'Kawan' Magazine For Malaysians In Hong Kong

By Rohani Ibrahim HONG KONG (China), June 19 (Bernama) -- Malaysians residing in Hong Kong city now will no longer feel left out as they literally have a new 'Kawan'. Kawan, that means friend in Malay language, is the title of a magazine that debuted in April and dedicated for Malaysians living in Hong Kong, where they could seek useful information on living in Hong Kong, including in Kowloon and the New Territories. The magazine, the brainchild of Tan Thean Peng, a former sub-editor of national newspaper, The Star Daily in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, highlights Hong Kong lifestyles including cafes serving Malaysian food, the island city's transportation systems, tips in finding accommodation, getting kids into schools and what to expect when living in Hong Kong. As for Malaysians planning to invest in Hong Kong, the magazine provides updates on the Malaysian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, The Malaysian Association of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) and The Malaysia Hong Kong China Friendship Society. "Well, your Kawan has finally arrived, and I hope the magazine will not only provide useful information about Hong Kong but also helps to bring the Malaysian Diaspora here closer. "Treat it well, and Kawan will be a friend you can always depend on," said Tan, in the editor's note in Kawan's first edition. Kawan was made available to Bernama when it was distributed to the Malaysian delegation during a dinner held at Cafe Malacca, in Hong Kong during Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob's working visit to Hong Kong last month. FROM SUB-EDITOR TO PUBLICATION COMPANY OWNER Tan, 56, who hails from Malaysia's northern state of Penang, later in an email interview with Bernama said he moved to Hong Kong in 1985. Then in 1995, he moved to Sydney, Australia but in 2000 he decided to return to Hong Kong and in 2006 he started his own business - REN Publishing (HK) Ltd. REN Publishing is a custom publishing company, producing publications for clients like property developers, financial institutions, government bodies and private clubs. REN published Kawan to be distributed to the Malaysian community and associated businessman in April and October every year. IDEAS TO COME UP WITH KAWAN "Late last year, I was shown a Japanese magazine that was dedicated for the Japanese community in Hong Kong. And then with a bit of research, I found that the French, American, Australian, Italian and other major communities in Hong Kong had their own publications. "I asked myself why not one for Malaysians in Hong Kong. I thought this was especially needed seeing that the Malaysian community here had so many groups representing them in Hong Kong. So I thought a magazine that can bring all these groups together will be a good idea," Tan said when asked how did he come up with the idea for a Malaysian community magazine in Hong Kong. HOW KAWAN WAS CHOSEN AS THE TITLE Asked on how did he choose the term 'Kawan' as the title, he said, he spent a bit of time talking to many Malaysians in Hong Kong, Penang and Kuala Lumpur on what would be a good name for the magazine. "Then I received an email from a friend in Sydney and his first words, were 'Hello, kawan, how have you been?' So there it was ... Kawan. The only real challenge now would be how to integrate this name into the magazine and explain to non-Malaysian readers what it meant," he further said. Tan said, the publications that serves the various foreign communities in Hong Kong were all sponsored and funded by their local chambers or groups. "Kawan does not get any funding from anyone. It is a free publication and it depends entirely on advertising support. To survive we do need ads. Hopefully I might get a bit of advertising support from the big Malaysian businesses here like Hong Leong, MayBank, Public Bank, Malaysian Airlines, Air Asia, Sime Darby, Selangor Pewter and Pak Far Yau. He said, for the first edition, a total of 5,000 copies were printed and it was distributed in Malaysia's Consulate-General office at the Malaysia Building in Wanchai, and Malaysia Chamber of Commerce office both in Hong Kong. "Copies have been sent back to Penang as well as Sydney. Almost all the entire 5,000 copies printed have been distributed," he added. KAWAN IS USEFUL NOT ONLY TO MALAYSIANS COMMUNITY IN HONG KONG Malaysia's Consul-General in Hong Kong Tengku Sirajuzzaman Tengku Mohamed Ariffin when asked on his comment over the Kawan magazine praised Tan's effort to come up with Kawan as it was useful for newcomers and those who plan to visit or move to Hong Kong. "Kawan is a medium for Malaysians in Hong Kong to share their stories and experience about their life here," he added. Asked on the total number of Malaysians in Hong Kong at present, Tengku Sirajuzzaman replied there were about 2,000 Malaysians registered with the Malaysia Consulate-General office here. "However, based on the data from the Hong Kong authorities there were 15,000 Malaysians in Hong Kong. Most of them did not register with the consulate-general office as it was not mandatory," he further said. --BERNAMA