I am in awe by what some supporters says!

 

The GST will be raised starting next year, 1st January 2023. I think there is no doubt about it. The doubt is only in how much it will affect our daily lives.

Honestly, I cannot say anything about that, I am not expert in this area, but I do know that prices will definitely goes up. And it's across everything.

So it came as a shocked when I heard someone claiming that "eat at hawker, because they don't charge GST, so you will not have to pay extra GST."

Is that so? I don't think the hawker's suppliers won't charge him any GST? Of course they'll, so either he absorb the extra cost OR it's transferred to the consumers - which is US.

So does eating at hawker means you're not affected by the GST raise? I'd say, NO, you're affected, in fact you could be paying more than just the 1% increased. And this is made worst with the raising cost of food... the 1% maybe more significant than you imagined.

But that's that, we can only accept it.

Simba (TPG) Vs redONE vs ONEXOX data SIM for Malaysia trips!

 

I just took a trip to different parts of Malaysia (Genting, Cameron Highlands, Ipoh and Meleka). To make communication easier, I have gotten 2 data SIM cards - 1 from redONE and 1 from ONEXOX.

I also have a Simba (TPG) SIM which comes with 1GB of free data roaming which I could use in Malaysia.

I did a simple comparison between them and here is what I feel about the different data SIM plans.

Coverage/Reception

All 3 of them actually tapped onto Celcom's network but for Simba, there is actually more options to choose from, including Digi, Maxis, U Mobile and a few others. However, only Celcom seems to be the most stable one, the rest either takes forever to connect or doesn't even connect!

Out of the 3, I actually find Simba the most stable one with slightly better coverage, at least in Genting. What happen was, reception was almost non existence in my hotel room but I managed to get enough reception with Simba plan to sent WhatsApp (with slight delay). I couldn't do that with the ONEXOX! Reception is spotty in the highlands.

In most other areas, they all have decent reception to stream YouTube videos and surf internet! Online gaming is also possible! I managed to play a round of Call of Duty via Hotspot from my mother's phone with the ONEXOX!

Price

It's quite difficult to compare the prices as I've chosen the plans to fit my needs and there could possibly be cheaper plans or less wastage, like for example I picked the wrong Welcome Deal package for the ONEXOX which I ended up wasting about 12GB of data! But oh well... I will still include the plans I've gotten here for your reference!

I've gotten the redONE Amazing 18 plan which comes with 25GB of data that could be use in both Singapore (SG) and Malaysia (MY) for S$18/month. There is also the Amazing 8 plan which comes with 5GB of data for S$8/month.

ONEXOX cost me S$13 for 20GB which will expires in 30 days. They do have other Welcome Deals which allows you to store your data but it'll be more expensive! For S$20, you can get 10GB of data which will expires in 30 days and 10GB in your Season Pass which will only expires when your card expires! The card validity is 28 months!  

Simba (TPG) plan is S$10/month with 50GB of local data and 1GB free roaming. I have to say, I think this plan is the most affordable! Especially if you only need data for communication, like WhatsApp and some web browsing!

If you do need to use GPS or stream some videos, you're better off with more data like the Amazing8! 25GB is kinda overkill if you're just planning to travel for 1-2 weeks, unless you plan to game online a lot or stream videos in HD or higher!

Speed

There is no noticeable speed difference when there is connection. When reception is not good, it's the same across all 3 cards! Since all 3 connect better with Celcom.

I have did a quick test when I was in Meleka and the Upload speed is 50-60Mbps while Download speed is roughly 8-10Mbps for all 3 Telcos. 

Honestly, I would recommend Simba (TPG) if you do not need a lot of data! I feel it's affordable both for local data and roaming! The reception and coverage is pretty good too! 

redONE is a good choice if you do travel a lot to Malaysia as the data can be used on both side (SG and MY) so there is no need to change SIM card! 25GB should be plentiful unless you're gaming online or streaming videos a lot.

ONEXOX will be worth it if you choose your Welcome deal wisely! Because their add-ons and other "plans" are not as cheap or attractive as their Welcome Deals! 

redONE Amazing 18 plan!

 

I've signed up for redONE Amazing 18 plan for my trip to Malaysia. I find it really worth it that the data can be used in both Malaysia (MY) and Singapore (SG), so no need to buy extra SIM card/plan and data for usage in Malaysia.

Amazing Plans

The down side is, that the plan comes with much lesser data than many other Telco for about the same price. If you don't need data in both SG and MY, they do have Local Plans where by you can enjoy Unlimited Talk Time, SMS and Data capped @5MBPS for $48/month.

For the Amazing 18 plan at $18/month, you get only 25GB of data (that can be used in both SG and MY), 500 minutes of talk time and 500 SMS. For new signups on November and December, you can get 50GB extra LOCAL data, meaning only can be use in Singapore.

redONE have a very interesting signing up process whereby you need to enquire and then wait for the sales person to contact you either via WhatsApp or call or email. There he/she will arrange to meet you to sign a digital agreement, pick a phone number and then pass you the SIM card.

There is a One Time SIM card fee of $10 so you'll be paying $10 + plan subscription for the first month. It can be done in cash (to the sales representative when he/she comes or PAYNOW)

Billing 

They have a very rigid way of billing. The bill start from the 1st of every month till the end of the month. So if you signed up on the 15th, they will still bill you on the end of the month, say 30th, a prorated amount. Data will also be prorated - which means you only get 15/30 (1/2) of the data allowance of the month (25GB in my case), which will be 12.5GB only.

I was slightly unhappy because I wasn't informed before I signed up despite me telling the sales person repeatedly that I will only need data starting the 23rd. He also went on to activate my plan without my consent on the 15th. But he explained to me that since data is also prorated, it's better I have more data on hand than less, because topping up cost much more than earlier activation. Makes sense to me, since we do need to use GPS/Map applications. But it feels better if I am informed beforehand.

Local Usage

I tried redONE for a few hours at home, using with my Poco X3 pro and iPhone. I do need to set the APN and so is with the iPhone. You can find the guide here.

I also used it on the portable Mifi I've recently gotten for the trip. It worked fine but need to set the APN too. Reception is ok at home and in most part of Thomson Plaza which I visited on that day. Reception suck in the KouFu food court and I couldn't get YouTube to load at all and browsing website is a pain! I checked with my family and realised that reception is just weaker in the food court, with them having just 2-3 bars only.

My Simba (TPG) reception was also just 2 bars. 

Usage in Malaysia

For this trip, I have visited Genting Highlands, Cameron Highland, Ipoh and Meleka.

redONE tapped onto Celcom's network automatically. Reception is good for most part of the trips except for Genting and certain areas of Cameron Highland which connection can get spotty and slow. Very unfortunate for me, reception was very bad in my hotel room in First World Hotel, Tower 1.

I have to leave my room to have reception. Other than that, works ok in the Casinos and most other places of interest in the areas I visited. Works fine in most of Cameron Highlands except for Lavender Garden. Connection is fine in Ipoh and Meleka except that GPS will lag at the start, so you better start the GPS before you start driving or go really slow for the GPS to orientate! 

25GB is plentiful for communication (Whatsapp, sending of photos, sharing locations and even video!) For about 9 days of at least 20-30 minutes of Waze (GPS map), Whatsapp and web browsing daily, I used around 2-3GB!

Honestly, if you're not going to be playing online games or streaming/sharing lots of videos, 1-2GB will be enough for up to 5 or 6 days of usage! I survived for 5 days on my 1GB of free roaming data from my TPG plan. It could possibly last longer but I watched a few videos on YouTube and my data run out before I know it!

Honestly, I feel redONE plan is quite worth it for it's stable and speed is decent for your basic usage! You should have no problem watching YouTube in HD IF you've enough data left! Coverage is good also with just some minor areas being spotty and connection is being slow! But in most areas (especially town areas), you get fast and stable connections!

The only downside is, it have lesser data and I cannot get it to work with my Mifi!