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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to visit China as Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang speaks with him, amid Hype over 'taking the same page' from Washington's playbook

As agreed upon by both China and the US, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit China from June 18 to 19, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

Current atmosphere between China and the US is very bad, how to avoid miscalculations and conflicts?

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Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang speaks with Blinken, clarifying China’s stance on core concerns including Taiwan question

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang had a phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday at the latter’s request, clarifying China's firm stance on core concerns such as the Taiwan question, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Qin pointed out that since the beginning of the year, China-US relations have faced new difficulties and challenges, and the responsibility is clear. China has always viewed and handled China-US relations following the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Qin clarified China's firm stance on core concerns such as the Taiwan question, emphasizing that the US should respect it, stop interfering in China's internal affairs, and stop harming China's sovereign security and development interests in the name of competition.

The Chinese diplomat said he hopes that the US will take practical actions to implement the important consensus reached between the two heads of state at the G20 Bali meeting and the relevant commitments made by the US, move toward China, effectively manage differences, promote exchanges and cooperation, and get China-US relations back on track to healthy and stable development.

Washington continued hyping China-related topics ahead of a reported trip by Blinken to China as the Biden administration said it has "taken diplomatic steps" that slowed China's intelligence presence overseas following its recent hype over an alleged "Cuba spy base." The latest US move was criticized by China on Tuesday as "taking the same page" of the US' playbook.

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Hype over China-related topics 'taking the same page' from Washington's playbook

Cartoon: Carlos Latuff

Washington continued hyping China-related topics ahead of a reported trip by the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China as the Biden administration said it has "taken diplomatic steps" that slowed China's intelligence presence overseas following its recent hype over an alleged "Cuba spy base." The latest US move was criticized by China on Tuesday as "taking the same page" of the US' playbook.

Chinese experts also warned that the senior US official may use this trip and some topics of concern as a bargaining chip while continuing to hype the so-called China threat. Considering the recent words and deeds emanating from the US side, the trip, if it happens, would be ill-intentioned, some experts said. They said they believe there is a strong opposition force within Washington against the possible improvement of US-China relations, as any positive signs could make the Biden administration appear to be too soft.

The Biden administration has taken "diplomatic steps" that have slowed down a Chinese effort to "project military power" around the world, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday, as the Reuters reported.

Washington's top diplomat was asked at a press conference about Washington's response to a Wall Street Journal report last week that cited US officials as saying a new "spying effort" was underway on Cuba, according to the media report.

China has already refuted the US' groundless accusations that China uses a secret base in Cuba to spy on the US. And some Chinese experts warned that the US' groundless accusations could become another "spy balloon incident" that may once again drag on Washington's plan to reengage with China.

"I've stated China's position on similar questions several times. The US has been taking the same page from its playbook and people are already quite familiar with it," Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told a routine press conference on Tuesday.

We hope the US will take a hard look at itself, stop propagating rumors and smears, and stop being a champion of hacking with its indiscriminate surveillance on other countries, Wang said.

Despite both the National Security Council spokesperson and Pentagon press official had said that reports about the so-called spy base in Cuba are inaccurate, senior US officials, congressmen and media continue to fuel the speculation, showing their malicious intent, Ma Hui, Chinese Ambassador to Cuba, told the Global Times on late Tuesday.

“The US’ claim that China is committed to expanding its military presence globally is a complete misrepresentation,” Ma said.

In the eyes of Chinese experts, there has been a growing contradiction between the US' actions and the continual signals it sends indicating a desire for engagement with China, which only fuels more doubts about the US' sincerity and its true intention.

"Blinken may include some of topics of concern in the visit and use it to continue hyping the 'threat of China,' this indicates the visit would be ill-intentioned," Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Whether the trip could be realized or not, it won't slow down the US containment against China, and although Washington claimed to have tried to seek communication with China, its true intention is smearing and suppressing China, Li said.

On Monday, the US Commerce Department announced to put 43 entities into its so-called Entity List, including 31 Chinese entities as it restricted exports to entities that it says recruited Western pilots to train Chinese military personnel and help develop hypersonic weapons.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry slammed the US act on Tuesday, saying that the US abused state power to go after Chinese companies, trampled on international trade order and global trade rules and destabilized global industrial and supply chains hysterically by all kinds of means.

Besides targeting the Chinese companies, the US continued hyping the Taiwan question, as some US media reported on Monday that the US government is preparing "evacuation plans" for American citizens living in Taiwan due to concerns over the escalation of the situation in the Taiwan Straits.

Before the US started its recent push to engage with China, there have been "some little tricks," making others doubt its credibility, and they are likely to leverage those topics as bargaining chips in talks with China, Diao Daming, an associate professor at the Renmin University of China in Beijing, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

“The US should cherish a possible positive trend for the US-China engagement and not waste any goodwill to stabilize bilateral relations,” Diao said.

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AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM CHINA ; AIMED AT THE USA BUT ALSO FOR THE WORLD AT LARGE TO UNDERSTAND , 史無前例! 第一次有一個國家..

Western Decline

Lives in China (1990–present)Updated Apr 4

Why are senior US officials rushing to visit China when they keep making anti-China gestures? Do they think China will buckle under their pressure?

If China does not help the United States, the United States will once again experience the 2008 financial crisis.

If the United States extends its financial crisis to other countries, they will allow the United States to become a second-rate country.

The United States relies on alliances to suppress other non alliance countries. When the United States cannot meet the interests of alliance countries, other countries will begin to unite to suppress the United States.

The EU economy has been basically stagnant since 2008, and the proliferation of the US dollar and inflation will make American allies believe that the United States cannot become the appropriate leader.

The Middle East, Latin America, and Africa will not trust the United States. These places have had enough of the United States.

Eastern Europe believes more in Russia, Southeast Asia believes more in China, and South Asia believes less in the United States.

The U.S. manufacturing industry only accounts for 10% of GDP, and the U.S. cannot produce enough goods to supply 300 million people.

If the United States wants to regain control of manufacturing, it must have started preparations at least 20 years ago.

The scale of China's manufacturing industry is equal to the sum of the United States + the European Union.

Latin America, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Africa, these countries exchange raw materials for euros and dollars.

The currencies of the European Union and North America depreciated, resulting in these countries being unable to exchange more goods.

What people in most countries of the world want is a normal life.

Ordinary people in these countries find that the harder they work, the less Western goods they get.

The western model cannot provide normal life for other countries.

If you remove the US medical and lawyer GDP, you will find that China's GDP is stronger than that of the US.

Legal fees, rent, and medical care, these three are cancer cells, and they eat up a large number of savings of ordinary Americans.

The price is that the life expectancy of Americans is lower than that of China, and there are more homeless people in the United States than in China, and the endless lawsuits intensify social internal friction.

Therefore, I said that the problems in the United States are self-inflicted, but no leader in the United States will solve the problems in the United States, and many interest groups will hinder the reform of the United States.

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM CHINA ; AIMED AT THE USA BUT ALSO FOR THE WORLD AT LARGE TO UNDERSTAND , 史無前例! 第一次有一個國家

High-level talks between China and the United States in Tianjin.

史无前例！
中美天津會談
史無前例! 第一次有一個國家………

Unprecedented!
China-U.S. Tianjin Talks
Unprecedented in history! For the first time there is a country...

謝鋒: 敦促美方改變極其危險的對華政策

Xie Feng: Urge the U.S. to change its extremely dangerous China policy

中美最近這次會談，比上次的阿拉斯加會談，還要讓世界吃驚，還要讓美國震驚。因為在這次會談中，中國第一次完整、系統、尖銳地痛斥了美國的反華行徑，並且開出了美國改正錯誤政策與言行，以及中國關心的應當糾錯的個案的清單，這是美國從未遇到的外交對手。因為最近這一百多年來，美國一直雄踞世界霸主地位，它先後戰勝了西班牙、英國、日本、德國、蘇聯等競爭者，保持了地球村村長的位置。可以說，從來沒有一個國家，像中國這樣給美國開清單，劃紅線。在這之前，只有美國這樣對別人的份。

The recent talks between China and the United States surprised the world even more than the last meeting in Alaska, and shocked the United States even more. Because in this meeting for the first time, China has completely, systematically and sharply denounced the anti-China behavior of the United States, and issued a list of correcting the wrong policies, words and deeds of the United States, as well as individual cases that China cares about and should be corrected. This is a diplomacy that the United States has never encountered an opponent. Because the United States has dominated the world for more than a hundred years. It has successively defeated competitors such as Spain, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, and the Soviet Union, and maintained its position as the head of the global village. It can be said that there has never been a country that has issued a list and drawn red lines for the United States like China. Before that, only the United States had this kind of attutude to others.

是的，在地球上，在美國眼里，主要有六類國家。第一類是盟友，比如以色列、英國、法國、德國、意大利、加拿大、澳大利亞等;第二類是被占領國家，比如日本、韓國;第三類是準盟友，比如歐洲的一些國家、亞洲的菲律賓、非洲的南非、美洲的巴西等。第四類是戰略合作的國家，比如沙特、印度、土耳其、埃及等;第五類是一些可以被它任意欺負的弱國;第六類是與美國敵對，但綜合實力確實差距很大的國家，比如伊朗，委內瑞拉、古巴、朝鮮等國家。這五類國家，均只能仰仗、逢迎、周旋或屈服於美國的外交施壓。只有俄羅斯與中國例外。俄羅斯憑借戰略武器和軍事實力，常常與美國針鋒相對，但也從來沒有在外交上直接訓斥美國人。而中國，因為政治、軍事、經濟、科技等綜合實力的增強，具備了全面抗壓能力，也是第一個直接在外交場合訓斥美國人，給美國人劃紅線的國家。

Yes, on earth, in the eyes of the United States, there are mainly six types of countries. The first category is allies, such as Israel, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Australia, etc.;

The second category is occupied countries, such as Japan and South Korea;

The third category is quasi-allies, such as some countries in Europe, the Philippines in Asia, South Africa in Africa, and Brazil in the Americas.

The fourth category is countries with strategic cooperation, such as Saudi Arabia, India, Turkey, Egypt, etc.; The fifth category is some weak countries that can be bullied by it at will;

The sixth category is countries that are hostile to the United States, but their overall strength is indeed far behind, such as Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea and other countries.

These five types of countries can only rely on, flatter, deal with, or succumb to the diplomatic pressure of the United States. The only exceptions are Russia and China. Relying on its strategic weapons and military strength, Russia often confronts the United States tit for tat, but it has never directly reprimanded the Americans diplomatically. China, on the other hand, has a comprehensive ability to resist pressure due to the enhancement of its political, military, economic, technological and other comprehensive strengths. It is also the first country to directly reprimand Americans on diplomatic occasions and draw red lines for Americans.

美國人是非常震驚的，華盛頓這幾天所有精英都在體會中國這樣做的意義。這一次中國創造了六個前所未有。第一是中國外交部副部長謝峰十分系統、完整的訓斥了美國人，前所未有。第二是在美國人之前發布中國人的完整批評發言，對對方的發言一字不發，前所未有。第三是直接給美國人開列改正錯誤的問題清單，前所未有。第四是拒絕討論美國人的問題清單，拒絕在美國不改正錯誤的情況下討論合作，前所未有。第五是直接否定美國對中美關系的定義，前所未有。第六是直接為美國人劃上搞好中美關系的底線，前所未有。

Americans are very shocked. All the elites in Washington these days are realizing the significance of China's actions.

This time China has created six unprecedences.

The first is that Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng has systematically and completely reprimanded the Americans, which is unprecedented.

The second is to publish the complete critical speech of the Chinese before the Americans, without saying a single word of the other party's speech, which is unprecedented.

The third is to directly issue a list of questions for Americans to correct their mistakes, which is unprecedented.

The fourth is the refusal to discuss the American list of problems, and the refusal to discuss cooperation without the United States correcting its mistakes, which is unprecedented.

The fifth is to directly deny the United States' definition of Sino-US relations, which is unprecedented.

The sixth is to directly draw the bottom line for Americans to improve Sino-US relations, which is unprecedented.

王毅外長劃定的三條底線，美國幾乎無法遵守，這也意味著中國從今往後，不打算在美國人一意孤行的情況下，單方面忍讓改善雙方關系。王毅說，第一，美國不得挑戰、詆毀甚至試圖顛覆中國特色社會主義道路和制度。這是中方必須堅守的核心利益。第二，美國不得試圖阻撓甚至打斷中國的發展進程。中國人民當然也有過上更美好生活的權利，中國也有實現現代化的權利，現代化不是美國的專權，這涉及人類的基本良知和國際公義。中方敦促美方盡快取消對華實施的所有單邊制裁、高額關稅、長臂管轄以及科技封鎖。第三，美國不得侵犯中國國家主權，更不能破壞中國領土完整。不得在涉疆、涉藏、涉港等問題上損害中國主權。至於台灣問題，更是重中之重。如果“台獨”膽敢挑釁，中國有權利采取任何需要的手段予以制止。我們奉勸美方在台灣問題上務必恪守承諾，務必慎重行事。大家只要認真看一看這三條底線，就可以看出，美國人可能永遠不會遵守這三條底線，中國敢於劃出來，就說明中國這次是鐵了心要與美國鬥爭到底。要麽美國改弦更張，中美關系走上正軌，要麽中國就要不惜亮劍、不惜攤牌，逼美國人在這些大是大非面前就範。

The three bottom lines drawn by Foreign Minister Wang Yi are almost impossible for the United States to abide by. This also means that from now on China will not intend to unilaterally tolerate and improve bilateral relations when the Americans insist on going their own way.

Wang Yi said:

First, the United States must not challenge, slander, or even try to subvert the path and system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. This is the core interest that China must uphold.

Second, the United States must not try to obstruct or even interrupt China's development process. China urges the U.S. to lift all unilateral sanctions, high tariffs, long-arm jurisdiction and technology blockade imposed on China as soon as possible.

Third, the United States must not violate the sovereignty of China's national sovereignty, let alone undermine China's territorial integrity. It is not allowed to damage China's sovereignty on issues such as Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong. As for the Taiwan issue, it is even more important.

If the "Taiwan independence" dares to provoke, China has the right to take any necessary measures to stop it. We urge the US side to honor its commitments and act with caution on the Taiwan issue.

As long as you take a serious look at these three bottom lines, you can see that Americans may never abide by these three bottom lines. If China dares to draw them, it shows that China is determined to fight the United States to the end this time. Either the United States will change its course and China-US relations will be on the right track, or China will not hesitate to show its sword and show its cards to force the Americans to submit to these major issues.

一句話，美國不得處心積慮搞垮中國、搞衰中國、搞亂中國，這是高壓線。如果美國一面堅持這三搞，一面又假惺惺要與我們合作，那是不可能的。大家都說，外交是需要實力做後盾的，中國第一個正式教訓美國、提出改正錯誤清單、明確劃定底線，底氣是什麽? 我認為是三條

第一條，是中國人民對共產黨的領導的擁護、對國家制度和道路的認同，達到了空前的高水平，中國人民從來沒有像今天這樣對帝國主義、資本主義的醜惡本質，對中國公知這些里應外合的醜類的醜惡嘴臉，有如此清晰的認識。這是中國最有底氣的地方。第二條，是中國經過70年飛速發展，已經在政治、經濟、文化、金融、科技、軍事、外交等領域有了長足進步，已經成為綜合實力的第二強，從發展勢頭看，完全有可能在20年左右，成為全面超越美國的超級大國，明天我將分析，中國不怕中美搞所謂全面脫鉤。第三條，也是最重要的一條，那就是中國已經擁有非常具體、非常現實的核打擊能力。這是美國特別懼怕、特別忌憚的能力。俄羅斯總統普京曾經說，如果俄羅斯不存在了，那麽世界對我們就毫無意義。他的意思是，如果有人要毀滅俄羅斯，俄羅斯就要毀滅世界。這就是GDP僅有中國一個廣東省水平的國家，一個經濟規模還小於韓國的國家，為什麽被美國人害怕的原因。

因為我羅斯擁有毀滅美國一次以上的能力。美俄如果開打核戰爭，絕對是雙雙自我毀滅。其實，今天的中國，美國很清楚，已經具備了毀滅美國的現實核能力。

In a word, the United States must not deliberately try to bring China down, destroy China, and mess up China. This is a high-tension line. It would be impossible for the US to insist on these three activities while pretending to cooperate with us. Everyone says that diplomacy needs the backing of strength. China is the first to formally teach the United States a lesson, put forward a list of mistakes to correct, and clearly draw the bottom line.

What is the confidence? I gathered three recognitions.

First. The Chinese people's support for the leadership of the Communist Party and their recognition of the country's system and path have reached an unprecedented high level.

The Chinese people have never had before as they do today such a clear understanding of the ugly nature of imperialism and capitalism, and the ugly faces of those hideous people who cooperate with each other from the inside and the outside.

This is where China has the most confidence.

The second is that after 70 years of rapid development, China has made great progress in the fields of politics, economy, culture, finance, science and technology, military affairs, and diplomacy. It has become the second strongest country in terms of comprehensive strength. From the perspective of development momentum, it is entirely possible to become a superpower that surpasses the United States in about 20 years. Tomorrow I will analyze that.

China is not afraid of the so-called comprehensive decoupling between China and the United States.

The third and most important one is that China already has a very specific and realistic nuclear strike capability. This is a capability that the United States is particularly afraid of and dreads. Russian President Vladimir Putin once said that if Russia does not exist, then the world is meaningless to us.

What he meant was that if someone was going to destroy Russia, Russia was going to destroy the world. This is why a country whose GDP is only at the level of Guangdong Province in China, and whose economic scale is smaller than that of South Korea, is feared by Americans. Because Russia have the ability to destroy America more than once. If the United States and Russia start a nuclear war, they will definitely destroy themselves. In fact, today's China, the United States is very clear, already has the actual nuclear capability to destroy the United States.

我國最新亮相的東風41洲際導彈，目前是世界上最先進的，它的性能已經超過了美國的民兵3和俄羅斯的白楊M，射程高達15000公里，可攜帶十幾個可變軌的核彈頭，核當量相當於23枚轟炸長崎廣島的原子彈，在這樣的核導彈攻擊下，很難有一個國家可以幸存。最要命的是，東風41是機動的、全天候的，也就是說，它可以在任何時候從任何地點發射，這就確保了中國擁有可靠的二次核打擊能力。因為這樣的機動導彈，不可能在第一輪核打擊中被完全擊毀。所以美國人從今往後，絕對不敢有任何僥幸心理與中國開戰。何況，中國還有潛射核導彈巨浪3，它的射程同樣在15000公里以上，同樣是多彈頭的核彈，同樣是機動性極高的戰略武器。巨浪3只需要在渤海內海，就可以完成發射。陸基海基同時擁有機動遠程核打擊能力，你手上如果有這樣先進的打狗棍，見到任何惡狗你當然就有底氣。

My country's latest Dongfeng 41 intercontinental missile is currently the most advanced in the world. Its performance has surpassed the American Minuteman 3 and Russia's Topol M, with a range of up to 15,000 kilometers. It can carry more than a dozen nuclear warheads with variable orbits, and the nuclear equivalent is equivalent to 23 atomic bombs that bombed Nagasaki Hiroshima. Under such nuclear missile attacks, it is difficult for a country to survive. The most terrible thing is that Dongfeng 41 is mobile and all-weather, that is to say, it can be launched from any place at any time, This ensures that China has a reliable second-strike nuclear capability. Because such a mobile missile cannot be completely destroyed in the first round of nuclear strikes. Therefore, from now on, the Americans will never dare to have any fluke mentality to start a war with China. What's more, China also has the submarine-launched nuclear missile Julang-3, which also has a range of more than 15,000 kilometers. It is also a multi-warhead nuclear bomb and is also a highly mobile strategic weapon. Julang 3 only needs to be in the inner sea of Bohai Sea to complete the launch. Land-based and sea-based also have mobile long-range nuclear strike capabilities. If you have such an advanced dog-beating stick in your hand, you will certainly have the confidence to see any vicious dog.

朋友們，美國人這一次也創造了一個前所未有。當中國人訓斥了舍曼一行之後，後半程的談判，美國人囂張氣焰不見了。相反，面對中國人空前的強硬態度，美國人在現場、美國國務院發言人、美國總統和國務卿都表達過一個意思，那就是美國不尋求與中國對抗與沖突。你們聽一聽，這本來是多年來，相對處於弱勢的中國，一再宣稱的概念，現在，每當中美兩國劍拔督張時，他們多半會這樣說，這也是前所未有的，為什麽? 這是因為中國的戰略核武器越來越厲害，美國人很忌憚。所以我再次強調，與中國開戰，美國人想都別想。

Friends, the Americans have also created an unprecedented situation this time. After the Chinese reprimanded Sherman and his party, the arrogance of the Americans disappeared in the second half of the negotiations.

On the contrary, in the face of the unprecedented tough attitude of the Chinese, the Americans at the scene, the spokesperson of the US State Department, the US President and the Secretary of State all expressed one meaning, that is, the US does not seek confrontation and conflict with China.

Listen. China for many years was relatively weak. This is a concept that has repeatedly declared for many years.

Now, whenever China and the United States draw their swords to counter each other, they will probably say something like this. This is also unprecedented.

Why? This is because China's strategic nuclear weapons are becoming more and more powerful, and Americans are very afraid. So I emphasize again that Americans should never even think about going to war with China.

希望每一個中國人都能把這篇愛國文章轉出去，讓我們的中國變得越來越強大，支持所有愛國團體。

I hope that every Chinese can forward this patriotic article to make our China stronger and stronger and support, all patriotic groups.

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Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Financial management in the current environment

Learn new ways to budget, save and invest

“Avoid free/paid courses given by ‘investment guru’ who are not professionally qualified. The public must be aware and know how to differentiate them.’’- Kimberly Law

LOSING money is the hardest misfortune if you have just enough income for survival.

Many people have fallen victims to scams and have lost money in a bad investment.

Some have lent money to others but the loan was not repaid.

There are many reasons why people lose money and in the current times, every ringgit counts.

The costs of buying groceries, clothes, medical supplies and even essential body care items have risen so much that at the end of the month your salary may not be enough.

It is no surprise that a survey by Capital Market Research Malaysia (ICMR) showed that 64% of Malaysians respondents, feel that they are either financially unstable or are living from salary to salary.

Even Deloitte’s recent survey has indicated that 65% and 70% of the local Gen Z and millennials are living from hand to mouth. The global numbers are 51% and 52 respectively.

The majority of those within these categories report suffering from mental stress with regard to their finances.

It said there are still gaps between awareness and application when it comes to good savings behaviour.

There are gaps in financial literacy in the country and the rising rate of people falling to scams is also a concern.

Financial literacy is about how you budget, save, build credit, borrow, repay debt and invest to grow money.

If you want shortcuts by hoping your money will double or triple in the shortest amount of time then you ought to ask yourself if that is really possible or if it is part of a scam.

Everyone knows how to manage money, but the question is how effectively is it managed and whether you are making your money work for you.

There are many management and personal finance courses available to improve your financial literacy skills.

Some are offered free and some charge a fee. It is not wrong to learn and improve one’s skills even though you may be an expert in money management.

Several websites offer personal finance, money management courses available. Some are free, others charge less than RM100.

Some of the sites that offer courses include Udemy, Coursera, LinkedIn.

Often in a few hours of online learning, you will be able to create a format and update your budget or even create a plan using the tools they provide to help you reach your financial goals, according to a report.

However, Uno Advisers Sdn Bhd licensed financial planner Kimberly Law said she would avoid the free courses offered by people who are not from the industry.

“Avoid free/paid courses given by ‘investment guru’ who are not professionally qualified. The public must be aware and know how to differentiate them.’’ she said.

She recommends those interested to attend reliable courses from institutions such as the Financial Planning Association of Malaysia (FPAM) and the Malaysian Financial Planning Council (MFPC)

She says they offer some paid programmes while others are offered free to the public for financial literacy enhancement.

For her, the best way to get free financial education is to attend/listen to events/programmes organised by FPAM/MFPC and that are offered together or with the blessings of the industry regulators such as the Securities Commission and Bank Negara.

These organisations will get professionals to volunteer to offer/teach the programmes.

Some people felt that basic money management courses should be offered in schools to help children prepare for their future. This will surely benefit the larger school going population.

Even if it is not part of the syllabus, it can be a supplementary programme offered for a limited period of time every year at schools.

Law believes the syllabus for the young should include basic money management skills such as basic training or exercise on budgeting, managing expenses and planning that will be useful in their management of money and investments.

This will certainly raise the financial literacy rates over time in the country.

Even if you are doing well in your money management skills, it doesn’t hurt to enhance and learn new ways to budget, save and invest.

But don’t fall for courses that will make you invest even before you can learn something from it.

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THE FIGHT AGAINST CYBERCRIME IN FINANCIAL SERVICES

PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IMPACTING THE WORLD

Proud achievement: USM occupies fourth spot in the THE Impact Rankings 2023 overall top 100 list and ranks first in Asia.

Global recognition for USM, UTM and UM

THE latest edition of the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings proves that Malaysian universities are making a positive mark with research involving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

For the second consecutive year, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) maintained its position in the top five universities, sitting comfortably at number four on the THE Impact Rankings 2023 overall top 100 list.

Ranked first in Asia, it also came first for SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions). This was based on its research on peace and justice, participation as advisers to the government and policies on academic freedom.

In addition, USM is the country’s highest ranked varsity for eight other SDGs. It ranked sixth for SDG 17 (partnerships for the goals), seventh for SDG 2 (zero hunger), eighth for SDG 1 (no poverty), 42nd for SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), 51st for SDG 14 (life below water), 55th for SDG 3 (good health and well-being), 65th for SDG 15 (life on land), and 89th for SDG 13 (climate action).

As the country’s sole Accelerated Programme for Excellence (Apex) university, USM, said its vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Mohamed, understands that sustainable practices extend beyond the confines of academia, and aims to inspire its students and staff to become responsible global citizens.

“By embedding sustainability principles in its teaching and research, USM empowers individuals to address complex challenges through innovative solutions and to become advocates for sustainable development in their respective fields.

“We are proud of this achievement as it underscores our dedication to creating a sustainable future, driving positive change, and inspiring a generation of leaders who will shape a world that prioritises the well-being of people and the planet,” he said in a statement following the release of the rankings on June 1.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia ranked first for SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy).

The fifth edition of the rankings by THE, publisher of the globally recognised THE World University Rankings, assessed institutions worldwide on their commitment to the world’s greatest challenges as listed in the UN 17 SDGs.

It assessed university commitment to sustainability across four broad areas: research, stewardship, outreach and teaching.

Universiti Malaya (UM) ranked third globally for SDG 5 (gender equality), marking the first time the varsity has achieved a top five position in any of the SDGs featured in this ranking.

It also ranked 13th for SDG 7, 50th for SDG 1, 60th for SDG 6, 72nd for SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities), 73rd for SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production), 81st for SDG 17, and 85th for SDG 14.

UM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Hamdi Abd Shukor said the rankings show where the varsity stood against other institutions of higher learning in addressing global issues such as poverty, hunger, health and well-being, gender equality, quality education for all, and climate change.

THE chief knowledge officer Phil Baty said: “The growth in participation from Asean has been rapid and hugely impressive, with participation more than tripling since 2000.

“This gives rise to real optimism that Asean can become a global hub of excellence in the drive for a better, more sustainable future for us all.

“It is inspiring to see even more universities participate and see countries that don’t normally rank so highly do so well.”

A record 1,705 universities from 115 countries or regions were assessed, with Western Sydney University in Australia emerging the world’s overall top institution.

For details, visit https://www.timeshighereducation.com/rankings/impact/2023/overall.