2012 Winter Solstice - Dong Zhi

2012 Winter Solstice – Dong Zhi

Picture of the Winter Solstice Sun Today about 5 PM

I have written about the Autumn equinox or the mid – autumn festival here in this blog sometime back and since I am on a kind of short break from a very busy year of 2012, as the year comes to a close and especially on this significant date of 21 December 2012 which has seen much hype from movies, documentaries and hundreds of books and articles written on this special date.

The purported end days of the Mayan calendar and others have seen much speculation of doomsday apocalypse or other catastrophe which has made this date significant. The year 2012 is a unique leap year with three Friday the 13th that is exactly 13 weeks apart falling on the month of January, April and July. 

Those who are in to Astronomical, Astrological, Astral, Metaphysics, Celestial and Spiritual research and studies will be able to share their stories and theories about the significance of the year 2012 which reminds me of my friend Antares from Magick River, he should be able to share endless stories from a higher spiritual plane if you bother to ask. (must find some time to visit that magical river).

This day of 21- 12 -12 or 12 – 21 -12 whichever way you want, happens to fall on the Winter solstice of the year, whilst the Autumn equinox is about equilibrium and balance, the Winter solstice is about climax and turning points made significant in a very special year.

The Solstices is an astronomical event as well as a major festival celebrated by the Chinese and other ancient civilisation, it is a time where the Sun is at its weakest and farthest from the earth giving us the shortest day and longest night especially so to the northern hemisphere. Wiki here.

There are two equinoxes and two solstices in a year, the Autumn equinox is celebrated as the Mid- Autumn Festival and the Winter Solstice is celebrated as the “Dong Zhi” which literally means the extreme of winter.

These festivals has been celebrated in the middle kingdom for thousands of years and has been traced back to the time of the Zhou dynasty some 3000 years ago and many believed that the festival could have started even much earlier as far back as the time of the mythical emperors of more than 5000 years back when agriculture and farming was the mainstay.

Many do not understand the Chinese calendar which is read in combination of the solar and the lunar calendar and the dates for the mid-autumn festival which is celebrated on or about the Autumn equinox falls on the 15 th day of the eight lunar month are derived from the lunar calendar and the date of the “dong zhi” or winter solstice from the solar or “xia” calendar which falls on the 21 or 22 of December.

The dong zhi festival is similar to the western Thanksgiving day and in ancient time a celebration for a bountiful harvest before taking a winter break and to begin again after the Spring festival which is the Lunar Chinese new year. It is the end of an agricultural cycle which starts during the spring festival and today celebrated as the Chinese new year.

Traditionally this day of dong zhi is celebrated by the offering of thanks to the heavens and the ancestors, a time where the family gather to feast and are breaking off for the holidays before the main celebration of the New Year. It is a festival of thanks and reunion where communities gather in celebration of the renewal of kinship and of association, it is a time of unison resulting in a resolve to start the next cycle with greater gusto of passion to see success.

One of the traditions during this festival is the eating of the “Tang Yuan” (Soup Ball) a glutinous ball or dumpling made of flour which comes in a variety of colours and stuffing cooked in a sweet broth and served as a dessert which signifies positive renewal and rebirth.

From the “I Ching” and the Chinese almanac this a cyclical interpose between Light and Darkness where the battle reaches a turning point when light began to overcome darkness, the time of truth over lies and deceit, it is the expose when everything becomes plain, it is the time of the positive cosmic energy of “Yang” over “Yin”.

I hope this writing will contribute to your celebration of the Winter Solstice for the year of 2012 and brings about a reflection of the darkness now facing our nation where gross impropriety is plainly seen and in all sectors of our communities from financial management to toxic contamination of our environment, if left uncheck it will be detrimental to the next generation and this generation will suffer unless we unite to put a stop and save our nation.

Happy Winter Solstice and wish you will return with a greater resolve to put a stop to the darkness enshrouding our beloved country. Save Malaysia.

Article on chinese culture HERE

Your Voice Counts

Is Crime a Perception Problem?

RAKYAT'S GUIDE TO BUDGET 2013

From www.refsa.org 

STRENGTH IN UNION!

The World Greatest Twit!

More info Here

Janji DiCapati Video

We Need You on 308

My Fellow Malaysians, the journey towards regaining our rights, our freedom and our nation has been a long road of struggle but we are almost there, this is the time when we need to be united and to stay close together as we push on further.

We must once again, get together to show our might as one force, as an Anak Bangsa Malaysia leading to the final shove when the wall will crumble and fall, over the other side is a new beginning where hopes are renewed, where our dreams of a nation of brothers and sisters are realised and where opportunities are in abundance and sufferings no longer seen.

This is a dream that could only be achieved if enough of us believe in it and are willing to participate in action towards it. When we get together in pursuit of our dream we generate a powerful energy that permeates all strata of our society that will instinctively share the energy of the dream that we so desire.

To do this we must overcome whatsoever remnants of fear that stands to deny us of what is rightfully ours, if we can overcome this plastic fear that veils us from the truth we would be able to see in reality the power of our dream which will be clearly visible and within touching distance.

I beg you to understand one simple fact that this nation belongs to all of us and the fact that it is up to every single one of us, we should know that we need to act and not just talk or worse still, leaving it to others to fight for what we want. We are not spectators in this episode of our nation, we are not watching a movie with a box of popcorn, we are all the real actors that will decide the outcome of the conflict between good and evil, between failures and success, between ruins and opportunities, ruins if we leave it to others and opportunities if we were to act ourselves and in the words of my friend Haris Ibrahim is "to take ownership".

There are yet those who claims to be leaders yet holds half a pint of faith, their faith in their fellows is lacking and their sincerity unbinding, they fail to listen and their sights are blurred, they fail to seek out the people and see only numbers in creation when it should be in cohesion. They don't keep their house and don't understand the principles of sharpening their ax, which is shared by Abraham Lincoln here quoted; "If you give me 6 hours to chop down the tree i will spend 4 hours in sharpening the ax".

They them self add to the fear when they should be open to the challenges and remove all doubts from their fellows, their doubts are created when too much of self is in play, they must see the bigger objectives and the dreams of the people so that the power of the dream could be tapped and generated. This nation is not about political parties but about the people, the rakyat, it is not the call of the politicians but the call of the rakyat. And a good leader is in sync with the heart of the people and gets his own people prepared for the eventuality.

People, fellow brothers and sisters, we must take charge of this nation if you share the same dream that i think we share, the dream of a better nation for the next generation and we are the builders of that dream, all of us, let not others tell you otherwise, let not others tell you how it should be done, where they doubt your intellectual capacity and treat us like just another number and of lesser mind.

We need leaders of man not leaders of parties and groups where the play is in within and not with the rakyat at large, we need leaders who will share the truth and not those that treat you as a lesser being, yet again overlooking the power of the dream of the rakyat.

Success is so near and at times seems so far due to the manipulative ways of stratagems employed by politicians without the fundamental comprehension of it's generic principles. Stratagems can at times be destructive hitting all sides of the divide and creating greater division. The law of all nature is in cohesion and which makes it shocking when leaders are out to divide in destruction which can only come back to haunt them and their kind.

My fellow Malaysians, we need to take ownership of our nation and we need to unite as one people and in so doing craft the nation that we so desire and in taking it another step forward, let us all gather this 30 August 2012 in showing these politicians that we are united and we are serious of our dream of a new nation for our children and their children to come.

We are almost there, we need everyone available for this. We need you to generate the power of the dream for our nation which we call home. Please be there at the Dataran Merdeka this 308.

Najib Razak's Popularity Slipped

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's popularity has slipped in recent months, an opinion poll showed on Friday, as he lost support among ethnic Chinese and middle-class voters ahead of a general elections that he could call within months.

Najib is facing a dilemma over the timing of the election as his National Front coalition seeks to reverse a dismal showing four years ago that deprived it of its two-thirds majority in parliament for the first time.

The 58-year-old leader has enjoyed high personal approval ratings, but analysts say it is unclear whether that will translate into increased support for his less popular UMNO party and its allies.

Support for Najib slid to 65 percent in the May poll from 69 percent in March, according to the Merdeka Center, the country's most respected polling firm.

The dip may add to speculation that Najib may choose to delay elections until after presenting the budget on September 28.

"The small gain in Malay voter satisfaction towards the PM appears to have been outweighed by the large negative swing among Chinese voters," Merdeka Center said in a statement.

The poll found that approval for Najib was weakest among ethnic Chinese, tumbling 19 percentage points to 37 percent and among those in the middle income bracket, falling 18 percentage points to 50 percent. His popularity among ethnic Malays, who form the majority of Malaysia's population, rose 5 percentage points to 79 percent.

Voters' views on the government remained lukewarm, with approval staying unchanged at 48 percent.

The survey was carried out between May 10 and May 18 among 1,019 registered voters to gauge sentiment after an anti-government protest in April.

Najib's popularity has been lifted by giveaways to lower-income households and reforms to repressive security laws. He announced Malaysia's first national minimum wage at the end of April in another boost for poorer voters.

He has faced a tougher struggle winning over middle class voters, however. At least 25,000 demonstrators rallied in Kuala Lumpur in April to demand reforms to an electoral system they say favors the ruling coalition.

The protest ended in chaos after police fired teargas and water cannon to disperse crowds. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was charged in May for defying a court order related to the protest and could be disqualified from parliament if convicted.

A separate Merdeka Centre poll after the protest showed that 92 percent of Malaysians want shortcomings in the country's electoral rolls to be fixed before the election. That survey also found that only 44 percent of respondents were confident of a free and fair election process.

Bersih 3.0 - The Conspiracy

Lynas Plant Approval After GE 13 if UMNO Wins?

Report from Reuters:

Lynas officials say they are confident the plant will win approval in coming months. Opponents suspect the government is waiting until after the election to approve the plant at a less sensitive time.

"The timing could be all too convenient," said Fuziah Salleh, a local opposition member of parliament who has thrown her weight behind the protest movement. "Basically it is a delay tactic until approval."

GEBENG, Malaysia (Reuters) - The expensive machinery lies silent, idling as Malaysia's government weighs a delicate decision to allow shipments of raw material to arrive from Australia and finally start operations at the world's largest rare earths plant outside China.

At the industrial estate on the country's east coast, 20 or so protesters gathered in the searing afternoon heat have begun a chant. "No to Lynas. Lynas go home!".

The handful of demonstrators seems an unlikely obstacle to plans by Australia's Lynas Corp to build its company-making 2.5 billion ringgit ($800 million) plant, seen as crucial to challenging China's near monopoly on the production of rare earths, used in items ranging from smartphones to smart bombs.

But the expanding protest movement they represent, feeding off broader frustrations with Malaysia's government as elections loom, has already delayed the project by eight months and cast a shadow over its future.

The resistance - fed by social networks and Malaysia's increasingly lively independent online media - also raises broader questions over the global expansion of an industry that has created huge environmental problems in China, which currently accounts for about 95 percent of global supply.

"Western countries don't want it. Why should we in Malaysia?," said Norizan Mokhtar, who lives less than 10 km (6 miles) from the plant in the industrial area of Gebeng, close to fishing villages and Kuantan, a city of half a million people.

"My youngest is six, the effects might not be seen now but in the future. We eat fish every day, what if there is radiation?"

She's afraid controls on the plant will become slack after the first few years.

Lynas has been plagued by delays and controversy in Malaysia since it broke ground on the plant two years ago with the aim of easing China's grip on the supply of rare earths and capitalizing on rising prices for the material.

Its share price has halved since early last year as investors worry that it will lose out in the race to feed surging world demand.

Lynas has orders covering its first 10 years of production. Japan, the world's biggest consumer of rare earths, is counting on Lynas to supply 8,500 tonnes a year by early 2013.

"Our customers are waiting," Mashal Ahmad, the managing director of the Lynas plant, told reporters during a tour of the plant for media last month.

"We have nothing to hide," he said, adding that "too much misinformation" had been spread about the company.


Read More Here

Bersih 3.0 Video All Malaysian Must Watch

Bersih 3.0 Same Day Edit by lumierasia

Bersih 3.0 News Report by AFP

BBC News Report of Bersih3.0 Censored by Astro

AlJazeera Bersih 3.0 Report

Attack on Students at Occupy Dataran Protest!

Read the Story Here: http://harismibrahim.wordpress.com/2012/04/19/is-this-umnos-hit-squad-beyond-the-reach-of-pdrm/

and Here: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/04/19/students-camping-at-dataran-merdeka-attacked/

Change is in our hands, Save Malaysia

Singapore Most Competitive in Asia and Malaysia is..

Singapore is rated the 3rd most competitive cities after New York (1st) London (2nd) and the most competitive in Asia in a study by the Economist Intelligence Unit commissioned by Citigroup Inc.


The report covered a total of 120 global markets, assessed on the basis of 21 qualitative and 10 quantitative indicators.


It defines competitiveness as the demonstrted ability to attract capital, business, talent and visitors.


In Asia, Singapore topped the list as the most competitive followed by Hong Kong and Tokyo.


Asian cities dominated the economic strenght category, the most highly weighted category with fifteen of the top 20 cities for economic strength from Asia with 12 cities from China.


Singapore rated highly in categories of physical capital (joint 1st), financial maturity (joint 1st), institutional effectiveness (6th) and global appeal (4th)


Mr Michael Zink, head of ASEAN and Citigroup country officer for Singapore said: "It's a terrific place to do business - it's very open and global city and we have the opportunity to compete fairly and evenly against domestic players."


"The playing field here is quite level. So as long as we can continue to compete domestically, we'll continue to invest.And as long as Singapore maintains its competitiveness against other financial centers around the world, I can see us continuing to bring more and more activity into Singapore"


And oh ya er.. Malaysia's capital of  Kuala Lumpur is rated at no. 45 most competitive and in the economic strength category it stands at no 44 below Jakarta at no.43, Ho Chi Minh at no.36, Hanoi at no 20. And nothing very much further to report on Malaysia's ranking except that it is quite embarrassing falling behind most of its lesser neighbors. 


Malaysia must learn from this little neighbor down south if it wants to improve and to be an advance nation like Singapore, many of the experts doubt that Malaysia can ever catch up with Singapore in the next 50 years if umno continues to govern.


An extract of the Executive Summary from the Economist:



Well over half of the world’s population now lives in cities, generating more than 80% of global 

GDP. Already, global business is beginning to plan strategy from a city, rather than a country, 

perspective.

Given the rapid growth and development of many cities, particularly in emerging markets such as China and India, competition between them for business, investment and talent will only get fiercer.


Size alone does not determine a city’s growth potential. While some megacities, such as New York and Tokyo, are immensely influential, there are smaller ones, such as Hong Kong and Singapore, which have established themselves as globally competitive centres in recent years. 


Meanwhile, emerging market cities such as Ahmedabad and Tianjin are witnessing double-digit economic growth and have the potential to grow even faster.


Competitiveness, however, is a holistic concept. While economic size and growth are important and necessary, several other factors determine a city’s overall competitiveness, including its business and regulatory environment, the quality of human capital and indeed the quality of life. These factors not only help a city sustain a high economic growth rate, but also create a stable and harmonious business and social environment.


With this in mind, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) was commissioned by Citigroup to develop a “Global City Competitiveness Index” to rank cities according to their demonstrated ability to attract capital, businesses, talent and visitors.

Savage State of Affairs

Found this poster in facebook in reaction to the horrendous murder of 5 year old Nurl Nadirah whose body was found burned and buried in a hole in an oil palm estate in the city of Johor Bahru.

Just days ago the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin came out singing praises of the reduction in crime rate and claiming that Malaysia is the safest country in South East Asia.

To claim that Malaysia is the Safest Country in South East Asia is quite unbelievable and its citizen will tell you this as just about anyone you meet in the cities of Malaysia will be able to relate to you recent crime happenings.

A flip of today's papers will show you the number of serious crimes and murders all in a day and yet these are only the serious crimes that made the news.

A drive through Malaysian residential area will show that the residence live in fear of crimes as most housing locations will have barricades erected with guards employed for their own security. the residents will tell you that these are just preventive measures and that even with guards and barricades the crimes of robberies and theft are still being reported.

Let's just see the crimes in today's the Star paper as reported;

1) the Murder of 5 year old Nurul is reported only on page 3 of the Star

2) the headline of the Star carried the news of the Criminal Breach of Trust of the National Feedlot Issue on the charges to the husband of umno Minister Shahrizat.

3) The Star carried on a side column on the same page 3 "Tragic List of young innocent victims of monsters".

4) Page 6 of the Star carried the report of a Russian student who was a victim of some serial snatch thieves in George Town, she is believed to be the third victim in a week.

5) Page 8 "Double Murder Mystery" the murder of a man and his 23 year old daughter in Serdang, Kuala Lumpur.

6) Page 20 reports the seizure of 3.1 kg Syabu, a typeof drug carried by a 25 year old Malaysian woman caught in Butterworth.

7) Page 22 reports the conviction of a serial rapist in Kota Baru, Kelantan.

8) Page 23 carried the news of V.Nirmal a security firm operator gunned down in a Restaurant in Klang, Selangor.

9) Page 26 reports the conviction of a Man who was fined RM4000. for distributing Loan Shark namecards and vouchers.

10) Page 28 reports the murder of a Thai man found with his throat slashed in Jitra, Kedah.

11) Page 29, carried the news of a Georgian woman's drug case in the High Court of George Town.

So, Mr Deputy Prime Minister, Are you sure or not, that Malaysia is the Safest Country with the lowest crime rate in South East Asia?

Read the murder of 5 year old Nurul Nadirah HERE
Read the Tragic List of Young Innocent Victims HERE

Looking Back - After the Tsunami

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3

China – Some Background, Culture, People and a Brief Philosophy of Strategy

China – Some Background, Culture, People and a Brief Philosophy of Strategy

There has been much misconstrued perception that the people of China are homogenous, the people of China are not homogenous and are in fact one of the most multi ethnicity nation in the world all throughout its history.

Today China has 56 multi ethnic groups officially recorded and in the ancient Chinese almanac “Tung Shu” has listed that there were more than 90 ethnic groups.

Good Day to LYNAS from Namewee

A True Champion of the Rakyat!

Part1


Part2


Part3


Part4

Watch the UMNO Gangsters at the Penang Anti-Lynas Protest

Read the story and view more photos and videos from masterwordsmith  HERE

Videos of the Anti Lynas Protest in Kuala Lumpur

Video 1


Video2

Anti Lynas Protest - Kuala Lumpur

The In Solidarity Nationwide Protest in Support of Himpunan Hijau 2.0 in Kuantan against the Lynas Rare Earth Plant is to be held today the 26 February 2012, Protests will be held in major cities all throughout the country. The Kuala Lumpur protest was held at Maju Junction, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Kuala Lumpur starting at 9.30 am.

We arrived at about 9.15 am and were pleasantly surprised to find a crowd of about 500 had already gathered and different groups are already starting their own activities some were singing accompanied by their guitars, some were making placards and flash mobs acting out and other activities.

By 10 am the crowd had grew to more than 2000 and the crowd swelled to a peak of about 3000. There was quite a big group of protest cyclist that were cycling around the venue with Anti Lynas signs, flags and T-shirts.

The people than lined up on both side of the roads to demonstrate to passing traffic with cards, posters etc, the cars responded by honking in support. The crowds was constantly chanting Stop Lynas, Save Malaysia alternating with Hidup, Hidup, Hidup Rakyat, the protesters was trying to out do each other from the other side of the road by their chanting.

The interesting part is that this protest which was solely organised by civil society and other individuals did not include any political parties and their members are not present in this event except for the visit of Charles Santiago from the DAP, the MP for Klang and Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad of PAS the MP for Kuala Selangor.

At about 12 PM, Haris Ibrahim gave a small speech thanking the people for taking a stand on events of the nation and for their support in showing up for this protest, Haris ask the people whether they will show up again and protest till Lynas close shop and the crowd roared to a resounding Yes and he finish off by calling an end to the event.

We are very pleased with the whole event and would like to specially commend the police for their cooperation, understanding and assistance, they had even occasionally send a plain clothes policeman over to advise the coordinators on crowd control even taking patience to explain the reason why such advise was extended.

The policemen was mostly just standing at a comfortable distance away watching and directing incoming traffic and was not at all intimidating. Well done to these police officers.

The people who turned up in this protest had a most pleasant and enjoyable time. The protesters themselves was happy to be able to exercise their rights to express an issue of national interest. At the end of the event we had a chat with some of the protesters and found that quite a number of young adults are participating for the first time in a protest.

The government should just accept this fact that Lynas is not wanted here by the Rakyat and not to be manipulative and defensive. Lynas is not wanted here, there is no need to be defensive by saying otherwise, the people in BN should accept a very simple fact is that, the people are not stupid especially in this modern age of internet and computers.

If Lynas is so good they will be operating in Australia as the raw materials are all from there.

Video of the Protest by MobTV HERE
More Photos of the event by Duke Cheng HERE
More Repoert by FMT HERE

Nationwide Protest against Lynas Radioactive Plant

BE THERE THIS SUNDAY 26 FEB 2012

Bersamalah Rakyat

For the men in uniform who joined the police or the army for the true reason of serving the community and acting as protector and defender of the people. Remember you join the force to be a hero of the people and not to cause harm or injure your own people.

Please think and act according to your conscience and to serve the people of the almighty against the evil politicians out to hold on to power at all cost.

Be a true Hero and Defender of the people and not a servant of the evil politician.

Your oath is to protect the country. If a government has wronged the country and its rakyat, it is your sworn duty to protect the rakyat if a government is damaging the country.

SAVE YOURSELF STOP LYNAS! Be there this Sunday 26 Feb 2012

 A group of NGOs and civil society groups today warned the public of the “devil” – Lynas Corporation Ltd – that is waiting to “kill every Malaysian” and not just the residents of Gebeng, Kuantan.

At a press conference organised ahead of Himpunan Hijau 2.0, the nationwide anti-Lynas rally this Sunday, the groups said that the severe repercussions of the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) has made it a national issue.

A nuclear physicist and the Green Coalition Party committee member, Ahmad Bungsu Hamid Tuah, said that Malaysians outside Kuantan were in for a bad shock if they thought they were safe just because they lived outside the LAMP postcode.

“When the Chernobyl disaster took place the radioactive particles were carried by the wind all the way to Scotland,” he stated. “The rainwater that was infused with those particles fell onto grazing fields and the sheep ended up being polluted.”

“These same particles at the huge toxic dumps in Gebeng will also be carried by the South China Sea winds and monsoon rains across West Malaysia. So don’t think you’re safe just because you don’t live in Kuantan.”

Ahmad Bungsu, who has worked on projects involving radioactive waste management and toxic waste disposal systems in America, also said that the nuclear radiation from LAMP was no different from that in the Fukushima and Chernobyl disasters.

In fact, he added, the radiation expelled by LAMP would exceed the levels of Fukushima. On top of that, he claimed that the cost of decommissioning the plant 60 years later would be five times the cost of building it.

Read More HERE

Malaysia to be Build 12 More Hydro Dams

Environmental activists want Malaysia to stop building 12 more hydroelectric dams. The government says the dams are crucial for generating much needed power.

However, critics say existing dams already produce more than enough electricity. Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett reports from Sarawak in eastern Malaysia.

An Informal Chat with Haris Ibrahim

Read More HERE

Enter the Black Dragon - Warning: Solar Storm! (Update)

On the First day of the Black Dragon into the year 2012 brings a warning to the World as the Sun erupts with a massive solar explosion on it's surface that unleashed  a storm of charged particles towards planet Earth.

The solar storm is expected to hit us at about 9PM (Hour of the Black Dog from 7PM to 9PM - Arch enemy of the Black Dragon) Malaysia time today. The solar eruption on the 23 Jan 2012 at about 0359 GMT the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Black Dragon.

NASA has issued a warning that the expected arrival of the highly charged geomagnetic particles expecting to hit earth and disruptions are expected to Satellites, Power Grids, Air Travel and Communication equipments could be expected.

NASA do not expect any immediate danger to human life as reported.

Read More from Reuters HERE and Space.com HERE

Latest Update HERE and HERE and Daily Telegraph Story HERE

Read BLACK DRAGON 2012 HERE

The Black Dragon in Malaysia 2012

THE BLACK DRAGON of 2012 

Welcome to the Year of 2012, the Year of the Black Dragon as the colour black is representation of the celestial force of the Water element and so you have the Black Dragon ruling over the lunar year of 2012.

The year 2012 has seen much deliberation way before it approaches from the end of the world supposition of the Mayan calendar that is reproduced in TV documentaries and even a movie is made of the same title “2012”.

The Dragon is the only animal in the Chinese astrological chart that rules the skies of the 12 animals and is a representation of the imperial family and in the dynastic history the dragon symbol can only be used by the emperor.

The magnificent dragon has an enchanting quality all throughout the history of China that is significant of high energy, heroics and a revelation of the fate and destiny.

The Water element bears the quality of Intelligence and Wisdom, the Yang principle of the Water element signifies high energy, volatility and constant unstoppable movement. Water also represents the masses, the people.

And thus in this combination of Water and the Dragon brings us the Black Dragon of 2012.

Significance to Malaysia

In order for us to relate Malaysia to the Black Dragon we first need to know the astrological make up of the nation.

The Federation of Malaya obtain its independence on the 31 August 1957 which is a Fire Rooster year, however on 16 September 1963 a new nation Malaysia was established in a Water Rabbit year.

It is interesting to note that here that the establishment of Malaysia is not in harmony in accordance to the astrological charts and in fact we have a head on collision with the Fire Rooster and the Water Rabbit. Fire clashes with Water and the Rooster and the Rabbit are in opposing palaces in the astrological chart which indicate incompatibility.

This can be simply translated that the founding of Malaysia is not in harmony with the earlier independence of the federation of Malaya, and the new nation is destined for problem and conflict from the day it started bringing sufferings and calamity to its people.

The Federation consist of 9 Sultanate States and the 2 British Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca which gains its independence from the British on 31 August 1957. In 1963 Malaysia was formed together with the States of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore.

 Later on the 9 August 1965 Singapore broke away and became an Independent nation and how lucky can that be for this little island which has today progressed by leaps and bounce to be listed as an advance nation and a high income economy leaving Malaysia far behind a backward Nation of high corruption and a low income economy.

The last time Malaysia had a General Election in a dragon year was the first election of the newly formed nation of Malaysia on the 25 April 1964, the year of the Wood Dragon, which was won by the then Alliance Party. It was also the first time the (PAP) The People’s Action Party of Singapore participated in the election and won only one seat and that is the Parliament seat of Bangsar constituency which was represented by Mr Devan Nair who later became the 3rd President of Singapore.

Will this Dragon year see a new beginning for the Nation like the new beginning of 1964, the first general election for the new nation of Malaysia?

Coincidentally the Black Dragon rules the sector or direction of South – East, exactly the location of Malaysia. The signs points to high activity in this sector where the Dragon rules and has a possibility of seeing a real Tsunami as compared to the one in 2008 which will be miniscule in proportion. The election of 2008 was in the year of the Earth Rat who is a buddy of the Dragon and is just helping out the Dragon in passing.

Again, coincidentally the new umno was founded in the Dragon year of 1988, the Dragon is a majestic symbol and when two dragons meet there is a conflict. (For those born in the year of the dragon, do not be unnecessary alarmed as the charts are to be read in totality and an individual charts consist of 4 pillars denoting 4 animals and 4 elements and the controlling animal and element is indicated).

We will expend a bit more here in an attempt to relate the charts of the nation with the Black Dragon, the chart for Malaysia using 16 September 1963 shows Malaysia has the controlling element of the Water Dog in a year of the Water Rabbit, the Water Dog year for Malaysia is again in direct opposition with this Black Dragon and this Dog is in fact the arch enemy of the Dragon, indicating real conflict denoting imminent change.

There is just too much water and the water element is just overwhelming it’s like an overflowing dam about to breakout. Remember water is also symbolic of the masses in this case the water represent the Rakyat which is strong and overwhelming,

 However I would like to add a word of caution here that this writing should not be taken as a definite happening as in all events the fate lies in your hands not in any astrological charts which we use only as an indicator of possibilities for guidance and in strategic approach.

The Fate of the Nation lies in the Hands of the Rakyat and only the Rakyat can determine the future for their children and theirs to come, only you can make things happen for the better, the future of all our children depends on us all in unity like the great force of the Water of the Black Dragon.

MAY YOU TAKE OWNERSHIP OF YOUR HOME COUNTRY IN 2012!

GONG XI FA CAI!

"UMNO is the Cancer of this Nation"

Why are Car Prices So High in Malaysia?

Car buyers had before the National Automotive Policy (NAP) accepted the fact that car prices in Malaysia are one of the few things that always go up and never come down. 

Over the past few years, many had hoped that with the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) being implemented, car prices would drop. They went up instead, dashing the hopes of many. 

It is therefore fair to say that prior to the announcement of the NAP last month, many Malaysians would have been quite happy for car prices to remain stable. To see the NAP driving the prices of mainly national cars and locally assembled cars down by up to 10% was an unexpected and pleasant surprise. 

Days after the NAP was announced on March 22, Proton Holdings Bhd slashed the prices of its cars by up to 7%. The highest discount in terms of percentage is for the Gen.2 1.6 AT H-Line model with RM4,450 in savings. Perodua also reduced its car prices by 4%. 

Locally assembled foreign cars also had their prices trimmed. Volvo Car Malaysia Sdn Bhd dropped its car prices by up to 7%, which translated into savings of about RM10,000 to RM20,000. 

So, has the recent reduction significantly closed the car price gap between Malaysia and other countries? Is it just a one-off occurrence or could prices come down further? 

The answer for the first question is "no". As for the second one, even industry players with years of experience refuse to predict the trend of car prices. 

"The car industry is policy driven, it is hard to predict if car prices will fall further," says Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) president Datuk Aishah Ahmad. 

Nevertheless, she says the fact that the government reduced the duties on national cars and locally assembled foreign cars is a step in the right direction to make cars more affordable to the masses. 

"Car prices in Malaysia are not the cheapest," concedes Aishah. "But it [the price reduction] is a good start." Nevertheless, one out six Malaysians can still own a car due to the easy availability of long-term loans, she adds. 

However, long-term car loans, some with repayment periods of nine years, could make cars artificially affordable in Malaysia. Any financially prudent individual would tell you that it is not wise to borrow too much money to buy a car, as its resale value always depreciates. Low monthly repayments on car loans could be easily structured by stretching the repayment period. 

A better way to assess the affordability of vehicles is by looking at the earning power of the buyers. 

According to the World Bank, the gross national income (GNI) per capita of Malaysia in 2005 was US$4,650. This means that an entry-level car, such as the Proton Savvy, costs more than twice the country's per capita GNI. A Perodua Myvi costs nearly three times the average annual income of a Malaysian. 

Car prices in countries where the car market is relatively liberalised are generally more affordable. For example, an Australian's five-month income is enough to purchase a Proton Savvy. 


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