Tuesday, March 23, 2010

OUT OF SHAH ALAM

It has been a long-practised tradition of the Terengganu Campus to host "Terengganu Tour" invitational golf event annually. I think the event was first started in 2001 or maybe a bit later. Back in 2001, we had the first round hosted in Dungun, at the Desa Dungun GC. This is the time where participants from all over the country would come and spend two days gathering at the Dungun Campus - golfing during day time, and dinner, BBQ and what not after that. The institution is too big to the extent we seldom meet until we have this sort of event once in a year or more. This is also the time we learn that someone has passed away in that particular year, thus leaving us reflecting on the memories that we used to have before (memories of Allahyarham Jamil & Pak Ya come straight into my mind!).
YM Tengku Yusuf - affectionately known as TY - the Campus Director, is indeed friendly, and very kind-hearted. He is known for his gentleness, understanding and of altruistic personality. His speech during the prize-giving ceremony was, according to many, reflected his down-to-earth personality and touched the hearts of those who were there. TY is simply nice and great! I noticed that everyone was so entertained and looked forward to come yet once again next year! TQ TY!



I have only one issue (that I dont really quite understand) with this game of golf:

"The only problem with golf is that the slow people are always in front of you and the fast people always end up behind you."


Saturday, March 13, 2010

BYE, EDDY..


It came so sudden though a bit late - after almost 24 hours - to my knowledge that Eddy has passed away last night (many thanks to Finaz and Eliza).

Eddy was a student at the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies (UiTM) when I first met him some time in January 2007 while he was on his way for lecture on that very bright afternoon with his forever-good friend, Khirriah . He was a bit shy initially and didn't talk much until I started a joke. He was talkative and very friendly ever since. There was time when we used to exchange views - over the phone on some nights - on a number of issues. He talked about friends, career, his sufferings etc. I didn't get the chance to pay him a visit during his last days. I managed, however, to talk with him - also over the phone - middle of January this year. He was bed-ridden. He talked so slowly, and asked me - in a very soft and mild tone - whether I was ok. I didnt have the heart to talk longer.

Bye Eddy.. 

SMILE

Pseudo Urbanisation
Immediately after the short-course final session was over, and it was a saturday late afternoon, we - Aniah, Ehsan, Zura and Ismie - hurriedly dispersed and went off in no seconds. Instead of heading home, I drove - at my own sweet time, running at 60-70 km/h from the PJ Hilton, to BSC (Bangsar Shopping Complex). Roy was already there; I wasn't late however, since the meeting was scheduled to take place at quarter-to-six (no apology needed!).

Roy is a journalist-cum-editor for a bulletin/magazine or something. When he called me up the other day, I think it was three weeks ago, I was told that we were supposed to talk about little petty things like the changing political ideologies of political parties in Malaysian mainstream politics (if ever), as well as looking very briefly at some selected current issues like the proposed New Economic Model, the ministeries KPIs, local authorities, and governance. Issues pertaining to development and governance are indeed overwhelmed by a couple of shadowing variables in the forms of government's ideology; and the Penang's attempt to re-institute election in local government is perhaps one good example of that variables. Whether it is politically-driven or simply an altruistic side of the Chief Minister in doing so is not a pressing issue; politics is basically about determining choices when you have a certain degree of power to influence people. This is what happened in a number of constituents or even in some states - Perak, Selangor, Penang, Kelantan, and Kedah.

A Step Away from the University
The response was unexpectedly miracle compared to the previous ones which was held at the Stadium Malawati. The event - Selangkah ke UiTM - is an annual event. It is held days after the school examination results are out. Im not very sure why the turn-up rate was a bit higher than the last year's similar event. I'll just have to wait until Monday and see if the survey (questionnaires should be administered, I believe) could deduce something out of it.

As usual, the Faculty of Accountancy's booth was the centre of attraction this morning. God! There wasnt enough space for an average physical body like mine to even squeeze-in right before the counter's information centre. I have to use the 'back-door' and observed the whole processes from behind. The Faculty of Communication and Media Studies was also overwhelmed with prospect-candidates. The strategy was indeed very simple and straight-forward, and so very effective: prepare a studio-like setting, put a newsreader-wannabe there, and run a mock tv-news, and you are right in the business.

People come and go while a university stays. Ideologies and philosophies embraced, an individual grows. Universities come in many facets. Intelectual growth is perhaps one of the main components, often disguised in the forms of humility, down-to-earth character, hunger for information-then-transformed-into-knowledge, altruism, so on and so forth.

A person comes and stays in a university for a couple of reasons. Nobody knows exactly the motives behind a man's decision of staying or joining. What he or she is expecting is never explicitly made-known to the university; of course people will generally say that paper-qualification must be the main factor behind the decision (of joining an institution of higher learning). In the mean time, a university is called 'a university' for nothing. It is about the acquisition and mastering of information so that it will soon ("soon" is never a definite period of time), if God permits, be transformed into meaningful knowledge. It is therefore, an exploration of the universe, the cosmolgy of knowledge which is sacred/divine in nature. The challenge is now rests with the lecturers: there are no bad learners..





"...Smile, and the world will smile with you"



Sunday, March 07, 2010

A CHANCE FOR CHANGE


I spent only two days in the office last week. Both days - Monday and Tuesday - were filled up with internal meetings and a half-day event on KRA (together with Datuk Ramlah and another three colleagues). KRA is another form of change management tool/model. The reason why change is needed is always debatable. Resistance however, is always the issue; and more often than not, the resistors are always difficult to be identified within short period of time.

The opportunity to participate in a 3-day course on Change Management and Performance Consulting held recently in PJ Hilton was a valuable one. Prof Rothwell (from the Pennsylvania State University) was the instructor. Well, that was not the first change management course I had attended; I couldnt remember how many. Two or perhaps three of all the courses that I had attended since 2000 were indeed so interesting and fruitful. I remember one workshop - that was in Penang in 2000 on Peter Senghe's model - was quite a good one. Then, another one - a 3-day seminar by Prof Daniel from Harvard University, held in Genting Highlands in 2002 - was also worthwhile. The recent one - by Prof Rothwell - was indeed excellent. Moral of the story: Change is inevitable.






L-R - Aniah; Alfina; Ismie






    
Met Kamaruddin (Total Logistics). An old & good friend since our college days in Astar, University Malaya, Kamaruddin is taking care of a very big Japanese company in Shah Alam.