Overview of Japanese Language

This post, I am going to summarize a bit regarding the Japanese language, the Malaysian way. Japanese language was from the Japonic language family back to 2,700 years ago. There are 126million people speaks Japanese, which rank it to top 13 rank in the most speaks language in the list. It was said that the language once include the Chinese character around 1,200 years ago and slowly developed to the modern language itself. Though there are 40% of the language involving Chinese character, which we will discuss later. Based on a Japanese learner research conducted by Japan Foundation, there are currently more than 30 Japanese language schools as listed on the Japan Foundation website, which in year 2018, it was recorded in Malaysia - 212 organization that provides Japanese Study, -with about 40,000 learners, -taught by 485 native and local Japanese teachers. Overall, we can see a number of 26,000 Japanese currently stays in Malaysia for different purposes, which includes Malaysia My Second Home Plan (MM2H), expatriate that works in Malaysia, spouse or child of the expatriate and Malaysian, and tourism. With over 1,400 Japanese enterprises recorded in Malaysia, it further proved that the needs of Japanese language to help boost the industries in Malaysia. As mentioned above, Japanese language can be broken down to 4 categories 1- Hiragana(あいうえお)- Local Japanese words, handwriting system can be identified as more curvy 2- Katakana(アイウエオ)- Imported word which transformed to be as Japanese word, with Japanese pronunciation. handwriting system can be identified as more square. 3- Kanji(漢字)- Chinese character, which same exactly the same as Chinese language, or some still remain as ancient Chinese character, which now no more being used in Chinese language. 4-Romaji(A,I,U,E,O)- Romanized spelling that used to represent the Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji pronunciation. Example of above 1. あさ Hiragana writing of "Morning" in Japanese local word 2.モーニング the word "Morning" in English(imported word) 3.朝 Kanji of "Morning" 4. a. ASA Romaji pronunciation of "Morning" Japanese in local word b. MOO-NING-GU Romaji pronunciation of "Morning" for imported word Again for the category 1 and 2, there are constructed as below by what we called 五十音順・ごじゅうおんじゅん・GOJYUUONJYUN, which means 50 pronunciation characters. To be exact, it consists 46 characters in Modern Japanese Language as below 5 singular vowels (A, I, U, E, O), pronounced similar as Army(A--), Indigo(I--), Uber(U--), Elephant(E--), Orange(O--) 40 consonant vowel union- Which consist of (K,S,T,N,H,M,Y,R,W- prefix that will then combine with 5 singular vowels to be form one pronunciation)eg: KA, KI, KU, KE,KO 1 singular consonant (N), Pronounced as ending sound for N and M, which similar as Hmm For Hiragana, you can refer to the video which I created long ago.

Next sharing, we shall talk more about the Hiragana and Katakana, writing, pronunciation, with some vocabulary with combination of Hiragana character. See you next! Jya mata.

Learn Japanese Language In Malaysia

For what so ever reason, you have started to get interest to learning Japanese language. With zero knowledge, it is no where to kick start the learning process so you have started to google some keywords such as "Japanese Language Tuition in Malaysia" "Learn Japanese in Malaysia for beginner" "Basic Japanese course" ETC.. Yes the Google returned thousands of result, but did you get what you really want after all the clickings? There might be tuition centre offering a language course over the term of 6 months, online tutoring, online web which offers interactive software for learning, amateur/professional websites, you name it. I had experienced the same for all the above when I started to attend Japanese language class during my university time. There's a bit about me. I have taken Japanese language course during my three year bachelor degree study in local university in Malaysia. The course earn you a 2 credit hours once you have successfully completed the 3 semesters study. Learning from zero was tough, but I managed to pass the examination with flying colours. In between, my Japanese language lecturer (we called him "sensei", teacher in Japanese) offers a voluntary Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) class to us who are interested. To sit for an international recognized examination was not easy, what more to pass with good marks. But I managed to pass with good result and was recommended to participate in a six-weeks exchange program held in Osaka, Japan, organized by The Japan Foundation. Upon returning to Malaysia, I have started to assist my sensei to be the Japanese tutor for my university for 2 years. Finishing his visa term in Malaysia, he has decided to go back to Japan, and I also resigned and entering the industry. Three companies that I have worked required my Japanese skills, as I was dealing with Japanese counterparts and colleagues. Doing a fulltime job, I was also offering private tutoring for about a year. My current job position required both conversation and writing skills. Enough for abit of myself, which my purpose is to let you know that with the Japanese language skills, it allows you to enter a new high level, which you have more job offers from different industries, and you make the call which to go. This blog, I will guide you with some basic knowledge of Japanese, step-by-step, Free Of Charge, of course. When you feel that you wish to further the learning, then you can go for a paid one. In the next writing, I will touch a bit the overview of Japanese Language. Stay tune.

KTN 200 Scrambler Malaysia Review

Going to get a motorbike named KTN 200 soon. As what it named, it comes with a 200cc engine, which is powerful enough for Kapchai biker like me who get used to Honda C70's speed. Without closer look at the specifications of this bike, let's look at the normal review of things that can be understood by everyone that is going to get this bike.

For company product, please browse through official website of KTN KTN homepage Malaysia

Price based on price list from Mudah.my,
New bike- RM7200++ Varied through different seller.
Used bike- RM4000++ Varied through different seller.

Tyre selection you can put into 2 kinds of tyre.

Photo taken from michelin France website

This kind of tyre best used for the normal road condition. 

(RM 200+ per tyre)

Photo taken from www.motorcycletyres.co

This kind of tyre best used for off road, perhaps you might think of exploring the forest.
(RM200+ per tyre)


Personally I think the price is more than reasonable because with less than RM8000 you can get a 200cc scrambler. Again there are few competitor with almost same price range with KTN 200.

XTM 200 photo taken from http://permotoran.com/

Demak DTM 200 photo taken from http://www.motorsim2u.com/

KEEWAY TX 200 photo taken from http://www.keewaymotor.com/

Nimota Ranger X 200cc photo taken from http://3.bp.blogspot.com/

There are 3 dealers in Sabah branch and if you're hoping to get a used bike I advised to get one from West Malaysia and ship it here. Shipping cost RM1000 from Port Klang to Port Labuan/ Kota Kinabalu.

Will be back with more reviews here with video reviews as well. Cheers!!

External link for KTN 200 review.

1.http://malaysianbikers.com.my/forum/index.php?topic=80901.0

2.http://motorvshijab.blogspot.com/2013/01/ktn-200.html

3.https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2521271/all

Iphone 6, Iphone 6 plus price in Malaysia and Singapore

On 12th September 2014, Pre order for Iphone 6 and Iphone 6 plus was made available on the official Apple website including US, France, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan. Way before the official announcement of Iphone 6 and 6 plus, rumours were spread around the world, and China had becoming the first to produce Clone Iphone 6 and 6 plus including accessories like phone cases on its Website like Aliexpress.com, Dx.com, Alibaba.com. The price of a clone phone would be like ranged from 100+USD to 300+USD. This is one of the sellers from Aliexpress.com

In Singapore Apple official website, user can click on "buy now" to pre order Iphone 6 and 6 plus. I just tried and currently its stated unavailable. (Well, people will click to buy it like crazy I guess!!) Here is the list price for Pre order Iphone 6 and Iphone 6 plus in Singapore.Apple Singapore

Iphone 6 4.7 inch Display
16 GB - SGD 988 (RM2522)
64 GB - SGD 1148 (RM2931)
128 GB-SGD 1288 (RM3288)

Iphone 6 Plus 5.5 inch Display
16 GB - SGD 1148 (RM2931)
64 GB - SGD 1288 (RM3288)
128GB- SGD 1448 (RM3697)

While it seems to be attractive towards the listed price, the available Iphone 6 quantity will usually dissatisfied the buyer. It again opens an opportunity for businesses of reselling the Iphone purchased. Here is a price list(In Singapore dollar) of Iphone 6 resale over the social media. Price shown in the list is price offered by the reseller. The resale price will rise higher than this listed price. Go and sell your Iphone 6 now if you managed to get one or two in your hand and it's a pretty good deal to earn some pocket money.

In Malaysia, we still can notice resellers marking up the price of pre-order of Iphone 6 and 6 plus. In lazada.com.my and lelong.com.my, the pre-order prices of Iphone 6 and 6 plus had been marked up extremely high. Since Iphone 6 and 6 plus is not officially available for pre-order, the easiest way is to make a comparison based on price listed on Apple Singapore.

**Rate of SGD to MYR as of 20 September 2014, price is for reference only.
Iphone 6 4.7 inch Display            Lazada.com.my         Lelong.com.my       From the list
16 GB - SGD 988 (RM2522)           RM3639- RM4060        RM3600+            SGD1200 (RM3063)
64 GB - SGD 1148 (RM2931)         RM4099                      RM4400+            SGD1350 (RM3446)
128 GB-SGD 1288 (RM3288)         RM4360-4599              RM4599+            SGD1450 (RM3702)

Iphone 6 Plus 5.5 inch Display    Lazada.com.my         Lelong.com.my      From the list
16 GB - SGD 1148 (RM2931)         RM5320                        RM4299             SGD1700 (RM4340)
64 GB - SGD 1288 (RM3288)         RM5799                        RM4599             SGD1850 (RM4723)
128GB- SGD 1448 (RM3697)         RM6279                        RM5099             SGD2050 (RM5233)

Based from the price of list of Reseller in Singapore willing to pay for, which they will sell it with higher price later on, the price listed in both Lazada.com.my and Lelong.com.my seems acceptable, it's just the matter of waiting time for the Iphone to reach you is the main point in considering whether the listed price is worthy or not.

So, when will the Iphone 6 and Iphone 6 plus officiallly launched in Malaysia??As for now, there are still rumours everywhere but without the official announcement from Apple Malaysia, all we can do is just wait. For those who urged to get Iphone 6 or 6 plus before it officially landed on Malaysia, its no other ways but finding a trustful reseller, whether it's from Malaysia or Singapore, with the hope that they won't delay your shipment and disappointing you with what you've paid.

Selling counterfeit products on Ebay, Mudah.my, Lelong.com.my

After getting few cases that I've ordered from Aliexpress.com, I was wondering whether there is market to selling my stuff on whether Ebay, Mudah.my, or Lelong.com.my. I started to list up the phone case on mudah.my and lelong.com.my and there were no problem with the listing on these two websites, and successfully get few cases sold in few days. Since both websites were based in Malaysia, I bet the effort of fighting against counterfeit products listed were not strong. (In fact, there is category in lelong.com.my stated "Looks Alike"!! haha)

After that, while i was trying to copy the whole description of the phone case advertisement to put it on Ebay, I received a reminder Email of Ebay account suspension. That's what Ebay's effort of fighting against counterfeit products, where my listing price was like"RM18 for a Spigen slim amour hard case for Iphone". Does it sound like the price of an original phone case?

Malaysia Aliexpress Review 2014: Free Spigen amour Hard case for Iphone, Samsung, Klick Quick button to be grabbed

Recently, I bought something on Aliexpress.com. Here are the list of items

                                                    Spigen slim amour case Iphone5

                                                 Spigen Tough amour case Iphone 5

                                         Spigen Neo Hybrid case for Samsung Galaxy S4

                                                   Klick (Pressy alike) Quick button

                                      Spigen Neo Hybrid case for Samsung Galaxy Note 3

                                       Spigen Neo Hybrid case for Samsung Galaxy S5

For your information, All items cost me around USD 17, so by converting to around RM 60. All the items reached Malaysia after 3 weeks the order placed to the website. For real item review, you can watch my unboxing video here.

Since the item i've bought just solely to test the duration of shipping from China from Malaysia, I'm giving it away for free for Malaysian Friends!! Just share this post on your Facebook, Twitter and comment below this post, 

**Each person will be only eligible for one item free (random). 

**While my item last. (First come first serve basis)

**You will bear the shipping fee on your own for the item to be shipped to you.
** If you get my message, please send me your contact number for details of shipment.

Buy from Chinavasion, Dealextreme, intimateGadgets and shipping to Malaysia

Except those big corporation in China, you can still look for other website that provides free shipping, good customer service, and reasonable price. Today there will be 3 more E-commerce website from china which are quite favored by the international buyer (like us).

chinavasion.com
dealextreme.com
intimategadgets.com

Chinavasion.com
For chinavasion.com, you can buy mostly electronic products. Even though the prices are little bit higher than Aliexpress.com, it does provide electronic products with slightly better quality. Almost everything sold in the website with shipping fee applieed, which mean you will pay a bit more for the shipment, but can get the item you have purchased a bit faster(Usually). Sign up an account with Chinavasion and for different quantity purchased, you will have different price discount on different products, and drop shipping is available in this website, which you can make use of this website as your supplier and put you item for sale at your own website, ebay, lelong, mudah, with the price you stated, and once buyer paid, then you put order in Chinavasion and they will settle the shipment for you.

Dealextreme.com
The website name has changed to dx.com. A lot of electronic gadgets are available in this website. The products are quite interesting since it is usually something that you can seldom get in local market. (Even if you can get it, its way expensive.) I have some experience making purchase in this website. Just sign up for an account, fill in your shipping address, link your card number whether Maybank, CIMB, other banks, debit or credit cards. I bought some adult toys product from old dealextreme.com website and it managed to send it to Malaysia within one month. Even though one item that I have bought did not reach me and I asked for refund, the customer service was good enough to settle my refund matter. (I did not get refunded of my own fault, I lost the debit card and re make the new card with different card number. haha). For dealextreme, you can as well use it as a drop shipping website. Most of the products come with free shipping, and you need to prepare yourself for few weeks to two months for the item to reach Malaysia.

Intimategadgets.com
For the old Dealextreme website, adult category of items such as sex toys, condoms, were available. Since it has changed to dx.com, all these adult category products have moved to intimategadgets.com. As what the website stated they will ensure that the item you have purchased be wrapped in a normal box with normal labelling without letting others know that what is the content inside the box, but you have to bear for the risk of being check and taken by the custom. Do not try to claim the item back if you get letter claiming that you have to go collect and pay respective taxes for that, it is illegal in Malaysia and you might get fined for that. Good Luck!