Here's an interesting series that are printed on The Star (Malaysia's leading English language newspaper) on new year's day 2004. It gives an insight into the lives of people in the Klang Valley which I find might be beneficial to those whom wanted to know more about this little metro called Kuala Lumpur.

Enjoy :) .........

5am


NEW DAY: Every day, at five in the morning, the silence of Kampung Sungai Kayu Ara is broken by the shrill, melodious call for ‘subuh’ prayers from ‘bilal’ Osman Ibrahim. The ‘azan’ is sounded twice, once at 5am and again at 5.30am. A new day unfolds for city folk as mothers get their children ready for school and the fathers enjoy their morning coffee and newspaper before leaving for work.






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5am


EARLY MORNING RITE: While most people in the Klang Valley are still asleep, there are some who are already up and praying or performing sacred rites. For instance, this Hindu devotee is performing the ‘paal abishegam’ or milk offering on the 1,008 Sivalingas at the 120-year-old Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Puchong, a deed she does first thing each morning.





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7.30am



MORNING DELIGHTS: A welcome sight for those who do not have the time to prepare breakfast. A Yook Woo Hin Restaurant worker getting ready before the early morning customers walk in. The restaurant in Petaling Street is famous for serving breakfast well before the sun comes up.







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6am


CHANGE OF GUARD: Kajang Prison’s morning shift wardens attending morning briefing in front of the visitors’ block before beginning their duties for the day.




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9.45am


TRUE SALT OF THE SEA: Having caught a stingray in his net, a fisherman decides to make a meal out of it. He has to cook it quickly before his fellow fishermen join him for breakfast -– out at sea, off Pulau Ketam.






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10am



GETTING THEIR HANDS DIRTY: Not a job everyone loves, but somebody has to do it. Arumugam K. (right) and Rajasekaran A. are cleaning a compacter before the garbage truck goes on the road again.






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9am


SELLING LIKE HOT CAKES: Beginning each day with a good breakfast is a must for most city folk. Recognising this, a worker at Ampang Yong Tau Foo is busy dishing out the outlet’s specialities.





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10am


FRUIT OF HIS LABOUR: V. Ramasamy collecting latex from a rubber tree. Every morning he collects the white fluid from some 500 treesand his work is usually done by noon.






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11am


SECURITY MEASURE:The Putrajaya Marine Police members doing their rounds at the beautiful Putrajaya lake. They do this all through the day to ensure all is fine at the new government administration centre.





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12noon


GOOD CATCH: This fisherman is loading ‘ikan muar’ onto his boat. The fish will be sold at RM4 a kg in the market.





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4.30pm


CLEAN TRACK: A Putra LRT train getting a wash after a couple of days’ run. All 34 Putra trains are washed once every two days and its interiors are also given a good scrub daily to ensure commuters travel in comfort.





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3pm


SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE: Ustaz Mohd Amin Miswan beginning his Quran recital at his home in SS15, Petaling Jaya. It is also the time when he begins religious classes for the youngsters in the neighbourhood.






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5pm


THE BULL RESTS: Mayban Securities assistant vice president and head of institutional sales Adrien Chen wrapping up the day’s trading on the stock market. Major business activities stop after this period.





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5pm


SMOOTH FLOW: Rush hour can be a mess if not for people like traffic policeman Mat Zin, 43, who keeps order at a junction near the Mines Shopping Complex.




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6pm


FOR A QUICK BITE: For those who want a quick bite before working the night shift, the Imbi Corner is good. It has already got its dishes set up by evening.





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9pm


TIME TO ROLL: Technician Liew Kim Sang adjusting a film reel in the projection room of the GSC Mid Valley at 9pm.




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10pm


STREET LIFE: Many children take to roaming the streets after dark. Social worker Fadzillah Wan takes to the streets to advise them against the bad habit and to seek help from the welfare activity centre.





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NAME OF THE GAME: A player taking a nap while the others watch or play during a midnight game of futsal at the Sports Planet in Sunway.




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2am


SURFING ON: A lot of things go on way past midnight like at this 24-hour cybercafe in SS15, Subang Jaya. With the Internet boom, youngsters and students make full use of such cafes to surf, gain information or simply to have fun.




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2am


HELP RINGS IN: A Maxis Call Centre employee taking calls even in the wee hours of the morning. It is a 24-hour service provided by Maxis for the convenience of its customers.






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How many calls in average in between 12am-6am ah for any call centre? :D

How many calls in average in between 12am-6am ah for any call centre? :D

Depends on which call centre you working actually :D

For mine...err...cannot say here. Sorry Baq. But if you happen to ask Sze, I think the average call that his company might get will be the same as mine la.

How many calls in average in between 12am-6am ah for any call centre? :D


I have no idea cos my dept got no such shift. Anyway I think the amount would be so much lesser and it would be far more relaxing......I wish I could work those hours too :D

For this and next month I've actually requested for 3:30pm till midnight shift as I dun have to rush with the rest of the population. I seems to like working during weekends now too :D

Part of this reason is because I could avoid seeing people I dun want to see also but I've to sacrifice going out with friends and having dinner with family. Anyway I've still got another 2 months ago to end this misery! :happy:

hehe..thanks for the input..must be cool ! :cry:

BTW, I wonder where this is(taken in August)? Sorry for the rosak quality :laugh:

http://img51.photobucket.com/albums/v157/baqthier/sleep1.jpg

Wah lau, sleeping on the job? Must have been a really quiet night...
http://img51.photobucket.com/albums/v157/baqthier/sleep1.jpg

Wah lau, sleeping on the job? Must have been a really quiet night...


...that is not night lar......and that is a security guard! :D ....its a Sunday afternoon :lol:

For this and next month I've actually requested for 3:30pm till midnight shift as I dun have to rush with the rest of the population. I seems to like working during weekends now too :D

Part of this reason is because I could avoid seeing people I dun want to see also but I've to sacrifice going out with friends and having dinner with family. Anyway I've still got another 2 months ago to end this misery! :happy:

Interesting. Now both of us are trying a different thing in life. You found out that you like to work during weekend and nite shift while me on the other hand changing into a normal working hours. How strange life is.

Thought that you going for another job :?

...that is not night lar......and that is a security guard! :D ....its a Sunday afternoon :lol:

Ye la...tapi selamba je tido. :D

Interesting. Now both of us are trying a different thing in life. You found out that you like to work during weekend and nite shift while me on the other hand changing into a normal working hours. How strange life is.

Thought that you going for another job :?


well.....I am leaving in July mah......so still got another 1 and a half freaking month to go!!! :bleep:

well.....I am leaving in July mah......so still got another 1 and a half freaking month to go!!! :bleep:

You will reach that time in a blink of an eye. Trust me. I might take 4 day off end of this month :D

You will reach that time in a blink of an eye. Trust me. I might take 4 day off end of this month :D


eh.....you dun confirm your leave first cos Nazrey is coming down I think sometime next week..........you might wanna join us ;)

I wish that it would be 'a blink of an eye' !!! :cry: .......I've been dragging myself to work these days! :(

eh.....you dun confirm your leave first cos Nazrey is coming down I think sometime next week..........you might wanna join us ;)


Has he confirm already when his coming down :?

Well, technically I do have to take leave. You see, the last 4 days of this month I am still working under shift pattern, mean from Friday till Monday. Come Tuesday, I will officially be under normal working hour, which eventually lead me to work another 4 day till that Friday, follow by Saturday off. By right I will have my leave on Tuesday and Wednesday, but due to this circumstances, I have to take my leave to accomodate my own self. I don't want to work for 8 days in a row. Tired a bit lately. Lot of thing happen and some of it taken more of my time that I can actually handle.

So, basically I will have 6 day off. Some people ask me to join them to go to Bangkok, some ask for Genting. I might just opt and stay home. I'm just tired now. I'm just tired....

Has he confirm already when his coming down :?

Well, technically I do have to take leave. You see, the last 4 days of this month I am still working under shift pattern, mean from Friday till Monday. Come Tuesday, I will officially be under normal working hour, which eventually lead me to work another 4 day till that Friday, follow by Saturday off. By right I will have my leave on Tuesday and Wednesday, but due to this circumstances, I have to take my leave to accomodate my own self. I don't want to work for 8 days in a row. Tired a bit lately. Lot of thing happen and some of it taken more of my time that I can actually handle.

So, basically I will have 6 day off. Some people ask me to join them to go to Bangkok, some ask for Genting. I might just opt and stay home. I'm just tired now. I'm just tired....

okaylah....should ya be free.......I might include Genting in Nazrey's itenary.....just a day/night trip....not too long ....so I think it won't get ya too tired.......no themepark stuffs (you could reserved those for your later trips as it is time consuming) ;) ....just jalan-jalan and get some fresh air :okay:

okaylah....should ya be free.......I might include Genting in Nazrey's itenary.....just a day/night trip....not too long ....so I think it won't get ya too tired.......no themepark stuffs (you could reserved those for your later trips as it is time consuming) ;) ....just jalan-jalan and get some fresh air :okay:

Okay...but I cannot promise you anything at this moment ;)

nazrey comming?? cool:D

how long will he be here??

okaylah....should ya be free.......I might include Genting in Nazrey's itenary.....just a day/night trip....not too long ....so I think it won't get ya too tired.......no themepark stuffs (you could reserved those for your later trips as it is time consuming) ;) ....just jalan-jalan and get some fresh air :okay:

Hmmm..but I wanna go for the theme park stuff :cry:

Hmmm..but I wanna go for the theme park stuff :cry:


aiyah.....the thempark nothing much wan lah......maybe we could go for the thempark when we have another gathering cos I want Nazrey to absorb as much as he could so time-consuming things like stupid roller coasters :D

aiyah.....the thempark nothing much wan lah......maybe we could go for the thempark when we have another gathering cos I want Nazrey to absorb as much as he could so time-consuming things like stupid roller coasters :D

FINE!!!! FINE!!! I don't want to waste you time anymore with all the time consuming things like stupid roller coster :bash: :bash: :bash: .

FINE!!!! FINE!!! I don't want to waste you time anymore with all the time consuming things like stupid roller coster :bash: :bash: :bash: .


hahhaha.......crybaby lah you......:D ......the roller coasters there are really 'stupid' cos they are not fun at all. I bet the BTS ones are better. I dun mind going on roller costers at Universal Studios Florida or any of the Six Flags in US but Genting's probably a waste of time. ;)

hahhaha.......crybaby lah you......:D ......the roller coasters there are really 'stupid' cos they are not fun at all. I bet the BTS ones are better. I dun mind going on roller costers at Universal Studios Florida or any of the Six Flags in US but Genting's probably a waste of time. ;)

yeah, the roller coaster(corkscrew) isn't interesting. i didn't have the chance to take the others (flying dragon, rolling mine train??) coz bad weather and no time as well. the space shot is great though:D and the indoor theme park is really "cheap" if u r looking for something thrilling.

BTS roller coaster is the best i've ever been on so far.

Sunway Lagoon's roller coaster is the longest in Malaysia right?? any pics?

hahhaha.......crybaby lah you......:D ......the roller coasters there are really 'stupid' cos they are not fun at all. I bet the BTS ones are better. I dun mind going on roller costers at Universal Studios Florida or any of the Six Flags in US but Genting's probably a waste of time. ;)

Of course la the one inside BTS is the best one. I just wanna try the one in Genting la..... :bash:

Sunway Lagoon's roller coaster is the longest in Malaysia right?? any pics?

Is it...I don't think so...unless they have a totally new roller coaster...but that is not the case right

Is it...I don't think so...unless they have a totally new roller coaster...but that is not the case right

i remembered seeing it in a website saying that it is 1000+m. BTS is 900m right?

i'll try to find that website again

http://www.rcdb.com/installationresult.htm?coastername=&parkname=&type=&design=&category=&contact=&status=&state=&country=30&column=1%2C10%2C6%2C7%2C8%2C3%2C26%2C4%2C5&order=1%2C2%2C8%2C7%2C6

eh..nazrey how heavy ar? if he's under 60kg then can ride all rides ler!

eh..nazrey how heavy ar? if he's under 60kg then can ride all rides ler!

i'm so light asso can take all rides ah?

Of course la the one inside BTS is the best one. I just wanna try the one in Genting la..... :bash:


No point trying out something more inferior rite? :D

If you two wanna go then go ahead lah......me just go in there jalan-jalan and take pictures ;)

Well, I might not be able to go, as I mention to you that 2 nite ago....and I think I might not go for definite again this time around :ohno:

Interesting. Now both of us are trying a different thing in life. You found out that you like to work during weekend and nite shift while me on the other hand changing into a normal working hours. How strange life is.

Thought that you going for another job :?


After 3 months of continous weekend and afternoon till midnight shift - for the past 2 months.....I've been enjoying myself with the normal working hours. At least I get to meet my friends and family and that is very very important ;)

Well it's my turn for shifts! and I don't get public holidays even 1st day of hari raya! A big test for me :cry:

Well it's my turn for shifts! and I don't get public holidays even 1st day of hari raya! A big test for me :cry:


Aiyoh.....I would be DOOMED if I did not get off on the 1st day of CNY! :cry:

I share your sentiments....I know how it felt :(

good thing about this job..erm..it's my field and i get 3 offs a week! :D:D

good thing about this job..erm..it's my field and i get 3 offs a week! :D:D


yea...there must be some consolations.......eh? Only Malays meh work in your company or is there not enuf staff?

Cos at Maxis, non-Muslims would be working extra time during the 2 weeks before and during Hari Raya to enable our fellow colleagues to balik kampung etc...etc...... vice versa during Deepavali and CNY ;)

Wah...Baq working already. How come I didn't know :?

wat're you doing now baq?? open a restaurant??:D

Copyright 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
The Business Times Singapore

December 27, 2004 Monday

MALAYSIA

535 words


KL night spots to close later in trial project;
Major drive to draw tourists from Middle East to city

Pauline Ng In Kuala Lumpur

IN an indication of how significant the Middle East market has become to Kuala Lumpur, the capital city says it is considering a policy around the concept of a city that never sleeps - all just to accommodate the well-heeled West Asian tourists.

Feeling unwelcome in the US after the Sept 11 attacks, Middle Eastern tourists started gravitating to countries which are keen to have them visit. Not only has Malaysia welcomed them with open arms, it is showing a willingness to bend over backwards to make their stay as pleasant and comfortable as possible.

The mayor of Kuala Lumpur, Mohmad Shaid Mohamad Taufek, has implemented a pilot project in the Golden Triangle, allowing hotels and restaurants to keep their doors open until the very wee hours of the morning, instead of shutting at 1 or 2 am.

The idea, the New Straits Times quoted him as saying, is to cater to foreigners, particularly those from West Asia.

'We have dinner at 8.30 pm. But tourists from the Middle East generally prefer to eat about 11 pm and stay out until 5 am, and I would like to cater to them.'

Mr Mohmad who intends to introduce the new entertainment policy next year after a study of the results, sees a correlation between the 24-hour concept and the entry of investment into the city.

For the first 10 months of the year, 117,696 West Asian tourists visited Malaysia, making up 9 per cent of the nearly 13.1 million tourist arrivals as of end-October.

Indeed, tourist arrivals from West Asia leapt 139 per cent in the first nine months of the year from the same period last year - a jump the government is keen to encourage.

West Asians are discovering in Malaysia a very viable alternative destination. The easy availability of 'halal' food aside, quality hotels and a wide range of shopping facilities have apparently made the country a must-go destination for West Asians.

Also, compared to Singapore, for example, the cheap ringgit puts significantly more money in their pockets to roam around the Golden Triangle's increasing number of shopping malls for the latest bargains.

The Saudis make up the largest group of West Asian tourists, 38,000 arrivals so far this year. The United Arab Emirates is second at 20,726, followed by Kuwait, Lebanon and Oman, Tourism Malaysia told BT.

Their average spend in the country is RM278 (S$120) daily - similar to the average tourist spend.

Middle Eastern tourists are extremely demanding customers by most accounts, but given their increasing clout, hoteliers, restaurant and shopowners know this segment is too big to be ignored.

Tourism Malaysia is planning to participate in a number of travel marts and sales missions to selected West Asian countries next year to promote Malaysia as a 'top tourist destination'.

But Malaysia's warm welcome and very relaxed entry requirements - most tourists do not require a prior visa application - have its own drawbacks. Last month, the country began imposing visa restrictions on Afghan, Iraqi and Iranian nationals with the aim of reducing human smuggling and terrorist activities.

Malaysian Deputy Home Minister Chor Chee Heung explained that the precautions were 'for the purpose of internal security'.

December 26, 2004

Hey we have changed mayors pretty frequent since the last post in this thread :lol: Any idea if the current mayor has the same vision?