Updates after a while

Assalamualaikum

Dah lama tak menulis dalam blog ini. Sampai terlupa rasenye ada blog. Well.. the are a lot to update in this blog. Since I last wrote in this blog, there have been 3 major updates in my life. First, I got married. Then, I finished my pre-employment training (10 months!) and enter the service with the Government of Malaysia. And last but not least, I have become a father. It all happened in the span of 2 years.

Let's start of with me being a husband. At the age of 29, I concluded my love life. And since then, I feel complete. The feeling is different. Susah nak cakap. Korang kawen la dulu baru tau. Hahaha... Sebagai seorang yang biased towards introvert, aku memang prefer spend masa sorang-sorang. Tapi bila dah kawen ni, of course la masa sorang-sorang tu dh susah nak dapat. But surprisingly, I have never find it to be something that bothers me. I love to spend my time with my wife. Just the 2 of us (cue the music please). Perhaps my introvert compound has extended to include my wife as well. Since then, we started to live together and trying to be independent from our parents. I still remember when we first moved to our current home. There's only a queen bed in the master bedroom and shortly after that, we bought a sofa in the living room. It was fasting month. Therefore, we have to break fast on the floor hearing our own voice echoed through the space. Hahaha.. One more thing, there was no fridge. Thus, I have to buy ice everyday and put that ice in an ice box together with our drink for breaking fast just for the sake of having a nice cool water. Hahaha... Those days are over now but somehow, it is a very good reason for us to hang on to each other.

My wedding day

Few months after that, my wife got pregnant and I finished my training. I was posted to the Prime Minister Department (not office ya. There is a big difference between department and office). People often say that as a PTD officer, you will always be busy. I guess it depends on your posting. As for me, the level of 'busyness' is seasonal. Sometimes, I will be extremely busy especially when there are meetings of programs coming but it is nothing that I could not cope. So far so good. To say that I love doing what I am doing right now is a bit of an overstatement. I guess the right word is fine. Nothing negative and nothing positive. However, almost 1 and half years being here, the urge to try something new is strong. Hahaha...

DPA Convocation

And the latest news is I have become a father! Well... It was more than a year ago tho.. We are blessed with a healthy baby boy. There are all sort of feelings when you become a father/mother. You will always feel worry from the moment your children is born up until they are grown up. Basically you are either worry about them or you die. Seriously. Kalau tak percaya, dapatlah anak dulu. Baru korang tau. But when you see your children's face, your worry goes away.

Yawning

Right now, we are in serious house hunting. We plan to buy a house within the vicinity of Putrajaya. Initially we plan to buy a landed house in Putrajaya because we heard that there will be a new project coming this year. But through my market intelligence exercise, I have to forget about it. The price is beyond reach even when taking consideration of the discount I might get as a civil servant. So bye bye Putrajaya. But honestly, house price is crazy right now. Very difficult for people of my age to buy one.

Well.. that's all for this time. Thanks for reading! Salam Aidiladha and Assalamualaikum.

Persiapan DPA

Assalamualaikum

Seperti yang diberitakan pada entry yang lepas, aku telah berjaya menempatkan diri sebagai Kadet PTD tahun 2016 ni. Bila fikir balik macam tak percaya pulak. Tapi tu la namanya rezeki. Benda yang kita tak sangka tu la sebenarnya yang Allah nak bagi pada kita. Alhamdulillah.. Rase bersyukur sangat-sangat. Walaupun mungkin berita ni dah basi (dah hampir 2 bulan dah), tapi rase kesyukuran tu masih lagi aku terasa.

Bagi calon yang berjaya pada temuduga lepas, kami akan mengikuti kursus Diploma Pascasiswazah Pengurusan Awam ataupun DPA bermula 24 Julai 2016. Kursus ni merupakan anjuran Institut Tadbiran Awam Negara (INTAN) yang perlu dihadiri dan lulus dengan jayanya bagi tujuan perlantikan ke jawatan Pegawai Tadbir dan Diplomatik (PTD). Kursus ni merangkumi 8 bidang PTD dan akan dijalankan selama 9 bulan 28 hari dan dijangka tamat pada 21 Mei 2017. Kursus ini termasuklah modul Tentera, Polis, Bomba dan OBS selama 14 minggu di Sarawak. Maknanya kami ni pun belum tentu lagi dilantik ke jawatan PTD. Kami perlu menghadiri kesemua modul dan lulus dengan jayanya dalam program DPA ni barulah boleh dilantik menjadi PTD. Markah lulus setiap modul adalah 65%. Agak tinggi la kalau dibandingkan dengan markah lulus di universiti. Aku buat master dulu pun passing mark 50% je. Markah 65% tu dh kira merit yang nak masuk distinction dah tu. Haha... Itulah die proses-proses yang perlu dilalui sebelum dilantik sebagai PTD. So lepas ni kalau korang nak kutuk-kutuk PTD tu fikir-fikirkanlah.

Tahun ni intake PTD ramai sikit tapi takdelah seramai tahun 2010 tu. Tahun 2010 intake PTD sampai 1000++. Terkejut gila aku tgk statistik yang org JPA tunjuk hari tu. Tahun 2016 ni, intak yang sepatutnya 300 ditambah kepada 400 orang. Aku pun tak tahu kenapa tapi semua ni rezeki untuk calon simpanan la sebab diorang la yang paling gembira bila dapat surat tawaran tu. Ye la.. Mau nye tak gembira. Memula ingatkan dah takde harapan sekali dapat surat tawaran. Kalau aku pun happy. Rezeki korang la. Based on orang yang datang taklimat hari tu, ada dalam 390 orang yang hadir. Dan tak semua tu yang akan terima tawaran. Mungkin ada lagi yang menarik diri di saat-saat akhir. We will see on the 24th of July.

Atas sebab tu, aku memang agak busy la 2-3 minggu ni. Busy menguruskan dokumen-dokumen berkaitan. Oleh sebab kami ni belum dikira penjawat awam, kami ni sebenarnya macam scholar JPA je. So kami kene isi borang perjanjian dengan JPA. Antara lain perjanjian ini menyatakan bahawa kami tidak boleh menarik diri dan setelah tamat dengan jayanya, kami perlu berkhidmat dengan kerajaan untuk tempoh masa setahun. Kalau gagal menepati syarat tersebut (termasuklah gagal), maka kami kene bayar denda kepada JPA. Lepas tu ada la jugak dokumen-dokumen lain yang perlu diselesaikan seperti pemeriksaan kesihatan, borang profile dan macam-macam borang lain lagi la. Nasib baik aku dh siapkan kebanyakan borang tu sebelum raya hari tu. So raye tu lega sket la. Dan oleh sebab aku nak kahwin Oktober ni, aku dedikasikan masa aku selepas raya ni untuk menguruskan urusan-urusan perkahwinan. Yang ni pun banyak jugak borang yang kene isi. Memang 2-3 miggu ni hidup aku penuh dengan borang. Rasenye urusan kahwin ni dah hampir selesai. Harap-harapnye begitulah.

Untuk masuk DPA ni, banyak jugak kos yang terlibat. Baju-baju yang perlu disediakan seperti kemeja  berwarna pastel yang tidak bercorak, sepasang lounge suit, baju batik, t-shirt dan seluar track hitam. Kalau tak berduit memang sakit jugak la. Nasib baik la parents aku bole la tolong sikit-sikit. Kalau harapkan aku ni memang dah kering dah. Maklum lah.. 9 bulan menganggur. Mane la nak ada hasil. 

Itulah dia sedikit sebanyak update tentang diri aku dan program DPA INTAN ni. Aku mengharapkan doa rakan-rakan dan para pembaca supaya segala urusan aku sepanjang DPA ni dipermudahkan. Risau jugak nak pergi kursus pada umur yang dah nak masuk 30-an ni. Yang lain ramai yg masih di usia pertengahan dan awal 20-an. Semoga aku berjaya menamatkan program ini dengan jayanya. Rasanya masih belum terlewat untuk mengucapkan selamat hari raya kepada semua. Hehe..

3 years and a master later. Alhamdulillah!

Assalamualaikum

Alhamdulillah.. Alhamdulillah.. Alhamdulillah...

Semalam aku dapat satu berita yang sangat menggembirakan aku. Sampai meleleh air mata aku. Menangis kegembiraan. Menangis sebab terharu. Syukur kepada Allah di atas segala nikmat dan kurniaanNya. Allah has always been so generous with me. Cuma aku je selalu menjadi hambaNya yang tidak bersyukur. 

Remember the PTD interview I was talking about? Alhamdulillah that is the result I got. Setelah tiga tahun menunggu dan mencuba. Alhamdulillah aku berjaya temu duga tersebut. Walaubagaimanapun keputusan ni belum rasmi lagi. Keputusan rasmi berdasarkan surat pemberitahuan yang akan SPA keluarkan. Harap-harap portal SPA tu tak troll aku la. Kalau tak, sedih gila la aku. Haha.. Alhamdulillah...

Aku nak mengucapkan berbanyak terima kasih kepada kedua ibu bapa aku yang memang aku tau terlalu banyak mendoakan aku. Diorang memang nak sangat anak diorang jadi PTD. Terutamanya ayah aku sebab dulu die pernah apply tapi sampai stage interview tak lepas. PAC pun die lepas time tu. Memang aku respect la ayah aku sebab zaman dulu bukan senang nak lulus PAC. Takpe la abah. Kalau bukan rezeki abah, rezeki anak abah. InsyaAllah nanti aku akan realisasikan impian ayah aku nk pakai no. 1 dress. Mak aku pun same jugak. Semua kawan-kawan die yang nak pegi Mekah buat umrah die akan kirim doa utk aku. Doa mama Allah dah tunaikan.

Jauh lagi perjalanan hidup ini sebenarnya. Ini baru permulaan. Along the way, I am sure that there will be a lot of challenges that I have to face. Sebagai manusia, aku melihat melalui pemikiran aku sebagai seorang manusia. Dan mengikut pertimbangan aku, ini adalah jalan yang terbaik untuk aku. Mungkin aku betul, mungkin aku salah. Kita tak tau apa yang menanti aku di awal, pertengahan atau penghujung jalan ni. So aku kene sentiasa minta petunjuk dan bimbingan daripadaNya. Semoga semuanya baik-baik sahaja. Semoga kita bersangka baik pada ketentuanNya.

Alhamdulillah.. Alhmadulillah.. Alhamdulillah..

Quaterly Update

Assalamualaikum

Dah lame jugak aku tak update blog ni. Sementara ada masa yang banyak ni, aku rase lebih baik aku update blog ni. Bajet popular pulak kn? Hahaha.. To be honest, when I started blogging, I have never intended to make my blog popular. I thought it is a good canvas to write down my thought or experience as a memory and reminder to myself. I write for myself. Not for others. If you find it useful and inspiring, Alhamdulillah. If otherwise, I am so sorry.

Well... It has been almost 5 months since I came back from my master's study. And since then, not much is happening in my life. I think the biggest one is the fact that I got engaged in December 2015 (honestly, can it get any bigger than that??). Since then, no good news at this moment. I spent my day at home doing nothing other than watching TV and surfing the internet for the past 5 months. Bukan aku tak apply kerja. Rasenye dah beratus-ratus jawatan yang aku mohon. Tapi apakan daya, rezeki aku tak sampai lagi. Dalam beratus kerja yang aku apply tu, ada la 5 organisasi panggil aku interview. Paling awal sekali UiTM untuk TPM. Rasenye yg tu dikira gagal la tu sebab tak panggil2 pun. Memula diorg mintak buat ujian personaliti. Lepas tu mula la interview die ikut subjek masing-masing. Aku dulu ade 4 orang panel yang merupakan pensyarah FSG. Die mintak kita bentangkan research proposal kita dlm bilik tu. Memang hancus giler la. Mane la aku nk prepare research proposal. Penat master pun tak abes lg time tu weyy. Aku memang tak harap sangat la. I know it is not for me. Proposal aku pun main buat ala kadar je sebab aku memang takde idea research ape nk buat. Lepas tu masa nk siapkan proposal pun dlm seminggu je. Memang teruk la proposal aku tu. 

My second interview was with Shell Cyberjaya. Well.. I know what you thinking. Shell. It must be a very good one. Sebenarnya jawatan yang aku apply tu cuma customer service je. Operator telefon. Tapi gaji yang diorg bagi agak mahal. So aku pun pegi je la. Lama jugak aku kene interview. Interview Shell ni ade stages die. Memula die akan bagi briefing dulu. Die akan mintak perkenalkan diri dulu. Lepas tu barulah die akan mula tanye bende-bende lain seperti pengalaman dan sebagainya. Aku tak ingat sangat flow die sebab interview tu bulan 12 lepas. Aku tak dapat recall. Tapi memang die tanye macam-macam la. Dalam sejam jugak aku kene interview. In the end, die bg tau aku yang jawatan ni tak berapa sesuai dengan aku. Sebab jawatan ni tak perlu orang teknikal pun. Aku pulak siap ade master. Diorang cakap rugi la kalau aku kerja customer service je. In other words, I am overqualified. Sebenarnya daripada awal lagi aku dah expect bende ni. But for the sake of experience, aku pegi jugak la. Lagi pun dekat je Cyberjaya tu. But their office is seriously very nice. So kiranya interview ni pun kira gagal la.

Then tak lame lepas tu aku dapat 3rd interview pulak. Kali ni syarikat kecik je. Company chemical analysis as a chemist. Company kecik ni interview die simple je. Lebih straight forward. Die bg tau awal-awal yang gaji yg diorang boleh offer tak banyak. Sikit je. Aku cakap tak kisah pun sebab aku cuma nak kerja. Lepas tu owner tu cakap yang aku ni overqualified (again... sigh). Walaupun aku menepati kriteria yang die nak (lelaki, CGPA pun ok), tapi die tak nak aku merugikan masa depan aku sebab die yakin ade peluang yang lebih baik untuk aku di luar sana. But he is a good man though. Bekas pensyarah kimia USM. His words are very calming and he gave me a lot of encouragement. Before we end the interview, he wished me all the best. So, gagal lagi la kiranya.

At this point, I was actually tired of this job seeking conundrum. I was very hard this time. I think 10 times harder than my previous experience with job application. Ade la beberapa kali aku mengalami mental break down. Dan beberapa kali tu jugak la tunang aku memberi semangat pada aku. Then about last month, aku dapat pulak temu duga pergawai pertanian DBKL. Memula tu semangat jugak la kan. Hepi sebab dapat interview. Tapi bila aku tau yang jawatan kosong ada 1, tapi calon temu duga 50 orang, aku mula berpijak pada realiti kehidupan. The interview was ok but with the percentage of passing is 2%, I know it is almost impossible. Lagi pun time aku interview tu ade staff yang memang dh berkhidmat dgn DBKL. So mesti la die calon yang paling berkaliber skali. So aku pun tak harap.

Last week, aku pegi interview PTD. Well, sebenarnye ni lah jawatan yang paling aku target sekali. Selama ni bila aku mental break down, aku selalu yakinkan diri aku bahawa Allah nak bagi aku PTD tahun ni. Somehow it keeps me going. It eases my anxiety of not securing a job yet. So aku memang melakukan persediaan rapi la since aku pun takde kerja dekat rumah. Dalam sebulan jugak la bercakap sorang-sorang untuk simulate interview session. Boleh dikatakan aku memang well prepared. Tiba hari interview, aku calon 1st. Dengan mata yang mengantuk sebab malam tu tidur tak lena, aku pun memulakan sesi interview. Well, it was ok but not outstanding. Aku dapat rasakan yang aku ni just another candidate. I believe that I failed to make a big impression on my panels. Ade jugak masa di mana aku blank dan aku tergagap nak teruskan kata-kata. But overall, ok la. Not outstanding. Soalan yang die tanye banyak pasal diri sendiri dan pasal master aku dulu. Agak lame interview aku. Dalam setengah jam but I personally don't think it indicates anything. Ramai yang aku dengar interview sekejap yang berjaya. Rase sedih jugak because I think I just blew my chance of securing my place. And after the interview session, I seriously doubt that Allah didn't give me any job because He wants me to secure this job. I think His message is not what I thought it was. Sedih sangat.

Walaubagaimanapun, aku memang berdoa bersungguh-sungguh supaya Allah letakkan tempat yang terbaik untuk aku. Aku harap rezeki aku dipermudahkan sebab aku berniat nak menyempurnakan agamaNya bulan Oktober nanti. Semoga aku tabah menerima ketentuanNya dan semoga jalan ku dipermudahkan olehNya. Sebab aku melihat melalui pandangan mata. Tapi pengelihatan Allah itu melebihi pandangan fizikal semata-mata. Allah lebih mengetahui. Rabbi yassir wala tu'assir. Amiin...

Bad things, bad mood

Assalamualaikum

I am not particularly in a good mood. Semalam aku perasan ade lekuk yang agak dalam dkt kereta aku. Lekuk dkt A-pillar. I am very sad because I take care of my car very well. And the dent situated on what I consider as the chassis or the bone of the car. Something which is not replaceable. Kalau pintu kemek, kita boleh ganti seketul pintu tu. But the a-pillar is integrated with the chassis. Therefore, it is not replaceable and I can only cement the area. Huwargghhhh.... T____T

Location of A-Pillar

The dent

Aku pun tak perasan mane aku dapat lekuk ni. Setahu aku, aku tade pun langgar apa-apa time drive. Looking at the size of the dent, I must have hit something hard and heavy. Tapi memang aku takde pun langgar apa-apa time drive tu. Kalau ada, mesti bunyi sangat kuat dan mesti aku akan perasan. Aku syak lekuk ni kene time aku parking dekat INTENGAH time PAC hari tu. Aku park bawah pokok dan kebetulan petang tu hujan lebat giler dkt area PJ. Maybe ada dahan yang jatuh lalu mencederakan kereta kesayangan aku ni. Aisey... Sedih hati aku. Mula la perasaan membuak-buak nak tukar Mazda 3 or Mazda CX5.

Ok lah... Redha je la ape yang berlaku. Harap ada hikmah di sebalik kejadian. Ada satu lagi kejadian sedih aku nak cerita. Baru-baru ni aku menyertai Program Assessment Centre (PAC) untuk jawatan PTD M41. Untuk orang menganggur macam aku ni, dipanggil PAC pun dh kira hepi sebab keje lain tu memang tak panggil-panggil pun lagi. Ni pengalaman pertama aku menyertai PAC. Dan aku rase pengalaman buruk jugak la kot.  Kalau tak silap aku, PAC ni diadakan semula. Batch terakhir yang perlu melalui PAC adalah batch 2012. Batch 2013 sampai 2015 tak perlu menghadapi PAC. Lulus je exam terus pergi interview. Rase menyesal jugak la sebab tahun lepas tak balik untuk interview. Tapi takpe la. Mungkin takdir aku mcm ni. This year is one of the most rigorous selection for the post of PTD. Aktiviti pertama PAC kali ni adalah Ujian Kecergasan Jasmani Kebangsaan (UKJK). UKJK terdiri daripada aktiviti ukur BMI, curl up, sit and reach, hand grip and last but not least, beep test. Memang rasa mcm nak amik askar je aku rase. Aku pun tak faham kenapa perlu buat aktiviti-aktiviti ni tapi takpe lah. Saya yang menurut perintah, maka aku gagahi jua. Siapa yang tak lepas UKJK tidak dapat meneruskan perjuangan ke peringkat seterusnya. UKJK bermula kira-kira jam 9 pagi dan tamat pada jam 1 tgh hari. Keputusan sama ada berjaya atau tidak diberitahu pada jam 2 ptg. Kalau tak berjaya, maka kene pulang. Bagi yang berjaya, akan meneruskan aktiviti seterusnya yang merupakan esei BM dan BI. Habis je esei BM dan BI, boleh mula mendaftar masuk asrama INTAN dan bersiap-siap untuk menghadapi aktiviti LDK. Aktiviti ni kisah kapal karam dan kene pilih seorang untuk dibuang. Memula kita kene bincang siapa yang nak dibuang dan kemudian setiap kumpulan akan diberikan satu watak dan kami perlu mempertahankan watak kami untuk kekal dalam kapal tersebut. Kami dikehendaki membentangkan hujah kami di hadapan semua peserta dan akan ada sesi soal jawab bagi pembentangan tersebut. Tapi aku tak tau macam mane die assess kami sebab aku tak nampak langsung fasi yang bertugas mencatit markah. Mungkin aku terlepas pandang kot. Habis je aktiviti LDK tersebut, setiap seorang akan diberikan tajuk Pengucapan Awam dan Public Speaking untuk dipersembahkan pada keesokan harinya. 

Pengucapan awam ni memang aku cuak. Dua-dua pun aku cuak sama ada BM or BI. Sebabnya aku ni bukanlah seorang yang pandai berkata-kata. Lepas tu malam tu aku tak boleh nak buat preparation sangat sebab terlalu penat menghadapi UKJK. Jadi memang aku tak bole nak menghafal teks ucapan aku. Jadi aku ambil keputusan untuk ingat point sahaja. Tibalah masa yang dinantikan. Aku diberikan turn yang dalam lingkungan pertengahan. So aku dapat tengok la orang lain present dulu. Dan ada di antara ahli kumpulan aku yang menghafal teks mereka tetapi ada jugak ramai yang hanya membaca teks. Demm.. Aku semakin cuak sebab aku rase bench mark mereka agak tinggi. Sampai giliran aku, memula aku sombong taknak baca nota. Aku simpan nota dalam blazer. Lepas tu tengok2 aku lupa point kedua. Hahaha... Ape lagi, seluk poket tengok nota la. Tapi aku takdelah terus membaca nota tu. Aku cuma tengok point dan huraikan sendiri isi tersebut. Di akhir sesi tersebut, panel bagi tahu yang kami perlu tingkatkan keyakinan dalam pengucapan awam kami. Die cakap kalau isi bagus tapi penyampaian membosankan, maka isi tu orang akan terlepas pandang. Tapi memang betul la die ckp tu sebab aku rase pengucapan awam group kami memang agak membosankan termasuk la aku. Hahaha... Lepas tu bersedia untuk ke public speaking pulak.

Public speaking ni kami dapat panel yang sangat baik. Mr. Wong name nye. Die memang baik dan bagi kami encouragement. Setidak-tidaknya dapat lah mengurangkan degupan jantung aku yang dh tahap helicopter apache ni. 1st two presenters memorized their text as before. Aku presenter ke 3. Aku mcm biasa tak hafal skrip tapi explain je la ikut sedap mulut. Aku bawak nota ke depan tapi kali ni aku memang tak rujuk langsung. Cuma pegang mcm tu je. Public speaking aku agak berterabur dengan isi yang ntah pape. Haha... Tapi aku harap die nampak la yang aku ni natural. Bukan hafal or bace text macam yang lain tu. Lepas habis je semua peserta, Mr. Wong buat sesi suai kenal dan kami berbual-bual la dengan die. Antara soalan yang ditanya berapa kali apply PTD. Dan dari situ baru la aku faham kenapa aku rase kerdil dalam group tu. Ada sorang mamat ni dh penah dpt reserve list utk PTD. Ade sorang pompuan ni dh penah reserve list utk Juruaudit W41. Sorang lelaki ni dh penah dapat pun Pegawai Pemakanan tapi die tolak. Tinggal la aku sorang je yang menganggur. Hahaha... Abes je semua bende tu, kami pegi bilik lain untuk group discussion pulak.

Assessor kami untuk kali ni nampak muda giler. Aku rase umur die abes tua pun dalam awal 40-an. Tapi aku rase umur sebenar die hujung 30-an. Die ni PTD drpd JPN. Kalau ikut apa yang diorg bg tau, panel utk PAC ni gred M52/M54. Untuk umur die berada di gred M52, memang luar biasa la. Sebab tu la ramai yang gila nak jadi PTD. Cepat gila naik gred. Berbalik kepada tajuk discussion, kami dapat tajuk empowering disabled in Malaysia. Group discussion ni la yang paling aku yakin sekali sebab aku rasa aku agak menyerlah tanpa menidakkan hak orang lain untuk bercakap. Banyak jugak idea-idea bernas serta contoh-contoh inisiatif kerajaan yang aku bentangkan dalam discussion tersebut. Harap-harap dapat la cover markah Public Speaking dgn Pengucapan Awam yang hampeh tadi tu.

Overall aku sebenarnya tak yakin dengan kemampuan aku untuk ke peringkat temuduga. Sebab aku tau ramai lagi yang power-power dalam batch aku tu. Dalam kumpulan aku pun dh rase kerdil, apatah lagi dalam keseluruhan batch aku tu. Belum lagi batch lain dan tempat-tempat lain pulak. Honestly memang susah nak dapat tapi we never know. Tipu lah kalau aku ckp aku tak berharap. Tak berharap buat apa datang PAC kn? Memang aku berharap sangat-sangat tapi aku tak terkejut kalau aku tak berjaya PAC ni. Cuma aku tetap berdoa agar aku diberikan peluang. Tapi pada masa yang sama aku harap aku redha walau apa pun yang Allah tentukan untuk aku. Dengar cerita daripada 2.8k orang yang menamatkan PAC, hanya 1k sahaja yang akan ditemuduga. Harap-harap aku ada la dalam 1k tu. Walaubagaimanapun, aku bersyukur diberikan peluang untuk menghadiri PAC. Baru la aku tau yang sebenarnya aku ni hanya jaguh kampung. Haha... Doakan aku rakan-rakan. Yang lebih penting lagi doakan aku redha menerima apa jua ketentuan Ilahi.

Itulah die cerita sedih aku. PAC hancus, kereta pun hancus. Nasib badan.

Yang tersirat dan tersurat

Assalamualaikum...

Actually, there are a lot of things which we don't understand in life. Things which defy logics and thing which can't be explained by the physic of life. There is a words in the Quran to explain this matter. "It is possible that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knows while you do not" (Al-Baqarah 216).

Sounds familiar? I believe that everyone must have had experienced this moment when nothing is going to what you have planned even though that the plan was carefully constructed. I experienced this kind of moment several time in my life. Speaking of which, I am currently engaging myself in this situation where all the things that I have planned for is going down the drain. Well.. Most of it it not all. Upon having my master, I planned to have a good job in the private sector. Or having a job in the oil and gas industry (not very keen though but the pay is tempting) and then start to think on buying a house. Unfortunately for me, when I came back to Malaysia, our economy is in a slump. To make matters worse, the price of oil has been a record low. It is a bad news for a job seeker like myself because the industry is chopping of the number of workers and on the other hand, we are trying to get in to that industry. That is why I am still a jobless 29 years old bloke after almost 4 months of returning to Malaysia. Well, this is not the first time my plan went to the drain. It is similar and spookily deja vu to what I have gone through in the year 2009 when I came back from studying medicine. But Alhamdulillah.. This time I am wiser and calmer to face this situation. 4 months without a job and I am still not blaming the fate.

I am not saying I have a good and strong faith (Iman). I too have had a moment when I feel desperate and there is a time when I started to blame my fate. But whatever you do, you just can't change that. Because just like the ayat I mentioned above. You know nothing about what is best for you and what is not good for you. He is the best planner because His knowledge is boundless.

I still remember what my former boss told me. I was having a discussion on how my planned to get married at the age of 25 was not successful. I told him that I don't want to have a children who are still in their studies when I retire. Then he told me his situation. He married when he was 26 which is as what he planned. He has similar thinking to me. He wants to have children as early as possible so that his children will be able to make a living before he retires. You know what? He had his first child 6 years after his marriage. Even his properly thought of plan still can't beat the plan from the Almighty. Because we are nobody. Always remember that.

Alhamdulillah

Assalamualaikum

Agak lame aku tak menulis di ruangan ini. Aku pun dah hampir terlupa yang aku mempunyai sebuah blog. Alhamdulillah.. Selepas setahun berada di negara orang, aku telah pulang semula ke negara tercinta pada 18 Oktober yang lalu. Waktu aku pulang tu, result keseluruhan master aku tak dikeluarkan lagi. Tapi alhamdulillah result aku dh diumumkan secara rasmi lebih kurang 2 minggu lepas dan aku berjaya menamatkan pengajian sarjana aku. Lega rasenye.

Ade ramai jugak yang tanye. Susah ke buat master dekat UK ni? Aku tak berani sangat nak komen. Pasal susah ke senang tu bergantung pada banyak faktor. Kene tengok jugak kursus yang korang ambil, universiti mana dan sama ada secara coursework atau research. Aku boleh tolong jawab melalui pengalaman aku je. Aku buat master secara coursework. So aku tak boleh nak komen lebih pasal master research ni. Kalau course aku, aku boleh cakap yang ianya takde lah mudah sangat. Tapi pada masa yang sama takde lah susah sangat. Cuma yang susahnya dari segi pembahagian masa. Ada satu masa tu, aku kene hantar beberapa assignment yang panjangnya dalam 3000 words setiap satu dalam minggu yang sama. Isnin kene hantar satu assignment, then the next assignment should be submitted on the Friday. Dari segi subjek tu, untuk kes aku agak susah. Sebab aku dulu background pure chemistry. Tapi master aku dalam engineering. So ade jugak subjek-subjek yang aku agak struggle waktu dekat sana dulu. Especially waktu dalam spring semester tu. Subjek waktu autumn semester (semester 1) lebih cenderung kepada management manakala subjek untuk spring semester (semester 2) lebih cenderung kepada engineering. So ianya lebih teknikal. Sudah tentulah ianya agak sukar untuk orang yang takde basic engineering macam aku ni. Sampaikan ada satu tahap tu, aku rase sangat yakin yang aku fail satu subjek ni. Hahaha... Tapi alhamdulillah.. Aku lepas je semua subjek tanpa perlu repeat mane-mane paper pun. Bukan sebab aku hebat. Tapi yang aku perasan, sepanjang aku berada di sana, Allah yang banyak memudahkan jalan aku. Seriously.

Nasihat aku kalau ade sesape yang berniat nak sambung belajar UK ni, teruskanlah. Cuma mula-mula tu betulkan niat dulu. Banyakkan berdoa mintak Allah beri petunjuk. Itu lah yang aku buat dulu sebelum aku datang ke UK. Aku mintak pada Allah supaya dipermudahkan segala urusan aku. Dan Alhamdulillah... Semuanya dah berakhir dengan baik. Cuma sekarang ni aku tengah struggle nak cari kerja. Nasib kurang baik sekarang sebab ekonomi kurang elok dekat Malaysia ni. Secara tak langsungnya, pasaran kerja pun tak berapa bagus. So terpaksalah menganggur dulu buat sementara waktu ni.

Akhir qalam, aku mengharapkan doa rakan-rakan untuk aku menamatkan zaman penganggur ini secepat mungkin. Hahaha.. Semoga ada yang baik di akhir perjalanan ini.

Thanks 2014. Bring it on 2015!

This is going to be a short one. 2014 is one of the most exciting year for me. The last exciting year for me was the year 2004 when I was having my SPM. It is exactly 10 years apart from each other. Coincidence? Hurmm.. Maybe. To sum up 2014:

1. I bought my own car. I think of it as a taste of having a responsibility behind my back.
2. I resigned (again. sigh...) to give way to my study.
3. I come to UK to further my study.
4. I become a postgraduate student in the University of Sheffield.
5. Last but not least, I met someone who could possibly be the person I am going to spend the rest of my life with. Hopefully this one will work =)

How can 2014 be boring when there are so much things going on within it? A good year I'd say. Alhamdulillah.... =)

Looking forward to 2015.

England Vs Czech

This is not a football match review. This is my simple comparison between those countries I mentioned on the title. In terms of living of course. Alhamdulillah I've been living in the UK for 2 weeks. Another 50 weeks to go. Sigh... Well.. Actually it is not a bad thing. I've been dreaming to study in the UK since after my SPM years. When I was still in Kolej MARA Banting (KMB) doing my preparation to study abroad. However, I was less fortunate and only manage to go to the Czech Republic upon completing my IB Diploma in KMB. So I have been keeping UK as my dream since then. But who would've thought? It comes back to me after 7 years. Sebenarnya bukan Allah tak bagi. Cuma die tangguhkan dulu. Remeber what I wrote about Hess's Law? InsyaAllah we all will get there. Only the route we take is different.

In terms of survival, I'd say that living in Czech is much more challenging as compared to living in the UK. Because the word Islam and Muslim is not as prominent as in the UK, practicing Islam in Czech might be a little bit challenging. For instance, Halal meat is much more difficult to get in Czech Republic as compared to the UK. I still remember that I used to travel 2 hours by train just to buy halal food. Yes you can find halal chicken in Tesco but the stocks are very limited and sometimes you have to wait up to a couple of months just to get the stock updated. There was a time when we have to buy chicken (a living one) and slaughtered it by our own because of the limited availability of halal chicken in Czech Republic. Of course I am talking about Hradec Kralove (about 2 hours drive from Prague, its capital). Perhaps life in the capital of Czech (Prague) is much easier as compared to the Hradec Kralove. Meanwhile in the UK (Sheffield at least), life is much easier. Halal restaurants are everywhere and if you fancy cooking on your own, you can find halal meat easily. Muslim community is quite big over here and sometimes I think because of its bigness, the bond among the Muslims here is not as strong as in Czech. When I was in Hradec Kralove, I can remember pretty much every Muslim in that area and we are very actively organizing exciting activities such as iftar, futsal and many more. But here, I think the Muslims are not as close as in Czech.

I still can't figure out how the public transport works in Sheffield because it seems like there are several transportation companies in this area and each of them are not integrated with each other. For instance, the bus which pass through my area does not go to my faculty where I am studying. Thus, I see no points of having a buss pass (It is expensive. 278 quid for a year. Ouchh!) to help me commute from home to my faculty. So I have no choice other than walking about 3km a day on a hilly route. Well.. Never skip a leg day. On the other hand, public transportation in Hradec Kralove is simple. Only one company is there and having the buss pass is I think compulsory for a student studying there.

I think I miss Czech Republic especially Hradec Kralove. I miss the bond we have over there as a Muslim. I miss the struggle we have there as a Muslim. Sheffield is a good place. Very calm and peaceful and it is not as busy as Kuala Lumpur. But as a place to study, I still prefer Hradec Kralove. I might change my mind a few months from now but as we speak now, that is my opinion on these 2 countries.

Salam Aidil Adha buat semua yang mengenali diri ini.

Penulis berada di persimpangan di hadapan rumah.

Selepas selesai solat sunat Aidil Adha bersama-sama rakan serumah.

Di hadapan rumah.

Bersama sebahagian komuniti Malaysia di Sheffield.

Jamuan hari raya bersama sebahagian kecil komuniti Malaysia di Sheffield. Jamuan diadakan di Botanical Garden.

Gambar lama semasa di Czech Republic.

Sheffield, anyone?

Terlebih dahulu aku ingin mengucapkan Eid Mubarak kepada seluruh rakyat Malaysia yang akan menyambutnya dalam masa kurang 24 jam (kalau ikut kalendar kuda la.. Tapi biasanya kalendar kuda tu betul).

Kalau tiada aral melintang, InsyaAllah aku akan melanjutkan pengajian ke luar negara sekali lagi. Kali ni ke negara yang memang menjadi impian aku nak pergi sejak tahun 2005 lagi. Sejak lepas SPM dulu. Tapi apakan daya. Allah lebih mengetahui dan Dia telah menangguhkan impian aku selama hampir 9 tahun. Dan kali ini pun masih belum tentu lagi aku akan pergi. Cuma kebarangkalian tu adalah 95%. Buat masa ni semua persiapan aku telah lakukan. Cuma visa dan tiket penerbangan sahaja yang belum diselesaikan. Aku pergi kali ini sekali lagi di atas tajaan MARA.

Sebenarnya aku bukanlah nak sangat pergi oversea untuk sambung belajar ni. Mula-mula aku cuma nak sambung belajar di UKM di atas tajaan sendiri secara separuh masa. Tapi malangnya UKM telah menolak permohonan aku sebanyak 3 kali termasuklah yang terbaru ini. Atas sebab tu la aku merajuk dan gatal tangan nak cuba apply university di luar negara. Universiti pertama yang aku apply adalah University of Edinburgh, ranking top 20 dalam dunia. Alhamdulillah aku dapat conditional offer dengan syarat aku melepasi syarat IELTS mereka (Band 6.5 with 6.0 in each section).

Sombong sungguh UKM ni. This is my 3rd application.

University of Edinburgh punye offer. Mereka tidak sesombong UKM.

Mula-mula tu aku takde la rase excited pun pasal aku tau agak mustahil utk aku pergi jika tiada scholarship. So aku cuma simpan je la offer mereka tu. Pastu bila MARA keluarkan iklan untuk biasiswa ke luar negara, aku pun sekali lagi gatal tangan untuk cuba apply. Aku pun apply la tanpa meletakkan harapan yang terlalu tinggi. Ye la.. Aku dulu bekas pelajar tajaan MARA yang gagal menamatkan pengajian. Takkan la MARA nak taja aku sekali lagi. Siapa yang mengenali aku akan lebih mengetahui kisah ni. So aku pun buat la online test MARA dan lepas tu interview yang diadakan di Kolej Profesional MARA Beranang. Walaupun aku datang dengan semangat yang agak lackadaisical, tapi alhamdulillah everything went well dan aku agak terkejut jugak la dengan involvement aku dlm interview tu. Cuma tu la.. Aku tak rase aku dapat pasal aku berpendapat yang ramai lagi orang yang lebih bagus daripada aku dan aku rasa MARA takkan consider application aku pasal sejarah hitam aku dengan MARA tu. And to my surprise, after about a month waiting for the result, tiba-tiba aku dapati aku berjaya. Result keluar Jumaat petang. So Isnin pagi tu aku call MARA untuk double confirm. Betul ke diorg nak sponsor aku ni. Aku pun ckp la dgn pegawai MARA tu. Aku cerita kisah aku dulu dan aku mintak die double check result aku. Die pun check la dan die ckp memang xde masalah asalkan jangan kene senarai hitam pasal tak bayar hutang MARA.

MARA result.

 So bermula la dilema aku. Sama ada nak terima offer ni atau pun tak. Because I am traumatized by my previous experienced of going abroad. Tapi ini je la peluang yang aku ade untuk sambung master. Which I really want to do. UKM dah reject application aku. Nak apply universiti lain, aku tak mampu pulak pasal yuran semua mahal-mahal belaka dan aku tak mampu as a self-sponsored student. So selepas banyak kali berdoa mintak ditunjukkan jalan yang baik untuk aku, aku membuat keputusan untuk terima tawaran tu. Aku cakap pada Allah, kalau ini yang terbaik untuk aku, mudahkan segala urusanku. Tapi kalau ia bukan yang terbaik untuk aku, maka halanglah aku daripada pergi dengan apa cara sekalipun. And alhamdulillah.. As for now, semuanya ok je. Takde la masalah yang besar lagi. Part yang paling susah pada aku adalah nak cari penjamin kedua. Aku plan nak mintak sama ada sepupu or makcik aku. Tapi sepupu aku menarik diri. Kecewa jugak la pasal sedara sendiri pun tak nak tolong aku. Tapi nak buat macam mane kan? Itu hak dia. Cuma terkilan la pasal sedara sendiri pun tak percaya kita. Takpe la.. Luckily makcik aku sanggup jadi penjamin. Alhamdulillah.. At least die percaya pada aku dan aku sangat2 berterima kasih pada beliau. Aku takkan lupa jasa beliau.

Tapi walaupun aku dah terima tawaran MARA, aku masih ade lagi satu kekangan. Dapatkan band 6.5 utk IELTS. Aku pun daftar la IELTS. Tapi oleh kerana takut tak lepas IELTS, aku pun sekali lagi gatal tangan apply universiti lain yang boleh terima GCE-O English kita time SPM dulu. Aku apply Leeds, Sheffield dan Cardiff. Dan alhamdulillah sekali lagi semua universiti tersebut bagi aku unconditional offer. Tapi bila aku bace subject-subject diorg, accreditation pada course yang diorang tawarkan dan beberapa faktor lain, aku pilih untuk ke Sheffield. Sets off for Edinburgh, but most probably will end up in Sheffield. Aku yang merancang tapi Allah yang tentukan. Sebenarnya aku memang nak sangat pergi ke Edinburgh pasal aku nak lari dari komuniti Melayu. Edinburgh tak ramai sangat Melayu. Bukan nak sombong or lupa daratan. Tapi aku nak pulang dengan membawa something new to myself. But it seems that I cannot run away from the fact that I am a Malay. So kene jugak la duduk di satu tempat yang kaya dengan orang Melayu.

Offer from Cardiff

Offer from Leeds

Offer from Sheffield

Actually, there is a reason on my hesitation to further my study oversea. Firstly because of my job. I have quite a stable job at this moment. But I have to resign if I wish to further my study oversea. And I just did that. Aku sangat bersyukur dapat peluang kerja dengan Linde Malaysia. Pada aku Linde merupakan tempat kerja paling best penah aku kerja. Dekat Linde ni la aku belajar macam mane rasenye jadi orang kaya. You know.. Approximately 5k a month in hand. Dekat company ni la aku mampu beli kereta dan mampu bawak family aku makan dekat tempat-tempat yang best. Walaupun aku takde la minat sangat dengan nature of the job tapi I am getting the hang of it. I am going to write a separate post for Linde! Selain tu, aku juga meninggalkan banyak peluang yang aku dapat dekat Malaysia ni. Aku dapat calon simpanan Air Traffic Controller Officer under DCA. Gaji dekat sane pun boleh tahan jugak. Kalau dipanggil dalam masa terdekat ni, memang aku terpaksa tolak pasal aku kene sambung belajar. Dan tak lame selepas aku dapat tawaran MARA, Sime Darby pun bagi aku tawaran untuk SHE Exec. Gaji pokok lebih besar daripada Linde tapi dekat Linde aku ade banyak elaun. Dan selain tu, aku juga terpaksa tinggalkan kereta aku yang baru 5 bulan dipakai. Haha... Kawan-kawan aku banyak tanye "Abes tu kalau ko pegi sane, sape yang bayar kete ko??"... Haha.. Soalan tu jugak yang korang tanye. Jawapannya aku jugak yang akan bayar. Aku buat loan bayar guna direct debit. So rasenye takde masalah kot. Simpanan aku cukup kalau setakat setahun je.

Aku rase aku la antara yang rare decline offer kerja.

Mungkin tak berpeluang nak menyertai DCA.

Take care mate! See you in a year.

Dan itulah kisah terbaru aku. Aku harap kali ni aku pergi dan pulang dengan membawa perkara yang sepatutnya aku bawa pulang. Aku harap aku dapat tamatkan pengajian master aku dengan jayanya dan kalau boleh, aku nak peluang untuk sambung lagi ke peringkat yang lebih tinggi. Amiin.. Doakan aku rakan-rakan. Aku amat memerlukan doa kalian.

Di kesempatan ini aku ingin mengucapkan selamat hari raya untuk tahun ini. Berhati-hati di jalan raya dan semoga kita berpeluang untuk bertemu di lain waktu. Taqaballahu minna wa minkum... Semoga Allah menerima ibadat kita...

A short answer to the 'so called' Mr. Robert Chaen.

I am quite cross this morning. Actually, very cross. Read the short essay below and I am going to tell you why.

“Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela

I have talked with many UTAR undergraduates and lecturers, and most of them tell me in no uncertain terms that the Bumiputeras and Muslim Malays are not interested in applying at all, even though applications are open to them.

Bumiputeras would rather attend UiTM or other universities which have a big majority percentage of Malays.

Therefore, it is the discrimination of the Malay undergraduates against UTAR, and not the discrimination of UTAR for not accepting Malay intakes. 

As the CEO of BorneoHunter, an executive search firm, the feedback from our multi-national corporation (MNCs) clients who are graduates from UiTM are in general very one-dimensional, too quiet, and unpassionate. They have difficulty thinking out of the box, are cliquish and don't mix with well with other races and foreigners. They are awkward, quite judgemental and are not accommodating and accepting of other races’ opinions.

The other important aspect in seeking employment in big international companies is the command of English which is universally accepted as the language of global business, finance, law, IT, internet, marketing, engineering, science and arts.

A large percentage of resumes we receive from UiTM graduates display poor English. They are not even competent enough to construct a proper English sentence. When a graduate climbs up the corporate ladder based on meritocracy, many business and strategic plans must be written in good English and must be expressed and presented well in English. If not, one will be left behind in promotions as the competition for higher levels of management is fierce.

Understandably, UiTM-type graduates either prefer to work with government departments, GLCs and uniform forces, or because they have fewer options, they may be be forced to work with these uncompetitive organisations.

By isolating its students from other races and foreigners, UiTM has done real damage to the development of its undergraduates. The role of a university is to expose its students to the latest international thinking in corporate, business, finance, marketing, science or whatever field of studies.

UiTM only admits 100% Bumiputeras exclusively except for preparatory programmes where non-Bumiputeras are admitted at International Education College (INTEC), Malaysia, a campus of the university. This policy is unfortunately protected by virtue of Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia.

That in itself is blatantly racist and smacks of religious bigotry. It’s time that UiTM looked into being relevant, global, and progressive in today’s modern, open, free society.

In contrast, I’m personally quite impressed with the high calibre of UTAR undergraduates from the fields of marketing, public relations and finance. It is a known fact that most human resource managers will find it obvious that there is a significant contrast between UiTM and UTAR graduates that they interview.

As the Founder of ChangeU Group, we have hired many good quality interns and management trainees from UTAR. For the last two years in a row, “The Best ChangeU Intern of the Year 2012 and 2013” were from UTAR.

UTAR interns compete well with our other interns from Monash, Taylor’s, Sunway, MMU, iACT, Iowa (US), NUS, Melbourne, Telecom Business School, Evry (France), Lim Kok Wing, KDU, UM, UPM and UUM.

Many UTAR graduates have the added advantage of being able to speak Mandarin fluently. Some are also fluent in Cantonese, which is necessary in dealing with our China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong clients.

I even took a UTAR undergraduate who was the best ChangeU intern of 2012 along to a senior manager convention in Manila of one of the top 100 Malaysian brands with all expenses paid to further expose him to the international business environment.

I find UTAR interns generally to be open to new challenges, willing, quick to learn, resourceful, innovative, productive and able to hold intelligent debate on many issues. And more importantly, they are adaptive to our creative, high AQ (adversity quotient) and performance working culture and our clients’ pressure-cooker working environments.

The heads of human resources from our top brand clients such as Naza, Petronas, Public Bank, Genting, Celcom, Habib, Jewels, MSC and Berjaya are consistently impressed with our UTAR undergraduate interns and have made direct job offers to them.

Lastly, we will be very happy to accept expressive interns with the calibre of Dyana Sofya of UiTM and K.S. Bawani UUM law undergraduate of the “Listen, Listen, listen” fame. They are a rare breed who blossomed by their own efforts and personal values within a university that is a bit backward in thinking and approach as in UiTM – this is the feedback of our esteemed international human resources associates.

I hope this article is an eye-opener and a truthful wake-up call for future Malay students to decide wisely which progressive universities are best in developing them to be a healthily competitive and competent employee in either a local or international corporation. Or, Malay students and their parents can express and demand that their university be more progressive and less racist.

“We can change Malaysia by insisting on changing our education system to be progressive, inclusive, competitive, expressive, and innovative.” – May 20, 2014.

This piece of writing is written by the 'so called' Mr. Robert Chaen, who claims to be an International Change Expert, Online Pollster, founder of ChangeU Group and CEO of BorneoHunter (he must be a hell of a man. Look at his list of jobs!). But you know, people have a lot of claims for themselves but for the sake of simplicity, I'll just trust his claim.

My first comment will be on the issue of the command of English. I am sorry. I am not sure which UiTM graduate he had spoken to but as far as I am concern, UiTM graduates do speak English and most of us (if not all) speaks English rather well. Of course there will always be the weakest link among us (so does UTAR graduates). But over generalizing that all UiTM grads have a poor command of English is an utter lie (and we should have your apology there). Let me tell you my story. I graduated on August 2013 (officially earn my degree on November 2013). Up until now, I've been to numerous interviews and from all my interview, the panel actually praised my command of English. Some of them have actually said (and I am quoting) "You have the best command of English of all the candidates today". I am not saying I am fluent and flawless in English but I got the message passed to the panel. And that is the most important. Do I have your apology now?

On the subject of competitiveness. Again, what you were writing is a loose claim which is not supported by facts and figures. Upon my graduation until now, I've been to numerous interviews (as I claimed before). 8 interviews to be precise (2 government post, 6 private sectors). From the 6 private sector interviews, 4 of which are from a big multinational companies (Hitachi, Honda, Linde and Sime Darby). To contradict your claim, from the 8 interviews I've been through, 5 offered me the job I applied for. Success rate? 62.5%. The other 37.5% actually just cannot commit to the salary I am asking for. And errr... I am a UiTM graduate. The graduate you said very one-dimensional, too quiet, unpassionate, have difficulty thinking out of the box, are cliquish and don't mix with well with other races and foreigners.

In my humble opinion, it is the person who makes all the difference. Whether they wants to be a highly competitive person or having a laid back attitude. The institution does nothing to their attitude. They need to have the go getter attitude in order for them to be successful in whatever they are doing. Let me give you an example. Have you ever heard the name Hamka (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamka)?  Mr. Hamka never received a university education but his books and writings are widely used as syllabus in universities all over the world. Who said university is such an important tools of success?

And one more, I don't agree when you includes government sectors as an uncompetitive sector. Do you know the number of graduates applying for a government post and how many of them manage to squeeze in? Do your research first Mr. Chaen. I am surprised you don't know the fact when you claimed that you are the CEO of a headhunting company.

Mr. Chaen, I seriously believe you owe us an apology. Apology for the piece of irresponsible writing you just did, a blatant lie you just published and a judgemental thought you have!

* Original writing of Mr. Rober Chaen in The Malaysian Insider: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/a-tale-of-two-universities-uitm-and-utar-robert-chaen

Mr. Chaen's personal website: http://robertchaen.com/

Mr. Chaen's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/robert-chaen/46/453/917

* The writer is Muhammad Firdaus Bin Mohd Nazam, an ordinary Engineer for Linde Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. Period!

Subcontrating

I've been in the construction industry for more than 6 months now. As I mentioned before, I am not from engineering background. So there are a lot to learn for me. One of the simplest thing for me to understand is the act of subcontracting. Over the years, the word subcontracting has always been negative. Actually, it is not at all. Let me give you an example of subcontracting in construction. Let say there is a big project coming. A hospital to be build. In the whole hospital project, there are 2 divisions of contractor. Civil & structure, Mechanical & electrical (M&E). Under each of these contractor, there are a few divisions. For instance, under M&E, there are lift & elevator contractor, aircond contractor, fire safe contractor and in case of hospital, a medical gas contractor (where I comes in). Knowing all these, I feel that subcontracting is not a bad practice at all. Because not all company has the expertise needed to completely build a building. They need to engage other companies which have the expertise in their field. This will ensure that only those with necessary experience and expertise will do the specific job of the whole project.

Vios, Note 3 dan Interview ATCO

Salam semua... Agak lame tak menulis di ruangan ini. Sekarang ni aku agak busy. So bila weekend je, aku memang akan gunakan masa sepenuhnya untuk merehatkan diri. Atas sebab itulah aku dah lame tak menulis di ruangan ini. Idea nak menulis tu banyak tapi masa yang tidak mengizinkan aku menulis.

Seperti yang aku beritahu dalam post-post sebelum ni, aku ade membeli sebuah kereta baru. In my line of work, I need to do a lot of travelling. So keep using my Kancil is not a feasible option. Baru jalan dalam area Klang Valley pun enjin dah overheat. Bayangkan kalau aku nak round satu Malaysia. Mau terbarai enjin Kancil aku tu. Thus, I need to have a new car. A reliable one which can be used for hundreds of thousands of miles. Setelah dibuat perkiraan dan pertimbangan, aku memilih Toyota Vios yang baru tu sebagai kenderaan rasmi. Because Toyota is known for its reliability and the spare parts can be categorized as affordable. For a person who wants to start his life like me, it is very important to have a worry free motoring experience. Because of that, I've chosen Vios for my first car. Walaupun kereta tu agak basic kalau nak dibandingkan dengan kereta-kereta lain dalam lingkungan harga yang sama (i.e Honda Jazz, City, VW Polo, Hyundai/Kia), but basic means that there are less to go wrong with the car. It is always the case. Walaupun enjin dan gearbox is a carry over from the first generation Vios (it was 12 years ago!), but hey, it means that the engine and gearbox has a proven reliability. That is why we can still see first generation Vios cruising along confidently in our motorways.

Aku book kereta pada 1 Disember 2013. Alhamdulillah salesman aku dapat push kereta aku untuk dapat awal sikit. Sepatutnya aku dapat kereta pada 10 March 2014. Tapi alhamdulillah dapat ambil pada pada 15 Febuari 2014. Aku letak downpayment agak banyak pasal aku tak nak buat bayaran bulanan dalam jumlah yang besar. I want to manage my debt. I specifically told my salesman that I don't want to pay more than RM650 per month for my installment. Alhamdulillah I managed to do just that.

It has been a month I've been using my new Vios. For me, it is obviously a big step up from my previous Kancil. It is much bigger, much more comfortable, much more powerful and much more stable at high speed as compared to the Kancil. Memang la kn? But do I feel satisfied with the car? Hurm.. Not quite actually. I pay about RM 80k for the car. But the problem is, it doesn't feel like a car worth RM 80k. Because I treasure my own hard earn money very much. So my expectation when I bought the car was quite high. Don't get me wrong. It is a good car. A very good car actually. But there are a few rough edges which I think, shouldn't be found on a RM 80k car. Because Perodua can do the trick as well. And they don't need to charge you RM 80k for it.

However, the car gives you perceived quality by the way it looks, the way it is put together and the way it rides. The dashboard looks elegant though you will change you mind once you decided to knock on the dasboard. The use of hard plastic straight away throw the feel of elegance. But to be fair, what to expect? It is no Camry or Accord. It is an entry level sedan. The ride is very comfortable and not bad when you decide to have fun on the village road. As I said before, in terms of perceived quality, it is not bad at all. But once you examine closely, you'll see the rough edges. Not a big one but big enough to make you think.

Front view. I installed the TRD Sportivo bodykit.

Rear view

The centre console with the fake leather stitching. It looks good though.

The whole look of the dashboard.

Meter panel. The lack of optitron backlighting is a disappointment

The rear seat. The fabric they use is good.

The legroom is commodious enough for a typical malay man like me.

Ok. Enough with the car. Now, the Note 3. Amboi-amboi. Joli katak betul aku ni. Kete baru, phone baru. Hurm.. Phone ni pun work related jugak. Aku agak hesitate nk beli pada mulanya. Tapi macam yang aku cakap. Aku perlu jumpe banyak orang dalam line keje aku ni. And having a device which can take note is very helpful. Dan aku dh gunakan bende tu time aku pegi Hospital Rompin hari tu. I am not regretting buying my Note 3. It is a very fast phone and I need the S Note feature. Walaupun menggigil tangan nak bayar time beli hari tu, tapi aku rase amat berbaloi. Tak perlu bawak buku nota ke hulu ke hilir. Guna phone je. Kalau ikutkan memula aku nak survey je phone tu kat Mutiara Damansara. Tapi time tu ade offer. They give more than RM 200 discount for the phone. Macam rugi pulak tak beli. Dan aku pun beli la dengan abah aku.

One for me, one for my father.

Ok. Last but not least. 11 March hari tu aku ade interview utk jawatan Pegawai Kawalan Trafik Udara (ATCO) di SPA Putrajaya. Panel aku Dato' Najri, panel yang same interview aku untuk jawatan PTD tahun lepas. And to my surprise, he still remembers me. Haha.. So borak-borak macam berborak dalam kedai kopi je. I think I did better than my PTD interview. Tapi aku tak nak letak apa-apa pengharapan. Pasal soalan yang Dato' tanya pun tak banyak pasal dasar negara or DCA. Kebanyakannya pasal peribadi je. That is why la aku bole jawab dengan yakin je. Dan soalan-soalan tu macam soalan tak berapa minat je dengan aku. So takpe la. Ade rezeki, ade la. Kalau takde, anggap je la itu bukan yang terbaik untuk aku. Lagi pun there are a lot not to like about ATCO. Firstly, keje syif. Keduanya, tanggungjawab sangat besar. Jage 5-6 kapal terbang dalam satu-satu masa. Maknanya, kesilapan kita bole menyebabkan ribuan nyawa melayang. Lagi besar tanggungjawab daripada doktor. Tu yang paling aku takut. But the upside is the remuneration package. Elaun sangat banyak. Ade sorang ATCO yang dah keje 3 tahun cakap gaji dan elaun die mencecah RM 6k sebulan! Baru keje 3 tahun. But as I said earlier, it does come with a price.

Before aku terlupa, baru-baru ni aku dapat conditional offer drpd University of Edinburgh utk sambung Master in Sustainable Energy System (MSc.). Cuma aku perlu dapatkan IELTS band 6.5 dan scholarship je lagi utk aku ke sana. So aku sekarang tengah cari scholarship dan setelkan IELTS aku. Yang ni pun tak berharap sangat. Takut jugak pisang berbuah 2 kali. Tengoklah nanti macam mane. So tahun ni aku ade 3 pengharapan. Jadi ATCO, sambung master or success in this year's PTD interview. Ade satu lagi harapan sebenarnya. To tie the knot. I mean bertunang la. Bukan kawen. But actually I feel tired to chase that one girl when I have already gave her so much hint with no positive return from her. So aku pun malas la nak harap kat die. If someone comes to me and she is good enough, I am open for her. Aku pun bukan muda lagi. The word 'tunggu' is not something that I should make friend with.

Rasenye itu je la. Dah cukup panjang ni. Ya Allah, please make everything easy for me. I've been through a lot of your tests before. I hope the tests carry something good for me. Ameen =)