UPOD- Under Promised Over Delivered

To grump or not to grump, here in paradise

I think I can relate to myself as to why we do not get out story out. For one, I would rather let the results speak itself out, like do not blow my own trumpet kind of thing. Often, when people ask me about my country, Malaysia I do not tell them beyond what I know and exaggerate till putting people's expectation above the sky. I will tell good stories of my country and also some of the not so nice stories, and make them curious to visit my country and let them see, hear, touch and feel themselves. In other word, let them experiences it by themselves.

I still remember I told one of my best friend about how sardine-packed like the train in Malaysia during rush hour, before his first visit to Malaysia. So, he has a picture how "sardine-packed" like ! So, when he was in Malaysia during the rush hour morning taking train with me, he told me " Eone, the 'sardine-packed' you mentioned to me earlier was not like what I imagined !

Another scenario was when we were in transit in Dubai. He told me " This airport would be better if there is train that connects the terminals". Again, I did not tell him that we have one back in Kuala Lumpur International Airport. What I pictured them about KLIA is just an ordinary airport and when he was at the airport, he experienced taking the train and he told me " The airport is spacious !" and when we were in Istanbul airport recently, he told me " This airport remind me of KLIA ".

To be frank, I do not like when my fellow countrymen talked so much about my country, we have this we have that , we are like this, we are like that and one thing I have learned recently is to always " Under Promise Over Deliver !" rather than " Over Promise Under Deliver".

and I love my country, Malaysia like everyone does with their own country.

DISCLAIMER:Notice :Opinions, stories , thoughts expressed are blogger's own and do not necessarily represent the views of the institution or the organizations by which the blogger is employed or any specific person who so ever, either dead or alive.Hi! I am a green e-mail! Unlike my brothers and sisters, my presence on the Internet does not harm our environment.Please go to greenscroll.org and help make the Internet green like me!

Book City in Malaysia, why not ?

" Muhyiddin, in his speech, said Malaysia would take the Paju Book City concept as an example to set up the Kuala Lumpur Book City in the near future.

Earlier in the afternoon, he was briefed on the South Korean education system which uses the Internet at the South Korean Education and Research Information Service and Hanam Information Industry High School."

Source: BookCity

I had the opportunity visiting Doha 21st International Book Fair last two days, and the idea of having Kuala Lumpur's own Book City shall be expedited if not accelerated by the Malaysian government. Immediately googled the book city concept in Paju and below are some of the extracts from the website ;

City to Recover the Lost Humanity

Bookcity is located in the Paju area, viewed as the "land of promise". Located just 30 kilometers from Seoul, it is a publishing cultural community conveniently located near the Jayu highway. From the beginning, the

Bookcity project was planned and established as an industrial city related specifically to books. It is intended as a place devoted to planning, producing and distributing books by well-intentioned publishers. 

Frequently asked questions while initiating the Bookcity project was why and for what purpose the city was being planned and built? Our answer is simple and clear: the city aims to recover the lost humanity. As such,

Bookcity must be a space built for human being.

Cities and its architecture are often called "mirrors of the era". This may refer to how cities and buildings reflect the lives of mankind, especially that of urban life in its edgiest form. It is a direct reflection of our distorted lives: a mixture of chaotic urban planning, unbalanced infrastructure, unsightly buildings, and confusing signs. It is apparent not only in Seoul but in any city.

Paju Book City

I see a lot of potential and positive spill over effect politically, economically and socially of having the Malaysia's own book city, as this is align with Malaysia's effort to position herself as the tertiary education hub in the region. I have observed great books written by the Middle East authors during my recent visit to the book fair and exhibition, and you can find some of them here in this website  Books and many more, and unfortunately those still in Arabic, and opportunities to be translated into language of the worlds. I have once read a translated book of  "La Tahzan" [ Don't be Sad] by great Arab writer, Aa'id Abdullah Al-Qarnee and my conclusion is that the author's message do not reach me as much as it is in the Arabic's version. From this one example [ just one ?] and I believe many more of similar cases the opportunity is vast for translation industry i.e to translate great books and literature into languages of the world, and the spill over is also great.

Book city- from books into movies, theater and creative industry. This yet another industry [ as one of the key areas in Economic Transformation Programs [ETP] which can be supported through the establishment of Book City in Malaysia. With all the great literature being produced in this Book City, this will will surely spur the creative industry further.

Book City will surely result in qualities books produced at a lower cost and this will be accessible to all Malaysians, and not only Malaysians but people from all over the world, especially developing countries. 

Producing great writers from Malaysia will be facilitated with the establishment of Book City. With all the scheme and long term programs and promoting those writers to all over the world will make the Book City a centre of excellence. 

Book City in Malaysia ? Why not...

DISCLAIMER: Notice :Opinions, stories , thoughts expressed are blogger's own and do not necessarily represent the views of the institution or the organizations by which the blogger is employed or any specific person who so ever, either dead or alive. Hi! I am a green e-mail! Unlike my brothers and sisters, my presence on the Internet does not harm our environment. Please go to greenscroll.org and help make the Internet green like me!

Top marks for S'pore education

Top marks for S'pore education

Exactly, I share the same view in case of Malaysia's Education System , that they have to make the teaching profession as a profession of choice and not because of there are no other choices !

Read my previous entry of my request to the Malaysian Prime Minister with regards to Budget 2011 :)

Previous Entry


DISCLAIMER:Notice :Opinions, stories , thoughts expressed are blogger's own and do not necessarily represent the views of the institution or the organizations by which the blogger is employed or any specific person who so ever, either dead or alive.Hi! I am a green e-mail! Unlike my brothers and sisters, my presence on the Internet does not harm our environment.Please go to greenscroll.org and help make the Internet green like me!

My Friday Note : What is next for Malaysia ?

Image via WikipediaI read an article written by an expatriate in Malaysia about his view on Malaysia. A perspective from expatriate living in Malaysia and fond of Malaysia. He wrote, what are the next big things in Malaysia i.e. places to visit in Malaysia ? He admitted that he loves Malaysia so much. He made comparison with Malaysia's neighbor none other than Singapore with Marina Sand Resort and Universal Studio were recently opened for visitors.

I read also an article written by one of Raslan's brother, Karim Raslan about similar heading, how he would like to see Malaysia in the next year to come politically.

Having working outside Malaysia, I heard so many remarks and comments about Malaysia. Following are remarks that was made to me about their experiences in Malaysia ;

Qatari # 1: "Malaysia is a good place to visit for family, but boring for singles."
Qatari #2 : " Malaysia is a nice country and I like it "
Qatari # 3 : " Malaysia offers more choices and cheaper compared to Singapore "
Indonesia # 1 : " What I do not like about Malaysia is the taxi drivers and I was approached by "an uncle" that offers portfolios of " prostitutes " "
Egyptian # 1 : " I was approached by "an uncle" in the bus who showed me portfolios of " prostitutes " and I did not believe myself it is happening in Malaysia "
Palestinian # 1 : " You have such a wonderful and beautiful country, my friend "
British # 1 : " I thought Twin Towers is such an ugly building, yet I was wrong ! and traveling with Air Asia is damn cheap "
Philippines #1 : " Oh my sister visited Kuala Lumpur and she said, it is a wonderful city, and I plan to visit Kuala Lumpur to see myself "
Moroccan # 1 : " You have such a beautiful country. Yes, I did have bad experience with taxi driver , but it happened everywhere "
Indian #1 : " My husband was in Kuala Lumpur, and he loves the city very much "
Indonesian # 2 : " Oh , Vincci shoes in Malaysia is so cheap and affordable with good quality "
Palestinian # 2 :" My wife was in Paradise shopping in Malaysia, and Vincci was her favourite shop "

So, based on the above, I can deduce that majority of the people who I bumped into have a good experiences to tell about Malaysia, but what are next big things about Malaysia ? Is it reasonable enough to envision that Malaysia is "Paris of the East" i.e. the most visited country in the world one day ? If that day ever to happen, when it will be ? What it takes to be Paris of the East ? Paris boasts herself as city of Romance, Culture, Fashion, Parks, Shopping and etc. So much to see in Paris and France despite strong and stiff competition from its neighbors like London,Rome, Madrid, Berlin and Frankfurt, just to name a few.
Personally, in my view I believe Malaysia or Kuala Lumpur can be Paris of the East or " Pearl of the East " sooner or later if the following are taken into considerations ;

1. Greater Kuala Lumpur Project is a reality

If the project and initiative by the government will become a reality, there is no doubt Kuala Lumpur will be one of the most visited city in the world. I would imagine traveling around Kuala Lumpur is a breeze, convenient

2. Kuala Lumpur or Malaysia needs an identity

Kuala Lumpur needs an identity and a brand to call its own. It is like when people mention Kuala Lumpur, one shall have flashes of images playing in his/her mind. Just like Paris , city of love and its cafe, fashions, art and museums. Me ? I have image of Twin Towers and the traffic, and the former is very unfortunate. As for now, Kuala Lumpur is neither here nor there.I must say a mix of Bangkok, Singapore and Jakarta and Vietnam to certain extent.

3. More shopping complexes would not do justice !

Unique shopping experiences do ! Some quarters think that having more shopping complexes with help to drive tourism in the country. Yes, it is one aspects of it as it has its multiplier effects, but shopping complexes are not all about Kuala Lumpur or Malaysia. What different shopping experiences it made in Dubai ? London? Singapore ? Jakarta ? Bangkok ? Basically, the brands in Kuala Lumpur are the same in everywhere, and some brands even not available in Kuala Lumpur and price wise, Kuala Lumpur are not much different from other shopping destinations.

Kuala Lumpur has to establish itself as city that provide different shopping experiences to the tourist, catering from back packers to the high income and rich shoppers. That is what we call shopping heavens, when you can find anything under the sun with such a competitive price and quality of products which are unique. We are not lack of pool of talented designers.

While building and constructing shopping complexes are not wrong at all, the design of the those shopping complexes shall be unique - fushion of traditional Malays, Chinese, Indians which align to the concept of Malaysia Truly Asia ! Why not taking queue design from from Islamic, Indian and Chinese civilization with elements of modernity and environmental friendly to make it unique appeals to the shoppers, at the same time something that the shoppers are looking forward to enjoy the whole experiences of shopping in Malaysia.

3. Integrated Unique Development

I must say , Malaysia can be divided into few main part with its own attractions and uniqueness. The Greater Kuala Lumpur, The Northern , Southern and East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia and also the East Malaysia. Yes, we have the so called economic corridor, and my view this economic corridor shall have it own unique identity. I have heard so much about Iskandar development and how about the rest ? These economic corridor shall not stand on its own, and in one way or another shall be integrated development, complementing each others. I know there is Legoland project is coming out in Iskandar Malaysia, and I have yet to hear similar attractions in other economic corridor. Malaysia is a country with so much to offer, but I do not see we are really exploiting it to the maximum. From my personal experiences, for example Morocco - each of the states offers its own attraction to the tourists at large for example Agadir - with its beach and wind surfing activities, Marrakech- with its unique red colours and its park & outdoor activities, Fes and Meknes- Medieval Cities, Ouazarzate- desert related tourism and Hollywood of the Africa, Tangiers- port city and its night life, Casablanca- the heart of business in Morocco. Yes, Malaysia is doing the bit of it, but not a wholesome and integrated approaches. People do know Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Langkawi but only certain segments knows about Sabah & Sarawak, Kedah, Kelantan, Pahang, Johor and Perak, simply because there is no establish identity for the mentioned states. That where I am coming from when I did mention that each of the corridor shall have its own uniqueness and attractions to make people keep coming back to Malaysia for different reasons.One might argue, Paris or Morocco do have decades of long civilization dated centuries ago but my argument , why not we create our own civilization for the future generations. It is about sustainable and responsible development.

4. Recreating and Rewriting history
Great civilizations happened not in Malaysia as compared to the Europeans, Rome, Turkey, Morocco, Iraq, Syria [ Muayyad], Iran [ Parsi], Egypt and etc. However, Malaysia shall recreate and rewrite the history in accordance to own versions like America is doing. We shall balance the civilization with spiritual aspects of it. Learn from those histories and rewrite it by taking the best practices and not to repeat the same that bring down those civilizations. Each of the corridors, shall have their own civilization for future generations.

5. People and human capital development

Another thing, Malaysia shall be the centre of excellent in the Far East, standing in the eyes of other great universities like Harvard, Standford, Oxford, Cambridge and Al-Azhar.
It takes the political will to do all those. Yes, at one time it is easier said than done but with all concerted efforts, it can be done. Rome is not build in one day, so do Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur. Put Kuala Lumpur in the world map, and one day I wish I read in the newspaper ;
" Malaysia the Pearl of the East- Most visited country in the world "- New Straits Times
" Kuala Lumpur a role model for sustainable and responsible development "- United Nations
" Kuala Lumpur ranks No. 1 as the most livable city in the world "- NST
" Malaysia ranks No. 1 as country to live in "- Newsweek
" Malaysia is a model for OIC countries development "- AlJazeera International
" Malaysia is a model of the concept of prospering the neighbor "- World Bank
" Malaysia ranks No. 1 in attracting investment and doing business in the world "- CNN
" Malaysia is the centre of excellent in Islamic Banking and Finance "- The Star Malaysia
Incha Allah......one day !

DISCLAIMER: Notice :Opinions, stories , thoughts expressed are blogger's own and do not necessarily represent the views of the institution or the organizations by which the blogger is employed or any specific person who so ever, either dead or alive.

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10th Malaysia Plan - Less talk, more actions and tangible results

The 10th Malaysia Plan was unveiled by the Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak with a whopping RM 230 billion was estimated to be spent for the the next 5 years. The PM called all Malaysians to be united in making sure all the plans will be implemented, and he deems Malaysians as a football team, to win the world cup in 2015. The announcement was received by all the people with mix reactions from Malaysians, depending on "who you are", and soon after the announcement the discussions were and are aired on all the mainstream medias.  

If you are to asked me, personally I do welcome the plan to make Malaysia a better country, at par if not better than its counterparts Singapore, Hong Kong , USA and Europeans alike. I received the ideas and plan with an open heart and mind, and more than happy to make it happens. Failure is not an option, that is how I view the plan. If it fails, the Vision 2020 will not be materialized at all.

What are the ingredients for success, in my points of view ? Is very much go to basic and below are some of the elements and ingredients;

1. Believe [ Buy-in ]

This is the most challenging part. It does not have to get the buying in from all Malaysians [ as it is only natural for some quarters to be resistance to change. While is may look, sound and feel great on paper, so long it is on paper people will not buy in the ideas.  One way of getting the buying in is to show the results quick and fast. People have been tired hearing what they call as " empty promises" or NATO [ No Action Talks Only] syndroms. People would like to see the RESULT NOW be it small or big. People have to feel that it is working to its advantage and can feel the differences in the next 5 years. Any subsequent plans will be very much to sell in the next rounds, till the Year 2020

2. Behave as Owner [Ownership]

The success of failure of any initiatives are actually depending on the people. As such, once element # 1 is there, people from all walk of life will talk and sing the same language, and own the initiative within its areas of responsibilities and influences. People have to own it, and responsibility and accountability will naturally come with it  !

3. Mindset change

This is very critical and important elements in any changes and progress that any government or/and organization needs to introduce.There shall be shift of the thinking, from third class to first class mentality and thinking. I would I measure the success and actually mindset change is happening ? I will go to the very basic and it all starts from home as charity begins at home right ? I would say there is actually shift in mindset if the following happens ;

1. The public toilet are clean and well taken care off;
2. People do not simply throw rubbish out of the car while driving;
3. People will not simply throw rubbish or garbage everywhere and care for the surroundings;
4. People follow the rules while driving on the road without any police's or authority present;
5. People will allow people to cross the zebra crossing ;
6. Reading as a way of life and you can see people reading or at least holding a book everywhere;
7. Punctual and always on time;

4. Ikhlas and for General/Public Interest.

Whatever the initiatives and implementation shall be for the sake of the people and the country, and not for any hidden agendas. All the initiatives under NKRA [ National Key Results Areas] shall show result and the momentums have to be maintained at all times. It shall not be a seasonal thingy. There shall be continuity even if there is government or personal changes. The public or country interest shall be over and above the personal agendas and interests. No doubt one will have personal agendas, but the people/public and country agenda shall prevail and above the rest.

5. Making the impossible happens and reaching out

This thinking shall be inculcated among the younger generations, since they are young and in primary school. Our education system have to make a giant leap to make sure it happens. Perhaps, education system shall make Mandarin, Tamil, Hindi, Arabic as compulsory and French and Spanish as alternative foreign languages for all school children. 

6. Divine Intervention

Whatever it is, as per the Rukunegara " Kepercayaan Kepada Tuhan ", we require divine interventions after all the efforts and initiatives by all the people.

What say you ? Care to share ?


DISCLAIMER: Notice :Opinions, stories , thoughts expressed are blogger's own and do not necessarily represent the views of the institution or the organizations by which the blogger is employed or any specific person who so ever, either dead or alive.