Psalm Agency & Insurenet Agency New Office in Alma, Bukit Mertajam, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

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Hello Friends and Business Associates, 

This is the location of the new office of Psalm Agency and Insurenet Agency. The work in progress is almost 90 % completed and is targeted for launching on Saturday 21 April, 2012.  It is located at and known as No. 12, 1st Floor, Jalan Perniagaan, Pusat Perniagaan Alma, 14000 BUKIT MERTAJAM, PULAU PINANG, MALAYSIA.

"Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri"

Wishing all our Muslim friends "Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri".  Bigfoothill is looking forward to having a great time at the "Open Houses" held by his Muslim friends. There will be plenty of local Malaysian foods and cookies serve by our friends and their family.  The children will be looking forward to the "Duit Raya" or money bags given out during this festival where the Muslims in Malaysia will be celebrating the new year with the end of the fasting month of Ramadan and the first day of the month of Shawwal on this Tuesday August 30, 2011 with the official announcement being made by the Keeper of the Rulers' Seal with the consent of the Yang Di Pertuan Agong or His Royal Highness The King Of Malaysia yesterday evening.

As a child I used to like this festive song sang by the late Saloma.  The "Hari Raya" is not complete without the listening and singing along with the festive songs.

Penang Roadshow - Hungry Ghost Festival

Almost everywhere in Georgetown, Penang and the suburbs including Bukit Mertajam on the mainland where there are Chinese Taoist Temples, these are the places you can drop by to catch a  Penang Roadshow concert where pretty and sexy lady singers wriggling and dancing while singing their favorite and popularly requested songs for the audience.  They have quite a wide range of repertoire where one moment they sing you a Mandarin song followed by an English song and then a Hokkien song and even a Malay song.  I remember once there was this Roadshow concert at nearby temple celebration, I heard the singer sang a Lady Gaga's famous song "Poker Face" and then went on to render a popular romantic Hindi song "Tum pah Se Ayers" and even dressed up as much like the famous singing idols.

Well this time the Roadshow is at nearby the Central Business District of Georgetown Penang and by the roadside along Church Street Ghat or "Gat Lebuh Gereja" which coincidentally is nearby Chartis Place building which is the Penang branch office of Chartis Malaysia Insurance Berhad, a leading General Insurance company.  Not far from that Penang Roadshow concert is QEII the hottest and happenings place named after the Queen Elizabeth II similar to the infamous ship at Penang.

The Roadshow is held annually  for the Hungry Ghosts "presumably the lost souls" inhabited there to appease them since heritage and the days of the British India where there were many traders and migrants from the Easts, especially from China provinces such as Canton or Guanzhou, Xiamen (where most of our ancestors of Penang Hokkiens people originated), Shanghai, Hainan Island and many other places and from the West, especially from Ceylon or present day Sri Langka, India, East Pakistan(Bangladesh), and West Pakistan (Pakistan of today) and the Arabs from the Middle Easts and the Persians and Turkish.  Of course, the Whites from the far far away Europe such as British, Portuguese, Dutch and Romans. So many of our forefathers and "great-great grandmothers" must have labored very hard to make Penang the Pearl of Orient and an important marketplace and port that it once belong to part of the Strait Settlements together with Malacca and Singapore(before Singapore became a Republic and independence from Malaysia on August 9, 1965) during the British Empire.  You will probably want to check out the history of Penang from the museum archives for this place which is also founded by Captain Francis Light.  I love to study the subject history at school during my primary and lower school days as I am fascinated by the heroic sacrifices and wars and the conquests by Warriors and Kings, and, bravery and romantic Queens from France (Joan of Arc and Marie Antoinette). I belief the history books me and my schoolmates read long long ago have been updated with more current local famous names as it is part of nationalists pride and an attempt to give credits to the so-called Malaysians.  I am not arguing about who deserved to have their names on the streets and bridges but rather it is important to keep our heritage (Penang is now listed under UNESCO World Heritage Sites together with Malacca) and to help us residents to receive our snail mails and to give directions to those foreign and local tourists and locals as to how to get from one place to another in Penang for visiting famous tourist spots or savoring famous Penang Foods.

I believe the existing streets' original names should be retained while the new roads and avenues can be used to name after the famous and very important Malaysians instead of petty politicking by politicians.  There are so many of our roads and avenues which are now named after fruits, animals, flowers, trees and what not including alphanumeric such as PJ for Pauh Jaya and not the Selangor PJ for Petaling Jaya or even SS2(Secret Service?) or Starhill in KL (Kuala Lumpur the federal capital for Malaysia) which we who grown up through the past 50 years and generations knew the place as Bukit Bintang ( Bukit is Malay word for Hill while Bintang for Star).  So you want to be famous and have your name, image icon engraved on Bintang Walk with  five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks at Bukit Bintang, KL which is like the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame?

When we ordinary folks have a stone to mark your demise, it is just a grave stone in the cemetery with your name and your family linage inscribed on it. Your were just a set of beginning numbers (Date of Birth) and a dash - followed by another ending numbers (Date of Departure). Your name has no distinguished Order of the BE (OBE) or the Malaysian Titles of Honor conferred by the Royal Highness on it  and is not named with those that had theirs on streets nor Walk of Fame.  What legacy have you left for your family if you have not left any for the state or country or the world?

So let me get to the Bpoint here, the Hungry Ghost Festivals are for those souls with nameless stones, streets or walks, who labored and fought a good fight before they laid underground in green pastures or their ashes strewn into the seas.  So be entertained and may their souls rest in peace(R.I.P). Those living souls are generous and shared the worldly entertainments in the form of Chinese Operas, Puppets shows or Live Concerts like Penang Roadshows to make peace with them and also offered prayers.

God Bless You.

When death happens while travelling overseas - Tips on repatriation of mortal remain

Just recently, I have found out a little information that I like to share with you. A friend has recently passed away while overseas. His remain was repatriated back to Malaysia with the assistance from family members, friends here and abroad and most of all with the assistance from Chartis TravelGuard coordinators. There are several procedures to adhere to before the mortal remain can be repatriated to the home country.

Here are the overview of the procedures involved.
The main documents required are the Death Certificate, Police Report and Medical or Hospital Report of the Death and Autopsy report if any. Thereafter, it has to be notified to our home country Embassy or Consulate office in the foreign country. The foreign country may require the deceased's family or next of kin to claim the mortal remain from the local hospital or mortuary or funeral parlor.

First, the deceased family members that are going to travel to the foreign country to claim the mortal remain have to apply for traveling documents such as a passport or temporary travel pass and visa through the local Malaysian Immigration Office This can be quickly arrange under special emergency circumstance such as this.

Next, the family member/s traveling will have to book and secure the earliest flight to go to the nearest airport to the city or town where the deceased's died and his remain is located. The pre-trip preparation will require the planning such as some cash and currency to bring for the travels and lodging expenses and the other cost related to the repatriation documentations. The clothing to wear and bring as the weather may be different from our Malaysian weather. It will be better if we can inform the Malaysian Embassy or Consulate Office in that foreign country through our Foreign Ministry at Wisma Putra, Putrajaya, Malaysia of our travel and repatriation arrangements and the assistance required from them. Therefore, we need other family members or friends at home to prepare and coordinate this as the traveling member/s may not have the time to do all this before taking off to the foreign land.
The family members that are not traveling can at the same time arrange with the local undertaker who preferably have the expertise to handle custom clearance of the documentations at the airport when the cargo arrived safely in Malaysian soil.

The family members traveling to the foreign country will have to get in touch with the friends or hospital or hotel which the deceased's death have been notified through them to pick them up at the airport to ease the arrival in a strange and foreign land and to get the best help that they could provide or to contact the airport authorities such as the local airline counter, police and the embassy staff.

After that, it is going directly to hospital or mortuary or the funeral parlor to view the deceased's remain face to face. The family members have to be strong emotionally and prepared for acceptance of the death due to whatever causes and strange circumstances.

Thereafter, it the the filing of documents to claim the remain which may be a gargantuan tasks for the family members as we may be required to follow the procedures that are unfamiliar to our own home country. Important to retrieve and collect the deceased's passport or traveling visa from the hospital or hotel or police there. It may require us to go from their local government department to another authorities to obtain the certificates and traveling release and to have the remain placed in the special casket for it to be put on a flight to our home country. There are several certificates such as fumigation, disinfectants and seals that need the notary and the Malaysian embassy or consular office to witness the documents and sealing of the casket.

It is then that the next procedure is activated. Time to book for the flight home for the family members and the mortal remain in the special casket by cargo. The local travel or ticketing agent at the foreign land will have to prepare special airway bills for the shipment subject to the availability of the flight for the cargo space to our home country and the connecting flight if there is no direct flight to our home city. Therefore, the family members can choose to accompany the casket on the same flight home or fly home earlier depending on the flights schedule availability. However, if there is no direct flight from the foreign land to our home city, we may have to appoint another local undertaker at the main Airport such as Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to clear the custom documentations and declarations and prepare another airway bill for the onward flight to the next home destination.

Upon arrival at the home city airport, the family members of the deceased will have to lodge a local police report at the nearest police station and surrender the deceased's death certificate,the Malaysian embassy or consular letter, passport and visa when making the report while the local undertaker arranged for receiving the casket at the cargo complex. the deceased's travel documents will eventually have to be surrendered to the Immigration Office. Usually the local undertaker will assist in the arrangement for the burial certificate and prepare the other funeral rites for the family if requested at the point of arrival and journey home.

The local undertaker will then transfer the mortal remain of the deceased to another casket according to the family's request and then proceed to home of the deceased or the funeral parlor.

Therefore, it is important to note that whenever we travel overseas to foreign lands, we are not only stranger to their foreign laws but when we actually leave many inconveniences for our loved ones if we are to depart for good in a strange land as our loved ones or family members may or may not have been to that country and do not speak or write a word of their local languages.

Only those who have undergone real life experiences can shed more on these than I do of their encounters and give useful tips for our benefit. Having someone, especially from the locals in the foreign land to assist us in time like this is very crucial and important so that things could be done smoothly and we can go home quickly with the deceased's mortal remain. The whole process could take three to six days depending on how fast things are done and the flight and cargo space availability to home country from the foreign land.

In conclusion, it is best to travel with a travel insurance at all time that provides benefits such as emergency evacuation and repatriation of mortal remain besides the accidental death and permanent disability lump sum payments, accidental and medical expenses, flight delays, flights cancellations and curtailments, lost of luggage and travel documents. Chartis TravelGuard is one travel insurance plan that you should consider when you book your next flight out of the country. However, we must also take note of the exclusions as some of the benefits are subject to our pre-existing health and physical conditions or exclusion such as war at the country and etc.

Chartis Malaysia Insurance Berhad comes to Bukit Mertajam

Today is an auspicious day as Chartis Malaysia Insurance Berhad, a general insurance company has officially launched its Bukit Mertajam branch located at 1st Floor, No. 50, Jalan Limau Manis 3, Off Jalan Song Ban Kheng, Taman Limau Manis, 14000 BUKIT MERTAJAM, PENANG, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.  Chartis Malaysia Insurance Berhad's CEO, Mr Matt Harris was in town together with his team of senior management lead by Mr Ganeswaran Subramaniam, Head of Agency and Branch Channel Management and executives to grace the occasion.

View Directions to 37 Lebuh Pantai, Georgetown, 10200 George Town, Penang, Malaysia in a larger map
Agents and business associates, panel workshops and panel adjusters and clients were invited for tea and refreshments and witnessed the opening ceremony.  The day began with big bangs from the fire crackers and the beats of the drums and cymbals of the lion dance troupe.  There were two golden lions to usher the VVIPs and guests to the ribbons cutting ceremony then followed the signing of the plaque by CEO, Mr Matt Harris for Chartis Malaysia Insurance Berhad mounted on the wall of the new branch office.

The new office is headed by Branch Manager, Sam who is a local bred of Bukit Mertajam and has been Chartis's Sales Manager of the Year 2010. He was based at Ipoh branch prior to his posting here.  Welcome back to BM your hometown, Sam. By the way, Mr Ganeswaran Subramaniam is also from Bukit Mertajam, Penang.

Chartis Malaysia Insurance Berhad CEO signing the Bukit Mertajam Branch opening ceremony plaque

Twin Lions at Chartis's reception counter

Chartis Malaysia Insurance Berhad Bukit Mertajam Branch Office

Lions near Conference Room

Lions presented CEO with oranges

Lions dancing at the training hall

Welcoming guests at the main entrance

At the lobby and agent's corner

Mr Ganeswaran delivering his welcoming speech and Mr Matt Harris

Chartis Malaysia Insurance Berhad CEO, Mr Matt Harris

Sharing some light moments and eating the cake

CEO congratulates and gives gift to one of the the winners of quiz

Lunch

This Time for Africa instrumental music at Chartis Colours of Malaysia dinner

Tribute to all Chartis Malaysia Insurance Berhad Compass Club Agents for their excellence achievements in year 2010 and they have played the games well like  football players at the World Cup in South Africa 2010.  Please enjoy the musical drum beats played by the Colours of Malaysia musicians to the song Waka Waka (This Time For Africa) sang and made famous by Diva Shakira.

Colours of Malaysia at Chartis Agency Excellence Awards Night 2010

Malaysia is my country.  I am an insurance agent with the Property and Casualty insurance company,Chartis Malaysia Insurance Berhad. Thank you Chartis Malaysia for your kind invitation to the Agency Excellence Awards Night 2010 on January 13, 2011.  Here is the Colours of Malaysia presented to you in the musical percussion.  Thank you and my appreciations to all my clients, business associates, friends and family for your tremendous supports and for choosing us to be your insurance service provider and agent.  Congratulations to all our award winners for their excellence achievements in 2010. It is a great privilege to be associated with so many fellow excellence agents. My appreciations for their kind encouragements. We look forward to meet again at next year Agency Excellence Award Night.

After Fire Destroyed the Shophouses at Kota Permai

The ceiling and metal roofing and air-conditioner compressors burnt

State Executive Officer for Welfare, Mr Phee Boon Poh expressed his concern to the business proprietor

Roof gone and windows shattered

Clearing the mess at the back lane

Cracks appeared on the ceiling on the first floor of the building

Scene at the back lane with terrace residential houses on the right

Bulldozer to clear and compress the metal roofing

Scrap metals salvaged

At the back entrance

A temporary lamp lits up the room to help the workers to clear the mess

Smokes still can be seen blowing out of the top corner

The door frames left standing with glass panels broken

Look like a bird nest on the right

Two fire engines seen on standby and continue pumping waters into the building to cool it

Fire Investigating team briefing the VIP visitors

Windows hacked

Workers helping to clear up

After the fire was put under control the next day after more than 12 hours, there were still smokes coming out from the heaps of burnt items.  The Fire Services Department deployed their teams and two fire engines to the scene on standby and still pumping water into the three units of shop-house selling toys that were destroyed by the fire.  During the fire, there were at least 15 units of fire engines and support vehicles such as skylifts and at least 100 firemen from the Voluntary Fire Units from the various towns in Penang, and nearby Parit Buntar and Lunas fighting the fire along with the Fire Services Department teams.

The proprietor of the building and business were there with a group of workers and helpers salvaging whatever assets they could.  The elected representatives of the constituency and the State Executive Office for welfare, Mr Tan Cheong Teong and Mr Phee Boon Poh were seen visiting the sites and spoke to the Fire Department Investigating Officers and showed their sympathy and concerns for the business proprietor.


The fire is very destructive and can be seen from here that assets were destroyed.  In order to prevent fire, everyone has to be mindful of the safety in our workplace and most importantly at our home.  Prevention is better than fire-fighting. Educating the young ones right from our youngest family members are crucial.  So remember, DO NOT PLAY WITH FIRE which is the warning and advice which our parents instilled in us.

Clearing up the mess after the fire is dangerous as there are many broken glasses and sharp metal objects and debris strewn all over the places.  The smoke and gases emitted are hazardous to our health and body. Safety precautions have to be taken by the salvage workers and helpers.

The losses through fire accidents and destruction are huge not only in terms of monetary values but also the loss of jobs and loss of lives too as a consequence of the fire. It goes beyond the the physical loss as there are people who were injured and left with fire burnt marks and scars permanently on their body to remind them of their misfortunes.  The worst situation are the people who suffer from trauma and phobia when they escaped from such accidents. I sympathize with the victims of fire and related misfortunes.

There are many heroic stories we heard about firemen rescuing properties and human lives like the ones who sacrificed their very own lives to save others such as the incidents during the September 11 attacks in the United States of America some years ago.

The financial losses due to fire can be mitigated by the business proprietors by taking up comprehensive Fire Insurance policy for commercial goods and stock assets, machinery and equipment, office equipment, furniture, fixture and fittings, building properties.
Individuals house owners can insure the home building by taking up House-owner insurance policy and for contents by taking a House-holder insurance policy .

In the event of a claimable accident and covered perils of the Fire Insurance Policy under, the insured can file for claims.  The submission for claims with completed essential documents will expedite claim processing by the loss adjusters and underwriters. 

By the way, I am your local insurance agent with global insurers who can help insure your properties and assets here and abroad.  We have many risks management program to meet your needs and other financial planning tools to help you achieve your financial goals.  Our global associates can help you too if your company are operating worldwide.

Peace of Mind. Your world insured with us.