Bye London, Hello KL

Sunday 26 July 2009

Late afternoon yesterday, we went for a walk at the Royal Parks. I have always been amazed at the green lung right in the middle of the city that has been preserved and maintained for the city dwellers to go back to nature. Reminds me of the song...Saturday in the Park.... it was a refreshing outing for my family considering we would be leaving London Sunday 26 July 2009. We walked along the River Serpentine, stopping by for a bite of sandwiches and muffins at one of the restaurants there. Children were seen feeding the ducks in the river, whilst the adults were seen on their skateboards, gliding through the crowd. Everyone was enjoyng the English weather today.
We passed by the Prince Albert Memorial, and across the Park was the Royal Albert Hall. This is the place where some of our Malaysian artistes performed to get international exposure, the late Sudirman Arshad, followed by Datuk Siti Nurhaliza. We were also surprised by the news that Yasmin Ahmad passed away after an operation. I have always admired her films, Sepet...and of course the advertisements she did for Leo Burnett which were aired nearing Hari Raya, Deepavali and Gong Xi Fa Chai celebrations in the country. Those advertisements revived our nationalistic feelings for our beloved country and certainly touched our hearts viewing them. We shall always remember Yasmin for her creativity and her unique approach in all her productions.
Today, we leave London with a heavy heart because we are leaving our son who just graduated from University to look for a job and fend for himself in this big city. Deep in my heart, I know he can make it here, InsyAllah, God Willing....he can make it here.

Palm Oil Chocolates

I also love London because of the abundance of free newspapers that anyone can just pick up along the streets and update themselves with local as well as international news - The London Paper, London Lite, The Epoch Times - UK Edition. Unfortunately, in Malaysia, only The Edge is available for free distribution at KL Central and Seven 11 outlets and several other locations, even that in limited copies only.
My husband picked up randomly a copy of The Epoch Times Issue 00218 dated July 22-28, 2009. On the front page, I read a not so-good news about palm oil. It says Auckland Zoo bans chocolates to save animals. Again the Orang Utan - Palm Oil issue resurfaced. This time, Auckland Zoo has decided to banish the iconic brand Cadbury from its shelves. "We are the advocates for wildlife," says Auckland Zoo's conservation officer, Peter Fraser. "The biggest threat for animals is encroaching palm oil plantations." The Zoo has been selling Cadbury chocolates in its shops and restaurant, and palm oil products also form part of the Zoo's animal feed. He further said it was not currently possible to remove all palm oil products from the Zoo, as in the case of some
animal's feed, there is no replacement.
It saddens me to read such news. But I do believe that as long as the palm oil industry maintains its quality goods, the world will still need our palm oil for its versatility and its irreplacibility, as admitted by the Auckland Zoo. Long Live Palm Oil!

Friday 24 July 2009

Today, my family and I went out again on the city tour, this time to see the Changing of the Guards at the Horse Stables in St James Park. My husband admires horses but cannot afford to own one. So looking at them is enough to satisfy his admiration and silent passion for horses. It is also a good introduction for my grandson who was overwhelmed with the beautiful animals on parade in complete regalia performed by the Queen's Life Guards - House of Cavalry.

At the Entrance, I saw a charming poster on the House of Cavalry..."where boots are NOT made for walking". I suppose the life guards don't need to walk alot because they are always mounting horses. Of course, my boots have brought me around the city of London comfortably. Without them, I could not possibly walk the pedestrian walks and the cobbled streets of London. For me, boots are really made for walking.

It was raining quite heavily after the show, so we took refuge under the heavy canopy of the old beautiful trees at St James Park, overlooking the lake. There is a host of water fowls swimming and relaxing around the lake. No wonder they called it Duck Tours....It is London's Amazing Amphibious Adventure, as they branded themselves. The sightseeing tour goes on land as well as in the water of the Thames River. Typical of the ducks!

Wednesday 21 July 2009


I read with interest an article in the London Lite today entitled "Eat your crusts to beat cancer." The article said that bread crusts may not make your hair curl - but scientists believe they can help prevent bowel cancer. An Indian research team found regular intake of crust chemical pronyl-lysine appears to halt pre-cancerous colon lesions.


This is yet to be seen. Similarly, research done on the tocotrienol content of palm oil also showed that it can prevent cancer from spreading. Red palm oil is one of the richest plant sources of cancer fighting squalene and heart protective Co Q10. It is the richest food source of two of the most important antioxidant nutrients - vitamin E nd beta-carotene. It is the premier source of tocotrienol that is gaining recognition as a powerful anti-cancer, heart protective antioxidant.

We went for a family dinner at Khan's in Bayswater. We missed Mamak food actually, so we had a very hearty meal - lamb bryani and tika, mutton bryani, with a side dish of chicken bourgi, accompanied with drinks of lassi and mango juice. Not surprisingly, the restaurant was filled with people of all races, as London is famous for - the locals, the Arabs, the Chinese, Sri lankans and us Malays. The last time I was here in October 2008, the entrance was being renovated. Now the frontage is completed but the inside decor remains unchanged. The bill came to 49 GBP, which is equivalent to RM296! Very expensive, I should think. Kalau makan di kedai Mamak di Malaysia, tak sampai RM50. The same menu at a hotel also would not reach RM150.

Khan's logo is "If you have not been to Khan's, you have not been to London!" Khan's was established in London since 1977, and if Iam not mistaken, there is a new branch, Khan's at Kensington. The interesting thing about Khan's to me is the palm tree motif used on their corporate logo.

Certainly it reminds me of the oil palm, the Golden Crop of Malaysia.

To me, the oil palm, Elaeis guineensis, is a very beautiful palm species. With a thick canopy of leaves, it gives a good shade to the surrounding area. Years ago, I bought a piece of orchard land in Linggi averaging 1.14 acre. The land was a former oil palm plantation and when the developer asked the buyers whether they want to fell down the palms, I insisted I want the palms to remain encircling my piece of land. It turned out to be a good decision because only my lot boasts of the palms and the other fruit trees planted in my lot grew better than my neighbours because of the cool shade provided by the palms.

Today, I went shopping at Morisson's Shepherd's Bush for our weekly groceries. Morisson's is the only supermarket that has beed awarded the Carbon Trust Award for reducing its carbon emission by 5000 tonnes per day. Morrisson's has put their best footprint forward. So says their poster banner.
In Malaysia, the palm oil industry since 2 decades ago, had changed the paradigm from a waste producer to a sector that has actually utilised the waste. With numerous biofuel projects based on oil palm/palm oil, our country has successfully labelled the Industry as a sustainable industry, despite accusations by other self-interested parties that we are destroying the environment by opening up forests to cultivate oil palm. I cannot say much about the carbon credit issues, but what I see is that the 3P's principle adopted by the Industry, People/Planet/Profits, is a good one, as long as a fine balance is kept amongst the 3Ps for the interests of the country that we love. Proud to be Malaysian -lah!

HARRODS Revisited

Sunday 19 July 2009

We went again to Harrods at Kensington, just to see whatever is left of the Great Sale. We ended up buying nothing that day, maybe because the discount was not good enough as compared to our Malaysian Ringgit. However, we passed through the Dodi-Diana Memorial set up by the owner of Harrods, Al-Fayed, in memory of his son who passed away with Lady Diana Spencer, the Princess of Wales, in a car accident in Paris in August 1997. As always, it was very crowded with visitors taking photos, especially of the beautiful diamond ring, supposedly the engagement ring that Dodi was to give to Diana.

A little bit further away from the Memorial, I was attracted to some pieces of sculpture being displayed on the Eyptian Floor (Lower Ground) of Harrods. There was this piece of wood, claimed to be 30,000,000 years old! I felt it, it was hard and cold as stone.

The Egyptian ambiance recreated in this section of Harrods reminded me of the fact that

palm oil was first discovered as one of the artefacts and remains kept in the tomb of one of the mummies about 5,000 BC. That showed that palm oil was being used a long, long time ago.

Saturday 18 July 2009

Today, my husband and I went again to Portobello Market for the second time this week. While looking at the interesting items on display, we came across a Malaysian couple who are just back from a cruise to Scandinavia and now in London to look up their niece before going back to Malaysia. What strikes me most is that the more we talk, the more things we have in common. For example, we happen to know Pn Sri's sister whom we also saw walking across Westfield in Shepherd's Bush with her grandchildren that week. The world is getting smaller by the day. In fact, when we were at Buckingham Palace last week, I bumped into a friend who is an artist from Shah Alam. Such coincidences happened for a reason which we do not know why. Only God knows. InsyAllah...I shall look them up once back home.

Friday 17 July 2009

We took a trip down south by the M20 to Dover, attracted to the White Cliffs of Dover. Much of the chalk downland along the cliff tops is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and part of the Heritage Coast with interesting and rare flora and fauna. Dover is to be appreciated for its magnificient scenery which not only make it an island nation but has witnessed many historic events in UK, including The Battle 0f Britain, troops leaving and returning during WWI and WWII and Captain Webb swimming the English Channel. We also drove up to Dover Castle to see the spectacular view of the city.

Talking about sites of special interest, the Malaysian Government once was horrified to know that Langkawi Island, famous for its gamat (sea cucumber), was losing the species due to destruction of the coastland because of development. Hopefully, things are back in order, what with the marine Geopark being developed there.

PS. Whatever happened to our Datuk Mydin, the Malaysian English Channel swimmer?

PS 2. To the young Malaysian girl who wanted to attempt swimming the English Channel but had to withdraw because of bad weather, better luck next time.

British Souvereignity vis-a-vis Malay Sultanate

The Roman Baths

The Stonehenge

Thursday 16 July 2009

Today, Windsor, Stone Henge and Bath are a series of tourist attractions to fulfil our itinerary for the 3-day car hire. Windsor boasts of a very beautiful English countryside, very quaint, laid-back and has all the characteristics of a typical English county. Windsor Castle is the official residence of Her Majesty The Queen of England. First established by William the Conquerer in the 11th century, it is also greatly used by royalty for ceremonial and state functions. As you can see, Queen Victoria was there to receive me....

After lunch, we proceeded to view the Stonehenge, another of Britain's World Heritage Site 1986. The Stones is a prehistorian wonder which will forever remain a mystery. There is no concreate evidence yet of its origins there.

Bath is the last in the itinerary for today. It was raining rather heavily when we reached or destination in the late summer evening. The Roman Baths were the attraction that drove us there. In fact, the Roman Baths and the Temple of Sulis Minerva are among the finest Roman remains in Britain. At their heart is Britain's only hot spring. The museum, below the Pump Room, contains the monumental remains and evidence of the people who used them. As darkness falls, the ruins of this vast Roman building are an awesome sight.

PS. Similar to the British monarchy, Malaysians are proud that our country continues to be ruled by the monarchy, in this case the Yang Di Pertuan Agong. It is a symbol of integrity for the Rakyat. As in our National Anthem....Negara -ku, Tanah Tumpah nya darah-ku, Rakyat hidup, Bersatu dan maju, Rahmat bahagia, Tuhan kurniakan, Raja kita, Selamat bertakhta. (Malaysians must sing it with our hearts and our minds, and you should feel the shivers running down your spine)

Branding

Nostalgia about MSD at Bryanston Square in mid 7os

At Bicester Village

Elizabeth Hurley's 1st Retail Outlet

Today we rented a car and went to Bicester Village about 1 hour's drive up M4 towards Oxford. The Village is a branded goods outlet, ranging from shoes and handbags to fine porcelain and crockery. All the big names are there - Dior, Bally, Salvatore Ferragamo, Anya Hindmarch, Jimmy Choo, Elizabeth Hurley, Paul Smith, Polo Ralph Lauren, Thomas Pink, Kath Kidston, Tods, The House of Villeroy & Boch, Wedgewood, etc,etc. Bicester's tagline is Shopping Heaven - Bicester Village - is a good one. As I said earlier, shopping is just to satisfy your personal needs for the brand items that suit your lifestyle.
On the way back, we stopped by the Malaysian Student's Department (MSD), out of nostalgia for the previous one which was once located at 45-46 Bryanston Square in London. As a graduate of a British University in mid70s, Bryanston Square in London during that era, to me, was associated with a brand, ie MSD. To most students, especially the Government-sponsored ones, Bryanston Square is a second home to us during our student days. When the Malaysian Government decided to stop renting Bryanston Square in order to buy the present premises, I felt something which was unexplainable at that time. However, the decision was a good one in the long run because we now own the building premises at 30-34 Queensborough Terrace, which was officiated by the former Prime Minster of Malaysia, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2004.

Go Green, Think Green

Tuesday 14 July 2009

Today, I looked up another friend to deliver some London Almond cookies to her. She cooked us dinner - masak lemak sayur dan ayam panggang - Best betul! Mana-mana pegi, makan mesti Melayu jugak.

At the tube station, I saw big posters written "Go Green, Think Green", all in the quest to make this world a better place to live. At the Richard Dimbleby Lecture last week (7 July), Prince Charles was reported to support green issues, saying that materialism and the British "consumerist" society has brought the world close to environmental collapse. He said that everyone knows the truth, but chooses to ignore. On the Malaysian front too, green issues are affecting our palm oil industry. Tan Sri Dr Yusof Basiron, CEO of Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC), bravely commented on the Industry's quest for sustainability and environmental protection. He said,"Right now, one part of the planet consumes and pollutes in its lavish lifestyle, while another part is forced to remain undeveloped and to preserve their forests for future generation". To me, everyone of us in this planet has a responsibilty to preserve our Mother Earth in our own little way, even if we bother not to throw out rubbish while driving! Little things mean alot.

McDonald's - A Good Patron of Palm Oil

London Eye

Big Ben
Westminster Abbey

Monday 13 July 2009

Another cluster of tourist attractions in Great Britain is the Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and the surrounding area, including the London Eye. It was a hot day yesterday, averaging 22 degrees centigrade. My family had fun entertaining our little grandson whom we let loose along the River Thames where people were boarding the boats to experience the Thames River Cruise.

We had lunch at Queen's Walk around the premises of the London Eye. Mc D -Macdonald's- was there at the strategic spot where tourists could easily take a bite after the long leisurely walk from WestMinster Abbey before boarding the London Eye platform to view the prolific city.

I read in the London Paper that this fast-food giant McDonald's is to move its European Headquarters from London to Geneva, Switzerland to take advantage of more favourable tax laws in Switzerland. Whatever it is, I hope McD will not change its preference for palm oil in frying its burgers and chips. McD has long been a patron of Malaysian palm oil because of palm oil's good frying characteristics.

Fish and Chips

Sunday 12 July 2009
We went sightseeing in the afternoon since the English weather promised us a good one at 21 degrees centigrade. We visited the London Tower and Tower Bridge, these are beautiful monuments of great architectural value and recognised as one of the World Heritage Sites. Built around 1700, the Tower was one of the Royal Palaces for the King of England at that time. We had lunch English style - Fish and Chips. I think they must use palm oil as their frying oil. It tasted real great. R&D also shows that chips are best fried in palm olein.
The English are very good at restoration works and one side of the Tower Bridge was being restored and repaired when we visited the site. We Malaysians must learn from the British the importance of preservation and restoration of historical buildings in our country. Besides being a tourist attraction, these buildings and monuments would be the proud reminders of our civilization, our history and our heritage for our younger generation. As a Malaysian, and a Malaccan for that matter, I am proud Malacca and Penang were recently being given the status of World Heritage Sites, at par with the London Tower, Ha Long Bay, the Pyramids etc,etc.

Palm Oil is Halal

12 July 2009
Today, I went to Shepherd's Bush market to replenish our supply of halal meat - chicken and beef. Halal is an Arabic word meaning lawful. It refers to things permitted by our Shariah law without punishment imposed on the doer. It is usually used to describe something that a Muslim is permitted to engage in eg. eat, drink or use.
Halal to eat reminds me of the label "kosher", a term used to describe palm oil products in the United States and other non-Muslim countries. Once these products are labelled above, they are assured of the method of processing according to Muslim rites, ie suci (meaning clean).

Saturday 11 July 2009
Saturday is a good day to look up Portobello - the world's largest antiques market. Historically speaking, London has been an influential city for two millenia and its history goes back to the founding by the Romans. Therefore, it is only natural that London has become a depository of international antiques. All antique lovers would browse away the day in Portobello's galleries and arcades. There is an astonishing variety of antiques and collectables from all around the world and dating back from the Roman times to 1960's.
People from all races jam the streets of Portobello every Saturday, trying to acquire bits and pieces of history left by their forefathers. I saw some old *Malacca tiles, being remade into functional items such as wall hangings or just being dispalyed as wall decoration. Such items are actually available at my gift boutique at blog http://www.tulengiftshop.blogspot.com/
*The antique tiles from Malacca actually originate from Great Britain. I saw 'Made in England stamped at the back of the tiles.However, some did come from Japan by my observation.

Friday 10 July 2009
Today, my family and I were invited for lunch at the home of my my old schoolmate , Chee Khan Neo, who had settled down in the UK since early 1970's. The whole family, comprising Michael and Elly Wong and their two daughters are now permanent residents (PR) of UK. The menu was a very special one, with chicken curry, fresh salmon, prawns, fried asparagus and a delicious fresh garden salad, served with steamed white Bhasmathi rice. Michael said it is a special menu for a special reunion, considering we have not met each other since 43 years ago when Elly moved to UK to start her nursing career.
Both Michael and Elly, I found out later, are descendants of the Nyonya and Baba heritage, the former from Penang and the latter from Malacca. Both Penang, Malacca and Singapore were the former states of the Straits Settlements, a legacy left by the British when they governed the country beginning 1800s.
It was a beautiful reunion indeed, with my telling Elly what had happened to our friends. It was easily remembered because Elly brought out the old school photos since 1961 as a source of reference!

Thursday 9 July 2009
Today my family and I went to the more popular tourist attractions in London - Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden. More so to familiarise my 2 1/2 year-old grandson , Iman Hezrin, with these landmarks of British greatness. Yes, the British race, for whatever other people may say and think, had done great things for our country Malaysia, before we gained our national independence in 1957. They brought development to then Malaya by starting ( some people say they exploited) the tin industry, then the rubber and palm oil industry of the country. We must not forget they brought the first few seeds of rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) and the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) from Africa to headstart the econonomic development of Malaysia. Even though the oil palm was brought in and planted initially as avenue trees in 1870s, it turned out to be a great investment opportunity and the oil palm industry has always remained as one of the greatest income revenue earner for the country, next to petroleum.
For me, revisiting these places is just a trip down memory lane. I was here in 1975-1977 to do my masters at Loughborough University. Then in 1982, I went for a short course on Agricultural Information organised by Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau International (CABI). Ten years later in 1992, I went again on a familiarization visit to the great museums in the UK to harvest ideas for the Palm Information Centre that I built for MPOB. It was at the Natural History Museum that I managed to piece together my thoughts on the look and feel of the Centre - an integrated approach of providing palm oil information to the world. I also took a trip to the Palm House in Kew Gardens to view the early oil palm trees planted there, one of which was brought to Malaysia that started the industry in our country.