GROUNDED THEORY....SYSTEMATIC METHODOLOGY IN DOING PHD RESEARCH?

Grounded theory (GT) is a systematic qualitative research methodology in the social sciences emphasizing generation of theory from data in the process of conducting research.It is a research method that operates almost in a reverse fashion to traditional research and at first may appear to be in contradiction of the scientific method. Rather than beginning by researching & developing a hypothesis, a variety of data collection methods are the first step. From the data collected from this first step, the key points are marked with a series of codes, which are extracted from the text. The codes are grouped into similar concepts, in order to make them more workable. From these concepts categories are formed, which are the basis for the creation of a theory, or a reverse engineered hypothesis. This contradicts the traditional model of research, where the researcher chooses a theoretical framework, and only then applies this model to the studied phenomenon

GT is a systematic generation of theory from data that contains both inductive and deductive thinking. One goal of a GT is to formulate hypotheses based on conceptual ideas. Others may try to verify the hypotheses that are generated by constantly comparing conceptualized data on different levels of abstraction, and these comparisons contain deductive steps. Another goal of a GT is to discover the participants’ main concern and how they continually try to resolve it. The questions you keep on asking in GT are "What’s going on?" and "What is the main problem of the participants and how are they trying to solve it?" These questions will be answered by the core variable and its subcores and properties in due course (see below). GT does not aim for the "truth" but to conceptualize what's going on by using empirical data. In a way GT resembles what many researchers do when retrospectively formulating new hypotheses to fit data. However, in GT the researcher does not pretend to have formulated the hypotheses in advance since preformed hypotheses are prohibited (Glaser & Strauss 1967).

If your research goal is accurate description, then another method should be chosen since GT is not a descriptive method. Instead it has the goal of generating concepts that explain people’s actions regardless of time and place. The descriptive parts of a GT are there mainly to illustrate the concepts. In most behavioral research endeavors persons or patients are units of analysis, whereas in GT the unit of analysis is the incident (Glaser & Strauss 1967). There are normally at least several hundred incidents analyzed in a GT study since every participant normally reports many incidents. When comparing many incidents in a certain area, the emerging concepts and their relationships are in reality probability statements. Consequently, GT is not a qualitative method but a general method that can use any kind of data even if qualitative at the moment are most popular (Glaser, 2001, 2003). However, although working with probabilities, most GT studies are considered as qualitative since statistical methods are not used, and figures not presented. The results of GT are not a reporting of facts but a set of probability statements about the relationship between concepts, or an integrated set of conceptual hypotheses developed from empirical data (Glaser 1998). Validity in its traditional sense is consequently not an issue in GT, which instead should be judged by fit, relevance, workability, and modifiability (Glaser & Strauss 1967, Glaser 1978, Glaser 1998).

Fit has to do with how closely concepts fit with the incidents they are representing, and this is related to how thoroughly the constant comparison of incidents to concepts was done.

Relevance. A relevant study deals with the real concern of participants, evokes "grab" (captures the attention) and is not only of academic interest.

Workability. The theory works when it explains how the problem is being solved with much variation.

Modifiability. A modifiable theory can be altered when new relevant data is compared to existing data. A GT is never right or wrong, it just has more or less fit, relevance, workability and modifiability.

30th DECEMBER 2008..BEGINNING UKM NEW SEMESTER 3 2008/2009

27th DECEMBER 2008 - 1ST YEAR ANNIVERSARY IN UKM

Today is my 1st year anniversary in UKM and second semester 2008/2009. Next year 2009 is my 3rd semester 2008/2009. In year 2008, I did read a lot of books and journals for for my PHD research. I wrote a few short articels in my blog related to my study. I received a quite number of comments from local and foreign blog followers. Thank you also to my main supervisor Assoc Prof Dr Hamzah Jusoh and co-supervisor Dr Jalaluddin Abdul Malek for your guidances and advices. I attended a few lectures and classes in order to enhance my knowledge and thinking on development, social theory and spatial. Thank you to Assoc Prof Dr Hamzah Jusoh and Dr Jalaluddin Abdul Malek (Class Globalisation and Development), Assoc Prof Dr Juneinah, Puan Marshita and Dr Suraiya (Class Governance and Development), Dr Sivapalan Selvadurai and Encik Azmi Aziz (Class Philosophy and Development Theory ), Prof Datuk Dr Shamsul Amri, Prof Dr Amriah Buang and Assoc Prof Dr Juneinah (Class Discourse on Social Thoughts) and Dr Hair Awang, Dr Sivapalan Selvadurai and Dr Er Ah Choy (Class Local Economic Development).

In year 2008, I had presented my research 3 times at different international conferences which related to my research. I attended a few seminars, Professor Lectures and roundtable dialogues organised by my department, UKM and faculty. I am glad to share with my blog followers my monthly phd journals which is the complilation writing of my thought, reading and classess that I had attended. These monthly phd journals is my main reference for my phd tesis. In year 2008, I also completed my Chapter 1 (Introduction - Justification of the Study) , Chapter 2 (Theory of Local Government - The Beginning Institution of Urban Governance) and chapter 3 (City Region and Efficient Urban Governance). I hope in year 2009 I can start my methodology research and survey.

PAPER PRESENTED AND SEMINAR ATTENDED IN 2008

Paper Presented

1. International Conference on Built Environment in Developing Countries (ICBEDC 2007) which was held in Universiti Sains Malaysia 3rd-5th December, 2008 organised by School of Housing , Building and Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia. Paper EFFICIENT URBAN GOVERNANCE IN ENHANCING COMPETITIVENESS OF KUALA LUMPUR CITY REGION;

2. International Conference On Social, Development And Environmental Studies 2008 - “Global Change And Transforming Spaces” 18-19th November 2008 in Danau Golf Club, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia organised by School of Social, Development and Environmental Studies, Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Paper THE IMPLEMENTATION OF E-GOVERNMENT IN LOCAL AUTHORITIES TOWARDS IN ENHANCING URBAN GOVERNANCE EFFICIENCY; and

3. International Conference on Sustainable Human and Social Developmentin Paris, France 4 -6 July 2008 organised by World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology (WASET) . Paper EFFICIENCY IN URBAN GOVERNANCE TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY AND COMPETITIVENESS OF CITY: A CASE STUDY OF KUALA LUMPUR

Seminar Attended

1. ASEAN SEMINAR ON SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (SIA) IN THE ASEAN REGION: Enhancement Of SIA Practices Towards Sustainable Communities on 19-20 November 2008 at : Crystal Crown Hotel, Petaling Jaya organized by Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development and Malaysia Social Impact Assessment Association (MSIA);

2. A JOINT SEMINAR AND EXHIBITION ON WORLD HABITAT DAY -HARMONIOUS CITIES AND WORLD TOWN PLANNING DAY 2008 - THE WAY FORWARD ON SUSTAINABILITY on 5th-7 th November 2008 at Putrjaya International Convention Centre (PICC) or organized by Ministry of Housing and Local Government and Federal Department of Town and Country Planning, Peninsular Malaysia; and

3. SEMINAR ON ECONOMIC CORRIDORS OF PENINSULAR MALAYSIA organised by Malaysian Institute Of Planners (MIP) on 4 April 2008 at Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre.

4. ROUND TABLE DIALOGUE ON MODELLING THE COMPLEXITY OF LIVABLE URBANIZATION") on 4 March 2008 at Equatorial Hotel Bangi organised by Institute for Environment and Development (LESTARI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Centre for Advance Spatial Analysis (CASA), University College London, United Kingdom College London.

E-GOVERNMENT THE WAY FORWARD TO EFFICIENT URBAN GOVERNANCE

Governments can query, inform, and transact with the public over electronic networks. Since the public began to use the Internet for leisure and business, governments have been progressively migrating their service delivery onto electronic platforms. In the early days of the Internet this was justified as a great source of cost-savings. Many programs that involved information outreach were experiencing cost escalation as publishing, printing, and distribution costs continued to rise. Instead of cutting such efforts entirely during the period of down-sizing, the "webification solution" allowed documents to be posted on the World Wide Web with savings of as much as 75% of previous costs.

The shortcoming of this solution was the "digital divide" – only those with Internet connections could access the digitized documents. If most of the distribution went to government departments, other governments, businesses, or professionals, they already had or could readily acquire an Internet connection. Others less fortunate (lack of funds or lack of available interconnection points) began to claim they were being discriminated against. Hence began government sponsorship of attempts to expand access and/or provide it for free (via freenets or community portals), such as the widely successful Community Access Program in Canada, and similar programs in other countries. These programs are clear attempts to provide opportunities to engage all of the citizenry in the nation into the benefits of cyberspace through efforts to bridge the digital divide.

Many of the initial webification solutions were quite primitive, with poor information layout, inadequate navigation provisions, no support for the impaired, slow electronic responses, occasional disruptions in service, periodically outdated content, and little or no "back office" support. Criticism from a wide spectrum of users prompted improvements such as "common look and feel" standards, better information architecture, feedback provisions, and manual or dynamic content updating.

When people began to pay taxes and user fees online, fill in questionnaires, apply for jobs in the public service, send e-mails to elected officials or public servants, and download documents, they became somewhat more satisfied, and governments in turn could begin to call their Internet efforts a success. But as services improved, public expectations for online government capabilities increased. Now citizen users want (and get) search engines on government websites, responses to their e-mail queries within a set time limit, instant access to electronic public documents as soon as they are released, and opportunities to purchase chargeable information with a credit card or account. What else does the public want over the Internet that their governments could provide?

• Access by a person to all the personal data on that person that is held in government data banks. So far this is limited by security, privacy, and confidentiality concerns.

• Access to all government documentation of all kinds by anyone. At present the storage and retrieval costs are prohibitive, and there are also security, privacy, and confidentiality concerns here as well.

• Information architecture that permits one-stop-shopping for all information from all governments in a simple thematic directory. There are also cost constraints, and no known technology to integrate, index and search all of this information.

HISTORY OF LANDSLIDES IN HULU KLANG

Dec 10, 1985: Two new unoccupied double-storey houses in Taman Melawati, collapsed at 8.50am during heavy downpours.

March 29, 1990: A landslide occurred in Taman Setia Wangsa, affecting 80 families in two flats.

Dec 11, 1993, 48 people were killed when one of the three condominium blocks of Highland Towers in Taman Hillview, located 1.5km away from Saturday's landslide scene, collapsed. The tragedy shocked the whole nation as it was the first in its history since the independence. The collapse of the building after three days of heavy downpours had created public awareness on the safety of buildings built on hill slopes.

Dec 25, 1997: Three people were buried alive in a landslide in Km 17 of the Ampang-Hulu Kelang Expressway.

Sept 17, 1998: One house was destroyed in Gombak due to soil erosion.

May 15, 1999: Thousands of residents in Bukit Antarabangsa and Wangsa Ukay in Jalan Hulu Klang were trapped when a 100-metre long landslide occurred at 5.20am and cut off the only access road to the hilly residential area.

Feb 24, 2000: A four-year-old child was killed in a landslide in Kampung Sri Damai, near Taman Kencana, Ampang.

Oct 5, 2000: A landslide occurred in Jalan Bukit Antarabangsa during heavy downpours but no casualty was reported.

Nov 20, 2002: A landslide at 4.30am flattened the double-storey bungalow of Affin Bank Bhd chairman Gen (Rtd)Tan Sri Ismail Omar. His wife, Puan Sri Azizah Abdul Aziz, his son Hijaz, two in-laws, two grandchildren and two Indonesian maids, perished in the 4.35am incident.The bungalow was located 300m away from the Highland Towers.

May 31, 2006: Four people including two children were killed when they were buried alive in a landslide that flattened three blocks of longhouses at Kampung Pasir during a heavy downpours at 4.45pm.

5 December 2008 landslide occurred in Taman Bukit Utama and Taman Bukit Mewah in Bukit Antarabangsa on Saturday is actually a hilly area that is prone to landslides. 4 people killed.

21st DECEMBER 2008...12th YEAR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

AZMIZAM AND ZULAINI - 12th YEAR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

1996-Present

MY PARENT - ABDUL RASHID AND SARBIAH 43rd WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

1965 -Present

MY PARENT IN-LAW - ZULKIFLI AND NORBAINI 41ST WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

1967-Present

GOVERNMENT OR GOVERNANCE... TO THE WAY WE WERE?

Government is described as the repository of confidence and power of the people delegated by them for a fixed period of time for the express purpose of identifying, mobilizing, organizing, guiding and directing all available resources, human and other, to facilitate planned and participatory transformation of their society towards enhanced well-being of its people, via just enjoyment of all its needs, rights, aspirations and sustainable peace. Governments are necessarily political regimes pursuing a course of development action that they consider as most suited within the construct and form of their society and its constitution. Government comprises the constitution & laws, institutions & structures, management mechanisms & administrative processes. These are devolutionary instruments that make a government participatory and responsive.

Governance, on the other hand, is the sum of cumulative practice of behaviour and attitude of the government as seen in the manner they create and use the said devolutionary instruments. Form, style, systems, methods, and procedures of government generally reflect the pattern of governance in a nation or city. The quality and effectiveness of governance depend mostly on how judiciously the government uses the said instruments to help people achieve the ultimate goal of their progress - justice, equity and peace.

The term 'Governance' is derived from the Greek word 'kybernan' and 'kybernetes'. It means 'to steer and to pilot or be at the helm of things'. While the term 'government' indicates a political unit for the function of policy making as distinguished from the administration of policies, the word 'governance' denotes an overall responsibility for both - the political and administrative functions. It also implies ensuring moral behaviour and ethical conduct in the task of governing, i.e., the continuous exercise of authority on both the political and administrative units of governments. Some noteworthy definitions of 'governance' come from the World Bank, UNDP, OECD and The Commission of Global Governance. They are:

'The World Bank has identified three distinct aspects of governance: (i) the form of political regime; (ii) the process by which the authority is exercised in the management of a country's economic and social resources for development; and (iii) the capacity of governments to design, formulate and implement policies and discharge functions.' (World Bank, 1994). 'Governance is viewed as the exercise of economic, political and administrative authority to manage a country's affairs at all levels. It comprises mechanisms, processes, an institutions through which citizens and groups of articulate their interests, exercise their legal rights, meet their obligations, and mediate their differences.' (UNDP, 1997)

'The concept of governance denotes the use of political authority and exercise of control in a society in relation to the management of its resources for social and economic development. This broad definition encompasses the role of public authorities in establishing the environment in which economic operators function and in determining the distribution of benefits as the nature of relationship between the ruler and the ruled'. (OECD, 1995)

'Governance is the sum of the many ways individuals and institutions, public and private, manage their common affairs. It is a continuing process through which conflicting or diverse interests may be accommodated and co-operative action may be taken. It includes formal institutions and regimes empowered to enforce compliance, as well as informal arrangements that people and institutions either have agreed to or perceive to be in their interest'. (Commission on Global Governance, 1995). Good governance is both a goal and a process. It only can help us find solutions to poverty, inequality and insecurity. It creates an environment in which civil organizations, business community, private citizens and other institutions can assume ownership of the city development process and the management of their communities.

CITY OF KUALA LUMPUR...PLANNING TOWARDS WORLD CLASS CITY

Kuala Lumpur’s vision to create a world class living and business environment coincides with the national goal on being competitive and knowledge-intensive. This entails a paradigm shift to the new economy where more knowledge intensive industries are encouraged to locate and concentrate in Kuala Lumpur. This thrust is expected to permeate throughout the urban economy, creating more wealth for the people and business community, it shall leading to higher living standards, and a more conducive and creative working environment that will encourage active interactions among skilled workers, technopreneurs, innovators, creative artistes and k-businesses.

This new urban economy in Kuala Lumpur shall be characterized by an abundance of skilled human resources. Wealth generated largely from the intense sharing of codified knowledge and information, and new knowledge gained from R&D and intellectual property, increased collaboration between firms and institutions, the extensive use of information and communications technologies (ICT) and the development of more effective learning mechanisms across the entire economy. Spatial growth in Kuala Lumpur over the past decade has been closely associated with the growth of its urban economic activities. The new emerging economies envisioned for Kuala Lumpur shall strengthen it’s central role as the Capital City of Malaysia and the nation’s largest employment centre, where principal concentrations of business, finance, retail, tourist and cultural activities for the entire nation are located. It is thus crucial for the Draft KL City Plan 2020 to develop an urban structure that will meet the demands of this new urban economy. The plan will identify how this economic growth and expansion will be accomodated in Kuala Lumpur’s spatial and development built form. The Plan must also acknowledge the role of Kuala Lumpur not only as the Capital City of Malaysia but also its function as an important national growth node and gateway towards developing a global economy.

The Draft KL City Plan 2020 has designated a premier business and financial zone in the City Centre, which is also identified as an international zone. This premier zone shall spearhead Kuala Lumpur into a global city and shall provide for quality housing, grade ‘A’ office buildings, international 5-star hotels and a quality built environment that is safe and attractive for international business and local communities to conduct business, work and live in Kuala Lumpur. The vision for Kuala Lumpur to be A World-Class City is encapsulated in this premier zone which is also a competitive zone in the city. It gives the city an edge in attracting new investments and in expanding existing investments. The premier zone shall have two main areas, i.e., the financial precinct and the business precinct.

FINANCIAL PRECINCT

The financial precinct will provide for corporate international and national headquarters, agencies and embassy functions which are becoming increasingly important because of globalization. The presence of international financial and business activities in the city provides great opportunities for international and domestic organisations including financial intermediaries and institutions to enhance their networking partnerships, to create economies of scale in adopting innovative information technology and infrastructure and to attract skilled human resources who are fundamental to the continuous success of business. The thrust for ward therefore demands that Kuala Lumpur invests in its physical capital and assets (housing, environment, physical infrastructure, community facilities, roads, transportation), and also in its human capital. By doing this, it further enhances itself as an attractive location for knowledge intensive businesses.

This would also assist in fulfilling the objectives of Malaysia’s Capital Master Plan (CMP) and the Financial Sector Master Plan (FSMP). One strategic move is to make Malaysia a major international Islamic Financial hub which will further enhance Kuala Lumpur’s position internationally. The increasing liberalization of the financial industry, accompanied by the expansion of the range and types of financial services, would attract international banks, financial institutions and other trading and broking firms to set up their regional and international headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. The designated financial precinct shall provide the enabling environment for these entities.

BUSINESS PRECINCT

The business precinct is the immediate area outside of the fi nancial precinct within the area of Jalan Ampang-Jalan Tun Razak -KLCC-Bukit Bintang leading into Jalan Imbi; Jalan Tun Abdul Rahman- Chow Kit-Jalan Dang Wangi, Jalan Pudu-Jalan Petaling-Jalan Sultan -Jalan Hang Jebat. Here, all kinds of businesses are attracted by the spillover effects of Kuala Lumpur’s dynamic economic activities in the fi nancial precinct which will serve as the catalyst for the growth of other business and professional services. It is here that the City will be able to focus on building up a creative class because creativity is the winning factor to increase a city’s competitive edge. Creative and cultural activities are central to an advanced city’s identity and a key sector in world cities. Creative and cultural activities and business tend to be attracted to international zones because of their ambience and cosmopolitanism.

INTERNATIONAL ZONE

Kuala Lumpur acknowledges the expansion of its international community. Where traditionally, the international community in Kuala Lumpur is centred on and in areas where the foreign embassies are located. The City has become more cosmopolitan, with the rise of multinational and transnational firms setting up offices and headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. Many of the members of its international community are workers and permanent residents attracted into the country by the abundance of job opportunities, and by the offer of attractive terms under the ‘Malaysia My Second Home’ (MM2H) program.

Kuala Lumpur has designate four areas as International Zone and these areas include the City Centre, Bangsar -Damansara, Jalan Ampang - Jalan Tun Razak - Jalan U-Thant - Jalan Damai - Jalan Semarak, Titiwangsa and Bukit Jalil. These international enclaves do not merely serve as residential areas; they also function as key commercial areas, offering quality offices, entertainment, fine dining, shopping, and tourism based activities such as medical and educational tourism.

GOVERNANCE A NEW DIMENSION OF GOVERNMENT

As Kettl has observed, "Governance" is a way of describing the links between government and its broader environment – political, social, and administrative. Each of these dimensions forms a side of the "governance triangle". All of the other characteristics of governance are just aspects of its functionality, which we will preview in this section, and then elaborate in more detail in further sections. The concept of functionality, as R.A.W. Rhodes has stated it in “Understanding Governance”, refers to the effects that are produced as a result of the procedures used. The function of social governance is to direct the achievement of collective objectives.

Governance is distinct from government in that it concerns longer-term processes rather than immediate decisions. Governance is a set of continuous processes that usually evolve slowly with use rather than change dramatically (as with a change of government). There are three categories of processes to cover the interactions between the government, the public service, and the citizenry. The engagement process covers the interaction between citizens and government; the consultation process covers the interaction between public servants and citizens; and the implementation process covers the interaction between the government and the public service.

The result of the governance focus on processes instead of decisions is that the primary concern is goals rather than rules. In the perspective of governance what is important is the objective rather than the rules of behaviour for achieving it. Various levels or locales of jurisdiction may pursue the same goals with distinct instruments, different priorities, and alternate agendas. This is often both unsurprising and inevitable – even those "singing from the same hymn-book" may do so in a different key, to a different accompanying instrument. The goals of governance cannot really be achieved by micro-management, because there are no means of detailed enforcement.

In contra-distinction to the formal roles within government, governance processes are oriented to performance. Specific tasks are not necessarily assigned to specific roles because the point is for everyone to "pitch in" and work toward the common goal. The main concern is the purpose of the various governance processes, and numerous people in various roles can provide an assortment of contributions depending on their circumstances.

Governance takes the larger view of social objectives, so it involves the coordination of efforts rather than the implementation of specific programs. How it all fits together is more important than exactly who does what to whom by which means. This is the systemic perspective as opposed to a focus on the individual practice, or player, or process.

The "bottom line" for governance is outcomes rather than the outputs of government. One dramatic way of illustrating this point is to word it as follows: whereas the point of government outputs is the effort expended, the point of governance outcomes is the effects produced. One of the reasons people are often impatient with governments is because, despite the reports of great efforts expended, the results produced (the outcomes) are often unacceptable from the point of view of the citizenry. People who want to "re-invent government" are hoping that those in government will adopt a new focus on outcomes to replace outputs.

UNIVERSITI KEBANGSAAN MALAYSIA 2009 ACADEMIC CALENDAR

URBAN GOVERNANCE IN CITY REGION

The growth of the urban population (which includes the product of both internal growth and rural-urban migration) has been slowing down in the largest cities over the last decade (in comparison to more rapid growth in intermediate-sized cities), the growth of cities in the south still takes place at a far faster rate than it does in the north. If we look at the rates of growth of southern and northern cities, the ratio, on an aggregate basis, is about five to one. Thus, while the overall urban growth level (based on compound net population increases) in developed countries was about 0.8 percent per annum in 1990-95, the figure was around 3.5 percent per annum during the same period in developing countries. The distribution of this growing urban population is very uneven. By the turn of this century, about forty percent of the people in the less developed regions of the south were living in cities, while about three out of every four lived in cities in the north.

This gap is gradually narrowing as the south urbanizes, but it is changing unequally. Latin America (especially South America) and the Caribbean constitute the most urbanized region of the south, while Africa and parts of Asia (particularly the south central, southeast, and eastern parts of the region) lag considerably behind. In general, the least urbanized parts of the developing world are urbanizing at the highest rate. And the countries which are urbanizing most rapidly tend to be the poorest. This applies within as well as between regions and continents. A final element to complete this (admittedly too rapidly drawn) picture has to do with the size of cities. As Mattei Dogan and John Kasarda put it over a decade ago, “The world is becoming more and more a world of giant cities, and these cities are increasingly located in less-developed countries.”Whereas in 1950 only one city—New York—had a population of 10 million or more (thus qualifying it to be called, in current jargon, a “megacity”), by 1995 there were 14 cities of 10 million or more, 10 of which were located in Latin America, Africa and Asia.

By 2015 “it is expected that 22 of the 26 mega-cities will be located in the less developed regions and the 4 other cities in the more developed regions.”5 As these cities grow in size, their economic, social and political influence also accumulates. The physical and social form that best describes these growing megacities—in both the north and the south—is the city-region. In southeast Asia, the morphology of these new regions has been likened to a meeting of town and village in an increasingly diverse functional and spatial intermingling:

A distinguishing feature of recent urbanization in the ASEAN countries is the extension of their mega-cities beyond the city and metropolitan boundaries.This process has particularly affected the largest cities but it is also now occurring in the largest secondary ones...Metropolitan regional growth tends to sprawl along major expressways and railroad lines radiating out from the urban cores, and leapfrogs in all directions, putting down new towns, industrial estates, housing projects, and even golf courses in areas hitherto agricultural and rural. In such areas, regions of dense population and mixed land uses are created, in which traditional agriculture is found side by side with modern factories, commercial activities, and suburban development. T.G. McGee has termed these desakota zones, drawing on the Bahasa Indonesia words for town and village.

Economically, these mega-urban regions are very important both for their national economies, and within a wider and more globalizing context. Their productivity and economic performance are raised by urban concentration in two ways, according to Allen Scott and his colleagues:

First, concentration secures overall efficiency of the economic system.Second, it intensifies creativity, learning, and innovation both by the increased flexibility of producers that it makes possible and by the enormous flows of ideas and knowledge that occur alongside the transactional links within localized industrial networks...The films of Hollywood, the semiconductors or Silicon Valley, the banking and financial services of new York and London, and the fashions of Paris all represent the outputs of clustered flexible production networks whose fortunes are strongly tied to world-market demand. Other examples include mechanical engineering in Baden-Wurtemburg and Bavaria, the small-firm craft-based industries of northern Italy, the jewelry industry in Bangkok, or furniture production in Guadalajara, Mexico. In this manner, global city-regions come to function increasingly as the regional motors of the global economy, that is, as dynamic local networks of economic relationships caught up in more extended worldwide webs of interregional competition and exchange.

Edited from Urban Governance Around The World by Richard E. Stren, 2005

THE 10 PRINCIPLES OF EFFICIENT URBAN GOVERNANCE FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT

1. Participation - To encourage all citizens to exercise their right to express their opinion in the process of making decisions concerning the public interest, both directly and indirectly.

2. Rule of Law -To realize law enforcement which is fair and impartial for all, without exception, while honouring basic human rights and observing the values prevalent in the society.

3. Transparency - To build mutual trust between the government and the public through the provision of information with guaranteed easy access to accurate and adequate information.

4. Equality - To provide equal opportunities for all members of the society to improve their welfare.

5. Responsiveness - To increase the sensitivity of government administrators to the aspirations of the public.

6. Vision - To develop the region based on a clear vision and strategy, with participation of the citizenry in all the processes of development so that they acquire a sense of ownership and responsibility for the progress of their regions.

7. Accountability - To increase the accountability of decision-makers with regard to decisions in all matters involving the public interest.

8. Supervision - To increase the efforts of supervision in the operation of government and the implementation of development by involving the private sector and the general public.

9. Efficiency & Effectiveness – To guarantee public service delivery by utilizing all available resources optimally and responsibly.

10. Professionalism - To enhance the capacity and moral disposition of government administrators so that they are capable of providing easy, fast, accurate and affordable services

Edited from Local Governance Forum, Bali 3-4 June 2002

8th DECEMBER 2008 - SELAMAT HARI RAYA QURBAN...AIDIL ADHA

7th DECEMBER 2008....HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUHAMMAD ZULAZLAN

Today is my 1st son Muhammad Zulazlan celebrate his 11th years old birthday..

5th - 6th DECEMBER 2008 FAMILY HOLIDAY IN PENANG AND ALOR STAR

SIGHT SEEING FROM THE FERRY

MY FAMILY ENJOYED JOURNEY IN THE FERRY TO MAINLAND

ZULAZMIN AND ME

AIR BATU CAMPUR IN PEKAN RABU ALOR STAR

ABANG DANIAL AND ZULAZMAN

ZULAZMIN AND HIS MOTHER

ZULAZMIR AND ZULAZMAN IN THE BLANKET

ZULAZLAN AND ABANG DANIAL

ZULAZMAN AND ZULAZLIN IN THE KRYSTAL SUITE'S SWIMMING POOL

VISIT PEKAN RABU ALOR STAR, KEDAH

STALLS IN PEKAN RABU, ALOR STAR

SHOPPING IN PEKAN RABU ALOR STAR