Goodbye 2008 Welcome 2009

Today is the New Year’s Eve and in a few more hours  thousands of people will flock to Dataran Merdeka, Bukit Bintang area, Mid Valley Megamall, Suria KLCC, The Mines and Sunway Pyramid. Most of the people want to celebrate together with their family members, loved ones and friends.

AS the year 2008 comes to a close and most people in the city look forward to the year ahead and start to welcome the year 2009.

Police has warned the revelers not to repeat the mayhem which happened during the Christmas Eve’s celebration. And don’t spend the New Year in the police lock-up.

The Christmas Eve’s celebration on Wednesday was just over few day ago. However part of the crowd turned rowdy and this result The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) hit out at irresponsible revellers who littered Jalan Sultan Ismail in Bukit Bintang areas

At Gurney Drive revelers indiscriminately sprayed foam at passing vehicles, some even kicked or stomped on cars. Two students were reported to have remanded on obstruction police.

To my shocking I read a report in the newspapers that there will be a mega sex party on New Year’s Eve that is scheduled to be held in Johor Baru . Under-wear off – that is one of the conditions for guys and the girls must wear only G-string panties and be prepared to take them off after midnight to usher in the new year.

Is this becoming our Malaysian way of celebrating a joyful occasion in this coming New Year. Will the people accept this kind of festive celebration?

Goodbye 2008 Welcome 2009! Here I hope you all have a safe and fun holiday season, and a happy, healthy and prosperous 2009.

Happy New Year.

Flash back the 2008 countdown………When the tower clock at Dataran Merdeka struck 12midnight , showers of colorful fire works display flashed immediately lighting up the night sky. The crowd of revellers started cheering each other and welcome the year 2008.

Are the wild Malayan tigers protected from The National Tiger Action Plan.

I think this is a good news to many people who love wildlife that the Malaysian government wants to double its wild tiger population. The Star published this story written by AP and I read it with interest after the white tigers attacked and killed a cleaner in Singapore Zoo..

Malaysia has launched an ambitious plan to double its wild tiger population within 12 years by protecting jungle corridors where poachers prey on the endangered big cats, activists said.

The National Tiger Action Plan aims to have 1,000 Malayan tigers roaming in the wild by 2020, said Sara Sukor, a spokeswoman for Malaysia’s chapter of the World Wildlife Fund, one of several conservation groups that helped the government create the plan.

Authorities estimate Malaysia’s wild tiger population has fallen from 3,000 to 500 in the last half-century, largely due to illegal hunting and the human encroachment and destruction of the tigers’ natural jungle habitat. Tiger meat is exported, served at exotic restaurants and used in traditional Chinese medicine — all illegal acts under Malaysian law. Continue reading

These were photos of two Malayan tigers which I captured in the Zoo Negara. I posted some related articles on this ” big cats ” as I love to photograph them.

Are we still getting cool and fresh air in Cameron Highlands?

My good friend Tony and his wife Erin called to invite us for a holiday. We chose to go to Cameron Highlands to enjoy the cool climate and fresh air of the highlands

 Cameron Highlands is a highland region located about 300 km north of my home in Subang Jaya. It is the largest and most famous hill resort in the country. This highland paradise still retains much of the charm of a typical English colonial home

We took a slow leisure drive, dropping by at Bidor for lunch to savour the famous herbal roast duck soup noodle. We used the new entrance Simpang Pulai and drove up as high as 1500 metres above sea-level reaching one of the peaks of the main range of Peninsular Malaysia, High above here on the highlands the temperature plunged as low as 16 ˚C.

So many things have changed compared to thirty years ago when I first visited this holiday resort after I left school. During that time, there were not many houses, hotels and apartments and even then there were not so many vegetable farms and gardens. It was just a forest with trees and plants. Nowadays there are too much land clearings for new development around the towns of Tanah Rata and Brinchang. Many have complained that the weather was affected and it was not so cold like in the earliest days

We stayed three days and 2 night at a holiday apartment,. Everywhere we walked we can see flowers and they are bigger and color rich. There were too many key attracting places to look around but we just visited some in Cameron Highlands including, strawberry farms, rose gardens and vegetable gardens, Cactus Point, and the Boh Tea Plantation.

At the Boh Sungai Palas Tea Centre, we order a cup of tea, sitting and chatting. The teahouse which was overlooking the valley while sipping a cup hot freshly brewed tea was truely relaxing

More pictures to come in my next posting and stay tune!