Designed with a matt plasma high-tech monobloc case and bracelet with the exception of polished middle links, the new Rado HyperChrome Match Point is set to stun fanatics of the racquet sport. Known as Rado’s sporty and sophisticated collection, the tennis inspired timepiece looks even sportier with its tachymeter scaled engraved around the polished bezel. Either for daily occasions or red carpet events; simply put on the Raxdo HyperChrome Match Point and let the timepiece does the talking and makes you noticeable.
Guaranteeing a ‘‘home-away-from-home’’ experience, The Peninsula has been synonymous with luxurious comfort and impeccable service. Operated since 1928, The Peninsula has a unique identity amongst the world’s leading hoteliers with nine flagships around major cities. This year Paris joined the family as the first European foray of the Hong Kong–based hotel group. Situated at 19 Avenue Kléber, The Peninsula Paris was revamped from the former Hotel Majestic – one of the most glamorous belle époque buildings in city. With celebrities Zhang Ziyi and Jean-Pierre Marielle at the opening inauguration, marked the hotel’s grand entrance into Europe.
For the past 10 years ever since 2004 when Splendid Interior Décor was set up, various homes and buildings throughout Penang have housed the signature mark of interior design excellence by Splendid Interior Décor. Inspired by the maestro himself, Darren Tan, some of Penang’s landmarks which boast of his works include the Gurney Paragon and Fettes Residences.
Along with business partner Ms. Sylvie Sim, Splendid was set up 10 years ago with a lot of encouragement from friends and families, and the hardcore commitment to ensure it would be a success. Their clientele started with referrals to overseas clients who were seeking to build their homes in Penang under the Malaysia My Second Home Programme and from there, the referrals continued to incorporate clients in the booming property sector in Penang.
Sylvie attests the 10 solid years of business relationship between them is based on trust and a balancing of roles among the partners. While Sylvie manages and makes decisions on administrative matters, the decision making in all other aspects is left up to Darren. “I have absolute trust and confidences in his decisions and I am there to back him up all the way”, she says.
The 10 years have seen Darren and his team at Splendid win a number of achievements for their designs. However when asked to highlight the award that meant the most to him Darren unhesitatingly replied “the 2012 InPenang Award for Best Interior Design House. It is an honour for me to be associated with Ch’ng Huck Theng and his network of friends and associates. I believe his way of doing business is the best way as business based on friendships is sustainable. In addition, receiving an award that originates from Penang has special meaning for us as we are Penang based as well. It is a feather in our caps when organisations in Penang recognise Penang progenies. It inspires us to achieve even more.”
Darren states that whatever good name his firm gets is all due in a very large part to his team.
“Our team really deserves the credit for it is they who hold the fort together, working hard and most importantly, with burning passion to see to successful completions on time and happy clients,” emphasises Darren.
Armed with passion, a solid business partnership and a dedicated team that stands firm with him, Penang can look forward to many more splendid interior designs that will make spaces become iconic.
For further information,email splendidinteriordecor@gmail.com
When we talk about Asian food at its finest, the award-winning Maple Palace restaurant promises to deliver the best food, service and ambience. From simple dinner to a very special occasion, the restaurant frequented by elite clientele, eventually has become one of the top spots for the upper echelons of society. It is no wonder that the restaurant has attracted international celebrity chef, Martin Yan and the restaurant has received a certification of appreciation of ‘Taste of Malaysia 2015/2016’ from him.
Maple Palace restaurant is famous for their commitment to the food purity without the use of MSG. Opened in 2009, the restaurant specialises in wide array of Cantonese and Szechuan dishes made from freshest and finest ingredients. Giving tradition a little artisan twist, the dishes display incredible flavours with unique interpretations that pay homage to various Asian cooking methods. To provide personalised dining experience, Maple Palace restaurant offers made-to-order dishes which are prepared based on individual tastes and preferences, allowing patrons to order off the menu.
Undeniable many know the restaurant for its aromatic fish steamboat with its flavourful soup based however there are other delectable dishes that stand out in the menu. BBQ Roasted Spanish Iberico Black Pig Spare Rib, Fresh Crab Mee Hoon Soup in hot clay pot, Spanish Lamb Leg with Mixed Herb and Whole Lobster Thermidor are among the dishes that you should give them a try when visiting Maple Palace restaurant.
BBQ Roasted Spanish Iberico Black Pig Spare Rib
Also not forgetting, the restaurant does provide devilishly good desserts. Tuck into with a wide range of refreshing desserts such as sweetened peanut cream, chilled mango sago with pomelo, glutinous rice ball with grated peanut or the chilled six treasure tea with sea coconut to wrap up a satisfying meal. A must-try dessert is the black sesame glutinous rice balls which served in warm ginger tea. The rice balls and ginger tea creates a great flavour and wonderful texture, make every bite a delight to chew.
Every six months, the restaurant chef along with his team of kitchen mavericks relentlessly works to design new degustation menu to provide something different to diners each time they visit the restaurant as well as to improve their overall dining experience. The blending of both new and old, east and west make a memorable dining experience.
The restaurant was honoured with the ‘‘Pinnacle International Excellence (PIE) Award 2014’’ under the Emerging Class trophy for Fine Dining (Chinese) category.
For more information or to make reservations, please call +604 227 9690 / +604 227 4542 or visit http://www.maplepalace.com.
A World fair that gather over 145 participant countries under the theme of ‘‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life’’, Expo Milano 2015 is a thrill round-the-world trip brimming with surprises. After the World Expo in Shanghai in 2010, Malaysia is proud to join the exhibition again to celebrate this grand occasion with other worldwide exhibitors including a number of International Companies, Civil Society Organizations and Sponsors. Let’s take a tour through this impressive ground to explore each Pavilion and you will be introduced to a lively journey of each country’s culture, traditions and latest technology.
Grown in Britain & Northern Ireland
Designed by British artist Wolfgang Buttress, the huge structure is inspired by a bee’s journey. The unique beehive is built from 169,300 individual aluminum parts and is assembled following the Fibonacci sequence. From an orchid to a flowery meadow and then returning to its hive, all companied by real-time audio sounds and visuals which has made UK Pavilion stand out among others.
The Land of Hope
This is the first time China has been involved in the World Expo. Designed by New-York based architect Yichen Lu, the 49,000-square-foot Pavilion features an undulating timber frame roof covered with bamboo and aluminum panels. Matching with its evocative theme, China transmits its reflection on the theme of gratitude and respect for our mother earth, based on the concept that man is an integral part of nature.
Feeding the World with Solutions
In a massive exhibition space of 4,133 square meters, the Brazilian Pavilion is the work by award-winning designers from Studio Arthur Casas and Atelier Marko Brajovic. The concept of the Pavilion derived from the metaphor of the network – flexibility, fluidity and decentralization. To highlight the country’s commitment to global access to food, the stunning Pavilion is filled with giant trampoline nets.
Different Ways of Producing and Providing Food
Spread over 3,592 square-meter space, the building is made up from laminated wood and is designed to look like a covered market that is the mainstay of French food culture.
The Coca-Cola Pavilion
The building makes ample use of highly sustainable materials, reusable and recyclable. Wood, glass and water give life to a Pavilion that is completely demountable and reusable, after the Expo, in its new destination that will benefit the community; after the Exhibition the Pavilion will be disassembled and rebuilt as a sports hall for sports and physical activities.
This year marked Malaysia’s year as the Chair of ASEAN, which is the seventh largest economy in the world and home to a consumer market of over 600 million people. Flying the Malaysian flag high with the theme ‘‘Towards a Sustainable Food Ecosystem’’, the Malaysia Pavilion launched at Expo Milano, showcases the best of Asia to drive regional growth.
The Pavilion represents the nation’s strong economic fundamentals, underpinned by comfortable levels of external reserves, low external debt, low unemployment and healthy inflows of foreign direct investment. Proudly Malaysian-made, the architectural design of the Pavilion is made up from four seeds which emblematic the Rainforest Seeds; also explained the kaleidoscope journey of Malaysia. The seed-shaped Pavilion is constructed with ‘‘Glulam’’, or a glued laminated wood made from tropical timber. The ‘‘Glulam’’ combined with the structurally complex design of the pavilion, is a testament of Malaysia’s capabilities in both innovative design and use of sustainable materials. In addition, this is the first appearance of ‘‘Glulam’’ in the European Market after having satisfied Europe’s stringent entry requirement.
The Malaysia adventure begins in the first seed, where the nation’s diversity is explored. Continues in the second seed, where it represents its natural food ingredients used in local gastronomic specialties that found in Malaysia’s rainforests. Recognising that the rainforest are the country’s primary resource, the third seed showcase the country’s commitment to protect and safeguard the forests as a source of health and wellbeing for the future generation. To conclude this enlightening journey, the fourth seed delves into Malaysia’s rich heritage, offering the best of its music, arts and culture.
Malaysia’s presence at the Expo has enhanced the nation’s relationship with the European Union, and yet the Expo has created a platform for Malaysia to promote trade and investment. There are over 140 participating countries in the expo this year showcasing the best of their technology, creativity and innovation as the countries’ efforts for sustainable future. The six-month Expo carries the theme ‘‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life’’, is currently running until 31st October 2015; and is expected to attract about 20 million visitors.
From 1 to 30 June, Australian art lovers, collectors and the public had the privilege of personally getting acquainted with Malaysia arts at a special exhibition titled ‘Penang Art Society @ Melbourne’ that took place at the astonishing gallery at SpACE@Collins, Collins St, Melbourne, Victoria. Organised by Penang Art Society (PAS) Malaysia and curated by the society’s President, Ch’ng Huck Theng emphasized that this first of its kind exhibition is a cross cultural exchange event to encourage cultural immersion, to promote international understanding and goodwill between Malaysia and Australia. The PAS@Melbourne marked an important milestone for the Society as it is the first ever art exhibition down under.
The exhibition was officiated by the Consul General of Malaysia to Australia in Melbourne, Dato Dr Mohammad Rameez Yahaya. ‘‘PAS has provided an important platform to nourishing and promoting the Malaysian art and culture scene. As we all know that people nowadays are emphasizing more towards the quality of life, arts and culture play important roles in enabling people from different background and different races to understand each other hence making this a better and peaceful planet to live in. The Malaysian government is proud of PAS’s effort in bringing Malaysia arts and culture to Australia and I would like to congratulate its President, Mr Ch’ng Huck Theng for taking this initiative to make possible this exhibition,’’ said Dato Dr Rameez in his speech. He further added that this is an important step to not only provide an exposure for the Malaysian artists but more important sharing and bridging the bond between two great countries.
‘PAS@Melbourne’ featured a collection of artworks from 20 renowned Malaysian artists, whose works have been exhibited at various international biennales and art shows, ranging from the Malaysian modern to contemporary art. President Ch’ng said in his statement, ‘‘having celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2013, the PAS is the oldest registered art society in Malaysia with over 500 members and still growing. Established in the 1950’s, it was set up with the objective of consolidating various artworks from the region including paintings, photography, Chinese calligraphy, poetry, music, dance performances, bonsai, feng shui and others, to preserve and further promote these cultures. ’’
Among the VIPs that attended this colourful event were Turkish Consulate General, Ersel Ozdemir, Felix Wong Director from Echo3 Media, Colin Abbot from AMBC, Ita Puspitasari Consulate for Social Cultural Affairs Indonesia and Councillor Ken Ong.
by Dr Mecherl Lim MD (MA) Naturopath (ND) , Holistic Kinesiology
Two things have become increasingly apparent:
We are exposed to a more complex array of toxic compounds in our air, water, and food than ever before.
It has been recognized that an individual’s ability to detoxify or bio-transform and excrete toxic substances is of critical importance to overall health.
Detoxification (Detox) in the context of alternative medicine consists of the approach to rid the body of accumulated harmful substances that allegedly exert undesirable effects on health in the short and long term.
Smartphone users spend an average of two to four hours per day hunched over, reading e-mails, sending texts or checking social media sites. That’s 700 to 1,400 hours per year people are putting stress on their spines, according to the research. High-schoolers might be at the worst risk. They could conceivably spend an additional 5,000 hours in this position.
Recent research, done by Dr. Kenneth Hansraj, chief of spine surgery at New York Spine Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine, suggests that when you have continuous and aggressive strain on the neck, you get wear and tear on the spine, straightening the natural curve of the neck and placing the discs under abnormal pressure. This increased pressure can create tears within the disc, resulting in a herniation of the disc itself and subsequent pain and neurological symptoms, like neck, upper back and arm pain, pins and needles and numbness. Some people may call this a “slipped disc” or a “pinched nerve”.
If you suspect that you have a pinched nerve in your neck, it is important to consult with your chiropractor. Some pinched nerves can lead to other, more serious conditions so it is a good idea to have a chiropractor evaluate you and monitor your recovery.
Some of the worse culprits of “text neck” are young people. With this excessive stress in the neck, we are starting to see young people needing spine care from a really early age. It is very important that parents start showing guidance and leading by example.
While it is nearly impossible to avoid the technologies that cause these issues, individuals should make an effort to look at their phones with a neutral spine and to avoid spending hours each day hunched over. Here are a few tips on how to better manage your neck and your smart phone use:
• Hold your phone at a proper reading angle, rather than looking down. Your phone should be held directly in front of your mouth, a few inches across from your chin. Your eyes should look down rather than having to bend your neck down. Your shoulders should feel relaxed while you’re typing. Download a Text Neck application for your smart device allowing you to monitor your head tilt whilst using your device.
• Use a text-dictation program if you have one. Hold the phone in front of your mouth.
• Set a timer and take breaks.
• If using your device in bed, avoid flexing your neck too far forward with pillows that are stacked too high, thereby decreasing the stress on your neck.
• Build strength and range of motion. In your workout routine, include exercises and stretches that strengthen your neck and upper back.
• Drink water and maintain hydration.
• Use other forms of communication. Try the “old school” method of calling your family and friends or seeing them in person to chat.
By Poh Boon Fong Audiologist, B. Audiology (Hons) UKM, MASH (M’sia), AAA (USA)
Prevalence of Hearing Loss
As many as 3 of every 1,000 babies are born with hearing loss and another 3 will acquire hearing impairment in early childhood due to illness, infection or accident. Babies can’t tell you if they can’t hear. Babies who do not hear our voices, a lullaby or a nursery rhyme may have problems learning to talk. As for the elderly population, about 1 in 3 individuals over the age of 65 years old have some degree of hearing loss.
What is Cochlear Implant Programme?
Cochlear implant is an alternative which provides greater access of hearing to those suffering from severe to profound hearing loss. A cochlear implant is an electronic device that restores partial hearing to the deaf. It is surgically implanted in the inner ear and activated by a device worn outside the ear. Unlike a hearing aid, it does not make sound louder or clearer. Instead, the device bypasses damaged parts of the auditory system and directly stimulates the hearing nerve, allowing individuals who are severely hearing impaired to receive sound. Cochlear Implant Programme involves the expertise of an Ear, Nose & Throat Surgeon, audiologist and speech-language therapist/auditory verbal therapist and other allied health professionals such as occupational therapist and psychologist.
Who can benefit from a cochlear implant?
Individuals who are
severely or profoundly deaf
who receive little or no benefit from hearing aids
who communicate through hearing and/or speech-reading
who want to be part of the hearing world
are the best candidates for cochlear implantation.
LSC Cochlear Implant programme
The Cochlear Implant programme was initiated by LohGuanLye SPECIALISTS CENTRE (LSC) in 2005. It was then, the only centre in the northern region providing cochlear implant surgery including the full rehabilitation programme.
Cochlear implant provides a sound beginning to the deaf children and new light of hope for the deaf adults. This programme entails a lot of planning, counselling, long rehabilitation process following the operation, hard work, dedication and commitment from the team.
Since then, the LSC cochlear implant programme has successfully helped 62 children and 4 adults to hear again. We have conducted 84 surgeries and rehabilitation programmes with 48 unilateral and 18 bilateral cochlear implant recipients.
Helen Keller once said,
“Deafness is worse than blindness.”
She felt she could compensate for her lack of eyesight by learning Braille, but there was no getting around her inability to hear. She found deafness to be a much greater handicap than blindness.
Our breakthroughs…
We have the first bilateral cochlear implant recipient in Malaysia.
We have the oldest cochlear implant recipient in Malaysia who was implanted when he was 78 years old.
Our youngest patient was implanted at the age of 13 months
LSC Cochlear Implant Parents’ Support Group
The LSC Cochlear Implant Parents’ Support Group was established in 2006, to serve as a platform for sharing information and experiences among parents and professionals. LSC is offering a comprehensive cochlear implant programme which focus on the success of the children by working closely with their family members. With this support group, we hope to bring involved parents together to share their experiences, success stories, and discuss concerns or problems with the team.
We have also conducted educational sessions and workshops for parents to learn about devices trouble-shooting, home practice, behavioural training, welfare card application and various parent-child development.
Current situation in the country
There is a lack of awareness among the public that hearing impairment can be now surgically treated.
Early diagnosis and intervention is crucial for the success of cochlear implant patients. Therefore, patients should not wait for too long without getting any help. For example, the golden age to learn language is from 0-3 years old. Children implanted after 3 years old might have developed behavioural problems, cognitive and speech language delayed.
Adults who acquire hearing impairment due to accident, aging or medication were not aware that cochlear implant will be able to restore their hearing so that they can be functional in society again.
LohGuanLye SPECIALISTS CENTRE (LSC) will continue to provide more speech and hearing services to the needy community in the hope that those with hearing and speech problems will be detected early and receive appropriate intervention. Without appropriate opportunities to learn language, children who are hard of hearing or with speech disorders will fall behind their hearing and speaking peers in language, cognition, and social-emotional development. Such delays may result in academic under-achievement, lower educational level, unemployment or lower lifetime earning and thus they will be unable to contribute optimally to the socio-economy of the country. We hope the government and NGOs will consider funding the Cochlear Implant Programme and subsidise the cost of hearing devices because the money needed to support a hearing impaired child in the long run, is much more expensive. We urge the government to revise our educational programme to help these children to learn better in the mainstream class. We also hope the society will help these children to grow and be successful in life. Together, we provide the gift of hearing to the community.
Cochlear Implant 1. The Sound Processor captures sounds and converts them into digital signals. 2. The Processor sends digital signals to Internal Implant. 3. The implant turns the signals to electrical impulses and sends them to an array inside the Cochlea. 4. The Electrodes stimulate hearing nerve, and the signal is sent to the brain.
EZ MALAYSIA.NEWS 