Away from the maddening crowd ...

A trip to Hulu Langat could provide some peace of mind for KL city folks. Many have in fact invested in properties in the area and settling down in new townships in its vicinity. It is interesting that Wikipaedia has provided information about Hulu Langat town, saying it is famous for its durians. The town is also popular for its recreational activities and natural surroundings. Among the popular spots of eco-tourism are the Sungai Gabai Waterfalls, the Semenyih Water Reservoir and the Sungai Congkak Forest Recreational Centre.


Enterprising residents are taking advantage of the many visitors to the area to sell fruits such as durians, rambutans and mangosteens or set-up small business like Restoren Pohon Bambu, offering kampung food.
Like many 'kampung-less' city dwellers, I had dreamed of owning a small plot somewhere in Hulu Langat to build a weekend home. After scanning some newspaper advertisements, I found a tempting offer and contacted the seller who took me to view the place. With a small stream passing through the land, I had visualised it to be an ideal place to refresh the mind. I utilised whatever savings I had to pay the booking fee but kept it a secret from my family. I had wanted to surprise them with a 'kampung house' -- a place to go to on weekends.
It's been two years since and I'm still wondering if I could finally own that small piece of land as the seller had run into problems.

The true measure of friendship ...

True friends are hard to come by, truthful friends even harder.
In real life, most friends are mere acquaintances -- they are there because they are part of the social construct.
You have to interact with them and, so as not to become an island, engage them.
The true measure of friendship will be judged when we are left on our own while the world moves on around us.

Of friendship....

Someone I considered a friend must have felt guilty when he emailed me something to ponder about. I thought its best if I post it here so I could continue pondering about it.

Two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey, they had an argument; and one friend slapped the other in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand:
"Today, my best friend slapped me in the face"

They kept on walking until they found an oasis where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him.
After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone:
"Today, my best friend saved my life"

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him: "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?"

The friend replied:
"When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away, but when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it".

Is there a "Spielberg" somewhere in Malaysia?

In 1964, Steven Spielberg, then a 16-year-old, directed his first full-length movie "Firelight".
With a budget of US$600, the science fiction film about aliens abducting earthlings, made a profit of US$100.
"Firelight" had been a point of no return for Spielberg, who is now among the most recognisable names in the global filmmaking industry.
Information Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek believes there is a Spielberg somewhere in Malaysia, if only he or she could be unearthed early.
"The important thing is, in the creative industry, one has to start early," he said.
In fact, one has to start early in any field, including sports, the minister said.
An athlete who wants to be world champion should start honing his or her skills early and take part in major competitions, he said.
"Raphael Nadal is only 22 years old but he is already a Wimbledon champion," said Ahmad Shabery, referring to the Spanish tennis player who won the prestigious championship after beating defending champion Roger Federer on July 2.
As a minister in charge of the media and creative industry, Ahmad Shabery is aware that the ministry should provide a platform to encourage such activity, as well as to support institutions which offer courses related to the industry.
"These young people are taught to create content but where do they go to air their works? Which cinema is willing to show a short film of 10-minute?
"In the end, the assignments are just handed over to the lecturer for marking purposes, and after that they will be stored away," he said.
But things are changing thanks to a programme that promotes creativity among the young people, aptly called the Young Artiste Programme.
"I believe among the assignments given, there will be some which are better than those produced by television stations.
"Sometimes, making a 10-minute film is much more difficult than a long-winding drama," he said when launching the Young Artiste Programme aimed at spurring the development of the local content industry.
The programme, targeted at those aged 30 and below, is jointly organised by Filem Negara and Radio Television Malaysia (RTM).
It covers four categories namely comedy, documentary, experimental and animation, each with a length of between five to 10 minutes.
The programme will be aired on Saturdays and Sundays on RTM for 30 minutes, starting tommorow.
Ahmad Shabery hoped the programme would help the development of the local content industry, thus meeting the demand from television channels, which are on the increase lately.
He said industry players should not think merely of getting air time over RTM and other local stations but also at the international level.
"When the (Korean drama series) Winter Sonata was aired here, the people are beginning to talk about South Korea and no just India or Hong Kong," said Ahmad Shabery, who hoped that one day local series, such as the "Gerak Khas" police drama, would be aired on television stations in that country.
He was confident that Malaysia's creative industry would be successful if it
was spearheaded by young people.
Apart from having high creativity, they understand their contemporary better.
"Look at Yahoo! and Google which are started by the young people... they are now becoming part of our daily lives in this multimedia era," he said.

Historic Melaka and George Town made it...

A temple in Cambodia, two historic Malaysian trading towns and an early agricultural site from Papua New Guinea have been added to UNESCO's World Heritage List.
Honoured were the 11th century Preah Vihear temple site, perched on a mountaintop on the Thai-Cambodia border; the cities of the Straits of Malacca, Melaka and George Town in Malaysia, and the Kuk Early Agricultural Site in Papua New Guinea, marking the country's first entry on the list.
The UNESCO committee has been meeting in this oldest of Canadian cities of Quebec since Wednesday to consider adding to its coveted list of protected architectural and natural wonders.
A total of 45 new sites were vying for inclusion on the list this year at the meeting which ends on Thursday.

AU retires after 37 years ...

Bernama general manager Azman Ujang, or AU, retires from his post today after 37 years with the organisation.
He began his journalistic career as a cadet reporter at the Bernama bureau in Kuching, Sarawak, in 1971.
He later headed the Sabah bureau and seven years later, was transferred to the Bernama headquarters as editor at the Economics Desk.
During his career he had also headed the General News, Features and Foreign desks.
The 57 year-old Azman was editor-in-chief from 2004 to 2007 before being appointed general manager.

Deja vu...

Looking at the smiling, cheerful faces of the new graduates as they walked into Dewan Sri Budiman, I'm overcome with pride. My daughter is among those receiving their scroll on this day at 1.30pm.
It was here 17 years ago I received my journalism degree from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UITM), then known as ITM.
As her name was splashed on the two giant screens above the stage, I realised how proud it is for a parent to share the joy of their children on convocation day.

When a man dies ...

He would often be by himself among piles of clothes in his Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman store. At first glance, you could guess the man was no ordinary staff despite his simple look.
Talking to him, makes you humbled for he held no barrier to get into a conversation.
He would only chuckled when I told him it was a proud moment for me to meet the man behind the name.
He just smile when I joked that he would have amassed millions of ringgit from his self-name enterprise.
He was funny when tongue-in-cheek he told me he would not be able to make much if most people were of my size.
Looking back, I realised his store is among the few that could readily cater for customers whose waistline matches the number of Bernama's years of operation -- 40 and beyond.
You could easily find slacks for the big-sized guys at his outlets. They come at a reasonable price too.
So it is with a tinge of sadness to read about his death in the newspapers today.
I will cherish the memories that I had of him for I will never see him again.
Thanks to the Blackberry, I have immortalised a moment in time with M.H.Kamdar -- the founder of Kamdar. He was 81.

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count,
it's the life in your years." -- Abraham Lincoln

'Sape' takes Ulu Baram man to Paris …

Sarawak's melodious stringed instrument, the Sape, has taken a man from remote Ulu Baram to perform at the Unesco’s headquarters in Paris -- the world city of arts and culture.
Being an accomplished sape player, Mathew Ngau Jau, 56, from Long Semiang in Ulu Baram, Sarawak is all too happy to introduce the guitar-like instrument to music lovers outside the country.
"I feel very proud to present the music of my ethnic Orang Ulu Kenyah to the world.
"In my place, this instrument is an ordinary sound but here people from all over appreciate it.
"I hope my sons will continue playing this instrument so that the world continues to know about Orang Ulu, Kenyah and Malaysia," he told me after another highly-applauded performance.
Having played the instrument since childhood, Jau became a professional musician 10 years ago.
He is among musicians brought to Paris by the Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry to showcase Malaysia’s traditional music and cultural performance.
Their presence is part of Malaysia’s attempt to get Melaka and Penang listed as Unesco’s world heritage sites.

Education key to overcome racial, religious hatred...

As the Internet broadcast of an anti-Islamic video came under attack at the Unesco executive board meeting in Paris today, Malaysia says education is crucial in inoculating people against racial and religious hatred.
Making his maiden speech at the board's 179th session, Education Minister Hishammuddin Hussein says the search for accommodation between many races, cultures and religions in the face of globalization and the free flow of information had become the world’s problem.
"Ignorance of others, causes people to fear one another and fearing one another leads to hate. Stereotyping and extremism of any kind is wrong," he said.
"Demonizing Islam, Muslims and the Holy Quran by the airing of the film Fitna through the Net in the name of freedom of speech and expression is not only unacceptable but outright dangerous," he said.
Globalization and the related ICT revolution have resulted in a "globalized telecommunications reality" where communication and knowledge flows in a global environment that is complex and unpredictable.
Hishammuddin says it is not only unacceptable but simply dangerous to have a deep divide between "information have and have nots" and "knowledge know and know nots".
"Nor it is acceptable and even dangerous that in this so-called global village, languages, religions, cultural and regional values and identities, be put at risk of being levelled out in a world dominated by the cultural norms of the powerful," he said.

Hishammuddin makes debut in Unesco executive board...

Having been re-appointed as Education Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein makes his maiden appearance in the 58-member executive board of Unesco which opens its 179th session in Paris today.
The minister had worked tirelessly to earn Malaysia a firmer place in the crucial United Nations agency.
He has struck a close working relationship with Unesco director-general Koichiro Matsuura, who made no secret about his happiness with Hishammuddin’s contribution.
Saying he was looking forward to future prospects of bilateral cooperation between Unesco and Malaysia, Matsuura thanked Malaysia for its unfailing support of the organisations various activities.
"I should like you to know how pleased I was to learn of your re-appointment as Minister of Education in the recently-formed Government of Malaysia," he said in a letter to Hishammuddin.
Matsuura was in Kuala Lumpur recently to attend the 43rd South-East Asia Ministers of Education (SEAMEO) Council Conference during which he signed an updated Memorandum of Understanding between Unesco and SEAMEO.

Congrats, Shabery!

The opening ceremony of an East Asia Media Forum here in Bangkok had just been over when I received an SMS on my handphone.
“TAHNIAH KAWAN SDRA SABREE CHEEK JADI MEN PENERANGAN!”
A while later came another message :“What’s Shabery no?”
Yet another, a few minutes later.
“Kawan baik hang shabery cheek jadi menteri kita.”
I could feel the excitement back home as the Prime Minister announced his Cabinet line-up following the Barisan Nasional’s fresh mandate in the just-concluded general elections.
Shabery had convincingly trounced a Parti Keadilan Rakyat hopeful to retain the Kemaman seat, paving the way for a deserving promotion as the Minister of Information.
He had been the Parliamentary Secretary to the Foreign Ministry prior to the elections.
Knowing Shabery, I’m sure he will be bringing fresh ideas and approaches to deal with the alternative media especially blogs, seen to have made a big impact in the recent polls.
Even before the day was over, another message came in:
“Bro. tlg sms hp no ahmad shabery. Tk”

Tip of an iceberg…

This gigantic iceberg had been towed away by ships from a rig in St. Johns, Newfoundland. The water was calm and the sun was almost directly overhead enabling a diver to get into the water and click this picture. The weight of the iceberg was estimated at 300,000,000 tons.

Friends...

Tried my luck to get in touch with former university mates by posting a note on our Stracomm group email. Was I happy that it prompted some response. While some said they were still at their old place, there were those looking for new job opportunities...

Making a difference...

A giant ship engine failed. The ship's owners tried one expert after
another, but none of them could figure how to fix the engine.
Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he
was young. He carried a large bag of tools with him and when he
arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very
carefully, top to bottom.
Two of the ship's owners were there, watching this man, hoping he
would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached
into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something.
Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away.
The engine was fixed!
A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand dollars.
"What?!" the owners exclaimed.
"He hardly did anything!"
So they wrote the old man a note saying: "Please send us an itemized bill."

CAN YOU GUESS WHAT WAS THE BREAK DOWN?
The man sent a bill that read :
Tapping with a hammer............ $ 2.00
Knowing where to tap.............. $ 9,998.00

--Its ALL about knowledge! --

Effort is important but knowing where to make an effort in your life
makes all the difference.

Of being hurt...

An award-winning Malaysian film director once said during a year-end interview that she had learned a valuable lesson that year.
"If you have been belittled, humiliated or jilted by the person you love, you are the luckiest person on earth," she said.
"Why?" the reporter wondered.
"You know what hurt means...for someone who has gone through the experience, surely you would not want to hurt others," she said.
The people you meet who affect your life and the success and downfalls you experience help to create who you are and who you become.
Even the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are probably the most poignant and important ones.
If someone hurts you, betrays you or breaks your heart, forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious when you open your heart.
If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but because in a way, they are teaching you to love and how to open your heart and eyes to things.
Make every day count.
Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can for you may never be able to experience it again.

Indonesia's Antara takes over OANA presidency ...

Antara, the Indonesian national news agency, formally took over from Bernama of Malaysia the presidency of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) at its 13th general assembly which ended in Jakarta today.
The three-year term to lead the 40-member organization comes at a momentous time as Antara will be celebrating its 70th anniversary tomorrow.
Antara chief executive officer Dr Ahmad Mukhlis Yusuf is the new OANA president while editor-in-chief M. Saiful Hadi has been named secretary-general.
By tradition, Bernama would fill one of the four vice-presidency slots along with Itar-Tass (Russia), IRNA (Iran) and Xinhua (China).
The assembly also re-elected Press Trust of India (PTI), Yonhap (South Korea), Vietnam News Agency (VNA), Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), Kyodo (Japan) and newcomer Azertac (Azerbaijan) as board members.
The next Executive Board Meeting will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, next year while the 14th general assembly in 2010 will be hosted by Anadolu news agency of Turkey to coincide with its 90th anniversary.
Earlier, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), which initiated the formation of OANA in 1961, pledged to work with the organisation towards promoting a better-informed society.
Unesco South East Asia Representative Prof Hubert Gijzen said the world, more than ever, was in need of timely information, communication and mutual understanding.
"Technological advances have given communication and information professionals and practitioners like you more powerful tools, new media and wider platforms for providing timely information to the public," he said at the plenary session. The text of his speech was read out by Jakarta-based Unesco programme specialist Dr Linda Santiago Posadas.
Gijzen said rather than consider the new developments as a threat, the agencies should seize the opportunities to bring about a spirit of innovation.

Life is about ...

Life is about waking up each day to discover something new; meeting old people but making new conversations; walking through old roads but still feeling nice about it; realizing that you have grown a day older but still feeling young at heart;
meeting busy schedules but still finding time to smile; being nostalgic about 'PAST' but looking forward better days to come...

Malaysia offers places for Brunei officers....

Malaysia has offered places for officers from Brunei Darussalam to attend courses at the Tun Abdul Razak Broadcasting Institute (Iptar) in Kuala Lumpur.
Iptar will be upgraded into a university college in January next year.
Deputy Minister of Information Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the offer was made in tandem with efforts to boost bilateral cooperation in broadcasting between the two friendly neighbours.

Zahid, on a three-day visit to Brunei Darussalam, extended the offer during his meeting with the Energy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Haji Awang Yahya bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Haji Bakar, who is also the minister responsible for broadcasting.
The deputy minister said Iptar would cooperate with Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Mara and Limkokwing University College of Creative Technology to conduct the courses.
Present at the meeting were Malaysian High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam Ku Jaafar Ku Shaari, Information Ministry deputy secretary-general Dr Rothiah Omar, Director-General of the National Film Development Corporation, Malaysia (Finas), Raja Rozaimie Dalnish, and Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister's Department of Brunei Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji Ismail bin Pengiran Haji Mohammad.
Zahid said he was satisfied with the bilateral cooperation of the two countries in information and broadcasting through RTM and RTB, between the information departments of Malaysia and Brunei and the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama).
He also indicated the possibility of expanding the cooperation through recently-launched Bernama-run Radio24.
Awang Yahya welcomed initiatives to enhance cooperation in information and broadcasting.
Tonight, Zahid attended the Senandung Muhibah concert, jointly staged by RTM-RTB at Jerudong Park Amphitheatre.

Of filial piety ...

While the story of Si-Tanggang has become a Malaysian folklore, as with the tale of Malin Kundang in Indonesia, Brunei too has its own legend of an unfilial son.
Not far from its famous Kampung Ayer is a small rocky island aptly named ‘Jong Batu’. Locals believe that it was a vessel which had turned into a rock.
Legend has it that a poor boy had set out to better his life, leaving behind his widowed mother. After many years, he achieved success and became the captain of a huge ship, forgetting his humble roots in the process. One day, Nakhoda Manis, who had by then married, anchored his ship near his birthplace while taking shelter from an impending storm.
On hearing news of his presence, his ageing mother rowed out in a small boat calling out to her long lost son. With his wife by his side, Nakhoda Manis was too embarrassed to acknowledge his mother and turned his back on her. He ordered his crew to shoo her away. The mother, brokenhearted and depressed, then placed a curse on her unfilial son. After a while, the sky turned dark and the wind became strong. Storm came and his ship slowly began to sink at the site where ‘Jong Batu’ is now.