For a Sunday morning, in slow-to-wake KL, 9am would be a very cruel time to start deep discussions. But a group of young Malaysians had the cheek to think otherwise and even convinced some of the country's most radical and progressive minds to come participate. Sigh...the things people do for a good cause.

Hello New York! Webcam transmission of the audience at Columbia University.

These youths are from Malaysia Forum, "a global community that seeks to engage each other in 'civil conversation' on Malaysian issues". What's interesting is the group was founded by Malaysian students studying abroad, and the succeeding batches remain the main engine today. Malaysia Forum organises a conference each year; this year's theme is Harapan, and the conference was held at Columbia University, New York. The plan was to have live internet broadcast from KL - hence the unkind hour - so that anyone keen on the issues discussed could tune in.

The venue: Rumah Anak Bangsa Malaysia. Yep, our home.

Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia will be bringing its Roadshow to Sabah and Sarawak on March 13 and 14. While many Malaysians may have traveled to the main cities or hung out at exquisite dive spots, the interiors of these territories remain largely an enigma. DHANEN MAHES, as Semenanjung as they come, had a chance to delve deeper while doing voluntary work some months ago. He shares with us his experience

I peeked into the further reaches of the Hornbill's nest not so very long ago. The mountains are more jagged, carpeted in a thousand shades of green. The rivers are mighty; a kind of whitewater restlessness carving away layers of time from their banks. The people are gentle. Gentle as the mengkuang baskets they weave.

I had followed a group of volunteers from the peninsula into the interiors to administer dental care. Our destination was Kampung Bawie, a longhouse settlement off Lubok Antu in Sarawak. Lubok Antu itself is about 200 km from Kuching, where we landed, and a mere 10km from the Kalimantan border.