Penang's Warmth

Every time I read the newspaper on tourists being interviewed by reporters asking them their opinion about Penang, the usual answers are always about friendliness of its people and the variety of food available. Indeed I can really feel it now being away from Penang. I particularly thank those who have visited my blog and left a few simple and nice words of encouragement to me, really appreciate it!

Being a Penangite, I like things to be simple and less rigid. And I guess such is the Penang experience that is unique to us. Although I’m physically away from home, I believe that my heart is still in Penang (sounds a bit like Koh Tsu Koon’s speech before the March ’08 election when he was pondering on whether to take his career to the Federal level or not). But seriously, wherever I go, Penang is still my home.

I’ll be back!

Design Is.....

I have a T-shirt with its front printed "Design Is" while its back printed "A Better Idea". This is how we have been taught as designers, to always come out with something new. But is design only about that? There will be those days that we keep scratching our head trying to figure out how to put our pens down the butter paper in order to solve problems. We keep on pressuring ourselves that we are going to design the next award winning buildings. However, we end up staring at a blank sheet of butter paper most of the time. Perhaps if we don’t focus so much on making a breakthrough, wouldn’t that make us feel better. The problem lies in us focusing too much on trying to be different from other people.

Philip Johnson, an internationally acclaimed American architect once said that he just want to be second best, not the best one. And I think he got a point there. If we think about it deeper, design is actually about solving problems. If we are designing an apartment unit, the problem is how can we design a conducive living space. Besides solving problems, design is also about making the decision which we think are right on that particular moment. The reason I said this is because there is no right or wrong in design, any design we create is justifiable depending on the particular angle one looks at.

Happy Birthday to Me

I got a surprise at 1pm today when the admin person told me there will be a celebration of my birthday together with another colleague. I was not fast enough to take out my camera and before I knew it, the cake had been cut and everybody started eating. I managed to salvage the broken label and took picture of it. I thank them for their thoughtfulness and effort, really nice.
But tonight I'll be celebrating my birthday alone for the first time in my life. I plan to take a walk around the city after my dinner to reflect upon my future direction. I remember my Chinese teacher taught us that on our birthday, we shouldn't be working. We should spend the whole day alone thinking about the reason we came to this world. Well instead of thinking about that, I would rather ponder on what my next step is towards the future.
Happy Birthday to Me!!!

How Much Do You Worth?

Everyone comes with an invisible price tag. We send out messages of how much we worth through our thought and behaviour. During any job interview, the interviewer can easily detect the interviewee's price tag by observing the latter's response to all the questions put up to him/her. If he/she tries very hard to impress, his/her value will be perceived as low. If he/she is very firm and frank without being pretentious, the perceived value will be much higher.

To know our value is the very first step to improve ourselves. We should know where we are so that we can assess our performance from time to time. When we find ourselves stay still at a particular position for too long, it might be indication that we are decaying in our comfort zone. We dare not make any drastic changes in order to protect this comfort zone in its original state. But we will never know what lies outside this self-imposed boundary unless we step away from it. It involves risks for sure; but it may also open up windows of opportunities that we have never dreamt of.

Before closing any deal, just think about it; how much do you worth?

The Lion City

Everybody knows that Singapore is a very competitive place. One can feel its vibrancy and energy just by looking at how Singaporean walk. As I mentioned in my previous posting that rush hour over here is really rushing! People actually run as fast as they can as if being chased by Tai Ee Long. I realize that its competitiveness has reached its limit when I saw a commercial on TV which proclaimed one Singaporean by the name of……I can’t remember his name…..Anyway this fellow was awarded the champion blood donor! I was like…..WHAT?! People actually compete to donate blood over here?! It is madness and hilarious at the same time.

Years ago, one of my Singaporean friend visited me in Penang. I brought him to eat one of the famous Curry Mee in town. He got diarrhea right after that. It is easily understood why he couldn’t get used to our unhygienic Penang food as Singaporeans are very particular about cleanliness. Believe it or not, I actually got diarrhea 3 times on my first day of work in Singapore. I must be the first person to ever get stomach ache from clean food. I think I am allergic to cleanliness.

My new office has a good mix of people from different countries. There are 1 Vietnamese, 1 Thai, 3 Filipinos, 1 from Malacca, 2 from Penang (me and one of the boss), 1 more boss from Malaysia (don’t know which part yet) and the rest are Singaporeans. The big boss is a Singaporean. So far, all of them are very friendly and great! I feel comfortable in the office. One of them even invited me to join them for lunch. My first project is to refine the design of a residential project in Nigeria done by the Penang boss. I started quite slow because it has been a while since the last time I designed an apartment.

It is funny that the AA of the company asked me why I come to Singapore so late? She said most people come in their 20s. Yeah right, thanks for reminding me that I’m way beyond 30. I’m sure she didn’t mean anything, just plain curiosity. I actually thought about her question for a while: Why did I stay in Penang all this while?............After ponder about it for a while, I don’t see anything wrong with it. Everything happens for a reason, I always wanted to do something for my hometown Penang as an architect. Although I didn’t design the tallest building or the most luxurious hotel in Penang, I’m satisfied with some of the work that I’ve done in the duration of the past 10 years. I’m particularly proud of the work I’ve done for KDU College as well.

That was the past. Now I’m venturing into new territory. To be honest, I’m not quite sure what it will lead me into (especially when I put Australia into the equation). I just realize that I still have a long journey ahead of me………………….

Warming Up

Started my new job today. First time taking public transport to work and had a completely new experience. One can never feel sleepy in the morning once they walk out of their houses as a lot of people can be seen walking as fast as possible to catch the approaching train. I tried to ignore the people around me otherwise I'll be stress even before I started to work. Anyway, it is kind of an interesting and fun experience for me besides the fact that I've to rush to the toilet once I reached my destination.

I'm still trying to settle down in this new land and that's why I don't have much to show in my blog recently. I'll try to upload some images the soonest possible. Miss everyone in Penang........

From Island to Island

In two more days I'll be heading down south to start a new chapter in my life and career. This will be the first time I ever work outside Penang. I wonder how my life will be changed.....

A lot of people have been asking me why I wanted to come back and work in Penang after my graduation. The answer is simple: Penang is such a wonderful place!!! But after 10 years of working on this island, I realise that it is only that much opportunity available in Penang. After a long period of soul searching session I decided to step out of my comfort zone to advance my career.

I'm going to miss a lot of things in Penang such as the following:

• Breakfast at Bangkok Lane for its Hokkien Mee (my favourite hawker food).
• Char Siu Rice at the Sky Kopitiam along Chulia Street.
• Body Combat class at Celebrity Fitness.
• Lecture at KDU College.
• Movies at GSC with my loved one.
• Badminton on Tuesday.
• All my friends, colleagues and students.

.............and many more!

Execution vs. Conceptualization

I accidentally drove along Perak Road and found out that the building that I designed 4 years ago eventually got built. It does take that long to put a building up here in Penang and we are only talking about a 4-storey relatively small building. But it is not my intention to talk about the rate of construction in this posting.

Instead, I would like to highlight the importance of architect's role during the construction stage. Initially I was about to name this blog Illusion of ELEVATION because I thought the problem of the building constructed was due to my failure in visualizing the Elevation design in 3 dimension. However, upon closer scrutiny of the actual building, I realized that the problem is not about thickness of the wall. The problem lies on the proportion of the building, the very basic principle of architecture. The artist's impression below is the original proportion of the building that I designed and we can clearly see that the actual building has deviated tremendously from the original design especially at the rooftop as well as the sizes of coping. This may due to changes made during construction stage for some reasons. Developer tends to make changes to the building in order to save cost at the expense of architectural aesthetics.


Anyway, I'm still happy that it finally get built after all.

Passion of Kerala

Hey guys! Thanks for the lunch just now and good to see you all again! Sorry Ken and Jocelyn, the waitress missed out two of you in the photo. You want me to photoshop you two into this picture? ;)

Baddy Buddy

Steamboat with badminton kaki at Golden Gate Gurney after our regular Tuesday session.

Rejuvenating...

After working for 10 years, I will take a long break (actually only 2 weeks) before I start my new job. Decided to go to the place I'm sure everyone has been except me, Cameron Highland. Can you believe that this is my first time to Cameron?

In front of Foh San restaurant in Ipoh for Dim Sum on our way to Cameron Highland. Managed to find a beautiful model as well, my wife.


Some of the beautiful flowers that I came across right in front of the hotel we stayed. Try out my skill in photography. Stella, if you are looking at this, please do give me a grade. Do I score an A or a B with this picture?
Darling, why in such deep thought? The flowers remind you of something?


Bala Chalet, the place that we stayed at Cameron Highland. It was a heritage building which was built in 1934. Used to be a boarding school for British expatriates. Luckily it was not haunted. I slept peacefully that night.

Something interesting in there?


Cactus Point

Having steamboat at night is a must whenever you are in Cameron Highland. This particular shop featured on Astro provides only organic vegetable for its steamboat. The cabbage was really sweet even when tasted raw. After having a wonderful dinner here, I may consider becoming a vegetarian. Ellison, you really must try it!!

Enjoying a nice morning coffee in front of my hotel room.

This is what happen when you go shopping with the ladies.....

Sungai Palas Tea Plantation

Have a nice day!

Thank You!

Today I'm deeply touched that Design students and lecturers specially arranged a farewell lunch for me on my last day in KDU. I need to thank Julius, Jason, Ellison and Nee Nee for saying all those nice and touching words about me. Before I came into the room, I already have in mind of what to say to all of you but due to the 'LIVE' situation and also overwhelmed by the presence of so many students, I may have missed out something which I wanted to say. I hereby include in this post the complete speech:

"When I joined KDU College in 2005, our department office was located on the 2nd floor next to iMac Lab. The fourth floor then was just a huge empty corridor with only dry and wet studio. There was no gallery during that time. Today, this once empty corridor has transformed into a creative space for you to freely experiment your ideas and express yourselves through your design. In terms of student population, I only have one student in my first class which was History of Architecture I. I found myself lecturing throughout the class most of the time as there was no way to have group discussion. Today, our school has more than 100 students who will be the great designers of the future.

Throughout my career, I enjoy myself the most while I was here at KDU College. I still remember that when I first apply for a position at KDU, I mentioned in my cover letter that teaching is about creating a mutual learning environment not only for the students to gain knowledge but also for the lecturer to learn from that experience as well. True enough, I’ve learned a lot from you, my students. I envy the kind of energy and excitement that you possess which I wish I had when I was your age. You guys make the working environment here so much more interesting compare to the dull corporate world outside. Personally, I hope that my work here has benefitted at least a few of you in this group in one way or another. By winning so many competitions since 2006, you all have proven your ability to achieve your goals. Although you are the new kid on the block, you have managed to beat other rival schools such as Equator and even USM. The secret recipe here is belief. You have proven that with strong conviction and belief, you can possibly beat anybody. I can see that most of you enjoy your studies here at KDU. You will soon realize that all those deadlines and sleepless nights become your sweet memories next time. You will remember the fun of having group projects at your peers’ house. Those people you hate whenever they copied your design or slacking off in group projects, you will one day remember them as well and with a smile, not with hatred. All the struggles you encounter here will become unforgettable memories. You will also realize that most of your true friends are actually those you met at college.

I’m also fortunate to work with a group of brilliant people here in KDU. Without them, the department can’t possibly be developed into its current status. I’m talking about your lecturers. Trust me, they are the most hard working lecturers you can ever find. All of them have passion in art and design. They have tried all sorts of ways to deliver lectures and share their experience with you in the most effective way. I would like to share with you one secret. If you want to learn more so that it worth the fees you paid here at KDU, keep approaching your lecturers. The more you ask the more you learn. And I’m sure they all have been waiting for you eagerly to disturb them as much as you can. But better to make appointment first la.

I’m glad to also announce that Shirley has been promoted to be the Program Leader of the department. I’m sure she will lead the department to greater heights. Finally, I’m sure that all of you have gotten valuable education as well as friendship here in KDU. Some of you will go on becoming great designers in your own field. As for me, I’ll be leaving this wonderful island for job opportunities elsewhere. However, do keep in touch and feel free to discuss with me anything especially those related to design.

Thank you and wish you all the best!"

At 5:30pm today, I switched off the light and closed the door of my office for the last time. It is interesting to realise that how these mundane tasks which I do everyday become so significant. I decided to take pictures of these special moments...........