A City Full Of Life?

Good day. I watched Channel News Asia just now and I saw this commercial where it doesn't sell a box of cereal nor a packet of low-fat milo like they used to. It sells a city. Iskandar Malaysia to be exact. Loads of people asked me before, where do I live. My usual answer would be 'JB'. But it would change soon. I'll say, 'Iskandar, Industrial Wing'. Ha3 Seriously, if you look at the plans on what they're going to do here in Iskandar, I'd figure you'd go aww in seconds. But, planning needs serious implementation. This theory applies on everything. So, I would suggest we wait until it reaches 97% progress to see if the plans worked.

I've been to quite a number of cities, home and foreign lands alike. I've read reviews. I've watched documentaries. With an exception to Dubai, the one city that never seems to fail to amaze me is Putrajaya. It pays to have a brilliant leader like Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. Who would know that one day, a place called Prang Besar (Massive War) would be the first Garden City in the world. You would have to use a calculator to count the times I've been there. But everytime I reach the relatively huge roundabout, jadi jakun macam tak pernah pergi and asik nak pergi each and every destination there is possible.

Putrajaya is a well planned city, having put there is Malaysia's Federal Government Administrative Centre which replaces Kuala Lumpur. For each sector, they would have different buildings. Residential units are available ranging from flats to bungalows. Situated there is the Prime Minister's office and residence. Within the Putrajaya border sits one of the best school in Malaysia, Sekolah Alam Shah which is the rival of Sekolah Seri Putri, an all girl elite school. You can find anything you want here except for the hustle and bustle of a city. For the whole 17.8 square mile area, it has only one shopping mall, Alamanda. Considering the target visitors are expats, the place would seem expensive and preposterous to some.

Unlike Putrajaya, other cities are very congested and noisy. The established ones that is. Kuala Lumpur for example, you would have to go to work at 4.00 am just to beat traffic. The only time you'd have peace is when Chinese New Year comes. New York on the other hand is just impossible. Even on the kerb you have the risk of being run over by a cab. Europe? Ah, the continent that indulge the flavour of history. Even Rome is crowded. London is a mixture of old and new, but doesn't really help the busy-ness of a city. Paris, the romance city, is not so romantic when you hear the honking and the sound of vehicles' engine. You'll find each city having the same problem.

I haven't started with the Asian. But I think that's enough. What I'm saying is, wherever you are, how sophisticated the city is, there would be something not right somewhere. In his blog dated September 15th 2008, Dr. Mahathir once expressed regret for planning Putrajaya in such a way that it seems dead during the night. Whatever it is, appreciate what you have wherever you are. Nothing is perfect. You can plan but like I said, implementation is very important. However it is, I'm still very proud of what the country has achieved in such short time. Just maintain what there is so we can live in harmony.