Shrewd Mind @ Work

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Dear All,

In line with the Hari Raya Spirit, allow me to wish everyone again Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri. I sincerely hope that everyone's digestive system would not be facing any "technical glitches" due to "overwhelming intake" of Ketupat, Rendang, Lemang, Almond London, Kuih Tat Nenas, Kek Lapis (and the list continues...) I do hope that all the weights that we have lost during the fasting months will be recovered "exponentially" rather than "dramatically". Though the latter seems to be more prominent and likely in my case.

I just wanna share an article which i read on the fourth day of Hari Raya. The article was written by Syed Nazri, published in the NST dated October 16, entitled Being Physically and Spritually Sorry.

The article is about an E-Hari Raya Card that was sent by a company name Crush Communication. It was a cunning move by the company to come up with such a profound message that nudges us to contemplate on the intrinsic meaning of staple phrase we keep on saying to one another year after year but at times never actually living up to its spirit.

The greeting card appears simple but the contents is really riveting.
It starts with:

WE'RE SORRY
For sending you the dullest Raya card ever"

Every Hari Raya, our muslim friends will use greeting so simple in its execution, many forget its significance. The greeting maaf zahir batin which translate loosely to " I seek forgiveness (from you) physically and spiritually for Hari Raya means a time to reconcile and renew relationships with others.

Forgiveness is something we should all practise. Not just for Hari Raya but every day. we should celebrate it and embrace it as an essential part of our lives.

There is nothing so bad that cannot be forgiven. Hurt will never heal until you forgive.

If you are at war with others, you cannot be at peace with yourself. You can let go and forgive. It takes no physical strength to let go only courage.

Forgiveness is the single most important process that can bring peace to our souls and harmony to our lives. forgiveness is not something we have to strain ourselves to do. Forgiveness helps you move forward. No one benefits from forgiveness more than the one who forgives.

Give yourselves the gift of forgiveness today. Maaf zahir batin to all.

" The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong - Mahatma Gandhi"


So there. perhaps a little sentimental, but so real. Touching isn't it?

Again, Selamat Hari Raya and Maaf Zahir Batin.

I received this email "LEGO HINA NABI MUHAMMAD" a few days ago, from a friend of mine. The email has been forwarded to quite a number of people before it reached my mailbox.

I was totally dismayed and disappointed to see the product, that i am without the slightest doubt that this product would cause another chaotic situation and probaly another unnecessary bloodshed, given the fact that the world is just "cooling down" from the last fiasco over the caricature of prophet Muhammad.

After looking 'deeper' at the picture of the product, i found it difficult to fathom why LEGO would produce such product that would destroy their corporate image, thus i take the liberty to shoot an email to LEGO Company just to double check the authenticity of the picture.

and guess what? the picture is a FAKE!

Below are the my email to LEGO and the response from LEGO:


My email to LEGO COMPANY:

I received email with picture saying that LEGO recently launch a product depicting prophet Mohammed with the caption "Play as if you are Prophet Mohamed. Contains 23 wives including 6 year old Ayesha". Please confirm whether the product really exist?

Respond from LEGO:

Dear Mr Abdul Malek, The picture you have seen is most definitely not a picture of a LEGO product. It is a computer manipulated image, without any association to a physical product of any kind. Unfortunately, we do not know the source of the picture, but we have seen it appear on different web sites on the internet a number of times this year. We have obviously investigated various ways to stop circulation of this picture on the Internet, and since civil actions does not seem be an effective tool in this respect, we have decided that our best option is to work with the Danish police. We certainly hope that circulation of this picture will be stopped, sooner rather than later. You can also check our company statement on this issue following the link:

http://www.lego.com/eng/info/default.asp?page=
pressdetail&contentid=22333&countrycode=2057&yearcode=&archive=false

Yours sincerely,
Susana Rodriguez LEGO Direct


I strongly believe that this is a deliberate effort to engulf the Muslims into unnecessary cloud of confusion and hatred. So.. I beg to everyone, please forward this information to everyone that had received the fake email so that hopefully it will reach the imposter/traitor/ whose heart is full of malicious intent to not allow the world to become a better place.. for everyone regardless their religion or race...

I attached the picture with here and also the text that comes together with the picture as a
reference.

Salam..

The Fake Email

Kawan-kawan sekelian, Ini lah satu-satu contoh e-mail yang seharusnya kita ' on the spot ' forward kat kat saudara-saudara se muslim kita. Ia nya tidak mengandungi unsur-unsur fitnah untuk menjatuhkan sebarang individu atau sesuatu organasasi. Kita semuanya sudah maklum betapa kerasnya permusuhan kerajaan Denmark terhadap Islam. Khasnya dalam kontek memperlekehkan junjungan besar Nabi Muhammad SAW, seorang manusia yang termulia, di beri kitab termulia, dalam bahasa termulia, di tanah termulia di muka bumi. Benarlah Kalamullah " wa lan tar dha ankal yahudu wa laan nasaara hatta tattabia millahum " !!!STOP BUYING LEGO PRODUCT!!! Allahu Akbar!!!!! Takbir! Takbir! Takbir!!!!! Assalamualaikum, refer to the latest lego collection recently launched in denmark , i wish we could start thinking about that. Please inform our malaysian muslim to stop buying and boycott all lego products. Ya Allah ! Selamatkanlah Umat Islam di seluruh dunia ini. Betulkan niat dalam melakukan sesuatu kerana Allah S.W.T

No Matter Hard We Try To Please Everyone,Someone Will Definitely Without a Doubt,End Up Being Hurt By Us.I guess it's HUMAN NATURE. I would like to take this opportunity to say a few things. Some might be true while somemight be not so true.Long ago, people us to say that the sun moves around the earth. It takes courage, bloods and tears to convince everyone that it isactually the earth that actually circling the sun. My point is this we can keep on arguing whether one's action is right or wrong until the end of the world but, why don't we stop for a while and askourselves whether we are doing the "RIGHT" thing by arguing what is the "RIGHT' thing.

Literally, "RIGHT" means 1) just, 2) true or correct or 3) proper.

I am more interested on the fourth meaning of RIGHT that is 4) MostFavourable or Convenience. It was spelled clearly in the dictionary without mentioning most favourable by whom or most convenience by whom.Yeah right majority rules, when majority says a thing is black in colour, then the minority must be agreeable that it is black though the minority knows that it is actually white (or what ever colour it is). Just like what is happening in Thailand now.

Which is side is the "RIGHT" side? Or, we could always look back during the French Revolution when there was a group that was later labelled "THE ENLIGHTENMENT" which they fight against a system that was cruelly imposed to the people and in the end the ENLIGHTENMENT actually became the "RIGHT-SIDE".

(Don't forget the "Iluminati" and the Priory of Zion; I was deeply influenced by DAN BROWN)I was watching the movie "Back to the Future II" which was aired byAstro last week, (Don't worry for those who missed it Astro will definitely air it again and again until people lodge complaints inthe newspaper) there was a phrase that caught me completely off-guard. The Professor said this " Sometime doing the right thing is not the right thing"I once was invited to share my experience with some student leaders at one of the IPTA. We were discussing about the different between a CEO and a LEADER. How best can we describe these two? I told themthis "A CEO DO THINGS RIGHT" but " A LEADER DO THE RIGHT THING".

Maybe I'm wrong but its ok I'm open for discussion. Having said all that, I am confused whether I am doing the "RIGHT"thing by writing this message. But I there are those who feels offended by my writings, I sincerely apologise. Life goes on. We will stumble once in a while, the important thing is how we get back to the right track is what matter most. Al-Quran ada menyebut:"Sesungguhnya Orang Beriman Itu Tidak Akan Jatuh Ke Lubang yang Sama Dua Kali"Otto Van Bismarck once said,.

"People say that they will learn from mistakes, but I will be the one who benefit the most from people mistakes, by also learning from their mistake without making one."

Lastly forgive me for my words as I am fakir and dhaif on how to live in this vast world full of deceives and lies. Wallahualam…

One of the ways to achieve power is to control the option: Get others to play with the card you deal.

I feel obliged to write about Akademi Fantasia not because I am a fan of the show nor that I hate the show but I am more interested the way the show has been used as a tool to manipulate people emotions thus disarmed them completely. Most teenagers believe that the fastest and the easiest way to fame is by becoming the participants of Akademi Fantasia. Is it true? Instant fame maybe... but don't ever forget that what goes up must go down.

It is interesting to see how people wept endlessly when their favourite’s participant voted out of the show. But can anyone tell me how many Malaysian wept when a University student is being kicked-out of University due to all kind of reason? Nobody cares... my point exactly... why put so many weight and attention for the show since there are so many other issues that needs our attention. I am truly insulted to see that the participants have their own graduation day with all kind of colourful robe. Look I got nothing against the students but I can’t comprehend how the management team is allowed to use that kind of wardrobe in the show. Hmm it seems that I am moving away from my blog title.

Okay let’s get back on track.

Previously Islamic values were being put aside from the entertainment world. I still recalled vividly during AF1, in University Putra Malaysia, how the male and the female students we hugging live on ASTRO without having any sense of quit or shame! The act got some bashing from the public and was criticised in the Friday sermon. Following that, they put some restrictions to the student’s behaviour.

What happened to AF3 is totally by co-incidence. Seeing that a teenager with some Islamic background has been receiving many support from the Malaysians, ASTRO had to act quickly to capitalise on it. They were forced to bend the rules. I believes the public notices that actually they don’t have any rules they. The rules are set to change whenever they feel that the public support to the show is decreasing. ASTRO would never jeopardise the show just for the sake of maintaining the rules and regulations. That is why Linda Nanuwill managed to be reinstated to the show though was voted out earlier.

After seeing how they managed to capitalise with a students with a little bit of Islamic background, ASTRO again more or less tries the same strategy this season put banking the show on the first female contestant who wears a tudung/hijab. The purpose was ultimately to make a repeat of Mawi Phenomena or what ever they called it, but this time with a female contestant. The response was overwhelming. Let’s wait for this week first concert and see who will be topping the sms chart.
Why after three seasons the winner will always be guys? Are they that good? And why I believe this year it will be another guy if he is smart enough to garner the needed support from the viewer and steal the thunder from Salima.

Why Salima? WE must accept the fact that most voters are female teenager voters; and it is normal for female to be attracted to the opposite sex. For ASTRO to ensure that this time the winner should be a female winner something needs to be add to the female students. Salima fit into their requirement. We are going to see how ASTRO will potray Salima as someone who has an Islamic background that can clearly be seen as she is wearing tudung, as the next role model to overcome Mawi popularity. I believe she will get the attention that ASTRO wanted but then it is again up to her how she will be playing the game.

It is simple as this. It’s like 2 chess player playing a delicate game of deceive and decoy on the 64 squares. ASTRO is playing white who will make the first move and all Malaysian is playing Black waiting for white to moves and all the students were nothing more than just a chess set if not the pawns.
Who will be at the losing end? Checkmate! White Wins, Black lose, there will never draw the game. 1-0.
Unless Black checkmate White first….

Always knows what to talk about, but doesn't always talk about what he knows. Always tries to settle problems created by other diplomats.

Can always make himself misunderstood. Can bring home the bacon without spilling the beans. Can convince his wife not to hide her nice body under a floor-length sable. Can convince his wife to show off her new coat in a bus rather than in a taxi. Can juggle a hot potato long enough for it to become a cold issue. Can keep his shirt on while getting something off his chest. Can look happy when he has unexpected dinner guests. Can make his wife believe she will look fat in a mink coat.

Can make nothing sound like something. Can put his best foot forward when he doesn't have a leg to stand on. Can put his foot down without stepping on someone's toes. Can say the nastiest things in the nicest way. Can tell a man he'sopen-minded when he means he has a hole in his head. Can tell you to go to hell so tactfully that you look forward to the trip. Comes right out and says what he thinks when he agrees with you.

Divides his time between running for office and running for cover. Has a straightforward way of dodging issues. Knows how far to go before he goes too far. Lets you do all the talking while he gets what he wants. Never tells a woman how nice she looks in a gown. He tells her how nice the gown looks on her. Puts his cards on the table, but still has some up each sleeve. Straddles an issue whenever he isn't dodging one. Will approach every question with an open mouth.

Will lay down your life for his country. Will refuse to answer any question on the ground it might eliminate him.

Flabbergasted. I guess that would be the most appropriate word to describe my feelings when the news that UDPA was giving a special assignment to be completed in one day reached my ears. Things started to get a little bit complicated when I found out that the assignment was to write approximately 1500 words about the value of punctuality. Punctuality is a very vast topic to be discussed and up to the last day of submitting this assignment I was still contemplating on how best should I approach this topic of punctuality.

A longtime concern of mine has been the lack of appreciation regarding punctuality among Malaysian quality or habit of adhering to an appointed time and strict observance in keeping with prior agreed engagement. It seems that Malaysian has become too accustomed with the phrase of “Janji Melayu” that we are actually engulfed into a very sad state of tardiness.

This led us to the very basis of this article. Is there really a need for concern regarding the lack of punctuality? I am not making a simple generalization that Malaysians cannot be trusted when it comes to adhering to an appointed time, but frankly speaking, most Malaysians do not take the importance of being punctual seriously. The trouble with being punctual in Malaysia is that nobody' is there to appreciate it. Allow me to quote Gerald Barzan;

“Laugh and the world laughs with you, be prompt and you dine alone."

Having said that, there are Malaysians who value time highly. To them, promptitude is not only a duty, but is also a part of good manners, which is favorable to fortune, reputation, influence, and usefulness. Some even give it as their deliberate and solemn conviction that the individual who is habitually tardy in meeting an appointment will never be respected or successful in life. For businessmen, punctuality is the soul of business and one of the cardinal business virtues.

Lack of punctuality is a theft of someone else's time especially as an employee who is late for work but even as friends, where we have agreed to meet at a set time. The concept is simple; "If I have made an appointment with you, I owe you punctuality, I have no right to throw away your time, if I do my own. Such a simple concept but ironically too little Malaysians could adhere to it. Unfaithfulness in the keeping of an appointment is an act of clear dishonesty and we may as well borrow a person's money as his time.

Those who do not value time highly are actually those with thousands of missed opportunities. In this regard, Niccolo Machiavelli once said, "Tardiness often robs us opportunity, and the dispatch of our forces. The best-laid plans, the most important affairs, the fortunes of individuals, the weal of nations, honor, life itself, are daily sacrificed because somebody is 'behind time. There are men who always fail in whatever they undertake simply because they are 'behind time’. There are others who put off reformation year by year, till death seizes them; and they perish unrepentant, because for ever 'behind time.' Five minutes in a crisis is worth years. It is but a little period, yet it has often saved a fortune or redeemed a people. If there is one virtue that should be cultivated more than another by him who would succeed in life, it is punctuality.

Have we squandered opportunities due to our lack of punctuality? Let's take a look at the value in practicing punctuality. First let us look at the impact to ourselves. Certainly it will make us better persons. Lord Nelson was once quoted saying “I have always been a quarter of an hour before my time, and it has made a man of me”. It is an spoken perception regarding man's intellectual or moral character, if he was habitually unfaithful to his appointments.

As a civil servant, being punctual will definitely portray the image of a sensitive and responsible officer who would put the public needs as their number one priority in delivering such an outstanding service for the betterment of the nation as a whole. This would likely eliminate the most common perception that dealing with government officers would require a special level of patience as they would not adhere to appointment that was earlier set by them and it would take forever to complete a very simple task that could be done in just a matter of minutes.

Is it that hard to be a prompt person? Or how to be on time? It is really quite simple. Plan to be early, and start out early. Plan to arrive 15 minutes before any event begins. If these simple rules could be put into practice, surely it would marked a new beginning of a new breed of government officers that would bring Malaysia to a new unprecedented height by practicing good governance and delivering A class service to the public as well as their stakeholders.

I guess the most obvious reason on why Malaysian cannot be punctual is because of the well_known_trait_of procrastination. As one of the English philosopher once said “Procrastination is the thief of time”. As we procrastinate, we tend to take things for granted as when the time is due for submission or to deliver a service that is needed, there is a very high tendency that the output would be not to the level of it supposed to be.

Secondly, I believe that the level of sense of urgency really varies among Malaysian unlike the Japanese. Just look at the way we walk. We would be complacent enough to walk slowly without any sense of urgency at all! There some in Malaysia who cannot life with that kind of treatment towards time. For some time is money and every second wasted is like throwing your cash to the drains. A society with a high level sense of urgency like the Japanese would be really focusing on the core business and would not mixed it up with their personal life as this kind of society does not only respect time but the even treasure time.

In our journey to really transform Malaysia to become one of the most developed states by the year 2020, a Japanese_like society would accelerate our pace of development. A society that does not value punctuality will have no place at all in the years to come. On the larger scale, disrespect to time will mean inefficiency and unnecessary delay. This would be one of the major factors to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) to come to Malaysia. How can we attract investor and business minded people to Malaysia if the society is ignorant towards time and punctuality.

Another reason is that Malaysian has the propensity to forgive those who do not respect time. Though certain control mechanism to make sure government officers pay more attention to time, has been clearly laid out but yet the implementation still remains at status quo. Maybe, the real problem lies in us. Our attitude of not respecting people will end up with people not respecting us. Respect is earned and cannot be told and those who respect time are deemed to be respected by people.

As a conclusion, we should really learn the value of punctuality and promptness as it would reflect the way we think, the way we work and the way we respond towards certain changes in our daily life. We should always, at all cost, be punctual and try not to put the burden of waiting to people and please do avoid procrastination. I would like again to quote the famous William Shakespeare “Better three hours too soon than a minute too late”. Also allow me to quote one of the best alternative band who called themselves Butterfingers “Better late than never”. However it would be better if we never late at all. Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone adhere to time and things would definitely proceed smoothly and hopefully flawlessly.

ps: This is actually my assignment which was sent to INTAN in order for me to complete my 6 months training. I just wanna put it on the internet as a momento to remind me what actually happened in the last 6 months. I lost 6 months of my life.

Having said that, there must be a blessing in disguise. I seriously hope so.

I welcome the announcement that UPM is a research University with such an open heart. From here, all the academician, the administrative team and also the students should start pacing towards that goal as their roal is crucial in determining whether UPM is really a Research University or just a " Research University on Paper".

I may be a little bit sarcastic but then hey... its true what.. ?

I also had a fair share of experience with MCCannes Erikson and Leo Burnet Company. For those who are not familiar with these two name, just google them and you will be amazed just by simply looking at their website. These are the among the giants in the advertising and branding industries. Leo Burnet for example is the company responsible for producing the much awaited Petronas commercial every festive season.

(Remember the commercial, where a group of sibling decided to a whole cow for hari raya as there we no more meat left for sale... haaa that was Leo Burnet's product.)

You should have seen the power of advertisement. How it can change the most ordinary, dry and plain subject to something that everyone wanted to talked about. For example.. just look at the issue of Globalisation? Ever realise why suddenly people stop talking about Globalisation? After sometime people started to realise that globalisation is no more than a word coined by a group of people to serve their purpose. The was no theory or scientific explanation propose by anyone. Its just hearsay, personal experiance and nothing more. Its just a buzzed word to create havoc. At that time even those at the Kedai Kopi stated to talk " Global" and "Globalisation" Hmmmm...Again Globalisation is a passe subject or even it is not a subject at all.

Not to get derailed out of topic by "morning blues", i strongly believe that the best and the most correct measurement to measure the effectiveness of an Academic Institution is by looking at their product. Not the STUDENTS but their GRADUATES. Not their ASSIGNMENT but the RECOGNITION ON THEIR RESEARCH. Look at LIM KOK WING College University for example. That name alone carries a lot of weight.

Does ranking really matter, now? UITM proudly claimed that most of their graduate enters the working sector in less than 6 months after graduation. Impressive! What about UPM? Again, i may me just another person who see things differently and started to blow things out of proportion. Do think about it.

Men who are anxious to win favour of a Prince nearly always follow the custom of presenting themselves to him with the possession the value most, or things they know especially please him, so we often see princes given horses, weapon, cloth of gold, precious stones, and similar ornaments worthy of their position.

Now I am anxious to offer myself to the world with some token of my devotion to humanity, and I have not found among my belonging anything as dear to me or that I value as much as my understanding of the deeds of great men, won by me from acquaintances with contemporary affairs and continues study of the challenging world, these matters I have very diligently analysts and pondered for some times and now having summarized them in this papyrus scroll that has been revived into the superiorly, fully digitized adopting a new name : blog.

Although I consider this work unworthy to be put before humanity, I am confident that there will be some who will be kind enough to digest and accept it, seeing that I could not give others a nore valuable gift than the means of being able in a very short space of time to grasp all that I, with so much affliction and peril, have learned and understood.

I have not embellished or crammed this blog with rounded periods or big, impressive words, or with any blandish or superfluous decoration of the kind which many are in the habit of using to describe or adorn what they have produced; for my ambition has been either that nothing should distinguished my blog, or that it should find favor solely through the variety of its contents and the seriousness of its subject matter.

Nor I hope will be considered presumptuous for a man of low and humble status to dare discuss and lay down the fundamental on how the world should be; because; just as men who are sketching the landscape put themselves down in the plain to study the nature of the mountains and the highlands, and to study the low-lying land the put themselves high on the mountains, so, to comprehend fully the nature of people, one must be a leader and to comprehend fully the nature of leader one must be an ordinary follower.

So, to all, take this little write-up in the spirit in which I send it; and if you read and consider it diligently, you will discover in it my urgent wish for the world to become a better place to stay.

Please accept my fellow courtiers, the assurance of my highest consideration.