Good Bye Michael Jackson

1958-2009

Michael Jackson, aged 50, passed away suddenly on 25 June 2009 at his rented mansion in Los Angeles, a few weeks shy of his sell-out come-back concerts in England. He was a music icon, one of the most successful solo artists of all time. Despite his weird life, one cannot help but take notice of his revolutionising of the music industry. His natural dancing, song-writing and singing talent as well as an incredible showmanship brought boundless joy as well as inspiration to all his peers and fans. He transcends cultural boundaries well before Tiger Wood, Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama.

Who could forget his contribution and participation in "We Are the World" all-star concert in aid of famine victims in Africa? His "Thriller" album, about 50 million copies sold worldwide? His "Moonwalk"? His "Black or White" video which registered the highest viewership rating for Fox television in the US? Tributes from those who were close to him, the like of Liza Minelli, Diana Ross, Elizabeth Taylor, Quincy Jones, Deepak Chopra are testimony to the man's character. All the negative portrayals about him seem hollow.

I will always remember Michael Jackson for his music. He lives on in my memory.

My heart goes out to his loved ones.

From a Grateful Patient

Appreciation with flowers



I had a pleasant surprise this morning when a basket of orchids was sent to my clinic. The message is simple "Budi Baik Dr tetap dikenangi" or " Your Good Care will always be Remembered". This gesture really makes my day.

I hardly know the lady but I give my best to all the patients who value their health. By the way, though I sensed that she was different from other patients, I did not know that her husband owns several companies. I treat all my patients, wealthy or poor, equally.

This is the satisfaction working with patients who appreciate you. Thinking about it, don't we all need to be recognised some time?

Stock Market Sale is Starting......

As expected the rally at the stock market is short-lived as it is not driven by fundamentals instead by sentiments probably by news of possible economic recovery especially in the US. There were also talks about the entry of foreign funds being parked in our market and this it seemed had pushed up the prices. At the height of the rally KLCI had reached 1090, the rise was too fast and too soon. I am not surprised that many investors will be selling-off, contributing to the downtrend (translated by fear) and signaling the start of the needed correction.

Investors are taking a breather now and will be looking at the depth of this downtrend, is it a "V" or a "U"? Some will be taking this opportunity to get some bargains, some will take a longer time to snap up the stocks and some will continue looking and by the time they realize it, the prices are too high for them to afford. No risk no gain, now, in which group are you in?

Savvy investors will look at contributing factors and historical data and of course, the companies' fundamentals before they dive in. Yes, if you do not have time to monitor the stocks, please just stick to unit trusts and leave the excitement to risk-loving nerds!

Looks to me the stock sale is just starting but unlike the departmental stores' sale where shoppers come in droves, you will notice that the shoppers (investors) will tend to stay away from this sale. They instead will stomp in when the market is selling at rising prices... greed is sticking out a mile! I am going to visit this deserted market.....

Medical Musical Chair.. Where Do I Stop?

She was about 53 years old and as she came in she looked rather apprehensive. She could not speak the local language well and the story goes like this. She had recurrent headache and blurring of vision for a number of months. She finally saw a doctor who promptly diagnosed high blood pressure and prescribed her a medication and asked her to come in a week to review her response.

She came back right on the appointed date and was seen by another doctor who decided to change the medication and asked her to return in a week's time for review of her condition. She dutifully turned up at the clinic only to be seen by yet another doctor, who after taking her blood pressure, added yet another drug and asked the patient to come back in another week's time to check on her condition.

She then landed in my clinic with much trepidation and confusion on her face. I read through her notes and decided to engage her. She understood when told that her condition required daily medication and the drug was to be taken regularly on time to derive its effectiveness. It seemed that she did not understand this and had not been explained earlier. She ended up not taking the drug, any drug at all as she felt dizzy especially when she took the second drug! And Her blood pressure was still high.

The buck stopped here, I almost blurted out... for first timers, it is advisable to lie down about 10-20 minutes after taking the drug and do it for 2-3 days till you are used to its pressure-lowering effects. You have to take the drug daily at scheduled time and not as you like, e.g today at 7am, tomorrow at 12 midday and the following day at 7pm!

After much explanation and with the help of an interpreter, she was given a once daily drug and told to take at the same time everyday. She must come back in two weeks time and see the SAME DOCTOR! If she did not take the medication as instructed, it was not a good idea to see a doctor, any doctor for that matter as it would be a waste of time. Doctors and patients form a natural partnership in the management of patients' medical conditions. Good interaction will go a long way in patient care. Lack of communication defeats that purpose and prolong unnecessary suffering.

A Blue Collar Trader... Looks like me, Sounds like me.. but...

It's heaven on Earth!

Having been aware of the need to create wealth some years ago, I decided to be financially literate by learning things outside of my profession. After calculating my income minus taxes and inflation rates and projecting it to a number of years in the future, I found that I could not sustain my life style in retirement if what I did was only regular saving in the old bank. Despite my saving affinity, I discovered that the increased saving through compound interest, an amazing factor in itself, would still fall short of my expected financial requirement at that golden age eventhough I would actually not be too badly off.

I love my profession and would not dream of doing something else. I was already thinking how to multiply my income without leaving my profession, at the same time I was not about to do double job or moonlighting. Other income-generating business related to my profession would also be deemed unethical. How then to make money work for me and not me working for money all my life? That question had, inadvertently, brought me onto the road of wealth creation. Apparently the same question was posed by Robert Kiyosaki, the author of the book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" and look how fabulously wealthy he is now.

I started off with the safe capital protected unit trusts,then progressed to variable priced funds and finally graduated to the risky stock market through purchases of IPOs (Initial Public Offering). At the start of my "adventure", I chose my stocks haphazardly ( listening to rumours etcetera) and due to the then bullish market, I made money regardless. No hotshot fund manager was advising me. Then, one day, I finally grew up after the Asian stock market crash, as one of the companies I invested in was put under PN4 and has since been de listed from KLSE, and what a disastrous loss it was! That financial debacle taught me a lesson. I realise how important it is to know the companies well before you invest in them. I now invest only in those companies with strong fundamentals. I learned to read financial reports. Balance sheet, income statement and cash flow were all Greek to me once.

Lacking in investing skills and engaging the services of financial consultants are a hallmark of a blue collar trader who actually doesn't regard trading as a major source of income and who deals generally with low-risk investments such as mutual funds to get extra income through dividends and bonuses. On the other hand, I have a diversified portfolios and different asset classes and I am not really risk-averse as a blue collar trader is... I like risk as that is where the thrill is.

On reflection, yes I am an investor, on most occasions, I buy and hold stocks ,applying dollar cost averaging and making my money work for me 24/7 . In the meantime I am enjoying doing what I am qualified for... enough for my pocket money.

Be Optimistic and Stay Healthy and Live Longer.

Glorious Sunrise!


Do you know that our outlook on life can impact our health in terms of feelings of well-being, quality of life and even longevity? Some of us are born pessimists but do not despair because we can change this through some self help strategies. Shifting from this dark side would need us to become aware of our pessimistic ways that influence how we think and feel, ...... Eureka!

The followings are some steps we can take:

■ Refocus our perspective
Everyone has ups and downs. Just because something goes wrong, doesn't mean we're doomed to fail. Refocus when our thinking is clouded by negative thoughts.

■ Look for the good in life
Try this in situations we might normally feel depressed such as losing at the stock market, look at the loss as an opportunity to learn more about tactical investing and to be more vigilant.

■ Be grateful and savour good times
Take stock of what we have to be grateful for. Gratitude can help us focus on what's good in our life. Cherish the time when all is well - those memories can be invaluable when times are rough

■ Look for pleasure in small things
Find simple pleasure in everyday things, like sitting and talking with a friend, sipping a glass of cool fruit juice or reading a good book.

■ Practice random kindness
Reaching beyond ourselves to treat friends and even strangers with unexpected kindness not only enriches them, but it also can help us feel better.

■ Reconsider our pessimism of others
Constantly thinking or talking in a pessimistic or critical way way won't help solve problems and can dampen our mood and the moods of those around us. Reduce the frequency of discussing issues (or even bad gossiping) that irritate us instead try challenging ourselves to look for the positive aspects in things we dislike.

All these remind me very much the Obama speech to the Muslim world two weeks ago at Al Azhar University in Egypt.... we are here together on this planet earth, but for a brief time!

So be optimistic, stay healthy and enjoy our life on this wonderful earth intelligently blessed by Nature for our survival.

A rAlly in A BeAr MarKet?

The current rally in the stock market has given a lot of joy to some investors but several market analysts have cautioned against aggressive engagements as the economic fundamentals and export data are not yet that encouraging, though US job data in first quarter 2009 appear to point to a recovery. Some people opined that stock market precedes these data by three to six months... hard to believe unless you have been studying the market trend under different circumstances over the years... Warren Buffet's domain!

Some stocks in Bursa Malaysia have outperformed the market, rising rapidly from their 52-week lows by large margins. While other low beta stocks are underperforming and tactically safer to purchase now and keep for the longer term. The KLCI has gone over 1060 well below Fibonacci Retracement target level of 1080 at 38.2% according to a recent survey by Malaysian Business. So what do a minnow investor like me do? First I have missed the rally... now I have to wait for that predicted fierce selling-down..... fear and a wee bit greed?... But, hey, remember this is an all-weather investment strategy and not for short-terms gain... so no sleepless nights, thank you.

The same situation is apparently happening in the US, the current stock rally seems to be resilient despite the uncertainties of the market recovery. Fund managers said they were bullish and yet nervous at the same time. The rise in stock prices seem to defy logic and some market watchers have expressed concern whether it is now nearer to a point where smart money is getting out and dumb money is rushing in. Investors taking a short position have to be cautious because buying stocks at this stage may not achieve your desired risk/reward ratio. A rally in a bear market is exciting but small investors , especially, will need to monitor market behaviour very closely lest they lose their investment at the blink of the eye!

H1N1 in the UK... now sustained community spread

In the UK , the government now accepts that what it terms "sustained community transmission" is now taking place.

This is characterised by an increased number of sporadic cases with no identifiable link with other confirmed cases

The government estimates that the UK has enough anti-viral drugs for 50% of the population but has plans to raise that figure to 80%.

The above BBC report confirms the inevitable. As expected, H1N1 flu pandemic has now been declared by the World Health Organization (WHO).The virus has gained the upper hand and swept the world relentlessly, thanks to the easy travel and work/social gatherings. Look like we have to accept the reality that nature has an intrinsic balancing mechanism. Just like the spread of HIV in the early eighties, the virus is said to have originated from that Dark Continent and has now spread all over the world. The mode of transmission is through blood and infected secretion/body fluid and people have to learn how to protect themselves.

In most infectious diseases, there is a spectrum, from the mildly infected to the most severely infected, like the Gaussian Distribution in statistics. Whilst most people will build antibodies to the virus, some will unfortunately succumb to the disease. H1N1 is no difference.

H1N1 is transmitted by droplets when one sneezes or cough... you'd better take precautions like turning your back to people who cough, no handshakes with people who sneeze, wash your hands regularly especially after touching common things like door knobs, work computers. Do not touch your nose with your dirty hands or gloves. Do not sit in the train or bus facing people, do not be in a crowd and keep those masks handy!

Fortunately the virus is sensitive to current antiviral drugs (oseltamivir and zanamivir).

So if you return from London on that plane and found to be feverish with cough, and later confirmed as suffering from H1N1 influenza, the whole plane will be quarantined! ...... We have yet to detect H1N1 cases infected via community spread in this country... but the writings are on the wall! As our neighbours are not as "frenzied" as us...

H1N1 pandemic declaration appears inevitable!

Protect yourself... wear a mask

The World Health Organization will hold an emergency meeting of experts on Thursday 11 June 2009 to discuss the spreading H1N1 flu outbreak, in a sign that the U.N agency may be poised to declare the first pandemic in more than 40 years.
There have been 27,737 cases reported in 74 countries to date, including 141 deaths, according to the WHO's latest tally.

Confirmed community spread in a second region beyond North America would trigger moving phase 6, signifying full-blown pandemic, from the current phase 5 on the WHO’s 6-level pandemic alert.

The above Reuter report sounded urgent ,as already, Hong Kong has reported its first cluster of cases of H1N1 contracted through community spread! And the ICU cases in Australia are severe enough to warrant some kind of fear among the public and heighten global awareness. It seems people are canceling their air travels causing huge losses in the airline and tourism industries. WHO however clarifies that the raising of the full alert (pandemic level) has everything to do with geography (more countries are reporting H1N1 cases) rather than severity of the disease.

Indeed throughout history, humanity is often humbled by the microscopic virus. Some people, perhaps due to certain underlying conditions, seem to get the severe forms of the disease. We have to be overcautious when we are dealing with something new.... see, humans have never encountered this particular "designer" virus before so we have no immunity against it.... we are waiting anxiously for that special vaccine to be produced!

In the meantime, protect yourself by practicing good personal hygiene, cough into a tissue, wash your hands and wear a mask in specific areas.

Missed the train...

There appears to be a rally at the stock market for the last eight weeks or so. In fact I detected it in early April but did not do much about it eventhough I posted in my blog telling people to go for a walk at the market! I was busy buying the low risk BNM Bond (sukkuk)! Looking at the trend now, I would say I have missed the train... as Alex of nexttrade says it is now a "stoopers' " market! Most of the finance stock has gone up by almost 100% since early April...too high to go in and have to wait for the correction which I doubt will go down to the pre-April figures.

Sometimes in this wealth creation activities , you have got to trust your gut's feelings and not your head! ( very unprofessional expression!). And of course you need to expand your risk taking and read about those economic reports from US and China to look at the recovery following the global financial meltdown in October 2008. Reading of relevant blogs would also help you gauge the market's behaviour and directions. I am very thankful to these bloggers who are kind enough to share with us their market analysis.

Incidently, the relationship between USD performance and trend in KLCI is worth pondering... so I will be trend-monitoring the exchange rate of USD to make my moves on my SIME shares and will try not to miss the next train...

Stamp collection.... a dying hobby?

Commemorative stamp
Malaysia-China Diplomatic Relations


Hobbies are something you enjoy doing and may come to regard them as a form of relaxation. Besides reading, stamp collection has been my hobby since primary school. I used to keep the stamps received via letters sent to me or my friends. In fact I used to have penpals from Burma, the Philippines, UK and Singapore and we exchanged , what else but stamps. I supposed in this digital era, stamps are no longer ubiquitous as they used to be. And they will become rarer by the day.

Current modes of communication by SMS, e-mail,fax and handphone with 3G and skype, are gradually pushing the stamps into antiquity! Letters and documents are now mostly sent by courier service and even if they are sent through ordinary mail, they now use the franking machine, that sterile chop which replaces good old stamps. No wonder kids nowadays hardly know about stamp collection. To enable you to collect stamps now you need to register as a member of the philatelic club established by Postal authorities and need to pay upfront for the stamps which they issue regularly. This itself acts as a barrier for kids to collect stamps.

I arrange my stamps according to subjects, such as birds, fruits, marine life, insects, science/technology and according to countries. I used to get many foreign stamps during my official and personal travels and from colleagues working with the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF as they traveled to many countries and would get stamps from those countries for me. Now I get foreign stamps from a specialty shop in the capital city. I am particularly fond of stamps from China. They are designed beautifully with interesting subjects and are printed on high quality paper, unlike years ago! Some of their stamps , especially those on animal zodiacs fetch a high price on the market . Special edition UK stamps are also my favourites.

Whenever I want to relax, I will look at my stamp collection... yes, a thing of beauty is a joy forever.

PICORP.... what is happening?

An Early Bird Gets a Fat Worm!

This morning a close friend rang up excitedly that he was disposing his Picorp shares at 0.42 sen per share.. what's the hurry? The stock had actually gone down to 0.26 sen this week and I had been unhappy as I bought a lot of the shares more than 18 months ago hoping to capitalise on its growth rather than hike in its share price. I bought at 0.41sen and when it reached 0.80 sen in the middle of 2008, I did not sell!! Told you .. I am not savvy.

Before I bought TM shares two weeks ago I did check Picorp and I did not like what I saw... but my friend was buying in large numbers at 0.30 sen, then it went down and down and I was smiling , congratulating myself for not adding some more shares to my bloated stock... then this happens, the stock is climbing up wildly... what is happening? Small investors' gathering and playing... I do not like this and anyway I congratulated my friend on his lucky streak... must belanja ok?

Picorp is the only first board listed company which carries out environmental works on a large scale and it has contracts in the Middle East as well thus my trust on the company all these long months...

Diabetes Cure .... Penchant for Direct Selling Products.

Sugar... sweet yet deadly?


An elderly couple came in yesterday looking extremely anxious and sad. The husband, about 60 years old virtually hobbled in and sat unsteadily on the chair. Looking frail with that greyish tint around his face, he complained of general body weakness as well as pain and numbness in both his legs and hands. Both legs appeared,skinny ,dry, darkish and marked with multiple ulcers in various stages of healing.

Old record showed that he had been diagnosed as suffering from diabetes for some years back but had defaulted regular follow up. To make matters worse, he was also a heavy smoker. He misplaced/lost his diabetes card on several occasions and when asked why he did not come for his regular review, the wife quickly answered that they had been busy. She spoke too fast with her eyes looking everywhere except at me.

On examination, it was noted that he had lost sensation on his feet and hands. His pulses (dorsalis pedis) on both feet were absent. His feet felt cold due to lack of blood coursing through. In short, he is sufffering from two of the complications of uncontrolled diabetes, that is, blocked small blood vessels and damaged peripheral nerves supplying his feet and hands to some extent. Under these circumstances, tissue death and gangrene will gradually set in and amputation of affected legs is inevitable.

Medical jargon refers to small blood vessel damage as vasculopathy and peripheral nerve damage as neuropathy and his blurring of vision due to damage to blood vessels to the retina is known as retinopathy. And most likely his kidneys are also damaged by the same process and this condition is known as nephropathy, a condition preceding kidney failure.

It happened that the wife was an agent of a direct selling product which claimed that it could cure diabetes and the husband had been taking the product for some time. In fact the wife had previously been promoting her products to some of our patients by claiming that the husband had then been cured of diabetes since using the product and no longer had any need of doctor's medicine and monitoring! Now those patients were mocking her.

His blood and urine tests showed up excessive sugar and the wife whispered that her husband's urine smelled like "animal's urine".... and could anything be done to save his legs?..... What could I say ?

My Favourite Flowers

Magnolias

I love flowers for their beauty,fragrance ,shades of colour and varied and unique petal arrangements. Flowers are a part of natural propagation scheme through pollination by bees. The brighter the colour, the more fragrant it is, the better is its chances of being propagated. Flowers add colour and a sense of vibrancy to the environment, exuding freshness and joy to those who would stop and appreciate this wonder of nature.


Jacaranda
It takes me back to my student's days in Queensland, Australia when the purple jacaranda bloomed in the spring time , it was time to "swot" as examination was just around the corner! The road to the university would be covered in purple and there I stood transfixed, admiring those intricate flowers. I also recall the bloomings of sakura or cherry blossoms in Japan which brings so much joy to the people.

The wisteria is another wonderful and elegant flower, its lilac bunches are not
only pleasant to behold but very fragrant as well. In fact the best selling perfume by Evelyn and Crabtree is wisteria. It has got such a magical and fresh scent that I am never bored wearing it..... simply sublime!

World Milk Day on 1st June... aRe YoU CeLeBrAtInG?

Today is World Milk Day! The day when the whole world comes together, every year, to celebrate the goodness of milk since 2001. FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation ) of the UN (United Nation) is instrumental in creating greater awareness of this important global food source.

Milk is one of the most nutritionally complete foods. It is the best source for calcium and vitamin D, nutrients essential for building strong bones and teeth. It is protein-rich and great for building and repairing body tissues. Studies have shown that milk, when consumed as part of a healthy balanced diet provides several health benefits including lower risk of cardiovascular disease and lower risk of colon and breast cancer. No wonder, in Hindu culture, the cow which produces milk, is held sacred.

There are people, especially elderly post-menopausal Asian women who complain of abdominal pain, bloating and diarrhoea after taking milk. In most cases, this unfortunate condition can be overcome if you take milk every day in small volumes. This is to enable the enzyme lactase in your gut to be slowly reactivated so that your milk digestion would return to normal. Normal milk digestion will prevent the above symptoms so that you can fully reap the health benefits of MILK.

Lactase activity is usually low in the gut of non-milk drinking people, making them intolerant to milk.. do not despair, you can try the above gut sensitisation exercise.... if after four to six months, it still fails, go see you healthcare provider as your lactase enzyme might not be there at all.... but this should not be an excuse for you not to celebrate World Milk Day!