New Year, new plans, new hopes
As we bid goodbye to 2017, many among us are looking forward for improvements in various areas of our lives, and making new resolu ons is good way to start the New Year.
KOTA KINABALU: As we bid goodbye to 2017, many among us are looking forward for improvements in various areas of our lives.
While some do not see the importance of making New Year's resolutions, many others are aware of the positive impact such practice could have on changing their lives for the better.
We talk to some professionals and political leaders to find out about their plans, goals and hopes in 2018.
Richard A. Gontusan, for one, hopes to successfully defend his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) proposal in 2018, on the subject of investment.
“I am researching people's attitudes towards unit trust investment. I have been in the unit trust industry for 17 years.
“Unit trust is an investment avenue for genuine wealth creation. It can potentially give returns of about 10 per cent annually to the investor compared to the three per cent given by the banks.
“Over the years, I have noticed that given the same economic and educational backgrounds, some people are more willing to invest relative to others, thus making the former richer.
“I wonder why many people are still reluctant to invest and earn more through unit trust given its time-tested track records. That question has inspired me to conduct this research,” he said..
In addition to having a sense of achievement, Richard said he hoped to help people change their minds about investing through this doctorate study, in turn providing them with an option to generate better income.
Malaysia Airlines pilot Kuhan Balakrishnan, on the other hand, already kicked off his New Year's resolution by donating to UNICEF Malaysia earlier this month.
After signing on as a regular donor to the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) this year, Kuhan decided to fulfil his dream of sponsoring a child by adding the children's rights organisation to the list.
“I've always wanted to sponsor a child with world vision, and I thought, why sponsor one child when I can donate to a foundation and help more?
“I make enough for myself to survive. Not all are as fortunate as we are so in the spirit of giving, I do so to give back to society,” he said.
The 26-year-old hopes to start donating to a cancer society as well, sometime in the near future.
University Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Associate Professor Roslan Mokhtar hopes to impact more people positively in 2018.
Being a lecturer for 29 years has given him the opportunity to interact with many people and encourage them to have a positive outlook on life, he said.
Over the years, he said he had enjoyed the fruits of his labour by witnessing the growth and advancement of his students past their university days.
“By their success in their positions at work and in their families, in terms of marriages and the success of their kids, I know I need to continue encouraging this sort of development.
“Seeing my former students succeed also contributes to how content and happy I am. My happiness and inner peace is a yardstick too and at the moment I am truly at peace with my life,” he said.
Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) Tanjung Batu Division Youth chief Jhasarry Kang hopes and prays for a better year ahead for Malaysians.
He wishes the people would come together and continue emphasising on strengthening national integration and cohesion for peace and harmony in the country.
He felt this year, national unity was strained by racial and religious bigotry and extremism, especially from some irresponsible parties. He felt these groups of people had issued sensitive statements on races and religions.
He said these must be avoided as it would create anger, fear or would provoke people, which might result or cause public unrest.
He feels that the country needed strong solidarity among the people, irrespective of their races and religions.
He said a build-up of suspicion and dissatisfaction among the races could translate into instability and feuds which would be detrimental to all parties.
He said the present government should emulate Sabah and Sarawak, where the level of understanding, mutual respect and acceptance among the multiracial, multi-religious and multicultural people was very high.
In KENINGAU, Barisan Nasional (BN) Youth leaders are hopeful that economic development will have a positive impact by raising household income to balance the cost of living that is burdensome.
Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) chief Matusin Bowie expressed hope that 2018 could ease the people's burden, especially the poor and low income groups.
“I hope everything planned by the BN government can be implemented effectively next year,” he told The Borneo Post when contacted here, yesterday.
This is to ensure that the economy of the country will be better and will definitely raise household incomes, said the BN Youth vice-chief.
“On political developments, I hope the people in the state, especially in the Pensiangan parliamentary constituency, will continue to support the government.”
Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) Bingkor Youth chief Tinus Majip is hopeful that political stability will continue.
He also hopes that this country's economy can match those of developed and developing countries.
He said economic advances should be felt by all groups and not focussed on certain groups.
Businessman George Liew said 2017 truly tested the mental resilience and wisdom of traders to address the rising cost of business operations.
He said this added to the extremely uncertain economic situation during the year in which expenditure was higher than income.
“My hope for 2018 is that the economic situation will be better than this year.
“For businesses in the interior, which rely heavily on the buying power of smallholders, either from the oil palm or rubber smallholders, it is hoped that related parties can find a formula to stabilize these commodity prices so that farmers can plan their finances,” he said, adding that this could indirectly improve the economy in the interior, especially in Keningau.