Wonders of the “Overlooked” Malaysia by John Brunton.

A Post from The Peranakan Association Indonesia..

THE BLUE MANSION
Setelah mengunjungi The Green Mansion, kami mengunjungi The Blue Mansion yang lokasinya di Penang juga.
The Blue Mansion dibangun oleh Cheong Fatt Tze di tahun 1880 di jalan Leith Street 14. Pada tahun 1856, seorang pemuda Hakka tiba di pelabuhan Nanyang (sebutan daerah Asia Tenggara) bernama Cheong Fatt Tze yang bekerja keras serabutan mulai dari pengambil air sungai hingga menjadi konglomerat. Cheong beruntung punya mertua seorang saudagar yang nantinya memperkenalkan dia ke kalangan pedagang.

Dari para kenalan mertuanya, Cheong memulai usaha dagang, investasi, perkebunan, dan beragam bisnis lainnya. Sebagai enterpreneur yang bergerak di bidang komoditas lada, karet, teh, dan kopi, Cheong meraih sukses besar. Ditambah lagi bisnis madat, beras, dan tembakau membuat pundi pundi Cheong kian gemuk.

Selanjutnya Cheong melakukan peralihan teknologi dari Inggris untuk membuat pabrik gelas, kulit, dan tekstil. Cheong pula yang mengenalkan metoda tambang timah modern, mengoperasikan kapal laut uap, membangun armada pelayaran antara China dan Amerika Serikat.

Kemudian tertarik dengan bisnis minuman (wine) memulai dengan Chang Yu Winery di Yantai, Provinsi Shantung dan kini menjelma menjadi produsen minuman terbesar di China. Cheong berambisi membangun bank Sino-American dengan modal 10 juta dolar di tahun 1915.

Sayangnya niat mega bank ini tidak kesampaian karena Cheong Fatt Tze meninggal di 1916.
Dengan diguidance oleh Joann Khaw, kami mengunjungi seluruh ruang yang ada di The Blue Mansion. Gedung ini sempat menjadi losmen kelas kambing di tahun 1960 an. Selepas perang dunia kedua, bangunan ini tidak dihuni orang, karena tak ada yang berani menginap di rumah “hantu” ini.

Dan mulai tahun 1961 bangunan ini menjadi tempat tinggal kumuh bagi para pendatang. Di mana gantungan cucian baju, sepeda motor butut dari para penghuni bertebaran di depan pintu kamar (The Mansion punya 38 kamar) penyewa masing masing.

The Mansion dibangun dengan memperhitungkan Feng Sui yang ketat, semisal saluran air cemce harus dibikin berputar. Ketinggian lantai rumah bagian belakang harus lebih tinggi dari bagian depan dan sebagainya. Di depan The Blue Mansion terdapat lima rumah petak (rumah berdempetan) yang fungsinya sebagai dapur (di The Blue Mansion tidak punya dapur) dan sebagai rumah karantina.

Bagi anggota keluarga yang sakit menular akan dikarantina di salah satu rumah ini. Juga bagi para isteri (Cheoang punya 8 isteri) yang lagi ngambek akan dikarantina di rumah petak ini sampai dia sembuh dari sakit atau sembuh dari ambekan.

Bangunan ini campuran dari gaya China (Kanton), Eropa (Inggris), dan Tropis (Melayu). The Blue Mansion memiliki 5 taman, 7 tangga, 220 jendela, dan 38 kamar besar dan kecil.

Di sisi kiri The Blue Mansion ada kuil Tao tempat sembahyang para dewa dan leluhur. Bagian ini tidak turut direnovasi karena tidak dijual. Saban pagi ada seorang cicit buyut Cheong bersembahyang disana.

Restorasi dimulai oleh Laurence Loh dan LIn Lee Loh – Lim mereka merenovasi bangunan dan melengkapinya dengan perabot dan hiasan rumah. Renovasi dimulai tahun 1991 dan selesai tahun 1995 dengan menghabiskan dana hampir 60 miliar Rupiah untuk renovasi dan pembelian barang barang seni.
Semula para pengunjung tidak diperkenankan mengambil foto. Namun berkat izin dari baba Daniel Selvantharan (manajer operasi) maka saya diperkenankan mengambil foto foto di dalam bangunan ini. Demikian. Salam TG

A Good Read By theguardian UK

The road to Penang – the other side of Malaysia

A heritage tour of northern Malaysia takes in old mansions, fabulous food and one of south-east Asia’s most exciting cities

John Brunto guardian.co.uk, Friday 7 September 2012 22.44

Peranakan Museum, George Town. Photographs by John Brunton. Click the magnifying glass icon to see a map of the area

We’ve flown into Kuala Lumpur with the intention of going jalan-jalan, or on the road to the Malays. I lived in KL, as everyone calls this crazy metropolis, for five years, and it is still like a second home. But this time there is no hanging around, as my wife and I are setting out towards the northern border with Thailand, through the heartland of the Malay peninsula.

This part of the country is often overlooked by tourists, who prefer the golden beaches of the east coast or paradise islands such as Tioman or Langkawi. Our final destination will be Penang, an island my Malaysian friends tell me has suddenly become one of south-east Asia’s hottest destinations.

KL is the modern face of Malaysia, a skyscraper city of the future, where Blade Runner meets Bollywood. There are few reminders of the complex history of a country that declared independence from Britain only 55 years ago. Driving out of the centre we soon find ourselves lost in a sprawling urban mass as intimidating as Los Angeles, and it is only with a little luck that we reach the busy north-south highway.

Kuala Lumpur station

The road is surrounded on both sides by rolling hills, marked by geometric lines of palm oil and rubber plantations. The scene resembles an Escher drawing, and there is little trace of the dense rainforest that once covered most of Malaysia. After we’ve been going an hour, the landscape changes suddenly and dramatically, with massive limestone outcrops leaping hundreds of craggy feet out of the flat plains. Up on a hill, a giant but rather tatty billboard announces that we have arrived at Ipoh – City of Millionaires, and our first stop-off.

Soon we are sitting in the legendary Sinhalese Bar, the sole Sri Lankan bar in Malaysia, whose decor is unchanged since it opened in 1931. I’m sipping a Tiger beer in an iced glass so cold it almost takes the skin off my fingers, and talking to our guide for the next few days, Hong Law Siak, who runs the local heritage association.

“People tend to forget that the modern, developed Malaysia owes its existence to the riches generated by tin and rubber,” Hong says. “And in those days Ipoh was as important as Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.”

But when the bottom dropped out of the tin market in the 1980s, Ipoh missed out on all the development that so radically altered the face of KL.

“So instead of glitzy, high-rise office blocks and space-age shopping malls, Ipoh has remained pretty much unchanged from the pioneer era. The traditional Chinese shop-houses have been left intact, as have grand colonial landmarks like the Anglo-Moorish railway station, known here as the Taj Mahal of Ipoh.”

We leave the bar and wander along the street. Hong points out ornate Chinese clan houses, an abandoned photographer’s studio with 1960s black and white prints in the window and a Madras textile shop, where the aged assistants still wear dhotis, scribble sales into a dusty, giant ledger, and an ancient poster on the wall proclaims that their checked sarongs were once Made in British India.

We disappear down the narrow Panglima Lane – known as Concubine Lane when it was lined with gambling and opium dens, brothels and the discreet residences of the many concubines kept by rich Chinese tin tycoons. I’m not surprised when Hong tells me that Ipoh was used as a backdrop for the French film Indochine, starring Catherine Deneuve, about the final days of French colonial rule.

Discovering the eclectic cuisine of Malaysia is always one of the most exciting parts of travelling here, and Ipoh is no exception. Hawker stalls around Pasar Besar, the teeming wet market, specialise in kway teow – wok-fried rice noodles with egg, prawns and juicy cockles – pork satay, paper-thin poh piah spring rolls stuffed with bean sprouts, and claypot chicken. Indian restaurants offer a dozen different curries around a mountain of rice on a banana leaf. But the best meal we eat here is Malay nasi kandar, a self-service feast of at least 40 dishes, where a plate heaped with delicious okra and bitter gourd, spicy beef rendang, squid and fish curry costs less than two pounds.

The next day, Hong turns up in his car to drive us around the surrounding Kinta valley, where there used to be 1,000 tin mines. These are now deep, manmade lakes. Today, virtually none of the mines is still functioning: there is still tin beneath the ground, but extracting it is too expensive.

Assam laksa, hot and sour soup, Penang

The century-old mining town of Papan is certainly no Klondike boom town: most of the shop-houses that line the main street are abandoned or dilapidated. People pass the time playing mah jong or talking tin prices in the Lee Seow Yoon coffee shop. Papan is Hong’s special project: he has lovingly recreated the dispensary where Sybil Kathigasu, known as the Malaysian Florence Nightingale, secretly treated guerrilla partisans during the Japanese occupation in the second world war.

The war theme continues down the road at Batu Gajah, whose eerie Anglican cemetery is named God’s Little Acre. Here stand the graves of three British planters whose violent deaths in 1948 sparked the Malayan Emergency – 12 years of fierce fighting between Chinese communists, British forces and, later, the newly independent Malaysian government. The inscriptions are chilling: “died at the hands of terrorists”, “murdered by terrorists”.

The mood lightens when Hong unveils his next surprise, a quite amazing ruined castle, straight out of a Somerset Maugham story. I had heard about Kellie’s Castle many years before, but it used to be inaccessible, hidden in the jungle. Now this grandiose folly has become something of a tourist attraction, sitting majestically atop a grassy hillock.

William Kellie Smith arrived in Malaya in 1890, aged 20, and after rapidly making a fortune as a planter he decided to build a romantic castle for his wife – his childhood sweetheart, Agnes. Kellie designed it in ornate Moorish revival style, and planned a rooftop terrace for parties, a basement wine cellar, even a lift to get to the top of the tower. But he died before it was completed. The castle was never inhabited, and after years of abandon it is now overgrown with vegetation and the gnarled roots of towering banyan trees, occupied by monkeys. This being Malaysia, it is apparently also home to numerous ghosts.

We finish the day 10 miles south in the town of Tanjung Tualang, whose enterprising inhabitants had the original idea of transforming their mining lakes into farms for freshwater prawns. Every single shophouse here houses a noisy seafood restaurant, drawing busloads of gourmets each weekend. The succulent prawns are enormous, and steamed to perfection in Chinese rice wine, egg white and ginger. This is pricy for Malaysia, though – a kilo will set diners back £15.

Next day we head north from Ipoh, following winding backroads through shady rubber plantations to Kuala Kangsar, which looks at first like a quiet provincial town in a bend on the Perak river. In fact, this is a royal capital, home to the Sultan of Perak, some of the grandest palaces and mosques in Malaysia, and the prestigious Malay College, the nation’s answer to Eton.

The Sultan, whose predecessors have ruled Perak since the 1500s, lives in a grand pastel art deco palace, the Istana Iskandariah, but visitors can only get a peek from afar. The far more beguiling Istana Kenangan is a magnificent example of Malay architecture – all wood, but without a single nail. This is open to the public, because it houses the Royal Museum.

But nothing compares to the first view of the Ubudiah mosque, a swirling vision of marble turrets and golden cupolas. It was designed in 1917 by Arthur Benison Hubback, an unsung British government architect whose idiosyncratic Indo-Saracen buildings still stand out in most of Malaysia’s major towns. Walking round its cool arcades I spot a young Malay couple, resplendent in pale blue wedding robes, posing shyly for photos. Malay hospitality is so generous (and foreign visitors to Kuala Kangsar so rare) that they even invite us to the reception.

Before reaching Penang, we plan a break in Malaysia’s oldest hill station, one of the cool mountain resorts where you can escape the 30C temperatures and 95% humidity that is the daily climate throughout the year. The road signs may say Bukit Larut, but everyone still uses the colonial name of Maxwell Hill.

Most of the hill stations have been modernised, but not Maxwell Hill. The one road up to the 1,250m summit is a rough path with 72 hairpin bends, which only the official government jeep is allowed to tackle. Every hotel development here has ended up closed or abandoned, and although there are a couple of ramshackle bungalows and nature hostels, I have been warned to prepare for minimal facilities.

The reward, though, is a solitary paradise for birdwatchers, butterfly enthusiasts and jungle trekkers, with amazing views as far as the Andaman Sea. We are not to be rewarded today, though: usually in Malaysia, everyone’s favourite catchword is boleh – can do – but at the jeep office, where a “ticket sold out today” sign foils our plans, and no amount of persuasion, or bribery, can get us a seat. So we head back to the road, and after a couple of hours are sailing over the eight-mile-long Penang bridge, which links the mainland to the island known as the pearl of the orient.

Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, Penang

I must admit I did not really believe all the buzz about Penang, but the moment we arrive at our designer B&B it is obvious that the island’s capital, George Town, is no longer the rundown place I remember. Unesco world heritage status (granted in 2008) has saved historic buildings from the wrecking ball and bulldozer. Instead of making way for high-rise office blocks and shopping centres, the sumptuous Chinese mansions and maze-like shop-houses are being elegantly transformed into boutique hotels, art galleries and boutiques, funky restaurants and bars. And down in the street, there are still the teeming markets, artisan workshops, strange medicinal shops and delicious 24-hour hawker stalls that make George Town one of the last surviving authentic Chinatowns.

We’re staying in Cheong Fatt Tze mansion – known as the Blue Mansion because of its distinctive painted walls – which was built in the 1880s by a Chinese entrepreneur dubbed the “Rockefeller of the East”. I actually wandered in here years ago when the house was falling apart and inhabited by squatters. Now it is a symbol of George Town’s transformation, restored to its former glory, guestrooms furnished with antiques from mainland China alongside art nouveau treasures over from Europe. Our room, in the old kitchen, has the original hearth and cooker.

For an even better glimpse of Penang’s opulent past, there is the nearby Peranakan Museum (pinangperanakanmansion.com.my), a perfectly preserved private mansion filled with treasures.

Wandering through Penang’s melting pot of mosques, Hindu temples and incense-filled Chinese shrines, we stumble on Chinahouse (chinahouse.com.my), an eclectic cultural centre that exhibits art-house installations, promotes reggae and soul concerts and showcases gourmet Pacific Rim cuisine – unheard of in the old Penang. Studio Howard (studiohoward.com) is a cutting-edge photo gallery, while Campbell House (campbellhousepenang.com) is a hip guesthouse with a genuine Venetian restaurant – it’s run by a chef from La Serenissima who has come to Penang to make his name.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of the metamorphosis of the pearl of the orient. Responsible heritage tourism could well have the same effect on the rest of Malaysia’s heartland.
Way to go

Getting there

The trip was provided by Tourism Malaysia (tourism.gov.my). Flights were provided by Malaysia Airlines (malaysiaairlines.com) which flies from Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur from around £730 return, with connections to Penang from £30 one way

Where to stay

Accommodation in Ipoh was provided by Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat (+60 5 210 7777; thebanjaran.com, doubles from £200) in the hills outside town. The four-star Impiana Hotel (+60 5255 5555; impianaipoh.com) has doubles from £42.

Book a basic room at Maxwell Hill through Journey Malaysia (+60 3 2692 8049, journeymalaysia.com, about £10).

In Penang Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion (+60 4 262 0006; cheongfatttzemansion.com) has en suite doubles, with personal valet, from £85

THE CHEONG FATT TZE MANSION – merging East and West

20 years ago, I spent a week in Georgetown, Penang, staying at the Raffles of Malaysia: the prestigious E&O Hotel at Lebuh Farquhar. It was magical following the hand rails up the hotel stairs and to be able to sleep in rooms associating with the Eastern-Oriental Express, listening to the water hitting the rock and stone sea-fronting esplanade paving the palmed garden. The old style guestrooms were luxuriously large with high breezy ceilings and very spacious and bohemian bathrooms. The colour scheme followed nuances of Bordeaux red and the interior was old fashion colonial, setting the frame of mind to a passed glorious era.

At the E&O, the Italian Marmi Formigare Marbles sponsored an alumni Architectural Association Asia (AAA) event on design in the region. The Penang born architect Dr Kenneth Yeang of Kuala Lumpur invited me to this design jamboree on the broad theme of “the unfinished city” for invited architects, all having studied at the AA in London. Every day, we had seminars in the north wing, having to cross the beautiful Victorian tiled floors, and meals we enjoyed in a space towards the terrace, enclosed by French windows. We all queued up for breakfast and lunch, an excellent way of networking and getting to know experienced architects from all over the continent while waiting for one’s turn. The exchange between India to Taiwan and Australia to Hong Kong was very vivid and representatives from architectural offices around Asia introducing themselves, their position and ideas as professionals in the architectural debate, telling anecdotes and showing their work. Town planning, reclaimed land, tropical skyscrapers, wooden houses, heritage trust fond, poetry, sentimentality, landscape, space, religion, etc. were topics represented. The workshop contained discussions on South East Asian countries, their culture and where the development was heading. The participants suggested rethinking of the architect’s position. The evenings had no programs and for dinner, we were usually free to explore the array of local delicacies around downtown Georgetown in smaller groups. One evening Ken Yeang invited me to the Eden for seafood together with Peter Cook and Ronald Puun among others.

On the last evening the host, architect Laurence Loh of Penang, invited all the participants to a carnival at the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion. I was absolutely thrilled! This was a building I discovered first time in October 1983, staying at the neighbouring New China Hotel (sharing my bed with cockroaches), and later back-packing through South East Asia in 1986. Since then I had always dreamed of being able to enter the home of former Cheong Fatt Tze, to experience which mystery world was hiding behind the huge street walls. As the Chinese business tycoon was both eastern and western in his approach on architectural features, his home had an extraordinary mix of interior details available at the end of the 19^th century. The carnival was lovely and guests were relaxing over personal conversations in smaller groups, found during the cause of the days. It was held in the central court yard, but we were also shown up the wrought ironed stairs to view the original stained glass in the windows overlooking the garden from a gallery balcony. The house was empty and the old dust adding to the magical feeling. A Nyonya buffet was served in the grand hall, bringing us to the glorious times of the colonial era. The atmosphere was good, the guests dressed up and very jolly. There was music and we were dancing and eating, having a whale of a time. Late night as we returned to the hotel, a couple of us decided to share a taxi to Batu Ferringhi. The Malaysian song star Sheila Majid was giving a concert at the Rasa Sayang beach resort and we popped in for a while. Before returning back to Georgetown to get a couple of hours sleep before Laurence Loh took us for a guided tour to his architectural sites; Cascadia and Corringway, we also had a spontaneous late night dip into the Malacca Strait sea.

I (a Danish architect) returned to Georgetown, as I did to Melaka and Singapore, several times thereafter to search for live material for my research studies on Peranakan Architecture and I found interesting articles in the “Pulau Pinang – A guide to the local way of life & culture of Penang”. In the striking sun, I walked the streets up and down the old city, dressed with a sarong as a turban to save my scull from burning. Five years later, we moved our little family of four including one toddler and one new born from Kuala Lumpur to Penang. We managed to find an apartment facing the sea through the shading trees along Persiaran Gurney. I was very happy to live at the address where the rickshaw boys took me for sightseeing a dozen years earlier. Those days, staying at Leigh Street next door to Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion; I was daily walking past this fascinating key to curiosity with some Canadian or American traveller to have dinner at one of the many food stalls along Gurney Drive.

Sharing a professional field as well as a personal interest in the CFTM, we occasionally met up with Laurence and Lin Lee, who then had teenagers at home. By this time, the Mansion had been partly restored and the Loh’s took us for a marvellous guided heritage visit to the inside of my dream site. Now a boutique hotel, the spaces had been opened to special guests and we walked through the main building’s intimate courtyards and individual bedrooms. When one walks from one room to the other, one is followed by a secret light and openings bringing a dialogue between the spaces. It is an exciting discovery tour through time and space. The building had come alive and everywhere one looked there were filigree decorative and structural details to be found. It was comforting to see the caring hand the Mansion had been restored to and open to the public to enjoy the materials, surfaces and colour scheme. The exquisite woodwork at intricate partitioning walls and window frames, the elaborate wrought iron staircases and railings, the distinct external and internal blue brings you back to long gone times. At the end of the 90’s, I also remember meeting up with the KL architect Jimmy C S Lim at the restaurant “Passage thru India” across the road from the Mansion, admiring the successful conservation works being done in his childhood town.

This autumn, my husband (of Malaysian origin and himself an architect by training) and I celebrated knowing-each-other-for-twenty-years, laughing about the “al Capone” dessert that made him make the final decision to ask me to marry him. But nothing else brings a stronger memory than seeing each other for the first time at the exotic evening at the Blue Mansion … those few days in the Pearl of the Orient have come to change our lives for ever.

The house in 1986

The House in 1991

Vanja Hellborg & Azlan Morad (2011)

Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion Grabs The Best Of Malaysia Awards 2011 by Expatriate Lifestyle Magazine

Settling In – Buying Property by The Expatriate Lifestyle Editorial Team 1 Jan 2011

BUYING PROPERTY

Six in ten expatriates are currently looking at buying property. And given the hugely favourable housing market in Malaysia, combined with incentives from the government, it comes as little surprise that more expatriates are making the country their second home.

Whatever your personal bugbears towards your resident country, you have to admit Malaysia is a pretty fantastic country in which to live. With good food, great weather and warm, friendly people, it has pretty much everything you could want. Cost of living is low, standard of living is high. And with property prices much lower than Europe and the US, why not make this place your second home?

Other regional destinations require a fair amount of bureaucracy to buy but in Malaysia, anyone is able to own property outright in their own name, without having to find local partners or set up their own company. Malaysia’s legal system also allows children to inherit the property and the relatively recent exemption of RPGT (Real Property Gains Tax) makes investing now even more attractive.
The Malaysia My Second Home program (see related section) also offers expatriates the opportunity of staying in the country long-term and those on the scheme do not need FIC approval to buy a home. The program offers a ten year renewable visa, plus other incentives such as dependency passes for immediate family and a tax-free vehicle.

There is a wealth of choice open for high-end living: KL and the Klang Valley in particular are booming. However, holiday destinations such as Langkawi, Kota Kinabalu and Terrengganu have seen massive investment from both private and public sectors.

A range of serviced apartments, luxury bungalows and beach or riverfront properties are currently under construction with matching private hospitals, international schools and top class hotels in the pipeline. And attractively here, development in the leisure and tourism sectors protects property prices in the long term.

Prices at the high end are still at least a quarter of their equivalent in the US, and half of that in Singapore. As an example, condominiums or serviced apartments around KL city centre can range from less than RM 600 to RM 1,300 per square foot.
As a foreigner, you are eligible for Malaysian bank loans on new builds, for 60–70 per cent of the property’s value. Some new apartments offer up to 90 per cent ‘Loan to Value’ or LTV. The main proviso is the minimum price for an expatriate (which varies from RM 150,000 in KL to RM 300,000 in East Malaysia).
If this box is ticked, approval from the Foreign Investment Committee (FIC) is usually a formality, although you will still need a lawyer to take you through it.

Many properties are sold “off-plan” (i.e. before building starts). The range of choice is bewildering, from turnkey packages that offer furniture in with the deal, through buy-to-rent deals, holiday lets, free clubhouse membership and serviced apartments, right on down to plots of land with a list of architects and contractors. It pays to do your homework and living here puts you in the perfect position to research.

However, for those new to the country and looking to purchase, insiders will always give you extra nuggets of advice. Buy-to-rent apartments guarantee a specified return for a limited period of time, with the option to continue with their property management afterwards.

Their attraction is the steady rate of income over a set period. However, having confidence in those responsible for the upkeep and servicing is vital on any project to protect the value of your investment. If you opt for land purchase (relatively low labour and material costs make building your own home more than possible), you need to double check you are not being sold an area reserved for “Bumiputra” (Malays and other indigenous groups).
You should also be aware that some states do not allow foreign ownership for any property, so legal advice is a must before choosing. Where to buy depends on what exactly you want.

In general, the Malaysian market is rising steadily. But if you want a racier return, a couple of hotspots within KL—the Golden Triangle around KLCC, and the Mont Kiara area, for example – have prices that are rising much quicker than in the rest of the country. Malaysia also has a range of expatriate-focused property going up in many areas outside the Klang Valley.

As a whirlwind, but by no means exhaustive tour, we have: Port Dickson, the nearest sailing hub to KL; East Malaysia—Sabah’s scenic Kota Kinabalu and tip of Borneo both have a number of developments; Kuching, Sarawak’s historic capital and Miri, its up and coming resort city, have apartments, houses and plots of land open for foreign ownership; Terengganu has homes slated for film stars and racing drivers; Penang has a whole range of accommodation for the foreign market; and Johor’s property too is thriving.

Malaysia, as ever, is offering a little slice of everything at a reasonable rate. The sale usually goes through in three stages: ten percent of the money is paid within the first two weeks (3 per cent with the Letter of Offer and 7 per cent with the sale and purchase agreement), with the remainder usually due three months later. And if you trust what the analysts are saying, you might want to hurry things along.

Estate Agents

Real estate agents registered by the Board of Valuer, Appraisers and Estate Agents Malaysia. The latest fee for service is approximately 3 per cent on the first RM 500,000 transacted and 2 per cent on the residue over RM 500,000. The agent will need written consent from the developer/owner for the sub-sale of the property.

All administrative fees for obtaining the consent, including registration fees and any outstanding / interest charges, shall be borne by the agent. In the event that written consent is refused by the developer/owner to the agent, the agent shall refund the deposit (if any) without interest to your solicitor and the Sale and Purchase Agreement between you and the agent shall for with be null and void.

If you purchase a sub-sale apartment from a vendor, the following will be applicable:

1. Agent fees
2. Loan application processing fee
3. Monthly installment (Loan)
4. Insurance
5. Valuer’s fees and cost duties
6. Stamp duties
7. Legal fees and costs
8. Land office

USEFUL CONTACTS

The Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Malaysia
Suite 3B-10-3A, Level 10 Block 3B,
Plaza Sentral, Jalan Stesen Sentral 5,
Kuala Lumpur Sentral
Tel: 03–2273 7839/7862/5584
www.lppeh.gov.my/index.htm

The Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA)
88-B, Jalan SS 21/39, Damansara Utama
Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan
Tel: 03–7727 7477
www.miea.com.my

Purchasing Law

When buying a property in Malaysia, it is highly recommended that you seek the services of a Malaysian lawyer. Not only will these lawyers know and understand the ins and outs of the local purchasing laws, they will also be able to lend useful advice about the standard practices and what to do in certain situations. Such expertise is absolutely vital for those wishing to purchase sub-sale or freehold property due to the rigid rules and agreements in place for such sales.

If purchasing off-plan property, however, procedures are slightly different as the property is yet to be built. As such, buyers and sellers must follow a number of clearly laid out obligations throughout the development stages. Initially, the buyer pays a 10 per cent “deposit” on the agreed purchase price to the developer.

Following this, the balance is paid incrementally upon completion of a number of pre-determined stages of development. Should the construction be delayed in any way, the developer is obliged to inform all parties. However, though legal action against the developers is possible, it usually involves a long, drawn out and expensive procedure and is rarely an efficient course of action.

It should also be noted that all legal fees are set by law and are based on the purchase price of the relevant property.

Home Security

Generally instances of serious crime in Malaysia are low. Nevertheless, home security can be a big issue for expatriates. What with the travelling nature of the expatriate businessperson, families are often left on their own in the house or apartment.

Naturally, the security risk varies from location to location and some areas of the city are left much more open to crime than others. The type of residence you live in will also dictate the level of home security that, a) you need and b) is typically supplied with the property. An increasing number of expatriates are now living within gated communities, comforted by the increased security provided by a guard house and perimeter fence.

Many houses and apartments come equipped with grills on every window and door (don’t be alarmed when you go house-hunting, these somewhat over the top prison-esque methods are common across the country). Remember to keep these locked at all times and, of course, also lock your doors when you go out, even if you live in a high-rise condominium.

Though Malaysia has relatively low crime levels, break-ins can happen, and prevention methods do work. There are many home security companies in Malaysia and there are various alarm systems to suit anyone’s budget; from motion detectors to infra-red systems.

Companies like ADT Malaysia and Armour Security also offer a 24-hour monitoring system, which is ideal when you’re away on vacation or a business trip. And don’t forget smoke and fire sensors that make alerting the fire department in an emergency a considerably faster process.

On top of these, you have security monitoring systems, closed circuit TV, and wireless intercom systems. And in addition there are also the common sense things that can be done, such as having a solid wood or metal door with deadlock bolts and windows that can be secured with key locks. Further security measures you may wish to take include placing signs indicating that your home is monitored by security services or devices. Even if it isn’t, potential burglars will be none-the-wiser.

Besides the physical security measures, you may also wish to take out home insurance. Insurance companies such as AXA offer a range of insurance packages that cater to expatriates.

Mortgages

Mortgage rates in Malaysia are affected by the type of property to which they apply. You’ll tend to find better deals when looking to purchase completed or under construction property rather than bungalow land, ready for development. Typically, expatriates will be eligible for a margin of finance up to 60 per cent of a property’s value with tenures running for 20 years, providing the value of the property exceeds RM 250,000.

These rates vary from those found advertised by the major banks as they normally apply to Malaysians only.

However, to expatriates here under the Malaysia My Second Home scheme (see related section), different rules and terms will apply. For such residents, deals are generally more attractive and margins of finance can be found up to 85 per cent whilst tenures usually run for 20 years or up to the age of 70, whichever comes first.

The Rough Guide to Malaysia , Singapore and Brunei 6th Edition 2009

Hyperbole aside, this is the best accommodation in all of Malaysia. This huge, century-old Chinese mansion with sixteen en-suite rooms was used as a set for the movie INDOCHINE. Guests have the run of the place – there are no roped off areas or “staff only” signs here. Besides the reading and TV room, there’s a games room with ping-pong table and free internet access, as well as a stunning courtyard open to the sky, where you can while away the day sipping beer and admiring the intricately carved Chinese scrollwork. If you are really lucky you’ll be in the courtyard during a cloudburst and experience the house being naturally cooled by the rain as the architects intended. Rates includes breakfast. Book ahead.

Coming along Lebuh Farquhar, past the Penang Museum and continuing west underneath a footbridge and turning left on Lebuh Leith, you’ll soon reach the stunning Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion at no.14 Lebuh Leith, whose outer walls are painted a striking indigo blue. Built by Cheong Fatt Tze (Thio Thiaw Siat) a Hakka businessman, it’s the best example of eclectic nineteenth-century Peranakan architecture in Penang. The mansion, with its elaborate ceremonial halls, bedrooms and libraries, separated by cobbled courtyards, small gardens, and heavy wooden doors, has been magnificently restored. The interior can only be seen by joining an hour-long guided tour (daily at 11.00am, 1.30pm and 3.00pm) which is well worth the RM12 entrance fee. The mansion is also a boutique hotel.

Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion in Wine Appreciation Magazine China..

George Town Festival 2011 Calendar..

People: Lady in the Blue Mansion

Kheng Hua will be highlighting the idea of conservation in the lecture performance

A play on the woman behind business tycoon Cheong Fatt Tze is part of the line-up for the Georgetown Festival. ZUHAILA SEDEK speaks to Singaporean actress Tan Kheng Hua, who will portray herTHERE are many questions surrounding the life of the 19th Century Chinese business tycoon Cheong Fatt Tze. But what is more mysterious is his seventh wife, Tan Tay Po. Not much is known about Tay Po as there hasn’t been much written about Cheong’s favourite wife. Some people say it was because of Tay Po that the businessman paid so much attention to Penang.
On July 1-3, glimpses into the life of the late Tay Po, who was 17 when she married 70-year-old Cheong, will be revealed at a lecture performance in conjunction with the month-long Georgetown Festival. The play, called No. 7, is inspired by Tay Po.
The play will feature Singaporean actress Tan Kheng Hua, best known for her character Margaret in the television series, Phua Chu Kang Ltd, together with lead actor Gurmit Singh.

In No. 7, the award-winning actress will portray four characters, one being a character in a movie she starred in called The Blue Mansion.
The role is quite a challenge for the 48-year-old actress as there is not much information available about Tay Po.
“I have used the lack of information as an advantage instead, and I will describe her the way I think she was.” Kheng Hua was in Kuala Lumpur recently for the launch of Georgetown Festival. She sees the play somewhat as a ghost story, but not the scary type.

“For me, anything old has a ghostly feel to it. There are plenty of mysteries in the life of Tay Po and the definition of ghost, in this case, should be expanded. I think there is plenty to showcase about Tay Po as there are just so many questions about her.” Interestingly, the lecture performance will be held in the Blue Mansion in Leith Street, Penang. The Blue Mansion is one of the best-preserved Cheong Fatt Tze residences outside of China. It used to be home for Tay Po and Cheong. Now, it is a boutique hotel.
“Stories of famous people are usually about men. The women behind the men are often overlooked. So this is an opportunity to highlight women who have played significant roles in the lives of these famous men,” Kheng Hua says.
The play is not merely about showcasing women, however. There is more to the performance than meets the eye.

“There is also the theme of conservation that we want to impart. Conservation is not only about preserving the main structure of a building, but it is also about preserving the idea behind what we want to safeguard,” she adds.
The script, written and directed by Singaporean Kaylene Tan, is still evolving as there are facts about the life of Tay Po still being discovered by the director. It was meant to be a monologue at first, until Kheng Hua’s daughter, Shi Ann, came in to partner her mother in the lecture performance.
“Kaylene and I realise that there is a need to relate to the younger generation. The idea of conservation must be passed on to them. Shi Ann will play a shadow character,” says Kheng Hua. She landed the role after Georgetown Festival director Joe Sidek contacted her. “Joe puts a lot of trust on us when it comes to the show. He truly believes in our ability and this encourages us to give our very best,” says Kheng Hua.
“When I feel scared about the performance, Joe will call and put me at ease.” Working in Penang for the project is an enjoyable experience for her. Kheng Hua is no stranger to the island as she has relatives there and Penang was the first trip abroad for her daughter. It was during the filming of the Blue Mansion movie that she got to see another side of Penang. “It reminded me of how things were when I was a kid. A time when children played outside the house, unlike these days when they are glued to the television or computer. The ambience is just so authentic and for some reason, Penang reminds me of the time when I used to write love letters. “Though Penang is developing, heritage is still alive,” she says.
She also admires the sense of belonging Penangites have for their state. “It is amazing that people I speak to in Penang can give me a full answer about things to do in Penang.’’ Kheng Hua loves nasi kandar and asam laksa.
“Malaysians have a good sense of humour and they smile all the time. It is different in Singapore — people quantify and qualify things constantly. I love my country very much and I am not criticising my home. It is just how I see it.” Apart from acting, Kheng Hua has produced acclaimed plays such as the Revenge Of The Dim Sum Dollies, a cabaret-style musical, in 2000. She has also created and executive produced the television series 9 Lives and Do Not Disturb. The actress never expected to be in the entertainment industry. She holds a bachelor in science with distinction from Indiana University. “When I was in university, I was looking for an elective subject and the Acting 101 class fitted my schedule. I loved the subject and when I came back to Singapore, I went to do theatre,” she says.

Tan once worked in the retail line and at night, she did theatre. “When I was 30, I decided to leave the corporate world. I was doing quite well in my job and was climbing up the corporate ladder. But because of my love for acting, I left my day job. After two years, things seemed to be going well and I am still an actress.” She is married to actor Lim Yu Beng.
She is also known for her onscreen sexy characters. But in real life, she never feels like she is one.
“Sometimes I feel like I’m old and I consider myself a jock actually. I’ve never been the type to go out and shop for clothes or make-up. But I won’t think too hard if it comes to buying sports equipment.” She loves sports.
It is because of sports that she has a great physique. “I am not the type who eats a lot when stressed and I don’t like exercising in the gym. But I do love sports such as scuba diving or skiing.” For the Georgetown Festival, there will be, apart from No. 7, over 80 programmes including theatre, music, dance, film, art, opera, food, fashion, photography and talks. The festival celebrates George Town making it to the Unesco’s World Heritage Listing on July 7, 2008. For more information about the festival, visit www.georgetownfestival.com.

Read more: People: Lady in the Blue Mansion http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/People_LadyintheBlueMansion/Article/#ixzz1ON2n8OcD