Sunday July 5, 2009
Mapping Malaysia
By ANDREW SIA
A virtual map offers to take us by the hand and lead us wherever we want to go in the country – even in search of ayam percik.
GOOGLE Maps has been around since 2005, and I’m sure lots of Malaysians have had fun with it, or even found it useful when travelling overseas. But it couldn’t tell you where the nasi lemak stalls were in Sungai Petani, Kedah, could it? Well, it can now provide that, and much other such localised information.
Our very own edition of Google Maps, Google Maps Malaysia (maps.google.com.my), was launched recently, promising to be a “new local search platform” that enables Malaysians to find local geographic information be it in the form of online maps, satellite images, driving directions, addresses and businesses listings on their PCs or Internet-enabled mobile phones.
Andrew McGlinchey After giving the website a little time to settle down and be tested by the computer experts, we ordinary, not-so-computer-savvy folk, take Google Maps Malaysia out for a test drive.
Beginning with something simple, I type “Star Publications” (with the quotations marks) in the “Search Maps” box at the site. Almost instantly, a list appears, including both our headquarters in Petaling Jaya as well as our printing plant in Shah Alam.
With just one click on the first entry, a pop up box appears with the complete address and phone number of our main office; another click on “zoom here” and the map of our immediate neighbourhood springs up.
What if you want to get to our office from the Petronas Twin Towers? You could zoom out of that earlier map to get a bigger picture of Kuala Lumpur and then work out the various twists and turns needed. But the system has taken that hassle away. All that is needed is a click on the “get directions” button, and voila, detailed instructions – such as “turn right at Jalan Lumba Kuda 0.2km” – pop up. In fact, I could also do these simple steps for you and then send the directions to your e-mail.
Another option shows an even more beautiful version with mini maps of every turn – just like treasure hunt tulips. So if I am called upon to organise the test drive of the next luxury BMW, all I have to do are a few clicks and it can all be printed out beautifully. (We get the hint! Ed)
And if I had forgotten to trip my car’s odometer to make my mileage claims, I can do it online. The system suggests three routes, with the longest one through Jalan Syed Putra at 15.9km. What if I wanted to take an even, um, more “generous” route? By simply clicking on the route (marked in grey) and dragging the mouse, I can plot a totally elliptical route to my office via, oh, say, Rawang and Shah Alam (don’t tell the boss!).
We all know how tech gadgets nowadays, like mobile phones, are filled with so many bells and whistles that we will probably never use them all in our lifetime. Similarly, there are lots of extra options on Google Maps Malaysia, and they have great potential – but they also need some upgrading.
For instance, you can find routes that avoid tolls. Fair enough. Or you can switch on the webcam option on the map to see what traffic conditions are like in various parts of the Klang Valley. However, the images are about 20 to 45 minutes late – but if Google improves on this, I will be really, really tempted to get a 3G mobile phone just to check real-time traffic.
Apart from driving, you can also look for walking routes. I wonder if the system will recognise the pedestrian footpath from the Tempinis residential area of Bangsar to the shops of nearby Lucky Gardens, KL, but, sorry, no, it instead recommends a long roundabout route via the main roads.
As for places outside KL, the system does a decent job comparable to some published maps found in bookshops.
However, I am disappointed when looking for a better route to Mersing (the jump off point for Pulau Tioman) from Kluang, Johor, as only the old winding main road is shown and not the straight roads that go through some Felda plantations.
Nor does Google Maps Malaysia show Peninsular Malaysia’s highest road, to the scenic lookout (and microwave station) at Gunung Brinchang, Cameron Highlands. Yet, an ordinary Google search does reveal websites with maps even of jungle walking trails around Cameron Highlands.
However, it’s in the business and lifestyle content, especially for urban areas, that Google Maps Malaysia aims to make a real difference.
And this is where commercial players have a free avenue to promote themselves. Not only can they list themselves on Google Maps Malaysia, they can even embed maps from it onto their own website, using a free Javascript-based or Flash-based toolkit called Maps API.
In the website iproperty.com.my, for instance, not only can I scout around for homes, flats, or even farm land to buy, but detailed Google interactive maps and directions are available, along with photos and even YouTube videos of the properties.
Google has collaborated with the Super Pages of Malaysia and claims in a press release that some 100,000 local business listings and locations are available. But a search for “locksmiths” yields only 51 results, mostly in Singapore (the results can vary and sometimes include even places in the Philippines!). How about PVC pipes? That netted 15 entries, again, mostly in the republic.
What about lifestyle applications? When I look for nasi lemak around Sungai Petani, Kedah, some 76 results emerge of various stalls, shops and hotels which offer that Malaysian staple. And how many ayam percik eateries throughout Malaysia are listed in this electronic map? Take your pick from 32 entries.
However, you have to sift the ikan bilis from the sambal yourself, as the listings include everything from one-liner comments and single photos from Flickr (the photo-sharing website) to elaborate descriptions by food bloggers and hotels.
The system also has a movie finder function where you can locate movies currently showing. For instance, (on June 16) the movie I Corrupt All Cops (the Hong Kong cops, that is) is still showing in cinemas in Kluang and Kulai (Johor) as well as Taiping (Perak). However, cross-checking with the listings in The Star, I notice that the system has missed out on other screenings in Kepong, KL, and Teluk Intan, Perak.
Google has also collaborated with KLue magazine to provide listings of lifestyle and entertainment events (around KL mostly). In my search, I find some 19 upcoming events (minus the five restaurant postings) grouped together in the arts, lifestyle, music, and nightlife categories, including a Filipino-American jazz musician at the No Black Tie club in KL.
As for tourism listings (done in conjunction with Virtual Malaysia), I can find the locations of the Cheah Kongsi in Penang but not the roads on top of Penang Hill (let alone the walking paths from there to the Botanical Gardens).
The State Museum in Pekan, Pahang, shows up but a search for “museum” in “Kota Baru” (Kelantan) misses out all four of the town’s museums – until my editor types in Kota Bharu instead! And when I search for Malaysia’s most spectacular waterfalls in Berkelah and Jerangkang (both near Maran, Pahang), the system replies: “We could not understand the location”.
Clearly, the system is pretty impressive but far from perfect.
“Google focuses on organizing the world’s information and making it universally accessible and useful,” says Andrew McGlinchey, the product manager for Google Southeast Asia, quoting the company’s famous line, and adding that, “Google Maps Malaysia is an exciting step forward in helping Malaysian users quickly and easily find the local geographic information they need in their daily lives.”
And that’s just it. Google itself does not create new content. It just provides a platform to organise (some of) the information that’s out there on the World Wide Web. So if we ask how can there possibly be only 32 ayam percik outlets in the country, the answer is that it’s up to users to upload fresh information to the system.
“Google launches things while they are a work in progress,” explains Rene Leow, the local PR link person, “The best people to improve the maps are the users, just like what happens with Wikipedia (the free, and user-edited, encyclopaedia). There’s no arbitrator to say that the content is accurate, it’s up to users to correct things when they see something wrong.”
The basic framework is there. It’s up to people to use it, add stuff to it, and maybe one day create such critical mass that this programme becomes an indispensable tool in our lives.
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