Kembara Putrajaya 2010

Kereta marshall konvoi beratur di belakang (Proton Perdana berenjin twin turbo!)

Kereta peserta konvoi


Sedang menyertai Kembara Putrajaya mulai hari ini 11 hingga 13 April. Program mengembara sambil beramal - program sosial Perbadanan Putrajaya.

Seramai 80 orang pegawai dan kakitangan Perbadanan Putrajaya menaiki sejumlah 30 buah kereta akan melawat rumah-rumah anak yatim, mahad tahfiz dan rumah warga tua di Pahang, Kelantan dan Terengganu dengan membawa sedikit sumbangan.

Perjalanan akan diiringi marshalls dari Kelab Proton dan kenderaan polis dari setiap daerah yang akan ditempuhi.

Bertolak dari Putrajaya 8.30pg tadi. Sekarang berada di hentian pertama iaitu Rumah Anak Yatim Bentong.

Japanese maple in Sg Buloh?

On the way back from Tg Malim, after sending Sakinah back to her polytechnic, we stopped over at the Sg Buloh plant nurseries located close to the old Leprosy Hospital.

It has been quite some time since we were last here. The area has changed a lot. Most noticeable was that the number of nurseries have dwindled. To make way for new developments in the area, many nursery operators have moved to new locations I was told - Subang, Damansara etc.

But the place still continue to delight me, nevertheless.

This time I came upon a plant of about 7 feet in height with foliages which seemed rather familiar the very instant I set my eyes upon it.

It was a Japanese Maple tree.

''What? A Japanese Maple tree, in Malaysia, so far away from the Land of the Rising Sun?'' I thought to myself .

So it was.

Japanese Maple, or ''irohamomiji'' as it is called in Japanese, is native to Japan, Korea and China.

It has attractive leaf shapes and wonderful red colors during autumn, so much so that it was one of my favourite subjects for autumn season photography during our three year stay in Japan.

Fancy seeing it in our own backyard.

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New F1 season begins

The Lotus Formula One's new car: The T127

With Liverpool languishing below the top four placing in the league table, and showing no signs of improving, my weekends have become all dull and nothing much to look forward to nowadays.

So, what to do?

Fear not. For the F1 season has arrived. And this season promises to be an exciting one, too.

First, Michael Schumacher, statistically the greatest driver the sport has ever seen, is back to rock the circuits. Secondly, my favourite McLaren team seems to have a more reliable car this season (if Lewis Hamilton himself says so, then who am I to question).

But more interestingly, there are two teams with the Malaysian connection this season.

Petronas now is the major sponsor for team Mercedes Grand Prix, with Schumacher of course, as one of its drivers.

And then there is Team Lotus F1. This team, a reincarnation of the legendary Lotus team of yesteryears, is now totally Malaysian owned and managed.

The race kicks off today at the Sakhir Circuit, Bahrain. Happy viewing.

Putrajaya:Malaysia's pioneer green city

The belief in the need to protect our surrounding environment, and respect for nature, is deeply rooted in our Malaysian culture and traditions. For Mother Nature has nurtured us and kept us going for generations. Its beauty and greenness has afforded us tranquility, serenity and much needed respite.

But now the health of the global environment is under threat as never before. The impacts of climate change are now widely accepted as real issues. This was clearly underlined during the recently concluded United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

A lot needs to be done if we are to reverse the trend of assault on the environment. Strategic actions are required. And they need to be supported by STRONG political will if any amount of positive impact is to be forthcoming.

One bright note for Malaysia is that, during the Malaysia 2010 Budget Speech, the PM had announced that Putrajaya and Cyberjaya will be developed to be the pioneers of Green Technology City in Malaysia.

It is a good start.

Putrajaya, on its part, is very excited and positive about this announcement. Therefore on 23 and 24 February Perbadanan Putrajaya will be hosting a forum under the theme: Green Cities International Conference.

The aim is to widen understanding on green cities amongst decision makers and professionals from government agencies, local authorities and related industry players. Eight international speakers (from as far away as Washington) will join four Malaysian experts to present papers and share their experience.

Hopefully, an action plan for a “green Putrajaya” will be one of the outcomes of this two day conference.

Welcome to the next big trend in Malaysian town planning: Green Cities.

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Federal Territory Day

Pic above shows the trees along Jalan Raja Laut, in front of KL City Hall building, all decorated & lighted up for tonight's celebration

Tomorrow is 1st of February. It's Federal Territory Day.

Tonight there's a big do to celebrate this big occasion at Dataran Merdeka.

I'm at the Dataran under a marquee tent facing the main stage. On stage is the singer Aishah belting out a song at the top of her voice.

Its already 10.37pm. The VVIP (the prime minister) is yet to arrive.

And I'm thinking to myself... what time I will reach home tonight.

Taman Mahkota Cheras Ride

Tired faces half way up the hill to the water tank (actually just one tired face, because Anas was just fine)

The view from Bandar Mahkota Cheras water tank (half way up)


This was my second ride after the accident last May (or was it June?).

Again my companion was Anas. I'm not ready yet to venture out with my riding buddies who are bound to be much fitter as they've been training continuously.

Today's ride took us to Bandar Mahkota Cheras, the residential area famous for its traffic light/junction blockage incident last year which saw scuffles and demonstrations.

Tried to attack its highest point, the water storage tank atop a hill. The mind said "weee...let's go, let's go!". But my body said "arrgh...tak boleh tahan....".

So we ended up just half way up. The view from up there was breathtaking nevertheless. But I got breathless, and sweated, profusely!

Summary

Date: 24 January 2010 (Sunday)

No. of riders : just the two of us

Set off/finish time: ~ 6.50am – 8.15am

Total duration: 1 hour 25 min.

Route: Home, Tmn Mahkota Cheras, Pekan Cheras Batu 11 river confluence, Taman Megah.

Distance covered: 15.8 km

Trail condition: Road plus a little bit of rough trails

Cherating images

I was in Cherating for a workshop during the first weekend of 2010. Brought the family along. So while I was stuck in the conference room, they got to stroll the beautiful beach.

It is the monsoon season though. The wind was strong and the sea was rough with big waves. But when the weather was fine, Cherating is rather captivating. No wonder the first Club Med in Asia is located on this beach.

Photos courtesy of my son, Anas, the official photographer whilst Abah is hard at work!