3/2/12 AT LAST.....i know what and why?

The private rush for greater Profit. The Public crazy of growth. The general population stuck in chaotic of 1001 softly killing miseries. Realise we not!

When nothing hang on your head, the world really look different. I feel real merdeka dan berdaulat. That is me since last Jan., 1, 2012. I really traveled. I have the time all for myself. First to Malacca, then took a hard full month in Jakarta-Bandung City-rural Bandung.Then again, I roamed Malacca for the last two days. Just driving without time limit on my shoulder. Then I drove to Kuala Lumpur, and as early as 0600 hours I ran through the quiet Highways, just head on as long as there is fuel in the tank. I enjoy racing at a speed the car can take on these Highways. I don't really bother where I ended or landed, but with instinct, keeping focus while ensuring the sun either to the East or West definitely would take me back to my starting point.

(2) The drive in Malacca and around Kuala Lumpur the last four days really took me into the possible conception the fate of this Nation, Malaysia say in the next 20-30 years. Great social agenda had to be put in place for this Nation to be great into the future. What I see now, we are not in the lost, but we are groping in the dark. We are moving into the ghetto of Manila, Bangkok or Jakarta. The worst, we might be entering into the great social misery of Mexico City, Sao Paulo, or the slum of Bombay. The government and the societies need to stand and work hard and fast to set the direction of our new culture and values. The burst of demographic shift that we is now experiencing could lead us into too much identities that may lead to no unity. We don't need Hitler or Mao Tze Dung to unite us. We need dedicated people vision leadership and management to take care of our societies.

(3) In Malacca for instance, as I want to examine the layout of the Tesco at Bandar Hilir, but since I was too early, thus I took the liberty then to explore the housing area on the opposite side called Taman Sri Chempaka. There I saw rows and rows of cars being parked by the road side. Bikes packed at the car porches. Door gates were tightly locked. Compound not properly attended. Drain clogging. Rubbish fill up the bins. This seem to be a transit neighborhood. The tenants are just renters.

(4) It was in fact 10.00 o'clock yet no body seem to stroll by the street. Everybody, seem to curl nicely under the blanket as it was a weekend. This is a bad life style, once weekend knocked the door, everybody just stay in bed as long as they wish then later once they woke up they will just rush to any restaurants or instant food outlets. You know what happen next, ballooning bubbling societies!

(5) I wonder, huge commercial investment next door, seem too greedy to look into the social welfare of the Nation. The public authorities are damn blind to develop a mitigation measures to possibly regulate all these into a slump of the future. I can figure out, within 10 years time, house extension will be sprawling creating a very unhygienic settlements. I believe the same situation are happening in Bandar Baru Bangi, Serdang, Sekudai, Shah Alam, etc where students population and lower working class housing requirement not well taken care. What is the role of a government? What is the duty of a corporate national citizen?

(6) The thought was and will always be that all these Malls and Shopping Complex will build indoor recreational facilities. Cinema, cyber-space, bowling, all sort of those paid-based facilities will be provided. All are about money, then the public will later have to provide huge fund to take care of our societies health issues. Time has come for us to seriously to look at the Transfer Development Right (TDR) concept in the provision of public social infrastructure for our people especially in the development of Mall in the Neighborhood. Our Country and Urban Plan must move fast to see all these before it is to expensive to deal with in the future.

(7) Despite the deep sadness seeing the mess in this neighborhood, I was then glad to spent about two hours skimming through those Islamic writings at Kedai Buku Salleh Mohamed at Taman Seri Chempaka, Melaka. This store has good collection of matters that the Muslim should start reading and researching seriously, and not merely listening to those ceramah berkulat from the so called Ustaz or Ustazah who never expand their knowledge beyond what they had gathered or read in getting their degree.

(8) I was please though as I drove around Puchong, Bangsar, Damansara, Petaling Jaya Shah Alam and many others on the KL fringes that proper public and private affordable and medium apartment are well organized. The only issue is now probably to have an efficient and proper public transport and social facilities that could keep our social illness at check mate.

(9) Yesterday, Monday 13 Jan., 2012 I suppose to fly back by 1500 hours. But I received a call from Bibi Noriyah, whom I called Kak Yah since she saw the sunlight a year ahead of me, that she want to meet a friend to discuss to internationalize the keropok lekor. She is a real humble, soft spoken, reputable nice lady especially among those interested in spiritual and family build-up. She want me to meet a good long friend of her Zainab Siyuti a successful self made business woman. I was told, not only she had many times failed in her business deals, she also had gone through marriage agony. But she fought back and she made her life great. From nobody, I had a pleasure to be driven by her in her CLS 350 bongkok udang series Merce.

(10) Many times in fact I have been pointing out, the only Malay foods that really go international is the under the Padang brand. There are Rumah Makan Padang in Malaysia, Singapore and certain part of Australia. I love eating. I love studying restaurants and kitchen layout. Once I have a theory that if a Malay Home Economy is to be good, then get their kitchen be organized. The Malays love to eat and they enjoy eating, as such if they can manage what they eat, probably we could make their economy better. Good for our local universities to study the eating habit and expenses of the Malays. Probably such a sense made me appreciate great eating outlets.

(11) Malays' foods are great. They have good blend of proteins, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins which came in many forms and easily modified into the international taste. Satay, Rojak, Ulam, Cendol, Gulai (all sort), Pais, Kuih-Muih, Cucur, Bakso, Soto, name it, and match them with all those English, Italian, France, Spanish, Mexican, or even Japanese name, surely will sound great as well. Let think how does the Japanese called those cucur sayur or cucur udang? Tempura yes, sound great but it is just a cucoq. How does the Italian called those Mee Bandung? Pasta?. Sound great. But in Malays they are just mee rebus, mee goreng, rojak. How will then the American, Canada, New Zealnder and Australian called that rojak? Thousand Islands sound great. or even Tropical Salad even sound nice, but all those are just rojak. Just that we never called them their alias foreign name, thus rojak to us means kelang kelibut! Why can't the Malays make all these food internationalise or even able to enter into the real Boutique Restaurants. Belanga Cafe of Zainab is a Boutique Restaurant. I'm glad to meet and see her dedicated effort to make another culture of the Malays an international commodities. I pray for her success.

(12) I was in fact honored to be treated at the Belanga Cafe at the Garden, with rental rate of RM28,000/month, and later shown the second outlet at Empire Shah Alam. She is working on a third outlet at Setia City Shah Alam which is a 700,000 sq ft shopping mall that will be completed in May 2012. The renovation and setting of this outlet could cost her RM1,600,000.00. I was great to be give a chance to visit this new outlet and as usual, I made my critique over the customer treatment by the poor layout of the mall entrance. She is also working to set up Belanga in London. I'm working to blend her idea with Indonesian taste that I love much as well and to set up some in Sarawak especially in Kuching, Bintulu and Miri. I have a dream of having a Reading Cafe which one day I wil called Iqra Cafe. I just want to set a trial at MyStore in MyVillage.

(13) During our nice long chit chat, that made me to forget about my flight back, she seem to be excited with my idea to turn Rantau Panjang Kota Bharu into a Family Shopping and Recreational Heaven. She then suggest for me to have a look at Johor Premium Outlets in Senai and see how such layout could be the Module for Rantau Panjang Redevelopment. We, she, her brother Hashim, Kak Yah and myself drove down to Sinai that took us about three hours from Shah Alam. Upon reaching the named place, I was indeed happy to see Red Rock Castle Factory Outlets of Colorado had now being assembled in Johor. There were some brilliant modifications to the original ideas of the Red Rock Castle Factory Outlets, that really fit into the though that I have for Rantau Panjang Kota Bharu.

(14) We then drove back to KL and reached the Garden Hotel by 2400 hours to meet up with some Saudis who are interested to do some Palm Cooking Oil trading. I guided them on how to get their supplies and for Zainab and the brother to pursued further.

(15) 14 Jan., 2012, I drove off early from the Hotel. Just hit as my leg love to push. I have not book a ticket back home. Then I remember of those nice sale of textiles in Nilai that in the past that I have seen but really don't have time to go through. I spent quiet sometimes going through some items and discussing all the possible whole sale prices. Since I'm no more working, now I have all the time to start thinking hard to raise MyStore daily sale from the current RM5,000.00/day to the possible RM7,000.00/day over the next 3-4 months. I love to turn MyStore into a Full-Social-Service Center for those villages surrounding MyHome in MyKampung. I bought few things for such purpose and posted those over at a price of RM14.50/kg to Asajaya the closest Post Terminal to MyHome.

(16) I then hit up to Sepang and decided just to fly home. InsyaAllah, I'll be home by 2100 hours. Along the way, I began to realize the reason for the cold relation between me and Shaniz. I really smile to it and insyaAllah, I will work hard to mend the whole thing. We will be real good true friend, I hope. To this end, let me say, handphone had made us so coward to face and talk thing straight to each other, face-to-face!

KLIA, Sepang, Malaysia
14 Jan., 2012