zubedy #Saysomethingnice Campaign MOU signing with Yayasan 1Malaysia newspapers coverage

By Sinar Harian - Kempen 'Say Something Nice' suburkan keharmonian

PETALING JAYA - Dalam usaha menyuburkan keharmonian antara kaum di negara ini, kempen 'Say Something Nice' akan diperkenalkan sebuah syarikat swasta bersama Yayasan 1Malaysia.

Projek hasil idea Zubedy (M) Sdn Bhd itu bertujuan menggalakkan rakyat Malaysia hidup dalam keadaan penuh kasih sayang tanpa mengira kaum, agama, latar belakang mahupun perbezaan politik.

Pengarahnya, Anas Zubedy berkata kempen berkenaan dimulakan syarikatnya secara kecil-kecilan pada 2011.

"Namun, tahun ini kita mengambil inisiatif untuk melaksanakannya (kempen) secara lebih besar dengan mendapatkan kerjasama Yayasan 1Malaysia, orang ramai, badan korporat, sekolah dan universiti.

"Melalui kerjasama pelbagai pihak ini, kempen dapat dilaksanakan secara lebih meluas dan membantu kami merealisasikan hasrat melihat rakyat Malaysia terus menghormati antara satu sama lain," katanya selepas menandatangani memorandum persefahaman (MoU) antara Yayasan 1Malaysia dan Zubedy (M) Sdn Bhd di sini, hari ini.

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By Guangming - 李霖泰：維護和平保障人權‧制訂和諧法令應先聽民意

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  • 由一個馬來西亞基金會以及ZUBEDY（馬）有限公司舉辦的“說好話”活動舉辦簽署備忘錄儀式，並由李霖泰（中）見證；右二為拉菲力，左二為阿納斯。（圖：光明日報）

  
  

  
  

（雪蘭莪‧八打靈再也19日訊）馬來西亞防範罪案基金會（MCPF）副主席丹斯里李霖泰認為，國家和諧法令實施之前，國會下議院應該成立由各政黨代表組成的小組，針對該法令到全國去聽取民意，以確保該法令可維持國家和平的同時，也確保人權可獲得保障。

他提及，該小組在聽取各階層民意，並且進行討論後，可向首相署負責的部長提出建議。

他說，國家和諧法令非常重要，因為這不但影響國家未來的和諧，同時也對人權問題及自由發言起著重要的影響。

他以“性愛二人組”的事件為例，指出國家和諧法令可對人民起著警惕的作用，不會輕易的發表藐視其他種族宗教的言論。

“這樣我們在發表言論的時候，會很小心，也會記得藐視其他種族的事情不可以做。”

李霖泰週五出席一個馬來西亞基金會以及ZUBEDY（馬）有限公司舉辦的“說好話”（Say Something Nice）活動簽署備忘錄儀式後，對媒體如是指出。出席簽署備忘錄儀式的還包括有一個馬來西亞基金會行政總裁拉菲力以及ZUBEDY（馬）有限公司常務董事阿納斯等。

李霖泰說，身為大馬國民，應該不計種族、宗教的維持國家的安寧以及形象，而國人彼此之間雖然抱有不同的想法，但這不該成為國人為國家“做好事”的障礙。

他說，“說好話”活動的宗旨，與首相在大選後提出的國民和解的建議不謀而合，因此他認為，如果彼此間說好話，有助於國民和解。

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By New Straits Times - 'Be nice' campaign kicks off next month

PETALING JAYA: A campaign is to be launched next month to get one million people to say something nice to each other.

Yesterday, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Yayasan 1Malaysia and Zubedy (M) Sdn Bhd to jointly commit to the holding of the #SaySomethingNice campaign.

The campaign will kick off on Merdeka Day and will continue for 17 days, to end on Malaysia Day on Sept 16, to create a time of "positivity and peace."

They are also looking at making the campaign a yearly affair.

Zubedy (M) Sdn Bhd managing director Anas Zubedy said the first initiative of the campaign would be the distribution of 17 different types of postcards with 17 messages to various resident's associations in Malaysia.

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By BERNAMA - Kempen 'Say Something Nice' Suburkan Keharmonian Rakyat

PETALING JAYA, 19 Julai (Bernama) -- Dalam usaha menyuburkan keharmonian antara kaum di negara ini, kempen 'Say Something Nice' akan diperkenalkan sebuah syarikat swasta bersama Yayasan 1Malaysia.

Projek hasil idea Zubedy (M) Sdn Bhd itu bertujuan menggalakkan rakyat Malaysia hidup dalam keadaan penuh kasih sayang tanpa mengira kaum, agama, latar belakang mahupun perbezaan politik.

Pengarahnya, Anas Zubedy berkata kempen berkenaan dimulakan syarikatnya secara kecil-kecilan pada 2011.

"Namun, tahun ini kita mengambil inisiatif untuk melaksanakannya (kempen) secara lebih besar dengan mendapatkan kerjasama Yayasan 1Malaysia, orang ramai, badan korporat, sekolah dan universiti.

"Melalui kerjasama pelbagai pihak ini, kempen dapat dilaksanakan secara lebih meluas dan membantu kami merealisasikan hasrat melihat rakyat Malaysia terus menghormati antara satu sama lain," katanya selepas menandatangani memorandum persefahaman (MoU) antara Yayasan 1Malaysia dan Zubedy (M) Sdn Bhd di sini, Jumaat.

Yayasan 1Malaysia diwakili Ketua Pegawai Eksekutifnya Raffly Nan.

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By Sin Chew -  李霖泰：落實和諧法令前‧設遴選委會徵詢民意

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  一馬基金會首席執行員拉菲里（右二）跟Zubedy董事經理阿納斯（左二）互相交換備忘錄。中為李霖泰。左是Zubedy首席營運員普拉卡斯，右是Zubedy董事阿茲里。（圖：星洲日報）

  
  

（雪蘭莪‧八打靈再也19日訊）馬來西亞防範罪案基金會副主席丹斯里李霖泰今日促請政府在落實國家和諧法令之前，應該先經過國會下議院成立一個涵蓋朝野各政黨成員的國會遴選委員會小組，然後再徵詢全國人民的意見，最後才向負責該法案的首相署部長反映民意。

他認為，這項取代煽動法令的國家和諧法，目前還處於草擬法案的階段，它將尊重基本人權與言論自由，同時也捍衛社會治安與國家安全。

由朝野議員出任成員

李霖泰也是一馬基金會的信託人之一，他今天出席見證一馬基金會和Zubedy人力發展和培訓顧問公司簽署一項配合國慶日至馬來西亞日推行17天“說好話”運動的瞭解備忘錄後，在新聞發佈會上這麼表示。

他指出，各階層人士的意見非常重要，因此該遴選委員會應由執政黨與反對黨議員出任，然後一起展開全國巡迴匯報和聽取民意。

他指出，對於一個多元社會的國家如馬來西亞，國家的和諧與團結至關重要，儘管國家在經濟成長有所表現和發展良好，但如果人民之間不和諧或互相尊重，國家最終也不會達致和平與和諧。

李霖泰說，人民擁有自由發言權與人權方面也必須獲尊重，但人們必須為他們的言論負責。

“人民享有言論自由的情況不是如性愛二人組那樣可以隨意藐視其它種族的宗教或企圖煽動人民的情緒。

國家和諧法至少可以起一定的警惕作用。”

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By China Press - 全民一起說好話 17款明信片透過居協派發

（吉隆坡19日訊）一個馬來西亞基金會與ZUBEDY（馬）有限公司，聯手推動為期17天的“說好話”運動，並從獨立日（國慶日）至馬來西亞日期間（8月31日至9月16日），透過各地居民協會派發明信片，以鼓吹民族和諧風氣。

　民眾可透過各種創意方式說好話，例如推特、拍攝短片及繪畫，呈現想法及響應運動。

　ZUBEDY（馬）有限公司董事經理阿納斯說，這是全民運動，無論是各階層人士皆可參與，屆時，該公司將與一個馬來西亞基金會準備17款不同設計明信片，而“說好話”內容也有別，並計劃透過各住宅區居民協會派發明信片。

　“我們鼓勵每一名獲得明信片人士，額外購買17張明信片送給左鄰右舍，拉進彼此距離，居民可以透過一個馬來西亞基金會或各自居民協會購買17款明信片。”

增加睦鄰互動

　他說，很多人都不認識自己的鄰居，沒有互動，若特地向人打招呼也會感覺尷尬，所以可以透過寄明信片方式，向鄰居自我介紹，增加互動。

　阿納斯今日代表ZUBEDY（馬）有限公司，與一個馬來西亞基金會簽署“說好話”運動時，這么指出。

　出席者包括一個馬來西亞基金會總執行長拉菲里南、主席詹德拉及信託人丹斯里李霖泰；ZUBEDY（馬）有限公司執總營運長柏拉卡斯，及董事阿茲里阿尼斯。

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By The Sun Daily - #SaySomethingNice campaign launched

PETALING JAYA (July 19, 2013): Yayasan 1Malaysia and Zubedy (M) Sdn Bhd today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the #SaySomethingNice Campaign to promote a positive nation.

The campaign which is in its third year, aims to promote peace and goodwill among Malaysians.

The signing of the MoU at Yayasan 1Malaysia was witnessed by Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye who said the campaign would help to promote positive values in society.

"This is a meaningful partnership. The #SaySomethingNice in 17 days, hopes to encourage people to say something nice about Malaysia and Malaysians.

"The campaign, which was initiated by Zubedy, should be emulated by others to promote unity in the country," said Lee.

Zubedy managing director, Anas Zubedy explained that the campaign is aimed at the grass roots level and has no political affiliation.

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Call for unity on anniversary of M'sian race riots By Melissa Goh - Channel News Asia

KUALA LUMPUR: The call for unity has gathered momentum across the country -- on radio, television, and online, various campaigns were launched by Malaysians to foster unity and racial harmony. This comes as the country marks the 44th anniversary of the deadly race riots of May 13, 1969.

In the newspapers, members of the private sector took out a full page advertisement, calling for a truce.

Months of intense politicking, leading up to the bruising political battles of the 13th general election, has left the country scarred.

Anas Zubedy, a businessman, said: "What happened is both sides of the political divide have been throwing a lot of hurtful words at each other. So, we are a nation with wounded hearts. We have a whole nation of millions of people with wounded hearts and we have to do something about it. We have to heal it.

"The most important thing to do right now is that when you look at an article, which sells the idea of hurtful words or any racist article, the first thing we have to do is to ignore it."

Younger politicians from both sides of the divide have echoed the call for unity.

On Twitter, UMNO vice president Hishammuddin Hussein and youth chief Khairy Jamalluddin backed Parti Keadilan Rakyat deputy president Azmin Ali's call to reject divisive race-based politics.

As tens of thousands of Malaysians gathered at nationwide rallies organised by the opposition to reject the outcome of the May 5 elections, which they claimed were rigged, they are also championing the agenda to fight racism -- which they say has no place in the new political landscape in Malaysia.

Rafizi Ramli, the Member of Parliament for Pandan, said: "I look at May 13 as a reminder that we need to get rid of the scourge of racism in this country, and eradicate race-based policies. It's a good reminder. There's a lot of lessons to be learnt from it. But I don't fear it, and neither, I think, the majority of young Malaysians -- who have stopped looking at May 13 as a bad thing or something to be feared of."

Malaysia has a relatively young population -- more than half of the people were born after the May 13 race riots in 1969. Many were impatient and have no fear in their pursuit of change.

In a Kuala Lumpur neighbourhood, spring flowers (flags) have sprouted once again, in defiance of an earlier police order to ban them. The organiser said the project, dubbed the Malaysian Spring, was not to topple the government but to bring hope for a better Malaysia.

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Rise above divisive politics By Isabelle Lai, P. Aruna and Martin Carvalho

PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak must be a statesman and transcend party politics to ensure the national reconciliation programme is a success.

International Islamic University of Malaysia lecturer Prof Datuk Seri Dr Syed Arabi Idid said the Prime Minister must invite all political leaders for an apolitical discussion.

He added that there were core fundamental issues that needed to be addressed as Malaysia moves on after the general election.

“Several studies show people cite the economy and crime as two major issues. Our political leaders can work together to address them,” he said.

The results of GE13 saw a big swing among urban voters for Pakatan Rakyat while Barisan Nasional retained most of its traditional vote banks in rural areas.

The Chinese also made their voices heard with many supporting the Opposition, especially in areas where DAP was pitted against MCA.

Two ministers, Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha and Datuk Seri Chor Chee Heung, lost their parliamentary seats.

Social entrepreneur Anas Zubedy agreed that the reconciliation programme should not only involve politicians.

Noting the intense emotion and anger exhibited by both sides of the divide on social media, he questioned whether the hate politics peddled online should be allowed to continue.

“We must rise above it and leaders from both sides will have to lead the way. Both sides must tell their followers to stop such behaviour,'' said Anas.

1Malaysia Foundation chairman Prof Dr Chandra Muzaffar, meanwhile, said it was essential for the various communities to “rededicate” themselves to the fundamentals on which the country was founded.

He called for the establishment of a national consultative council involving not just politicians but civil society groups as well.

“The fact remains the Chinese did play a part in generating this victory for DAP. Likewise, PAS may say it is not ethnic-based but its appeal is largely Malay. So how can one say ethnicity did not play a part?” he questioned.

Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute CEO Tan Sri Michael Yeoh said Najib's call was timely as the nation was divided.

“It is time to reach out to all the ethnic groups and unite on common ground,” he said.

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Healing Malaysia by Syafique Shiub - Astro Awani

Post GE13: Healing with #SaySomethingNice campaign

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians are encouraged to put aside their political differences and enter a "healing process" as part of the #SaySomethingNice campaign, mostly driven by social media platforms.

The campaign, introduced by entrepreneur Anas Zubedy, is to encourage kindness with one another, especially after the recent 13th General Election (GE13) campaigning period, that has somewhat divided the society.

"We've introduced this campaign two years back to commemorate the 17 days in between Merdeka Day and Hari Malaysia. It so happened GE13 happened this year, thus we are starting to build up the momentum of the campaign starting now before launching it on May 13th," Anas said to AstroAwani.com

He decided to build up the momentum as he saw politicians and their supporters exchanging hurtful words with those from a different political party during the campaigning period.

"It is alright to disagree, but we've come to a point where we've been disrespectful and hurtful. We do not want that. We want to showcase kindness. Now that GE13 is over, it is also time for politicians to concentrate on the work instead of exchanging rough words," he added.

Anas is targeting the campaign to touch one million Malaysians through social media and on the ground activities and it involves a simple exercise of expressing kind words through blog posts, Twitter and posters.

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Read this article in Bahasa Malaysia

GE13: #SaySomethingNice to unite people after polls by Yvonne Lim - The STAR

PETALING JAYA: A campaign called #SaySomethingNice will start on Monday, the day after polling, to “heal” Malaysia following partisanship that had divided the people in the past five years.

“Our country has been split into partisan blocs where we throw hurtful words at each other.

“We need to be reminded that while we oppose each other, we are not enemies. Everyone is fighting to make the country matter, but in different approaches,” said Zubedy (M) Sdn Bhd managing direc-tor Anas Zubedy, who initiated the campaign on his blog letusaddvalue.blogspot.com.

He urged Malaysians to be more encouraging towards one another and restore peace and unity in the country.

“To heal our country, let us work hand in hand, heart in heart. Together we can put back love, respect and dignity in this country.”

On the ways which Malaysians could take part in the campaign, Anas said they could spread the message through Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and other social media platforms.

Radio announcers could tell their listeners about it, he said, adding that students were encouraged to say “thank you” to their teachers.

“If you are someone good with videos, make a short video or movie. If you are from a government agency, exchange cards with other departments or agencies where you praise each other's hard work.”

Anas said he was targeting participation from about one million Malaysians such as political and community leaders, bloggers, social entrepreneurs, local and multinational companies, and others.

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May 6, Time for Healing

Come 6th May 2013 no matter what the results of the 13^th General Election may be, we need to allocate time for healing. Our country has been split into partisan blocs where we throw hurtful words at each other. This has wounded the vibrancy of our peaceful society, thus let us begin the healing. Please join us.

We are starting with a initiative that takes us to the road of healing. We need your help. To heal our country, let us work hand in hand, heart in heart. Together we can put back love, respect, and dignity in this country.

Preparing for Post General Election 2013

#SaySomethingNice 2013 – Healing Malaysia: Putting back some love into the nation

The campaign started a few years ago, taking 17 days from 31 August until 16 September. It is a campaign to encourage truce and showcase the best about our nation. During this short period, we want to portray Malaysia in a very positive light. We want Malaysians to appreciate Malaysia.

For 2013, we want to make the #SaySomethingNice campaign a HEALING campaign. As the last 5 year’s extreme partisanship has drawn us apart. As we are trying to progress we may have overstepped on each other’s foot in our overzealousness to make the country better. While this may continue there must be a safety valve; a time we spend to be positive.

We need to increase the love towards each other. We need to remind that while we oppose each other, we are not enemies. Everyone is fighting to make the country matter, but in different approaches.

We need a feel-good time. Let’s make the 17 days of the campaign such a time where we utter things that make us feel good and appreciate each other more.

How you can help us

You can write, speak, organize projects and activities, and participate within the areas of your expertise. For example:

• If you are a social entrepreneur, invite your audience to join the campaign.
• If you are a social media enthusiast, spread the message through Twitter, Facebook, Google +, and your blogs etc.
• If you are a radio announcer, talk about this campaign with your listeners.
• If you are a sports writer, write about 17 great Malaysian sportsmen.
• If you are a student, spend the 17 days saying ‘Thank You’ to your teachers.
• If you are a radio announcer, have your audience talk about 17 wonderful things about Malaysia.
• If you are a photographer, capture 17 moving pictures that represent the country.
• If you are someone good with videos, make a short video or movie.
• If you are from BN, say something nice about PR and vice versa.
• If you are from a government agency, exchange cards with other departments or agencies where you praise each other’s hard work.
• If you are from a non-government entity, put up a message board in your office and during the campaign period, have everybody write something nice about others on that board. 

On our part, zubedy will do the following:

• Put up posters online; our blog, Facebook page, and Twitter.
• Feature the campaign on a full-page advertisement in a local daily newspaper.
• Work with third parties to put up huge posters of #SaySomethingNice campaign on buildings.
• Get school and college students to join in and participate using their own creativity.
• Bloggers, vloggers, local celebrities, Malaysians abroad, and social media enthusiasts to participate and spread the message through social media and their writing.
• Non-governmental organizations to promote the message.
• Radio announcers and alternative TVs to announce the message and encourage listeners to join in.
• Companies to put up a #SaySomethingNice board in their offices for their employees to write nice short notes about each other.
• Social entrepreneurs to give talks about this campaign.

With this campaign, we hope to hit one million people of whom include:

• Bloggers/vloggers/social media enthusiasts
• Schools and colleges
• Governmental and non-governmental organizations
• Local and multi-national companies
• Malaysians abroad
• Social entrepreneurs
• Political and community leaders
• Radio and television personas 

In the long run, we feel this campaign will gain enough momentum at the national level where all Malaysians will partake. Imagine every day of the 17 days we feature all the different great stuff we have such as our cultural and religious traditions, our food, our sports, and more in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, and Sarawak.

We envision this campaign to be celebrated by all Malaysians in the same manner the Japanese celebrates Sakura Festival, how India celebrates Holi Day, or how Rio De Janeiro celebrates Mardi Gras (minus the booze of course). This in the long run will help feature Malaysia and bring people from all over the world to come and see our Unity.

I am inviting you and I hope you can join us for this campaign. I have a team of young people who are willing to work but we need help to achieve a sizeable momentum. Our small team will get the ball rolling and facilitate but to involve the whole country, we need your support and participation. For more information, please contact Hidayah Mazlan at hidayah@zubedy.com or 03-77270758

Looking forward for you to join this campaign. Please write to me as soon as possible.

Let us add value,

anas zubedy

#SaySomethingNice - Malaysian architecture

A true melting pot, our Malaysian culture has assimilated influences both from the East and West. The mixture of these different entities is eminent in our food, the way we dress, the way we communicate, and certainly, our buildings. Although we have the traditional Malay house, our streets and kampongs are entrenched with Arabian, European, Indian, and other types of architecture.

Astaka Morrocco, Putrajaya

With a large portion of Malaysians being Muslims, it is only natural that we are able to see strong influences from the Middle East in our buildings. Mosques all over the country incorporate the traditional and modern Islamic designs such as the dome, the minarets, and the arches. The Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia is an epitome of such beauty. The influences of Islamic architecture come from cultures such as Moroccan, Persian, and North Indian.

Minangkabau House

The Minangkabau house, or rumah gadang, is a unique architectural splendor that originates from Sumatera, Indonesia. Dominantly seen in Negeri Sembilan where the Minangkabaus mostly reside in, the rumah gadang is quickly recognized by its dramatic, upsweeping gables that form horn-like ends.

Old architecture influenced by the Chinese architecture
 with European Characteristics.

The streets of Malacca and Penang are embedded with rows of town houses, constructed during the Dutch Colonial period. The town house bears designs from the Doric and Corinthian in its columns and pillars, Venetian windows, and European solid shutters. These town houses were modeled from the Chinese architecture, with European characteristics.

KL shop houses 

Kuala Lumpur itself endorses strong European traits when the Chinese tin-miners migrated there in 1850s. The tin-miners adopted the houses from Malacca and Penang, using similar styles of European architecture. The Kuala Lumpur shop houses were 3-storey high with large single wooden beams and held up by heavy pillars. Utilitarian and neo-classical designs from Europe form the shop houses of Kuala Lumpur.

From said influences and many more, our architecture has bred into inimitable structural designs such as the Chinese Baroque, Chitya Indian Vernacular, Colonial, and right into our modern styles. And I say, this is one of the nice things we Malaysians have.

#SaySomethingNice - Brain Gain

In improving our seemingly lacklustre education system, which is accused of hampering the development of exceptional human capital, The National Education Blueprint 2013-2025 was recently announced.

The blueprint has many supporters and detractors. Some claim it to be the right push in the right decision. And there are also those who pointed out its shortcomings like the lack of emphasis on the PPSMI issue and the trend of flip-flopping between policies.

But in the spirit of being positive and saying nice things, let us have a look at some of the best that our education system has produced.

Nur Amalina Che Bakri, a student of the University of Edinburgh, has for instance proved her worth in the field of medicine and was recently given the honour of being one of the presenters in the British Gynaecological Cancer Society Annual Meeting.

Dhruva Murugasu, who studied Economics at the University of Cambridge, was the top student in his faculty for three consecutive years. On top of that, he is also the proud winner of the Adam Smith Prize. Previous winners include big names like John Maynard Keynes, Amartya Sen and India’s current Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh.

Several years back in 2005, Najmil Faiz Mohamed Aris was given the opportunity to present his studies in nano technology to the British Parliament. And his research has also won the Best Research of Good Prospect award.

All of them most definitely have done us proud. Their brilliant minds are truly things to be proud of. All we need now is to make sure these gifted minds keep making us proud and keep contributing to the country.

Our education system, while in many ways flawed, does still produce quality students who have made a name for themselves as well as for the country.

And I say, this is one of the nice things about Malaysians. 

#SaySomethingNice - Record-breaking food.

As a young nation of 57 years old, we have quite a few things to be corrected, but there is one thing we Malaysians always do it right – food. In the Malaysia Book Of Record, among many feats such conquering the Mount Everest and a sprinter who broke the World Record twice in a day, we also have Malaysians making big food that could literally feed a giant. Here are some of my favorites.

Longest Pizza

In 2006, Rajesh Kanna with six assistant chefs of the Westin Hotel set the record for the longest pizza in Malaysia. Measuring at 157 meters, the pizza was actually a record-breaker for their previously longest Malaysian pizza at 83 meters. The current longest pizza in Malaysia took 5 hours to cook, with 150 kg of flour, 105 kg of mozzarella, and 70 liters of tomato sauce. The pizzas were rectangular and cooked through a conveyor oven, were lined up on the tables were they fused with blowtorches to cover each seam. The longest pizza was then sold to the watching crowd and the proceeds went to charity. 

Popiah

In the same year, 200 KPJ Ipoh employees rolled 18,000 spring rolls. They took 3 hours to complete the unbelievable deed, where the rolls were again lined up on tables. The total length of the spring rolls was 2,000, to emulate the length of Sultan Azlan Shah Airport runway, although the spring roll formation could not be laid in a single line as it would have been impractical.

Bubur Lambuk

Another tasty addition to Malaysia Book of Records is Masjid Jamek Kg. Baru’s Bubur Lambuk. In Ramadhan 2005, 120 large pots of it were cooked, making it the largest amount of bubur cooked in one sitting ever. This Bubur Lambak affair epitomizes Malay’s gotong-royong culture, I think,

Roti John

January 2011 saw the making of Malaysia’s longest Roti John. Carrefour Sri Petaling participated under the Malaysia Book of Records Project. The project was held to raise funds for a Cheras orphanage, Rumah Bodhi. The famous line formation was again used to achieve this; the breads were spread in 2 linear lines measuring 

to 200 meters. To celebrate their effort, the organizer made kids from the orphanage perform a traditional drumming number.

Kuih Apam

Another Malaysian favorite kuih was made the main ingredient of another national food record. In January 2010, 200 Hospitality and Culinary Art students of PTPL College baked 30,000 kuih apam and used them to form the 1Malaysia logo. The students spent two days baking. Another 4 hours were spent arranging all the kuih apam in the middle of an open field under the hot sun, and their effort proved worthwhile as they are now in the Malaysia Book of Record. At least these youngsters have something different to boast about to their               friends.

You know how people always say, “Go hard or go home”? We are certainly not “going home” when it comes to our food. We love our food in a big, and of course, long way.

And I say, this is one of the nice things we Malaysians do. 

#SaySomethingNice - Cartoons

Boboiboy

Seefood

While we gawk at Hollywood CGI and animation movies such as Tranformers, Avatar, Thor, and the Final Fantasy installments, let’s not forget that we are not doing too bad ourselves. Of the past 4 years, Malaysians have produced animation movies and animated TV series such as Supa Strikas, Upin & Ipin, Boboi Boy, and Bola Kampung.

The most recently released animation feature, SeeFood, is actually a third of its Malaysian kind. The other two being Geng: The Adventure Begins and Bala Bowl. SeeFood has received warm response internationally, where it has secured multiple distribution deals that is worth over USD 2 million.

Local animation houses such as Animasia, Les’ Copaque, and Shock3D are leading the animation industry but releasing the movies and animated series, and many Malaysians such as I, are proud of this achievement. Our own powerhouse in CGI movies, KRU Studios, who have been using CGI effects in their movies such as Cicakman and Merong Mahawangsa, are doing their own bits to elevate the industry. KRU Studios offer scholarship programs for those are passionate to pursue a career in the industry. 

We were ecstatic when Lat’s Kampung Boy came to our television in 1997, and Malaysians are just as proud with our current animation innovation. Others have criticized these local products of, well, being “local”, but I say; let’s take one step at a time.

#SaySomethingNice – Our Gunung and Parks

 Picture taken from 
http://thenews247.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Gunung-Mulu-National-Park_Gunung-Mulu-view.jpg

Picture taken from 
http://www.travelasianplaces.com/images/malaysia/Gunun-Mulu-National-Park.jpg

Unesco has named 4 sites in Malaysia as World Heritages, and Gunung Mulu National Park is one of them. Lesser known than its counterparts; Taman Negara or Endau Rompin National Parks, Gunung Mulu National Park is a Bornean wonder.

Gunung Mulu National Park has been found to be the habitat of eight species of hornbills including the Sarawak state emblem, the White-crowned Hornbill. The only bear known in South-East Asia, the Malaysian sun bear, has been spotted. Also, twenty seven bat species, the bearded pigs, shrews, tarsiers, macaques, squirrels, and three types of deer have been identified as inhabitants of the national park.

The park resides the biggest natural cave chamber, named Sarawak Chamber. The formation of the limestone chamber is so huge that it can fit in around 40 Boeing 747s. Nearby there is the Deer Cave, which has been regarded as having the largest single cave passage in the world for many years.

Named after the adjacent Mount Mulu, the national park is famous for its limestone karts formation. 2377 meters in sandstone height, Gunung Mulu features are gargantuan caves, cave networks, rock pinnacles, cliffs, and gorges. Regarded as a world’s wonder, in 1977, 100 scientists from the Royal Geographical Society of Britain spent 15 months there on their field research. 

#SaySomethingNice - Our Flying Doctors

                                                       Picture 1 taken from
http://sarawakonline.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/sgh-landing-facilities.jpg

 Picture 2 taken from 

http://sarawakonline.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/heli-services.jpg

  Picture 3 taken from 

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/8483888

The Flying Doctor Service

General hospitals and government clinics are easily found in cities, towns, villages, and FELDA settlements. The same cannot, however, be said for rural areas especially in East Malaysia. Roads and streets that connect rural dwellers to cities are still scarce in most Sabahan and Sarawakian districts. And the lack of connecting routes has made it that much harder for clinics to be built closer to rural dwellers.

To address this issue of out of reach patients, Ministry of Health and Malaysian Royal Air force have joined sources to run the Flying Doctor Service for the last 30 years. FDS is for those who live in areas which are unreachable through land transports.

In Sabah, two teams of FDS, in Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan, provide medical services to 11 Sabahan districts. The Kota Kinabalu team catered to 34 villages last year alone, while the Sandakan team handled 29 villages. The FDS teams visit these villages on a rotational schedule, five times a week.

In Sarawak, the FDS teams are centered in Kuching, Sibu, and Miri where they attend to 141 remote areas. One FDS team usually consists of a medical officer, medical assistant, and two nurses.

The FDS provides preventive and curative services such as general practice, follow-up treatments for hyper tensional and diabetic patients. The teams also focus on maternal and child healthcare, as they are aiming to increase Sabahan children immunization coverage. FDS also transports patients to hospitals and brings in supplies of medicine to rural health clinics. 

Although we have a long way to go in bringing adequate healthcare to all Malaysians, especially those in remote areas, the Flying Doctor Service is a good effort at bridging that gap.

And I say, this is one of the nice things we Malaysians have.