Renewing your Malaysian Passport in just 30 minutes– 21 April 2018

My daughter’s passport expired! My criteria was:-

·  Must go to the immigration department on a weekend, simply because I do not have sufficient leave

·  Should not have queue

·  Avoid “Puasa” month and weeks before and during school holidays

I normally go to Wangsa Maju on a weekday to renew my passport. I will make sure that I start queuing before 7a.m. and get one of the first 10 numbers given out, so that you can collect your new passport before 9a.m. and perhaps go back to work after that.

But this time, I could only choose immigration departments that open on weekends. According to the immigration website, UTC Keramat, UTC Sentul and UTC Pudu are the only offices for Wilayah that open on weekends. I’ve been to UTC Pudu before and there were no numbers left when I arrived in the evening, so we decided on UTC Keramat as it was very close to my home.

I set the alarm clock at 6a.m. and wanted to go and queue for a number but was too tired so decided to abandon the idea. I told my husband, let’s go and check out the place at Keramat after my daughter’s swimming lesson, finishing at 6p.m.

Entrance to UTC Keramat

We arrived UTC Keramat at 6.25p.m. and casually walked around to find that place and we found the counter to give out numbers. I asked the officer, “Do you still have numbers?”. Surprisingly, he said yes and asked me, do you want a number. Luckily, I brought along all the original documents required for the renewal. He checked and said there may be other documents that are required since my husband is a foreigner. Anyway, I was given a number.

Take your number here and present your original and photocopied documents. You won't miss it as you will see the counter prior to going to the entrance of the immigration

Check out the number that I got

I was called immediately and I presented my documents. For Malaysians, it’s simple. You don’t need to fill up any forms now. You just need:-

Adult

·         Original NRIC and a copy of it

·         Original expired passport

Kid

·         Original birth certificate and a copy of it

·         Original expired passport

·         Parent’s original NRIC

·         Original marriage certificate and a copy of it (not sure you need this or not but just bring, in case)

But for a Malaysian mother with a foreign father, the officers want to see the following:-

Malaysian Kid with a Foreign father

·         Original Malaysian birth certificate and a copy of it

·         Original expired passport

·         Original marriage certificate and a copy of it

·         Both parents’ NRIC and passport and copies of it

·         Foreign Parent’s entry permit stamped in the passport  

·         Foreign Parent’s work permit

When I applied for my daughter’s passport for the first time at Wangsa Maju branch, I don’t remember needing to bring all those documents above. All I did was fill in a form (you don’t need to fill in any forms now), MyKid, birth certificate and parent’s NRIC and copies of it. THAT’s ALL!!! But at UTC Keramat, they asked me for all those things above.

Anyway, since there wasn’t any queue, we were happy to comply with their request and my husband went home to get those original documents that we didn’t have. If you did not bring photocopy of your documents, you can make photocopy at this shop. A copy will cost you only RM0.20 (no mark-up unlike some other places that may charge you RM0.50 per copy). 

This shop opens everyday and until 10 p.m. It's just nearby the immigration office. 

The moment we had all the documents we wanted, we went back to see the same officer and he checked to ensure that all was in order. Once in order, he will key into the system and asked for my mobile number to be keyed in as well. Then, he proceeded to take the passport photo. PLEASE REMOVE EARRINGS AND ENSURE THAT YOUR HAIR IS NOT COVERING YOUR FOREHEAD AND SIDES OF YOUR EARS. That’s the requirement for passport photos. The he will print out a form for the parent and kid’s thumbprint.  

Seating and getting ready

Once done, please wait to be called to make payment. After making payment, we waited for 20 minutes and VOILA, passport renewed!! Collect your passport and acknowledge receipt by providing the parent and kid’s thumbprints again!!

That's the counter for collecting your new passport

I told the immigration officer at the payment counter that I did not expect things to be done so fast. He said of all the branches in Wilayah, UTC Keramat is the most quiet one. “CHEN – CHEN – CHEN”. You know where to go next……

So if you are a Malaysian, renewing your passport it is easy at UTC Keramat. You can go and renew at your convenience. Here are the summary of how to make sure you are able to renew your passport in just 30 minutes (or perhaps just being lucky on that day):-

PLEASE BRING ALONG:

Adult

·         Original NRIC and a copy of it

·         Original expired passport

Kid

·         Original birth certificate and a copy of it

·         Original expired passport

·         Parent’s original NRIC

·         Original marriage certificate and a copy of it (not sure you need this or not but just bring, in case)

AT THE IMMIGRATION OFFICE:

·         Submit your documents to the immigration officer for checking and you will be given a number and wait for your turn

·         Hand over your documents at the counter

·         Take photo and sign and thumbprint on the printed form. No filling up of form

·         Wait for your number and make payment

·         Collect your new passport

PHOTO SESSION:

·         Wear dark colours and nothing revealing, otherwise you will be given a shawl for kids or jacket for adults

·         Remove earrings

·         No hair at your forehead and ears

·         SMILE…

PAYMENT:

·         Malaysian (aged 13-59 year old)                                      RM 200.00

·         Senior Citizen (aged 60 year old and above)                    RM100.00

·         Kids (below 12 year old)                                                  RM100.00

The rules and regulations are posted outside of the office:-

Further details:

Pejabat Imigresen Mini UTC Keramat
Kompleks Keramat Mall
Jalan Datuk Keramat
54000 Kuala Lumpur

(opposite Damai Putra LRT station)
Tel:  03 - 4251 1468 / 1469
Fax: 03 - 4251 1414

Office Hours:
Monday - Sunday : 8.30 am - 10.00 pm
(Closed on Public Holiday)

Break: 7.00 pm - 8.00 pm (dinner) & 12.15 pm - 2.45 pm (Friday prayer)

Website: http://www.imi.gov.my/index.php/ms/pasport/pasport-malaysia-antarabangsa.html

Entrance Exam for Primary 1, Kuen Cheng 2 (5 May 2018)

In a follow up to my previous blog at http://onattycan.blogspot.my/2017/03/application-to-kuen-cheng-2-primary.html, this blog will be all about the entrance exam and what to prepare for.

So, after submitting our application to this primary school about a year ago, the moment finally arrived. We arrived at the school early, around 7.05am as we were afraid of the jam and we managed to get a parking space right opposite the school. There were other parents and kids that had arrived earlier than us and all of them were anxiously waiting for the registration.

Upon arrival, we checked for our child’s name (in alphabetical order) on the board and which classroom she had been assigned to. There were 7 classes; classes 1-5 with 32 students each and classes 6-7 with 31 students each.

Check your child's names on the board

At 7.15a.m., the parents were seen lining up in front of the respective class registration tables. At 7.30a.m., parents were registering their children to get the child's number sticker to stick onto their outfit. After registration, everyone went to the school hall. The kids were lining up (sitting) according to their respective assigned group and parents were asked to take a seat for the headmistress’s briefing.

Registration

The school hall

Children lining up in their respective groups

Waiting, waiting, waiting ....sad coz no friends

Once they had all the children, the children were brought to their respective classes and the headmistress started off by welcoming parents and thanking the parents for their application to the school. She spoke in Mandarin and English. The headmistress explained about the school, school’s syllabus, i.e. LINUS programme, co-curricular activities, time table, etc. At the end, there were questions and answers from the parents. The speech was about 1 hour. Then all of us went to the canteen and bought some food and drinks for ourselves and our children for when they are out for a break.

Announcements after announcements, the children were supposed to come out for a break at 10a.m., but it was delayed. We overheard that the exam started late as the teachers needed to calm down the crying children before they could start the exam.

My girl came out at 11.30a.m., feeling sad. She was crying as she wanted her dad to be with her in the classroom. Other children that came out also cried, a few of them. She didn’t want to eat.

At 11.50a.m., all parents needed to send their children back to the respective classroom. Exam for Mathematics started at 12p.m. All finished at 1p.m. HOORAY…..

When I picked her up from her classroom, I noticed that the classroom’s windows were covered with curtains and closed doors with 2 teachers assigned to each class. It may be quite scary for certain kids and can’t blame the kids for being scared inside the room. It’s a proper exam.

Seating position in the classroom

Inside the car, I took the opportunity to ask my girl about the questions from English, BM and Mathematics paper. Here are the following comments (coming from my soon to be 6 year old):-

(a)   BM paper - Construction of sentences. A picture of “bread” was given and students need to construct 2 sentences with regard to “bread”; and

(b)   Mathematics – calculation (add and subtraction). There were Ringgit and Sen.  

Overall, she said the paper was easy!! She could do it.

For the exam, there was no mentioned by the headmistress that the results would be announced. Perhaps, it’s for their own internal assessment of the children.

Conclusion, these are the things that you need to do and bring on the entrance exam day:-

(a)   Prepare your children a year in advance for the exam;

(b)   Sleep early the night before and arrive early for the registration of the entrance exam. There is empty land beside the school, that was open for parents to park their cars;

(c)   Bring stationery and water;

(d)   Prepare some snacks for break time.   

* No documents required for registration. I saw some parents brought the original birth certificate and MyKid. Please check for next year’s requirements.

1 Chopati – 21 April 2018

We were walking around Kompleks Keramat Mall while waiting for the immigration office to be open at 8pm. We decided to try this place. A small shop tucked inside of the mall, that sells chapati.

The menu:

We ordered the following:-

T-Poo set Sardine – RM5.50, comes with sardines (from can), 1 chapati and 1 poori. It looks very simple but it tasted very nice. 

T-Poo set Keema – RM6.00 and Kambing (mutton) RM3.50. The T-Poo set was very nice, however not much mutton meat, as you can see from the picture. The curries were quite tasty and it was not spicy. 

The service was good. Cleanliness …..? Don’t expect much as it’s Medan Selera, definitely not that clean but a place for you to eat fast and ensure tummy full.   

The details:

1 Chopati

Ms040 & Ms041, Lower Ground

Medan Selera Kompleks Keramat Mall

Jalan Datuk Keramat

54000 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03- 4266 3444

Mobile: 013-3443 123 (Nur Hafiza)

              019-3300 500 (Idham)

              010-4266 192 (Supervisor)

Email: onechopati@gmail.com

Opens everyday

Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2018 (SCKLM)

• 8 April 2018
• Dataran Merdeka for Full and Half Marathon and Sogo for 10 and 5 km
• Flagged off at 7.45a.m. for 10 km (Leisure). Different times for different categories
• My category – 10 km (Leisure). Must finish in 2 hours.
• Price – RM70.00
• Race Pack – Green T-Shirt, registration bib and Salonpas
• Goodies – Medal, a bottle of mineral water and isotonic drink and banana

This was my 1^st time signing up for SCKLM. I managed to sign up on the 1^st day itself at around 3pm and thereafter it was sold out around 6pm on the 1^st day that registration was opene to the public. I was curious, why was it such a hit every year?   

We were advised by the organiser to take the train to the venue. I took the LRT at 6.40am and arrived at the venue around 7am. The trains were flooded with green as that’s the colour of the t-shirt for this year’s marathon.

Check out the runners, all queuing to start

We were flagged off at 7.45a.m. sharp. Of course, there were runners who signed up for 10km (Cruise) that were late and as they must complete the run within 1 hour 30 minutes, we had to give way to them (their flag off was before ours).

We ran from Sogo – Jalan Sultan Ismail – Jalan Kuching – Taman Botani Perdana – Dataran Merdeka. There were 3 water stations; at 4km, 6km and 9km serving mineral water and isotonic drinks. There were portable toilets during the run. Also, there were bands playing music and the volunteers who cheered for you while you were running.

When we arrived at the finishing point, we were given our medals and a bottle of mineral water, isotonic and a banana. There was a long queue to collect the medals and not many goodies were given out.

I saw the finishing line but it's taking too long to arrive

Passed the finishing line. It was not 10 km, it was 11.8 km. 

The queue to pick up your medal, banana and mineral water

Conclusion, Dataran Merdeka was super crowded after everyone finished. The hardcore marathon runners were definitely eyeing for the top and consolation prizes.  The organiser did a good job at organising such a big event. However, I still don’t know what’s the craze about this marathon that a lot of people want to join. It’s just like any other marathon and in terms of goodies, other organisers do provide more things compared to Standard Chartered. Also, there were no food trucks :-(. 

Check out the pictures below:-

The line reception was so bad due to so many humans

A place for you to get leg massage

Showing off our medals

Our rotating medals

Check out the queue at the Masjid Jamek Putra LRT station

Old Spice Café at M City – 10 March 2018

We were passing by the main entrance at M City and saw this café. We checked out the menu and decided to give it a try since it’s new. 

The café was quite quiet at the time (and on another occasion I visited since). It was quite easy to get a table. They serve fusion food, i.e. local Malaysian, Western and World cuisines. 

The menu:-

We ordered the following:-

Breakfast set – RM19.80, comes with 2 hash browns, 2 small roasted tomatoes, baked beans, 1 fried egg, fried mushrooms, 2 sausages, 2 stripes of beef bacon and 4 triangle toasts with butter. It’s very normal meal, but tasted good. The best will be the crispy hash browns.

Singapore Fried Meehon (Seafood) – RM14.90, the portion was huge when it came and I thought I would not be able to finish it. There were small prawns (not like in the picture of the menu), squibs, cut celery, spring onions, carrot and slice red chilly fried with the meehoon. It was actually quite good and I finished it all. It's not spicy but you can request for cut chillies.  

Roti Jala and Curry Chicken - RM8.90. As you can see, 5 roti jala and not many pieces of chicken and only 1 potato. The curry was not too spicy. It tasted alright. 

Nasi with Ayam Masak Merah set dinner – RM18.90, comes with acar, iced lemon tea and 1 scoop of ice cream. The Ayam Masak Merah was not spicy although it looked very red and spicy. It was quite good dish. Again, not enough of chicken for you to finish that mountain rice!

The service of this restaurant is good. Perhaps as there were not many customers. When I was looking around the café, I was told that if you order from an apartment within M City, they will deliver the food to your doorstep for free.

Not many tables, just imagine if it's a full house

The ambience of the café was good and it was nicely decorated with lots of things from the UK. They even have a huge projector on their wall for you to watch shows (no sound though). The price is on the slightly high side but overall, I will come back here again as the food was not too bad.

The details of the restauarant:

Old Spice Café, M City

R05-G Old Spice Café

326 Jalan Ampang

50430 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03- 2715 8123

Mobile: 019-691 2815

Email: info@oldspicecafe.my

Opens everyday from 9am-2am