MEGACITIES CHALLENGES

A megacity is a place which has a total population in excess of 10 million people. Megacities can be recognizing by their rapid growth, population density, economies and high levels of social fragmentation. Megacity also synonymously with the terms megapolis. There are many megacities in the world such as Tokyo, New York City, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Mumbai (Bombay), Karachi, Jakarta that had populations in excess of 10 million inhabitants.

ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES

Megacity growth is automatically bad would be wrong to assume for the environment. A large environmental impact because a city have 20 million people, but it is less clear whether that impact is bigger than if the same number of people lived rurally. An environmentally sustainable model for the future those who argue that clean, modern cities, where dense living enables resources to be consumed efficiently.

Nowadays, megacities feature a catalogue of environmental problems. The familiar issues in most large cities around the world are congestion, air pollution, water pollution, waste management and degration of green areas. Air quality has improved over the last 50 years such as London and Tokyo. While in Shanghai and Kuala Lumpur it has gone down.

Cities tend to get rich first, then clean up later. Sustainable solutions promote greater use of alternative energy sources and more energy-efficient buildings and transport, measures to combat congestion and carbon dioxide emissions, water and waste recycling, and capture carbon dioxide.

Especially but those in Mature cities, air pollution is considered by far the most serious environmental challenge facing megacities. A large proportion of stakeholder mentioning air pollution relate the problem to transportation and vehicle emissions.

SUMMARY

Megacities are certainly taking over the world. Many cities are developing into megacities. Therefore, the government have to find the ways to solve the problem that many megacities are facing right now.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF MALAYSIA

Indigenous people are important to the cultural and ethnic mix of Malaysian life. There are over 64 different groups of indigenous people in the country. There are several religions in Malaysia, such as Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity. However, even though Malaysia peoples have different religions, cultures, countries and background, but Malaysia has been successful to create a united society.

The oldest inhabitants of Malaysia are the indigenous peoples. They account for about 5% of the total population, and represent a majority in Sarawak and Sabah. In peninsular Malaysia blankets them under the term Orang Asli, or "Original People." In Sarawak, the dominant tribal groups are the Dayak, who live in longhouses. Dayak are either Iban (Sea Dayak) or Bidayuh (land Dayak). In Sabah, most tribes group are Kadazan. All of Malaysia's tribal people generally share a strong spiritual tie to the rain forest.

Indigenous people contribute greatly to the cultural richness of the country. The ethnic groups are quite different with other races, speak their own languages and practicing their own religions. However, these ethnic groups can remain locked in their own respective ethnic universe, isolated from the rest of society unless these differences are mitigated through infrastructure and development.

Peninsular Malaysia

The Orang Asli consist of 19 ethnic sub-groups officially classified for administrative purposes as Negrito, Senoi and Aboriginal Malay. The Orang Asli are not homogeneous. Each group having its own language and culture. They also have different ways of life and livelihoods. Some groups such as Orang Laut, Orang Seletar and Mah Meri are living close to the coast as fisher folk and some of them such as Temuan, Jakun and Semai adopting permanent agriculture, planting cash crops such as rubber, oil palm or cocoa While many other indigenous peoples such as Semai, Temiar, Che Wong, Jah Hut, Semelai and Semaq Beri live close to forested areas and take on in farming, hunting and gathering. Some groups from the Negrito branch such as Jahai and Lanoh are still semi-nomadic, prefer to take advantage of the forest. A fair number of Orang Asli now also live in city and are involved in both waged and salaried jobs.

Sabah

Sabah has more than 30 different indigenous groups. For examples are Kadazan, Dusun, Rungus, Murut, Sungai and Lundayeh. They speak more than 50 languages and 80 dialects. The larger of the ethnic groups are Dusunic, Murutic and Paitanic groups. The Kadazan-dusuns, who are the most dominant ethnic group in Sabah.The different land forms, soils, climates and vegetation provide a different agro-ecosystem for the many indigenous communities. The indigenous peoples are mostly subsistence farmers who practice varies agriculture, including cultivation of rice, vegetables and fruit trees. The rural farmers often practice a wide range of livelihood activities. Many of the l indigenous communities rely on the different forest resources for food, medicine and other needs. There are also some of indigenous people involve in fisher ring.

Sarawak
There are 28 indigenous groups in Sarawak. However, there are at least 37 known groups and sub-groups, including Iban, Penan, Kenyah, Kayan, Kelabit, Ukit, Sekapan, Lahanan and Penan Bah.The indigenous peoples of Sarawak practice rotational cultivation on rice plantation, hunting and gathering. A small number of the Penan community still lead a nomadic life, hunting and gathering, while the rest of the community has now either settled or is partially settled. The rural indigenous communities depend on the river for their drinking water, food, washing and transportation. The indigenous peoples in Sarawak have also been involved in plantation projects such as the cultivation of cash crops. For examples are oil palm, pepper, cocoa and rubber trees.

Summary

Today, indigenous people hold sway in the government and senior public positions. Government reforms have helped overcome ethnic divisions and aim to provide indigenous people with the same opportunities as other members of Malaysian society such as housing, schools and health care facilities. As a result of these developments, mortality rates have dropped and poverty is being alleviated. Perhaps most important of all is indigenous people can taking greater control of their lives.

BRUNO AND THE BLOWPIPES

1. Who was Bruno Manser and what had he done in Sarawak?
Bruno Manser is the native peoples that has disappeared in Borneo and is feared dead. They live in the rainforest with the semic-nomadic Penan of Sarawak. The Bruno Manser is paternalistic governments. They had spent some six years fighting the timber operators that natives claim are destroying their forest home. The manser paraglided onto the front lawn of Sarawak Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud and offered a twice in exchange for government creating a biosphere reserve for the Penan. Manser has arguably been the most potent catalyst for media coverage of the flight by the Penan, and other Sarawak natives, to protect their forests against what they say are incentive governments and greedy timber barons.

2. What had the Sarawak Government done to stop him?
Defensive Sarawak government officials note that 95% of the state’s substantial oil revenue goes to federal coffers, leaving Sarawak little choice but to earn money from natural products. Therefore, the government still wants to earn the money through the forest. But, the timber operation is destroying the native peoples’ forest home. Their homes were being destroyed and they weren’t getting anything for it. The rivers were dangerous places, muddy and filled with debris from timber operation.

The Penan who had been resettled into government built longhouses, ugly structures with standard government issue architecture similar to army barracks of timber camp housing. The Penan were listless, with vacant eyes. But the truth, they now had access to basic health care and simple schools, but it seemed as if all the energy had been sucked from their thin frames. When these issues is discussed with Malaysian Official, there is nothing been done to overcome these issues.

Bruno backed the Sarawak authorities into a corner by telling them what they should do. Even the slightest whiff of Western lecturing will put them on the defensive. Perhaps it was a tactic that by using western style confrontation to get policy changes in Asian country. Certainly, Malaysian Officials resent being told what to do by pesky foreigners.

3. In your opinion, was Bruno Manser right to stop the government from developing the jungles of Sarawak and to defend the Penan from change?
In our opinion, Bruno Manser was right. Bruno wants to protect the forest. This is because the forest is the home for the Bruno and Penan. They get their food and all the necessary use in daily through the forest. Bruno defend the Penan from change because he didn't want the culture and religions of Penan to be dissappeared. However, the government’s action was not wrong. Without the forest, there is hard for the government to earn money for running a country. The government also want the Penan to get what the other native peoples get. That why government did everything to make sure all the Penan got what the other native peoples get.

ART IN MALAYSIA

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multilingual and a multi-racial society - consist of Malay, Chinese, Indian and more who living side by side forming a rich cultural country. The art and culture of Malaysia have been mixing since the beginning of the country's history. The art of Malaysia have also been influenced by the cultures of Persian, Arab and European.

Art

Malaysia has attempted to protect its traditional art forms facing the influence of the outside world. Mak yong is a traditional form of Malay drama. It is the show with sing, dance, and act out legend about sultans and princesses. It's followed by an orchestra called a ' Gamelan' with every show consisting mainly of metal percussion instruments including gongs, xylophones, and drums.

Other artistic forms include Wayang kulit. Wayang Kulit a traditional theater art. It is form by using puppets and shadow. The purpose this Wayang Kulit play is to tell the classic tales of the Ramayana. Bunga Malai or Garland Making is an integral part of the cultural tradition of Malaysian Indians for religious event like weddings, moving house, or welcoming an important guest. Silat is the stylized Malay Art of Self Protection. It combines a sequence of supple movements, which allows a person to protect himself. The Blow Pipe or Sumpit is used by the tribal people with their hunting skills. It is an integral part of military art. Crafts such as batik also popular in Malaysia especially in Kelantan. The lion dance also famous in Malaysia. It is usually performed during Chinese festivals such as Chinese New Year.

The Legend Of Lion Dance

The beginnings of the lion dance are linked closely to the beginning of the Chinese New Year celebrations. It is said that in early times, a legendary person known as Nian terrified the China and eat greedily its people on the New Year. The only animal that managed to wound this monster was the lion. Thus, in an attempt to frighten the monster, the villagers decided to disguise the lion with lions made of cloth. According to this legend, the dance is believed to usher good fortune, as well as ward off evil spirits.

The Lion Dance

The lion dance calls for perfect co-ordination, elegance and nerves of steel. Two dancers are usually needed to give life to a "lion". The first person is to control the movements of the head, eyes and mouth and the other who is behind the first person is to act as the body of lion. The first dancer that controls the head decides the movements, while the second must work in tandem with him.

The lion dance also has close relations to kung fu. The dancers are usually members of the local kung fu club. They practice in their club and some train hard to master the skill.

The Lion's Head
This isn't a simple task as the lion's head, which is brilliantly decorated with feathers, fur and glitter, which is weighs from 9kg to 15kg. It is a significantly heavy load to hold uphill while moving energetically.

The head is usually make by peppier Mache and bamboo, complete with eyes that blink and a mouth that snaps. Therefore, the first dancer must have perfect co-ordination in spite of the burden.

The dancers are usually attract with gifts, usually is angpow (money in red packets) attached to a vegetable, which are tied to a pole. The pole is then placed at a door or a window. Then, the dancers would try to get these gifts, making it look as though the lion devours them.

The Joker
The lion dancers are accompanied by two other masked dancers who act as jokers. The dance is commonly performed to the beat of the tagu (Chinese drum) and the clanging of cymbals.

Different Style of Lion Dance

Lion Dance have two different style. That is the Northern Style and the Southern Cantonese Style.

Northern Style
In the north the lions usually appear in pairs. Northern lions usually have long, shaggy orange and yellow hair with either a red or green bow on its head to represent a male or female.
During a show, northern lions look like a Pekingese or Fu Dogs and movements are very life-like. Northern lions sometimes appear as a family, with two large "adult" lions and a pair of small "young lions". Ninghai, in Ningbo is called the "Homeland of the Lion Dance" for the northern variety.

Southern Cantonese Style
The homeland of the Southern Style is the Guangdong. The southern horned lions are believed to be Nian. The Cantonese style can be divided into Fat Shan (Buddha Mountain), Hok Shan (Crane Mountain), Fat-Hok (minor style that exhibits a hybrid of Fat Shan and Hok Shan), Jow Ga (minor style performed by practitioners of Jow family style kung fu, exampled by the Wong People), and the Green Lion (Qing1 Shi1 - popular with the Fukien/Hokkien and Taiwanese).

Lion Dance In Malaysia

The regal and brilliant lion leaps from pole to pole. It dances and moves with the hitting drum, clashing cymbals and gong from the percussion team. Sometimes it is sleepy and sometimes it is playful. This is reflected in the fluttering of its eyelids, the tilt of its head and the sway of its hips. It then pauses to retrieve the Cheng (typically a green vegetable) tied to a pole before making a big show of chewing it. After it is satisfied, it spews the remains of the Cheng to the audience. The amazing fact is the lion is actually formed by two dancers moving as one.

Malaysia as World-Class in Lion Dancing

With talented and fervent lion dance masters such as Master Siow and other patrons of this unique form of cultural art, it is no wonder that Malaysia is home to the best lion dance troupes in the world. In the recent 8th Genting World Lion Dance Championship, all three Malaysian teams bagged the Eastern Lion King award, the Champion, the 1st runner up and consolation prizes.

Summary

Now, lion dance is become famous in all country eventhough in Malaysia. Today, lion dance is a more sport-oriented activity. Lion dance is more for recreation than a way of living.

MEDIA - FASHION BLOG

In general, "media" refers to various means of communication. For example, television, radio, and the newspaper. In the computer world, "media" is refers to different types of data storage options. Fashion journalism is a term used to describe all aspects of published fashion media. It includes fashion writers, fashion critics or fashion reporters. One example of the famous fashion media is fashion blog. A fashion blog can contain many things such as clothing, accessories. runway trends, fashion items like shoes, handbags, and celebrity fashion. They cover fashion at all levels from the biggest names to the smallest indie designers. Many fashion blogs could also be considered as shopping blogs. Some fashion sellers have now started blogs of their own to promote their products. However, blogs that sellers mention fashion are not categorized as fashion blogs.

History
Fashion blogs first appeared in the blogosphere prior to 2002. The number of fashion blogs and media mentions of fashion blogs has increases since then. From the research that have been done found that the "fashion blogs" had grew from one in 2002 to over 100 in 2006.

In 2006, the two main themes in coverage of fashion blogs are the commercial success and growing profile of fashion blogger.

Impact on the fashion industry
Fashion is refers to the styles and customs. It consist a multi-billion-dollar industry that has considerable impact on the way ordinary people clothe themselves. Therefore, fashion blogs is providing the new way to follow these trends, so that they can follow the news and long-term influence on the fashion industry.

These are some of the things fashion journalists have said about fashion blogs and the impact they are having on the industry:

• “These days, to have one finger on the fashion pulse, you need to have the other one on your computer mouse, reading (or writing) the latest blogs.”


• “Before a designer’s runway show has even finished, you can bet your bottom dollar that someone in the audience – or better still, backstage – has recorded every silhouette, signature shoe, styling detail and sulking supermodel, then uploaded it onto the Internet for style watchers across the globe to Enjoy.”

Types of fashion blogs

By writer's expertise
Fashion blogs may be written by insiders, outsiders or aspiring insiders. Insiders are people who work in the fashion industry. Some fashion insiders’blog rarely as caller on larger sites. For example, the fashion designer Nanette Lepore has contributed to Glam.com. Outsiders are people who have a lot of knowledge about fashion, usually by virtue of being very dedicated consumers of fashion. Aspiring insiders are people who want to work in the fashion industry or media and believe their blog may provide a ‘back door’ entry into a mainstream fashion writing job.

By ownership
Fashion blogs may be owned either by individuals or by companies. The types of individuals running fashion blogs are include large mainstream media organizations and fashion sellers. Example of mainstream media organizations that own fashion blogs include The Times(UK),Conde Nast Publications(US), Vatiety(US) and the Sydney Morning Herald (Australia). While fashion sellers with blogs include Bluefly, Queen of Suburbia and Splendora.

By theme
Most successful fashion blogs follow a particular theme Such as shoes, cloths, belts and so on. Some of the fashion blog are specialize in a particular price point: usually either very high-end or very budget conscious. Some cover celebrity fashion, while others cover street style. However, certain fashion blogs also cover a mix of two or more of these topics.

Fashion blogs around the world
Australia
Australian blogs that have attracted media attention are Sassybella, The Bargain Queens, Beijing Baby! and Imelda. Sassybella is an online fashion magazine. It allows anyone to find information about the latest fashion and beauty news. The Bargain Queens blog is a blog that sharing information on how to sniff out a bargain". Beijing Baby! is a site dedicated to a young woman's daily imminent and stories on life and fashion. Imelda is the first Australian blog to focus on footwear.

United Kingdom
In December 2006, it was stated that "Britain still lags behind the US in developing the fashion blogosphere, but things are picking up. Grant mentions Catwalk Queen as an example of a UK fashion blog. The London fashion blog Style Bubble has also attracted media attention with her "guide to trends, designers and shopping hot spots in Britain's capital city. In 2008 Susie Bubble was named among the Evening Standard's 'London's 1000 most influential' in the Fashion category.

Summary

Fashions are like "trends." It change more quickly than the entire culture. Now day, fashion blog is build to help all the peoples to get more easy for following all these latest trend, news and long-term influence on the fashion industry. There are some types of fashion blog such as fashion blog by theme, fashion blog by ownership or fashion blog by writer's expertise. Therefore, fashion journalism is important for the fashion designer, fashion sellers and so on to introduce their goods or to share opinion and information about the latest trends of fashion in world.

GENDER DISCRIMINATION (WOMEN)

Gender discrimination is refers to beliefs and attitude in relation to the sex of a person. For example, for the Chinese culture, male is more significant than women. This is because the male can inherited the family name from generation to generation.

WOMEN, CULTURE AND RELIGION
The different religions and cultures of Malaysia have many outlook in women's lives. However, women are discriminated against by their religions and cultures, especially in the area of marriage and divorce.
After marriage, many women are expected to remain in the home, as a homemakers and mothers. If women are given the choice to work, many are forced to give their salaries to their husbands. Many women who work before marriage have been ordered to give up their jobs when they marry.
Several of the religions practice in Malaysia, including Islam, Catholicism, Buddhism and Hinduism, deny women access to interpreting and implementing their blessed texts. Such patriarchal structures and practices contribute to women's lack of representation in leadership positions. Women are also denied access to certain blessed places and rituals. For example, if they are in menstruation. Such practices encourage negative attitudes towards women, such as disrespect to men, and degrade the status of women.

WOMEN DISCRIMINATION IN PLACE OF WORK, SCHOOLS, MEDIA, GOVERNMENT, LAWS AND IN HOME
Gender roles, patriarchal attitudes in religion and culture permeate through society, and are reflected in the nation's schools, in places of work, in media, government, laws and in the home.
In school curriculum, religious teaching material and media images continue to stereotype women as homemakers when many women in Malaysia work and pursue careers.
Although the number of women members of political parties is high, representation of women in decision-making positions in the government and other statutory bodies is poor.
Even though the number of economically active women has increased, the largest growth in women's participation has been in middle and low-level jobs, such as clerical and production jobs. And while more women are entering professional sectors, this is largely restricted to nursing and teaching professions.

SUMMARY

Female and male are same in every aspects. However, female discrimination is occur against their culture, religions and beliefs. Elderly women may face double discrimination on the basis of both gender and age. Women tend to live longer than men, may lack control of family resources and can face discrimination from inheritance and property laws. Therefore, many organisation such as Women's Aid Organisation is organise to help to overcome this case.

COMMUNICATION

Communication is a process of transferring information from one person to another person. Communication can be perceived as a two-way process in which there is an exchange and progression of thoughts, feelings or ideas towards a mutually accepted goal or direction. Communication is not just a word. It also includes body languages, voice tonality and words. There are 55% of impact is determined by body language—postures, gestures, and eye contact, 38% by the tone of voice, and 7% by the content or the words used in the communication skills. Communication skills are asset to any person to make people trust, respect and like you. So we must have it to become more confident when talk to another people. Therefore, believe yourself also important in communication.

WHY COMMUNICATION FAIL??

What is mean by communication fail? Communication failure is loss of private and public communication systems with public people. This is difficult to person talk to you from understand about what are you says. Poor communication skills, disagreements and misunderstanding can be a source of anger and distance or a springboard to a stronger relationship and happier future.

THE REASON WHY COMMUNICATION FAIL

There are several reasons why communication can be fail. There is failure to listen,dishonest misleading communications, communication are confusing, different language,cultural and personal. The main reason why communication is fail is did not pay attention when communication is occur. Attention and focus is important in communication. If we did not focus during communicate with other peoples, we will not understand what did he or she say. That why focus and attention is need when communicate with other peoples.

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR COMMUNICATION SKILLS??

Base on our research, there are some ways to improve our communication skills.Improving your communication skills will improve your productivity. The way to improve your communication skills are develop your voice, slow down the intonation, animate your voice, use appropriate volume, pronounce your words correctly, use the right words, make eye contact with the person you communicate with, use gestures and don't send mixed messages.

Gesture is important in communication. During communicate, make your whole body talk. Use smaller gestures for individuals and small groups. The gestures should get larger as the group that one is addressing increases in size. Beside that, if you speak too fast also will cause communication fail. Therefore, you must to slow down your intonation. However, he careful not to slow down to the point where people begin to finish your sentences just to help you finish.

TIPS TO UNDERSTANDING PEOPLE

There are some tips to understanding people. First, you must remember that the communication skills should be mutual understanding and finding a solution that pleases both parties. This does not work in every situation. But sometimes body language such as hold hands or stay physically connected as you talk can remind you that you still care about each other. Secondly is the respectful. Respectful is important during communication. Keep in mind that it's important to remain respectful of the other person, even you don't like their attitude and actions.

Beside that, you also must watch your language. Don't always say the rude words. This will make other peoples dislike you. When you are communicate with somebody, you must give them respond and feedback. So that they know that you are listening to what they talking about. The most important is be an active listener. Benefits of active listening include stronger trust, fewer conflicts and, ultimately, better relationships and thereby greater happiness.

SUMMARY

Many people think that communication is just talking a lot and speaking clearly. However, communication is more than that!! Body language, voice tonality and words are include in the communication. Therefore, to have a good communication, we have to pay attention and focus to other peoples when they are talking to us. If not, your poor communication skills could be causing additional stress in your life.

MALAYSIAN LANGUAGES

Malaysia is a multiracial country. Malaysia has a population of Malays, Chinese, Indians and other ethnic groups. Malaysia is unique because of its diversity of races, religions and cultures, the stability of the country and many places of interests. By this different race, so different language is spoken by all the Malaysian. However, with the Perlembagaan Persekutuan Malaysia,all the Malaysian agree that Bahasa Malaysia as the lingua franca of Malaysia.

MOTHER TONGUE IN MALAYSIA

A language is a system for encoding and decoding information. Malaysia is a multiracial country which has many languages such as Bahasa Malaysia, English, Tamil, Chinese and more. The Malay is the largest ethic group in Malaysia. Therefore, Bahasa Malaysia has become the mother tongue in Malaysia.

MALAY LANGUAGES
Not only Malaysian spoken Malay language, but all Malay people who reside in the Malay Peninsula, southern Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, central eastern Sumatra, the Riau islands and other country also use it. This language also similar to local language in Indonesia, know as Bahasa Indonesia.

ENGLISH LANGUAGES
The national languages is Bahasa Malaysia (MalayLanguage). However, automatically English has become the second languages. This is because we has been widely spoke and used English language in Malaysia. English Language being a compulsory subject in primary schools, lower and upper secondary school and the local version of '0' level examinations. It also is the main languages spoken in colleges and universities. Beside that, English is the languages of private business and tourism in Malaysia. When the tourist visit Malaysia country, it is easy for the Malaysian to communicate with them. By speaking English, we also can improve our English languages pronunciation. Nowadays, English is very important. So we must improve our pronunciation, listening and writing in English. Official languages is Bahasa Malaysia and English. It is important to learn English languages as the English is the lingua franca of the Internet.

OTHER LANGUAGES
The Chinese and Indians, two of the largest minority groups, speak a number of languages, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Tamil, Malayalam, and Punjabi. There are a lots of dialect use by the Chinese and Indian in Malaysia. Examples for Chinese dialect is Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan and Foo Chow. For the Indian is Tamil, Malayalam and Panjabi. In East Malaysia, there are several indigenous language. Most widely spoken are Thai language, Iban language and Kadazan language.

It is compulsory for Malaysians to learn Bahasa Malaysia and English at school. But for Chinese and Indians learn Mandarin and Tamil at school respectively. Apart from that, Chinese dialects such as Cantonese and Hokkien are also widely spoken by the Chinese. Meanwhile, the Ibans and the Khadazans in Sabah and Sarawak also learn their native languages at school. Nowadays, Malay and Indian parents also allow their children to learn Mandarin because Mandarin has become important in the cooperate world.

SUMMARY

While growing up, children are educated in the same schools and will eventually work in the same offices. Beside that, a few will marry outside their own ethnicity. Therefore, as a Malaysian, we have to know all about the differences of ethic in Malaysia such as their lifestyles, their beliefs and also their language. Despite the ethnic differences there are commonalities culturally speaking. Therefore, it is good for us to know all the language in Malaysia. So, we can communicate with different ethnics by using different language.