Tuesday, May 26, 2009

About Dato' Siti Nurhaliza

(for my foreign friends who have not heard of her...)
Dato' Siti Nurhaliza binti Tarudin DIMP, JSM, SAP, PMP, AAP (born January 11, 1979) is a multiple-award winning Malaysian pop singer-songwriter. To date, she has garnered more than 200 local awards as well as international awards

Biography
Early childhood (1979 – 1995)
Siti Nurhaliza was born in Kampung Awah (Temerloh), Pahang on January 11, 1979. Siti is the fifth child in the family of eight siblings. She comes from a musically inclined family. Her grandfather was a famous violinist, and her mother was a famous local traditional singer.

From the age of 5, she followed her uncle to invitational shows like wedding ceremonies and dinner parties to give her exposure performing live, where she was well received by the local community. During her childhood she was involved in various school activities, including sports and class speeches.

Siti Nurhaliza attended pre-school at the Sekolah Tabika Perkep, Balai Polis Kampung Awah, Temerloh. Here she showed her early singing talent at the age of six when she sang "Sirih Pinang", a Malay traditional song, at her kindergarten's end of year event. She attended primary school at Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Clifford and followed up her secondary education at Sekolah Menengah Clifford, Kuala Lipis, Pahang.

She was an athlete in school and this showed when at the opening ceremony of the Fiesta Media Idola 2006 in Kuantan she was a torch bearer to light the games of the Fiesta, together with actress Fasha Sanda. Siti had also won a singing contest when she was twelve years old. She sang the patriotic song "Bahtera Merdeka" at a Kuala Lipis Carnival in conjunction with the "Nyanyian Bulan Kemerdekaan" (Independence Month Singing Contest).

Early commercial success (1995 – 1996)
Siti Nurhaliza's family performed at many local ceremonies in their hometown, such as weddings. At the age of twelve, Siti began to learn traditional songs from her mother and went on performing that genre of music during special occasions and events.

Later, as she continued to work on her singing, she participated in numerous local singing competitions. At 16, she competed in the 1995 RTM Juara Bintang competition. While there, she met Adnan Abu Hassan, a famous Malaysian music composer. He tutored her and helped her with her vocal performance, and ultimately she won the contest. She was granted a contract with Suria Records and in 1996 released her first self-titled album, Siti Nurhaliza. Completing her first album was a challenge because she had to balance working on the album with her preparations for the SPM examination. Despite this, her first album was a great success, and paved the way for successful subsequent albums.

Career development (1996 – 2006)
After the release of her first album, Siti became a well-known figure in Malay pop culture. She continued to have numerous hits, her songs spanning a broad range of genres, such as pop, R&B, and traditional Malay. Her voice and lyrics proved to be popular among teenagers as well as adults throughout Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia.

Siti was the first non-Chinese artiste to be invited to perform at the 15th Golden Melody Awards, Taiwan in 2004. Apart from performing solo, she also sang a duet with Lee-Hom Wang in a song called 月亮代表我的心 (The Moon Represents My Heart).

Throughout her career, Siti Nurhaliza's songs have been covered by other artistes, including the famous song Cindai which was re-recorded in Chinese version by Chien Bai Hui. Also, her first hit song, Aku Cinta Padamu was covered by North, an Australian boy band. Siti held a successful solo concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London in April 1, 2005, although the majority of the audience were Malaysians living in the United Kingdom and Malaysians who had travelled just to see the concert. British press called her 'Asia's Celine Dion' due to her powerful vocal and outstanding performances.To date, she has the most number one singles than any other artiste in Malaysia.

Wealth
Siti was bestowed the 'Darjah Indera Mahkota Pahang' award by the Sultan of Pahang which carries the title 'Datuk' in October 24, 2006.




Siti is known to be a formidable and successful and well-known businesswoman in Malaysia. She currently tops the list of the 'Richest Artistes' in Malaysia. She is also worth more than RM65 million and was named one of the millionaires in entertainment in South East Asia.

Transkripsi (2006 – 2007)
Siti's eleventh studio album, Transkripsi, was released in 2006 and contained contributions from producers such as Aubrey Suwito, Jenny Chin, Mac Chew, Yasin, Cat Farish, Firdaus Mahmud and Damian VE. Transkripsi became the year's best album after winning the Best Album award in the Anugerah Industri Muzik, equivalent to the Grammy Award. It was the first album released under her own production company.

She made her first appearance at the Grammy Awards for the red carpet session on February 11, 2007. She was the first Malaysian to walk the red carpet.

On April 20 and April 21, 2007, Siti performed at the successful Konsert Istana Cinta Nostalgia, which was a tribute concert for the late Tan Sri P. Ramlee & Puan Sri Saloma at Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur. The concert featured popular songs composed by Tan Sri P. Ramlee himself, performed by Siti and other invited artistes. Before this, Siti was also invited to perform a tribute concert for the late Sudirman Hj Arshad, also at Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur in 2002.

On April 30, 2007, she garnered 4 nominations in the Anugerah Industri Muzik including Best Pop Album (Transkripsi), Best Vocal Female Performance In An Album (Transkripsi), Best Music Video ("Bisakah") and Best Cover for an Album (Transkripsi). Out of these, she won two: Best Pop Album and Best Album for Transkripsi.

She also bagged 2 fan-based-vote nominations for Most Popular Female Artist and Most Popular Song ("Biarlah Rahsia") and 3 nominations for Best Female Artist, Best Song and Best Album at 2006 Anugerah Planet Muzik, a regional award ceremony for artistes in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. She won Most Popular Female Artist, Best Female Artist and Best Song ("Biarlah Rahsia").



Hadiah Daripada Hati & other work (2007 – 2008)
2007 showed Siti's participation on soundtracks for the films Kayangan and 1957: Hati Malaya. For Kayangan, Siti recorded a song Menanti Pasti. It's the first single to be released to the Indonesian market. For 1957: Hati Malaya, Siti recorded a song called "Hati", which was released in September 2007.

Siti performed as Azizah, P. Ramlee's mysterious lover, in the musical 'Remy ... Kisah P. Ramlee (Remy ... The Story of P. Ramlee), which is a tribute to the late P. Ramlee, staged at Istana Budaya from October 17, 2007, to November 3, 2007.

Siti's twelfth studio album Hadiah Daripada Hati was released on December 10, 2007. Siti released the Latin-influenced pop song Ku Mahu as the first single of this album and it was featured as the opening theme song for a drama called Spa-Q. Thanks to the popularity of Spa-Q, the single was well received and topped most of the Malay charts for weeks. Melawan Kesepian was her second single and was the first track of this album to have a video clip. The song was a remake of a hit that was once popularized by an Indonesian band called Jikustik. Her acting debut in the musical 'Remy... The Story of P. Ramlee' also saw the debut of her third single Mulanya Cinta, which was created by Dick Lee, a Singaporean composer. Siti said that it was her first collaboration with the renowned musician although she had known him for years.

The new album was previously claimed to be a traditional album but due to lack of materials, she moved on with producing another pop album. The traditional album is now slated for a 2008 release, as stated by Siti herself.

Siti has also recently became the most frequently searched person on Google by Malaysian Google users, according to Google's 2007 Malaysia Year-End Zeitgeist, beating celebrities like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.

On March 21, 2008, Siti held a successful solo acoustic concert at the prestigious Esplanade Theatre in Singapore. The concert was called Diari Hati or 'A Diary of Her Heart'. She performed numbers of hits from her latest album, Hadiah Daripada Hati and previous albums. The concert has received good reviews from the local press saying that 'she rules hearts in Singapore as well as in Malaysia' and 'her reign as the queen of Malay pop songs is still going strong'




Hadiah Daripada Hati came under criticism from the press when it was released. Critics said it was a moderate performance from Siti Nurhaliza and was not on the same par as her previous album Transkripsi, which was touted as the best album she had ever made. But these criticisms were rebutted when Hadiah Daripada Hati received five nominations in the 15th edition of AIM including Best Pop Album and Song of The Year, making Siti the second nominee with the most nominations after newcomer Faizal Tahir.Out of five categories including three multiple nominations, the album earned her three awards for Best Pop Album, Best Musical Arrangement in a Song (Malay) for the song Cintamu as well as her ninth Best Vocal Performance in an Album (Female) in which she had lost to Jaclyn Victor the previous year.

Lentera Timur (2008 – present)
On 26 December 2008, is the 13th released album of Siti Nurhaliza Lentera Timur, her recent traditional comtemporary album, Irama Malaysia (Fourth Ethnik Creative Album) since her third one Sanggar Mustika in 2002. The album will have modern and contemporary songs unlike her usual traditional genre. Siti also worked with renowned composers like M. Nasir and Indonesia's Katon Bagaskara. It was said the initial development of her album was in 2006, due to lack of materials she had to postpone for the next 2 years (which is in 2008). Subsequently, in order to not disappointing any party including her fans, Siti produced her previous album, Hadiah Daripada Hati in 2007.

Siti has also recorded 2 songs for the soundtrack to Perempuan Berkalong Sorban film. The songs recorded are Opick's Ketika Cinta and Batasku Asaku which was written by Siti herself.

Siti also sang a new song called as 'Suara Sepi', which was written by Johari Teh and Habsah Habsan during her performance at Palestinian charity concert.

Despite of the poor sale due to the lack of promotions, the quality of the album has never been denied. As in Anugerah Industri Muzik 16, Siti Nurhaliza proved that she is still at the top notch. Lentera Timur grabbed top awards, Best Pop Ethnic and later on honoured Album Of The Year in AIM 16. She also took home Best Female Vocal trophy for the song ' Di Taman Teman '. She was not present at the award ceremony as she went to Mecca to perform Umrah with her family.

For more of Dato' Siti Nurhalia, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siti_Nurhaliza where I source the above info from.

More Dos and Don'ts for you own benefit(Malaysian call it 'Petua')

These are some of Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza’s tips (petua) taken off and translated from the Koleksi Pantang & Petua Artis Hiburan Media magazine.

Tips for a smoother skin
Mix some honey with the white of an egg and put it on your face, and let dry for 30 minutes. Then you can rinse off.

For slimming
Get a few papaya leaves and boil it for the essence. Throw away the leaves and drink the water. Take two glasses a day. However, please be forewarned that the essence is very bitter.

To get rid of dandruff
Pound/ crush one ginger until it’s fine, then rub it into your scalp. Do it before bath time and then wash your hair.

Cure for colds
Drink some boiled rice water. Allow to cool first before drinking

Avoid….
Taking a bath directly after a meal, as this might cause your tummy to bulge. Instead, rest for half an hour or so before taking a bath.

Leaving your make up on when you go to bed. Make sure your face is thoroughly cleansed and moisturized before going to bed. If there are still remnants of make up on your face, this will cause your face to be oily and have acne problems.

Do not take too much oily or fatty food or you will have cholesterol problems

Do not take too much carbonated drinks as that will cause tummy problems

Do not bathe late at night as this will cause your body to age faster and your bones to decay faster as well.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Dengue Fever remedy

A Dengue Fever remedy with papaya leaves juice.
I would like to share this interesting discovery from a friend’s son who had just recovered from dengue fever. Apparently, his son was in the critical stage at the ICU when his blood platelet count dropped to 15 after 15 liters of blood transfusion.
His father was so worried that he sought another friend’s advice and his son was saved. He confessed to me that he give his son raw juice of papaya leaves.
From a pallet count of 45 after 20 liters of blood transfusion, after drinking the raw papaya leaf juice, his pallet count jumped instantly to 135. Even the doctors and nurses were surprised. After the second day he was discharged. He asked me to share this good news with friends and family.
According to the recipe, it is raw papaya leaves, 2 pieces just cleaned, pounded and squeezed with filter cloth. You will only get one tablespoon per leaf. So two tablespoons per serving once a day.
Do not boil or cook or rinse with hot water, it will lose its strength. Only the leafy part and no stem or sap.. It is very bitter and you have to swallow it all . But it works.
There is this other friend of mine who had dengue last year. It was a very serious situation for her as her platelet count had dropped to 28,000 after 3 days in hospital and water started to fill up her lungs. She had difficulty in breathing. She was only 32-year old. Doctor said there’s no cure for dengue.
We just had to wait for her body immune system to build up resistance against dengue and fight its own battle. She already had 2 blood transfusions and all of us were praying very hard as her platelet continued to drop since the first day she was admitted.
Fortunately her mother-in-law heard that papaya juice would help to reduce the fever and got some papaya leaves, pounded them and squeeze the juice out for her. The next day, her platelet count started to increase, her fever subsided.
We continued to feed her with papaya juice and she recovered after 3 days!!! Amazing but it’s true. I found that it’s also beneficial when one is having a sore throat.
Furthermore it’s so easily available. Blend the papaya leaves and squeeze the juice! It’s simple and miraculously effective!!


(Other recommended menu for dengue fever includes: 100 plus or any other isotonic drink, papaya juice, carrot juice, crab soup and also coconut water.)

How to stay young and beautiful.....the Malaysian way... LOL

Here are some tips on how some Malaysian women keep young.. The elixir of youth, these are practised by the old folks and then taught to the younger generation. It does not involve any magical potion, just some things you do or should not do in your everyday life to ‘delay’ the signs of aging.

1. Do not take ice

The older folks believe that ice causes the food to take a longer time to digest and turn to oil or fat and stay longer in your body.

2. No drinks right after meal or while eating
Wait for at least half an hour after having a meal before you take some water. Some people say that drinking after a meal causes you to bloat up and have the "bloated" feeling..

3. Do not use pillow under your head.
I think this is to allow the blood to flow easily in the body and head.. I might be wrong..

4. No fruit right after meal
People tend to have fruits as dessert. I read somewhere to get the most out of fruits (important for youthful look, so they say), we should not eat right away after heavy meals especially if they come with a lot of carbohydrates. Something to do with the reaction in the different type of sugar. They said the best is around an hour before or after the meal.

(errr... to some people it may sound like crap, but am just sharing what I learnt.. )

Traditional Malaysian Tips ...

Preventing hair loss

Get an Aloe Vera leaf, cut and squeeze squeeze the gel out. Mix up Aloe Vera gel with a white hibiscus flower and some hibiscus leaves.

Put the three ingredients into a blender with a cup of water.
You can apply the mixture on your head and massage into the hair gently. Wait until 30 minute then take a bath and wash your hair as usual.
Try this once a day, and you can see a difference after a week .
(these are some tips which I am translating for the benefit of others... most of the tips have been passed don from generation to generation....)

Legend of Puteri Santubong




There is a famous legend behind Mount Santubong in Sarawak, that recounts of two beautiful mythical sisters. Princess Santubong and Princess Sejinjang were both from the magnificient and idyllic mythical kingdom called Kayangan. Both were sent to earth to restore peace between the neighbouring villages of Pasir Kuning and Pasir Putih, with a strict condition that they must never quarrel with each other, as decreed by the mighty King of Kayangan.

Princess Santubong, an experienced weaver, was to rule over Pasir Kuning while Princess Sejinjang, a skilled rice thresher, was to rule over Pasir Putih. Princess Santubong’s intricately woven fabrics were an instant success while Princess Sejinjang’s paddy fields were greatly thriving. Both villages soon prospered greatly.

The beauty and talent of both princesses made them much sought after by suitors from all over the place. None won their heart until they met Putera Mahkota Serapi (Crown Prince Mahkota) from Matang. The crown prince fell in love with both of them, but they refused to be joint wives.

Because of him, they had an awful quarrel and exchanged blows. Sejinjang swung her thresher and hit Santubong’s cheek which made her fell flat on her back. Santubong threw her weaver at Sejinjang, hitting her directly at her head. The great King of Kayangan was so angry that he cursed both of them into mountains, putting an end to the fight.

It is said that the Mount Santubong resembles a woman lying on her back. The deep crevice at the peak is where the princess got hit on the cheek.

The legend was then told in a song called “Puteri Santubong” sung in local Malay dialect. It is often played by local radio stations. Lyrics of the song is as follows:

Oh…Puteri Santubong, Sejinjang sayang,
Kisah lama, zaman mensia maya.

Puteri Santubong, Puteri Sejinjang,
Penjaga gunung negeri Sarawak,
Manis sik ada dapat dilawan,
Anak dak dewa turun kayangan.

Oh… Santubong puteri bertenun kain malam,
Oh… Sejinjang puteri menumbuk padi siang.

Satu harinya dua kelahi,
Beranuk anuk sik renti-renti,
Seorang madah dirik bagus agik,
Seorang sik ngalah walau sampai ke mati.

Udah lejuk nya dua kelahi,
Lalu bertukuk nya dua puteri,
Sejinjang mengayun aluk ke pipi,
Tebik Santubong sampai gituk ari.

Tapi Santubong membalas juak,
Lalu ditikam batang beluak,
Sampei terkena Sejinjang kepala,
Lalu bertabor jadi Pulo Kera.

Kisah Santubong, kisah Sejinjang,
Asal berkawan jadi musuhan,
Kinik tuk tinggal jadi kenangan,
Pakei ingatan sepanjang zaman.

Yalah kisah duak ‘rang puteri,
Suka kelahi setiap hari,
Lalu disumpah raja kayangan,
Menjadi gunung negeri Sarawak

My favourite shopping areas....

Suria KLCC
Suria KLCC is a 1.5 million sq. feet (140,000 m²) shopping complex located at the base of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur City Centre. It is located on 6 floors, with anchor tenants Isetan, Parkson Grand, Tanjong Golden Village, Signatures Level 2 Food Court and Marks and Spencer. Suria is the native Malaysian word for Sunshine. It was opened on August 31, 1999.
It houses mostly luxury and fashionable shops, as well as cafes, restaurants, a 12 screen cinema, a concert hall, an art gallery, and a Science Discovery Centre, over 6 floors. It is almost directly underneath the Petronas Twin Towers, the 3rd tallest buildings in the world (and the tallest twin towers). It is one of Malaysia's most popular tourist destinations.
http://www.suriaklcc.com.my/

MidValley Megamall
Mid Valley Megamall is a 4.5 million square feet (420,000 m²) complex comprising a shopping mall, an office tower block, 30 signature offices and 2 hotels located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was opened in November 1999.
It has about 430 shops on five and a half floors. It has five anchor tenants; Carrefour, Jusco, Golden Screen Cinemas, Metrojaya and Harvey Norman. It also houses an 18 screen Cinema. Then there is a state-of-the-art bowling centre, a One-Stop IT Centre, two mega food courts and also a mega bookstore called MPH.
It houses a 48,300 square foot (4,500 m²) convention centre and it is situated adjacent to a 646 room business hotel named Cititel Midvalley and 30 units of exclusive 11 storey signature offices. A second hotel, Boulevard, opened in mid 2005. It has 390 rooms. Mega Mall is a key part of Mid Valley City, one of the country's largest urban development projects. It was awarded the Best Shopping Complex Award 2000 by Tourism Malaysia and Best Retail Development Award 2001 by FIABCI Malaysia. It has become one of Malaysia's most popular tourist destinations.
After The Gardens completed in 2007, it is linked to Mid Valley Megamall through a bridge. Not many know about this bridge, though, as it is hidden by Oasis, one of the main food courts in the Megamall, which probably contributes to the high contrast between crowds of the two shopping centres.
http://www.midvalley.com.my/ Bold

PAVILION
The Pavilion Kuala Lumpur is a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was successfully opened on 20 September 2007.
It consists of four major components; a retail mall, an office tower, two towers of residences and a proposed hotel.
http://www.pavilion-kl.com

1 UTAMA
1 Utama is a popular shopping mall in Bandar Utama, a suburb in the northern part of Petaling Jaya and is located just opposite Taman Tun Dr Ismail in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia.
The Old Wing, comprising the retail precincts of Centre Court and Courtyard as well as Jusco departmental store and supermarket, was opened in 1995. It is operated and developed by ÆON Co. (M) Bhd., the operator of Jusco chain of stores.
The New Wing, comprising the retail prescints of Promenade, Rainforest, Highstreet and Oval as well as Entertainment Zone, Parkson departmental store and Cold Storage supermarket is operated and developed by Bandar Utama City Centre Sdn Bhd. It was opened in December 2003 and was officially opened by the Sultan of Selangor, HRH Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah on April 2, 2004.
Its gross built-up area totals 5,000,000 square feet (465,000 m²) , and it is one of the top shopping centres in Malaysia.
www.1utama.com.my

THE CURVE
The Curve is an opened active lifestyle mall in Malaysia composed of more than 250 retailers and restaurants. It also features a four star hotel named Royale Bintang, and is connected to Ikano Power Centre, Tesco and Cineleisure Damansara with car parks underground with can accommodate 2,400 cars.
http://www.thecurve.com.my/

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Westport -The garden port of Malaysia

For more info... check out http://www.westportsmalaysia.com The pics here were taken by my mobile camera. I think the scenes are pretty nice. Check it out...








A nasty accident.

A picture of an accident I happened to take on my mobile camera on the way home from work yesterday....It involved a black car(pic) and also a police car. Not sure if it was a car chase and crash or if it was just an unfortunate accident. It was near the junction of Paya Jaras, Sungai Buloh and also Guthrie Corridor Expressway.

Some pics I took of Putrajaya and Putra jaya Hospital...


This pic was taken at the Surgical clinic in Hospital Putrajaya. Hospital Putrajaya is a 272 bedded hospital located in the new government administrative area of Putrajaya in Sepang District, Selangor. The hospital provides secondary care services with emphasis on daycare management.Hospital Putrajaya, in keeping with its location within the Multimedia Super Corridor is to be managed and run based on the Total Hospital Information System (T.H.I.S) concept. It is conceptualized to be the leading hospital of its class and to be the model hospital for the future generation of hospitals of this type.
For more details on the hospital...http://www.hpj.gov.my/hpj/info.htm
My mother had her thyroid operation done there as other hospitals did not dare to do it as her thyroid was pretty complicated. Her surgeons, Miss Anita and Miss Normayah were wonderful and the end result was so neat all my mother could do was praise them continously.












Putrajaya, a planned city located just south of Kuala Lumpur, is the new federal administrative capital of Malaysia. Several Government offices have relocated there to gain relief from the overcrowding and congestion of Kuala Lumpur, which is Malaysia's largest city. However, Kuala Lumpur still serves as Malaysia's national and legislative capital for now. Putrajaya is a Federal Territory just like the city of Kuala Lumpur and the island of Labuan.
The city is named after the first Malaysian Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra. In Bahasa Melayu, the Sanskrit-derived words "Putra" means son while "Jaya" means excel or success.
The city has only been established recently and it is still undergoing massive development: its development was hampered by the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
The city is built on a scale completely disproportionate to its current population, with a number of bridges spanning an artificial lake, Putrajaya Lake.
Although Malaysia is multi-ethnic with Malay, Chinese, Indian, Eurasian groups, the architecture in Putrajaya is predominantly (some would say excessively) modern Arabic in style. There have been calls for more traditional or even modern Malay, Chinese, Indian and Western architectural elements in some sectors of the city to make it less like a modern Persian Gulf capital

(taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Putrajaya )