurance policy holders, if you are already covered for the special RM5,000 COVID-19 coverage under Prudential insurance, you cannot claim double with the COVID-19 coverage under this Boost campaign.

Auspicious dates for marriage proposal or engagement in 2020

Before becoming the life partner, marriage is proposed by lover and engagement is made.

Here is the list of auspicious dates for marriage proposal or engagement in year 2020 (year of Rat), which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu. (Click the image to enlarge)

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

You might probably also be interested with the auspicious dates for the following occasions in year 2020:

• Wedding / Marriage
• Wedding / Marriage (year 2021)
• Sign contract / register for marriage
• Having baby
• Renovation
• Moving house / office
• Opening business

Auspicious dates in 2020 for getting a baby / childbirth / Caesarian delivery

Here is the list of auspicious dates in 2020 (year of Rat) for getting a baby (求嗣), which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu.

The dates have good element(s) to embro/faetus. Traditionally, the dates are referred for conception planning (making love and expecting a baby to the family). Nowadays, people also make reference to them for Caesarian delivery of new born. (Click the image to enlarge)

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

You might probably also be interested with the auspicious dates for the following occasions in year 2020:

• Wedding / Marriage
• Wedding / Marriage (year 2021)
• Marriage proposal / engagement
• Sign contract / register for marriage
• Renovation
• Moving house / office
• Opening business

Auspicious dates for wedding / marriage in 2021

Many couples plan for their wedding more than 1 year ahead in order to have sufficient preparation time.

Here is the list of auspicious dates for wedding/marriage in year 2021 (year of Cow), which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu. (Click the image to enlarge)

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

If you are looking for auspicious dates for wedding / marriage in 2020 (year of Rat), click here.

You might probably also be interested with the auspicious dates for the following occasions in year 2021:

• Wedding / Marriage (year 2022)
• Wedding / Marriage (year 2023)
• Renovation
• Moving
• Getting a baby
• Marriage proposal or engagement
• Signing contract
• Hair cut
• Start job
• Opening business

Register for mySalam free national health protection insurance

The mySalam national health protection scheme is an initiative started by the Pakatan Harapan Government that aims to provide B40 and M40 citizens with free takaful health insurance protection.

You are eligible to online register for the mySalam national health protection scheme if you are inside one of the following categories:

• Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) recipient, married, age between 18 and 65 (both inclusive).
• Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) recipient, single, age between 40 and 65 (both inclusive), yearly income less than RM24,000.
• Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) recipient, OKU, age between 18 and 65 (both inclusive), yearly income less than RM24,000.
• Non-BSH recipient, yearly income less than RM100,000.

Basically, if you have already received your e-Tunai Rakyat 2020, there is very high possibility that you are also eligible for this mySalam national health protection scheme.

This Scheme covers 45 types of critical illnesses and provides an income replacement of RM50 per day for a maximum of 14 days, or RM700 per annum, to those who are hospitalized at government, university or military hospitals.

Registered BSH recipients will receive a one-time RM8,000 cash payout upon diagnosis of one of the 45 Critical Illnesses, while non-BSH recipients will receive RM4,000 cash payout instead.

All registered citizens under this scheme will also receive RM50 daily hospitalization income replacement up to RM700 per annum at any government, military or university hospitals. This include hospitalization to receive treatment of the Covid-19 virus.

You can click here to find out what are included in the list of 45 critical illnesses covered under this scheme.

To register yourself for the scheme, click here before the deadline of 31 March 2020.

PTPTN announced 2019 dividend for SSPN-i and SSPN-i Plus

The Malaysia National Higher Education Fund (Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional, PTPTN) has just announced dividend for year 2019 for the education savings schemes SSPN (Skim Simpanan Pendidikan Nasional, consists of SSPN-i and SSPN-i Plus) on 5 February 2020.

The 2019 SSPN dividend payout rate is 4%, amounting to RM147.25 million. This rate is the same as previous payout for 2015-2018.

This 4% dividend will be created into our SSPN accounts respectively on 8 February 2020.

On top of that, there is a good news for SSPN-i accounts opened in 2017 or earlier. These SSPN-i accounts can get an additional 1% bonus for new deposit made, which will be paid within this year, as long as they make new deposit of at least RM500 into the account between 5 February 2020 to 30 April 2020, and there is no withdrawal of money from the account during the campaign period. The maximum bonus to be paid for each account is RM8,000.

In 2019, the amount of deposits in  SSPN was RM1.37 billion, with 455,952 new accounts opened by depositors.

According to PTPTN, the number of SSPN accounts opened to date is 4.39 million.

Historical SSPN-i dividend payout rate is as below:

• 2019: 4.00%
• 2018: 4.00%
• 2017: 4.00%
• 2016: 4.00%
• 2015: 4.00%
• 2014: 4.25%
• 2013: 4.25%
• 2012: 4.25%
• 2011: 3.75%
• 2010: 3.25%
• 2009: 2.50%
• 2008: 4.00%
• 2007: 4.00%
• 2006: 4.00%
• 2005: 4.00%
• 2004: 3.00%

You can proceed to the Online SSPN-i Statement of Account website to check the transactions and amount of savings in your kid's SSPN account.

You are also highly encouraged to read about Online paying PTPTN / SSPN-i with credit card through Boost.

Install invisible safety grille at windows, balconies, yards, etc. for high rise buildings

I have just engaged with KL Invisible Grille (KLIG) to install invisible safety grille at the windows of a service apartment unit.

Invisible safety grille is just like a wire mesh or netting fence, except that it is customized to the installation area and constructed on site, precisely and firmly attached to its base. The construction of this invisible safety grille is similar to the way of doing racquet stringing.

To make it looks nicer, you can choose to only construct with vertical cables but without horizontal cables, or to construct with horizontal cables without vertical. In this way, it will look something like a harp. You can also increase its safety level by constructing both ways to make it like a racquet stringing.

(Photo from KLIG's Facebook page)

The invisible safety grille really looks invisible when viewed from some distance (a few meters) away and will not cause distraction to the beautiful scenery outside the building.

The main purpose of installing invisible safety grille is as a measure of safety to prevent people (especially toddlers and children), domestic pets, objects, etc. from falling out of the building.

Although the cable used is pretty strong and durable, with a breaking force of up to 900kg, it can be cut by metal cable cutter by exerting strong force. The good point of this is that the grille will not block fireman equipped with special cutting from rescue mission in case of emergency. The bad point is that it is more vulnerable to burglar and thieve who have the metal cutter and trying to enter the premise from the window.

The process began with a free onsite measurement to the areas of installation. The quotation is based on actual installation coverage area in square feet units.

Then, a deposit is paid and their workers will come for installation. It takes about 10 hours to complete the invisible safety grille installation for all the windows in my service apartment unit.

Since the installation involved drilling, there will be some minor touch up to the wall needed after the installation. The workers performed the touch up filling and repainting with white base paint to the affected places. They also cleaned up the floor, before leaving.

The warranty period will depend on the selection of cable material to be used. There are 3 types of cable for selection:

• 316 stainless steel cable - 15 years material warranty. Thicker.
• Nanotechnology Teflon coated cable - 15 years material warranty. Thinner.
• Nylon coated cable - 3 years material warranty. Thinner but not as durable as the other 2 types above.

You might be surprised that the installation price of invisible safety grille is actually much more cheaper than traditional metal bars grille. For example, the installation cost of the single panel window below is less than RM200.

As such, invisible safety grille is highly recommended to be installed for windows, balconies, yards, etc. of high rise buildings that is very difficult to climb in from outside, to prevent people, pet, object, etc. from dropping out of the building. The cables are as fine as 2.0 millimeter only, which will be seen as invisible and will not block the scene when viewed from some distance away.

If you play it like a harp, the cables can actually produce some nice sound. But unless the cables have different length, the sound produced by each of the cables is pretty monotonous.

A family day trip to Pulau Ketam (Island of Crabs), Selangor

Pulau Ketam is an island located near to Port Klang, one of the busiest container ports in the world.

There are 2 Chinese villages on Pulau Ketam :- the main Pulau Ketam village and a smaller Sungai Lima village. Although both the villages are quite near to each other, there is currently no road access between them. They are connected with water traffic.

Pulau Ketam is accessible by cruises or speed boats available daily at the South Port Passenger Terminal (Terminal Penumpang South Port) of Klang. It is within walking distance from Port Klang KTM station.

There is a huge golden crab sculpture at the South Port, a good photo-shooting location.

Hourly traffic is available from 9am to 6pm. Tickets are available for to-and-fro or single trip, and the price is pretty affordable. The price of cruises ticket is slightly more expensive than speed boats, selling at RM18 for adults and RM10 for children for to-and-fro trip by Alibaba Pulau Ketam Cruises Services Sdn Bhd.

While the travelling time of speed boats is slightly faster, the cruises are more relaxing with air-cond, large screen TV, comfortable seats, and roofed open air upper deck. It takes about 40 minutes for the cruise to travel between South Port and Pulau Ketam.

The infrastructure in Pulau Ketam main village is pretty well established. It has a nice jetty, free public toilet near the jetty, police station, fire brigade, surau, etc. There is a "pork free" restaurant called Restoran Po Seng next to the surau on the island.

As you can see from the photo above, there are telco towers on the island. You need not worry about getting phone signal and mobile data there.

The village is built on top of a swampy area. All the houses in the village are stilt houses. Even the roads are built on top of the land. This forms a unique scene in Pulau Ketam.

AS its name suggested, you can find plenty of crabs in this island. The crab species in the village is of small size, colourful (blue, orange, red, yellow, ...), and only has one plier. The villagers say edible crabs are located at the other side of the islands, some distance away from the village.

The village is not too large, most of the places are within 1km radius from the main street located near the jetty. Everywhere are within walking distance. The villagers also travel by electric bicycles and bikes on the island. The electric vehicles are available for rent to tourists too.

Quite a number of villagers have converted their house into homestay for tourists who come and visit the island. There are also a few hotels with room rate of around RM100 per night. Anyhow, Pulau Ketam is still a fishermen village, and you can find fishing boats cruising around.

Pulau Ketam is a nice relaxing place for sight seeing and listening to stories about the village from the villagers there.

There are quite a number of wall paintings for photo shooting.

And the village has quite a number of Chinese temples too.

While a day trip is sufficient to explore the village, and one night stay at one of the homestay on the island will bring a more amazing experience.

Malaysia year 2020 national and state public holidays

The official 2020 national and state public holidays in Malaysia has been announced by Cabinet, Constitution and Inter-Government Relation Division (BKPP), Prime Minister Department.

There are 14 days of national holiday (12 national holidays, whereby Chinese New Year and Hari Raya Puasa have 2 days of holiday respectively, and all the rest are 1 day).

3 of them fall on Friday, 4 fall on Saturday, 2 fall on Sunday, and 2 fall on Monday. Most of the states will have around 4 state holidays in addition to the national holidays.

Chinese New Year falls on weekend Saturday and Sunday (25th and 26th January 2020). As such, Monday 27th January 2020 will also be a holiday.

Hari Raya Puasa falls on Sunday and Monday (24th and 25th May 2020).  As such, Tuesday 26th May 2020 will also be a holiday.

Unfortunately, Deepavali falls on Saturday (14th November 2020), which is already a weekend off day for many people.

Click here to download the table of Malaysia year 2020 gazetted national and state public holidays.

Toothpaste tube squeezer

I bought this toothpaste tube squeezer recently at the price of RM1.00 per piece only, and found it is pretty useful to help you squeeze out the last drop of toothpaste from its tube when it is near empty.

It assists in squeezing the toothpaste out of the tube by pushing force onto itself.

This small little plastic can be used for soft tube packaging of various semi-liquid products, including cosmetic skincare cream, lotion, sun screen, water colour paint, gel, glue, etc.

There are also other types of soft tube squeezer available in the market. I think this type is the simplest and cheapest among them.

Online paying PTPTN / SSPN-i with credit card through Boost

If you are looking for a way to use your credit card to repay your PTPTN loan or to top-up the SSPN-i fund of your kids, you've found the right place here!

The idea is pretty simple: use your credit card to load up your Boost e-wallet, and pay your PTPTN and/or SSPN-i with Boost.

 

The following payment targets are currently supported by Boost:

• PTPTN Konvensional
• PTPTN Ujrah
• PTPTN SSPN-i
• PTPTN SSPN-i Plus

If you also have an AirAsia BigPay account, you can make use of the following way to get the best out of both e-wallets while paying your PTPTN and/or SSPN-i using your credit card.

First of all, make sure you have enough balance in your BigPay account to make the payment. If you have insufficient balance, load it with your credit card. Your BigPay e-wallet can store up to RM10,000 in it.

After that, in your Boost e-wallet, set your BigPay Mastercard as your top-up source.

Your Boost e-wallet can store up to RM1,500 in it. For every RM10 Boost top-up you made using BigPay Mastercard, you will earn 1 BIG Point in your AirAsia BIG Rewards account. If you reloaded RM1,500 into your Boost e-wallet using this method, you will get 150 BIG Points.

Before you proceed to make your payment in Boost, you can look for any Mission available in Boost that is relevant to your payment to be made, such as the one as shown below.

 

Remember to activate your Mission first, before you proceed to make your payment. You will have chance to earn some money by completing Mission in Boost.

To make payment to your PTPTN and/or SSPN-i account, go to "Do more" menu (tap on the Boost's heart shape icon on the top menu), and tap on "Pay Bills".

Search for PTPTN / SSPN-i under the Loans list. Currently they are listed at the very bottom of the page. You can make use of the quick search function inside the Select Utilities page to seek for them.

After that, just follow the on screen instruction to complete your payment. Note that RM1.00 will be charged by Boost and deducted from your payment amount.

Your payment should be reflected in your PTPTN / SSPN-i account within one working day, and you will receive a notification email from PTPTN as confirmation of your payment made.

Note that you can join the SSPN-i and SSPN-i Plus lucky draw contest if you top-up your account now.

Lastly, remember to repay your credit card when your statement comes. You can earn some cashback using this method if your credit card is of cashback type. Note that not all cashback credit cards are giving cashback for AirAsia BigPay reload and/or Boost reload. If you are using credit cards that give reward points, you can earn some reward points instead.

If you find this information useful and beneficial, please click the share button(s) below to share this message with your family, friends and relatives.

Broga Hill hiking

Broga Hill is a pretty famous hiking attraction nearby Kuala Lumpur. It is located in Semengih, at the border between Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.

It has a nice sunrise view, which you need to start your hiking latest by 6.30am in order to catch the sunrise timing. Since it is still dark when you start your trekking around that time, it is advisable to bring along a torch light. If you prefer to make use of your handphone LED light instead, make sure it is bright enough, and its battery is fully charged.

There are quite a lot of hikers there during weekends and public holidays. Parking is available in a palm oil plantation estate at the trek entrance, but the space is limited. If you are too late to arrive there, you might have difficulty finding a nice parking space. There will be people collecting parking fee from you, and they charge by number of headcounts in your car instead of per car basis. The rate is RM1.00 per person.

Not long after you walk on the trail, there will be another station with people collecting yet another RM1.00 per person from you as hiking fees. They also sell drinks and simple snacks to hikers, at a premium price compared with the price you can get in the shop in Semengih.

The trail is actually pretty wide and easy to walk. When we hiked up Broga Hill, there were days of raining before, so the trail is pretty muddy and a little bit slippery. Proper shoe for hiking is highly recommended to walk on this kind of trail condition.

There are 3 hill tops as viewpoints good for photo shooting. 3 of them are pretty close to each other. To reach the first hill top from the entrance, you will need about 45 minutes to an hour.

When you reached near to the first hill top, the slope is quite slant there, and you'll need to climb with the aid of rope already prepared for hikers there.

When you reached the hill top, enjoy the beautiful scene there.

After the third hill top, you can continue your trek to another viewpoint at Gunung Tok Wan, but the journey will easily take more than 2 hours to reach there. Most people set their endpoint at one of the Broga Hill hill tops, and there are also people who like to take the challenge to hike all the way up to Gunung Tok Wan.

After you walk down the hill and completed your hiking, there are some picnic plateau with tables and seats near the entrance for you to take your self-prepared breakfast. There is also a small children playground with some outdoor gymnasium facilities.

If you prefer to take your breakfast or lunch nearby, there are plenty of restaurants and food centers in the Broga Village located just about 1 kilometer away from Broga Hill.

At the end of the village, there is another famous attraction called Sak Dato Temple, which also attracted quite a lot of visitors during weekends and public holidays.

There are a number of hawkers and mobile stalls selling goods and foods near the entrance of the temple.

The temple is pretty large in area, with a nice botanical garden inside it. You can find statue of the 12 zodiac animals in the garden.

There is a place to spin for better prosperity and harmonious family in the temple which you should not miss it.

On top of a small hill next to the temple, you can find a very large statue of the Monkey King.

There is a nice suspension bridge connecting the temple to the hill, which you can walk over with it.

You can complete your day trip to Broga Hill, Broga Village and Sak Dato Temple, and returning to Kuala Lumpur right before dinner time. As such, hikers in Klang Valley can always plan for hiking up to Broga Hill as frequently as they like.

A family trip to Genting Highlands

It has been quite some times since my family last visited to Genting Highlands, and during the last school holiday we have visited it again to escape the heat.

On the way to Genting Highlands, we stopped by Batu Caves Temple.

Something new about this temple since our last visit is its colourful staircases, which apparently successful to attract more tourists to it.

The monkeys in Batu Caves are still around. They are, as usual, got used to the people around.

Driving uphill to Genting Highlands, I felt that the road is wider than before, and it is safer and easier to drive there.

We stayed at a new apartment called Geo 38 Residence, which has nice facilities including swimming pool, jacuzzi pool, fitness centre, sauna room, children playground, etc. all located at the same floor. The sauna room is not too big, and located inside the gents and women washrooms respectively, beside the swimming pool.

The main problem of this apartment is its location. It is hiding behind a new small township at mid-hill, at a lower ground than the Awana, which is quite some distance away from Genting Highlands at the hilltop and most of the visitor attractions uphill. You will need to travel by car to go anywhere out of the apartment, despite there is some food at the shops around within walking distance. If you stay in one of the hotels uphill in Genting Highlands, it will save you time, effort, petrol and parking fee to just walk around without the need of using a car.

If you are looking for vegetarian restaurant, there is one in Chin Swee Caves Temple, but crowded with people. There was a long queue outside, and the food waiting time exceed hours.

Genting Premium Outlets is a new attraction on top of Genting Highlands. There was a big crowd there. It was raining when we visited the place, and its top floor area is outdoor open concept, which has very limited shelter to the rain.

There is a food court in Genting Premium Outlets, which still using the troublesome temporary prepaid card method. We need to buy a prepaid card and load it with value, then use the card to buy food and drinks in the food court. Then, we need to return the card to get back the deposit money in it.

We visited the Happy Bee Farm, which is located quite near to Geo 38 Residence. After the visit, we found out that the road is one way. To return to the apartment, we need to go all the way down until we reached a roundabout, then only can go back uphill. This has tremendously lengthen the distance of travel.

We've also visited the Genting Strawberry Leisure Farms.

The entrance fee is not cheap, but it is quite worth to go inside and take photos.

We discovered that the strawberry farm only forms a small portion of the entire area. Majority of the farm is planted with flowers - a lot of colourful, beautiful flowers.

Our stay in Genting Highlands this time is only for 2 days 1 night. Since it is a family trip, we didn't enter into the casino. Outside the casino, we found that the shopping mall is still familiar, and the indoor theme park is also quite familiar.

PTPTN announced 2018 dividend for SSPN-i and SSPN-i Plus

The Malaysia National Higher Education Fund (Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional, PTPTN) has just announced dividend for year 2018 for the education savings schemes SSPN (Skim Simpanan Pendidikan Nasional, consists of SSPN-i and SSPN-i Plus) on 29 January 2019.

The 2018 SSPN dividend payout rate is 4%, amounting to RM114.55 million. This rate is the same as previous payout for 2015-2017.

On top of that, SSPN-i account holders may also receive an extra 0.5% on top of the annual dividend of 4% that is deposited into their accounts under the newly launched SSPN-i Loyalty Rewards scheme.

The eligibility to receive this SSPN-i Loyalty Rewards extra 0.5% dividend is:

• Account has been opened before year 2016.
• Consistent new deposit has been made during year 2016, 2017 and 2018.
• No withdrawal has been made during year 2016, 2017 and 2018.
• Minimum balance in account is at least RM1,000 by 31 December 2018.
• Accumulate at least RM500 new deposit into the account during 1 January 2019 until 30 April 2019.
• The 0.5% dividend is given for the amount of new deposit during 1 January 2019 until 30 April 2019.
• Maximum amount to be given would be RM8,000 per account.

In 2018, the amount of deposits in  SSPN was RM1.13 billion, with 678,829 new accounts opened by depositors.

According to PTPTN, the number of SSPN accounts opened to date is 3.91 million, with deposits amounting to about RM4.5 billion.

Historical SSPN-i dividend payout rate is as below:

• 2018: 4.00%
• 2017: 4.00%
• 2016: 4.00%
• 2015: 4.00%
• 2014: 4.25%
• 2013: 4.25%
• 2012: 4.25%
• 2011: 3.75%
• 2010: 3.25%
• 2009: 2.50%
• 2008: 4.00%
• 2007: 4.00%
• 2006: 4.00%
• 2005: 4.00%
• 2004: 3.00%

You can proceed to the Online SSPN-i Statement of Account website for checking of the transactions and amount of savings in your kid's SSPN account.

Auspicious dates for baby first haircut (Mundan) in 2019

In many culture, religion and/or tradition, the first haircut of a baby is considered an important milestone for his/her life. The day is known as Mundan, Chadakarana, Halaqah, Upsherin, etc.

Here is the list of auspicious dates for baby first haircut in year 2019, which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu. (Click the image to enlarge)

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

Auspicious dates in 2019 for getting a baby / childbirth / Caesarian delivery

Here is the list of auspicious dates in 2019 (year of Boar) for getting a baby (求嗣), which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu.

The dates have good element(s) to embro/faetus. Traditionally, the dates are referred for conception planning (making love and expecting a baby to the family). Nowadays, people also make reference to them for Caesarian delivery of new born. (Click the image to enlarge)

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

Auspicious dates for marriage proposal or engagement in 2019

Before becoming the life partner, marriage is proposed by lover and engagement is made.

Here is the list of auspicious dates for marriage proposal or engagement in year 2019 (year of Boar), which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu. (Click the image to enlarge)

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

Auspicious dates for wedding / marriage in 2020

Many couples plan for their wedding more than 1 year ahead in order to have sufficient preparation time.

Here is the list of auspicious dates for wedding/marriage in year 2020 (year of Rat), which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu. (Click the image to enlarge)

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

If you are looking for auspicious dates for wedding / marriage in 2019 (year of Boar), click here.

You might probably also be interested with the auspicious dates for the following occasions in year 2020:

• Wedding / Marriage (year 2021)
• Marriage proposal / engagement
• Sign contract / register for marriage
• Having baby
• Renovation
• Moving house / office
• Opening business