Names of Places

It will be a matter of time before the name of the town "Batang Berjuntai" will be well forgotten. Now, the name is written with a bracket after the new name "BESTARI JAYA"!!!! Apparently the new name was approved by the State Government in 2007.

In May 1966, almost 50 years ago, I reported for work at Socfin headquarters in Bangsar. The late Tan Sri Dato V. M. Hutson who was then the Industrial Relations Group Manager, carried out the customary briefing regarding my posting. He informed me.." You will be posted to Sungei Tinggi Estate, BATANG BERJUNTAI as a probationary assistant. The Company driver will take you to the estate and the journey may take 2 hours." Yes Sir was the reply. In my mind I was wondering where is this God foresaken place? I had never heard of this place!!Am I going to spend time with my "batang berjuntai "- (in hokkien .."shaking in between the legs"). Batang Berjuntai then was a one street town and there was a provision shop known as BB store where we obtained our supplies of food provisions.

How the town got its name is anybody's guess!! Probably there was a huge tree with one of its branches having a phallic shape and dangling. Anyway in those days we were innocent and the name just came off our lips without any other naughty connotations. Nowadays, the town has expanded in line with the development of the state and more people are uttering the name. So, the mere mention of the name can be the butt of jokes and may even incite sexual harassment!! And so the name Batang Berjuntai must be replaced. The authorities must have proposed several names but they chose "Bestari Jaya." Did they ever think of "Batang Bestari"?

Well, the name will taken off sign boards and be forgotten like the railway line that once connect this town to Batu Arang 100 years ago. NO MORE BATANG BERJUNTAI!!!!!

The Immortals

DO YOU KNOW ????

18 LOHANS - From Wikipedia

The 18 Lohans are also known as 18 ARHATS. It is not of Chinese origin. Originally, the arhats composed of only 10 disciples of Gautama Buddha. This was inceased to 16 and later on when Buddhism spread to China another 2 was added during the Tang Dynasty. Modern Chinese Buddhism now depicts 18 Lohans . The first paintings of the Lohan was done by a Chinese monk, Guan Xiu. in the year AD891 in Chengdu. He saw them in his dream and when he woke up he painted them. The eulogy and synopsis is too long to produce here but you can go into the internet to know more.

These 18 Lohans must not be confused with the 8 IMMORTALS (Pat SIAN).

EIGHT IMMORTALS (PAT SIAN)

Another form of reading a person's horoscope is to see who is your patron. Once, I took my late mother to Kek Lok See temple in Air Hitam. That was many many years ago before I was married. Maybe my younger brothers and sister were with us. While we were looking at the paintings and enjoy feeding the tortoise at the famous tortoise pond my mother as usual would go about praying. Now, I wish to narrate what my mother told me. She went to the alter of the 8 Immortals to pray. She took a bundle of burning joss sticks and placed one to each of the 8 immortals. She had to repeat the sequence until the last joss stick. The immortal that receives the last joss stick is your patron. My mother was shocked and almost fainted when it was Li Tie Guai. The idol depicted him as a beggar carrying a double guord. She was frightened with the thought that her son was to be a beggar.Then she approached the temple keeper for interpretation. To make her happy and to assure her all the good things the temple Ah Pek must have spun a good story line that her son would not be a beggar!!

Actually Li Tie Guai is known for helping the needy, the sick and those in distress. He became a beggar because when his soul came back he could not find his body as it was burnt. He was forced to enter the beggar's body.

If anyone of you know who is your patron is, then let's share it. If not, we try to get one for you following mother's way, not necessarily at Kek Lok Si, but at 36A!!!

Cheers!!!!!!