51st National Day Celebration

Today August 31, 2008 falls on Sunday and all Malaysians are on holiday to celebrate the 51st National Day. Many people are gathered early the morning here at the Dataran Merdeka to celebrate the great occasion.

The theme of this 51st National day is Perpaduan Teras Kejayaan (unity is the pillar of success), which began on Aug 16 and ends on Oct 18. The closing ceremony will be held in Sabah.

The mood of celebration for this 51st National Day has dismissed from previous years. There are too many quarrels among the politicians nowaday and this has caused many Malaysians difficult to forgive their arrogant remarks.The current political situation from Barison Nasional (BN) has disrupted many activities when the attention should be focused on other more important things.

The government has to bring back the true spirit of Merdeka as proclaimed by the first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, our nation’s founding father.

On this 51st National day, I hope Peace and Progress will continue to prevail in Malaysia-my home country. Malaysians with different backgrounds should be more united and maintained harmonious relations among people that include Malay, Chinese, Indian, and people from Sabah and Sarawak.

Changing Malaysia

A photography exhibition themed “Changing Malaysia,” was opened today by Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal at the 1 Utama Shopping Centre on August 23, 2008.

The exhibition was held in conjunction with the 51st National Day celebrations, presented by The Star and Petronas, is at Highstreet, Ground Floor (near Parkson), until Sept 7. 2008.

A total of 192 photos were displayed at the exhibition. It featured 160 shots by The Star photographers reflecting changes seen in various aspects of daily life that make Malaysia what it is today. And 32 photos from the “Malaysia@50: A Day in the Life of Malaysia” photography contest.

A walk through the display will give an idea of how the built environment has been transformed, with photographs showing not only the new structures that dot today’s urban landscape but also how modern buildings stand in stark contrast to heritage homes.

Also included will be scenes capturing the way Malaysians live, work and play as well as others that look at how change has touched both the young and the old.

Standing Tall: At 459.1metres, the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur can stand tall as the landmark of Malaysia today. Commissioned by Malaysia’s fourth Premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the towers which are among the tallest in the world took six years to complete, and stand on the site of what was once the Kudalari Turf Club. – KAMARUL ARRIFIN/The Star

The skyline of Kuala Lumpur has undergone a drastic change from say 20 years ago. While the Petronas Twin Towers might not be the highest building in the world anymore, but they’re still the highest twin buildings scraping the sky. – AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star

The sunset at Sepang F1 where the Japan GT car was racing.- S.S.Kanesan/The Star

Seri Saujana One of Putrajaya’s magnificent bridge.- Raja Faisal Hishan/The Star.

Modern Bar…..Kiss the sky as you sip your drink at Luna. -Art Chen/ The Star.

The KL Tower stands majestically in contrast to a row of abandoned pre-war houses. In our rush to build higher and bigger and “better” have we failed to preserve our own architectural heritage and wonders? – Glenn Guan/The Star

Dances presenting an item at the Barisan Budi Malaysia concert at Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur. The performing arts scene has flourished, with more exciting productions coming up, both traditional and experimental. – Azman Ghani/ The Star

Photograph these free-flying lake birds in Zoo Negara during feeding time

When I entered The Zoo Negara from the main entrance, I saw some free-flying lake birds mostly painted storks hopping along the road near the lake. I am not aware what they are there for and I thought it was a timely opportunity for me to take out my camera for the shoot.

I heard some sounds coming from a moving van. It was the Zoo workers delivering foods for these free-flying resident birds.

It was around 9.40am in the morning. I realised why all these free-flying lake birds were waiting along the road. These free-flying lake birds are intelligent and they know they can get some free meals here at this hour.

Later I found out that many of these free-flying lake birds are not residents here. some of them from nearby areas and will come back here every morning for their food.

School holiday has started now and if you want to have a family outing for your young children perhaps it is a good idea to take them to Zoo Negara and to photograph these free-flying lake birds during their feeding time. Go early and wait for your photo opportunity at this feeding spots.

All these pictures are taken on a rented Canon 1D Mark lll and Canon 70-200mm F2.8 telephoto lens.

Click to view some of these enlargement pictures of these painted stork birds from my other blog Pixellens