2nd Round & my 4th STINT

The last time I went to Bintulu was during our summer vacation 2008. Today, with my new machine, after completing the signing ‘ceremony’ of the S&P, MOT, and other red-tapes documents for purchasing a house, we knocked off at around 13:49 hrs from PermyJaya departed for Bintulu. I decided to use the coastal road, which is nearer by distance. However, the bumpy, winding & narrow road forced me to drive at an average speed of 70 KM/hr. Alhamdullillah – praise only to Allah swt, we arrived at Tanjung Kidurong border at around 16:21 hrs. We stopped at Masjid Darul Hidayah to perform our ‘Asar prayer. Amazing! That was my first impression about the Masjid. It has undergone a dramatic transformation in many aspects, especially its facilities, which serves not only for people to perform the obligatory congregation but providing a place for people to enhance their inner strength and knowledge holistically. Kudos to the committee.

Bintulu itself has demonstrated a massive and impressive transformation over the years, which has attracted big major investors from all over the world. For instance, on the same day, we were quite fortunate watching the Borneo International Kite festival that was launched earlier in the morning.
We check-in at the New World Suites, a relatively new hotel located in the new township adjacent to the Park City Everly Hotel.
The trip marks the beginning of my second round tour of duty in Bintulu, my forth stint of my solid twenty-one years commitment with the Malaysian Oil & Gas giant – Petroliam Nasional Berhad. May Allah swt grant me His Grace, Mercy and Blessing for me to shoulder the new tasks and responsibilities at the second LNG plant in the world. Amiin.

still in D Raya MOOD

Sharing&Learning::from Robin Sharma

The title of his latest newsletter was quite catchy, which had lured my curiousity - Fly Before U Fly

"I'm back after my summer hiatus, a time where I replenish, rethink and recover. A time that I've learned is not only valuable for me as a Creative but a period that is actually part of the process of peak performance.Before my break, I did the final Awakening Best Self Weekend. I was blessed to spend 2.5 days with world-class executives, entrepreneurs and people from every imaginable walk of life. I had so many conversations and had a truly fantastic time. I wanted to share an insight I learned from one participant with you.He came from Turkey. He'd been in the Air Force, as a fighter pilot. He was smart, super enthusiastic and definitely switched on. In the piece where I talked about the importance of planning and preparation (and crafting meticulous daily/yearly/lifetime plans), he said: "when I was being trained in the Air Force, we were taught to 'fly before you fly'." He then explained that before every flight, it was mission-critical to obsessively go though every element of the mission and check every possible protocol. Only then would he be given clearance to liftoff.As you set your gauges and prep your flights to ensure 2010 rounds out as your best year yet, I encourage you to 'fly before you fly'. Develop a ridiculously clear picture of what your best work will look like over the next few months. Record 5 things that need to happen for you to feel you played at wow by December 31. And get super clear on the smartest uses of your time so you don't succumb to the dangerous distractions of our digital world. Do all of this and I assure you, this year will end up as your best year... so far."

7 Rules to Create a Great Business
1] Hire only "A Players" because you can't coach height.

2] Narrow your focus and devote your resources to being best in world at only one thing.

3] Train and develop your team relentlessly because the growth of your sales is a reflection of the growth of your people.

4] Take care of people and the money will take care of itself.

5] Put your most valuable resources on your most valuable opportunities.

6] Get your product right so that people are awed by it.

7] Commit to operational excellence.

School Admission:: d Hustle & Rumble

One of the things that we need to settle urgently during my 14 days vacation before resuming my duty at Bintulu is the school admission for Muhammad Asri. And, one of the schools that we are looking forward is Kolej Tun Datu Tuanku Hj Bujang or Tun Datu Tuanku Hj Bujang College at Tanjung Lubang Miri, Sarawak.
Amid the humid but gloomy Miri weather, we went to the School admission Section of Miri Branch Education Office (EO) or in Malay, Jabatan Pendidikan Daerah Miri – bahagian kemasukan sekolah at around 13:15 hours after performing our obligation at the at Taqwa Masjid, Miri. Prior to that, we consulted our family members, relatives and friends for their views, advices, etc. 13:15 hours were their lunch break. Despite their one hour break, Yati, one of the EO staffs invited Nana and M Afiq in. Waiting and sitting along the corridor was not a pleasant thing. Thanks to the courteous Yati for not only allowing them to sit inside their air-conditioned waiting lounge but had politely entertained our queries. She’d helped with the photocopy things and even lent us her pen. We were amazed and impressed with their amazing attitude! Keep it up dude! After a while, she introduced both of them to an Officer named Sonny. I must say, he was a nice cool guy. He explained us on what to do with the forms and briefed us on the process plus its requirement. The explanation was crystal clear though, but what had actually puzzled me were the steps. The process requires us to send two sets of the dully filled forms attached with the relevant documents to the State Education Office in Kuching, Sarawak?! Sonny suggested us to write a cover note for future easier reference. Without or rather avoiding jumping to any unnecessary argument we left the office with mixed feeling – puzzled and a little bit frustrated, but we decided to follow and comply with the rules of the game. We quenched our frustration with the popular Sarawakian “Teh C Peng” - Ice tea latte mixed with locally made brown sugar and ‘pandan’ and filled up our energy with ‘Mee Kolok” or dry noodles - a Chinese cooked noodle (one of my favorites noodle) in one of the Malay restaurants, which mushroomed the town.Just could not accept the idea of sending the application or request by myself to the State Education Office? What is the purpose of having the big education office in Miri then? I think there is a need for the Malaysian Education Domain to change their philosophy and give more empowerment to their branch offices. No further comments. I am still skeptical that ‘people’ is still open with comments.

my new machine::QMQ5299

Alhamdullillah – praise only for Allah swt, with the wealth and health granted and blessed by Him, I received my new machine 2.0 VTi-L from Heng Ho Hing Miri today @ 15:25 hours. It is not a good investing channel though, but to conform to the current requirement, it is actually a necessity. Once again, praise only for Allah – Alhamdullillah and Thanks to HIM.

::till WE meet again Bro..INSYAALLAH

Maasalamah...bye...selamat jalan...bon voyage. We meet and we leave because and only for Allah Rabbul Jalil. InsyaAllah - God Willing, we will meet again.

Happy Malaysia Day

To All Malaysians all over the globe, we would like to wish you a Happy Malaysia Day. 16th September 1963 marks the formation of Malaysia, where Sarawak, Sabah and the Federation of Malay Peninsular joining hands forming this lovely nation called Malaysia. Thank you.

Y Yusuf Gathering 2010::in Picture

d evergreen theme:::Together One Family:::

Except for the Brunei Clan and Hj Hamim's family, all fraternity were there at the Broadway of the Grand Palace Hotel Miri.

The Members from left: Johari:Narimah:Hj Masom:Hj Abd Khalek:Hjh Rahmah:Khairullah:Hjh Hamiah and Zailan. Hj Hamim was not able to join the gathering.

Cool ambience and awesome setting for the auspicious gathering.

Oblivious with what exactly going on around them, the 3rd Yayasan Yusuf generation (YY3Gs) that will continue the legacy. But now, they are still enjoying themselves.

The 2nd generation (YY2Gs).

Plenty of foods - the Chinese and the Malay cuisine that had spoilt us all - the Yayasan Yusuf Fraternity.

Y Yusuf Gathering 2010::Together ONE Family

Happy anniversary to the Yayasan Yusuf fraternity on their 7th 'birthday'. However, after a long hiatus, they organised their 4th celebration at the Grand Palace hotel.

Eid Sa'id::Selamat Hari Raya Eidul Fitri

Wish all our family, relatives and friends around the globe a happy and blessed Eid ul Fitri. May our one month fasting in fulfilling the forth tenet of Islam and repentence accepted by the Almighty Allah Rabbul Jalil. Maaf Zahir dan Bathin.

farewell 2 AleXANDRIA

We were here...!!!! Around 08:20 hours on 3.9.2010 or 22nd Ramadan 1431 Hijjri, we left this address – Apartment 41, Building 46, Ismaliya Street, Kafr Abdou, Alexandria – the apartment that had accommodated us since October 2006. Sherif and Hisham had waited us since 07:44 hours. Sa’id and our ‘bawab’ or apartment security, Kabir lent their hands with our 4 mid size luggage, 5 boxes of other essential items and 6 backpacks. Before we actually driven off, we shook hands with Said, an underprivileged family man who spent most of his time within our street doing whatever he could to survive this tough life. Despite the sunny autumn Alexandria weather, the situation was so gloomy and touchy, tears shed from his old humble eyes and he was speechless! He was a very kind and hardworking person, whom we always relied on when in needs. Kabir aka ‘ammu Kabir among my kids, a quiet but decent man, who replaced the big Sayed, whom we met few months ago could not hold his tears and hide his feeling when the kids shook hands and hugged him. Sherif pushed the accelerator, speed off, and left both Sa’id and Kabir flooded with their sincere tears. With mixed feeling and wordless, we headed to the al Nouzha airport for the last time. 15 minutes later, we arrived at the airport. Ahmed, an Astra Meet-n-Assist staff had waited patiently. After brief greeting and introduction, he arranged the two porters, who assisted Hisham and Sherif unloading our luggage. As a fact of life, the moment has finally come, for us to say good bye to Sherif and Hisham. Surrounded by my family and others, I hold Sherif to my chest for some time, hugging him for the last time and thanking him for all what he had done and contributed to all my family for the past four solid years. Triggered by sincere feeling deep from my heart, tears running wild from my eyes and shamelessly I let it flow. Except Nana, all the five kids hugged him just like their uncle. Four years serving us, Sherif was really part of us. We had shared all the sweet and sour things together like one family. We learnt many things that had enhanced and built our camaraderie that had made our working and personal life amazing. What we admired about Sherif, he is a very decent, honest, and hardworking type. I remembered the first time we met him, he spoke only few English words and hardly understand the English that we spoke then. But now, I am very proud of him. He speaks good English as a result of his three years efforts in mastering the language after realizing its importance. He could not hide his sadness, his eyes were shiny red and tears flowed through his spectacle. We will definitely cherish all the moments that we had together. Million of thanks to you, Sherif.!! All the best for your future endeavor and undertakings.
After 10 minutes trying to dismantle the knot between us and Sherif, Ahmed with the Porters ushered us to the Airport building for the check-in business. Alhamdullillah, we passed all the three points – Police screening, Qatar Airways checking-in process and the Immigration check flawlessly. We went straight to the departure lounge. There were three groups of passenger waited at the lounge. One was going to Sharjah and another was going to Jeddah. We waited patiently with our mind still wandering around trying to break away from the nostalgic Alexandria to the mysterious Bintulu. Alhamdullillah, thanks to Allah Rabbul Jalil for giving us all the strength and smoothen all the processes. Forty five minutes later, we were invited to board the Airbus 777 of QR 0511 that flown us to Doha for the last time.
The time has finally come for us to leave this beautiful country and its lovely people Sharp at 10:55 hours the Qatar Airways QR 0511 took off and flown us away from the majestic historical Alexandria that had accommodated us with superb hospitality since her 2006 winter. Thank you.

my Last IFTAR with elngHRteam

A night before our departure, on the 23rd night of Ramadan, at the new Delight Restaurant Mirage branch, Alexandria, amid the autumn wind, we were spoilt by the Syrian and Egyptian cuisine during the Iftar organised by my Egyptians brothers and sisters. It was our last Iftar or breaking our fast with my young dynamic ELNG HR team. Million of thanks to them :: Ayman : Dina Salama : Dina Imbabay : Ola : Reham : Hesham : Medhat : Shikin :: Rehab and Samar were not able to join us. InsyaAllah, One day and One time we will cross path again.

Handing OVER Baton::a Follow Thru::D Shikin

I am writing this email while waiting for the Qatar Airways QR 0620 fly us to KL from Doha for the last time.

Just wanna share my thoughs, experience and views on my ELNG experience and what I had learnt out of it.

To start with, on the handing-over thingy, I hope I have done my part sufficiently meeting your expectations during the one month period…well, at least the ‘baton’ is safely passed to you. I have covered all the areas though most of it was just on the surface – I know it was just a tip of the iceberg. Knowing you merely just a month, I am very optimistic and confident that you will grab all the functional matters expeditiously. What had really made my life in Egypt very interesting and challenging was, getting things done through people with different mindset and culture.
It was not about the molecules; our attempt to penetrate Chad and our presence in Sudan should reminds us about what is actually essential that we should be focusing on and what are the consequences …and to me, the molecules are the consequence of something….and the ‘something’ is actually Managing the Relationship. Hence, the formula or equation of ‘getting job done through people’.
This reminded me about the famous Albeit Einstein’s equation (in Physics) of mass-energy equivalence, i.e. the total internal energy E of a body at rest is equal to the product of its rest mass m and a suitable conversion factor to transform from units of mass to units of energy.
Thus, E = mC^2, where E is equal to energy; m= mass and C is actually speed of light in space. In ‘managing the relationship’ by adopting the Leader Without Title concept to get things through people, the equation is very applicable and we are part of the equation, i.e. E = our Energy; M = our Mass or Me and C = is the local Culture or in this case is constant.
Well, to be a better Me, we must at least maintain our Energy –internal, physical and mental stamina, obviously M = E/C^2. In other words, at any instances or situations you drain out your energy, you or Me will experience the psychological phenomena called Burn Out! Burn Out is not an option – No and will Never be…!!

Our presence and existence here is part and parcel of the responsibilities that Allah swt had mandated to us, definitely neither not to gain our own glory or to show off our superiority. Borrowing Nike tag line – Just Do IT!! Just put our best sincere efforts …and do not worry with the results. It will come, anyway. Man plan Allah swt disposes. All the things that we enjoy today, for that matter your 16GB iPhone clad with the red ‘crocodile skin’, is the product of the great efforts put by many great people in the past in which they themselves never had the opportunity to enjoy it. Be one of them.

Inspired by a very inspirational speech of Martin Luther King, Jr. way back in 1963 in Washington entitled ‘I have a Dream’, it is my ‘dream’ to see one day HR ELNG will be the reference point for any organizations in Egypt. I believe, we are not only producing LNG, but rather producing world class competent Egyptians and in our respect, a world class HR Workforce. Therefore, I beg you to continue the PETRONAS legacy in your own way – but watch out the above equation!. In this relay, I am not the anchor man and you are probably the second runner, but what is expected out of us is still remains the same – running with our fullest energy on the same lane in our direction to achieve ‘the end in mind’.

I am pretty sure by now, you have completed reading the Leadership With No Titles. It is indeed a good reference to keep ourselves motivated, but, absolutely the holy Qur’an and al Hadith are still the ultimate references for us to persevere this temporary world and to obtain a better place in the life thereafter. Allow me to share you some interesting quotes:
◙ Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction.
◙ A person starts to live when he can live outside himself.
◙ Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.
◙ Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds.
◙ Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.
◙ The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.
◙ God does not care about our mathematical difficulties. He integrates empirically.
◙ Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal.
◙ Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.
◙ We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. Below is the excerpt from the PETRONAS Raya Ad sent by our good friend ASI. In the last frame, it says ‘Our true Strength lies with our heart’….and allow me to continue; ‘the strength of our heart is depending on how near we are to Allah Rabbul Jalil’. No one is better than the other, except those who are NEAR to Allah swt

Thank you Note to ELNG & 2 d People of EGYPT

Today, is my second last day I will be physically in this beautiful place…and to me, this is just the beginning of our comradeship.
There have been many fond memories during my 3 years and 11 months tenure with this young dynamic company – the Egyptian Operating Company, popularly known as ELNG. Hence, It would not be fair for me to leave without a word.

To start with: I would like to take this opportunity to THANK everybody for the continuous support given to me while carrying out my responsibilities in this beloved ELNG. Without it, I will not be able to deliver effectively.
To the Management Team and my Boss; THANK YOU for giving me the empowerment and guidance, as without it, I would have not been the confident person I am today in my international arena.
To my HR Team and Colleagues; THANK YOU for all the assistance given to me, and for putting up with my many tantrums!! The camaraderie that we had built together had made me more matured and was indeed an opportunity for me to improve my inner part. NO words in this world could describe my heartfelt gratitude and gratefulness. Hence, in the absence of the appropriate words, allow me to say humbly:: SHUKRAN GAZILLAN::THANK YOU
Also, to all staff, Direct Hire and Outsource - we are always be ONE family, THANK YOU very much. Without your contributions, the company would not have flourished dramatically, ALHAMDULLILLAH – praise only for Allah.
Bosses, Colleagues and Friends, …..I am….Yes, I am just a mere humble imperfect human being. With that, I would also like to take this opportunity seeking millions if not zillions APOLOGIES for my shortcomings and any wrongdoings on my part during my many encounters and interactions with you, especially while performing my duties.
I wish you all the best and hope that the company will achieve greater heights.
Allow me to reiterate my earlier words, my departure is just the physical part of me, my heart and soul will surely be with you forever after. And as much as you know, the world of communication today is fenceless. Hopefully our paths may cross again one day, InsyaAllah.
To my Muslim colleagues and friends; Ramadan Kareem and hope this Ramadan will bring us nearer to Allah swt. And, I hope it is not too early for me to say Eid Mubarak to all of you.
Before I wrap up and pen off, pleased to inform you that Nour is taking over my chair effective 1.9.2010, henceforth, my little request from you all to extend your fullest cooperation to her.Last but not least, all the best, and may you achieve Allah’s blessing in whatever you do, InsyaAllah. And let us put our heart, mind and hands together, supplicating before the Almighty Allah swt for His Grace and Mercy. Aamiin.

Ta'lim : Part XXI

The night of al Qadar.

Everybody knows Umar bin Abdul Aziz Rahmatullah alaih (rah). After the four Khalifah ur Rashideen he is the most eminent Khalifah. His wife says, “there may be other people more particular about wudhu and solat; but I have never seen anybody fearing Allah more than my husband. After his daily Isha, he would sit at a place reserved for his solat and raise his hands in supplication and keep crying before Allah till sleep overpowered him. Whenever he woke during the night, he would again start praying and crying before Allah swt.”
It is said that since his becoming Khalifah he never shared the bed with his wife. His wife was the daughter of the great King Abdul Malik. Her father had given he much jewellery in dowry, which included a marvelous diamond. He said to his wife, “Either part with all your jewellery for the sake of Allah swt, so that I may deposit it in the Baituk Maal or be separated from me. I would not like to live in a house where there is so much wealth.” His wife replied, “I can part with a thousand times more wealth, but I cannot leave you.” She then deposited everything she had in the Baitul Maal. After the death of Umar bin Abdul Aziz, when Yazeed son of Abdul Malik succeeded him as Khalifa, he said to his sister, “If you like you may have your jewellery back from the Baitul Maal. She replied, “How can the wealth I discarded during my husband’s lifetime, satisfy me after his death.” Umar bin Abdul Aziz was on his death-bed when he inquired from the persons round him about the cause of his disease. Someone said, “people think it is the effect of black magic.” He said. “No, it is not magic.” He then sent for a particylar slave of his and said to him, “What made you poison me?” He replied, “One hundred dinars and a promise of liberty.” Umar bin Abdul Aziz rah took those dinars from the slave and deposited them in the Baitul Maal, and advised him to run away to some distant place where he could not be seized.Just before his death, Muslimah rah came to him and said, “Nobody has ever treated his children as you are doing. None of your thirteen sons has anything to live on.” He sat up in his bed and said, “I have not held back from my sons what they were entitled to. I have, of course, refused them what was actually due to others. If my sons are righteous, then Allah swt will surely be their guardian as He has said in His Book: “He is the guardian of the righteous (VII:196)”, but if they are wrong-doers, then why should I care for them?”