Ushering In Lunar New Year - Rush Hours

It was a last-minute rush for new-year shopping amidst the rising festive mood. I spotted this rush-hour scene at Premier Departmental Store, Sibu where the jostling crowds queued up at the payment counters.

There seems to be a lot of excitement in last-minute rush for festive shopping.

A Reunion

Hock Lai just came back from Russia for Lunar New Year. I was delighted to learn about it and, over the phone, invited him to Premier Hotel for some chit-chat over teh tarik. He brought along Chiong Ngieu, a long-time buddy, for some heartwarming moments. Then, all of a sudden, we spotted Toh Chiong passing by in quite a rush. Hock Lai called Toh Chiong in to join us for a tea time.

We had got a lot of topics to blah-from Perak's MB to Adorna Properties case. It was a warm reunion.

The Next 14 Days!

If you think the following striking message makes no sense to you, then just cast it aside.


ACT NOWIf you think the last 14 trading days have been tough, my friend, you haven’t seen anything yet.
The next 14 trading days could make you 50% richer or 50% poorer, as Wall Street reacts to barrage of negative economic reports that are coming next week.
Mark my words—if you fail to adjust your assets accordingly, as I’ll show you, you could lose more money in 2010 than you lost in 2008.
However, if you simply follow our lead, you’ll profit handsomely—no matter what happens in the overall market.

The picture shows the big bikers in front of Premier Hotel getting ready to move on.

Dollar & Other Currencies

If you are very concerned about the prospects of the dollar, then the following news is definitely relevant to you. Star economist Nouriel Roubini put forward his views and Dan Weil reported on them yesterday for the concerned investors.


The dollar’s recent rally, which has taken it to a six-month high, will soon fade against Asian and commodity currencies, says star economist Nouriel Roubini.Commodity currencies include the Brazilian real, Canadian dollar and Australian dollar.He anticipates a 15 percent to 20 percent drop by the greenback against these currencies in the next two to three years.And what will cause the move? “I see anemic recovery of economic growth in the U.S., and the U.S. current account (deficit) is still very large,” Roubini, a professor at New York University, said at a Moscow conference, according to Bloomberg.“In the next two or three years, the dollar has to weaken further on a trade- weighted basis.” As long as commodity prices remain high, countries whose economies are based on commodities will see their currencies rise, he says.As for the U.S., “There’s going to be better economic news for a couple of quarters due to temporary factors, such as restocking, fiscal stimulus, and base effects,” Roubini said.“In the second half, economic weakness is going to reappear again. On a trend basis, the dollar has to weaken.” If Roubini is right about the dollar dropping versus the renminbi, the U.S. will benefit, hedge fund legend George Soros told CNBC.“It would help by making U.S. exports more competitive to China, but also would help to introduce an element of inflation in the U.S. In the current circumstances that would be very helpful.”

The picture shows some big bike travellers who were on 21-day touring Borneo Island last year. The group stopped over in Sibu for one night and stayed in Premier Hotel. When riding through the town, the team was escorted by two traffic policemen.

Why Go To Church?

Ho Hua sent it from faraway Australia for me to muse over the weekend. Share it with your friends if you like it. Personally I have been very much touched by the message.


If you're spiritually alive, you're going to love this!
If you're spiritually dead, you won't want to read it.
If you're spiritually curious, there is still hope!A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. 'I've gone for 30 years now,' he wrote, 'and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.'This started a real controversy in the 'Letters to the Editor' column. ; Much to the delight of the editor, itwent on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:'I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this... They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, Iwould be spiritually dead today!'When you are DOWN to nothing....God is UP to something!Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible!
Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!All right, now that you're done reading, send it on!!!
I think everyone should read this! When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say,
'Jesus, could you get that for
me...... while I forward this message to your children?'

The picture shows the newly extended The Masland Methodist Church, Sibu. Photo: David Ling

See You At 8,800!

Ellen Chang has an exciting stock analysis to share with us. Take some precious moments of yours to read through.

The market could see a huge correction in a few months, says Dan Cook, senior market analyst at IG Markets.Investors are not buoyed by positive earnings reports, he says.“There’s still a lot of confusion in the market. We’re looking at a pretty positive earnings season overall, but as we saw (recently) it was basically ignored due to political conflicts and we’re likely to see more of that,” Cook said.Cook predicts there to be a 20 percent to 25 percent correction in the markets by April or May.“It wouldn’t surprise me to see a range of 8,800 to 9,000 on the Dow. There are a few individual stocks I like, but sector-by-sector, I’m definitely more bearish than what I am bullish,” he told CNBC.

The picture shows our lovely Sibu.

Sibu In The Blue Ocean - Part 51

In response to Councillor Robert Lau's views on the next developmental cycle for Sibu, Tan Kee Hian offered his personal opinions in respect of the points being raised. Kee Hian's reply was posted to MPI Forum Website. I reproduce it herebelow for the benefits of more of my readers.


Robert,It's really good to see your article, sharing your personal dream and vision for Sibu. Chang Yi (Sarawakiana2), among others, has posted many excellent ideas and comments, and she must have felt rather "lonely". Rather than comment directly on your thoughtful ideas now, I hope your article provides further encouragement to those who have logged on to this blog to also contribute their own ideas and views. Of course, I hope more people will log on to this and Tony Hii's blog as a result of the interesting postings. To those you are shy, rest assured that there are no right answers and no one has the monopoly of good ideas. I do want to comment on the final sentence of Robert - "All the above industries require plenty of capital, time, energy and the willingness to take risk. Can Sibu take up the challenge?" I don't think Sibu has any choice but to take up the challenge. From where we (Sibu) are today, a sunset city/town, business-as-usual will undoubtedly take us beyond sunset, towards oblivion! The risk to the citizens of Sibu, of doing nothing is far greater than any risk associated with change. To me the challenge is not in finding the right ideas and strategies, but in mobilising the leaders of Sibu (from business, political, community, religious, etc) to step up to the plate. I am confident we can succeed if we have with the right leadership and the political will. How can we encourage those people in positions of power, influence and financial wealth to create a brighter future for Sibu? What can we do to motivate them to get out of their comfort zone? I believe the citizens of Sibu have voiced their concerns with the current trend, and nothing much have changed. I have now made three public attempts in the last 12 months to "stir the pot" and will raise the temperature further. Trust me to do it! We also need ideas on how to mobilise resources for Sibu. This need not necessarily be restricted to people currently in Sibu, but includes people living and working outside Sibu - anyone who cares about Sibu! Regards,Kee Hian

The picture shows a light moment we were sharing with Tan Kee Hian at Cafe Palmelia of Premier Hotel. Picture: Liong