So, small mall... small car

Came last year, Zoe moved back to Bangsar and Wan Yee is on his way back. The renovation work is completed and it will be a matter of time before he comes back. And yet, we will say goodbye to another, Merv and his wife will be moving out from Terasek 3 to Ampang. Oh well, guess we must all move on one day.

Fortunately for Yen and I, we will continue to reside in Bangsar. I thank my parents for this as this is a good place to live in. Though it's becoming a centre for shoppers who want a different alternative to the megamalls surrounding our city, people have come to love small township malls such as Bangsar Village.

The first time when they suggested that they were going to build a shopping mall in the old Hankyu Jaya, as it was formerly known, I thought it was a joke. When Hankyu Jaya shut down, it was becoming a white elephant. Like a sore thumb sticking out from the heart of Bangsar. It used to be a great landmark for people coming to Bangsar, "Oh yes, when you see Hankyu Jaya on your right, turn right at the traffic lights". Then it became the old abandonned building. Now, it's been fully restored, with the new wing opened. I must say, they have totally turned things around. With the cafe bistros and cake shops, it's a nice place to be.

For those days that you don't want to go to a mall with so many people, a small township mall is a nice place to be. I somehow wonder, how will the tenants keep going? If you have been there, you'd notice a lot of boutiques which has taken up lease with the owners. One would wonder, how long will these tenants stay? It used to be very easy going to Bangsar Village to have coffee, but with the amount of traffic that it has attracted, it's starting to become a hassle. For residents coming out from Bangsar Terasek area, you'll get caught in the cross junction between Terasek and Telawi. The cars are all bottle-neck no thanks to the traffic lights in the Telawi-Ara junction. Oh well, that's Bangsar for you.

So, this brings me to today's posting. The all new Perodua Myvi SE. A colleague of mine, Franco just bought one. It took two weeks to order and they delivered it to him just a few days ago. So, small mall... small car. The Myvi has always been reviewed as a good car, economical, spacious, good looks and brilliant to drive as a city car. It's also Perodua's only car with LED rear lights. Now, they've gone and release the SE model, which comes with a good looking bodykit, a roof spoiler, bright meter cluster and leather seats to match. I just took a ride in Franco's car and it's not what I'd expect it to be. You know with Perodua cars, they're going to be small. This one had the big and spacious interior, sorta like the Kenari but without the bad looks. The Kenari was like a washing machine, but with the Myvi, which is based on Toyota's Passo, the build quality is good. It felt high and sitting inside, it felt different as compared to the Kelisa. It had all the good features of each Perodua make all-in-one. It had the height and space, inherited from the Kenari. The nippy handling from the Kelisa. The built quality, from their parent company Toyota. It's all you would ever want in a Perodua.

So to the members in Parliament, there's no need to make such a big fuss on one comment by a British car critic. Like I said, all in all, it was good publicity. If Perodua keeps coming up with such innovations, they'll be the number one car manufacturer in Malaysia soon.