Properties from a feng shui perspective: Part 140
By David Koh and Joe Choo | May 14, 2010
Land and people
Old Klang Road is quite anachronistic when it comes to naming conventions. Locations along this road are still referred to using the Imperial system of miles. Yet, it seems quite the natural thing to do since the road is “old” by name.
Thus far, our tour has taken us up to the Fifth Mile. The most recognisable landmark would be the Pearl Point integrated condominium, hotel and shopping mall. (For Google map reference, please log on to http://maps.google.co.uk/ and search for “Kuala Lumpur”.)
There used to be a sawmill here, too but only the old-timers would remember it. Like many other sawmills in town, this was sold when the supply of timber from surrounding areas ran dry.
Back another mile or so is another well-known but defunct landmark, the giant Green Spot signboard, which also marked the location of the Amoy Canning factory. This was one of Malaysia’s oldest manufacturing and distribution companies, dating back to 1954.
It was founded in Xiamen (formerly known as Amoy), China. The company relocated its headquarters to Hong Kong in 1938 and expanded its manufacturing facilities to Singapore and Malaysia. The famous Green Spot sign was to trumpet its status as a contract manufacturer of the orange-flavoured drink from the US. Green Spot was then a famous brand (it was around since 1934!). Today, it has fallen out of favour and is mostly sold in Venezuela and some South-East Asian countries.
Amoy Canning’s Hong Kong business was sold to the Danone Group in 1991 but the Singapore and Malaysian businesses are still owned by the family of its founder.
KLANG RIVER
This stretch of Old Klang Road is close to the Klang River, and the river curves away to form a convex bank to the land here. From an environology perspective, this is not an ideal location.
As earth energy travels across the land, down from the hills, it will be blocked by rivers. At the riverbank, this energy has nowhere to go except under the river, sideways along the banks or backwards. This energy runs only down to a depth of 10 metres or 30 feet, so not too much get across. Even so, properties on the surface of the other side do not benefit unless they have pilings deeper than the riverbed.
The energy that is reflected and deflected is weakened. This is a more gentle and homogenous and this form of earth energy is the most conducive. If the riverbank is shaped in an embracing concave, the energy will be pooled. This is good. If the bank is a convex, the energy is dispersed. This is not good.
Thus, buildings at this section of Old Klang Road are not located in an ideal spot compared to other parts of the road. Those located to the west of the road, facing east, are not ideally oriented simply because they face high land with the river behind them, too.
In such circumstances, the better orientation would be south, to follow the river’s direction. Conversely, north is not recommended as it goes against the flow of the river. The river’s direction is important because properties are like fishing traps set in the river. Those facing upstream will collect debris flowing down while those facing downstream will not. Properties collecting “detritus” from upstream will be rife with discordant mental energies: the occupants will be under a lot of stress and make poor decisions.
COMMON THREAD
The practice of facing downstream is applied in practically all cultures and many of the practitioners may not even be aware of it. They will quote their authorities as saying a house should face east, or south or whatever, and then argue with other practitioners over who is right and “better”, not understanding that the basis for these directions is the river!
In China, most if not all, rivers flow from west to east. Hence, the teachings say “face east”. In ancient Babylon, the advice was to face east or west, simply because there were the Tigris and Euphrates rivers on both sides. You may also notice in India, the auspicious direction also parallels the Ganges River. The ancient sages understood this principle and basically taught it from their respective geographical perspective. It is the so-called modern “practitioner” who blindly parrots their teachings without deepening their understanding, who cause all the confusion.
We see a lot of these characters today, some even making headlines and attaining celebrity status. They do not fully understand the principles and cover the gaps in their knowledge with fanciful stories and theories. None in their audience would challenge them due to their stature. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king, as the saying goes.
Across Old Klang Road, properties that face west towards the river are better off. After the intersection with Jalan Kuchai Lama, there is Plaza Prima, followed by some warehouses, factories and industrial buildings. There are several petrol stations, too. The road then meets the intersection to United Garden.
Although they have their backs to the hill and face the river, the benefits of such an orientation are muted. First, as we mentioned earlier, the river is a convex which disperses rather than focuses the earth energy. Second, the plots on which the buildings are built are sized irregularly, forcing the buildings to adopt very odd designs or layouts.
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It may not be possible to enhance the good sectors and diminish the bad sectors in buildings that are oddly shaped. - Bloombergpic
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LAND AND PEOPLE
For example, Plaza Prima is rather peculiarly shaped and this affects its ability to capture and retain energy from the landform and movement of people. If you were to divide a building into a 3x3 grid, you will get eight boxes surrounding a centre box. Each outside box represents a compass direction and of these, four are good for a particular Gua, and four are bad.
In a typical building, we should enhance the good sectors and diminish the bad sectors. This may not be possible in buildings that are oddly shaped. Sometimes, the main entrance is set in a bad sector. Sometimes a good sector is missing altogether because that corner was trimmed off for aesthetic purposes. This would impact the energy profile of that building and subsequently the performance of its occupants.
The scope of our articles is limited to an observation of landform and its impact on properties and people, so we will not go any further into that.
Turning into United Garden, one is met with a sea of people and cars. This is a busy place indeed! United Garden is actually quite old and predates even Jalan Kuchai Lama. Old establishments are good for showcasing the impact of landform. Some places are considered run-down because they are old and in desperate need of redevelopment. Yet some other old places are still vibrant and happening.
Jalan Sepadu, the main road leading into United Garden (sepadu is “united” in the Malay language), is actually a valley located at the foot of the hilly United Garden.
STEEP CLIMB
Right off the intersection, Jalan Sepadu 5 and 6 already make a climb to service some apartments. The gradient is steeper further in. This hilly terrain is yet another talon in the “claws” of the “dragon” – they are the terminating branches of mountains from the Main Range.
We saw other talons from this cluster previously in Kuchai Lama and Taman Desa. The close proximity of these protrusions also means that the slopes are rather steep and the pocket valleys in between are very small. This is a tricky landform indeed.
Properties here, located between Jalan Sepadu and Jalan Kuchai Lama are mostly built on slopes and along curvy roads. Those that face downhill are likely to be very conducive for their occupants. This orientation puts the backs toward the hill and thus shields the occupants from strong oncoming earth energy pouring down from the top and ridges.
However, the opposite uphill-facing properties are bombarded head-on by these energies. This is likely to be overwhelming and may negatively impact the occupants.
The curvature of the roads also plays a role: an embracing concave road is more conducive than an elbowing convex, provided the embraced properties are facing the curve.
Even among downhill-facing properties, one can notice disparities in terms of the properties’ conditions, upkeep and outward affluence of the occupants. This is likely to be due to the occupants’ personal Gua, derived from their date of birth.
If the property, its main entrance and other factors suit the main occupant, and he or she is in the right type of occupation, his fortunes will be greatly enhanced. Deviations from any of these factors will lower these benefits.
There are several shop houses along Jalan Sepadu. These are generally doing very well, especially on the north side. These face the road (valley), follow the Klang River’s direction and have a high back. Shop houses on the opposite side are also facing the same valley but their direction goes against the flow of the river. Thus, success may come at a price for mental distress, indecision and poor decision-making would be a bane.
(Next week we will covering United Garden in Old Klang Road)
*This series on feng shui and real estate properties appears courtesy of the Malaysia Institute of Geomancy Sciences (MINGS). David Koh is the founder of MINGS and has been a feng shui master and teacher for the past 36 years.
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