They have got a new mosque.

Good bye to the old mosque.

Then effective from the Subuh Prayers on Friday 10 July 2009, they will pray at the new mosque built and just finished.

Yes, when I am in Kuantan, I often go and pray at that mosque, a small mosque on the outskirt of Kuantan Town, in a precint called Bukit Setongkol. Its just a small village mosque, Bukit Setongkol is just a village with majority of the population being lower middle class Malay Muslims. Though the Kuantan Town Chinese graveyard (and burial ground) is just neighbouring by less than 1 km towards Kuantan Town.

Everyone seems to be looking forward to start praying at this new mosque.

Food stall by the beach

Teluk Cempedak in Kuantan (Malaysia) has a beautiful beach. But for the local, its not the beach that they come for but the “roti canai” and “nasi lemak bungkus” that they come for in the morning (and different local food in the afternoon and at night),. They are common breakfast menu for the local (other dishes depending on the time of the day). In fact not only the local but some Asian visitors (and rare non-Asian visitors also come) especially from Singapore and from the outstation States are seen to regular the place. It’s a small eating stall, with red canvas top, situated just outside the Hyatt Hotel Kuantan (Malaysia).

The food? Passable. But the service is excellent! They have good people to take care of the customers. And the drink? All soft drinks, tea and coffee to your likings. The atmosphere? Healthy, you are right by the beach. The smiles and the laughter of the customers make you feel very at home.

When are they open? Every morning. And evening and early hours of the night. Different menu at different time. Give the place a try, and you may even like it, and may even come again, time and again.

The biggest this, and the longest that.

Typically Malaysian that is, always telling people (and the world) what is the biggest this and the longest that in the country. The disease has now come up to Kuantan Town (Malaysia).

Behind the East Coast Mall (a local shopping complex) there are rows of shop houses they call Malay Town, Chinese Town and Indian Town. Why they call that I do not know.

I just found out today that in the Malay Town they have placed a big log, which I am told is one of the biggest log found in the State of Pahang (one of the 11 Sultanate State in Malaysia), the market price is about RM20,000.00 (USD 1 – RM 3.5 currently). It is now horizontal but I heard that there is a plan to erect it vertical. When will they do it, I wouldn’t know.

And in the Chinese Town, I discovered a big dragon made from empty aluminum drink tins. Empty tins? Like every thing here, everything seems to be empty. I am told that the dragon had broken a sort of record, for it being the longest dragon made of empty tins. Sounds empty to me.

And in the Indian Town, I have not discovered anything ‘big’ or ‘long’ yet.

Apartment surprise.

Surprise, surprise …………… someone decided to trim the trees in our apartment square. Not a very good job, but then trees were trimmed. I don’t know what woke up the Management to do that. They also planted new shrubs and new mini flowering plants. A good initiative.

Unfortunately however they have thrown the cut branches into the neighbouring land, making a mess just outside the apartment fencing. Have they got permission to do that? Does the neighbouring land owner know about what is happening on his land? Does the Kuantan Municipal Council approve of this throwing of ‘rubbish’ onto the neighbouring land? I don’t know.

And also unfortunately, the Management have not repaired the childrens’ swing in the childrens’ play ground nor have they look at the dangers on the edges of the apartment’s swimming pool.

Leisurely Sunday morning in Kuantan Town.

Its all happening within a 1 km radius, all these activities.

When you walk down by the esplanade at Kuantan River you see people fishing, some lucky to have a catch and many just go home empty handed or just mere small fishes. Its only a pass time anyway.

When you walk pass the town padang (field) you may see some football (soccer) matches about to be played. And the players warming up. You may even see an old man doing his morning tai chee.

In the shop houses in town you may meet or see people in the Indian eating houses enjoying their morning mean, ‘roti canai’ is their favourite. In the fruit market bananas supplier busy replenishing his bananas supply. And in the wet market fishmongers putting up their fish for sale. Nearby in the Chinese stalls, they are busy eating their breakfast of noodles.

And near the town man stadium they have the Sunday market. You can buy most household things from the market, but mostly confined to food and clothings. You might see some medicine peddlers busy talking into the microphones, trying to attract customers to buy their medicines.

Kuantan town, a leisurely Sunday morning town. Or you may spend your day by the beautiful beach about 5 km from the town centre.

we don't even know, who they are!

There are 2 categories of people that we seem to see in the apartment complex that we do not know who they are. One are the people minding the gate, and another, people who come in and out of the apartment compound, visiting, using the pool and sometime making a lot of noise at night.

The gate minders consist of a couple of Malay persons whom we know, they have been working there for quite a while. And there are also other people whom we do not even know where they come from, some say from Bangladesh, some say from Nepal, some say from Myanmar or whatever country they come from minding the gate. They all seem very strange and I personally have doubt if they can actually do their job properly. From what I observe, they do not even speak good local language. So how to expect them to mind the gate?

Worse still are the people whom we do not know, who come into the compound or using the swimming pool (for free). To the best of our knowledge, they are not tenants, may probably be related to tenants or friends of the tenants. But they seem to be freely roaming the compound as if they own the place. And some of them do not even behave properly as Malaysians. Imagine, some of them are Malay (Muslims?) swimming in the pool (for free) and making sexual advance to each other in the water. Most inappropriate. They do not realise that good families are staying in the apartments.

All in all, there is no control over access to the apartment complex and to its facilities (whatever that the apartment complex has). The non-Malaysian gate keepers are hopeless, and should not be there. And the Management could not careless, they are only interested to collect the monthly RM 150 maintenance fees (and we do not even know if there are the management cronies who do not pay such monthly maintenance fees). We have no knowledge of the income and expenditure of the apartment complex despite most of us paying the monthly maintenance fees religiously. (What alternative do we have really?)

Insecure

An old and wornout pair of slippers which I used to wear when going to mosques (and Surau) in Kuantan placed outside my apartment main entrance door disappeared a few days ago. Probably ........... just probably taken (cannot be my mistake, as my entrance door is very specific but facing a common satircase to apartements above), where I even have a shoe rack placed. It never happened previously and I believe in the honesty of people going in and out of the apartments above or even the neighbouring apartments. But with so many people whom I do not even know/recognised, and foreign hotel workers also living there, and with security to the apartments complex being very lax, anything can and may happen. Lost of an old wornout slippers may be just a start, soon it will be something else ......... pray hard that it will not happen.

Improvement to Kuantan facilities.

A place for patanque and improvement to the exercise yard at the public park in Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia. That is an improvement to the towns' people's recreational facilities.

not maintained

The not maintained children swings in our apartment complex. Haven't the management notices? Or do they care?

Neglected swimming pool

The state of neglect of the swimming pool at Le Town Apartment, Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia. With sunken sides and broken mosaics, and sharp edges it looks very dangerous especially to children. One of these days someone will get hurt.

Disappointed

I came back to Kuantan today, after being away for a few weeks, and when I arrived at the Apartment I found that the grass in the compound has not been trimmed, for a couple of weeks from the looks of things. I am very disappointed at the lack of such grass maintenance.

Vehicle entry

After about 10 years of living in the apartment, they now want to control vehicle entry into the apartments compound. That is good. But I wonder how are they to enforce this? Strictly or lezzairfair style.
There is mention of motorcycles (or is there?). Those are the real nusience, especially late at night or in the early hours of the morning.

Bicycle

One immigrant worker (from Myanmar) living in the apartment above secured his bicycle to a water pipe in the staircase. He got told off, and he was forced to move his bicycle to the ground floor below the staircase.
They are not sensitive to safety and to living in a civilise society.

Cleaning Kuantan Town

I have written in the past how dirty I have found Kuantan Town is. I must admit though that they have tried to make the place cleaner now and lately I have observed ed that they have achieved some results. Though there are still areas for improvement and places where there are a lot of rubbish still about. I believe that this is not really the fault of the Kuantan Town lacking efforts to`keep the Town clean, its just that the people are still dirty, the people not concious of how to keep the environment clean, the people do not know how to keep the town clean.

Even in the Town’s garden the Kuantan Town authority cut trees when they have fallen and keep the grass trimmed and open ground rubbish free.

Its so pleasant to see cleaner environment in Kuantan Town now.

Not satisfactory

I don't know what has gone wrong with the Management of this apartments complex. Doesn't anyone really care? Do they just accept our money (our monthly payments) without seriously looking at the problems encountered in the apartments?

They have now used a Bangla as a security guard. Is that legal? I am just wondering what sort of work permit that Bangla person has. And that Bangla person wears a T-short indicating that he works in a nearby hotel. How diabolical.

And the communication telephone lines to the apartments have been down for months now. Any attempt by the Management to repair the equipment concerned?. What is the use of us paying the monthly maintenance fees then? In the more advanced apartments complex they even have ccTV as as a security measure. And they have card access at the gate. What do we have? We are primitive. And anyone can walk into our complex. Again how diabolical.

And our equipment, the Management have not even repaired the seats for the children playground swings! Those have been damaged for months now. Has not anyone from the Management notice that? Or is it that no one from the Managemnt ever visit us to see our needs? Do they feel that they are that important that they do not get up from their soft seats even to consider that they are working for us with our paying the monthly maintenance fees? Diabolical!

Our Management for the apartments complex is not satisfactory. But how do we go about to change them?

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No Entry

What is that No Entry sign doing there, flat on the ground? Anyone cares? I have been back for a couple of days now, and yet I have not seen any action. I am just wondering how long that sign has been lying there. Has the management decided what to do with that sign?


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Worsening security services.

I don't know why we keep paying our RM150.00 (USD 1.0 = RM 3.30) a month in Maintenance Fees. But if I do not pay, then my water supply gets cut off. Its a damming situation. So I pay religiously. But the Management seems not to keep their end of the bargain. The security services is getting worse.

Firstly the intercom system between the apartment to the Guard booth is under the state of disrepair for the last couple of weeks. Forget about CCTV (the Management have not installed and will not install CCTV until the cows come home), even the intercom the Management has not been able to maintain it in a satisfactory working condition. So if we need to talk to the Guard (in any state plus in an emergency) we have to walk all the way to the gate booth where the Guard/s is stationed. What primitive means.

And I have also observed that at time the Management have placed a Bangladeshi at the Guard booth at the gate. Bangladeshi? Is it not against the rule (Malaysia rules on security guard) to employ a Bangladeshi as a Guard? Nepalese can be employed, ex-servicemen can be employed but Bangladeshi is not in the list (to be employed as a Guard, as far as I know).

Somehow I feel that I have been had by the Management. Who do I complain to?




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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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