C1::1st ever BORNEO level conference

The 5th Borneo LNG Conference was my first ever Borneo level conference I have ever attended. I’m relatively new in this LNG business anyway! It was held at Pullman Hotel in Kuching from 29 – 30 January 2012. Participated by the world top 10 LNG players – Indonesia’s PT Badak, Brunei LNG and Malaysia LNG (who is the second largest LNG plant in one single location after Qatar LNG), the two days conference had given me the chance to learn more about LNG plant and its related technical issues as well as best practices. What had made it more interesting and memorable to me was the role that the organizer entrusted me to shoulder – the Chairman of the first plenary session immediately after the launching speech by our MD/CEO. Alhamdullillah, it went well! But, I must say, playing the pace-setting role though was a bit scary to me in the beginning. Thank you to the Management and the Organiser for giving me the challenge. A bit about the objective of the conference was among others, providing platform for the three LNG players to share and exchange their best practices, lessons learnt and enhancing rapport/networking.

C2::1st ever BORNEO level conference

The Welcoming Dinner was held on the deck of the ‘Equatorial cruise’ cruising the famous Sarawak River. And, I am not shy to say, it was first ever Sarawak river cruise. The service and the ambience were superb! The food however, was relatively average – for Kuching standard. All the participants / dinners had fun but the anticlimax was the sound season – humming and below par! Nevertheless, it was indeed a wonderful experience watching the old nostalgic Kuching river side at night!!

PullMan::my first ever xprience.

After more than 10 years, 28.1.2012 was my return to my home town Kuching. I was born here and grown up until December 1977, when I moved to Miri after the departure of my beloved late mom from this temporary world. Definitely, over the period Kuching has transformed dramatically in many aspects; the road system, the geographical landscape has been extended as far as Samarahan, Kota Sentosa, etc..; more new 5 star hotels and shopping Malls; and more people. But honestly, Kuching has less to offer to foreigner if compare with KK.

During the visit, I stayed for the first time at Pullman Hotel, which is just about 500 meters to the water front. The above photo was taken from the 6th floor of the hotel at around 16:04 hours. I think the backdrop was the Kuching South’s sky.

DUN Negeri Sarawak from my perspective

Taken at around 18:15 hours from the floating berth near Kuching Water front of the famous Sarawak River, Dewan Undangan Negeri Sarawak building is one of the latest Kuching’s landmarks. Without using tripod and proper setting, I tested my hand and finger skill capturing this magnificent building. Not bad ah..?!

my worst Ever shot

This was one of my worst ever shots……..I took it when we were night cruising Sarawak River with the Equatorial organized by our Company. The subject was the evergreen Masjid Bahagian Kuching or Kuching Division Mosque.

our only princess::She turns 11 today.

Alhamdullillah, our only princess - Afiqah turns 11 today. Congratulations!! M Asri wishes her: 'Semoga panjang umur; murah Rezeki.....dan menjadi anak yang Solehah'...and, we say 'Aamiiin'.

As a matter of principles, we don't really celebrate birthday. But, without her two beloved brothers - Afi and Muhammda Afiq though, we had our family gathering at KKB during the eve of her birthday.

Mahhad Tahfiz An Naim Lutong::in d making

Yesterday we performed our Zuhur-‘Asar at Masjid An Naim Lutong. I spent some time exploring the new building (which is still under construction) of Mahhad Tahfiz An Naim Lutong or literally means the school of those pupil who is going by heart the 30 chapters of the holy Al Quran, is going to be the first in Miri division. Located adjacent to the main entrance of the Masjid, the fund (the cost is near or around RM 310k) is contributed by the Muslim communities of people around Miri and Bintulu divisions. The school is going to accommodate around 20 pupils at one time. Kudos to those who mooted the idea and also realizing the dream!
Masjid Lutong main entrance from the kitchen of the Mahhad.

TOGETHERNESS::my latest project

....my latest project that I called 'togetherness'. Collage of 51 family photos of different sizes, which we took when we were in Turkey, Jordan, Syria and Egypt. Why ‘Togetherness? Togetherness or in other words – devotedness; intimacy; inseparability or in other form – teamwork, is one of the fundamentals perhaps the essence of family success. In this short ‘trip’, we have to work and stay together in one team not only to ease any burden that we need to shoulder or face the bumpy road ahead, but also to obtain His Almighty blessing for the smoothness of our next phase of our journey. And, to me, every each individual member of my family plays very equally important roles of my effort in obtaining a place in ‘Jannah’.

..to all my Chinese friends around the globe

...keep up the GREAT work.

I was paying full attention to the Assessor presentation during our HSE Tier III Closing meeting and suddenly around 3:10 hours, my iPhone vibrated! Message received….I slide-On the phone and it was a touchy sms from Afi, it says in translation: “Dad..,why I couldn’t use my debit card at other ATM machines?? Now, I rely on my petty cash that I’d earned from my little business to support my daily meals….!!” It shed tears running from my eyes. Could not believe that my eldest son Afi has possessed the entrepreneurship skill and ventured in small business solution. Really proud of you son! Keep it up.

Yet another Product by TwinzBites

Handmade / crafted by Farah and CT, members of TwinzBites - cafe and bakery, some of the current popular well known cartoon characters, e.g. Angry Birds, etc....yet soon to be their products. Quality wise, I scored them 7/10. Speed, I mean the production line delivery, however, needs to be further explored. Nevertheless, after 30 minutes of introduction, at least 5 items sold - to Afiqah!

best cousins FOREVER::Afiqah@Nureen

This photo was taken when we spent one fine morning at the National Zoo last November 2011. They, Afiqah and Nureen Zailan claimed they are best cousin forever….well, great!! This is what I am looking for – the true spirit of camaraderie even though they are thousands kilometers away split by the South China Sea. What is more important between any relationships is the attitude of tolerance, compromise and understanding. And, the ultimate important in the cousinship that you had built must be for Allah swt. One thing that I really request from both of you, be a good girls who always obey the rules set by Allah swt as demonstrated by His Messenger, Saidina Muhammad saw (peace be upon him).

...in the name of justice and obedience

I received the message quoted below from my good old friend in Malacca this morning, and I found it is very interesting, hence my obligation sharing it here in my humble blog:
‘When asked about her Hijab by Journalists and how it is not proportionate with her level of intellect and education, she replied:
“Man in the early times was almost naked, and as his intellect evolved he started wearing clothes. What I am today and what I’m wearing represents the highest level of thought and civilization that man has achieved, and is not regressive. It’s the removal of clothes again that is regressive back to ancient TIMES"’
Tawakel Abdel-Salam Karman became the international public face of the 2011 Yemeni uprising that is part of the Arab Spring uprisings. She has been called by Yemenis the "Iron Woman" and "Mother of the Revolution." She is a co-recipient of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the first Yemeni, the first Arab woman, and the second Muslim woman to win a Nobel Prize and the youngest Nobel Peace Laureate to date.
Tawakel is a Yemeni journalist, politician and senior member of the Al-Islah political party, and human rights activist who heads the group "Women Journalists without Chains," which she co-founded in 2005. She gained prominence in her country after 2005 in her roles as a Yemeni journalist and an advocate for a mobile phone news service denied a license in 2007, after which she led protests for press freedom. She redirected the Yemini protests to support the "Jasmine Revolution," as she calls the Arab Spring, after the Tunisian people overthrew the government of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011. She has been a vocal opponent who has called for the end of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime.
A daughter of Abdel Salam Karman (who once served and later resigned as Legal Affairs Minister in Ali Abdullah Saleh's government), a lawyer and politician, Tawakel was born on 7 February 1979 in Mekhlaf, Ta'izz province, Yemen. She grew up near Taiz, which is the third largest city in Yemen. She is married to Mohammed al-Nahmi.
She earned an undergraduate degree in commerce from the University of Science and Technology, Sana'a and a graduate degree in political science from the University of Sana'a.

Ta'lim : Part XXXVII

Sometimes it feels like it's just too much - these fluctuations in our iman, the repeated sinning, the feeling that "I just don't deserve Allah swt's mercy." The tests always feel like punishments. There is a constant worry about the future: my marriage, my money, my career, my Ummah... And some difficulties just feel like they are too great to overcome. We know we're not supposed to ask this, but the question at the back of our minds is, "Why me?"

We have all heard that we should never despair of Allah swt's Mercy. And on the surface, we try not to, but Shaytaan (the Devil) has a trick. We tend to despair of ourselves and our incapacity to change things, especially the inner turmoil that we feel. And the effect of this is basically the same as despairing of Allah swt's mercy. We do not always accept that Allah can take us out of the situation we are in and we don't need to 'deserve' the trouble; Allah swt isn't punishing us and we don't need to be perfect.

This doesn't mean, however, that we shouldn't strive, or take ourselves to account when we do mess up. The key is to develop our relationship with Allah swt during that trouble. If we know Allah swt, no situation is too hopeless. No sadness is ever permanent. We perceive trials as they are meant to be perceived - as tests of our trust in Allah swt, forcing us to put our knowledge into practice and bringing us closer to Him. These trials could potentially be a punishment too, that is if we let it affect us negatively by completely turning away from Him because of our sadness. But our awareness of our own state and our understanding of Allah swt's Mercy allows us to turn the punishment into something positive that is manifested through repentance to Allahswt, alongside increasing in hasanat (good deeds) in order to erase the bad deeds.

The first exercise is for us to consciously realize that Allah swt knows. Whatever grief we go through, whatever hardship we endure, we must understand that we are never alone. Even if we feel abandoned by the world and those closest to us, Allah swt is there. He reminds us in the Qur'an:
"Fear not. Indeed, I am with you [both]; I hear and I see." (20:46)
As long as we begin by recognizing that Allah swt is with us and He is close to us, there remains a solution to our inner worries. There are things we need to know in order to develop our relationship with Allah swt. Then there are things we need to do in order to maintain that closeness to Allah swt. And finally, there are things we need to aspire for to achieve the ideal relationship with our Lord. We pray that in the end, we will all have developed a stronger & everlasting relationship with Allah swt.