THE proposal by the local government of Kota Baru to include a dome-shaped element in the Kelantan Buddhist Association complex is an act that can hardly be accepted.

This insistence by an officer of the local government reflects his inadequacies on the history of architecture and his lack of professionalism in and understanding of town planning.

Building design is a wide subject and it also has a great impact on the lives of people as well as development of a country.

Factors to be considered in the design of buildings include structural strength, cost of construction, local weather and environment, and cultural aspirations of the people.

For these reasons, many institutes of higher learning throughout the world have renamed their building construction faculty as faculty of built environment to truly reflect the role of building construction in the comfort living of human beings and sustainable development of the world.

Even though the shape and appearance of a building reflects the culture and aspiration of the people, it does not necessary symbolise a religion.

It is a great mistake to generalise a building with a pagoda and Buddha statue as a Mahayana Buddhist temple, a dome-shaped building as a mosque and a Cathedral-style building as a church.

Buddhism, which originated from India, was able to grow in China and blossom in Japan because it was able to adapt to the local cultures and living styles.

Likewise, through adaptation of local cultures including in architecture, science and technology, Islam became more and more influential and a living religion.

The oldest mosque in Malacca does not have a dome but instead has Chinese and Indian architectural elements in it, and this has not made it lose its function as a place of prayer for Muslims.

The National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur features a 16-pointed star concrete main roof that truly reflects the aspirations of the people and the nation, yet it functions very well and efficiently as a mosque.

The insistence on conformity to design based on the religious view of a given group will give rise to confusion, increase in costs, delay in construction and other shortcomings which eventually will reduce the competitiveness and attraction of a city.

GOH HOE HOE,
Kuala Lumpur.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/5/31/focus/11386237&sec=focus

Tuesday June 19, 2012

Stop the projects on Penang hillslopes

BATU Ferringhi is located in the north of Penang, facing the Andaman Sea which is a part of the Indian Ocean.
Its strategic location has made it attractive for building hotels and service apartments. However, safety factors should also not be neglected when approving hillslope sites in Batu Feringhi for the construction of high-rise condominiums.
Our country, especially the coastal areas of Kedah, Penang and Perak, are not totally free from earthquakes and tsunamis. The 2004 tsunami claimed 80 lives and caused loss of property to residents in the northern costal areas of Malaysia.
Tsunamis have occurred in the Indian Ocean in 1791, 1861, 1943 and 2004. Based on this, we may say that tsunamis occur once every 60-70 years in this region.
In view of the impact caused by tsunamis and earthquakes, construction of high-rise condominiums should not be allowed on hillslopes. But were these factors taken into consideration by the Penang state government before they approved the construction of a 23-storey condominium in Batu Ferringhi?
Local weather and climatic conditions are another factor that add risk to the construction of high-rise condominiums on hillslopes.
The uprooting of trees and plants on the hillslopes will lead to the depletion of water catchment areas, which eventually will lead to landslides.
Based on these factors, I sincerely ask the Penang state government to either stop or review its approval of construction of high-rise buildings on hillslopes.
GOH HOE HOE,
Penanghttp://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2012%2F6%2F19%2Ffocus%2F11505113&sec=focus

The arrival of father day this year reminds me of the virtue of my fathers and his contemporaries and I feel obliged to write to explain to the younger generation what is meant by 8 noble values of 1Malaysia.


Most of them did not recieve high formal education yet they were willing to learn throughout their live to improve themseve , they also showed honesty and high integrity in their works and business dealings.Most of them were not highly paid but they did not grumble
and complain much, not to mention about taking part in the strike. Instead they would work extra by taking up a part time job to finiance the living of their families.They managed to bring up their family and send their children to school for education by spending carefully.Of
most importance they humbly served their companies throughout their life and work until their last day in this world.

My father received his formal education until form three but he strived to improve himself and serve mankind througout his life.He was a humble man who led a simple life , spend moderately and as a factory head of operation he commingled well with fellow workers of
sawn timber factory and yet he had never call himself as factory
manager.


He was a man of patient , very patient to teach me to read classical Chinese literature and harmonical.Every day he worked extra to ensure that the sawn mill was properly kept in order and all bookepings were updated before he returned home. After dinner he had to proceed to
another construction company for a part time job.He returned home at10 Pm and the next day he had to wake up ealier to send his children to school.


Being a royal staff of two companies , he served for 45 years in the sawn timber company and served in the construction company for 50 years until the last day of his life.
My father is also a man of integrity , he was honnest ,always taking care of the interest of the company he served for.He respected everyone , his neigbour , his classmate , his colleague
and never felt jealous of people's wealth and achievement. He would rather worked extra for extra incomes.

My father took concern of the education of his children , and he also strived to improve himself through self study and observation.He learn new skill and knowlege through conversation with client , colleagues and also through visit to the factories, construction site and exhibition.

He learned about quantity surveying and bulding construction technology from his
colleagues while working part time at night.

He was valuable to the clients who were mainly owner of small factories , because very often he helped them to solve their operational problems such a design of the layout for small factories ,
and furnished with new ideas such as architectural design and Interial design .In this way he provided the added value servicesto the customer and generate more incomes for the company he served for.


Of not least importance is his ability to give priority to his jobs and balance his time between his job and his family.He worked well and he also enjoyed his life well

The good lesson that we can leant from my father and his contemporaries who were your during our independent day are a sucess and meaningful life is the integration of i) humble .ii) diligence ,iii)Royalty ,iv) continuous leaning , v)innovation through experience ,vi) able to set priority ,vii)genority and viii) honesty .We can not depend only on ourseve to improve but need to work together with other to complement and supplement our stength. That is why it is important for us to be humble and to be able to tolerate. We need to be very independent and work continuosly to improve ourselve and set goal and priority for ourselve , that is why it is important for one to be deligent ,stick firm to our own principle and value.