Selamat Jalan Ampang Park!

For many it’s the end of an era. Yes, Ampang Park is closing down.

The shopping centre built by the Low Keng Huat Brothers Realty Sdn Bhd in 1973 is set to be demolished following compulsory acquisition of the land to build the Ampang Park MRT underground station

Naturally, many (especially those within my age group) are shocked and saddened when they heard the news. I am too. It really is sad as Ampang Park is iconic; it was the first mall in Kuala Lumpur. There is so much history here.

I don’t really go there that often to begin with but like many from my generation, I have had wonderful memories of the mall.

The first time I was there was just months after it was opened when Ayah Ngah and family brought us, this visiting relatives from Perak, to a new hip shopping centre (nobody uses the word mall then) that has escalators. For a nine year old me, those escalators were the coolest thing. Greatest. Invention. Ever. So like many jakun kids, we (my brothers and I with my arwah cousin Fendi leading the way) went up and down the moving stairs many time over. Gila tak nak main escalator,,,, best giler.

Three years later, when I was in Standard Six, I joined a rombongan sekolah to KL. We visited all the Negaras (Zoo, Masjid and Tugu) of course plus the new theme park called Mimaland. But to me the highlight of the trip was when we went to have dinner at Ampang Park before we head home. I don’t really remember where exactly in Ampang Park we had dinner but I do remember we went to the rooftop … If I’m not mistaken there was an ice skating ring there then (or was the ring in another shopping centre?)

Bila masuk Universiti Malaya in 1984, I remembered asking my friend and college mate Halim (a KL boy himself) to bring me and Ishak (both orang kampong from utara) to Ampang Park. Lagi pun Ishak nak beli kasut. And I remembered we ended up watching some stupid movie while we were there. I must say that outing was spectacularly memorable because of that movie – satu cerita perang paling bodoh in a movie history. It’s a C-grade English movie in which the director apparently didn’t know how to end the movie. Such miserable experience. LOL.

When I was in second year, I remembered going there several times with my arwah Achik bershopping and berwindow shopping. Well, actually she did the shopping and I was the driver. And gladly to be doing so. Arwah was really one cool and sporting mak sedara. Miss her. Al Fatihah.

Hello Again!

This is me (formerly This is Bapak of http://www.azharazian.blogspot.com) joining other bloggers reviving our past lives. The truth is that I was, till the last minute, still trying to jumpstart that old blog of mine but I simply could not log in despite having the correct password and repeated attempts. And then I realized I have less than two hours to meet the May 6 deadline. Hence, this new blog.

I started blogging in 2003 and upon reading my past entries again, I must say I have one crappy blog. I last blogged over two years ago. And even until last nite I was still contemplating whether to blog again. You see, I have become very lazy. Of writing. Why those who are my FB friends would notice that I hardly write any FB status for quite sometime now. As a matter of fact, nowadays I am quite active on Instagram, quite possibly because I  find doing a selfie ... err.. very self-fulfilling. (mid-life crisis, much?)

Anyway, since that last entry on April 2013 in that old blog of mine, a lot have happened.

Most notably, we lost my beloved mother in law on May 2013 (such a wonderful woman - Al Fatihah)),

I also left my job in Berita Publishing (with Malaysian Business) to work in a bank in downtown KL and left that new job to rejoin a daily (the Malay Mail) only to come back to helm Malaysian Business magazine - all in a span of four months.

My live my wife (she's at www.azianhasan,com and formerly www.mrsgoodthings.blogspot.com) is now a cookbook author. Suami dia proud giler. Thanks to PTS Publications for the opportunity.

The wifey with her third book ... I was there simply to tolong pegang buku je (suami gila kuasa namanya tu)

As for the three daughters, I am happy to note that they are all of marriageable age in college already. Alia is doing Mass Comm at UiTM Shah Alam (which means she's home almost every weekend), Asma is reading law at IIUM in Gombak (also home on most weekends if she's free) and Arissa is pursuing an animation course at a private college in Damansara (yang ni home all the time sebab dia memang commute from home).

Cinta Hati Kami

As for me, I am already 50 (as of last December) and the creaking bones are feeling it. And quite recently, I have decided to start a new hobby (the girls said its a case of mid-life crisis) of collecting miniature cars. Don't ask me what possessed me to go this route as I am not a car enthusiast to begin with. I just feel like I want to do it. Tu jer.

A Beginner's Collection.

So that's it for my first entry at this brand new address. I just hope that this will not be the only entry for this rumah baru. (But I must say that I feel good after writing this.)