Segamat win title again after six years (NST 29th October 2012)

SEGAMAT lifted the women's National Basketball League title, six years after the winning the last tournament was held, after holding off the challenge of Bina Puri in the final for a 60-51 win at the Maba Stadium in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The champions led from start to finish as they ended the tournament by winning seven matches in a row following an opening day defeat to Bina Puri.

"We had a bad start but it's a wonderful ending," said Segamat coach Tai Chen Kiun. "The players did well defensively and the shooting power was much better than before. We are very happy to have won the title."

In the men's preliminary league, Westports Malaysia Dragons blew a 27-point half-time lead and fell four points behind with four minutes remaining but recovered in the last 60 seconds to edge defending champions Sarawak Firehorse 72-71.

It was Firehorse's first defeat in three matches while the Dragons improved to 3-1 after Patrick Cabahug and Moala Tautuaa each sank two free-throws in the last minute as the Dragons scored the last four points in the game.

Earlier, Farmcochem claimed their second win by beating Crouching Tiger 72-65 to leave the national junior team winless in three games. By Devinder Singh

Confucian Master from the new village (Sin Chew Daily 29th November 2009)

Over the last decades, there have only been three monologues on Confucian studies ever published in Malaysia, and his works are two of them.

In 1998, he successfully revealed the mysterious numbers in the astronomical almanac of The Book of Changes (Yi Jin). In addition, he also figured out the solutions to other mysterious numbers in The Book of Changes in 2001.

Confucian studies highly valued by international community

His Confucian studies thesis has been highly acclaimed by the International Confucian Studies Society, and countless of scholars from China are more than happy to share their experiences with him.

The Korean Confucian Studies Society is also conducting researches on his books. He has been repeatedly invited by the International Confucian and Yi Jin Studies Congress to share his thesis. His outstanding achievements in academic and views have amazed the international scholars.

During the first International Confucian Studies Congress organized jointly by Sin Chew Daily in August 2004, guest scholars from China were so impressed by his academic achievements that they invited him to discuss with them the Chinese culture and exchange their ideas on Chinese studies.
Although he is a world-renowned scholar in Confucian studies, he is hardly known in his native Malaysia as compared to other countries.

Spending half his life at the village

Dr. Shi Si Yuan has spent almost half his life at Kampung Bukit Siput, Segamat, owing to his early teaching profession at Si Pu Primary School there. Since he is leading a very simple and low profile life, all that local residents, especially the elderly in the new village, know about him is that he is a retired school principal and a doctorate holder who excels in poetry writing.

Enjoying a simple life has been Dr. Shi's chosen lifestyle. He is a scholar who has grown indifferent to fame and fortune, persistent in staying low key, emphasising simplistic life while pursuing his studies with full dedication and joy.

82-year-old Dr. Shi looks serious and taciturn with a head of white hair and solemn facial expressions. However, once he starts talking, he would speak with excessive fervor and sincerity, revealing his nature of a kind, amiable and generous old man, while his relatively thin body exudes a kind of respectable and noble aura of a well-read scholar.
Through our conversation, we discovered that his speech was explicit, concise, logical and convincing.

Spending 10 years on family genealogy

After his retirement in 1982, he spent the subsequent ten years compiling the "Shi Family Genealogy." His two monologues on Confucian studies were published respectively in 1998 and 2001, and have successfully attracted the attention of the International Confucian Studies Society. In addition, his unflagging effort in poetry writing has also made him a regular contributor of the Chinese poetry magazine and a regular award winner as well.

Dedicating his entire life to academic studies, Dr. Shi has never failed to amaze us with his vibrance and perseverance. He possesses a spirit of "getting to the bottom of things" and has vowed to penetrate the core value of his studies.

This can be proved from the way he is delving into the world of Confucian and Yi Jin studies. He is willing to spend all his time and effort until he has completely figured out the solutions to the puzzles through the verification of both theoretical basis as well as scientific evidences. His persistence in studies has allowed him to make exceptional contributions towards the academic field.
He said he was satisfied with his life as he had outlined the core value of the Chinese culture in his books for the reference of future generations.

He said the Chinese culture boasts exceptionally high intellectual and academic values and its core value could be found inside Yi Jin. However, he regretted that modern people only touched lightly on the Chinese culture without venturing further into its core value.

Against Western approach in Confucian studies

He slammed those so-called modern Confucian researchers who adopt the Western approach in Confucian studies, saying that it was not the right way of handling the Confucian studies.
He pointed out that these scholars should instead go into the Confucian studies based on fundamentals and argument basis of the Chinese culture.

Assistance from children

Dr. Shi's adherence and dedication to the Chinese culture, devotion in poetry writing and enthusiasm towards Chinese education have made him a role model among the people.
His son and daughter are currently assisting him in compiling several books which will include his literary works and researches throughout his life. (Translated by LIM LIY EE/Sin Chew Daily)

Untold stories of ancient wells and milestones (Sin Chew Daily 13th March 2012)

Translated by WINNIE CHOOI


SEGAMAT, Johor -- The familiarity of the road and scenery which we pass by every day would hardly catch people's attention. In fact, every tree and every dwelling by the roadside has its own story to tell.

There are two ancient wells of more than a century old and a milestone near the Batu Anam town centre in Segamat. It is believed many young people have not heard about their stories.
It is impossible to trace when and by whom were the ancient wells and milestones established. Local residents relied on the clear water springing up from the wells during dry seasons in the past while during the Japanese occupation, the wells became a burial ground of many innocent people.

Original conditions still remain

The wells are filled with sandy soil today and the original layer of cement on the side developed for washing purposes could still be seen. The original conditions of the wells still remain but some parts have already been damaged. The two wells might not look more than a century old to the uninitiated.
In the meantime, the milestone located between the two ancient wells is believed to have been erected at about the same time. The milestones are measured in miles, starting from the Batu Anam town centre. The first milestone has been engraved with "JB 127" with the Johor state emblem on top. The other two are "Segamat 11" and Tumang 8."

A century of history

"The two ancient wells have indeed been around for more than a century now. Both wells had already been here when my uncle was born and he would be more than a hundred years old if still alive.
"According to the old folks, the two wells already here before the inauguration of the Batu Anam town," said the village chief of Batu Anam Yang Fu You.

"In 1950s, people decided to re-excavate the wells owing to drought but discovered instead skulls and contaminated water. They later decided to cover up the wells again after a few days of excavating work," explained Yang.

"Besides, milestones are very rare nowadays. It was reported that most milestones were set up near post offices and in fact there used to be a post office opposite the milestone but was demolished more than ten years ago. These milestones were supposed to be removed earlier but have remained after we talked to the district council," said Yang.

Yang added that there were only two major streets with more than thirty shophouses in the town of Batu Anam during the colonial days. Although the shophouses were not large, many people dwelled in them.

Importance of ancient wells to residents

86-year-old Lee Hai Xiang told Sin Chew Daily he relocated to Batu Anam in 1935. During the colonial years, the ancient wells were crucial to the livelihood of local residents especially during the dry seasons from April to June, when everyone would queue up to get the water with a metal pail.
As a result of slow water pumping, people had to queue up from sunrise until sunset because of the short supply and overwhelming demand.

"The wells are about 25 feet deep. The bodies of some residents could have been dumped into the wells during the Japanese occupation.
"There was a person was stabbed by the Japanese and subsequently thown into the well. However, he was not yet dead and managed to crawl out of the well later," explained Lee.

No longer in use

80-year-old locally born Lu Zhe Sheng said the ancient wells had already been around before he was born. Everyone depended on the underground water for living, but the wells have been left unused after the Japanese left.

Lu pointed out that the Japanese soldiers would kill anyone they saw, so many people fled to the nearby forests. They only returned to the town almost a year later, and this explains why no one actually saw the Japanese dump dead bodies into the wells. No one dug the wells ever since until the drought hit in the 1950s.

Due to insufficient water supply during the drought, some might bring in water from far away places for sale in the town, at one cent for two barrels.