Stuck gear

 After a long period of peaceful ownership, my Alza gave me a problem. After I shifted to D, the gear remained at D no matter what gear I shifted to. Hence, the car cannot be restarted after I made it home. Checked the youtube and surprised to note this is a common issue for Alza and Myvi automatics.

What happen was that there is a bush or grommet connecting the gear selector and gear shift cable. It's made of plastic, brittle over time and disintegrated. Hence, whatever gear you select no longer work as the gear shifter is disconnected from the gear box. According to a youtuber, Proton cars generally has a retaining clip but not the in Perodua cars which is not proper as most people will just ask for a tow truck if this happen. Worst still if some dishonest foreman may con anyone that the gear box has failed and will quote a repair bill in thousands. 

Then that replacement part. I thought it should be very cheap for a piece of plastic with the size of 20 cent coin. Saw it was selling at RM6 in Lazada but I can't wait for shipment. Asked at the spare parts shop nearby and was quoted RM15 to RM25. That was insanely expensive.

In the end, I used some two way tape to fill that gap between the gear shifter and the cable and also a cable tie to ensure the connection will not be loose. 

To access this area, you need to remove the gear shift cover. You should pry open from the glove box side as it has a notch there which is covered by the glove box so if you happen to cause some dent when prying, it won't be too obvious. 

Alza rear suspension comfort

My kids have always complained how bouncy when they are seated at the rear of my Alza compared to my wife's Mazda 2. It could be due to Alza rear suspension design which is catered to carry a higher load since this is a 5+2 MPV and hence, a stiffer rear spring. Anyhow, as the car is more than 9 years old, it won't ride as good as when it was new.

At first, I changed the rear dampers to stock ones as the previous ones was Sachs damper, thinking that this could be the cause. I was wrong, the ride was almost the same and I have wasted almost RM300. That Sachs damper was only two years of use so it was unlikely the cause.

The next component could be the rear spring bushings. Rubber will naturally harden over time so this could be the cause. Spent RM80 to change both the top and bottom bushings for the rear spring and I have opted for a thicker 1 inch for the top bushing. The result was satisfying. From the front seat, I can feel there is a more cushy feel compared to before, not sure if it is due to the new rubber or thicker bushing but this is something you can consider if the ride got harsh overtime. That thicker bushing also did not increase the rear ride height significantly at all, almost unnoticeable.

Below are the photo showing the amount of gap increased before and after putting the thicker bushing:

Before:

After:

Surveying for a new MPV

My Alza is around 9 years of usage and has clocked 128,000km. I still like the feel but it is showing its age like the vibration and noise. There is also engine and ATF leak which will cost about RM800 to repair. No urgency to repair at the moment but I believe as the car ages, more and more repair will be needed. Although this is a 5+2 seater, the third row seat is seldom used compared to before when I had a maid. There was one time we went to Kuala Selangor for seafood with my parents, the car was fully loaded but there wasn't any space left to bring back some seafood. Besides, I have not really went for an outstation trip with my parents since I started working 19 years and felt bad about this.

This prompted me to consider getting a full size MPV or at least a 7 seater SUV, something that can carry 7 person with space to carry luggage too. As this car will also be driven by me daily to work, it also must not be too big and difficult to drive in the city. Hence, I will exclude Alphard or Grand Starex from my list and what I thought so far is as follow:

1. Perodua Aruz
2. Honda BRV
3. Proton Exora
4. Toyota Innova
5. Nissan Serena
6. Nissan X-trail
7. Mitsubishi Outlander

Just checked out the Aruz. The one thing that attracted me is its ability to store 2 small luggage at the back even with 7 person onboard. Of course, this Aruz is highly equipped but most of the gadgets are something I can live without except for the 6 airbags.

But when I sat into the Aruz, and I will compare it to my Alza, you need to lift your heel a bit to sit on it. As my wife is shorter than me, she is not going to like this. Other things I noted are lesser head room, lesser room between my thigh and the steering and the seats are also smaller, it doesn't extend to the rear of my knee.

Without even driving it, I have spotted a few inherent weaknesses. Firstly, this Aruz is longer and taller overall but that additional dimension is not felt in the interior. The reason is because being a rear wheel drive, the engine has to be mounted longitudinally and this require a longer engine bay. In short, a big part of the car length has been dedicated to the engine. Then, what about the headroom? Well, the car chassis is actually sitting on ladder frame and this has raised the overall height but this height will not contribute to interior space.

The salesman was honest when he said that the Aruz will feel less responsive compared to Alza and I am not surprised with that as the Aruz is heavier than Alza due to the ladder frame and longer chassis. It's going to be a struggle for that 1.5 liter engine to move the car, coupled with a bigger overall diameter tyre. In short, I won't feel there is a dimensional upgrade compared to my Alza if I opt for this Aruz although it is RM20k more expensive.

Just checked out the BRV. It's more expensive than Aruz and my Alza, price about RM80k for the lowest spec. The ingress height is just right, boot space is comparable to Aruz and much bigger than my Alza. Other features better than my Alza are bigger tyre, rear a/c blower, digital a/c (not really necessary to me), VSA and HSA. But there is one thing about my Alza that is hard to beat, the wheelbase. It is at 2700mm which is longer than some bigger cars such as Exora, Outlander, X-trail and its class rivals such as Ertiga, Aruz and BRV. Due to that, it has very large 2nd row interior including the seat depth and legroom. Somehow, the BRV 2nd row seat is slightly smaller than Alza, which is not an issue if it is not sat by adults and my kids are not that tall anyway.

Another BRV's major weakness is it has 2 airbags only and that's something hard to accept in 2019 when a cheaper Aruz can provide 6 airbags across all variants. The sales girl said that the BRV will not come out with a facelift but I don't believe that as the facelift model has already been launched in several countries.

I have the budget to get bigger MPVs like Serena but I don't mind settling for a smaller MPV if it can meet my requirement and at the same time, easier to maneuver in the city. The Serena is big, packed with many nice-to-have features, air-cond vents on all the three row with separate zone control for the rear and a much bigger loading capacity with all the seats up. I tested it over the weekend and noted the following:

• The mpv looks big on the side but not too difficult to maneuver actually
• It comes with 360 view but the monitor is too small
• There is no center console like in the previous model
• Everyone in the mpv will slant or lean when taking corner, reminds me of the feeling in the Kenari, seems that this mpv height is greater than the width, an attribute of a van
• The mpv felt sluggish but when I looked at the speedo, it was at 60km/h, somehow the mpv can pick up speed without you feeling it too obvious but a 2.0 engine pulling 1660kg weight can be quite challenging

Further research in the internet tells me that the Japanese version has an auto brake hold function and the larger monitor can also serve as the reverse camera.

Iridium spark plug

Have not been tinkering with my car for some time and suddenly realised that the iridium disk plug in my alza had exceeded 100,000km of usage. To be exact, it is now 106,000km. Not sure how bad can things be if the plug fails suddenly so it's better to quickly change it. Bought another set of denso iridium ixu22 at Lazada. This is how it looks like after long usage:

Modern day thievery

Stealing is a crime. Everyone should agree on this. It has always been the case since civilisation and rule of law existed. Unfortunately, in modern times, "stealing" can be legalised depending on how it is being carried out. Such modern stealing are done stealthily so that the victims do not even feel that they are losing something. The best of all, the "loss" are normally shared by a big group of people and probably even pass down to the next generation so that nobody can feel the loss and thus, nobody will make a fuss out of it.

The following are two methods of modern day thievery which every responsible voters and person with authority must understand and perhaps, seek ways to prevent such cancer from decaying the wealth of honest earning citizens:

1. Transactions with unfavourable terms or overpriced

Governments and government linked companies (GLCs) make a lot of transactions every day. These transactions can be in the following forms:

• purchases of goods or services for operations or development / infrastructure
• investments into companies or non-moveable properties
• recruitment of employees

Each of these transactions presents an opportunity to "steal" money from the government and GLCs, which rightly belongs to the citizen. Although GLCs exist as a separate legal entity from the government, they are regarded to be belonging to the people as these GLCs reap abnormal profits by virtue of the monopoly created by law and granted to them or ownership of certain national strategic assets. How is the stealing done? All it takes are collusion between the person making the purchase and the supplier. Sometime, the person authorising the purchase may need to be involved but normally, as long as the transaction is done in accordance with internal procedures, it will be authorised and approved.

With the collusion in place, the transaction will be made at a high price significantly higher than market price, be it an ordinary purchase of items or an investment. The amount in excess of market price will then be channelled to the perpetrator by the supplier or seller. As we all know, some purchases are not made via open tender and this has allowed the stealing to take place. Even if the transaction is via open tender, the person in charge of the purchase will ensure that all the bidders are companies formed by the same colluding supplier (via proxies) so that no matter how, the purchase will be made from the same supplier.

In the case of employment, the recruiting person in HR may collude with the candidates or external parties so that certain position are given to person who are not qualified but favoured. Sometime this is done as political patronage. Thus, it is not surprising to see many departments and divisions created in a GLC with overlapping roles and functions so that certain high positions can be given to person with political connection as a reward. This is beginning to mimic the government which also coincidentally, have many ministries. I have recently came across a GLC with separate departments for internal audit, risk management, integrity and compliance, which I find it hard to understand their differences.

The above practices will definitely increase the government budget deficit and reduce the profitability of GLCs, which are supposed to pay dividends to government and provident funds. Any shortfall will have to be borne by someone and that someone are the taxpayer via introduction of new taxes or rolling back subsidies etc. Fortunately or unfortunately, we don't directly feel the loss as it is well spreaded across all taxpaying citizens and probably future generation as well if the government takes long term loan to cover the shortfall. This, is the beauty of modern day thievery.

2. Private placement (PP)

Sometime, a listed company may need to raise funding through equity by issue of new shares. There is nothing wrong with such exercise as long as the new shares are offered to all existing shareholders via a rights issue or warrants. Unfortunately, there is also something else known as private placement. It is also a fund raising exercise which entail issue of new shares but done privately and only offered to a selected group of people. Nobody has any idea who they are and why they are given such privilege.

Anything wrong with this? Well, nobody will complain if the issue price of the PP is above the company's NAV/share. Unfortunately, to make the PP attractive, the issue price is usually below the NAV/share and definitely below the current market price. This will definitely cause a dilutive effect to the value of the existing shares in the market as the market are now flooded with more shares and the same time, the company is not being paid with sufficient cash to maintain the NAV/share as the PP is issued at a discount to NAV/share.

What does this mean? It means that "money" is being parted from the pocket of the existing shareholders to the PP subscribers. The existing shareholders won't feel it, but the effect is definitely there. All this is done so that the selected group of PP subscribers can profit from the share market at no risk at all, at the expense of existing shareholders. The PP subscribers can immediately sell their shares at market price and pocket the profit, causing a drop in the market price and a loss to existing shareholders

Having known the above, you will wonder, is it a fair world? Or fairness belongs to a certain group of people who is in the position to redefine "fairness"? As can be seen in the chinese character of a government officer, it has two characters of "mouth". With two "mouths", you can never win an argument with government officers.

The two squares within the "officer" character are the "mouth" character.

Pennzoil, Repsol and Grantt

UMW does hold some carnival sale for its oils and fluids occasionally. Pennzoil, Repsol and Grantt are some of the brands under its belt. It also used to sell a lesser known brand like Blue Sky. Buying during carnival sale is not only cheaper but each item usually comes with a free gift like Thermos water bottle, laptop bag or umbrella. Of course, you won't get such premiums if you merely buy mineral oils. These things only comes free with semi or fully synthetic oils. The next carnival sale should be in the middle of this year, just before the Hari Raya holidays.

Times are bad now. So have to downgrade. Recently, bought this Grantt semi synthetic oil for RM80 with free gift. Anyhow, most of these oils give decent performance. The only bad experience I had was those Ace Hardware oils that was sold for RM6.90 per pack at one time. I felt instant loss of power using such oil in my previous Kenari. Other than that, most of the time, I will feel that gratifying "just change oil" driving experience. The difference between each oil lies on how long this "feeling" can last. For mineral oils, it usually last up to 2,000 km at most.

Chassis reinforcement

I am a believer in chassis braces and they have always been my first modification in any new car, except for the Mazda 2. Perhaps, it could be due to the fact that chassis has never been a strong point in Perodua cars. Well, I always observe this rule to only modify the weak points of a car. Otherwise, you will spend a lot for a little improvement.

First upgrade was definitely UR bars, started off with the front strut top bar. This was a 2-point bar unlike the Kenari. It obstructed the air filter box a bit but could still access it. I installed this bar together with the bottom side bar. The feeling was fantastic. The front wheels felt more planted and more steering feedback.

After that, I proceeded with the 3 point fender bar. As for this bar, I felt a slight loss on steering feedback instead. Anyhow, I still think this fender bar is important as it should provide strength to the chassis against frontal collision. There was a plastic cover near the door hinge that need to be removed permanently to install the fender bar.

I was always impressed with Autofoam with its "invisible roll cage" claim. So, there I went for a starter package which cost RM980 and had it done on my Alza recently. 4 spray cans of Autofoam were used for this package and it didn't involve any removal of components or panels. Whole exercise was done underneath the car and engine bay for 3 hours. Basically, the foam was injected into the main frame of the chassis and suspension mounting points which were accessible from the engine bay, wheel arch and underneath.

Perhaps, it could be due to the fact that my Alza already had UR bars or it took some days for the Autofoam to expand completely as I could not feel any instant difference. The only improvement I could certainly vouch was the lower engine noise heard in the cabin, especially the air conditioner compressor kick in sound which was suppressed significantly by this upgrade. Still thinking if I should spend another RM2,000 for the pillars to be filled up. But one thing I need to consider is that this upgrade is non-removeable especially if I intend to sell the car later and wish to remove upgrade items for sale separately.

Apart from the above, I had also took the chance during my recent long leave to add on more bars i.e. room bar and rear top bar. Both of these bars were made with the right angles so that it would not obstruct the access to the rear hatch or took away significant floor space of the rear passengers. Neatly done with precise angle and discreet. These bars can be easily installed with a 17mm wrench but UR gladly did it free for me.

The current chassis feel is good for me. It felt like the whole car as "one piece" and everything is in harmony. It gives me the driving confidence. The wheel will continue to roll even after I lift off the throttle. Although there are front and rear bottom bars left to be installed, I do not intend to do so. If the chassis is too stiff, it will only reduce steering feedback, as I experienced in my previous Kenari. As for the rear sway bar, although it is likely to improve handling, it will also cause more vibration to be transferred from one side to the other. Anyhow, I am not so much into fast cornering any more. This is a family car after all.

The problem with light rim

As the kids grow older, the Alza was hitting the country side more often for holiday trips. The road surface at the rural area was quite uneven with lots of patches here and there. This was made worse, which I believe, by the light Advanti rim. Driving on these roads at 90 km/h was quite torturing with the bumps and harshness transmitted into the cabin and I could feel the tyre was on the verge of losing traction. Changing to new shock absorbers didn't quite settle this matter.

A little bit of internet research led me to this key word "vertical acceleration". To cut to the chase, light rim increases the vertical acceleration of the suspension and the tendency for the wheel to move vertically over the slightest bump. This is what I am experiencing now, the continuous micro vibrations although the road surface looks fine with me. This is completely absence in the Mazda 2 running on stock rims.

Yes, we all heard of the benefits running on light rims like reducing the unsprung weight, better acceleration etc. but how much is the benefit? Well, based on the test done on this website, www.hotrod.com, the improved acceleration is too little to be felt for daily sane driving. Excerpt of their test is below:

We were more interested in dragstrip acceleration, so we tested traditional rally wheels from Wheel Vintiques (which makes reproduction rallies in numerous sizes) against lightweight Center Line wheels on our 502-powered Mean Street

Chevelle. For consistency, we used the same size/type rear tires (Mickey Thompson E.T. Street 26x10.5-15) mounted on 15x8-inch steel and aluminum rims. Up front we tested both 15x7- and 15x4-inch rims in steel and aluminum with the same diameter tires (to not affect rollout). Did the lightweight goods really make a difference? Check out the results box. A huge thanks to L.A.-based Flip's Tires which, as always, did all our mounting and balancing muy pronto.

Test Configurations
Test 1
(2) 15x7 rally with BFG P215/60R15 = 95.56 lbs.
(2) 15x8 rally with M/T 26x10.5-15 = 93.70 lbs.
Total weight = 189.26 lbs
e.t. and mph = 12.137@111.99

Test 2
(2) 15x4 rally with M/T 26x7.5-15 = 70.86 lbs.
(2) 15x8 rally with M/T 26x10.5-15 = 93.70 lbs.
Total weight = 164.56 lbs.
e.t. and mph = 12.107@112.52

Test 3
(2) 15x7 Center Line with BFG P215/60R15 = 70.46 lbs.
(2) 15x8 Center Line with M/T 26x10.5-15 = 64.10 lbs.
(4) Center Line center caps = 0.96 lb.
Total weight = 135.52 lbs.
e.t. and mph = 12.103@112.10

Test 4
(2) 15x4 Center Line with M/T 26x4.5-15 = 42.12 lbs.
(2) 15x8 Center Line with M/T 26x10.5-15 = 64.1 lbs.
(4) Center Line center caps = 0.96 lb.
Total weight = 107.18 lbs.
e.t. and mph = 12.026@113.11

Total weight reduction = 82.08 lbs.
Total performance gain = -0.111 sec, +1.12 mph

Based on my experience, the trade-off like ride discomfort, loss of high speed stability, loss of traction on uneven surface at high speed far outweigh that little benefits in terms of acceleration and steering responsiveness. So, the lesson here is, the internet is full of marketing people and will sweet talk all sorts of modification to make you part your money for that little benefit. They are not cheating but merely telling half truths.

As always, modification is a form of experimentation. Don't spend unnecessary money on experiments when the car company has already done its research to get the best set up. And rim upgrade is a major upgrade as it is a major component of the suspension. Do more research on how the rim weight and offset affects suspension behaviour before committing.

All is not lost. Light rims do have its benefits. One obvious thing I felt is that the Alza will keep on rolling and rolling with its momentum after I have lifted from the throttle without much speed loss compared to the Mazda 2. That is something amazing and could provide some fuel saving.

Withholding tax on services provided outside Malaysia

The Malaysian government made a shocking change to the tax law in the 2017 Budget announcement whereby withholding tax is now also imposed on service fee paid to non-residents where the services are rendered offshore. Some may say that this is nothing new as many countries will impose the same BUT do remember, unlike other countries, the Malaysian government will not agree on tax treaty exemption on such service fee on the basis that it is not a "business profit" but a "special" classes of income under the domestic tax law.

This is unbelievable! Just by reclassifying a certain income under a special domestic tax law, the government thinks they have excluded those income from tax treaty exemption. Just imagine if every country is to do the same, it will make a mockery of the tax treaties signed with other countries. Worse still, it will make our local companies look like a bunch of hypocrites for asking the same tax exemption under the tax treaty from foreign tax authorities when our government is not honouring the same.

Having said the above, my main concern is, this withholding tax will only make our service exporters even less competitive. The reason is because that withholding tax cost is likely have to be borne by the Malaysian companies as the foreign service providers will not agree to pay tax imposed by a country that they never even set foot on. Some may think this will not be an issue if we only engage Malaysian service providers. Unfortunately, in the world of contracting business, it is always the case where you are required to engage service providers based in the host country (sometime a list will be given) if you wish to win that contract. Our government is equally good in imposing the same requirement on foreign contractors so expect the same in any country that our service exporters wish to penetrate.

With every line if service expenses being bumped up by 10% right now due to the withholding tax cost, our service exporters will have difficulty in winning new contracts in foreign country. So much for moving up the value chain with such regressing tax law.

Malaysia and TPPA

So, our country is joining an exclusive club which allows us to sell our products to the club members without restriction. For the developed countries to open their economy to us sounds too good to be true. It is puzzling to note that some ASEAN countries did not join in.

I am not an economist apart from scoring A in STPM Ekonomi Asas. As far as bilateral trade is concerned, what I could remember is this important phrase, "competitve advantage". To effectively benefit from free trade, we need to have an edge on the competitive advantage over our competitors in the importing country.

How do we achieve this? I don't have an answer but the following may give some hint:
- continuous use of low cost labour from other countries
- lenient environmental law
- long period of tax holidays

With the above hint, I am not surprised that some local trade associations are in agreement to join TPPA. We can never move up in the value chain if we continue to play this game in this manner. Let's not even talk about the social implications.

Expect the unexpected

My experience dabbling in the stock market tells me one thing, the market will always have a way to surprise you. Always expect the unexpected. Two years ago, it would be insane for anyone to think that the oil price would drop below USD40 per barrel. At that time, there was so much talking about the world running out of oil and the push for alternate energy source.

Today, it is clear to all of us. There are plenty of oil to last us for the next 100 years and the high oil price has always been due to the greed of a group of countries controlling the supply. Such artificial high oil price has not only enable these countries (and oil companies) to reap abnormal profits but also push poor non-oil producing countries into permanent poverty.

There is no limit to human's greed. I am glad, finally, there are competitors that have brought some sense back to the industry. Introducing the shale producers and Russia.

OPEC, led by Saudi, responded by flooding the market with oil, sending prices to new lows and hoping this will drive out competitors. Will this work? Yes, it may work but oil price will remain subdued for a long long time simply because these competitors can break even at the price between USD40 to USD60 and the best of all, shale can be restarted with a short period of time if the price is good. So this OPEC strategy does not really drive out the competitor, it only cause them to suspend production temporarily until the price is profitable.

But the problem doesn't stop there. The oil industry is supported by contractors that have made investments on assets based on the assumption that the good times will last forever. While some may claim that their investment model has taken into account some occasional industry dips, I bet none of them (or anyone of us) expected the price of today which will eventually lead to the total collapse of the supporting industry.

Why I think it will collapse? Well, assets were purchased at a high price, financed mostly by debt and is now either idling or operated at a revenue far below the break even price. Some of these companies may have some reserves to fund the negative cash flow but if this low oil price condition is going to be permanent, you can guess the outcome. By the way, it is already too late by now for these companies to raise fund via equity as they can hardly raise any thing substantial under such industry sentiment and the need to meet the private placement capping. It's like waiting to die.

The sad part doesn't end here. When oil price was dropping significantly way back in December 2014, the management team of these companies was still clinching on the hope that the industry would recover. Even at that point, anyone can already deduce the chance of recovery is only possible if the following can take place:

• US and Russia cooperate with OPEC on production quota
• A war breaks out in the Middle East, disrupting the supply
• Fracking is banned in US due to environmental concern

The above scenario is not likely to happen while hoping a war to break out and save the industry is just not right. Nevertheless, there was just no solid action plan by the management team even when the impending consequence can be guessed and their corporate strategy was rather reactive.

How this "likely consequence" will affect our economy? One thing for sure, there will be lay-off. Employees hired under contract will be laid off with a one-month notice if the asset operated by them is idling. Hopefully, these people have saved some money during the good times as there won't be any compensation, as per the contract. There will also be pay cut for management staff.

Such lay-off and pay cut may sometime trigger contraction in consumer spending and perhaps, investment in property. In fact, it was reported not long ago that some high end properties were rented out at lower rates due to reducing demand by expatriates, mainly working in the oil and gas industry. Perhaps, the property sector may witness some slowdown and potentially, price reduction soon. Many people these days would not believe that property price will drop but then, everyone in the oil and gas industry were having the same notion as well previously. Let wait and see how this will play out.

Then there are companies supporting the contractors, known as third tier oil & gas companies or subcontractor. These companies generally are manpower suppliers, caterers, helicopter operators, hotels located near to the supply bases, ship yards and even airlines. When there is low oil and gas activity, all these supporting industries will be impacted.

I still remember 2 years ago, I need to book a hotel room in Labuan one month in advance and the most expensive hotel got filled up first and thereafter, lower grade hotels. All these was due to the demand from the oil & gas industry, always giving the best to their employees. But today, you can just check into any hotel in Labuan and rooms are always available. I am sure unannounced lay-offs are taking place in these companies as I write. If the employees laid off do not get another job, they will have difficulty in financing their mortgages and we can all guess the next chain of event.

By the way, those who follow the share analysts would haveread about the opportunity for some merger and acquisition to take place, noting that some oil and gas contractor companies were having cash reserves to do so. Such naive speculation by the analysts was highly questionable as these companies needed the cash to weather this crisis and stay afloat. It would be unthinkable for them to even commit on acquisitions if they can hardly make ends meet.

Clattering sound and bouncy ride

I was browsing through my previous postings and noted my complaint on the clattering sound from the engine. As an update, the problem was solved. I took my Alza to a nearby mechanic and after some brief diagnosis, the mechanic was confident that the sound was due to a loose bearing in the water pump. My Alza is my third Perodua car and I have never encountered such problem before in all my previous car ownership. Moreover, the car was still new. As I recall, the sound already started when it was at 20,000km.

Spent RM150 to replace the pump but the lesson I got was, never buy a newly-launched car model, especially if that model involves lots of locally-sourced components. Best is to wait for the facelift model after all the improvements have been made.

As for the bouncy ride, after much hesitation, I was convinced that the shock absorbers need to be changed. These days, the absorber doesn't just dampen the spring oscillation but is doing more than that. Symptoms like nose diving during hard braking, dipping completely down when crossing over road bumps and excessive roll during cornering are potentially due to worn absorbers.

All these symptoms were already glaring way back when it was at 30,000km, which was quite premature to me. Inserting the rubber between the spring reduced the suspension travel, but such measure only masked the problem, not solving it. And as a trade off, the ride was stiff. The stiff ride was still bearable driving in the city at slow speed on uneven surface but when hitting the old trunk roads with speed limit of 90km/h at some stretches, there was significant loss of traction.

So recently spent another RM500 on shock absorbers. Thankfully, the Kayaba Excel-G (fully gas filled) was bought at staff price, RM370 for a complete set and the rest was labour. The stock absorber was also fully gas filled made by APM. Got a quote from Perodua service center at RM700 for a full set. Not sure how much it would be at spare part shop but these days, with so many fake parts in the market, I wouldn't push my luck with cheaper bargains.

After changing the absorbers, I could instantly feel some support by the suspension but not stiff. No more full compression or complete dip down when crossing over road bumps. By the way, the rubber previously inserted into the spring was removed. Nevertheless, I still could not get back the ride comfort I got before installing the Advanti sport rim. So what's wrong with the rim? This will be my next problem to solve.

Cabin filter

Been working in this new company for 2 years and didn't even realise that there is a shop that sells spare parts at staff price. Tried the Denso wiper but didn't really last long. I guess this is expected if you park at open area without lifting the wiper. I experienced the same for Bosch wiper as well.

Lately, got myself this cabin filter for RM10. The Alza cabin filter is right behind the glove box. Just remove the glove box, then you will see a removeable panel. Once you open it, you will find the cabin filter. I got this old cabin filter when I serviced my car at a dealer service center many years ago for RM30+. Quite dirty and time for replacement. The recommended mileage is 15,000km for replacing the cabin filter. Smell of fresh air inside the car once again. This filter also helps prevent dust from sticking at the condenser. The dust will absorb moisture, cause rusting on the condenser and leakage on the air conditioner system after that. Once it leaks, just prepare RM1,000+ to change the whole system.

Old filter:

 

New filter:

 

New filter for my dad's old Myvi:

 

On the label, you will note that the Alza filter is compatible with Myvi 2011 onwards. The filter for the older Myvi is slightly smaller.

The cabin filter is quite soft and may not be possible to clean it by vacuum cleaner. I guess just change it when it is due.

By the way, I didn't realise that I have not updated my blog for 2 years. Too busy with GST.

GST - Do we need it?

The word is out. The government is more serious this time. It doesn't come as a surprise to me at all. All those articles (mostly written by Big 4 tax partners) promoting the need to introduce for GST is a prelude of this announcement. There was also this action taken by MyCC on AirAsia and MAS which I suspect, was a show of action taken to ensure industry pricing will be competitive. I have written previously the need for pricing to be competitive, so that any tax savings from claim of input tax credit will lead to reduction in prices, if all businesses are competing one another. Unfortunately, most industries and businesses here have associations, and they do collaborate when it comes to pricing. Let see if any action will be taken by MyCC on the transporters association. So far, MyCC only requested for explanation and given the number of manpower, this agency is not going to change the way business is done here.

Let's take one step back and ask ourselves why this new tax is needed. To boost government revenue? To make more people pay tax instead of the current small percentage? What is wrong with the existing tax system? Not wide enough to capture everyone? Is there some weaknesses in the tax law or lack of enforcement? Before the government quickly jump into the GST bandwagon joining many other countries, the government should first explore the weaknesses within the current income tax law.

One funny reason for the introduction of GST is because many countries already have it. Well, I believe some countries like Hong Kong, Brunei and Myanmar have not adopted GST. Even in China, VAT is gradually introduced as a pilot programme in certain areas only. So, if the reason is because of merely following other countries, for your information, there are many other form of taxes that our country has not implemented at all.

For a start, many countries are actually taxing its residents' income on worldwide scope basis. Capital gains are also normally treated as taxable profit in many countries. Did the government consider widening the scope of taxation through the existing income tax law before introducing GST? Oh, I may have overlooked, introducing such changes will have impact on corporate tax payers and they do pose significant influence on the policy makers.

Some may say income tax is not an efficient revenue collection mechanism as it is subject to honest declaration by tax payers. While I can't deny that everyone want to pay the least amount of tax, the government should also be aware that there is lack of enforcement that is causing lower revenue. For example, in many countries, tax is withheld and remitted to tax authorities when certain payments to resident (aka local withholding tax). Currently, withholding tax in Malaysia is only imposed on certain payments to non-residents (apart from the normal MTD imposed in employees). Expanding the scope of withholding tax to include payments to residents will certainly reduce the loss of tax revenue as it will collect taxes from a group of local tax payers who are currently may not be fully declaring their income. I am not surprised if some land lords don't declare their rental income. In Indonesia, their local withholding tax is also applicable on purchases of certain goods as well. No tax payers can evade at all.

Of course, we have the developed countries that are more aggressive in taxing the rich where they have inheritance tax and net worth tax. These taxes are less seen in emerging economies yet but nonetheless, it is something the government can consider. Ultimately, who does the government intend to collect more tax from? The rich or the poor? You think the poor should not be paying GST as food will be zero rated? The urban poor still need to eat outside and there will be GST imposed by restaurants. Coffee shops may not reach the RM500,000 threshold but voluntary registration is allowed.

Some may argue GST can reduce cost of doing business due to the refund of input tax credit. But how soon can that credit be refunded? If it takes a long time, businesses will still be saddled with cash flow problem and will need to somehow shift this GST cost to the consumers. Is the Customs ready for a quick GST refund? What about other countries experience? Indonesia is one of the earliest country in this region to have implemented GST (it's called VAT there). After so many years, has the VAT refund in Indonesia should be the most efficient. However, it has been the reverse. Over the years, the Indonesian tax office has been making VAT refund a lot more difficult with estimated time span of close to 1 year for it to be refunded. It is also onerous on businesses seeking for the refund to ensure the tax invoice is genuine as penalties will be imposed on the refund applicant if the VAT collector does not remit the VAT to the tax office. In short, after so many years of implementation, the Indonesian tax office is still battling with VAT refund fraud. You can say the same for countries like Thailand or the Philippines.

Seeing such grim experience in other countries, one should then ask, is the Customs clean and efficient to administer GST? Can the GST be quickly refunded and with proper verification? We should also realise that it is not impossible for GST to be fraudulently refunded. All you need is fake tax invoice, a newly set up dormant company (you can get some fake IC as directors and shareholders) and collaboration with the right Customs officer. Well, if land can be illegally transferred, it's not too difficult to pull out such scheme. When more and more such cases discovered, the refund process will be lengthened and the cost will rise. Is the Customs clean and ready to take on this responsibility? By the way, what is the progress of the investigation on the murder of a high ranking Customs officer?

And to the Big 4 tax partners, please do your part to do the right thing. The best CSR you can ever do is to oppose the GST until we are ready and after all other form of corporate taxes have been fully implemented. Please do not be blinded by the revenue from the GST implementation. We all know, we are not ready and this GST is not necessary. There are other ways to fix the current problem. Don't make the people take on this burden and let the corporate get away.

Cheap alternative to K&N

Most of us would normally put a drop in aftermarket air filter as the first modication. I was never a believer in this but considering the cost savings for changing a genuine air filter every 20,000km, I guess it should still be worthwhile. The K&N drop in isn't cheap but there are cheaper brands out there like this one I bought, W.E. brand selling at RM139.

This is how the filter looks like after 8 months or >10,000km:

 

 

You see anything wrong with the filter? Look harder. There are tiny see through holes on it. I quickly took it out and replace it with a cheap paper element. No drop of power at all.

 

Advanti Storm

I always like the look of my sport rim, the Advanti Storm. It somehow is able to stir my emotion to go faster (ok, I admit the Alza isn't really fast even with this rim) and the design really exhibit strength each time I look at it. This is another photo I took recently which is one of the nicer ones.

 

Pennzoil Platinum

It's been a week since I changed the engine oil. The Royal Purple has done 7,200 km, engine getting noisier with that annoying clattering sound at low rev. I stocked up a 2 bottles of this Pennz fully synthetic oil and thought of trying it out.

Guess what, I have checked the dipstick and tyre pressure and I can conclude that this Pennzoil Platinum is not equal to the Royal Purple oil at all. There is a confirmed loss of power when launching, less responsive, the engine sound harsher and noisier, and I can feel the pull to the back whenever the air cond compressor kicks in when going uphill. I should have known. How could the Pennzoil with a SM rating can be better than the RP oil with a SN rating (both are 5w-30 oil). Really regretted stocking up two bottles, now I need to sell it cheap to my relatives for that other bottle. The worst of all, the clattering sound is still there after the oil change and I still can't figure it out what causes it.

Labels on the Pennzoil Platinum bottle, 100% synthetic (not sure if it's Group III oil), manufactured by a plant with ISO certification (if I m not mistaken, it's a company within the UMW Group).

 

 

 

My first half marathon

I did a lot of crazy things when I was a teenage. I rode a mountain bike and roamed around the city recklessly (a few close calls actually), climbed the Gunung Nuang (although I didn't really know the way up) and most memorable, ran a lot of 10km runs. I started this when I was in Form 2 and it got crazier when I signed up for a half marathon, covering 21km. It was the year 1991 RMAF Half Marathon. You may think if this was possible cause I could be too young for this. Yes, I was underage to participate but what the heck, I just put another date of birth to indicate that I was not a minor.

I can't remember much about the run, it was arduous, unlike 10km which you can finish it by running and rest a bit by walking, 21km was really killing. In the end, I gave up somewhere around the palace area cause I knew I would not make it within the required 2 hours 30 minutes time and hence, took a bus back to the finishing line at the Sungai Besi airport. I am still keeping the running shirt till today.

 

You will notice that Anchor beer was the main sponsor for that event and yes, there was free flow of Anchor beers waiting at the finishing line. I was too young for that as well but what the heck ...

 

Synthetic ATF

Besides changing to synthetic engine oil, I have also tried synthetic ATF the first time on my Alza. The gear shift is quite jerky at times, especially during warm up when the engine is idling at higher rpm. You see, unlike changing engine oil, whenever we drain the ATF, probably only 50% is drained out, leaving another 50% in the torque converter. Which means firstly, your fresh ATF will be mixed with some old ones and secondly, if you are changing to another brand or grade, nobody knows if the ATF will blend well. After 5,000km, I have decided to do another ATF change, fearing that the Schaeffer synthetic ATF may not blend well with the existing ATF, which I doubt is synthetic. But this time, instead of sticking to Schaeffer, I tried out this Pennzoil multi ATF which I bought cheaply at RM54 for a 4 liter pack (the Schaeffer cost me RM39 per 1 liter pack).

After changing the ATF, the result is quite satisfactory. The gearshift still feel jerky but the power delivery is way smoother than before, more responsive to throttle input. Regretted I didn't stock up more for that low price.

 

 

 

Cheap airfix model

In my childhood days, I used to assemble airfix models, aircrafts or tanks, during leisure. Those days, a 1:72 scale Hasegawa aircraft model can easily cost RM20 but was very good quality. The parts were very accurately made and hardly require any trimming compared to those Italeri models. But those Tamiya car models cost a lot more and unaffordable.

Thanks to China, some things have gotten cheaper. Recently, I got this unassembled 1:72 scale tank models for RM4.90 only. The best of all, each parts are already painted, which mean you just need to cut it, trim the edge a bit and assemble. The paint finishing is quite real.

Here's the T-72-M1 tank model, have not sticked the decals yet.

 

 

 

Achilles ATR Sport

Replaced the Michelin PS3 tyre recently. Came across this cheap made in Indonesia tyre and wanted to try out. You know, I doubt one can find AA rated traction tyre selling for less than RM200 nowadays for a 15" size. This one I got for RM185 (with rubber valve) for 195/55/15 size. It's a V speed rated directional tyre and look pretty aggressive. The treadwear rating is quite high at 400, probably can use for a long time. Although the tyre shop warned that such tyre could be noisy, well, I find the noise level acceptable. Grip is sufficient for me and can't rate the steering feedback cause I put it at the rear. Overall, I must say this is quite an under rated tyre.

 

 

 

 

Although this tyre is ranked very low in some independent tyre test results, well, if you are looking for some entry level budget tyre like Goodyear NCT5 or Dunlop D01, you should try out this tyre.

 

 

Light rim experience

The Advanti Storm rim on my Alza is a light set of rim, claimed weight of 4.9kg per rim. Using light rim has many advantages, claimed to improve handling and acceleration at the same time, a perfect upgrade. This is almost consistent to what I have experienced, but to say it's perfect sounds too good to be true. Firstly, yes, it does improve acceleration and yes, it does improve handling by way of steering response but in terms of high speed stability, it seems to have gone worst and felt less traction than before. In fact, the heavy car stability feeling is no longer there and that doesn't give you much confident at high speed. Even at low speed, the suspension tends to move up and down more easily, causing a 'stormy' ride feeling. Some experts claimed that the reduced unsprung weight will cause the suspension to move more easily. Sound logical to me.

I guess the important lesson learnt here is that the rim weight must always be matched to the suspension setting as well or closely similar to the stock rim weight, to prevent upsetting the suspension behavior. If that is the case, what's the light rim made for? Well, the light rim is probably made for those upgraders i.e. from 13" to 15" rim and at the sametime, intends to maintain the same unsprung weight as before (a 15" rim is definitely heavier than a 13" unless if it's a light rim). Anyway, to satisfy myself on this purchase, well, the Advanti rim is definitely miles better looking than the stock rim.

Lately, the vertical motion just got unbearable. Was firstly thinking of getting a better set of dampers to get rid of this problem. But my regular foreman recommended a cheaper solution instead, by inserting rubber into spring. That basically reduce one moving coil on the spring and thus, reducing vertical movement or suspension travel. And yes, the ride so much tolerable now and not only that, it's stabler at speed and the suspension felt more supportive and not fully compressed when going over speed bumps. The stability obviously will also translate to better acceleration as the car felt to have more traction as well. You may now then think that ride comfort will suffer but honestly, the stiffer ride is hardly noticeable. How about handling then? Well, a bit of yes and no. You see, stiffer suspension should translate to better handling but as one of the coil cannot be compressed, the ride height has increased at the same time. So when I take high speed cornering, there is reduced sway but then, felt less confident to do that all the time cause the car is riding higher.

So, what I can say about this modification is that, if you want to improve handling but not too much so that ride comfort is maintained, and at the sametime does not want a lowered height (less trouble during road blocks), you should consider this. Anyway, it cost me only RM50 for the front sets, so no harm trying.





 

New front tyre for the M2

Wife complained the front tyre doesn't grip. It just screeched and slided during an emergency brake, more so during the current rainy season and intolerable aquaplaning. Though plenty of tread left on the standard tyre that came with the car, better place safety first. Been surveying around and hardly much choice for 185/55/15 size. Not opting for the common 195/55/15 size yet as I only intend to change the front tyre and hence, it should not be wider than the rear tyre. Went to Hin Leong Klang for a visit and ended up with something unexpected, Toyo Proxes T1R, a directional tyre with AA rated traction but the treadwear is a bit low at 280. I didn't expect it has 185/55/15 size. Cost me RM210 (exclude valve) per tyre which is within my budget. At this price, you can only get tyres like Continental Comfort Contact 5 in KL, and it's only A rated traction. At Klang, you don't just save money on the tyre price. They also offer higher trade in price, took mine for RM65 per tyre. Back at my neighbourhood tyre shop, they only offered RM40 per tyre.

The T1R tread really look aggressive but not too noisy or stiff at all. In fact, it's quieter than the stock tyre I was replacing.

 

 

The sidewall look normal on the Mazda stock rim.

 

 

 

The UTQG data

 

 

The stock tyre is still left at the rear wheel, Dunlop SP Sport 230, made in Thailand, A rated traction and treadwear rated at 240 but has V speed rating.

 

 

 

Michelin Pilot Sport 3 is available for 185/55/15 size but I have tried that on my Alza before and it didn't quite grip as good as the Michelin Pilot Preceda 2, although quieter.

 

 

 

 

Royal Purple after 5000km

This is how the engine oil looks like after 5,000km in the Alza. So far quite satisfied with the engine performance but the engine clattering sound is quite loud using this oil.

 

 

 

The oil doesn't look dark or dirty yet. Should last for another 5,000km.

 

Retiring the Kenari for M2 h/b

The Kenari was really giving a lot of problem. After numerous repairs and two accidents within one year, it's really time for something more reliably new and up-to-date safety feature. My wife had tested various B segment cars like Swift, Vios and Fiesta but opted for the Mazda 2 hatch back. Although the Fiesta is the most well equipped in this segment with TCS and all sorts of fancy electronics, the Fiesta somehow is not ergonomically well designed, has poor visibility, the side mirror was too small and hence, not her choice. The Vios driving experience felt very much like the Alza while the Swift's A pillar felt like blocking her view as well. Took the Cool White colour and straight did Glass Coating for RM1,400.

Everyday just wash with water only. Let see how long the glass coating can last.