Night Sky At Bukit Mertajam

Night view towards Penang Island with Bukit Tengah in the foreground

Auto City, Juru on the left while Bukit Tengah on the Right

Steak of lightning over the sky near Auto City, Juru

The nearby housings are Taman Sri Rambai and Taman Mutiara

The MPSP Sports and Recreation Complex with swimming pool

Having seen the aerial view of Bukit Mertajam from Desa Wawasan Flat and the surrounding at daybreak, I was curious about how it was like at night.  So here are a few snapshots of the views with the lights from the buildings, houses and street lights lighting up the sky.  There is one picture pointing towards Auto-City Juru which happened to capture a lightning streak over the sky. One power supply is from electricity generated from fuel and/or hydro energy.  The other is Nature's.

Quoting the Bible Book of Genesis Chapter 1 verse 3-5: Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.  And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.  So the evening and the morning were the first day.
Oh! How marvelous is our God who created Day and Night. You can read more from the Bible on the history of God's creation by clicking the link here.

If you need to join a local bible study group, please feel free to contact Bukit Mertajam Baptist Church (BMBC) (Map to the church) at 04- 539 1854 (Tuesday to Sunday;  9.00 am to 5.00pm local time)as the Church Pastor is conducting the bible class. 

Credit goes to the BibleStudy.org resources for the link above. You can also visit them from the link here The Bible Study Web Site

Some of us work at day time while others work at night time due to the present social and economy.  Remember to rest when you are not working as this will help to rejuvenate our body and health.

Formula One Racing Circuit at Batu Kawan, Seberang Perai, Penang

Remote Control Car F1 racing circuit

F1 Racing Circuit at Batu Kawan, Seberang Perai, Penang.  No..no.. this is not the new Penang State Government Mega project on the mainland.  It is the Racing Circuit for Radio Control or Remote Control car built by the F1 drivers themselves with a little help from the Penang State to resurface the little corner at the  Penang State Stadium car parking bays at Batu Kawan town. ("Batu" is Stone while "Kawan" is Friend)

Theses group of  "F1" Radio Control Car drivers usually come together on the weekends to race their prized cars.  They came with complete tool-kits boxes and spare parts for their engines tunings and pit stops checks , battery charging and servicing.  Come and enjoy their company and cheer them on as you need not pay a single sen for the best seats at the finish lines or any corner of the Racing Circuit.  You can rest assured that the race is as hot as those driven by professional drivers at Malaysian Sepang F1 Circuit.

I also understand that there are on-road and buggy track racing circuits at Taman Aman, Senai, Johor for those Radio Control car drivers down south.

So you guys and gals do not just come for the famous Ah Yan Seafood restaurant at Batu Kawan town.  There are many more monkey business you can do here and remember to bring your kids. They will not only enjoy feeding the monkeys along the bridge across the river leading to the Penang State Stadium at Batu Kawan town but they can enjoy watching the "F1" race nearby the stadium.  Remember to bring your own caps, umbrellas and chairs or mat if you are going to watch it.

You can befriend those guys standing the scaffolding to get you started on the hobby.  Be prepared to burn up the fuel in you pockets as these racing cars are not those toy cars that you can afford to give to your kids.
Right here, make sure you be a friend to someone but not a friend to a stone (Batu Kawan).  Not long ago, someone told me this story that a famous politician came over here and make friends with the stones and  make stone erection to mark the construction of Penang Second Bridge Crossing.  Unfortunately, he lost in the election because stone cannot vote for him in the election even though he and his buddies "voted" or marked "x" on the stone..

I say we make friends with the local folks here at Batu Kawan as they are influential to garner votes for you.  I say what a friend we have in Jesus anytime and anywhere.


Do come to BMBC or Bukit Mertajam Baptist Church (Telephone number : 04-5391854) for worship service and fellowship if you want to meet Jesus and make new friends. More importantly, come..bring your kids along to join us on the Children's Christmas Celebration this Saturday December 11, 2010 at two charitable homes at Bukit Mertajam, Penang to share the joy of Christmas with the less fortunate children.

Credit goes to fanofcanucks for posting and sharing the lovely song "What A Friend We Have In Jesus" sung by Alan Jackson on You Tube.

Bigfoothill likes Bukit Mertajam Famous Beef "Koay Teow" Soup

The place for Famous BM Beef Koay Teow Soup

The boss pouring the braised rice noodle from the strainer in boiling pot

Standard bowl starts at RM5.00

Boss and his wife busy serving

My favorite and famous BM Beef Koay Teow Soup

Great taste when dipping the beef into their own homemade chilly sauce

Wow..yummy

Oh..I am so hungry after the Bukit Mertajam Baptist Church (BMBC) Sunday Worship Service and Fellowship which normally ends at 1.00pm.  So Bigfoothill heads to the Bukit Mertajam (BM) Famous Beef Koay Teow Soup Stall near BMBC along the road named Jalan Kulim.  It is just 300 meters from BMBC along Jalan Kulim to the St Anne's Sanctuary at Bukit Mertajam. By the way, to help you with the landmarks, here is the image of BMBC and you can click on the link for the map of BMBC.

Heck..what ..is this another food blog? No...I just love the beef "koay teow" or rice noodle soup.  You do not have to agree with me for some reasons, such as some do not eat because they are vegetarians, some because they worship this and that and god forbids non-Kosher or it is just too salty or the chilly sauce is hot like me...ah. One man's meat is another man's poison. You come and taste it to enjoy for you have your own taste-buds on your tongue. Perhaps you are wondering what can eat or not...you may want to find out more from this link to www.biblestudy.org

Courtesy and credits to  The Bible Study Web Site - You have Questions. The Bible has Answers!

Wow..I love it.

Kota Permai Temple of the Big Rock

Big Rock or Boulder Temple at Kota Permai

Sunlight lit up

Kota Permai Bukit Mertajam Big Rock Temple

The notice about the dedication service - see the lucky number 4920

Sunlight through the side entrance amidst the smoke of the burning incense

Along Jalan Kota Permai

Guardian lion on the right of main entrance

Another lion on the left

Pagoda furnace for burning joss papers

Chinese Operas and concerts are commonly held here

I took these pictures while taking a morning walk at Kota Permai, Bukit Mertajam after staying up the whole night to learn more about blogging and putting my post.

When I was first introduced to Kota Permai by a former colleague who bought a single-floor terrace house at one of the newer phase back in 1990, the BIG ROCK or boulder at Jalan Kota Permai, Kota Permai, Bukit Mertajam, Penang, is the most prominent landmark you will see on your left about 100 meter as you enter from the main junction coming from Jalan Bukit Minyak-Jalan Alma.  There was only a small hut which was beside the big rock which was used to worship the deity "Datuk" spirit that "reside" there.

Today, the place is built up with a nice temple with ample parking space cum the spot for the Chinese Opera or Concert during festive celebrations or when some lucky guys/gals sponsored the shows after winning some 4-D numbers lucky draw.

According to the caretaker on duty there that morning, he related that there was an interesting story of the big rock and the developer, Supreme (not the famous singing group, The Supreme) of Taman Kota Permai.  They wanted to get rid of the rock to clear it for building houses.  However, each time the efforts to remove it was futile as either the bulldozer or backhoe engine just breakdown or the driver or operator fell sick.  Bad omens also caused the famous personality got into trouble with the laws and were put in jail for the corporate world wheeling dealings that went awry because he wanted the big rock out of the way.  The big rock would not budge from the site.

There were other stories or hearsay too.  Another of the story was that a person from the nearby residential housing estate came over to the temple and broke all the idols and paraphernalia a few years ago.  Recently the temple held a relaunching ceremony to restore the idols as published on the pink poster pasted on the temple wall (see picture).  If you can read Chinese characters, you will know what it was all about.  The uncle told me it was held because that lucky guy got the winning numbers betting on 4920 which came up first prize.  Try your luck here? 

As far as the players are concerned, they will look to the usual weekly three draws (Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday) and the special draws, the lucky winners are the gaming companies.  There are ten thousand numbers to place your bet on but they only draw twenty three set of four digits numbers to win the three grand prizes, ten Starter prizes and ten Consolation prizes. Gaming of number forecasts are licensed by the Malaysian Government which also imposed gaming tax and it is collected upfront when you place your bets at the designated outlets. Guess what, these number forecast gaming companies have set up branches in most part of Malaysia except the State of Kelantan where gaming is banned(where the State government formed by the Islamic Party better known as PAS). You can also see long queues of punters at these outlets which sometimes are side by side with one another competing for the punters' bets.

By the way, if you are a Muslim reader, please be warned that gaming is illicit or simply "unclean and sinful" and prohibited for you in Malaysia.  Anyway, we already side tracked from the main idea of this post. Whatever way, the punters and hardcore players will find trip to the licensed  or "legal" outlets to place their bet or simply make phone calls to the bookies which are just illustrious as the licensed counterparts as they can even go one up where they give you credit terms and you can even net-off with your debts against your winning prizes. Some small time players can have the list of lucky numbers as long as the railway double tracks for dream numbers, vehicle numbers, house numbers, accidents numbers  and telephone number and incidental numbers "asked" or solicited from the God of Wealth or other deities such as the big rock of Kota Permai temple. Sometimes there are "leaked" or "fixed" numbers that spread like wildfires at lightning speeds where these numbers sure strike the jackpot and the bookies would blacklist such numbers and stopped the bet on these numbers or limit their exposures.

Sometimes, the lucky winners will have big feasts to celebrate the winnings and make prayer offerings to the "God of Wealth" or the big rock by burning the "dragon" incense sticks that could be as heavy as 50-100 kg and as tall as 5ft -10ft high and burn many big and small gold and silver printed incense papers at the furnace such as the one in pagoda-shape furnace.

So far that I know, the biggest winners are the gaming companies as you can see their profits from annual financial reports published and announced to the public. So the underground syndicates that go under one
are not reported and unannounced.  $$$..........

 
For me, the lucky Numbers that God gave me is in the fourth book in the Old Testaments of the Holy Bible called Numbers, which is after the books of Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus.

You can read it by clicking on this link that lead you to Bible.org 's website for more resources.
Courtesy and Credits go to Bible.org

" Scripture quoted by permission. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are
taken from the NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
www.bible.org All rights reserved. This material is available in its entirety as a free
download or online web use at http://www.netbible.org/ ."

A famous Albukhary Mosque

Just visiting my client at a small town in the north last week and on the way back to Big Foot Hill or Bukit Mertajam, Penang, I have taken a detour to this road  in Alor Setar, Kedah as my client recommended me to another client. Guess what? I stumbled upon a beautiful sight at night which is the  Albukhary Mosque.

Many Muslims and other people have been to this beautiful mosque for worship and Friday prayers or just take a walk and relax there after shopping at the complex named "Souq Albukhary" which is where Giant hypermarket is located.  Many travelers from near and far would have enjoyed its beauty and serenity through recommendations from travels' websites and blogs.  I saw many beautiful images of the mosques being photographed and uploaded.

A check on the net also shown that there is another Albukhary mosque in Kuala Lumpur which is also built by the Albukhary Foundation. Our Malaysian tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary is the giant behind the projects.  I once read in the local news article that he was once working at the wet market helping his mother and was used to wearing clogs.  He is a very humble man and can speak the local Chinese dialect.
Here is the link to his personal blog  http://mokhtaralbukhary.blogspot.com/2008/02/tan-sri-syed-mokhtar-al-bukhary-tan-sri.html 

Here are some of the pictures taken by me. 

I remember my primary school days in Kangar town, the capital of Northern most state of Malaysia, Perlis, where I used to sit in the class quietly with another classmate since we were the only non-Muslims students in a class of forty something pupils when the Islam Religious teacher came to our classroom to teach our Muslim friends the Religion period which usually lasted some 30 minutes.

Not only once but many times, I heard my Muslim classmates asked the teacher about the places of worship which they can use as an alternative to the mosque if there is no mosque near them at the time where they are to perform the prayers five times daily while on a journey or far from home. The teacher did mentioned that my Muslim classmates can use the Church if there is one nearby but not at the temples (Taoist or Hinduism places of worship) where there are idols worships. Now that there are mosques and worship rooms in every town and residential housing estates, it is understandable that our Muslim friends will be able to perform their prayers in these places rather than at a Church which is a taboo.

Well, our country has prospered and the people are more affluent and can afford to donate to build places of worships while the Government ensured that the housing developers built places of worship for the Muslim brethren.  There are not as many new places of worships for the non-Muslims being built as there is no compulsory laws to compel the developers of new housing estates to build one for them.

Back then, there were very few mosques except in major towns like Kangar, Arau, Kuala Perlis, Kaki Bukit and Padang Besar in Perlis.  The mosque in Kangar town have large black colored domes while the old one in Arau was green and white. The new one near the Arau railway station is golden domes as the King of Perlis used to perform prayers there. Usually the mosques compounds are also the burial grounds. There were Muslim funerals attended by their non-Muslims friends, right from the deceased's house to the mosque vicinity in my former Royal hometown. There were no huff or many hoodlums then. Purely mourning the loss of a good friend and a good neighbor, paying last respect and conveying condolences to the deceased's surviving family members and friends.

Those days, people lived in harmony and peacefully in almost every neighborhood with united spirit among the Malaysians as compared to the present day where there were many sad incidents of blatant disrespects and disregards for the places of worship.

There are more live and regular daily broadcasts of Islamic religious programs through the radio and television (TV) channels nowadays. We use to sing the National patriotic songs as they were being played over the radio and televised on television by Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) .  We watched black and white TV.  Does it matter whether we are black or white or yellow or brown like coffee mixed with milk? What happen to us Malaysians today?  What happened to our Education system, the Civic and  Moral classes? Study History of facts that were altered and twisted according to whims and fancy instead of its truth in the past has NO FUTURE.

Did we progress to be an Affluence ONE (A1) NATION of TRULY ASIA OR a LOW BUDGET MENTALITY STATE DOMINANCE WITH MANY DIVISIONS? Too much politicking and power crazy at the top?  Ordinary folks like us just stroll along in our neighborhood in fear of our safety of many incidents of crime reported and the unavoidable economic inflation skyrocketing due to increases in the prices of essential commodities and daily household goods from the chain reactions.

Heaven above is a place in Malaysia on Earth. May God Al-Mighty and Merciful keep us and Malaysia safe, this I pray.  As for me, I ask Lord Jesus to bless the Nation with Peace and Harmony and Prosper Malaysia as I refer to Bible Psalm 118 verse 25-29. For more reading on Psalm 118: 25-29 and for Non-Muslims Only(If you are from Malaysia), please click here.

By the way, if you want your kids to join our Bukit Mertajam Baptist Church (BMBC) Children's Christmas Celebration this coming Saturday December 11, 2010, we welcome you and your kids.  It will be held at the charitable homes.  For more details, please contact BMBC at Tel. no. 04-5391854

Reading on Psalm 118: 25-29 Courtesy of Bible.Org
http://bible.org/

Bukit Mertajam Aerial View from Desa Wawasan Flat

Have been enjoying the aerial view at Bukit Mertajam taken from atop the Desa Wawasan , Sungai Rambai, Bukit Mertajam, Pulau Pinang. So here are some shots taken and share with you.  Though I have been resident at Bukit Mertajam, I have never ventured to this Public housing scheme of BM except to meet my friend twice a year to renew his auto insurance. That meetings also done on the ground.  So out of curiosity, I went up the blocks in the morning and was fascinated by the views of the surrounding area which I could gaze from the highest level on 21st floor.  I only brought along my point and shoot Olympus camera which I used for work.

It is a public housing scheme comprising 912 units to help the lower income group to have a shelter.  The Residents of Penang State can apply to rent the place at only RM100 per month.

The office is located at ground floor of Block A of the Desa Wawasan itself.  It is a good housing idea and project by the government to help the lower income group to have a proper shelter complete with the basic amenities.

View of the MPSP Sports and Recreation Complex equipped with swimming pool and track and field stadium nearby,

Sungai Rambai area is in the foreground with the view towards Juru Auto City in the center

Can see as far as the shadow of Gunung Jerai at the Bujang Valley in Kedah

Looking towards Bukit Mertajam Town with the Summits Hotel on the right and the former Inland Revenue Office building

Some of the last few paddy fields away from BM town center

Towards Gunung Jerai's direction with Bandar Perda on the left as marked by the Fire Brigade red colored dome-shaped building

Police Headquarter Blue domed building at Bandar Perda, Bukit Mertajam

The Bukit Tengah hill is at the center and is being chipped away by the quarrying activity

The road leading to Desa Wawasan and car parks.

Sungai Rambai River flowing beside Taman Sri Rambai and Desa Wawasan

Beyond the valley is the direction towards Penang Bridge

Empty land with ponds and lush green bushes nearby

Indiscriminate dumping of rubbish

Eyesores

Some rubbish dumped into the river too

A tiny remote controlled model airplane flying by

However the breathtaking views are spoiled by the sights of some patches of rubbish in the nearby surrounding areas by the indiscriminate dumping of the wastes at vacant plots of lands.  It will need the local authority to take action to clean up the place and nap the culprits.

Beyond Summits Hotel is the Berapit quarry hill

Someone is playing with the remote controlled plane nearby and have quite a good flying skill

Another ugly spot

All kinds of waste dumping

More wastes dumping

Do we want green environment but our action is not making the right statement

MPSP please do something before it become unhealthy to exercise

Rubbish can choke our rivers and cause flood.  The pump house(blue roofing) at Taman Sri Rambai cannot help to ease the flood.

Can swim in the pool only? Or swimming in the river is bygone era for Malaysians due to pollution of our rivers?

Are we all equally responsible with local city hall MPSP? Or we are just waiting for the mosquitoes to breed and  dumping our rubbish to choke rivers to cause flooding that displaced the residents. Do we get the community to come together to for clean up campaign when we have some VIPs to launch it and then back to the dumping habits some weeks later. 


There are many other ugly sides of us that some even dumped rubbish out of their car windows while driving on the road or while waiting in the queue.  Time to have stricter enforcement on anti-littering and to educate the general public through the schools for school children and mass media such as broadcast through favorite radio stations and television news channels especially for the adults.  It all begin with us.