Assalamualaikum WBT and Greetings, I am indeed pleased to congratulate and record my appreciation of a highly respected national painter, Dr Choong Kam Kow on the success of this exhibition, held at the National Visual Art Gallery. Dr Choong Kam Kow, the octogenarian artist is renowned in Malaysia and abroad. Dr Choong Kam Kow’s retrospective entitled "Cross Culture Trans Era", is a curtain raiser in The Malaysia Year of Festivals 2015 or MyFest 2015. As a Perak born artist, he is further honoured by the presence of HRH Paduka Seri Sultan Perak Darul Ridzuan Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah Al-Maghfur-Lah, to grace the launch of this retrospective. It is indeed also a great gratitude to have Associate Prof. Madya Ramlan Abdullah and Mr Ooi Kok Chuen, two members of the National Visual Art Development Board to contribute to this exhibition and publication. This maestro started his art journey since the late 1950s and created his own aesthetic niche through the combination of East and West . He prefers to work in a series, a trait typical of his role as an ‘educator’. The artist’s works reflect a great sense of universality and harmony, and it is further strengthened throughout his career as the Head of Department of Art, United Nations International School, New York, USA (1967 - 1968), Senior Lecturer in the Department of Fine Arts, Faculty of Art and Design, MARA University of Technology (Uitm) (1969 - 1989), President and CEO of the Malaysia Institute of Art, MIA (2000 - 2009). It is hoped that this exhibition is appreciated by all art lovers and students. I trust that this exhibition will pave the way in achieving our mission to inspire future generations of artists to also contribute in the historiography of Malaysian art. Congratulations and xie xie ni… YBhg Dato’ Mahadzir Lokman Chairman of The National Visual Arts Development Board (Original printed in "CHOONG KAM KOW RETROSPECTIVE - Cross Culture • Trans Era",  National Visual Arts Gallery, Malaysia 2014)