A Year In Brisbane

I had been wanting to update this blog since beginning of the Winter Semester Break. However, small little things caused me to procrastinate. One of it is ... I don't know what to write. The usual excuse, I know. As I read through my previous posts, how it was apparent to me how less and less creative I had been.

Having said that, I thank two courses last semester that inspired me to write again. I realised writing, particularly "reflective writing" is one of my strengths. In fact, it helped me through my courses this semester. It helped me to organise my throughts, provided me the "mission" and "aim" for my research and most important of all, ignite some passion on topics I find boring. I don't remember which famous classic actress that said this but it has something to do with "you need to fall in love a bit with your co-star in order to nail the love scene"... does it make sense?

I contributed "expectation not met" as one of the main reasons I seemed quite lost this one year. Despite many wonderful (as well as terrible) things happened throughout this one year .... it failed to give me the profound impact that urge me to write about it. I love sharing it on Facebook anyway. Yeaaa ... I find micro-blogging via Facebook stimulating. Maybe because I got feedback almost immediately.

Another reason, I have to admit, is I began to question the definition of friend. Do you really know your friend? I experienced a very sad situation recently that made me questions this. Is your friend a friend if he/she befriend you to dig your dirt and used it against you? I am not proud what I did in retaliation ... digging his/her dirt and used it against him/her. On top of that, prior to moving to Brisbane, my professional career expanded to a point that I began to witness "unwanted interest" on my personal life. 

The funny thing is ... my life is an open book, I shared almost everything on social media but looking at how a person mind can be distorted by self interest be it political, ego, religions etc etc ... I began to wonder about my honest intention to share about my life. I began to fear writing and sharing too much especially nowadays your good intention may be "misinterpreted" or turn into "accusation/lies". Looking at Malaysia and Malaysians today ... "whatever you say will be used against you". It is very sad as life used to inspire me with its many mysteries, the unknown and the possibilities. 

Coming back to this blog somehow reminded me on why I started it many years ago, and why many people visited it. I told myself, it was meant to share positive matters, issues, opinions plus happiness ... not ignite hatred, spreading malicious lies, or condemnation. I am a Malaysian, with a mind of my own and entitle to my opinion. You may agree or disagree with me.

I thank friends and readers of this blog for your support. I will restart again ... this time with renewed spirit and energy.

2.0.1.2

Tiada perancangan sebenarnya nak mengisi ruangan blog ini yang telah lama "gersang" dengan berita terkini hiburan sensasi. Bukan tiada bahan untuk dijadikan nukilan tapi kekangan masa dan situasi penulis di mana kalau cerita banyak-banyak apa yang dibuat kat Penang ni, nanti dijadikan isu pula oleh pihak-pihak yang tidak bertanggungjawab .. paham-paham sendiri lah yer.

Mungkin tahun ni bakal berubah sedikit pendekatan penulis. Penulis merancang untuk lebih aktif untuk berkongsi pengalaman dan pandangan memandangkan kontrak penulis mungkin berakhir tahun ini dan kalau disambung pun penulis tidak merancang untuk tinggal lama kerana penulis merancang untuk menimba ilmu di tahap yang lebih tinggi dalam bidang perancangan pelancongan. Penulis sanggup lepaskan peluang pada tahun lepas kerana penulis tidak mahu tersilap langkah tambahan pula, sepanjang 7 tahun penulis bertugas di Kementerian lama ... bidang tugas penulis skopnya sungguh besar dan banyak cabangan maka kalau nak buat Ijazah Sarjana ... penulis sendiri pun tak pasti mana yang harus penulis fokus.

Kalau fokus pengurusan projek - penulis bukannya berjawatan jurutera, kalau nak fokus pentadbiran tanah - penulis hanya terlibat dalam satu skop pentadbiran tanah. Kalau nak fokus berhubung pengurusan hartanah - itu bukan salah satu bidang PTD ... walaupun sepanjang penulis di KPKT ramai pegawai-pegawai senior menjadi kenalan penulis kerana masalah perumahan termasuklah pegawai khas kepada salah seorang pegawai tertinggi dalam perkhidmatan awam.

Pokoknya ... bukan pokok kelapa sawit ... tiba-tiba rasa kelakar pulak kalau diterjemahkan dalam bahasa Inggeris ... "The tree is ..."

Pokoknya ... 2012 merupakan tahun di mana penulis berhasrat untuk mengembangkan pengetahuan intelektual dan akademik penulis. Semuanya bermula bila pakcik penulis meninggal tanggal 24 Disember lalu, beliau telah meninggalkan kesan yang mendalam kepada penulis. Sebenarnya penulis lama terpisah dengan mendiang pakcik penulis dan hanya bertemu beberapa tahun yang lalu. Penulis tidak begitu mengenali beliau kecuali perjuangan beliau terhadap kaum Penan di Sarawak.

Tetapi mendiang pakcik penulis dan penulis sememangnya ada hubungan istimewa di mana kami sama-sama menghormati pengetahuan dan pandangan kritikal masing-masing. Kalau ke rumah mendiang, penulis memang akan ada "witty debate" dengan pakcik penulis. Terus terang, disebabkan mendiang pakcik penulis ... penulis memaksa diri membaca akhbar dan majalah isu semasa.

Semasa pra-pengkebumian mendiang, penulis agak terkejut bila ramai tetamu yang hadir merupakan golongan cerdik pandai, cendikiawan dan pendukung badan-badan bukan kerajaan yang terkenal di Pulau Pinang. Penulis pernah berurusan dengan mereka sepanjang bertugas di sini dan penulis seboleh-bolehnya cuba untuk mengelakkan diri daripada mereka. Mereka juga terkejut dengan kehadiran penulis dan ingin tahu apakah hubungan penulis dengan mendiang. Mungkin yang paling sukar untuk dipercayai ialah bagaimana 2 individu yang mempunyai personaliti berbeza mempunyai pertalian darah.

Jawapan penulis ringkas : "That side of the family tackle an issue by thinking and analysing too much ... but this side of the family who will get it solved and done".  Agak benar jugak ...

2.0.1.1 ... terus terang merupakan tahun di mana penulis mengesahkan sejauh mana keupayaan penulis mengendalikan satu jabatan, merancang program berkait pelancongan di satu negeri dan melaksanakan dasar negara di peringkat negeri. Terus terang penulis sangat-sangat berpuas hati dan 2.0.1.2 merupakan kesinambungan Bahagian Kedua siri pengembaraan kerjaya penulis di Pulau Pinang tapi seperti yang penulis janjikan ... penulis akan berkongsi pengalaman dan idea itu dalam blog ini, bukannya memendamkannya ...

Friends Are Friends Forever

I think many of us remember this song ... quite famous gospel song in the late 90s. By the way, I would like to share this song as I have finally found and make great friends here in Penang. I mean real friends ... not friends with benefit ... (or sex friends hahaha). These are friends that will always support and be there for me. Friends that will protect and watch my back. Friends who have the same passion and believe in what matter most. But the mosttttttttttt important of all ... friends of the same age group hahahahahaha

Bukan apa lah ... before meeting these new friends ... the two person closest to me seorang teruna senja and seorang pulak andalusia. Dua-dua pun dah nak dekat umur persaraan (sebelum dilanjutkan ke 60 tahun)

I was never short of meeting people that would want to be acquainted with me or from the same social background or social circle. However, I always feel empty inside ... or not that interested to meet them for social outings or non work related. However, lately I have been laughing my heart out ... or found myself burst to guffaw of laughters. Even the Dzi beads seller or auntie who sell me wantan mee will smile widely when they saw me hahaha.

Now I have great friends that I can talk about food. Also friends to talk about arts and culture. To link this together, I have good friend who is a journalist, editor and my unofficial source on information who's who. I also have close friend in event management, an owner of the most important tourism hub in Mainland Penang, another one who always scold me like a senior boss but when we never see each other for a time ... will call me instead and say ... "what happened to you ... I miss you, you know" hahaha

Most important of all ... let say one day someone suddenly asked you ... "Can I kiss you?" at least you can have someone to share it with or analysed whether this guy was in his right mind or not. Hahahaha

Let's admit it ... without a friend by your side be it your family members, your spouse, your colleagues or even a stranger whom you befriended... it can be tough to walk this life with all its challenges, turmoils and trials. Don't live in isolation...

And I thank God from the bottom of my heart for this blessing.

Coming Soon In March 2011

There will be a lot of "coming soons" in March 2011. Not that March is an auspicious month or what not but it seems that most of my personal and work-related projects will expect to be completed in March 2011. So hopefully we could see more interesting entries by then ... replacing my long hiatus last year.

However, there is this one particular "coming soon" that I am very excited about and been working on it since yesterday. Some of the materials here might be moved or futher elaborated there (opsss ... hint hint).

FYI, I was quite "sakit hati" with few certain individuals these past few days ... so I need to channel my energy to a better use. Plus recent news that was not pleasing to the ear and heart. So I reckon, I better documented some of my works through my blog. I have few other materials as well which I have yet to blog about.

Stay tune for more updates.

PTD Story Year 8

Helooooooo Malaysiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ...

When I woke up this morning I knew something was special about today. Usually I dreaded to get out from my bed but today, pukul 4 pagi rasa semangat nak turun kerja (hehehe actually I went to bed early and slept for 10 hours). Still, I didn't continue my slumber but instead check my messages on my Blackberry Messenger.

Then on my way to work, the road was less jammed than yesterday. But best of all, Hitz.fm was doing K-pop .... Thanks Ian and JJ .... akak sukeeeeeee sangat! (malay version of I likeeeee). Even they taught some basic Korean like Anyeong Haseo and Kamsa Hamidaaaaa. Ohhh... I felt uplifted ... especially listening to Beast and Wondergirls.

Sampai office terus buka PC and check FB. Wah rupa-rupanya today is the 8th anniversary of PTD batch 1/2003! 8 tahun rupanya akak menghambakan diri akak kepada "perentah" (bak kata orang Sarawak referring to the Government") sebagai Pegawai Tarak Duit (PTD)! Rasa bangga pulak (sedangkan minggu lepas dah berangan nak pencen).

Anyway, Princess Di (aka Princess Director) menyambut ulangtahun ke-8 perkhidmatannya dengan me"rating" 2 hotels yang bak kata pepatah "birds of a feather flock together". Pada masa yang sama, testing kehebatan Camera Digital Canon Powershot G12 yang akak order khas for the office. Mula-mula tu ramai heran why beli kamera baru .... nah, start semalam my staffs ada yang siap ambik gambar diri sendiri lagi kerana takjub "a compact with a DSLR quality." Itu lah, bila Princess Di suruh beli jangan banyak soal. Nanti ada yang kena sumpahan 7 keturunan.

The camera (ini bukan iklan promosi for Canon ya) memang deliver what it says. This top of the line point and shoot camera was introduced to me by Thomas last year, but his was G11. For years, professional photographers around the world must have one Canon G series ni as a backup lah. Well actually this digicam is the closest you can get to a basic DSLR - with all the functions and manual settings. So sekarang kalau nak buat inspections or product updates .... my office dah ada good camera to capture the pics.

Ni akak demonstrate a few photos yang telah diambil menggunakan camera ni bagi kegunaan pejabat (dan maybe peribadi hehehe). Tema gambar-gambar ini adalah "My Job is My Paid Hobby".

For identifying potential tourism sites.

For food tasting (yang ni i likeeeee).


For enforcement (mengumpul bahan bukti and eksibit).

But on a more serious note, 2010 was the year where I learned and experimented with my new working environment, colleagues, subordinates as well as stakeholders. Building trust, identifying allies and foes and planning strategies. It was also a year where I had to make myself my new best friend forever (who wants to be seen with boss right).

So this year, I hope I could share with you the outcomes through my blog postings ... Ciao!

Ops Pisau Cukur 2011

Nak ketawa bila baca komen Norzah on FB (I am not sure which wall post) that goes ..." happy hunting J". Auwww terasa diri ini predator sangat. Tapi bagus juga encouragement tu. Nak tunggu being the hunted, rasanya the next 10 year i will be "haunting" instead of "hunting" hahahaaha

However a long pillow talk (until 4 am ) with my friends on Blackberry Messenger group conference, I realised my hunting operation need more than just domestic goddess training, total makeover and kewl gadgets. I have suspected it few months back after reading Oprah Winfrey's article in a Health Magazine but after chatting with my friends, it sort of affirm that my thyroid problem datang balik. But instead of being hyperthyroidism, it became hypothyroidism. I read some health articles on the Internet that hyperthyroidism may eventually lead to hypothyroidism. In my case I was no longer under medication and treatment since year 1998 and my last health screening in 2002 showed my thyroxine hormone was OK.

We were discussing about my friend's struggle on coping with his gf silent temper due to hypothyroidism. So I pun tercerita lah about my family and friends struggles with my studden change in behaviour, the confusions and heartaches they had to go through. That time I was in boarding school, my teachers thought I had disciplinary problems pulak ... you know sebab trouble sleeping at night I couldn't wake up sometimes and had trouble concentrating. I knew then I was not well but I was also confused with the illness. Until my Auntie Rose (mum's elder sister) helped me out as she too had the same problem. It turned out my other Auntie Rose (dad's elder sister) also had thyroid problems. Aiya ... I inherited the Roses genes rupanya.

Back to the pillow talks, as my friend explained further about the hypothyroidism symptoms ... I think my heart stopped beating for a while. I felt like I was being diagnosed. I sort of like mistaken my sudden weight gain/lost or mood swings as effects of stress and aging. I felt depress for no reasons sometimes ... again I blamed it on stress. But some other signs like dry skin, sleepiness, keletihan and tak tahan sejuk ... haiya that's it. I am going to get medical checkup by end of this week.

So as I waited for my "mood problem" to be solved by end of this week, yesterday afternoon I decided that I should start my domestic goddess training by cooking special dish for dad for lunch. Barulah terhegeh-hegeh nak carik buku resipi yang beli jer tapi tak pernah buka. Btw, I inherited another of the Roses gene ... passion for cooking!

Auntie Rose Penang really spoil me rotten here. I am soooooo the Princess here. Oh my Gucci!!! Sampaikan pegang senduk dan periuk pun dah rasa sangat janggal. Bagaimanapun bagi memastikan operasi ini berjalan lancar, selongkarlah mana-mana periuk belanga and kuali at our town house kitchen. Then I went to Chowrasta Morning market beli asam jawa and fresh kunyit/cili giling. Don't play play u know ... here in Penang, curry, rempah giling is sold by Chinese, with recipes handed down from generation to generation.

I decided to cook Red Snapper Gulai Assam Tumis for my dad, based on Auntie Rose recipe, which was handed down from my grandma who learned it from my great-grandma. Yes .... I am from Cina Peranakan family. One day I'll post photos of my great grandma in her baju panjang. I have tasted many so-called peranakan dishes by some so-called peranakan sellers but I wish to state here that Auntie Rose cooking is authentic Peranakan. Cukup segala rempah, pedas and what not. Sometimes it is not the elaboration in the cooking preparation ... it's the flavours!

The verdict: Dad loved it sooooo much and minta me to cook again. Yeaaaaa .... Jom kita memancing!

TimeOut KL

Few of the challenges in writing and maintaining a blog are choosing the right blogging materials, selecting/editing the photos to complement it, experimenting with various writing styles and how to keep it relevant. My blog is categorised as Personal Blog in Sarawak Bloggers as I do not maintain a specific subject as the subject is ALL ABOUT MIE. What I do. What I eat. Where I go ...

Anyway, I do not recommend that if any of you are thinking about writing seriously. Write about yourself only if you are a DIVA! Having said that I AM a Diva on Facebook's Sorority Girls hehehe

Changing The Mindset - New Working Culture

I performed my first duty as a hostess to delegation from MOTOUR KL headed by Dato' KSU yesterday. To be honest, when I was in KPKT, since I was the enforcement unit head, I sort of like have this kind of mindset that I have to be firm, either in my decisions or actions so anything that got to do with entertaining or be entertained (work related) was a BIG no-no. Mostly it was because my previous department deal with "bad" developers.

So when I got the call from KL on Monday confirming KSU coming to Penang, I have to admit that I was a bit panic as I had mentioned in my last entry, I haven't got the change to familiarise myself with Penang, MOTOUR and working culture/job scope of the new Pejabat Kementerian Pelancongan Malaysia Negeri Pulau Pinang. But I have to say, despite the political difference between the State and Federal Government, OR the differing working culture of the Federal (Ministry) and State Offices (Agencies/Local Authorities) my new office reminded me soooooooo much of my army life in MINDEF. It's all about Esprit de Corp and good networking! Everyone in the office use their networks to ensure KSU's working trip went on smoothly, starting from his arrival at the airport.

I did a number of entertaining duties during my brief stint in the Intelligence Corp. (RISIK) Especially as the liason officer to foreign delegations as my communication English is good. Plus, as RISIK has the most female officers and very active in BAKAT (military equivalent to PUSPANITA) the senior lady officers would task us with the itineraries. Almost every month we will have BAKAT activities. Paling I tak boleh lupa was being ask to organise SEMINAR ON HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY. Hahaha ... I didn't know what was it all about ... so naive pulak masa tu. Rupa-rupanya it has something do with MENOPAUSE hehehehe. Paham-paham jer lah, we had quite a number of "senior" officers and other ranks that time.

But of course, being in the military organisation. RANK does matter. We must give our seniors the upmost respect. Till now I a bit takut when I saw a person wearing a MOON crest and Stars on the apolet. Protocol and discipline must be observed at the highest level. Despite that, when dealing with inter-corp or inter-regimental, I noticed all red tapes and protocols were put aside. Like that day masa Nijah kahwin, it was officers from Kem Lok Kawi who did the sword barrel. None of them we ever met.

Anyway, after talking to KSU yesterday, I guess whatever dilemma that we face here are also face and felt there in HQ, even at his level. Nonetheless, I may just treat this "recession" as an opportunity to be creative. Like during my Marketing days in FTMS Kuching. Try to build miracles from a penny ... Focus on product development and rebranding. No point spending millions marketing a products that don't work. Next, looking at the World Wide Web as marketing tools. We are leaving in a borderless world after all.

Third, I may consider improving my academic knowledge on certain issues. Too many people claimed to be an expert in something lately. Though to some extend I tried to be diplomatic or exert certain level of trust about it, my heart sense opportunists. Thought that trend only limited to KL. Apparently, the same trend is penetrating Penang.

Sorry for my rambling ... can't help though! Syu is not here in Penang for our usual "b*tching" sessions at San Francisco Coffee.

I Come, I See ... err Can I Conquer???

Best morning view from my office.

Today is officially my second day at my new workplace and I am proud to announce a few personal achievements.

My new office, void of all files.

1. I drove Froggie for the first time to work, and managed not to get confused by Macallister Road and Burma Road. There was a hiccup though at Prangin Mall car park when I accidentally drove to the Season Parking gate. Luckily plate number W, and the car behind me was also a W plate. So we sama-sama S**AI lah today.

2. I signed a total of 7 official letters as Pengarah, Pejabat Kementerian Pelancongan Malaysia Negeri Pulau Pinang (in BOLD) complete with a BOLD new stroke based on Feng Shui principles. However as usual, "few trees were chopped down" as the drafted letters did not meet my Bahasa Penulisan standard. Hellooo ... I must make Cikgu Bhaluddin and Cikgu Monet proud of me.


3. I overcome about 30% of my flying phobia. Got stuck in the lift for 30 minutes when the lift went to an abrupt stop at Level 31. It was quite a scary moment for 8 of us who were stuck in the lift. All I could think off that time was ... what if the lift suddenly fell all the way down. Gulp! Suddenly I remembered Norzah words of wisdom in Langkawi when he was told by Hatifah of my panic attack when our plane hit air pocket. "There is nothing to fear as our Fate is already being determined and written. Accident can happen everywhere" ... (well sort of like that lah). Anyway, I also made new friends in the lift especially that Indian guy who has that very classical Indian ring tone that made everyone giggled. Blue lift H8 is now officially BLACKLISTED!

I left my Feng Shui compass in KL. Wonder if facing the seaview is my best direction?

4. I organised my first KSU site visit and meeting in Penang. So depressing at first as the info was only confirmed by HQ this morning at 10.00 am and the event is tomorrow plus I am still not very familiar with some places in Penang. Furthermore, my KSU also want to see the proposed building for our new office. Luckily I have a very capable COS 41 and she did the survey few days ago..

5. I read the STAR paper today and I saw a press statement by my former TOP boss about amendment to be made to the Uniform Building By-Laws. Exactly just like our team 's proposed initiative in the Property Development Lab report - word by word. I know because I was the one writing it! GO Team Building ...

However, the other report about Federal Government budget last year to promote Penang was only RM 500K made me quite uneasy ... seems that there is a MOLE in my organisation. Hmm ... I wish I could share what had happened last Saturday and the panic call from HQ just 30 minutes later. Made me want to contact my friends in 2 Batallion and rejoin WATANIAH regiment here.

Madu dan Racun

Banyak sebenarnya happenings 1 minggu nie. The final day of the Property Development Lab on 9th April 2010, Water Fest in Langkawi 9-11 April, my last punch card in Ministry of Housing and Local Government on 15th April, my first day working at the all new Pejabat Kementerian Pelancongan Malaysia Negeri Pulau Pinang at exactly 7.53 pagi 16th April 2010. Tapi tak mampu lah I nak cerita semua based on happenings 2 hari nie huhuhu. Ponat eh kepala, kaki, tangan dan usus gue.

One thing for sure lah. My dad memang happy sangat having me around to make his life miserable hahaha ... though just now he has made it very clear ... "FIND YOUR WAY IN PENANG". Nak find macam mana ... first day nak pi report for duty kat opis baru dah sesat cari entrance lift kat KOMTAR hahaha. Rupa-rupanya my dad hantar ikut entrance tingkat 3 whereas masa time zaman I selalu meeting ngan SUK and Biro Pengaduan Awam dulu I masuk dari Tingkat 1 hehehe.

However, I nak state it very clear lah kat sini .. I am sure berkat doa from all the people who love and care about me, perjalanan kehidupan I sejak awal tahun ni memang mudah. Thank u so much. From my transfer to small petty things like claims, buku servis dan gaji. Just nak share, masa leaving from Langkawi to KL I baru sedar tiket yang I beli is for 9th May ... just imagine plane nak berlepas lagi 50 minutes. Dan-dan tu jugak I gi MAS ticketing and just my luck, ada available seat for the flight and the best thing of all ... all the good samaritans kat airport bagi I checked in dulu. I thanked everyone ... including tourists yang berbaris for their understanding. I am sure ada yang terpinga ... "what this girl is thanking us for?" ... takpelah ... Malaysian Hospitality (MH).

2-3 hari sebelum leaving for Penang, tembok yang I bina to conceal my insecurities adalah keretakan sikit. Mulalah banyak fikiran negatif like ... betul ke keputusan aku nie, plus I am absolutely clueless about what to expect in Penang. I love Penang ... I don't deny that ... working in Penang? Plus I have built a strong foundation in KL - my career, my little apartment, social network. Lagipun I kan a lone ranger for more than 20 years which value privacy.

To be honest, I melalui fasa kesedihan dan kegembiraan melampau jugak 1 minggu nie. Bayangkan 6 weeks dikurung dan bekerja dalam bilik yang sama dengan 10 orang and then lepas tu berpisah. Then jumpa dengan best friends and enjoy life like nobody's business in Langkawi only then berpisah dengan tuntutan kerja, then jumpa balik dgn colleagues and have great round of mamaking and IGB site visit (Mid Valley belongs to IGB Group hehehe ... code rahsia kitaorang kalau nak ke MidValley) .... my heart really couldn't take it and air mata I berlinangan jugak masa last day. Will I ever find such happiness in this new adventure?

First day kerja ... I memang terpaku sangat dengan kecantikan ofis baru I. Dari interior design to facilities to the view of Straits of Penang ... Selayaknya ofis ni diduduki oleh KSU atau Minister. But once I realised the challenge that I have to face in Penang ... which is made known to me openly by a snobbish research officer in a "so called" think tank ... I am determine to earn my keep ... Ingat aku nie kerja gomen I cannot think like a corporate, environmentalist, pemimpin berjiwa rakyat kah. You just don't know who you are dealing with!

XOXO ( hehehe)

Akhirnya ... Kini Pasti!

"Akhirnya ............ Kini Pasti, Kumerasai Cinta Yang Suci ....."

Hahaha ... this tune had been playing in my head eversince I got that "fax" from JPA this afternoon. Complete with the Bossa Nova at my Director's office who was on Emergency Leave ... terasa very the "Akak" Nita Sarawak yang Divalicious itew... Kalau Meli ada sekarang kat Tingkat 5, Blok K ... sure I dengan penuh kedivaan "flash" the surat pertukaran depan dia.

Been quite a while kan since I last guna bahasa yang ala-ala Diva nie. The last few entries penuh dengan mesej "kesedaran", "kesedihan", "kestressan", "kekalutan", "kemarahan", "kegeraman" dan hehehe "kesunyian" yang tidak ingin diakui hahaha.

Mungkin betullah kata Auntie Lilian Too ... my feng shui this year is fabulous and also rewarding for those who had been working hard. Semalam Dato' Seri Idris Jala praised our team for our "transformational" idea ... urging us to benchmark our idea with 5 other countries. Aiyooo ... very bold step you!

BTW, I already did my pre-report for duty last Saturday at MATIC Jalan Ampang. Rasa macam hebat sangat being introduce as the D* for State Tourism Ministry Office in Penang to future bosses and stakeholders. Actually, I am quite nervous meeting my Dato' KSU cause he thought that I speak Chinese. Aiyooo, now I have to train myself to be a Penang "lang" lo!

Anyway, I will have to convince him that I have fulfilled all the Tourism Ministry Officers requirements with flying colours. I can sing, I can dance and I was INSTRUCTOR tarian Poco-Poco during my BTN hehehe. Tarian Cuti-Cuti Malaysia ... piece of cake! Do you know that all senior officers in MOTOUR must know how to dance Tarian Cuti-Cuti Malaysia?

Hmm ... feel nervous pulak now. Dunno how it would be on the 17th huhuhu

The LAB That Change Mie

I had difficulties to update my blog since last week. Firstly, my "moving forward" mission means I had to go to war with many "people" and I did not expect to be selected for the Property Development Lab under PEMANDU (lead by Dato' Idris Jala) beginning 1March 2010. Secondly, the WIFI in PICC and MAXIS Broadband coverage around Putrajaya and Seri Kembangan was slow. So getting even a web page load took centuries (lebih-lebih lah pulak).

Just as an introduction, the LAB was organised by PEMANDU after it was revealed in Doing Business Report 2010 by the World Bank Group that Malaysia rank at 109 out of 183 countries in Dealing with Construction Permits, a drop from ranking 105 in 2009. Hong Kong and Singapore took up the no 1 and 2 spot respectively. So the "experts", the industry players and representatives from various related agencies were called to study and find solutions to the problems, plus what the Government should do to improve the rankings.

I will not elaborate on what are my roles and functions in the Lab as many still do not understand what "THE LAB" is all about or want to know how I do my work. But the from the bottom of my heart, I thank God the Almighty for this chance. The Lab not only open up my mind on my career building but whatever "uncertainties" I had over my decisions and "the attachment" feelings that I still had for my current position in the Ministry of Housing and Local Government completely vanish!

At first I offered to pull out from the Lab after finding out that what the Lab wanted to achieve contradict with what I can contribute from my field of expertise. But after 4 days into the Lab, I could see why my participation as well as my team members are vital. Our team approach are more on seeing and doing things differently and from another perspectives. So facilitators tend to like our ideas as it is in line with PEMANDU objectives pun. But of courselah ... other teams will not give up their ideas without an "intellectual fight".

That was when I realised no matter how good I am in my current job, my area of expertise is just peanut compared to the land experts, building experts, health and safety experts and of course lah industry players. My knowledge in those fields is piecemeal here and there. In fact I could not be considered "property expert" yet despite 8 years dealing with various housing issues. Sedih kan ... 8 years of commitment rupa-rupanya peanut sahaja ... Satu je lah my consolation ... when it come to consumerism, housing law or property business practice... semua pandang kat I.

The LAB also ignite my interest to further my studies in property development ... in particular "Redevelopment" and maintenance/restoration of historical or heritage buildings. In fact, one particular person ignite it so much that I am considering to extend the plan until PHD .... huhuhuhu. Boleh kata lah ... I am seeing the future Semin and Meli in this person. Funny, I am also seeing Norzah in this person. Perhaps because sama-sama ex-KSU and ada PHD kot hehehe ... BTW that person is Professor Datuk Dr Nik Mohd Zain Bin Nik Yusof, ex-KSU NRE.

I memang respect lah when he could identify, recite and explain provisions in the National Land Code dengan ketepatan yang luar biasa. Even the number of provisions in the Housing Development Act 1966 is only 1/50 of the NLC. Terbuka jugaklah mata dan pintu hati "akak" untuk terus belajar and memperbaiki diri. Anyway, learning is a lifelong process.

BTW, my "Googling" found quite a number of senior and high ranking civil servants "dulu-dulu" have PHD. Sekarang mcm lebih ramai yang ada PJK, PPJ,PPM hehehe