'Man gets and forgets...'

While waiting for the light to turn green at a traffic junction, my attention was drawn to the sticker on the car in front of me. It says:
"Man gets and forgets, Allah gives and forgives".

Meanwhile, a news report from Grozny says the once war-shattered capital of Chechnya is set to finally receive a grand mosque that is going to be the largest not only in the Muslim-majority country but Europe as well.

"Ceremony of opening is planned for October 17," President Ramzan Kadyrov told the Russian news agency Interfax today.
The inauguration will mark the first day of the International Peacemakers' Conference, titled "Islam - Religion of Peace and Progress," Kadyrov said in the report picked up by Islamonline.net.
The mosque will be able to accommodate over 10,000 people and has minarets that soar 180 feet into the air.
Within its surrounding is Chechnya's Islamic administration, a religious school, an Islamic university, a hotel and a religious library.
The mosque is tipped as the biggest not only in the mountainous republic in the North Caucasus region but in Europe as well.
The construction began more than three years ago at an estimated cost of some US$20 million, said the report.

Of right and wrong…

A story about friendship from Africa picked-up from the internet -- modern-day story-telling tool.
Once there were two boys who were great friends and they were determined to remain that way forever.
When they grew up and got married, they built their houses facing one another.
There was a small path that formed a border between their farms.
One day, a trickster from the village decided to play a trick on them.
He dressed himself in a two-colour coat that was divided down the middle. So, one side of the coat was red and the other side was blue.
The trickster wore this coat and walked along the narrow path between the houses of the two friends. They were each working opposite each other in their fields.
The trickster made enough noise as he passed them to make sure that each of them would look up and see him passing.
At the end of the day, one friend said to the other: "Wasn't that a beautiful red coat that man was wearing today?"
"No," the other replied. "It was a blue coat."
"I saw the man clearly as he walked between us!" said the first, "His coat was red."
"You are wrong!" said the other man, "I saw it too and it was blue."
"I know what I saw!" insisted the first man. "The coat was red!"
"You don't know anything," the second man replied angrily. "It was blue!"
They kept arguing about this over and over, insulted each other.
Eventually, they began to beat each other and roll around on the ground.
Just then, the trickster returned and faced the two men, who were punching and kicking each other and shouting "Our friendship is over!"
The trickster walked directly in front of them and showed them his coat.
He laughed at their silly fight.

The two friends saw his coat which was red on one side and blue on the other.
The two friends stopped fighting and screamed at the trickster saying, "We have lived side by side like brothers all our lives and it is all your fault that we are fighting. You have started a war between us."
"Don't blame me for the battle," replied the trickster.
"I did not make you fight. Both of you are wrong and both of you are right. Yes, what each one saw was true. You are fighting because you only looked at my coat from your own point of view."

A worthy companion ...

Maggi mee is a favourite item for many Malaysians travelling abroad. The more difficult the place is to get food, as one perceived, the more packets or cups of the instant noodle gets into the suitcase.
While Maggi (or probably some other brand name) is a worthy travel companion, the ‘grub’ makes convenient stock for some working abroad.
My old friend Halim, who is into his second Ramadan in oil-rich Turkmenistan, occasionally turns to Maggi even for breaking fast.
"No buka puasa outing here. If they have Pizza Hut or McD here, that would be nice. That would be enough," the ‘oil patch hand’ wrote on his blog.
For someone who has forgotten what galley food tastes like, it is no surprise that he misses Malaysian food especially during the fasting month.
"No pasar Ramadan here. If they have it too, it would not have the food that we need. Need, not want, but need.
The solat terawih are as fast as it was last year but the pak imam took a page out of some of the masjids back home - in the middle of the solat terawih, they would hold a tazkirah," he said.
My thoughts are with you, my friend!

*Located in Central Asia, Turkmenistan borders Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the southwest, Uzbekistan to the northeast, Kazakhstan to the northwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Its capital is Ashgabat.

Don’t cry wolf …

Over ‘kopi-o’ and 'karipap' after Terawih prayers tonight, a friend asked me about the false sms attributed to Bernama.
He said such act of lying, in this instance via sms, was really bad.
"Whoever the prankster is should realise that it is not funny to tell lies," he said.
After another sip of the black coffee, he said: "You must remember the story of the shepherd boy who cried wolf."
Out of boredom, the boy had shouted "Wolf" several times, just to laugh at the people who came running to the hill to help him drive away the so-called wolf from his flock of sheep.
One day, a wolf did appear and started to eat the sheep!
The terrified boy shouted, "Wolf! Wolf!" but no one believed him this time, and the whole flock was lost to the wolf.
The moral of the story is that even when liars tell the truth, no one believes them.

A story of truth well told ...

It's a surprise that after writing about "Truth well told" two days ago, I received the following story in an email.
A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat.
A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words.
He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.
Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy.
That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were.
The boy recognized his footsteps and asked: "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"
The man said: "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way."
What he had written was: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it."
Of course both signs told people the boy was blind.
But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind.
Moral of the story: Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively.
When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1,000 reasons to smile.
Great men say: "Life has to be an incessant process of repair and reconstruction, of discarding evil and developing goodness....
In the journey of life, if you want to travel without fear, you must have the ticket of a good conscience."
The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling...
And even more beautiful is, knowing that you are the reason behind it!!!

Of false, unfriendly SMS ...

In this business of truth and credibility, nothing is left unspared by unscrupulous character/s in their destructive attempts to hoodwinked the public.
While Bernama strives to relay fast and accurate information, we have had to grapple with challenges, probably, arising from our credible reputation.
Tonight, we had to lodge a police report over the spreading of false news through the short-message service (SMS) purportedly transmitted by Bernama.
The report was lodged by Bernama's technical department senior manager Abdul Halim Hafiz at Jalan Travers police station at 8.45pm tonight. The department supervises news flow on Bernama's SMS news service.
In his report, Abdul Halim said irresponsible elements had used Bernama's name to spread the false news that seven Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties would be holding press conferences to announce they were pulling out of the ruling coalition.
"I have checked Bernama's SMS news log for today and found no record of such an SMS sent," he said.


Bernama's SMS news service is only available to registered subscribers with the Maxis and Celcom cellular telephone networks through the SMS code 26822 and follows a pre-set format.
Information Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek described the act of spreading the rumour via SMS as irresponsible.
He said it showed that those responsible were prepared to lie in order to influence the people.
"This (the SMS message) is a big lie. They also gave the date for the component parties from Sabah and Sarawak to quit BN as today, which has turned out to be untrue," said Shabery.

Journey of life ...

Wonder what had made a friend hurt so bad that he decided to stop blogging for at least a month in protest.
All he said in his blog mynasir.blogspot.com was that he could never imagine the incident could ever happened to him.
"… (it) hurt me so bad I don't even want to talk about it."
I SMS him yesterday hoping that whatever reason that had made him so upset would soon be over. Now that we are in the month of Ramadan, I do hope he would be forgiving.
Before calling it a day, I went through the emails and found one that I should share out. Here goes:

"As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will.
You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time.
You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken.
You'll fight with your best friend.
You'll blame a new love for things an old one did.
You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love.
So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back.
Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin."

Truth well told...

For over 100 years, global advertising firm McCann Worldgroup has stuck to the motto "Truth well told".
In the growing marketing challenges of sustainability and credibility, the philosophy has remained relevant as it was when the company was founded in 1902.
"To tell the truth is very easy, everyone can do it. Truth well told is a challenge, it requires a deeper understanding of the products, it requires passion and a lot more," McCann Malaysia CEO Tony Savarimuthu said in an interview with the New Straits Times.
"Consumers can’t be fooled with frivolous claims. Our primary job is to advocate the integrity of truth in communications," he said.
Talk about credibility and integrity, the latest posting on Information Minister Shabery Cheek’s website today – notashabery.com deserves a pat on the back.
"Instead of being antagonistic towards bloggers the Government should be a part of blogosphere," it says.
The issue at hand was the recent decision by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to block access to a controversial website known to be critical of the government.
Disagreeing with the move, it says blocking a website violates the Multimedia Super Corridor’s bill of guarantees that there will be no censorship of the Internet.
"There are plenty of existing laws – those dealing with defamation and sedition, the Official Secrets Act and so on – to deal with bloggers and website owners who publish “undesirable” content," it added.
Stating that there were plenty of reasons that it was not only a bad move but a futile one, the article says it further alienates youths – the cyber-generation – who turn to the Internet for news and information.
So, what can the Government do?
"Firstly, it can stick by its original commitment to keep the Internet free from censorship. Backtracking from a mistake is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength.
Secondly, instead of adopting an antagonistic attitude towards bloggers – which it can’t control – it should try to engage bloggers and be a part of blogosphere. It would not hurt at all for the Government to have, for example, an official blog.
But more than that, the Government could set up a cyber-diplomacy team to deal with bloggers and news sites in a friendly and non-confrontational kind of way.
Say, a blogger posts something critical of the Government, this team could send the blogger a message to present the Government’s point of view. If the blogger doesn’t want to publish it, the team could post the response in the “Comments” section.
What if the blogger removes such comments?
Such a recalcitrant blogger is not likely to be someone that’s well-followed, and is probably not influential anyway," said the post under the heading "Cyber-diplomacy is the answer".

Turkey to host OANA General Assembly in 2010 ...

Istanbul will host the next General Assembly of the Organisation of Asia Pacific News Agencies (OANA) in 2010.
OANA president Dr Ahmad Muchlis Yusuf said the Turkish news agency, Anadolu, had offered to host the meeting since Istanbul had been designated as the European culture capital for that year.
He said this at the conclusion of the 30th OANA Executive Board meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan. The last general assembly was held in Jakarta last November.
Dr Ahmad Muchlis, who is Indonesia's Antara CEO, said the venue for the next OANA Executive Board meeting had yet to be finalised although Iran's Mehr News Agency had tentatively offered to host it next year.
He said the meeting in Istanbul would decide on the issue of subscription by member agencies as some of them had fallen behind in their payments.
Bernama Editor-in-Chief Yong Soo Heong suggested that the annual subscription be halved to US$6,000 from US$12,000 as some smaller news agencies may be facing financial constraints.
The meeting also agreed on a revenue-sharing formula for new contracts secured by member agencies for marketing news content from OANA.
Members will get to keep 60 per cent of the proceeds while the rest would go to OANA.
Formed in 1961, OANA groups 41 news agencies from 33 countries.

Globalising Bernama ...

Bernama Web TV, Southeast Asia's first live Internet news channel, has been launched by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at his office in Putrajaya.
The web version of the 24-hour news channel can be accessed from around the world at the www.bernama-tv.com website.
The new platform is another milestone for Bernama, coming exactly a year after it had launched Bernama Radio 24.
In his speech, Abdullah said the media should not be afraid of or feel apologetic in upholding the truth.
"Upholding the truth is a fundamental principle towards ensuring that justice prevailed.
"Hold steadfastly to the principle of truth because the credibility of any institution depends on how strongly the institution upholds the truth," he said.
Abdullah said the introduction of the online version of Bernama TV would enable Malaysians anywhere in the world to follow news on the country real time.
At the same time, it could enable the world community to know more about Malaysia and follow developments in the country, he said.
Interestingly, leading news agencies in the Asia-Pacific region are meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan to discuss ways to ensure the speedy dissemination of unbiased and objective news around the world.
With the theme "Information for all in the Globalising World", the 30th executive board meeting of the Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) is expected to formulate strategies to enhance cooperation among its members.
Aslan Aslanov, Director-General of the Azerbaijan State Telegraph Agency (AzerTAc) says in a contemporary world of globalisation and integration, access to unbiased information for all was a necessity.
However, he said even when inter-civilisation dialogues between the East and West had become topical as never before, there were still some media organisations that were continuing to spread biased and distorted information, sometimes to the extent of even insulting religion or national values.
"And this is nothing but an incitement to hatred and extremism," added Aslan.
Formed in 1961, OANA currently groups 41 news agencies from 33 countries including Bernama from Malaysia, Antara (Indonesia), Xinhua (China), Kyodo (Japan), Yonhap (South Korea), IRNA (Iran) and Anadolu (Turkey).
Antara CEO Dr Ahmad Muchlis Yusuf, current President of OANA, said OANA's priority under Antara's three-year leadership after taking over from Bernama last year would be to build closer relationships, starting with a programme known as internal consolidation.

The meaning of “Merdeka” …

Having witnessed the effects of war in Iraq, Merdeka (independence) has a profound meaning for Malaysian Ambassador to Jordan Hasnudin Hamzah.
"During my trip to Baghdad in April, I could see damaged buildings and roads because of the bombings," he told me by telephone from Amman.
Hasnudin is also accredited to Iraq, which borders Jordan.
Based on his experience, Hasnudin has been telling Malaysian students who are pursuing their studies in Jordan to defend Malaysia’s independence at whatever cost.
"They should appreciate those who had fought for the country's independence from colonialisation.
"I hope they will use the knowledge they obtain to fulfill our country's aspirations to ensure that Malaysia’s sovereignty, freedom, harmony and prosperity will always be preserved," said Hasnudin.
Currently, there are 725 Malaysian students in Jordan.

Rugby-inspired winning logo…

It has been revealed that the logo for this year’s 51st Merdeka celebrations was inspired by rugby, most distinctly its scrum.

Forty-eight year old Anuar Dan said he came out with the design based on his observation of the sports.
"In rugby, the players of various races interlocked their shoulders, working out strategies to beat their opponents," he told Utusan Malaysia newspaper.
Anuar took a month to produce 20 designs but eventually submitted five for the competition.
"I’m thankful that one of my designs was selected from more than 800 received by the organizer," said the Health Ministry officer.

(Utusan Malaysia photo)

Azerbaijan stresses need for accurate information...

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev welcomed participants of the 30th Executive Board Meeting of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) taking place in its capital Baku.
The holding of the event demonstrates the importance Azerbaijan places on media, he told the visiting heads and representatives of the region’s leading news agencies.
Aliyev noted that their visit was very significant in terms of delivering true information about Azerbaijan to the international community.
"Sometimes wrong information are given related with our country and this meeting is also significant from view of real elucidation of procedures in public life of Azerbaijan," said Aliyev.
Underlining the importance of professionalism and responsibility in the work of mass media, he also stressed the positive role of holding regular gatherings including trainings.
The Azerbaijani leader said the meeting on the theme of 'Information for All in the Globalizing World' was a good forum for exchanging views and experience.
He took the opportunity to highlight Azerbaijan`s economic potential, saying the former Soviet republic has been the world’s fastest growing economy over the past few years.
He said Azerbaijan has been successfully developing the non-oil sector with education and information technologies being a high priority.
He also touched upon Azerbaijan`s Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which, the President said, left over million Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs.
The Azerbaijani leader said that notwithstanding all difficulties, his country had managed to become the regional leader.

Alhamdulillah, Ramadan is here again....

Muslims in Malaysia and neighbouring countries begin fasting today at the start of the blessed month of Ramadan.
The holy fasting month also started in most Arab and Gulf countries as well as North America and European countries, according to web portal IslamOnline.net (IOL).
Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, and United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Yemen and Mauritania had announced Saturday, August 30, that Ramadan will start today.
IOL reported that the politically-divided Palestinians will be united in starting the holy fasting month on Monday after the religious authorities in both Gaza Strip and the west Bank issued statements to that end.
Sunni religious authorities in both Iraq and Lebanon announced Saturday that the new crescent was not sighted and that Ramadan will fall on Monday.
Syria's top Islamic judge confirmed that the holy month of Ramadan will start today.
In Cairo, the grand mufti of Egypt confirmed that the new crescent was not sighted Saturday and that fasting will also start today.
The minister of justice and religious affairs in Djibouti also announced Monday as the start of Ramadan.

The European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) confirmed that Ramadan will fall on the first day of September based on astronomical calculations.
The French Council of the Muslim Faith, Central London Mosque, the imams' society in the Netherlands, the imams' association in Belgium and the Islamic Center in Milan decided to follow ECFR on the start of Ramadan.
Muslims in Bosnia and Serbia will observe the first day of Ramadan on Monday, the Islamic Sheikhdom of Bosnia and Serbia had said.
Croatian Muslims will follow neighbouring Bosnia in observing the beginning of the holy fasting month.
Turkey's Presidency of Religion Affairs, the country's highest religious institution, had earlier announced Monday as the start of Ramadan based on calculations.
Muslims in Macedonia, Slovenia, Montenegro and Bulgaria will be following Turkey in observing the dawn-to-dusk fast.
Muslims in Germany, Austria, Romania and Ukraine begin fasting today based on calculations, according to Muslim organizations.
The Islamic endowment authorities in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia decided to follow Saudi Arabia and Egypt in observing Ramadan as of Monday.
Australian Muslims will start fasting Ramadan on Monday, according to the Islamic center in Canberra.
The deputy head of the Russian Council of Muftis told IOL Monday has been confirmed as the start of Ramadan according to astronomical calculations.
The head of the Islamic cultural center in Saint Petersburg told the portal that the Islamic republics of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Kirghizstan always follow Turkey in depending on astronomical calculations.
Muslim scholars in the Philippines also announced that Ramadan will fall on Monday based on astronomical calculations.
Most Muslims in China will start fasting today based on astronomical calculations.

* To friends who have sent me Ramadan greetings via sms and email, thank you. Wishing you all a blessed Ramadan that brings with it the love of Allah!

Celebrating 51 years of nationhood ...

Unity takes centre stage as Malaysia celebrates 51 years of independence today. The theme of this years’s celebrations is ‘Unity the thrust of success’.
Award-winning director Yasmin Ahmad is among Malaysian personalities who embrace unity and racial integration themes in her works.
"I think there is no such thing as a creative person. The best of artistes are those who observe," she was quoted as saying in a special article in the New Sunday Times today.
Yasmin recently won the Gold Award at the Cannes Advertising Festival for her work Tan Hong Ming in Love. The TV commercial, part of last year’s Merdeka campaign by Petronas, features an interview with a Chinese schoolboy who admits having a crush on his Malay classmate Umi Qazrina.

Commenting on its success, she said: "I think it’s the simplicity and charm that people’s hearts. I only followed God’s direction. I observed."
For AirAsia chief executive officer Tony Fernandes, the progress of the homegrown enterprise to blossom into an internationally-recognised name is proof that in Malaysia, success is there for the taking regardless of one’s ethnicity.
"I tell people that if we (the AirAsia team) could do it, then anyone can and that’s the best about this country; that it allowed it to happen," said the man whose name is synonymous with the region’s largest low-cost carrier.
"The fact that it (AirAsia) has delivered on its promise to Malaysians of enabling everyone to fly is inspiring. We set out to create a Malaysian airline, not a Malay, Chinese or Indian airline and the fact that we have done it, makes us immensely proud."

Another Petronas masterpiece...

Congratulations to Petronas for another fantastic television ad for Merdeka.
A number of friends confided that the Petronas ad for this year brought tears to their eyes.
It reminded them not to take for granted the sacrifices made by their parents to inspire them to be what they are today.
Many had to watch it over again to realize how touching and meaningful the message was.
The three-minute ad relays the message that 'patience, perseverance and hard work pave the road to success'.
It tells the story of how a father kept rejecting his son’s request to have something even for his birthday.
But the son became creative – using mosquito net to fish after the father refused to buy him a fishing net.

When his birthday request for a pedal car got no where, the boy searched around for discarded items and build his own ‘oversize’ wooden car.
Eight years later,the boy grew up to become ‘Aiman Gyver’ -- the kampung Mr Fix-it.
Along came an offer to further his studies.

Again he approached his father, still selling cempedak by the roadside, to enquire if he could take up the offer.
The father, who kept a photo of a big bike in a box, was just quiet. Then, after a while, he smiled.
"A smile means you agree," said the son.

Then the father took out an account book from the box and handed it to the son.
It clearly stated the name AIMAN BIN HANAFI with the savings amounting to RM41,718.29.
A surprised Aiman was beyond words and tearfully hugged his father.
"Thank you Dad"
Ten years later, the father still selling cempedak by the roadside, was startled when a big bike stopped by his shade.
"What bike is this?" he asked the rider.

Without saying a word, the man took off his dark glasses and pulled down the bandanna covering his face.
It was Aiman.
Smiling broadly, he told his father that the bike was "ABAH PUNYA".("This bike is yours")

While Malaysia Celebrates "Merdeka", So Does Kyrgyzstan...

Four months into his posting in Kuala Lumpur, Kyrgyzstan ambassador Zheenbek Kulubaev has many reasons to feel close to Malaysia.
To start with, while Malaysia celebrates 'Merdeka' (Independence) on August 31, so does the Central Asian republic.
"We are like brothers," he said as he spoke about plans to enhance Malaysia-Kyrgyz ties at his office in Jalan Tun Razak.

As Malaysia gears up for the national day on Sunday, Kulubaev said the celebration would also normally be held in a big way in Kyrgyzstan which gained independence in 1991 from the Soviet Union.
However the Kyrgystan government has cancelled celebration planned at the central square of its capital Bishkek this year following the airplane crash which left 68 people dead last Sunday.
The 45-year-old ambassador says he was looking forward to celebrating the Holy month of Ramadhan in Malaysia.
"Sixty-three percent of our population are Muslims and being here in Malaysia during the fasting month will be an interesting experience for me," said Kulubaev who first visited Malaysia in 2003 when he was the deputy foreign minister to attend a summit of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC).

Nation's visual arts...

The National Art Gallery of Malaysia has collected some 3,700 pieces of artworks since it was set-up in 1958. Its collection are artworks by some of Malaysia's most distinguished painters who laid the foundations of what is known as modern art in the country. Three of these works have been selected and depicted as stamps which were released today in honour of the country's arts. They are 'Semangat Ledang' (Spirit of Ledang/Syed Ahmad Jamal 2003), 'Musim Buah' (Fruits Season/Chuah Thean Teng 1968) and 'Pago-pago' (Abdul Latiff Mohidin 1965)

Enter Bernama Web TV ...

Bernama TV will launch Southeast Asia's first live-feed Internet news channel on September 3 to cater to the growing demands of a more IT-savvy and news-hungry populace.
The Internet news feed would only be between two to three minutes delay in comparison to the Bernama TV news currently available on Astro Channel 502.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is expected to launch Bernama Web TV.
The latest product expansion is to meet and cater to the greater demand by Malaysians in the country as well as abroad especially among the youth.
Making news as easily accessible as possible, the Bernama web TV could be viewed anywhere there is Internet access.
Bernama TV had gone 24 hours since February 28.

Remembering ADL ...

Sitting alone in this triangular-shaped restaurant, looking out at the junction of Jalan Semarak-Jalan Tun Razak brings back fond memories.
I remember we had to cross the busy road every evening to get to the public field at Jalan Puan for our football sessions. It was our routine for the five years that we stayed at Asrama Dr Latiff or 'ADL', starting in the year when Kuala Lumpur was declared a federal territory in 1974.
The Yayasan Selangor (Selangor Foundation) hostel has since been demolished to make way for a flood mitigation project. The sight of the bulldozer tearing down the four-storey building still haunt my mind as I had passed through the place to the office that particular morning.
But this restaurant -- K.M. Hameed – still remains after all these years.

With high-rise office buildings within its vicinity providing a steady stream of patrons, the restaurant, located in an area we called ‘island’, had been given a new lease of life.
It could expect more business with the soon-to-be completed towering office block, close-by, on the opposite side of the ever-busy Jalan Tun Razak.
Although the restaurant owner, Haji Jamaludin has entrusted the running of the business to his sons -- Restoran K.M.Hameed, named after his father, remains a favourite place for many because of its strategic location.
Jalan Semarak (formerly known as Jalan Gurney) is home to a number of important establishments including the police training centre, Felda headquarters, survey and mapping department, TM training centre and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia KL-city campus. It also leads to the Defence Ministry.
As I threw my view to a distant, I could clearly see the sign of progress with the Ampang Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway (AKLEH) running above a substantial stretch of Jalan Tun Razak.

That same highway cuts across the air, close to where ADL once stood below, providing shelter and hope for selected students from around Selangor to pursue their secondary education in the federal capital.