Thank You My Friends..

During our small farewell gathering held yesterday I was asked to provide some pep talk basically on how I felt during my tenure in UTP. I started off philosophically with a story about colors and how I painting it for the last 7 years in Registry. During the first few years I’ve tried so many colors painted to the white canvas hoping that somehow or another, my superior and colleagues would appreciate it heartily. And I did just that. I’ve painted it with nice metallic blue in color. Though sometimes it was not really blue, not even near the color blue, but being Fadil that have been well received in Registry, my painting was generalized and well accepted.

My tenure in Registry will end in few days’ time. I will be relocated to a new place with a new environment, new perspective and definitely new challenges. I need to re-paint and will not be able to depend on the nice metallic blue color that was well received by my superior and colleagues in Registry. I need to paint using different sets of colors now and hoping one of them will be accepted by my new superior and colleagues. I just need to continue painting and put new effort to the work.

That was my piece of advice not only to Siti that will leave us for good but also to myself – which really lack of motivation at this moment of time. I’m hoping God will bestow his mercy on me, I really need that…

P/s – 

To Siti, thanks for all the nice words. You are good on your own now as you’ve transformed yourself from ‘white and naïve’ to a wise ol’ lady..

To others, my superior and colleagues in Registry, thanks for being with me through thick and thin, laughter and sadness. My respect to all of you…

After So Many Years…

Seingat-ingat aku kali terakhir aku warded di hospital adalah pada tahun 1986, masa kena jaundice kecik2 dulu… kira lama sangat dah tu. Biasa la in and out dari hospital sebab anak2 yang warded. Tu biasa tu.. tapi bukan  warded diri sendiri. So bila last Saturday yang lalu, aku diminta untuk warded..pehh!! stress tahap maksima lebih2 lagi bila kena duduk diam2 dalam MRI lebih 25 minit.

Trauma 26 tahun lalu sebab ‘bertarung’ dengan doctor cina tu pegang tangan kaki aku nak ambik darah masih belum habis lagi, memang sah la jangkaan aku yang post-MRI impact lebih menyiksakan. Daripada perfect BP 124/79 sebelum MRI kepada 150/100 setengah jam selepas tu. Lemah lutut sama lenguh2 bahu kesan kenaikan BP tu masih terasa walaupun dah keluar wad 3-4 hari ni. Stress tahap dewa2 betul..

Ceritanya tulang C5 paling bawah aku dah slipped. Kata doctor sebab duduk lama2 sangat. Mungkin betul tapi yang confirmnya sebab aku stressedkan pinggang masa nak mula main bola balik. That way like a year ago. Lepas pada tu sakit di pinggul tu on and off. Kalau angkat berat sket, sakit. Kalau duduk lama sket sakit. Nasib baik kalau masa tu tu..tak pulak sakit. Lagi kuat ada :-)

So lepas ni nak kena buat laser treatment sebab C5 tu taklah terlalu kritikal. Maknanya dia belum terlalu kuat menekan saraf walaupun kaki kiri dah mula terasa sedikit insensible (numb). Doktor suruh secepat mungkin tapi aku rasa kena settlekan hal pejabat sama tenteramkan jiwa lara ni dulu. Esok2 lain pulak jadinya kalau BP tetiba burst.

P/s - aku kena byk rilekkkkkks……

Kazakhstan 2012

After years lapse from overseas stint, I was asked to assist the institution’s participation in the A2 Education Fairs in Astana and Almaty, Kazakhstan from 20 – 24^th Sept. On day 1, the Fairs started at 1pm to 8pm venued at the Rixos Presidential Hotel in Astana Central. More than 1,000 students mostly high school leavers turned up for the event. We had engaged a local translator to assist us in communication and interaction with potential students, as majority of Kazakhs/Russian could not speak or understand English language. We had a fruitful discussion with an English Language Centre from Malaysia, the English Language Company (ELC), on how we can ride on their existing recruitment agency for recruiting potential Kazakhs. Students will be having one year of English Language course in KL, tailored towards our Engineering programme before they continue with UTP’s programme.

Further discussion with local university (Al-Farabi National University) on the utilization of Bolashak programme of which with the collaboration, we should be able to utilize the Bolashak via adjunct lecture series, research officers, research grants, post-doc, and other non-degree research/short courses. Bolashak programme is a scholarship which is awarded to high-performing students from Kazakhstan to study overseas all-expenses paid, provided that they return to Kazakhstan to work for at least five years after graduation.

  

We had also a nice dinner hosted by His Excellency Dato' Ahmad Rashidi Azizi, Malaysian Ambassador to the Republic of Kazakhstan at the end of day 1.

  

The A2 Education Fairs in Almaty is even better. We welcomed almost 2000 parents and potential students throughout the 2-day exhibition. Below some more pics that could tell 1001 stories..

Kazakhstan is like 5000 miles away from home but the warm and friendly people of Kazakhs make our visit so welcomed. It was a nice trip altogether..

P/s - lama x haplod lagu neh...

4 series today...

Tq Has..

And in the end...

It was a rather quiet Monday, not like any other Monday that this office ever has gone thru. It’s a weirdo kind of feeling with this unnerving situation but at the same time I do feel so relieve, so un-stressful. Why, all bosses are not in place. Now, I’m the boss, the Sivaji, the Singh is Kingg. This situation is expected for another couple of days before snap@! coming back to usual work, and more works.

Not that I do not have any jobs line up to be completed. I do have abundant pile up next to me right now but no worries everything is in a good command of Fadil Ariff, the jack of all trades (but obviously master of none). All one need to do is to phrase a magic word ‘we will do it accordingly’ and Walla, Fadil Ariff will complete it proficiently. As a Muslim you got to be nice and positive at all time. That’s what I’ve been taught. But then you know some people are so dumb, ignorant, and selfish that they will never take lesson to be learned. Maybe not intentionally but circumstantially, usually, maybe. Hence, I guess, I will take up seriously Feng’s word of skepticism “grain of salt” in whatever I do in future. How to do that I will have to figure it out later or maybe the coming Ramadhan will assist in its very own inexplicable way.

Sound so negative, eh? Don’t worry this was just a reflective of a bit Monday blues. It should be ended up here…

P/s - the Beatles’ end song…

“Oh yeah, all right Are you gonna be in my dreams tonight?

Love you, love you Love you, love you Love you, love you

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make” 

Bad Supervisors Criticize Others

Something that I've read lately and makes me wonder??

"When a supervisor is insecure, they tend to overcompensate by putting other people down, especially in public. They tend to talk down to people and make themselves appear more powerful. They find things to criticize about anyone who is getting positive attention. When they need to reprimand a subordinate, they will often do it in front of other subordinates because they think it make them more powerful. If only they know how horrible it makes them look!!

(Top 10 Signs of A Bad Supervisor, Dr Kimberley Alyn)

P/s - mudah-mudahan aku tidak seperti ini...

Khusus utk sahabat, Shamo yang tengah diujiNya. Moga cepat2 sembuh especially selepas mendengar lagu kegemaran ini...

AAC, SMART & Lynas

This year 10^th Academic Advisory Council was held on 3 July 2012 at the ‘Kayangan’ meeting room, level 86 in PETT Twin Tower. As usual it was another heck of a job starting from preparing logistic matters; drafting the presentation materials, coordinating and collecting appropriate data and finally preparing the Minutes of meeting. Nevertheless, the meeting with Tun was something that I looking forward to each and every year. If my calculation is right, this is my fourth time having a meeting with the AAC members.

The Council amongst others discussed matters related to direction, strategy and proper planning for a ‘global university’ status. It’s an avenue for exchanging ideas between academicians and industry leaders, I must say. All members turned up for the meeting except for Prof Dieter Jahn (CEO BASF).


After the meeting, we were taken to MMC-Gamuda’s SMART tunnel control room for a visit. Datuk Zaidee himself briefed us on the history, operation and processes of the smart tunnel. SMART is an acronym of storm-water management and road tunnel, is the first and ‘smartest’ flood management and at the same time efficient road tunnel in the world. It started off with Tun Mahathir bold decision and aspiration to have smart roadways that will connect KL to Putrajaya in not more than 20 minutes driving. After sometimes, I do understand why Datuk Zaidee delivers the briefing with proud.

Prior to the trip to the SMART control room, I had a small chat with Datuk Zaidee.  We talked about Lynas and how rare earth, if it is developed and industrialized in Malaysia, could reduce at least 10% of total China domination of world’s rare earth. That 10% is huge in terms of dollars and cents. I guess that’s why some people ‘politically’ do not want the industry to take off citing environmental and safety as an issue.

As usual there are few good phrases of words from the meeting that I wish to highlight: -

a) Any long term investments especially in research and development, will always have a significant impact to the people and nation although it does not contribute to an immediate Return on Investment (ROI).

b) Aspiration has got to be realistic but at the same time should also be ambitious. The dilemma in balancing both aspects is of paramount important in order to have a clearer direction in achieving desired vision.

c) Students who are globally aware are those who are encouraged to develop their own critical thinking, have a broad basis in liberal art as well as being very competent in particular areas.

d) While we continue to learn from others, we must always take matters with 'a grain of salt' i.e. to accept the fact of other’s success but always maintain a degree of skepticism about its whole truth.

e) It is expected that in five-year time, a successful institution is the one that is better able to address the so-called 3Ps (people, planet & prosperity).

P/s – Convo event will be another hectic activities right after this... 

26th Dec Workshop

Dec 26th, when almost everyone is with their loved one finishing the last few days of 2011, I on the other handy got to be with the participants of UTP Filing System Workshop here in Cameron Highland. Don't get me wrong thou, I do like these kind of workshop-ping. It's just that this week supposedly to be rrthe only week that I could take leave before the start of new year (and before I lost all my right to complete my leave for 2011).

Lets not talk so much on the sobbing part. I was invited to this workshop in replacing En SAN. I do feel honor when he asked me to reps him but at the same time I just could not imagine the expectation that will arise from the audience. Eventually and thankfully, the session went smoothly. Below is the excerpt from my opening speech for the workshop: -

The UTP Filing System, as I have been informed, is an initiative and effort to establish a proper file management which will include not only filing procedures but also developing a proper storing, retrieval and archiving system. Theoretically, if your office is in a mess and you don’t know where to start when it comes to filing away all the files and documents, you have got a real problem on your hands. If this is the situation, it won’t be an easy task to sort the mess out. It is for this reason that I believe it is necessary that you need some kind of office filing or shelving system that keeps your office organized.

Documents need to be filed away in a proper order so that when a particular document is needed it can be found in no time. Offices are required to store files and documents so they cannot just be thrown away. These may include records of the daily transactions that the university has made throughout the years, all the accounts and reports, important minutes of meeting as well as the shareholders details. If these important documents are kept in a haphazard way, the univer-sity will not be able to find them when they are required. These documents may also be needed as proof, in case the univer-sity is involved in Research Univer-sity audit for instant or perhaps some kind of a law suit.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Seperti yang kita sedia maklum, UTP telah menerima penarafan Tier 5 di bawah Sistem Penarafan Institusi Pengajian Tinggi Malaysia (SETARA 2009). Penarafan ini secara langsung telah mengiktiraf proses pembelajaran dan pengajaran di UTP sebagai berstatus cemerlang. Pada 2012 ini, satu lagi proses audit SETARA yang melibatkan bukan hanya satu tapi dua audit iaitu SETARA dan D-SETARA akan dijalankan. Sejajar dengan hasrat dan objektif UTP untuk meningkatkan mutu dan aktiviti penyelidikan dan inovasi, pihak universiti juga telah meletakkan sasaran tahun 2013 untuk mendapatkan status Universiti Penyelidikan.

Bagi ketiga-tiga proses audit di atas, SETARA, D-SETARA dan Universiti Penyelidikan - memerlukan satu mekanisma atau system pengurusan file yang berkesan. Tujuan utama pengurusan file yang berkesan adalah untuk mempromosikan budaya perkongsian maklumat dan dalam pada masa yang sama memudahkan urusan kerja sedia ada seperti mudahcara pengaksesan data, penyimpanan rekod, analisis data, trend dan sebagainya.

UTP’s achievements especially in the area of teaching and learning for the past couple of years back have been tremendously increasing. As support staff, we need to ‘run’ as fast as the other counterpart i.e. the academic. Otherwise, we will be left behind and will not be able to ‘taste’ the victory when the times come. In realizing this, ITMS, under the good hand of previous and current Senior Managers, En Naziri and En Sabri respectively has come out with the SharePoint initiative, i.e. the electronic based total solutions of UTP filing and record management. SharePoint is a web-based intranet that can help improve one’s effectiveness by allowing us to set up centralised data to be used, edited and shared. Most importantly, this initiative ensures that records are able to be retrieved as and when needed. Therefore, filing management, both paper and electronic, as well as physical record, are of paramount important.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The next few years are expected to be challenging ones for us in realizing our aspiration to become Research Univer-sity by 2013 and beyond. Therefore, I would like to urge every single one of us to play the dual role of not only an implementer but at the same time a leader in our very own way. We need to have the drive and motivation and most importantly the perseverance in doing the job tasked to us.

Saya sesungguhnya berasa envy dengan segala usaha dan dedikasi yang tuan-tuan dan puan-puan tunjukkan kerana saya telah dimaklumkan bahawa initiatif UTP Filing System ini telah bermula semenjak Mac 2011 lagi. Inilah dia contoh drive dan perseverance yang saya maksudkan tadi. Congratulations to the Staff Internal Training and Development Group (SITDG), Puan Anne and gang, Information Resource Centre, led by En Naziri, Cik Syarifah and their team members, En Sabri, Cik Maniza and ITMS staff for the effortless work especially in the SharePoint initiatives and last but not least, all the participants of this workshop. I hope all of you will go back and implement the filing system in your respective department, fully in assisting the univer-sity to achieve its aspirations.

To the organizing committee, my deepest congratulations on the work done and I hope the two-and-half-day workshop will be fruitful and succeed. Thank you for inviting me to this workshop.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dengan lafaz Bismillahirrahmanirrahim, saya bagi mewakili En SAN, merasmikan pembukaan workshop on UTP Filing System.

P/s - performance wise? Bolehla...ape celup tokkk!!

DFP dlm kenangan..

Gambar2 menarik sekitar event conferment of Honorary Doctorate President Berdimuhamedov..

Credit to professional photographer Hazrin,,

glorious Dewan Filharmonik *PETRONAS

Turkmenistan students in their RM400-budget suit 

The conferment

Mr President Berdi with his acceptance speech

Oitt..????

P/s - Hazrin..jgn marahh aaa.. nanti ana jual!!

Honorary Doctorate

It has been sometimes since I last updated this blog. Poor her, dia terabai sekian lama. I was busy, busy, busy and busy. No other good excuses than busy-ness. I and the rest of the team were technically involved with the conferment of honorary doctorate to the President of Turkmenistan, held in the glorious Dewan Filharmonik. The event took roughly about 45 mins but the preparation is like for ages. Nevertheless, everything went smoothly as planned and I thanked God for that. With all the ‘havoc’, and ‘less-coordination’ efforts, we finally passed thru the 8th Dec heyday.

Here bit about the recipient..

PRESIDENT BERDI

His Excellency Mr Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, is a graduate of the Turkmen State Medical Institute (TSMI), where he later became Associate Professor of Preventive Dentistry. His Excellency also obtained his Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Science in Medical Sciences. In 1997, His Excellency was appointed Minister of Health and Medical Industry, and four years later, advanced to become Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet Ministers of Turkmenistan. In December 2006, following the demise of the late President Saparmyrat Niyazov, His Excellency was made Acting President of Turkmenistan. In February 2007, His Excellency was elected as the President of Turkmenistan through a popular vote.

Turkmenistan has significant long-term energy potential. It is home to the world’s fourth-largest reserves of natural gas and a substantial endowment of oil. Under His Excellency’s premiership, her petroleum industry has remained vibrant and prosperous — a fact borne out by the active participation of numerous foreign oil and gas corporations including *PETRONAS. *PETRONAS participation in Turkmenistan’s petroleum industry represents its most significant investment outside Malaysia and in the Central Asian region. With support of the Turkmenistan Government, *PETRONAS recently commenced the nation’s first offshore production as part of an integrated oil and gas development plan. Other milestones include the nation’s first fabrication yard in Kiyanly for the fabrication of offshore platforms.

This vitality and investor confidence is no accident; instead owing itself largely to His Excellency’s policies. His Excellency has gone to great lengths to promote national science as the primary driver of Turkmenistan’s future progress. He has sought to increase the number of qualified scientists and specialists, and strengthened collaboration between science and industry at both the national and international levels — measures that have helped ensure the adoption of best practices and innovations, including those applicable to the petroleum industry. To support and sustain the widespread application of science and technology, His Excellency has embarked on large-scale reforms in Education and strengthened international co-operation in this area. His Excellency’s economic reforms have also helped strengthen Turkmenistan’s investment climate, which have not only increased inward investment into the petroleum industry to fund projects that monetise and realise Turkmenistan’s resource potential, but also — and just as importantly — indirectly facilitated transfers of petroleum engineering technology from abroad.

Beyond technology and engineering, Turkmenistan’s petroleum industry has benefited from His Excellency’s foreign policy measures. His Excellency promotes good neighbourliness, openness, mutual respect and goodwill in the international arena and has sought to establish Turkmenistan as a force for stability within Central Asia. All of this has helped create a conducive environment for deeper cross-border energy market integration at both the regional and trans-continental levels. By extending the geographical reach of Turkmenistan’s energy potential, this deeper energy market integration stands to create a self-sustaining, virtuous circle — augmenting the value of her petroleum resources, attracting greater inward investment, spurring further exploration activities and with the attendant discoveries, extending her petroleum resource-base even further; securing thereby the prosperity of current and future generations of the Turkmen people.

His Excellency’s efforts in promoting the advanced application of technology and engineering in Turkmenistan’s petroleum industry is a prime example of harnessing the power of science for the benefit of humanity. Thus, The Institution’s Board and Senate have honoured His Excellency with the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Petroleum Engineering & Technology, honoris causa.

(Excerpt from citation read by Datuk VC’s speech during the conferment)

P/s – Zamani, Zaihan, the CRPAs and ITMS, led by Khalid have done a very good job throughout. Two thumbs up for them. Boss did great on stage too :-)

 

Transformation 'Soft Part'

The Institute has embarked on its Transformation Plan initiative back in 2009 with objective to identify and recommend appropriate action plans to accelerate the university’s R&D capacity and capability in order to become a world class research university. The near to-date target or immediate milestone was to achieve a Research University status by 2013. I was heavily involved with this Plan.

Two years down the road, we have finalized the plan, I would say in details, consists of not only immediate action plans to achieve the RU status but also a long-term strategies to ensure sustainability. Putting too much pressure with workload during the implementation phase of the Transformation, be it academia or administrator, needs motivation and morale boost. A set of new environment whereby transformation is not regarded as a threat but rather as a stimulating opportunity should be emphasized and put in place. I guess that’s why we have abundant of strategies, plentiful of initiatives and many-many action plans in ensuring a new environment to the staff. We want the staff to ask themselves what they can contribute to the institution rather than the otherwise.

That was then. I was with the rest of my colleagues today for a sharing session with the Transformation Team. They have a very focus presentation which I believe should come from a full time job effort. My expectations were never low until Khalid raises a very pertinent question whether all the above so called soft part is taken into consideration in ensuring sustainability of the Transformation. Then only I know that most of the soft part was not well covered.

Somebody needs to do something. Otherwise, the Transformation will not last long. It will only create short term gain but in the long term it might goes down the drain. I’m quite concern…

P/s – Good presentation on the slides thou…

Festival of Lights - KBP Style

Amazingly, I did not write anything for more than 1 month. Not that I’m running out of idea or simply nothing much to write, in fact there were lots of things happen during that one-month period. We had our 11th Convocation; Raischa visited Hospital again, twice in a gap of 2 months etc, etc. But then, I just don’t feel in putting up my pen to the draft pad (or in this case to the keyboard).

Anyway, this week we gonna have a mid-week cuti of Deepawali. So to my entire Hindu friend out there, happy celebrating the ‘festival of lights’. To all the happy lot of Kampung Buah Pala as well. I heard the ‘High Chapparalian’ consists of 17 Indians and 7 Malays families have returned to the site of their old village to accept keys to their new double-storey houses. Lampu kalimantang lights finally emerged from the end of the tunnel, huh? A unit of double storey house in that area might be valued in the range of 300 - 350K, thus will cost the private developer Nusmetro Ven¬tures (P) Sdn Bhd RM8 – 9 mill altogether. Guan Eng and the rest of developer can now happily develop the whole land that has a commercial value of billions. It’s a huge spot-lights coming out from the end of the tunnel for Guan Eng and co.

For the remaining 9 families that did not accept the RM125K offered by the developer, they might have lost everything.

P/s - The Chinese Opera in a thick make up with esoteric and mysterious yet hardly understandable characters…