By DAVID KOH & JOE CHOO | Aug 17, 2009
Peak of the Game
Properties from a feng shui perspective
The I Ching, or Book of Changes, is a remarkably interesting tool for forecasting changes. Over the past few weeks, we have been applying it to Parliament House, the seat of the Malaysian government.
Parliament House is represented by Hexagram 64 or “Wei Chi” (Before Completion), derived from its date of inauguration and north-south orientation.
Based on this hexagram, we can plot out changes over a period of 45 years. Each broken line represents six years while an unbroken line is nine years.
Thus far, we have observed four periods of change. The fourth period, spanning 1984 t0 1993, was a testing time for the country and its leader. Indeed, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad went through a challenging time on numerous fronts, including an internal challenge for the leadership of UMNO.
His early industrialisation and modernisation projects failed or faced struggles. Indeed, we were hard put to find positives from this period.
Having “survived” this, Dr Mahathir went on to enjoy his golden age in Period 5. The fifth period in any hexagram is always considered the peak period, signified by the “emperor” or king of the hill. For good or bad, he was at the top of his game in Period 5.
According to this hexagram: “six in the fifth place means: perseverance brings good fortune. No remorse. The light of the superior man is true. Good fortune.” That says it all, really, for in this period, Dr Mahathir faced challenges. Yet, his sheer determination saw him through to success.
Period 5: 1993-1999
The original hexagram has undergone five changes by now and takes on the character of Hexagram 22 or “Pi” (Grace). This period would last six years. The bottom trigram is “Li” (the Clinging Fire) and its element is fire. The top trigram is Kên (Keeping Still) and earth.
“The Judgement: Grace has success. In small matters it is favourable to undertake something.” Grace brings success but it is not the essential thing; it is only ornamental and should be used sparingly and in little things. In the lower trigram, a broken line is sandwiched by two unbroken lines. These lines are the essential content and the broken line beautifies it.
In the upper trigram, the top unbroken line is the decisive factor which is beautified by the two broken lines. For example, think of the strong sun, made more balanced by the moon and stars. “The Image: Fire at the foot of the mountain: the image of grace. Thus does the superior man proceed when clearing up current affairs. But he dares not decide controversial issues in this way.” The fire which illuminates the mountain and makes it pleasing does not shine far. Beauty serves to brighten and shed light on matters of small importance but not big issues. These require greater earnestness.
FORGET ABOUT NICETIES
Combined with the original hexagram, Period 5 is a time to be strong and persevere, with little regard to niceties, so to speak. While grace and beauty may be nice to have, they are only reserved for trivial matters. For really important matters, these can be dispensed with if necessary.
The year 1993 is well known as the year when Paul Keating, as Australian prime minister, called Dr Mahathir “recalcitrant” although he probably meant “intransigent” for skipping the Asia-Pacific Economic Caucus (APEC) summit.
There was no shortage of rhetoric by Dr Mahathir against the United States, Israel and Australia. The prime minister was also an outspoken sympathiser of the plight of the Middle East and Muslim East European ethnic groups, especially those persecuted in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1995.
Neighbour Singapore also received the short end of the stick, with issues such as the price of raw water, the use of Malaysian airspace by Singapore Air Force jets, the sovereignty of the railway line crossing Singapore, constantly straining ties between the nations.
Thus, despite being a small country, Malaysia’s profile was raised by the strong decisiveness – even stubbornness – of Dr Mahathir.
Continue Your Reading : Peak of the Game : Part B »
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