Feature Story

Size Zero Goes Out of Fashion

by Geeta Ariani

There’s a certain novelty value in fashion when having a totally starved look. There’s no denying that many models don’t mind starving themselves and suffering from severe hunger pangs just to appear on the runways and succeed in the modelling world; hence a want of a few Big Macs. Taken to extremes, this kind of behaviour can be dangerous and fatal.

A new study by the Model Health Inquiry, part of an investigation by the Baroness Kingsmill for the British Fashion Council, reports that one out of four models is coping with hidden eating disorders. The purpose of this study is to investigate the pressure on models to be size zero with “waif-like” body types, perhaps the most famous of these being Kate Moss, who becomes the same byword for “stick-thin” models as Twiggy from the 1960s. “The model population is classed at risk,” says Dr Adrienne Key, a psychiatrist who was involved in the report. “My assumption is that 20 per cent to 40 per cent are suffering from some kind of eating disorder or disordered eating.”

Zero-sized models have been in the limelight for being underweight before many of them are banned from catwalks. In that event, there is an air of expectation that the ban will change attitudes towards extreme model size requirements.

“Size-Zero” Victims

The deaths of three South American models, attributed to malnutrition and anorexia nervosa, sparked a heated debate on underweight “size zero” models around the world. In August 2006, 22-year-old Uruguayan model Luisel Ramos died from heart failure after she had been on a strict diet of green leaves and diet Coke for three months. It was rumoured that her modelling agency told her she could have won excessive fame if she had lost a tremendous amount of weight. However, it didn’t seem an earth-shattering achievement. She had collapsed on the catwalk during a fashion show in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo before she could catch the pleasant sweet smell of success.

Six months later, her sister Eliana Ramos, 18, also died of suspected anorexia and malnutrition. She had worked as a model for an Argentine modelling agency beforehand. A similar case also happened to Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston, 21, who had worked for Giorgio Armani. The model hit the headlines not only with her success in modelling but also with her controversial death, linked to complications from anorexia after sticking to a diet of just tomatoes and apples.

The photographs and stories of these fashion models consequently were splashed across the front pages of both online and print media around the globe. In the wake of their deaths, the World Health Organisation, doctors and designers started speaking out against the size zero fashion trend.

Size Zero in Women’s Measurement and the BMI Controversy

Size 0 is a women’s clothing size in the US catalogue sizes system. The measurement is equivalent to a modern UK size 4 — 31.5 inches (80cm) in bust, 23 inches (60cm) in waist and 34 inches (86cm) in hips. With a little imagination, you could turn the waist measurement into the average girth of a British eight-year-old girl.

When it comes to a question about size, there is always a question about health. Indeed, a measure of fashion model weight today raises several health issues. A body mass index (BMI) of 18.5 or lower is deemed “half-starved” or “underweight” by the World Health Organisation. This means a model measuring around 5ft 9in tall (170 centimetres) has to weigh a minimum 8st 11lb (52 kilograms) to be classed as healthy.

In the case of Reston, her BMI was believed to be below the critical 16 mark. She was 172cm tall and weighed only 38kg. According to a nutritionist and endocrinologist at Madrid’s fashion week Susana Monereo, a BMI of 16 was deemed “extremely low” that could make models look like stick figures draped in designer clothes.

A Ban on Ultra-Thin Models from Catwalks

A turning point in the debate on the size zero trend seemed more real. Prompted by the scandal of some models’ deaths, models with a body mass index (BMI) of less than 18 were barred from a major Madrid fashion show in September 2006 for being “excessively skinny”. Also, several large Italian designer brands such as Prada, Versace and Armani were in agreement about the ban on “size zero” models from their catwalks.

For some super-skinny supermodels such as Lily Cole, Erin O’Connor, Alek Wek and Eva Herzigova, banning “size zero” models could really mean taking the cake. They could possibly face a ban from the catwalk unless they started feeding themselves.

A spokesman for designer Allegra Hicks said, “A ban on the size zero model should be compulsory across the fashion industry. Size zero is not feminine and not healthy.” Nonetheless, the London Fashion Show seemed to prefer urging fashion designers to use healthy-looking women to following the lead taken by Madrid in a ban on “size zero” models from its catwalk.

The deaths of the Uruguayan and Brazilian models might come as a wake-up call to the fashion industry and designers to stop using sickly-thin women on the catwalks and start promoting a healthy body image by using women with a realistic size and weight. The World Health Organisation, doctors and women’s groups totally agree on the use of more healthy-looking women in fashion, as they believe that ultra-thin models can put pressure on teenage girls to be as skinny as them and try as hard as possible to get down to the lowest size.

The Fantasy

The notion of beauty today seems all about size. The amount of girls wants to die for being as skinny as their favourite celebrities. To put this into context, let me remind you of the global fantasy – Hollywood.

There are many Hollywood stars that have all admitted eating disorders, including Mary-Kate Olsen, Nicole Richie and Lindsay Lohan. The media cannot stop splashing their photographs over the front cover, accentuating their shoulder bones and knee joints. They even call them “trendsetters”. Celebrity magazines somehow publish juicy quotes, criticising podgy celebrities wearing too-tight latex leggings. In this situation, the media are not too probable to blame for pressuring celebrities into committing the skeletal trend.

Size Zero is No Hero

As the media idolise skinny starlets, a leading British expert on eating disorders warns that the women’s obsessions with size-zero lead them to suffer from “famine then feast” eating disorder. Professor Janet Treasure from the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, says the super-skeletal trend is an eating disorder time bomb for both the general public and models. He also defines “famine then feast” as eating disorder where a cycle is set up when a diet is broken by the attraction of highly palatable food, and a pattern known as “binge priming” begins.

Anorexia nervosa also has reasons which are linked to the size-zero trend. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, it is estimated that 0.5% to 3.7%t of women will suffer from anorexia in their life; 1.1% to 4.2% for bulimia and 2% to 5% for binge eating disorder. Anorexia is a very dangerous illness which takes hundreds of women’s lives. Therefore, size zero is no hero at all.

What Do We Do Now?

Malnutrition, heart failure, and psychological complexes are all very real consequences of being underweight. This is why the fashion industry needs to stop their obsession with “size-zero” models by hiring more healthy-looking women on the catwalks, or perhaps making fashionable clothes for full-figured women. This can change attitudes towards the perception of beauty which is always constructed in terms of outward appearance and body size.

The zero-sized isn’t attractive; the obsession is not healthy at all. Girls should stop having a mental image of their body, always seeing themselves as fat and starving themselves. We had no choice when we were born to be fat, but we do have a choice to look naturally beautiful and healthy.

Starving to death is really uncool. So — think again, sistas!

P.S. Feature was written by Geeta for the sole purpose of a college assignment. And the picture was taken from www.stylehog.com.

Mixed salad à la « me »

Hungry? No idea what to eat for dinner? Or are you scared to have dinner because it will make you fat?

A salad can be perfect diet food. It may sound boring and tasteless, but actually it can be an interesting meal by experimenting with vegetables, meat and salad dressings. Here’s my salad recipe that I would like to share with you:

Ingredients
Lettuce leaves (torn, rinsed well and spun dry)
1 large potato (peeled and cut into cubes)
1 hard-boiled large egg (quartered or sliced into pieces)
1 slice or 2 slices of smoked beef (sliced into strips)
1 teaspoon olive oil
Butter
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (if desired)
Cheddar cheese (grated) or parmesan cheese
½ cup Thousand Island dressing or mayonnaise

How to make
1. Heat olive oil in a frying pan to medium heat. Add smoked beef. Fry until it is golden. Add butter as a flavour enhancer.

2. Cook potato in a saucepan of boiling water until it is tender. Drain. Or you can also steam the potato until it’s tender; drain, peel and cut it into cubes.

3. Place lettuce in a large bowl. Pour lemon juice over the lettuce. Add potato, hard-boiled egg and smoked beef. Toss gently to combine. Pour dressing. Top with grated cheddar or parmesan.

Voilà, dinner is ready and you shouldn't worry about getting fat anymore. Bon appétit!

What does "losing your virginity" mean to you?

An interesting question for women: what does it mean to lose your virginity?

Firstly, we have to know the definition of virginity. Virginity today has far more sophisticated definitions than before. “Never having had sexual intercourse” may be “the new definition” of virginity nowadays. It’s no longer “cleanliness” or “purity”, but “engaging in a lot of different kinds of sexual activities without intercourse”. Someone who has oral sex, anal intercourse, or other kinds of sex is still considered as a technical virgin. Many girls usually take this easy way out by using the loophole to get the pleasure they desire. In this way, the girls usually want to stay a virgin until they’re married or losing virginity before marriage is against their religion and strictly taboo.

People may define “virginity” differently, but we still have to revisit what it means to stay a virgin. In the new millennium, losing virginity is not something new among teens. Sex has no age limit. Sexual images in the media such as TV or the Internet are blamed for promoting teen sex. Condoms, birth control pills, or other kinds of contraceptive pills become preventive options for teens. And abortion becomes a way out of the undesirable pregnancy.

I know it’s not easy for girls to keep their virginity because of peer pressure and their boyfriends. Most guys today have already had sex. Sex is very important in a relationship for men and they will look for it elsewhere if they no longer get it from their girlfriends or wives. The ugly truth is: there are three things that every man needs – support, loyalty, and “The Cookie”. Some girls are pressured into losing their virginity because of “The Cookie”. Men. Need. Sex. They just love it.

Nevertheless, we (girls) cannot blame the media, our friends or boyfriends for losing our virginity. At the end of the day, it’s all up to you. One thing you have to remember is: love is a matter of trust and sex is a matter of lust. It’s your body, it’s your life and it should be your decision whether to have sex or not. If you’re not ready for it, tell your boyfriend and don’t let him pressure you into doing something you do not want to do. But if you are ready to give it away, make sure that you will do it with the right person at the right time.

First time sex is always going to be unforgettable. You cannot get your virginity back once it’s gone, so you must wait until you’re truly ready and fully trust the one you want to do it with.

Stay safe! :)

Source URL for the image above: http://www.paulaltott.com/blog/

A Weekend Getaway to Penang

O.M.D (Oh Mon Dieu)! This blog looks dead because of the lack of updates. Most my previous time was taken up by working, dating, clubbing and hanging around. But after I went back to my home country for good, I’ve just spent my time lazing around at home and watching an idiot box. I feel so jobless now (sobs). That’s why I’m gonna start updating this blog again with current posts and photos. Like a girls quote: “It’s the good girls who keep diaries; the bad girls never have the time.” And now I’m one of the good girls again (grinning).

A couple of weeks before I went back home, I found some time to go on vacation with my close friends: Rohini, Pash and Rubee. We decided to go to Penang Island as a destination for our weekend getaway. Rubee did a little bit of digging to find cheap flights for all of us and made a hotel reservation.


Penang has a lot of temples. When we arrived there, we went straight to visit two of Penang’s famous temples such as Wat Chaiyamangkalaram (the temple with one of the longest reclining Buddha in Malaysia) and another temple which I forget the name. We also did a little shopping at Gurney Plaza and Little India, and finally walked along the Beach Street and stopped by Fort Cornwallis (the largest intact fortress still standing in Malaysia) – but too bad we couldn’t enter because it was closed.


The following day, we went to Batu Ferringhi (a top beach destination in Penang). I couldn’t wait to enjoy the salty, sea air with my beach bums – have a hot time lounging on the beach, draped in my super-sexy bikini (woot woot). Even though the weather was sizzling hot, we still had fun in the sun – sunbathing, strolling along the beach and feeling the sand and seawater beneath our feet. Another great excitement we didn’t miss there was horse riding. It was my first time riding on horseback; it was scary, but so much fun.



Too bad we could only stay there for three days. Even though my skin turned darker because of spending too much time in the sun, I didn’t care a damn because it was worth it. I “heart” Penang.


P.S. Some of the photos were taken by my friends, from their cameras.

3rd Homecoming

I was beginning to run out of patience while waiting for my flight to Balikpapan at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta airport. The wait seemed to go on forever. It was my third homecoming, but felt like the first since I was away from family for nearly 10 months. My longing for home couldn’t be resisted anymore. So I took my camera out of the bag, looked out the window, and snapped a picture of Garuda Indonesia Airlines to distract myself.

My arrival home was something Mom had been hoping for since I was still in Kuala Lumpur. When I saw her standing in the airport waiting area, a welcoming smile was carved on her face. I locked my arms around her and pressed my lips very lightly to her forehead. She was just grinning and gave me a bear hug. It wasn’t quite an emotional homecoming; it was just because we missed each other badly. When I arrived home and met with my family again, I was thinking, “Gosh, this is my happy home, full of love.”

Nothing much happened in the first week I was there. I only went to some of my favourite eating places with Mom by bike – well, yeah, most every girl in my family knows how to ride a motorbike, but I’m scared of riding downtown now because I haven’t ridden in such a long time. Our neighbour invited us to her garden in a suburb for picking rambutans and cempedaks. I’m not a lover of tropical fruits, but picking rambutans sounded fun for me and I could eat as much as I’d like for free, so I just smiled my agreement.

My 3rd homecoming.

One of the best things of returning home is a high-school reunion where I can meet and mess around with old school friends. We went for a movie and karaoke-ing, and played pool. My girls and I went swimming at a water park and slept over at one of their houses. We were reminiscing, gossiping and laughing ourselves silly while snacking all night. I really enjoyed myself – so did my friends.

Karaoke-ing and pool-ing with my friends.

Swimming at a water park with my girls.

Splish...Splash!

It was a pity two of my girls had an accident. They fell down from a motorbike while we were riding to a pool place. One of them got seven stitches on her tummy. Thank God, they weren’t seriously injured so that they could go home and took some rest. All of us were traumatised before – so were our parents, but later we laughed the incident off as just our silly recklessness.

Now, I can’t wait to come back to Kuala Lumpur and my mindless routine (doing assignments) when college starts again. At least I will still meet my college friends and hang out with them again. Spending a lot of time with them gossiping or just chilling out somewhere can be real fun. That’s why I miss them greatly :)

Is public display of affection (PDA) OK?

I was eating pizza in a fast-food restaurant with a friend. I looked around, and then shot my eyes to a couple standing beside a mall’s guide map near us. The girlfriend wrapped her arms around her boyfriend’s neck, and the boyfriend started to kiss her. It wasn’t a quick kiss, but a prolonged one with.....tongue. I knew it was rude to eye them, but what would you expect me to react? It was no longer private when done in a public place, right?

It wasn’t the first time I’ve seen such a display in public areas. Every time I see public displays of affection (PDA), I feel like telling the couple, ‘Get a room, please.’ I am sure this is something uncomfortable for most everyone. It is also something inappropriate in front of children.

I don’t want to sound so old-fashioned or naïve and act as if I was an old mama. But can you imagine, a couple near you getting hot and heavy while you were so focused, trying to pocket the black ball on a pool table? OK, fine. It is a poolroom, but may still be something uncomfortable for the average guests.

In Europe, Canada and the United States it is normal to see people holding hands, kissing (french kissing) and caressing each other. In places such as bars, nightclubs, and strip clubs, acts such as grinding (dance erotically) and french kissing are common. I don’t find the public display of affection inappropriate in those places. It can still be tolerated. What meant here is PDA can be such an unacceptable behaviour in public places such as restaurants, malls, offices, schools, campuses – and particularly places where children are around.

In our lax society, privacy today may be unnecessary, where the practice of making out in a bedroom is dead, replaced by the practice of treating a packed mall like their bedroom. Is it very important to show other people that they are unconditionally in love? Let’s not get silly about this. Holding hands is OK. But kissing (french kissing) in public is a big no-no. You will do the right thing if someday you ask a security guard to handle such a situation (LOL).

Best Things of Being 'Alone'

I like to go out alone sometimes, shopping around or just window-shopping in a mall. The best thing of shopping alone is no one will complain to me if I spend hours looking around for the best deal. The worst thing – no one reminds me to control myself when I enter stores and can’t stop buying things, since I’m such a big spender (I seriously need to kick this bad habit).

I also eat out alone sometimes. Some people tell me they feel uncomfortable when eating alone at restaurants. They always feel that other people are staring at them or it just feels weird to eat alone in public without any companion or anyone to talk with. But me? I don’t mind. I usually bring something to read or listen to a music player in my cell phone to avoid feeling that people are giving me a weird look. I just don’t give a damn.

What you need to have is just confidence. You will find yourself in an awkward situation if you always feel worried about what other people around you think – whether they are staring at you or not. It just makes you look weird. I always think that we were born alone, we die alone. At the end of the day, it’s up to us to do something alone.

People need to be alone to find themselves – who they really are. Or people need to be alone because they need their own personal space. So, will you dare yourself to wander alone in the wilderness of a big city? Because there’s nothing wrong with being alone sometimes.

Feature

Ayam Penyet: Unique Taste of Indonesian Cuisine

by Geeta Ariani

Living overseas in Malaysia is very different from home and quite an experience. Food sometimes can be an issue since I come from Indonesia where almost every dish is accompanied by cabe rawit (bird’s eye chilli) or sambal (a spicy homemade condiment made of chilli, spices, tomato, and vegetables) that always gives you a pleasing sensation of intense flavour. Indeed, I am a lover of hot and spicy foods.

Indonesian cuisine is one of the hottest cuisines around the world which is also best known for its spiciness and blazing cooking all chilli heads will love. Still, it is unique and world renowned for its exotic blend of distinctive regional dishes, which each region today boasts its own specialities and some become the national favourites, drawing several cultural influences from both local Indonesian culture and foreign influences. The culinary world of succulent delights such as Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, British, Chinese, Indian and Arab cuisines has become a major influence and reached its epitome in the Indonesian kitchen. It is somewhat clear from the country’s present-day cooking techniques, ingredients and food presentation.

One of the well-known Indonesian dishes favoured not only in the country but also in Malaysia and especially in Singapore is ayam penyet (flattened fried chicken). Don’t judge the dish by its funny name – to some extent the name sounds weird, but when it comes to taste – the mouth watering dish can be so addictive that makes you want to sit down, eat slowly and savour the moment with a hearty serving of delicious hot sambal. What is actually ayam penyet? Ayam penyet is just a fried chicken, slightly smashed or flattened with a wooden pestle to make its meat loosen from its bones, increasing the tenderness of the meat and thus the apparent sensation of juiciness, for easy eating. It is also the “flattened” or “smashed” thingy which makes ayam penyet stand out from the other fried chicken. The chicken is actually marinated with various spices and herbs and is then half-boiled before it is deep-fried to golden brown and crispy.

The highlight of the eating of ayam penyet is its spicy condiment, also known as sambal. It is an important side dish that feels like fiery flames down the throat, firing up your taste buds, but the kind that may knock your socks off or even make you scorch your plate. So those who shy away from the fieriness will miss out on the best thing. Adding to its attraction, ayam penyet is also served with a piece of fried bean curd and tempe (fermented soy beans), a batch of boiled kangkong (swamp cabbage) and fresh cabbage. It also comes with kremesan sprinkled on top of the crunchy chicken – also known as golden brown fried fritter – just melting over your tongue with explosions of rich, crispy goodness when you take a couple of bites.

This traditional Indonesian food hails from Surabaya, the Indonesia’s second-largest city as well as the capital of the province of East Java. However, this unique type of fried chicken has become a hit in Malaysia because of its alluring flavour. Mrs. Uun is an Indonesian who has been a right-hand woman of the owner of the restaurant Ayam Penyet Ria in Kuala Lumpur for approximately three months. While sitting comfortably in her chair, sipping a steaming glass of tea served by her staff, warming herself from the inside out – she expresses her view that what makes ayam penyet reach the height of its popularity in Malaysia is its distinctive name and taste. “There is no fried chicken which is flattened or smashed in Malaysia. Also, the taste is unique because it’s marinated in a blend of spices before it’s fried to certain crispiness,” she said.

Praised for the authenticity of their Indonesian dishes as well as the originality of their recipe, Ayam Penyet Ria never feel satiate when showered with compliments from both their new and repeat customers and always try to refine the quality of their cuisine. The popularity of the franchise and their signature dish ayam penyet has travelled from its homeland, Indonesia, to Singapore and Malaysia like the aroma of the dish itself. It’s also quite popular with students and office workers who flock at the restaurant during meal times, hence all the hype surrounding this restaurant that makes other people crave for a try. “Our customers are not just Indonesian people but also Malaysian people, including 65 per cent of Malays and 35 per cent of Indonesians. Our guests are also sometimes foreigners from other countries. They like to order ayam penyet and some other Indonesian dishes served here,” Mrs. Uun said with a proud smile carved on her face.

A plate of food is like a picture, and the rim of the plate is the frame – sometimes you need to figure out in what kind of frame you want to mount your picture so that you can get a pleasing arrangement. This analogy seems to work for ayam penyet presentation like how the food is plated and garnished which also affects how people think it tastes. The flattened fried chicken and its garnish are usually served in the Indonesian wooden bowl or mortar called the cobek instead of normal plates. Buswani, the Malaysian owner of the restaurant Baso Indonesian Cuisine who has fallen in love with Indonesian cuisine since his first visit to the country, gave a reason for using the cobek to present his guests with ayam penyet. “Cobek is typical of serving style in Indonesia. Serving ayam penyet in the cobek itself can provide customers with an Indonesian cuisine dining experience since the mortar represents the country.”

Sometimes spicy foods can make people go very red in their face and burn their tongue, especially those who cannot take spiciness. It is not a surprise to owners of ayam penyet restaurants or outlets in Malaysia when some of their customers complain to them about the fiery hot sambal. When asked about his reaction to it, Buswani says, “I just follow the same recipe in Indonesia to retain the originality. I don’t want to change its spiciness, even though 15 per cent of my customers complain about the condiment because it’s super spicy.” It jogs my memory of the first time my Malaysian friends ate ayam penyet – a few of them appeared to be suffering from a burning tongue, the skin of their face turned red with sweat running through their faces. Rohini, my Malaysian friend who also falls in love with ayam penyet, reminisces – “With my first taste of the chicken, I could feel my taste buds tingling with its spiciness, the combination of ingredients incorporated into the seemingly simple chicken created bursts of flavour in my mouth.” To deal with this issue, both Buswani and Mrs. Uun usually will offer to separate the sambal from the fried chicken by serving it in a mini condiment bowl if their customers start complaining.

Addie, a Malaysian businessman, started his first outlet, Restoran Ayam Penyet-AP a year ago at Subang Jaya, Kuala Lumpur – and built a very experienced team in serving and cooking ayam penyet as their main speciality. Although he is considered young in this business, one of his outlets at Bandar Sunway Mentari is already pulling in many customers and also popular with youngsters. “As a businessman, I would like to venture into something that has a great potential regardless whether it is from another country. And I have found ayam penyet to be one of them,” he said. He also thinks that opening ayam penyet outlets is such a good business in Malaysia since only a few Indonesian restaurants can be found in the country. “And a good one will do well,” he added.

Cuisine can be another reason to savour the taste of a country and understand its own unique culture and way of life. Experiencing a tingling sensation of blazing hot crispy ayam penyet can also be an exciting journey into the world of Indonesian cuisine – this is indeed the taste of Indonesia.

P.S. Feature was written by Geeta for the sole purpose of a college assignment. And the pictures were taken by Geeta for an additional purpose.

Opinion Piece

Say no to culture and tourism war – ­­­and yes to peace

by Geeta Ariani

Coming to study in Kuala Lumpur, metropolitan city of the Petronas Twin Towers, having many good Malaysian friends and experiencing a taste of great cultural diversity have provided me with a wider perspective on issues and helped me see how people from different parts of the world have different ways of approaching life. But when one of my friends in Indonesia suddenly mesmerised me with his dramatic tale, writing on my Facebook wall: “Malaysia just stole our Pendet dance. Ganyang Malaysia! (English: Invade Malaysia!)” – the stealing claim went right over my head and made me a little upset.

My friend’s Facebook posting enticed me to “google” the controversy. I was flooded with news stories about Malaysia’s claim over the Pendet dance, splashed across the front pages of the online edition of Indonesian newspapers. It must have hit the headlines in my country, but seemed to be ignored by the Malaysian mainstream media since I found only one Malaysian online newspaper covering the story. Furthermore, I didn’t hear a single word about it in any Malaysian newspaper.

Is it just Malaysia’s authoritarian press system in which journalists have very little rights when it comes to criticising the government, or is there anything fishy going on? Anyway, the situation in Indonesia that time was in marked contrast to the media’s silence in Malaysia.

About a month ago, many Indonesians protested the image of two Balinese dancers performing the Pendet dance that appeared in the promotion of the series Enigmatic Malaysia aired on the Discovery Channel. The issue also sparked an emotional debate among Indonesian culture experts, political scientists and artists, with Malaysia being condemned as ripping off the traditional Indonesian dance. Shortly after the protests, this fact was brought to light: Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific was at fault for using the image of the Balinese dancers to promote their documentary series Enigmatic Malaysia. Apparently the image itself was sourced from an independent third party that had nothing to do with the Malaysian government’s tourism ads. Fair enough.

But it did not stop there. The Indonesian people went further in accusing Malaysia of claiming Wayang Kulit and Batik as their own. Perhaps many Indonesians do not know that the leather shadow puppet, also known as Wayang Kulit, took root in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, Kelantan, more than 250 years ago. The origin itself remains a mystery, as the puppet show today is widespread throughout Asia in various guises. How about Batik? This ancient art form took root and reached its golden age in Java, Indonesia. During industrialisation, Indonesian immigrants brought Batik with them to Malaysia; therefore the Malays learned the painting and dyeing techniques and adopted the designs.

Please note, Indonesia and Malaysia shared the same culture and language many years ago, as most Malays in Malaysia originated from Indonesia. No way are we going to blame our ancients for this pointless polemic between Indonesia and Malaysia on the claim over cultural heritage. Because at the end of the day, it will never address the main issue but cause a serious deterioration in relations between the two countries.

After all, it’s time for us to let bygones be bygones. It is not a breeze, but this issue may serve as a challenge and wake-up call to my fellow Indonesians, particularly the younger generation, to start preserving our very own culture instead of blindly aping western culture. Last, hopefully peace will always reign in the two countries and there won’t be either tourism or culture war anymore.

P.S. This opinion piece is part of my 'Advanced News Writing' assignments.

Splendid Breaking of Fast in Ramadan '09

It was the 2nd week of the fasting month, Ramadan 2009 - a time when Li Ling, Nahda (a friend from Dubai) and I were heading toward Sunway Pyramid mall to break fast together. Actually, we'd planned to eat at Secret Recipe earlier - couldn't wait to have a slice of their cheese and chocolate cakes. Well, forget those cakes that might make us drool like Homer Simpson; to our great disappointment, all the tables in the restaurant were reserved by those who were gonna break fast too, so we finally ended up going to a seafood restaurant, Manhattan Fish Market (MFM).

During Ramadan, many restaurants usually serve Muslim customers with free dates or another sweet meal or drink to break the day's fast. So did MFM that time. But the dates looked so ugly that we complained about them. Perhaps MFM needs to replace them with ones from Tunisia - LOLZ.

Garlic Butter Mussels - just melting over my tounge with explosions of rich, buttery goodness. Can you imagine?

What a perfect starter - Garlic Butter Mussels (one of MFM's delicacies). The kind that makes you want to eat slowly, savour the moment with a bucket of Garlic Bread dipped in the buttery, creamy sauce. Oh, I have a weakness for it.

Hohoho, here it comes - the Manhattan Seafood Platter for Two consisting of deep fried fish fillet, calamari, oysters and prawns coming in flames, served with chips and garlic rice. Don't you just love SEAFOOD? I can't seem to get enough of it that always makes me want to go back to hometown - a haven for seafood lovers.

What's for dessert? Mmm, how about a chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream for those who have a sweet tooth? I mean just look at the picture. Can you stand it?

O.O the food vanished into thin air - hehehe I know! There was nothing left on the table since we finished all the food. We were so full that we couldn't even get up off our chairs.

Alright, we'd taken some pictures before we left. Appetite and hunger suppressed, we left the restaurant with full hearts and on full stomachs. Anyway, we really had a great time breaking the day's fast together at MFM - so have my pictures given you a good stomach for breaking fast next time?