I'm still going strong

A man's age is something impressive, it sums up his life: maturity reached slowly and against many obstacles, illnesses cured, griefs and despairs overcome, and unconscious risks taken; maturity formed through so many desires, hopes, regrets, forgotten things, loves. A man's age represents a fine cargo of experiences and memories. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry,


Can't believe I'm 42 today. Thank God for giving me the strength to be at this far ...
Deep inside my heart, I hope that I will be able to devote my life to the right path, lead a simple life together with my loved ones longer to share each and every moment of love, happiness .... Amin.

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln.

Potluck at the office this morning...

I brought this:

Home made rendang ayam...

And this:

Boss bawak ni :

sambal paru.. According to Boss she cooked until 2.00 am in the morning...

Sally and her yummy tomyam

Nasya buat fried kuayteow

Birthday cake specially made by Rashidah.. sedaaap cheesecake...

Other food were delicious as well...

Ada curry mee, kueh, fruits ... everyone was happy .... OK la tu!

Thanks everyone ....

Amir's day out

Last Sunday, we went to Megakidz ... entertaining Amir.



Abah sempat shopping kat Studio R ... Amir ambik kesempatan to pose



At the entrance of Megakidz..



Kat Megakidz







Amir's first art..






''' Very nice" the uncle at the counter told him...

A caring husband?

It was 5.20 pm (Thursday) when CE3 summoned me to his office. "Are you aware of this complaint" (showing his email in his notebook .. A simple answer from me "Nope sir". He then instructed me to do some findings/investigation with the relevant dept.

It was 5.35pm when I was about to leave, my extension phone rang ... asking me to join an urgent meeting with HR and JPC on the complaint. Conclusion? Yes... and of coz it is HEK's area... there you go!

The complaint? Well...a loving husband and a caring father lodged a complaint direct to KSN's office (am not sure whether this is a sensible move). The allegation? Her wife's application for leave was denied. So the diligently committed wife came to work with 2 kids; aged 2 and 7. One of them was sick (the reason why the wife applied for a leave). The hubby questioned why did his wife's leave application was denied? And the wife was said to have this kinda fear that her salary will be deducted if she still goes on leave..... (is this a free country or what?)

An 'interrogation' was held .. the findings were: as an employee, the wife is entitled for her leave. Further investigation is said to be undertaken to ensure as to whether or not there is an element of injustice done to the wife by the relevant authority/supervisor. The hubby's allegation stating that his child was lying at an area visible enuf to be seen by other customers was actually a sham. (this was confirmed by the officer in charged). It was reported that both kids were in the room behind the counter at all times, the whole day..

Finally, I prepared a reply based on these findings and get CE3 to sign off. Thought it was the end ... but it was the beginning when the complainant finally called me ... called me? why me? Again? Trying not to sound nervous, I entertained his call. Well, maybe he is a good hubby and caring father... from his voice. He raised his concern... acknowledged the wife's responsibility... but on that day he couldn't take care of the kids himself since he was outstationed. And of coz he denied the kids were in the room at all times. "Did your officers check the CCTV?" My answer was short " We are still investigating sir. Should you need further clarification you may proceed to do so in writing".

And he DID. It was 5.30pm (Friday) when I was again summoned to CE3's office. "So did you check the CCTV"... I have to check? "My reply was based on J**'s findings sir". R*******n was immediately called and CE3 instructed his team to proceed with checking the CCTV and CE3's final word "I want everything to settle by Monday"....
Can't really wait to see what will happen on Monday when CE1 will be around.... takutnya.... God Bless Me!

And the hubby? At first I believe he is a caring hubby and father ..... But I suddenly imagined if I were to be in his wife's shoes... I must be in a very difficult situation now... to face my superior, my colleagues... He meant well but sincerely I think the wife is in deep trouble.....
May the truth prevails!

Bandung

So we are leaving for Bandung in less than 2 weeks. At first The H1N1 worries me a bit. But yesterday when the news on bombing at JW Marriot and Ritz Carlton Jakarta were announced, it worries me a LOT!!! Deep inside me, I have this kinda feeling should I go or shouldn't I.. Let put it this way.. I will decide on 31 July... the day we are supposed to fly to Bandung.

I see that my colleagues ('partners in crime' ) to Bandung are really excited. Sally, a devoted companion in Puspanita has planned on her shopping ride while Mr Ramon Ross has a little 'secret'.... (kalau nak rahsia ni tersisip rapi... kena belanje I ngan Sally ni....) The rest... most of them are prepared to shop ... A LOT !!! As for me, not really shopping ... perhaps sight seeing, a little bit of shopping and relaxing!!! (bole percaya ke?)

I wish I could bring Amir along. But knowing that he is so active .. I cancelled my the plan. Hubby said Amir will be under his care. Can't really imagine that... Amir is so hyper active lately. Sometimes (in fact most of the time) he really drove me mad ... But he will always say this to me" Amir mintak mahap mak".. I sometimes cried ... well only after I scolded him ... (This reminds me of Ibu Laila @ ATAH)... One thing for sure I know I will be missing him nanti.. .. I mentioned to Amir last 2 days that I will not be around and that he will be at granny's house. and of coz he said okay! with one condition ... "don't forget to buy me toys ye mak" ....

Little Xplorers at Mini Zoo, Kemaman

We had this family trip during the previous school holidays. Only myself (& Amir), Joe (the whole family) and parents (including Oya) went to the trip. So, it was not really a 'family outing' since the members were incomplete. Hubby had to handle urgent projects while Ed and his family went to visit Jue's mum at Lumut.

So finally we decided to go to Cherating. We stayed at Sanctuary Apartment. A nice 3 rooms apartment. Very windy and spacious for the kids to run around. The pool was the first place the kids ran to. I noticed that the pool was quiet...... macam tak dapat menarik perhatian the guests except for my son and my nephews...

The next day we went to Kemaman. Actually the places of interest tak banyak pun..Rasa nyesal plak gi Cherating. But what to do. We gotta maximize the cutiiiii.... So masa ronda-ronda and pusing2 bandar Kemaman, we noticed a sign board to Mini Zoo. According to a colleague of mine Mini Zoo ni baru dibuka. Dah terlanjur tu, we went to this mini zoo ... just to expose these tiny explorers to animals .....

The zoo ... I can say is very huge.. Nak masuk dalam kena naik buggy car..


Azmin, Amir and Anis geli tengok ular-ular kat dalam cage tu... Tengok muka Anis yang 'geli' semacam...



If you wanna know this is 'uk uk' elephant.




Kat jambatan gantung... Dah la so quiet, macam cerita Jurassic Park ajer.. Suddenly I imagined dinasour keluar dari celah-celah pokok tu...


Ni Ultraman sesat dalam hutan


The 'explorers to be' sebelum masuk hutan.. headed by Ado and Mak Wose...



Kat belakang tu ... the biggest fish is South East Asia.. Tapi tak brapa nampak daaa....
(Oya, Arif, Azmin and Amir)


This pic was taken by Amir ..

The next family outing is still in planning...

Are we on the right track?

Remember Mr Brown in 'Mind Your Language' TV series? ...

I was quite saddened with the news that the Education Ministry will stop implementing teaching Maths and Science in English. It was still fresh in my mind that when they first introduced this, loads of opinions and comments (be it negative or positive) were posted.
But I believe the government has done a thorough study, research and the possible implication of this way forward. But my 2 cents worth said that 6 years was perhaps too early for them to make a conclusion that the program was not successful or not achieving the target. Some reports claimed that the government has spent a lot on its overall implementation and that by reverting to the mother tongue languages would be a waste. Perhaps strategically and financially it was a loss but this decisive move would have 2 prongs objective i.e assisting the students in small kampung to 'catch up' and extending the Ministry ways to subtly implement this program by introducing other subjects in English. The most important is to teach English from its very basic root.
(I remember we had this subjects like composition, compehension... I wonder if these subjects are still being implemented..)

I admit my English is not superb. But I'm glad that I am able to write and speak in English. So so la huh! Perhaps my upbringing helps a lot. I used to read English story books and read the NST out loud. My dad used to tell me when you read out loud, it would be easier for you to understand and identify your mispronounciations. Not sure if it was true.. But that what was I did.

My observations?

I noticed that there were some grads who couldn't speak English very well (as expected). I wonder how would they survive in this corporate world. But I do know that some organizations and agencies do send their staff for trainings, seminars and courses. This includes English course as well. I personally think that this is a smart investment. It helps both the organization and the staff.

Some of my relatives and friends converse with their kids in English. This is also one of the significant methods that would assist our children to master the English well.

My conclusion;

Well... whatever the situation is, its up to an individual... When there's a will, there's always a way! So to whom it may concern... ask your self and speak for yourself...

Water rafting ... anyone?

We had this activity last year at Gesau, Slim River. We enjoyed water rafting more than jungle trekking even though the water fall was refreshing .... I guess it was because of the leeches ... they were everywhere in the water...
Some of us decided to come again to enjoy this challenging extreme water sports... But that was more than 6 months ago. Now, everyone is busy with his/her own hectic schedule...
I wonder if HEK decides to have its own teambuilding here .... macamana Bos ok ka?




Kama was too in 'joyful mood' sampai lupa orang kat belakang and sebelah... Macam dia sorang aje dalam raft tu...







They called this 'Jeram Kotak' ... Silap2 'perhitungan' raft boleh terbalik.
And ... it was always our raft that had to go first ... But we made it even though most of us were 'recyled teenagers'...








One of my contact lenses nearly felt off ...



This was taken before rafting...

The value of a citizenship

Without hesitation, I've accepted an invitation of an old friend to meet up. I've known her since I was in my school days. She got married earlier than I am. Unfortunately she was not able to conceive after she lost her first baby. I used to tell her that there's always blessing in disguise for that reason. She and her hubby finally adopted a son. As far as I know that boy's biological mother is not a Malaysian. So, even though he was born here in Malaysia, he is still considered as non-citizen. Please bear with me as I'm writing on her experience as a Malaysian in dealing with the rules and regulations defined within the ambit of Malaysian Federal Constitution.

S*** and her hubby, J*** finally got the certification of their adopted son (legally done) after 2 years. However, their son's status is still classified as "permanent resident" and not as "Malaysian" as they expected. Bound by the rules, regulations and procedures, they have applied for their son's citizenship last year. I was informed by S*** that the process of the application alone will take 2 years. I wonder what is the reason behind that 'long duration'.... S***'s application was under "Special Provision" whereby to some ppl such an application won't take that long.
Now here is the problem... S*** and J*** will be transferred soon to overseas (which I think will take maybe 2-3 years) . So now they are trying high and low to ensure that they are able to bring along their son according to the pre defined procedures. They went to the Immigration - they were informed PR status person is not eligible to apply for Malaysian passport. If worst come to worst they have to get the biological mother to appear before the Immigration Dept and apply for the same. I knew that the biological mother is missing...

Then they were advised by a close friend to inquire from the Welfare Dept as to whether they can do 'anything' like giving a recommendation letter or whatever as long as they can bring their son along to overseas. Well this was what informed by the officer at the Welfare Dept " We are only responsible for the adoption process. JPN will be the right dept to ask ... According to S*** the officer mentioned that this is the risk adopting a non citizen .............. Hello! with due respect, my friend here is not by her own whim and fancy not to have any child of her own and nor did she purposely choose to adopt a non Malaysian...

They were then advised to refer to JPN. But before S*** could tell me I've already knew the answer. Yes, she still has to wait for the application for he son's status approved. Without that approval no way that she could bring her child overseas.

As a friend and a Malaysian as well, I knew how important is a citizenship. With PR Status per se, you are not eligible to apply for scholarships, you have to pay more for medical purposes (if you go to the government hospital) and many other benefits that are currently enjoyed by the Malaysians. Some Malaysians do not appreciate this. But to some ppl like S*** and J***, its everything for them.

I hope the relevant Ministries will open their eyes and think through whenever it involves genuine cases like S***'s. Wouldn't it be practical if the adoption certification simply convert the PR status of her son to Malaysian citizenship. After all both of S*** and J*** are serving with the government. I admit the value of a citizenship is precious and that the Home Affairs Ministry would be the single authority that will produce the verdict. But I am sure they could think of some other ways to shorten the period taken to approve an application. And it is also depends on the classes of application ... To me S***'s application can be processed earlier and approved in a shorter period of time.

To S*** and J***, hang on there my friend.. Its not the end of the world. God will always be there for you....

Do you cook?

I love Sundays... Why not? This is the only day of many other days that would allow me to wake up a bit late, have breakfast with hubby and son, spring cleaning of the house and of coz cooking... I'm not really a good cook. But being the only daughter I've been taught to cook since I was in my primary school. I have quite a number of recipe books which remain to be dispalyed in my cupboard. I actually end up testing my mum's recipes. According to my sifu (my mum!) you have to cook regularly so that the cooking would be perfect a.k.a the right taste. I do my cooking only during weekends.... Normally I would invite my parents to come over to have lunch or dinner with us. That is one of the ways to know as to whether my cooking is deemed 'approved' (usually my mum and especially my dad will do the commentings). Well so far so good! Hubby? He has no complaint so far. Talk 'bout cooking, actually I'm glad that I bought the multi cooker.. I can cook almost anything ... hassle free!! It's not that expensive though... I have tried grilling, steaming and steamboat as well. Thanks to Puspanita... hehehe for introducing this multi cooker.

However to be frank I haven't done serious cooking for about a month now. What I meant by serious cooking is when you have to really cook the Malay food especially curry, lemak cili api... this involve a lot of ingredients like kunyit (not kunit), santan, cili api etc etc. Personally, I love Chinese style of cooking. It's simple, fast and not spicy. Being married to a man whose mum is a great cook herself, I have to be ever ready to cook almost anything! My MIL used to request my cooking during Hari Raya. All those nasi minyak, nasi tomato, lakso, soto... Suspens jugak mula2 nak masak kat rumah inlaw. But that was I think 10 years back... but now I'm used to it. Deep in my heart I thank my mum... for all the secret recipes, guidance and trust in me.

Empowering women?

More women to hold decision-making posts? Yes! It was in The Star today. As stated, the quota allocated is at least 30% in both public and private sectors. And more.... there will be an award for companies that achieved the 30% target. As mentioned statistics (2008) 13.7 million of the population is women (49.1%). Only 45.7% were in the employment sector compared to 79.5% of men. Well... this is good news for us ... the women.

Frankly, I believe this is a right move to support women who have been facing challenges in the gender equality process. Some might say that women may not be able to become leaders due to the sensitivity, the emotional factor, soft .. etc.. But these are the qualities that make us strong and able to weigh/ balance our decision effectively.

I have been working with both male and female bosses before. I think they (both male and female) were great. No doubt they have their own approach and way of working but the leadership qualities that they carry in each of them are relatively vital. If you were to ask me .. I have no problem working with a lady boss. I think they are more understanding (of coz not all the times... pssstttt that reminds me of cenc), diligent and they listen. However some of them are 'by the books'. Perhaps they are not empowered to decide accordingly (well.. this is the time we longed for what!) As for male bosses, they are more practical, use their discretion rather than by rules and regulations. But whatever it is, result and achievement will always be the yardstick to quantify one's performance. So to all women out there this is it!!!

What an experience!

I was 'called' and really eager to write this. This is dedicated to all ppl involved in getting our international passports ready .... today. This morning I was at the Immigration Department, Wangsa Maju. We arrived 10 minutes to 10.00 am. We were ushered by a Chinese woman (who was effectively friendly) to go to her small kiosk (actually a small shop) to take our instant pics for the international passports. Surprisingly (this was new to me) she did everything for us. Filling up the form, photostating .... at only RM10.00. We paid and went off to the Immigration Dept which was only 2 minutes walk from her shop. As we took our angka giliran, the number was then called and announced (within less than 2 mins). I submitted the complete form and waited for another minute for my number to be called again for the payment. All in all we merely spent less than 20 mins from the small shop where we took our pics to the payment for the passport. We were then informed that our passports will be ready in an hour's time. This, to me was super efficient. Some ppl say that the service is good and fast here is due to lack of customers. Well I care less 'bout that as it was a superb experience dealing with a government agency in less than 20 mins. Good job and well done! Hope this will inspire other government agencies to act like one.

CSR .. in my very own eyes....

I am quite knew with this corporate social responsibility or corporately known as CSR. When I first joined this organization, I was assigned to'look after' the CSR unit. Of coz I refer to nothing but internet for all the countless research and materials. For the benefit of all (especially those who is not quite familiar with this term) CSR is relatively vital for an organization to further sustain. Big organizations tend to run all kind of csr activities... mostly dragged media to spice up the publicity (well... we do need that!). Some organizations have their csr elements embedded in their nature of business. To me, Body Shop is a very good example whereby they have effectively put in place its approach against animal testing. On the other hand, to some extend, I think, sometimes, there are organizations competing with each other in identifying the focus of their csr approach. Those with lucrative budget may plan anything under the sky. I'm pretty sure that they (the organizations) are responsible corporate citizen... but does this coming from the very bottom of their hearts? Well, I have no answer for that. This, to me, may lead to csr, losing its phenomenal factor.

The organization that I'm currently attached with has done quite a number of csr activities. Historically, they have put into practice a csr activity through out the country know as *** Prihatin. It was said to be a successful implementation. Last year, I can say, we have expanded/ diversified the nature of our activities. The prime focus is still education but it is now perfectly leveraged to other layers of community. So, now we put some colours in it ... as the recipients come from all walks of life. Riding on our social mandated roles, this initaitive is more towards upgrading the quality of life of the rakyat, providing prudent financial accessibility to those ppl in remote areas, providing conducive learning infrastructure for schools, giving basic requirement/facilities e.g wheel chairs, dialysis machines to the OKU, elderly and NGO(s), etc.

I truly hope the organization will continue with this initiative. It gives me some sort of inner happiness and satisfaction as we do involve in analyzing the recipients. Having said all of the above, to me csr has helped many ppl out there. Corporate leaders / organizations are now responsible citizens. So, kudos to the ppl who has created/ introduced this to the corporate world.