Malaysia's 62nd Independence Day - Merdeka!

Malaysia is 62 today. Happy Merdeka Day!

Malaysia is a federation of 13 states and three federal territories. These are divided between two regions, with 11 states and two federal territories on Peninsular Malaysia and the other two states and one federal territory in East Malaysia. Each state is divided into districts, which are then divided into mukim. In Sabah and Sarawak districts are grouped into divisions.

The Malaysian flag..

The Parliament House..

This is our Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

This is his second term in office and he now holds the record of being the oldest Prime Minister in the world. He is 94. He came into office last year after a landslide victory of the new government in the last General Election, and which saw the former administration that had been governing the country since Independence Day way back in 1957 toppled. That was a good 61 years! Pakatan Harapan is a coming together of four political parties that now form the new government.

This is our iconic Petronas Twin Towers, in Kuala Lumpur..

And this is our national drink and national dish - teh tarik (pulled tea) and nasi lemak.

Nasi lemak is a Malay fragrant rice dish cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf. It is served with anchovies, peanuts, boiled egg, cucumber, and sambal at the very least. Other accompaniments would include chicken rendang or other chicken cooked other methods, beef curry and other methods, same goes for lamb. A must-try dish if you visit Malaysia.

Malaysia has the biggest flower in the world, the Rafflesia..

But this is Malaysia's national flower, the hibiscus..

Source: Wikipedia

Jonas Brothers - Sucker - Best pop category at the VMAs

Ah, here's a video to watch, if you haven't already. The Jonas Brothers‘ 'Sucker' that won them the best pop category at the VMAs.”

It's entertaining, it's flamboyant, it's fun. Enjoy!

McDonald's at Bukit Bintang in Kuala Lumpur sports a new name

Source

Surprise! McDonald's at Bukit Bintang has a new local name, Mekdi. How about that, eh?

No, it's not a permanent thingy but is just in conjunction with the celebration of Malaysia's Independence/Merdeka Day come August 31 as well as Malaysia Day on September 16.

This McDonald's outlet opened in 1982 is the very first outlet in Malaysia. 37 years ago. That's how long McDonald's has been in this country.

With a Muslim majority, pork is not on McDonald's menu here in Malaysia. But hey, we've got yummy Nasi Lemak McD, a popular local dish fully packed with delightful flavours from the fragrant coconut rice, crispy anchovies, fried egg, spicy sambal and spicy Ayam Goreng McD, it is unmistakably Malaysian and well loved by all walks of life. No matter the time of day ... Nasi Lemak McD will always be the perfect meal anytime, anywhere.

Below is a street view of the outlet at Bukit Bintang from Google circa 2018.

Source: Google 

Psst! Want to explore this part of Kuala Lumpur's Golden Triangle? Let's go on a walkabout of the Bukit Bintang area then.

People in protest-hit Hong Kong eye Malaysia's second-home program

Malaysia's “Malaysia My Second Home” (MM2H) Programme, a home-ownership programme designed to attract wealthy foreigners to live in Malaysia is seeing an increase of applications from Hong Kong residents. 251 applications have been received this year compared to 193 approved last year.

Kuala Lumpur city skyline. (REUTERS/Lai Seng Sin)

Real estate agents expect Malaysia and Thailand to benefit the most from some Hong Kong residents’ frustration over the second bout of lengthy demonstrations in five years in the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

“The push factor from Hong Kong will definitely make Malaysia one of the best alternatives for a new location to reside,” said Sharifah Ikhlas Aljaffree, the director of the program run by Malaysia’s tourism ministry.

“Our strength lies not only in our nation’s friendliness, affordable cost of living and high quality of life (healthcare included) but also the stability of our economy and politics plus our developed infrastructure,” she told Reuters.

Read more... People in protest-hit Hong Kong eye Malaysia's second-home program

Kuala Lumpur has been voted the 2nd Friendliest City in the World

Here's reason enough to visit Kuala Lumpur.


The Star reported that KL second friendliest city in the world, survey finds

PETALING JAYA: Keep on smiling, Malaysians. Kuala Lumpur emerged as the second friendliest city in the world, according to Big 7 Travel.

The capital of Malaysia is only behind Vancouver, Canada in the list of 50 Friendliest City In The World, according to a survey carried put by the global travel site on some 1.5 million people.

Other cities, which made the Top 10, include Bruges, Belgium (in third place), Taipei, Taiwan (4th), Hamburg, Germany (5th), Dublin, Ireland (6th), and Christchurch, New Zealand (7th).

Neighbouring South-East Asian cities to Kuala Lumpur, which made it to the Top 50 list are Chiang Mai, Thailand (11th), Siem Reap, Cambodia (20th), Singapore (24th), and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (46th).


"KL is a top spot for both tourists and expats, " Big 7 Travel wrote on its website.

The website also noted that these cities across the globe make one feel welcomed based on "how easy the city is to navigate or strangers helping you find your way when that pesky roaming data doesn’t work, to making new best friends in a local bar".

Big 7 Travel noted that Asian cities rated highly overall, with several US and Canada cities also making it into the Top 10.

Earlier this year, the travel website named Malaysia among the top 20 "most Instagrammable countries".

Malaysia emerged among the best travel destinations, including Penang, by CNN Travel for one of the best destinations to visit for the ultimate Asia experience in June this year, as well as topping the 2017 Global Muslim Travel Index as the best Muslim travel destination in the world.


Source: The Star

Irish teenager Nora Anne Quoirin - Missing

Msn.com.my..
SEREMBAN: Masjid Kariah Pantai will perform a solat hajat (special prayers) after Friday prayers tomorrow for the safe return of Irish teenager Nora Anne Quoirin, who went missing from a resort near here five days ago.

Mosque imam Kahar Sukin, 73, said the fact that the 15-year-old teenager was non-Muslim was irrelevant as there was no restriction in Islam against that.

“We will perform the prayers in the name of humanity.

“We symphatise with what had happened, especially as she is a teen with special needs,” he added.


Nora Anne Quorin, an Irish teenager has been found missing while on a two-week holiday. Nora has a learning disability. She went missing from The Dusun, a holiday resort in Negeri Sembilan. Nora was reported missing on Aug 4, a day after she arrived at the resort with her parents and two siblings. A glass window in the resort, which can only be opened from the inside, was seen left open.

The Royal Malaysia Police, the Fire & Rescue Department with their K9 unit, and local residents are among the search parties but to-date there has been no sign of the young lady.

The Voice Recording strategy is to be used entering the 5th day of the search.

The words expressed in the recording are: "Nora darling, I love you... mum is here. Mum is here, Nora darling, my love.

He said in the voice recording, Meabh sounds persuasive like how she usually talks to calm down Nora Anne.

“We are extremely thankful to The Lucie Blackman Trust for their ongoing support. They are handling all media enquiries for us and everything should be directed to them. Our family cannot face dealing with that at the moment,” the family was quoted.


The family remains hopeful and have asked everyone to keep the teenager in their thoughts, and to continue to support the ongoing search for her.


If you are still following the case below are updates:

Nora’s parents say ‘terima kasih’
Search area for missing teen Nora scaled down
On Shah Alam stage, Westlife pleads for info on Irish teen missing in Negri Sembilan
Fasha Sandha shares plea to find Nora Quoirin
Did searchers miss Nora Quiorin's body?
Parents confirm body is Nora
Trust asks for Quoirin family to be respected in time of need
Nora Quoirin: autopsy yet to determine cause of death, say police
Franco-Irish teen bled to death in Malaysia, no sign of foul play

Haze is back in Malaysia

Was wondering about the grey skies this morning and the irritation in the throat but didn't think much of the latter until I read about the forest fires in Indonesia and the resultant haze. Yes, the dreaded HAZE is back. It skipped us last year though.

Forest fires are raging not only on Sumatra but on Kalimantan on Borneo Island as well. This means Malaysians on East and West Malaysia are going through this phase of poor quality at the moment. A look at the Air Pollutant Index (API) confirms it.

The 103 reading on the map is for Rompin in Pahang.

In Kuala Lumpur..

Image source: msn.com

The affected areas so far are the Klang Valley, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Penang, Negeri Sembilan, and several areas in Sarawak according to MSN.

Imagine

You've got to hear this, people, really!

Cover of John Lennon's 'Imagine' sung at the AGT, America's Got Talent by Chris Kläfford from Sweden. I mean like Wow!

Video was published on July 9 and it's garnered 19 million views and counting as we speak.

Enjoy!