What Stopped Me Crying My Heart Out ....

 

I am so sorry, she put up the wrong finger ....

Let’s not be despondent. It’s only 60 years but we did it, the first government change. We were the last 3 in the world to do that. Minus Singapore n China. Indonesia beat us to it. To give up now will be silly. Of course the odds will be stacked against us. Chinese saying “if I don’t go to hell, who will go to hell” ....

1) Its only 1.5 years till next General Elections

2) All the talk about getting the "right man" ... someone different ..."it was a mistake the last time"... needing someone who can change the situation properly ....WHO DID WE GET???:::::  
... its the same Perikatan and UMNO with a shake of the bottle ....

3) At least I know almost everyone in Bersatu and maybe half of the UMNO people WILL FIND IT NEAR IMPOSSIBLE TO get re-elected in 18 months... plus the bastards who jumped, leapt... even though the public voted for them

4) We have been through nearly 2 years of lockdown ... heck, what's another 1.5 years ... the only thing that piss us off more will be that those going through court trials suddenly gets off. Trust me, you will never see such a landslide in an election if that happens.

5) Are we idiots? A lot of people think we are .... let's wait 1.5 years ...

Equity Markets Participants In Malaysia

Performers in 2020 - Look at the gainers for 2020 for local stocks in the 3 pics. We have about 1,000 stocks listed and where less than 500 trade regularly. Hence to look for the gainers out of 500 stocks was easy, when the ecosystem is right.

 Bursa came out with some nice data and charts on foreign funds in Malaysian stocks. Realistically,  stocks are usually not considered in an Asian portfolio. Most wouldn't even be bothered to have exposure to it as it is so insignificant compared to the rest. China, Japan, HK and India collectively would dwarf the rest. In a South East Asia centric fund yes, but these are far and few in between. Asia-Pacific funds are more popular, even so you do not want to spend so much time on too many countries. 

A fund manager given a USD300m Asia Pacific fund can only look at so many countries closely, imagine if you have to keep track of more than 5 economies, and then drill down to at least 10 per country. The resources needed do not justify the fund size. Usually they will just buy the index as an exposure.

Looking at the second graph, the white portion showed the diminishing participation of foreign funds. Even more so with the onset of the pandemic. What that means is we can 'almost' forget about them. Their participation is neither impactful or "important". If you had to rely on them for fund raising, then we should be circumspect, we don't. But when we do, nowadays, like AirAsia, we will have to go to SG, Thailand, HK and maybe China to drum up funds. Not a frequent enough requirement to place too much emphasis on foreign funds participation in the market.

When we went through the Asian Financial crisis, where locally everyone have little ability to recapitalise, and when almost all the top 40 stocks have to raise funds to restructure - then we have to "beg" for foreign funds to participate. 

The third graph showed the unusually steady rate of foreign holdings of local stocks. It would be fair to infer that a substantially large portion of that is satisfied by the need to index the country for exposure.

What you can see from the first graph was the rise and rise of retail investors. The last 12-18 months have been more than incredible to see the massive backlog of new retail account applications. For more than 15 years, Bursa has been worrying about the dramatic decline in retail investors in the country. So much so, many thought the trend was irreversible. Oh, how wrong most of us were. 

Is it a trend or fad? I thinks a lot more than that. The rise of penny stocks, coupled with the sustained jump in interest in glove stocks, somehow were the needed catalysts. It coincided with the pandemic which causes lower employment and less "business activity" (side incomes) for all. 

This trend was reflected in most developed countries. The Robin-hooding and GameStoppers effects cause a significant wave and rise in younger investors. The culmination of Bitcoins (and others) gaining wider acceptance captured more younger investors, who then parlayed their gains into equity. Naturally the over-riding conduit that made all these events possible was the Internet.

Collectively, the new younger investors, together the rest of the investors in Malaysian stocks, have shown that we can generate incredible volume and volatility in stocks locally. That is going to lend a lot of comfort to big day traders, syndicates, local funds and listed/unlisted company owners - in that they can raise funds, participate in share price growth, way ample liquidity - provided the timing is suitable. 

I foresee many more of these bouts of supernormal market volatility, each lasting 3-12 months over the next few years. Malaysia Boleh! Just look at the gainers for 2020. As the last 3 months in 2021 have been a lot weaker, no point dragging out the list this year, but we should be back to a more vibrant market as soon as the political stage is clearer, one way or the other.

Herd Immunity & Anti-Vaxxers

At least now, we are not so perturbed by the rising figures of daily Covid positives. We seemed to have come to an acceptance that the figures will go higher, even 20,000 before plateauing. We are now more concerned with getting to herd immunity ASAP. Hence our disdain for anti-vaxxers. 

I think there wouldn't be much sympathy from the rest of us if anti-vaxxers die from Covid, as harsh as that would sound. That needs to be made clear.

Is it a personal right not to to do so? Even if you are uncomfortable with the vaccines as they "may not have gone through a thorough enough testing", statistics already clearly indicate that those vaccinated will likely only get a milder form of Covid. 

For all you anti-vaxxers, just look at our numbers. You are most definitely going to get the antibodies. Either via vaccination or infection. Its just that the latter may be deadly. Good luck!

As herd immunity is paramount, the government should put into place measures that reward those who have vaccinated and place restrictions on those who did not. All F&B establishments should have all staffers vaccinated (two doses) and only vaccinated people can dine in. Plus social stuff: bars, pubs, cinemas, karaokes, swimming pools, gyms. Same for interstate travel.

I know its a bit of a coercion - the "bantuan" payments should only go to people who can show they have been fully vaccinated. This will capture a lot more of those missed by Sejahtera.

Lastly, the government still has yet to come up with a proper plan to vaccinate the undocumented (illegals). One minister said early in the year that they will not be caught by the police or immigration officers if they come out. Another minister later saying the police or immigration officers will have to seek them out and catch them.

Let's be honest,  our country has a very large proportion of our workers being from foreign shores, and possibly an equal number who are undocumented. Malaysia probably has the largest percentage of population being foreign workers in the world, legal or otherwise. Hence our Covid strategy MUST include them.

The police and immigration officers had all the time in the world to catch them in the past - did they? Even with a concerted effort, you think we can even get even half? Be realistic, and in this situation, time is of essence, not a luxury.

There are easily about 2.0m to 3.0m illegals depending on whose estimate you rely on. That is not an insignificant number. Its pointless to get herd immunity when you have the undocumented roaming around. Legal or not, arrange amnesty halls for them to get vaccinated. That's the only sensible thing to do.

Mr DIY, Now & Then

Last year in 2020, I SMS to about 40 of my close contacts as the market was buzzed with the upcoming IPO of Mr DIY. I was a frequent visitor to their stores and a back of the envelop calculations showed that a large part of the market had assessed the stock wrongly. The text was sent out a couple of weeks (I think September 20, 2020) before listing of Mr DIY:

As you can see the way I speak privately lends me few admirers. But finance fuckers talked like that all the time, even when referring to buddies. 

That was a brave SMS as almost everyone was rubbishing Mr DIY as a mom n pop shop. Even the IPO was supposedly nearly under subscribed, apparently.

So, after two years, most research houses finally caught up to my RM1.1bn pretax profit.

Unfortunately I did not post this on my blog then cause I was feeling very lazy to update my blog. If you remember, I only promise to rejuvenate my blog with more frequent postings only a few months back.

Kenanga's:

We are positive on MR D.I.Y. for its: (i) robust growth potential, driven by both higher market demand for its products and stores expansion, (ii) strong GP margins (above 40%) with the absence of near-and long-term margin volatility thanks to its supply source, China’s 

massive economies of scale, (iii) robust balance sheet, providing it ample cash for expansion, and (iv) net cash position ahead, allowing MR D.I.Y. to deliver sustainable dividends.

Risks to our call include: (i) a dominant import source, (ii) foreign labour issue, (iii) unfavourable Ringgit and (iv) prolonged lockdown

My present view: At RM3.30-3.60, its about right, with a larger likelihood to reach RM3.00 than RM3.80 over the next 12 months. Why? Because, the goalposts I have set out (which I think he has as well) have largely been hit. Including inclusion into certain indices. 

Watch for the cash pile of over RM300m. I think BV will do a special dividend before exiting a large chunk at the same time. Mark my words.

Do I see no more gains? While the current retail space landscape actually favours Mr DIY (in that they can take the opportunity to close under performing outlets and secure nice spaces in good locations with the dire mall space rental situation), I think the newer outlets now will be diminishing returns on the book. The correlation of mall prestige and traffic, Mr DIY are in the top tier already. Their growth will be in smaller malls with lower spending power. Overall the sunk cost for a new outlet will not be very much less for a nice mall and a secondary mall, except for the rental. But the reduction in foot traffic and spending power do not and would not generally make up for the difference.

Below are the reasons we are settling for 200% gains from IPO and not 300%:

Relative to its demanding PER, its not feasible. The current forward PER can ONLY BE JUSTIFIED if it has some regional expansion certainty and deliverables. The Malaysian market is 30m population full stop.

While Mr DIY has been closing poorly performing outlets, they are not doing it fast enough. Has anyone visited the Paramout Garden outlet. Its a shameful reflection of how they handle poorly performing outlets. Sure, the glitzy mall outlets get top treatment but not th under performers. This tells me they are not cutting swift enough, and they have a huge lacking in "decent knowledgeable staff" to deploy. 

Mr DIY is picking all the low handing fruits but have turned in a poor report card on "inventory management" (speed in replenishment, product differentiation, product display and placement, product preference ratings) and more importantly staff training (sorely lacking in product knowledge, general customer relations, esp verbal and interpersonal skills).

IF I can just switch the top management of Daiso Malaysia with Mr DIY, then Mr DIY can go to RM5.00 in a couple of years. Nuff said.

Being Human & Humane

I have said this time and again... money cannot buy EMPATHY or BASIC HUMAN DECENCY. I think there should be a test before a family can hire a maid. So many people have revealed what assholes they are by the way they treat their maids. 

I have seen maids standing next to the restaurant table because there was no more space to seat them. The family and friends continued to eat. What do you think the kids will be thinking? They'd be thinking that "there are certain human beings that can be treated differently for they are lesser of a person" - and they will carry that mindset throughout their lives in every facet.  I'd rather eat somewhere else where the food is less tasty. The examples of pathetic behaviour by employers are too many to mention in one posting.

Usually you have maids to help with the kids. Too often the kids are not taught well enough to treat the maids well. Parents, if you cannot set a good example, you are setting a very bad example for your kids. The impressionable age, they will learn from parents that some people are dispensable or less than human. Parents must educate their kids well in all facets of relationships and in being human and humane. It is an excellent way to teach what is empathy.

I voiced my opinion as above and many people will say to me that you cannot trust your maids, that they might steal or run away. Oh, you mean, they are human and can act badly like you and me? How would you like if you were "sentenced" for crimes you might commit? Limiting freedom for fear of what bad influence you might pick up? Its heinous and despicable.

Your inconvenience, incurred cost, difficulty in getting a maid, bad experiences DO NOT stand up in the court of human decency if you use that defence for behaviour/rules that are less than human and humane.

If you happen to be religious - thats one fucked up FINE EXAMPLE of you being changed for better, cause your heart is still screwed up no matter how much you pray, how many times you pray, how often you go to these institutions for fellowship or how fervently you protests wrongdoings. If this is happening in your household, get that right, ask yourself why and why not.

p/s YES I have had maids before... yes, one has ran away before, and one even got pregnant by her boyfriend ... and I would still NOT change one IOTA... its basic human decency to give them one day off at the very minimum. You can tally up 100 excuses why they should not... but think again if your mum or sister was the maid in question.

RomCom Recommendations

Yes, confession here, I like romantic comedies. As I mainly watch English and Chinese movies, my references will be centered on those. In particular, during this prolonged lockdown period, our access to movies has been heightened. Romcoms in my view should be light, not too much thinking or dark subject matter. Surprisingly, many romcoms have lineage. Stay with me. It is somehow better to be linked somewhat.

Prior to the 80s, in my view, there hasn't been many romcoms of significance. Maybe its the prevailing culture then. The ones in black and white to vouch for include An Affair to Remember and It Happened One Night

Number one on many people's list has to be When Harry Met Sally. The often heart to heart talk about personal relationships was illuminating and heartfelt. Personal flaws and over-thinking were prevalent. 

In the 70s, there was one which was spectacular and still has strong cult following: Somewhere In Time. It starred Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. Way before time travel became popular. Must watch and you will be mesmerised by the score alone.

The next few  good ones: My Best Friend's Wedding, Pretty Woman, Groundhog Day, 50 First Dates, There's Something About Mary, While You were Sleeping, The Notebook,  to name a few decent ones.. Meg Ryan's involvement cannot be under-estimated: Sleepless In Seattle, You've Got Mail and When Harry Met Sally.

Then the English got onto the scene with the magnificent 4 Weddings & A Funeral, Bridget Jones' Diary, Notting Hill etc.. The running theme is all those movies ... is Richard Curtis. More recent strong offerings by Curtis include Love, Actually and the way under-rated About Time.

Can anyone link these 3 movies together: An Affair To Remember, Sleepless In Seattle and Love Affair. An Affair to Remember made back in the 50s with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, is a MUST WATCH. But that 1957 movie was a remake of a lesser known Love Affair (1939, Charles Boyer/Irene Dunne). Sleepless In Seattle structured itself around that movie just mentioned, in a most pleasant way. Love Affair, with Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, was a more than pleasing remake of Love Affair ala An Affair to Remember.

Decent Chinese romcoms are far and few in between. If its too soppy, they don't make the list. The top two: An Autumn Tale with Chow Fun Fatt and Cherie Chung. Tying for first place: Comrades, Almost A Love Story with Leon Lai and Maggie Cheung. 

Those were made in the 80s and 90s. For the last 20 years I have yet to watch one Chinese romcom of note until Book of Love with Tang Wei in it. There you go, enough recommendations to keep busy for the lockdown.

Sentiment / Political Uncertainty

 I am sure many traders and investors were quite pissed off with the markets for the last 3 days. Just when everyone have been hunkering down and bearing out the weak local markets for the last 5 weeks ... just when the market showed brilliant signs of life 4 days ago ... we get dragged down by a fierce wave of selling because of sentiment or more correctly "political sentiment".

Is that a thing? I guess so. The newbies will question how political sentiment affects earnings and outlook - I mean will the guy harvesting palm oil bunches be so put off by the potential change in politics that he/she worked less hard? You can drum up thousands of examples here of how workers and employers might react.

Realistically changes in political spectrum may only change the main beneficiaries, the players remain the same kind. We also have to acknowledge the timing of the uncertainty - were we on a high or we were at an ebbing low? If it was the former then taking some chips off the table seems fair and smart. If it was the latter, and WE WERE in the latter, what then?

Ebbing low (you may choose to replace the word "ebbing" with another "ing" word if you prefer) - Look at where we ARE: Covid cases approaching 10,000 a day though we are finally ramping up vaccination rates of late; the country has been enduring the longest number of days of various types of lockdowns compared to 99% of other countries anywhere; and you may also put in the longest "non-convening of parliament" as well.

Whats not mentioned was that as of last couple of days, Bursa index has hit new lows not seen since August 2015.

So, when you say there is political uncertainty .... is that a bad thing for the markets? I mean you all can draw economics curve, when you are at the low or lowest points on the graph, you can only move up. In particular, when you are on a curve that is ebbing lower and lower, you need a catalyst to change that curve's direction. No change or no catalyst, means continuance of fresh lows.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/commentary/pm-muhyiddin-malaysia-who-replace-bersatu-zahid-najib-anwar-15158310

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/commentary/malaysia-politics-umno-pn-muhyiddin-cabinet-zahid-ismail-covid-15180368

Electric Cars Competitive Landscape

Six or seven years ago, it would have been a huge punt to figure which company will  out trumps in the electric cars venture. Now the roadmap is much clearer. Tesla led the pack and made it a worthwhile venture when it introduced the high-performance EV.

That caused many carmakers to jump onto the bandwagon as battery efficiency was the main obstacle. For makers of components in many vehicle subsystems — body, chassis, interior, cabin cooling and comfort, and the low-voltage electrical system — electrification won’t make a big difference because those systems aren’t much affected by the power source. The biggest changes will be in propulsion systems, where the engines and transmissions that we know today will evolve into traction drive units, batteries, and electronics that link everything together. 

Besides Tesla, the winners from the carmakers in this important category will be those who can make quality lightweight bodies, chassis, and interiors. BMW has a strong focus on light-weighting with aluminum, composites, magnesium, and other kinds of structures like carbon fiber. 

The second factor is for those who can master the electric propulsion system. While electric propulsion systems can have 90% fewer components than those in internal combustion engines, the complexity and performance requirements of those limited number of parts – which include magnets, laminates of steel, and very complex geometries of copper and other materials – are great. The winners here are likely to be existing suppliers who are improving processes and increasing efficiencies to build new products.

In China, there’s a concern that large volumes of electric vehicles at the end of their life will lead to huge environmental problems caused by the dumping of lithium-ion batteries and related materials. They are creating recycling requirements that are potentially extremely burdensome. The design of the battery must be not only created to allow for total recycling and/or reuse, but the details of the design have to be transferred to the after-market industry. After that, the battery either can be safely recycled or reused, based on its original design concept. This will have a big impact on suppliers and OEMs because it could affect up-front designs, as well as raise questions about the control of the intellectual property. Other countries may impose their own recycling and environmental standards, which makes recycling and other environmental concerns important for companies involved in electric cars.

While Volkswagen, General Motors, and others see a shift from internal combustion engines (ICE) to fully electric vehicles, Toyota and Ford continue to see a future for hybrids. They are likely to remain on the scene for the next two decades. Lately, their sales have decreased in the U.S., mostly due to lower fuel costs, while remaining strong in Japan because the electric infrastructure there is not strong enough to support a high density of electric vehicles.

The first electric SUV from Volkswagen’s luxury Audi brand, the e-tron, can go 400 kilometers (nearly 250 miles) on a single battery cycle and be recharged in as little as half an hour. The styling is conventional, the interior is luxurious and the ride is nearly silent. Volkswagen which also owns Porsche, Bugatti, Skoda, Lamborghini and SEAT, is rising to the challenge with a radical transformation that is unparalleled since World War II. The company is spending €30 billion ($34 billion) over the next five years to make an electric or hybrid version of every vehicle in its lineup, and it plans to launch 70 new electric models by 2028.

It looks increasingly likely that Tesla and Volkswagen will be leading the charge with BMW close behind. Country landscape and infrastructure differences will mean hybrids will be as important.

Small Boys - The rise of electric vehicles is one of the biggest trends of the last decade, taking names like Tesla and Nio to the top of the markets. But 2021 is proving that other types of companies may be ready to make their mark. Names to follow: Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE: OSK), Workhorse Group Inc. (NASDAQ: WKHS), Nikola Corporation (NASDAQ: NKLA), Electrameccanica Vehicles Corp. (NASDAQ: SOLO).

Last year, it seemed EV companies could do no wrong, with countless companies in the industry seeing their shares hit new highs. Nikola, for example, soared for 672% gains at its highs. Tesla was up 695% on the year. And Nio took off for incredible 1,210% gains.

But today, the world is finally seeing some chinks in the armor of the companies that seemed invincible just 6 months ago. And space is finally being made for new, exciting companies with a different spin on how to use this new technology.

For example, while Nikola, Nio, and Tesla, for example, are all slightly down for the year from their highs. Two companies in other but related industries that we've discovered are looking to have a banner year thanks to key new partnerships and acquisitions. This rise and transition of EVs could duplicate the same trend we've seen over and over again with major booms.

China's Restricted Playground - China has one of the fastest-growing EV markets in the world with an estimated 500 electric car makers having piled into the world's largest vehicle market. As the Chinese government prods home-grown brands, such as Nio, Xpeng, and Li Auto, to get a larger slice of the market under the Made in China 2025 industrial master plan.

Me and Dali

 My bedmate and companion for the past 12 years has passed on yesterday morning. She was already suffering for the past few weeks, so in a way its a blessed relief for her. She already shot past the average lifespan for bulldog (7-8 years), grateful for that.

A look back to my previous posting which was a few years back:

 

Too bad that the movie, Me and Marley came out first. Yes, people, my dog's name is Dali, an English bulldog. Unlike Marley in the movie, my dog is very well behaved and listens to instructions well enough. Since my blog is like a diary of sorts, I thought I should have at least one post of her.

The first two photos were taken right after I bought her, barely 5 weeks really, and technically a bit too young to be sold by pet shops. Was already determined to get myself a dog again, its been many years since I had a dog or two. I went to a pet fair thingee at Mid Valley and she was in a cage with two of her brothers. The way I chose my dog, I was always certain that there had to be an eye to eye connection, not a woof-woof enthusiastic jumping dog saying "take me". Its a life long thing so there has to be a deeper connection. When we met, we kinda stared at each other for more than 15 seconds, no barking (not by me anyway). Done deal there and then, all in 30 seconds. 

She was so tiny compared to her brothers. The guy manning the stall said she was very tiny because she was the last of a litter of 6. As you can see, she was no bigger than my thigh. Puppies are just like babies, they are the world's biggest lying advertising syndicate. Both just looked adorable, cute, blah, blah ... but wait till you bring one home and care for. The first 2 months were hell when it came to toilet training. First it was getting her to do it in the toilet. Then it was the usual feed in the morning and take her out for a walk 5 minutes later, same routine for the evening. Chances of success for the first two months was 50-50.

At times I was so exasperated because there would be no shit even after walking around for 30 minutes. Then go back, and get my own shower, only to come out and find nice doo-doo waiting for me. It would have been understandable if it was at places where I could see, but she liked to do it way deep underneath my bed. As my bed is heavy and against one side of the wall, it was a mammoth task to clean it up. If it was once in a blue moon, that would have been tolerable... try getting this 3-4 times a week. I was so exasperated that I seriously considered giving her away or selling her. Now, as I looked back, I can understand why I would have those thoughts but am grateful that I have the fortitude, grace and character to ride them out.

Many people think its fun to have a dog, but they forget that that they also suddenly took on an extra job as a professional shit picker. Twice a day, without fail, after a while you think to yourself if its worth it, ... but when they are  family, do you really care to count.

One of the early joys of owning a dog is when they first recognise the name you gave them. You call and they respond, guess they are a lot like babies. Next will be being properly toilet trained, I think that was after the third month. Dogs are very loyal, they greet you wildly when you come back, they snuggle up, they follow you here and there. They are so dependent on your love, affection and care. Is this the need to be needed which is why so many people rear dogs? To an extent, yes. You also form a bond, and the bond is based on how much time you put in. Some people have dogs just as guard dogs at the front porch, they don't even have time to play with them.

The bonding process comes from time spent together (not delegated to your maids): walks, playtime, bath time (very important), morning clean up, evening clean up, massages, combing and grooming, etc... The thing is if you do less, they will still be loyal, but if you put in your share, it will come back to you in multiples. People who say that they are just dogs, just really don't get it. Its like saying to your kids "they are just kids".

 trying to get into the Christmas mood and failing miserably, 

"dude where are my presents"

When all the training and repetitions are done, you think you have fully trained your dog ... actually you wonder if its you who is training the dog or you being trained. Now I am trained to feed at the right time, pick shit at the same hours, clean her at the same times, walk her at the same times ... we might be the ones actually being trained!


Once the toilet training part is done, the hardest part is over, she would no longer be willing to stay in her cage at night, barking incessantly wanting to be with me. Thats ok I guess, the need to be needed, plus I was staying at a condo 2 years back, so she got to sleep with me. The funny thing was that she had to be touching me when she sleeps, what I mean is that she needed to be in constant contact with me. Mine was a huge queen sized bed with one side against the wall. What happened was that she gets warm with her fur against me, and I would shift in my sleep, so for the first few nights when I woke up, I would be up against the wall and she right next  to me with the other 2/3 of the bed empty. I thought it was funny and ridiculous at the same time, but this went on for weeks. Nowadays, I got used to her, I have a comforter on the bed and she gets to be on  the comforter so I don't have to change the bed sheet every 3 days. Its a matter of getting used to it, now we share the bed comfortably and she still sticks her body next to mine, I just learned how not to move myself anymore.

when Dali met Lily at my mum's place

The other thing about owning bulldogs is their breathing. Owing to their makeup, they snore like a 30 year old man. I mean really snore, not like a girl's snore. You get used to that pretty fast I guess.

While the bulldog has short hair which is easier to upkeep, they also shed like crazy, some things you learn to live with. She sheds enough hair to make Telly Savalas or Yul Brynner look good within a week. Have a good maid service if you want a dog like that.

Having all those  "troubles", I would never change her, or have a different dog, because she is who she is. She is highly loyal, affectionate, friendly and clever.  Bulldogs must be the most misunderstood dog breed ever because people use bulldog images in the beware signs when they want to scare off people. The reality is that they are the worst guard dogs ever, they are so friendly, rarely barks and just need to sniff a new person to confirm that they are their new friends. Although there have been instances when I have seen Dali being ferociously angry, when the insecticide man comes over, must be something about their smell of the chemicals they use. She would be lunging at them like a Rottweiler. Other than that, she is the friendliest dog ever.

meeting a normal sized bulldog, "watcha looking at dude"

I do not like my dog to do tricks as I think it demeans them. However, she needed to learn a few basic instructions. She is good with stay, sit, roll over, go eat on her chair, move closer, finish your food.. what more do you want to ask for. My brother would try to teach her more complex stuff, which she will oblige, such as walk around, stay, lie down, play dead ... but I try to stay away from all that.

with Sidney, playing some gross "stimulation game", oh the expression is too Category 3

As in all genuine dog lovers, we still get the guilty pangs of not spending enough time with our furry friend. The thing about dogs is that they are quick to forgive. How not to love them even more. Just the fact that she now only pees and shits in the garden grass is  worthy of a Nobel Prize in my books.

At 9 months at a park

Of all the dogs in the world, people will think she is one of the luckier ones with a decent owner like me. Real dog lovers will realise that we ourselves are the lucky ones to be blessed with a furry life long trusting loyal affectionate friend like her.

One funny thing about most pet owners is that they talk to their pets. I thought that was a bit crazy at first but after a while, I find myself talking to my dog the same way as I would to my own kid. It hit upon me cause when I heard my next door granny talking to her grandchild, ...  the tone, the message, the words were all alike! "Why aren't you finishing your food", "come here, take your bath now", "I ask you to come, come right now" ..etc... 

This is her favourite pose

I love her because she doesn't bark incessantly (like my neighbour's stupid dog). She does so only when there is something really important - a person at the door, or something "new appearing in our garden" (a bird or a squirrel). Dali has this quiet persona that is hard to ruffle, a sort of nonchalant way of looking at her surroundings. It takes little to make her happy ... why can't we all be that way.

Dali  just over 2 years old 

You think you have just a dog, but sometimes she will wake up earlier than me, but will not wake me up but sit and wait for me to wake up for at least half an hour. As she probably needs to pee in the morning, she will wait till she cannot hold it anymore and paws me in bed. If I still refuse to wake up, she will use her final trick which is to lick my face, like that anyone will also wake up.


Dali would never get on the bed without me. She would wait quietly by the side of the bed waiting for me to finish my mundane stuff on the computer and internet surfing. If it goes past 1am, she cannot tahan anymore, and would paw me at my chair, asking me to go to bed. Only then would she jump into bed and snuggle next to me to sleep ... would your wife or husband do that??!!

 Here she is pondering on the meaning of a dog's life

She is lucky to have such a "nice owner" but we all know I am luckier to have her.

The Crux of Power Has Changed, But Some Things Never Change

1. Which countries invaded and occupied Indonesia? Netherlands for 350 years and Japan for 3.5 years.

2. Which country was once the colonial master of Malaya & India? Britain.

3. Which countries invaded and occupied Vietnam? France 1857-1940 & 1946-1954, Japan 1940-1945 and USA (South Vietnam) 1955-1975.

4. Which countries were responsible for colonisation of the African continent? Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and Italy.

5.  Which 8 countries were responsible for the occupation of China in early 20th century? Britain, US, Germany, France, Russia, Japan, Italy & Austria-Hungary.

6. Which countries were responsible for colonising and almost annihilating the Red Indians in North America? France & Britain.

7. Which country colonised and almost annihilated Aborigines in Australia and New Zealand? Britain .

8. Which are the member countries of G7?

 United Kingdom/Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan & USA.

And now the million dollar question...

9. Why are the G7 members see China as a threat even though China is the only major nation on earth that has never invaded or occupied another country?

 Ego or fear of retribution ?🤔

G7 is concerned about China. When there is a superpower sensing it is losing its footing, it will not go away quietly. Dragged down but still kicking and yanking all the way, and at the same time rousing for support from the boot-licking countries.

Economically, China has already overtaken everybody. The other areas include military, financial centre status, education & research leadership, cultural/social leadership and influence on world affairs. 

Right now, the world is kind of governed by these bodies in varying scales of influence: G7, G8, G30, OECD, World Bank, NATO, IMF, United Nations, WHO, NAFTA, Asean, etc.  You can lead it, be in it or fund it. Developments over the last 20 years have seen changes in importance and the rise and fall for certain member countries.

Our present competition for global leadership would not result in just a sole country like previous instances. Before it was more an industrial advantage, which allowed for A country to dominate and conquer. Now everything has flattened out. Exports are globalised, markets are globalised. Global trade has grown enormously. Inter-dependency is very high. Global logistics links and supply chains are very precious and established.

Hence economically China will be more than number one. It is not going to be just in numbers, but economic colonisation will be deeper (and has already started via buying of important big companies globally). Belt & Road initiative is just a phrase for soft economic colonising of developing countries. The economic and financial reliance will ensure China's influence and "control over commodities and natural resources" in other countries.

The fight before was who had the industrial edge, then military edge... now with a flattened earth... who has the consumerism edge. You need India and China as they are the biggest consumers now. The last 30 years have seen the greatest movement of low income/poverty class to a mushrooming middle class in China and India. That in itself is the greatest economic tale of the century, and has underpinned their future dominance in many areas (esp for China). 

Psuedo Canto Movie Titles (Updated with Answers)

Most must have watched Douglas Lim's hilarious take on putting Canto-slang translated English to movie franchises. My kind of twisted sense of humour. So here's my contribution... see if you can decipher their Canto-slang meaning of these movie titles:

ANSWERS:

Sei Lun Ngang

Hai Lutt

Chi Seen

Hum Kar Chan

Hum Kar Ling