The Balakong Water Victims

Begging for a Solution to Water Woes

I took this news item from the online The Star today

No water?

How sad!

Going out without piped water for 17 days and counting. Horrendous!

So,  is this what is is going to be like as we are attaining full developed status?

Let's read about the agony of the Balakong folks during the current dry spell.

" The prolonged drought in the country is taking its toll, especially on tempers and the health of the people.

They are frustrated and angry at the predicament they find themselves in.

And with good reason.

Many have to carry water in buckets, plastic bottles and all sorts of other containers over distances; and for some, these precious supplies must be lugged up flights of stairs.

Isa Hamzah, 33, a resident at Taman Impian Ehsan, said he had fallen ill from all the times he had to gather water from public pipes and other filling points, and then heave the containers to his third-floor apartment.

“I have fever and body aches that started a few days ago,” he said. He has a wife and two young children.

Even the car that he used to transport the water containers was starting to give trouble.

“I need to change the shock absorbers, the weight of the containers has been too much,” he said, adding that he needed to fetch water at least three to four times a day.

He was also suffering from insufficient rest, he said, because the water tankers sent by Syabas made their rounds at irregular times and mostly in the wee hours.

Norlaila Mohd Nor, a 42-year-old kuih seller, said the situation had been very difficult for her and her disabled husband.

Aside from having to put food on the table, she has to fetch water for her family’s needs.

“I have to do everything. This is frustrating and I can’t even find time to make kuih to sell. How am I going to cope?” she said.

She stopped her business about two weeks ago.

Nor Kastini Mat Yusof, a 28-year-old babysitter, is upset that the crisis has gone on for weeks.

She is also unhappy that the water tankers are irregular in their visits.

“They come at odd hours and if we miss them, things get really difficult for us,” she complained.

Nurse Haridah Said, 56, said the crisis had stopped her from attending her Quran classes, which she usually goes for three times a week.

“I need to fetch water for my family and can only do that after I get home from work, so I am unable to attend the classes.

“My family and I no longer bathe twice a day and this is causing uneasiness. We are so tired. How long more must we cope?” she asked.

In Taman Bukit Anggerik, Cheras, the water disruption has been so severe that the majority of hawker centers there have temporarily closed.

Resident K.L. Ng said that even the most popular hawker centre along Jalan 34/154 had stopped operating.

“Normally, it is so packed that getting a seat for breakfast, lunch or dinner is difficult,” he said.

Only one hawker center and a few other eateries continue to operate and these rely on water transported from other areas.

The water from the tankers is not enough for these businesses.

Ng and some other residents said they were concerned over the cleanliness of the supplies used by these places. So they travel long distances, to where there are no water cuts, to eat or order takeaway meals.

“Some even brave the heavy traffic into the city center to have their meals,” he added.

Other businesses that have been hit in Taman Bukit Anggerik are laundromats, hair salons and car wash operations.

Could you cope if you are a Balakong water victim?

Malaysian Property Market-What Can Happen in 2014 and Thereafter

Millions of ringgits abodes

This article by Cheryl Poo in the Online The Star 25 Feb 2014 makes interesting reading.

I have edited it.

"Siva Shanker,the president of the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents opines that the current glut of resal estate in the country will clear over time.

His reasoning?

The local economy is healthy and not in a tailspin. That means that the property market will be able to withstand the pressures of speculation and the curbs imposed by Budget 2014.

An artist impression of big bucks residences

For example, he said the Mont Kiara (excluding the surrounding Segambut areas) has in the last 20 years built an estimated 20,000 units. Iskandar Malaysia, on the other hand, has built some 40,000 units in the last three years. All this has created a lot of pressure on supply and apparently the market has already adjusted by staying away.

Meanwhile, on short term, this oversupply will continue to run its natural course. Expect many units placed in the market would not sell easily for now. However, he expects that by the second half of 2014, after a period of consolidation, buyers will emerge as they come to terms with the realities of the market.

2015 will possibly see an uptick in the property sector with the upturn going into 2016.

Siva believes that in the medium term, much of the oversupply will naturally sort itself out, adding that the
country’s relatively low exposure to the “international economic ups and downs” compared with Singapore will be an advantage to Malaysia.

“There’s also the trickle down effect from large infrastructure projects as more industries benefit from them,” he said.

Siva reported that apparently buyers were not keen on the secondary market, although it made up 80% to 85% of the local property market transactions in the last three years. He believes as high-rise property prices surges, buyers would be forced to look elsewhere for more affordable landed property – and they will find this in the secondary market.

Siva forecast that property prices around the KLCC area will reach RM 5,000 per sq ft within the next three to five years.

“As it is, Four Seasons Place in Ampang is going at RM3,500 per sq ft.

A very clear third strata will form now, which are properties that were completed in the last two years but flipped into the market. Those properties will face the most selling and renting pressure because they were purchased for sale on the day of completion.”

So, for those who intend to buy, know your budget and what you are looking for from now on. For sellers, best to wait out this current year before thinking of selling.

Remmeber the government's RPGT will bite quite deeply this time around.

Is A Phone Call worth Losing Your Head?

I wonder whether it is true; but I guess no one would like to be caught in such an embarrassing situation in public with the possibility of just maybe losing one's head.

As the story goes-

On the Line, On the Stairs

There is this woman in Singapore alighting from a bus but still busy talking on her hand phone.

Before she knew it, the doors of the bus closed on her, right on her neck.

In a Head Grip

She was trapped and it's only with the shouting in the bus from passengers that finally alerted the bus driver to release the poor victim from the door hold.

Agony and Embarassment

Deadly shocking, don't you think?

MOSTE's 3rd Dinner (21 Feb 2014)

Sweet Wine of Life

Expect some dropping out at the last minute.

First, it was Jini who went down with a sore-throat and a possible flu. Unfortunately, he could not recover in time for dinner after his trip to Natuna.

Then, it was GL Ooi who went down with flu on the day of this dinner.

The others who could not make it were Dato' Ti, Dato' Chang; and Lawrence Sii who got saddled with some last minute domestic obligations.

The dinner went on well and despite having met two times earlier, the warmth of friendship continued to blaze ever strongly.

The bottles of drinks brought by generous souls enliven further the camaraderie among friends who have not seen each other for such as long time. We have Lee Choon Ming, Lily Hor, Jenny Tan and Low Chun Choi for the first time with us.

Though the food needs improvement, we have a great time on the karaoke machine with Dato' Leong, Choon Ming and myself. We should not be economical with the machine the next time as it is paid for in our package.

The dinner ended past 11 pm with even a suggestion from Frederick  that the next dinner be held in Sibu, Sarawak. Food for thought.

A great bonding time until the next dinner meet in 3 month's time.

Those who attended included:

Dato' Leong
Dato' Cheah
Dato' Yap
Frederick Wong
Tan Meng Leng
Goh Siok Eng
Lily Hor
Jenny Tan
Patrick Tan
Wong Choon Ming
Chee Kin San
Prof. Thiru
Lee Heng Keng
Daniel Chew
Kam Teik Beng
Robert Foong
Teo Boon Khee
Low Choon Choi
Heng

Two Koreas and Thailand-Different Strokes

Yes, these two photographs paints a diametrical different picture of political systems. The first picutre is that fo a tearful reunion as the two Koreas allowed a special occasion for long lost family members from either side to meet briefly after the country went to two different ways.

in the photo below, South Korean Park Yang-gon (right) hugs his North Korean brother who was abducted by North korea buring the 1950 Korea War. This crying reunion was held at Mount Kumgang resort in North Korea. Some 100 South Koreans crossed the world's most heavily fortified border for the occasion. (February 21st, 2014)

How precious art thou!

The second shows Farmer power as tractors moved down the thoroughfare in Bangkok against  PM Yingluck Sinawatra 

Battle Formation of  a Convoy of Tractors

In battle formation, tractors and other agricultural vehicles clogged the road in Ang Thong province heading towards Bangkok's Suvanabhumi Airport.                

What a contrast!

Verging on to Bankruptcy

Apathy and Punishment

This article in today's (21 Feb 2014) edition of the online Malay Mail is truly disturbing.

Just like in the earlier article I posted on galloping bankruptcy cases in Malaysia, this article adds further information that shows us that the problem could get worse in 2014.

I have edited the article.

" Dave, a legal adviser aged 27 recounts that poor judgment and financial mismanagement is part of the reason he is heavily in debt.  Roughly half his monthly take-home pay goes towards repaying a RM 48,000 study loan, a RM 70,000 car loan and RM 5,000 in credit card debt.

Faced with higher prices for everything from petrol through electricity as the government drastically quickens the roll-back of major subsidies, many Malaysians debtors are not expecting things to get any better. 

It's  bite the bullet time for many living just on the verge of more impending debt.

Low interest rates and cheap credit has fueled a spending boom that has helped the Malaysian economy grow but the fall-out is that it has also left many Malaysians struggling with large monthly debt repayments.

Bank Negara (BNM) data shows that household borrowing is shockingly above 80 per cent of the country’s total economic production or Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

It also shows that the number of individual bankruptcies have been rising steadily every year.

In 2013, personal bankruptcies reached 21,984; that’s roughly 60 cases each day.

Even before the government started cutting subsidies because incomes are not increasing, households were already using up a large portion of their incomes to repay loans for things such as houses and even weddings.

The time has come. Back against the wall, many households just cannot afford to cut back further on their basic needs. Many will likely sink into greater debt just to fund basic needs such as food, healthcare and education for their children.

Standard & Poor’s recent report said that Malaysia’s households could land in a tight spot because they have borrowed heavily even though their incomes are modest.

'People earning RM 3000 or less each month have taken on debt that outweighs their incomes,' it said.

"These borrowers constitute about 16 per cent of the banking system’s loans and are particularly vulnerable to inflation,” it added.

The official rate of inflation in Malaysia reached 3.2 per cent in December, the highest in over two years.

Some economists predict that inflation could reach 4.0 per cent later this year as the effects of higher fuel and electricity trickle through the economy.

As the inflation rate rises BNM will be under pressure to elevate interest rates which in turn  could  push up borrowers’ monthly debt repayments even further.

“Borrowers who have difficulty keeping up with their loan instalment payments are encouraged to approach their credit providers or AKPK to restructure or reschedule their loans so that they can continue to service them,” said Koid Swee Lian, the CEO of the government’s debt counselling agency AKPK.

“Ignoring mounting debts and ‘running’ away from lenders would not solve debt problems but would lead to bankruptcy eventually,” she added.

The number of people applying for AKPK’s free debt management programme rose to 16,769 in 2013 from 16,110 the previous year. More may just come by very soon to obtain counsel.

According to AKPK, the top reasons for going into heavy debt are poor financial planning at 22.8 per cent, high medical expenses at 18.1 per cent, failure or slowdown in businesses and credit card debts at 15.3 per cent and 11.1 per cent respectively.

An overwhelming 82.9 per cent who needed the debt agency’s help had a combination of credit card debts, housing and car loans.

So it looks like the new year is not happy nor prosperous for many after all.

Dysfunctional is the Key word for the Family Now

Inter-generational Clash of Values

Sometimes, in reflection, I believe most families do want to appear ideal.

At best, they hope that the lack of intra-family complaints, friction and quarrels  is representative of a fairly good functioning family.

Families that are strictly control by conventionality, conservatism and religion tend to be more conforming, subservient and tolerant of parenthood.

However, today  conventions is dying for most families. The authoritarian paternal and maternal figures are given nominal respect as religion continues to take a back seat due to knowledge explosion, science and technology and instantaneous  global communications.

Western culture-movies and songs-and the exported mores they bring along are slowly becoming part of the Y Generation as the concept of the strict father and mother figures disappear.

Dysfunctionality can also be the result of the clash of values within the family. When parents cannot share common values, the children will drift away buoyed by exported values or peer influence such as those now hooked to K-Pop or to Korean TV series.

So, dysfunctionality is change; a directional change. It may just become a trend-one that is antithetical to so-called good Asian family values that we have known for generations past.

I guess the modern society will become more and more  individualistic as families become dysfunctional.

Malaysia, like most Asian countries will go that way too!

Zoned Out with Walter Mitty

The Biting Himalayas

I guess this is one enjoyable remake especially with the state of the art special effects and computer graphics.

The Seas off Greenland and a Shark Fight

Walter Mitty, a negative manager at Life-Time Corporation contributed to the life-line of Life Magazine. A daydreamer, his final mission was to look for famed photographer Sean's negative No.25  which will be the cover of the final printed copy of Life Magazine before it goes fully digital. This was to take him to true exciting adventures from Greenland,Iceland to Afghanistan.

The Imagination of Walter Mitty

He had to jump off from a helicopter flown by a drunk pilot in the rough icy seas off Greenland to fighting off a man-eating shark; work on a ship en route to Iceland  and  to escaping  a volcano in Iceland and then, subsequently to Afghanistan to meet with the Taliban warlords and to search for the elusive and ghostly snow leopard.

The Protagonists, Walter and Cheryl

Wonderful portrayal by Ben Stiller,Kristen Wiig and Sean Penn.

The soundtrack and the songs (especially Pina colada) was simply superb.

Sean Penn as the intrepid photographer

Enjoyed this movie. I believe I zoned out to just like Walter.

The Winter of Our Lives-Pertinent Issues and Hopes

The Winter of our Life

We have just celebrated the Chinese New Year of the Wooden Horse.

For many of us, in the 60's, where do we go from here?

 We are already in the winter of our lives.

When will winter end for us?

What Should Be Our Mindset?

What should be our mindset as we lived in these end times of our natural life?

The simple mantras.

Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly... 

LUNCH and, then, it was winter.

Read this email-it is sober and sombre but real...............

The Absolute Need to Forgive

I first started reading this email and was reading fast until  I reached the third sentence. I stopped and started over, reading slower and thinking about every word. This email is very thought provoking. It makes you stop and think. Read SLOWLY!

And Then It Is Winter 

You know. . . time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years. It seems just yesterday that I was young, just married and embarking on my new life with my soul mate. Yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went. I know that I lived them all. I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams.

But, here it is... the winter of my life and it catches me by surprise...How did I get here so fast? Where did the years go and where did my youth go? I remember well seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that winter was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like.

But, here it is...my friends are retired and getting grey...they move slower and I see an older person now. Some are in better and some worse shape than me...but, I see the great change...Not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant...but, like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we'd be. Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day! And taking a nap is not a treat anymore...it's mandatory! Cause if I don't on my own free will...I just fall asleep where I sit!

Never Stop Loving

And so...now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do things that I wish I had done but never did! But, at least I know, that though the winter has come, and I'm not sure how long it will last...this I know, that when it's over on this earth...it's over. A new adventure will begin!

Yes, I have regrets. There are things I wish I hadn't done...things I should have done, but indeed, there are many things I'm happy to have done. It's all in a lifetime.

So, if you're not in your winter yet...let me remind you, that it will be here faster than you think. So, whatever you would like to accomplish in your life please do it quickly!  Don't put things off too long! Life goes by quickly. So, do what you can today, as you can never be sure whether this is your winter or not! You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life...So, live for today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember...and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things that you have done for them in all the years past!!!

"Life" is a gift to you. The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after. Make it a fantastic one. Live it well! Enjoy today! Do something fun! Be happy! Have a great day. Remember "It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver".

Live happy in 2014! Lastly, consider the following: Today is the oldest you've ever been, yet the youngest you'll ever be. So - enjoy this day while it lasts. ~Your kids are becoming you... but your grandchildren are perfect! ~Going out is good...Coming home is better! ~You forget names...But it's OK because other people forgot they even knew you!!! ~

You realize you're never going to be really good at anything...especially golf. ~The things you used to care to do, you no longer care to do, but you really do care that you don't care to do them anymore. ~You sleep better on a lounge chair with the TV blaring than in bed. It's called "pre-sleep". ~

You miss the days when everything worked with just an "ON" and "OFF" switch.. ~You tend to use more 4 letter words ... "what?"..."when?"... ??? ~Now that you can afford expensive jewelry, it's not safe to wear it anywhere. ~You notice everything they sell in stores is "sleeveless"?!!! ~What used to be freckles are now liver spots. ~Everybody whispers. ~You have 3 sizes of clothes in your closet...2 of which you will never wear. ~~~

But Old is good in some things: Old Songs, Old movies, and best of all, OLD FRIENDS!! Stay well, "OLD FRIEND!" Send this on to other "Old Friends!" and let them laugh in agreement!!!

It's Not What You Gather, But What You Scatter That Tells What Kind Of Life You Have Lived.

Have the message sank in?

Is Going Bankrupt Becoming a Norm?

It's true as it came from the mouth of the Insolvency Department.

Last year the number of bankrupt Malaysians stood at 16,306 or an average of 1,812 persons per month.

Given the rising cost of living unleashed by drastic subsidy withdrawals in gasoline and sugar in 2013 after the general election and the early January 2014 biting increases in electricity tariff and minimum wages and the looming GST tax juggernaut to be effective in April 2015, one cannot but fear that more bankruptcies will be declared in 2014. Currently, there are already 27,432 bankruptcy petitions in court.

Statistics for 2012 showed that of 19,575 persons declared bankrupt in that year;the distribution were as follows:

Malays-48.4%;
Chinese: 33.2%
Indians: 14.1 %.

Based on age demographics,a shocking 21% or 4,100 persons were below the age of 34 and the causes of their bankruptcy were failure to settle repayments for big ticket items such as car and housing loans and the inability to pay debilitating credit card debts.

An Opposition leader has speculated that for 2013, the number of Malaysian bankruptcies may overflow beyond 20,000.

As such, to avoid this phenomenon, can we emulate some of those dissenters from the European Union who wants the word bankruptcy to be outlawed; to be cosmetically replaced by a more acceptable and politically correct phrase,"debt adjustment"?

As they say, a rose is a rose................

Beyond Reach!

Just Beyond your Grasp

A household is categorically defined as members in a family who share the same rice-pot.

Relating affordability to house purchase, a Sime Darby-Universiti Malaya study discovered that to own a home in selected areas  in the Klang Valley, you must have at least RM14,600 household income (HHI). Their formulaic assessment is based on household spending trends, house prices and mortgage rates.

Bukit Jelutong

For those who intend to purchase houses in such strategic areas, they must ready resources that is 56 X their monthly household income. This same group of potential purchasers must at least have 26% of their income to service mortgage loans.

The study identified these areas as having potential to appreciate and would attract potential buyers.

They ranged from:

Melawati Area: At least RM9,360 HHI (RM3,120 for Mortgage loan (MG)

Nilai Area: At least RM9,430 HHI (RM3,143 MG)

Bukit Subang Area: At least RM9,670 HHI (RM3,223 MG)

North Klang Region: At least RM11,300 HHI (RM3,766 MG)

Putra Heights Area: At least RM12,190 HHi (RM4,063 MG)

Kajang Area: Atleast RM12,300 HHI(RM4,100 MG)

USJ Area: At least RM13,320 HHI (RM4,400 MG)

Klang Valley Region: At least RM14,580 HHI (RM4,860 MG)

Denai Alam Area: At least RM15,160 HHI (RM5,053 MG)

Ara Damansara Area: At least RM15,660 HHI (RM5,220 MG)

Subang Jaya Area: At least RM15,660 HHI (RM5,220 MG)

Bukit Jelutong Area: At least RM17,310 HHI (RM5,770 MG)

Mont Kiara-Duta Hartamas ARea: At least RM20,160 HHI (RM6,720 MG)

So, what is the message that is being sounded through this solitary study; if at all it is to be accepted as credible?

These will be the layman's off the cuff conclusions:

Unless you earn a HHI of at least RM10,000, do not expect to buy any house in these areas or anywhere strategic in the Klang Valley.Even on a joint husband-working wife salary they will be hard-pressed after having to deduct for rentals, car loans and sundry overheads such as EPF deductions, SOCSO and the household budget. If you have children, it could be much worse as you may have to pay towards childcare, school bus-fares, insurance and tuition.

Sadly, you are unlikely to buy any low to medium cost houses as you are the middle income group caught in a pincer trap as tax payers sans any help from the authorities. So, you may have to pay taxes with little return from the government. Feeling sad and abandoned, already?

If prices of houses in these identified areas continue to rise 5% per annum, forget about ever buying them. Just rent them as these highly capitalised houses need not fetch high rentals. Sometimes commuting from a faraway place such as Seremban is marginally cheaper but you will inadvertently have to pay the toll in body and mental health besides putting yourself and your vehicle under severe stress. Rent near to your place of work or the schools your children attend. It's a much safer bet!

As Malaysia is now in the tingling throes of high inflation, you may want to buy into some land in your kampungs; with the hope that they will appreciate in time and you can protect the value of the cash ringgit (which is slipping southwards) in a more permanent mode. Or even buy some foreign currencies to ward off the diminishing value of your ringgits.

Do find out also if you are eligible for those government sponsored schemes which are highly subsidised and those earmarked ones at the old airfield in Sg. Besi and also the ex-RRIM land in Sg. Buluh which is about to be farmed out for development.

Do not be hasty in buying a house which is a big ticket item. Do not be slave to the bank that will tie you up for life. Buy only when you are comfortably ready!

A Special Love for Marilyn Monroe

Bigger than Life Itself

It may have been only a week for Colin Clark working on the set of " The Sleeping Prince" but it was sufficiently enough to make him fall in love with Marilyn who will break a bit of his heart when she leaves after the movie is done.

Michelle Williams as Marilyn

The Bathroom Scene

Skinny-Dipping in the Thames

Solace and Comfort

Eddie Redmayne plays the protagonist Colin while the fabulous Michelle Williams portrayed the difficult and oftentimes whimsical Marilyn Monroe with her ups and downs on the movie set.

Kenneth Branaugh as Lawrence Olivier

This is one engrossing movie based on two books by Clark, "My Week with Marilyn" and "The Prince, The Showgirl and Me " and it is a movie especially for those who are curious  to know the goings-on behind the scenes during the filming of the movie, "The Prince and the Showgirl" particularly the twisted relationships  between the stars from Laurence Olivier to Vivien Leigh and between Marilyn and her  3rd husband Arthur Miller.

Colin in London

Private Visit  to Eton College

Emma Watson plays wardrobe girl, Lucy

Location shooting will bring you to downtown London, Windsor Castle, Eton College and also to watch Marilyn skinny-dipping in the Thames.

A Re-bonding for 5 Friends from Jasin

Standing from left: Gan,Daw Swan, me and Yakob. Sitting: M Elangovan

On 15 February 2014, we decided to meet for breakfast.

So, we gathered at the Kayu Restaurant in SS2 PJ  at 8.15 am to spend quality time together.

After having a good time bonding, we broke up after 4 hours of reminiscing and agreed to meet again soon.

The 5 of us are:

M. Elangovan: successful father of 3 children as well as LCCT taxi driver; still earning a living to see a son through dental college in India.

Lim Daw Swan: successful father with a daughter in God's ministry and a engineer of a son. Still works in a clinic.

Gan Eng Thai: retired and dabbling in investment instruments. One successful son in IT and a daughter still in college.

Yakob: successful father of 5, semi retired from the banking world with a daughter in law school.

Myself: retired - a daughter in an accounting firm and a son pursuing an accounting degree.

Gan brought his wife, Aileen for our memorable breakfast of teh tarik and rava tosai!

Long Walk, Lost Years

Engrossing Biopic

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is a biopic of the first president of South Africa.

Fighting Apartheid

Imprisoned under the imperialistic Botha and some part of the DeKlerk regimes, this lawyer turned freedom fighter was kept in prison  in a remote island along with the pioneers of the ANC. For many years he lost touch of the goings-on, the growing up of his children, the death of his mother and son and the violent manner in which freedom fighters fought against apartheid.

Charismatic Leding

In his absence, his  wife, Winnie carried on the fight and she too was imprisoned for the cause.

In His Cell

Quite a good movie with excellent acting by Idris Elba as Mandela and Naomie Harris as Winnie.

Her Role in the Freedom Fight

The Book Thief-A Narration by Death

Family Love in Munich

Fancy having Death narrate a story for you.

In the book, The Book Thief, now as a vivid movie, the story is played out in war-thorn Munich from 1939 till the American occupation after Hitler's much feared Reich capitulated to Allied forces.

For the Love of Reading and Literacy

Liesel Meminger (played by Canadian Sophie Nelisse) and her brother, while on their way to live with  adoptive parents met with misfortune when her brother passes on.

Alone, she adapted to life in her new home with new friend, Rudy and soon with the mayor's wife and a fugitive named Max.

The Bond of Reading

Liesel earned the moniker, The Book Thief as she "borrowed" books  from the Mayor's wife when the mayor refuses her permission to visit and read in their house library.

Basement Search by Nazi soldier

As Death mentioned on the outset of the movie, no one lives forever.

Even Liesel for all the good she did, up to the old ripe age of 90, had to go, after spinning magic and love to all and sundry up to her grandchildren.

Devotion to an Adopted Daughter

Geoffrey Rush as the accordion-lover dad, Hans and Emma Watson as the thundering foster mother Rosa, makes this a most watchable fare.

Bunker Fraternity and Story-telling

The background music of John Williams is endearingly soothing for a movie with such a grave story-line.

Will it win the Academy Award?

Disturbing Genocide and Mass Murderers

Shocking Documentary

This documentary movie is about the annihilation of communists and other minority in the aftermath of the downfall of Sukarno in the 1965-66 period. It is truly disturbing especially when it came from the mouths of the protagonists of the inhumane acts themselves.

A celebration for mass murderers

The main characters in this documentary are Anwar Congo and Adi Zukandry who graduated from illegal cinema ticket sellers to death squad mass murderers and their recounting of their killing methods during this dark times of the Indonesian republic. Their notoriety includes killing by pulling wires around the necks of victims to extortion of Chinese shopkeepers as well as killing them; to burning whole villages that are associated with communists in Northern Sumatra.

Recalling the bloody times

Though the movie tries to rationalise for the assumed regrets of Anwar (who killed more than a thousand), the other characters do not unconscionably see any wrong in what they did.

Wire killing effectiveness

Today Anwar is recognised as the revered leader of the paramilitary organisation Pemuda Pancasila that will go into action to support the actions of both the military and the police because they believed that it is their job to rid the land of "trouble-makers"

Communist Village Carnage

To date, these mass murderers have never been held accounted for their crimes against humanity.