What's up for 1 year anniversary

Hello everyone, and it is including you Ryan.

It has been a year of actions and achievements. Today, I am very happy that this blog is one year old.

To date, we have made a tremendous progress, far from what I have imagined. Despite some of you being busy with daily life and work, the blog is not as dead as it looks. Your spirit and contribution has kept this blog alive until today.

I remembered the time in AsiaFinest Forum, in ASEAN Clan section when we were starting the discussion about the potential blog, the supersede idea. Thus far, we know only one thing: WE MADE IT.


"Effort does pay-off," this is what I have learned, my friend. And everyone has part of this achievement.
- John and Ari are always the best people I have known in my life.
- Hafiz has done incredible job covers our progress
- Allen has brought us many many great ideas
- Dee Dee and Sovanna has part in the encouragement and supports for the blog
- And Ryan, the new soul, will adds more to the blog

We are one community, even we are living in great distance, but nothing seems to hinder our communication and our move to the future ASEAN.

I believe that ASEAN citizens may want to thank us for all these efforts and we also believe that ASEAN is our true home.

Long Live ASEAN

Long Live AC Blog

Thanks everyone, for making this dream come true

Happy 1 year anniversary

Man! This is totally near stupid... hehe,

We started this blog on 8th October 2008 and now, its been one year already.

Congratulation

Southeast Asia's Great New Show

In an attempt to blur the borders of Southeast Asia, here comes a drama series set in two of the region's most beautiful countries. The jointly-produced drama series entitled Kahit Isang Saglit (A Time For Us) is a masterpiece in the world of entertainment.

Kahit Isang Saglit is set in Malaysia and the Philippines, jointly produced by Double Vision Malaysia and ABS-CBN Philippines this year. The lead roles are played by Filipino actor, model and singer Jericho Rosales and Malaysian actress and model Carmen Soo.

The synopsis goes like this;


Rocky Santillan's (Jericho Rosales) father was a policeman who was murdered. His mother suffered from a fatal heart attack as she mourned her husband’s lifeless body on the beach. Margaret/Garie (Carmen Soo) was very happy to see her father, Ronaldo Dimaandal (Albert Martinez, again and was excited to spend time with both her mom & dad, but she awoke the next morning to find out he had gone again. Garie & her mom then went to live with a relative who didn’t too think much of her dad (Garie's Grandmother & Eunice's mother).

After 15 years, Rocky has become a police officer and gone to Malaysia for an important assignment. While in Malaysia, he secretly leads an investigation into his father’s death, which remains unsolved though Rocky can still remember the face of the man who visited his dad before he was murdered (Garie’s dad). Meanwhile, Garie still yearns for her father. She still believes that her father left against his will and plans to go to the Philippines to look for him.
One busy day, when both of them are in a rush, they collide and fall into each other’s arms.

It was first aired in the Philippines on primetime from Monday through Friday and will soon be aired in Malaysia, Singapore and HongKong on weekends. The drama series is mostly in Filipino and partly in English and Bahasa.

With this new drama series, the beauty of two countries were shown in a very ecstatic mood revolving in the romantic ambience. It was directed by Gilbert Perez and Jerry Lopez Sineneng.

Watch The Full Trailer Here:

Belait District and Kuala Belait

Belait District and Kuala Belait

Brunei Darussalam is divided into four districts. The largest one is the Belait District which located western-most of the country, and covers half of the country’s total size. Being a direct neighbour to Malaysia, Belait District provides land for 70,000 people to live and being the 2nd most populous district, behind Bandar Seri Begawan’s host district. On the contrary, this district has the lowest density than others, due to its huge size of available land.

For Brunei, the Belait District is the heart of oil and gas industry. The Royal Dutch Shell Company has installed major business operations there.
Most inhabitants of Belait District live in Kuala Belait, its main and administrative town. This city is also the 2nd largest town of Brunei. The biggest one is none other than Bandar Seri Begawan.
Kuala Belait located in the western most region of the Belait District. This town functions as the administrative city for the Belait District. This town used to be a small fishing village for the Malays back in 1920s. At that time, the administrative body was Kuala Balai, the city which is southern to Kuala Belait. The cause of changing its administrative center was of the discovery of oil and gas in the Seria region, which leaded to the establishment of a new city for accessibility to the area of oil and gas, as Kuala Belait has a better potential for infrastructure, especially roads. After the Second World War, more commercial buildings were constructed, as well as administrative constructions in order to house local Brunei governmental service providers such as officials.
Today, this municipality is divided into 8 sub-districts and many suburbs. The town also has several tourism sites such as the Silver Julibee Park, The Monument, The Kuala Belait Boat Club, and the Teapot. There are other places to visit, and Belait District and Kuala Belait is surely a good place to experience.

Charter is one step closer

Despite threats of not ratifying it, the Philippines did it yesterday.

Now, only two countries have yet to ratify the ASEAN Charter. Indonesia is one and has made similar threat due to its concern with the status in Myanmar. The other is Thailand.It is unclear when the Thai legislation will do it, given the unrest there.

BAGUIO; Your Perfect Destination

Way up north, in about 1500 meters above sea level lies the Philippines' Summer Capital, Baguio City.

With just over 200,000 residents, Baguio City is a highly-urbanized Philippine city situated at the heart of Benguet Province and capital of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

Baguio was founded in the 1900 by the Americans in the mountainous part of Luzon Island. Because of its location, it is cold all year round with lush pine forests and mossy grounds. Just like the Genting of Malaysia, Baguio is foggy.


The City is commonly accessible via zigzag roads along steep ridges and valleys which makes the trip more exciting. It is also reachable via the Loakan Airport.

Baguio boasts of its ethnic merchandise, beautiful parks and mountain views and several educational institutions that are among the best in the region. Landmarks are abundant in Baguio like the Burnham Park, with a large lagoon designed by David Burnham, The Mansion, the Philippine President's official summer house, Mines View, a small viewing deck overlooking the Cordillera mountains, the Our Lady of Atonement Cathedral, a majestic pink church at the heart of the city and many other tourist attractions that make Baguio a popular destination for expats.















What's mostly peculiar about Baguio is that airconditioning systems at most establishments are minimal that even the largest Mall has canopy roofing. Taxis here does not have airconditioning too, making it cheaper than in Manila.

The people of Baguio are very friendly and honest. They like to talk to people, especially to tourists and are very eager to show you around. The value peace very much that the police roam around at night for noise makers. They speak Tagalog, English and Ilocano, a native dialect.

The people of Baguio are composed mostly of Ilocanos, Koreans, Chinese and Igorots, an ethnic group.


So whenever you feel pissed off by all this hot Southeast Asian climate, visit Baguio and experience the fun it has to offer!

Southeast Asian of the month for September: Dr. Mahathir Bin Mohammad

Dr. Mahathir Bin Mohammad, former president of Malaysia

Born in 1925, Dr. Mahathir Bin Mohammad is one of the longest-serving prime minister of Malaysia and on the other side, leaders of Asia. His hometown is Alur Setar, capital of the north-western state of Kedah, where also his place of education before his entry to the King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore. He married his former classmate and later fellow doctor, Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali in 1956, who bore him 5 children: three sons and two daughters.

During World War II, and during the Japanese occupation of Malaya, to help his family income, Dr. Mahathir Bin Mohammad sold pisang goreng (banana fritter) and other snacks. During his stay in Singapore, he is the editor of the medical magazine name “The Cauldron,” and also an anonymous contributor to “the straight time” newspaper (in which he was using his nickname ”Che det”). His other major role during early life was being the president of the Muslim society in the college.


The beginning of his private practice set a year after his marriage in his hometown when he left the government medical service he attended after his graduation. In 1959, he owned a Pontiac Catalina and employed an ethnic Chinese chauffeur. However, his political life started even earlier. In 1945, he joined an organization name “United Malays National Organization (UMNO).” In 1965, his first political achievement came in form of the parliament seat (member), which he eventually lost in 1969.

During the event of the riot in 1969 was a downturn for his political career. After seeing the lacks of leadership of the prime minister of that time, Tunku Abdul Rahman, he publicly criticise him and was eventually sacked out of the UMNO. He continues his campaign for the sake of Malaysia by writing the book “The Malay Dilemma,” which describes about the reason behind the slow progress of Malaysian economics. This book was banned in the later stage.

Dr. Mahathir Bin Mohammad regained his UMNO membership in 1972, and was appointed senator in 1973. In order to contest the 1974 election, he abandoned his position, in which he was return unopposed and further promoted to the minister of education. In 1975, he was elected as one of the three vice president of the UMNO.
He became the prime minister of Malaysia in 1981. This new prime minister conducted the constitutional amendment where he removes some power from the monarchies. Under his leadership, Malaysia was able to avoid large impact from the economic crisis in 1997. For domestic dominance, his UMNO won landslide election in 1982, 1986, 1990, 1995 and 1999. He established an effective foreign policy which he proficiently deals with the US, Australia, Singapore, Middle East, China, and Asia countries. He plays important role in ASEAN and APEC.

His announcement in 2002 shocked the whole Malaysia as he pronounced the word “retire.” He himself also burst into tears. However, after several persuasions, he decided to remain in office until October 2003. The reason for this delay is to allow more time to choose his successor.

Dr. Mahathir Bin Mohammad is a truly noble Southeast Asian. In Malaysia, he is known as the “father of modernisation.” He is perhaps America’s best Muslim friend. He often spoke strongly and controversially in favor of nonalignment; economic development; and the world's “southern” (typically less-developed and nonaligned) countries. During his time in office, he is considered one of Asia’s most influential leaders. He is also encouraging the spirit of “Asian Value.”

Source:
- Wikipedia.org/Malaysia
- Microsoft Student: Mahathir Bin Mohammad
- MSN Encarta

KL Tower

Malaysian people should be proud of this multi-purposes construction. Labelled as "the fifth tallest
Telecommunication tower in the world," this KL tower serves more than the communication service to Malaysian, especially Kuala Lumpur residents.

The tower was completely built on a hill in the city in 1995, through 3 processes began in 1991. The tower stands 421m high, can withstand wind pressure up to 90 mph, and operates as the city antenna. Dr. Mahathir bin Mohammad performed the Topping-up Ceremony on 13 September, 1994. That event took place 421 meters above the ground where the antenna mast was installed. This celebration is to signal the process of constructing the final height of the tower. The tower was opened to public in 1996, with the presence of many honourable guests.

The structure consists of 5 sections. On the 4th section, there is a revolving restaurant. You can enjoy the view of Kuala Lumpur while dining some finest food of the world, including McDonald's hamburger.
The highest section is for telecommunication administration. The peak broadcasts transmission for the Menara Kuala Lumpur Sdn. Bhd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Telekom Malaysia Group.