Sunday, June 22, 2008

BANGI - KNOWLEDGE CITY


UKM - Dewan Canselor Tun Abd Razak

It was a memorable day for Bangi today as the Menteri Besar of Selangor Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim launched the declaration of Bangi as Knowledge City in line with one of the PR Manifesto in PRU 12. The launching carried out at Kolej Universiti Islam Selangor ( KUIS ) Bandar Sri Putra, Bangi 9.00 AM 22 June 2008.

Personally I think the declaration is long overdue but a smart move to capitalize and galvanize the intellectual capacities that reside in the Bangi Knowledge City. For more then three decades Bangi has evolved from a small town with Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia as the anchor tenant into a town flourishing with Universities, Colleges, Training Institutes and Research Centers. All the highly educated staff from the organizations resides in Bangi, creating a population of intellectuals and knowledge society that contributed tremendously in the development of the nation. In fact it is safe to say that Bangi Knowledge City has the most educated population in the country ( i.e. Holders of Masters, Ir., Dr., PhD, Assoc Prof and Professors ).

Some of the institutions in the vicinity of Bangi include :

1. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2. Universiti Putra Malaysia
3. Universiti Multimedia Malaysia
4. Universiti Tenaga Nasional ( UNITEN )
5. Universiti Lim Kok Wing
6. Universiti Kuala Lumpur
7. Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia
8. PORIM
9. MARDI
10.PERMATA
11. PETRONAS Research Institute
12. National Institute of OSH( NIOSH)
13. KWSP Institute
14. Malaysian French Institute
15. Maybank Training Centre
16. CIMB Training Centre
17. Nuclear Research centre
18. LHDN Institute PLPP
19. Pusat Latihan Perindustrian & Pemulihan OKU
20. Pusat Latihan Perundangan & Kehakiman
21. Kolej Islam Malaysia
22. Institut Alam Sekitar , …Etc … etc..


Equatorial Hotel, Bangi

Knowledge that has not been shared or used for the goodness of mankind is meaningless. Fortunately for Bangi the tradition of propagating knowledge and sharing it nation wide has been carried out selflessly. UKM has shared most of its senior staff and professors to all the new universities and colleges nationwide. They became the impetus and key driver in the development of new universities in Malaysia. The similar trends have been carried out by other institutions in the Bangi areas.
Bangi Golf Resort

There is the trend called "The Bangi School of Thought(s) " (Prof Abd. Samad Hadi - Aliran Pemikiran Bangi) being propagated by the Bangi intellectuals to the new community they are serving. It revolves along the key elements of research, applications, publications, thinking and lifestyle unique of Bangi. The Bangi community has this mixed Urban Kampung lifestyle because most of them originated from the kampung after making good in their education and career. If you drive around Bangi residential areas you will notice that a lot of banana, coconut, mango and other plants normally seen in the kampung house being planted here. The suraus and mosques are heavily patronized while community organized regular meetings and functions among themselves. These are all the good traits of kampung lifestyle that has been practiced in Bangi. In my area Bangi Valley, we organized pot luck gatherings every year without fail for the last 15 years. In my earlier postings I have written on the sterling performance of Bangi students in their SPM. They will be the future generations that will carry the legacy of Bangi as Knowledge City and Society.

I hope the launching of Bangi Knowledge City ( Bangi Bandar Ilmu ) will be the key to the breakthrough performance in mobilizing intellectuals and knowledge society from Bangi towards the creations of prosperous, harmony and civilized Malaysia.

Bangi Dual Carriageway Sec 9.

“Manifesto Bangi Bandar Ilmu – PRU 12
1. Mempromosikan DUN Bangi sebagai Bandar Ilmu dengan kegiatan ilmiah.
2. Bekerjasama dengan institusi-institusi pengajian tinggi berdekatan, tokoh-tokoh ilmuan dan badan-badan berkenaan mempertingkatkan imej DUN Bangi sebagai Bandar Ilmu.
3. Mengadakan wacana ilmiah, agama, budaya dan isu-isu semasa dan menghasilkan penerbitan.
4. Menggalakkan perkembangan keilmuan melalui masjid, surau dan institusi-institusi agama lain.
5. Memberi galakan dan insentif kepada anak-anak penduduk Dun Bangi meningkatkan pelajaran”.
.

16 comments:

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

Dato J,

you left out PLPP - Pusat Latihan Perindustrian & Pemulihan OKU.

this center has been vital in helping the disabled from all over the country getting back on their feet and it is situated right here in Bangi.

cakapaje said...

Salam Dato',

Hmm...come to think of it, yes, you and the MB are quite right there. Let's hope this city will be for Malaysians first, and not like our so-called education industry at one point of time (and still is) heading - an international education hub!

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind Malaysia being an IEH, but not at the expense of the local students who may have to pay exorbitant fees just to continue their studies, when the IPA are all full.

Looking at the Manifesto, I think its practical and achievable.

jaflam said...

Hai Kerp,
Sorry to miss PLPP the important center for OKU right by Kolej Islam. There are also two orphan houses in the area i.e. Rumah Anak Anak Yatim Darul Izzah and Thafiz Darul Furqan.

I usually go for breakfast at Restaurant Larizz beside PLPP every Saturday morning after by brisk walking around Taman Tasik Cempaka. Larizz is one of the most popular restaurants for breakfast and lunch. Other good restaurants include Putri Bongsu and Anja Nasi Beriyani Gam at Section 15.

jaflam said...

Salam Shah,
I really hope that in the near future education will be free up to University level for all Malaysian. It should be the prime responsibility for the Government to ensure the Rakyat be given good education, after all eventually the country will benefit from skill/educated work force that will propel the economic growth.

The effort to turn Malaysia into an education hub has mixed result. Some of the foreigners used the facility to enter the country and creates social problems i.e. the African Students.

ZABS said...

Salam DJ,
PR sedang giat merealisasikan Manifesto mereka satu persatu. Semoga ia dilaksanakan dengan baik, bukan setakat melepas batuk di tangga.
Have a number of friends in UKM. Met them whilst studying in Wales about 12 years ago. My son is also in UKM (2nd Year) doing his degree (Accounting) there.
Setiap hujung minggu akan ke sana untuk menghantar dia balik ke asrama, kerana setiap Jumaat dia akan muncul di rumah.

Ydiana said...

Hi Dato'

Bangi is indeed a nice place. When we decided to relocate, er.. find a new house, Bangi was one of the option. Its serene surroundings and peaceful environment is a plus factor, but the distance was our only concern. Somehow we discovered another area in klang valley that have the same values, but closer, minus the education hubs. But nice place, indeed.

jaflam said...

Salam Zabs,
We hope this two party system will eventually create value for money for the Rakyat. As the system matured the politician will have less room to treat the voters for granted. Actually Bangi as education city is not difficult to implement bcoz it’s being practiced by the residents already


Itulah untungnya anak study dekat, kalau rindu naik kommuter dah sampai kat rumah. Anak saya yang di UM tu pun begitu setiap Jumaat balik, Ahad masuk kampus semula. Lain kali bila hantar anak singgahlah minum kopi kat rumah kami.

jaflam said...

Hello Ydiana,
I almost bought a house in Subang Jaya before opting for Bangi simply bcoz my wife work in UKM. Bangi then was quite remote without much public facilities. Slowly we get ourselves adjusted to Bangi and over the years began to love and treat it like our own kampung.

Bangi has two modest shopping malls and within 15 mins drive to Alamanda Putrajaya and Kajang. KL and Seremban is within 30 mins drive, so not bad for those who preferred living outside the city but close enough.

Good that you have found yourself a nice neighborhood to settle down. Soon it will be your haven like mine.

Unknown said...

Salaam DJ,
That is indeed a long list of institutions; and I believe it is growing as it is has been made official that it is now a knowledge hub.

Lee said...

Hi Jaflam, wow! Really impressive read this posting. Reason being, those days during my work travels, Bangi mostly rubber estates, population negligible as it was considered in the boondocks (Canadian for Ulu's).
Infact a contractor friend wanted to sell me 10 acres of land somewhere there, and mana ada foresight those days, mata tengok lain scenery, ha ha....otherwise...?
Double dual carriageway? Impressive! My time roads narrow kena ehlak lorries, cyclists, rubber tappers..lembus.
I enjoy reading blogs like yours, very informative for exiles like us, ha ha. Wonder how's the town like now. Lee.

jaflam said...

Salam Akmal,
Hope you are fine, especially your study.

Actually there are about a dozen of other institutions that I did not list down and more are coming this way due to the attractions of the locations. Basically to attract good brains the facilities, locations and environment is vital. For Bangi the high concentrations of good brains currently here simply attracted more and the new support and focus given by the Government will provide further incentives to prospective investors.

jaflam said...

Hello Lee,
You are right Bangi used to be rubber estates and even the orang asli used to roam and dwelled in this area. The opening of Bangi kicks off with opening of National University ( UKM )here. When I first moved in we could still see herds of buffalo roaming the swamps. Now there is hardly land left for development.

The double story terraced house now cost RM 200K and above, semi- detached bungalow RM 600K & above while bungalow RM 1 million and above. If you bought that 10 acres land you would be richer now but then you will have less exciting stories to tell us hehee.

Beside the 24 hrs mamak stalls, we have quite a few boutique cafes being set up here. Lately quite a few artists and media celebrities moved into this area creating new attractions.

Lee, have a good week and take care.

Anonymous said...

Some say if you throw a stone in BBBangi, chances are it will hit a PhD's head.

Yes, BBBangi has grown. Up till 15 years ago, we could still know a lot of people in BBBangi by name. Just like the old kampongs.

Now it is almost like a metropolitan city. With a lot of strangers around. I guess that part of BBBangi, I shall miss.

Lee said...

Hi Jaflam, those old days back in the early 60's, never had the foresight or crystal ball to know or expect KL to grown like no tomorrow.
A contractor friend asked me to buy a piece of land near the airport...that time ada rubber estates and mining pools.
I did look over, but seeing nearby disused mining pools, rubber estate thought siapa nak tinggal sana?
Ha ha...no foresight, tada today drive a Mercedes, ha ha.
Oh well...now buka mult, mata terbeliak read, see your descriptions of places I used to know as the boondocks!
Talking about that, again, another contractor told me to grab some land in Puchong...that time quite a few Chinese shops carving coffins, as well all around, rubber estates, rambutan and durian plantations...
ta'nasib nak jadi kaya la, ha ha. Saw the coffins being made there, I thought bad fung shui, cheh! So..? Today I hear from a friend, Puchong like mini New York! Ha ha.
You stay cool and have a nice day, senang datang, Lee.

jaflam said...

Salam Gurindan Jiwa,
It’s true the populations have increased tremendously and now we are having small traffic jams in Bangi during morning and evening rush hours. But still tolerable compared to KL crawl.

We have one of the biggest pasar malam at Sec 1 and I believed it’s a favorite to many and being missed by those who have moved out of Bangi.

jaflam said...

Hai Lee,
We used to talk about Buaya Puchong and the many scrap metals yards along the roads but now staying in Puchong is in trends too.

Never mind Lee, although you did not buy those old mining pools and hutan before but at least you made many beautiful girls happy. It important because living is all about creating happiness and making others happy. That why you still looks young and handsome, at least in your shadow photo heheeeee.