Going Places – August 2019

goingplacesmagazine.com

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10

| August 2019

EDITOR’S NOTE

Julie Goh

Editor

AUGUST 2019 Taipei: Where Modern Meets Traditional

MY Guide To Putrajaya, Malaysia■ Discover Small Town Charm In Sarawak’s Siniawan

■Raine Bids Adieu Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s Mark Tie For Chef Uniform■ Zoe Rai Trades

On The Cover

Taipei is an architectural

masterpiece that blends the

old and the new perfectly.

Story on pages 34-37.

There’s nothing quite like the charm of small towns, and

thankfully, we have them in spades in Malaysia. On days when

the challenges of big city life appear daunting, it’s delightful to

be able to walk down quiet streets filled with quaint family-

owned stores, where the proprietors know each of their

customers by his or her first name.

I grew up in Segamat, a small town in Johor. Until about 13

years ago, my mother and late father still lived there, and

it was lovely having a kampung (hometown) to return to

during the festive holidays. One can always get a table at the

local coffeeshop, where the wantan noodles still cost RM4 a

plate, and there is hardly any need to jostle for a space at the

supermarket carpark. I rarely visit now as my family members

are no longer there.

I can picture the scene in Siniawan, a 30-minute drive from

Sarawak’s state capital, Kuching. Its main thoroughfare, a

narrow street flanked by wooden shophouses, comes alive

on weekend evenings, when the night market runs from

Fridays to Sundays. It’s an excuse for many of the town’s

10,000 residents, who are likely to know one another, to come

together. One of the best things about small towns is that each

has its own personality, and Siniawan is no different. Our senior

writer Eris Choo spent a few days there recently and has the

story on pages 40-44.

Still in Sarawak, four friends are helping to market heirloom rice

grown by the Lun Bawang community in the rural area of Lawas

to earn extra income as well as to ensure the preservation and

sustainability of their agricultural practice. The rice, a highly

nutritious variety known for its exceptional flavour, aroma and

colour, is hand-planted for the families’ own consumption.

But often, there is excess. When the four, who were working

on infrastructure projects in rural parts of Sabah and Sarawak,

found out that the unused “really good rice” they were eating

was being fed to livestock, they couldn’t resist doing something

about it. And so, the Langit Collective was formed. Writer Tan

Lee Kuen tells this inspiring story of wanting to do good on

pages 53-55.

Speaking of positive creations, there are many ways to go

about this. Some raise funds for the underprivileged. Some,

like Langit Collective, empower those with limited means,

while others train themselves to create opportunities for the

disadvantaged later. One such person in the latter category is

Zoe Rai. The owner of Zoe Bangsar, an Asian fusion restaurant

in Kuala Lumpur, swapped his suit and tie for a chef’s uniform

in hopes of setting up a community-based cooking programme

for people lacking opportunities in the next few years. My story

on how he became a chef is on pages 50-52.

Then, there is the altruistic cause of Seven Wunders, a mission

to cycle to the seven modern wonders of the world to raise

funds and awareness for childhood cancer, which we featured

in our April 2018 issue. The fundraiser David Wu left Malaysia

in August 2017 and recently completed his mission, raising the

Malaysian flag at the final wonder, the Great Wall of China, on

7 July. He is expected to be back in Malaysia at the end of this

month. To him, I wish Selamat Pulang Ke Tanahair.

These stories of liberation – if I could take liberty with Rai, Wu

and Langit Collective’s quests – coincide with Malaysia’s 62nd

year of independence from the British on 31 August. To my

fellow Malaysians, Selamat Menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan. ■

_Aug 2019_Editor's Note.indd 10 18/07/2019 10:38 AM