Volume 2 Issue 2

Tiara Times First Anniversary

Happy Birthday to Tiara Times, which celebrates its first year this month. In January 2006, Tiara Times came out with its very first issue. And though supposedly a monthly, the last few months of 2006 saw it churning out two issues every month.

Tiara Times has grown into a bi-monthly, thanks to all you Tiarans who sent in letters and articles exhorting your views about situations and conditions here in Tiara. Of course, we cannot continue with this trend unless we receive a lot of articles and letters from residents here. Hopefully, this is not a flash in the pan and Tiara Times will be able to continue at the same frequency it has been going great guns like the past few months.

For all those who consented to be profiled, a big THANK YOU. Perhaps many are unaware that getting someone to profile is not an easy exercise. Some have said that they "prefer to be low key and not be profiled." Yet a few others have stated, quite categorically, that they "are too boring to be interviewed," that "no one will be interested in me, lah."

Let me be the judge of that. No one is a boring person (as opposed to being a 'bore', which has a different connotation altogether) or has led a boring life. Their lives may not, perhaps, be as colourful as Michael Jackson's, as successful as Bill Gates', as busy as many highflying captains of industry, as adventurous as embedded journalists or as dangerous as that of stuntmen - but I am positive everyone is sure to have had interesting or unique experiences many would not have gone through.

I would be delighted to be given names and contact numbers of people to profile. Be sporting. Let my work be made easier. I don’t mind the many hours put in to getting Tiara Times out - if I am given some assistance. Otherwise, without me knowing everyone in Tiara, not even l0% of residents here, it is an uphill battle for me to get people willing to be profiled. How about it, Tiarans?
In fact, I would even welcome profiles done by residents. There are hundreds of articles one can write about: an article on your mother, father, close friend, a person you admire, your cute baby brother, etc. Tiara Times may even offer some prizes for interesting and well written profiles. So, do send your profiles in. Make me happy. Give me some time to shake legs, smell the flowers in Tiara or even swot flies!

Tiara Times would also like to thank all Tiarans who sent encouragement by complimenting Tiara Times, on the "interesting and well written profiles", the "high standard of English", the "goings-on in our condo so that we are kept abreast of happenings here", as well as "good opposing views on situations here."

In fact, some Tiarans also sent in jokes and riddles as well. However, because of space constraints we have not been able to print any of these. Perhaps in future issues we may have an insertion or two.

And for those of you who have any suggestions, would like to tell us what you would like to read, or how to improve Tiara Times, we are all ears.

We welcome articles about yourselves. After all, we have said, and repeated, that Tiara Times is YOUR newsletter, so send in some items regarding yourselves and your loved ones, a friend, a hero you admire, things which annoy you...in short, anything.

How about the birth of your newborn, or a baby brother for a sister; that award you won; the excellent meal your mom cooked - and provide TT with the secret recipe; a talented and prominent friend whom you had over to your place; your observations about things and situations; that exciting trip you had jungle trekking or experiencing things that go bump in the night perhaps... the list of things which can be written about is endless.

If you continue sending in your contributions, life for us in Tiara Times would be so much easier - for which we thank you, profusely.So, if you would like another year of Tiara Times, do help us by sending in your articles.

Until then, all the best for 2007 and may the days ahead be constructive and pleasant for all of us here in Tiara .

The Widow’s Mite

Despite not having much herself, B.S.K. (her initials, since she would prefer to remain anonymous) is my idea of the Parable of the Widow's Mite, generous and having the welfare of the less privileged at heart. She rang me and walked to my unit in Q Block from her unit a few blocks away, with some money, biscuits and other tidbits.

"Please hand these food items to Sylvia Hyams and please give her this money," she said. So I took the items and angpow to Sylvia when I went with other Tiarans and some members of the Evergreen Club of SS4, Petaling Jaya to send some Christmas cheer to the Hyams family on December 18th. (See story in previous issue of TT)

A few days later, BSK told me that she rang the Phillys Caring Home and spoke to the care-giver, Phillys Pillay, asking what the inmates needed. She was told that the old residents of the Home needed cabbage, lean pork, sardine or fresh sausages. She would go marketing for these items for them one of these days,she said.

And on January 5th, I took BSK to Paramount Garden to locate Uncle Loh. Luck was with us, since not only did we find easy parking but a lady there pointed out the man outside the Mediviron Clinic. Walking up to the elderly man sitting on the pavement,we asked whether he was Uncle Loh. Indeed he was, he smiled, brandishing a crisp new RMl note which someone had just given him. He was as pleased as Punch.

What would he like for lunch, we enquired. Char Kway Teow at the stall over there - pointing to the stall - would be nice. "And could I have everything - the koo chye, cockles, but not too hot, please," he requested. He informed us that it would cost RM3.50, "and please put it into a white plastic box for me." For his drink he wanted soda,"in the blue can, and a plastic bag with some ice. It is so hot today," he explained as he sat shirtless in his shorts.

Trotting off to get his lunch, we soon returned with it, and Uncle Loh tucked into his kway teow immediately, since that was his first meal of the day, at noon. "But if I was not given this, I have a dollar to buy something to eat," he confided.

I asked how old he was, and was told 67. With more questions, I was informed that he once worked in Singapore, a long time ago, getting a salary of S$270, before it was dropped to S$230, after which a relative took him to Kuala Lumpur, where he has been ever since. His sparse education did not enable him to get a good job, "but I get by. I take a shower every day, and I can sleep there," he said, pointing to the former Ruby Theatre grounds. In the day, he is often outside the Mediviron Clinic, "since no one disturbs me here. Over there," pointing to a place further on, "people harasss me, so I prefer to be here."

His full name is Loh Yew Nan, he said, and wrote it down for us in English and Chinese. Next to him were his worldly belongings, a couple of folded towels, some old newspapers, part of a torn exercise book and a bottle of water.

All along, as we sat on the pavement talking to him, a couple of men watched us with beady eyes less than five feet away. We were afraid of leaving him with more money, fearing the men may snatch the notes from him, so we left him with a few RM1 notes, with the promise that we would pay him another visit soon.

May you be blessed, BSK, for your kindness to all these disadvantaged souls mentioned in the December issue of Tiara Times.

Uncle Loh

After the brief mention in the December issue of Tiara Times about Uncle Loh, an elderly homeless man living on the streets, it is heartwarming to read that there are some caring Tiarans who actually took the trouble to look out for him. This is what a Tiaran emailed to Tiara Times:

This morning after my New Year's Eve party ended at about 3am, I drove by to the Paramount Garden area with a couple of others to see if Uncle Loh was around and whether he wanted anything to eat. I found him outside the Mediviron Clinic, and asked him if he had eaten. He said he would like some meehoon and failing that, rice.

I said that the shops were shut but I would see what was available at the 7-11 outlet across the road. Uncle Loh requested Mirinda Orange and if there was no meehoon or rice, he would like a sardine bun or any pastry.

I managed to get him what he wanted and he thanked us as he dug into the bun hungrily. We asked him whether he would like to go into a nursing home but he said he did not want to. He was happy to sleep on the streets, he added, explaining that he had a place to shower and a sleeping area available to him at the old Ruby Theatre grounds.

So we left him to his meal since he was not interested in our attempts to help get him into a nursing home.

Footnote:

Uncle Loh's case is not an unusual one,as in several other countries, especially the US, there are many such people. These people, though destitute, value their freedom and independence and refuse to be institutionalised. They may be labelled as tramps or hobos. The women equivalent are labelled as 'bag ladies.'

Letter To The Editor - Tiara Times Fan

Dear Editor,

Thank you for the interesting profiles and articles about residents who have services to offer us here in Tiara. I have been following the issues and have even compiled a file for Tiara Times. Please keep up the good work.

We now have Kalvinder, who can cook for us should we need chilli and other dishes; Nina, who does massages, manicures,pedicures and nail art; Param, a handyman; Chan, who repairs computers; Sunny, a reflexologist; Shukor, a resident artist; Margaret Lim, an experienced nurse; kindergarten teachers, Ann Gabriel and Renu; and even will writers, Jonson Chong and Linnet Lee.

In the May, Issue 3 edition of Tiara Times, "A Tiaran" stated that it would be nice if we knew Tiarans in other professions (like lawyers, doctors ,nurses, tuition teachers, IT experts,etc) so that we can call upon their services and give them business should they be required. After all, charity does begin at home and Tiara Damansara Condominium is home to us Tiarans.

A Tiara Times Fan

Letter To The Editor - Parking Rate Increase

Dear Editor,

I was shocked to read in the last issue of Tiara Times that Management will be raising parking rental rates up to a whopping 50% to RM150 for covered lots. This is almost as high as the 60% toll raise for the highway nearby. I can understand the rates being increased but 50% is a bit too much! Management, please reconsider.

No to parking rate increase.

The Grasscutter

On December 7th, 2006, at 8.37am, the whirring blades of a grasscutting machine woke me up from my slumber. It was time to get up,anyway, so I opened the bedroom windows and looked down.

The grasscutter, whom I later found out was Ilham Jefri (34), was meticulously at his trade, plying his machine from left to right, trimming the grass. He painstakingly ensured that every blade of grass even an inch higher than the accepted height, was bladed down. Unlike some other cutters I have observed, who keep advancing, never stepping back, Ilham walked back to look at his work, and advanced forward only if he felt satisfied everything was trimmed neatly. It is not often that workers are so painstaking about their job.

In fact, last month, a couple of other residents living in units fronting the green lung, remarked that the trimmed lawns around Tiara this time seemed to be especially well done. I asked Jamsari (our Security Officer and Building Executive) whether there had been a change of grasscutter, since this cutter did a neater job - to be told that a new grasscutter had indeed been assigned the task last month.

It took Ilham twelve full minutes to trim the stretch the length of my unit - that was how painstaking he was about doing a good job.

Ilham hails from Sumatra and has been a grasscutter for the last 10 years. He can’t remember how many blades he would have broken before mastering his trade - "maybe 150," he guessed. But it certainly was a sizeable number before he became adept at it.

Married to Safrida, they have 3 children, Norliza (l0), Arriffin (5) and Santi (3 months) and live in Kampung Kayu Ara in Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya. He works a full day, and on his off day, he sometimes cuts grass for homes in Damansara Jaya for extra money.

Since his task is manual, he eats a lot of rice with fish daily. Lunch is packed for him by his sister-in-law, since Safrida works part time as a domestic helper and cleaner.

Thank you, Ilham, for a job well done.

Obituaries

The Tiara Management Council regrets the passing of Mr Marc Phillippe Le Vasan (53) of a heart attack on December 12th, 2006. Mr Le Vasan, whose wife and 2 children live in UK, lived in Tiara for 2 years.

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Our condolences too go to Ms. Renugathevi d/o Velayutham on the death of her grandmother, Mrs. Nagarathnam (93), of old age, on December 8th, 2006. Renu, who was profiled in the December 16th issue of Tiara Times, said that all her family members were beside her at her passing and that till the end, she was lucid and reciting powerful Hindu mantras. Mrs Nagarathnam leaves behind her husband of more than 6 decades, aged 91.

Renugathevi added that she regretted her grandmother's passing before the article about her in Tiara Times came out, because "she would have been so proud to read that all the positive points stated in the article about me was due to her, for it was my Granny who instilled all these values in me."

Her grandfather, she stated, would miss his late wife badly,and "so will I ."

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On January 5th, 2006, the last remaining uncle of Goh See Meng (of Q16) passed away, at the age of 85. Datuk Wong Peng Long, one of ten brothers and seven sisters, was a humanitarian involved in many charitable activities. He also had a hand looking after the camps in Johor for Vietnamese refugees fleeing the country by boat more than 3 decade years ago

The last time See Meng saw her uncle was nearly a year ago when she went to pay her Chinese New Year respects to him and aunty Millie Wong. Her uncle leaves behind 2 sons and 2 daughters, one of whom flew in from Arizona on the evening he passed on.

A Special Christmas Party

Not many Tiarans may know that nestled between the tennis court and the function hall/squash courts is a facility for special children. Some of these children live in Tiara though there are others who come to use the facility here, which was started in July 2005.

According to a report, these children have improved their talking , playing , writing, colouring, reading and other skills because of "dedicated parents, good teachers, great programmes, consultants/advisors and other therapies."

On Saturday, December 23rd, 2006, in keeping with the festive spirit, the City Church KL sponsored a Christmas Party for the special children, their parents as well as some invited guests.

The 150-strong City Church, headquartered at the Sunway College Auditorium, set up large and colourful paper cut-outs of Christmas trees, stars and snowflakes as a background at the function hall of Tiara Damansara. Children sat on chairs or the floor, on carpets, as their parents kept an eye on them.

Then at midday, Pastor Mark Barughese started the festivities going by giving a short speech. He saluted the parents of the special children, stating that the volunteers who came today gave of their time and effort for the young ones "maybe one day in the year" whereas parents, the actual care-givers , gave of their time 365 days of each and every year. "They are great parents to be entrusted with these special children," he said.

How did the Tiara facility come to the attention of the City Church KL? Jochebed Jayasooria, who comes to the facility to help out, mentioned it to her church members, who were all for sponsoring a Christmas gathering, to bring cheer to the parents and their little ones. The enthusiastic helpers, all decked out with red Santa hats and red T-shirts, made various sandwiches, fried meehoon and even vegetarian noodles, cocktail sausages with cucumber cubes on sticks, chicken drummets, chicken wings, cake and orange drinks and had gifts for every child.

The first to receive a gift was Johan, a toddler - it was his very first Christmas party. Yen Chern, 5, had 2 gifts, a small package and a big one. Teasingly, I asked the young boy whether I could have one of his gifts. Without a moment's hesitation, he handed me the large gift. I was very touched.

Santa Claus (a.k.a. Reuben David) was in great form, prancing all over the hall as he made contact with every child and handed them gifts. He was nonplussed why he had been requested to play Santa "since I am not chubby, and had to pad myself up a lot to gain some weight." I explained that maybe it was the sign of the times - even the girth of Santa was affected by the Malaysian economy !

Besides the usual evergreens, Here Comes Santa Claus, Jingle Bells and We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Santa even led a train of squealing children and church members on a Conga. There were also groups of children hopping on one leg as they sang Ring-A-Ring-O’Roses before everyone went falling down, when peals of laughter riveted around the hall.

Standing out among the crowd were three African students, all members of the Church. Students of Sunway College, they came to know about the Church since services were held in the College auditorium. Elizabeth Ouma, Anna Kirbadi and Gshter Murrthi, all from Kenya, are students in Hospitality, Tourism and Bio-Med respectively. We hit it off at once when I mentioned Kenya was my favourite country in Africa, which also was my favourite continent.

I regaled them with my adventures sitting in a 4-seater plane gliding over the African Rift Valley as we chased a herd of elephants with Phil Leakey, his German pilot and American banker, on our way to his hotel - built entirely with wood - in the bush; Tree-Tops, a hotel atop a big old tree, where Princess Elizabeth was proclaimed Queen on the death of her father whilst holidaying there; flying above millions of pink flamingoes over Lake Nakuru; seeing game at the Kenya National Game Park, and watching a million Kenyans marching along to Uhuru (Freedom) Square in solidarity for Jomo Kenyatta from my hotel room on a top floor of the Nairobi Hilton.

The occasion came to an end an hour later, but not before Jochebed (a supervisor of the Early Autism Project Malaysia, which started operations in September 2006) informed me that Brenda Boehm, a consultant from the US-based Wisconsin Early Autism Project, was now based in Malaysia, and that autism awareness in the country would now play a bigger role here. For those wishing to contact Jochebed Jayasooria, she can be reached at: 012-3648686.

Closure Of Tennis Court

The tennis court will be closed from Tuesday, January 16^th , 2007 for approximately seven weeks to undergo major repairs.

The date of reopening of the tennis court should be sometime in February and will be announced later.

Any inconvenience caused is much regretted

The Management

Volume 2 Issue 1

Sylvia’s Merry Christmas

Her favourite Christmas carol is Blue Christmas, but for Sylvia and her children Douglas, Elizabeth, Peter and Charlene, it was certainly not a blue day for them on December 18^th , 2006.

Thanks to the mention in the December issue of Tiara Times, some residents pooled their charitable instincts together and donated angpows, Christmas gifts, meehoon, Maggi mee, Milo, coffee, tea, large tins of biscuits, con­densed milk, Nestum, milk, canned soup, sardine etc. A resident also made a special kerabu which Sylvia and Elizabeth love.

Together with some members of the Evergreen Club of SS4, Petaling Jaya, a round dozen people made their way in three cars to Sylvia's home in Taman Medan, Old Klang Road at 2.30pm.

St Nicholas, better known as Santa Clause, was there "in person" too, in Nicholas the guitarist. Once inside the bedsit of her home, carols rang out -including, of course, Sylvia's favourite Blue Christmas. This was in memory of her father, who passed on a long time ago - "but whom I remember every Christmas," she explained.

Tea brought by the wellwishers was served at the end of the carolling.There was ikan bilis sambal and tuna sandwiches, fresh curry puff and home-made cake as well.

"Christmas won’t be bleak for us this year,"smiled Elizabeth. Sylvia expressed her gratitude to her wellwishers for their monetary donations. "We will use part of this to offset our water bill and hope water will be restored to us soon. We have endured five days without water since we were not able to pay the bill."

Have a comfortable Christmas Sylvia, with your loved ones, and may 2007 be a kinder one for you.

Post Script:

After the wellwishers left, son Douglas rushed down to Syabas to settle half the RM 1071.38 cents bill from part of the angpows received. Water was restored that very day.

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting (AGM ) of Tiara Damansara Condominium is scheduled to be held on Saturday, January 27th , 2007 at 2:00 p.m. at the function / BBQ area next to the squash courts. If there is no quorum on that day, the AGM will be held the following Saturday, February 3rd , 2007 at the same place and time.

The notice of meeting, agenda, Annual Reports and audited accounts will be distributed to owners a week before the meeting. Owners who would like to bring up other agenda matters, please contact the Management Office before January 12th , 2007.

Tiara Rental Parking

This is a reply to the Letter to the Editor on Tiara Rental Parking which appeared in the last issue of Tiara Times.

Management is well aware of the situation in the Visitor Parking Lot near Queens Gate (QG VPL) described by "Still Waiting". To fully understand how this came about, let us delve into the history of the QG VPL.

Previously, all parking in Tiara (other than owned lots) were converted to rental lots; thus there was not a single visitor parking bay in Tiara, resulting in complaints by some residents during the AGM. As a result Management created the QG VPL, which was implemented in late December 2005. Fifteen lots were created for visitors to park, at RM1 per every two hours.

Initially, the VPL was for visitors only. Residents were prohibited from parking there. The usage of the VPL was monitored and it was soon apparent that it was under-utilised (only a maximum of five lots were occupied at any one time). Some residents questioned why the lots were left empty, especially overnight while residents had to park outside.

Thus it was decided to allow residents to park at the VPL but paying the same hourly rate as visitors. As this was quite expensive, only a few residents used the VPL to park overnight every night. Some of these residents then suggested that instead of paying on a daily basis, that they be allowed to park there on a monthly basis.

In March 2006, Management decided to allow this and set the rate of RM150 per month (based on 10 hours per night, 30 days a month). This was based on the understanding that the lots could be taken back by Management at any time. It was decided to open up five lots for this purpose and offered to residents on the Waiting List in their order on the list. Most of the residents on the List declined the offer – possibly due to the high price of RM150 compared to covered lots (RM100) and more than double that of uncovered lots (RM70). As there were not many takers, this facility was extended to those who already had rental lots but who were willing to pay the RM150 to park there.

Thus, since March 2006, five of the 15 lots in the QG VPL were allocated for this purpose and the rest for visitor parking. But the QG VPL still remained under-utilised. Part of the reason was that the QG VPL was too far for people visiting units in King's Crescent.

So, in October 2006, Management decided to "take back" the five uncovered rental lots closest to King's Gate and convert them to visitor parking. To "compensate" those who were renting the rescinded lots, five lots were "taken away" from the QG VPL- and the rental parking lots were reshuffled all the way from King's Gate to those near Queen's Gate (five of them). For these five who were relocated to the QG VPL, not by their choice, but by Management’s decision, Management allowed them the same rental (RM 70) as they had been paying before.
This explains the current situation in QG VPL where five lots are for visitors at RM1 per two hours, another five at RM150 per month, and the remaining five for the reshuffled renters at RM70 per month.

While this situation may appear like setting a high price “for those who could afford to pay more to jump queue”, (to quote “Still Waiting”) it was not so. The current situation, as can now be seen , was the result of two separate but related decisions. The renting of lots at RM150 per month was not an issue until the reshuffling exercise, which resulted in the disparity.

Management is aware of this disparity and is looking into the situation and working on rectifying it soon.

At the last Management Council Meeting in December 2006, the Management Council decided to increase the rental parking fee from RM100 to RM150 per month for covered lots and from RM70 to RM100 per month for uncovered . This includes the ten uncovered bays in the QG VPL, which has been standardized to RM100 per month.

All these bays will be considered rental lots and each unit will not be allowed to have more than one rental lot anywhere in Tiara regardless of type (of rental lot).

However this increase will take effect only in the next quarter, starting in April 2007. All other conditions remain the same as stated in the Rental Parking Agreement.

Tiarans Catch A Thief

On November 14th , 2006, a resident of Tiara, Nigel Green,was about to turn into the Tiara Damansara entrance when he noticed a man fleeing from a Police patrol car. In his desperation to escape the long arms of the law, the man had crashed the motorcycle he was on, at the traffic light near Tiara.

Nigel saw Jamsari, Tiara' s Security Officer / Building Executive, outside inspecting the grounds. Picking Jamsari up in his car, Nigel shot through the red light, honking at the other cars to give way as Jamsari shouted at the top of his voice, "Berhenti! Berhenti! Don’t move or I will shoot you. This is Police, Police!" as Nigel drove towards the fleeing thief.

As they closed in, Jamsari pounced on the thief, holding the struggling man as the Police patrol car drew up. The thief, an Indonesian, was handed over and taken into custody.

Rental Parking Reshuffling Exercise

The Tiara Management Council tries, to the best of its ability, to be fair and transparent in the handling of issues and grievances in Tiara Damansara. Monthly meetings of the TMC are held to address existing issues. It is understandable and to be expected that some residents may not be happy with some of the decisions made. It is impossible to please every single resident in a community of about a thousand. Below is an instance where we explain our actions to show transparency, in correspondence (which has been shortened due to space constraints) between a resident, Susan, and Head of Car Park, Willy Boo.

S: With reference to your letter dated September 7th 2006 pertaining to the reassignment of car rental parking lots, I was made to understand that I have to give up my current rented parking lot (Y20) and be assigned another lot at Y26A. Much as I support Management’s implementation of this exercise, I was disappointed to discover that there seems to be an unfair approach in the reassignment exercise.

W : The accusation of favouritism and partiality is often the swiftest criticism made when an unfavourable decision has been made, resulting in the aggrieved party writing from the “victim” point of view.

S : To illustrate what I mean, below is the comparison made on the reassignment of the rented parking lots between me in Block Q16 and other residents in Block Q18 and P2.
Block Old Lot New Lot
Q16 Y20 Y26A
Q18 Y19A Y23A
Q18 Y21A Y20A
P2 Y21 Y22

Since my parking lot (Y20) has been moved to Y26A, (12 parking lots away from the original lot), it is fair to assume that residents with rented parking lots in Y19A, Y21A and Y21 should also be moved sequentially with the same number of lots away from their original lots (ie. to new lots in Y26, Y25A and Y25 respectively). However, I was reassigned a rented lot 12 lots away whilst the residents of Y19A, Y12A and Y21 were reassigned new lots not far from their original lots. I am very baffled by this system of re-allocation.

W: Don’t be. There are many things in life more baffling. I can appreciate that perhaps it was the lack of proper or adequate assessment of specifics that the resident wrote her say. I would like to dispel this erroneous viewpoint by displaying the fundamental guides- the nuts and bolts, so to speak- that were used in the reassignment

S: I live in Block Q16 and now I have to walk all the way to Block Q10 to get to my new lot, while the other residents in Block Q18 and P2B were assigned to lots not far from their units. Is this a fair and equitable approach to the reassignment?
I am sure you can see my point of view and why I would appreciate an explanation from the Tiara Management Council as to how this "random" system of re-allocation was decided. I have always respected the decisions made by Management as they have always been fair and reasonable. However, I cannot maintain my usual regard for Management in this respect because there is no justification or logic in the way these parking lots have been reassigned.
I do hope that this is not because certain residents are favoured more than others, hence the preferential treatment.

W: You highlighted that you now have to walk about 2¾ blocks to almost Q10 to your new lot. Allow me to clarify that both Q18 and P2 need to walk about 2 and 2 ½ blocks respectively to their new parking lots as well. So you see, the residents you highlighted need to walk also in the range of 2-3 blocks to their reassigned lots, approximately the same distance you have to walk.

This demonstrates there is no preferential treatment. It further justifies the methodology that was used in the reassignment, would you not agree? In conclusion, the point to note is not how far the new parking lot is located from your old one but rather how far it is located from the tenant's residing block.

I would also like to mention that 5 residents who were affected in the re-allocation exercise now have to walk 5-6 blocks to their reassigned lots. Even though the norm is a distance of 2-3 blocks, they kindly obliged without drama, much to Management’s gratitude and appreciation. Before any suspicious mind goes wandering, I would like to explain that the cause of this is largely due to the peculiar layout of Tiara Damansara and the location of their residing blocks. Hence, it may be appropriate to conclude that they are "victims of circumstances".

S: Being a resident and also unit owner of Tiara Damansara, it would not seem unreasonable that I be given an explanation why the above reassignment has been done in such a manner and urge Management to come up with a more equitable approach to the reassignment exercise.

W: To further assure you of our transparency in this reassignment exercise you are welcome to meet with Management and query the method employed.


POST SCRIPT: By now Susan has been reassigned a lot just 1¾ blocks away. This is largely due to the effort taken by Management in going that extra mile for Tiarans when an opportunity arises and circumstances permit.

The Wedding

It turned out to be a wonderful outing, an afternoon and evening of good speeches, hilarious games and events by the MC, and things going on schedule.

Before starting out for the church ceremony of Jeshurun Nimbalker and Rachel Mirunalini, the elder daughter of Mr. Paul Baktha, the Building Manager of Tiara Damansara Condominium, and his wife Theresa, Ow, who was driving us to the church, studiously looked at the map provided in the wedding invitation.

We made good timing, but on reaching the locality where the church was slated to be, we were a bit hesitant which turning to take. But Lady Luck was with us. Right before us, one car in front, was a bridal car. Instinctively we decided to follow, certain it would be heading towards St. Peter's Church in Bangsar. We were not wrong.

As the bride waited in the car before making her appearance down the aisle, we ladies bolted into the church, leaving Ow to find parking. After all, that is what a gentleman is supposed to do whilst the ladies, dressed in their Sunday best, shaded their heads from the rain and tripped in, avoiding puddles of water on the ground.

The church ceremony began at 5:38pm. As the four orange saree-clad bridesmaids and their immaculately attired escorts entered (among them, Paul’s son Adrian), led by a confident and smiling flower girl, and the bride's sister, Margaret, carrying the thirumanggalyam on a maroon velvet tray, bringing up the rear, the packed congregation rose to their feet. To the subtle strains of Here Comes the Bride, a smiling bride, resplendant in her lovely white saree, walked down the isle with her father, Paul Baktha.

After the bride was received by her groom, the pastor, Reverend Canon Jason Selvaraj, led the service. The congregation sang hymns followed by scripture readings by relatives before the pastor gave his sermon to the couple. Reverend Jason said that he had specially selected a quotation appropriate for the occasion: “Congratulations on the termination of your isolation and may I express an appreciation of your determination to end the desperation and frustration which has caused you so much consternation in giving you the inspiration to make a combination to make an accumulation to the world's population."

He also advised the couple to have an open communication with each other and not shut the other out. For, he said, “it was often said that in the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens; in the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens; but in the third year, both speak ... and the neighbours listen!” Whilst true love was about open communication, it should not be to the extent that the neighbours listened!

After the couple were proclaimed man and wife, the congregation spewed outside the well-kept church grounds to chat and gaze upon the lighted cascading fountain with its many- hued hibiscus plants ringing it, prompting a Tiara Management Council member to suggest that maybe various hybrids of our national flower be planted within Tiara.

Another TMC member, Keith Kok, carrying his daughter, together with his wife Wan Yue, were among the congregation. However they were not able to attend the dinner since they had their own romantic dinner for two to go to – December 2nd happened to be their sixth wedding anniversary, and they had booked a table at Checkers in Damansara to celebrate. They were in Penang but had returned to Kuala Lumpur to attend the church ceremony. Congratulations on your wedding anniversary, Mr and Mrs Keith Kok.

The dinner at the Gnanabai Sarojah Memorial Hall of the church was crammed with fifty tables. Outside and inside, orange and white balloons festooned the dining area and orange roses filled with white babies breath stood on columns along the aisle, lending an air of grandeur. Orange was the theme colour, and the bride entered the hall in an orange saree after the church ceremony. All bouquets displayed orange roses as well.

By the time dinner began the guests were famished, though it had not been a long wait at all. The MC for the evening, Charles Antony, had the audience in stitches, which prompted Ow to comment that "this is definitely the happiest wedding party I have ever attended."

There were fun games, to the amusement of the guests, who roared with laughter. An aunt from the Solomon Islands, who gave a speech, described Rachel, who is a Research Controller at MAS, as "honest, trustworthy, patient, with a giving spirit, who gives of her time conducting Sunday school classes as well and a model child at home."

Besides the aunt from the Solomon Islands, relatives flew in from the US, London, Penang, Singapore, and others drove in from Sungai Petani, Ipoh and Johor Bahru.

The multi-talented groom, Jeshurun, an engineer with Intel, serenaded his new bride by playing the electric guitar as well as the keyboard.

Guests were called on stage to participate in the games, which had ladies prancing around their male partners (who had to act as trees) and even crawling through their legs, to gain prizes. Others had to dance to win the hearts of their lady partners besides showing off martial arts skill in their defence. It was hilarious.

But all good things must come to an end, and so at 10.30pm, guests took their leave after a wonderful evening of fun and laughter.

We wish you, Rachel and Jeshurun, all the very best in your married life. And may Paul and Theresa Baktha become grandparents in the not too distant future.