Siti Nurhaliza + Datuk K

Malaysian and Indonesian most popular pop singer Siti Nurhaliza and Director of a Malaysian Property business Datuk K held their wedding reception yesterday evening in the center of Kuala Lumpur: the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

Siti Nurhaliza + Datuk K =? Mahathir + Pak Lah

In a country so divided by the political battle between the former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir and the current PM Pak Lah, it was a relief to see Malaysian’s number 2 Deputy PM Najib sitting next to the ex PM Mahathir.

Yet the distance between the royal chairs could have symbolized the distance between the ideas of these 2 top Malaysian politicians. The main dispute now is the construction of a bridge linking Malaysia to Singapore. This construction was approved by Mahathir, yet put back in the drawer by Pak Lah. We all know that construction of road and Malaysian infrastructure boosts transportation and the Malaysian economy, yet we also know that construction asks for a lot of money. There is no clear answer whether the benefits of construction a bridge between Malaysia and Singapore will be higher than the money involved to built it.

Siti Nurhaliza + Datuk K = smiles

Priceless was the smile on Siti Nurhaliza’s face once her mother greeted her with the sprinkling of scented water.

Priceless was also the gift to charity: The whole wedding ceremony between Siti Nurhaliza and Datuk K was transmitted life by Malaysian Channel TV3. It is said that the rights of TV3 channel : an amount of money going up to RM1 million, would go to charity.

Siti Nurhaliza + Datuk K : piece of cake

Of course more than 1 outfit was shown, and during the cutting of the wedding cake Siti was wearing a quite stunning off-white and pink Christian Lacroix lace Swarovski-studded gown designed by Michael Ong.

Yet the highlight of the evening came Siti Nurhaliza surprised her guests with a performance of a song titled Cahaya Cinta, dedicated to her husband Datuk K. At last the wedding of the year was topped by a song of the singer of the year

The future for Siti Nurhaliza and Datuk K?

"Come to the reception in Kuala Lipis on Sept 3", was the message from Siti Nurhaliza to her fans across Malaysia.  

Technorati Tags: Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur | Siti Nurhaliza | Datuk K | Siti Nurhaliza Datuk K | Siti Nurhaliza Datuk K wedding ceremony

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Technorati Tags: 1.wmv, thehaven

A somewhat undersold development from the Malaysian property scene was the recent liberalization of Malaysia’s Foreign Investment Committee (FIC) Guidelines in December last year.

In a press statement, the Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department announced that effective 21 December 2006, foreigners are allowed to buy residential units valued over RM250,000 per unit without having to obtain the approval of the FIC. Foreigners would no longer be imposed with any conditions of use or limitations to numbers of properties bought.

This ruling contrasts with the previous position, in which any acquisition of property by foreign interest requires the approval of the FIC. In addition, foreigners were only allowed to acquire property valued at more than RM150,000 per unit. Various conditions for acquisition were imposed, and exemption was only granted if the unit was acquired for own use.

The announcement will eliminate a layer of bureaucracy previously affecting the Malaysian property market. Previously, critics had said that the measures restrict foreigners with strong currencies from coming into the country to invest. Also, transfers of titles take a long time to approve. Accordingly, by liberalising the FIC Guidelines, one layer of government approvals is done away with and investors will not have to deal with the Prime Minister’s department at all (but just the relevant body with respect to land title).

It is also envisioned that the step will encourage foreign investors to purchase high-end property development, especially the plethora of choices of new up-market condominiums that is hitting the market in the Kuala Lumpur City Centre area. The measure may not only spur the initial take-ups of foreign investors of such property, but should also encourage a more fluid secondary property market as well.

It may be hoped that this liberalization will encourage increased international investor interest in Malaysia.

Technorati Tags: Foreign, Guidelines, Investment, Liberalisation, Malaysia