ASEAN Snapshots

My professional activities takes me to many of the countries in ASEAN and this is a region where I have immense interest in. ASEAN stands for Association of South East Asian Nations, and comprises the countries of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. So far, I have been to every ASEAN country except for Myanmar (a point I hope to remedy very soon :).

I came across this other chart, which I thought was very interesting and gives a snapshot of ASEAN's economic matters. I will add more ASEAN related charts to this posting later.

Check back regularly for more info ...

Life Lessons from an Old Boardgame

I came across an old board game recently. It was a game I played as a child. It was called "CAREERS" and distributed by Parker Brothers. Any of you remember this game?

Fig 1

Fig 2

Looking back at the objectives of the game, it struck me how close to real life it is, and what some of us might have subliminally learnt while playing it. At the beginning of the game, all the players need to decide on their "Success Formula" (or what they envision to be the meaning of success for themselves). The Success Formula is made of three components: money, fame and happiness, and the total should equal 60 points. For instance, a player might decide to have 30 Money points, 20 Fame points and 10 Happiness points (30+20+10=60). Another player might go for 10 Money points, 10 Fame points and 40 Happiness points (10+10+40=60). And so on.

This is what the score sheet looks like ...

Fig 3

Then the game begins, and the players toss dice and move their counters around the board, picking up or losing points in different ways. There are also Experience and Opportunity cards that the players draw when they land on certain squares on the board. The winner is the one who first achieves his or her Success Formula.

As a child, I played this game without thinking too much about what it meant. Now having gone through five decades of life, I appreciate how close to reality this formula (albeit simple) is. Some people value money above most else, and have focused on accumulating as much wealth as they can. Others want the limelight and strive to achieve fame at all costs.. Fame and fortune ... what more could one ask for? Yet one can't help noting that some of the richest or most famous people aren't necessarily the happiest.

The basis of the Careers game, and of life in general, is that it's all about maintaining a balance. Over-emphasis on one area at the expense of another can lead to dissatisfaction and misery. How much money does one need? How much fame? And how much happiness?  We may not really write down our Success Formula of our real life, but I'd guess if probed, most of us have some implicit balance that drives us each day.

What do you think? Do share your views.

Great Dates This Year

From the title of this post, I suspect some of you readers are thinking of other things. Now, now ... don't let your imagination run away with you.

I'm referring of course to calendar dates, many of which have been quite interesting and special in this year 2011.

This posting will examine some of these dates ...

First there were the dates containing all 1's

1st Jan 2011 (1.1.11)

11th Jan 2011 (11.1.11)

1st Nov (1.11.11) and

11th Nov (11..11.11) ... this one is seen to be especially auspicious.

Then there were the so-called "binary dates" - binary meaning 1 and 0, as anyone with a bit of computer knowledge knows. So these dates were

10th Jan (10.1.11)

1st Oct (1.10.11)

10th Oct (10.10.11) and

11th Oct (11.10.11)

Then there were what I like to call "double barrel" dates, which mirrors or repeats the numeric sequence in an interesting way, like

11th Feb (11.02.2011) 

and two days ago, it was 20th Nov (20.11.2011)

Dates like 11.1.11, 11.11.11, 11.02.2011 are symmetrical dates, because you can read the digits from left or right. Sentences with the same properties are called palindromes. Some famous ones are "Able was I ere I saw Elba" (supposedly said by Napolean after he was exiled to the Island of Elba) and "A man, a plan, a canal, Panama" (about the  chap, Ferdinand de Lesseps, who developed the Panama Canal) ...

But I'm digressing. We were talking about calendar dates. Dates have been studied by astrologers, historians, numerologists, and feng shui consultants over the ages. I'm not a believer in any special significance of these numbers, but I realise that a proportion of the world's population do, and mass behaviour have a certain way of making things happen. Those of you who dabble in the stock market will know something about this ...

Anyway, whatever the date, have a nice day.

Football Diplomacy

Now THIS is how neighbouring countries should settle their differences .... in a Football Match !

Last Saturday in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, a friendly match was played between government officials from Cambodia and officials from Thailand. The teams were made up of Thai and Cambodian politicians. The Cambodia team was led by premier Hun Sen while the Thai team was led by former Thai premier Somchai Wongsawat. A 50,000 strong crowd assembled to watch and support the match, which was held to showcase the improving ties between the neighbours.


In his pre-match speech, the Cambodian premier Hun Sen said that "the nightmare era" between the nations, who engaged in deadly border clashes earlier this year, was over. "Today is a historic event in Cambodia-Thailand relations," he proclaimed.

PM Hun Sen led his side to a 10-7 victory in the match. Look at the man kick ...

Hun Sen, wearing a red number "9" shirt, smiled broadly as he scored his fourth goal in the final minutes to loud cheers.

The cordial game came just a week after new Thai premier Yingluck Shinawatra made her first official trip to Phnom Penh, quickly followed by a visit from her brother Thaksin, a close friend of Hun Sen. Ties between the two nations have warmed significantly since Yingluck's July election win, backed by her sibling.

Under previous Thai leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, the border row, which centres around the ancient Preah Vihear temple complex, twice escalated into heavy fighting this year, prompting Phnom Penh to take the dispute to the United Nation's highest court. In July, the Hague-based International Court of Justice asked both nations to withdraw military personnel from around the temple, which both sides have heeded.

All this reminds me of another sport being used in high-profile diplomacy. Back in the 1970s, the exchange of ping-pong (table tennis) players between the USA and People's Republic of China led to the thawing of diplomatic relations. This so-called Ping Pong Diplomacy paved the way for President Richard Nixon's historic trip to China in 1972 and the much-publicised meeting with Chairman Mao Tse Tung.

Yes, indeed sports should be used more to cement ties between neighbouring nations. I say "Play on"  ....

Asian Superstitions

Growing up in a Chinese family in Malaysia, I can't help being exposed to many Chinese superstitions that some of the (usually) elder folk in the family may believe in and caution us against. I still remember a few of these superstitions and beliefs drummed into me by aunts and uncles ... and I'd invite you to share what you recall from your childhood years.

Anyway here's a dozen that I recall .... some may not be entirely accurate or even correct ... after all it HAS been a long time since I heard them and the old grey cells are getting a little bit rusty. Hehehe ...

1.  You should not point at the moon ... if you do, you risk your ear getting sliced. Yikes!

2.  You should not pee in a banana grove ... if you do, you may see ghosts and spirits.

3.  No cutting of finger or tow nails at night ... I'm not entirely sure of the repercussions. I think the clippings will either attract spirits or be stolen by spirits

4.  When lying on your stomach (e.g. while reading), you should not raise your legs ... Doing this risks  your parents' deaths. Woah ... serious this one!

5.  Pregnant women should not sit on the edge of a bed and sew ... This risks the backside of the to-be-born baby being sealed. Ouch ... not a good thing!

6.  Pregnant women cannot make use of a hammer and nail ... this risks miscarriage.

7.  A cracked mirror brings 7 years of bad luck.

8.  If you look through a "poon kee", you can see spirits.

9.  When sweeping the floor, the broom must not touch anybody as it will bring bad luck to that person (or is it to the sweeper? I forget ...)

10.  When moving to a new residence, it is advisable to cook a pot of rice and bring this with you to the new house. This ensures you will always have food to eat at the new place. Certainly not a bad thing.

11.  During meals, one should not stack up the empty plates ... Doing this, you will have no end of debts. (Aiya ... like that, how in Japanese sushi restaurants?)

12.  When eating rice, don't leave any uneaten grains on the plate ... if so, will have pock marks on face ("mopeng" is the word, I believe).

Well, these are twelve superstitions I remember being told about. Share what YOU remember. I'm sure there'll be lots more. Over to you ...

The Dark Side of the Mooncake

Today is the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhongjiu Jie), also sometimes called the Mooncake Festival or Lantern Festival. This is a popular harvest festival dating back over 3,000 years to the Chinese Shang Dynasty period. The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese calendar, which is sometime in September or October on the Gregorian calendar. It also corresponds with the Autumn Equinox when the moon is supposed to be at its fullest and roundest.

During this Mid-Autumn Festival period, many Chinese and Vietnamese are likely to consume a lot of delicious mooncakes.

These days, the mooncakes come in all sorts of interesting flavours ...

and shapes ...

There is also a story you might have heard about the role of mooncakes in a Chinese uprising against Mongol rulers (during the Yuan Dynasty) in the 14th century. In this tale (which I'm not sure is fully supported by historical facts), the mooncakes were used as an early form of e-mail ... the "e" being "edible" rather than "electronic" .LOL.  Anyway as group gatherings were banned, it was very difficult for the Chinese to make plans for a rebellion. So one bright chap called Liu Bowen (from Zhejiang), who was a confidant of the rebel leader Zhu Yuanzhang, suggested timing the rebellion with the Mid-Autumn Festival. He applied for and got permission to distribute thousands of mooncakes to Chinese residents in the city to bless the longevity of the Mongol emperor. Apparently the Mongols did not eat mooncakes, so inside each cake distributed was concealed a piece of paper with the message "Kill the Mongols on the 15th day of the eighth month". And on the night itself, the rebellion was successful and the Mongols were overthrown. The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) was thus born.


Like everyone else, I like my mooncakes too. My favourites are tau sar, ling yun, single or double yolk and the ones with mixed nuts. Yummmmmmmy ...

However doctors and healthcare professionals have always been cautioning against over-indulging in mooncakes. They say that a small mooncake may contain as any calories as a bowl of rice! As mooncakes are generally made from flour, sugar and butter, one egg-yolk filled mooncake weighing about 60 g can contain up to 270 calories. That would take an averaged sized person about an hour to walk off, says a nutritionist friend of mine.

A health report from Taiwan that I read also noted that aside from moon cakes, many people also celebrate the festival by eating barbequed and processed meat, which are high in calories and sodium. Eating too much of such foods not only led to weight gain, but consuming more sodium than is recommended on a daily basis could also strain the kidneys and the cardiovascular system, the report said. Some health bureaus in China advised people to consume only moderate amounts of moon cakes and where relevant to substitute meat for vegetables such as mushrooms and green onions when having a barbeque. Pomelo, another traditional Mid-Autumn Festival food, is also recommended because of its high vitamin C content. The fruit is also known to lower cholesterol and decrease risk of heart disease.

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Well, having shared all that, I must say it's only once a year and so long as we don't go overboard with stuffing our faces with mooncake, it should be fine ... tau sar, ling yun, double yolk ... here I come !!!!

HAPPY MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL !!!

Presidential Election in Singapore

On the heels of the exciting General Election in May, Singapore is now having a Presidential Election.

There are four candidates standing for the post.

From left to right, you can see Dr Tan Cheng Bock (a former MP), Mr Tan Jee Say (an Investment Banker and former senior civil servant), Dr Tony Tan (former Deputy Prime Minister) and Mr Tan Kin Lian (former CEO of NTUC).

Yes, by some strange coincidence, it is a battle of the TANs !

Today is polling day, and the polling stations closed jut a few hours ago.

It will be interesting to see how the results unfold ...


THE RESULT

Singapore's 7th President ...