Kedah River

This entry is a continuation of my previous post.
River has been the greatest force in human civilization, a metropolitan derived from a small village which started by the river and slowly develop. It is significant as source of life, moe of transportation and to some they are holy like a Ganges River. If Paris could be proud of their River Seine and Britain with Thames..I appreciate this God gift which is priceless.

It used to be deeper and wider with 'nipah tree' along the bank and 'pokok kiambang' with purple flower floating. Some people says that whenever there are nipah tree definitely there will be a crocodiles..I haven't seen any croc yet..biawak besar ada le..My mother told me that there are place somewhere near the Pagoda where it's quite sandy and that was a spot for 'buaya berjemur'..dulu2 during her time..
Even though our house are just about 30 meters from the river, we hardly experience any flood except for the 'banjir besar' back in the 80's..ankle deep..And that was the last time.

During my childhood, I hardly play by the river and that is why I can't swim until today..What a reason..coz normally people who live by the river or beach definitely knows how to swim..Maybe they are more adventurous or maybe my family are just being cautious..kalau anak lelaki maybe boleh..I remember sleeping at night hearing a roaring sound from fishing boat..Most of the fisherman are from the otherside of the river. All my life staying there, I only took a sampan ride once, that was 22 years ago and that was during the Sultan's Birthday. There were a big float from government department mostly, their sampan were decorated according to a concept, I could clearly remember there was one boat with fisherman theme..their's were complete with fishing net, hens and ducks..Even a sandy mount..There were also a swan-like concept with pretty girls smiling and waving their hands..It was so exciting but all through the ride I hold my hand tight to the side of sampan..takut juga, dah la tak tahu berenang..Until today,during Sultan's birthday there will be a celebration by the river especially pertandingan menangkap itik..hmm

There is one more story about this river that need to be told otherwise it would be complete- 'hantu air'...the river is significant with it's ghost story, some people said that they saw a shadow of a man standing by the river and some told that they saw a woman..and many other haunted stories..whatever it is the river has claimed too many lives, some were drowned and some purposedly jumped into the river..mental..

Historically Kedah River is significant with Terusan Wan Mat Saman where it was the main source for the farmers. It has become a natural heritage of Kedah even though the nipah tree were no longer there..it is now replaced by a promenade and normally occupied by veterans playing dam...


View towards Kedah river with Telekom tower as a background


Signboard showing new development along the river bank

Heavy Downpour...

It was chaotic and panic situation last 30 minutes at the office at level 13 Menara Summit, it was raining heavily with strong wind until we could feel the vibration on the glass panel. Dust were flying down from aircond ducting like a snow..rasa macam building ni swayed a bit..Maybe panic kot..But we almost lost our boss, he was trying to grab the window handle to closed it with one hand while the other hand attached to a window frame..Luckily the other staff saw him struggling and quickly grab his waist..fuhh...kalau tak habis..The wind was so strong like it could suck us out..macam dalam movie...Me and other friend dalam kalut-kalut sempat cabut turun..We don't dare to use lift and slowly going down using the escape staircase..rasa lemah lutut pulak..Reached at level 5 and stuck there for a while, the management lock the grill at the staircase and the lift is not working...This is against Bomba requirement..gile betul!! Lift lobby kat ground level banjir sikit..tempias..nak turun ubah kereta..guna service lift..rosak juga- door jam, tak boleh tutup..ni satu lagi kes poor maintenance..so at last dapat turun bawah dalam keadaan gelabah, ubah kereta from B3 to B1..lega....syukur..
tapi dalam office masuk air sikit..nasib baik PC ok tak ada short circuit..

Tempat jatuh lagi dikenang..

I spend a lot of my childhood time closed with my grandma even though my family house is just next door. Maybe becoz I was their first cucu,so dapat attention lebih sikit. I call my grandma as 'mak' because I heard my mom, aunty and uncle call her 'mak'..I was just a little girl, and call my mother, 'mama'. This is a sketch of 'mak' house in Seberang Perak, a typical Kedah house with raised floor and attap roofing. The original layout consist of one big bedroom (rumah ibu), bedroom 1&2, kitchen, hall, verandah or what we call as 'beranda'. The bathroom was at ground floor and original entrance door is facing the Kedah River. As long as I can remember, the house was made of round solid timber with timber panel for wall and partly combined with bambo weave.Most of these original structure are still there for more than 40-60years now, with newspaper and decorative paper still intact to the column.

There are split levels to differentiate the space. Family area is higher than hall, and the kitchen drop about almost 250mm from the family area. Most traditional house were designed with nature and surrounding value in mind, therefore the design could be considered as successful. There are ample lighting and fenestration, function meet aesthetic with every piece of timber will be reasonably crafted. One thing that I really like about this house is the louvered panel with vertical timber piece as a control mechanism.

This house actually has been handed over by her mother who planted jambu air tree in the middle of the compound. It was a big tree which provide not only shade but also as my favourite place to escape.I remember whenever it rain heavily that nite, the next morning we will straight go and collect those buah jambu on the ground, it was so exciting...the trees in a way has giving me a space to jump into my imaginary world, there were pokok duit-duit all around its trunk with 'lumut' everywhere. It was surreal for a little girl who likes to dive in her own ocean of fantasy. The died shortly after mak's mother died at the age of 90+. Mak told me that the tree has been planted her mother, so i guess it must be more than 30years considering it's big radius of trunk...Now..2006, the trees has gone, nipah trees has disappeared but mak's house is still there with new extension. I was so lucky to have a chance to learn how to weave attap roofing from mak...ahh...nostalgia pulak..I should call her tonite..

I've been planning to documentate the history of the house and Seberang Perak in general since there are few significant building such as the school neraby who Che Det, Daim, Awang Had used to school there. Started halfway but still searching for more info..

Anyway, home sweet home...there are lots of thing to tell about this house, maybe in next entry..for now I want to go 25 years back....pusing jam ke belakang...black and white world...

Subuh yang hening..

This photo was taken last 4 weeks around 5.20am..bulan penuh..So I've been waiting to captured a photo of perfect full moon..But these photo are not that clear coz I was shaking, actually 'mamai' lagi masa tu..full moon has always been associated with supernatural things, behavioral changes, tidal..etc..but want thing that reminds me whenever its full moon is this song...'malam bulan dipagar bintang, nampak seri bila dipandang..bulan bintang lampu alam'....from the movie Pendekar Bujang Lapuk. This is my all time favourite movie

Moving on..

I went through NUR magazine on the topic of 'job hopping' which they pointed that there are pro and con on this behavior or habit or maybe culture of moving from one workplace to another. In my case its not the habit or attitude but more into self satisfaction and achievement and goal that we have set for ourselves. I've started preparing my new and revised portfolio, hope this time around it will be more impressive and convincing rather than just 'tangkap muat' like last interview..
I need to get out of this place now..The time has come for me to move on..I could just be comfortable and enjoy staying here with not much work, terrible client, snobbish employer and heavy traffic plus long travel distance..OR find a better place which could offer a better chance of improvement, so tak la rasa mcm makan gaji buta..I don't want to be suck into a comfort zone and stuck at such horrible place, I rather go to the unknown than being a sponge..

Blood in my mouth..

I think that I shouldn't watch any crime stories or ghost stories anymore before sleep coz every single details will appeared again and again in my dream. For the last few days the same plot of dream emerged, my mouth was covered with blood, it was like I'm having some kind of diseases...I was choked with blood in my mouth..There were few people with me but they can't do much to help.It was so real until I woke and it feels like the blood is still in there..This act of waking up in the middle of the nite has make me tired...I had this dream 3 times since last week, maybe I was too tired driving everyday from Putrajaya to Subang Jaya, or maybe too much horror movie..It's just a mind game..But I must admit that I hate waking up in the middle of the nite in shocked!...Lemah semangat kot? Sometimes people says that a dream is like a signal or a warning, I don't know how true it is...orang cakap selalunya maksud mimpi tu terbalik..so kalau mimpi jumpa duit- meaning kita nak hilang duit..macam tu?..

Fatty Chemical Methanol Tank Explosion

Methanol tank exploded killing two workers and two badly injured at Fatty Chemical(M) Sdn Bhd factory in Prai this morning around 11.00am. During the explosion the factory was shut down for maintenance work which is under a contractor: San-Q.It is believed that workers were doing some weilding work near methanol tank. According to one source, the body of the victim was found at level four of the factory, it show how strong the explosion was. One of methanol tank tank has exploded and it caused the cover/ lit to be thrown away to the other tank.
For info, here are some definitions of Methanol as extracted from few sources:-
Methanol (methyl alcohol). An alcohol used as a raw material in a wide range of industrial and chemical processes.

Methyl alcohol. Wood alcohol. The simplest alcohol. Methanol is water soluble and has a flash point of 54°F and explosive limits of 6% to 36.5%.
www.fire.org.uk/glossary.htm

A colorless alcohol that is very toxic and extremely flammable. It is used to produce a number of products including MTBE, fuels, and solvents.
www.berg.com.sg/mgM.htm


The source of explosion as reported is still under investigation held by DOSH (Department of Safety and Health). It looks like DOSH are in spotlight since last year after too many accident happen at workplace. In Fatty Chemical incident, it is quite a surprise for a company who have a good track record on safety and health. (This is just a brief info- do not consider this as a good reference, for further detail, please wait for DOSH Investigation report),or maybe the ministry will ask CIDB to investigate as what happen in Hartamas.
Maybe there are other things that people overlook or maybe it's just their time... Sometimes things happen the way it should be even though we have consider all safety requirements or comply to any law, but it is fate that will make a different.

Potrait of Putrajaya: Night Scene

Putrajaya has become one of places of interest among local and foreign tourist,the administrative capital has a lot more to offer from green landscape to aviary, architecturally pleasing building with Moorish architecture, international and hi-tech with intricate detailing has been well planned to accommodate administration building, hotels, government quarters, commercial complex as well as recreational area, but unfortunately it is lack of the most important substance of town planning- 'romanticism' ..Everything are so predictable until there is no more sense of surprises unlike any other town which slowly evolved from a small component. Anyway it is still something that we should be proud of, especially for the architect who had those precious opportunity to be part of this development:-
Masjid Putra night scene
bridge thru the A frame
cable bridge of Putrajaya
one of the most outstanding bridge design leading to Ministry of Finance

5 % Work

Maybe because it's Friday, maybe the flu and the headache..Or maybe I'm just being lazy today. I only received one phone call from site office, one SMS and faxed one item to the COW. How boring it is today when we are used to a hectic life with many things to complete and datelines to meet, and suddenly the environment changed. This is dangerous; no work means no productivity and this will lead to nothing. I should have complete a submission drawing for Bukit Tinggi but then still waiting for that one more item to add in. Everything are sailing slowly, slow progress means slow payment..This is not good for me.
I thought that since I have ample time for 'me' time, I could read some books on 'Project Management' or 'Contract' but then I don't have the motivation, flipping few pages then I get bored. I know that I should prepare myself now, sharpen my skill, gain more knowledge and experience and read more books, attend seminar and keep up to date with latest technology at the same time...fuhhh...That's quite a long list..There is no easy way to be successful, the journey is far way too long for me..Or maybe there is a shortcut that I have not trace.. I would give myself another two years to complete my log book and sit for the Part 3 exam (actually I haven't fill up anything..)Hopefully by then I have equipped myself to take on the next challenge but with this 5% work how far can I go...?

Halal and Non - Halal Food

After 6 months of not going to linggi by myself, at last today I have to drive alone. The meeting is scheduled at 2pm, so I have ample time to prepare and surf the internet. Driving to Linggi is not that exciting, the road is too winding and there are only few car passess by but I hope everything gonna be ok. The last time I drove there was last year,it took me almost 2 hours from Putrajaya. I took the coastal road which I thought would be more interesting, but then it's just the same.
The site is situated far inside a kampung area adjacent to Linggi river and it's gonna be really hot like usual. The worst thing about this area is there is only one food stall at a bus stand infront of the site. I have no other choice, or else go to the other side the yard, which sometimes I can't take the food, worry of the cleanliness. Other alternative is going to Kuala Sungai; a small town with only two row of an old shophouse. There are also few Malay stall, the rest are Chinese which they claim halal! Even when I asked the Malay stall operator about the Chinese restaurant,they said confidently that it is 'halal'. God, how can they simply said that while clearly there is this big 'praying counter'(i don't know what they call this)inside the restaurant and it fills with the smell from colok!..Besides we don't know what happen in the kitchen, the might used the same wok, same plate..hurghh..scary. This is what normally happen when all the contractor and the consultants are non-Malay, and you are the only one who have to think not just twice but many many time about your food especially in this remote area where choices are not available. And to make it worst, no matter what I have to follow their car since we go car pool. Some people they are more considerate, they do think about others sensetivity but there are some who just don't care since they are the one who pay or maybe due to the lack of knowledge. Who's to blame in this situation but I have found my ways to overcome this problem. Each time after the meeting I will always insist to go to that small stall infront of the site or to Pengkalan Balak- by the beach few km away but worth it.
Looking back at this halal issue, I think that it's time for Muslim enterprenure to seriously venture and promote halal food. What happen now is we are too depending on non-Malays food supply which they definitely don't have a clear idea of what halal is. It seems like we don't have the control of our own life, of what we eat and what we buy. The list could be too long, from koay teow, chilli paste, vege, bean curd, junk food and drinks are supplied by them. Even asam boi or in Loghat Utara we call it 'asam ko' manufactured by them. I noticed nowadays most people are no longer concern of what they eat daily, what are the ingredients, who prepare the food and whether it's halal or not. We have to consider all these things; what we eat will be our blood that will run through the body which supply the oxigen to move the whole system, eating non-halal food is just like having a contaminated chemical in the blood vessel, it could spoil the system slowly. I read somewhere that we have to avoid eating food prepared by non-Muslim' it's the 'air tangan orang kafir' issue. Keberkatan is what we are looking for in our everyday life, at least if Muslim are the one who prepared the food he might started off with 'Bismillah' or any other doa, at least everybody will get the benefit. Just imagine; one non Muslim guy working as a Chef, who used to drink and only used a toilet paper instead of water prepare your meal. It might taste good, superb but imagine what happen before it; he might used the same hand to open Carlsberg can, the same hand playing at the casino, and the same hand eating pork! Its not a matter of physical thing, he as a Chef will definetely wash his hand before cooking, but this is more spiritual. We are what we eat...

Behind a happy eyes..

Last week my friend from Utm and I went to visit our former housemate who just gave birth to a lovely baby girl. It was a hot Saturday afternoon and driving under the hot sun was not a pleasant journey plus the jam which create more chaos in my head.We finally arrived at her mom's place, and there she was waiting for us with her baby on her arm. The house still look the same as I went almost a year ago, the only addition is the cute baby, while her father is outstation. It was almost like a mini gathering for us, I used to be her room mate but I don't really know her much until her wedding day. Only on that big day I knew who she is and what made her to be the way she used to be. She has gone through many obstacles in life, study, financial and social I was so ignorance at those time, I couldn't see the reality right infront of my eyes. It took me almost 2 years to discover the truth, the sadness and the struggle behind that happy cheerful face. And last Saturday I heard another sad story of her; since the husband wasn't around, there are no one that she could rely on except for her parents, until today she have to go to a clinic by a bicycle, just imagine how a woman who've went thru 9 months carrying a big tummy and hours of labor pain have to suffer another episode of challenge. The nearest clinic is few km from her house and the house itself is quite isolated. How would it be if there's an emergency or the baby sick?..All they have is just an old bicycle, but how could we depends on that alone...From her face we know that there are many things crossing her mind, thinking about her baby, her parents, her husband and at the same time about moving to another state following her husband. It is like keep on coming, one after another, my only hope is she will be strong enough to face all this. Just how lucky we are staying in a comfortable house with decent car to take us anywhere while at the other corner of the world there are a lot of people who suffer and only God knows. May peace be upon us.

Potrait of Putrajaya: Sunset

when the sun goes down, the day end..but not the memories..



view towards Masjid Putra from Precinct 16

ALLAH Almighty..

Samy Vellu and sms nightmare

Last two days he can't sleep until 4 in the morning,receiving almost 2600 sms..he woke up and thinking that this is the most terrible nightmare and a bad decision, so next time he know that he should not be too defensive until he let people enchroached to his private moment by giving hp number in national tv.But he always want to twist here and there by saying that those 1000 sms were just from people who congratulate him...hmm..i doubt it.Maybe any phone company could come out with solution to overcome a problem of receiving too many sms that can damage our phone as what Samy said last nite...'sekarang phone saya pun sudah rosak, banyak sangat sms masuk..'whatever..he always put the blame on people, on nature and now on technology..buta teknologi ke..? JKR pun kena upgrade nampaknya, just like upgrading our sim card..;-)
This incident should be a turning point or as a precedent to all minister, to be more cautious, calm and compose when handling sensetive issue or when being bombarded questions.

Civil servant and birocracy

I was called again today to brief about the project which is still pending approval due to political issue. I have tried my best to get things done accordingly but as usual this is Malaysia, the system is totally different, we are no longer been served by the civil servant. Sometimes we have to treat them like they are above everything, most of them are getting too demanding while their service are still at below public satisfaction. Just imagine to get a letter out will take them almost two weeks, let alone getting it signed, which definitely will take another week or months. Too much birocracy lead to inefficient service that will lead to slow development. I fully understand their work system and heirarchy but they as a body who serve the public should have the awareness to improve and be better each day. everybody in the authority...no not everybody actually but most of them have personal interest, when we have this kind of attitude we will tend to mould things to suit our own need rather than standard requirement or By-Laws. it is really frustating going up and down MPSJ almost everyday just to get a piece of paper of approval, they are just buying time...this scenario happened due to developer's greed and people inside that particular body who are looking in a different perspective on how this project could benefit them. 'kawtim' is the most terrible word not only in contruction industry but in many fields in Malaysia. People have been shadowed by money,they were thought that money could buy you everything even dignity. It's hard to change the system where the big player has started these tradition or giving money and gift, we are just a small fish in small pond who are looking for some algae....chain reaction..

Cabinet reshuffled

Yesterday announcement on the new team of cabinet structure was a good indication and maybe we could hope for a better service. Samy Vellu is still considered 'kebal' on his chair at this moment, not because there is no other suitable candidate, but simply because he need to clean up his own mess..All those cracked need to be rectify..So does the cracked on his head, next time around if we discover any crack or problem on any road, bridge or whatever, please don't go straight to the media, but proceed to this Samy who have promised a lot of things..Anyway I didn't remember his phone number, he said we can call him anytime..yeaaa right..
Another one pillar goes down- Datuk Kader Sheikh Fadzil- this is not a surprise for a man who didn't contribute much to nation's development,all he care was how to spend the money on entertainment. Leaving or been asked to leave is not a matter to be discussed, its good for all parties to received a new minister who are more creative and know how to do things properly and cost effective.

Stuck at menara summit

Tomorrow will be my 2 years anniversary working with this company, after so much hardwork,sacrifice,complaint, heart broken and argument, I'm still standing here..or maybe I should say stuck..! Yeah..Maybe right, I'm stuck with the same type of project-resort and resort again from 1997 until now, it's not that I don't like resort architecture, it's just too much for me.i need to move on, develop my skill, be more creative, dealing with more challenging design technology and constraint. to make things worst is the client who keep on chasing us to finish up all the :-(!@#@# drawing in a very short time but ended up throwing everything away and start all over again from scratch..They said they have the budget, then they said the management wants something 'cheap but nice'..Where got..?We can't comprise on quality and aesthetic value.its a relieve when last month these development has been handed over to another guy, but I'm still involved with the rest of the masterplan..Well I'm just an employee, if that is what been given, I have to deliver my job..Sigh..
another commercial complex which I took over last few months are not moving at the moment, that is why I have so much time for blogging and blog hopping ;-)
this is another headache, I don't know why I always have to deal with sick project. But this one is very political, where too many people have personal interest and this is what make my job harder, I have to juggle things at the office and at the same time need to tackle all political issue wisely and fast..gaji tak nak banyak pun....The boss expect me to 'visit' MPSJ everyday, he said "once a week is not enough! U have to go everyday, belanja them drinks, get to know the officer..bla bla..macam boleh claim..
anyway enough of complaining, life goes on, tomorrow might be better..I will do my best and at the same time looking forward for a better chance..

MRR2 and Samy Vellu statement..

MRR2 is another case of improper planning, design failure and poor implementation and management as well as 'things that I can't discuss here'..As a Minister, last nite statement was not appropriate, how can we simply blame on nature when things does gone wrong.he's kinda giving public his another 'putar belit' statement, one same statement has been twisted to save his ass...It a shame for somebody who have a vast experience in construction to give those kind of feedback. Maybe its time for him to give way for fresh new leave...

Trip to Penang and Kedah...part3

Majalah Wanita December 1976:

while helping wan sorting and removing all furniture and books, i discovered this 30years old magazine published in December 1976 underneath many old and dusty books and newspaper.it's interesting to see how things has develop from plain graphic and low quality printing to glossy and better quality cover with more refreshing subject matter.at that era, traditional value were still important and people were proud of it and it shows clearly on this cover.

one of competition segment




during school time, we always make fun and laugh out loud looking at this kind of column in a magazine, especially the haircut with big bun infront. haircut as well as fashion were influenced by a lot of forces, i think the worst fashion era was in the 80's where people go for big hair (Cindy Lauper..) and colourful and vibrant outfit. during those time with less communication technology, people depends on printed media to express, seek information and looking for new friends and life partner.there were times pen-pal was a big thing, everybody at school will keep on comparing who got the most. unlike in this era of technology we are no longer need to send our photo which will only be published after two months.books and magazine are the best documentation item, where it will be a reference in the future and at the same time as a valueble artefact.

Trip to Penang and Kedah...part2

Kuala Sala, Kedah:
it's been one month we haven't been to wan's house, so this time around we decided to gather in Kuala Sala for lunch and help with the house renovation.everytime we come to this house there will always be minor extension whether front portion or back with no proper planning. but this latest work looks more well composed even though i don't like the arch- looks so Roman...
after lunch we managed to go fishing at a small river lead by my mom..who share this passion with my father, my hubby and all of my cousin. we have to cross the bendang/sawah which were too dry, so we were lucky otherwise we have to think about leeches..yuck..so here are some snapshot:-


by the river
the best thing about Kuala Sala is we have have almost all element at one place except for highland, there are rivers flowing running across the bendang(kedah term for sawah=paddy field) and separating the beach. even though the beach are not sandy it still gives a spectular scenery.





the many faces of Kuala Sala

Trip to Penang and Kedah..part1

Penang:
last week we had many occasion to attend and many activites had been planned for both family back in Penang and Alor Setar. we've decided to left Putrajaya on Sunday afternoon instead of earlier to avoid traffic jam on highway. we were quite lucky coz i heard from my neighbour that he had to drove for 10 hours all the way from Putrajaya-Penang on saturday.
anyway we had a news that my hubby's uncle just passed away that morning around 6.15am, he was scheduled to undergone an operation on that particular day.Al-Fatihah.
the journey went smooth along North-South Highway except for three accident, i couldn't snap any pic coz we were on the right lane. the traffic at Penang Bridge were even worst, we had to wait for almost 45min just to pay the ticket. i think Samy Vellu should come to Penang during this season where people are heading to Penang more than usual and the existing bridge can't accommodate this high density user.
so after almost an hour on the bridge we headed to Taman Abidin to visit the jenazah. it was a sad environment, but i couldn't look at his youngest son who look so calm even though once in a while he will wipe his tears, while his three sisters still crying with their mother. at that moment i realised how i love my hubby so much.'people come and go....'



the next day we left for Alor Setar via ferry, afraid of yesterday bad traffic we choose to relax on this romantic journey.i always prefer travelling by ferry instead of driving across the bridge, i really like the smell of salt water..eh?..while the wind blew my face..hmm, besides, the ferry itself was one element in my final year thesis- Revitalisation of Penang Waterfront-Weld Quay,so its kinda sentimental to me..

even this rope look interesting to me...;-)