THE Year of the Fire Rooster starts crowing with uncertainty at 11.36pm on Feb 3, 2017, replacing the volatile chatter of the Fire Monkey.

Will the year be better? Will it continue to “cluck” with conflict and are there more wealth opportunities as the Fiery Rooster lays more golden eggs?

First and foremost, despite the continued uncertainty and volatility that will be the backdrop for the year, Datuk Joey Yap, the founder, CEO and master trainer of the Mastery Academy of Chinese Metaphysics, is assertively calling a “buy’ on Malaysia.

“We cannot have things both ways. People want cheap assets, and they also want the economy to be good. How can that be? That dynamic doesn’t exist. In the long run, if you want to buy cheap properties or assets, isn’t this the time? When deals are good, it’s cheap, and you are in for the long run; and what was previously unavailable becomes available, you should buy,” says Yap.

Also, the rooster is a “wealth star”, so there are in fact many wealth opportunities this year.

“Politically people are jaded. But actually there are a lot of opportunities, because its just the ‘door of delusion’ star deluding people,” he says.

The main features of the Fire Rooster year is scarcity and rising competition. When you have “metal chopping wood”, its a “winner takes all” mentality.

“So basically, benevolence and loyalty cannot exist at the same time,” says Yap.

It’s a good year to make business decisions – good or bad.

Sectors to watch

Now, the three strongest elements for the Fire Rooster year are metal, water and fire.

As earth is non-existent in the chart, this makes it the weakest element of the year.

Property is represented by earth. This shows that property prices won’t be appreciating anytime soon, which isn’t a bad thing as it’s now a great buy opportunity.

“You can’t flip property. No one is going to buy from you. However if you are one of the big boys or looking for land, this is the time,” he says.

Meanwhile, the “fire sector” represents sectors such as the oil and gas, technology, food and beverage, electric and electronics. This means that the heavens will be helping to prop up oil prices, along with some advancements in the tech sector. The “metal sector” is another which will do well, and is represented by the automobile, finance, jewellery and iron ore segments.

Water is meanwhile represented by tourism, trading and transport, wisdom related fields and moving industries. These sectors will also thrive.

Yap also likes the palm oil sector. With the water element being on top of the Bazi chart, this indicates good rainfall. As furniture is represented by wood, and the wood element isn’t particularly strong this year, Yap sees it performing just averagely.

Lifestock companies are looking favourable, especially if there is no foul-related illness come June.

Earth also represents resource and thoughtfulness. So this year, there is a lack of tolerance and patience. People act without thinking things thoroughly. They simply say things and cause problems for everyone else.

For Malaysia specifically, as it was formed in 1957, which was also the Fire Rooster year, this particularly means that Malaysia has a very unique relationship with the year. It’s not necessarily better or worse, just that Malaysia will feel more of the effects of the Fire Rooster compared with other countries.

In Malaysia’s qimen chart, Yap says there is a “door of delusion” which indicates energies of not stating the obvious, or not saying the truth. Hence many people are delusional. Things aren’t as bad as it seems actually, says Yap.

“We have a ‘door of harmony’ star, which indicates volatility. There are lots of trading opportunities,” says Yap.

He sees the “harmony deity” in Malaysia’s chart indicating continued partnerships and collaborations.

“So this is an indication of continued foreign ownership of corporate Malaysia. Perhaps the Chinese will continue to invest,” says Yap,

Nonetheless, there is a catch. The earth element in the destiny chart is hidden – meaning there is hidden movement. There is earth leaking of capital out of the country.

This means that there are investments coming in, but there is also hidden money going out. So on paper it looks good, but the real scenario could be quite different.

So what do you do?

“We should play along. Go with the flow. This is a great opportunity to buy, especially if you are in for the long run. A lot of people with resources are shopping right now,” says Yap.

Insular economics

As a whole, Yap says that last year, it was a fire counter metal formation. There was excessive fire countering a little bit of metal.

This year it is excessive metal chopping that little bit of wood.

Furthermore, the rooster’s yin fire is in “seven killings” – which means regulations.

“People in power are reacting. They want to change the rules. There will be more regulatory changes,” he says.

The metal element is all about protectionism.

“And unlike what people think, protectionism isn’t just in the western countries. China is also going to do the same. For all the superpowers, the theme is protectionism,” says Yap.

What about the economy?

Yap says fear dominates.

“When everyone is so fearful, the prospects aren’t as good. While it is better than last year, where the numbers tell you so, but people don’t feel that way,”

“There is excessive metal countering the wood. Wood is the wealth element. This means that there is a lot of competition going after the same money and resources. So therefore people don’t feel this growth,”

The good news for South-East Asia is that it has a “chief star” which means that its downside is insulated.

“So for this year, holistic thinking and thorough thinking is very nescessary. Don’t be reactive. Don’t suddenly change the rules because something happens. Be abit more tolerant,” says Yap.

Now for the good news, the yin fire and the yin metal – together they form the hexagram of Dui.

In picture form, that represents a Wu lou.

In ancient days, that represents medicine. So when we see this sign, we expect some medical breakthough, or some innovative way to do healing taking place this year,” says Yap.

As for America, Yap says that it has the “ambassador” and “life door” star. Life door represents wealth and ambassador also represents money.

“This means the economic outlook is strong, and the outcome will be positive for financial markets. Trumponomics actually works, at least for this year,” says Yap.

There is the presence of a “black tortoise” though, which in layman’s term, means “proxy” or “cronyism”.

Hence with Donald Trump at the helm, coupled with a “black tortoise”, Yap sees the oil and gas, banking, utilities, construction, industrials and consumer discretionary doing well.

He does not foresee the healthcare, consumer staples and telecommunications thriving this year.

Heavenly grain

As for China, there are two stars. One is the “heavenly grain” which means assets and land. while the other is the “death door” which represents properties, assets, large companies and corporations. Death door also means the end of something to start something new.

“This means that President Xi Jinping might do something drastic, such as stringent measures to control the currency outflow. I say this because we see the surging snake in the corner.

“So we can expect the Chinese government to do abrupt and wide-ranging economic changes. The surging snake also means cementing control and deliberate control of idealogies and inferences. So China will be consolidating its position and enlarging its reach in South-East Asia,” says Yap.

“We have the ‘chief’ and ‘envoy’ stars in South-East Asia, which are favourable stars. The outcome is good and not as damaging as we think it is.

On this note, he does not see the ringgit weakening much further.

On a more positive note, he says South-East Asia has a good formation – called the “Jade maiden guarding the door”. This means that the region may see some sort of cultural glory, scientific or technological advancement and breakthrough.

“So South-East Asia may grab the headlines in the arts, sciences, medical or sports,” says Yap.

Interestingly, based on the qimen chart, Singapore, which is a “yin wood” may shift its economic policy closer to China, which may impact the overall dynamics of the region, adds Yap.