A Wednesday evening.

After the Maghrib prayers (sometime last week or so) at Mesjid Bukit Setongkol, Kuantan,Pahang, Malaysia, Ustaz Fadzil Hassan gave his tazkirah (in Malay). He is a regular in this Mesjid, being there every Wednesday evening most of the time, unless he is unavailable.
Ustaz Fadzil Hassan is my old Guru Ugama (Islamic Religious Teacher) from my early Sekolah Melayu (Malay School – elementary school) at my vilage, Lipat Kajang, in the District of Temerloh, Pahang Malaysia (Malaya then) in the 50s. He was the person who introduced me to Fiq(ah), Tauhid, Tajuid, and also Tasauf. When I left my village to go to my Secondary School in town and later for my further studies, we lost touch. Much later I bumped into him in Kuantan, and when I found out that he gives Tazkirah at Mesjid Bukit Sentongkol, Kuantan, I have made it a point to listen to his tazkiranh whenever I am in Kuantan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K78zLg1xjCs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_RgfIm1QQM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOqBEBAu6Ng
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f2NJJulKq0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XgKCd8hyVk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lyb82puMhNM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5rbx3Kg0VM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4y_4znCMRU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLFQmNxJptQ



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On a fine Sunday morning

The Sunday morning the week before, just after the Subuh prayers, at Masjid Sultan Ahmad Shah 1, Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia,

Adek (a young brother) Muhammad reciting some verses from the Koraan,
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2764487861619566201&hl=en

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5745894619593301447&hl=en

and Ustaz Ramlee following up with tazkirah.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4330307321215493216&hl=en

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5797664271718261841&hl=en
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-887590539388887189&hl=en
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-476856010164087461&hl=en
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2232677346966271649&hl=en
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2232677346966271649&hl=en



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Last Saturday Night In Kuantan.

Ustaz Ramlee - Last Saturday Night.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2560929284008589917&hl=en


http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7928637562168833617&hl=en

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8046126416469210610&hl=en

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4988922022063150221&hl=en

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4893057564213828127&hl=en

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7803144825673912065&hl=en

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5251761872221208674&hl=en

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9015290885699232920&hl=en




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Water supply to apartment.

We install a cartridged filter at the inlet of our apartment water supply system. After about 1 week, one can see how dirty the cartridge gets. This indicates that there are particles of dirt (maybe sand or earth) in the incoming piped water to the apartment.

Compare the 1 week filter with the similar white cartridge before installation.

What could have caused the dirt? In reality piped water in Malaysia is not that clean. Once upon a time one used to say of piped water in Malaysia as "You can drink the water from the tap". Not anymore.

For my apartment, I guess (I have not checked on this) 'clean' water is collected in a 'mother' tank at the bottom of the building and then pumped up to the secondary tanks at the top of the building, from where water is distributed to the various apartments. The incoming water is already dirty, and the 'mother ' tank may have sadiment collected at the bottom of it and after that the sadiment may then collect at the bottom of the secondary tank on top. When water reaches an apartment, its not really clean water though a lot of sadiment from the public water supply haa already collected at the bottom of two tanks. What one sees at the cartridged filter is the leftover of the total sadiment from the main public water supply.

We change the water filter cartridge periodically, say once a month. And it is expected that the 'mother' water tank and the secondary water tank should be cleaned say once every 2 years at least. Currently the cleaning (to the best of my knowledge) have never been done by the apartments Management.




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Dishonest

This is plain dishonest, amounting to stealing. There is no water meter, probably taken away by the Management due one reason or another. And the apartment occupier had made this illegal connection to get water illegally.
The 'link' is there at night but by daybreak it has been taken away, as if no 'link' had ever existed. "Now you see, now you don't".
Its a shame really that we are living among such dishonest people, and if they are the Muslims of type who prays 5 times a day its worse.
Lets hope that these people realise their errors in life.


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No water

I have just realised that certain people living in the apartments complex has no water meter. Virtually it means that the apartment concerned has no running water supply. Why? I don't really know and I have not investigated. The funny part is that there are decent (?) people living in the apartment. What comes to my mind is not why they have no running water, it is how come they still live in the apartment and how do they wash with no running eater? I have not asked, and I don't intend to.


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Bloggers

Blogger Pahang

* Cucu Tok Kedu
* Cucu Tok Ayah
* Zuridan Daud
* Zukri Aksah
* Tok Pepijat
* Nasa'e Ismail
* Fezul Jengka
* Gaung Hati
* Abu Ayyash
* Nakmarahmarahlah

bloggers Lepeh

* alberangque
* aminul
* arrawa takaful agensi
* hilmi
* izwan
* Kie
* sadid
* syahir

* pemuda pas lipis




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Access control

In our apartment complex, among what we have, we have a 'sort of security' which looks good at a first glance but when one goes deep down into it its just a show piece. The security is very amateurist, a sort of 'melepas batuk di tangga' (translated as 'just pretending to be concerned') as the Malay saying goes. The security is at the apartment buildings gate but not many people really care about them, especially the young people in their cars and motorcycles coming in and out of the complex at night, sometime into the wee hours of the morning.

What the Kuantan Le' Town apartment buildings need is a proper security/access set up, just like the one I see near my house in Kuala Lumpur.

They have a proper 'up and down bar gate' with proper sign boarding.


Gate opens whenever anyone comes in or goes out of the complex, using an automatic card control system: the yellow post just outside the gate - near bottom right. (But I doubt if my Kuantan Apartments complex can afford the card control system).

And proper uniform guards guarding the gate. Preferably from a private security Co.

Looking at the photograph, the guard seems old, probably a pensioner, but at least with uniform like that they get respect from those trying to gain entry into the apartment buildings, and added with that card control gate making not many people wanting to unnecessarily go in or out of the complex.

I doubt if ever the Le' Town Apartment Management will ever implement such security/access system (if ever they understand what security/access system means) though people living in the apartments have been paying and will be paying their maintenance fees of RM150.00 (USD 1.00 = RM 3.30) a month religiously.




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Frequent visitor

He is the most frequent visitor to the apartment’s gazebo. He stays there everyday almost the whole day, 7 days a week and 30 days a month. And we do not know what he does, over there or for a living.

They say that ‘he is not himself’. I have not talked to him so I would not really know. Though I know that most of the time he talks to himself. They say that he used to be a painter of the buildings, but I have no mean of confirming this info.

He is quite harmless, to date. He does not disturb anyone, and no one disturbs him.

Nobody knows where he lives, and he does not live in any of the apartments. Live and let live.



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Swimming costume.

It has been a long time since the Management enforces its rules on swimming costumes for the apartment’s swimming pool. Since then the rules have been very laxed, if not unenforceable.

These are some of the examples of the swimmers costumes, which are really far out of what Management have wanted to enforce originally.


Originally they wanted all those swimming in the pool to have proper swimming costumes, whatever that means.




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Monitor Lizard of Kuantan.

Two photographs of the same monitor lizard of Taman Gelora, Kuantan (Malaysia) taken on the same morning, yesterday. Taman Gelora is a popular recreation ground of the local folks, and over the whole day especially at weekends folks are there doing recreation, exercise, jogging or just lazily walking.

There are a couple of small lakes in that ground, and I have observed (when walking there in the morning) monitor lizards of various sizes swimming in those lakes looking for food, fish especially. The lakes are rich with tropical fish.

This morning I was lucky to take these photoes of the same monitor lizard swimming and looking for food. Usually either it does not come out or I have no camera with me. I think that this lizard is the biggest of them all, it must be about 5 feet in length (exaggerating a bit). To the best of my knowledge, it does not attack human unless cornered, it only searches for fish and small animals or small birds for food.

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Audited account

Daripada,

(Purposely left blank, not for public consumption)

09 Nov. 2008.

Kepada,
General Manager,
Le Town Management,
T/A Greenleaf Hotel,
60-62, Jalan Bukit Ubi,
25000 Kuantan, Pahang DM.

Salinan: Penghuni Le Town Apartment.

Mesyuarat Penubuhan Badan Pengurusan Bersama di Bawah Akta Bangunan Dan Harta Bersama (Penyelengaraan Dan Pengurusan) 2008 (Akta 633) Bagi Le Town Management.

Saya di fahamkan bahawa Badan Pengurusan Bersama sedang dalam proses penubuhan dengan resminya.

Saya ingin mencadangkan dan memohon agar kiranya satu penyata akaun (yang telah di audit oleh Syarikat Audit Bertauliah) yang sekurang-kurang nya untuk selama 5 (lima) tahun (kebelakang ) di bentangkan di dalam mesyuarat Badan Pengurusna Bersama (yang sedang dalam penubuhan) yang akan datang supaya semua yang telah membayar yuran penyelengaraan selama itu tahu di mana semua wang-wang tersebut telah di belanjakan.

Harap mendapat kerjasama dari pehak Pengurusan Le’ Town Apartment.

Yang benar,





(left blank, not for public consumption)

http://mykuantanapartment.blogspot.com

I have to send the above letter to the Management. I have yet to see the audited account of the maintenance fees which most of us have been paying religiously all these years.
The maintenance fees have been fixed at RM 150.00 a month. (USD 1.0 = RM 3.30). And to the best of my knowledge there are 88 apartments in all the blocks. Giving a pessimistic calculation at 85% payments only (absent and delinquent landlords/tenants may fail to pay), the total monthly collection would be RM 11,220.00, meaning RM 134,640.00 annually, and RM 673,200 for 5 years. How have these money been spent, and who are/were the beneficiaries? That can only be discovered in an audited account.


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Long Time Resident

I was talking to this oldish gentleman the other day, he being a long time resident of the apartments. He was saying about how his water supply was cut off when he only owed the Management only RM3.00 arears in water bill. (USD 1.00 = RM 3.30). He had been religiously paying his RM150.00 maintenance fees monthly. That happened on the first day of the Chinese New Year as well. He confronted the Management, and according to him the Management appologised to him.

While talking about the Management, we came to the questions of who are really in the Management? Who appointed them to be there? How much is each of the members of the Management paid in cash and in kind? Are these payments accounted for in the Apartments' Maintenance account? We could not answer those questions, and we expect the Management to answer them when a proper Management structure is established, and when the account is audited by the Auditors.


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Exorcist

The occupants of the apartments are from various varied background. Some fit very well into this enclosed community while others do not fit well, some are just ‘unsociable’, not in themselves but in reality not knowing how to behave when living in this sort of strange (to them) community. This is especially so to the Malay girls and boys who probably have been raised in remote Malay kampong or a far away felda scheme where the majority ate Malays like themselves. They find that this enclosed community is (they think) easy to fool around with in a way, and they misbehave or misuse the facilities available. They think that by misbehaving or misuse the facilities they are being clever, but they are misfits.

They rent an apartment, with say 6 to 8 of them in one apartment, they may stay out late (or work late) and may come back in the wee hours of the morning, where they (being unsociable) will make a lot of noise making other tenants in the block or in the nearby apartment not able to sleep. That ‘bravo’ behaviour’ makes them feel ‘important’, they get attention. This for the boys but for the girls, well ……… they may even be GRO type, living on immoral earnings some of them do. What they do not realize is that they are being watched by the other tenants or occupants of other apartments.

What had happened, I suppose even the spirits in the building are taking note of their ‘misfit’ behaviour. And on a couple of occasions they get hysteria (disturbed by the spirits) in the middle of the night or even in the early morning hours. In their unconscious behaviour they struggle and break things. And if not restrained by their friends they may even jump off the building (Allah forbid). And of course when they are disturbed by the spirits, an exorcist has to be called. Luckily the security people know an exorcist specialist around this area and so he gets called. Sure, he says, there are spirits living nearby. And he suggests that in order to rid the area of the spirits (may be more than one have disturbed those Malay youths), he will need to slaughter a goat in the apartment area. Well ………………. Would the management allow that? To me, it would be easier to get rid of the misfits rather than the spirits.


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Window glass may rain on you.

Maybe because of the age of the apartment, or the construction of the wooden paned glass windows, or just plain inherent weakness of the construction, many times during heavy wind the glass sheets from the windows got loose and rain down to the ground. So be warned, during heavy storm, or during heavy rain or during when the monsoon is at its worse, walking by the apartment is not safe.

I would say that all the windows of the apartment buildings are to be thoroughly examined to assure of safety of any of the occupants (or guests or workers) who may happen to walk near the buildings.


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A new culture

I have observed that some tough looking Malay youths sleep during the day in a car in the car park under one of the apartment blocks. I wonder if they are tenants here. If they are, why are they sleeping in the car? If not, who are they? What do they do for a living that they can afford to sleep during the day time? Why do they sleep in a car, have they no home? Have they friends in the apartments? These are unanswered questions?
This new culture is worrying.
They could just be god Malay youth or they could also be ……….. well to be evil, they could be bad elements.
It has been reported that a female had been seen sleeping in the car, but I personally has not seen it. Possible? Not far fetched.


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A new development.

Today I was asked by the Management to give full detail of my name, ID number, and contact telephone number, as part of the list of buyers for the Apartments. I don't know why, and I would suspect that they already have these details in their master list as they collect monthly maintenance fees regularly. And also in any transaction or sales of any of the apartments they need to process (and a process fee is charged on all transactions, as far as I know, and I paid when they asked); thus they would have the most uptodate and latest records. Why need to re-do a new list of buyers/owners?



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Piped water misuse.

Just saw a memo from the Management. Residents stealing piped water? Unbelievable!

I suppose it can happen. The house concerned might have not paid their monthly RM150.00 maintenanace fees, and according to the terms of occupancy a failure to pay such fees shall make it liable for the water meter be disconnected by the Management. Sometime back it happened to the previous tenant above my apartment. Anyway, then tenant took it upon himself to bridge, using a rubber hose, the incoming pipe to the pipe supplying water to his house. Viola he got water. But that is stealing.

I suppose that must have happened in some apartments where the water supply has been disconnected for not abiding by the conditions of the maintenance contract.

The Management must be serious. They will impose RM300.00 on anyone (or apartment) found stealing, back interest will be charged (?), and a fee for meter re-installation at RM100.00.

Good for the Management. Only way to teach the defaulters of the maintenance fees.



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Has anyone ever asks?

Has anyone ever ask whether the apartment blocks be maintained due to its wear and tear? Hot humid high temperature tropical weather is not kind to anything.

Has anyone ever ask whether that apartment blocks be repainted, considering its age and the faded paints that everyone can see now?

Has anyone ask how much it cost to maintain the buildings and how much it would cost to repaint the buildings?

Has anyone ever ask where will the money come from to maintain and to repaint the building?

Has anyone ever ask how to get that money for maintaining and for repainting the buildings?

Has anyone ever ask whether its fair to ask the apartments owners to foot the bill as it was ever or even mentioned in the sales and purchase agreement or even in the maintenance agreement? And the management had never ever collect the a ‘sinking fund’ for the buildings maintenance.

Has anyone ever ask if the owners are to foot any bill now, how is the collection to be made? If anyone refuses to pay, how will the management enforce that collection?

And most important of all, has anyone asked about the audited account of our maintenance fees of RM 150.00 that we each had been paying for so many years now since we occupied the apartments?

I imagine, we have big rivers to cross ahead.


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Happenings!

What is happening in the apartments now? The Management seems to be calling meetings of those involved (who?) in the apartments affairs so very often now. New management? Or problems? With whom? They have never done this earlier (before), and I have been living in the apartments for almost 10 years now (give a take a few years of my life). Something must be brewing! In the past it had always been the case, or seemingly the case, "I know what I am doing, and I don't need your advice"

I have heard so much hearsay about the happenings that I get very confused. I shall refrain from writing what I have heard until I get the facts right.



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we are mere actors.

William Shakespeare - All the world's a stage (from As You Like It 2/7)

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

This is one of my favourite saying of Shakespeare. It reflects very well on our well being in this world. And to micro this, we are all players, all actors, and in the concept of our being in this world and to being members of this apartment, we are all actors. We are here today and gone tomorrow. And so for now we are to play our part in the show. Each one of us has to contribute to make the show a success. We are to contribute to the well being of this community, we cannot just stand alone, and say “Let it be, our neighbours can take care of themselves, and I don’t depend on my neighbours”. In a way I agree, you are here today, and gone tomorrow, shift out, sell the apartment, or even die. But while you are here, you are to play your part.

I bet, many of us here are experienced or may have contacts outside the community or even a member of that ‘power’ community, Why don’t we use that experience of that ‘power’ to better this small community? If one cannot better this small community, how can one expect to better a bigger community, or even the Municipality, or the District, or the State, or the country or even the world. Of course one can just keep quiet and play safe in the status quo, as the Malay says “Macam anau dalam belukar”, you is you and I is I, we just fight for the sunlight.

Do we want our small community to have members like that?


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Do we really care?

Do the owners of the apartments really care? Not really, not many really do. To many the apartments are just where they dump the excess money that they have, just use the apartments as an investment arm in the property ownership. A few are not even interested to collect rent (that is my impression anyway), they just left their apartments empty, though many do rent their apartments out. Here again they just rent these apartments without really taking care of the tenants, where at the end of the month they just come to collect the rents , though I suspect a few may just ask the tenants to remit the rent money into a bank account. These are evident in their not taking care of the physical well beings of the apartments, many apartments have roof leaks (the top storey flats), plumbing in bad state (or even leaking) and many tenants may even use (or may even rewire or add wirings) illegal electrical extensions which are fire hazard. Such bad states of the apartments have caused a high turnover of tenants, and some owner are even renting these apartments at a very low asking price (so I hear). A good cared and furnished apartment may be rented out at an asking price off RM 1500 a month (USD1 = RM3.3) but some owners are renting these apartments for as low as RM 600 a month (so I hear) because of the unmaintained state of them.

A few other evidence of my impression in that ‘we do not care’ is in the payment of maintenance fees. Currently we are paying RM150 a month (at least I do), and this is tied down to a non-payment means that water supply will be cut off. I wonder if the present management has been able to collect that RM150 from each apartment owner/occupier for the maintenance fees, and I also wonder if water supply to these ‘unpaid’ apartments have been cut off. Perhaps they do take the necessary action, but personally I see very limited evidence. And nobody makes any noise about the buildings not being repainted. And recently on the ‘call’ for the owners meeting, so that the owners can take part (and have more say) in the management of the complex, I am told that not many owners turned up (I have never attended these meetings because I am always outstation when they call these meetings, most inconvenient time to me).

Physically, do we care?
Leaking bathroom floor, seen as stalagtite on the carpark ceiling.

Swimming pool floor, tiles broken off.

Children playground, swing seats needing repairs.


And do we care for our neighbours? My mind is blurred on this. Many just throw pieces of paper and wrapppings indiscriminately, plastic bags and food containers not put in proper bins. And at night many still rev their motorcycle engines and car engines when coming in into or going out of the compound, after midnight, or even in the early hours of the morning mind you (some are the residents visitors no doubt). And some even doing carpentry (and dragging of furniture) in the middle of the night, or even pounding on the stone mortar, cooking. All the noises are projected throughout the building structure, transferring the noise throughout the building.

When I bought the apartment about 10 odd (or so) years ago, it cost me about RM150,000 but because of the present ‘neglect’ I do not know what the present value of my apartment is now, granted that property price in Kuantan is not as lucrative as that of Kuala Lumpur.

There are other apartments complex like this in Kuantan Town, and one of two are better maintained and they attract better market price in rental (their tenants are in a better/different class) and in property transaction/demand.



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Supervisor

Richard, he is the compound Supervisor (Contractor?). On Monday 28th Sept 2008, morning, I saw him cutting the grass. Why? He said the grass was too long and and the guy who used to cut the grass has now left his services. According to him he gave the guy quite a good pay (by local standard) and even promoted him to some sort of supervisory job.
Anyway he still has 3 cleaning ladies to look after the cleanliness of the apartments complex.



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Swimming

I took this photograph at about near sunset on Friday. It looks very peaceful.

Some boys were using the apartment's complex swimming pool. What set me thinking then was how clean was that swimming pool? Has any test been done to assure that water in the pool is 'clean', free from any ... God forbid ......... virus that may affect one's health? No doubt the maintenance people have put chlorine periodically in the water, and they also pump, filter and clean the water when the water seems cloudy, but is that all that can give assurance that the pool is 'clean'? All sorts of people (tenants and outsiders) have been swimming in the pool.

There is a notice board in the gazeboo nearby stating the 'right' rules for using the pool. It was strictly enforced when the apartment complex was first opened and the pool first used, only for a couple of years or so when the 'rules' were enforced. But like all rules in Malaysia, some are just there for decoration. Anyway who is going to enforce the rules?

Todate the pool seems safe enough.



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Is the building safe?

What are the safety precautions in my apartment? I would suppose that since it already has a Certicate of Fitness for occupancy issued by the Kuantan (Malaysia) Municipality, it has already abided by the Malaysian Building Bylaws. To what degree and to what standard I would not really know. I have not seen the Certificate. Anyone ever seen such Certificate?

Just mere observation. There are fire hydrants, that I have seen. But I have not seen a fire hose anywhere, or even any portable fire extinguisher anywhere, or even a fire wagon. Are these necessary by the Bylaws? I do not know. And I am just wondering what does the Bylaws say about fire escapes.

One area which, I suppose is of concern is, is the community safe from thefts and burglaries? We have of course guarded guard hut at the main gate. But cases have been known where intruders climbed up the complex compound fencing. In fact cases have been report on minor theft (burglaries?) in some apartment, not minor really if cameras and laptops are missing. Where do the thieves (burglar?) gain entry? From what I heard, from the windows. I suppose that is to be expected. But we do not want to live in bird cages, where all the windows have iron grills. Maybe in some places these are necessary but I do not believe that these are yet necessary in my apartment complex. And a case had been known where people (a security guard, now sacked) entrusted with an apartment keys have entered the apartment concerned and taken away valuable stuff.

Lets keep our apartment complex safe!


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My neighbours.

I cannot really describe who my neighbours are, indications are that they are varied. My only measure are the vehicles they drive.



Most of my neighbours are professionals and semi professional, people who can very well afford to live away from the town centre. Somehow they choose to live in the town centre, cramp as it is in these apartments.
But there are also youth and students living in the apartments, measured by the number of motorcycles parked in the parking area under the apartments.

And I have seen trainee nurses living in a couple of apartments at the other corner of the complex away from my apartment.
There was even once, some apartments rented by a College in town as their place of students residential. It did not work out, these students are not the type to live in an apartments complex where good families live. The students became nuisance to the apartment community. They soon move out. They were really misfits.
Once we even had some dubious bar-girls living in our midst.
Some of the apartments are owner occupied, but many are rented out by their owners. Some rented out apartments have good (and civilized) tenants but many are rented out to youths (males and females) who do not really take care of the apartments and some do not fit into the ‘society’. Many stay out late, make engine noise at odd hours, and they soon move out when they find more suitable (to their way of thinking) houses or rooms to rent.
I have my complaints but the overall picture is that the complex is managed and tenanted by people of acceptable standard, at least for now.


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Balai Seni Lukis Pahang.

Pahang has its own Balai Seni Lukis (Hall of Artist), in Kuantan. Probably Pahang (as a State in Malaysia) has many talented artists and I suppose the hall was created as a place where budding and other artists in Pahang (Malaysia) can exhibit their work. Just my guess, but I do not really know the objective of its formation. Anyway, its good to know that such organisation exists in Pahang (Malaysia).
Walking pass it today, I observed buntings (two) indicating the centre's activities. These had happened before this visit of mine, but I am glad to know that such pertinent activities had been going on.


What attracted me when walking pass the building as an unfinished art work under the tree in the compound. A sort of school of goldfish.

And on enquiry, I met the artist, his name he said was Acai (he did not give me his full name).

The place is so hidden from view, I do not really know how people can find the place to visit it and to see its exhibits. I have not traced any signboard on the main road (perhaps its there but I have not seen it). (Unlike the Museum Tokoh of the Kuantan Town which has a big signboard on the main road but try locating the building, one can hardly know which building in Town is called Museum Tokoh, one needs to be lucky enough to find it).




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A Quiet Place

A town normally is polluted with noise, people, cars, activities and whatever else that can generate noise. But today I found a peaceful quiet spot in Kuantan (Malaysia), a most unlikely spot. It was behind a big hall called the Silver Jubilee Hall (Dewan Jubili Perak), it was the Silver Jubilee of the period of rule by the present Sultan of Pahang, so I understand (any correction? ) in Jalan (Road) Teluk Sisek.

It has trees, a lake and a construction for a recreation site, an additional recreation garden under construction for the Town was going on.

But it was quiet, one could hear birds singing and one could ever hear one's breathing. That was how quiet it was. From memory, such quietness can only be found in the rural scenes, away from the hustle bustles of towns and cities.
Probably all noise from the main road was blocked by the Hall.



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Meeting

http://mykuantanapartment.blogspot.com/2008/08/act-633-maintenance-and-management.html

Heard that the meeting was not too successful. Not many attended, not enough quorum?

Presumbably everyone living or owning those apartments are in a preserved comfort level.

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The Beach

Kuantan has got one of the nicest sandy beach in Malaysia (probably that is just my personal opinion, others may disagree). The above photo shows what Teluk Cempedak Beach is like looking North.

And looking South. Hyatt Hotel is the building you see on the land side right, behind the trees.


But Hyatt is imposing in this photo.


The walking path on the beach is beautifully constructed and maintained.


And if you need some (western type) snacks, you can always go into the nearest KFC or the Big Mac across the road.


Along the coast north and south of Kuantan, you will meet similar sandy (and lonely) beaches.

Kuantan is a beautiful place where beach is concerned. The downside is that some of these beaches are dangerous as they have got very strong sub-surface current. Many have drowned, especially if you enter the water during monsoon seasons. The other not so obvious downside is that security from petty thefts are not guaranteed while you are frolicking in the waters with your belongings left on the beach. If you observe, there is no ‘clothings and personal safe deposit kiosks’ on the beach, not only near Kuantan Town beach but also in neighbouring and further away beaches.



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Gourmet

Kuantan (Malaysia) does not lack good food, be it Malay,

Indian (North and South, and in Kuantan there is even a chain of Indian restaurants), Western (steak houses) or Chinese (mostly non-halal), or even Thai food (to local Malaysian tastes). Just take your pick and you get your food; tasty, cheap and fresh (and for the Muslim you may find mostly halal food as well). The food may not be up the standard of AFC, but they are reasonably good. However one must know the locations of these gourmet establishments, otherwise one may end up in places where the hygiene is questionable, taste not to one’s liking and food may not be that fresh, for example bad meat are from frozen meat or fish imported from Thailand.

Local folks who are familiar with the restaurants in Kuantan may direct you to these local gourmet establishments. Meals can be as cheap as RM 6.00 per person, for a plate of rice, fish or meat or chicken curry, a vege and a soft drink (USD 1.00 = RM 3.30). But even local folks may not know such, as many do not care where they eat or many do not care to have meals in good (to one expectation) restaurants. Their excuses may be that these good local gourmet establishments may charge them a bit extra; for the unique taste, for the location and/or for the comfort.

Many just take on the safe side and have meals in the restaurants at hotels, and there are good hotels in Kuantan Town; one 5 star hotel is right by the beach and the food there is of international standard. The food may be expensive and you are assured of good food and maybe good service, though not always. (This is one of the best bet if one need not find oneself having to go to the toilet. Toilets in Malaysia, almost everywhere except on the Malaysia Highways and in some other places which you may be lucky to find, are notorious for its ‘not clean’ state; after visiting the toilet you will be put off your meal)

There are also eating places places called kopitiams, these are really coffee shops where you can drink a variety of coffee or tea, locally made, freshly brewed ,most of the time, or you may also have foreign and imported coffee or tea, served black or white and with sugar to your taste. And they also served light sandwiches or toast with butter or ‘kaya’ (a cooked mixture of sugar, egg and coconut milk), and a variety of local snacks, mostly very tasty to local taste but priced a bit steep which is really worth paying for.

One Indian restaurants which I blogged earlier at,
http://when-i-m-65.blogspot.com/2008/06/soth-asian-restaurants.html

and a doughnut place at,
http://when-i-m-65.blogspot.com/2008/06/doughnut.html



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Kuantan shoppings

Kuantan though progressive in one way, has remained stagnated in other ways. Shopping malls and complexes in Kuantan for example are very conservative. They have their locally grown supermarkets having their stores all over the town, but the products they sell are rather similar and not really of high quality. They are what I call mundane products. The variety is there but the quality remains very low. They are actually the bigger versions of the main street shops or even corner shops.

And most other shops in Kuantan Town are really similar to the main street shops/corner shops variety.

Then a trend became apparent when more shopping complexes were built, but again the these are what I call the duplicated of main street shops/corner shops, but in this case these are shops in a more formal environment, centrally air conditioned and more comfortable for shoppers to shop in. And the products sold became more specialized and specific.

Then after, bigger and more sophisticated shopping centres and supermarkets came into being; bigger floor area, selling more varied products and more organized, a part of the chain of national supermarkets, close to hypermarket but cannot really be classified as such.

Recently a new shopping complex was being built. It incorporates a hypermarket, and the facilities to be built are for higher end consumers. A hotel complex and conference facilities included. And also included are areas for the local business community to show off their products (and handicrafts I presume), like places known as Malay Town, Chinese Town and Indian Town. These I trust will make these Towns unique in that they will sell products (and handicrafts) to cater for all Malaysians but of origin by these various communities. Similar to what are available for example in Kota Baru (Kelantan, Malaysia) they have Pasar Siti Khtijah where local Malay products (and handicrafts) are sold, and in Kuala Trengganu (Trengganu, Malaysia) they have Pasar Payang which also sell such products produced by the locals. These above mentioned Pasar actually become shopping places for local tourists, and visiting places for foreign tourists.


Currently, as far I know, Kuantan Town does not have similar shopping places for local products, places like that of Pasar Siti Khatijah and/or that like Pasar Payang. In Kuantan, one can hardly get local products (and handicrafts) of quality such as batik or songket unless you go the places where these are made. These are mostly out of the Town area. And to get to these places are in most cases a hassle, you need the transport and the guide. With the new shopping areas such as what is being built now; Malay Town, Chinese Town, and Indian Town, it is expected that shopping for local products (and handicrafts) and souvenirs will be more pleasant in Kuantan Town. However it must be borne in mind the prices of products (and handicrafts) sold must be competitive and be able to meet the local shoppers pockets and needs. Those sold in Pasar Siti Khatijah and Pasar Paying are very reasonably priced and Kuantan new shops have to compete with those.

Just as an additional information, the new complex being built also include an area for a ICT hub.

My only concern is that the population of Kuantan, which at the time of writing is less than 400,000 may not be able to sustain the turnover of these various local shops, old and new shopping malls. Even including visitors which may push the shopping population figure up to 500,000, there is still that worry as many may go to Kuala Lumpur to buy high end products and Trengganu which is just next door for the lower end products.



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Sports in Kuantan.

Kuantan Town has a large functional footballl (soccer and multipurpose) stadium if not for anything else. In reality Kuantan Town has got a few football fields where football are played by the town's folk all the year round (except during the monsoon season).

And there are facilities for indoor sports and swimming but these are presently not well maintained, (at least the Olympic sized swimming pool is not well maintained at all).


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Kuantan River

The photoes are,

Kuantan River mouth, observe the colourful fishing boat at the jetty opposite,


And looking upriver from a fishermen landing jetty at Tanjung Api (literary translated as Fir Cape. Probably in the old days they might have a light house over there)


I blogged what I saw earlier, and it was to my mind very interesting. The River would be a beautiful river if the authority in power takes more good care of it. It can be dredged, deepened, banks maintained to an acceptable standard all along the river banks and probably establish a Kuantan River Keeper post in the Goverment services.

http://kiss-met.blogspot.com/2005/12/kuantan-river.html

There is the Kuantan River cruise service run by the Kuantan Municipality. I have been on that cruise once.


The Kuantan River cruise however can be made more productive it is run in a business manner, and mindful of peak and low demands, and have the frequency of the trips to meet those demands. I have seen frustrated people going away at peak demand periods, and these people might never come back again especially if they are local tourists. And if it is made to stop over at interesting places where for example to see the kampong folks at Permu working on their fish products industries (most interesting to local tourists where they can buy some of these products), stop over for a tea break at the Air Puteh (White Waters) bridge where they might look over the Japnese gun emplacemenet (which must be cleaned and maintained of course), and the visit to the swamp made a bit longer and the swamp platforms be repaired to a acceptable standard in the eyes of tourists (foreign and local).


And if the Kuantan River is maintained properly, the sights would be more attractive.

And going on the Kuantan River tour I saw some very interesting sights, the few that I can record here but there are more of them that you can see when you take the tour,

fresh water otter,


the famous Kuantan eagles,


interesting swamps plants,


And as I mentioned earlier the historical Japanese gun enplacement location at Tanah Puteh.







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