I listened to Dr Fadzilah Kamsah motivation tape. He said that women are most beautiful at 40, while men gained their actual maturity at 40 (that's why Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. was appointed to be Rasullullah in his 40s). If this is true, what really happens before one reaches 40? What's next after 40?
For women - aren't we all reached maturity at that puberty age? Some 10, some 12, some 14 years old. That's why at that age, we can see girls to be far more matured in thinking than boys. This is also why there are so many girls in universities in Malaysia. Our Malaysian education system tailored to matured people at young age. Where'd the men go?
Because women reach maturity at such young age, at 40 women appear to have reached a plateau, going down next.
For men - because it is proven time and again that men only reach maturity at 40, the period of "immaturity" since to last very long indeed. Maybe from puberty to 39 years old. That could roughly last about 25 years? But this is the period when a man decides to study or to work, to get married or stay single, to live healthily or sickly, and many more important decisions, which at 40, it'd be too late to reverse isn't it? So do they make decisions with immatured thinking?
Because men reach maturity at 40, they appear to be just starting off their engine to climb up the hill, to face challenges of life, with matured thinking, and therefore, are more attractive.
Conclusion - men and women have different wavelength before they reach 40, but after 40 the wavelength should be syncronized. Or the thinking gap is actually getting wider? Hence, before couples reach 40, what should we do to prepare ourselves before reaching that "40" fence?
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Golden Handshake
Kak Hafsah came to see me this afternoon and shake my hands for the last time.
Kak : Today is my last day working here.
Me : Oh ya..after how long you serve?
Kak : 28 years.
Me : Wow, so how do you feel today?
Kak : Sad.
Me : What do you plan to do next? Take care of grand kids?
Kak : I have no grand kids yet. It will be a whole new world for me. Let me think of what to do next when I am at home.
After 28 years, clock in at 8.00 am and clock out at 5.00 or 6.00 pm, day in day out. Finally, come THE day. No token, no gratuity. No cheap watch either. That's how far the human touch of this place go.
Not to complain further. The biggest advantage of working for an organization is the chance to build network of friends, some may even be closer than your own family members. I guess she must have made tonnes of good friends, and for sure she will miss some of them later.
The bad side - we have to adjust to a whole new world on our own after that. Life can be better or worse, depend on how fast we can adapt to change.
Hmm, what if it turns out to be me later on to bid farewell after serving this place for so long? I'd love to look back and think about what and how much I have contributed to the very end. JFK said "Ask not what the country can do for you, ask what you can do for the country". Same cliche applies.
Maybe I can't show off physically the things I have contributed to this place, but I know they exist somewhere in those servers, folders, files, store rooms and selected brains. Most importantly, the contributions impact the bottom line either directly or not, so me and my fellow comrades could get better renumeration. Not to forget, for this place to continue to exist and remain a business entity for generations to come.
Hey, I can complain a bunch of bad things about this place, but I also survive from courtesy of this place. From here, I got to do things and buy things. The renumeration can never be satisfying, but getting better. Rather than continue complaining about the inadequacy and mediocrity, I'd rather focus on those things which I can make better off.
Bottom line : Ask what you can do to others more than what others can do for you.
Kak : Today is my last day working here.
Me : Oh ya..after how long you serve?
Kak : 28 years.
Me : Wow, so how do you feel today?
Kak : Sad.
Me : What do you plan to do next? Take care of grand kids?
Kak : I have no grand kids yet. It will be a whole new world for me. Let me think of what to do next when I am at home.
After 28 years, clock in at 8.00 am and clock out at 5.00 or 6.00 pm, day in day out. Finally, come THE day. No token, no gratuity. No cheap watch either. That's how far the human touch of this place go.
Not to complain further. The biggest advantage of working for an organization is the chance to build network of friends, some may even be closer than your own family members. I guess she must have made tonnes of good friends, and for sure she will miss some of them later.
The bad side - we have to adjust to a whole new world on our own after that. Life can be better or worse, depend on how fast we can adapt to change.
Hmm, what if it turns out to be me later on to bid farewell after serving this place for so long? I'd love to look back and think about what and how much I have contributed to the very end. JFK said "Ask not what the country can do for you, ask what you can do for the country". Same cliche applies.
Maybe I can't show off physically the things I have contributed to this place, but I know they exist somewhere in those servers, folders, files, store rooms and selected brains. Most importantly, the contributions impact the bottom line either directly or not, so me and my fellow comrades could get better renumeration. Not to forget, for this place to continue to exist and remain a business entity for generations to come.
Hey, I can complain a bunch of bad things about this place, but I also survive from courtesy of this place. From here, I got to do things and buy things. The renumeration can never be satisfying, but getting better. Rather than continue complaining about the inadequacy and mediocrity, I'd rather focus on those things which I can make better off.
Bottom line : Ask what you can do to others more than what others can do for you.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Terengganu Oh Terengganu - Where have all the men with brain gone?
29-07-2008: Flush out the rent-seekers (from The Edge Financial Daily)
It boggles the mind that the Terengganu state executive councillors want to save public funds by using prestigious Mercedes Benz E200 Kompressor limousines instead of the home-grown Proton Perdana Executive cars as their official vehicles. No wonder there is such a huge public outcry about the purchase of 14 cars of the luxury German marque for RM3.43 million.
Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said’s justification that the Perdana is more expensive to maintain than the Mercedes was rightly met with howls of outrage. Ahmad said the state had spent over RM1 million since 2004 to maintain its fleet of Perdana V6s. The national carmaker has shot back with a fitting rebuttal. Proton Holdings Bhd managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohd Tahir said on Sunday that the state had only been billed some RM78,000 by its authorised service centres in that period. The balance of RM993,620 was spent on 16 cars that were serviced by unauthorised service centres, it has emerged.
The Anti-Corruption Agency has quickly stepped into the act, seizing eight Perdana V6s and questioning nine drivers, civil servants and mechanics about the vehicles.
Clearly, there is much that does not add up in this episode, but the biggest flaws pertain to accountability rather than servicing bills.
The reason why a fuss has broken out in the first place is important. Finance Ministry rules dictate that government leaders, including state executive councilors, are entitled to use Proton Perdana Executive V6s, not any fine wheels they fancy. The good representatives of the Terengganu state government are not at liberty to override the Treasury Circular that says so, period.
Secondly, it is indeed disturbing that the state executive council had deliberated on the purportedly exorbitant maintenance costs of the Perdana without questioning whether the billing could have been grossly inflated. For perspective, Proton has clarified that the average cost of servicing the Perdana, including a change of oil filter, but not other parts, is a down-to-earth RM200. This could reflect one of two unsatisfactory possibilities. Either these representatives collectively have a rather poor sense of financial acumen or they have not exercised their duty of care towards the public coffers as members of the state administration.
In this connexion, we would be missing the woods for the trees if the current exercise in accountability ends in the penalising of a sundry bunch of workshops, mechanics, drivers, administrative officers, billing clerks or other cogs in the wheel who may have transgressed against the law or official procedures.
An unamused public is now also privy to the information that the state government has blithely nullified the manufacturer’s warranty on the majority of its official cars by allowing them to be serviced at unauthorised workshops, and to grossly excessive charges to boot. As a measure of the state administration’s competence, this lapse of judgment speaks for itself.
If there is a silver lining to this sorry episode, it may be that the expose offers an opportunity to the competent authorities to stop the abuse of the public trust that has taken place. Thereafter, a serious effort is needed to wring out from the public procurement system, in particular the vehicle maintenance industry, the culture of rent-seeking that may be pervading government departments, government-linked companies and even the private sector.
It would be enlightening to estimate the amount of money that is lost through such leakages.
It boggles the mind that the Terengganu state executive councillors want to save public funds by using prestigious Mercedes Benz E200 Kompressor limousines instead of the home-grown Proton Perdana Executive cars as their official vehicles. No wonder there is such a huge public outcry about the purchase of 14 cars of the luxury German marque for RM3.43 million.
Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said’s justification that the Perdana is more expensive to maintain than the Mercedes was rightly met with howls of outrage. Ahmad said the state had spent over RM1 million since 2004 to maintain its fleet of Perdana V6s. The national carmaker has shot back with a fitting rebuttal. Proton Holdings Bhd managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohd Tahir said on Sunday that the state had only been billed some RM78,000 by its authorised service centres in that period. The balance of RM993,620 was spent on 16 cars that were serviced by unauthorised service centres, it has emerged.
The Anti-Corruption Agency has quickly stepped into the act, seizing eight Perdana V6s and questioning nine drivers, civil servants and mechanics about the vehicles.
Clearly, there is much that does not add up in this episode, but the biggest flaws pertain to accountability rather than servicing bills.
The reason why a fuss has broken out in the first place is important. Finance Ministry rules dictate that government leaders, including state executive councilors, are entitled to use Proton Perdana Executive V6s, not any fine wheels they fancy. The good representatives of the Terengganu state government are not at liberty to override the Treasury Circular that says so, period.
Secondly, it is indeed disturbing that the state executive council had deliberated on the purportedly exorbitant maintenance costs of the Perdana without questioning whether the billing could have been grossly inflated. For perspective, Proton has clarified that the average cost of servicing the Perdana, including a change of oil filter, but not other parts, is a down-to-earth RM200. This could reflect one of two unsatisfactory possibilities. Either these representatives collectively have a rather poor sense of financial acumen or they have not exercised their duty of care towards the public coffers as members of the state administration.
In this connexion, we would be missing the woods for the trees if the current exercise in accountability ends in the penalising of a sundry bunch of workshops, mechanics, drivers, administrative officers, billing clerks or other cogs in the wheel who may have transgressed against the law or official procedures.
An unamused public is now also privy to the information that the state government has blithely nullified the manufacturer’s warranty on the majority of its official cars by allowing them to be serviced at unauthorised workshops, and to grossly excessive charges to boot. As a measure of the state administration’s competence, this lapse of judgment speaks for itself.
If there is a silver lining to this sorry episode, it may be that the expose offers an opportunity to the competent authorities to stop the abuse of the public trust that has taken place. Thereafter, a serious effort is needed to wring out from the public procurement system, in particular the vehicle maintenance industry, the culture of rent-seeking that may be pervading government departments, government-linked companies and even the private sector.
It would be enlightening to estimate the amount of money that is lost through such leakages.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Cinta
I attended ESQ Alumni Renungan 165 last week. There was a converted Chinese girl who shared her experience on why and how she became a Muslim. One thing really touched the very bottom of my heart. She said that in her every last sujud of every prayer, she would recite this doa:
"Ya Allah Ya Tuhan Ku, penuhilah hatiku dgn rasa cinta kepada Mu".
If you go back to my post in June under "Where is the love, the love, the love?", I did bring up on love to Allah must supercede all our love to all men/women and things. But yeah...it's VERY VERY difficult. I still have this kecintaan kepada dunia dan penghuninya...How to place Allah over and above everything else????
Tricky. Complicated. How to change it into Easy like a Breeze that sweeps past you?" Well, I guess I really have to increase the quality of my ibadah wajib and try to do more sunat activities....hhhhmmmmmpppphhhhh
That Last Gift
I cleared up my office drawer and found a receipt of Loket Emas 916, dated October 2007 from Poh Kong Jewellers. My mind could straight away wandered to what had happened on that day when I got that pendant. Pretty much too confidential to pen down. Let the event dies with me.
The point is, it's not how much a gift costs that matters, it's the thought behind that could last a lifetime. The cliche "it's not the gift, it's the thought that counts" still holds true. We can easily remember an event if we have something to associate it with. For instance, this was propogated by the famous guru in his book "How to win friends and influence people". If you want to easily remember a name of a stranger, try to associate the name with something.
The pendant, is the last gift at this moment. The last meaningful gift ever. Any gift after this will definitely carry a different meaning. Maybe meaningless. A turn of event could not reverse what has happened. People say that you can forgive, but you can never forget. The cut will healed, but the scar will remain forever.
Is it true that a woman's heart is like the rice bottom (kerak nasi), that it will melt someday after constant re-assurance and pressure? Maybe it's true for older generation women, but in my case, if I give in, it means that I do that after careful considerations of all alternatives and putting myself at the very last of the hierarchy of importance. That I would be the pittance of all parties involved. Sad isn't it? After all the sacrifices, what do we get in return?
Normally, people who give can remember better than people who receive. That's why the hands on top is 1000 times better than the hands at the bottom. So what have you given to your loved ones today?
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Queen of My Heart
I had the chance of exchanging views with a few good men yesterday. These are no ordinary men. They are the bunch of blokes carrying the heaviest responsibility to deliver to our customers, and sometimes forget to live their own life. A sacrifice that may not be worth or worth it, depend on which camp you want to take. They are the most pressured and the least expected group of people whom I would ponder to share stories of their life at that lunch table. They are known as Project Managers (PM).
The topic was on why would married men would want to have girlfriends? Hohoho...a very interesting subject. It arose when 1 PM declared that he was a subject to a hot scandal in the biggest deepwater project in our yard at the moment. The girl who happened to be a low level administrative staff publicized that she had slept with the PM. And not just him, but plus 5 other big guns in that project, in sequence. Wow, that is something. The PM denied, telling others that it's the norm for girls at that level to fantasize on things. Maybe true. She got sacked for indecent clothing etiquette (was informed that it was sexier than than the umbrella girls at F1). If it's one man, she may be smart. But 6 men? Mutated brain cells, exposed through the clothing.
But that was not the highlight. The subject got heated when it came to the very core of the topic. Would you cheat on your spouse when he/she is not looking? Another PM shared. Yup, he has girlfriends, 2-3 of them. Got "kantol" by the wife once, but he also denied it. Had asked for permission to open another branch, but lost in the argument when the wife highlighted "Have you done your responsibility well enough in educating the kids?". He couldn't answer that. Therefore now, the 2-3 remain as girlfriends for fun. Non committal relationship, which the wife need not worry. That's what he said. Yeah right.
The most unexpected of all, all the men claim that their wives are the most wonderful creatures on earth. Even though they may have girlfriends, escort friends, staff turned server, etc, their wives at home will always remain the queen of the heart. These are a few anecdotal evidence cited:
My wife had even prepared time table for me at home, I have to oblige ( yup, she's a teacher). I hate it but hey, it is good for me at home. I sponsored everything the family needs, so her money is totally for her to spend on her own (how I wish for the same!). That's why she can afford to drive an expensive car, better than mine. I increase her allowance for every child she delivered.
Wow, this guy belongs to a very rare species of men in Malaysia. If any women out there were to find out about this guy, he will be grabbed in no time.
My wife always checked on me after THAT incident ("kantol"). But I always tell her, she's the best. She went to bank to do ASB loan, and the officer was surprise to see how much money she has. They ask what is she working as. She said she's just a housewife. But with a damn fat allowance.
Another wow, so lucky in finance department, but I guess not so lucky in loyalty program department.
So, would you cheat on your spouse? I like this rhyme, something kids pick up from the ESQ training for kids:
Allah is always looking
Allah is always there
Allah is always watching
Allah is always fair.
Do what you want. The world is round and what goes around comes around. Paid back CASH in this life or later, and worst, in both worlds. Just remember that.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Same Road, Different View
Today for the first time, I went to work by being the pillion rider for a motorbike. Wow, what an experience! Took over my boss's car and he didn't notice. Perhaps next time I should try to show some "finger" and see how he'd respond on the road. Some people are totally weirdos on the road even though maybe angels in office. Yeah, I really should try him.
Worth noting - The advantages:
- Motorcyclists are the real champion on the Pasir Gudang highway - we're the King of the Road! And no rules apply. We can take over from left, right, middle, anyway possible. Nice!
- Spotted a few familiar faces on the road - colleagues, bosses, ex-bosses, clients, investors. Hey, I saw what you did this morning in your car when you thought nobody's looking. Beware! (extra dose for power).
- It took 35 minutes by bike, compared to 55 minutes by car from house to office. Save 20 minutes there - extra time for web surfing in the morning before work.
- Fuel cost is RM5/day, meaning roughly about RM150/month, compared to RM430 by car. Man, this is really a cost saving initiative worth taking.
- Best of all - a chance to hug the person you love continuously for 35 minutes and enjoy it. Really awesome!
There are also buts:
- The pollution - exhaust fumes are the real killer...have to inhale that dirty emissions very early in the morning when the air is supposed to be fresh and exhilirating.
- The helmet - must be worn, a regulation for safety. Totally ruined my looks (the atap tudung would spoil and wouldn't go back to original formation after that). A real spoiler.
- The risk - motorcyclists have 90% more chance to get an accident compared to other motorists. On Pasir Gudang highway, it maybe 99%. The statistics proves it.
Conclusion:
Maybe 50-50. Use motorbike to work middle to end month when the pocket is crying, when there is no important meeting where looks counts (normally where attendees are old lads near retirement busy checking you out rather than focusing on matter in hand) and the most worthy reason of all:
When feel like hugging that soul for longer period.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
10th Anniversary of Working - Jubli Mangkuk?
15th July 2008 marks my 10th year of serving this wonderful workplace. Of course it has its fair share of ups and downs. I felt like sharing my glee with a few colleagues (current and ex, majority ex since they've long gone leaving me behind) and here are a few response that I got:
An ex-colleague who reported duty same day with me but left to a competitor 3 years ago:
Really? I totally forgot! You must have been happy, else why are you staying?
An ex-collegue who quit to be housewife last year:
It would have been 10 for me too, if I were to stay. I'm fasting, catching on bulan Rejab (thanks for the reminder gal!)
Tw0 ex-colleagues who served for 15 years but left for greener pasture in KL:
Wooyoooo...it's been THAT long huh? Selamat menyambut Jubli....mangkuk kot...
So, bila nak blah??
A colleague who is also stuck:
This 20th will mark my 15th year here. We MUST celebrate!
A colleague who is also looking for greener pasture:
I know how you feel. You feel GOOOOOOOD huh? Isn't today the Management wishes to make an announcement on that quantum leap in salary revision? Don't want to treat me eh?
Two colleagues who I don't know what's their plan:
Congratulations! You must be feeling good about all the good things happening around you (yeah, if only you know what has been happening to me..)
A friend from a competitor company:
I think it's time for you to change company.
The sweetest of all, a colleague send me an email with a 10th Anniversary logo:
(unfortunately I can't copy the logo here)
Well done!! Congratulations for being the survivor, still.
May Allah SWT bless you and family with more fruitful years to come.
Wow, thank you guys all for the wishes. My past 10 years have made me the person who I am today. I certainly pray hard that life will be so much more wonderful 10 more years to come. We'll see what I'll write in 2018 (insya Allah, if panjang umur and murah rezeki).
An ex-colleague who reported duty same day with me but left to a competitor 3 years ago:
Really? I totally forgot! You must have been happy, else why are you staying?
An ex-collegue who quit to be housewife last year:
It would have been 10 for me too, if I were to stay. I'm fasting, catching on bulan Rejab (thanks for the reminder gal!)
Tw0 ex-colleagues who served for 15 years but left for greener pasture in KL:
Wooyoooo...it's been THAT long huh? Selamat menyambut Jubli....mangkuk kot...
So, bila nak blah??
A colleague who is also stuck:
This 20th will mark my 15th year here. We MUST celebrate!
A colleague who is also looking for greener pasture:
I know how you feel. You feel GOOOOOOOD huh? Isn't today the Management wishes to make an announcement on that quantum leap in salary revision? Don't want to treat me eh?
Two colleagues who I don't know what's their plan:
Congratulations! You must be feeling good about all the good things happening around you (yeah, if only you know what has been happening to me..)
A friend from a competitor company:
I think it's time for you to change company.
The sweetest of all, a colleague send me an email with a 10th Anniversary logo:
(unfortunately I can't copy the logo here)
Well done!! Congratulations for being the survivor, still.
May Allah SWT bless you and family with more fruitful years to come.
Wow, thank you guys all for the wishes. My past 10 years have made me the person who I am today. I certainly pray hard that life will be so much more wonderful 10 more years to come. We'll see what I'll write in 2018 (insya Allah, if panjang umur and murah rezeki).
Monday, July 14, 2008
Searching for the One - Redha
We are repeatedly told and thought to accept what Allah has planned for us. This concept of total self submission to God is called "Redha" in Islam. It is also 1 of the 6 pillars of rukun Iman in Islam - calling us to believe in "qadhak and qadar". Someone can say that he/she would accept whatever happens to his/her life, but deep inside, only he/she knows the true feelings of relief or dissatisfaction to Allah's test.
I am being tested by Allah at the moment. Infact everyone is, only whether you realize it or not. If you feel that everything is perfect in your life at the moment e.g. being married to a wonderful spouse, having charming kids, beautiful house, good job, caring parents, supportive friends, nice car, etc, you are also actually being tested by Allah, to assess whether you are grateful, whether you realize it or not. Have you paid that "zakat wang simpanan" of yours? Have you conducted "aqiqah/korban" when you have that extra bonus fund? Sometimes we tend to forget that someday all that we have will be gone at an instance, should Allah wishes to take it away from us. That's exactly why when something happens, try as best to find the "hikmah" behind it, no matter how hard.
A "test" and "redha" are totally inter-twined. You can feel the two when something like this happens:
After all that process, you will realize that indeed, we are not a person whom we called who we are, until and unless we are tested. It will manifest our true self and whether we subscribe wholly to this particular concept in rukun Iman called "kepercayaan kepada qadhak dan qadar". Bravo for today! I really need extra dose of motivation!
I am being tested by Allah at the moment. Infact everyone is, only whether you realize it or not. If you feel that everything is perfect in your life at the moment e.g. being married to a wonderful spouse, having charming kids, beautiful house, good job, caring parents, supportive friends, nice car, etc, you are also actually being tested by Allah, to assess whether you are grateful, whether you realize it or not. Have you paid that "zakat wang simpanan" of yours? Have you conducted "aqiqah/korban" when you have that extra bonus fund? Sometimes we tend to forget that someday all that we have will be gone at an instance, should Allah wishes to take it away from us. That's exactly why when something happens, try as best to find the "hikmah" behind it, no matter how hard.
A "test" and "redha" are totally inter-twined. You can feel the two when something like this happens:
- Something really unexpected happens. A test.
- You start to wonder what you have done wrong? Why is this happening? Why me?
- You totally decline to accept the fate (self-denial).
- You go on having bad days (yeah, like the song by Daniel Powter really helps!)
- Bay days upon bad days.
- For those who is searching for "calmness" period, may try to pray hard and perform extra prayer (solat taubat, solat hajat, solat tahajud, etc).
- Continuous praying and hoping that something better will happen.
- Finally realize that "heck with it!". Life is too short to bother too long on a happening.
- Start to gradually accept the fate, and voila - slowly that "redha" will come, insya Allah.
After all that process, you will realize that indeed, we are not a person whom we called who we are, until and unless we are tested. It will manifest our true self and whether we subscribe wholly to this particular concept in rukun Iman called "kepercayaan kepada qadhak dan qadar". Bravo for today! I really need extra dose of motivation!
Friday, July 11, 2008
The Economy, The Politics and The Power
I have a few unit trust investors who contacted me after they received an anonymous email from CIMB Group unofficial source, advising them to sell off all their units in the trust funds before the economy crash soon. Why the heck would you sell your units when the price is below what you bought? The way to deal with unit trust and shares, is to buy at low price and sell at high price. But normally, when the market trend is going down, people start to panic and start wondering whether their money will be gone with the wind. This is my standard answer:
"Investing in unit trust is for medium to long term, at least 3 to 5 years. Of course the economy will be cyclical, and so we have to endure the market's up and down. We are not playing shares".
Besides, this is infact a good time to buy more units since the unit price is lower, so you'll get more units. But I guess the psychological effect of seeing the market goes down, far outweighs all logic given by the experts.
Let's talk about our economy condition a little bit. Here is a quote from The Edge Financial Daily:
The toxic combination of political uncertainties, soaring inflation and weaker economic growth has led to a downward revisions on the outlook of the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) for the second half (2H). The confluence of negative news has prompted at least one foreign research house to forecast a year-end target for the KLCI to be less than psychological 1,000 point mark.
Yup. Perhaps the once in 10 years downturn has reached our door. Coupled that with power transition and power struggle. Who's right and who's wrong - there's no way of telling. Sometimes I feel that DSAI is right. Sometimes I feel that DSAI is wrong. In discussions with fellow comrades, they also agree that it is difficult to judge the righteousness of a politician. Isn't it great to be a powerful politician, where people can't really differentiate your true character.
I remember in my Political Science class, once the lecturer asked what is the most important thing people want to have in this world. We gave myriad answers, but none was right. Ultimately, we all gave up. He said the answer is "POWER". From the beginning of men, men will always struggle to have the most power. Rightly so, those who have power can command anything in life. You are nothing without power. That's why sometimes people just wish to have super powers. But I also remember a quote from the movie "Spiderman":
Isn't it just great. Power does not come stand alone. Per Se. Power comes with responsibility. But how many equate the two? And how many take the former and leave the latter? It's happening everywhere around us. In office, in our polticial constituent and in our house. Power must come with responsibility. And in Islam, each one of us will be asked of our leadership in guiding those under us. The more people we aspire to lead, the heavier the responsibility, and I guess the longer time it takes to do your "hisab". Fikir-fikirkan.
The toxic combination so far is getting murkier and murkier. For unit trust investors, I suggest you hold on to your units or invest more should you have extra fund for your own long term portfolio building. Never sell at lower price.
"Investing in unit trust is for medium to long term, at least 3 to 5 years. Of course the economy will be cyclical, and so we have to endure the market's up and down. We are not playing shares".
Besides, this is infact a good time to buy more units since the unit price is lower, so you'll get more units. But I guess the psychological effect of seeing the market goes down, far outweighs all logic given by the experts.
Let's talk about our economy condition a little bit. Here is a quote from The Edge Financial Daily:
The toxic combination of political uncertainties, soaring inflation and weaker economic growth has led to a downward revisions on the outlook of the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) for the second half (2H). The confluence of negative news has prompted at least one foreign research house to forecast a year-end target for the KLCI to be less than psychological 1,000 point mark.
Yup. Perhaps the once in 10 years downturn has reached our door. Coupled that with power transition and power struggle. Who's right and who's wrong - there's no way of telling. Sometimes I feel that DSAI is right. Sometimes I feel that DSAI is wrong. In discussions with fellow comrades, they also agree that it is difficult to judge the righteousness of a politician. Isn't it great to be a powerful politician, where people can't really differentiate your true character.
I remember in my Political Science class, once the lecturer asked what is the most important thing people want to have in this world. We gave myriad answers, but none was right. Ultimately, we all gave up. He said the answer is "POWER". From the beginning of men, men will always struggle to have the most power. Rightly so, those who have power can command anything in life. You are nothing without power. That's why sometimes people just wish to have super powers. But I also remember a quote from the movie "Spiderman":
With great power, comes great responsibility.
Isn't it just great. Power does not come stand alone. Per Se. Power comes with responsibility. But how many equate the two? And how many take the former and leave the latter? It's happening everywhere around us. In office, in our polticial constituent and in our house. Power must come with responsibility. And in Islam, each one of us will be asked of our leadership in guiding those under us. The more people we aspire to lead, the heavier the responsibility, and I guess the longer time it takes to do your "hisab". Fikir-fikirkan.
The toxic combination so far is getting murkier and murkier. For unit trust investors, I suggest you hold on to your units or invest more should you have extra fund for your own long term portfolio building. Never sell at lower price.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Orang Melayu dan Hiburan - apa kesudahan?
Yang ini aku memang kena tulis bahasa Melayu, walaupun aku pernah kata lebih senang kalau aku meluah perasaan dalam bahasa Inggeris. Sebab aku rasa frust apsal org Melayu ni suka sangat dgn perkara2 lagha (melalaikan) seperti hiburan.
Satu hari dalam perjalanan balik keje, aku terdengar siaran Ikim.FM dalam kete. Penceramah tu quote apa yang Prof. Diraja Ungku Aziz pernah cakap. Prof kata, org Melayu ni sangat suka akan 3 perkara (obsession) - kalau perkara ni bagus utk kehidupan dunia akhirat takpe gak. Tapi malangnya ia adalah sebaliknya. 3 perkara itu adalah:
1. Kuat - perkara berkaitan menjadikan diri lebih "Kuat"
2. Pelik - perkara-perkara Pelik bin Ajaib
3. Hiburan
1. Kenapa sibuk nak "kuat"kan diri?
Orang Melayu paling suka mencari sumber2 (tak kira le halal ke haram) utk menjadikan diri mereka lebih kuat. Tu yg ubat kuat semua laku tu. Yang ni aku malas nak ulas kaum mana yg suka sgt beli "obat-obatan" walaupon dijual kat tepi jalan n dah sah2 tak diiktiraf Kementerian Kesihatan. Kalau lu sakit sorang takpe gak, nanti isteri pun berjangkit juga. Kesian satu keluarga. Sendiri mau ingat lah bro.
2. Kenapa suka sangat mende2 pelik bin ajaib?
Dulu ada satu pameran mende2 pelik kat Shah Alam. Aku baca kat paper, begitu ramai org nak pegi tengok sampai ada yg sanggup beratur awal. Dalam pameran tu adalah segala makhluk2 yg memang pelik2 dan mende2 yg ajaib. Org Melayu nampaknya begitu taksub utk melihat mende2 sebegini. Aku fikir gak, lepas diorang tengok tu, bila balik apa diorang dapat? Orang putih kata "What's the key take away?"or "What do you learn?" Kalau aku lah, gerenti malam aku tak boleh tido, teringat2 wajah2 dan corak2 mende2 tuh. Iskk...selisih...
Lagi satu kisah ada satu pokok yg kat batangnya mcm ada lakaran wajah manusia. Aku rasa kat Kedah kot. Perghh...orang sanggup dtg dari KL pon ada, semata-mata nak tgk pokok tu. Apa yg diorang dapat lepas pegi tgk tu ye?
3. Haaa..apsal Orang Melayu suka yg teramat dengan Hiburan?
Yang ni memang aku nak ulas panjang sikit sebab semalam baru pegi tgk Jomheboh kat Danga Bay (aku kena qualify - just for the experience of it, apa yg best sgt Karnival Jomheboh ni ek?). Aku keluar rumah 5.30 ptg naik motor, sebab dah jangka mesti jalan jam giler. Memang betul, dari Skudai tu nak sampai ke Danga Bay makan masa 50 minit, naik motor tu. Kalau naik kete sah2 1.5 jam. Polis trafik dan RELA siap tutup jalan2 strategic nak ke situ. Keadaan mcm out of control pon ada jugak. Aku rasa satu JB jam especially jalan menuju Pantai Lido.
Apa yang ada - adalah gerai2 TV3 yg dibahagi ikut rancangan TV diorang e.g. 999, Jejak Rasul, rancangan Wanita, etc setiap satu, 1 gerai. Lepas tu ada gerai big corporations mcm Hotlink, Digi, Dutch Lady, Power Root, Nestle, etc. Semua gerai ni di tempat yg strategic lah (berdekatan pentas). Then adalah gerai2 kecil lain yg jual makanan, pakaian, etc yg lokasinya jauh dari pentas. Yang aku tak tahan, gerai2 ni mcm berebut attention. Gerai Hotlink ada live band lagik, muzik giler kuat. Masa aku dtg, kumpulan Sofaz tgh nyanyi. Gerai Harian Metro pulak tgh ada penyanyi Ali XPDC, ex-Terra Rossa. Jalan depan sikit, nampak lah muka Rosyam Noor tgh interview peminat. Gerai Lestary, aku nampak muka Zed Zaidi. Walau pon aku tak minat dan jarang tgk rancangan TV Melayu, tapi org2 ni aku kenal juga. Bohongla kalau ckp tak kenal. Penonton dan pengunjung - 99.99% orang Melayu. Sampai nak jalan pon stuck beberapa kali. Punye la ramai sangat orang, sampai aku terpikir sekejap. Agaknya kalau kat Padang Mahsyar, mcmmana keadaannya ya? Dah ler matahari sejengkal dari kepala. Ya Allah, baru terpikir sekejap. Bagaimana keadaan berdiri dlm lautan peluh manusia, sementara dihisab...
Aku ada beberapa teori kenapa org kita ni suka sangat dengan hiburan - muzik, filem, drama, etc. Kalau ada sesapa nak tambah, dipersilakan lah ya:
1. Complacent (berada di zon selesa) - sebab org Melayu masih memegang kuasa. Aku paling suka baca komen Dr Mahathir. Cuba visit - www.chedet.com
2. Budaya - bebudak mewarisi budaya cintakan hiburan dari ibu bapa. Sejak turun temurun dah mcm tuh, abis camne. Mak bapak sanggup berhutang beli TV or home teater system beribu-ribu, tapi nak ajak invest beli set buku, payah beb. Cuba kira ada berapa rumah org Melayu bila kita masuk nampak almari buku, berbanding set TV? Padahal nabi dah kata, byk bezanya antara org berilmu dgn orang yg kurang ilmu. Camne nak maju...
Lagi satu contoh budaya - YWJ (Yayasan Warisan Johor)- bukan setakat zapin je yg patut diajar turun-temurun secara sistematik, budaya membaca dan menulis karya pon patutnya diwarisi secara sistematik. Patutnya wujudkan satu institusi mcm (YWJ) di setiap negeri. Sebenarnya bila org sebut YWJ, org teringat zapin n joget jer, takde lain. Padahal YWJ juga ada buat program utk penulisan, berkarya, etc. Malang sungguh...
3. Tanda Akhir Zaman - ini salah satu yg nyata. Org Islam sgt sukakan mende2 hiburan, lebih dari mende2 yg mendekatkan diri dgn agama. Kalau la ada program CSI serentak dgn Forum Perdana Ehwal Islam, mana agaknya yg korang tgk? Jejak Rasul serentak dgn Akademi Fantasia? Tepuk dada tanya IMAN beb...
Satu hari dalam perjalanan balik keje, aku terdengar siaran Ikim.FM dalam kete. Penceramah tu quote apa yang Prof. Diraja Ungku Aziz pernah cakap. Prof kata, org Melayu ni sangat suka akan 3 perkara (obsession) - kalau perkara ni bagus utk kehidupan dunia akhirat takpe gak. Tapi malangnya ia adalah sebaliknya. 3 perkara itu adalah:
1. Kuat - perkara berkaitan menjadikan diri lebih "Kuat"
2. Pelik - perkara-perkara Pelik bin Ajaib
3. Hiburan
1. Kenapa sibuk nak "kuat"kan diri?
Orang Melayu paling suka mencari sumber2 (tak kira le halal ke haram) utk menjadikan diri mereka lebih kuat. Tu yg ubat kuat semua laku tu. Yang ni aku malas nak ulas kaum mana yg suka sgt beli "obat-obatan" walaupon dijual kat tepi jalan n dah sah2 tak diiktiraf Kementerian Kesihatan. Kalau lu sakit sorang takpe gak, nanti isteri pun berjangkit juga. Kesian satu keluarga. Sendiri mau ingat lah bro.
2. Kenapa suka sangat mende2 pelik bin ajaib?
Dulu ada satu pameran mende2 pelik kat Shah Alam. Aku baca kat paper, begitu ramai org nak pegi tengok sampai ada yg sanggup beratur awal. Dalam pameran tu adalah segala makhluk2 yg memang pelik2 dan mende2 yg ajaib. Org Melayu nampaknya begitu taksub utk melihat mende2 sebegini. Aku fikir gak, lepas diorang tengok tu, bila balik apa diorang dapat? Orang putih kata "What's the key take away?"or "What do you learn?" Kalau aku lah, gerenti malam aku tak boleh tido, teringat2 wajah2 dan corak2 mende2 tuh. Iskk...selisih...
Lagi satu kisah ada satu pokok yg kat batangnya mcm ada lakaran wajah manusia. Aku rasa kat Kedah kot. Perghh...orang sanggup dtg dari KL pon ada, semata-mata nak tgk pokok tu. Apa yg diorang dapat lepas pegi tgk tu ye?
3. Haaa..apsal Orang Melayu suka yg teramat dengan Hiburan?
Yang ni memang aku nak ulas panjang sikit sebab semalam baru pegi tgk Jomheboh kat Danga Bay (aku kena qualify - just for the experience of it, apa yg best sgt Karnival Jomheboh ni ek?). Aku keluar rumah 5.30 ptg naik motor, sebab dah jangka mesti jalan jam giler. Memang betul, dari Skudai tu nak sampai ke Danga Bay makan masa 50 minit, naik motor tu. Kalau naik kete sah2 1.5 jam. Polis trafik dan RELA siap tutup jalan2 strategic nak ke situ. Keadaan mcm out of control pon ada jugak. Aku rasa satu JB jam especially jalan menuju Pantai Lido.
Apa yang ada - adalah gerai2 TV3 yg dibahagi ikut rancangan TV diorang e.g. 999, Jejak Rasul, rancangan Wanita, etc setiap satu, 1 gerai. Lepas tu ada gerai big corporations mcm Hotlink, Digi, Dutch Lady, Power Root, Nestle, etc. Semua gerai ni di tempat yg strategic lah (berdekatan pentas). Then adalah gerai2 kecil lain yg jual makanan, pakaian, etc yg lokasinya jauh dari pentas. Yang aku tak tahan, gerai2 ni mcm berebut attention. Gerai Hotlink ada live band lagik, muzik giler kuat. Masa aku dtg, kumpulan Sofaz tgh nyanyi. Gerai Harian Metro pulak tgh ada penyanyi Ali XPDC, ex-Terra Rossa. Jalan depan sikit, nampak lah muka Rosyam Noor tgh interview peminat. Gerai Lestary, aku nampak muka Zed Zaidi. Walau pon aku tak minat dan jarang tgk rancangan TV Melayu, tapi org2 ni aku kenal juga. Bohongla kalau ckp tak kenal. Penonton dan pengunjung - 99.99% orang Melayu. Sampai nak jalan pon stuck beberapa kali. Punye la ramai sangat orang, sampai aku terpikir sekejap. Agaknya kalau kat Padang Mahsyar, mcmmana keadaannya ya? Dah ler matahari sejengkal dari kepala. Ya Allah, baru terpikir sekejap. Bagaimana keadaan berdiri dlm lautan peluh manusia, sementara dihisab...
Aku ada beberapa teori kenapa org kita ni suka sangat dengan hiburan - muzik, filem, drama, etc. Kalau ada sesapa nak tambah, dipersilakan lah ya:
1. Complacent (berada di zon selesa) - sebab org Melayu masih memegang kuasa. Aku paling suka baca komen Dr Mahathir. Cuba visit - www.chedet.com
2. Budaya - bebudak mewarisi budaya cintakan hiburan dari ibu bapa. Sejak turun temurun dah mcm tuh, abis camne. Mak bapak sanggup berhutang beli TV or home teater system beribu-ribu, tapi nak ajak invest beli set buku, payah beb. Cuba kira ada berapa rumah org Melayu bila kita masuk nampak almari buku, berbanding set TV? Padahal nabi dah kata, byk bezanya antara org berilmu dgn orang yg kurang ilmu. Camne nak maju...
Lagi satu contoh budaya - YWJ (Yayasan Warisan Johor)- bukan setakat zapin je yg patut diajar turun-temurun secara sistematik, budaya membaca dan menulis karya pon patutnya diwarisi secara sistematik. Patutnya wujudkan satu institusi mcm (YWJ) di setiap negeri. Sebenarnya bila org sebut YWJ, org teringat zapin n joget jer, takde lain. Padahal YWJ juga ada buat program utk penulisan, berkarya, etc. Malang sungguh...
3. Tanda Akhir Zaman - ini salah satu yg nyata. Org Islam sgt sukakan mende2 hiburan, lebih dari mende2 yg mendekatkan diri dgn agama. Kalau la ada program CSI serentak dgn Forum Perdana Ehwal Islam, mana agaknya yg korang tgk? Jejak Rasul serentak dgn Akademi Fantasia? Tepuk dada tanya IMAN beb...
Friday, July 4, 2008
Competition - is it always positive (husnu zan)?
Today, I had the chance of attending and participating a breakthrough discussion with a competitor company. Actually I was the mastermind behind the arrangement, but let's just say I helped to arrange for the meeting (if I were to say that I lead, then I have to continue working on the particular assignment which I'm trying to avoid very much for this financial year 2008-09). Hence, "I helped to arrange for a meeting with a competitor company". We are trying to get them to join forces with us in order to fight the raging price increase imposed by our suppliers for this particular equipment - cranes. Enough to say, high demand but low supply. Just like the infamous Black Gold - oil and White Gold - rice.
What you should do when there is so much demand but limited supply in the market? For a company (as written in text books and as hound by management consultants), is you should try to create ally with your competitors in order to increase your bargaining power. Therefore when you negotiate with the enemy, you can have better strength. Like 2 vs. 1, is much better than 1 vs. 1. We never tried to create ally with our competitors before, so before we went over their office, we had so much negative thoughts about the outcome. Plan B everyone, Plan B must come in handy. Hence, we strategized much like Sun Tzu's teaching. The "kulikutif" like yours truly and the likes were first to be sent to rage the war. Should the martyrs be killed in the talk, then the General will join force to fight the war later. General vs. General.
The day came and I was very excited to create this "hari ini dalam sejarah". We were so anxious, up to having a last minute strategizing talk at their front gate, before entering the competitor's compound. We went in, greeted by 3 of their men and to cut things short, we got what we want much to our surprise. Mission accomplished. Phewww...no need for General. Now it's time for a reflection.
For a company/business:
Competition - if in capitalist terms, is required and mandatory for the economy to stay healthy and for consumers to be happy.
Competitors - people that we should appreciate or hate? Appreciate because they keep you in check but hate when they can drive you crazy or out of business.
For an individual - work:
Competition - required in order to stay fit and focused in achieving target, strive for continuous improvement, to stay relevant.
Competitors - unavoidable. How many executives have to fight for that one manager post in a department? A lot. How many MD/CEO a company can have. One. Satu. Uno. Siji. Ik. And how many aspire to be the no. 1 in the company? Hell lot.
For a married woman:
Competition - arises when suddenly you feel that your partner wants to create a competition for you e.g. "I ni masih smart tau, ramai orang minat kat I. You jgn take me for granted pulak". This is when you start to switch on the panic button and start to check yourself out. Am I too fat? Too thin? Has my skin darkened? Too lightened? Has my violin-shaped body turned into an apple? Watermelon? Have I not treated him well? Have I cooked not up to his standard? Is the house not clean enough? etc etc etc.
Competitors - majority those younger than you, but sometimes can be of same league with you, worst - older than you. With a ratio of 50 women to 1 man, MAN, this is hell lot of a competition.
So my advise, try as best to stay relevant. Beyond that, is qadhak dan qadar dari Allah. Setiap yang berlaku, ada hikmahnya. So I have to say, that competition is good for us to stay in shape all the time.
What you should do when there is so much demand but limited supply in the market? For a company (as written in text books and as hound by management consultants), is you should try to create ally with your competitors in order to increase your bargaining power. Therefore when you negotiate with the enemy, you can have better strength. Like 2 vs. 1, is much better than 1 vs. 1. We never tried to create ally with our competitors before, so before we went over their office, we had so much negative thoughts about the outcome. Plan B everyone, Plan B must come in handy. Hence, we strategized much like Sun Tzu's teaching. The "kulikutif" like yours truly and the likes were first to be sent to rage the war. Should the martyrs be killed in the talk, then the General will join force to fight the war later. General vs. General.
The day came and I was very excited to create this "hari ini dalam sejarah". We were so anxious, up to having a last minute strategizing talk at their front gate, before entering the competitor's compound. We went in, greeted by 3 of their men and to cut things short, we got what we want much to our surprise. Mission accomplished. Phewww...no need for General. Now it's time for a reflection.
For a company/business:
Competition - if in capitalist terms, is required and mandatory for the economy to stay healthy and for consumers to be happy.
Competitors - people that we should appreciate or hate? Appreciate because they keep you in check but hate when they can drive you crazy or out of business.
For an individual - work:
Competition - required in order to stay fit and focused in achieving target, strive for continuous improvement, to stay relevant.
Competitors - unavoidable. How many executives have to fight for that one manager post in a department? A lot. How many MD/CEO a company can have. One. Satu. Uno. Siji. Ik. And how many aspire to be the no. 1 in the company? Hell lot.
For a married woman:
Competition - arises when suddenly you feel that your partner wants to create a competition for you e.g. "I ni masih smart tau, ramai orang minat kat I. You jgn take me for granted pulak". This is when you start to switch on the panic button and start to check yourself out. Am I too fat? Too thin? Has my skin darkened? Too lightened? Has my violin-shaped body turned into an apple? Watermelon? Have I not treated him well? Have I cooked not up to his standard? Is the house not clean enough? etc etc etc.
Competitors - majority those younger than you, but sometimes can be of same league with you, worst - older than you. With a ratio of 50 women to 1 man, MAN, this is hell lot of a competition.
So my advise, try as best to stay relevant. Beyond that, is qadhak dan qadar dari Allah. Setiap yang berlaku, ada hikmahnya. So I have to say, that competition is good for us to stay in shape all the time.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
No One
I was changing my clothes at my room when suddenly I heard a very cute, soothing and familiar voice singing exactly to the tune - "...no one, no one, no one......". I looked around and to my surprise, at the dim corner of the room, there was my little 2-year old singing her heart out to Alicia Key's latest tune.
My oh my...never underestimate the power of listening, absorbing and digesting from a 2 year old. Because of this life-shocker event, I went to Plaza Angsana's Speedy and got myself Alicia Key's new album with "No One" as track 4.
Here is to you my dear daughter. Someday in future, may you recall that your beloved mom was deeply at awed with your ability at end June 2008.
No One - Alicia Keys
I just want you close , Where you can stay forever
You can be sure , That it will only get better
You and me together , Through the days and nights , I don't worry 'cuz
Everything's going to be alright , People keep talking they can say what they like
But all i know is everything's going to be alright
No one, no one, no one ,
Can get in the way of what I'm feeling
No one, no one, no one ,
Can get in the way of what I feel for you, you, you
Can get in the way of what I feel for you
When the rain is pouring down , And my heart is hurting
You will always be around , This I know for certain
You and me together , Through the days and nights
I don't worry 'cuz , Everything's going to be alright
People keep talking they can say what they like,
But all i know is everything's going to be alright
No one, no one, no one
Can get in the way of what I'm feeling
No one, no one, no one
Can get in the way of what I feel for you, you, you
Can get in the way of what I feel
I know some people search the world , To find something like what we have
I know people will try try to divide something so real,
So til the end of time I'm telling you there is no one
No one, no one, no one
Can get in the way of what I'm feeling
No one, no one, no one
Can get in the way of what I feel for you, you, you
Can get in the way of what I feel for you
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