Masjid Al Jabbar

The Masjid is around 300 meters from the junction of the Bintulu-Miri narrow bumpy coastal road – the so called Trans-Borneo Highway. It is very brilliantly designed and plot.

driving in Bintulu

Driving in Bintulu can really drive you crazy!!. despite all the trunks roads from Bintulu old town to Tjg Kidurong and other housing areas are dual carriage way?! Let me share you my thoughts and experience. Imagine a situation where you drive your car and accelerate at 80 km/hr. complying to the speed limit, while you are in hurry to your office, and right in front of you a MyVi taking its sweet time travelling at 40 km/hr. on the right hand side of the highway without feeling any sense of guilt and shame!? And, making it worst, when you try to overtake it from the left lane, the road condition in some stretches are not good – with potholes and bumpy. If you guys realized, the roads’ surfaces at many big three of four big traffic-light junctions around Bintulu are clumpy and bumpy…and it has been there many years ago without anyone (I mean the Authorities) looking at it seriously. There was once, right in front of my eyes, while waiting for the traffic light turn green at the Medan Jaya-Raya tee-junction, a motorbike rider skidded in the middle of the junction. Lucky, nothing really happened to him and his machine. Well, we cannot forever rely on pure luck! Should we? Another annoying experience I had (actually many times) was somebody stopped on the left lane waiting for no more vehicles moving on the road or coming to his side!!...and after that he actually wanted to go to the right!? In some situation, big heavy vehicles, like Lorries conquered the right lane as they like as if they own the lane. This vulgar, I think, with their couldn’t-care-less attitude accelerated recklessly on the right lane because the road condition on the left is relatively bad compared to the right lane, which was mainly due to the sub-standard quality of the road and heavily used by heavy vehicles. I would blame the authority and/or the engineer who design and made the road. They should have used their brains wisely and creatively, far sighted before they simply put their pen on the drawing board. Definitely, the authority who approved the blue print should shoulder the accountabilities…………and to carry the blames!! Or, it might be because along the way, somebody is making easy money? Damn to corruption…

just another REMINDER for me to move on

Quoted from one of my favorites prominent figure of Malaysian's Oil & Gas giant during his recent townhall meeting.

The tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching our goal. The Tragedy lies in having no goal to reach. It isn’t a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream.
Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Half efforts do not produce half results. It produces no result. Work, continuous work and hard work is the only way to accomplish results that last. It is not the strongest that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is most adaptable to change that survive successfully.

Whatever it is, our prayer answered; we got 5 months....

my URIC acid maybe?

I have felt the pain on my right knee since last Wednesday after I came back from my business trip in KL. I thought I could survive with it with my diclofenac sodium, but the pain persist and slowly getting severe. On Friday that week, I had another workshop in Karambunai Sabah! O Allah, how would I endure it? I prayed before Allah swt to give me strength and capability to manage the facilitation of our first ever workshop on our Vision, Mission and Leadership Interventions. I will share you my Karambunai story in my next release. Now, let me continue with my ‘Uric Acid’ story. After the Karambunai trip I resumed my office as there were so many things need to be followed through, settled and organized. To cut the long story short, I realized that (on Friday night) the swell on my right knee and leg is getting bigger. I then, decided to go to the nearest hospital – Columbia Asia to seek doctor’s advice on the condition. Upon arrival, the security ushered me to the emergency counter and after about not more than15 minutes, a doctor named Vijay (I hope I get his name correctly) attended me. He advised me to see an Orthopedic. He immediately called and explained to the Orthopedic about the situation. The Orthopedic was about to come (as I was informed by Dr Vijay) but, unfortunately his administration staff advised him that I must have a Guarantee Letter to continue with the diagnosis. I didn’t want to argue about it but instead decided to listen to his advice (my blood pressure was then 99/139). He prepared me a Request for Guarantee Letter and asked to see our panel clinic the next morning. In the next morning, after having our breakfast at the new Refah Café, we went to the Bintulu old town, Medan Jaya and Raya looking for any reputable panel clinic. Luck was not on our side, some clinics closed at 12:00 noon, some are not ING panel clinic and some are lack of basic facilities, like parking, etc. But I believed there must be reasons behind it. Allah swt knows better for the imperfect human being like us.
I finally decided to go back home and informed our Company’s doctor and HR Manager via sms about my condition and situation, at the same time seeking advice from them. Our Company’s doctor never replies my sms until later in the evening. On the other hand, our HR Manager was sensitive and responsive enough, that he went to his office to prepare the Guarantee Letter and sent it to me at my house my hand. Millions of thanks to you, Hj Matnor, for your efforts, etc.!!. However, I didn’t visit the hospital that night. At about 09:15 my wife and I went to the hospital and informed the administration staff about the intent of my visit. They informed, there was no doctor on Sunday! I asked to call Dr Azani, the Orthopedic whom I supposed to meet yesterday. After about 30 minutes of waiting, Dr Azani arrived and greeted me. I think he has done his homework well that he knew everything about my leg condition. After shook hands with him, he ushered me to the treatment room and explained me the procedure that he planned to do on my knee. Speak fluent standard Sarawakian, this Kelantanees doctor married to a Kuching folk is relatively new in Bintulu. He assured me that I will feel better after the extraction of liquid from my knee. Immediately after injecting local anesthetic, he extracted about 50 ml of liquid (probably a mix of Uric acid and other liquids) out of my right knee. It took him about less than 15 minutes for the whole procedure and believed me; I felt no pain throughout the process…. Alhamdullillah, praise only to Allah swt and feeling better now. That was my first ever minor operation that I had to go through since I experienced the acute gout attack. Hopefully it was not due to osteoarthritis! O Allah the most Compassionate and most Merciful, please give us all good health. Below is the sample of the synovial fluid.

nobody could replace them...

Suddenly the Sudirman’s song – Pelangi Petang or literally the evening rainbow touched my mind and soul. My vulnerable eyes were flooded with glittering tears triggered by the nostalgic lyrics and sweet melody of the song sung by one of my favorite’s Malaysian entertainer – Sudirman Hj Arshad. Born in Temerloh Pahang on 25 May 1954, some described him as a ‘People Singer’; some called him a ‘Singing lawyer’; and to me he is just a humble creative honest philanthropist who has left a legacy to the music industry in Malaysia. He left us and this temporary world on 22 February 1992… no wonder his stories, songs or even his Chow Kit Road concert were broadcasted by all the local TVs last week!
The melody reminded me of my beloved mom who left me in December 1976, when I was 11 years old. I was crying the whole day till the reservoir of my eyes went dry, mourning and grieving about my future…. Alhamdullillah, praise only to Allah swt, somebody picked me up and brought me to Miri where life and hope was granted by Allah the Almighty. I was grown up in Miri then, until I married to the daughter of another woman whom I really admired and inspired – Hjh Baidah Binti Abdullah. Allah swt love her most, she departed this short span world alone…. I mean alone in her house at Piasau Jaya…none of her kids were around when the angel of death finally pulled her last breath.

“You came like a rainbow; with no light but you’d delighted us; and you had enlightened and inspired us..” chorus of Pelangi Petang by Sudirman Hj Arshad
May your soul rest in peace bless by Allah swt.

....the trip that will bring us to another height::Karambunai Protocol

After months of preparation, propagation and deferment, finally on the 17th of February 2012 at around 09:10 hours, 13 (Vicky, Julie and Mai arrived a day earlier, while our MD was flying directly from KL in the evening) of us – the Think-Tank of the 2nd largest LNG producer at single site were flown directly by MASWings from Bintulu to Kota Kinabalu (KK). Arrived at the new KK international airport (better than any airports in Sarawak) around 10:20 hours, Vicky has waited for us with a 32 seats air-conditioned bus
After a very smooth 45 minutes trip to Nexus Karambunai, with tour guide explaining to us what KK has to offer us, we finally arrived and was given a warmth welcome by the staff. We were very exciting and grateful. However, the anti-climax was when we were told that the room is not ready for us. Being the chief Facilitator of the workshop, I have told my team to have a seamless check-in and they have informed the hotel weeks before regarding the arrangement. But, what upset me, the hotel was not discipline enough to ‘kick out’ the foreign guests, I guessed!! Vicky was trying to closely get in touched with the receptionist but they seemed to be helpless with the outgoing guests.
We were entertained with a welcoming drink at the lounge and 10 minutes, there was no sign of rooms made ready for us?! The Administrator suggested us to take early lunch (I mean before the Penyu Restaurant actually ready with the buffet). We were spoilt by varieties of foods and the service was superb.
However, we (Dzafri, Kabir, Zul, Major Ramlee, Ahmad Hussein, Kamari and me) have to cut short our lunch for our Friday prayer. We were supposed to perform our prayer at the nearest masjid at KKIP (Couldn’t recall the full name of this place) but instead the kind driver, brought us to one of the beautiful Masjids in Sabah – the University Malaysia Sabah’s Masjid. We managed to perform 2 raka’at solat ‘tahiyatul masjid’ just in time before the Khatib went up to the ‘mimbar’ or pulpit to recite the Friday sermon. Unlucky Dzafri, after the prayer, somebody by mistake (I think) took his pair of shoes away from the shoe rack.

In the second episode, upon our arrival at the hotel around 13:50 hours (10 minutes before our workshop start), we were informed that the rooms for Major Ramlee, Ahmad Hussein, Hj Kamari and me were still not ready?! What a standard for the so called 5-Star reputable hotel. All this while, I gave a very high regards to this Nexus chain of hotel, a place that I must visit. But with this kind of treatment to the local guest, like us, dejected and disheartened me! Lucky, Vicky quickly bounced back; he changed the start time to 14:30 hours.
Sharp at 14:30 hours, we resumed our facilitation at the Magibah I ball room of the Nexus Resort and SPA, Karambunai.

One of our Day 1 activities was a Vision Hunting at the One Borneo Mall. We went there at 16:30 hours after 15 minutes, the bus dropped at the main entrance of the so called largest Mall in Borneo (as claimed). I do not think so though coz’ there are many biggest malls (much bigger than it) in Jakarta Indonesia. True enough, after few hobbling steps into the mall, I did not feel the ‘wow’ factor. Well, nothing much to see and less to offer though as heard by my relatives and friends who had been there before. After less than one hour strolling along the corridor and window-shop the mall, we decided to wait for the bus for our next agenda – dinner at Nelayan Village.

We arrived 10 minutes before 19:00 hours. Though we made it before the expected time, but our beloved MD/CEO arrived 10 minutes earlier than us. Our dinner was quite private and exclusive, served by two locals Ruth and Amirah on a boat called Putri. The foods were not that I’ve expected for a well propagated restaurant. I mean not the scrumptious as I thought though the prawn and grouper were fresh from the aquarium. At 22:55 hours, we called it a day.

In the nutshell, the objective of the above workshop, which we called ‘Breakaway’, among others, is to revisit our Vision; Mission; our Roadmap –KITE that is due to expire by 2013 and also to look into short/long term interventions to address some of the issues that were surfaced through the recent POCS.

...after 50 years of service...still fit though

Built in the early 50s, the old wooden Bailey bridge had served obediently residents of Kampung Pulau Melayu, few villages in the area, Piasau Camp and those working in Shell and Petronas at Lutong town. Traffic is controlled at both ends of the bridge by traffic lights. It was then, the only alternative route crossing cross the Miri River before later the Lutong bridge was built.
“We propose to keep this bridge as a heritage bridge. With the new bridge opened, this bridge will be used by pedestrians, cyclist and motorcyclist,” said Assistant Minister of Communications Datuk Lee Kim Shin:: Borneo Post.However, since March last year, a new concrete bridge is constructed alongside to the nostalgic Bailey bridge. Built at a cost of RM 9 million, the 146-metre bridge has a six-meter wide deck for dual lane traffic, a 1.25-metre wide footpath, and navigational clearance of 16 meters for river traffic at the center span. This will definitely enable a smooth two-way traffic, reduce congestion and alleviate congestion at the river crossing. In my opinion, the new bridge should already be there long time ago!?.....

...just wondering?

I wonder why the tombstone of the cemetries must be shaded by umbrellas??? In my opinion, this is one of our community's unexplainable and unlogical practices. In fact building something like what you see in the above photo to most scholars is totally prohibited.

...finally, we found its new skin!

The story of the iPhone 3Gs's case: I think after more than a year of robust usage, it needs skin replacement. I have been looking around in many shops in KL, Kuching and Miri since months ago…and, finally today we found one at TTArt shop Miri…..and, it’s cheap! The soft light but vibrant green make it more egoistic that the old pinkish torn and shabby skin was forgotten forever diminished from her mind. Goes the famous Malay’s saying; ‘bagaikan kacang lupakan kulit’..

...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.

Innovation Starts@HOME......

Panelists at the 2nd Merdeka Award Roundtable television talk show held recently in Kuala Lumpur, say that innovation must begin at home and it must start with the individual.

“Innovation must start with you. Let’s start with doing one innovative thing a day (and from there it will grow),” says Professor Dato’ Dr Zaini Ujang, Vice Chancellor, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and the 2009 Merdeka Award Recipient in the category of Outstanding Scholastic Achievement.

The 2nd Merdeka Award Roundtable featured the topic “Cultivating a Culture of Innovation in Challenging Times”. The lively discussion, aptly held at the historical Carcosa Seri Negara on 24 November, featured three outstanding personalities known for their spirit of innovation and entreprenuership – Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Group CEO of Air Asia Berhad, Founder of the Tune Group and Chairman of football club QPR Holdings Ltd; Tan Sri Datuk Augustine Ong Soon Hock, President of the Malaysian Invention and Design Society (MINDS) and former Merdeka Award Nomination Committee Member; and Prof Dato’ Zaini.

Prof Dato’ Zaini says that when it comes to broadening the horizons of innovation in Malaysia students should be encouraged to be more adventurous and mobile. “If you want to change people, let them go outside their normal routine. We must allow them to experiment; innovation occurs when you allow people to deviate. And you must let them fail (we can learn from failure).”

“Education,” says Tan Sri Tony is the one idea that will help instill the culture of innovation among the post-Merdeka generation. “The language of innovation is English. We have to be brave because language is key. We also need to bring back art, culture and sport; it will change the way our kids think,” he says.

Tan Sri Ong concurred, saying: “We also need to think about where we have a niche we can own. One of the possible areas is (indigenous) flora and fauna – we have such diversity in this country but we haven’t even done a proper inventory (of it). We should identify an area like this where we can bring results. And we should focus on areas where we’re good at.”

“We need disruptive thinkers,” says Tan Sri Tony. “And that stems from two things – family and the education system. We must allow people to dream, we must allow people to have ideas, and we mustn’t be afraid to fail. We have to create the environment, and it starts with us. We must allow our kids to experiment, we must expose them to as many things as possible and then let them go where they want. If you have a successful education system, we will find the best for each child.”

He adds that Malaysia also needs to address what he calls the “brain exodus”. “It’s a globlised world, we have to fight to keep our thinkers. And it starts at home and it starts with education,” he says.

Cultivating a culture of innovation is to create eco-systems, Tan Sri Tony adds. “I think (innovation) is so critical for the development of the country. It is not something you can teach; it is not something you can programme.

“You have to create an environment for innovation, you have to create the family, the education system. I have lots of issues with the system now – it’s very focused on books. There’s not enough playing, interacting. Education for me is about bringing out the mind, creating the thought,” he adds.

Tan Sri Ong adds that just about anyone can be innovative. “At MINDS, we have chefs and salesmen coming up with ideas. When we started in 1989, we had 50 inventions brought to us; this year the number is 720. I believe that if you throw the challenge to people, they will respond.”

The discussion then moved on to the importance of implementation, with Tan Sri Tony saying, “There is no point in innovating if you’re not implementing.”

“What is important is the intrinsic value that you put into the system, and how you value ideas,” says Prof Dato Zaini.

The academician, who has written several books on innovation, argued that the global education system must evolve to remain relevant to the needs of a rapidly changing world. “The problem with the academic structure, not just in Malaysia but all over the world, is over-specialisation. The walls we’ve created in academia don’t help us innovate,” he says.

He espouses the concept of new academia – where learning environments are not just limited to academic environments, but at businesses and workplaces, and where education is not just taught by lecturers, but also by businessmen, inventors, policy makers, entrepreneurs and practitioners.

In citing personal experiences, Prof Dato’ Zaini says his approach to innovation stems from looking at the negative components of an issue, and seeing the positive from it. He says his work on waste water, which earned him the Merdeka Award in 2009, came from first looking at waste water as a resource, and then looking for the opportunities that resource presents.

While discoveries and breakthroughs are crucial, recognition is just as important in motivating the young. Tan Sri Tony says: “I fully sympathise with young kids in the country. It’s important we praise their ideas, their successes. We don’t hear enough about these great ideas. And we need to show that the commercialization of these ideas have come to fruition.”

Source::Merdeka Award Secretariat

one of our favorite hotels@ Ganu

We arrived here around 3:37 pm after we had a good lunch at Kemaman. The trip was slowed down by heavy rain that showered us before Cherating Pahang. Alhamdullillah, we had arrived safe and sound at this hotel -one of our favorites.
Located in between of the second largest town of Terengganu, Kemaman and Kertih - the Oil and Gas town, Awana Kijal is the largest 5 Star hotel in this region. During my 5 years tenure working with one the best PetChem plant of Petronas, I passed through this hotel everyday, unless if I have to fullfill business requirement elsewhere.

Will stay here again someday.

...Kidurong Housing's LONEliness

All these photos were taken by Muhammad Asri while on his way back from SK Kidurong attending Afiqah and Muhammad Aimans' convocation. He has built good creativity and skill in photography. Well that is not the only point of my story! The point that I want to make is about the coolness of the Kidurong Housing Area. And, its loneliness.

PartI@gen-Y versus gen-X::Is it necessary??

This is what the so called Gen Y of one of the multi-billionaire organizations perceived about working relationship. It sounds arrogant though but indeed is essential for all of us to ponder:
The MD states that my generation is less committed to work and not obedient to their superiors. He implies that we are not eager to learn new skills or take up challenging opportunities. The MD then proposes that Gen-Y mindset needs to be transformed to be more positive. He says that this change can be achieved through iDOL courses, engagement sessions with E3, and E1&E2 leadership talks.
In my opinion, this is simply a miscommunication problem.
A Gen-Y person can still be committed to his or her work goals and project objectives even if he or she consistently questions the superior and asks him why why why. It is simply professional conduct, especially for a technical executive in engineering, to do so; to question the value behind a task.
Doing so does not mean showing disrespect to the superior or acting in a blatant, disobedient manner.
The reason Gen-Y do so is because my generation grew up with insatiable curiosity and passion and the strong desire for instant gratification. They grew up with high speed internet, smartphones, and free access to a wealth of options as the world globalizes and borders disappear. They are well informed, highly critical, and very impatient. They are creative, imaginative, and open to new ideas.
They demand transparency and more bang for buck. They like to explore and discover and they despise being told what’s good for them. They will always ask and pursue the value or meaning of something.
If there is no meaning in a task, or something of value to him or her personally, a Gen-Y will not derive the passion for it. He or she will not comply.
So when a Gen-X (such as our middle management) asks a Gen-Y to do something, there will always be friction. Middle management will never engage a Gen-Y with the approach to make him or her understand what is the potential value or meaning in that task. It’s always just doing this, do that, this is in our KPI, this is part of the Road Map - all of which has no personal, passionate value to a Gen-Y.
A Gen-X does not understand this, because they grew up as “pioneers” in the 80s when times were harsh. They suffer first and claim the reward later. They are the ones the company will send to make things happen. They bring you grand success out of meager resources and the worst of luck in the least amount of time - all borne out of loyalty or sacrifice like being away from family for years on end.
This is something that no Gen-Y will ever do for you no matter how many times you raise their pay grade. They will dictate their own priorities in life.
I am not speaking on behalf of my generation, but I am one of them. And every day I go to work, I could not find the personal meaning of my work.
When I joined this company, I find the Shared Value ‘loyalty’ to be odd and I could not connect to it.
Loyalty is doing things you are told without knowing why, or because you’re told that’s what’s good for you. As opposed to ‘Committed’ - which is doing something that you personally believe in; that there is value in it for you. Loyalty is blind and unquestioning. Committed is driven by personal values.
While I applaud the MD’s effort to engage Gen-Y through iDOL and other programs, I believe this ‘fix their mindset’ approach is outdated, patronizing, and that it is going to backfire. There is nothing wrong with the Gen-Y mindset. If harnessed correctly like what Google, Apple, Ikea, and AirAsia have done, the Gen-Y passion can lit an unstoppable fire of productivity that turns around companies.
I believe what PETRONAS in general and MLNG specifically need to do is to acknowledge that the times have changed and these times are now ours, and to start learning the language of the Gen-Y.

Part II@gen-Y versus gen-X::Is it necessary?

This is the brilliant reply from the MD/CEO. I am sharing this to rest of the world because the gist of the reply is relevant to all organizations in this planet. Enjoy::
I also received feedback on the note that I made about the younger generation in Part 4 of this column. Thank you for your feedback and for speaking out your mind. However, I wish to clarify here that the note was a reply to a comment by a senior technician in our plant. I think his concern about the younger generation being “less committed and not obedient” is a sincere concern from actual experience and was meant to see our beloved company continue to sustain high performance for many years to come.
My view is that we should stop segregating our staff according to their generations ie., the baby boomers, Gen X and Gen Y - because if we keep segregating ourselves, we will never understand and appreciate each other. We will never be able to close the so-called generation gap. We will forever think that we are different from each other and mentally incompatible. We should not blindly follow the Western values and thinking. It is the West who started segregating their generations into baby boomers, Gen X, Y and Net. This sort of mindset is dangerous and unhealthy and will not do any good to ourselves and our organisation.
In achieving top performing organisation, our focus is on keeping up with and upholding the organisation’s values. It is not about the values of the individuals. If you look at a winning organisations, each one of them have distinctive values that their employees must subscribe to.
These values are translated into organizational culture, behaviour and mindset. In this Company, the values that we must subscribe to are the PETRONAS shared values i.e., Loyalty, Integrity, Professionalism and Cohesiveness.
I also wish to stress here that “Loyalty” does not mean that we have to do the things we are told to do without knowing why. In fact, I don’t encourage such kind of “loyalty” in this Company. This kind of loyalty is what I called “blind loyalty”. Can you imagine what will happen if a staff who is not equipped with full PPE blindly follow instruction to work in a confine space? We do not need this type of loyalty in this organisation.
In this Company and PETRONAS, we always encourage freedom of expression. We like people to express their opinions. However, in reality “diverse or individual opinions” alone cannot drive any organization to achieve its goal. To succeed as a group, we must have confluence and consensus. Decision must be made collectively and once a decision is made, we must put aside our personal opinion, uphold the decision and work together to achieve its goal. Another word, we must be loyal to the direction that has been set to achieve the business target. I am not aware of any other successful organisation in this planet that does not have the “loyalty” value ingrained in their staff.
And to describe the IDOL Learning programme and other initiatives as “fixed their mindset” approach is to me is a wrong perception. I do not believe all young people in this Company share this view. To put this matter into proper perspective, all leadership programmes organised by this Company are never intended to brain wash the staff. In fact, they are intended to improve the staff soft skills and leadership skills to prepare them to become good leaders in the future. Even Apple, Google, GE, Ikea and AirAsia runs leadership programmes for their staff and there are also substantial populations of older generations in these companies.
In this Company, we are also working hard to harness the potential of the younger generation through, amongst others, nurturing their presentation skill and sharing ideas at the plant management level.
We also encourage creativity and greater participations from younger generation in decisions making process. At the same time, we want everyone to understand our vision and values in order for us to be able to achieve our business goal. If everyone subscribed to our values and committed to the cause, This Company will go very far in our quest for greater achievements.
We always welcome good suggestions and brilliant ideas. So if you have any better suggestions to improve our soft skills programmes in mind, please recommend to the management.

BORNEO indigenous fruit::daBAI

In this release, I would like to share you one of the local fruit that I really obsessed with. The rich biodiversity of the tropical rain forest in Sarawak offers an excellent source of fruits and vegetables. Canarium odontophyllum or commonly known as Dabai is popular among people living in Sarawak and also to many foreigner who had stayed for some time in Sarawak. The domesticated plant can be classified as indigenous fruit to Borneo and has been consumed by the rural as snack food. In Brunei it is called kembayau. Sarawakians called it buah dabai (dabai fruit). It can be found mainly in Sibu a.k.a. Sibu “olive”, however, like anything that can reap profit this little fruit has made it ways to every market in Sarawak. It is now a highly demanded seasonal fruit, hence the relatively high selling tag price.
The way to eat it is first rinse it then soaks in lukewarm water until it softens. You will never ever soften it by boiling. And, if you find that statement was illogical, believe me; try your best to do it! You can either eat it straight (I mean after you have softened it) or season with salt or black sweet or salty soy sauce to enhance the yellowish fresh creamy taste. Another way to ‘cook’ it, as demonstrated by friend Jonannes, is by soaking it with black soy sauce for at least four hours. Some people prefer to preserve it with coarse salt after deseeding it and that to me is the byproduct of the Dabai fruit. Nowadays, many Malay restaurants in Sarawak commercialized it under a menu called Dabai Fried Rice…yummy…yummy..!!.however, for those who have unmanageable hypertension and cholesterol, my advice is think twice before you consume…cheers

one of my favorites 'farewell note'

Reading farewell note or message especially those well written with a very touchy story line and beautiful words is one of my favorite’s things though most of the time shed my tears. However, bidding someone’s farewell is actually a pain thing that I would do. Below is one of favorites ‘farewell note’ that I’ve read::enjoy:

Today is my last working day in MLNG. 1/12/04 - 22/9/11. I’ll never forget these two dates. MLNG is the first and the only company that I’ve been employed since. MLNG has given me so much and thanks alone won’t be enough.
Over the past 7 years, it has been a pleasure to serve MLNG and TES/3. However, after much thought and consideration, I believe this is the right time for my family and I to begin a new chapter in our lives. I feel the change will be beneficial to my long term career goals and objectives.
The decision to leave MLNG and all friends here has not come easy. It is a fulfilling experience while in here. Process 3 (05-07), MDD (08), Process 1 (09), Material & Corrosion (10-11). Countless of TA. I learn from the job that I did and much more from people I work and met in the plant. I always believe that we should be happy while in the job by doing what we like best. Else, all the work that we did is half bake. If people do not find what he want (job satisfaction, pay, family time, skill, etc) in his current job, maybe it is worth to really think about it, discuss and move on. Do not complain and jeopardise your work. MLNG and Petronas deserve better. They are the pillar of this beloved country.
My family and I may unintentionally offend some of you while we’re here. Something which I regret myself if there is. Therefore, my family and I would like to take this opportunity especially while Aidifitri is just around the corner to ask for all friends’ forgiveness. May Allah bless you all.
I wish and pray nothing but success for TES/3 and MLNG. Thanks

Titian Budi by JKIM - d 4th series@RPR Sg Plan

The Vice Chairman of the Jawatankuasa Kebajikan Islam MLNG (JKIM), M Hafeiz Jumeren handed over the 'goodies' to the Surau An Nur's Representative during the visit. It was our second visit to Sg Plan. The first one was at the Masjid Sg Plan Lot couple of weeks back. During the first visit we missed 10 recipients who are mainly converts and some relatively poor people.

L6193 in preparation for the Holy months of Ramadan 7 Syawal

In anything that we do, 80% is planning and the balance is the execution. A week before Ramadan, we spent two days during one weekend carried our general cleaning to our newly bought house at Greenville Garden, Senadin Miri. Except for Afi and M Afiq who are away in KL, all of us lended our hands in one team did our part in making sure the house and its surrounding are fit to our eyes, nose, minds and soul. Thank you to M Asri, M Aiman, Afiqah, Chotey and off course my beloved wife Nana.

Alhamdullilah, at the end of the day, what matter is the blessing from Almighty Allah Rabbul Jalil.

now everyone REALLY can fly...@ lower cost

Thanks to AirAsia....for connecting and bridging me and my family in Bintulu when I was on two months special assignment at KLCC. Flown by AirAsia AK 5141 & AK5140, I spent almost every weekends with my family in Bintulu. Otherwise, I'll have to fly less frequent and with tonnes of money. I must say, the service is very reliable and commendable.