DISCOVERING KUALA LUMPUR - PART V

DISCOVERING KUALA LUMPUR - PART 5
(Last Part of a Series of Five)

By Doods A. Amora, PEE

OUR FINAL NIGHT AT THE HOTEL

Back at the hotel, Kitty took a catnap as going back to work in a few hours had become imminent. Kitty’s cue call was at 12:00 o’clock midnight and the rendezvous at the hotel lobby with the 14-man crew of Qatar Airways, at 1:00 o’clock AM. But the rest of us couldn’t resist the temptation in scouring over our new toys - the laptop, the camera and the pasalubongs we’ve just shopped a few hours past.

Exploring over the new laptop, a Dell 125 GB HDD, Dual Core, 2.0 GB RAM, 2 MHz, 9-cell battery, 7-in-1 card reader in Vista Operating System complete with webcam & microphone, was to us very intriguing and satisfying. Although it was not the top-of-the-line unit, my budget won’t allow the more powerful ones available at 160 GB & 200 GB HDD. But the new laptop was very much superior to my Toshiba unit which two years ago was the top. At a price of only RM 2,700.00 (PhP 35,640.00), it was indeed an excellent buy! Same laptop could have been bought in Cebu today at PhP 70,000.00 or more!

AT THE HOTEL LOBBY - SENDING OFF KITTY

Of course we couldn’t as well help but tinker on the Olympus 7.1 Mega-Pixel, 18x Zoom, 2.0 GB XD Memory Digital Camera that is equipped with the usual automatic & 2x image stabilizers including shutter speed adjustments, lens opening and image editing ready features which can only be found in a professional camera. Complete with a lens shield, 4 x 3,500 milli-amp rechargeable batteries, tripod stand and bag, the camera was acquired at PhP 25,000.00. The same can be bought in Cebu at about PhP 38,000.00.

Hence for shopping pleasure, computers, cell phones, cameras, home theaters, professional sound systems, stereo systems, microphones, audio speakers, amplifiers are the best items to shop in Kuala Lumpur. And mind you, the price marks can be haggled; for instance, our Dell Laptop was tagged at RM 3,100.00 but we finally got it at RM 2,700.00.

Pasalubong…? Forget about the shoes & the clothes. They are about same as ours, price wise. Souvenir items & tiny electronics…? Yes. Souvenir T-Shirts, flash drives, cell-phone mini disks, i-pods, MP3 gadgets and other small-size electronics – they are best for pasalubongs, and don’t forget, the replica of the Petronas Towers.


REMINISCING THE SIGHTS

At the hotel lobby, we met once again Noralyn, Sharmaine and the rest of the crew in their white & maroon uniforms. We also met the amiable Captain Pilot and the First Officer who were all very kind to us. At 1:00 AM, Kitty and company boarded the bus that would bring them to the KL International Airport.

For us, we would be leaving the hotel room by 5:50 AM. So the rest of the time was spent in stuffing everything into the bags. There was no more time to sleep…

For the brief moments left, I found myself reliving the scenes I glimpsed the other day - the mosques, the national museum, the national monument, the shopping malls, the monorail, the skyscrapers among others…

ONE OF THE SEVERAL MOSQUES IN KUALA LUMPUR

THE NATIONAL MUSEUM

THE NATIONAL MONUMENT

THE NATIONAL PARLIAMENT BUILDING

A SHOPPING MALL ENTRANCE (Note the Monorail Station)

ANOTHER GROUP OF SKYSCRAPERS

THE SLIM TWIN HOTELS - HILTON & LE MERIDIEN

A MONORAIL STATION (Note the Forest at the Background)

A CLOSE–UP LOOK AT THE MONORAIL CAR

TO THE AIRPORT

Avoiding hassles, we took the hotel taxi for RM 115 (that’s already including the 50% surcharge for 12:00 AM – 6:00 AM trip). On our way to the airport, the sights of Kuala Lumpur, still in dark shroud but in the verge of daybreak, again refreshed us. Passing through the streets, the multi-hued decorative lights are still glittering; with several cars racing to their homes apparently from all-night partying; while the Petronas Towers this time partly lit, but not short of its magic - posing again in a different pompous face.

A KL STREET AT DAYBREAK

With a few slivers of sunlight appearing coyly in the early morning horizon, we approached the airport complex at around 6:50 AM. At a distance we saw the silhouette of the imposing KLIA Control Tower, dubbed as the tallest airport control tower in the world. Standing at 150 meters high, it looks like a giant torch, but they name it 'the slim lady' as its shape self-explain the name. Then as we moved closer, we saw the façade of the airport, brightly lit but blanketed in the early morning mist - its scale, simply amazing!

THE LEFT WING AIRPORT FAÇADE AT DAYBREAK

Having reached the portals of the airport, our taxi driver promptly alighted ahead of us, and then unloaded our baggage to the trolley carts. This time we got a nice taxi driver, huh? He politely refused the tip, we were pleasantly surprised. After all, there were also good taxi drivers in Kuala Lumpur, and I thought they are a majority.

THE ‘SLIM LADY’ – Dubbed as The Tallest Control Tower in the World

THE DEPARTURE AREA OF KLIA

The Departure Pavillions of the Airport Terminal were mammoth high-ceiling unified cathedrals with even more impressive sights. Unlike the arrival area, the departure vestibules hosted a lot of people and a beehive of people’s activities! I noticed that in the check-in area, send-off parties and well-wishers are allowed inside. But then, the luxury of space appeared too huge as if easily diluting & dispersing the crowd, in effect, engulfing the people in its veil.

FACE-TO-FACE WITH THE AIRPORT TERMINAL

Again in a luxury of space, the Departure Pavillions repleted themselves with signages, information screens, glass walls & windows, stainless steel frameworks and monarchial floors. The hosts of geometrically formed steel structures and the glass casings mystified me once more. Like that of the arrival hall, the columns are shaped into conical trunks akin to the palm oil trees. And despite all the people around… the airport is very clean, clinically sterile, no eyesores… What a view! I took time in allowing my eyes feasting to its fullness before remembering that we yet need to find our check-in counter.

THE CHECK-IN PAVILLION OF KLIA

ANOTHER VIEW OF THE CHECK-IN PAVILLION OF KLIA

THE CHECKING IN PROCESS

Systematic…? Yes!

Spread all over the departure hall, were large “Flight Information” screens where passengers were guided in locating which counters specific flights were assigned. For ‘no-baggage’ passengers, there could be no need for the counters as one can check-in through the on-line computers.

ONE OF THE TWELVE 'CHECK-IN ISLANDS'

I noticed there were about 216 Check-In Counters, in twelve “Islands” (as they call them). The Islands were identified by alphabets A – M (excluding I) where several manned counters (about 15 – 20 counters) are in each island. Multi check-in services are available, designed for the travelers’ convenience. It means that passengers to any destination could ‘check-in’ at any counter in the Island where his/her flight had been assigned.

We easily found our Check-In Island at “C”. While queuing, we noticed the group from Bacolod City whom we met the other day at the Petronas Towers Photo Plaza was on the same flight.

After checking in, as there was still much time left we decided to walk around for more sight-seeing. We understood that the next step would be the Immigration Processing located one level below the check-in floor. But we needed to take our breakfast before going down when I experienced the unexpected.

THAT’S OUR CHECK–IN ISLAND “C”

On our way to KFC, Jacky Chan, yes… at the corner of my eye, I saw Jacky Chan, one of the world’s top action star; seemingly incognito in eye shades and dark long-sleeved jacket with two bodyguards ahead and another two behind, walking briskly to our direction. In his haste, he almost came rubbing elbows with me! My astonishment didn’t prevent me from uttering automatically, “Hi Jacky. I watched all your movies, it’s nice to see you here!”, I couldn’t believe my ears hearing me saying them!

ANOTHER VIEW OF THE DEPARTURE PAVILLION

To the height of my surprise, he turned his face to me, smiling naughtily, he retorted in English but in Chinese tone, “Thank you. I just opened my Coffee Shop at Starhill Gallery. I need to catch a plane to Singapore. So long, thanks again!” I hurriedly summoned my son Boboy to take pictures of us, but agile as in his action movies, I lost him swiftly to the executive lounge…! WOW, what a day!

AIRPORT FACILITIES

The terminal itself offers facilities only found in leading airports in the world, among them are as follows: a Business Centre, Executive Lounges, Children’s Play Area, Praying Rooms, First Class Restaurants, Medical Clinic, Reflexology & Massage, Viewing Galleries, Visitor’s Service Centers, Duty-Free Shops, Travellators and an 80-room Transit Hotel. In addition, a 441-room Five Star Hotel, The Pan Pacific Hotel Kuala Lumpur International Airport, is available within walking distance from the airport terminal building for other airport users to stay and enjoy all the facilities, close to KLIA.

POSING IN A CORNER OF THE TERMINAL (The Floor Below is the Wide Immigration Counter Area)

Again, “Dilarang Merokok”, now said in English, as smoking is not allowed within the airport premises. Although there were designated smoking areas, one has to go out of the building if one is still in the Check-In Pavilion. But once past the immigration counters, one has to ride the aero-train to the Satellite Building before one can whiff his first smoke.

THE RAINFOREST BEHIND THE GLASS WALL

THE PRE-DEPARTURE WINGS

The Terminal has 61 immigration counters for departing passengers, 48 for arriving passengers and 16 for transfer passengers.

AT THE PRE-DEPARTURE CORRIDOR, Saying ADIEU TO KUALA LUMPUR!

The Pre-Departure Wings are long corridors leading to the boarding gates. The corridors are walled with tinted blue glass panels on both sides - one facing the tarmac and the other facing part of the rain forest within the airport premises. An array of comfortable seats, sleeping seats, massage seats and flight information bulletin screens abound the corridors. And the lights on high ceilings – again, they appeared like heavenly bodies reflecting on the regal floors even in a bright morning. The glass walls provided an unobstructed view to the tarmac, the aircraft stands, the boarding bridges and the parking aircrafts.

ONE OF THE MANY PRE-DEPARTURE LOUNGES

THE PRE-DEPARTURE CORRIDOR IN THE SATELLITE BUILDING

THE RELAXING, RECLINING SEATS

THE AERO-TRAINS LINKING THE MAIN & SATELLITE BUILDING

KLIA has 46 aerobridge gates and 106 aircraft stands. We finally found Gate 10, our boarding gate. We rested, and I suddenly felt the smell of home.

Adios, Kuala Lumpur…

PARTIAL VIEW OF THE BOARDING BRIDGES & PARKED AIRCRAFTS

A PARKED BOEING 747-400 AIRCRAFT

PARTIAL VIEW OF ONE OF THE TWO STATE-OF-THE-ART RUNWAYS

THE AWAKENING

As the hours whiled away, I couldn’t resist but making a conclusion to the new learnings I obtained from this trip. And to make a better understanding of magnitudes and scales, I couldn’t escape from comparing Malaysia to my native Philippines.

Clearly, Malaysia to my conviction is buoyant and wealthy, built within a pluralist culture in a vibrant fusion of Malay, Chinese, Indian and other indigenous cultures. Malaysia's ardor to Western-style industrialization is abundantly lucid in its big cities. Aside from the glinting glass towers of the 21st Century, Malaysia boasts some of the most superb beaches, mountains and national parks in Asia.

Summing it up, Kuala Lumpur - the façade of Malaysia, is an Asian tiger that roars - it has grown from relatively nothing to a modern, bustling city. One has to experience its high-altitude triumphs from the viewing deck of the world's tallest twin buildings, and then submerge down to explore its more traditional way of life in the back lanes of Chinatown. It's a modern Asian city of gleaming skyscrapers, but it retains much of the local color that has been obliterated in other Asian boom-cities such as Singapore. It has plenty of colonial buildings in its centre, still with vibrant night markets & street vendors, and a full-of-life Little India.

I must admit, what I saw was the ‘Makati’ of Kuala Lumpur. Having been mostly in the financial district of Kuala Lumpur, I haven’t had a chance at exploring the inner viscerals and the closets behind the manicured curtains of the city.

But then, a few statistics might help. With two more hours to spare, I found myself in the wi-fi section of the terminal, researching on the web…

PBCOM TOWER –The Tallest Building in the Philippines, at 55 Storeys

CONTRASTING STATISTICS

In the 18th & 19th centuries, Great Britain established colonies in the area of current Malaysia, which became independent in 1957. Hence, this year 2007, Malaysia is celebrating its 50th year of self-governance. Malaysia as an independent nation is still youthful as compared to the Philippines’ 109 years. But Malaysia as a nation succeeded in diversifying its economy from the dependence on raw material exports to weighty manufacturing, services and tourism. Malaysia then transformed itself into an emerging multi-sector economy where growth is almost exclusively driven by exports - particularly in electronics and IT products. It has also grown as an oil and gas exporter, notwithstanding its mainstays in tin, timber, palm oil and rubber.

ECONOMY: Similar to the Philippines, Malaysia’s economy thrives in agriculture, industry and services. Composing the National GDP, Malaysia’s industry is the biggest contributor followed by services and agriculture. The Philippines is more agricultural and service provider while industry is only at 31% against Malaysia’s 48%. No doubt about it, Malaysia is much more industrialized while the Philippines is more agricultural & service provider.

POPULATION: Despite slightly larger than the Philippines in land area, the population of Malaysia is only 24.8 million as against the Philippines’ 91.5 million. More importantly, ‘Population Below Poverty Line’ in Malaysia is 5.1% (only about 1,265,000) while the Philippines is 40% (about a whopping 36,600,000).

LABOR FORCE: Malaysia’s Labor Force is 10.68 million (about 43% of the population) while the Philippines is at 35.79 million (about 39% of the population). Malaysia’s Labor force - by occupation can be broken down as: agriculture, 13%; industry, 36%; and services, 51% while in Philippines: agriculture, 36%; industry, 15%, services; 49%. Again, these numbers show how the Philippines had been glued to ancient style agriculture as compared to Malaysia.

METRO MANILA’S SKYLINE

KUALA LUMPUR’S SKYLINE

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: Malaysia’s unemployment rate is at 3.5% against the Philippines’ 8%. I am not sure how to interpret these stats but if basing on the work force, Malaysia’s unemployed workforce could only have been low at about 373,800 while the Philippines very high at about 2,870,000. Big thanks to the OFW’s. Send them home, with no available jobs in the country and the number of unemployed Filipino work force would balloon to some 10 to 11 million. Not only that! Bringing the OFW’s back home will wipe out the yearly US$ 15 Billion remittances. It could mean a plummeting Philippine peso to probably PhP 80 to a US Dollar. I could not imagine anymore how much a liter of gasoline would be…

PER CAPITA INCOME: Aha, this one tells us how the average citizen earns per year. Sorted by the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) Method, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that Per Capita Income of Malaysia is US$ 11,957 while the Philippines, only at US$ 5,365. That’s 2.2 times higher than the Philippines’.

Just to have a taste how the neighboring city-state of Singapore performs, hold your breath; it is at US$ 33,471 and Thailand at US$ 9,193. This goes to show how poor we are compared to our neighbors. As a consolation, Vietnam has only US$ 3,393. But with the recent surging of Vietnam, it would be sooner than expected that the Philippines will be overtaken.

AGRICULTURE: Malaysia’s agriculture products are rubber, palm oil, cocoa, rice, subsistence crops, coconuts, rice, pepper, timber while Philippines’ agriculture yields sugarcane, coconuts, corn, bananas, cassavas, pineapples, mangoes, pork, eggs, beef and fish.

From the looks of it, one can say that even in agriculture, Malaysia’s products far more outweighs the Philippines. Note that timber, once mighty in the Philippines is no longer included in the list. And our copra exports had dwindled significantly because of the palm oil competition; whilst our sugar exports seriously threatened by competition worldwide. Soon they will become endangered species.

Of course, we beat Malaysia in pork production. Obvious, isn’t it? We are a pork-eating country and thanks to the large amount of pork needed for the politicians’ pork barrel…!

INDUSTRIES: Malaysia’s industries are rubber processing, palm oil processing & manufacturing, light manufacturing, tin mining & smelting, logging, timber & wood processing, petroleum production & refining, agriculture processing, electronics manufacturing, computers & IT equipment manufacturing. On the other hand, Philippines’ industries are as follows: electronics assembly, garments, footwear, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, wood products, food processing, petroleum refining and fishing.

EXPORTS: Malaysia’s exports are electronic equipment, petroleum and liquefied natural gas, wood products, palm oil, rubber, textiles and chemicals. Philippines’ Exports on the other hand, are semi-conductors and electronic components, garments, copper products, coconut oil, fruits, and most importantly, labor.

You see, Malaysia’s industries and exports are very much heavy in value than that of the Philippines. Now, take out the Philippines’ Export Processing & Special Economic Zones where the semi-conductors and electronics components are manufactured and we will end up poorer than the proverbial Timbukto. Thanks that Atlas Mining in Cebu will soon resurrect, if not, copper will join the de-listed items as a Philippine product.

PETROL OIL: Very interesting. Malaysia’s oil proven reserves is at 3.1 billion bbl while the Philippines only at 152 million bbl. That’s a hefty 20 times the Philippine reserves. Oil production in Malaysia is at 770,000 bbl/day while the Philippines peak production forgettable at only 25,000 bbl/day. That’s 30 times the Philippines’ production! Malaysia imports no oil against the Philippines’ 350,000 bbl/day. That’s big advantage because unlike the Philippines, Malaysia would have no single dollar expended in oil imports.

NATURAL GAS: Malaysia’s natural gas proven reserves have been established at 2.037 trillion cu m while the Philippines only at 107.5 billion cu m. That’s almost 20 times the Philippine reserves. Natural gas production in Malaysia is at 60.9 billion cu m while the Philippines’ production at only 2.781 billion cu m. That’s 22 times the Philippines’ production.


THE FILIPINO DIASPORA

The Philippine Economy has at present been saved by the OFW’s dollar remittances. Ranking fourth in 2006, Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW’s) sent back to the home country some US$ 14.6 Billion in remittances. Topping the list is India at US$ 24.5 billion, followed by MEXICO at US$ 24.2 billion, then CHINA at US$ 21.0 billion, the PHILIPPINES at US$ 14.6 billion and RUSSIA at US$ 13.7 billion.

A lot of Filipinos may not know it, but the Philippines right now is highly dependent on remittances by Overseas Filipinos. Remittances remain as the largest source of foreign income, highly surpassing the annual average of US$ 2.5 billion foreign direct investment to the country. Note that the OFW’s remittances represent a huge chunk of 13.5% to 15% of the Philippines' GDP, the largest in proportion to the domestic economy among the other four countries mentioned.

There are more than 11 million ‘Overseas Filipinos’ worldwide, some 3 million of which are permanent residents or now citizens of other countries. An Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) is a Filipino who is employed in work outside the Philippines. Some eight million of them OFW’s, still citizens of the country, out of a population of 91.5 million, have left the country to seek work abroad, attracted by jobs with salaries that far exceed those jobs available in the Philippines. The other big reason is - there are only a few available jobs in the country. Thus diaspora became inevitable.

Each year, the Philippines is sending out more than a million to work abroad through its overseas employment program. Others leave to become permanent residents of their country of destination. Overseas Filipinos are typically known to be as doctors, accountants, IT professionals, engineers, technicians, entertainers, teachers, nurses, seamen, airline pilots, military servicemen, domestic helpers, housekeepers, and caregivers.

However, the exodus of workers from the country resulted in what has been referred to as “brain drain”, particularly in the health and education sectors. Also, the exodus can result in underemployment, for example, in cases where doctors undergo retraining to become nurses notwithstanding an increasing number of skilled workers taking on unskilled work overseas.


WHAT'S HAPPENING TO THE PHILIPPINES?

There’s no such a thing as ‘diaspora’ in Malaysia. Jobs and opportunities are everywhere. In fact, Malaysia hires a multitude of Filipino workers. Malaysia has become one destination of the Filipino diaspora.

“Malaysia – The Pearl of the Orient”, in one tourism blitz, it reads. Isn’t it that our country was supposed to be the 'Pearl of the Orient Seas'? I won’t protest, anyway; Malaysia aptly deserves it. They have overtaken us significantly - without our knowing and while we were sleeping…

In the 60’s and 70’s, our neighbors used to dream at studying in Philippine schools. During my college days, I had Malaysians, Indonesians, Thais, Saudis, Iranians, Iraqis, Jordanians, even Indians as my classmates. Today, they are nowhere in our schools. Has our educational system degenerated? Today, other Asians are now our serious competitors in the skilled labor market; in fact, most of them are now Filipino employers, not only in the technical and health services but even domestic helpers.

They have soared well and high, while the Filipinos are still deep in the brazen circuses in the Senate and Congress Halls. Crab mentality? Probably… Corruption? To me, corruption is cancer, it’s incurable I admit. It had been there since the beginning of politics, whether in the Philippines or wherever else in the world. It pains… but to me, it’s alright as long as 90% goes to the project, as I learned from the Malaysians.

Is our system of government, flawed? Probably, yes! USA, Germany, Canada, Australia and yes, Malaysia to name a few, are successful in their federal forms of government. What specific type of federalism that fits us, is beyond the capabilities of my fancies to probe.

We finally boarded the plane. Already numbed, my mind ceased working as I could no longer comprehend what’s going on.

Goodbye, Kuala Lumpur. You made me a better person.

Goodbye, Malaysia, truly Asia!


DISCLAIMER:

The articles written in these series are mostly of the author’s perceptions which are subjective in nature. Although hard information contained in this diary has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, i.e., on top of personal experiences of the author; the author, however can not be sure of the perfection, accuracy or completeness of any information written herein, as lapses and miscomprehensions are always inevitable.