So bad it is so good.
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Saturday, July 04, 2015
世界の日本人妻は見た！ マレーシア 2015年06月09日
A show called 世界の日本人妻は見た！ (Sekai no nihonjin tsuma wa mita!, literally "Looking at Japanese wives around the world") caught my attention recently. Featuring Malaysia, it followed a few Japanese who had married Malaysians.
Thought I might just translate some of the more interesting points:
Driving 20 minutes out from KL, they find a normal terrace house in the suburbs of the Klang Valley.
They find Nagisa Junko, who has been living in Malaysia for 12 years.
Greeting them with "Selamat Pagi".
Married to husband Chen.
Who works as a race car engineer.
Earning 210,000 yen/month as a race car engineer. (About RM6474.409 at the current exchange rates).
The show puts the average Malaysian monthly wage at 130,000 yen (about RM4007.9674 at the current exchange rate).
Seriously!? Who believes that average salaries are that high in Malaysia?
The 2014 Household Income Survey put the average household income north of RM5,900/month.
So who are the big earners skewing the numbers!?
An article from September 2014 puts the median monthly salary at RM1500/month, the median household income at RM3,626.
The terrace house is a 5 bedroom place. How much is it?
When it was purchased 10 years ago, it went for 20,000,000 yen (around RM616,610.3764 at the current exchange rates).
Which sounds about right for a place, 20 minutes drive from KL, a terrace house, in what looks like a not too bad suburb.
So the show starts having a peek into their life. First up: how much does cooking gas cost?
The show is a little bemused that in Malaysia gas is provided in tanks. The only place I know in Malaysia with gas piped into houses directly in Malaysia is Bintulu.
On average a tank lasts for 2 - 3 months. Which sounds about right. For 900 yen (about RM27.7475).
That makes on average 300 yen (RM9.2492) a month for gas. The stats quoted by the program suggest that a household of 5 uses 6003 yen (about RM185.0756) of gas a month.
It is true that gas is heavily subsidised in Malaysia, but additionally there is no need for heating in Malaysia. (Not in that weather!) I'm not sure of the 6003 yen average includes the cost of heating in the colder months.
In Australia a gas bill is about A$150/quarter, or about A$50/month. (Approx RM142.3887/month) Gas is widely used for heating up water also, and some newer places do use gas for heating.
So that seems to be the market price for gas in a subsidy free world.
A average water bill for a household of 5 is quoted at 1500yen/month (about RM46.2458), comparing to average water bill for a household of 5 in Japan to 6758 yen/month (about RM208.3526!).
"Water is so plentiful in Malaysia, that it is exported daily to Singapore".
Durian ice-cream proves to be a subject of fascination of the show then they peek into Junko's fridge. Knowing that Malaysia is known for durians, a durian is quoted as being 1200yen (about RM37) each on average. They talk about the smell for a while, and have fun on the "No durian" signs in some hotels.
Taxi's not taking you because you have a durian would be the least of one's worries when taking a taxi in Malaysia.......
The show goes shopping with Junko, and find a fish, which usually goes for 2000yen/kg (about RM61.661/kg) in Japan going for 140yen/kg (about RM4.30/kg). Apparently fish in Malaysia is on average 10 times cheaper than Japan. (I'd bet the currency conversion does affect a part of it)
A kilo of tomatoes which typically goes for 400yen/kg (about RM12.3322/kg) in Japan goes for 90yen/kg (about RM2.8/kg).
A kilo of egg plant which typically goes for 160yen/kg (about RM5/kg) in Japan goes for 63yen/kg (about RM2/kg).
Eating out is cheap in Malaysia, where 300yen/person (about RM10/person) would get one a good feed. Quite accurate on this part.
The family of 5 go out for dinner, with the food bill coming to 900yen (about RM28) for the whole family. Adding drinks would be about another RM10-15 for the whole family. A dinner of 5 for about RM45 in a simple restaurant: yeah, eating out in Malaysia is still quite cheap.
SJC(C) Tai Thung (why am I not surprised that they send their kids to a SJK(C)?) gets some screen time. That is not the average SJK(C)! That is one which has had some good endowments to have good buildings!
They ask the students what they do with the leftover pocket money (which apparently Malaysian kids get 4500yen/month (about RM138!). Yeah, that is such a skewed sample population), and:
"Save it for the future"
Nice to see that some of the tenets of SJK(C)'s haven't changed since I went through it.
What about petrol? As the program went to air in June 2015, petrol was 140yen/L (about RM4.3163/L). In Malaysia?
RM1.95/L, or about 60yen/L. Suggests that the filming was done in March 2015.
As I write this in July 2015, petrol is RM2.15/L for RON95. While in Australia it is about A$1.40/L. (about RM4/L)
So what about house prices?
The 5 bedroom house that Junko lives in, purchased 10 years ago, went for 20,000,000 yen (around RM616,610.3764 at the current exchange rates). Now they estimate it'd go for 60,000,000yen (about RM1,849,831.1292).
The show also interviews one Nagai Mikato, living in a 2LDK which looks like in the WP area. Purchased 5 years ago for 18,000,000yen (about RM554,949), she estimates it is now worth in the low 30,000,000yen range (about RM924,915. So almost hitting the RM1 million mark!)
Yes, Malaysia is still the land of rising property prices, which coming from Japan would be quite nice.
They also feature a 4 bedroom 250m2 apartment, in the KL CBD, for 130,000,000yen (about RM4,007,967!)
The thing that got to me was that it was 250m2 in area, they still can put a 4 bedroom apartment. While in Australia they'll have a 250m2 piece of land, complain it is too small, and put a 3 bedroom house on it.
And then wonder who Australian cities are so sprawling.
So, comparing household expenditure for a family of 5 in Malaysia per month? 91,200yen/month (about RM2811/month). Apparently a family of 5 in Tokyo would need 340000yen/month (about RM10482/month).
That is not exactly a fair comparison. The Klang valley has only 5 million'ish people, while the Tokyo metropolitan area has 13 million people.
The show talks about food specialities from Malaysia. I lost it here, because I have a few packs of them here in Australia. God I'm so Malaysian in some aspects.
Still, the crew seemed to enjoy it.
Omake:
I've seen that lady マシータ (Mashita?) on some shows, usually on ネプ&イモトの世界番付, another show I do enjoy, if nothing else to have a view-point on one way the Japanese see the world. She's been living in Japan for 28 years!
Thought I might just translate some of the more interesting points:
Driving 20 minutes out from KL, they find a normal terrace house in the suburbs of the Klang Valley.
They find Nagisa Junko, who has been living in Malaysia for 12 years.
Greeting them with "Selamat Pagi".
Married to husband Chen.
Who works as a race car engineer.
Earning 210,000 yen/month as a race car engineer. (About RM6474.409 at the current exchange rates).
The show puts the average Malaysian monthly wage at 130,000 yen (about RM4007.9674 at the current exchange rate).
Seriously!? Who believes that average salaries are that high in Malaysia?
The 2014 Household Income Survey put the average household income north of RM5,900/month.
So who are the big earners skewing the numbers!?
An article from September 2014 puts the median monthly salary at RM1500/month, the median household income at RM3,626.
The terrace house is a 5 bedroom place. How much is it?
When it was purchased 10 years ago, it went for 20,000,000 yen (around RM616,610.3764 at the current exchange rates).
Which sounds about right for a place, 20 minutes drive from KL, a terrace house, in what looks like a not too bad suburb.
So the show starts having a peek into their life. First up: how much does cooking gas cost?
The show is a little bemused that in Malaysia gas is provided in tanks. The only place I know in Malaysia with gas piped into houses directly in Malaysia is Bintulu.
On average a tank lasts for 2 - 3 months. Which sounds about right. For 900 yen (about RM27.7475).
That makes on average 300 yen (RM9.2492) a month for gas. The stats quoted by the program suggest that a household of 5 uses 6003 yen (about RM185.0756) of gas a month.
It is true that gas is heavily subsidised in Malaysia, but additionally there is no need for heating in Malaysia. (Not in that weather!) I'm not sure of the 6003 yen average includes the cost of heating in the colder months.
In Australia a gas bill is about A$150/quarter, or about A$50/month. (Approx RM142.3887/month) Gas is widely used for heating up water also, and some newer places do use gas for heating.
So that seems to be the market price for gas in a subsidy free world.
A average water bill for a household of 5 is quoted at 1500yen/month (about RM46.2458), comparing to average water bill for a household of 5 in Japan to 6758 yen/month (about RM208.3526!).
"Water is so plentiful in Malaysia, that it is exported daily to Singapore".
Durian ice-cream proves to be a subject of fascination of the show then they peek into Junko's fridge. Knowing that Malaysia is known for durians, a durian is quoted as being 1200yen (about RM37) each on average. They talk about the smell for a while, and have fun on the "No durian" signs in some hotels.
Taxi's not taking you because you have a durian would be the least of one's worries when taking a taxi in Malaysia.......
The show goes shopping with Junko, and find a fish, which usually goes for 2000yen/kg (about RM61.661/kg) in Japan going for 140yen/kg (about RM4.30/kg). Apparently fish in Malaysia is on average 10 times cheaper than Japan. (I'd bet the currency conversion does affect a part of it)
A kilo of tomatoes which typically goes for 400yen/kg (about RM12.3322/kg) in Japan goes for 90yen/kg (about RM2.8/kg).
A kilo of egg plant which typically goes for 160yen/kg (about RM5/kg) in Japan goes for 63yen/kg (about RM2/kg).
Eating out is cheap in Malaysia, where 300yen/person (about RM10/person) would get one a good feed. Quite accurate on this part.
The family of 5 go out for dinner, with the food bill coming to 900yen (about RM28) for the whole family. Adding drinks would be about another RM10-15 for the whole family. A dinner of 5 for about RM45 in a simple restaurant: yeah, eating out in Malaysia is still quite cheap.
SJC(C) Tai Thung (why am I not surprised that they send their kids to a SJK(C)?) gets some screen time. That is not the average SJK(C)! That is one which has had some good endowments to have good buildings!
They ask the students what they do with the leftover pocket money (which apparently Malaysian kids get 4500yen/month (about RM138!). Yeah, that is such a skewed sample population), and:
"Save it for the future"
Nice to see that some of the tenets of SJK(C)'s haven't changed since I went through it.
What about petrol? As the program went to air in June 2015, petrol was 140yen/L (about RM4.3163/L). In Malaysia?
RM1.95/L, or about 60yen/L. Suggests that the filming was done in March 2015.
As I write this in July 2015, petrol is RM2.15/L for RON95. While in Australia it is about A$1.40/L. (about RM4/L)
So what about house prices?
The 5 bedroom house that Junko lives in, purchased 10 years ago, went for 20,000,000 yen (around RM616,610.3764 at the current exchange rates). Now they estimate it'd go for 60,000,000yen (about RM1,849,831.1292).
The show also interviews one Nagai Mikato, living in a 2LDK which looks like in the WP area. Purchased 5 years ago for 18,000,000yen (about RM554,949), she estimates it is now worth in the low 30,000,000yen range (about RM924,915. So almost hitting the RM1 million mark!)
Yes, Malaysia is still the land of rising property prices, which coming from Japan would be quite nice.
They also feature a 4 bedroom 250m2 apartment, in the KL CBD, for 130,000,000yen (about RM4,007,967!)
The thing that got to me was that it was 250m2 in area, they still can put a 4 bedroom apartment. While in Australia they'll have a 250m2 piece of land, complain it is too small, and put a 3 bedroom house on it.
And then wonder who Australian cities are so sprawling.
So, comparing household expenditure for a family of 5 in Malaysia per month? 91,200yen/month (about RM2811/month). Apparently a family of 5 in Tokyo would need 340000yen/month (about RM10482/month).
That is not exactly a fair comparison. The Klang valley has only 5 million'ish people, while the Tokyo metropolitan area has 13 million people.
The show talks about food specialities from Malaysia. I lost it here, because I have a few packs of them here in Australia. God I'm so Malaysian in some aspects.
Still, the crew seemed to enjoy it.
Omake:
I've seen that lady マシータ (Mashita?) on some shows, usually on ネプ&イモトの世界番付, another show I do enjoy, if nothing else to have a view-point on one way the Japanese see the world. She's been living in Japan for 28 years!
Friday, July 03, 2015
My tax dollars at work
Source. Read the comments for more entertainment.
Finally, something to watch on Australian TV for Friday nights
Akhirnya, ada makna untuk menonton televisyen Australia pada malam Jumaat
终于，星期五晚上在澳洲电视上有东西好看
遂に，金曜日の夜テレビで見て良いいます
Ai-pon on Instagram
Source. Kan saya sudah cakap, don't enter into contracts with weird looking talking cats.
It is hardly breaking news, and I still don't get the attraction of Instagram, but I just realised that Nonaka "Ai-pon" Ai (Y'know, Sakura Kyouko, Ibiuki Fuko, Yagami Tama et al) actually has a Instagram account.
Source.
*otaku orgasm*
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