Over the years, Malaysia has transformed in so many ways. Not only did the country grow economically, progressing in the sectors of agriculture to computers and electronics, but also in its physical landscape. In ten years, Malaysia has completed numerous mega-projects that made it one of the most recognized developing countries in the world.

In 1994, traveling from the northern state of Kedah to the southern state of Johor by land was made easier with the completion of the North-South Expressway which runs 966 km. Better known by Malaysians as the PLUS Highway; it eases the travel from one end of Peninsular Malaysia to the other as it reduces traveling time tremendously.

Putrajaya was established in 1995. In 1999, the seat of government shifted from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya to serve as the Federal Administrative Centre of Malaysia. Thus Putrajaya today is known as the Federal Territory although Kuala Lumpur remains to be the country’s national capital.

In 1998 the KL International Airport, commonly known as KLIA, was built and it has been known to be in the top five best airports in the world several times between 2006 and 2008 according to Business Times of the New Straits Times daily newspaper.

Malaysia also entered the F1, A1 and SuperGT calendars when it opened the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) in 1999. It is 5.54 km long and is noted as one of the toughest circuits around with its sweeping corners and wide straights. Since its opening the SIC has seen major events including the FIA Formula One, Malaysian Grand Prix, FIM MotoGP, Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix, A1 Grand Prix, SuperGT and Asian Touring Car Championship. Now Malaysia is no stranger to Michael Schumacher and his peers.

Besides that, how can one leave out the Petronas Twin Towers? Built in 1998 and standing at 451.9 metres tall, Malaysia still wears the crown for having the tallest twin buildings in the world.

Coming from a multi-cultural society, we also have much to learn from other cultures and ethnic groups. What many fail to realize as Malaysians is that we have One country-culture, One country, One Malaysia!

“National honor is national property of the highest value.”                                                                                                ~James Monroe

Check out this link from The Sun newspaper on the ‘Malaysia Day’ street party happening today!: http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=51482

“Selamat Hari Raya and Happy Holidays!”…As everyone should be aware by now, Eid (known locally as Hari Raya Aidilfitri) is just around the corner!

This joyous occasion for Muslims , is not just about the satay, rendang and ketupat but most importantly about forgiveness and appreciation.

Therefore, let us learn to cherish our family and relatives at this time as some of our friends abroad may not have the chance to ‘balik kampung’ this year. Read of what 13 year-old Nur Afiqah who is currently in Scotland and 23 year-old Dayana in the United States plan to do during this season in pages 24-25 of our Sept/Oct 2010 issue!

With that said, have a great holiday and safe journey back home.

Do remember that wherever you may be, do stay tuned to Y! as we have some exciting contests lined up for you in the coming weeks

So dear friends, lets fly our ‘Jalur Gemilang’ high and celebrate the freedom we now enjoy that our forefathers fought for!

But of course, with the heat and all, you can opt to celebrate the momentous occasion indoors with many exciting Merdeka-themed programmes; such as The Best Of 1Malaysia Stories On Air; a showcase of more than 150 titles on one new dedicated channel ‘MySTORY’ on Astro.

With all the cheer going around and dedication to the 1Malaysia concept from the harmonious melting pot of cultures, one can’t help but feel proud to be Malaysian!

Happy Independence Day, Malaysia!

Here are some interesting facts you should know about our beloved motherland:

Capital City: Kuala Lumpur

Population: over 24 Million

Main Languages: Bahasa Malaysia (official), English, Tamil, Chinese

Currency: Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Country Dialing Code: +60

National Flower: Hibiscus or ‘Bunga Raya’

Key National Symbols: The Malaysian Flag or ‘Jalur Gemilang’, the National Anthem; ‘Negaraku’, the National Monument; ‘Tugu Negara’

The inaugural IQ Marathon: the Battle for Scholarship with the tagline “The one marathon that you need not run to win” held in December 2009 was a raving success for organizers, sponsors and ofcourse the participants.

Providing a good platform for students to test their wits in a challenging and fun environment that would stimulate their creative and critical thinking skills, the Marathon enabled all SPM students to participate in a rewarding and fun activity after their examinations.

Students from 132 schools nationwide participated in the event, and students came from institutions that included fully residential schools, international schools, MARA Junior Colleges, etc. The competition secretariat had also recorded participants coming from all 13 states in the country!

Register now and you may just be recognised as the TOP IQ TALENT in the country and win a FULL SCHOLARSHIP for a UK DEGREE PROGRAMME and other attractive prizes!

Click here for further information and to register.

We at Y! Mag hope to see you there!

We know your stomachs must be growling already and we’d hate to make it worst but Y! has checked out a few Ramadhan Bazaars around the Klang Valley and we really want to share them with you!

These bazaars typically offer delicious treats such as; bubur lambuk, ayam percik, lemang putih, tepung pelita, murtabak, nasik kerabu, and many many more (check out our pics below!).

With that said, this is the best time for you to titillate your taste buds by touring the various buka puasa  spots and trying out the various delicacies each site has to offer during the month-long Ramadhan period held throughout the country.

So don’t wait! Here’s a list of spots to begin with

• Kelana Jaya
• Section 14, Petaling Jaya
• Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI)
• Shah Alam Stadium Car Park
• Subang Jaya
• Taman Sri Andalas, Klang

The unusual ‘lemang pulut hitam’ made from black glutinous rice…

Putu being steamed in Bamboo tubes. Hence the name; ‘Putu Bambu’…

The ever famous appam balik…

Savoury kuih udang…yumm…

Colourful Puteri Mandi typically served in gula melaka or santan…

Fried Popiah…one of the best ever tasted!…

Fried Oyster Mushrooms for those who are vegetarian…

And finally, the georgeous kuih Sri Ayu…so soft it melts in your mouth…

For more info on places to visit, check out these sites:

http://www.mycen.com.my/directions/directions_0010.html

Areas in PJ; http://event.malaysiamostwanted.com/events/ramadan-bazaars-buka-puasa-food-stalls-sep-2008

Selamat Berbuka Puasa!

Keeping to her true style, Katy Perry performed her latest single “California Gurls” during the recent MTV World Stage 2010, in a cute white tutu, prancing around tasty treats with her heart pumping dance moves!

The 25 year-old future Mrs. Russel Brand also debuted her new single called “Peacock” at the show. Watch the video here:

Besides that, we also got a chance to see our very own Asian pop sensations; Wonder Girls perform their no. 1 hit single “Nobody” together with their dance moves that hit the world by storm.

The South Korean girl group (made up of Sun, Yenny, Yubin, Lim and Sohee) have become the very first Korean group from Asia to enter Billboard Hot 100 in 30 years.

Here is the video of them performing at MTV’s World Stage 2010:

Enjoy!

And is there anything more fun then Marshmallows with coloured faces? How bout Marshmallows with stylish icing hairdos??

They’re super easy and fun to make. All you need is food coloring, a thin paint brush, icing and of course marshmallows. Now you can fill a snack bowl with silly faced marshmallows for your next party!

But before we open the bag of tricks and start giving away movies passes and exclusive movie merchandise, here is an interesting fact about the show…

Did you know that the original movie was actually based on a poem? It begins with an old sorcerer who leaves his apprentice with chores to perform in his workshop. Tired of fetching water by pail, the apprentice enchants a broom to do the work for him — using magic he is not yet fully trained in. The floor is soon awash with water, and the apprentice realizes that he cannot stop the broom because he does not know how.

Not knowing how to control the enchanted broom, the apprentice splits it in two with an axe, but each of the pieces becomes a new broom and takes up a pail and continues fetching water, now at twice the speed. When all seems lost, the old sorcerer returns, quickly breaks the spell and saves the day. The poem finishes with the old sorcerer’s statement that powerful spirits should only be called by the master himself.

Sounds familiar? This short snippet was also featured in the disney film ‘Fantasia’

The lesson here would be; “Don’t meddle around with things you are unsure of”

Click here to win yourself movie passes and some cool merchandise!

I have this urge to buy fruits when I see them.

Walking around the supermarket, and by some unexplained force, I am drawn to the vibrant colours of fruits on display and by some weird hypnosis, pick the fruits of the shelves and put them into my trolley.

As a result of this bad habit, and because there are only two of us living at home, my fruits sometimes go bad before I get a chance to eat them. I mean, how much fruits can one eat in a day right?

Over the weekend, I dug out half a watermelon from the fridge. And because this was the second gigantic watermelon we had that week, I decided to turn the remaining watermelon into a drink instead and decided to make watermelon smoothie.

It took about 15 minutes to whip up a big tumbler of fresh watermelon smoothie, yes, even for a kitchen noob like me… and here’s my VERY simple recipe for you to try!

Ingredients

1. Half a watermelon
2. 1/2 cup of plain yogurt
3. 1/2 cup of milk
4. 2 tablespoons of honey
5. Ice cubes

How to?

1. Cut watermelon into medium-sized pieces and put everything into the blender.
2. Empty yoghurt, milk and honey.
3. Add ice cubes.
4. Close the lid of the blender (VERY IMPORTANT STEP!) and press START!
5. Blend to desirable consistency.
6. Serve!

Easy right? You can of course substitute the watermelon with any other fruits.. or even mix a few fruits together to create your very own refreshing summer blend!

Hello?

It’s F-O-O-T-B-A-L-L maybe?!

Argue as much as you want, but I’m sticking to calling the Beautiful Game by its rightful name – football.  

When English star David Beckham arrived in America to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy, he had to apologize and correct himself at the press conference where he was introduced. Becks called the sport he played “football”, and then said, “Excuse me, soccer”.

Shame on Becks I say!

 So back to the South Africa World Cup 2010… HAS IT BEEN INSANE OR WHAT?

I don’t know about you, but even when the tele is not on, I still hear the buzzing sound of the vuvuzelas (pronounced VOO-VOO-ZAY-LAS)  in my head! It’s mad I tell ya!

The vuvuzela’s name in Zulu roughly translates to “making a lot of noise”, and oh boy, it sure does live up to its name!

There’s even a joke going around – What’s the difference between a woman and a vuvuzela?

One makes a lot of noise, and the other is made of plastic! (HAHA!)

Much has been debated about the vuvuzelas since the start of the tournament, with many calling on FIFA to ban the vuvuzelas. There’s even a Facebook page entitled “A Vuvuzela Free World Cup 2010″ which has garnered support from close to 300,000 fans to date!

But the plastic trumpet is an integral part of South Africa’s culture and pride. Imagine someone telling us Malaysians that we should ban the kompang at events?

What is interesting to note however, a South African Earplug company has an answer for those who can’t stand the sound of the horns. It has designed an earplug in the shape of a vuvuzela. Spokesman Andrew Chin said the company had 70,000 provisional orders a few weeks before the tournament.

World Cup 2010 has been rather disappointing so far. What happened to favourites like England, France and Spain? I sit and watch these games, and end up channel-surfing to find something more exciting.

Yes, yes, Portugal did score 7 goals against Korea DPR. But we expected the Koreans to get trashed didn’t we? And Ronaldo’s goal was SOOOOOO FUNNY! You have to see his reaction! (Watch the goal highlights HERE)

If you ask me who I’m rooting for, I love to watch Spain, Italy and the Netherlands play. On top of that, I’m all for the underdogs and have a soft spot for Asian teams. Go South Korea! Go Japan!

But for now… It’s still too early to say who will lift the Cup. So I guess it’s back to the vuvuzelas.

Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.