Can We forgive this Man?

The pre-Independence years was such a tumultuous time.

The good guys who fought the Japanese somehow became the bad guys because they continue to fight against British colonialism. They were called terrorists as they were on the other side. Even though they were inclined towards Communist China, its hard to pin them down to that ideology.

On the political front, even far sighted Onn Jaafar lost the proverbial crown to the Tunku and had to turn his liberal beliefs on its head by setting up the much failed Independence Malaya Party.

Ong Boon Hua, more commonly known as Chin Peng, was one of the three top freedom fighters of the MPAJA during the Japanese Occupation of Malaya. He is now old and weary and wants to come home to die in his hometown of Sitiawan, Perak.

He was a hero and his exploits against the Japanese are the stuff of legends. However, to many, he was an anti-hero and traitor. After the Insurgency, he was outlawed to somewhere in Thailand. He was also seen in Australia.

Chin Peng has fought all the levels and rungs in the Judiciary system in an attempt to come home to die in his home town. All his efforts have failed.

The current government in power intends to remain in a populist mode; and will not forgive this old man. As far as they are concerned, he is a traitor and is forever banned from coming home.

He celebrated his 85th birthday early this year. It was a surprise party hosted by friends, oddly at a Japanese restaurant.

The former secretary-general of the outlawed Communist Party of Malaya was actually born on the 21st day of the ninth lunar month in 1924, according to the Chinese calendar. By his family’s reckoning, the date is equivalent to Oct 19. So, the celebration is 4 days too soon.

Ong grew up in a large working-class family which did not believe in celebrating birthdays, let alone having cake. Surprisingly, Malaysia’s former Public Enemy No.1 has a sweet tooth.

He received a box of Godiva chocolates and was treated to a fruit meringue cake, which he heartily devoured.

Asked about the strange choice of restaurant, the anti-colonialist who also waged guerrilla attacks against the Japanese during World War Two, said: “This is not my first time eating Japanese food. I can eat both Asian and European.”

The way things are, the government will unlikely grant a reprieve for Chin Peng to come home alive. Perhaps, his remains may some day find its way home to Sitiawan.

How sad!

Life is like a Mayonaisse Jar

When things in your life seem, almost too much to handle,
When 24 Hours in a day is not enough,
Remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class
And had some items in front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly,
He picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar
and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students, if the jar was full.
They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured
them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly.
The pebbles rolled into the open Areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively
filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided,
'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.
The golf balls are the important things - family,
children, health, Friends, and Favorite passions –
Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, Your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.

The sand is everything else --The small stuff.

'If you put the sand into the jar first,' He continued,
'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.
The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff,
You will never have room for the things that are important to you.

So...

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Play With your children.
Take time to get medical checkups.
Take your partner out to dinner.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

'Take care of the golf balls first --
The things that really matter.
Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled..
'I'm glad you asked'.

It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,
there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'

Can You See It?

Can you see it?

Scrutinize and lo and behold, you will SEE it!

More Solid figures for China Trade

China is obviously doing something right. Their trade figures demonstrates convincingly that global demand for goods has increased.

This Reuters report tells the story.

"BEIJING, Oct 14 — China reported surprisingly strong trade figures on Wednesday, providing fresh evidence that the world’s third-largest economy is firmly on a recovery track and that global demand is improving too.

Exports in September fell 15.2 per cent from a year earlier, beating forecasts of a 21 per cent fall, while imports fell just 3.5 per cent — well short of expectations of a 15.3 per cent decline, the General Administration of Customs said.

Brian Jackson, an economist at Royal Bank of Canada in Hong Kong, said the slower pace of decline was good news for China’s recovery because growth this year has depended too much on the government’s 4 trillion yuan (RM1.98 trillion) stimulus package.

Indeed, after adjustments to take account of the number of working days in each month, exports rose 6.3 per cent in September from August and imports rose 8.3 per cent, Customs said.

“Stronger external demand will provide an alternative source of support for growth and provide scope for Beijing to start tightening policy gradually from early 2010,” Jackson said.

With imports showing strength, China’s trade surplus fell to US$12.9 billion (RM43.5 billion) last month from US$15.7 billion in August. Markets had expected a figure of US$17.0 billion.

Economists expect the year-on-year readings in exports to keep improving. Trade slumped after a shock to confidence from the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers in September 2008, creating an increasingly favourable statistical base of comparison as 2009 wears on.

Nomura said it expected the year-on-year change in exports to turn positive by December. Barclays Capital said it could be as early as November.

“Overall, export performance will be much better in the months to come. I think it’s going to be sustainable and it’s going to accelerate. There are some rush orders coming to China for Christmas, so I expect probably a pretty strong rebound in November and December,” said Dong Tao, chief China economist for Credit Suisse in Hong Kong.

Yu Song and Helen Qiao at Goldman Sachs said calendar quirks — there were more working days last month than in September 2008 — were not the only explanation for the relatively robust data.

“We believe the underlying growth momentum of exports and imports has been improving, on the back of continued strength in the domestic economy as well as the increasingly visible signs of recovery in external demand,” they said in a note to clients.

Mingchun Sun with Nomura in Hong Kong agreed. He said China was busy buying more investment goods, to implement the infrastructure-centred stimulus package, as well as consumer goods following an unexpected spending boom lately in China.

Commodities were a driving force behind the sharp improvement in imports. China bought a record 64.55 million tonnes of iron ore in September, up 30 per cent from August; imports of copper rose 23 per cent, propelling Shanghai’s benchmark copper futures contract to a 0.5 per cent gain at 0640 GMT.

“The Chinese economy is obviously strong and that has created demand for copper,” said David Moore, a commodity strategist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Annual economic growth probably accelerated to 8.9 per cent in the third quarter, from 7.9 per cent in the second, according to economists polled by Reuters. The figures are due on Oct. 22.

The Shanghai stock market halved its gains to end up 1.17 per cent, a four-week closing high, while currency traders started building in expectations of renewed appreciation in the yuan.

China halted the currency’s three-year climb against the dollar in July 2008 to protect the country’s vast export sector.

But economists say that Beijing will eventually want to let the yuan resume its rise to boost domestic demand and so help rebalance both the Chinese and the global economies — a key aim of the Group of 20 forum, where Beijing is an influential voice.

Seems China's trade figures are good enough to continue to fuel its industry and growth as Christmas draws nearer.

MyLot Does Pay!

Not all internet sites con you. Many of course do.

They put on alpha sites and put in all kinds of conditions that you continue to provide them service. When it comes to payment time, the excuses also will emerged. They will say "This site is currently experiencing technical problems. We will let you know when we are operational again"

Mylot it is an internet forum. There are strict rules and regulations for participation. Certain subjects are disallowed. It you continue breaking their rules, they can suspend you for three months or even permanently. If they do that, all your earnings will be forfeited.

I attached a notification from paypal informing me that Mylot has paid me for the month of September 2009.