Monday, August 31, 2009

Drawing the common people to the art gallery

LAST Wednesday, I received an SMS inviting me to visit the National Art Gallery between then and today.

The 51st visitor of each day gets a surprise gift in one of the programmes held in conjunction with the premier galler y’s 51st anniversary.

While I am pleased that the gallery has jumped on the technology bandwagon to draw visitors to its premises, I recall a time a couple of years ago when it did so quite effortlessly on the first Saturday of each month.

In fact, the event — a monthly art fair — almost became a permanent feature on Kuala Lumpur’s list of happenings until it was discontinued.

Known as Laman Seni, the art fair was held at the grounds of the National Art Gallery to draw a wider audience and get common people to be interested in art.

Tents were set up and rented to artists, mostly painters, to work, display and sell their art.

It allowed the artists to interact not only among themselves but also with the man-in-the street.

But barely into its second year, the event was stopped when the gallery underwent a major renovation.

I did not remember reading any official statement why it was scrapped but I did recall coming across some people, including tourists, who had had by then heard about the art fair, asking for its location several times.

Rumours were rife on why it was stopped — logistics was one, finance was the other.

Some said the artists did not benefit much from it since everyone was allowed to rent the tents and sell.

Some also blamed the carnival-like atmosphere, completed with stage shows and the customary morning aerobics, the cacophony of which was hardly conducive for browsing or purchasing art work.

Probably, for fear that it would be - come a flea market, the event wa s scrapped.

While the true reason may not be known and the possibility of the Laman Seni being resurrected remote, from my observation, the art fair had drawn more visitors on Sat - urdays than the gallery ever did in a regular week.

The event may not have yielded all the results expected but if the organisation was refined through time, I think it could have been one the gallery would have been very proud of.

The premier gallery has the largest collection of Malaysian visual art that dates back to the nation’s pre-Independence days.

Though the gallery has done its share in support of artistic pursuits, and unless it can draw common people to its doorsteps and introduce them to artistic endeavours without being intimidated by formalities, its premises risks becoming scholarly landmark visited only by students and researchers.

Or it may become just another destination on the tour itinerary.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Little has changed since Internet days

LAST week, an Internet news portal quoted a local expert as saying that excessive physical activity could make one more vulnerable to influenza A (H1N1).

The academician alleged that physical activities beyond the body’s tolerance could lead to a highly acidic condition in the body which could disable its ability to fight infection.

The story reminded me of an e-mail I received recently, which described how the Thais keep themselves H1N1-free by drinking coconut water and munching on dates.

While I did not doubt the claims, I hope that the spam did not originate from some unscrupulous traders hoping to make a killing this Ramadan from the sale of dates because I have yet to buy my Mariamis.

A similar e-mail on how papaya juice could cure dengue also made its rounds some time last year.

Someone I know who received the e-mail actually fed a tablespoon of the bitter juice to her spouse who had contracted dengue.

He recovered, of course, but who can tell if it was the doctor’s medicine, the drips, or the papain that worked? Could it be the combination of all — and perhaps, some luck, too? As more H1N1 cases rise and a cure still far down the horizon, I am sure more unconventional ways of dealing with the pandemic will emerge.

With the Internet freely available, many more will come to our knowledge as we log on to check our mails or read related n e w s.

But as statistics continue to climb, the best option is to keep a cool head and to leave it to the experts when it comes to diagnosis.

And where self-preservation is concerned, prevention is better than cure.

Observing personal hygiene by using sanitisers regularly and wearing a mask to protect your breathing space when in high-risk areas can reduce your chances of an infection.

The only stumbling blocks I see is when the supply of both run short.

Last Friday, I found out that some pharmacies outside the city have already run out of waterless hand sanitisers.

Some pharmacists promised that the new batch would come in by this week.

Others said they were not sure when the new shipment would arrive and this was greeted with looks of disappointment from the shoppers although soap and other common disinfectants will just do as well to clean one’s hands before eating or after going to the toilet.

The masks are still widely available is most pharmacies, from flimsy ones priced at 60 sen each to those with carbon mesh which cost RM6 each.

The latter is said to be able to deal with more than just air-borne contaminants.

Some sales assistants who were familiar with N95 the handphone are also now quite well-versed in N95 the masks although few could explain how the number came about or why it was better than most particulate barriers.

Of course, few could advise me on how long one can wear a mask before it becomes a breeding ground for every imaginable microbe.

I wonder if there are masks that you could wash, disinfect, and use again considering the costs of using disposable ones.

Can a bandana, folded several times and wrapped around the face, be just as effective in keeping out the air-borne contagion? I suppose a better option would be to just embrace social distancing as recommended by a colleague weeks ago.

Staying home during the weekends might expose me to the danger of turning into a couch potato but it is less painful than having to throw away expensive masks after each outing.

Monday, August 17, 2009

When prevention is better than cure

LAST week, an Internet news portal quoted a local expert as saying that excessive physical activity could make one more vulnerable to influenza A (H1N1).

The academician alleged that physical activities beyond the body’s tolerance could lead to a highly acidic condition in the body which could disable its ability to fight infection.

The story reminded me of an e-mail I received recently, which described how the Thais keep themselves H1N1-free by drinking coconut water and munching on dates.

While I did not doubt the claims, I hope that the spam did not originate from some unscrupulous traders hoping to make a killing this Ramadan from the sale of dates because I have yet to buy my Mariamis.

A similar e-mail on how papaya juice could cure dengue also made its rounds some time last year.

Someone I know who received the e-mail actually fed a tablespoon of the bitter juice to her spouse who had contracted dengue.

He recovered, of course, but who can tell if it was the doctor’s medicine, the drips, or the papain that worked? Could it be the combination of all — and perhaps, some luck, too? As more H1N1 cases rise and a cure still far down the horizon, I am sure more unconventional ways of dealing with the pandemic will emerge.

With the Internet freely available, many more will come to our knowledge as we log on to check our mails or read related n e w s.

But as statistics continue to climb, the best option is to keep a cool head and to leave it to the experts when it comes to diagnosis.

And where self-preservation is concerned, prevention is better than cure.

Observing personal hygiene by using sanitisers regularly and wearing a mask to protect your breathing space when in high-risk areas can reduce your chances of an infection.

The only stumbling blocks I see is when the supply of both run short.

Last Friday, I found out that some pharmacies outside the city have already run out of waterless hand sanitisers.

Some pharmacists promised that the new batch would come in by this week.

Others said they were not sure when the new shipment would arrive and this was greeted with looks of disappointment from the shoppers although soap and other common disinfectants will just do as well to clean one’s hands before eating or after going to the toilet.

The masks are still widely available is most pharmacies, from flimsy ones priced at 60 sen each to those with carbon mesh which cost RM6 each.

The latter is said to be able to deal with more than just air-borne contaminants.

Some sales assistants who were familiar with N95 the handphone are also now quite well-versed in N95 the masks although few could explain how the number came about or why it was better than most particulate barriers.

Of course, few could advise me on how long one can wear a mask before it becomes a breeding ground for every imaginable microbe.

I wonder if there are masks that you could wash, disinfect, and use again considering the costs of using disposable ones.

Can a bandana, folded several times and wrapped around the face, be just as effective in keeping out the air-borne contagion? I suppose a better option would be to just embrace social distancing as recommended by a colleague weeks ago.

Staying home during the weekends might expose me to the danger of turning into a couch potato but it is less painful than having to throw away expensive masks after each outing.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Don't treat swimming pools like bath tubs

MY fellow condominium dwellers celebrated the revival of our swimming pool with a party recently.

After almost getting into the M a l ay s i a Book of Records as the largest outdoor aquarium in Klang Valley — it was a home for red tilapias in the past two years — refurbishment work was undertaken some months back and the facility is now restored.

At the pool’s opening, several children put up a show on the proper attire to wear before taking a dip in the pool.

This was to show the adults how to be properly dressed before going for their swim.

Hopefully, in addition to the huge signboard at the gates and notices slapped on bulletin boards, the residents would be encouraged to care for the facility.

One of the biggest challenges condominium managers face when running a facility with a swimming pool is how to get people to be properly attired before they swim.

Just last week, this paper reported how a 62-year-old security guard who tried to stop improperly dressed children from swimming in a condominium’s pool was beaten up by their father.

He suffered bruises and has lodged a police report over the incident.

Walk into any condominium or apartment which has a swimming pool and chances are you will see people frolicking in shorts, track bottoms and T-shirts in the pool.

No property, regardless of the price, has a swimming pool that is free of this blatant disregard for the r ules.

Some residents feel they have a right to do as they please in the swimming pool as they had paid their maintenance f e e s.

I witnessed the problem at one high-end serviced condominium in Kota Damansara recently.

My foreign friends who had rented two properties there for two years were aghast.

“Is this the way Malaysians swim?” one of them asked.

Embarrassed, I muttered: “No.

Not in the city.

These people must be village folk visiting their relatives living here.

They do it all the time in the villages, dressed in their casual clothes and swimming in streams, rivers and pools at waterfalls.

” Even resort swimming pools are not spared unless the management strictly enforces the “proper swimming attire” ruling.

Otherwise, you get cloudy pools like some of those I have seen at coastal hotels in Port Dickson, Malacca, Penang and Johor Baru where guests take a dip in their T-shirts and shorts after having been to the beach.

Salt is not the pool’s biggest enemy, I was told by a condominium manager in Port Dickson.

It is the fabric — usually cotton fibres — that cause the greatest damage to the pool’s circulation system.

Cotton fibres clog up the pumps and eventually damage them.

T-shirts, shorts, track bottoms and underwears lose their fibres more easily than modern swimsuits made from lycra.

People who continue to turn a blind eye to the ruling requiring proper attire at swimming pools are unconsciously destroying the facility.

If condominium residents continue to treat their pools like public bathtubs, they could verywell lose them one day if the management could no longer afford to pay for the pumps’ repair.

Then they will realise, like we did, that having the biggest outdoor aquarium in the country in your condominium is not something to be proud of.

Monday, August 3, 2009

It's tough being a hawker

I THINK one of the toughest ways to eke out a living is to be a hawker.
Although it is nice to be able to say that you are your own boss, the truth is often not as rosy.

Those who have tried to be a hawker will agree with me that your standard nine-to-five job is a heaven compared to it.

I got my first taste of hawking when I was about 9 years old when my maternal grandmother got me to sell “hoo chnea”, which is a salad of kembong fish flakes, cucumber slivers, beansprouts and beancurd served with spicy chilli gravy.

I went door-to-door in Kuala Terengganu town twice with a basketful of only 10 packets to sell, but only succeeded in selling one. A distant relative who I did not recognise at that time took pity on me and bought a packet when she saw me passing by her house a second time with my basket of unsold fish salad.

I went home and promptly complained to my grandmother about my failure to sell all the fish salad.

“Good, now we can have that for lunch,” she said, and added: “Now that you have learned how difficult it is to earn money, you will know how to save.

“Anyone who has tried hawking will tell you that even trying to figure out what to sell is tough, let alone where to sell it, and how to go about selling it legally so that you do not run foul of the authorities.

Even if you have figured it all out, your business may still not last if other things don’t fall into place. 

You can try all the tricks your marketing guru has taught you.

A good location, identifying a potential market segment, selling what everybody needs, and all the other tips recommended by the various textbooks, but if the weather turns against you, you are dead.

Hawkers selling drinks can tell you a lot about how the weather can play havoc with your business. Tubs of drinks which would finish in a jiffy during hot weather would go down the drain if it rains.

Likewise, those who sell fried stuff will see fewer customers during hot spells or in the wake of some health campaigns calling for people to eat less fried food.
Sometimes, rumours can also do just as much damage.
Remember the “lou shee fun” incident which made it to the papers in the 1980s? News that some children had died after eating contaminated noodles caused several hawkers to close shop.

Many others who sold only the popular breakfast were forced to look for alternatives after the scare drove customers away for months.

According to a hawker friend who sells rice in Sentul, being a hawker is a lesson in hard work, patience and humility.


You work long hours, keep going even if the business was slow, and learn to accept compliments and complaints in your stride and treat them with equal respect if you wish to put food on your table.