29-31 MAY 2000 : GEOSYNTHETIC ASIS 2000

The Geosynthetic Asia 2000 Conference was indeed organized by The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM).

• Event: Geosynthetic Asia 2000 Conference
• Organiser: The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM)
• Date: 29–31 May 2000
• Venue: Palace of the Golden Horses, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The conference was part of the series of Asian Regional Conferences on Geosynthetics. One of the papers presented at the event was titled "Failure of A Reinforced Soil Wall on Piles" by Gue, S. S. & Chen, C. S., confirming the event's occurrence and the involvement of local geotechnical engineers.

What are Geosynthetics?

Geosynthetics are synthetic products, usually made from petroleum-based polymers, used to stabilize terrain in civil engineering applications, particularly in geotechnical, transportation, environmental, and private development projects.

They perform one or more of five main functions:

• Separation: Preventing the intermixing of adjacent dissimilar materials (e.g., separating road aggregate from fine subgrade soil).
• Reinforcement: Improving the mechanical properties of soil or aggregate (e.g., in reinforced soil walls).
• Filtration: Allowing liquid flow while retaining soil particles across the plane of the geosynthetic (e.g., behind a retaining wall).
• Drainage: Providing a pathway for liquid or gas flow within the plane of the geosynthetic (e.g., to drain water away from a slope).
• Containment/Barrier: Acting as a relatively impermeable barrier to fluid or gas (e.g., landfill liners).

PALACE OF THE GOLDEN HORSES

The Palace of the Golden Horses is a majestic 5-star hotel often referred to as "Asia's Most Extraordinary Hotel."

The hotel is located in Mines Wellness City in Seri Kembangan, Selangor, about 15 minutes south of the Kuala Lumpur City Center.

The hotel is situated on a 150-acre man-made lake, which was formerly the site of the Hong Fatt Mine, once the largest opencast tin mine in the world. The area was transformed into Mines Resort City (now Mines Wellness City) for tourism and recreation.

The Palace of the Golden Horses is renowned for hosting numerous high-profile international political and corporate events (MICE), including summits for APEC, G15, NAM, OIC, and ASEAN.

7/12/2025: 9.07 a.m

12 MARCH 2000 : IEM BRAINSTORMING SESSION

The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia, which is a professional learned society established to promote and advance the science and profession of engineering.

IEM Brainstorming Session was held on 12 March 2000 at the Hotel Mahkota Century, Bandar Hilir, Melaka.

A brainstorming session is a collaborative meeting technique where a group of people comes together to generate a large quantity of creative ideas and solutions for a specific problem or topic in a non-judgmental environment. The primary goal is to foster open thinking and encourage participants to think outside the box without fear of criticism.

CENTURY MAHKOTA HOTEL, MELAKA

It was a prominent resort-style hotel and apartment complex in the city center, known for its extensive facilities. The hotel was a major attraction in Melaka,offered a variety of amenities including Extensive Pool Areas, Family Leisure Facilities, with location on the waterfront, right next to Mahkota Parade, which was a major shopping and entertainment complex.

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26 MARCH 2000 : IEM JOG A ROUND

That's a wonderful piece of event history!

The IEM is the premier professional body for engineers in Malaysia. The jog-a-round event was likely one of the many community and networking activities they organize for their members.

The image documents the IEM Jog-A-Round event held at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa, Kuala Lumpur (KL), on March 26, 2000.

IEM stands for the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia, and this photograph captures a moment from one of their community or member-focused events, likely a family fun-run or jog/walk around the lake park. It shows a group of participants, including adults and children, perhaps gathered for a warm-up or cool-down.

It's a great snapshot that blends the social history of the engineering community in Malaysia with the history of the iconic Taman Tasik Titiwangsa park.

TAMAN TASIK TITIWANGSA

Taman Tasik Titiwangsa is one of Kuala Lumpur's most iconic and well-loved urban parks, serving as a "green lung" for the city. Located North east fringe of Kuala Lumpur city center. It was declared opened on February 1,1980.

Titiwangsa is the name of the main mountain range (Banjaran Titiwangsa) that forms the backbone of Peninsular Malaysia, and the name was chosen to reflect the greenery and natural scenery.

The Park in 2000 (and Today):

• It boasts a vast area, centered around a large lake (approx. 57 hectares).
• It offers stunning, iconic views of the Kuala Lumpur skyline, including the Petronas Twin Towers and KL Tower in the background—a view often captured from the park.
• Main Activities: Jogging, walking, cycling, boating (kayak/pedal boats) on the lake, and enjoying the numerous playgrounds and picnic spots.

The IEM chose an excellent, beautiful spot for their community run back in 2000!

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24 MARCH 2000 : ASEAN ENGINEERS CERTIFICATE PRESENTATION.

The ASEAN Engineers Certificate Presentation held at the Holiday Villa, Subang on March 24, 2000, was likely an event recognizing the first or early batch of professional engineers admitted to the ASEAN Engineers Register (AER).

Here is some context about the ASEAN Engineers Register (AER) around that time:

Formation of AER: The idea for the AER was first proposed in November 1996, and the first working paper on the guidelines was tabled in November 1998. The initial text of the Register was prepared and finalized in January 1999.

Purpose: The AER was established by the ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organisations (AFEO) as a key initiative to spearhead and facilitate the mobility of engineers within the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA). This was intended to prepare for the liberalization of professional services under the World Trade Organization (WTO) initiative.

Implementation: The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM) was appointed the Secretariat responsible for the AER's implementation and maintenance, a role confirmed at the 18th AFEO Board meeting in November 2000.

The 2000 Presentation: Given that the AER was finalized in 1999 and the presentation took place in March 2000, this ceremony would have been one of the first few public events to award certificates to engineers who met the minimum requirements for admission, such as:

Possessing an engineering degree recognized by their home country.

• Being a full-time member of their home engineering organization and licensed to practice.
• Having a minimum of seven (7) years of postgraduate professional working experience.
• Having spent at least two (2) years in responsible charge of significant engineering work.

This certificate would signify their registration as an ASEAN Engineer, promoting recognition of their qualifications across the ASEAN region.

HOLIDAY VILLA SUBANG

The Holiday Villa Hotel & Conference Centre Subang was an iconic and established landmark in Subang Jaya, Malaysia, known as a premier business resort. It was opened in 1988, situated on a large area of beaufifully landscaped land overlooking pristine lake. 

However, the hotel ceased operation on 1 October 2021 after 33 years in business. 

7/12/2025: 2.07 a.m

MH 370 AND THE INDIAN OCEAN

In the eerie silence of the Indian Ocean, a new chapter has emerged in the disturbing saga of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, the plane that disappeared without a trace , left the world searching for answers.

The story of MH370 has become the stuff of modern legend. On March 8, 2017 (11 years ago) the Boeing 777 carrying passengers and crew disappeared from radar screens, leaving behind a trail of unanswered questions and shattered lives.

"Good night Malalaysian 370" the last message from the cockpit of MH370, the plane that disappeared... remains one of the most baffling mysteries in aviation history. Despite years of extensive search efforts, tha aircraft's fate remains unknown and unsolved, adding to the lore of the unexplained phenomena that inhabit the vast and mysterious depths of the Indian Ocean... the 3rd largest ofthe world's five oceanic divisions, covering 70,560,000 km2. The Ocean has large marginal, or regional seas, such as the Andaman Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Laccadive Sea.

Malaysia is bounded from the west by Malacca Straits and the Andaman Sea, both connected to the Indian Ocean, and from the east by South China Sea being largest marginal sea in the Pacific Basin...

A scary fact about the Indian Ocean is that it is home to one of the most devastating natural disasters in recent history - remember the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami....

My experience of sailing the Indian Ocean in 1985 with KD Mutiara is a memory that is hard to forget..... imaging sailing on a calm sea when suddenly, a massive wave three times the size of the surrounding waves appears without warning... these are what we called rogue waves, and they can reach heights of up to 100 feet. Even the most advanced ships and experienced sailors can fall victim to these unpredictable monsters of the ocean.

Do you know that this ocean hides over three million shipwrecks resting at the bottom of the ocean, from ancient vessels to modern submarines...many of it remain undiscovered... Imaging exploring these underwater graveyards, uncovering the eerie history of our seas...

I still remember, throughout the voyage across this Indian Ocean in 1985 , I always prayed to God that our ship would not be one of the ships that disappeared without a trace in these terrifying oceans... Thank you God....

It is my most memorable ship experience is crossing the Bay of Bengal in Indian Ocean. I've been through some of the rough seas on this planet, and generous share of storms, and ocassionally both at the same time. But this Bay of Bengal, the worst rough seas i ever experienced, everyone gets seasick. I've sailed the ocean half of my life, so i've my fair share of rough seas...smooth sea never made a skilled sailor. A rough day at sea is better than any day in the office.

Life is like the ocean. It can be calm or still, and rough and rigid. But in the end, it is always beautiful.

Hj Zulheimy Maamor

Lembah Keramat, KL 11/3/2025: 12.54 a.m

PERAK : IPOH - A DRINK BY ANY OTHER NAME

SOURCE: THE EDGE

Issue: 30 July 2018

By Petrina Fernandez

Breakfast at any Kopitiam here is often accompanied by a side of kopi-o, a Malaysian black coffee produced by roasting coffee beans with sugar, margarine and wheat. They do things differently up in the north, however, with a unique roasting process that crowned Ipoh among Lonely Planes's Top 3-Best Coffee Towns in Asia earlier this year. 

• Tourists sometimes think that white coffee is so named for white coffee beans native to Malaysia. Of course, no such beans exist. The term doesn't mean the coffee is white in colour, rather the beans are roasted with just margarine and no sugar, resulting in a lighter roast. 
• The caramelised and bitter flavours of the roast are harmonised with sweetened condensed milk for an intense, nuanced wake-up call. 
• Ipoh is among the world's pioneers of white coffee.
• White coffee is also known as pak-ko-pi in Cantonese. 
• Perak was a thriving tin-mining state during the British colonial era in the 19th and early 20th centuries and Ipoh was the base for many tin-mining companies. Hainanese immigrants who worked in the mines were unaccustomed to the deeply bitter flavour of Western coffee and modified its roasting, brewing and stirring techniques according to traditional Nanyang practices to better suit their palate. 
• The mixing of Arabic, Robusta and Liberica coffee beans yields the aromatic almost buttery blend that is the trademark of white coffee. 
• White Coffee gets its name from its common use of milk. 
• First produced in Ipoh's Old Town and famously enjoyed at Sin Yoon Loong Coffee Shop and Nam Heong White Coffee, the recipe has been passed down ghrough the generations since. 
• White coffee enjoys widespread popularity through the country and is also stocked on supermarket shelves as an instant beverage. 
• Kedai Kopi Ah Chow in Ipohserves the caramel-coloured coffee spiked with a dose of liquor splashed into hot or iced orders.
• Old Town Bhd created the Old Town White Coffee chain of cafes, which put a contemporary spin on the traditional kopitiam, also manufacturing and selling its own coffee throughout Malaysia and around the region. Late last year, Old Town Bhd was taken over by Dutch Company Jacobs Douwe Egberts Holding Asia for a consideration of RM1.47 billion.
• Lone Planet place Ipoh alongside Chiang Mai in Thailand and Tokyo in Japan on its list of Top 3 Best Coffee Towns in Asia this year. 

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Hj Zulheimy Maamor

Lembah Keramat, K.L

19/1/2025: 5.07 p.m

SELANGOR - MORIB BEACH MEMORIAL : A MONUMENT TO INDIAN-MALAY RELATIONS DURING WORLD WAR II.

SOURCE: BRITISH MALAYA

The war memorial situated on Morib Beach, Selangor, on the west coast of Malaysia, 60 kilometres from Kuala Lumpur, commemorates the contribution made by Indian troops to the liberation of Malaya from Japanese occupation during World War Two.

On 9 September 2014, on a visit to the site, the High Commissioner of India said the monument was a testimony to the shared military history and events between India and Malaysia, and commemorates the valour and sacrifices of the Indian and Malay soldiers who fought side by side to defend Malaya, many of whom lost their lives.

The erection of the monument, instigated by the late Jacob Mathews, a local teacher, specifically refers to the contribution made by the 46th Indian Beach Group during Operation Zipper. It is maintained by the Malaysian Armed Forces Indian Veterans Welfare Association (MAFIVWA), and the local council, and is witness to a wreath-laying ceremony every year on 9 September, the date of the landings on Morib Beach by Allied forces.

Operation Zipper was the name of the allied plan for the liberation of Malaya by the South-east Asia Command (SEAC) led by Lord Mountbatten, from the Japanese Army and involved amphibious landings at Selangor and Negeri Sembilan to establish beachheads at Morib and Port Dickson.

The plan envisaged landing two divisions on Morib Beach where there were around 1,000 Japanese troops in the vicinity, and once a bridgehead had been established, to proceed on to Kuala Lumpur.

As it transpired, the Japanese Army capitulated in late August 1945 and the invasion at Morib Beach, scheduled for 9 September, was uncontested. However, there were still pockets of resistance spread around Malaya so the landing troops needed to maintain combat readiness.

The invasion at Morib on 9 September 1945 was led by troops of the 23rd and 25th Indian Divisions, part of 34th Corps of the 14th Army. As the inscription on the memorial states, the 46th Indian Beach Group facilitated the landing. Tanks, trucks, jeeps, guns, and supplies together with the troops were loaded aboard landing craft and transported to the beach through the shallow waters. In all, according to the inscription, the amphibious landing comprised 42,651 troops, 3,968 armoured vehicles, and 11,224 tonnes of stores.

There are varying views about the execution of the landing at Morib, some saying it would have been a disaster if it had encountered Japanese resistance; John Gullick, the famous Malaya scholar and writer who served with SEAC criticised the operation stating in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (2012) that the landings at Morib Beach were “the worst shambles I ever experienced during my time in the army.” However, most other writers testify to the successful operation of the landings.

Among the men who landed on Morib Beach on 9 September 1945 was 2nd Lieutenant Zia ul Haq of the 25th Indian Division, who later became the 6th President of Pakistan. On 7 November 1982, together with government officials, he revisited the beach where he landed 37 years previously. Another soldier who landed that day was Ipoh-born Wahab Ghows who later became a judge of the Supreme Court at Singapore.

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18/1/2025: 8.41 p.m