Monday 31 October 2011

After Rain

The water is just waiting to drop when it gets heavier. It's like the pain in the heart. If you can't take it anymore, you let it out. Don't keep in the heart.

Date: 31/10/2011

Time: 5.18pm

Venue: Westlake


Thursday 27 October 2011

light drawing


Well, stress and boredom leads to this. 

A masterpiece by me and my roomate, Ah Liang.

Wednesday 26 October 2011

Happy Deepavali. Selamat Hari Deepavali. Deepavali Nalvazhthukkal



Oh Chin Eng aka OCE would like to wish everyone especially his Hindu friends Happy Deepavali. Everyone should go and pay visit to our Indian friends and experience the harmony living in Malaysia.

Let this festival of light lighten up and open up our hearts to humanity, humility, modesty, respect and acceptance towards each other.

Let's celebrate it altogether in peace, joy and harmony.

I wish that today will be a day without extremism, racism, bigotry, biasness and discrimination.

May your Deepavali this year be a very good one.

Happy Deepavali. Selamat Hari Deepavali. Deepavali Nalvazhthukkal.

Monday 24 October 2011

Lightning from Kampar






Photos are taken on 24/10/2011 from Eastlake, Kampar, Perak, Malaysia after a very heavy downpour at about 7.30pm.

Friday 21 October 2011

beautiful day in UTAR


Date: 21/10/2011

Time: 4.04pm

Venue: UTAR, Kampar, Perak

Monday 17 October 2011

Interior of Leaning Tower in Teluk Intan (panorama)


Have you guys been to this Malaysian version of Eiffel Tower in Perak? This leaning tower is located at Teluk Intan. It's worth to pay a visit there. For those of you who never been up there, this is how it looks like at the top floor. The wall is made from bricks and it's visible clearly. The leaning tower is open everyday for visit except Monday. Entrance is free. 

Date: 16/10/2011

Time: 2.14pm

Venue: Teluk Intan, Perak, Malaysia

Wednesday 12 October 2011

full moon in Kampar

Full moon blossomed last night and can be seen in Kampar. The moon was exactly on top of 'Ku Miao' in Old Town. It was also the 15th day of the Chinese lunar calender where the moon is in its fullest. Fews day ago on Sunday night, the public were all abuzz over lunar halo, a big ring of light that appeared around the moon.

Date: 11/10/2011

Time: 8.46pm

Venue: Old Town, Kampar, Perak

Tuesday 11 October 2011

Passion for conservation

Posted on 10 October 2011 - 05:11am





by Azrina Abdullah



I WAS reading the news the other day about students and their favoured career paths. I was struck by how little our future leaders were interested in conservation as a career and proceeded to contact one of the most passionate conservationists I know, Reuben Clements, a PhD candidate in Wildlife Conservation, to talk about his chosen career path. Reuben has numerous international publications under his belt and is highly respected for his work. Here is the interview with some fascinating views on how conservation became his passion.



Why conservation?

 Life is too short, so why not make a career out of something that enables you to contribute to the well-being of this planet? When I saw hills being mined, trees being logged and animals being killed for no reason, I felt I had to do something about it. I feel many would be emotionally affected after seeing habitats destroyed and try to make a difference. To paraphrase Gandhi, if you want to make a change, be the best example of that change, and others will follow.



Were you always into conservation?

No. Before entering university, I did not know what to do with my life. I was “following the crowd” and pondered on safe career choices that would yield a comfortable monthly salary. Back in my time, few teachers or parents would ever tell their kids that they could make a career out of conserving biodiversity. But times are different now with greater awareness of green issues.



My turning point was doing a MSc at the National University of Singapore which focused on limestone karst conservation. I started to take more interest in conservation during my field trips to pristine and quarried limestone hills in Malaysia, where I witnessed both majesty and travesties. My involvement in on-the-ground conservation grew even more when I got a job with WWF-Malaysia as species conservation manager. Although I had limited opportunities to work on limestone karst conservation, I learnt a great deal more about the realities of conserving other ecosystems and species, and had the freedom to design and implement conservation programmes to help protect wildlife. I found this to be very fulfilling.



How do you think your PhD will benefit conservation, and society as a whole?

 My PhD focuses on the issue of habitat connectivity for wildlife. Animals need to move safely across highways in order to find food and mates. We want to find out if highway viaducts are being utilised by large mammals, and the factors affecting their effectiveness. This will allow us to identify important wildlife habitats where highways should be avoided in order to reduce the risk of forest fragmentation. We are also conducting research to better understand the attitudes of indigenous peoples towards highways. Only time will tell whether our research will contribute to conservation and society – this largely depends on how effective we are at communicating our research findings to decision-makers who can make important policy changes.



What would you say to encourage youth to select conservation as their first career choice?

In order to do conservation, you need to have interest and passion. Even if someone forces you to be a conservationist, don’t listen to them. I always tell young people to follow their dreams. If a person chooses conservation as a career over a medical or legal path, I still think it is a valuable experience to try it out for some time. But if you still do not derive any satisfaction from it, then please vacate that position and let a more passionate person take over.



Azrina Abdullah conducts research on the links between indigenous groups and wildlife trade. She was regional director of Traffic, an NGO which monitors the global wildlife trade. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com


Saturday 8 October 2011

Campbell Street Market, Penang (panorama)

Campbell Street Market at night. This market is one of the earliest markets in the UNESCO World Heritage City of George Town. Although many George Town people have moved out and the youngsters prefer to go to the malls to buy raw food, this market is still as crowded as it used to be. Penangites still choose this old market besides than the nearby Chowrasta Market. This market which was built in around 1900 does not only served as a market but also as a melting pot of the multi-culturalism and symbol of unity and harmony in Penang. It's a good thing that it's being preserved and it should remain that way. Heritage and development can co-exist.

This market is also known as 'Sin Keh' in the local Hokkien dialect.

Date: 8/10/2011

Time: 2.52am

Venue: Campbell Street / Lebuh Campbell, George Town, Penang

Wednesday 5 October 2011

Tower Crane Falls in Penang (panorama)


When? October 4th 2011. Where? At the junction of Jalan Transfer and Jalan Sri Bahari?

More info??

Lazy la.. Read newspaper tomorrow lah.

Tuesday 4 October 2011

Gov't spent over RM2mil to quash Bersih 2.0 rally

Oct 4, 11 11:23am

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the government has spent over RM2 million to deploy over 11,000 police personnel to quash the Bersih 2.0 rally last July.

The minister in his written reply in Parliament said, the amount spent to handle the rally, that took place in Kuala Lumpur on July 9, included deploying personnel from contingents nationwide to aid the KL contingent.

Hishammuddin justified the spending of RM2,018,850 saying the police force was forced to “make comprehensive arrangements to acquire additional provisions such as food and drink, accommodation and other logistic needs”.

“The number of officers and policemen who were deployed to keep the peace in the Klang Valley district amounted to 11,046 including 2,600 other persons who were deployed," he added.

He was replying DAP-Seputeh MP Teresa Kok's question on the amount that had been spent in security forces from July 6 to 9.

On July 9 the coalition for free and fair elections Bersih 2.0 led an estimated 50,000 people from across the nation to march the streets of the capital demanding for electoral reform.

The authorities have been fiercely criticised for its mishandling of the rally, with heavy police crackdown resulting in 1,667 people, including 16 children, being arrested for "disturbing the peace" and taking part in an "illegal gathering".

[More to follow]