3/3/10 CHAIRMAN MAO.....you makes me much determine!

When I was in MyLowerSecondary, one of MyFavorte subject was History. I love the subject when come to the Study of World Leaders: Carl Marx, Ho Chii Minh, Fidel Castro, Lenin, Jose Rizal, etc was among MyFavorite. I used to sketch their image to decorate my book particularly that of Mao, Ho Chii Minh, and Marx. At that age, in fact I don’t really know the reason why, they became sort of MyIdol. Is it due to their struggle to liberate their people from the misery of poverty or for their stand as a hardcore nationalist? Accordingly, I have also been wondering why did Prophet Muhammad adviced the Muslim to Study even if they have to go to China. China, the Nation, the Country, I have just been following thus far merely from reading and others narration.

Last night I couldn’t sleep well. I forced myself to sleep by 2100 hours, without my normal reading schedule. I didn’t silence MyHp, in between the struggle to sleep and the half asleep nature, few SMS came in, but I ignored those. Nonetheless at about 23.30 hours the beep of two SMS woke me up, and one of it came from ER in Jakarta and the other from MI in Kuala Lumpur, both are my good friends. I tried hard to get back to sleep, but I can’t, thus just walked out of my bed room.

(3) I decided to read, and a book titled: Bersama Mas Pram, A Memoar Dua Adik Pramoedya Ananta Toer. A book about the hard life of Pram’s Family during the occupancy of Indonesia by the Dutch. It is about Pram and his brothers struggle to regain the Maruah Bangsa through writing. I spent the rest of the night reading.

(4) At 0430 I left home for the airport. I was later joined by two other friends: Kadir Materang and Mr. Lee. We have a mission to meet few potential Chinese Investors in the Property and Food Industry Development particularly on Cattle, Cavandish, and Rice. I was checked-into the Business Class, which I never like. In fact I hardly travel on Business Class unless too necessary. Whole through the journey, there were only two passengers in the cabin, me and another older lady a distance away. I felt really lonely, and uneasy. The later two SMS began to crop up and disturb my mind. ER SMS sort of confirming all these while my expectation of her, but still, I prayed that I’m wrong. My worried, as I have said in few of my earlier articles, that some people just can’t see how Allah had answered their pray and given them the chances to move on with their life, but they refused to understand or realise those. In most instances, they just used the Hajat, Tahajjud and Istharah prays as their excuses of not able to take a courageous stance on their life matters (unless really confronted). They just can’t decide due to their prejudice of their past. To me, and I’m pity for ER in particular, sometimes these are signs of either of one’s Inferiority or Superiority Complex, worst doing things without realizing those are just an escapism.

(5) For MI, whom had been struggling hard to deny her attachment with me, in fact, I had fore warn her on such long time ago. One just must not deny the inner true feeling of their heart and mind. Doesn’t matter how much we pray to Allah, either in our Wajib or Sunat course, Allah will just leave it to us to decide, because He has bestowed part of His authority by giving us the brain and heart for us to decide. To me it is rather down grading His authority to expect Him to decide on all small petty matters including those which I would considered as Personal and Private. Allah has made it clear, if we choose the right lane, happiness (heaven) is our reward, and if we choose the left lane, misery (Hell) will wait for it course. There is nothing in between. Just take left or right. Do or don’t! The end reward is Heaven or Hell, nothing is grey!

(6) The two SMS really disturbing me. Luckily I’ve Mas Pram with me as well as the sweet smiling Nadia, the stewardess who keep checking on my need from time to time which sort of really encroaching into my ‘need’ to be alone and quite!. Mas Pram put back MyMind into my original course. The life history of Mas Pram, his failure in his struggle to help his poor-misery family, his broken marriage, his stubborn stance on how to fight for the Maruah Bangsa through his writing despite all those would just sustain his misery and hard life. Mas Pram, remind me to remain struggling ahead, fighting ahead for the course of a true love to the nation, in serving Him right. Failure in personal love(s), is (are) just a test to move into a greater beauty of greater love: the embrace of the Nation, the People, His Blessing.

(7) We landed at KLIA at 0730 hour, then move quickly for next boarding to Ghuangzhao at 0930. The flight to Ghuangzao takes about 3 hours 30 minutes. It is a smooth flight. I just spent the whole journey between asleep and continue coiting with Mas Pram. This time I took MyFavorte Economy seat.

(8) We landed at Ghuangzao airport by 13.30 hours, and as anticipated, Ghuangzhao with a population of about 15 million people, the dense populated feeling is immediately reflected at the airport. Long que of passengers to get through the Immigration Check Point. A huge, modern, simple, a nice structured airport. We had to use buggy to move around at the airport. I notice, the Chinese ladies, the new generation are nice built, tall, slim, nice figure. On average, I would guess their height is about 5’4”-5’6” with the younger men generation mostly are taller then me: 5’7”. I suspected they must have good access to high calcium foods: milk and fish. Since we had ample times, we went for a Real Native Chinese Food. We passed by a Fruit Stall, God, lousy Pisang Emas cost RM20.00/Kg. Same goes with Nangka and Pineapple.

(9) I ordered Black Salted Duck Egg, nice Chinese Mixed Vege, and Black Bean Steam Fish Head. A bowl of real nice Soft White Chinese Rice. Those are not really Native Chinese Food, since pork would never be in my order! I had hard life to get pork out of every serving meal. My eyes can’t get away of some hanging ducks and goose, but I have to refrain, as those are not Halal. As for the drink, the fruit juice drink, there are really expensive. I just asked for Cucumber Juice, and that even cost me RM12.00/glass!

(10) We then boarded South Chinese Airline at 16.30 and fly off inland to Changsha in the Hunan Province. We landed at 17.30, then took a nice drive on great Highway to the City. Again the Changsha airport is a nice, large, simple, modern airport. Changsha is the top 20 Economically Advanced City in China. The temperature is about 20 degree. From the airport we rushed to Down Town to have dinner with Mr. Yu, and thereon Mr Yu took us to stroll along the 10 KM of XiangJang River Front. This is a real creative Walkway development with lots of nicely organized Chinese Rock and Water Gardens. Some Plaza for all sort of public activities serves to break the long green and colourful landscapes. There are also numerous ‘Foot Reflexology Walking Path’. The Walkway really serves as a buffer between the Highway and the 1000 KM long XiangJang River. The nice cool breeze around 15 degree makes the night feels so wonderful and really remind me of the winter-spring breeze of the Rocky Mountain air. Most important the Water Front looks real clean, safe, and really a place of celebration.

(11) Gigantic White Marble Uncle Mao Tze Tung statue stood tall on the opposite of the River. The statue resembles him at his 40s. He stood there to commemorate his place of study among the Universities right behind the statue. This region is now the Changsha Higher Learning Hub. Hunan is Chairman Moa birth State.

(12) Today 12 March, after the simple breakfast, we met Mr Yu at of his wife’s restaurant at about 10.30 hours. After explaining the Property Project that we want him to consider, we then make a short stroll in Down Town. At 12.30 we have lunch with Mr. Yu and his key staff at another restaurant where he used to treat all his special quests. It is a very interesting restaurant setup with lots of private 10 person one table rooms setting complete with settee and television set. Being among the new young (age 48 years old) billionaires, Mr Yu, has to entertain two to three lunch and or dinner at a go: he seem to be an ‘eating’ billionaire to me. He has to entertain especially those key personnel of the Government. We later have a reflexology which cost us only Y150.00 for three of two hours service, real cheap, real great.

(13) There are mushrooming of new millionaires and billionaires in China. The whole Country is in the process of rebuilding. Infrastructures, utilities, public places, housing, etc construction are mushrooming all over the megacities. All these Projects are of mega-scaling and worth multi-billion of fortune.

(14) At 16.00 we met the Key Management Officials of MyLand Corporation headed by Mr Yu. Here we further elaborate on the various Development, Marketing Management and Financing Models of the Project. Conceptually, we are looking at Asian Cultural Mixed Development Model. Well they seem to have great confident on the Project. Some further details will later be workout especially when it involve huge outflow of Fund from a Controlled Economy like China.

(15) After quick simple dinner we took a drive around town. We went to see the New Train Station Terminal just outside the City line. It’s really a large, modern, well organised Terminal. The Terminal serves as the Hub for inter-cities Bullet Train Services. Though has not completely built, I could see the Terminal will integrate all the supporting public transportation system: buses, taxies, etc. Najib probably should come and see how China had wake up from sleepy-misery past, and transforming herself fast and smoothly into a modern superpower.

(16) On the way back, the driver seem to loose his route so he had to get into the old settlements area. Moving around these old settlements gave me a real shock. There is a real great contrast between those well planned Apartment Style Neighbourhoods and the two to three storeys kind of old traditional living quarters, which are more like shophouses. Here the shophouses are smaller, made of red bricks, red tile roof, built on winding narrow streets, with improper alignments of public utilities. I assume, lives here 40-60 years ago must be very miserable. The people misery had given birth to Mao Tze Tung.

(17) With big and fast growing population (700 million n 1940s), now I could visualize the frustration of the Young Moa over the fate of his people if something drastic and courageous not immediately done. I could see, now that how he dislike the American Influence that rooted among the Chiang Kai Sek (Kuomintang) regime in trying to improve poverty-misery of the post-WWII. In the past, the feudalistic emperors and or monarchies had ruled the country with great greed and monopoly of the Country wealth, and now after the fall of such regimes, it seem the ‘help’ of the American to oust the Japanese from China, had made the Chang Kai Sek to owing too much to this Supper Power. I believe, Young Mao may had seen the Nationalist-Democratic ideology of the Kuomintang was just a mere puppet of the American who represent the Greedy West in their conquest of the Eastern wealth in pursuit of their Industrial Revolution.

(18) To Young Mao, the post-collapsed of the Feudalistic Emperors, the Japanese Occupation, and now the coiting of Kuomintang with the American are just the same greed and monopolistic system of depriving the mass peasant poor of their right to enjoy better lives despite the richness of their State. I assumed, based on such believe, he adopted the Socialist Ideology and accordingly modified those to suit the Chinese requirements. He waged war (Long March and Cultural Revolution) among his people as a mean to unite them into his believe and vision of a Greater United China. The ‘suffering’ inflicted onto the people made them to be loyal to their Country and be proud of just being Chinese. Mao, I believe, promised the Country to his poor peasants, and that promised to this day made his people look at him as the God State. Today, I would say, without the birth of Mao in Shao Shan, Hunan Province, an agrarian State, a poverty-misery State, and without his courage to be a ‘devil’ and the enemy of the west for decades, China would never be China of today.

(19) The shadow of Mao, had given the present people in power all the determination just to bulldoze the past, and move faster and smoothly into the greater future. All over Changsha, I could see cranes are erected high in the sky, bulldozers roaming the ground, armies of Blue Color Workers sprawling every corners of the earth, creating a real City In-construction Scene, thus collective all these gives them the two digit economic growth. There will just be growing that way, I would forecasted for at least the next 5-10 years.

(20) Mao Tze Tung, a real nationalist, a reformist, a hard headed, visionary political-genius. Without Mao, China is nothing! Thus, Muhammad was correct to tell us to see China, to learn from them on how they would continue to influent the past and future Human Civilization. Razak had led us here 35 years ago, and now his son, Najib should learn more and fast, to reform our Malay society into a greater Community of the 21st Century! Clear and honest vision, courage, determination, and people-delivery-oriented politic would change the Malay status faster and better! Mahathir had one way or another emulate post-Mao way forward. Najib, I would say, the path is there to continue.

(21) Today, at 10.00 hours, after breakfast we rush to Mao birth Town, Shao Shan, about 70 KM drive on the excellent Highway. After crossing the XiangJang River, all through, both left and right of the Highway were nicely landscape. The typical Chinese Landscape where rocks, water bodies, and colorfull plants lines the Highway. As we approach the Shao Shan City, the landscape works becoming much intensive and elaborated. I would say Shao Shan is being transformed into a real Garden City. Massive Landscaping works is underway. I believe, if one comes back to this City by next Spring, the whole City would just be a Heaven! The cold breeze, the nice misty distance, remnant of old Villages surrounded by either green or yellow paddy fields and vegetables farm are all the ingredient of peace and tranquillity of Mao birth Town. I could figure, in the near future, China would be the Global Centre of Tourism: Nature-based Tourism, subject the improve on their medium of communication and understanding of the various world culture-food requirements.

(22) In this sense, Malaysia could easily tape into these potentials if we could cater for their Foreign-based Educational, International Business Networking, and Food Requirement.

(23) Since it is lunch time, we have our lunch at one of Mao Restaurant. What amazing me here, the aggressive marketing attitude of Restaurant and Souvenir Shops operators. Along the Road, numerous ladies waving and yelling at passing cars to stop and patronage their outlets. There instances there just dash infront of the moving cars. They seem not to bother of their safety. We ordered the nice fried native mushroom, the fried carrot leaves, fried brinjal, soup of eggs, steam Lampan Cina, and nice-soft Chinese Rice.

(24) There after I went to visit Moa old home. A clay brick, with stray roofing, surrounded by a vegetable garden, sited on a hill slope, with nice pond on the front. The forest cover of the neighbouring hills were kept intact, and that gave the peaceful nature of his home. I believe, all this inspire him to think visionarilly for his people! Thousands of his people queing up to have a close look at his home.

(25) Later we drove back to town and went to see the mummy of the Queen of one of the Han Dynasty King, which ruled China about 2,000 years ago at Changsha City Museum. Thereon I took my leisure time to stroll the neighbourhoods just behind the back lanes of the Hotel where I stayed. These neighbourhoods, all high rise. Here, they purposely created small green spaces all over, to give the soothing effect to the neghborhood. One thing to my, I don’t see single rubbish even on the Street. Same with stray dogs or cats. Everywhere, everything seem well organised, properly managed.

(26) With all that I have observed, I would now openly congratulate Abdul Taib Mahmud, the Sarawak Chief Minister for his courage to dismantle those Pasar Ayam and Ikan of the Gambier Road, and replaced all those with Public Spaces, not only for aesthetic purpose, but more significance for the long term water supplies management purposes. Heritage preservation could easily come in later, and one must also recognise, the original Sarawak River, was once a clean river without those Pasar Ikan and Ayam, thus reverting the Bank into it original state would amount to attempting to the preservation of the Heritage!

(27) Tonight it rain in Changsha. I stroll the Street, the Fuyang Street, the longest street in the World, Changsha Man Business Street, to feel the nice cold air after the rain.

(28) The trip end with I’m taking an economic flight back, but unfortunate, my patience was really being tested as I got seat nos 30C on which immediately to my right and back are the toilets, which almost every 3-5 minutes, stream of passengers are taking turn easing themselves. While I’m enjoying the foods, I also enjoy people flushing the toilets. What a great experience. I wonder, either MAS management are ignorant or the Craft producer is very insensitive of this kind of sitting arrangement. Probably the CEO of MAS should experience this himself, and enjoy taking his meal with people buttock and the flushing of the loo right by his nose. Worst in this trip I lost my handphone and the book Mas Pram which I almost finish reading and marked all those interesting facts. This is also a journey where I can’t get a book, because all are written in Chinese. A trip, I would say a bit abnormal from the usual. Last but not least added to the ‘bucket of bad luck’, the Plane that suppose to land by 2245 hours at Kuching had to turn back to KLIA due to ‘under power’. I only safe home at 0200 this morning (15 March., 2010).

(29) Nonetheless, thank god, I was there, on that great man of yours birth place, Mao, to understand the word of your Prophet, and be determined in the course of your trust onto my existence, here, on this earth of the ‘small and sleeping’ Malays!

Changsa, Hunan, China
10-14 March., 2010