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

Moving On ... Forward.

I chaired a few meetings this week and I kept on saying this, "I don't want to look into the past and move backward ... it's time we move on and look forward". Of course, members of the meeting do not know that I meant it in every sense! Personal life, career, family and of course in dealing with house buyers problems.

Many things happened before and during the holidays that forced me to think and reset the direction of my life. I hate living my life in limbo, full of uncertainties (and eventually got lost) for it is actually very exhausting to my body, mind and soul. Like not knowing where to settle down, when to settle down or what is "settle down". Hello, settling down is not all about getting hitched and making babies hehehe

Like in "someone" case ... getting that "orgasmic" experience "making love in the air" with her "SOLmate".

It's also a waste of money, energy, opportunity and time holding on to someone or something or making decisions revolving around this someone or something that you are not sure of. Madam Heng once told me, "when faced with rejection (in sales) you have to detach it from your emotion straight away... no use holding on to this prospect customer. There are still many big fishes in the sea for you to catch and fry" ... aiyo ... so the very "Pisau Cukur" statement.

Shockingly but surely... I don't like to be a mediator anymore, be it to my parents, to the house buyers and developers, or to the lower and upper management for when they were too consume in their own problems they never thought of the feelings, good intentions and efforts of the middle person. God! Took me 8 years to realise that huhuhu. Well, I was never born a superhero anyway.

Life must go on, i must move on ... forward.


Note:
BTW, this entry took me so long to write because I am not sure of some of the grammars so the ending is a bit awkward. Takut kena komen kaw kaw dengan Norzah hehehe

CNY 2010 Is All About ...

family and friends ... Some feng shui masters predicted that the year of the Golden Tiger 2010 will be a very tough year as the chart of the year is unbalanced and spells conflict of energies. Most foresee that this year there will be little harmony, with argument,controversies as well as continued occurence of hostility and violence. It also a year when competitive pressures are extremely intense.

Nonetheless history has proven that Tiger years also bring as much good news as bad so though it may be not a forgiving year, it is a year when all hard work and tenacity will pay off. So as long as we work hard we will go through this tough year like a breeze ... Therefore, I decided to reap this year's good luck to my benefit.

Before my Jakarta trip I received a call from Datin Zaitun (MOTOUR) informing me that there is a post in State Tourism in Penang. Later I received a call from Norsiah asking there is also a post in Kuching and asked if I could consider that as well. Of course I felt overwhelmed because "jarang-jarang" sekali lah I received great news sepanjang "Berkhidmat Untuk Negara".

Most of the time ... "Jaime ada orang piket kat bawah pejabat Kementerian... can u handle them?" or "Ada isu perumahan lah kat Parlimen, need to get jawapan hari nie jugak". Itu tak termasuk tindakan beberapa senior officers "tai chi" their works to me behind my back. My top bosses knew about it but they also knew I will never say NO ... which is one of my weaknesses.

Actually my dearest of friends often asked me to find greener pastures. I have to admit I am bit "keras kepala" on that matter. It's a value which that has been instilled and rooted in deep inside me. I will not leave a job because it is stressful or the boss s*cks! Those are common factors and beyond our control. I will only LEAVE once I know what my worth is. So when Miss Wee (JPN statistician) called asking why our prosecution cases in court and compound figures TRIPLE in 2009 compared to previous years ... I knew that was the CALL.

I will go to WAR if I had too. And my mind had set on Penang!

Puvan's birthday dinner with his in-laws family, 2 days before I leave for Kuching.

So this is when friends and family play important roles. I know my transfer will not be smooth sailing but this is the time I show the TIGER side of me. Don't play play!

Jason's father in law to be saying the meal prayer during a dinner to discuss his wedding 2 days after CNY. I jugak kena jadi chef cum photographer.

Our reunion dinner on the eve of CNY with my sister in law to be. The makan besar is simple but orang-orang yang makan memang besar-besar hehehe

I am gonna miss my life in KL ... but deep down in my heart I knew that Penang is opening new doors for me. Though my dad is in Penang, I consider Penang my third home but everytime I am there, I felt like tourist. Checking on fengshui ... Penang is surrounded by water and its the missing element of the year so I will do MUCH MUCH better in Penang compared to KL.

Suddenly I feel so good about it hehehe ...

Abang Tingkat 14 - Cinta Tidak Semestinya Bersatu

Actually cukup sedih melihat suasana "blogosphere" yang agak suram 2-3 menjak ini - especially Olpic, Meli, White dan Semin. I review my entries sepanjang tahun 2009 and mendapati semakin dekat year end 2009 penulisan I jadi makin serius! Oh ... it must be the hormone!

What to do ... women are emotional being.

Anyway, thank you Olpic sebab brought up kisah Abang kat elevator in one of your blog comments. Sesungguhnya untuk pengetahuan u, jika boleh segala bentuk kenangan detik-detik pertemuan bersamanya ingin kupadamkan dalam catatan memori ini. Sungguh pahit untuk dikenang sehingga mengganggu lenaku di malam hari.

Tapi bagi memenuhi permintaan peminat-peminat kisah Abang Tingkat 14 nie akan kugagahi juga menceritakan detik hitam itu biar segalanya terungkai di sini. Oh ya bagi yang tak tahu hujung pangkal kisah detik pertemuan I dengan Abang Tingkat 14 sila klik di sini yer ..

(Flashback ... kabus dengan muzik latar)

Ketika itu, jam telah menunjukkan pukul 7 petang waktu tempatan. Kuala Lumpur disimbah hujan renyai mensucikan kota metropolitan itu dari segala bentuk gas-gas penghakis lapisan ozon. Kelihatan seorang gadis "mungil" dan "hot" dalam keterpaksaan mendedikasikan jiwa dan raganya "Berkhidmat Untuk Negara" untuk membuktikan ... "The Taxpayers money are well spent".

Selepas 30 minit memerah otak dan keringat nak menyiapkan laporan kepada Big Boss, gadis itu teringat ... "Alamak ... kena singgah Giant lah". Dia betul-betul terlupa dia perlu beli sesuatu yang amat penting ketika itu.

Dengan segera, dikemaskan segala fail yang berterabur di atas meja dan bergegas mengetik perakam waktu.

Dalam perjalanan pulang ke Pangsapuri dengan Perkhidmatan Bertaraf Kondominium Eksklusif 21 tingkat di pesisir kota Kuala Lumpur, gadis mungil itu telah singgah untuk membeli barang yang amat "penting" itu. Sepanjang perjalanan balik, gadis itu tertanya-tanya jika beliau akan terserempak dengan jejaka Eropah Timur yang hensem gila itu. Harap-harap tidak lah ... Lagipun dah few weeks tak nampak dia. Sibuk agaknya. And pastinya not in her current appearance yang not so PTD Gred M48!

Sampai kat tempat letak kereta, gadis itu "survey" persekitaran in case manalah tau masa tu lah Abang Tingkat 14 tu muncul dari mana-mana. So setelah memastikan "line clear", gadis mungil itu cepat-cepat mengendong "barang" penting itu dan berjalan pantas menuju kawasan lif.

Setelah 5 minit, pintu lif terbuka dan gadis mungil itu menghembus nafas lega. Fuhhh ... tiada objek yang "terlalu ingin dilihat tapi tak boleh" dalam lif ... so sekali lagi gadis mungil itu mengucap syukur yang tidak terkata kepada Tuhan yang Maha Esa kerana memudahkan "laluan"nya petang itew.

Sehingga .... loceng lif berbunyi tanda berhenti di Tingkat 5. Dua pasang mata "galak" saling berpandangan dan mulai saat itu gadis mungil itu tahu segalanya telah berakhir kerana ...

Gambar separuh badan saja untuk melindungi identiti penulis.

Aku pun heran nape aku selamba jer kendong toilet paper macam tu hari tu. So terpaksa lah lupa market Eastern Europe buat masa nie.

Yuk Jalan-Jalan Ke Jakarta!

Hellllooooooooooo apa khabar semuanya? Harap semuanya senang-senang saja yaaa ... Maafin ya lambat diupdatenya blog ini. Waduh, banyak sekali mau ditulis dong ... How's my Bahasa Indonesia? Ok ngak?

Anyway, I went for a breakaway to Jakarta on 28 January to 1 February. I booked the ticket since October 2009 but to be honest, I langsung takde buat research atau persiapan nak melancong ke Jakarta nie. Busy bangat sih ... When I told people that I am going to Jakarta, most of them will gave me that "look" or said "why not Bandung?" Anyway, I am so lucky to have a dear friend like Ibu Syuhana that made sure our trip there ... gerenti ngetop! Though tak sempatlah nak round some of tourist attractions in Jakarta tapi I really, really enjoy my time there.


Betul juga kata orang - travel pun kadang-kadang kena ada perspectives dan objectives. And as an amateur photographer and professional food lover, Jakarta has so much to offer!

THE PEOPLE

Actually the people of Jakarta are very friendly and speak softly. Especially nya ... orang-orang Minang ya hehehe. I was quite afraid that they will find us Malaysian snobbish and rude so I tried to pick up their language and slang. Sampainya gue dikenali dengan nama "Raden Mulan Jamila" hehehe. Some can also converse in accented English - a bit like Filipino. In fact I was quite suprise that our guide, Pak Armin and Pak Henri picked up a lot of English words. Maybe sebab selalu deal dengan tourists kot.

Tapi semangat nasionalisme mereka pun kuat jugak, boleh dikatakan hampir setiap minggu demonstrasi... even kami tiba di Jakarta disambut dengan penuh demonstrasi sempena 100 hari pentadbiran Pak SBY. Getting the shot on my camera ... priceless!

Unfortunately I takde lah terserempak dengan Ariel Peter Pan, Once atau Ari Lasso tapi hampirlah dapat jumpa Pasha Ungu di Tanah Abang tapi apakan daya tarikan nak shopping lebih kuat dari tarikan nak tgk Ungu LIVE.


TRAVEL IN JAKARTA

Hmm, based on my short stay in Jakarta, I can say travel planning and arrangement must be based on few factors. Shopping? Eating? Photo taking? Relaxation? To me, I have to agree with Ibu Syuhana, make sure at least tukarlah RM 1500- RM 2000. Kalau tak shopping sure habis kat makan atau spa treatments hehehe. Even I yang takde plan nak shopping pun "tershopping" jugak when found out garment material yang mahal-mahal dan berkualiti like lace, silk, chiffon and satin plus upah menjahit sangatlah murah. In a week, nampak sangat Rupiah is getting stronger compared to RM.

Mula-mula tukar RM tu Rupiah, mata sampai juling tgk too many 000 ... first time pegang duit juta-juta. Tapi after 2 days, I mula understand the value mcm how cheap is cheap in Rupiah. And honestly, if not because of the exchange rate, I can say harga barang in Jakarta is not cheap. For example, bakso with drink in Pondok Betung will cost u around Rp 8,000. But in shopping complex, bakso saja between Rp 10,000 to 18,000. According to Pak Armin, makan sederhana consist of rice and accompaniment cost between Rp 20,000 to Rp 30,000. My most expensive meal was Nasi Padang at Restoran Garuda which cost me Rp 80,000. Manakala yang paling "puas hati" was Bubur Ayam near rumah Mbak Nur which cost me Rp 4,500.

Kalau tak sure where to go in Jakarta, I cadangkan carilah hotel-hotel di kawasan Jakarta Pusat. I stayed in Hotel Ibis Arcadia at Jalan K.H Wahid Hasyim. The hotel is strategically located in the city centre, close to the Jakarta central business district, banks, embassies, large shopping centres, cinemas, entertainment and other attractions making it ideal for both business and leisure travellers. There is also another hotel under Ibis brand about 50 metres away, Hotel Ibis Tamarin.

At first, lambat jugak kenalpasti landmarks atau directions from hotel. After 3 days baru I faham apa tempat menarik to the south, north, east and west of the hotel. Contoh keluar pintu hotel, arah kanan ... kalau naik Bajjai jalan terus sampailah Tanah Abang atau Spa Taman Sari milik Mustika Ratu, or kalau first traffic light turn left ... sampai ke business district along Jalan Sudirman, or first traffic light turn right ... the famous Pusat Kuliner Jalan Sabang.

Kalau keluar pintu hotel, arah kiri ... the road will lead to airport or area Jakarta Selatan like Pasar Mayestik and Spa Sari Ayu milik Martha Tilaar (pesaing Mustika Ratu and within walking distant). Opsss ... ini bukan iklan untuk Hotal Ibis ya!

Huhuhu ... kalau nak story my whole journey kat Jakarta rasanya tak cukup ruang blog nie so tgk lah sendiri gambar2 travel I on this Facebook link.


MOST MEMORABLE MEMORY

Me and my friends were really looking forward to pamper ourselves at Spa Sari Ayu setelah berbulan-bulan mendengar kehebatan spa session kat situ dari Ibu Sohana. But unfortunately myself and Syu tak sempat nak booking appointments ... ada-ada jer kerja kat opis so we decided to make reservation once we reached there. So while explaining our itinerary to Pak Henri, Pak Henri told us "Oh saya tau tempat itu bu." and offer to make the reservation for us.

So a day before pulang ke KL, kitaorang jalan lenggang kangkung to Spa Sari Ayu, tak sabar untuk memanjakan tubuh yang letih bershopping dan berjalan. Once we got there, kitaorang heran why the kedai macam nak tutup and confused when the therapist macam tak kenal kitaorang. Paling kitaorang tak puas hati, therapist tu cakap, they cannot accept walk-in clients after 5pm. Apakah ....

So Syu called the number given by Pak Henri and baru kami sedar Pak Henri booked our session at Spa Taman Sari a BIG rival to Spa Sari Ayu (Taman Sari->Mustika Ratu, Sari Ayu -> Martha Tilaar). Hehehe ... nasib baik the Spa centre tak jauh dari situ and much much better!

And my photographic eyes turut dijamu dengan shot-shot yang sangat menarik! Klik here.