The Kota Raya egroup

Dear Kota Raya Fans,

Hello there people! Please allow me to introduce myself - my name is Aizuddin Danian Izham Cheong and i'm a blogger. You can find my blog at "http://www.aizuddindanian.com":http://www.aizuddindanian.com. For those who are interested, i've also set up the Great Malaysian Blog List that can be found at "http://www.aizuddindanian.com/voi/blinks/":http://www.aizuddindanian.com/voi/blinks/. You can list your blog here sorta like a directory - a phone-book of Malaysian bloggers, so-to-speak.

I'll be 27 years old this year. I come from a family of 5, and i live in KL in Bukit Damansara. All alone right now, since my parents moved away with my sisters ("read about it":http://www.aizuddindanian.com/voi/archives/000453.html) to Australia. I work as a Project Manager for a oil&gas multi-national; before i worked as a content writer for a small web developer in Wisma Central, KL.

I studied in the International Islamic University Malaysia ("http://www.iiu.edu.my":http://www.iiu.edu.my), graduated with a BA English Language and Literature in 2000. A year later, i started my MBA (e-Commerce) from Charles Sturt University, Australia that i've recently concluded. Hopes to start a Phd in International Political Economy ("what is IPE?":http://www.wspc.com.sg/books/economics/4083.html) before i hit the big 30 years old.

I started blogging due to the encouragement of an amazing lady ("http://hanishoney.pitas.com":http://hanishoney.pitas.com). I've found that its a hobby worth being passionate about as it keeps my mind sharp and fresh; as an ex-uni debater, i had missed the intellectual cut&thrust. I find that blogging gives me that mental "high" once more - better than drugs i tell you. I've written a few articles about blogging, and i've been interviewed a few times about it too. You can find a selection of these articles below (earliest one first):

"http://www.aizuddindanian.com/voi/archives/000370.html":http://www.aizuddindanian.com/voi/archives/000370.html - conversation with Oon Yeoh about blogging
"http://www.aizuddindanian.com/voi/archives/000461.html":http://www.aizuddindanian.com/voi/archives/000461.html - interview appearing in The Edge about blogging
"http://www.aizuddindanian.com/voi/archives/000479.html":http://www.aizuddindanian.com/voi/archives/000479.html - response to Jeff Ooi about "proper blogging"
"http://www.aizuddindanian.com/voi/archives/000540.html":http://www.aizuddindanian.com/voi/archives/000540.html - interviewed by the NST about blogging

Most recently, together with a bunch of like minded bloggers, i've set up "Project Petaling Street (PPS)":http://www.petalingstreet.org/, the website that spawned the Kota Raya mailing list. PPS is a very exciting project because i believe it will help bring together the Malaysian blogging community by providing a platform from which, at any one time, a user will be able to tell that Malaysian bloggers are talking about, what are their concerns and what are their directions. I hope that it will act as a portal for Malaysian blogs. Read more about PPS and its development here: "http://yat.ch/piki/?ProjectPetalingStreet":http://yat.ch/piki/?ProjectPetalingStreet

Finally, i would like to say a warm thank you to "TV Smith":http://www.mycen.com.my/duasen/ for setting up Kota Raya. I would like to welcome and say hello to all bloggers who are joining Kota Raya and are taking an interest in Project Petaling Street ("http://www.petalingstreet.org":http://www.petalingstreet.org). I would also like to applaud the sincere efforts of a wonderful lady called Sarini ("http://sarini.blogspot.com":http://sarini.blogspot.com) in putting her energies into bringing our little community into the offline via a meeting in the near future. Also, if anyone wants to see with their own eyes how serious the Malaysian government is about blogging, please "drop by INFOSOC":http://www.aizuddindanian.com/voi/archives/000555.html.

Take care, God bless.

--
Peace,
Aizuddin Danian
http://www.aizuddindanian.com