He's the New Face of Feng Shui

Young, English-educated and armed with an university degree. This 34-year-old spent five years as Television Asia's regional sales director but packed it in to be a feng shui consultant.

He left behind a high-flying lifestyle - Prada suits, exclusive parties, worldwide travel on business class, a sports car and a $100,000 per annum paycheck.

Before Mr Jerry Chua's stint with Television Asia - the industry magazine that organises the annual Asian Television Awards - he dabbled as a wedding gown designer, business school teacher and marketing executive with a record label.

LUCKY COLOURS

These days, he wears only green and red (his lucky colours) and instead of designer jewellery, crystals adorn his fingers.

"Something inside me wanted to do more than just achieve the typical Singapore success story as an employee," he said. So he quit his job to go deeper into a love cultivated since his school days.

"I've always been interested in the philosophy of living life, and have always read up on all kinds of esoteric stuff."

He left his sales director job last December, and almost immediately embarked on an ambitious, but intimate, project - redoing his home.

His Puay Hee Avenue family home (a four-room, single-storey semi-detached house), according to Mr Chua, needed a lot of "preventive feng shui".

He spent about $10,000 on antique furniture and crystals and worked to give his home a modern look.

Pointing to the two white hu lu's ( a calabash, symbolic of health and luck) that face his main doorway, he admitted : "I bought them in Bali.

"They're vases, and are meant to be modern artworks. "But I thought they looked appropriate, so I used them instead."

He added : "My parents were all right with me rearranging everything.

"They thought I was clearing up the place, being a good son. "The relationship between my parents became better.

And I've been receiving many requests for life reading and feng shui for offices and homes," he revealed.

Mr Chua then tried feng shui in his former office. He was retained as a marketing and business development consultant for six months.

"I rearranged the sales department seating arrangements and within one week, sales for one particular project went beyond target."

Encouraged by the successes, he decided to go full-time into this.

He took feng shui courses with Hong Kong's Master Raymond Lo and Malaysia's Lillian Too to get the proper accreditation. However, his parents had initial misgivings.

"But when they see me being so happy doing what I am doing, they let me be." Mr Chua now makes a living giving life readings ( he refused the term fortune telling ) and is branching out into giving feng shui advice for homes and businesses.

He charges $60 a session. He usually does one reading a day, but says the number is rising. And he wants to make this a long-term business venture.

He is also planning to set up a shop selling feng shui items, targeted at his English-educated peers. The root of his interest, he stressed, is "to help others".

As for it being a business, he is confident he can find a niche.

"With my business training, it will be a good bridge to the English-educated crowd interested in feng shui and life readings."

Don't call him obsessed either.

"I don't go overboard and I won't impose my beliefs on others. But if it works, why not ?"

Check out Mr Jerry Chua's website www.fengshuichua.com for more information.

Demystified for today's market

Mr Jerry Chua's confidence that the English-educated are getting more interested in feng shui is not misplaced.

There has been a noticeable increase in customers born in the '70s who are seeking advice from Way OnNet Group (www.wayonnet.com).

Ms. Tan Sok Lin, the group's manager (consultancy) revealed that in the last few years, English-educated clients have increased by 30 to 40 per cent.

The number of professionals - especially married professional couples - seeking feng shui advice was especially apparent in 2000, the year of the new millennium.

She said : "It's not so much about wealth and striking 4Ds - people are hoping to enhance career, harmony and marriage."

Mr Tay Thong, a feng shui master with 43 years of experience agreed.

"There is an increase. It's a trend now."

Mr Tay likened his role to that of a doctor's. "People consult me to find out how to fix things. Feng shui is not a superstition. Everyone from all religions can try it."

To cater to their increasingly educated clientele, many geomancy practitioners have updated their marketing tactics. A larger number of them, for instance, now have their own websites.

Mr Tay's website www.taythong.com, for instance, contains feng shui advice.

According to Mr Tay, these days, more people are concerned about their jobs and marriage.

Ms Jennifer Too, a spokesman for World of Feng Shui, said : "Because feng shui has been demystified, people now see how easy it is to use.

World of Feng Shui has its own website (www.WOFS.com, endorsed by Ms Lillian Too, the world's largest selling writer of feng shui books).

Do the young believe in feng shui?

THE New Paper talked to 25 people, under 35s working in management positions.

Fifteen believed in feng shui.

A director of an electronics multinational, Mr Kenny Lee, 30, said : I believe it, to the extent of putting up symbolic elements but I won't take drastic measures."

The 15 managers interviewed listed career as the most important geomancy concern.

Health is next on the list, followed by wealth, love and luck.

Seven were neutral about feng shui, meaning that while they believe in some elements, they are either not fully convinced or not concerned.

Four managers identified themselves as non-believers of feng shui. Mr Walter Lim, 32, a senior manager with NTUC Club, cited his religious beliefs for being a non-believer.

"But we have to be sensitive about people who are believers," he said.

However, Mr Lim does not dismiss all that feng shui has to offer.

"Like having water at home, I'll do that for aesthetic reasons, but purely that."