The Dubai Outlet Mall (DOM)

The Dubai Outlet Mall (DOM) is on Route 66, El Ain Rd, about 25 minutes from the Burj... well I bunked at the palace at Old Town, thats the journey time from there. I can see the construction of the Universal Studios theme park next to the DOM. What you can find there? Columbia, Timberland, PUMA, Converse, Bally, Kenneth Cole, Dr Marten, Ferragamo, Bally aghh the list is endless.


You can find more info here: http://www.dubaioutletmall.com/

The Palace The Old Town, Dubai

The hotel is really impressive , have to drive through 2 big gates before I arrived at the main door, impressive lobby and yet it has that homely feel, check in was swift and I was in my room in less than 10 minutes.

Room is sizeable with balcony overlooking the lake and I can see the Dubai mall dubbed the largest mall in the world across our room and the Burj that tallest thinghy in the world on the other side.

Breakfast was a feast, yummy, so many choices and so was lunch. View from cafe is overlooking the pool and the lake, looks like a postcard :).Service - excellent, the concierge was very helpful, guide me with taxi and how much to pay if I ant to go to certain places/areas. No noise from the construction, the only noise is from the 'dancing fountain' at Dubai mall every night at every hour... which u can see and hear right from the hotel balcony.. beautiful show... Nothing to fault, it was excellent.

The address: Burj Dubai Boulevard, The Old Town Island, Downtown Burj Dubai
P.O. Box 9770, Dubai, UAE
T: +971 4 4287888
F: +971 4 4287999
E: reservations@thepalace-dubai.com
http://www.theaddress.com/en/hotel/the-palace-old-town#

Welcome to Jakarta

The health screening procedure at Sukaro Hatta Airport, Cengkareng

KL Village Kopitiam, Jl Jaksa, Sabang, Jakarta

Ibis Tamarin, Jakarta

Maybe my 1st and last time there. Room is just too small

Iga (ribs), Jl Wahid Hasyim, Jakarta

Nice little iga (ribs) mini restaurant selling soup and fried menu.

Bangsa Malaysia yang memartabatkan Satu Bahasa Satu Negara dan berlandaskan Satu Bangsa Satu Negara.

another interesting article I found on d net:

The minorities must be infused with a sense of responsibility (which comes with the Kerakyatan package) to help forge a civil, progressive society, a common, irrepressible Bangsa Malaysia yang memartabatkan Satu Bahasa Satu Negara dan berlandaskan Satu Bangsa Satu Negara.


Quote from a speech by MIC President and Works, Telecom and Posts Minister, V.T. Sambanthan in the Dewan Rakyat on June 1, 1965:-

… in 1955 we won the elections with a great majority. Then we obtained freedom in two years time. During this period, we had to discuss citizenship and various other things. Now what did the Malays do -- since we are speaking on racial lines -- what did the Malay leadership do? They had 88 percent of the electorate still with them. What did they do with citizenship? If we look around in Asia and East Asia, particularly, you will find that my race the Indian race, is not welcomed in Ceylon, is not welcomed in Burma.

Look at my brother Chinese race, it is not welcomed in Thailand, in Vietnam, in Cambodia, in all the other areas. What help do they get for citizenship in all these territories? In Burma, as we know, Indians have been send packing, in Ceylon they refused them citizenship and in Burma it is likewise. I know it, you know it. And yet in Malaya what happened? Here we found that the Malay leadership said, "We shall take them unto ourselves as brothers, we shall give them full opportunity to live in this country, we shall give them every opportunity to become citizens." And so, in 1957, for the whole year, we waived language qualifications, and tens of thousand of Indians, Chinese, Ceylonese and others became citizens ...

As I said, it has been my great good fortune to have been born in this country. Where else can you find a more charitable, a more polite, a more decent race than the Malay race? Where else can you get such politically decent treatment for any immigrant race? Where else in the history of the world? I ask you. These are the facts. Who are you to safeguard us? I am a 10 percent minority race here. But I am happy here.

(Source: Tan Sri Khalid Awang Osman, Malaysia - An Anthology, Vantage Press, New York, p. 60)

Quote of statement by Tan Siew Sin, MCA President and Finance Minister in a local daily titled, "Tun Tan Answers Critics on Special Previleges" dated April 30, 1969:-

The Malays, through UMNO, were generous enough to relax the citizenship laws of this country to such extent that within 12 months of independence, 90 percent of the non-Malays became citizens. This was different to the situation before Merdeka whereas 90 percent of the non-Malays were still non-citizens after nearly 100 years of colonial rule in the Malay States. In return for this major concession. the MCA and the MIC agreed to continue the policy of preserving the special position of the Malays while at the same time upholding the legitimate interest of other communities.

(Source: Tan Sri Khalid Awang Osman, Malaysia - An Anthology, Vantage Press, New York, pp.38-39)

So there you have it. In no uncertain terms. In the public record. Unequivocal. Edged for posterity.

Melayu By a Malay

Another interesting article I found on the net..

I'd like to challenge your article on the origins of the word Melayu.

(I hope you will not be emotional about this email and create an issue about it, but rather treat this as an intellectual argument between two matured individuals. I have presented facts here for you to review ,and if you disagree please substantiate it. Since you have come out with a blog to attempt to tell us the origins of the word Melayu, and as a Malay if you are really and truly keen in your own heritage and roots, I am writing to you with the facts of the origins of the word Melayu, in fact there are many scholars of yesteryear's, Malays, who will tell you that the only original words in the Malay language are "Tanah" and "Melayu")

Melayu is derived from the Javanese word Melayu, there are many other words in the Malay vocabulary that actually come from the various Asian languages mostly those of Sanskrit Origin.

The Sanskrit in Malay is derived from the Indian influence of the Majapahit, Srivijaya and other Indian influences in South East Asia. This particular word in Bahasa Malaysia is derived from the word Melayu from Javanese. Javanese was the lingua franca of the people in the region having had its own script, which was actually taken from the Arabic script, the bugis and the rest have dialects close to Javanese.

The Malay language in its romanised context only evolved in the early part of the 20th century. In Javanese the word Melayu means running away, or a runaway , that is why if you go to Java and ask a Javanese if he is Melayu he will feel very insulted. The word Melayu found on the statue as claimed in your URL; http://www.sabrizain.org/malaya/malays4.htm thus denotes that this person was a Melayu, a "Runaway.

These people the runaways whether in Sumatra or in the Malay Peninsula referred to themselves as orang Melayu, it is therefore no coincidence that the word orang is placed before Melayu, people who ran away so to speak.

In the Malay Peninsular it was gradually accepted as the word to describe the Javanese, the Bugis, the Menang, the Achinese etc. and even the Kelantanese who are actually Yunanese and have their origins in China, because they recognized the fact that at the end of the day they were all Melayu, or Run Aways from their respective homelands the word was accepted by all these communities to describe themselves. In fact before the formation of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) it is a fact that all the people in the country had referred to themselves as Menang, Achinese, Bugis, Java etc. etc. and we all know that the Kelantanese used to treat the other Melayu, that is the Menang, Java the Bugis etc. as foreigners.

Well for that matter even Mahathir Mohammed was registered as Indian in King Edwards College where he studied medicine. The Malay therefore very much like the Indians, and later the Chinese are Melayu in the very true sense of the word because they all left their respective countries to come to this location in South East Asia called Malaysia today.

The real natives of the country are the Orang Laut, the Jakun, the Kadazaan, the Iban, the Senoi and the rest, and not the so called Orang Melayu, because these people are actually Javanese, Achinese, Bugis, people from the Mollucas islands, and other parts of neighbouring Indonesia, including those from Cambodia and even China (Yunanese). That explains the word Melayu in various parts of Sumatra too.

The Javanese people in particular were referred to as Java Kontra a term they despised and today in Sumatra they are referred to as Orang Transmigrasi which is more acceptable to the Javanese in Indonesia then the term Melayu.For Malay citizenship and for permanent residence reasons, the Orang Java, be they Sundanese, Orang Java Barat, Orang Java Tengah or Orang Java Timor, or any other Indonesian for that matter recognises the fact that the day he becomes a Malaysian citizen he is now an Orang Melayu that is a new word coined by Malaysians of these origins to legitimise their Bumiputraism. And to become Bumiputra this way that is by becoming a Melayu he has to profess the Islamic faith. This privilege is not extended to Dayaks, from Kalimantan, or Christian Filipinos, or for that matter Christians from among the peoples of Sumatra, Java or any other Indonesian Islands.

The irony of all this is the fact that if you look at the real Orang Asli of Malaysia as a whole you'll find out that the majority of them are not from the Islamic faith, and that is one of the reasons why in Sabah the registration department of the Federal Government legitimised and gave citizenship and permanent residence status to hundreds and thousands of illegal Fillipina immigrants from the Southern part of the Philippines.

I therefore disagree with your attempt to legitimize the term Orang Melayu as a race, it is not and never will be. The so called Melayu must own up to their own heritage the way the Chinese and Indians in Malaysia proudly do. And if we are to use this word called Melayu, it should be a term used to refer to all Malaysians except the ethnic Malaysians who are orang Asli.

The term Bumiputera was coined and the Malay placed in that category to legitimize the fact that he is ethnic when he is not. It is a shame, and in fact a disgrace that they are the only group of people who by this very act, show the world that they are ashamed of their own heritage.

And who else can be so? Only those who run away or are banished from their own lands , for it is only such people who are ashamed of their own heritage. Even the customs, the traditions, the dressings, the architecture etc. point to the fact that the so called Orang Melayu of Peninsular Malaysia are actually not one and the same people.

Factory Outlets in Bandung

from top left: Diaz, Secret, Renariti, 18th Park Distro, Oasis, Branded Club, FO (past of DSE), DSE at Dago, Blossom....

D'Cost Sea food, Bandung

As per its motto," Mutu Bintang 5, Harga Kaki lima"this restaurant really lives up to its slogan. Service is fast, cheap price and delicious food.

The address is at:

D' COST Bandung (Jl. Sukajadi no. 197, BANDUNG)
Telp : (022) 204 4200 ; Fax : (022) 203 1856

Cabe Rawit Cafe, Bandung

Nice cafe in Dago local and international food, price is OK, food is yummy.

Cabe Rawit

Teuku Umar 7

Bandung

Jawa Barat - Indonesia

PH 1: (022) 250-1452

Sapu Lidi Restaurant, Bandung

So you want to try having your lunch or dinner in the paddy field, or by a stream or by the lake. This is the place to be, its a 1/2 hour drive from Bandung city along some road with pot holes but the visit is worth the pain in the butt :)

Jl. Sersan Bajuri, Kompleks Graha Puspa
Cihideung, Bandung, Indonesia
Tel. (62-22) 2786 915, Fax. (62-21) 2787 499

KLM KUL-JKT 3 April

KLM are now using Boeing 777 for AMS-KUL-JKT sector replacing the ageing 747

Batu Alam sold around Jakarta

various black volcano rock on sale around Jakarta especially around Senayan area.

Bumbu Desa, Jakarta

Nice Sunda restaurant with beautiful food and 'hot' sambal'
This Bumbu Desa outlet is at : Jl. Suryo no.38, Kebayoran Baru , Jkt.
Tel: +6221 7201244 www.bumbudesa.com/

We are all immigrants - *Antara pendatang dan penumpang (English Translation)

something I found... which I find interesting. I believe this was written sometime ago .. 2008?

Syed Imran, an Arab-Malaysian born in Penang, Malaysia, an ex-Bernama journalist ( 1971-1998) and former press secretary to the Minister in PM's Department, posted a great blog days ago, which was translated into English.

*Antara pendatang dan penumpang (English Translation) *
To begin with, I was quite reluctant to comment on the mess created by the statement made by Ahmad bin Ismail, the head of the Bukit Bendera, Pulau Pinang UMNO Division. Whether he made the statement in reference to Chinese Malaysians is no longer the question, as the issue has spread and has been hotly debated.
If it is not handled carefully and smartly, this issue could make clear water murky, giving opportunity to parties who are keen on seeing this country crash, not to mention falling into the hands of foreigners. In today's borderless world, international electronic media coverage makes it difficult for any country to hide or deny any given event.

The main issue brought up by Ahmad Ismail revolves around the question of "squatters", that is, that Chinese Malaysians are squatters in this country. He explained that he was referring to pre-independence days. However, it had hurt the sensitivity of the Chinese Malaysian community.

I don't know Ahmad Ismail personally, but I was quite close to his late elder brother, Abdul Rahim Ismail, the owner of Rahim Construction Company that was once famous as an "Earth-Prince" (Bumiputra) construction firm in Pulau Pinang. I don't know what has happened to the company after Abdul Rahim passed away. Personally, I don't agree with what Ahmad Ismail said for the following reasons. To me, nearly 90 percent of Malaysians, especially those in the Peninsula, are immigrants, and all of us are actually squatters in the land of Allah anyways. We are anything but permanent owners, we are merely squatters. For example, I come from a family that squatted in this blessed land. My paternal grandfather and grandmother migrated from Mecca and Brunei, while my maternal grandmother came from Hadramut, Yaman. We are immigrants and squatters, as are almost everyone else in this country. As for Ahmad Ismail, he is also an immigrant having descended from an immigrant's family who squatted in this country. Ahmad Ismail cannot deny the fact that his grandfather and grandmother moved from India to this country in search of a better life in this blessed land.

It is also the case with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi whose maternal grandfather hailed from Guangdong in southern China. In short, Pak Lah's grandfather, Allahyarhamah Kailan , whose name was Hasson Salleh or Hah Su Chiang, was an immigrant. He moved to Tanah Melayu from Guangdong in the mid-19th century. He stayed in Bayan Lepas as a rubber estate worker, a padi farmer and later became a diamond trader. Najib Tun Razak, Deputy Prime Minister, is also a descendant of an immigrant Bugis family that came from Sulawesi, Indonesia. Hishammudin Hussein cannot escape the fact that there is Turkish blood running through his veins.

The Malacca Malay Sultanate was founded by an immigrant coming from Sumatra -- Parameswara, a prince who practised Hinduism. A reading of the history of Malay Sultanates would reveal that some of them were founded by Bugis immigrants, while others were of Hadramut and Minangkabau parentage.

Almost all Malays living in this country are from outside Tanah Melayu, but are defined as "Malay Race" by the Federal Constitution. We are "Malay" in definition by the Constitution, that is, we are Muslims; we practise Malay customs and speak the Malay language. Unfortunately, the Malay language itself seems> to have been kil led by the Malays in UMNO when they named it the Malaysian language (Bahasa Malaysia).

Therefore, Arabs like Syed Hamid Albar and myself, Achehs like Sanusi Junid, Indians like Kader Sheikh Fadzir and Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Bugises like Najib, Minangs like Rais Yatim, Jawas like Mohamad Rahmat, and others from Madura, Pulau Buyan, Siam, Myanmar, Yunnan (China) and the Philippines are conveniently categorized as Malays.

They are accepted as Malays regardless of whether they speak Malay or otherwise at home like those of us who speak Arabic, the Jawas that speak Jawa, the Minangs that speak Minang, or the Mamak that speak Tamil.
These languages are anything but Malay if we look at it from the perspective of the Federal Constitution, so they should never have been declared Malays. But for the sake of political correctness, all of them are accepted as Malays and "Earth Princes" (bumiputra).

It is grossly unfair to point to the Chinese as immigrants when the Arabs, Indians, Achehs, Minangs, Bataks, Mandailings, Jawas, Maduras, and Bugises are immigrants no less in this country. We cannot deny the fact that most of the Chinese's grandfathers and grandmothers migrated to this country in the days of the Malacca Malay Sultanante, some of whom did so during the period of Kedah Sultanate, Terengganu Sultanate and Kelantan Sultanate respectively. After Francis Light wrested Penang from the hands of the sultan of Kedah in 1786, more Chinese had arrived here.

We are all immigrants squatting in this country. Only the Negrito, Jekun, Semang, Jahut, Orang Laut, Orang Darat, Senoi, and other indigenous people groups (like the Kadazandusuns, ibans and bidayuhs) can be correctly considered the original inhabitants of this country.

We must never forget the contributions and sacrifices made by all the races in building our nation in all its aspects, including the economy, social structure, national defense and, most importantly, national unity. We are all taxpayers whether or not we are descended from immigrants or squatters.

SJMC ICU 23 Feb

Platelet count at 11,000 (normal average is 150,000)
and I was warded into the NICU
(well the ICU was full so I was sent to Neo Natal ICU)
and stayed there for 2 days.
2nd day - 15k
3rd day - 40k
4th day - 83k and I was sent home to recuperate
... my daughter is still in the ward even though her PC is 100k.

Proton MPV Sighted

Ra Sushi, Jakarta

At Cilandak Town Square Ground Floor, try the 'volcano' dish.. yummy

KUL-JKT 6 Feb

CAK’ TU’ CI Manado grilled fish, Jakarta

hot and spicy Menado food in Jakarta. With their motto
” For taste, we maybe your taste expert. With reasonable and suitable price for your pocket, we are guarantee satisfy is belong to you”
(as written by them without any change to spelling etc)

Cak Tu Ci (Restaurant & Cafe)
Jl. Panglima Polim 5 No. 15
12160 Melawai - South Jakarta

Phone

:

+62-21-7244833

Tugu Negara (National Monument)

A brainchild of Tunku Abd Rahman (the 1st Prime Minister), the 15.54m high bronze monument was constructed in 1966 to honor the country's fallen heroes. The monument was designed by Austrian sculptor Felix de Weldon, the same designer for the USMC War Memorial in Virginia, United States.

On the base of the monument bears the inscriptions in Malay with Jawi script;

"Memperingati perwira-perwira yang berjuang untuk menegakkan keamanan dan kebebasan. Moga-moga Allah cucurkan rahmat ke atas mereka"

and English with Roman script:

"Dedicated to the heroic fighters in the cause of peace and freedom,

May the blessing of Allah be upon them"

It was proclaimed a memorial park dedicated to the 11,000 people who died during the 12-year Malayan Emergency (1948-1960). Every year, on July 31st, a wreath-laying ceremony takes place at the monument on Warriors Day.

In 27 August 1975, it suffered extensive damage due to an explosion set off by a communist terrorist. The restoration was completed on 11 May 1977.

There is also another monument called cenotaph, which was set up during the British administration, to commemorate the fallen heroes during the 1st and 2nd World Wars and during the Malayan Emergency , which lasted from 1948 until 1960.On it is written it is written;

“To Our Glorious Dead with dates of the First World War (1914-1918), Second World War (1939-1945) and the Emergency (1948-1960).

Sate Hj Samuri, Medan MARA

one of the most famous local franchise - Sate Hj Samuri. On last count I believe they have about 15 outlets including the ones at the R&R areas along the expressway. They have certainly come a long way from the sleepy town of Kajang where in the 70's I used to frequent the first shop near the Kajang Bus Terminal. Especially during our 'balik kampung' trip as my grand parents used to live near Kajang.

Known as sate in Malay (and pronounced similarly to the English), Hj Samuri sate outlets offer chicken sate, beef sate, deer sate, rabbit sate, fish sate , goat sate and many other variants.

The Malaysian sate is just one variation of sate as you can find something similar in all other ASEAN countries.

Kuala Lumpur during Chinese New Year holidays

as like any other long public holidays KLCC will be full of people especially foreigners including the foreign workers who use it as the central meeting point with their fellow country men/women

the major roads which would normally be jam packed with cars is now quiet - Jl Ampang, Jl Raja, Jl Raja Chulan - rarity :)

E71 Theme

Found this great site for NOKIA E71 theme http://axthemes.extra.hu/

Here are some sample themes you can find there;